Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Morning Message

Before

Here is a quick explanation of how I do morning message each day.  It's the second page of my calendar math flipchart.  Every morning I write the students a message with information about the day or I let the "star student" of the day help me think of something that the class needs to remember!  This was our message on Tuesday.  I chose this one because we're focusing on graphs in math, and I knew it would be perfect to lead up to the graphing activity that I had planned.  We read the message all together, the students turn to their "thinking buddy" to talk about things that can be corrected, and then students come to the board to make corrections (unless we're running behind on time or have an extremely busy day ahead of us-I make the corrections as students tell me what to fix).

Sometimes the message is a list of things that we have to do that day.  Sometimes it's a letter, and sometimes it has a "math twist" like a graphing, counting, or problem solving activity embedded within it.  It's really quick to change every day since all I have to do is clear the old message and type in the new message or activity.  

After
(I made the corrections today-we had our weekly trip to the library right after calendar math time.)

This is a little chart that we've been working on since Monday.  It's incomplete right now because we're adding information that we learn each day.  When we finish there will be examples of each type of graph/chart hanging around the chart so that students also have a visual representation.  Most of the time I chart information on the Promethean Board, but if there's a chart that I want to hang around the room for future reference, I still break out the handy dandy chart paper and Crayola markers.

This is the activity that we completed today.  There was almost an argument about whether or not I "needed" to have a girl since I already have two boys.  Of course the boys were quite certain that having a girl in your family is not a necessity at all!


This was the independent practice activity for the day.  We read and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and thought of all of the fruit that he ate while he was growing and changing.  Then we graphed our favorite fruits.

 Each student created their own graph.


 The last part of the activity was discussion and data analysis where the students answered questions about the graph.

15 comments:

  1. Love your morning message!

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  2. I just started using a SMART board in my classroom; love the idea of using it for Morning Message. Thanks for sharing. :)

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  3. I use my promethean board for morning meeting too. It makes it my favorite part of the day because there is so much I can incorporate. My kids love to use the board to so it keeps them engaged. I love that you had your kids graph what they thought your little one is going to be. What a great way to use real life in your math lesson. Thanks for sharing this glimpse into your classroom.
    http://mskerriandherkrazykindergarten.blogspot.com/

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  4. Wow how things have changed! We used to do that same sort of morning work/message on an overhead projector with transparencies!! lol
    (I am old)
    Jennifer
    First Grade Blue SKies

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  5. I used to do this last year with my smart board!! I loved doing morning message this way! Now I have to do it on my white board easel since I don't have a smart board anymore!
    Rambling About Reading

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  6. I love your morning message....it looks like it is on a chalkboard....cute. And of course anything with the Very Hungry Caterpillar is adorable.

    Sue :)
    theverybusykindergarten

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  7. Why didn't I think to do my morning message on my Promethean board. Duh! {head slap}

    2B Honey Bunch
    The Best Endings

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  8. I'm sooo glad you are okay and are back with us!! Congrats on your baby on the way! I vote a girl!!
    Kerri B
    teacherbitsandbobs

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  9. Hi! We have awarded your blog the Leibster Award! Have a great day!
    Lory
    Funforfirst.blogspot.com
    Come check out our giveaway!

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  10. Love your morning message routine! One day my Texas school will become updated with technology! I have a News white board from Lakeshore that I write my morning message on each morning. Have a great weekend! :)
    Cheryl
    Crayons and Curls

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  11. So glad you're back to blogging. I love all of your creative ideas. This post makes me wish I had a smart board. :)

    ♥ Samantha
    Learning with a Happy Heart

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  12. Your handwriting is beautiful! I'm so jealous :)
    ~Andi

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  13. I thought the same thing Andi! Her handwriting is beautiful! I write my morning message on chart paper. I leave out sight words, letters and word chunks. Whatever we are working on. The helper of the day points out the sight words and we circle them. Now that we are learning short vowels, we will highlight them.
    Then the helper of the day takes it home. I love the Morning Message! So much learning in one activity. Yours looks so cool on the promethean board. Wish I had one. Until then, I will keep using chart paper and sadly my handwriting isn't nearly as nice as yours. Looking forward to hearing if your class was right about your baby!

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  14. Welcome back and congratulations!

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  15. Hello! I just discovered your blog and love it (new follower) I had a teacher while I did my student teaching that did that with her morning message. Love it! Your ideas are awesome! Come check out my blog if you ever need some math ideas! Have a good weekend
    ~Sarah
    funintitlemath.blogspot.com

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