Clock Partners: Pairings That Make the Teacher and Students Happy

It's spring and if your classroom is anything like mine, then students are getting a bit antsy. In my classroom, I like to do a lot of paired work so that students can work together to share their thinking abut a recently learned concept. This is especially important in math since I have so many different levels of learners.

I love to offer choice in my classroom, but if I allow students to choose their own partners every day, then they will end up working with the same partner again and again. Many years ago, I watched a science resource teacher use clock partners with my students. I was amazed at how well they chose partners and I love that it meant that they were interacting with more than one person. That was my second year of teaching and I still use clock partners in my classroom eight years later. At the start of each new month, I give students a clock partner sheet. I give them the following directions.

"You have four times on your sheet, 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 9 o'clock. Each time represents a different partner that you will have. When I say you may begin, you may get up and move around the room. You will ask other students to be your partner for different times. You cannot have the same partner twice and each boy must have at least one girl and each girl must have at least one boy. When someone agrees to be your partner, you will write their name in the time slot that they asked for. For example, if Christine asks me to be her 12 o'clock partner, then I will write her name on my 12 o'clock line and she will write my name on hers. You will keep going around until you have your four spots filled up, at which time you should return to your seat to let others know that you are no longer available. You will have three minutes to fill your sheet. If you have any blanks spaces at the end of those three minutes, come see me."

Students are usually great about this, but you will have a few that are timid about this that you may have to help to fill in their sheet. For the students that I have left at the end, I first work to pair those students with each other if they have the same time slots available, then I make some trios with other pairs if necessary, being careful to put the students with classmates that they are not already working with.

You can click below for a free copy of my clock partners reproducible!

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Conference Forms & Letters Freebie

For many teachers, it is conference time again! But whether you have fall conferences, winter conferences, spring conferences, or all three, you want your conferences to be a success.

The first challenge of conferences is getting all of your parents "in the know" about the dates that conferences are taking place. Then, you have to try to fit everyone in to your scheduled time, which rarely happens, so you make adjustments to your availability based on your parent needs. When everything is finally scheduled, then you have to decide what you will communicate about each child so that you use the time wisely. Striking a proper balance can be incredibly important. No one wants to attend their child's conference and hear nothing but negativity, and yet parents also don't want to hear you say, "Johnny is doing really great. I really don't have anything to add. He should just keep doing what he's doing." Your conference needs to be about sharing areas of strength, areas of weakness, and suggestions for growth, no matter how well the child is achieving. It can all be a tad overwhelming, so a few years ago, I created a conference pack to help make conferences a bit easier. The response to this freebie has been overwhelmingly awesome, with over 30,000 downloads since it was posted in 2012. It seems this freebie has been a bit of a teacher lifesaver, so I wanted to be sure to share it with all of our Fifth Grade Freebies followers because I know we're all grateful when we can save a little time and energy, especially when conference time arrives. 

My freebie includes a form to share with parents and a few different letters to send home with parents as you are preparing for & scheduling conferences. I hope that you will find this freebie to be a wonderful time-save for your next conference session!

Click on the image below to grab my Conference Forms and Letters Freebie and please don't forget to leave a little freebie feedback!

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Homework Pass Freebie

Homework, homework, homework! I know that homework can be a challenge for students and teachers alike, so I like to provide incentives for my fifth grade students. I'm simplifying it a bit this year. I'm going to record their homework in my grade book for completing (check) or not completing (x). At the end of each month, I am going to look back to see which students completed all of their homework ON TIME. Those students will receive a homework superstar certificate, as well as a homework pass that they can use on a future homework assignment. I don't mind excusing a student from homework once a month if I know I can count on them to do the rest, so it's a nice little incentive for students to stay on top of their work and develop good homework habits, which will be so important as we prepare them for middle school! Checking in each month will also allow me to identify any repeat offenders whose parents might need to be contacted, so this system is a win-win for teachers and students!

I've put together a little homework pass freebie for you. This freebie includes a basic homework pass, a back to school homework pass (I sometimes use these as incentive for attending back to school night/open house), and a fall/autumn homework pass. In addition, I've added three black and white versions of my homework award certificates. You can grab this freebie here: Homework Pass Freebie

Basic Pass

Back to School Pass

Autumn Pass

 Basic Award

 With owls!

No frame, in case you already have paper to print on! 

I hope that we all have lots of Homework Superstars this year!

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