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Kim/Co-facilitator - Welcome to the meeting about themes and slogans.
Kim/NH - what kind of themes and slogans are we going to talk about
MotorMouth/AL - I have a racing room, as Kim/KS already knows!
Kim/KS/8/moderator - I haven't decided on a theme for my room yet. My team mate is using mice. One of her boards is "Squeak a Peek at the Week"
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - I seem to keep the same "theme" every year. I have accumulated a lot of Looney Tunes stuff over the last few years.
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - I have a lot of cut outs of the various characters and change the "titles" of the boards when I change. I keep the same background paper and border up all year.
Kim/KS/8/moderator - A team down the hall is the FanTAZtics. Their mascot is Taz.
Snowstorm - Do you only use it for bulletin boards and special activities
Kim/KS/8/moderator - Snowstorm, everyone does it differently. You need to decide what works best for you. I don't really do a theme for a length of time. I tend to do it for a particular subject, such as Accelerated Reader.
MotorMouth/AL - My room is nascar.. my door says, 5th Grade start your engines.. I have a bulletin board that says, Tune up your engine with a good book *this is over my classroom library*
Kim/NH - our school has team names like west, 8 north, I'd like to see creative names made up by the kids and build on those team names for themes in each teams home room.
Kim/KS/8/moderator - Kim, that's what our school does. My team is the AHSome Team. The AHS comes from Abe Hubert (Middle) School.
Nanc - Hi, everyone- our school K-8 has a general wolf theme- each team has a related name example Alpha Pack, Denali Den, Big Dogs, Sawtooth Pack. We're Denali - the kids love our name
Kim/KS/8/moderator - We also have a COOL Team. Community of Outrageous Learners.
Kim/KS/8/moderator - Nanc, I like that. Our names aren't related.
Nanc - In my room I have up T.E.A.M. - together, excellent and mighty - sports things around!
mama k - so no one is doing a millennium theme?
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - I'm putting up a board to add reading strategies and word attack skills as we come to them in our mini lessons ... any ideas on what to call it?
Kim/KS/8/moderator - Nanc, I like that idea. I'm thinking of using "Look at our GOALIES" for those who meet their Accelerated Reader goals. (Soccer)
Nanc - I thought about having the kids make up a special dance.
Kim/KS/8/moderator - Kathy, do you have a theme going in the rest of your room?
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - Right now I have a bugs bunny reading a book on the side of the board - reading strategies on.... need a slogan.
Kim/KS/8/moderator - Kathy, what about something like "Get the BUGS out of reading." Use Bugs Bunny.
Kim/KS/8/moderator - Kathy, that doesn't sound exactly right, but you could work with it. That's strange that you are already using Bugs and I suggested it.
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - I'm playing around with it, Kim ... ya, we are "alike" ... huh.
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - I'm trying to think of an acronym or something ... don't really know what I'm doing yet!
Kim/KS/8/moderator - Kathy, what are some of the skills you want to turn into an acronym?
tellymon - mamak-when I did fourth grade I made a bulletin board that looked like bricks and it said "Tearing Down the Walls of: and we let the kids choose scenarios that they didn't like or hurt their feelings and we decided what that was: hate, prejudice, name-calling etc; and wrote them on the bricks. They loved that!
mama k - someone else had a tombstone for the "unknown authors". she (or he) hung unsigned papers on it and the kids had to file by on their way out of the room lol i like that also
tellymon - When I also did fourth grade we used IBC to help with writing: Introduction, Body and Conclusion. We gave out a brown IBC rootbeer paper shape with their name on it if they won the weekly writing contest and they received an IBC rootbeer they could drink in class. They loved that!
Snowstorm - How do you introduce themes? Say we will be doing things about__
mama k - i have a theme package i snagged out of a soc. studies unit we didnt take that is all about walls. that would surely fit right in
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - Kim ... I'm using a 3 circle Venn diagram. The circles will be labeled: Does it make sense? Does it sound right? and Does it look right? When we work on a certain skill we will add more coming out of the circles.
Patty/4-5 - All you with tombstones. Don't you think it may bring up sad feelings if someone recently experienced a death of a loved one?
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - To introduce a unit (theme) we sometimes do a KWL.
mama k - its a possibility patty. i havent used any of them yet...
mama k - i think it depends on what you are going to work on. sometimes start with an activity to introduce
Snowstorm - Kathy do you make up separate lessons for the theme or somehow integrate into the regular textbook lessons?'
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - I've heard good things about the Interact ... but haven't used them.
Fritz - I have used interact simulations too
mama k - oh teach, i have seen their catalog. it looks so interesting, but have never ordered
teach/3/ca - Because I talked about them so much my district ordered them for all the GATE cluster classrooms in the district
Patty/4-5 - I'm making a corner into a garden theme for my reading corner. I'm going to surround it with a fence and flowers. But I'm at a loss on how to carry that theme around the room.
teach/3/ca - Mama K it would be well spent money . Will your principal order for you maybe?
Kim/KS/8/moderator - I have used the Pioneers simulation and I loved it.
mama k - depends on the time of the year lol. at the beginning yes, towards the end no. lol
Fritz - I have used the science fair simulaton and loved it
Kim/KS/8/moderator - Patty, how about "Grow with math." "Pick a good strategy."
teach/3/ca - I find I have to do a lot of theme planning on my own. Many teachers at my school are stuck/glued/fixated on the teacher's guides
foxy - I need help with an idea I saw once...each student is give a small paper bag on the lst day of school from the teacher. Inside students find a cotton ball, band-aid, candy kiss, etc. Each item has a special meaning and a note from the teacher explains the meaning of each item. Anyone know anything about this idea. It's a great warm fuzzy idea.
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - Are the Interact simulations expensive?
Snowstorm - Patty 4/5 use some kind of IVY border or fake ivy to string around
volfan - Don't really have an overall theme. I use a lot of bears though. What about you?
Patty/4-5 - Thanks, Kim. I bought flowered boarders, but I want to decorate my room so it all looks gardenly. I can't think of anything cheap and cute.
mama k - foxy, it is in the mailbox mag this time
teach/3/ca - Kathy I got the Pioneer teacher guide and 35 student guides for $50. But after the first year you could probably just copy the student guides.
tellymon - I am using back to school and apples for september. I did a bear theme in February. The kids loved it.
Fritz - I don't think they are that expensive - but I reuse them by not having the kids right IN the book
teach/3/ca - Patty- maybe silk flowers and leaves. Leaves around a border?
Kim/KS/8/moderator - teach, I would be careful about copyright laws with that idea.
mama k - we already started so its hard to do apples in aug. lol
tellymon - patty you could also incorporate insects from the garden-ladybugs, butterflies, etc;
Kim/KS/8/moderator - Patty, oh, I thought you wanted slogans. Have you checked out flowered fabric for bulletin board backgrounds? If the flowers are large, you could laminate them and cut them out to place around your room. You could do the same with greeting cards, wrapping paper, postcards, etc.
teach/3/ca - I'm thinking of doing an explorer theme with passports and tying in the millenium. Any ideas?
Marie - For the flowers - how about making a bunch of colorful construction paper flowers? You could laminate them and create a garden wall.
ArtTeacher VA - Patty, check in the fabric store, there's some type of plastic you iron onto fabric
Patty/4-5 - Kim, how do you laminate fabric? Seems like running it through a machine will bunch it up.
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - Laminating fabric works great!
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - Just put the fabric in like you do paper. I've never had it bunch up.
Marie - Thanks Paula. I'm working on a geography unit for late September. Any ideas on how to make it a thematic unit??
Patty/4-5 - Yes, ART, I'll ask at the local fabric store. Is it expensive?
Kim/KS/8/moderator - Patty, fold the fabric in half with the "good" side on the outside then run it through the laminator. Hold the end tight as it goes through to prevent bunching. If you want a small piece laminated, you don't have to fold it and you'll get both sides laminated.
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - I've done bandana's with characters on it. I''ve done material with looney tunes characters ... lasts forever.
teach/3/ca - Marie, in Intermediate Mailbox this month there is a tie-in between Spelling and Geography using latitude and long. and going around the world while doing spelling activities
Patty/4-5 - Laminating fabric sounds wonderful. I've never heard of it. Glad I joined this chat.
Fritz - teach - can I read that Mail Box online - or find the magazine?
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - Teacher stores here carry the current issues of The Mailbox.
born2bwild/SC - oh... I have an idea for the millinium...
teach/3/ca - I'm thinking of doing U.S. geography by using football teams and where they are from
Kim/KS/8/moderator - Any ideas for some sports related slogans? I'm thinking of "Look at our GOALIES" for those students who meet their AR goals.
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - ______ is a hit (baseball) Like "Reading is a Hit"
Marie - Kim- I'm doing a bulletin board to keep track of books read by my class. I set up a bb to look like a baseball diamond. And then gave each child their own player to move. Divide into two teams and go. 1book=1base!
Snowstorm - Kim/KS/8 Score a Touchdown/Homerun when you finish all homework? I don't really know how to think of slogans
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - Marie ... funny you should mention the baseball thing....I just found a party game at a local party store that is a baseball diamond ... I've done the reading thing and I also play baseball as a review game. They had football and basketball too ... didn't get them until I figure something out for them.
Kim/KS/8/moderator - Marie, I could do that with the percentage of their AR goal met. 1st base could be 25%, 2nd base 50%, etc. thanks.
Kim/KS/8/moderator - Kathy, I've done the sports review games. The students love them.
Snowstorm - Kathy the baseball reading idea sounds good tell me more
Sue - I might start out with a karate reading club. I will take the students' pictures, put a karate robe on them and they can read and do special reports to earn the different color belts.
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - I divided the class into two teams. Each book read was a base. (had two "players" going around the bases at the same time. I had an innings chart to keep track of the runs.
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - Or now that I'm departmentalized ... I had one class "play" the other. We do this in the spring - when baseball season starts.
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - I had little prizes from time to time .... like baseball gum or pencils.
Marie - Whn my students made a home run, they got to choose a prize from my "Homerun Hitters Club" box. Small prizes.
Fritz - The first day I have kids measure eachother with a piece of string. They then write themselves a letter and I put them away until the last day of school. I teach fifth grade - so boys are about the same height at the end of the year - while girls take off
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - We also all went out and played whiffle ball at the end. I'm not into a lot of "prizes"
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - One year the winning team was to go to our area college's baseball game ... one of my kids had a brother on the team, but it was rained out.
Trish - Fritz, what kind of a letter, what do they have to include
Fritz - I just have them write a letter to themselves about what they hope for the school year. They put string and letter in envelope with their name on it. They laugh the last day of school about how worried they were or how they spelled things
Marie - I do assessment (required). For a writing piece, I do a "Summer Sandwich". I introduce the beginning,middle,end concepts and then have them write a short story on pieces of paper I cut out that are put together to be a sandwich. Tan=bread,green=lettuce,yellow=cheese,gray=meat
Stanley - FRitz, Do you have them read their letters out loud the last day/
Fritz - They can if they want. It is fun to watch them laught over what they wrote
ALI - I really like the letter idea for 7th graders because they are so scared the first day...and at the end they feel like experts.
Tina - My theme this year is "Your future is today"
Stanley - I had a G-5 long term that finished 7/21. For a slogan I used, "Be known for your KINDNESS, honesty, & sense of humor." However, we never really DISCUSSED those things the way I had envisioned.
Ann/LA - This year I'm putting up an I'm "Thumb-body" Special bulletin board. I did every letter in a different primary color. I made primary colored thumbprints for accent. I'm going to have them make their thumbprints the first day of school in different color or ink. They are going to write a bio poem about themselves. I'm going to take a picture of each one. And I am going to put all of that stuff on the bulletin board.
RandyAk2 - Does anybody do a Time Capsule that is opened the last week of school?
Ann/LA - The reason I'm doing that is because my theme this year is going to be the uniqueness of everyone. I'm going to have a smaller bulletin board with the different intelligences outlined on it. I'm going to put some ideas on it for learning in different ways. I'm going to give the students an assessment of different learning styles. Throughout the year, they will have an opportunity to learn to appreciate different ways of doing things.
Sue - So far, the basics. String to measure height, construction paper cut-outs of hands and feet, letter about what they feel at beginning of year, what they would like to learn and about some of their favorites (good to measure changes in handwriting as well)
Tina - I am starting the year by reading "Nobody's Perfect not even my Mother" and then we post lists on a sheet that says "Nobody's Perfect. That's what I say. But I'm real good at...
Tina - We then post these on a bulliten board without names on them and the students guess who their clasmates are.
Stanley - Tina, For what grade do you use the "Nobody's Perfect" theme?
Tina - This year I am using it for my 5 - 8th graders
RandyAk2 - I keep a box for things to add to it all year, Sue. I actually never seal it but the kids see it on the shelf and never see me put papers and tests inside it.
Kim/KS/8/moderator - Goodnight all! See you next month. Kathy and I are working on ideas for topics. If you have any ideas you can email them to me at steele@odsgc.net
Kathy/5/IA/moderator - Night everyone! Thanks again for sharing.
