We are all at the time of year when the students aren't quite as with us as we would like them to be. Holiday breaks, school programs, cold weather and snow (if you are in a climate that has these), and who knows what else are all over the minds of our kiddos.
I have found that I am losing my students during transition times lately because something we have talked about or something they read or something someone said to them at recess or lunch has them wanting to talk and share at the wrong time. So I have had to pull some old tricks out of my teacher hat. Here are some tricks I have been using over the past week or so:
1. Math fact drills. I use this while we are lining up for special, lunch, or recess. They have to answer a math fact to get in line and they cannot talk while in line or they have to sit back down and answer another fact.
2. Part of speech review. I have flashcards with parts of speech on them. We have been reviewing nouns. I hold up a card with a picture of an object (or say the name of the object aloud to them) and they have to tell me if the object is a person, place, or thing. I also have verb, adjective, and conjunction cards to add into the deck as we learn those.
3. Stretches. I have them follow me through a set of stretches to wake them up and get them focused. I have also used a quick game of Simon Says.
4. Riddle of the day. While I was cleaning off my shelves during the two-hour delay, I found a book that has daily riddles in it. Before we begin science each day, I ask them a riddle and they have a few minutes to think about and give an answer. (This is especially helpful because my students have lunch and special right before science.) The riddles aren't hard, but they make you think. One of the ones we had last week was "What are some ways to melt an ice cube?" (The answers ranged from stick it in the oven to send it to the Sun. You have to appreciate the imagination of little ones!)
5. Clapping. I clap a pattern out to make a little song and they repeat it back to me.
6. Music. I play classical and jazz during different parts of the day, but lately I have been playing all kinds of Christmas music (with parental permission, of course). Today I played one by The Muppets and the students begged me to play during our transition to lunch and during our preparation for special. (We have about 10 minutes between lunch and special each day, so we read during that time.)
7. One I'm going to try this week (after a brainstorm I had over the weekend) is something I call "stampede." (My classroom has a safari theme, so this fits right in.) I'm going to turn my head as if I'm listening for something and ask them if they hear it, too. Then I'm going to yell, "Stampede!" and let the students drum their feet on the floor for a short time. (There are no classes under mine, so I don't disturb anyone below me.) I'll let you know how it goes.
How about you? Do you have any creative transition ideas? Send them in a comment and I'll post them!
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