Hi all! My name is Susan Jones and I have been blogging and creating educational resources for over 10 years! I am a first grade teacher and former literacy teacher who loves sharing engaging and effective ideas for primary teachers to use in their classrooms.
BLOG: www.susanjonesteaching.com MY STORE: www.susanjonestpt.com
Always loving your videos and learning lots! Yes. Would love to see the organization. I would also love to see you vocabulary routine. I always start off great then sizzle out. I need a good routine. ♥️
I know this is an older post and you probably already got your teacher chair, but I wanted to share anyway... my favorite chair of my entire career is a rainbow bungee chair. I got mine at Container Store on sale at the time. It's great!!
I would love to see ALL of the above topics you have suggested making videos about! Everything you post is SO helpful. I just looked at those chair pockets and they're $43 each on Amazon!!!! Holy smokes. So bummed. I've not found good chair pockets since I made my own out of denim years ago. Those lasted many years. But I don't have access to an upholstery sewing machine anymore, which was what I used. But maybe it's time to try making them again. Thanks for all this info. It's so helpful to hear someone else's perspective on all this. :)
Hi Susan, Thanks so very much for sharing your resources! Can you share the schedule cards you use for your classroom as well? The ones that say like: Morning Meeting, Gym, Social Studies etc.? I don't see them on here. If you are able to share them can they be edited to fit my schedule? Thank you!
@@SusanJonesTeaching Thanks so very much!!!!!!! Also, I LOVE your videos! Keep them coming please! We currently use HMH - Into Reading (going on our second year) and I am curious how you like the program?! I am always anxiously awaiting your latest videos.
I'm teaching first grade for the first time in the fall! Do you think first graders can sit in groups of six from the start of the year? My classroom is tiny and creating groups will save floor space. I don't want to deal with constant off-task behavior and distractions during independent working time, but putting students in pairs or rows will clutter the room.
I am a veteran teacher and still loving it. I would love to learn how to make really engaging slides. Not born plugged in!. Regarding the chair bags, we have hooks on our desks. We use small canvas bags specifically for headphone, and 20 unifix cubes. (used for all kinds of activities) I used bins to store their fundations boars, journals and math folders and whatever else. I was happy as they quickly found materials. It worked out great. We also implemented Wit and Wisdom this year!
Hi Susan! Happy summer! I would love for you to do a video on organization, how you establish transitions in your classroom and how you differentiate writing instruction using your units of writing. Lastly, I loved doing the book study with you last summer. Will you do more in the future? Also what books about reading and writing are you planning to read this year?
GREAT question! I wasn't planning on doing a full book study, but I am reading Differentiating Phonics Instruction for Maximum Impact by Wiley Blevins this summer, so maybe I will share a couple videos with some insights I learned and am excited to implement next year!
Something I did this year and it really wasn't planned ... i would give vocabulary words on Monday and a qiz on Friday ... but the lesson I did that week maybe opinion writing or letter writing etc. of some grammar rule adding ing for example ... I would put it on the back of my spelling quiz and also test them on it without any or much help...it could even be a math question. The students got the routine and I feel because it was a Quiz they took it more serious
The white table is actually a Lego table from PBkids that I had used with my own boys for years and then moved it into the classroom. The chairs are from Lakeshore here: www.lakeshorelearning.com/products/ca/p/LC405
I hate the bins on table for pencils and supplies as the kids, some, would always throw in their pencils. I'm super sensitive to noise and chaos in the classroom. So, this year we did away with any table bin (btw NYC teacher here with minimal space) and got zippered pencil bags. I never thought this would work but it has. They're zip tied to their chairs and their pencils, crayons, erasers fit inside. Next year, I'll add glue and scissors (assuming I have no cutters as I did this year). Also, I instituted a picture attendance pocket chart that I also thought would be way too challenging. It wasn't and the kids love seeing their own faces in the room. I'm going to continue this as well. I would add a picture but I don't know how to.
Love that!! I am with you on the bins on tables - I did that early in my career and had "community supplies" but the visual clutter and noise was a lot for me!
Into Reading is very intense, especially for primary. They do have instructional slides prepared for the phonics piece, but there's nothing for shared reading/comprehension. There are a lot of pieces and the online platform is dreadful to navigate. I loathed it my first year but am now comfortable using it, knowing which things I can omit because it'll spiral back later in the year. Great ideas. I've jotted some of my own down while watching your video. Good luck!
Thanks for all the great ideas! Putting times into my morning message worked really well for me this year. I would get my analogue clock out and discuss what that time is going to look like on our actual clock in the classroom. I also have a blank analogue clock on all the subject cards in my visual schedule and then I use a whiteboard marker to add the hour and minute hand in, and I definitely see kids comparing the visual schedule to the clock on the wall throughout the day.
Thank you for so many great ideas! We will be going into our 3rd year of Into Reading. Big learning curve and tons of resources available (it can be overwhelming), but there are some great parts! I selfishly hope your district goes with HMH so I can hear all of your ideas😆
