Morning Journal

Have you ever had a student who says "I don't know what to write about"? I have heard this statement many times in the classroom especially during writer's workshop. When we transition to writer's workshop, many times students have what we call writer's block. Currently at my campus, we have students who struggle with the elements of writing.  Since leaving fourth grade, I continue to see students:

-not capitalizing the first letter in a sentence
-capitalizing words in the middle of a sentence
-not using appropriate punctuation marks
-spelling, etc

I am a strong believer of implementing morning journal as a morning routine in the classroom. Since the implementation of morning journal,  I have seen students answering in complete sentences, beginning a sentence with a capital letter, and end sentences with the appropriate punctuation mark. Kiddos are not afraid to approach any writing that may come their way because through morning journal they have built extreme confidence as a writer.

First thing in the morning, my students start their morning routine which consist of unpacking, unstacking their chair, and sharpening two or three pencils for the day. Once they complete these small tasks, kiddos take out their morning journal from their caddies. Starting each class with an open-ended morning journal prompt gives kiddos, who sometimes have difficulties with written language,  a time to use previously taught mini-lessons on spelling, punctuation, and other grammar mechanics.

Setting a purpose for writing is so important when implementing morning journal. Morning journal enables me to develop a personal relationship with each and every students in my classroom. I make time to respond to each journal entry every day, so we have a sort of an ongoing dialogue. It always excites me when I see my students expressions when they read a note from me.

Morning Journal can also play a valuable role in creating and planning for future mini-lessons. Student writing can tell you many things such as spelling patterns, using punctuation marks, recognizing/identifying high frequency words, and many more. I can honestly say I sometimes have a hard time fitting everything into one day. One thing I tend to forget is handwriting. Handwriting lessons are beneficial for students especially since we are building the foundation for our future fourth graders when taking the STAAR writing.

                 
I had the opportunity to create a mini morning journal packet for my students. The packet includes open-ended prompts for each week in the month of May. Each prompt will help students not only with writer's block but with handwriting as well. It's important that our kiddos write every single day. The prompts could be extended to your writer's workshop curriculum. I always include share time to build the confidence and set a purpose for writing.

          https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/May-Morning-Journal-1752354

Tick Tock, Tick Tock Telling Time

My students are gearing up for our unit on telling time. Telling time is so important to our kiddos. I've taught fourth grade for two years and experience many students who have difficulties telling time. It's my job as a first grade teacher to build the foundation needed for the upper grades.
First, I want to give kudos to all of the hard working STAAR teachers. I teach in Texas and this week teachers across this great state will be administering the STAAR test. These students have been hard at work gearing up for this very important test. Teachers from Kinder thru Fifth grade have played in important role in preparing our students. Good Luck!!!
This year, my goal was to enhance my academic word walls. I've created a reading, math, writing, science, and social studies word walls. This is my campus expectations for all classrooms. I enjoy making mini anchor charts with academic vocabulary for my academic word walls. This makes it visible for students and basically reminds me to use it while teaching. Anchor charts are so important in the classroom because it is a visual representation for students to refer to while learning a new concept.

For my next math unit, I wanted to brighten up my math wall so I created these bright vibrant anchor charts for telling time. The anchor charts include: Analog, Digital, Clock Hands, and O'Clock posters.

 After creating these telling time posters,  I got to thinking since the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students will be testing this week. I will be with my students for a long period of time. NOOOOOO! Just Kidding!!

 


During this unit, I wanted to engage but teach my students about time by capturing their attention with some arts and crafts. So, I created a froggy time craft and caterpillar time craft for my kiddos. This would hopefully keep them busy during this weeks testing.
You can purchase these telling time posters and crafts below.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Tick-Tock-Telling-Time-Posters-Crafts-1818740

These past few weeks, I've been reading Texas theme books such as The Three Little Tamales, Little Red Hot, and Armadilly Chili.

 


This Friday, my students will be off for the Battle of Flowers holiday. This is a San Antonio holiday. Every April, San Antonio holds a 10 day party called Fiesta. There are hundreds of events held all over the city, including parades, fireworks, games, rides, and so much fun! San Antonio celebrates Fiesta to honor the heroes of the Alamo and to commemorate the Battle of San Jacinto.

My class will be having a Mini-Fiesta this week to celebrate the each of the Texas theme books I read this week.