Have you ever had a class that just tried your patience day after day? Have you ever felt like you could walk away from teaching forever tom...

If you have an extra-chatty class, check out this post with tips for how to get your students to stop talking in just one week!

Have you seen all the excitement about glue sponges? Well, we've gathered all of the glue sponge tips up in one spot to give you the low down on how to make them for yourself and tips we have learned along the way.

Integrating art and content in the ELA classroom. Tips and resources.

Students come into our classroom every day with more and challenges. We as teachers want to do all we can to help ALL of our students succeed, no matter where they came from and what language they speak at home. Teaching science to ELL students is a challenge because as ELL students are learning English, […]

I'm teaming up with my good friend Jen over at Sparkling in Second to share three of my favorite first grade teacher tips.

Hi! Cupcake here to share an improved version of an old freebie! :) Picture directions are a great classroom management tool for little learners! I posted a set of picture directions in my shop two years ago, and decided they needed a facelift… so I made them pretty and added to the set! They will match any bright classroom, and they also coordinate with my chevron decor. Stop by my blog to see a preview of all the included cards, or just go directly to my shop to pick up {or redownload!} your copy. I hope you love them!!

Co-teachers who take risks together, grow together.

I’m not going to get into the nitty gritty of what ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is. If you are reading this post there is an excellent chance you already know what it is because you are dealing with it in your classroom. I’m also going to go out on a limb and assume that […]

Scaffold your instruction with these teaching scaffolding strategies to help bridge readiness and mastery for your elementary students!

Have you ever walked into a classroom and thought, “Wow, this classroom practically runs itself, everyone is on task!” Ever wonder how that happens? The answer is a lot simpler than you think. The secret is teaching explicit routines and procedures to students. In this post we are going to talk about why this matters […]

Student engagement is my number one goal in the classroom. None of the academic goals can be achieved without student engagement. It is essential! My biggest advice to you is to decrease teacher talk and the time students spend in their desks.I want to share some more specific ways that I keep my students engaged

This blog post will explore the key principles of the Responsive Classroom and some practical tips for implementing this approach in your teaching practice.

With these classroom management strategies, your room will have order and your students will thrive. Quickly create your classroom management plan here!

From teaching tips and parental strategies, to anti-bullying activities and games, these ideas offer great inspiration to help kids stand up to bullying!

In this post, you will find 27 Formative Assessment Tools for Your Classroom! Formative assessment is such an essential part of the learning process and student success, and many digital tools can help support this process.This list has a wide variety of features and options to help you solidify your formative assessment strategies! Many of the tools below are great for both formative and summative assessments.

Research based teaching strategies you can use today with a free printable chart.

I've been using the Notebook software for several years and have become somewhat of a go-to person on my staff for newer users. There are many ways to make

Here’s a few classroom procedures that have worked well for me – and a couple awesome ideas I’ve run across since I’ve stepped out of the classroom...

Para classroom jobs and expectations to manage and work with your classroom support staff, while building positive rapport. Learn More at Mrs. D's Corner.

Looking for the most important classroom technology tools and skills to teach your students. Here is how I start my year.

Need to know how to help students write summaries? These lesson ideas and summarizing ideas and tips for the upper elementary classroom will help you teach summarizing and help your students write summaries as they read.

Check out this list of tools that will help you organize differentiated instruction in your classroom.

Teaching students how to annotate text can be an intimidating task. Likewise, for our students, annotating text can be equally as daunting, especially if they don’t have a process of their own that works or steps to follow. However, teaching text annotation can be a simple and straightforward task if you follow these five steps.

Sometimes it feels crazy overwhelming to keep assessing students and know exactly what they do/don’t understand. That’s where these quick and easy formative assessment ideas comes in! M…

I love teaching a split-grade class. I know this may not be a popular opinion in teaching, but there it is. In reality, many of us teach split-grade

Utilizing classroom jobs save time! This applies to academics, character, and...helping you around your classroom!

Here are 10 co-teaching tips for classroom teachers, intervention specialists, and anyone in an inclusion-type educational setting at school.

Music in the classroom is a powerful tool and it should be more than just having music as a special once a week. Learn why music is important and different ways you can integrate music into your lesson plans seamlessly. Blog post at Mrs. D's Corner.

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?

AI lesson plans are becoming a part of education. As a high school teacher, you wear multiple hats, including lesson planner...

Free Line up songs for kindergarten classroom management. Make transitions easier with fun chants.

Do you look on Pinterest for Anchor Chart ideas and give up at the thought that your Anchor Chart could never look that amazing? It actually doesn’t have to be that difficult to make an amazi…

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!

Come learn about my FAVORITE technology tools for digital communication and collaboration with elementary students. Use these tools with Chromebooks, laptops, computers and some can even be used with iPads. Global learning is making its way into the classroom and we need to make sure our students are prepared so they can make the most of these authentic learning experiences!

classroom management, classroom control

Can you list ways your teaching portfolio stands out from the crowd? If not, read and implement these portfolio organization tips and strategies for teachers.

Establishing consistent accountability when using the workshop approach to teaching and learning may seem daunting at first. After all, your students are producing, and consuming an immense amount of content during workshop on a daily basis…far more than you can (and want) to grade. The good news is, you don’t have to grade every activity. I know what you’re thinking…”If I stop grading every single thing…there won’t be enough accountability.” The reality is, there are other far more efficient ways to establish accountability and boost meaningful student growth. One of these ways is routine student self-reflection. If you’re ready to bring more student reflection to your classroom, these tips can help you establish routines that maintain consistent accountability in your workshop classroom. Creating Rubrics Together A foundational rubric will help you and your students create a common language that can make ongoing assessment more meaningful and fluid in your classroom. Begin by pulling the rubric your district requires you to use, or write a rubric that communicates your parameters for each level of understanding in your classroom. Rewrite this rubric in your own student-friendly language so you can share these parameters with your class. Making a slide or poster for each level on your rubric so it is easier for students to digest may be helpful. Set aside time in your schedule each day to create a one-week series of work sessions when you and your students can rewrite the rubric again as a class using language that is actually produced by your students. You may opt to: Have all slides/posters on display simultaneously while students rotate to stations where they work in groups to make meaning of each level of understanding. Students can then write their interpretations on the slides/posters, which can be aggregated on the final day. Display one slide/poster each day and host a class conversation that facilitates meaning-making for each level of understanding. Record student ideas as you work toward a common, and final definition for each level of understanding. At the end of these series of work sessions, you and your students will have a rubric that is unpacked by them, rewritten by them, and ready to be used by them. Working together as a class to write a final rubric that will be adopted as the foundation makes conversations about assessments more meaningful and productive. Rubric Drawers Once your class rubric is created, you can make it easy for students to consistently reflect on their work by submitting any assignments to “rubric drawers” that are marked with the definitions for each level of understanding. This built-in practice of self-reflection builds students’ intrinsic motivation to reach higher and produce quality work. If you notice your students have a tendency to submit work to the “wrong” drawer, this signals they need a follow up lesson on the type of work quality required to achieve each level of understanding. Using exemplars (examples of each level of understanding from a particular subject area or activity) can help students build a stronger definition for what work quality looks like. As students build their ability to accurately assess themselves, you can also have them attach a short note of justification for their self-scoring. This will provide insight about any misconceptions they may have about their work or the rubric levels your class has written. If you want to track the score students give themselves on an activity, provide a special pen or stamp that allows them to mark their score before placing it in the drawer. In addition, you can have students submit work with the help of a partner. Once an activity is complete, a student can briefly confer with their assigned partner to get feedback, and make a decision about which drawer a piece should be submitted. This provides an additional layer of motivation for students to reach higher, as they know a peer will be reviewing their work quality. Reflection Letters Another routine that can boost student growth through self-assessment is the writing of reflection letters on a routine basis. Students thrive when they know they have an important role in their assessment process, and will be eager to read your response. Begin by creating a prompt that asks students to reflect specifically on different areas of the assignment that will support their goal setting and goal progress. Also direct students to refer to their rubric to self-assess, and provide justification for their assessment as part of their reflection process. This routine will remind students the importance of keeping the rubric in mind as they complete their work each week, which will foster stronger performance. Set aside time to read these reflection letters and write brief responses which may include your own score using the same rubric, and comments that support your scoring. This written dialogue further emphasizes the value you place on student work and growth. If you find the need to differentiate this letter writing process to support the unique needs of students in your classroom. Here are some differentiation ideas: Have students dictate as you record their reflection. Have students circle their score on a rubric and mark evidence with color-coding or sticky notes. Provide sentence frames to scaffold independence. Self Assessment & Reflection In Your Classroom Ready to give self-reflection a try in your own classroom? Here are a few editable tools to help you get started. Once you’ve established student self-reflection routines in your classroom, stop by and share your experience. I look forward to hearing about the growth your students make, and the freedom you feel from teaching in a workshop classroom where accountability and engagement are off the charts.

You see a pair of broken glasses. What happened? Why did it happen? You see an ice cream cone on the ground. What happened? Why did it happen? Enter cause and effect. Cause and effect is a big topic in the upper elementary classroom, and it is one that almost every year my students struggle […]

Brag tags transform the culture of your classroom. Read on for 7 tips to get this classroom management system up and running successfully.

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.

My absolute favorite classroom management tool is a doorbell! Sounds crazy - right?!?! It has transformed my classroom environment and can for you too!

Check out this Google Classroom tutorial that includes 10 tips to help you make the most of this online teaching platform!

Ten Ways to Motivate Students: ten ideas to get the children to WANT to learn, without having to rob a bank!

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!

Technology in the classroom constantly changes and so are the classroom tech tools that we use every day with our students.

Guest Blogger James Robinson

Scaffold your instruction with these teaching scaffolding strategies to help bridge readiness and mastery for your elementary students!