Each day, my students and I read through a morning message. Most of the time, these are pre-written. However, sometimes we will write them together. Things that I focus on in the message are:
-Punctuation
-Phonics dance chunks in context
-Word family of the week in context
-Capital letters
-Spacing
-Correct letter size/formation
-Sight words
This is a shared writing activity, where students come up and "share the marker" with me to help spell words, hunt for specific words, etc...It only takes about 8-10 minutes. They enjoy doing it. Sometimes, for a change, I will type the message in a document and project it onto the front board. They like coming up to use a dry erase marker...No smart boards at my school yet! I keep my messages simple; some messages are only 2-3 sentences and others are longer.
I leave the old messages in the spiral tablet, and the kids are obsessed with coming up and reading them. I also type them up and put them in a binder for them to read at their seats or in their laps.
Here are some fun tools I use to keep the message engaging:
-Wikki Sticks (make into rings or ovals and have students "circle" specific words/letters)
-Highlighter tape
-Yellow markers
-Fun pointers/flyswatters
-White-out tape...for mistakes!
What ideas do you have for your morning messages?
-Punctuation
-Phonics dance chunks in context
-Word family of the week in context
-Capital letters
-Spacing
-Correct letter size/formation
-Sight words
This is a shared writing activity, where students come up and "share the marker" with me to help spell words, hunt for specific words, etc...It only takes about 8-10 minutes. They enjoy doing it. Sometimes, for a change, I will type the message in a document and project it onto the front board. They like coming up to use a dry erase marker...No smart boards at my school yet! I keep my messages simple; some messages are only 2-3 sentences and others are longer.
I leave the old messages in the spiral tablet, and the kids are obsessed with coming up and reading them. I also type them up and put them in a binder for them to read at their seats or in their laps.
Here are some fun tools I use to keep the message engaging:
-Wikki Sticks (make into rings or ovals and have students "circle" specific words/letters)
-Highlighter tape
-Yellow markers
-Fun pointers/flyswatters
-White-out tape...for mistakes!
What ideas do you have for your morning messages?
I love that you keep a record of the messages! What a great idea. I'm definitely implementing this into my class next year. It will help me to keep track of pacing year to year too. Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteI use to do a similar morning message when I was a first grade teacher. I love the way you present yours. The binder idea is great, too!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!!
Great Idea!!!
ReplyDelete