Starting the School Year Race Right

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Starting the School Year Race Right

• Presented by Heather Sparks, NBCT2008 OKCPS
  Teacher of the Year

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Get Ready

• Make contact with each of your students before
  August 21st, if possible.
• gt post cards or letters
• gt phone calls
• gt syllabi with returnable portion

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Get Set

• Plan and prepare sponge activities.
• gtYou have three minutes to record as many words
  as you can that fit under the following topic

Things that fly.
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Math

• Mental math
• gtAdd the number of months in a year plus the
  number of wheels on a tricycle.
• Play Target
• gtThe target is 24. Write an expression
• e.g., 30 6 or 3 x 8 or 36/3 x 2

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Science

• Play Classify
• Give the students a group of objects. Challenge
  them to find as many subgroups as possible.

Flashlight, a penny, and a stapler
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Social Studies

• Guess the country or state
• gtIm thinking of a country that is south of the
  equator, is in the western hemisphere, and
  contains the Yucatan peninsula.

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Other Sponge Ideas

• I Spy
• Riddles
• Mind benders
• Word games
• Oral alphabetizing
• Synonyms, homonyms, vocabulary words
• Skip-counting

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Go!

• On the first day, be ready to help your students
  learn the Rules and Routines for
• gt passing papers gtsafety routines
• gt sharpening pencils gtheading papers
• gt getting supplies and books gtarriving tardy
• gt working in small groups gtmake-up work
• gt putting away materials gtlining up
• gt taking attendance gtlunch count

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Take a Deep Breath Enjoy!
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Contact Heather at Taft MS

• hesparks_at_okcps.org
• hisparks_at_aol.com
• www.hisparks.com