Explore emerging teaching methods for 2024! Find out the future teaching trends that will get students up and moving and spark creativity!
Attention Getters will cut out your classroom chaos and work for all grade levels. Attention getters in the classroom are the perfect solution if you are...
Don’t get me wrong — I love candy. And, a jolly rancher, a tootsie roll, or a starburst can work wonders in the classroom for student motivation and enthusiasm. So can pizza parties, and cupcake days, and brunch, and…I’ve had so many types of food parties I can’t even keep track! Recently, however, I’ve been […]
Do you ever have students who start moving before you’re finished giving directions – like as soon as they hear the first step, they think it’s time to go? It used to happen in my classroom ALL. THE. TIME. Then a few minutes later, I’d have a little sweetie asking, “What do I do next?” …
Find a cute and easy theme for your elementary, special education, or middle school classroom.
Amazing classroom decoration ideas including how to add a class fireplace, a beautiful teacher space, a classroom fridge and more!
Don't let a short schedule keep you from providing engaging library programming. These 30-minute library lessons are perfect for librarians!
Engage your math students right from the start! In this post, I share five engaging lesson hooks for math, including resource links to get started.
As educators, we realize the value of goal setting and are constantly encouraging our students to dream big and set goals. What we often forget is that unless
Classroom team-building games are a must at the start of a new school year! Here are 16 of my favorite icebreakers and classroom team-building activities!
Set a friendly tone in your classroom with these 30 "Get to Know You" games perfect for back to school or when welcoming a new student.
Here are five practical steps you can take to manage multiple classes in the elementary classroom. I share things like grouping and classroom organization.
Simple, yet effective social responsibility strategies you can try today to teach kids to be more responsible, make good choices and set attainable goals.
Flexible seating on a budget . . . does it really exist? When it comes to outfitting your classroom with flexible seating, there are lots of options available - but not all of them come with a hefty price tag. You can find a variety of flexible seating choices for students without breaking the bank.
Here are 13 fun classroom games to keep students to loves learning . Click here:
You have just been asked to be the teacher sponsor of your elementary school's student council. But you have no idea what you are doing. Where do you start? When will you meet? What do elementary student councils do? Once upon a time, I was in those shoes. Don't worry. I learned it's easy to get started and the whole goal is to engage the students in learning leadership and service to their school and community. What does an Elementary Student Council do? The school's student council will provide students with learning opportunities in leadership, service, teamwork, and school spirit. An elementary student council helps its school with organizing special projects, events and fundraising. The students, with the guidance of their sponsor, can plan fun events like school carnivals, pep rallies, and special assemblies. They can raise money to beautify the campus, add to the playground, or put picnic tables in the schoolyard. Student Councils can also provide service to the community. They do this through food drives, winter coat and blanket drives, nursing home visits, Toys for Tots and local community beach or park clean-ups. In elementary school, the student council faculty or staff sponsor will take much of the lead in the events and activities of the group. But, as the students meet throughout the year they learn lessons in leadership and teamwork that will help them achieve success. The hope is that they will continue to have an interest and participate in student council when they get to middle and high school. Student Council Meetings When I led our school's student council we would regularly meet once a month. Our elementary council included two students from each class in the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. The class voted on the two members they wanted to represent them on the student council. You can gather your students this way or open it up to anyone who is interested in joining can be on the council. At our first meeting of the year, I would have the students do an icebreaker activity so they could get to know each other. They would then brainstorm ideas of projects they could do based on needs of the school, students or community. After selecting the goals for the year, we would put them on a yearlong calendar. Each monthly meeting would address the project or event that is scheduled and would also have a leadership or teamwork lesson that I would lead. Sometimes additional meetings would need to be scheduled so students could complete tasks to meet the goal. Student Council Officers Student Council Officer positions can vary from school to school or district to district. In most student councils you would have a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. Some Student Councils also include officers such as Historian or Parliamentarian. Officers come from the council membership but we had the entire student body in 3rd-5th grade elect them. They ran a campaign where they put up posters around the school and made a speech over morning announcements the week before the election. My student council had a President who led the meetings and worked closely with me to plan and prepare for them. The Vice President assisted us and took over as leader when the president was unavailable. We had a Secretary who would write out our agendas and take notes during our meetings. The Treasurer would help me collect funds and count money during fund raising events. They would also keep simple records of the council's budget and funds. The officers would also be our school representatives to the district and our city. For example, when it was our school's turn to lead the Pledge of Allegiance at the school board meeting, our President and Vice President were the students we sent. These elementary aged officers were learning how to be leaders by experiencing some easy responsibilities in running the council. Service Projects Our student council did at least one service project a year. Most of the time we did several. One project we always participated in was the community food drive around the holidays. The student council made posters to advertise the drive and put them up around school. Each classroom would make a decorated collection box to put outside their door and collect food from their class. There would be a contest for the most creative decorated box and the winning class would receive a popcorn party complements of the student council. There would also be a contest to see which class and grade level would bring in the most food. Student council members would be in charge of collecting and counting food from the boxes each Friday and helped deliver them to the community drop off location on our assigned day. The students loved helping their community each year during the holiday season with this food drive. Fundraising In order for the student counsel to meet many of their goals they need to fundraise. Our council used funds for a variety of events: Classroom contest rewards, beautification of the school grounds, Easter egg hunt for neighboring head start program, Christmas Caroling field trip, Teacher Appreciation Week, and the end of year student council celebration. We had one main fund raiser that they did multiple times during the year. We sold Candy Grams. They were a big hit near all the major holidays at our school and we were able to raise all the money we needed. Visit this post to learn more about how to use Candy Grams as a fundraiser. School Spirit Another thing our student council did was help promote school spirit. They worked with administrators to help plan spirit weeks on our campus. We had special dress up days during Red Ribbon Week, National Library Week, and Texas Public School's Week. They helped think of fun ideas to get everyone involved. Some of their favorites are crazy hair day, twin day, sports day and pajama day. The staff and students all like to participate in these days to show their school spirit. If your school does not have a student council it would be a great opportunity to talk to your administrator about starting one. Start small with just one or two projects and see how it will grow. You will always find a group of students who want to work to make the school and community a better place. Until Next Time....
I posted about these songs about a year ago on my Instagram feed and so many of you asked if I would be putting these in my TPT shop to sell. At the time, we had only written three, and I just didn't feel like that was enough to make a whole resource with. Since then, I have been working on writing new transition songs that are sung to some of our kids' favorite tunes! Singing CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT SONGS AND CHANTS during transitions makes moving from one thing or place to another almost seamless. Songs and chants keep students engaged, focused, and excited to learn, which in turn will save valuable instruction time. It also helps eliminate unwanted behaviors by giving your students the structure, consistency, and support they need. Most of the songs included are parodies of popular songs most kids will know. The words have been changed to help students transition in a positive manner. I printed the songs on cardstock and laminated them. I used a binder ring to attach the set together to hang on my board for easy access. There are also three different color options included. :) Let's go through a little breakdown of when and why we sing each of these songs: The Carpet: We sing this when it's time to transition to the carpet. I start they song, they join in. They have to be on the carpet in their assigned spots by the end of the song. Works like a charm every single time! I even added in some little hand motions that end the song with their hands in their laps. All I Do Is Freeze: We mostly use this when students are working in groups or with a partner. Sometimes, I need them to stop what they are doing, so that I can give them a direction or clear something up. It's a great way to get their attention! Clean Up Chant: This one is pretty self-explanatory. I do not instruct them when it's time to clean up; I just start the chant. You may want to add a timer to it afterwards if you need them cleaned up in a certain amount of time. Let's Line Up: Will kids ever get over Frozen? Probably not. If yours are still obsessed, too, they will love this line up chant. It gets them lined up quickly and without distractions, which saves so much time! Back to My Seat: We sing this when we transition from the carpet to their seats. We usually sing it a couple of times to give them plenty of time to make it to their seats. It's a really quick song! Partner Up: This song probably takes the most practice. Anytime you need students to get with their partner, you can sing this song. It also reminds them what to do when they are with their partner. Learning Math is Awesome: Sing this song to signal that it's time to begin math. I can guarantee it will get stuck in your head afterwards. Sorry. We Can't Stop Reading: This song can be used to kick off your reading block each day. It gets them excited about books and where those stories will take them! Quiet Time: I may or may not have sung this one the most. It works so well! I sing it in a calm, quiet voice, in which students will mirror. It immediately calms the room. Sing it a couple of times if needed! See!: I had to incorporate some Taylor Swift in these songs. We want students to be proud to share their thinking and comfortable talking with a partner. We also want their partners to be respectful and value what they are saying. This song is great to sing before students share with a partner or to close out a lesson by sharing what they learned or took away from the lesson. I just added some NEW songs!!! Like It Was: This is another clean up song. You could sing this one at the end of centers. It's really good about reminding students to put everything back in its place. Good For You: This is a song that you can sing as a class to celebrate someone! Maybe someone had a really great idea or accomplished something amazing, you can sing this to pump them up! We're Amazing: I am all about incorporating mindfulness into our day, so I knew I needed to create a song that encompassed that. This is another one that is going to take some practice to get down, but you can always display it as you sing. Some of the songs might take lots of practice to get down! But don't give up! After you sing it over and over, you will eventually get it. You will sing them to the tune of the chorus from the songs. I have added links to the actual songs in the PDFs. You just click the blue arrow at the bottom of the page. Always check these first NOT in the presence of students. I have gone through them to make sure they are safe, but you never know when things can change. A few of these parodies are straight from my students. I asked them what songs they wanted me to write transition songs for, and these are what we came up with. This group in particular had difficulty this year with transitions because they were all best of friends and LOVED to talk, which in turn got them distracted. I LOVED that about them, but we were losing valuable time trying to get refocused. Once I introduced a song or chant for them to do while transitioning, the difference was crazy! It keeps your learning environment positive, too, which is super important. You can check out the resource by clicking HERE or on any of the images in the post. Let me know how your students do with these songs or if you need another song added! I love your feedback! Happy transitioning!
Find what you need for a flexible classroom in these favorite flexible seating options perfect for any elementary teacher.
As the ONLY special education teacher in my building, I ALWAYS wanted to get a peek inside other classrooms. Get a peek inside 10 classroom tours!
I posted about these songs about a year ago on my Instagram feed and so many of you asked if I would be putting these in my TPT shop to sell. At the time, we had only written three, and I just didn't feel like that was enough to make a whole resource with. Since then, I have been working on writing new transition songs that are sung to some of our kids' favorite tunes! Singing CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT SONGS AND CHANTS during transitions makes moving from one thing or place to another almost seamless. Songs and chants keep students engaged, focused, and excited to learn, which in turn will save valuable instruction time. It also helps eliminate unwanted behaviors by giving your students the structure, consistency, and support they need. Most of the songs included are parodies of popular songs most kids will know. The words have been changed to help students transition in a positive manner. I printed the songs on cardstock and laminated them. I used a binder ring to attach the set together to hang on my board for easy access. There are also three different color options included. :) Let's go through a little breakdown of when and why we sing each of these songs: The Carpet: We sing this when it's time to transition to the carpet. I start they song, they join in. They have to be on the carpet in their assigned spots by the end of the song. Works like a charm every single time! I even added in some little hand motions that end the song with their hands in their laps. All I Do Is Freeze: We mostly use this when students are working in groups or with a partner. Sometimes, I need them to stop what they are doing, so that I can give them a direction or clear something up. It's a great way to get their attention! Clean Up Chant: This one is pretty self-explanatory. I do not instruct them when it's time to clean up; I just start the chant. You may want to add a timer to it afterwards if you need them cleaned up in a certain amount of time. Let's Line Up: Will kids ever get over Frozen? Probably not. If yours are still obsessed, too, they will love this line up chant. It gets them lined up quickly and without distractions, which saves so much time! Back to My Seat: We sing this when we transition from the carpet to their seats. We usually sing it a couple of times to give them plenty of time to make it to their seats. It's a really quick song! Partner Up: This song probably takes the most practice. Anytime you need students to get with their partner, you can sing this song. It also reminds them what to do when they are with their partner. Learning Math is Awesome: Sing this song to signal that it's time to begin math. I can guarantee it will get stuck in your head afterwards. Sorry. We Can't Stop Reading: This song can be used to kick off your reading block each day. It gets them excited about books and where those stories will take them! Quiet Time: I may or may not have sung this one the most. It works so well! I sing it in a calm, quiet voice, in which students will mirror. It immediately calms the room. Sing it a couple of times if needed! See!: I had to incorporate some Taylor Swift in these songs. We want students to be proud to share their thinking and comfortable talking with a partner. We also want their partners to be respectful and value what they are saying. This song is great to sing before students share with a partner or to close out a lesson by sharing what they learned or took away from the lesson. I just added some NEW songs!!! Like It Was: This is another clean up song. You could sing this one at the end of centers. It's really good about reminding students to put everything back in its place. Good For You: This is a song that you can sing as a class to celebrate someone! Maybe someone had a really great idea or accomplished something amazing, you can sing this to pump them up! We're Amazing: I am all about incorporating mindfulness into our day, so I knew I needed to create a song that encompassed that. This is another one that is going to take some practice to get down, but you can always display it as you sing. Some of the songs might take lots of practice to get down! But don't give up! After you sing it over and over, you will eventually get it. You will sing them to the tune of the chorus from the songs. I have added links to the actual songs in the PDFs. You just click the blue arrow at the bottom of the page. Always check these first NOT in the presence of students. I have gone through them to make sure they are safe, but you never know when things can change. A few of these parodies are straight from my students. I asked them what songs they wanted me to write transition songs for, and these are what we came up with. This group in particular had difficulty this year with transitions because they were all best of friends and LOVED to talk, which in turn got them distracted. I LOVED that about them, but we were losing valuable time trying to get refocused. Once I introduced a song or chant for them to do while transitioning, the difference was crazy! It keeps your learning environment positive, too, which is super important. You can check out the resource by clicking HERE or on any of the images in the post. Let me know how your students do with these songs or if you need another song added! I love your feedback! Happy transitioning!
Hello! Welcome to the Kindness Clubhouse Blog! A Kindness Club can transform your school. It encourages and inspires students to think beyond themselves and seek out opportunities to show compassio…
Beanbags, Hula-Hoops, Frisbees, and more games kids love.
Classroom rewards don’t even have to cost teachers a penny. They can be cheap, free, and easy. Here are 60 ideas for fun whole class and individual student rewards including many that don't cost money. There are simple reward ideas that can easily be used with whatever positive reinforcement system you're using for behavior management in your kindergarten or elementary classroom. Party ideas, non-food, and intangible options are included.
Being out for even a single day is more work than actually teaching! Scrambling to figure out engaging, no tech art sub plans for elementary kids can be incredibly stressful and time-consuming. There's nothing worse than being sick and thinking, "And now I have to write emergency lesson plans?"
Ready to start the year off with strong classroom management? Learn the top 10 must teach procedures for the first day of school!
Personalize the content, process, product, or learning environment.
Check out this free list of brain breaks for kids that you can do in your upper elementary classroom. Refresh their brains with easy and fun brain breaks!
This year is the 10 year anniversary of International Dot Day and the 15th anniversary of the publication of The Dot. People all around the world celebrate creative expression, inspired by Peter H. Reynolds’ picture book, The Dot. Every year, Dot Day falls on or near September 15. I’d like to share how I helped my K-2 students explore their own creativity this year for
Top online learning sties for upper elementary classrooms for in school or home or distant or remote learning. Websites for reading, language arts, math, science and art included.
How to decorate an ESL Classroom; 8 ESL classroom decorations for a welcoming and inclusive environment for your multilingual students.
Engaging vocabulary review Ideas & activities that can be used with K-5 students! Five fun & collaborative vocabulary instruction ideas.
It’s no secret that I am a MAJOR fan of class jobs – I mean…many hands make light work, right? Aside from having 20 or so helpers around the classroom, there’s a whole bunch of other reasons I think class jobs are super important: Helps build a sense of community…this is OUR classroom Gives students ... Read more
Social stories can be a very visual and concrete way to teach students social skills. Some students naturally understand social expectations and ways to behave, and others need more explicit teaching. In my opinion, social stories do the explicit teaching when done correctly. Students need to be able to easily understand the social skill that ... Read More about Using Social Stories to Teach Social Skills and Appropriate Ways to Behave
These simple tips and ideas will help you develop a positive and effective classroom management strategy for your elementary classroom.
This post describes 4 classroom desk layouts, pros & cons of each and an explanation of the learning theory underpinning each layout. Which do you prefer?
Are you looking for a calm classroom theme? I have five beautiful and unique classroom decor bundles that will help create a peaceful, engaging, and beautiful home away from home in your classroom! These five bundles will be a perfect way to create a calm classroom vibe!
Games are a tried and true way to engage students. Whether teaching in-person or remotely via a live session like Zoom or Google Meets, teac...
Back to School Night can be the first time you meet many of the parents in your class. It is important that you communicate all of the information the parents will need to help their child have a successful school year. Here are my top tips for planning an informative and stress free Back to School Night: Have a Sign In SheetHave parents sign in on a sheet as the enter the room. This will allow you to keep track of which student's parents were able to attend. Be sure to send home copies of the
