Whisper (Phonic) Phones

I have found that many of my students like using whisper phones when they read.  And they are a great tool for kids working on phonics.  I like that kids can whisper read into the phone and it sounds pretty loud in their ear, but keeps them nice and quiet while others are reading.

Here's my version of this invaluable tool.  My hubby was so kind to help me out on this project (he did all the measuring and sawing) and super sweet to help out a few of my teacher friends who wanted these after they saw what I had. 



Animal Print Whisper Phone
 

Parts of the Whisper Phone

These are made out of 1 inch diameter PVC pipe and some of that cute colorful duct tape (wild animal theme for me!) and costs about $1 or less a phone to make.  Each phone consists of:

• 3 - PVC elbows
• 1 - 6 inch length of pipe
• 1 - 1 1/2 inch length of pipe
• colorful duct tape (for fun!)

• Attach an elbow to each end of the 6 inch pipe
• Use the 1 1/2 inch pipe to attach the last elbow to one of the end elbows
• Wrap colorful duct tape around the part of the 6 inch pipe that is exposed

Ta Da!  Super easy and super cheap!  I use a sharpie to number each phone, so my kids keep the same phone all school year.  They carry it in their book basket, so it travels with them wherever they go to read.  At the end of the year, I just run them through the dishwasher and they are ready to go for the next class.

Classroom Management - Daily 5 - My Version

 

I'm sure many of you have read or have at least heard of the "sisters" books on Daily 5 and CAFE.  I like their ideas and have been using this in my classroom for the last five years.  I have tweaked it to fit my students' and my needs and I really enjoy how it works.  Below is the front of my desk showing my Daily 5 schedule.  I didn't really like the time it took to have students making individual choices - even 2 minutes is too much out of our schedule. Plus, many hem and haw about what they want to do, so I set up a rotation schedule and it changes everyday, so the kids get to do everything within a 2 day period.   My kids already have many other times during the day that they get to make choices, so they still get to practice this skill.

 

Another thing I do not include in my Daily 5 schedule is "Read to Self" and "Read With a Partner" because we do these at a separate time.  In place of those two activities are our Guided Reading Groups.

 

 

 



I have three rotations.  This takes one hour, so I can spend 15-20 minutes with three of my Guided Reading Groups for the day.  The Computer Center actually allows students to work on three of the Daily 5 activities.  Students use the desktops and the tablet to "Listen to Reading," "Work on Writing," and "Work on Word Work."  The students use the SmartBoard to "Listen to Reading," and "Work on Word Work."  The students love it and are always asking when it will be time for Daily 5.  Actually, they seem to like the Guided Reading Group part the best, which isn't really a part of the "sisters" Daily 5. 

At the beginning of the year, we spent time practicing how to read the schedule, what to do for each rotation "center," and how to move around the room quickly and quietly.  The students do a fabulous job and it's one of their favorite times of the day.

Classroom Management - The Beginning

After five years of teaching, I have learned a few things about classroom management.  Now, I don't think my first principal thought I was going to make it on that front.  At least that is the message I got from his surprise informal evaluation on the 3rd day of school (also the 3rd day of having my own classroom!).  I can laugh about it now, but I was furious and devastated when it happened.  Turns out, the man had never taught in a classroom and he only lasted a year in our school.  The qualifications of some of our administrators are scary!  Regardless of his poor timing, it didn't help that it felt like baptism by fire.  I had a large class (31 students), several with ADHD (untreated), 5 girls who thought they should be gang members (oh, did I mention this was 3rd grade and these girls tried to start a fight with some 5th graders on the first day of school!), and a student who wouldn't leave my side (I think I was her mother that year since she didn't have one).  I also was so excited about teaching and just loved being with the students so much that I was kind of a marshmallow when it came to enforcing my rules.

Luckily, I not only had my wonderful Co Op Teacher (from my student teaching semester) across the hall and many other supportive teachers in the school who told me that they had to really work on classroom management for at least their first 3 years and they still work on it. 

Well, that experience (as rough as it was) taught me that I needed to focus on this area of teaching (or else you can't really teach much anyway).  I attended Professional Development, read books, talked to a lot of teachers, and searched the Internet for all the tricks-of-the-trade.  Since that first year, I have learned to steal great ideas, be consistent, toughen up a bit, and go with my instinct. 

After much trial and error, I have found things that really work to help manage the classroom so much better.  In fact, I rarely use my behavior chart because the students are almost always engaged and on task.  Just a side note - don't be afraid to change things at anytime of the year.  At first, I thought it would make me look bad to the kids, but if I find a great idea and want to change something, I tell the kids exactly that and we do.  It's part of life.  Why continue to do something that isn't working so well, if you know you can make it work much better.  They get it.

Many of you probably already know this, but having centers in neat labeled take-with-you boxes allows students to quickly select a center and begin working right away.  It is a major undertaking and takes time to do, but well worth it because it also addresses that little thing called the "literacy walk" your administrators conduct every month or so.  They want to see how things operate in your room during literacy and math time.  They actually ask the students if they can explain what they are doing.  Can yours?  Mine can.  The key is the label.



Math Centers

Each of my labels indicates the name of the center (i.e. Rush Hour,Geoboards, Shapes, etc.) and the skill it is improving (number sense, geometry, probability, etc.).  When the kids use the math centers, they have a Math Center Journal where they record the name of the center, skill(s) practiced, and what they created or learned in the center.  This is the perfect answer to those "walks" and also a really great way for the kids to understand the objectives of what they are doing and explain it to others.

I purchased these online from Target. They sell for around $25 for 6 large containers. Plus, I get 5% off with my Target Card and free shipping.  Love Target!  I know that Really Good Stuff (love that store, too) also sells them, but they are just a bit more costly.  I created the labels using VistaPrint.  They always offer a bunch of free stuff and you just pay for postage.  You can make your own labels at home, however, I find that the cost of ink and the special paper is usually more expensive then paying the postage for VistaPrint.

Thank you for stopping by and please come back, I will continue to share more pictures and classroom/organization management ideas...