Rise and Shine Binder

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Research suggests that the first 5 minutes a student spends in your classroom each morning will set the tone for the entire day of learning… If they come in and have a focused task, it is much easier for them to remain in that mindset of learning through the day.   

When your students enter your room what is the mood?  What are your expectations?  Is there a clear goal?

If your morning trickle in as I call it is chaotic and unsettling, chances are it’s pretty hard to ever get your students back on track and at their best for learning.

For the past couple of years I resorted to quiet background music and morning work to get my students calm and focused.  Unfortunately my school also served breakfast in the classroom so coco puffs and chocolate milk were part of that equation as well.  You better believe I pleaded my case and even showed my research, but apparently kids need to eat and they need to eat in my classroom so that’s what they did for the last 5 or so years…I lost count when breakfast pizza came to town.

The music and morning work was enough to keep that tone of learning happening for us. {even with sausage and syrup flavored mini corn dogs–really America?}

However, one thing that makes me a little batty, is keeping up with the copies for my student’s morning work.  Don’t get me wrong, I worked long and hard on my morning work and I feel that it is valuable for them, but scurrying to the copier is not my fave at the crack of dawn or at sore feet thirty in the afternoon….

That’s where this comes in friends!  It’s revolutionizing my morning routine!

Each student will take out their Rise and Shine Binder in the morning as they trickle in and get settled.

(Also in black and white and you can put this stuff in a plastic folder if binders are out of the question for you)

Students will do some write on wipe off activities for the number of the day.  Depending on your grade level, you can make this number smaller or bigger.  Being a first grade teacher, I plan to go with the days in school. 

Using color coded cards, (colored card stock brights) students will build the number of the day (Kinder will not go up this high at first)
 

There are different wipe off formats depending on the ability of your class.  

I would start on the left with kinder and firsties and work our way to the right hand side.  They can make shapes, color  patterns, add seasonal erasers, buttons, coco puffs…whatever you have on hand!
We can also move on to more activities as our students are ready!

 
I included number charts ranging from 1-20 to over 200.  Students can use them for reference while working through their wipe offs.

 When the must dos are finished, Ralph Rushy McRusherson can play games that are stored in trading card holders and color coded. Just the words color coded make me happy but if you want to keep it simply just white tag will work perfectly fine

Perhaps Ralph wants to play tally concentration with a partner or just by himself.

 When Suzy slowpoke finishes her last cinnamon roll and is ready, she can play tens match up in her binder or with a pal.  (there’s more of these games too)

Students can choose color coded words or letters of the week and read, build, write, and spell to their heart’s content!

Trace,Build, Read, Sound!  (Both capital and lowercase)  Kinder and First Grade for Sounds Review

This is editable so you can customize it for your sight words or spelling words!
You can add them weekly as you go through the year!
It has kinder and first grade words to get you started.

Another reason I am so excited about this binder is because when people come to tutor or support my students that struggle, this will be a resource full of so many necessary concepts for every child!  They can grab the binder and review all these concepts with their tutor or their helper.

So how do you make a binder?
One trip to Walmart will set ya up! (or any office supply)
Shopping list is included in the packet so you don’t have to make sure you remembered everything!

 One package of cheapy dish towels cut into quarters become erasers to keep in the zipper pouches!

 

Finally, you can take it a step further if you need and you can add a section for your beloved morning work of choice!  I plan to have them do the morning work on certain days of the week! 

Make a much cuter morning work divider than I did pretty please…how embarrassing!

 This is my first set of morning work.  It’s not included in this Rise and Shine binder.  I added it in myself! 🙂
Language Morning Work  for the year 
Math Morning Work for the year

To get your very own rise and shine binders just click below!

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91 Comments

  1. Oh my gosh! I love this idea! I did morning work with my seconds last year, and moving to first this would be so wonderful! It really stinks going to the copy machine for all the morning works!

    Meg
    [email protected]

    Reply

    1. I see you have the Rise and Binder and taught 2nd grade. If you dont mind, what did you start off in your binder? I an teaching 2nd grade this year and do not know what I should include in the students binder to start. If you can help, I thank you veryvmuch!!! CWhite

      Reply

  2. I love this! The school I have been in for the previous 2 years also did breakfast in the classroom. Some of my students really needed it but for those who didn't, I found myself struggling to keep them occupied with meaningful work & then I had the excess grading. The write on/ wipe off is a great idea which I used in centers. Why didn't I think of that for morning work?! Duh! 🙂 Great packet, I just bought it! Thanks!

    Reply

  3. How awesome! Would love for you to do another post elaborating on how you teach each activity and train students to do this independently. Going on my wish list now! 🙂

    Reply

  7. We just moved to bkfst in the room too!! Thankfully it only affects a few kids! lol. I have used rotating learning stations the kids come right in & get started!! I agree it sets the tone for the morning!! Come in & get started…you can do it! I love the notebook…its very similar to our calendar time that we do after lunch!! LOVE IT! Might have to pin this idea for that!! 🙂

    Thanks for being GREAT!
    Sarah
    [email protected]

    Reply

  8. I love it, Reagan. We have breakfast in the classroom (awful for setting the tone), and I have been using a calendar binder each morning that included a morning story problem, but I love the things in here for more options and the game aspect. You are so creative. 🙂

    Wallis
    First Grade Wolves

    Reply

  10. Wow you have so much for them to do in the morning! I really like how you incorporated a lot of things I would normally do during calendar… but seeing as how I don't have a lot of time for that anymore, this is a great place to put it! Thanks so much for sharing your awesome ideas!

    Amanda
    Reaching for the TOP!

    Reply

  11. I love this idea! We have super early buses that get to school a good 30-45 minutes before official start time. What a wonderful way to keep them focused! Now to figure out how to adapt it for 4th grade! =)

    Reply

    2. One thing I want to incorporate this year is 3 to 5 minutes of multiplication practice. You could play concentration with this. One card having the fact and one card having the answer. Also, we do a daily number (the number of day in school) with our calendar math and we ask questions like odd or even, factor of, multiples of. We also use it to do a penny fill in to create a decimal. We also use it to figure out different ways to make money out of the number (13 is one dime three pennies or two nickels and three pennies). Just some ideas. This calendar math is from Every day Counts Calendar Math. There are blogs that have created a daily worksheet. Just thoughts.

      Reply

  12. I was struggling to find something for morning work for my first graders. We don't do breakfast in the classroom but I have the "trickle" problem and we have to start our literacy block on the dot at 8… so my kids who come in at 7:55, I have wasted a copy on them because they will never come in on time to do it. My students who come in at 7:30, finish in about 5 minutes and then have nothing to do… THIS IS PERFECT!! So excited to purchase this and implement it right away! You have become one of my favorite bloggers… I just love all of your ideas!! 🙂

    Reply

  18. Turns out, I'm obsessed with this idea! My first year at my school we used to have breakfast in the classroom but (thank goodness) they have taken breakfast out of our classrooms and have it in the cafeteria now! Now, the first 30 minutes of our day is intervention time in which kids get pulled out for reading interventions and the rest of my class is in my room working on literacy activities or working in a small group receiving interventions with yours truly! I love this set-up and has allowed for the kiddos to get right to work when they arrive to school!

    I am loving this binder, though, and am hoping to adapt in some way to fit my needs! 🙂

    Elyse
    Happily Teaching

    Reply

  21. This will be our first year with breakfast in our classroom and I am very nervous about how it will look and the affect it will have on the tone of the class and instructional time. I teach a grade 3/4 but love the ideas you have shared in your new program. I may have to take a close look (aka buy it!) and look into that research on setting the tone for the day!!

    Looking From Third to Fourth

    Reply

    1. I could have written the same as AMC! This will be our first year of having breakfast in the room and I need to figure out how to manage the staggered arrival/food distractions.

      Reply

  23. Reagan this is such an amazing idea! You pretty much described me exactly…running to the copier at the crack of dawn to make morning work copies! I couldn't love this idea more. And, I love the idea of having soft music playing. What an awesome way to set a calm and focused tone. Thank you so much for the great ideas!

    Tess
    The Teacher and the Frog

    Reply

  24. Our students have breakfast in the gym, BUT for those who arrive late…they get breakfast and bring it to the classroom (sigh). After kiddos 'Take Care of Business' (put things away, BeeBooks, etc.) like Sarah, I also have learning stations (math) first thing, soft music, small group interventions. Use calendar binders later-but like this idea of using the binder for morning work. Due to limit on copying-have used write on wipe off for some time; really like the new wipe off crayons, less mess. Also, I have late breakfast diners stand at the back counter to eat, must wipe down area and wash hands and face BEFORE heading to station (hmmm, 'slight inconvenience?')–most get done quickly so as not to miss any of the FUN.

    Reply

  28. holy cow Reagan you are an absolute genius!!! Really, I cannot get over this. What a brilliant way to have everything all set up already, wow! Wanna make one for 5th grade?? 😉

    Much love girl and hope you're having a nice summer 🙂

    Reply

  29. Ralphy Rushy McRusherson…… OMG. I love your ideas and I love reading your blog. You rock!! Thanks for this! I don't know how you have time to make all these things!!! 😀

    Reply

  30. I love my morning work binders! The lingering question that I have every year (our kids eat breakfast in the classroom, too) is what about those kiddos that never get to their morning work because they take so long eating their breakfast. I have always just told them to follow along and complete the work with the class when we check, but is that really benefiting those kiddos?? What do you do about that?? Please help! 🙂

    Kristal 🙂

    Reply

  31. LOVE IT!! I am moving to 2nd and am TOTALLY gonna do this! We dont have breakfast in our room but they still trickle in and with announcements this is great! How do you introduce it and get it started at the beg of the year??

    Chelsea
    [email protected]

    Reply

  32. This is genius! I *only* have the whole class for 15 minutes before they leave for reading classes but this will be great to get them started. Thanks!

    Reply

  34. This is great! We have just started doing morning work with our year 6's (grade 5) this year. We keep it quite easy though, and make a booklet that has 1-5 down the margin. We then write up 5 questions on the board and they do this when they come in each day. If there is a reliever (sub) then they read silently. Makes life soooo much easier!
    Thanks for this share, if I ever teach Juniors, I will DEFINITELY come back to get this!

    Erin
    The E-Z Class

    Reply

  35. This is EXCELLENT. I am a 1st grade special ed teacher… moving from self-contained to a resource position for next year. I would have absolutely used this with my class last year! I will be forwarding this idea on to the other teachers I work with. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  36. I used to use cut up dishcloths as erasers too…until I discovered black felt. I cut a 8×10 sheet of black felt into six pieces. Every student gets one for the whole year. It is smaller so it fits better in their tool box…and it's black so it doesn't every look as gross as the white ones. =)

    Reply

  37. The first school I taught at had breakfast in the classrooms. Ugh! I feel that pain! Honey buns were the bain of my existence and everything was always sticky afterwards. Bleh! This rocks so much!!! I cannot wait to use it! What a great idea!

    Reply

  40. Hi Reagan,

    I LOVE this idea! Thank you for your great work! What did you use to print number and word cards to fit inside the trading card holders? Did you use a specific Avery Label size or were there custom sizes to make them on word? Thanks!
    Jess

    Reply

    2. How did you know what size to make the individual letters, sight word cards, numbers, base ten blocks, etc. to fit inside the trading card holder?

      Reply

    3. Anon…a standard baseball trading card is 2.5" x 3.5". The plastic sleeves are made to hold cards this size.

      Reply

  41. Fantastic idea!! This is so much better than having the children sit through circle time watching one child after another complete these exercises. Your strategy gets every child involved, working at their own level. I will definitely share this with my student teachers.

    Reply

  42. Would you mind explaing how you teach the children to use the binder? I'm sure it takes several weeks for all of the kids to get….but how do start..on the first few days do u wait for everyone to come in and finish eating…second question…this will sound dumb but is this whole group or individually worked on by students? Thanks!

    Reply

  43. This is an amazing idea, I have been putting together a daily worksheet for over a week and nothing was seeming right. This seems great! plus I love your name, my grand daughter is Reaghan. :)thank you!

    Reply

  47. I love your Rise and shine binder! Super cute! I also enjoy your site! I am teaching 6th grade this year, so I have created my own version of a Rise and Shine binder. Do you care if I use that name?!

    Reply

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  52. Oh my goodness, this is genius. I'm a high school teacher so I'm going to try and figure out how we could use this in my support classroom. I will definitely be making one of these for my children to do at home, either in the morning or evening after dinner. Amazing!!!

    Reply

  54. I Love this idea! I need some more information on how you organize build the number of the day and the games. Where are all the cards stored? Does each student have a their win binder or do they just choose any binder when they come in in the am. I would appreciate it if you could email me with more info. Thanks for the great work and making me smile with your student names
    [email protected]

    Reply

  57. Love the ideas. Thanks, so much. We homeschool and it would be perfect for my kids too. I added "middle name", "last name", and "phone number" as well. You're awesome!

    Reply

  58. Interesting concept. I'll be watching your blog to see if you end up doing it the whole year. I use morning work and I am tired of the photocopying, as well. I think of that as an environmental problem more than a time issue.

    Main questions: Who wipes off the previous day's work? How often do you think you will have to replace the clear page covers?

    Reply

  59. Do you start with just one page of work and then add different ones? Do you walk around and check the work before they rub it off? And what steps do you take to train them? I am very interested and would like to try this. Are there more instruction in the packet?

    Reply

  60. Do you start with just one page of work and then add different ones? Do you walk around and check the work before they rub it off? And what steps do you take to train them? I am very interested and would like to try this. Are there more instruction in the packet?

    Reply

  62. Lucky me, I found binders on clearance…25¢ each! Making my binders tonight. Going to add pages where my kinders practice their names on one side and their student ID numbers on the other. Going to have some of my favorite former students come help "train" them to complete the pages.

    Reply

  65. I have loved using this resource this year. I added a sheet for counting by 2s. That has been a tough skill and it occurred to me during conferences that the skills my firsties have very little trouble with are those that I have in your binder! So starting next week we will add a new page. Thank you. I have had so many compliments on them. Also for their marker, I glued a pompom onto it and it works great.

    Reply

  66. Just wanted to tell you this is beautiful! I have a just turned 3 year old who likes her notebook activities (most of which are tracing words on paper). I just was thinking how to incorporate more numbers and what to add as she ages. She does NOT do this every day, just when she wants some special "activities" to do! I can't wait to make this notebook for the future! thanks again

    Reply

  67. My kids have LOVED their Morning Work this year. However, we are getting a little too comfortable with the routine. Any ideas for what do you do after the 100th day? Does you morning work change at all since your 10's frames are completely filled? Do you use a number above 100 (or 120 CCSS) as the number of the day?

    Reply

  68. This is a FABULOUS way to increase the learning during morning work. I love how the rise and shine binder lends itself to differentiated instruction among students. Thank you SO much for sharing =)

    Reply

  69. Love this and would love to incorporate in my first grade classroom. Wondering if you have any cost saving tips for starting up. I'm thinking that purchasing 25 binders and sheet protectors/card holders will add up fast! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  70. This is awesome! What a great way to start a day. I want to have a Rise and Shine Binder for myself! Thanks for sharing your great ideas.

    Reply

  71. I will not presume to give a suggestion to improve this awesome idea, but I do have a cool tip! Instead of using a cut-up washcloth for erasers, you can use sheets of felt. I buy some from the craft section and cut them up. They are pretty much the same material that erasers are made of, and are even less bulky for storing than the washcloths! HTH! 🙂

    Reply

  72. Love this idea. I'm going to implement this when school begins in about 6 school days. I am thinking I will add a checklist at the front of each student's binder to help me keep track of what my students practice and how often. Since I will have some late comers this may help me see who has how much practice and with what. I can see me using some of the work for RTI also.

    Reply

  73. Hello hello!
    I love this packet! I have three questions though 🙂
    1. I have a question about building the number of the day. There is a hundreds, tens and ones column. And then underneath in each slot, are the numbers 1-9 there? I am confused about this.
    2. Question concerning the matching games at the end. How do you all suggest putting those in? I am very confused and would love to figure out exactly how to arrange these!
    3. (Last one!!) What do they do with their sight words and letters? What activities are used for those?

    Thanks so much!! Love your products!

    Reply

  74. If anyone could answer even what they did with their binders and let me know as soon as you can, that would be so extremely helpful!!! Thank you! 🙂

    Reply

    1. Pam I sent you an email! I am guessing you didn't get it. 🙁
      Here you go:
      1. Put cards 0-9 in each pocket for the place value number of the day
      2. Make each game a different color. Put the cards stacked in pocket folders
      3. Sight words for reading writing spelling OR letters for reading writing (depending on the age of your students) I also have other posts about Rise and Shine here on the blog. Use the search me bar and search rise and shine. Hopefully that will help give you more info. 🙂

      Reply

  78. I am excited to use this as my morning work this year. I am getting ready to assemble for the first time and I'm looking at the cards with digits on it to put in the baseball card sleeves. I obviously need to make 3 sets of 1-9 for each kiddo (so they will have 1-9 for H, T, and Ones) , but how many of the page with 1's and 0's on it do you typically make?

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  80. Could you please site the reference for “Research suggests that the first 5 minutes a student spends in your classroom each morning will set the tone for the entire day of learning”. We all know it’s true- but I’d like to reference the resource for the research in a training. Thx so much!

    Reply