This list of classroom storage ideas and hacks for teachers could be just what you need to help you feel more organized. The Teach Starter teacher team is here to help you save you the time it takes to set up your classroom before students arrive for the first day of school with some simple, cheap and clever storage ideas for the classroom.
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.
These teacher hacks are brilliant ideas for your classroom that'll make your life so much easier this year. Number nine will change your life!
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!
The ultimate list of classroom management strategies, organized into verbal and non-verbal strategies, parent communication tips,rewards and prizes, games, brain breaks, and visual strategies.
The best ideas in classroom organization including organizing bookshelves, creating a teacher cart, plus create the perfect teacher space!
Come check out these classroom lighting ideas to reduce headaches and even spark creativity in learning. The lighting in your room should match the task!
A simple, super smart way to motivate your students to turn in their homework.
Amazing classroom decoration ideas including how to add a class fireplace, a beautiful teacher space, a classroom fridge and more!
Explore easy classroom management strategies and ideas from other teachers to keep the classroom running smoothly and meet the 3 C's.
It's more than what it seems.
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:
So, I invented a new game today. It was completely necessary at the moment. It requires zero prep and zero materials (other than a class list). It. Works. Like. Magic! The name of the game is 'Last Kid Standing'. How
Amazon teacher favorites! If you are looking for some new classroom finds, gere are some to add to your wishlist.
You want your classroom to be a colorful, cozy, and inviting learning space. You’d love to have a cohesive theme or at least a color scheme, so everything looks put together. But are themes childish? Aren’t middle schoolers too old for classroom decor?
Classroom callbacks are a technique that teachers use to get the students’ attention in a quick and fun way. Free resource available.
Birthdays in the classroom can be tricky due to cost and food restrictions. Here are bonafide tips for how to celebrate student birthdays in a special way.
Warm and inviting decor matters beyond elementary school!
Brain breaks are a great classroom management tool to use regularly in your classroom. Brain breaks are short, 1 to 2 minute, activities that can…
Free Printable I Spy Back to School Activity. Classroom themed activity or game idea for the first day of school for students.
Birthday Posters | Cupcake Display | Digital Download Perfect for celebrating birthdays throughout the year, this delightful display adds a personalised touch that students will love. Simply print, customise the candles with student names, and arrange them on the cupcakes to create a charming wall display. Ideal for creating a welcoming environment and fostering a sense of belonging, this kit ensures every student feels special on their birthday. Key Features: Gentle-Coloured Cupcakes: Our display features 12 charming birthday cupcakes in soft, gentle colours, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere for celebrating student birthdays. Editable Candles: The cupcakes come with editable candles that allow you to use Adobe Reader to quickly type student names into the candles. Attach them to the corresponding cupcake, displaying the month of the year, for a personalized touch. Versatile Usage: This kit is perfect for showcasing student birthdays in a fun and memorable way. It's a beautiful addition to your classroom decor that fosters a sense of belonging and celebration among students. Easy Assembly: The kit includes easy-to-assemble decorations, making it hassle-free to create a captivating birthday bulletin board that will make students feel special. What's Included 12 Gentle-Coloured Birthday Cupcakes for each month of the yearEditable Candles for PersonalisationEasy-to-Assemble Decorations Make each student's birthday a memorable occasion with our Gentle-Coloured Birthday Cupcake Display. Whether you're an experienced educator or just starting your teaching journey, this kit is an essential resource for fostering a sense of community and celebration in your classroom. Order your kit today and create a beautiful and fun class display to honor student birthdays! Additional Information Please note, this is a downloadable, digital file that you can access immediately after purchase. To open the files you may be required to have a PDF Reader such as Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. To edit: If the product description stipulates that the file is editable, it will be editable only in Adobe Acrobat (free). You will need to have access to Adobe Acrobat to be able to type in your text. Grab Adobe here. ‘Editable’ refers to the *text* within the file being customisable. Images and colour palettes are not editable. Simply type into the text boxes provided or add in your own to edit. Experiencing a technical problem? If you’re having trouble downloading or opening this file, no worries! Please make sure to read the instructions that come with this product before reaching out for assistance. If you’re still having technical difficulties, please feel free to reach out to [email protected] and we'll be happy to assist you. Don’t hesitate to let us know if there’s anything else we can do to help! Terms of Use When you purchase this resource, you have the right to make limited copies of the pages for your own single classroom or homeschool use only. However, it’s important to note that duplicating this resource for a friend, colleague, or anyone else, or for any commercial purposes, is not allowed unless an additional license is purchased. Please also keep in mind that copying any part of this resource and sharing it on the internet in any form, including personal or classroom websites or school servers, is a violation. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in respecting our work and intellectual property.
Time to inspire and motivate your students with these 4 fun bulletin board ideas that are perfect for schools, classrooms, or libraries!
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!
One of the great (and probably easiest) ways to gamify your teaching is through the use of game generators. These are tools that enable you to easily create various educational games without the need for any coding knowledge. And if you are wondering which tools to use, I have recommendations for you!
You want your classroom to be a colorful, cozy, and inviting learning space. You’d love to have a cohesive theme or at least a color scheme, so everything looks put together. But are themes childish? Aren’t middle schoolers too old for classroom decor?
The best classroom setup ideas to get your class ready for back to school including the best classroom layout and desk arrangements.
Building a classroom community where students feel included, valued, and supported is every teacher's dream. As educators, we want our students to feel like important members of our classroom community. Of course, this happens naturally in the way we interact with students and the way we celebrate learning in our classrooms. However, I've found that it is also effective to include intentional activities that help students build bonds, develop social emotional learning skills, and foster a positive learning culture. Here are a few of my favorite ways to build a positive classroom environment... Writing notes to students is a wonderful way to let them know how important they are. Many students have a deep desire to be noticed and recognized. Taking a moment to share a kind note with kids is a perfect (and easy) way to let them know that they matter. The notes you write don't need to be extravagant. Sometimes a little message next to students' homework assignments or a post-it note at their desks is perfect. You might also want to be more intentional and designate a day in your planning to write notes to students. I've found that it's best to keep a set of notecards at the ready for sharing with students. To make sharing words of encouragement really easy, just grab this FREE set of positive note cards. Build a positive classroom community by giving students a chance to be kind to each other. One of my favorite ways to do this is to play "Pass the Compliment." Begin by discussing what constitutes a sincere compliment, and how to give specific praise. Explain to your students that a comment like “good job” is less powerful than a comment that begins with “I really liked the way you...” Once they’ve got the gist, have them put their new skill into practice by writing specific, sincere compliments about their classmates by passing around customized compliment collecting papers for each student. When the students receive their customized, original compliments, stand back and watch them beam – my students talked about this for months after we did it! Find this FREE activity along with many more in this 25+ page resource filled with kindness activities. Promote positivity in the classroom with inspirational quotes and writing prompts. One way to do just that is with positive pennant flags. First, students will choose a motivational quote that inspires them. Then, they’ll respond to a writing prompt based on the quote. The writing prompt gives students a chance to pause and reflect. Finally, students combine their writing with a pennant topper with a motivational quote to make a fun and inspiring pennant flag. These pennant flags make incredible displays. They’re easy to create and impactful to share. Your students will love this community-building, classroom-beautifying, writing-practicing, positivity-creating activity! Check them out here. Create a "sea" of kindness in your classroom one drop at a time. Build a positive classroom community by hosting a Random Acts of Kindness challenge in your classroom to encourage students to spread kindness at school, home and in the community. In this activity, students perform four random acts of kindness and record their good deeds on “drops of kindness.” The drops of kindness can be collected and displayed in the classroom as a reminder of the power and impact of small acts of kindness. Get this activity (and 5 more FREE kindness activities) directly in your inbox. Just click here. Give students a chance to investigate positive emotions like hope with the Chain of Hope activity. To begin, you have a discussion about hope with students. Students could share a time when they were hopeful and why hope is an important emotion. Then, give students a chance to create links for a classroom chain of hope. On strips of colorful paper, have students write a hope for themselves, their classroom, their community, and the world. Then, as students share their hopes, link the pieces of paper. Finally, hang the chain in the classroom. Find this activity and more here. Speaking of emotions, take time to help students build their social emotional learning skills. When students have a chance to explore emotions, they build more self-awareness. As their self-awareness increases, so does their ability to show empathy, build positive relationships, and make thoughtful decisions. Social emotional learning activities are a crucial way to promote a positive classroom community. One way to help students explore emotions is by having them work collaboratively to create an emotions skit. Assign small groups an emotion. Then, have students plan and write a script that showcases someone experiencing that emotion. Give students a chance to practice their skits before performing them for classmates. Find detailed planning pages and 5 additional social emotional learning lessons here. -------------------------------------------------------------- I think we both agree, there's nothing better than a classroom filled with positive energy. I hope you've found a few ideas to make your students feel connected to you, their classmates, and the school community. Grab each idea at these links... --- Free Positive Notecards --- Free Compliment Posters --- Positive Pennant Flags --- Free Acts of Kindness Challenge --- Chain of Hope (and 5 more activities) --- Emotions Skit (and more Social Emotional Learning Ideas) Thanks for stopping by! Mary Beth
Everything you need to thrive in grade five!
These engaging strategies to incorporate movement in the classroom are perfect for the fidgety students & kinesthetic learners in your class!
This post explains how teachers can use an academic version of the highly engaging Spoons game to review concepts. Free games included!
It's the first day of school. Whether you've welcomed students into your classroom for many years or it's your first year ever, it's always exciting (and sometimes a bit terrifying!) to meet so many new students at the start of the year. You know you're going to spend the next year together and making a good first impression is the key to getting started on the right note. Here are 5 ideas to take with you into the new school year: Tip #1: Over Plan In one of my first years as a teacher, I made the mistake of under planning for the first day of school. I worked so hard to make everything perfect but I didn't anticipate how fast some of the activities would be completed. As a result, I found myself looking up at the clock and seeing 15 minutes left of class staring back at me...along with 22 faces waiting to see what I had planned for them for the rest of class. Oops. I quickly added a small review game, but I felt so disorganized. I had put so much thought into the first day of school but had made a classic rookie mistake. With that in mind, my first advice for you is to over plan. Have a back-up activity or two already prepared in case you find yourself with some wiggle room at the end of class. If students see that you have fully prepared for their arrival on Day 1, you'll already be off to a great start. Tip #2: Make a Seating Chart I'm sure there are some benefits in allowing students to sit wherever they'd like on the first day of school, but it is definitely not a strategy that works for me! There are two big reasons I have a seating chart posted right when they walk into the classroom: it establishes order and parameters on Day 1 and I can call them by their name when we start our activities. I love seeing student's faces when I call them by their name within 5 minutes of entering my classroom. It immediately starts establishing the positive classroom community I strive to create in my classroom. They know my name and I know theirs! It shows them that I care about them as individuals. (And yes, I do keep a seating chart in my hand or nearby so I can discreetly refer to it during class - it takes me a few days to memorize all those new student names!) Having a seating chart also demonstrates that the classroom is organized and a plan is in place for their learning. It sets the stage for a great school year right away. Tip #3: Change it Up I've made the mistake of spending half the class period (or more!) discussing my syllabus, classroom rules, procedures, etc. Talk about a BORING first day for the kids! Now, I change it up and make a point to select 3 or 4 different activities for an hour-long class. I usually start with a small icebreaker that doesn't put kids on the spot. Then I give kids my welcome letter which introduces them to the class and review over the parts I think are most important on Day 1. Then, we review some class rules and end with a few games / activities to get them talking and moving around. I spread out my classroom rules, procedures, syllabus, etc. over the first 2-3 days of school so as to not overwhelm the kids with too much information all at one time. They will appreciate you for it! P.S. If you're looking for some fun digital activities for the first week of school, check out some of my favorites here! Tip #4: Choose a Game (or two!) I love to host a game or two on the first day of school! Also called icebreakers, these fun little games or activities encourage students to communicate with each other and helps you learn more about their personalities right from the start. Side note: Icebreakers can make...or break...a child's confidence in your class on Day 1. Seriously. I love a good icebreaker, but never want to put a child in a position where they feel uncomfortable on the first day - this is the opposite of my goal of building a positive classroom community! This means I make sure to choose icebreakers that aren't going to put a singular student "on the spot" (like a solo skit/charades or solo public speaking role). Ultimately, it depends on the class and you know your students best, but sometimes those types of icebreakers are better left for later in the year when students know each other better and feel more comfortable in your classroom. That being said, here are some of my favorites. (Some of these can be found in my Back to School Activity resources on TpT!) Check them out here for sixth, seventh and eighth grade: InstaFriend: This activity gets students moving around the room and interviewing classmates! Their InstaFriend paper has a series of descriptions and characteristics. When they find a student who matches the description, they write their name on the box. Each name can only be used once! Right or Wrong: This activity is perfect for a class who loves skits. These skits are centered around our class rules, expectations and procedures. I first divide students into small groups of 2-3. Each group then randomly receives one of our class procedures or expectations. As a group, they have to work together to create two mini skits - one showing the RIGHT way to follow the expectation, the other showing the WRONG way. Hilarity ensues when showing the wrong way to follow a class rule. After each skit, I point out all the positive behaviors as well as reinforce the correct ways to conduct ourselves in the classroom. Online Games: Something new I tried last year was a great success: taking the classroom rules, procedures, policies, syllabus information, etc. and turning them into a fun online review game at the end of the week! The kids LOVED the games and it was a fun way to review. Some of my current favorite game websites are Blooket, Quizlet, Kahoot and Gimkit. Tip #5: Dress for Success Every individual teacher has their own preference for clothes, so this is not a tip about wearing particular types of clothes or styles on the first day of school - just advice recommending that you dress to impress in a way that fits your style. When students walk into the room, they are making a first impression of you. What will it be? I make sure to dress teacher-professional that day because I want my students to see not only my classroom neat and organized, but also my appearance. My main goal is to convey that I take my time at school and their learning seriously and that I am organized and will conduct myself as someone who is approachable and professional. What you wear conveys your personality - both on a personal and professional note - to your students. They are watching carefully! There are SO many things to think about as you prepare for the first day of school. If you were creating your own list of 5 things every middle school teacher should do on the first day of school, what would it say? Add your thoughts to the comments section to help other teachers ace that first day, too! :)
Real-life third grade classrooms!
Free Printable I Spy Back to School Activity. Classroom themed activity or game idea for the first day of school for students.
Special education classrooms need decor and organization tweaks to fit the program needs. Read the tips on how to make the best decor choices for your sped classroom.
As secondary teachers, when it comes to decorating we often don’t know where to start. Sometimes, we just don’t have the time or energy to devote to another long project with possible m…
Have you been wanting to try stations in your Secondary ELA classroom but aren't sure where to start? Read through this quick post where we share 8 station ideas and how to use them with your ELA students.
I have been CRAZY excited to share my classroom with ya'll this year. This is my third year in this classroom, and I'm in love with how it turned out it this school year. I kept a lot of the same centers from last year, and added a few new fun ones (Magnet Center,
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...
Setting up an IEP work bin system can feel overwhelming! Here are some easy ways to do it so that your students can quickly work on goals!
Lucky Duck {A Classroom Community Routine} No comments Classroom Community, Classroom Management, Classroom Routine, Daily News, Lucky Duck, Teaching Ideas Teachers spend a great deal of time building classroom community at the beginning of the school year, but really, this is something that should go on throughout the year. I'm so excited to share with you a tried and true favorite community building activity of mine: Lucky Duck. I have used this routine in my classroom for many, many years. It dates all the way back to my student teaching days (almost two decades ago). I'm going to break down how "Lucky Duck" works in my room, but please know that it can be modified and used in a million different ways. So, feel free to tweak and customize these ideas to meet your needs and teaching style. What is Lucky Duck? Lucky Duck is basically the student of the day. Each day a new student gets to identify as the Lucky Duck. When you're 7, it's a pretty big deal. How does it work? Each day, after school, I select a new Lucky Duck. I have a small tray with my students' names printed on them. I rotate through the stack of names and place the daily name up on the board using the sign pictured below. Doing this right after school means that it's all set up for the morning (when there are always a million and one distractions). These are the names in their little container. You can easily cut up index cards or cardstock to write students' names. You can grab my sign here for FREE (you'll need to handwrite your students' names). Rotating through the stack of names means that each student gets the chance to be Lucky Duck several times throughout the school year. Tip: Don't want to mess with a sign and name cards? Then, just write it all on your whiteboard. Same effect and the kids will still love it! Once I identify the Lucky Duck, I place a rubber ducky on the student's desk. When the kids walk into the room in the morning, they can see who the Lucky Duck is by either reading the board or looking for the rubber duck. What does the Lucky Duck get to do? What I'm about to share is what makes this such a big deal to my students. Daily News First, they get to share some Daily News. Usually, I ask the students a question and they have to answer by restating the question. You can grab a similar set of questions here (freebie). I write their statement on a piece of 12x18 construction paper using the this format: ______ said, "_________." I don't rely on the question cards 100% of the time. I often times invite the students share any random thought they'd like. This love this. Daily News is so great for learning how to write the date (long and short) and how quotation marks work. It's also great for talking about parts of speech, capitalization, phonics, or whatever your teacher heart is drawn to in the moment. I frequently ask students to identify compound words, words with a specific number of syllables, words that rhyme with ___, to identify nouns or verbs or adjectives, we discuss capitalization and commas in a series, and so on. Daily Cheer Second, the Lucky Duck gets to pick the cheer of the day. I have a collection of Dr. Jean chant/cheer cards. They choose one from the designated box and we use it throughout the day. Sorry, no pic but if you search Dr. Jean chants on TPT you can find some great freebies! Calendar Third, they help lead calendar. Again, no pic. I really have got to get better about snapping pics in my room! Anyhoo, we use a digital calendar which can be manipulated using a special pen for the whiteboard (I do not have a smartboard, it's just some pen that connects to my projector/computer and has some sort of magical powers I do not fully understand). The Lucky Duck leads us through the calendar slides and calls on people to share answers. They also get to prompt them to show their whiteboards. In my classroom, we use the signal, "3-2-1 show!" when using whiteboards. I never thought that being able to say those words would be such a hit, but they are. Haha! Daily News Part 2 Fourth, the Lucky Duck gets to decorate/illustrate their Daily News. They can do so in their free time, or during reading group time that day (if their group isn't meeting with me). At the end of the month, I put all the Daily News pages together into a special book and add the books to our classroom library. They absolutely love reading the Daily News books over and over again. They enjoy seeing their own pages, and delight in reading about their classmates. This allows them to learn more about each other and find commonalities. As you can see, the book doesn't look special, but I'm telling you, they are always the most popular books in the classroom library. The cover is simply two pieces of colored 12x18 construction paper with the simple title written in Sharpie. I have started laminating the covers due to the popularity of the books. Line Leader Finally, the Lucky Duck gets to be the line leader for the day. Enough said, we all know that's like the BEST classroom job/privilege in the whole wide world. This routine is a beloved one. The students absolutely love being Lucky Duck. They all get their moment to shine (several times throughout the year), and they get to know more about one another through Daily News. When we sit on the carpet to hear what the Lucky Duck has to report, the students are at full attention. It's an easy way to help students feel special while fostering community in the classroom. The only cost involved with this routine is the one time cost of a rubber duck. Mine cost like $3 on Amazon. Can't beat that! I hope you enjoyed reading about this special routine. Please share your favorite ways to build community throughout the school year in the comments below. DON'T FORGET IT, PIN IT! Share It:
Grab your set of 9 poster prints for classroom decor! Decorate your classroom with posters that are cute with a purpose.
Learn how to set up a middle school classroom so that the room looks visually appealing without looking too young for the age group.
Spring is here and we all have spring fever! Energy levels are higher. Students seem restless. Behaviors that have never been seen before appear. And your once quiet class becomes chatty. Every year I remind myself that this is normal. And to be expected… But that doesn’t mean we can’t remedy the situation. In this ... Read More about 10 Effective Strategies for a Chatty Class
