Procedures, Procedures, Proceures

I only took one year off from teaching, but it was long enough to forget how tedious it is to teach and practice procedures at the beginning of school. I know everything will fall into place one of these days, and we'll be on a roll by...well...maybe by Christmas.

We set up our Interactive Notebooks this week...not a task for the faint of heart. I don't color my hair, but I'm pretty sure I'll have to pay to cover up the gray by the end of the year. Anyway, here's how I decided to go about it.

 This is our bookcase of S.T.A.R. Notebooks. I started with the printables and ideas from A Teacher's Treasure. I've had the training to use Interactive Notebooks in science and social studies, and I loved using them in those subjects. But I wasn't sure how to begin with a language arts IN. The Teacher's Treasure blog helped me a TON! I'm using her S.T.A.R. tittle because I love what it stands for - Students Taking Academic Responsibility. That is our goal, after all!

I used the title page printable as a cover. Next time, I'll change "Grade" to "Class Period." I only have one grade level, but six different class periods. This is my Master S.T.A.R. book that kids can use as a reference if they get behind.

I tweaked the rubric to fit my class. The first section is for bell ringer and exit slip activities. I call them Hooks and Sinkers. There is one Hook and Sinker page per day - Hook goes on the top half and Sinker on the bottom.

We just did the main Unit Lessons section yesterday, and I don't have pictures yet. I'll post them next week.