The Best of Back to School Products Preimere

Some outstanding teachers have joined together to toot our own horns a little bit!  We are each going to share with you our favorite of our own products for Back to School in this "Back to School Product Premiere"- thanks Lori from Teaching with Love and Laughter for designing the cute button!

As you have probably seen in Blogland, tomorrow kicks off a HUGE Back to School sale at TpT.  It does not begin until tomorrow, August 12th and it ends on the 13th... so you have two days to save!!!!

... most teachers will be offering 20% off in their shops and... if you enter the code BTS12 at checkout, TpT is offering an additional 10% off!  You can load up your cart now and check out during the sale to get your discounts!

So... on with my "must have" from my shop for Back to School!

I love, love, love my "Monthly Diary and Calendar" set.

I have these organized, in order, inside all of my students' writing folders before the year begins.  On the first school day of October, we finally get to use them!  We turn to the September calendar and fill it out together, noting any important events from the month (birthdays, school days off, holidays, memorable school events, etc...).  After we all have the calendar filled in (and it takes some kiddos longer than others, so those kiddos finish later!) then we talk about what we might write as a "diary entry" for that month.  Students pick one event- either from the calendar or their own lives- and write about it on the corresponding diary page.  They draw a little picture too!

We do this on the first school day of each month, for the previous month, and then at the end of the year, they have 1.) an automatic keepsake that they have made themselves but, more importantly, 2.) a ready portfolio that showcases the amazing growth that takes place in writing over the course of a school year!

Here is the diary routine in action at the end of the year:

I have pulled up the calendar on my document camera- we write each number first then go back through and add events.  After I add each event, my students know to hold up their pencil when they have finished writing.  When most pencils are up, I know I can move on to the next event.

 
This kiddo is working on filling in his calendar for May...   

 
May diary!  Look at that writer go!

I love this so much.  My kiddos love watching their writing, spelling, and skills improve as the year goes on and I love that this gives us an excuse every month to critically examine ourselves as writers!

The $5.00 file at TpT includes the diary/calendar set for every month in both a primary lined set and an intermediate.

My first graders all used primary lines all year- yes, first graders can absolutely copy the calendar!  It's tough in the beginning, but by the second time, they're fine!  :)  My second graders got primary lines until January and then had the intermediate for the rest of the year... which was a huge "milestone" for them!

I am excited about using this in my 3rd grade class this year and watching my homeroom kids' skills grow and change as the year goes one!

You can find the item at my TpT and Teacher's Notebook shops... remember... tomorrow you can get it for 30% off at TpT!

Some of my other top sellers include...

One WonderFUL Night Prefix and Suffix Center Set

Marshmallow Adjectives *tiny* Activity Pack

Super fun Fractions are SCOOPer Center Set

And my Flippy Books!

Check out the other featured products by clicking through the blog hop below!