{Week 4} BTS in a FLASH! Student Engagement

 My 5 items were:

1) A Harry Potter book (anyone else out there a HUGE HP fan?)

2) Two Picture books of my littles

3) A weight/dumbbell

4) An owl coffee mug

5) A wisk

For the Me Bag, I present each item, individually and explain why I included them in my bag and what they represent.  Then I ask if anyone has questions they want to ask or likes something I brought. I also pass around my pictures so they have a chance to check them out.  Then I assign them the same task. They are to bring in 5 items that represent them and give a 2 minute presentation that shares their items.  Grab this first assignment here with rubrics and thinking maps here.

     This year I am going to have my kids share there 4 favorite summer memories in an instagram-esque way with my   newest product, Summer Grams. This will totally engage them, and build classroom community more!

     Next up is Classroom Management. Having a solid classroom management system is essential for teaching, without this, the careful lessons and activities that we spend all night refining and creating, go out the window.  In my classroom, we use a Classroom Checkbook Economy. 

    I use a three tiered behavior system that has rewards and consequences for the whole group, small groups and individuals.  My Classroom Checkbooks is a great way to manage Individual Behavior. I have used it every year, no matter what grade level (4th-7th).  The goal is that students will learn how to be autonomous, in charge of their own behavior, and make wise decisions.  They also learn how to balance a checkbook, how to be responsible and it reinforces math skills. Plus, kids LOVE this. Anything to do with them earning or losing money, BAM! They are instantly engaged and back on task! Each trimester we have a huge market day where the kids can spend their checkbook money. Every student brings in things to “sell”, like old books, crafts, toys, etc… imagine a huge class garage sale.  The only things I sell on Market day are coupons. This eliminates the need for a “Teacher Treasure Chest” which saves me money! You can read more about this Classroom Management System here.
     Lastly, how I engage students in Collaborative Conversations…

     A majority of my students are Second Language Learners and having academic conversations intimidates them. Last year I found a fun way to engage them in these meaningful conversations in a low stress and structured way! I created these collaborative conversation sticks which give them sentence stems to help them structure their thoughts, questions and opinions.  I have a set for Math, one for Language Arts and I have also bundled them.  Read more about these collaborative conversation sticks here. They have made all the difference in the world because now they feel more prepared to actively participate.  They use them so much that it even filters into their writing, which makes this teacher the happiest teacher on the block! 
   Well, that is all for today!I can’t wait to read how you engage your kiddos throughout the year.  Link up by dragging the image below into powerpoint, sharing a picture of something you do to engage your students and share your post on the inlinkz feed.  You can grab the flashes here. Thanks for linking up with us, and cheers to a great school year!