Classroom Procedures

I hope some of these classroom procedures help you as you plan for the new year.

Welcome to Third Grade!  

I am delighted to be working with you and your child this year.  We will be seeing some new faces in the halls this year. Some will be teachers and some will be students. Please greet everyone with a smile to make them feel welcome.

Our Classroom

Our days will be full of many different areas of study - Reading, Phonics, Math, Language Arts, Spelling, Social Studies, and Science.  Each week the children will also have different Special Classes: Library, Art, Music, Computers and P.E. Our theme this year is Down on the Farm. I have many activities planned to help make Third Grade fun.

Drop-off & Pick-up Procedures

Children will be dismissed at 3:12 pm.  Please, do not take them from the classroom before this time.  We will dismiss walkers and children being picked up through the front doors. The children may be picked up there. Children riding the bus will exit the east doors to the bus pick-up area.

Tardies & Attendance

In order to maximize the educational opportunities, classes need to begin promptly. Students should be in their classrooms when the bell rings (8:15 A.M.) Students not in their classrooms will be marked tardy. Chronic tardiness will be addressed by administration. Students arriving late to school must report to the school office before going to class. The principal will make the determination per the handbook of tardy or not and give the student a pass to enter class. 

Appointments

At times your child may have appointments that require him/her to leave school early.  Please remember that all students must be signed out in the office.  It works best if you stop by the office first, then someone will call the room and I can get your student ready to go.  This way you can be signing out while your child is getting ready to go and possibly save some time.  When possible, please let us know in advance when your child will be leaving early, either through a note or a phone call.  (See school handbook for more information on this matter.)

Birthdays/Invitations

If your child has a birthday during the school year, you are welcome to bring in a treat item for their special day.  We will celebrate in the afternoon. Send all utensils, plates, napkins etc. I do not have these items on hand. Please remember this is not meant to take the place of a birthday party. It is just a special snack. If your child has a party planned during the year, he/she can hand out the invitations to the class.  Please make sure there is an invitation for every child.  If it is a boy party all boys should be invited if the invitations are to be passed out at school. The same holds true if it is a girl party. You are also welcome to mail the invitations if you are limited to the number attending although I am unable to give out student addresses.  Be considerate of each child's feelings. No one would want their child left out.  

Toys

Please leave all toys at home.  If a child does bring something to school and it is out during class time, it will be taken away and kept until the end of the day.  If this happens repeatedly the toy may be taken away for a longer period of time.

Money

Periodically, your child will bring money to school for lunch, field trips, book club orders, etc. When sending money to school, please remember to place all money in an envelope clearly marked with your child's name, what the money is for, and the amount enclosed. Please try to send exact change when sending cash. 

Book Orders

I will send home a Scholastic Book Order form with your child occasionally.  This is a great way to add to your child's library.  Of course, it is completely optional. 

Field Trips

We will take a field trip in the spring.  We sometimes rely on parents to be chaperons.  Unfortunately, we are unable to include younger siblings on these trips. If you wish to chaperon you will need to make arrangements for siblings.

Conferences

I have many things that must be done in the morning to get ready for the day.   As such, if there is an issue you wish to discuss, please set up an appointment for after school or another day.We are going to have a wonderful year.  I so look forward to getting to know you and your child! 

Mrs. Kestner

Tips for New Teachers

I asked teachers to give one tip they wish they knew when they first started teaching. This is a list of what they wrote. Share this with a new teacher you know.

1.         Don’t try and do it all your first year! Set small goals to work toward! You have a whole career to meet all your expectations!                                                 

2.         If you get an email from an irate parent, have a veteran teacher read your response before you send it. Sometimes you over react in the heat of the moment. Save all correspondence with parents in an email file. You may have to go back and remind parents what was said.
3.         Along with this, teaching is really a customer service job. Keeping parents informed and having open communication can go a LONG way to preventing issues in the first place. Respecting parents as partners instead of seeing them as obstacles is very important.

4.         Put your name on your stuff.

5.         Take care of yourself! Figure out what that looks like to you and make it happen. Leave the work at work at least once a week. Unless there's an absolute deadline (report cards) it will all be there tomorrow and it'll be easier to manage if your head is clear.

6.         It’s ok to ask another teacher for help on something you’re unsure of.

7.         Don’t be afraid to do it your own way!

8.         Run before you’re trapped. Lol

9.         Pick your battles

10.     Be organized!

11.     Invest in good shoes and a wheeled bag. Your feet, legs, neck, shoulders, and back will thank you in the future.

12.     You are teaching students, not the curriculum. Make connections with them 1st, then you will have them in the palm of your hand with less behavioral problems.

13.     Don't be afraid of veteran teachers. Find one you like and can trust and listen to their advice.

14.     I teach kindergarten and I always say that I should have written down every funny or special thing that the kids say each day. It would just go to show how they have enriched our lives.

15.     Think about if it was your kid how would you want things handled, communicated, spoken to. Becoming a parent changed my perspective as a teacher...

16.     Do your best, but don't forget about yourself!!

17.     If a parent is upset, it is ok to get the information you need and get back to them. Don't take their upset personally, they are only concerned for their kid. But, if you say you will get back to them, then get back to them, even if you don't have the answer... yet.

18.     Teaching is like housework, it’s never done! Don’t feel bad about leaving some for the next day.

19.     When planning to assess, try to get more than one mark out of each assignment (a math activity could give you math strand (s), writing and learning skills - for example

20.     Also limit how much paper you keep. Have a USB on your key ring to save files. You'll try to keep paper, but just end up a hoarder who never checks their paper files anyway...

21.     You cannot evaluate everything your students do. Pick a few key pieces in each concept....and remember, children need time to apply descriptive feedback in order to improve.

22.     Keep as much out of their desks as possible with different table storage options. The less they have in their desks the less they will have to play with during instruction

23.     Take everything admin says with a grain of salt

24.     Have a laugh as often as you can. You are going to need that sense of humor!

25.     Pick your battles and do not argue with a student.

26.     Be flexible!

27.     Write down everything students say that make you laugh or you're never going to hear again.... you'll have quite a book and those are fun to look back on!

28.     Please learn exactly what differentiation is and be sure it is used daily in your instruction. Every child will succeed.

29.     Be empathetic, take into account your students' needs all the time.

30.     It’s not your fault if you don’t know - especially because you don’t know what to ask. Take what ppl say (and how they say it) with a grain of salt.

31.     Start tough, it’s easier to become softer but harder to gain control once you have lost them. You’re their teacher not they’re bestie!

32.     If you teach more than one subject learn how to Integrate the subjects. If it's languages, integrate Reading, writing, speaking and listening then you can cross assess.

33. Work as a TEAM in grade levels. Be open to your TEAM. Stand tall and firm.

34. The work NEVER done. Be ok with that.

35. Say what you mean, mean what you say.

36. Start saving for retirement your first year. Ask for help if you need it. Find an outlet for your frustration

37.  Be teachable! Listen to people who are seasoned

38.  Save up your coins! You will want to retire by the age of 50. I was told this by veteran teachers.  I wish I had listened.

39.   All behavior serves a function. Figure out the function.

40.  Don't sweat the small stuff! And pick and choose your battles. 

41.  Follow your instincts

42. Listen to all the advices and tips. Use the ones you think will suit your audiences well

43. Don’t let the kids sit the entire lesson. Have them move around, work collaboratively, and be engaged with them.

44.  Don't take it personal

45. Don't take someone's burden be confident to say no

46. Don’t be arrogant, over confident and listen to advice.

47. Close the classroom door and teach from the heart.

48. Positive praise for behavior management.

49. Work on developing positive relationships with every member of the school community.

50. Listen to the children and observe behavior patterns - some have things going on outside of school that they are dealing with on a daily basis. Nurture them and they will thrive.

51.  Never expect to do everything on your ‘to do’ list. It’s impossible. Be kind to yourself and prioritize.

52.  Take the words from the mouths of your students. Trust them they will only tell you truth. Every student has a key. Get to know them more it helps. Love is the magical key to a wonderful class. This is based on my experience with students who were labeled by other teachers as bad (sadly). These students were awarded best students by the end of the year.

53. Listen to your children

54. People will be quick to throw you under the bus make sure you document not only students and parents but also certain interactions with administration/ staff

55. They are all YOUR children. Build understanding and relationships, a positive, encouraging class culture and foster thinkers and risk-takers. Then relax (despite the hard work), enjoy and foster a love of learning - yours and your students’!

56. Start out strong or tight. You can always loosen up but never tighten up.

57.  I'm still new, but all I want to know are tips and tricks for being in this work environment, building community with my peers... stuff like that. They teach you SO much about the classroom in college, but hardly anything about the SCHOOL.

58. Be willing to share. Try to be a team player with teaching partner even if a bit out of your comfort zone. My teaching   partner and I duplicate a lot of things for each other and we keep a file of stuff we can pull from for emergencies. We both fill it and be sure there are class sets for both of us if one of us is ever away.

59.  Some boards offer a mentoring program that pairs you with a more experienced teacher as your mentor. Check your board or see if someone on staff would be willing to sit down with you a couple of times a year to plan, answer questions and help you. It's nice to have a go-to person on staff that you can ask for help...

60. Never promise something (positive or negative) that you can't, or don't intend to, follow through on. Your credibility will be ruined, and they will walk all over you.

61. Try to get all your plans done for the next week before you leave on Friday. You need a weekend too!

62.  Be emphatic with both teachers and student. Everyone's trying to be their best. Help where you feel you can and think and save for retirement as soon you start.

63. Be careful who you choose to trust. It can get very political so say nothing to anyone that you don't want to come back to bite you.

64. Document everything!  And travel lightly, don't hoard materials

65.  Start with files right away. Keep 2 copies of items. With 1 it may get lost

66.  Stop what you are doing and look the student in the eyes as they speak to you. Hear what they are trying to communicate to you. Then say, I heard you say...what would you like me to do? Sometimes they just want to be heard or they want you to know.

67. Don’t be hard on yourself -mistakes will happen

68.  Trust your gut feeling

69.  Never use your cell phone or home phone to return calls. Return calls from work!

70.  Don't get too friendly with parents or care takers.

71. YES! And don't friend parents or any students on Facebook.

72. Never get in the middle of parents going through a divorce.

73.  Keep where you live a secret.

74.  Do not tutor after school. It's just a free babysitting service.

75.  Don't trust everyone in the PTO!

76.  Work your contracted hours only.

77. Always go home early one day a week. Decide which day at the beginning of the year and then         stick to it!

78. Foster friendship with families, while remaining in charge of your classroom. Teamwork makes the dream work!

79. Ask for help don’t try to be a hot shot.

80.  Have a procedure for EVERYTHING. If the kids don't follow the procedure, have them do it over and over again until it's to your liking. If they are doing the wrong thing, it's because they don't know how you want them to do it. Take plenty of time to go over your procedures at the beginning of the year. You'll think yourself mid-year and end of year.

81. Exactly...teach procedures first and then curriculum.

82. Incorporate "brain matching" into your lessons. Really gets kids engaged.

83. Whole brain thinking

84. I have been teaching for 30 + years and just got into trying more student engagement techniques. It really pays off!

85. Take the time to organize your classroom library!

86. Plan for the unexpected!

Addition and Subtraction Pocket Chart Cards

Students can use the pocket chart cards to match the number to the apple tree that represents the same amount. They can also match the number to the matching word. Students can work in pairs with flashcards. One student will choose the flashcard and the other will use the cards to show the problem on the pocket chart using pictures, numbers or words. You will need to supply flash cards for the facts to ten. Click here.

Mother's Day Gift

These are some seed packets children can make for the garden. One is a template that can be designed for any seeds. One is a Mother's Day gift that can be filled with Hugs and Kisses from their child and the others can be filled with seeds and used to plant in a school garden or at home. If they are going to be used outside I would print them on card stock and laminate them for durability. Click here.

End of the Year Classroom Helper Gift

The end of the year will be here before you know it. Don't forget to thank those who have helped you make it through the year. This will make your job a little easier. Just cut and paste the pictures on the outside of a white bag and add a little something as a thank you. Click here.

$10 TPT Gift Card Giveaway Begins at Midnight 4/7/18

One lucky customer will win a$10 TPT Gift card. All you have to do is enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway 

The winner was Dana Niblett

We're Learning to Tell Time

Telling Time can be hard for kids. They need a review every year with more practice. This packet should make your job easier so you can spend more time with your students.
Packet Contains:
Time on the Hour
Time on the Half Hour
Quarter Past and Quarter to the Hour
Time with Five Minute Increments
Time with 1 Minute Increments
Clocks with Missing hands to draw in
Digital Time
Word Problems
Anchor charts
Five Minute Increment Labels or your Classroom Clock
Answer Keys 
33 pages
Purchase Here

Egg Timers

We have been working on to to the hour and half hour.  I created this matching game to practice telling time.  The complete game can be found on my TPT site.

Reward Punch Cards

Kids love to earn reward in school, but not everyone wants to earn the same reward. I have created seasonal and holiday reward punch cards.  Kids can choose the reward they want to work on earning.  Some may want extra computer time, or to change a seat and sit by a friend, or eat lunch with the teacher. The only cost to the teacher is the reward punch cards that you can print over and over again.  I have over 30 different cards to choose from.  The reward cards have 10 punches to be earned before they receive their reward.  Go to my store Kestner's Kreations Primary Pickins and search Reward Punch Cards to see the selection.

Number Picture Match 0-20 Growing Bundle

These counting activities can be used for differentiated instruction. You can use all the cards for more advanced students or just use the number cards and one of the other groups of cards. This can also be used in small group instruction with your guided math groups. I will be adding pictures each month for the picture counting. November will be Thanksgiving pictures, December Christmas, January snow, February Valentines and Presidents, March Leprechauns, April showers. May flowers, June the beach, July patriotic and August back to school. I will let you know each month as the bundle grows. Click here to purchase.

Use a Smartboard Activity on a Computer

With SMART Notebook Express, you can share digital content and lesson activities created with SMART Notebook™ collaborative learning software with anyone, anywhere. This web application is available at no charge. Watch our video animation to see how SMART Notebook Express simplifies content sharing for teachers around the world. Send home links to Smartboard Activities.

Solar Eclipse

As an Optometrist , I want to express concern that I have about the solar eclipse on Monday, Aug 21. There are serious risks associated with viewing a solar eclipse directly, even with the use of solar filter glasses. Everyone should keep in mind if they or their children are considering this.

We have to keep in mind that some people will encounter the inability to control every aspect of this exercise. For instance, true solar eclipse glasses are made for adults, do not fit children well and should not be used without direct parental supervision. If the solar glasses do not filter out 100% of the harmful UV rays, if they are not used absolutely perfectly, or should there be a manufacturing defect in any of them, this will result in permanent and irreversible vision loss for any eye exposed. Just like sunburn to the skin, the effects are not felt or noticed immediately. I have a great fear that I will have patients in my office on Tuesday, Aug 22 who woke up with hazy, blurry vision that I cannot fix. It is a huge risk to watch the eclipse even with the use of solar glasses. There is no absolutely safe way to do so other than on TV.

The biggest danger with children is ensuring proper use without direct parental supervision. As the eclipse passes over many places, including Columbus, the moon will not block 100% of the sun. Because so much of its light is blocked by the moon, if one looks at it without full protection, it does not cause pain as looking at the sun does on a regular day. Normally if you try to look at the sun, it physically hurts and you can't see anything. During an eclipse, however, it is easier to stare for a bit....and even less than 30 seconds of exposure to a partially eclipsed sun, you can burn a blind spot right to your most precious central vision. With solar glasses you can't see ANYTHING except the crescent of light of the sun. Kids could have a tendency to want to peak around the filter to see what is actually going on up there. One failure, just one, where education and supervision fail, will have such a devastating consequence.

Please, please be safe. Watch it on television.

Michael Schecter

Letter/Sound Recognition For Younger Kids

This Dab-A-Dot set contains two reproducible worksheet pages for each letter of the alphabet. One worksheet is in color and the matching worksheet is in black and white to save ink. Students use the "Dab-a-Dot" paint markers or crayons to mark all the circles containing the uppercase and lowercase letters for the letter featured on the page. The next worksheet contains pictures and students circle the pictures that start with the specified letter. There are also two coloring pages for each letter sound. An answer key is provided for each worksheet. Great for Pre-school review or the beginning of Kindergarten letter and sound review. Please let me know if you find any errors so I can correct them quickly. Click Here.

Math Fact Reward Punch Cards

These Math Fact Reward Punch Cards are great for monitoring the progress and success of your students. Each time a student passes a set of math facts their card is punched. The cards can be put on a ring to hang in a handy spot. If you don't assess 11s and 12s a small sticker can be put over those numbers. When full your students can get a small reward. (sit by a friend, no homework pass, first in line etc.) Click Here.

Click Here.

A Little Spring Craft.

I'm Done. Now What? Math Task Cards

Click here.

I've just added a set of 40 math task cards to my store. These math task cards contain many of the skills covered in third grade.  Use the cards at the end of third grade or the beginning of fourth grade to review math skills. They can be used in centers or in small groups for interventions. A recording sheet and an answer key are provided so the students can check their own answers or make checking for you easier. I make several copies of the cards, laminate and cut them out.  I put them on rings and hang them on hooks to make them accessible for the kids. They’ll last several years.

Includes:
40 task cards
Recording Sheet
Answer Key

Animal Habitats

This activity contains 8 different categories for 
animal habitats: 
Farm
Forest  
Pond 
Swamp 
Ocean 
Jungle 
Desert 
Polar 
It also contains 8 labeled pictures of animals for each habitat. All 8 habitats can be used together or as few as 2 can be used to differentiate instruction. It also contains 2 pages to list the animals for each habitat. The pictures are clear and vibrant to catch a child's attention. Print on card stock and laminate for longer lasting use.Click here to purchase. $5 

Roll a Snowman Smartboard Game

This is a smartboard activity that can be played by teams or individuals. The class can also play against the teacher. Kids love this. Players take turns rolling the die and put the corresponding number of counters on the Snowman (1 per circle). When the Snowman is filled up, you win! To extend the game you can roll to take them off. Play as many times as you can in the time allotted. This is such a great game for number identification and counting!

Click here.

Freebie for my Followers

Math Foldables

These are some math foldables I am selling on TPT.  This file will be free to my followers for just a few days. A sample of the file is below. Click here for your free copy of the full file.

Non-Fiction Anchor Charts for Text Features

This packet contains a set of 12 anchor charts for the text features of non-fiction. The anchor charts are included in 3 formats,Large 8 1/2 X 11 charts, small copies of the same charts with 6 to a page for small group and in Smart notebook format for whole group. 28 pages, Click here to purchase.

Dr. Seuss Reward Punch Cards

These cards feature 10 spaces you can punch out when students accomplish a preset goal. When all 10 have been punched out, students can return the card to you for a reward. Use an unusual punch so they can not punch their own circle. (not that they would) These can be used for behavior, homework, working hard etc. They can be printed on card stock and cut out. There are 6cards to a page. If you do not see a theme that works for you, email me and I will create a custom design for your theme at the same price. kestnerg@gmail.com  Click Here

Common Core Tracking Punch Cards

Keep track of which common core standards your students have mastered with these handy punch card rings.  Keep track of which common core standards your students have mastered with these handy punch card rings.  Each card features a different Common Core strand/domain, with the standards listed by number around the card. The cards are each a different theme to help students easily find the card they need to be marked.
To use, print the cards on cardstock, laminate and cut the cards apart, Punch holes in the upper left corner and put the cards on a ring so that each student has a complete set of cards. There is a line for the student to write his or her name on the cover card. You could put all of the standards onto one ring or use two – one for ELA and one for math.
Students can store their own cards or the can be hung on hooks to prevent wear. When a student meets a standard, place a small sticker, punch, highlight or stamp the appropriate box. By the end of the year, your students should have every box stamped or punched! It is easy to flip through the cards and see who needs to be retaught skills.

Cards are all the same size.

These can be purchased in my TPT or TN stores.