Tried and True Tuesday

This week I want to share how I organize my student spotlight aka star student, spotlight, student of the week, or whatever you call it in your classroom. Spotlight is one of those things that kindergarten-second grade look forward to every year. The students love being the center of attention for a week. They enjoy making a special poster, sharing it to their peers, and having their classmates and teacher compliment them! I’ve done it every year and some years I think why do I even do it? This is such a waste of time and energy. But when I think of how special it is for the kids, I can’t help but enjoy this simple and meaningful thing. I first always designate a bulletin board for the spotlight. This year since I’m doing a monster theme. My board is centered around “our eye on you.” Then I have posters made (thanks to my wonderful mom) along with the info page to attach to each poster. I like having them done ahead of time so I don’t have to worry about it during the year! Then I organize my calendar and map out my spotlights for the entire year. I don’t do every week of the year because I don’t like having spotlight on short weeks or chaotic weeks that are full of holidays, assemblies, etc. I luckily only have 22 students and so I could pick and choose my weeks.

And then the fun begins! Each kids gets a week to shine! They bring in their all about me poster and get to share it on Monday. During the week we hang the poster on the bulletin board where students can look at the pictures. At the end of the week we make a spotlight book where each kid writes a special letter to the spotlight student. The students go CRAZY for this. The parents also have told me they love having this special keepsake to have at home. I also end their spotlight week by giving them their book and a special treat (glow stick) to thank them for being the spotlight all week! Its pretty easy to manage spotlight in your class. Its all about having things prepared ahead of time so that its less work for you during the year! Hope you enjoyed this tried and true teaching tip! If you would like to check out all the tools I use for spotlight please visit my product page on my TPT page.
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