This past year I fell in love with our morning calendar time each day. These 15 minutes each day were some of the most valuable minutes we spent each day as the kids and I worked on critical skills that they used throughout the day. During this time each morning we were able to review old skills as well as practice new skills and this made all the difference.
While I call this time our morning calendar time, much of what we do during this time does not include the calendar but rather it focuses on skills that are critical in first grade. Here's a list of the activities we cover in these 15 minutes... it's a fast paced 15 minutes but I love every minute of it!
1. Calendar Page
2. Morning Message
3. Class Pledge
4. Weekly Poem
5. Calendar Tasks
6. Sight Words and Phonics
7. Chit Chats
1: Calendar Page
At our school, first grade goes to special at 9:30. I wasn't sure how I would like this schedule but it's worked out really well. Having special so early allows my kiddos to come in at 9:00, unpack quickly and then do their morning work. It also allows a few minutes for the kids to start and usually finish their calendar page before going to special. This is great because it keeps my early finishers occupied, my slower to get started kiddos motivated to finish, and it allows us to go over the calendar page as soon as we come back from our special at 10:10.
The calendar page includes skills like writing the digital date, writing a number in expanded form as well as correcting errors in a sentence. I have posted a one page and a two page option in my TPT store. I used the one page option at the beginning of the year and the two page option during the middle and end of the year because it included more skills and tasks.
I place these calendar pages in page protectors rather than laminating them because it's easier to erase expo marker... all your need is a white board eraser or even a sock will do. I place these pages in a bucket along with the erasers and markers and the kids know to come down to the carpet to complete the page once their morning work is finished. I post the numbers and sentence they will need for the page on the Promethean Board so the kids can complete this page independently.
When the kids return from their special we have a few ways to review the work. Some days I have volunteers give the class their answers and I record their answers on the board. Other days I have volunteers come up to the board to write their answers. Still other days I have the kids work with a buddy to correct their work while I circulate. So many options to review their work!
Two: Morning Message
This past year I decided to do one message for the week. I couldn't keep up with changing the message each day so this option worked much better. Although I did forget to change the date from time to time and the kiddos let me know it ASAP. Using a weekly message gave us an opportunity to practice fluency throughout the week as well as work on other skills that we needed practice with.
Monday: edit the message (usually 5 errors)
Tuesday: find sight words
Wednesday: find nouns
Thursday: find verbs
Friday: find adjectives
Three: Class Pledge
As part of the classroom management in our classroom we use a bucket filling system. I love the book that goes along with this. The idea of an "invisible bucket" is a great visual for the kiddos to understand their actions as well as how those actions impact others. That being said I want this on the minds of everyone as we begin our day. So each morning we recite this class pledge, promising to fill buckets and work hard throughout the day. Often we'll even have a very brief discussion about how we can fill buckets or how we have already filled buckets during the morning. I love these moments and this way to connect with my kids.
Four: Weekly Poem
Much like our morning message, each week we work with a poem related to a theme we're working on or a holiday that is coming up. This is another chance to work on fluency throughout the week as well as other ELA skills.
Monday: I read and the class will echo it
Tuesday: find sight words
Wednesday: find nouns
Thursday: find verbs
Friday: sequence
When we sequence the poem on Friday, I either write whole lines or individual words on sentences strips. If I want the kids to sequence the words, I cut the strips into individual words. Then we sequence the poem in the pocket chart. The following week I place the sequence cards in the pocket chart where the kids can work on sequencing and reading the poem to become more fluent. I also give the kids a copy of the poem for their reading book boxes. They love to read these poems during their independent reading times.
Five: Calendar Leader
This is where our calendar leader takes over and leads the class through various calendar related activities.
1. Read the date
2. Write the digital date
3. Count the days in school
4. Figure out if the number is odd or even
5. Write the number in expanded form
6. Talk about the weather
7. Talk about the season
8. Name the days of the week (Yesterday, tomorrow, today is)
These calendar cards will be posted to my TPT store tomorrow (Tuesday)... can't wait to use them this year!
Six: Sight Words and Phonics
Each morning I also add in some practice with sight words and phonics. We only have a few minutes here so the activities are short and I try to have the kids moving during this time.
To review sight words we often roll a large dice and then have kids come to the board to point to a sight word sentence as they read it... this is a favorite and the kids beg to play it more!
To practice our phonics patterns/spelling words we often read words with these patterns. To add some movement I then flash the word and have the kids body spell the word without looking. This is a great way to review for our Friday spelling test!
Seven: Chit Chats
I love these chit chats by Deanna Jump. They are a great way to review skills each morning. I print the skills that go along with the scope and sequence of what we're working on and place these pages in a page protector. This allows me to write on the pages using an expo marker. Some days the kids do the writing, other days I do. These chit chat messages also allow the kids time to "turn and talk" and I love this because all kids can learn from one another. This is a great addition to our morning routine.
WOW... that's a ton to accomplish in 15 minutes but I know it can be done... we did it last year! That begin said we did not begin like this! We did a ton of work at the beginning of the school year to set routines and expectations so the rest of the year would go smoothly. I enjoyed using this time for spiraled review and I truly feel it made a difference! I can't wait to use this same routine again this year.
I hope you enjoy this morning meeting/calendar time as much as I do! Good Luck!
