That First Bulletin Board and Beginning the Year Hints

Topics I see posted on NEA bulletin boards ask about time management. In reality this means you need to think about the following as you do your planning: How many learning objectives do you meet with this lesson plan/project? Are you doing this as a one shot wonder or is it more of a template that you can use again and again with minor changes? Will you be able to store the materials and is the final size of the product easy to manage? Can you get someone to help you with this or must you go it alone?

I do not know the resources you have in your classroom, your home or in your particular situation, but I did start teaching when there were large class sizes, multiple levels of abilities and learning styles, no computers, no copiers, no phones in classrooms and very few supplies so I have experienced being a "have not" and a "have" so I try to write my suggestions so that they can be modified to fit most environments, student abilities and grade levels. A friend of mine laughs at me because I develop things to be "high tech" and "low tech".

New teachers and experienced teachers know that it is imperative to learn each student/child's name as quickly as possible. Also, the first week is filled with giving out books, lockers, letters home and so on. Parents have inspections of backpacks and the task of reading letters to determine: supplies, rules, rubrics/grading scales, school policies, types of assignments, homework load, P.E. requirements and so teachers you need to KISS! Keep It Simple Stupid. One page letters, less is more on the supplies, ditto the homework and save homework requirements and grading details for later. Pretend the parent has at least three children of various ages when you are making anything you send home. I have a friend with exactly this situation and there are days I don't know how she keeps up.

What about that bulletin board?

The Prequel - Lots of Hints: Before school begins - Take your class list to the teachers in the grade below you (or guidance counselor if it's transition from elementary to middle or middle to high school). Ask them to identify helpful parents for you. My list of volunteer jobs was putting up bulletin boards (make a rough diagram to avoid lots of fretful questions), cutting out block letters (try and get your school to buy one of those machines with the die cutters), copying, taking groups to the library for research to be carried out by the librarian, proofreading, editing and adding graphics to project directions, guest speakers and field trip volunteers.

Never allow a parent (or other students) to grade papers - do not have parents come to you on your planning time. During class is fine if you make a template memo before school starts, then just fill in the blanks and print or write directions - it's done. Step out into the hallway with the door open and hand them the memo. After their initial meeting and assignment, my volunteers had an outbox and an inbox on the bottom of the tv cart which was at the front of the room by my desk. With school security what it is, it's important to check on these parent volunteers with guidance.

Once we were communicating smoothly, they would come in, find their memo, read it through and off they'd go. Remember your goal is to save time - that's why your planning time is precious - save it at all costs. Of course, you won’t use volunteers during formal testing.

Grading - A Hint: I had red pens in the front of my room in a plastic, steamer basket with a handle - I had students put away all writing implements, a student passed out the red pens and they graded their own quizzes, homework, etc. - papers I felt they were able to correct. They had to write the corrections on their own papers. No parental complaints because it was instant feedback and I gave these papers less grade weight than tests, essays and projects. I still reviewed them to see how well students were doing and corrected obvious errors in student corrections, but it was a real time saver.

Try and call all of your parents before the first day of class and when you get to a suggested volunteer ask them if they'd be willing, tell them the possibilities and let them choose. I keep this information with their phone number in my grade book for easy access. Many teachers don't use volunteers effectively for a couple of reasons. They feel they may gossip in the community. Trust me - parents gossip anyway and having them see you in action may put them on your side. Another hitch for teachers is how do I thank my volunteers. Here are four ideas. Some bookstores will donate books to you that you can give to your volunteers as thank you gifts (just ask), hit the cheap table in the bookstore with the lovely travel/coffee table books for $5.99 and use your teacher discount or go to your local library and buy a gently recycled book for a $1.00. This one's a real secret - my hospital gift shop has lots of inexpensive treasures that are really useful. Use Hallmark thank-you notes that cost ninety-nine cents at winter break and then at the end of the school year go to Walmart or some other flower mart and buy a simple plant (often for $2.99) - then use the Hallmark card again and voila, an inexpensive solution to the problem of how do I thank my volunteers without spending too much money or time. Parents call school and introduce yourself.

I used to think that volunteers were more trouble than they were worth until I noodled out the objections I had to using them. I saved tons of time. Another tip: If you can make a month by month list of your projects that will require help from the librarian - use your major objectives in your core curriculum to create this list so it will be used every year and only require fine tuning. My librarians were my superstars, even when they were cranky (put yourself in their shoes and you'd be cranky, too) because I had my list, approximate dates and each year sought their advice on how to improve the assignment. They started buying material to support my projects. Librarians can be an outstanding asset. Additionally, I have found the buyers for the children's and young adult literature sections in Barnes and Nobles bookstores to be fountains of great suggestions. Believe it or not, my local Walmart has a great buyer. They know what's hot and appealing to kids of the ages you are teaching and what is fresh and it's their job to be helpful and usually - they love it.

The Bulletin Board: Materials needed: (See the example above) A picture of the student (This may be one the students bring from home or one you take with the school's camera and use ink provided by the Parent-Teacher Association). I had a digital camera and got a parent from my list of students to volunteer to print the pictures with ink I got from school supplies. A school aid (a parent volunteer can do this) came and took the students out one by one to take the pictures and I used my own money to buy photo paper for $15. Donated Magazines with filled with appropriate material and ads. Have parents double check your donations for inappropriate material or ads and remove any address labels. Do not have students do this even in high school.

Organization of Supplies - (More Hints): You will need the following to be organized to create fantastic Visual Projects:. In my classroom I had a series of plastic drawers. Each drawer had a designated supply in it. Glue/Clue sticks (Dollar Store); Scissors ( Nice ones on sale at Walmart); 2 drawers of Construction Paper of various color (Teacher store for solid packs of various colors and Dollar Store for multicolored),; Colored Pencils/Rulers and Markers (Walmart) = 6 plastic drawers stacked near my desk so I could control access. I also had a large tote of magazines, a roll of bulletin board backing(more about that later) and a broom and dust pan for clean up after projects that created messy floors. My bottom desk drawer contained various types of tape, and paper clips. My center desk drawer contained push pins, tacks, rubber bands and hall passes. No one was allowed to touch my center drawer, ever!

Students knew there was a place for everything , they were welcome to use it and they also knew where to put things back.. I also had yard sticks in my coat closet to be checked out (very tempting to use to hit someone). One student from each group would gather needed supplies in order of their table number and after that individual students could get what he or she needed during the making of his or her project. Some supplies the school supplied, some I bought and some were donated. On top of the 6 plastic drawers, I had ruled three-holed paper, blue and black ink pens and sharpened pencils. To be prepared for class, you had to have paper, pen and pencil and be in your seat before the bell rang. As I indicated earlier, I also kept a steamer basket filled with red pens on the bottom of the tv cart which was also near my desk in the front, back or best location in the room I had for the year.

Teachers do not need to hand out supplies. Students can be trained to do this. In the younger grades, teachers should handle the scissors, but think about a system so the younger students can hand out the rest of the supplies. While students wait for their materials, they should be drawing a rough draft of what they plan to make or read silently! No idle hands. Of course you need a model. Take a rectangular sheet of paper - the size of project is determined by you.

The Bulletin Board Layout:

Here are the written details -

Picture of Child (Centered Near the Top or Middle)

Child's Name Written Under Picture with the Phrase:

Child's Name likes puzzles and . . . (or whatever he/she likes)
(subject) (verb) (noun)

This should be large and easy to read. You can use the computer to generate this.

Correctly label parts of speech and subject and verb under the name.

Have the child cut out pictures of their hobbies and favorite things from your stash of print media in magazines or other print medium and have them lay it out their paper.

They can also bring pictures/stuff in a plastic baggie from home. Before a student glues anything down, you must approve the layout and if you give the OK, he or she glues everything down. Please make this a rule for the year so that you will not have all the pictures grouped in one corner of the paper.

One objection you may run into is that parents/guardians don't want to let pictures out of their hands. I copied things like this and returned them a.s.a.p.

Then they take it to your "turn in your project place "or to someone stationed at the bulletin board who places it on the board. (Try to find a good place where students can turn in their finished projects that will work for the school year.)

To grade the project, review the poster on the bulletin board and check student work to see if he or she understood the assignment.

This assignment kills several birds with one stone. It helps you learn your students' names, learn about their likes and hobbies, assess fine motor and listening skills, review basic parts of speech and create a great "Back to School Night” bulletin Board. While your students work on their projects, you get to know your students, how well they work in a group and solo. You get to see their imagination at work as they define themselves graphically.

For older students, the bulletin board backing comes into play now. Cut out a larger piece for the older student. Demonstrate for the whole class how to cut the bulletin board paper evenly and neatly - if you have some responsible students, then they can do this for you.

When the projects are completed, ask to keep the best ones because they can be laminated and shown as examples of what an "A" project looks life. Also, you can expand the project for older students by having them divide the poster into three sections: Early Years, Now and What They Want their Future to Be (Middle School). For High School, the sections can be: Early Years, Middle School and the Present.

Back to School Night Hints:

Give points for parents/guardians attending "Back to School Night" or signing the invitation. When they do come, give them a 4' by 6" card and have them write their names, the best number and time for contacting them, their e-mail and correct address. Finally, ask them to write something really good about their child. Something he or she is proud of or they (the parents or guardians) recall that is special.

Before collecting the cards, I ask them to put a number on them. that matches their last name. A = 1; B = 2; C = 3 - this made alphabetizing a breeze! Students can learn to put their numbers on papers as well. If a parent or guardian is unable to attend , give the student the full points if he or she brings back the 4" by 6" card. Guess what? It takes time to fill out the card so you don't have to talk so much and there is also less time for questions. Be sure to have a sign up sheet for volunteering and one for conferencing. Do not get trapped into an conference on back to school night!