Revisit The Rise And Shine Binders

With much prompting and genius from my teaching team, I created The Rise and Shine Binder.  Since then, not only did it change my school mornings for the better, but this resource has had over 10,000 reviews!  I recently made a big update to the file, and in this post, we will revisit the rise and shine binder.

THE RISE AND SHINE BINDER

The idea behind the Rise and Shine Binder is to provide an interactive tool where students self-pace through skills as they enter the classroom and wait for the official bell to ring.  In the primary grades, we track the day in school and learn sight words weekly, so I began with calendar skills, basic math skills involving the ever-changing days in school, and simple sight word or word-of-the-day exercises.  All of these activities are independent write and wipe pages in the binder.

How to Launch the Rise and Shine Routine

I created, posted, and began using the Rise and Shine Binder nine years ago.  Since then, it has received over ten thousand happy teacher reviews.  A frequently asked question is how to get the routine launched.  To get it launched, I would set everything up at the end of the day for the following day with students. We point to where we keep the calendar, the date, and the number and word of the day.  I complete the page as we do this using my teacher example binder under the document camera. At the end of the first day, we do one page together. I post that page up in the morning and leave it there for two weeks. When ready, we add another page.

WHAT IS INCLUDED?

This file and the variety of response activities continue to grow throughout the year.  Currently, The Rise and Shine file has over 100 pages. There is more than what students can do in a morning available for you to choose from. I like students to progress to more difficult response pages throughout the school year.  The rule is that they must work up to the pages we have learned together.  I am always watching the pacing to see if it’s time to give them new pages to complete.  Then, we will retire pages by slipping them out and tucking them behind in the sleeve, where I have the next level of difficulty waiting.  The example below has two similar concepts, but one is more advanced than the other.

In the pictures below, we are working with number sense, flexibility with numbers, related facts, and computation.  To use the morning time efficiently, I retire one page and introduce another one as students mature academically. With all pages prepped and tucked behind in the page protector, it is a simple process. Students are amazed when I tell them to pull out a page to reveal new page.

TIPS ON USE

Through the years, I have learned some tricks that have helped me keep my sanity.  Printing on card stock for the number cards helps them stay in place in the trading pockets.  Or if using copy paper, trimming them to be a nice tight fit in the pocket eliminates cards falling out.  Keep a lost and found box in the room (for everything, not just this).

Another tip is to buy in bulk with your team.  Each summer we put a post-it on the binder pages that were destroyed.  There’s usually just a few.  Then for the rest, students help change out the sheet protectors, and everything else is ready to go.  We use these binders for years.  Another tip is to buy a package of small socks in black.  This holds each student’s dry erase marker and serves as the eraser.  The black color hides the dry erase mess, and the sock keeps the marker safe.  We put our socks in our supply box.

MANAGEMENT

Typically, I wander the room doing all my teacher duties like trying to drink my already cold coffee and keep track of turning in work, etc. and somehow it all works out because the skills are consistent yet different daily.  This helps students work independently.  One year we were urged to take on an upper grade student as teacher assistants.  Monitoring the Rise and Shine Binders was the first task I gave my 4th grade teacher assistant, and it was such a WIN for us all.  The students couldn’t wait to raise their hand and talk to the 4th grader about their work, and I was able to really get things done in the morning.  Since that year, I have always put in a request with an upper grade teacher for a responsible assistant to help during the morning trickle in time.

GRADING

In the primary grades, students always believe they are being graded, but with the Rise and Shine, it is practice and that’s it.  I know which students can get creative and take things far and which can barely handle the given questions.  Some need accommodations like transfer help with the completed pages near them, too.  It’s always a range of abilities.  This is not a punitive assignment.  We don’t lose our recess over not finishing the desired pages.  Some students arrive 30 minutes before the bell, and some arrive just as the bell rings.  For this reason, I don’t stress on binder grading.  Once students raise their hand to be checked, they are instructed to either correct something or erase the checked pages and put their sock and marker away.  That’s it!  To keep motivation high, my upper-grade assistant will randomly give out stamps, stickers, or a compliment.

Free Sample of The Rise and Shine

For a free download sample, try this versatile way to track and practice the number of the day. I have included three write-and-wipe pages for you of varying skill levels.

ADDITIONS TO THE RISE AND SHINE ROUTINE

One thing that I began doing through the years is to add in skill review morning work to the back of certain student binders.  Those kids who really could do more and would benefit.  I quickly realized, that’s everyone.  I began by putting a week of daily language and daily math into the binders.  Then one time I was really on top of things and put a month in there.  Students know they can only do one language and one math or sometimes I say one language OR one math.  It depends on the class and the timing.  In any case, most students can get to and finish one page at least daily because I let them continue to work on it for the first few minutes after the official bell.  It’s also checked by the upper-grade assistant–then torn out and tucked away in their take home folders.

Daily Language Available for Kinder, 1st, 2nd

Daily Math Available for Kinder, 1st, 2nd.

MORE FOR YOUR MORNING

Another Godsend in the morning and to kick-off my math and literacy blocks are these Digital Warm-Ups for Math and Literacy.  These blog posts below will share how to use them in K-5.

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