Back to School Paperwork - Seven Things I Tackled Lately

When this post goes live, we will currently be having our first day of school. I hope it's going well.  

For today's post I wanted to give you my list of all the Back to School paperwork that has filled the last days.  I'm ready for the paperwork to be over.... Ha! I know it's just getting started for this year.

Class Word Search:

I want to start with actually the last thing I created, probably the only fun thing I was able to do...  I wanted to do something fun for the kids, but would also be helpful for me as a time filler, as I learn more about the speed that students complete different tasks.  

It was so easy to do!  Once you have your list of names, head over to  a Word Search Generator to add them into a list.  I like this one. For my 32 kids to fit, I have it set for 20 letters x 20 letters. I copy/paste my class list (first names only) into the website, and it spits out a word search for my kids to find that first week of school. The square is pretty small if I were to print directly from the webpage, so I take a screenshot of it, add the image to a powerpoint to enlarge it, and then add our class list of names to the bottom of the page. Fifth graders seem to always love a word search, especially when it's their names they are finding.  :)  

Okay, now all the other paperwork... 

Updating the Welcome Packet: 

My grade level works together to create our plan.  We do that so that we are all on the same page, and also so that we can refer to it as "Fifth Grade Policies" when chatting with parents.  We have different sections in the 3 pages.

-Greeting and sharing a little about who I am

-All the ways we communicate (Email, School Phone Number, Class Dojo, School Website, Microsoft Teams)

-Supplies (Donation $, need for an agenda, Wish List)

-Behavior (Rules, Class Motto, Class Dojo, Rewards, Consequences)

-Grades (Grading Policy, Grading Scale, Homework, Reminders)

Parent Survey (online):

Way back when, I used to send out a paper sheet that parents filled out.  Then we switched to a free online survey website (this year Survey Planet) that has made it super simple for parents to fill it out from their phones.  Here are the questions that we ask:

-Child's Name

-Parent Name(s)

-Best email for communication (Our student portal has a ton of other resources already, so I just try to narrow down on which one is the best.)

-Share something about your child - strengths, challenges, health related, etc. 

-Acknowledgement on reading the welcome packet and agreeing to what is listed.

-Movie Permission for those PG videos we watch, listing the specific ones.

Short, sweet, and to the point.

Class Lists and Grade Sheets:

When the list is finally finalized, I take their information and create a table over in Word with my checklists. I have 32 students, so I make it with 34 rows x 9 columns.  First column is for student numbers 1-32, second column is for student names, and the rest I leave blank and easily spaced for our weekly information.  I love having a template on my computer, rather than in a grade book. It's easy to just print a few copies, and alter it when kids move, and new kids come.  I use one page per week, and jot the week # on the top (in pencil/pen). Then my goal is to have at least 1 score per subject per week.  Those can be handwritten in the 7 blank columns. It makes it easy for me to then upload it to the online grading portal which parents then view.  

Looking at Student Information on the Portal:

Before the kids come, and definitely before I make a seating chart, I go through the student information and gather some information. Here's what I'm looking at:  

-Birthday

-Medical Information (Inhalers, epi-pens, who is supposed to be wearing glasses, etc...)

-RSP/Speech/504

-EL level to know if have a pull out class

We don't have any past testing for this group of kids, so in many ways I'm flying blind into this next year.  But the information I do have does help to give me a heads up to setting up a seating chart. 

Initial Welcome Email:

Sending out that initial parent welcome letter is a huge deal.  It's like the bandaid is pulled off, and all the kids know that I'm their teacher. I tend to always include the same information.

-Welcome

-First Day Reminders (Where to line up and when the gates open.)

-Heads up about Supply $ and Agendas

-Link to our Welcome Packet

-Link to our Class Padlet

-Link to our Class Dojo account

My goal isn't to have an entire Back to School night presentation in that email, just what they need to know for the first day, and resources that I need them to do as soon as possible.

Creating the Email Distribution List:

We have a teacher portal that we can view all email addresses connected to our class. It has a way to automatically send a message to all emails on our class list.  However, every year we learn that some of those emails are not the best to contact families.  That's why I ask for families to send in their best contact, and I copy/paste those emails into a group distribution list.  This past weekend it is what I've been working on.  Parents are filling out my survey, and I'm grabbing those emails to add to the list and adding to Class Dojo to send invites.  Not a fun task at all... 

Can anyone commiserate with me? Mental effort on top of physical effort to start the school year.  But at least when it's set up, it's good for the year. 

Hope this helps! I'll let you know how the first day went. 

Super Hero Ninja Grader

It’s been over a week since I last checked in with you. I’m still over here in the piles of paperwork. If I had a super power I’d like to either have super speed or being a ninja, tackling all this grading. 

We finished state testing. We have 2.5 weeks until summer. 13 school days until the bell rings for blessed vacation. But yet, there is so much to do.  

This Friday is the cut off for grading. The report card portal opens tomorrow to start filling it in. I went lite with homework this week. We are taking tests (math and reading) during class, and the final projects for social studies and science are done in class too. Presentations, group things, etc. At least the stuff that is being graded. Really the kids are just needing to upload after class. They need a break, and a chance to catch up. I’m really tired of nagging. 

There have been a lot of missing assignments these last few weeks with state testing. We were still moving forward and having homework during asynchronous time. Some kids “seemed” to completely forget their responsibilities. I had recorded mini lessons to walk the kids through the material that they had to do independently. But even with daily and weekly reminders some still didn’t turn it in.

So my nagging moved next level with the weekly countdown of reminders to parents about due dates and cut offs. The reminder that I want to give credit and kids can redo assignments. That I care about their kid. That I know their kid can do better. 

Then I have been sticking the grades front and center in the kid’s private channels. Some don’t have their own access to view grades without their parents’ help. The reminder to the kids about GPAs and the award criteria. They want awards, which means they have the earn them. Finish strong...

Since we are standards based, we allow kids to redo assignments as they feel more confident to bump up their scores. It gives them motivation to succeed. Motivation to grow. Motivation to not give up, because grades aren’t set in stone until the cut off dates. 

I feel like I’m knee deep in strategy sessions with the kids. 

“Did you get a 3 last time? Well check the rubric one more time. Did you forget to do one part to extend your answer? Can you aim for a 4?”

“Did you get a 2 last time? You were so close to achieving proficiency. We’ve been reviewing that, want to try again?”

“Did you get a 1 last time? What have you been doing to learn that material better? Did you do all the parts of the question? Let’s reread the directions together.”

“I’d focus on your reading/math/writing scores... I know you know that now... Check the rubrics one more time, is there anything else you can add or change?” It makes my day when kids are popping onto our afternoon question sessions to want to improve. Maybe they will remember that motivation next year. 

But Friday is coming. And the moments of grading are almost complete, and I can celebrate them on the report cards. Then we can have some fun to wrap up the year.  Finish strong.

Hope you have a great day!

Highlighting Kids - Easy Check Off Sheet

For the past 7 years I've found how easy it is to use a highlighter to keep track of basic information.  Not grading, but for participation, or as a check off.  On powerpoint I have this template.  It's really simple to create. (I just covered my student names for privacy.) 

After creating, I save it as a pdf so then I have the option of printing more than one page per sheet.  

Yeah, I bump it up to 9 copies per sheet. It makes it so that the names are still able to be read, and seems to be the perfect size for a highlighter. 

Then I save that as a pdf so it's easier to print when needed. I usually go through 1 of these sheets per week between using one per day for participation, and then other check off types of things.  

These always come in so handy.  I use the top line to write the reason.  This year I'm using it every day for participation.  When a kid volunteers I make a dot with a highlighter over their name.  Our morning question is one color of highlighter, then I switch to a different color for other subjects. I use my highlighted dots to then transfer to Class Dojo for points.  It also helps me know who to call on if I haven't heard from them. It helps me know who to check in with on their private channels, and if I don't hear from them there, then it reminds me which parents to contact with concerns.  

I've used it a lot over the years for different things, but this year it's really come in handy.  

Hope this helps, hope you have a great day!

What I Tackle After the Kids Leave

We all know being a teacher, especially this year, is a lot more than just teaching the kids. Here’s how I’ve been setting up my to do lists to keep on a weekly schedule. These are mainly things I've done all year, and now I'm adding in the in person items...

Daily:

*Grade

*Send reminder to tomorrow’s in class group about items to bring 

*Update Class Dojo points and give praises if reach certain milestones

*Respond to kid messages and questions in their private channels, answer emails, and host a daily Q/A afternoon meeting (where I can multi-task if kids don't show up).

Monday:

*Give out weekly materials to Group A when they arrive at school.

*AM - Make all TEAM assignments active

*Send morning email to parents with weekly information (Weekly Breakdown and Weekly Focus). If something is happening to the schedule for Monday, then I send it out on Friday afternoon.

*Grade all the late work that came in over the weekend...

Tuesday:

*Go through email and clean up mailbox

*Update parent portal with missing work

*Play catch up...

Wednesday: (Everyone DL day)

*Start making plans for next week

*Sketch out next week’s Breakdown of assignments 

*Update next week’s Focus for essential questions and I can statements.

Thursday:

*Fill out engagement log and be ready to upload on Friday

*Prep any materials for next week, including drafting assignments in TEAMS

*Start drafting next week's parent email

Friday:

*Give out the next week’s paperwork to my Group B while they are there in class.

After class:

*Update whiteboard - Change out the essential questions, I can statements, and next week’s reminders

*Spray down front table and set up materials for Monday.

*Change out DL office crate to next week’s materials for pick up

*Upload engagement logs

*Turn in temp check forms to office

*Update Parent Portal with grades

*Update TEAM with new color teams, new Breakdown, new Focus 

Of course everything is subject to change, but this is my goal each week. 

Every Unit:

*I sketch out what the ideal pacing would be, knowing that things change.  But at least it's all in my plan book and I know where we're headed.  I also use the drafts in my email to have an ongoing list of unit web links for science, social studies, and math.  I update those links on a weekly basis as I find more resources.  I may not always use everything in my "menu" but it's just a click away.  

And to think... a lot of this random paperwork is new this year... I wonder if it's going to be something we have to do for a long time to come, or if it's a one year deal.  I miss the simpler days.  

Hope you had a great day!

Final Push to Hybrid

I think I’m ready for Monday morning.  When I get nervous, or stressed, I tend to overthink things. I've been creating checklists and powerpoint to help me process, and things that I can slide into their group channel with reminders, etc. that I have been able to send home to parents.  

Pack Your Backpack - the items with the ? are optional, but recommended.  I will post this in my Group A and B channels the afternoon before they are to come to school - at least for the first week so they will remember what to bring.  If something different is needed - like the other textbooks, well then I'll add a note about that as well. I printed a copy and it's laminated and posted on our classroom door.  Hopefully they will memorize the list and eventually by just seeing the visual that they will remember things that they forgot for next time.

The Classroom Checklist - I now have this laminated and near my computer at school.  Here's hoping that when I feel scattered that a list will remind me of what to do next.  

I also made a 10 slide packet that went over what to expect with my students this last week, and then sent them home to parents as well.  Our office had sent their information the week before, so last week was more about our own classroom.  

For the kids at home, my big things were wanting them to know that it's going to take some time.  They can't expect me to be able to answer their private channel question right away.  I also want them to know they are important, and that they still have the expectation of paying attention... 

For kids coming on campus - even though it's 2 days a week, that the rules really have changed.  Safety has to be top priority.  

Just our new schedule, in case it's not already drilled in their heads...

I explained the Group Channels once again.  We practiced with them this last week.  I started putting daily reminders and questions in there that the kids had to respond to.  It gave me a chance to see who I needed to remind to check, and who was actually paying attention.  It was also a place where I started group meetings so the kids could chat about things there were adding to recess bags, what their team nickname should be, and any questions they have...

The Daily Schedule started out with me having to visualize what our day would look like.  How I would move from one thing to the next.  That overthinking then seemed to help when kids were asking me what it would be like. This is the plan.  This is a sketch of our day down to the little details.  It's new for all of us, yet it's the same lesson routine we've done for the last 29 weeks of school.  

I also had the list of school supplies in the packet... before I made up the Pack your Backpack.  

The Recess Bag was a last minute addition.  When we are in our specific area outside, the kids are only allowed to remove their masks when they are actively eating or drinking. They have to still give personal space to others, and the recess bag can help to give them a mental break.  The office recommended legos or play dough, and my teammate also had the idea of a yo-yo.  It'll be interesting to see what kids bring.  Whatever they bring to school they will bring home the same day.  

There were a few other slides with maps on where to line up on our "first day", the pathways where to walk on campus, and where our recess spot is located.

Little things that I hope will help us keep organized.  I hope you have a great weekend!

Weekly Breakdowns & I Know I Can Because...

Sometimes I feel like I created a monster with all the paperwork that I can generate in a week.  It's kind of funny that I'm adding more stuff by starting to blog again... Just kidding, I'm using this as my online journal to remember this crazy year.  

I started doing something like this checklist last spring when the world shut down and distance learning started.  A simple breakdown, broken down by day, so that students knew exactly what to do.  Back then we weren't meeting every day - weekly yes, but not daily. The kids were used to writing down their daily homework, but without planners this worked. Since it worked, and helped me as well to know what reminders to give the kids, I kept it going this year.  Every week I duplicate the slide in ppt and just switch out the information - then I email it home, stick it on Class Dojo, and add it to our TEAM for easy access.

I also turned our Weekly Essential Questions, I Can statements, and our I KNOW I Can Because into a digital document for this year.  In the classroom this would normally be on the whiteboard in a grid with washi tape, and kids write their responses on post it notes and stick it up there.

This year I update the word document every week, send it home to families so they know what we're working on, and go over it with my class as well. We talk about it all week long, and then on Fridays I throw a screenshot of it into the color team channels so the kids can respond and "teach" each other their strategies and how they know they know.  It only takes 5 minutes but has made a big impact.  

As they are responding, I'm looking into the color teams and thanking the kids aloud to acknowledge that I see their responses.  There are always so many more kids that start responding just to get their name recognized aloud. My big kids are still kids... 

Am I the only one that does something like this?

Hope you are having a great day!