Curriculum mapping is an essential skill for educators. Curriculum Mapping ensures a teacher teaches all the standards for the grade level by mapping out what…

Make worksheets using programs you probably already have! These 6 steps will get you started creating your own resources today!

A list of the best teacher websites, blogs, and online resources recommended by teachers for teachers.

Are you one of the many teachers who is struggling to teach summarizing? Summarizing can be a difficult skill for students to master. It requires strong reading comprehension since students need to be able to

Stop taking away recess and using other punishments to control your students. Find success with 10 powerful classroom management strategies!

Get your teacher life organized with 200 free Google Keep headers! This note-taking system will revolutionize the way you teach.

Subscribe to the Teach 4 the Heart Podcast.It was a great day when I discovered 4 magic words that just seem to dissolve tension and eliminate at least half of the arguments in my classroom.And those words are: "You're not in trouble."Students can be so defensive, can't they? (and let's be honest,

Interview prep questions for new special education teachers and teachers who are interviewing this year! Download the list!

Self-reflection is one of the most powerful practices to improve teaching. When you practice self-reflection regularly, it will completely transform your classroom and instruction. Furthermore, self-reflection can take you from being a good teacher to being a great teacher. Are you ready to begin the transformation?

Step by step directions for teachers explaining how to teach students to build reading stamina in order to become independent readers.

Welcome to the Free Resource Library for Montessori, early childhood and lower elementary teachers, parents and educators! I am thrilled to provide you with a curated selection of free printables. […]

If you work with children, I can promise you that you will come across at least one student that has these difficult behaviors. Not only are they really stressful for the teacher but they impact the student’s life in many ways. Behaviors like disrespect and defiance can make classroom's chaotic.

Find out how to organize your classroom to easily work on different levels of IEP goals while maintaining data collection on a regular basis.

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Newcomer students receive some support from an ELD (English Language Development) teacher in most elementary schools. The majority of their time is spent in their grade level classroom. Here are some strategies for supporting a newcomer student both in their grade level classroom and areas to focus on during targeted language development lessons. Create a

Whether you need to take attendance or whip up activities when you're missing lesson plans, here's what to bring in your sub to-go bag to be prepared for a great day.

This week the movie Wonder released on DVD + Bluray. To celebrate I'm giving away two copies to two lucky readers. Plus, download these free printable Wonder activity sheets. Based on the New York Times

Likability is a key principle of SCM—because it makes building rapport effortless. It causes students to want to listen to you, please you, and behave for you. It helps make your consequences matter. Being disliked, on the other hand, makes classroom management far more ... Read more

Got a talkative class? Check out these 5 ways to quiet the chatter!

Students can travel across the globe without leaving the classroom. Check out these fun geography lessons for any grade and curriculum.

Classroom hacks that actually work in a special education classroom setting. Tried and true methods from actual teachers. Read to learn more.

Does your school have a Sunshine Committee? Or another way to help spread happiness to your staff throughout the year? I have always loved the Sunshine Committee at my school and have always appreciated and enjoyed the little ways they try to boost morale in our school. I did not exactly volunteer to be in charge of the committee this year, but I was somehow made co-chair. It's a big job and so I was a little scared at first, but then I realized how much fun this would be and I've enjoyed helping to lead this committee so far. Some of you might be wondering what a Sunshine Committee really is so I thought I'd explain it a little bit. We all know about "Teacher Burnout" and we all know how hard it can sometimes be to make it through the entire school year. I usually start out the year with a lot of passion and enthusiasm in August, then after Christmas break, usually January to March, I start feeling worn-out and over-worked. Know the feeling? Well, the Sunshine Committee is just a little way to help teachers stay happy and positive throughout the year. We plan socials, organize treat days, and give little appreciation gifts throughout the school year. Over the years, this committee has definitely helped me feel appreciated and loved throughout the year. Here's a list of ideas of fun things you could do. We don't use all of these ideas; I just wanted to provide you with a list of possible ideas for the entire school year. This printable is available in my Sunshine Committee Ideas pack for FREE! Download it from my TPT Store: HERE! Here's how it works at my school: At the beginning of the year, teachers are asked to give a $35 "donation" to the committee. This donation gives us the budget that we need to do kind deeds throughout the year. We buy gifts for all bridal showers, baby showers, and when people experience the death of a close loved one. We do meals for the staff twice a year. We usually provide the main dish and paper products for the Christmas Party (the side dishes are usually potluck style) and we always do a full catered meal at the end of year banquet. We usually organize some sort of Thanksgiving meal too. I think last year we did potluck soups and our committee provided the paper products. We usually try to find little times throughout the year to put treats in the faculty room. It could be doughnuts the day after parent teacher conferences or themed treats for a holiday. I think this year I want to do a soda party with a variety of flavored syrups just for fun on a Friday afternoon when everyone could use a little pick-me-up. As a way to say thank you to everyone for paying their Sunshine dues, I made these little bags of sunshine. We did Worthers (although any gold/yellow item would work), and included a coupon for an extra 30 min of prep. All teachers have to do is take the coupon to the office and schedule a time when an administrator can take the class for 30 minutes. That gives our principal and vice principal an opportunity to go into the classrooms and work directly with a group of students. They'll just take their favorite read aloud story with them and read, which means that the teachers won't have to provide sub plans. Want a copy of all my Sunshine Committee printables?! Grab them for FREE from my TPT Store: HERE! This week, our committee is putting on a Pumpkin Party. (I got this idea from one of our Facebook followers who commented on my Facebook post a few weeks back.) Just to celebrate fall, we've asked everyone to bring (if they want) some kind of food item that has pumpkin as an ingredient. It could also be anything that looks like a pumpkin or really anything that is orange. I'm excited to see what everyone will come up with. I will purchase pumpkin plates and we'll decorate the teacher's lounge orange and black and leave the decorations up until after Halloween. In the past our school's Sunshine Committee has done some sort of Biggest Loser Competition for anyone who wants to participate. We usually ask people to donate $5 to a pot, then we commit to certain goals, and have daily points for exercising, drinking water, avoiding soda, etc. At the end of the competition the money goes to people who met their goal. I'm not sure how the competition will look this year, but we'll probably start something up in January to encourage teachers to be healthy for the new year. I think I'll end this post here and maybe continue with some more ideas another day. As you can see, having a Sunshine Committee could be a huge benefit to any school. Teaching is a wonderful and rewarding job, but sometimes it's the little things can help us have more fun in the workplace. I would LOVE to hear any other great ideas that you have! Please leave a comment and let me know if your school has a Sunshine Committee and what you do to help boost morale at your school. For those of you who don't already have something like this, would you consider starting one at your school?

I am so excited to launch my first "series" of blog posts! It's making me feel all grown-up and blogger-like :)My first series is going to be on increasing student engagement in the classroom. Over

Checking for Understanding Formative Assessment Exit Slips

Differentiation is a word that is used a lot in teaching. We know a good teacher uses differentiation strategies daily to meet the needs of…

Preschoolers love to pretend play. X-Rays are a lot of fun to look at and learn about. Check out some fun x ray activities for preschoolers.

Fun ideas for teaching adjectives and descriptive writing that are just right for October and Halloween week in the primary classroom.

I have seen so many great ideas for review games out there. I thought I would compile a list of my favorites to have as a resource. I figure if I could come up with 6 great games that work, I only have to use the same game 4 times in a year! 1. Zap! - This is my favorite game so far simply because the smartest group doesn't always win. It's kind of like Jeopardy, but with a curve ball - if you get the "Zapped" card, you lose all your points! Thanks for sharing, Mathtastrophe! Game instructions and printable here. Another take on this game is Bazinga by Simplifying Radicals. 2. Nerf Gun - Love this idea! Draw a bullseye on the board. Divide the kids into teams. Ask a team a review question. If they get the answer correct, they get to shoot at the board to see how many points they earn. So fun! 3. Jenga - I really like how Living Out His Love blog does this one. She writes with a sharpie marker directly onto the Jenga piece. And, she write a subject and week on both sides of each piece. Though, if done this way, it seems like you could only do this at the end of the semester (because if you have Sciene, week 7 written in sharpie and you're only at week 3, that wouldn't work!). Another idea is to tape the subject and week with clear packing tape and then re-do it as your progress along in the year. 4. Power Tower - Similar to Jenga, but with paper cups. Write the question on the cup. If the class answers correctly, they get to stack the cups. If the tower falls, they have to start over. via Mrs. Lewis' Learning Library 5. Mr Potato Head - For every question the class gets correct, they get to add a body part to Mr. Potato. I also like the idea on 2nd Grade Rocks! blog. She uses it as a behavior incentive. Every time the class has good behavior, they get to add a body part. When Mr. Potato is completely put together, they get to have an ice cream party! 6. Snowball Fight - Love this idea for Texas as this may be the only snow the children ever see. Write the review questions on a piece of paper. Divide the kids into 2 teams. If the kids get it correct, they get to crumble it up into a ball. After all the questions have been answered, they get to have a snowball fight using the paper balls! 7. Chair Tic-Tac-Toe - Put nine chairs in 3 rows of 3 to make a square. Divide the class into 2 teams. Ask a team a question. If they get it correctly, one of their players gets to sit in one of the chairs. The first team to have 3 players sitting in a row wins. 8. Memory Mogul - Awesome (and free!) printable game from Sola Gratia Mom blog. This one seems like it could take some time printing out the cards and possibly creating a game board. But, the game board and cards could last all year. Click here for instructions and printables. 9. Stinky Feet - My 7 year old son would love this one. Very simple with little prep time. Idea and instructions can be found here at Teaching in the Fast Lane blog. 10. Classroom Board Game - This game may require a little adapting, but it looks like fun. Turn the classroom into a life size game board. Great ideas for how to do this game here at Blessings for Bible School Teachers.

IEP goal bins will help you keep your students' goals and materials organized so you can focus on what's important: the students.

The six word memoir is a quick and creative way to get students thinking and writing about their own lives. Whether you use it for an icebreaker (which makes a great display!) at the start of school or as part of an identity or personal narrative unit, this engaging activity pulls together reflection, writing and visuals to produce a memorable moment of connection with your student writers. This curriculum set now comes with a Google drive link to an editable version of the student instructions and handouts. I hope that's helpful! From the Reviews: "I'll be using this during the first week of school with my sophomores. I've done six-word memoirs with my students before, but I love that you have added an artistic element. I also appreciate the short reflection assignment, as reflection is a very important part of my classroom culture. Thanks!" "Great activity to use during the first week. Will be using as a lead in to a 5 paragraph essay. Thanks!" "Easy to use. Open-ended enough to allow creativity." Here's what's inside: Clear project instructions Two template options to help students combine their words and imagery An optional reflection to extend the writing process once the six word memoirs are complete Please check out the preview to see the handouts in detail. Looking for more creative ideas for your English classroom? Check out The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast! Did you enjoy this activity? Please share your thoughts by leaving a review! You'll get free credits towards your next purchase, and think of the karma. Love combining visuals with ideas in class? Check out these popular one-pager activities.

Using strategies to make thinking visible can be incredibly powerful. Their power, however, hinges almost entirely on how willing teachers are to learn about their students. Far too often, I see vi…

Plan the new school year with these goal setting worksheets for kids. Use this goal planning printable to help kids plan and take action on their goals.

Classroom/behavior management is one of the most important things to master in your classroom. Having solid behavior management helps maintain a positive classroom environment, while enabling teachers and students to accomplish LEARNING! Here are TEN tips and tricks for behavior management I use in my classroom: Greeting Students at the Door The way you start

Ready to get more sub jobs and keep your income steady? Follow my substitute teacher tips to be a requested substitute teacher and make teachers LOVE you!

Please note: Amazon affiliate links are included in this post for your convenience! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I don't know about you, but I am always looking for ways to make my life easier! I have been teaching for 12 years now, and I feel like I am finally figuring […]

This blog shares a whole host of resources to help TAs, HLTAs and LSAs get organised and feel prepared for their ever-changing roles in school.