Another End of the Year Activity: Flip Flop Opposites

1-2-3 Come Flip Over Opposites With Me!

flip flop theme, end of the year activities, end of the year ideas, end of the year lessons, last week of school ideas, last week of school activities, last week of school lessons, a list of opposite words, 550 opposite words, 275 opposite pairs of words, teaching opposites, opposite word lessons, opposite word list, opposite word activities, opposite word lessons, opposite word booklet, opposite word puzzles, opposite traceable word cards, opposite word flashcards, opposite word anchor chart, opposite word recording journal opposite word chart, opposite word poster, flip flop opposite word games, opposite word pocket chart words, It’s that time of year when students start wearing flip-flops!

I was looking at clip art and thinking “What can I do with flip flops?” I thought of “opposites”.

One sandal is the flip word and the opposite word is the flop; hence they flip flop.

I spent lots of time whipping together a 155-page packet so you wouldn’t have to!

I think your kiddo's will really enjoy this great vocabulary builder; it’s easy to implement and fun to do.

I know that school’s almost out, but hopefully this will get you excited for next year.

Hang up the flip-flop poster.

flip flop theme, end of the year activities, end of the year ideas, end of the year lessons, last week of school ideas, last week of school activities, last week of school lessons, a list of opposite words, 550 opposite words, 275 opposite pairs of words, teaching opposites, opposite word lessons, opposite word list, opposite word activities, opposite word lessons, opposite word booklet, opposite word puzzles, opposite traceable word cards, opposite word flashcards, opposite word anchor chart, opposite word recording journal opposite word chart, opposite word poster, flip flop opposite word games, opposite word pocket chart words, Choose a "flip" word for the day. i.e. "big".

Students have to guess the "flop" word "little" which they write in their flip- flop recording journal.

If you're also studying synonyms and/or antonyms, have the journal do double duty and challenge students to think up a synonym/antonym for the flip and flop words as well.

This only takes a minute, but will provide tremendous vocabulary building opportunities, an easy way for students to understand opposites as well as strengthen their understanding of synonym and antonyms.

The better their vocabularies, the better their writing skills.  By writing the words, and doing the trace & write activities their spelling will also improve!

Flip-Flops make a great addition to your "Word Work" for Daily 5 activities too!

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  • 550 traceable opposite word cards
  • Covers to turn them into Itty Bitty booklets +
  • Directions of what else you can do with the cards including a variety of games like Kaboom.
  • Kaboom bomb cards
  • 275 traceable pocket cards, (These can also be made into a flip booklet.)
  • You can also turn these pocket cards into puzzle cards.  Sample puzzle included.
  • Blank set of cards to program your own opposite words, or worksheets. i.e., Write in one word and have students fill in the matching opposite word.
  • A list of 550 words that make up 275 pairs of opposites.
  • 3 different types of opposite recording sheets + 5 different journal covers so that students can make a Flip Flop Op Journal to record the daily Flip word activity in.
  • Flip Word Of The Day Poster
  • Flip Flop Word Wizard Tracking Chart-Poster +
  • A certificate of praise

Click on the link to view/download Flip Flop Opposites

 I hope your students absolutely flip over these fun activities as they build their vocabularies!

flip flop theme, end of the year activities, end of the year ideas, end of the year lessons, last week of school ideas, last week of school activities, last week of school lessons, a list of opposite words, 550 opposite words, 275 opposite pairs of words, teaching opposites, opposite word lessons, opposite word list, opposite word activities, opposite word lessons, opposite word booklet, opposite word puzzles, opposite traceable word cards, opposite word flashcards, opposite word anchor chart, opposite word recording journal opposite word chart, opposite word poster, flip flop opposite word games, opposite word pocket chart words, Feel free to PIN anything you think might be helpful to others.

"Anyone who has not made a mistake, has not tried anything new." -Einstein

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Hot Topic For September: How Do You Communicate With Parents?

Communicating With Parents:

Parental communication is very important, but with so many tasks for a teacher to accomplish in a day, especially with the demands of very young children, how does one find time to dash off notes?

 

happy grams, student contracts, communicating with parents, behavior contracts, classroom contracts, behavior forms, neat desk award, progress report, give me five poster, certificates, How do you reinforce positive behavior? Do you send home a note to parents?

Do you give your students a certificate of praise?

 

Likewise, how do you communicate with parents when they want to know how their child is doing when their disruptive behavior is being modified?

 

To make these tasks quick and easy, I’ve designed a variety of forms.  My behavior modification techniques are checklists where a child is held accountable for their own behavior.

They decide which behavior they are going to work on for the day.  During various parts of the day they can color in a smilie face or put a sticker on their paper.

 

Give me five poster, happy grams, certificates, behavior modification techniques, classroom cash, behavior charts, student contracts, class contracts, neat desk award, clean desk award, parent communication, notes home, behavior forms, For students that are working on a multitude of things, I can simply check all the boxes that apply at the end of the day, in less than a minute, and send that note home to be signed by the parent and returned.

Behavior charts, student contracts, certificates, neat desk award, classroom rules poster, give me five poster, behavior checklist, notes home to parents, behavior forms, progress reports, progress report, I’ve put all of these forms in a 66-page packet that includes happy-grams, certificates of praise, and posters.

I've also included positive-reinforcement games, like Pizza Reward, Bubble Gum Challenge, Apple Puzzle & Classroom Cash.

 

There is a student contract, progress report, posters, classroom expectations, a neat desk award, and a promise pledge as well.

The forms help empower students, build self-esteem, help motivate, help students accept responsibility and be accountable. 

They free the teacher up and make communicating with parents simple, easy and quick.

 

I hope that you will find something here that will help your days run smoothly. 

I’d enjoy hearing from you about the packet, or if you have something to share that works for you that would be wonderful too. diane@teachwithme.com

 

Click on the link to go to Behavior Charts, Notes, & Contracts so that you can view/print/download them.

I wish you a marvelous month filled with lots of beautiful back-to-school moments!

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Separation Anxiety And How TEACHERS Can Deal With It.

     It's back-to-school and the biggest problem I face with my 4-year-olds is the fact that I always have at least one child who suffers from separation anxiety. Instead of this being a wonderul happy day for them, tears flow and you'd think we're at the doctor's office anticipating the dreaded shot!

     Here are some tried and true tips that are sure-fire methods in keeping the awful Anxiety Monster away!

Prepare Your Parents:

  •  Have you ever heard the saying: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?” That is extremely applicable for separation anxiety and your parents. Yes, parents and not your students. I’m a firm believer in training parents as much as children. A child doesn’t come with an instruction manual and some parents are just better at easing into the job than others, just as some teachers get the hang of things right out of the gate.
  • If you give them a bulleted check list in your “Welcome to school” summer letter, chances are you might have a few less criers, or that the ones who do go into meltdown mode will at least have the equipment needed to settle down after mommy or daddy leave. Click on the link for a check list.  
  • You can also read my article “Separation Anxiety and What Every Parent Should Know To Prepare For the First Day Of School”  and give them the link to read it. 

bunny_bawling

Dispel The Fear Of The Unknown

  • Most schools have an Open House so that your students have a chance to meet you and see their room BEFORE the start of school. If your Open House is after school starts, see if you can get permission to have a “Meet You Teacher” night before the start of school. Have this the day before school starts. This will get rid of their biggest fear: “the fear of the unknown.”  
  • Give students something to look forward to in your summer letter. I tell mine that we will be studying dinosaurs. That is a hot topic for my little ones. I also let them know that after we finish a fun activity they will get to choose a little dinosaur to take home.  
  • At Open House I make sure that they get to see all the cool toys and our beautiful playground. These are also wonderful things that get them excited to want to come back and do. 
  • family I make sure to mention that they will make lots of new friends and encourage parents to introduce children while at Open House.  I often initiate introductions. “Hi Carter. Have you met Jason? He’s in our class too, and likes soccer just like you. “Then I walk away and hope parents do the rest… 
  • So that there is a comforting “school-home” connection, I include a coloring “about me” dinosaur in my students’ “Welcome Packet” that parents pick up at Open House.  Because they’ve had  some quality time with family filling this out when they share it with the class, it’s not only a great “ice breaker”, but a reminder that their family loves them and did this activity at home with them because school is important.  If someone didn’t come to Open House, or forgot to bring their dino, I let them know they can share their dinosaur on the next day of school.
  • You can also have that “school-home” connection by asking families to bring a family photo with them to Open Houseon a collage them on a wall. Then when you have meltdown moments you can take a child and show them the “We LOVE you!” wall. Have colorful paper hearts available for parents to write the words “We love you _______.” on, and then attach those next to the photo so they can see their name on the wall as well.

Prepare Yourself:bawling_kid

  • Hopefully parents will have read your note and be prepared. YOU be prepared that they have not, and that you will be dealing with two people in meltdown mode. The parent and the child. Be caring; this is a mom who is a bit tearful about leaving her child for the first time. She worries that she’ll be crying all day. She’s also embarrassed that things are out of control.  Use reassuring words that everything will be fine. That all of this is normal, that every child reacts differently, and that we will all have a great day. Keep your smile on your face, your voice calm and convincing. 
  • Now is the time to try and distract the child. I have a pin wheel and a bottle of bubbles. I ask the child which one they would like to blow on. The bubbles or the pin wheel. You do not ask a crying child yes or no questions. The answer will always be no.  It’s hard to blow and cry. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t so always have plan B.   
  • Just in case my parents didn’t send a token to school with their child, I have a basket of “lovies” that a child can choose from to “cling” to ‘til the “drama trauma” is over. There’s nothing like a soft plush animal to sooth feelings. I let them know before hand that the lovies have to go back in the basket when the timer rings because it is their nap time. This way I don’t have to have them go into meltdown mode all over again, trying to get them unclung from something else in order to have them be able to participate in activities and do some work. They can also have the option to keep the lovie on their lap or table top if they promise to do some work, if this option will get them to quiet down. I ask the crying child which one they’d like to hold.  
  • If they still are crying I simply take them by the hand and say. “I need a special helper today, and I pick you!”  Then I lead them away. I always make sure that mom has already said good-bye and given them a kiss and hug etc. then I take the rest of my children into the room so mom is out of sight and I can get things rolling.  
  • This works if I only have one or two children crying.  Amazingly, children do quiet down within 5 minutes of parents leaving.

Click on the link to read the rest of this article.

 

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