Fresh and innovative tips and ideas for the student calendar. Teaching students how to use a calendar is a valuable tool.
In my school district, students starting at grade 2 begin to use an agenda for their weekly homework.
Often students only write their homework and the odd teacher has them write the weekly spelling words. We have a great opportunity to teach kids how t0 use an agenda/calendar that will aid them in organizing their lives.
Calendar Tips
Daily or Weekly Math Problem
Simple Arithmetic: To aid students master addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication.
Clock Time: Have students write the correct time in their agenda when you tell them. Good activity for Grades 1-4 to master telling time.
Problem Solving: Students write the question on Monday in their agenda and write the answer in the Friday slot. Students have 5 days to solve the problem. Make these problems relevant to the curriculum but a little out of the ordinary to keep students engaged.
Language Arts Weekly Problems
Synonyms: Teacher gives the students an adjective such as pretty and each day the student must write a similar adjective.
Antonyms: Teacher gives a word such as happy and the student must write the opposite word.
Building a sentence
Teacher gives parts of sentence each day and on Friday students must rearrange the words to make a sentences. As well, students must label the parts of the sentence.
Identify National Holidays and Observances
Students write or draw a symbol to represent the holiday or observance
Example: Christmas: Draw a Christmas Tree
Martin Luther King: Write the observance
It is the students option to write or draw the holiday or observance. This is an interesting way to get kids more involved in their community on a national and global scale.
Holiday and Observance Websites
United Nations International Observances
Weekly Science/Social Studies Problems: Write on the Board a weekly problem that gets kids thinking and wanting to find the solution.
Example: What is the difference between the tallest man made structure and the tallest natural structure? That's all you do, leave a few books and Internet sites as resources to aid in solving the problem, but that is it. On Friday, explore the different answers and the answer you concluded to be correct. It is amazing how many different answers will emerge based on the information.
Students must locate a secret location based on geographic coordinates
Homework Assignments
Students write their daily and weekly homework. Students are best to learn shorthand for their homework. For instance Math page123Questions ABC, can be abbreviated to M: p123#ABC. The newer format saves them space and time.
Students write in due dates for projects, tests, and assignments on the day they receive the information.
Goal Setting
Refer to the Goal Guide for setting goals. Students use their calendar/agenda to write their main goals at the beginning of the calendar. Students write their daily, weekly or monthly tasks to reach their goals.
Example: Student wants to make the basketball team. Student writes the day, time, and duration of shooting baskets at home. Another task would be to read books on basketball.
