Word of the Day

Well the school year has set off like a bang and I'm convinced that there must be some sort of protection mechanism in a teacher's brain where we forget how long the first month of school truly is. For morning work I have been using something called Word of the Day. I got this idea from Made for First Grade a few years ago and then adapted it so that it would co-inside with whatever unit I was teaching. I also use the word of the day as a classroom management tool (something I saw on the teacher channel). I teach my students that when I am giving directions they are expected to stay in one place and listen to the complete direction. I am sure you have noticed that children, especially young ones are already on the move before you even finish the directions. This means that most likely the child has either missed all of the directions or at least a good portion of it. By having the students wait for the word of the day it means that he or she is forced to pay attention until all of the directions have been given. The word is then their cue to move forward and complete the directions. If you are interested in trying this in your classroom and you are planning a Frog and Toad unit (or a Frog Life Cycle unit) then you need to check out my Frog and Toad word of the day worksheets and posters! Check out the picture below for a sneak peak.