ClassDojo for Parent Communication

How do you keep parents in the loop?  There are teachers who send out weekly newsletters (either print or digital).  I’m not that teacher!  Mainly it’s because I enjoy my Friday afternoons tidying up the room and making sure I get home early!  For me, I love to document school events and class memories by taking pictures. Raise your hand if you like Instagram better than Facebook! (p.s. - I DO!!)  Technically speaking,Facebook has more worldwide users than Instagram, but its popularity definitely varies by age bracket. 

CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE TO SEE HOW I ADD BITMOJI TO ANY GOOGLE SLIDE

Enter ClassDojo - the classroom connector with the look and feel of Instagram! After Amy Groesbeck blew up on Instagram documenting day 1-day 180, I decided to create a class Instagram account but it became too hard for me to manage between my personal IG handler and the school account.  I wanted something that was it’s own separate entity with more classroom perks. ClassDojo was the answer, playing off Insta's look and feel with square images.  Best of all, it's ABSOLUTELY FREE and you get to set "quiet hours" - which automatically notify parents that you may not reply until the following school day!

If you're new to ClassDojo, I would recommend playing with the demo class first so you’ll get an idea of how to setup your skills to award points before the school year actually begins. There are great tutorials & helpful ClassDojo videos online, and I really like this one which shows what families see (on ClassDojo).  

Something I really enjoy using ClassDojo for is to make brief classroom announcements and reminders.  This is what SOLVED that communication problem I mentioned earlier - I don't like to send weekly newsletters or  daily emails.  #Ain'tNobodyGotTimeForThat!  

Aside from sharing pictures or video clips from our school day, I LOVE using Dojo to send quick reminders, invites to school events, and celebrating special milestones!  

Although Dojo offers customizable images for events like school picture day or holidays, I prefer to use my own template to quickly send off these notifications.  Also, I'm kind of obsessed with bitmoji too!  To add customized images to my ClassDojo feed, I just upload my square image and type up my quick message to families.  If you can't wait to add this time saving resource to your Google Drive, click the image below!  As you can see, there are 3 headings with 3 border styles included.  If you think you'd save time using my editable ClassDojo Announcements Template, then click the image below.

How do I know this form of communication works so well? My families shared how connected they feel to me and their child's classroom.  When reflecting on the previous year's teacher, they shared, “I never felt like I really knew her.” Whereas, this year, through the consistent communication with ClassDojo they now gush, “I love checking in on my kid and keeping up with what they’re doing at school!”

Don't know what to post? Here are some ClassDojo Story Posts I Make Throughout the Year:

• field trip snapshots

• student celebrations/awards

• weekly adventures home of our class mascot

• special events in class (reading buddies)

• exciting activities (assemblies, science experiments, guest speaker visits)

• reminders for class party donations

• last minute changes to PE special (tennis shoe reminder)

Comment below with any other ways or questions you may have about using ClassDojo in your classroom!

Summer Slide Reading & Math Activities

Stop the summer slide. If you are an educator or parent concerned about the loss in academic levels in your student, then it's important to take a proactive approach for your student's well-being.

What is the summer slide? It’s the loss of about 2 months of a child’s reading level and 2.5 months in math.  According to the experts, the summer slide is a decline in reading ability and other academic skills that can occur over the summer months while school is not in session. Watch this video my district created to educate parents about this topic!

It seems to most teachers that not reading over summer is unthinkable! How often do teachers write,"Don’t forget to read this summer," in their end of year report card comments?  Even though we may know it’s a given, we also realize the kids who need it the most are often not involved in continued learning over the summer.

Sadly, not every kid has someone at home helping to foster a love of reading who will take the time to bring their child to the library. The benefit is, once you're there, most public libraries and bookstores offer incentives for students to complete a summer reading challenge! Typically, you just have to fill out a quick reading log, get it signed and then return it to the front counter - SIMPLE!

As a kid, I remember reading the entire Winnie the Pooh series so I could pick my own free book from Barnes & Noble! I was so EXCITED to win a freebie! Then a couple years later, Harry Potter was released and I never had a problem reading the newest epic novel in the series. I devoured 700+ pages in 3 days. It was glorious!!!

I recommend doing a quick Google search to see of any participating summer reading challenges in your area. Or, ask the librarian! www.maricopacountyreads.org is the website my public library is partnered with to have readers of all ages participate in the summer reading challenge. What's changed from my experience as a kid? The log is now digital instead of a paper/pencil form. However, I'm sure there are still printable forms available depending on your need.

They even offer these FREE DIGITAL reading resources so there's no access barrier as long as you have a wifi connection!

• KidLit TV
• Storyline Online
• Reading Pioneers
• Library of Congress' Exquisite Corpse Adventure
• Universe of Stories (a learn & listen podcast made for elementary school kids)

Another AMAZING WAY to stop the summer slide is to participate in activites that naturally promote learning!  Summer is a great time to find educational apps to exercise your mind, explore Pinterest for fun DIY crafts, recipes &/or science experiments, and be creative!  

A FUN way to boost math skills over summer is to sharpen math facts!  If you have a deck of playing cards around, you can easily teach your child how to play Addition Battle, Subtraction Battle, or Multiplication Battle.  

How to Play Math Facts Battle:

For example, if Player A sets an 8 face up and Player B sets a 7 face up...

1. Deal the deck as you would normally when playing War.  
2. Then, after each opponent reveals a card face up, depending on which operation you are looking to practice, you'd want to be the first to say the answer.

• Addition Battle (winner is the first to say 15... because 8+7=15 - you just sum the values)

• Subtraction Battle (winner is the first to say 1... because 8-7=1 - you subtract the values)

• Multiplication Battle (winner is the first to say 56... because 8x7=56)

So, what do you do with the face cards?  You can choose to set those aside or agree on a predetermined value.  I normally play Jacks as 11s, Queens as 12s, Kings as 20s, Jokers/Aces as 100s.)  This is an excellent game to include in your math stations in the classroom as well - (make sure to set some parameters on volume because students get really competitive with this game!) 

If you happen to be in need of some printable material to prevent the Summer Slide for those entering/exiting 4th grade, grab my Summer Slide Reading Packets.  

ELA Homework to Boost Rigor & Reading Stamina

Do you know what's MISSING from the "newly adopted" ELA curriculum my district bought last year?  A LOT!! If you're struggling with supplementing resources to align what your students practice with to how they will be assessed on ELA standards, then changing up your homework routine may be the answer like it was for me!

I began using this weekly homework format with my 4th grade class at a Title 1 school, and the parents loved the consistency.  Compared to other years, I saw an increase in oral reading fluency (ORF) progress, and confidence while taking computerized reading tests.  My students also showed WAY MORE stamina when it came to the LOOOOONNNNGG reading passages they were assigned!

First of all, I assign my weekly homework by passing out the new packet on Monday and making it due on Friday.  If there's a holiday at the beginning of the week, I just send it home on the first school day of the week.  There are several families who appreciate having the flexibility of getting homework done around their schedule and not tied down to such a tight deadline.  As a result, I've experienced a higher completion rate of homework when it's checked on a weekly vs. nightly basis.

Here's HOW It Works:

The front cover page serves as a checklist for students to complete throughout the week.

• Fluency : Repeated Readings  If you're a fan of close reading, then you know the importance of having repeated reads.  Each weekly homework pack requires students to read the high interest text three times during the week.  After the student has read on 3 separate occasions, then they get to check off the Fluency box.  The parent initials/comments box is helpful for me to see which words the student may have struggled with and holds the student more accountable for reading the text aloud to a family member or guardian. 
• WIDE Reading Choices  This part of the weekly homework routine allows for student choice.  There are 9 reading activities a student may choose which range from independent reading to writing a letter from the point of view of the main character in the assigned text, or even researching some new information.  Typically I just have students staple any of their WIDE reading choices to the back of the packet.  Like before, the student has to complete 3 of the activities to check off the WIDE reading box.

• Comprehension Check  I typically recommend for my students to respond to the questions only AFTER they have read the text for a second time.  This will have helped them to gain a better understanding before attempting the questions.  Similar to the ELA tests my students take in the spring, there are trick questions and they are text-dependent, so they must refer back to the passage to verify they have chosen the BEST answer!  I created the layout to position the text page next to the questions page because it bothers me when I have to flip the page in order to respond to questions. #theSTRUGGLEisREAL Fortunately, it just takes away one more barrier to success and gives students a bit more consideration.  With practice, students become really good at the test prep strategies involved when answering the 5 multiple choice questions.   After, students must respond in complete sentences to the FIVE "Get the Gist" prompts provided.  There's even a column for students to record the paragraph #s in which they located their answer.  This helps to train them to show their work even in ELA!

• Focus Skill Enrichment Page  I like to sprinkle in heavy-hitter RL, RI and L standards as a way to spiral in the ELA curriculum.   There's normally an example given so students have a greater level of support to be successful, especially if completing the assignment independently without an adult nearby.  As a kid, I recall my working parents busily prepping dinner, cleaning the house, and/or relaxing on the couch from an exhausting day.  They were never doting on me to help me complete my homework because that was MY responsibility.  Overall, the rule of thumb I share with families is each separate page shouldn't take more than 15 minutes for their child to complete as long as they are working without distraction.

Are you ready to implement a CONSISTENT homework resource aligned to ELA standards which will allow students the opportunity to grow as readers, and boost rigor along the way?  After implementing this homework system along with tracking student data, my class scored 96% proficient on the end of year ELA test!!

If you still aren't convinced, maybe these ACTUAL TEACHER REVIEWS of how this Common Core Reading Homework bundle improved their class' success & even changed their mindsets about homework may help!