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...

If there were two words that came out of my mouth more often than not the first few weeks of school, it would be: routine and procedure. Those two words can set the foundation for your whole school year. Without them, you'll be backtracking the rest of the year. Your routi

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 […]

Does your day end in pure chaos? If so, check out my free tips, games, and resources for a clam and peaceful end-of-the-day routine.

Free checklist and tips for developing classroom procedures that build character in students

We're sharing how we set up for Daily 5 rotations! Come check out our pictures and grab FREE resources! Expectations Posters Here's our take on the Daily 5 expectation posters! We keep these posters hanging in the room all year. In the beginning of the year, we continually refer to the posters as kiddos learn the rules and expectations of the Daily 5 routines. After Winter Break, we like to refer back to the posters. After a busy holiday season and a bit of time out of school, the review is really helpful! Just as outlined in the Daily 5 book (affiliate link), by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, we set up the expectations of each Daily 5 routine with our kiddos. Below is each poster. At the bottom of this blog post, you can grab a FREE file with the black icons to make your own posters! **Quick note** We don't make an expectation chart for Work on Writing until after we have completed our 25 day Writer's Workshop Introduction. For our favorite lessons to intro Writer's Workshop, see this blog post! Student Check Sheet After we're in full swing with our Daily 5 routines, we have kiddos use this check list to record their daily choices. Additionally, if you have kiddos who need more direction with their Daily 5 center choices, this rotation chart can be helpful! We've had groups of kiddos who select their own Daily 5 choices just fine! Other groups will end up doing the same rotations over and over through the week. These rotation charts have been very helpful for managing those kiddos and getting them to participate in the Daily 5 choices evenly. Click here to grab all of these resources for your classroom! Book Leveling And here's a little tip to get your kiddos ready for selecting books for their book boxes. We've found that used colored dots to label our books, then giving the kiddos colored dots on their books boxes really helps facilitate the book selection process! It also helps to keep kiddos selecting and reading 'good fit' books! Below is a pic of the supplies we use to set this up in our classroom. You can grab a free download of the leveled book chart and large color dots to put on book bins in your classroom. For the colored dot stickers, we buy plain white dot stickers and color them with markers! This gives you a way to create a much better variety of colors! Click HERE to grab the file for book leveling!

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

Classroom procedures review can be dull and boring. This post is loaded with fun and engaging games that will make students want to practice the all important classroom procedures. The more they practice them, the more smoothly your classroom will run.

Creating a calm morning routine in the classroom is essential for starting the day on the right foot! Check out these tips and procedures!

Start as you intend to go. Have you heard this line before? My mentor said this to me as I was preparing my lesson plans my first year of teaching. I didn’t really understand what she meant at the time, but then, funny enough…. someone said the exact same thing with me when I had my first da

How many days do you have left of summer break? Let me check the calendar...40 days until I'm officially back to school! But I really don'...

Massive list of classroom jobs for elementary students in preschool, kindergarten, first grade, or second grade - such great ideas for classroom jobs!

Tips in teaching classroom procedures and their expectations. Click here:

Display classroom rules, procedures, expectations for treating others and supplies, and sub behavior policies in these anchor charts!

Dare I say it...it is almost time to head back to school. We have three more weeks before we go back. I cannot believe how fast

Classroom procedures, classroom procedures, and classroom procedures. When it comes to having a great first day of school, make sure you have THESE classroom procedures!

Tips in teaching classroom procedures and their expectations. Click here:

Good classroom management hinges on having thought-out classroom procedures and routines. Here are 29 ideas to get started.

A simple way to teach your students classroom procedures and expectations at the beginning of the school year

The key to getting your classroom to run smoothly and minimize behavior issues is to establish procedures and routines. This takes significant work and practice in the beginning but is well worth t…

Songs for the classroom, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, teachers pay teachers, posters, transitions, hand washing, walking in the hall, lining up

Hi guys! Happy Friday! I’m sitting at Starbucks and wanted to stop by and share some must-haves for every classroom. When these ideas were originally spinning in my brain, I […]

Getting your classroom to manage itself, procedures, models and more. Visit us:

Establishing classroom procedures tops the list of almost every teacher around back-to-school season. This post lists 10 fun ways to teach classroom procedures that are easy to implement and effective! Not only that, but you can grab FREE back to school lesson plans to cover 30 days of teaching. 🤩 *This post contains affiliate links

Use this back to school procedures checklist to set expectations and classroom routines for your students during the first week of school.

Get your school year started on the right foot by using interactive modeling to teach all of your classroom procedures and routines.

It's time for another Linky Party and this one is all about the 1st day of school. This will be my 12th year of teaching and

Read through our favorite classroom management hacks and then hop over and become a Plato Pack member for even more teaching tools, strategies and support.

Dismissal time can be one of the most challenging times of the day for many teachers, whether they are experienced, new, or somewhere in be...

Hi, friends! Today I am happy to announce that I'll be having a new, 5-part series on classroom management. Classroom management is...

A simple way to teach your students classroom procedures and expectations at the beginning of the school year

This is Part 2 in my series on Take Home Folders/ Homework Folders. If you missed Part 1, I talked about how to set up, label, and organize your folders. Check it out here. Today's blog post will discuss how to actually manage the folders and the gazillions of papers that go back and forth from school to home. We live in a digital world, but papers are very much still a part of elementary schools. Having an efficient system in place will save you so many headaches. If you are a brand new teacher or new to the primary grades, I think these tips will be especially beneficial! This sounds like common sense, I know. First, choose the basket/bin/container the students will put their folders in. Also, decide WHERE in the classroom your basket will live. After you greet your kiddos in the morning, have them hang up their belongings and immediately take their folder to the designated spot. If you are like me, you have 100,000,000 cute containers in your classroom, house, and car but you still feel the need to buy more. I just found this adorable wire basket on Amazon. I'm pretty sure it's made for your kitchen or pantry, but I love it, nonetheless. It's a great size and will match any classroom door without clashing. Here is a picture of the basket in my office/playroom at home. So cute, right? I got the large, industrial gray on Amazon. I just typed up a little sign, glued it to card stock, and tied it to the wire basket with some twine. By 8:15 every morning, I personally check every single folder. I check for homework, reading log, notes from mom/dad, lunch money, permission slips, signed papers, etc. I do NOT want kids handing me things individually. I want everything in the folder. You are probably wondering... what in the world are the kids doing while you check all those folders?!?! Great question! Kiddos are doing their morning work/bell ringer, reading an AR book, and listening to the morning announcements. Realistically, it only takes me a few minutes to flip through all of the folders so I only need them busy independently for a few minutes. It's important to get folders checked early in the morning so I make it a priority. I like to separate this from Step 2 because sometimes I don't have time to do it all at the same time so it's best to check ALL the folders first, and then stuff them all. One thing at a time. :) The only thing I'm stuffing in the folder is a homework sheet or very important paper that needs to be returned to school- something like a permission slip, a test that needs to be signed, an envelope from the office, etc. My biggest advice here is to do this at the same time every day. Do not wait until the end of the day. It is way too crazy to be doing this at dismissal. Choose a consistent time when you can stuff folders every day- whether it be first thing in the morning, during your lunch break, or during your conference period. I've always used a traditional mailbox system, but whatever you have in your classroom will work (file folders, hanging file system, etc). Find a place to file the kiddos graded work, handouts, and classwork into a "mailbox" system. At the end of the day when it's time to get packed up, kiddos get their mail. At this time, I pass out the Take Home Folders that have already been stuffed with homework in the Return to School side of the folder. When kiddos get their mail, all of the mail goes in the KEEP AT HOME side of the folder. This includes graded work, classwork, papers from the school, art projects, book fair paperwork, PTA info, etc. These are the papers that you want to go home and never come back. :) I could write a novel on the behavior log. This is how I look at it. The child is spending 7 hours of the day at school. The parent should get some kind of information about how their day went (behavior wise). Realistically, teachers do not have time to write a personalized note in each child's folder every single day so you have to be selective. If a student had a really SPECIAL day, jot the parents a quick note about it. "Wow! Kacie was such a leader today. So proud of her!" On the other hand, small reminders can be a way for parents to start a conversation with their child at home. "Don't forget to raise your hand before speaking out." The teacher should walk around the room and complete behavior logs while the kiddos are getting their mail and packing up. I LOVE to pass out stickers for students to put on their behavior charts. If they've earned a sticker, it's an easy way to show parents they had a great day at school. If you use a color chart, you can have students use a crayon to color in their color on the corresponding day. Simple note. Follow up with a phone call or e-mail. Take Home Folders are an important part of the primary classroom. It's an integral way to communicate from school to home. It also gives students responsibility and accountability. Realistically, almost all correspondence could be done via e-mail/online but I think it's important for the children to be "in charge" of their behavior, backpack, folder, and homework, etc. #oldschool Check out my video to hear more about organizing and managing Take Home Folders. Download the forms and labels in my TpT store.

Classroom procedures review can be dull and boring. This post is loaded with fun and engaging games that will make students want to practice the all important classroom procedures. The more they practice them, the more smoothly your classroom will run.

Tired of showing your students where to turn in their homework or sharpen their pencil? Here are 17 ways to review classroom procedures that won't make you tear your hair out! P.S. The kids love them too!

My best advice to any teacher is to start the year with simple, but clear classroom expectations. If students know what you expect out of them starting from the beginning of the year, you will spend less time stopping instruction to correct behavior. When students know the expectations, they will try their best to follow ... Read More about Classroom Expectations

Massive list of classroom jobs for elementary students in preschool, kindergarten, first grade, or second grade - such great ideas for classroom jobs!

The life of a creative, and sometimes hectic, teacher. Get ideas and inspiration to enhance your classroom - maybe even your life. = )

Have you ever told your students to "find a partner," and 10 minutes later, after chaos and bickering, you regret that decision? Yeah, we've all been there. A quick solution to that is to print these free partner cards. There are 22 cards total. Simple print (in color or B/W), cut, and place in a basket of sorts. For a quick routine, I have students move around the room to find their partners once the music starts, then stand by their partner with their cards facing me once they've found each other. Have more than 22 students? No worries! Simply print duplicate sets of these cards. I hope these cards are something you can easily implement in your classrooms! You can click the link here to download this free resource.

Classroom procedures review can be dull and boring. This post is loaded with fun and engaging games that will make students want to practice the all important classroom procedures. The more they practice them, the more smoothly your classroom will run.

Happy Summer! Welcome back to the Crazy Critter Café! So I've been thinking about how I'd like to use my Class Dojo reward system and here's the latest...Numbered Tubs to match the Class Dojo "point clubs". I used this idea toward the end of the school year and it seemed to work well. Students gave input on what they'd like to have in the tubs (thus, the 2 levels of sweet treats!) My goal was to have a daily Dojo time, but due to our hectic afternoon schedule, that couldn't always be done, so I'd find time during the week for our class Dojo time (or every 2 weeks if I felt more time was needed for students to reach certain Dojo Point Clubs). I had a checklist and whenever we had Dojo time, I would write the point club for each student so I would know which reward tubs they've picked from during that particular Dojo time. At a designated date, all Class Dojo points would reset and students would start over. I bought 2 plastic organizers to help keep the rewards separate. All I have to do when we have Dojo time is snap apart the 5-15 trays and pull out the 20-30 point drawers for easy distribution of rewards! I'm sure there are tons of ways to use Class Dojo in the classroom. I found that starting simple was more effective. I didn't get overwhelmed with keeping up with rewards and trying to grab my iPad to give Dojo points every second of the day. I used it mostly during transition, independent work, and center times. Make it work for you and your class! I'll switch out rewards periodically so students don't get bored with these. I'd love to hear how you use Class Dojo in your class. Please add a comment below! :-) Thanks for stopping by the café! 

If there is one thing I have to say I focus on the first week of school, it is teaching classroom procedures. It is the most important thing I do that helps my classroom run (mostly) smooth the entire year and cuts down on classroom disruptions from a lack of communication. When I first started teaching, I made a list of all the procedures I wanted to have. I would suggest all teachers do the same thing. Then, write out exactly what you want to happen in your classroom. I literally typed it up. I wanted to know exactly what I expected from the students and when I was going to teach it to them. Here is a list of procedures you should be teaching in your classroom: Entering the Classroom Putting up Backpack/Supplies Broken/Missing Pencil Warmup/Bellwork Getting Out and Putting Up Technology How to Glue Paper Getting the Class' Attention Working in Small Groups Transition Stations Getting Out Supplies Exchanging Papers Turning in Assignments Classroom Visitor Getting a Kleenex Watching a Video Announcements Classroom Phone Rings Collecting Papers Passing Out Papers Grading Papers Writing in a Planner Restroom Breaks Lining Up Going to Lunch/Recess/Specials Absences Transitions in the Classroom Substitute Procedures Finishing Work Early Exit Tickets End of the Day Procedures Not all of these will apply to your classroom. I DO NOT teach these all the first day/week of school. I teach them as they come up and then MODEL MODEL MODEL and PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. And then we do it again the next day. The first two weeks of school are redundant (and repetitive) but necessary. If you think you are over teaching it, you're not! Teaching you classroom expectations will cut down on behavior problems and class disruptions. A student may genuinely think it is perfectly acceptable to shout "My pencil broke! I need a new one!" in the middle of class and will be offended if you suggest that is not acceptable behavior. Prevent those from happening by teaching your expectations first. If a students does deviate from the classroom expectation, a simple conversation could help them get on track. Ask them what the procedure is and ask them to please follow it. If the student continues to not follow the procedure, then use your classroom behavior plan to help the student get on track.