How should I setup my classroom library? Here are some MUST-READ ideas to organize your books, how to create an inviting space for your students, and how to help fund your classroom library!

Yes, it has it's own board on my Pinterest account. I used to be embarrassed by how fascinated and excited I was about classroom libraries. I paroused thrift stores, hit up retiring teachers, and planned my weekends around library book sales for months leading up to my first year in the classroom. By the time I actually got my own room, I didn't even have enough space for all the books I had collected. Thankfully, Pinterest came along when it did and showed me that I wasn't the only person in the world obsessed with classroom libraries. Of course, that meant hours of my life were spent pouring over pictures, pinning everything from book bin labels to decor. I'm all about helping out other teachers and hopefully I can save someone out there time by putting a lot of ideas about this topic in one place (and also by offering a freebie at the end of this post). I guess there is also the chance that someone will stumble upon this post randomly and then become enthralled with cultivating the perfect classroom library and in turn end up spending a gazillon hours on Pinterest. If that is you, sorry in advance! Below are some of the many ideas I have found over the years. 1. Collection The first, and maybe the most important, question to answer is...how do you get books for your classroom? Teachers certainly can't afford to spend their entire paycheck buying a wide variety of texts (not with all the other classroom items we spend our paycheck on ;) ). Don't fret! There are many options out there. Like I mentioned above, I ended up with more than enough books on a substitue's salary and I didn't break the bank. In fact, I still have a couple bags of chapter books in my basement. -Retiring Teachers: If you don't know any retiring teachers, you can always look on Craig's List or keep your eye on your local newspaper. A lot of retiring teachers are looking to sell their entire collection of books for cheap. I ended up with a lot of goodies from a librarian who retired at the school I was subbing at. She used to be a classroom teacher and passed down classroom library books, teaching resource books, name tags, posters, stickers, etc. -Teachers at Your School: Many teachers probably aren't going to give you any of their new, shiny books, but that doesn't mean they don't have others they are willing to pass along. My first year, I had many teachers offer me books for my room because like me, they had more than enough (especially as they continue to replace older books with new purchases). My school also does a lottery at the beginning of the school year. Every August when we get back in our rooms and start to clear out the junk for a fresh start, we place all the items we no longer want in the front lobby. All week, teachers can stop by and place a post-it with their name on any item from class sets of books/magazines to teacher desks, easels, and pocket charts. On Friday, items are handed out to their new owners and the rest are donated. -Student Donations: My first year I had a parent ask if I needed any books because her child, who was the youngest in the family, had already read or outgrown many books. I said yes and was floored when a box full of shiny, crease-free, new-book-smelling, age appropriate chapter books came my way. I ended up putting old books on the wishlist every week on my classroom newsletter. I made it clear that parents did not need to go out and buy books for the classroom, but if they had old books around the house, I would be willing to take them. I got a lot of good books this way, of course some were not so good or not usable, but it was worth it. -Thrift Stores: Most thrift stores sell children's books, the hard part is finding the best price in your area. One thrift store near me sells books for $0.50 to $1.00 each. I was surprised when I first started looking, but then I found another thrift store 5 minutes away that sold 6 books for $2.00, and their selection was much wider. Do some shopping around and you might be surprised what you find. A lot of the time I would find gems that were in pristine condition and do a little dance in the aisle knowing that I was about to pay 33 cents for a book that would cost me $15.00 at the store. Thrift stores in my area are definitely cheaper than used book stores. You might want to check around to see if that is true for your area as well. -Book Sales: Library book sales are a gift from God. Okay, I might be being just a bit dramatic right know, but this is really where I got the bulk of my books. The libraries in my county have weekend long book sales 3 or 4 times a year. There are good prices on Friday and Saturday, but if you wait until Sunday you will make out like a theif! Sundays are brown bag days. One dollar a bag for all of the books you can fit into a brown paper grocery bag. Let me tell you, I was a master at stacking and cramming those books in there. I would walk away with hundreds of books for $4.00. I used to go to these so often that I devised my own method. I would go on Fridays or Saturday morning while most of the books were still there to see what they had and where it was. I would buy anything that I really wanted and didn't think would still be around on Sunday. I would also take note of where the books I wanted were, so I wouldn't waste any time later. You also can't really dilly dally on Sunday morning. I would get to the library at least half an hour before they opened. I ain't lyin' when I say there was a looonnnggg line by the time the doors open and the library crowd is not polite when there are books involved. There was all sorts of pushing and shoving when the doors were opened, but I would speed walk to the paper bag table, grab at least two, and write my name on them with my Sharpie as I headed over to the children's book table. Then, I really just started grabbing and shoving until my bags were full. Man, those were the days, just writing this makes me want to look up sales in my area. Anyway, I suggest you Google library book sales in your area and at least go once to see what all the Hullabaloo is about. Here is a website to help you get started, Book Sale Finder. 2. Location Where will your classroom library be located? I have seen some teachers place bookshelves along the back and side walls of the room. This really helps save space, but I have found that it doesn't create a library/book nook feel. I like to use a corner so I have two walls of space, but it is all in one spot. It is also a nice area for my students to read during Daily Five time. If you see the pictures from my 3 rooms below, you will notice that I always utilize my corners! 3. Organization My first year, I set up my library by placing all chapter books on one side and all pictures books on the other side. I organized each section by series and then genre or theme. The past two years, I have been sorting my books by just series/genre/theme. I place all the chapter books for the category in a basket and all of the picture books for the same category on the shelf next to the chapter books, to the right of the basket. I like this set up a lot more. In actual libraries students search by interest and not by chapter or picture book, so I wanted to replicate that. As you look at my classroom libraries below, keep in mind that the rooms in my school aren't that big. I would love to have space like some of the rooms I see out there, but you have the make the best of what you have. I love how neat and tidy The Plaid Apple is. If you have the space, this reading nook is great! This library from the 2 sisters is ah-ma-zing. I'm pretty that's all we would do all day long. This library is simple and purposeful. 4. Procedure My students all have book boxes for Daily Five. I stress to my students that they must keep their books in the boxes and not in the desks since that can damage the books and cause them to get lost. I don't let my students choose books in the morning (they were socializing too much and not completing their morning work) or during Daily Five time (they spent the whole time shopping for books and not reading). My students are each assigned days of the week. On Monday, Monday friends (about 5 or 6 students) can switch out their books in the morning. They get 15 minutes to do this and must be in their seat working by 9:10. At the beginning of the year, I teach students how to choose books that will last them a week. At 9:10, the "Daily Friends" bring their book boxes to me to check. Each student has a booklet in their book box and I stick a label rubric in and circle how they did. The categories on the rubric label that I am checking their box for are organization, nonfiction books, fiction books, and their writing notebook (I require them to keep their writing notebook in their box for ease of transitioning during Daily Five). I also take this time to make sure students have chosen appropriate books for their level and enough books to get them through the week. Sometimes I ask students to put back some books if I think they have too many and will end up not being able to finish any within the week. Two students every week are assigned the job of librarian in my classroom. It is their job to search the room for misplaced books and put them back where they belong. They also straighten up and organize my library every afternoon to keep it looking clean. 5. Tracking I don't really keep track of who has what book. My primary concern is to get the books into the hands of the students and they usually have about 8-10 books in their book box at any given time. That is way too many for me to keep track of for every student. The system I mentioned above, checking book boxes for "Daily Friends", gives me a good idea of where things go and who is reading what. There is incredible software out there that allows you to scan your books online and set up accounts for your students to check them out using a smart phone or tablet, just like a real library. I think this is awesome! I would use it if I could, but I don't have any tablets in my room or the patience to scan all my books. Other Ideas This source uses paper clips to attach read aloud books to the wall of the library. This source has a "book hospital" for torn or ripped books that need to be repaired. Themed libraries are always super cute, like this one from Proteacher. If you made it this far, you definitely deserve a freebie. Below you can download my Genre posters. The posters make a nice addition to my classroom library. I post them one at a time after teaching each genre. I hope I was able to give you some ideas or inspire you in some way. I know you all have tons of awesome ideas as well and I would love to learn from you. Leave me a comment to let me know how you do things in your room. See you soon! Click Here to view my Class Library Pinterest Board Click here to download Genre Posters

Colorful organization solutions for setting up and maintaining your classroom library that allow students to easily access the books they want to read.

Nonfiction, graphic novels, diverse options, mysteries—they're all here!

5th grade classroom tour with lots of great decor, organization ideas, and colorful classroom pictures!

In my opinion, the library is the most important part of any classroom. It’s safe to say that I am obsessed with having an organized library tailored to my students’ wants and needs. Two years agoI decided to “ditch the bins” and seek a different form of classroom library organization. After seeing how much my ... Read more

As adults, we often walk into a bookstore with a certain genre we are ready to peruse the aisles for in order to find our next read. Would your students be able to do the

One of the most magical parts about teaching is being able to foster a love of reading amongst your students! Before they get into later years where reading might lose some of its joy (uni, I’m looking at you here!), a love of books helps not only to improve literacy but to encourage imaginative play, too. If you haven’t yet got a library section in your classroom, or your current book nook just isn’t working how you imagined it would, then read on, friend! I’ve popped together some tips on how to organize your classroom library to minimize headaches and maximize reading for your students. A quick note – these are only tips! Please know there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ when it comes to your library set up, it’s completely up to you to decide what will work best for your students. My BFF @lololoveslearning blew me away when she revealed her new library set up in her classroom! Using my Bulletin Board Lettering Pack and Editable Boho Rainbow Classroom Labels. What is a classroom library? A classroom library is a great resource for your little learners to be able to directly interact with books on a day-to-day basis! Promoting literacy skills, a classroom library is usually a collection of books, magazines and any other literary resources that are tailored to your students’ general reading level and interests. Covering the spectrum of fiction and non-fiction, a classroom library is a helpful tool for teachers to incorporate into their lesson plans to encourage enthusiastic, motivated readers! What is the benefit of a classroom library? Outside of providing direct support to your literacy lessons, having a library in your classroom serves multiple other purposes! It helps your little learners to learn about the concept of libraries and how they operate; it provides directly accessible resources for any students who want to engage in extra reading outside of lessons; it allows you to incorporate individual and group reading into your curriculum; and it gives students the opportunity to read across a range of topics and genres that might interest them, regardless of what their home situation might look like! Where to set up your classroom library The first thing you’ll need to do when creating your library space is work out where you’ll put it! This might be impacted by the grade you teach, or the personalities of your students. If you’ve got younger kids who are just starting out on their reading journey – then having the library up front might work better with your lesson plans, where you can involve lots of students at once. If your kids are a little older, then a library towards the back of the classroom or in a corner might be a better spot, as they can retreat there and read quietly without disrupting the other kids. How to set up your classroom books Once you’ve settled on a spot, it’s time to think about the library system you want to implement in your classroom! I tend to see teachers go down one of two paths – using book bins to group books by theme or author surname initial; or emulating a traditional library set up, organizing books with the spine facing outwards and ordered by author that way. Depending on the types of books you have and how old your kids are? I like the spine-out method, because it helps your students to prepare for the experience of going to a real library! Especially if you have some real bookworms in your class, they’ll love being able to walk into their local public or council library and find more books to read. @the_taylored_teacher’s book bins look great! I love how she’s labelled them using my round Boho Rainbow editable classroom labels. Just make sure you help to make the process a little less overwhelming, and signpost everything super clearly with some classroom library labels. This creates an easy-to-follow system to support your little learners as they become familiar with the WIDE, wide range of books that are out there! This Boho Rainbow Classroom Labels pack comes with three different sizes of classroom library labels – round, large tray size and a medium version to get your library looking organized (and beautiful, too). If you’re starting out with picture books, the spines on those bad boys might not quite be thick enough to use this system, ha! Combining the two systems can work really well here – use editable classroom labels to create an organization system based on author name (e.g. books with authors whose surnames begin with A through G go into one bin; H through N and so on). As a general rule of thumb, no matter what system you go for, I recommend splitting out fiction from non-fiction. @acraftyteach took her set up to the next level! I love the idea of a Reading Garden, that she created using my Modern Boho Vibes Bulletin Board Lettering Pack. Where can I get books for my classroom library? If you’re setting up your first-ever library for your class, sourcing books can be a challenge – particularly on a teacher budget! Here are a few cost-effective places to look for books: Facebook Marketplace Thrift stores like Goodwill/Salvation Army Garage sales eBay/Amazon Friends and family Time to decorate your classroom library with editable classroom labels Now that your books are all sorted, you can get stuck into the fun part – decorating your classroom library however you want! A quick note to say that if you don’t want to decorate this space, or have a classroom library theme that’s a-okay too. A great tip if your classroom doesn’t already have them is to install bulletin boards on the walls around your dedicated library nook. This way, it’s super easy to create and change displays over time based on what you’re learning that term; or just rotate through some inspirational quotes to accompany your little learners on their reading journey! My Bulletin Board Lettering Pack is filled with editable classroom labels with a variety of different styles of lettering to choose from – just type in your text, print and voila! You can create just about any space you want to with these, you’re only limited by your own imagination. And that’s it! I hope you feel a little more confident to tackle creating and organizing a library in your own classroom. And if you do? I’d love to see how your library comes to life! Make sure you tag me over on Instagram so I can see. Let me know in the comments if you have any other tips on how to organize your classroom library, as I’m sure our community would love your advice!

This summer my classroom got a HUGE makeover. From black, white and brights to a more calming color palette. Just wait til you see..

We are headed quickly for Back to School! Summer seems to go by faster every year, don't you think? This year for one of my goals in reading as we start back to school, I

A Reading Graffiti Wall is a great way to build your classroom reading community. Students find inspirational quotes from books they are reading to share.

The best classroom library ideas to create a space that's fun, inviting and gets the kids excited to read. Plus, the best finds to create the best library in your class.

First Chapter Fridays will get your students eager to read more novels than ever before! Grab a free book list to get started!

Happy Thursday, friends! Today marks the third week of our Reading in the Wild summer book study and we’re talking all about our classroom libraries! If you are just joining us and missed the…

This writing lesson and craft revolving around snow globes helps bring winter to the classroom, even if live in a place without snow!

Use this free printable book report sandwich idea to recall what you read. Print in black / white or color and use with elementary age kids.

I don't mean to sound dramatic, but a hasty introduction of your classroom library to your students could spell disaster for the future...

Popular read aloud books for 4th grade that encourage conversation, and laughter, suitable for reading at home or in the classroom

This year, I decided to make some modifications to my classroom decor, and I am thrilled to share this reveal with you all.

Learn about the library for kids with cute, FUN, and free printable book scavenger hunt activities for elementary and middle school kids.

The best classroom library ideas to create a space that's fun, inviting and gets the kids excited to read. Plus, the best finds to create the best library in your class.

If you're anything like me, I've changed my class library checkout system quite a bit over the years. I could never quite find something that worked well, that students followed through with and that was simple. Today, I've finally FORCED myself to sit down and write this post. I've been wanting to share my checkout system here on the blog for the past few years...but just haven't made the time to write a post. This is the simplest system EVER and I would never go back to any other system I've used before. Traditional class library checkout systems didn't work for me for various reasons. One of the classic systems, placing a shelf maker in the spot you borrowed a book from did not work for me because I wanted my students checking multiple books out at one time. I also tried having them fill out a class library log, but only a handful of students filled it out consistently and accurately. Not to mention, it was just too much of a headache to constantly monitor (especially that returned column). The second best system that I had was when I used Classroom Booksource. Image from Book Source. I blogged about that here. When I first used it back in 2012, it was really new. Now that it's been around awhile, I'm sure it is much more user friendly and easy to use. What I liked about using this site was I had an inventory of ALL my books. All I needed to do was scan the barcode on each book. Students would log into their account and check books out. This was good because I could see what books I had on hand as well as who had a book checked out if I wanted to use it for a lesson. I could also figure out who the missing book on the floor belonged to when nobody in the class would claim it lol. Although this system worked well for me, my students did sometime run into issues where they couldn't find a book they were checking out in the system. It was also time consuming for students and the setup was SUPER time consuming for me. It took me forever to get my entire class library uploaded into that database. All you need for this NEW and IMPROVED checkout system is a phone/iPad/tablet, books, and kids. You good?! I had a rotating schedule on when students could bookshop. Each day of the week, a different colored group would get to book shop first thing in the morning. They were allowed to choose 4 books and would keep those books in their book bags until the next time their book shopping day came around (the following week). Once they chose their books, they would simply come up to me, spread their books out and I would snap a photo of them on my phone. Even if I was in the middle of something, it took less than 5 seconds for me to snap their photo and delete their picture from the previous week. This system allowed me to see who had what book and monitor what was checked out. If a kid wanted to keep one of the same books and get a few new ones the following week, they would just choose their new books and come to get their picture taken as normal. If they wanted to keep all their books, they would just come and let me know and I would keep their old photo. Because I only had a few students shopping each day, it was totally manageable. I could also see this working as a class job. PRO TIP: Another thing that helps this system work seamlessly is by having an organized classroom library. This ensures that students can quickly and easily find books that they're interested in. I have all of my library books in bins and they are organized by favorite authors, popular book series, and genre. It makes it easy for my students to find books that they like and they can also quickly put back the books they are retuning (books are labeled so that students know what bins to return them to). Click here to check out the labels that I use to organize my library AND snag the free labels that go along with this organizational system. Are you just starting out building your classroom library? You may be interested in this post where I share Ideas on Expanding Your Class Library on a Teacher Budget. If you decide to try this system out, I'd love to hear about how it's working for you and your students. Feel free to leave me a comment or tag me on Instagram @Teachinginparadise :) Short on Time? Save this post for later!

Whether you're a homeschool mom looking for a great book for your 5th grader or a classroom teacher trying to build a great library, finding texts that are engaging and a great fit for your readers can be tough. I've compiled this list of the best books for 5th graders to help save you time and give you a

Keep your classroom organized, your sanity intact, and your social media channels popping.

I love encouraging my students to explore a variety of genres, but sometimes that means I need to explicitly teach them about the genres first! These free genre posters are the perfect way to do just that!

Hello! I just wrapped up my first week of my eleventh year teaching and wanted to share some picture of my classroom with you. This post contains Amazon affiliate links for your convenience. I am paid a small commission for referring you to the products I am recommending but you will not pay any additional ... Read More about Classroom Tour 2017-2018

Building a classroom library? These must have tips and ideas will help your upper elementary class library stay organized and effective.

One of the most magical parts about teaching is being able to foster a love of reading amongst your students! Before they get into later years where reading might lose some of its joy (uni, I’m looking at you here!), a love of books helps not only to improve literacy but to encourage imaginative play, too. If you haven’t yet got a library section in your classroom, or your current book nook just isn’t working how you imagined it would, then read on, friend! I’ve popped together some tips on how to organize your classroom library to minimize headaches and maximize reading for your students. A quick note – these are only tips! Please know there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ when it comes to your library set up, it’s completely up to you to decide what will work best for your students. My BFF @lololoveslearning blew me away when she revealed her new library set up in her classroom! Using my Bulletin Board Lettering Pack and Editable Boho Rainbow Classroom Labels. What is a classroom library? A classroom library is a great resource for your little learners to be able to directly interact with books on a day-to-day basis! Promoting literacy skills, a classroom library is usually a collection of books, magazines and any other literary resources that are tailored to your students’ general reading level and interests. Covering the spectrum of fiction and non-fiction, a classroom library is a helpful tool for teachers to incorporate into their lesson plans to encourage enthusiastic, motivated readers! What is the benefit of a classroom library? Outside of providing direct support to your literacy lessons, having a library in your classroom serves multiple other purposes! It helps your little learners to learn about the concept of libraries and how they operate; it provides directly accessible resources for any students who want to engage in extra reading outside of lessons; it allows you to incorporate individual and group reading into your curriculum; and it gives students the opportunity to read across a range of topics and genres that might interest them, regardless of what their home situation might look like! Where to set up your classroom library The first thing you’ll need to do when creating your library space is work out where you’ll put it! This might be impacted by the grade you teach, or the personalities of your students. If you’ve got younger kids who are just starting out on their reading journey – then having the library up front might work better with your lesson plans, where you can involve lots of students at once. If your kids are a little older, then a library towards the back of the classroom or in a corner might be a better spot, as they can retreat there and read quietly without disrupting the other kids. How to set up your classroom books Once you’ve settled on a spot, it’s time to think about the library system you want to implement in your classroom! I tend to see teachers go down one of two paths – using book bins to group books by theme or author surname initial; or emulating a traditional library set up, organizing books with the spine facing outwards and ordered by author that way. Depending on the types of books you have and how old your kids are? I like the spine-out method, because it helps your students to prepare for the experience of going to a real library! Especially if you have some real bookworms in your class, they’ll love being able to walk into their local public or council library and find more books to read. @the_taylored_teacher’s book bins look great! I love how she’s labelled them using my round Boho Rainbow editable classroom labels. Just make sure you help to make the process a little less overwhelming, and signpost everything super clearly with some classroom library labels. This creates an easy-to-follow system to support your little learners as they become familiar with the WIDE, wide range of books that are out there! This Boho Rainbow Classroom Labels pack comes with three different sizes of classroom library labels – round, large tray size and a medium version to get your library looking organized (and beautiful, too). If you’re starting out with picture books, the spines on those bad boys might not quite be thick enough to use this system, ha! Combining the two systems can work really well here – use editable classroom labels to create an organization system based on author name (e.g. books with authors whose surnames begin with A through G go into one bin; H through N and so on). As a general rule of thumb, no matter what system you go for, I recommend splitting out fiction from non-fiction. @acraftyteach took her set up to the next level! I love the idea of a Reading Garden, that she created using my Modern Boho Vibes Bulletin Board Lettering Pack. Where can I get books for my classroom library? If you’re setting up your first-ever library for your class, sourcing books can be a challenge – particularly on a teacher budget! Here are a few cost-effective places to look for books: Facebook Marketplace Thrift stores like Goodwill/Salvation Army Garage sales eBay/Amazon Friends and family Time to decorate your classroom library with editable classroom labels Now that your books are all sorted, you can get stuck into the fun part – decorating your classroom library however you want! A quick note to say that if you don’t want to decorate this space, or have a classroom library theme that’s a-okay too. A great tip if your classroom doesn’t already have them is to install bulletin boards on the walls around your dedicated library nook. This way, it’s super easy to create and change displays over time based on what you’re learning that term; or just rotate through some inspirational quotes to accompany your little learners on their reading journey! My Bulletin Board Lettering Pack is filled with editable classroom labels with a variety of different styles of lettering to choose from – just type in your text, print and voila! You can create just about any space you want to with these, you’re only limited by your own imagination. And that’s it! I hope you feel a little more confident to tackle creating and organizing a library in your own classroom. And if you do? I’d love to see how your library comes to life! Make sure you tag me over on Instagram so I can see. Let me know in the comments if you have any other tips on how to organize your classroom library, as I’m sure our community would love your advice!

The best classroom library ideas to create a space that's fun, inviting and gets the kids excited to read. Plus, the best finds to create the best library in your class.

If you are looking for ways to study genre in your upper elementary classroom, then you’ll want to download these FREE Reading Genre Review Slides and try out

Hey everyone! It's Anna from Hanging with Mrs. Hulsey! The school year is officially in full swing-- and my students are definitely feeling more comfortable with me and each other! One thing I've decided we need to focus on more is our classroom community! Here are some quick ideas to help you promote a positive climate in your classroom! Use Team Builders Team building activities are easy to implement! They don't take a lot of time, students find them to be engaging, and they are often FREE! Here is a quick list of some of my favorite student team building activities: Human Knot (Students stand in circle, reach for hands of people across the way, and then they must untangle themselves without letting go. This can also be done as a spiderweb using a ball of yarn) Tallest Tower (Divide students into groups and give them supplies like straws, tape, blocks, etc. The team that can make the tallest tower wins!) Minefield (Set up a "minefield" that students must navigate a blindfolded partner through) Hula Hoop Pass (Can be played whole class or in teams. Students hold hands and must pass through a hula hoop as quickly as possible) Switch Sides If... (Use a chalk line, rope, or tape line. Have students stand on one side of the line. Read off items like "switch sides if you like to bake", etc.) The internet provides an infinite source of team building activities! I've included a few links below: http://www.ventureteambuilding.co.uk/team-building-activities/ http://www.momjunction.com/articles/team-building-activities-will-keep-kids-busy-summer_0074763/#gref http://mommieshobbies.blogspot.com/2014/01/switch-sides-if.html?m=1 Hold Morning Meetings Time is precious in my classroom because we departmentalize. It feels like we are always on the go. However, I feel that even something as small as a weekly morning meeting would help my students develop a more positive feeling toward one another. You can read more about morning meetings for older elementary students here! I also love this product from TPT! Write Daily White Board Messages I think this is a such a simple way to start the day off with a positive vibe! The night before (or morning of) write a simple prompt on the white board/chalkboard and have students respond on the board. This will foster another sense of ownership and community. You can find white board messages by searching google or Pinterest! Here are some quick ideas to get you started: 1 Thing Wednesday-- name one thing we've done this year that you'd like to do again! I Think I Can Thursday-- what is one goal you want to achieve this year? Flashback Friday-- what is one new thing you have learned this week? Write a compliment for a classmate by their name (no repeats!) Name 3 traits of a great friend What is your favorite book you've read this year? Thankful Thursday-- what is 1 thing you are thankful for? Make it Monday-- what is 1 thing you've always wanted to create?' Top 2 Tuesday-- write your top 2 favorite things about the school year so far Compliment Circles This activity would pair well with morning meetings! You and the students sit in a circle with everyone's legs out straight. Begin the compliment circle by giving a compliment to someone. Once someone has been complimented they cross their legs. Compliments continue until everyone has received 1. I think this is a great way to encourage students to see each other in different ways! Create a Kindness Board I created this one for the visual it would provide to my students. Plus, I wanted them to point out kindness when they see it in others! This one is easy to implement: 1. Print out the letters and hang on a wall or bulletin board. 2. Print the "caught being kind" strips on various colors of paper (I used Astrobright paper). 3. Cut the strips apart and keep on hand for when students catch others being kind. 4. When students experience a kindness or act of friendship, they come and ask you for a "caught being kind" strip. They write down their experience. 5. Start a paper chain and add a new link every time someone catches others being kind! You can find this HERE in my TPT store! Here is another type of board with a similar theme (kindness): You can find these fall themed board HERE in my store! I hope you found these ideas to be useful to implement in your classroom! If you have any questions-- feel free to leave them in the comment section!

3rd grade teacher Deanna shares how she saves time and works more efficiently.

Kids love to be helpers, so give them some amazing classroom jobs for students that will build responsibility and make your life in the classroom easier.

The best classroom library ideas to create a space that's fun, inviting and gets the kids excited to read. Plus, the best finds to create the best library in your class.

Real-life kindergarten spaces!

Let's talk about classroom library organization using book spine labels! These labels with transform how you organize your classroom library!

Teacher hacks can be life savers so the Lucky 2nd Grade Teachers Facebook Group came up with a list of 25 teacher hacks to make your life so much easier!