My favorite time of year is Open House!
I know, I know, it sounds crazy because it’s so much work and stress at the end of the year, but I can’t help myself. I just love it. This is the time where the students get to showcase ALL of the hard work they have done all year long. Parents are wowed. I am wowed. And best of all, the students are blown away….at themselves! The pride I see as they walk their guests around the class is just amazing.
Below are some pictures I took of my class last year. I’ll be posting pictures of my new classroom to begin the school year soon.
This is a picture of the writing wall. Students wrote a persuasive essay after researching the long lived “School Uniform” debate. Each student then received a blank template to either create the ideal uniform or ideal outfit for themselves, depending on which side of the debate they were on. Surprisingly, a handful a students preferred the uniform.
On the counter are my biography jar book reports. This year I assigned famous African-Americans during February, but in the past it’s been a famous American in the Revolution time period. You can see this product in my teacherspayteachers store under Two Biography Jar Book Reports.
For the new year 2013, my students had to create some goals for themselves. After these goals were created, they wrote a letter to their future self. I told them they would open it with their parents during Open House to see if they held true to their goals…… It was interesting and the students got very excited to open this letter most of them forgot about.
This was an awesome game that was introduced by a fellow colleague Ms. Derus. We played a water cycle game in which each student represented one water droplet. First, I read the book A Drop Around the World. Then, the students were assigned a station and played the game which you can find here. When I do the activity this year, I will post with pictures. It’s pretty awesome.
Finally, I made a water droplet with lines and students wrote a summary and reaction piece of their individual journey. Attached to each droplet is the bracelet they made from the different beads they collected along the way. (See game to understand.)
I read aloud to my students everyday after lunch. I took pictures of each student reading a book then they attached a speech bubble to their bodies. The bubble stated which book was their favorite and why. Last, the students folded an index card and glued their body to it to stand upright. The display always looks so cute and it takes no time at all. (Okay, maybe 20 minutes–students write their sentence on a post-it first. I proofread. Then, they write their speech bubble.)
Found this idea on pinterest so not sure who to credit exactly as I’ve seen it a bunch. Students create a portrait of themselves using 1 inch colored construction paper. I take pictures of their faces because I think photos make everything better. They then calculate the area, perimeter, and percentage of each color used—this takes longer then I thought. Math!
Here the students were given different quotes of figures from the Revolution. Students had to decide whether it was spoken by a Tory or a Whig. I divide the classroom in half and read each quote one at a time. Students then move to the side of the room they feel said the statement. They must then choose a spokesperson to explain their reasoning. I give the students a chance to switch sides if they change their mind before I tell them the correct answer. This activity makes for some great discussions.
These are pictures of my science and social studies boards. These activities I will be uploading to my tpt store as soon as I get a chance. I’m working on the state projects and activities we do all year. Shown below are their state flip books, an alternative to a written report.
These last two are just some more views from the classroom. Hope you enjoyed and got some ideas for your class! If you do something similar or just want to share how you make your open house amazing, please do!
Coming soon…. pictures of my classroom to start this year. Yaaay!!!
Cortez Corner 