Now
That Summer Is Here
Now
that summer is here, you may have decided to chunk your school books in the corner
and relax. To be honest, I don’t blame you. No matter how much we love school,
we all get tired. Now, take a deep breath and allow yourself to think about the
upcoming school year. What are some things that you can do now that won’t make
you even more exhausted, but that will help you make a smooth transition from
summer break back to full school mode.
Word Walls
You
can go ahead and begin designing your word wall for the upcoming year. Word
walls are a great way to help increase your child’s vocabulary and help him or
her become a better reader. Pick out words that you know you will use for the
upcoming year. You can either design your own word wall or order one from
places like Teachers Pay Teachers.
Back to School Activities
Plan
your activities for the first day of school or if you’re feeling especially
refreshed your first few weeks of school. You can design fun games to help you get to
know your students and help your students get to know you. Some simple games that
you can use are Bingo and Scoot. Now is also a great time to create interest
inventory quizzes and pre-tests for your subject area. You can even plan fun,
age-appropriate craftivities for your students. All students no matter what age
love to create things.
Rules and Regulations
No
one wants to think about discipline especially in the summer. However, now is a
great time to formulate your classroom rules. You may not know who your students
are at this point, but you can create generic behavior charts. You can design homework
check list sheets, create posters that display your classroom rules, and create
behavior contracts.
Become Familiar with
Objectives
Who
has time during the school year to learn state objectives or standards? If you
are like me, you may find yourself crunched for time. So, if you know the grade
you will be teaching in the upcoming year, now is a great time to read over
those state objectives or standards. Don’t spend all day every day reading
them. Simply devote five or ten minutes per day looking over the objectives and
familiarizing yourself with them.
Plan Activities
Once
you have familiarized yourself with the standards, you can begin to plan activities.
I am not suggesting that you do full-blown lesson plans. I am recommending that
you take this time to think of the thematic units you want to teach or some
ways to make learning those tedious objectives fun.
Schedule Me Time
Summer
is definitely “Me Time”. Make sure that this is not the only time you get to
spend with your family and yourself. Decide on the days or hours that will be
reserved just for you during the school year. It doesn’t matter if it is the
weekends, after 5:00 P.M. or Wednesday nights. Just carve out some time for
yourself that is school work free. Once you have chosen your “Me Time”, do your
best to keep it sacred.
Make
the most your summer. Enjoy your time off. And, take advantage of your time
away from your busy classroom. Do simple things that can help make your
upcoming school year run more smoothly.
