Real-life third grade classrooms!

If you ask me (and I am pretending that you did), third grade is the BEST grade to teach! Third graders are still young enough to love school, love their teacher and get excited over simple things like coloring. However, they are old enough to be independent workers and thinkers. Most third graders know how to read

These are the top 10 3rd grade room transformations just for you. They are easy to implement, rigorous, and fun for third graders!

I got this idea from my peer teacher, Nina. It's a great way for students to share about themselves. I think it would be perfect for a first day of school activity. I would start by having the students first write the numbers. Later, once we have learned about multiplication and division, I would have them create the equations. Finally, they can put it all together in time for Open House. It can be easily adapted for the younger grades by using addition and/or subtraction. It can be adapted for older grades with exponents, multi-step problems, and including fractions or decimals. Thanks to my friend Nannette for inspiring me with her sample.

This is an ultimate list of the BEST teacher hacks and tips you didn’t know you needed. Check out all the ways to make teacher life EASIER!

Everything you need to thrive in grade five!

You just found out you are teaching a split grade class next year. For most teachers the idea of teaching a split is overwhelming. You have twice as many

Everything you need for a smooth school year.

Everything you need for a smooth school year.

Read for my favorite Amazon finds for classroom management. There's something for managing groups, getting students' attention, keeping management tools organized, and more!

Happy November, teacher friends! I love this season so much in the classroom! You can really feel that the breaks are so close and Christmas is in the air! Sometimes, along with that comes the need for more redirection because students can sense it, too. That's when I pull out a classroom behavior management game to get us back on track. The goal of these games is to take students from being extrinsically motivated to intrinsically motivated. I want them to make the right choice because it's the right thing to do and not just for a prize. How you, as the teacher, approach that makes all the difference and sets the tone. They need a good amount of positive feedback when playing these games for them to be successful, such as, "I noticed how quickly and quietly you transitioned from the carpet to your seat." You can then ask a student to add a game piece to the board. If you have strong routines and a classroom management system in place, I promise that you will see a noticeable difference in the way your classroom runs with my Classroom Management Games. I wanted to make the prizes simple and free, so I always post this list as a reminder for me. I will pick maybe three and have students vote on what they want to work towards. This gives them a goal to strive for. We also go over expectations for the game and the specific ways they can earn a game piece. Each game will focus on a specific behavior. Once we get that behavior or routine down, we move onto a different game. Transitions are something I am always working on, so I made this one, Transitions are as Easy as Pie. When students exhibit a quick, quiet, and smooth transition, they get to add a piece of pie to the game board. Once the pie is built, they earn the reward. Some groups tattle more than others, so it's up to you on whether or not you use this game. The group from this year tattled fairly frequently, so I would have definitely used this game! Students can earn a piece by effectively solving problems amongst themselves. I earn a piece for tic tac toe if someone tattles. Be sure to go over what is a tattle and what needs to be brought to the teacher. Good manners is so important to me. I want my students to display good manners throughout the building and to be models for others. When they get a compliment for having good manners, such as in the cafeteria, they earn a dish for the Thanksgiving table. This game really gets them thinking about how they act inside and outside of the classroom. Your definition of goodness might be different than mine, but for me, I am looking for students showing acts of kindness to other students and to adults at school. When they are caught showing goodness or kindness, they get to add a piece to the BUMP board. If they are exhibiting a less desirable behavior, I get to add a piece. You can bump each other's piece off the board; I don't bump them but they do bump me quite frequently. The goal is to get four in a row. I also let students tell me if someone is kind to them for a piece for the class. The turkey challenge is just a classic game of students vs. teacher. Choose the focus you need for your class, such as raising their hand or being engaged. Students are the turkeys and are trying to earn pieces for their side. If they are not exhibiting the desired behavior, the teacher earns a piece. Whoever has the most at the end of the lesson or day wins. I print each of these games on cardstock and laminate them. I use round Velcro dots from Amazon to attach the pieces to the game board. I display the game at the front of the room, so that students can have that visual of what they are working on and for. You can even ask your students what they think the class needs to work on to give them more ownership over the game. You can find the link to the games HERE or by clicking on any of the photos. An update to the December games is on the way, so be on the lookout for that! Thanks for stopping by!

As I dig through pictures of my old classrooms to get ideas for setting up my new space later this summer, I keep finding some really great ideas that I forgot about. I thought I would share some organization tips that worked for me in the past and might work for me (and hopefully you)

Everything you need for a smooth school year.

Everything you need for a smooth school year.

My favorite part about getting ready for back to school is getting all of the bulletin boards set up around my classroom. Here are some of my favorite ideas.

Get helpful tips for how to manage data folders in the primary classroom. Download the free student data folders kit to get started!

How do you start your morning each day? Do you walk into your classroom, drop your bags, and make a beeline for the copy machine so you can get your

I wanted to stop by today and share some a few of my “go-to” activities during the first week of school to build our classroom community and set expectations for […]

Are you feeling a bit stuck when trying to come up with fun and engaging classroom transformation ideas? Look no further! This page is devoted to helping you find the perfect standards-based theme for your next classroom transformation! All of the theme ideas that I share will allow you to create an engaging yet rigorous … Classroom Transformation Ideas Read More »

Real-life fifth grade classrooms!

Real-life inspiration!

A simple, super smart way to motivate your students to turn in their homework.

Nearly 400 teachers weighed in on their favorite back-to-school activities and ice breakers - and here are their top picks! The most popular, practical, and unique back-to-school activities loved by teachers around the world!

I have been a departmentalized teacher for 5 years. It’s fabulous. I teach math and science. I am truly teaching to my strengths, but when I first started departmentalizing I struggled with organization. I was

All the best teacher-proven tips and tricks.

Teachers, make your classroom mornings peaceful and calm by introducing a morning cart into your students' daily routine!

Have a chatty class? Do your talkative students get louder and louder during small groups until it feels like chaos? Do they talk when you'r...

Messy student desks lead to wasted time and lost assignments! Help your students get organized and stay that way!

Are you new to teaching third grade? Whether you’re a newbie or a veteran teacher, here’s what you need to know: 1. Multiplication is king. Multiplication RULES third grade math. Our standards say that students must memorize facts within 100, but it doesn’t say how we have to do it. Lots of games and teaching ... Read More about New To Teaching Third Grade?

Before the start of each school year, I spend a lot of time reevaluating the routines and procedures that I use in my classroom. Establishing routines and procedures early on, sets the stage for a well-managed classroom and helps ensure "smooth sailing" for rest of the school year!! Below is a list that I refer to each year when establishing routines and procedures for my classroom.... {Click here to download!} Like anything else we teach our students, these routines and procedures need to be taught, modeled, practiced, and reinforced!! The following are the routines and procedures that I focus on the most, and the ones which I believe help foster a high-functioning learning environment.... Entering the Classroom "Ready to Learn" One of the first procedures that I teach my students is how to enter the classroom, and what to do once they come in. I strongly emphasize that they need to enter the classroom "ready to learn". We spend a lot of time talking about what it means to be ready to learn.... coming in quietly, having all materials needed for class, ready to follow directions or routines, and ready to GET TO WORK!!! My students learn quickly to always look to the white board for directions. First thing in the morning, after recess, and after lunch, I always have specific directions written on the board. Students learn to come in, look to the white board, and then begin following directions right away. This gives me time to take care of business, especially in the morning. At the same time, it teaches students independence. I always love the compliments I get from subs about how well my students follow directions, and how quickly and easily they get to work!! Teacher Signal The "teacher signal"-- No teacher should be without one!! For me, I have always use the simple and easy, GIVE ME 5. With this, I simply raise my hand and say, "Give me five," and my students raise their hands and show me that they're ready to.... STOP! LOOK! and LISTEN! Below is the graphic that I have displayed for the first weeks of school. We spend a lot of time discussing the expectations, and PRACTICING during those for first few weeks. {Click here to download!} Most of the teachers at my school and our principal use this strategy, so it's something consistent for the kiddos from year to year. However, I have always been very intrigued by some of the fun and catchy "attention grabbers" out there. I have often thought about giving some of these a try. Here are some great examples.... {SOURCE} {SOURCE} Transitions I will never forget my first year of teaching.... It never occurred to me that I would need to teach students how to transition from one activity to the next. So of course, chaos would ensue each time I gave students a simple direction, such as taking out a text book, or coming down to the rug. Each simple task would turn into full-blow conversations!! I would then have to get their attention all over again to give the next direction. A vicious cycle!! I quickly learned that quick and quiet transitions needed to be taught, practiced, and reinforced, NON-STOP for those first few days of school. The key is to always wait until students are quiet and then set the expectation for WHAT they need to do, and HOW they need to do it. I also teach my students to save their movement for when I am COMPLETELY done giving a direction. Quality of Work I spend A LOT of time at the beginning of the year discussing the quality of student work. It's always amazing to me how upper grade students forget {or do they?!} some of the most basic skills they learn in the primary grades. We're talking things as simple as using a period at the end of a sentence, or misspelling the word "read". In my class, I like to have a list of "must haves" that students refer to as they are working, and before they turn an assignment in. While of course there is always room for error, there are just certain things that are simply nonnegotiable for upper elementary (general ed.) students.... {Click here to download!} If anything on the list is missing, I simply hand assignments back to students, and remind them to refer to our Must Have List. Additionally, we spend a lot of time focused on "presentation" and students taking pride in their work. For example, when I assign projects I ask students to outline their writing with black or colored marker, add details and at least 3 colors to their illustrations, and to make the most of the space they have on their paper. I spend a lot of time modeling this, and I am constantly reinforcing high-quality work. In my classroom, time, effort, and pride go a long way!! Final Thoughts With any and all routines and procedures, it is so important to constantly set expectations during those first days. Right before recess, I always remind students about what is expected when they come back into the classroom after recess. Before an assignment, I ask students to tell me how I expect them to behave while they are working. We are constantly talking about expectations! Plus, we practice ALL THE TIME!! When we line up for lunch, we practice how to walk in a line. When we come in after lunch, we practice how to come in the classroom quietly. It seems like a lot, but it is so important to get them in place so that the rest of the year is smooth sailing!!! If you're looking for some Back to School activities and printables to ease you into the school year, be sure to check out this Back to School resource in my teacher shop. Click on the pic below to learn more!

I made a list of the most important classroom routines and procedures I use in my 2nd grade classroom. Learn how I teach these effectively...

This post shares 3rd grade literacy center ideas that work with any Language Arts curriculum and last the entire school year + FREE printable

{Five Below} is a store that is similar to Dollar Tree. Instead of everything being $1.00, everything they carry is $5.00 and below! (Five Below-get it?!) There are not very many {locations}, but they do have a website! The nearest one to me is about an hour away, but it is well worth the trip! Here are my top teacher finds from Five Below. It is such a fun store! 1. Memory Foam Mats These mats are probably supposed to be used in some college dorm bathroom. They are soft, and so comfy...but are amazing to write on! These mats can be a fun change in the word work practice routine. They just swipe clean after the word is written. No other items are needed, just the mat and fingers! The same goes for these fun "mermaid" pillows! These smaller pillows would be great for PK and K rooms for letter and number practice too. 2. HUGE Dice These dice are HUGE! (I mean, check out my arm!) This dice specifically is like a Magic 8 ball. It has yeses and nos. It has a maybe and a try again later. I use this dice for those questions kids ask and it really doesn't matter either way! "Can I read in the hall?" Usually I don't care one bit! I do sometimes get annoyed being asked, and say no anyway... Now the kiddo asking can just roll the dice, and we can let the dice speak! This is a fun way to help make decisions! There are also number dice. Obviously these are great for math groups or math activities, but have you ever tried them for whole or small group reading?! Assign each number a category. 1. girls 2. boys 3. tie shoes (any kid with tie shoes on has to read) 4. Teacher (they love having a teacher category) 5. Blonde Hair (any kid with blonde hair has to read) 6. Short Sleeves (any kid with short sleeves on has to read) You can make the categories whatever you want! They roll the dice, and those students who fit the category read the passage, paragraph, or sentence together! 3. Emojis Oh those silly faces! I love Emojis as much as my students! Five Below has a whole Emoji section! Hello Treasure Box! But my favorite thing I found in this section was large Emoji stickers! These are perfect for papers or just handing out at random for classroom management! I love that they have letters too! This can be used to make a fun word work game! 4. Camping Light How many of you have seen {Lucky Little Learners' Camp Read-a-Lot}? Kids would love to get under a cabinet, desk, or inside a tent to read with these LED lights! LED also lasts (or is supposed to) a LONG time! There are also SO many decorative, fun pillows for kids to use around the classroom. Cuddle up with a pillow, a book, and a camping light! Minutes of entertainment! HA! 6. Ice Trays For holiday's, I like to make crayons for my kiddos from ice tray molds! Peel the crayons and break them into smaller pieces. Put the pieces in the trays. I use aluminum foil on a cookie tray and then put the ice trays on those to catch spilling. Heat your oven to 350, and leave them in for about 20 minutes. Once they are all melty, carefully take them out and let them cool completely! When you bust them out, you have multicolored crayons in fun shapes! Cheap and super easy gifts are totally my favorite. 7. Baskets There is such a variety of basket sizes at Five Below. There are also separated organizers too! They have my favorite blue/green color, but you can always spray paint them too! 8. {Flexible Seating} These are only $5.00 and really last! I have 5 that I use in my own room and they have been perfect all year so far! Some stores also have purple and pink colors! 9. If you are one to one or even just have a few iPads, these stylus pens are awesome! We use Google Classroom for so many things. Sometimes I have the kids type, but sometimes I want them to practice writing on the iPads too. They are also great for drawing pictures in apps. Oh did I mention they have the rubbery tip...that is so fun to pick off!? It's nice to find styluses that are cheap and not so painful to replace! 10. Timers This timer is one of those sand timers. It lasts two minutes and would be more fun than just the timer on your phone. It's also a great visual of how much time is left! 11. Gummi Candy This gummy candy is LETTERS!!! Hello making words! 12. Play-Doh I use Play-Doh at the beginning of the year to entertain the kids while I deal with school supplies. I also like to make words with the Play-Doh. These are also great gifts for young students. 13. Where's Waldo I just LOVE Waldo! This would be a fun way for kids to get to know their new classroom. Find Waldo! Tell where he was and what could do there. This could also be a fun writing activity to use similar to an Elf or Leprechaun. 14. Bean Boozled WARNING: These are DISGUSTING. I would not use them in my room...but they sure are entertaining! {Two Teacher Friends} have a writing activity they use with these oh so gross jelly beans. I would suggest borrowing other trash cans and placing them in easy to reach locations all around the room before playing! Whew! There are just too many good things at Five Below! -Aimee

Do you plan on teaching the basic procedures of your classroom during the first few weeks of school? Check out this post to read about 10 must teach procedures.

3 examples of classroom management strategies to help you regain control of your classroom through effective behavior management.

We want students to be comfortable in our classrooms. We want them to feel welcomed and inspired. Classroom decoration can play a role in creating that environment. Below are some simple ways to …

Classroom Management: Using a WOW Board No comments Classroom Management, student recognition, WOW board Have you heard of the WOW board? This tool is not a brand new idea, but I only started using it last year. And, I intend to keep using it! Using a WOW board is a great (and super easy) way to recognize individual students and reward their choices, achievements, and efforts. It is also a great way to boost self-esteem too. What is it? The board is simply a table that is printed onto poster sized paper. The table is labeled with letters along the bottom, and numbers along the side, creating cells. It is laminated so it can be used again and again. I printed my board using the standard poster size setting on our poster maker. I know that some schools may not have a poster maker, but there is no rule that says your WOW board has to be poster sized! How do you use it? When you see a student making a smart choice, setting a good example, making gains, or whatever you feel should be recognized, they add their name to the board. They can choose any space they want and write their name in the selected space. Many WOW boards have 100 spaces, but I like for it to fill up quickly, so my board has only 25 spaces. Since I use other means of recognizing students, like reward tags, I didn't want a board with 100 spaces. Since the board is laminated, students can use an Expo Vis-a-Vis marker to add their name. This makes it easy to erase and start over when we're ready to do so. What do you do when the board is full? When the board is full of students' names, I choose 5 students to receive a "prize." Really, they get to choose a classroom reward coupon. Prize buckets and I don't get along (#clutter). The classroom rewards cost me nothing and the kids love them. You can find all sorts of classroom reward options on TPT. Then, I erase the board and we start filling it up again and the cycle repeats. How do you choose the winners? I usually just pick five random cells and write them on a sticky note, without looking to see whose names are in those cells. For example, I might write down A3, C4, B5, D2, E1. I call out the cell number and identify the name of the student written in that cell. They're a winner! You could write all your cells (i.e. A1, A2, A3, etc.) on color tiles, small slips of paper, or anything else you can fit into a small bucket. Then, when it is time to choose your winners, you just pull a tile, slip of paper, etc. out of the bucket and match it to the name in that space on your board. Using a Wow board is just another way to recognize your students and motivate them to do their best. If you'd like to give it a try, you can download my free template. If your school doesn't have a poster maker, don't dismiss the idea of using a WOW board. You could easily print this on regular paper and just use a smaller sized version. The kids will still love it! DON'T FORGET IT, PIN IT! Share It:

Hello darlings! Amy here from That Teaching Spark! If you are like me, you use some semblance of technology in your classroom. You might be 1:1 with each student having a device or you may have access to a few devices for your entire class! I'm lucky enough to have a class set of chrome carts to share with my grade level of five teachers. We rotate the chrome books around to each other. I also have four devices that I use for math rotations every day! I have to admit, I would be lost without them! There are so many amazing websites and resources out there! I asked all of you in the All About 3rd Grade Facebook Group, to share the websites you use on a daily basis. I have reviews those websites and have included the ones most often recommended in this All About 3rd Grade Symbaloo. A Symbaloo is simply a bookmarking site. You can copy and paste this link on your classroom website, Google Classroom, or other learning platform for your students. Then students can click the icon to take them to the recommended page. https://www.symbaloo.com/mix/allabout3rdgrade Most websites that I included are free or at least allow for a free version with less bells and whistles. Here are 3 of My Favs 1. Epic Epic is perfect for sharing books on your projector. It has over hundreds of popular books! They have some books read aloud but I really like it for the nonfiction and collections that it offers. You can even create quizzes for your students. Watch this video for a little overview. 2. Prodigy Play Math Prep My kiddos use Prodigy everyday in math rotations. I can assign them any standard I want and it will create questions for them. This is what students see. They create little avatar wizards and then battle through lands that they unlock. They even earn pets that can have powers! They unlock and earn power ups by answering question correctly. You can assign the skills or have the game do it for you! In this video, I explain how to assign test prep, but it is the same directions for other assignments. 3. Go Formative This is a new website for me! I am super excited to try it next year! create online assessments, classwork or homework connects seamlessly with Google Classroom ANY GRADE, ANY SUBJECT, ANY DEVICE create a class & track student data students can type, draw or upload images get LIVE results & give instant feedback to your students very easy to use FREE & PAPERLESS for both teachers and students Check out the video for a sneak peek on how it works! Join us in the All About 3rd Grade Facebook Group to learn more amazing tips like this!

These are the top 10 best 4th grade classroom transformations. They are easy to implement, rigorous, and fun for fourth graders!

Real-life fourth grade classrooms!

I wanted to share how I use (and have used for several years) a token economy in my classroom. I taught at different PBIS/PBS schools for 7 years, and a token economy is the perfect addition to what your school is already doing! I’ve used this system in 1st, 2nd, and 4th grades, and absolutely ... Read more

Do you have helpers in your classroom? Many teachers have asked over the years about how classroom helpers work in our classes. Here are the top three questions: "Why do you have classroom helpers?" "How do you organize our helpers?" "Can you help me get mine started?" Here are our answers: 1. It helps build a community. 2. The children take on a responsibility/leadership role. 3. Helps the classroom run smoothly. 4. Reduces the teacher's workload. 5. Children LOVE taking responsibility for our room! Each Monday the children look forward to their new jobs! We rotate the jobs because more that one child usually enjoys a job. We like to give every child an opportunity to try each job. Sometimes they find they really enjoy a job that they thought they wouldn't like. Every classroom has a different plan for changing helpers and you have to find what works for you! *Alison loves to change her helpers Friday before she leaves for the day. It is just part of her routine and she feels great about getting it done early! *I love to change mine with the kids on Monday morning as part of my "Monday Morning Routine." It helps us ease back into our week! *Another friend of mine changes her helpers every two weeks because one was too fast. Once the helpers are assigned and posted on our "Helpers" chart the week starts. I never forget who has a job because the chart is there to refer to and the kids know their jobs and take pride in having them. My answer is "YES!" We have several helpers to match what you might need in your room. They are also editable and you can change the job titles & add your students names. You can even add your own cards to match on the "blank" card pages. Once you choose the theme/style that matches your classroom, putting it together is easy peasy! Here is the set I used last year: I backed my cards after I printed them with yellow cardstock to match my color scheme. There are so many ways to display your helpers, here are a few of the ideas we have used: We have attached them on ribbons and used clothespins for the names. We have placed them in a pocket chart and just tucked the children name card next to the job. We have placed them on a magnetic surface, too! These are just some of the jobs in the pack! Best thing, they are EDITABLE! You decide what the names of the jobs are. Here is our selection in a variety of themes: (You can click on any picture below to see it in our store.) Don't see what you need? Contact us at [email protected] to get your request on our list of projects now! Have other ideas for jobs, we would LOVE to hear them. Please comment below or send us an email. Happy Teaching!

11 Practical Classroom Management Ideas 2 comments Back to School, Classroom Ideas, Classroom Management, Popular Posts, Tips and Tricks One of my favorite things to do is peek inside other teacher's classrooms. I love seeing what kinds of things they are up to, checking out their favorite tricks of the trade, and to sniff out new tips that I can bring back to my own classroom. If you're like me, then keep reading. This post is full of all my favorite classroom management ideas and tips. Warning: This post is long, so grab a cup of coffee and cozy up while you enjoy peeking inside my classroom. :) This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my links. For more information about my Disclosure Policy, please visit this link. MOVEMENT CODE WORD I started using a movement code word just this year. My class just couldn't seem to wait for me to finish giving directions before they started to "follow" them. To save my sanity, I started using a code word system which turned our transitions into a game of sorts. The students had to wait for me to give directions and could not move until I said the code word. I will say, I wasn't sure if this would work, but it did! So, I stuck with it all year. And, I'm going to continue to use it in the future. As you can see, I don't do anything special as far as displaying the code word. I just write it on the board. Pretty printouts aren't necessary for everything. ;) I change my code word at the beginning of each week, and I like to use fun/funny words. Some people like to use vocabulary words, but I prefer keeping it light and fun where I can. :) Some code words I used this year include: -Cactus Pants -Llama llama -Rainbow Dash -Sugar Cube -And too many others I can't remember WIRELESS DOORBELL If you ever feel like your go to "attention getter" isn't getting the attention it needs, then I highly suggest you invest in a wireless doorbell. For $13, it's a fun and effective way to mix up your attention getters. Click here to see this item on Amazon. I don't use the doorbell exclusively, I use it when the kids are working in pairs or groups and the voice levels in the room are above a whisper level. It's easily heard and immediately gets their attention. When I ring the doorbell, I tell the class to fold their arms and face me. Then, I say what needs to be said, and everyone returns to what they were doing. It's great! CHANTS Sometimes transitioning from desks to the carpet area can be slow. One way to help pick up the pace, and eliminate talking along the way is to lead students in a chant. We used a few chants this year, and once the kids learned them, I would let them be the chant leaders. I would signal for table groups to head to the carpet one at a time as the chant was going on. I'd like to say that I'm so incredibly talented that I can write my own chants, but that would be a HUGE lie. I'm the least musically/rhythmically inclined person I know. Buuuut, click here for a (free) fun transition chant I found at Classroom Freebies. Pinterest is also a great source of chant ideas for those of us who need it. ;) GUIDED READING GLASSES Guided reading is that sacred time of day where we all tell our students not to bother us unless something extreme is happening. It is also the time of day where our students seem to forget that we are not to be interrupted for minor things. Or, was that just my class this year? Seriously, my class this year was just.not.getting.it. Every time guided reading rolled around they seemed to forget that we had a hand signal system in place. To them, I abandoned the role of teacher and swapped it for role of IT professional. I've never had problems with students solving their own problems or using hand signals during groups before, but this year was different. So, I invested in a pair of special glasses. These glasses became my "Don't talk to me during reading groups" glasses. I hoped that something visual like the glasses, that I only wore during group time, might remind them to follow procedures. Guess what? It did (of course there were a few hiccups here and there, these are kids we're working with, after all)! Click here to see these glasses on Amazon. If glasses aren't your thing (or you already wear them), then a headband or hat would work too. HAND SIGNALS The last thing I want to hear is "Can I get a new pencil/tissue/drink of water/go to the bathroom?" 95 times a day. Thank goodness for hand signals. I introduce these on day one and they are a sanity saver. My only rule is, don't use a hand signal during teaching time unless it is a dire emergency. These hand signal posters are from Rachel Lamb- The Tattooed Teacher. You can edit them to meet your needs! YOU TUBE FOR RELAXATION I used to play relaxing music via my CD player, but this past year I've relied on You Tube for all our relaxing sound needs. I could use Spotify, or other music apps, but I like to project the image from the You Tube video for extra ambiance. "Meditation Relax Music" is one of my favorite channels. Toward the end of the year, the "A Day of a Unicorn" song/video quickly became a class favorite. TABLE POINTS/STICKER BOOKS I have an entire post about this. Check it out HERE! All I will say here is that my students loooooooove their sticker books. And thank goodness, because I loooooooove to buy new stickers. POINT OF ORDER Whenever we enter the classroom (from our morning patriotic ceremony, from Specials, after lunch, etc.) I use point of order. The students enter at a zero voice level, and stand behind their desk with their arms folded. This just helps them remember that it's time to focus on learning. They sit down when I give the code word (see above). MYSTERY WALKER Anytime my class walks together from point A to point B, I choose two mystery walkers. I do this by pulling two name sticks from the container on my desk (sorry, no pic). I keep a careful eye on these two students as we walk to wherever we are going. If they follow hallway expectations, they earn the status of Mystery Walker and earn a ticket (in my classroom, tickets are used to earn special privileges). If a student earns the status of Mystery Walker twice in once day, he/she earns a special reward tag! I made these using my Editable Reward Tags. Read all about reward tags HERE. If you have a classroom economy, you could pay your walkers a small amount of classroom money. Or, give them a sticker. Or, they just get bragging rights to being named Mystery Walker. Basically, you can reward your walkers however you'd like. :) JOB CHART FOR TWO My friend Deirdre (A Burst of First) shared this genius classroom job idea a few years ago. I took her idea and made it work for me. Because, isn't that what teaching is all about? Hehe. Seriously though, this system is a life saver (for me)! Every week, I assign two students the role of classroom helpers. These students basically do anything from running errands to collecting papers to passing out papers to carrying the lunch bin outside. This system works for me because I cannot keep up with assigning 23+ jobs a week. It's just too much. If you prefer assigning specific jobs to all your students, that's awesome, but this is a great alternative for those of us who can't keep up with that. After school on Friday, I take down the two names from that week and replace them with two new names for the following week. I keep the name cards in a small basket and just rotate through the pile of names two at a time. I keep it as simple as possible. You can download the chart here for FREE! What you'll need to do: Print out the chart. Use an exacto knife to cut small slits toward the top and lower middle portions of the white section of the chart. Place paperclips through the slits. Slide your name strips under the paperclips. (You'll need to make your own slips of paper with student names printed on them....or, just cut up index cards and write the names on that). STUDENT NUMBERS For some reason, the idea of using student numbers seems to really irritate some people. If that's you, please don't read the rest of this section. Student numbers, however, can make things easier when it comes to labeling. My students are not called by number, nor are they just a number to me. It's simply a way to streamline classroom organization for the students, and me. I use student numbers because I don't have to spend time relabeling everything in my classroom at the beginning of the year. This is especially helpful as class sizes continue to increase. I label our mailboxes with numbers. These numbers have been in place for a few years now. Such a time saver when I'm trying to unpack and set up my classroom at the end of summer. Students write their name on their paper, followed by their number. This way, papers can be quickly and easily placed in the correct mailbox. Our brag tag display is also labeled with numbers. These numbers have been up for about 3 years because I haven't had to customize the labels with names. That's all, folks! I hope you found an idea or two that you can use in your own classroom. Do you have another tip or idea to share? If so, comment below! DON'T FORGET IT, PIN IT! Share It:

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