Supporting kids with special needs works best when both regular education and special education staff work together. That's why it is helpful for all teachers to understand how they can modify and accommodate for students in their classrooms. For newer teachers, learning that you need to modify work
Free parts of speech posters to display in your classroom. Download your free copy.
Hey-O friends! How do you manage changing classes (my class doesn’t but I’m curious), or even moving from subject to subject within your own classroom? I teach in a self-contained classroom and it’s easy to shift subjects down the schedule a little when things don’t go as planned. #WhoopsWritingWasSupposedToStart20MinutesAgo? ahahahaha #NoShame When it’s time to check morning work, I play a song When it’s time to come to the carpet for a lesson I play a song. Subject change & it’s time to get out a different interactive notebook and folder— YES, I have a song for that! I keep a slew of songs on my iTunes and iPhone/iPad and I just click depending on what I need! It’s easy to say that it’s time to start something new and kids take that task as, “Okay I can chat with my friend now for 1049813582305 minutes”. If they’re singing—they’re on task and still able to talk–but they’re singing to a tune. When the music stops they must be ready! Beginning of the year I introduce a song for a new subject/idea slowly. I want the kids to get used to it and understand the rules that follow when the song […]
Every teacher needs a few fun, fast, easy, tricks up his/her sleeve. Here are a few easy classroom management tricks I've picked up over the years. Need a Second to Get Ready for the Next
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!
It can be very overwhelming, especially for my struggling readers, to focus on using multiple reading comprehension strategies with a piece of text. For this reason, I always take time in at least the first
Need a lesson where each component takes less than 15 minutes? Consider adding a mixed-media still life study to your art curriculum.
This spring themed FREEBIE is designed to work on four common conjunctions: and, or, but, so. To Play: Print a “flower center conjunction” page (pg. 4-5) and put in the center of the table. Flower petals should be cut out. Each petal contains 2 sentences that can be combined using one of the conjunctions. Students decide which conjunction to use and attach the petal to the correct center. Example of completed flower is on pg. 3! This could easily be printed in black and white, so students have something to take home! Included: -pg. 3: example of completed flower -pg. 4-5: flower center conjunctions -pg. 6-9: assorted colored flower petals (6 for each conjunction) -pg. 10: answer key (petals have numbers that correspond to the answer key) -pg. 11: blank petals If you like this resource, check these out: Seasonal Stories for Speech Therapy Editable Core Word Mini Books: Spring Spring Speech Therapy Boom Cards™ No Prep Seasonal Language Crafts Spring Language Flip Book © Teach Speech 365
Are your students not following directions? Chances are you are making this teacher mistake. Find out how to prevent & fix this common error.
Are you creating tolerance in the classroom? Visit here!!
Have you ever tried student-led reading groups in your classroom? Have you ever felt like your students were not putting forth their best effort? Using
Differentiating your instruction can be overwhelming. I get it. When you hear the word "differentiation" do you automatica...
Tips to help you better teach emotions in the classroom. Click & get freebie!!
I went to an education conference recently, and in one session a maths expert shared ‘Think Boards’. They are a simple but excellent idea, and fit in very well with maths mastery. They…
Teach text structures with this nonfiction text structure anchor chart and FREE sorting activity! Ideal lesson for the upper elementary classroom that includes 8 free passages!
Do you want to keep your students engaged and reading during reading time? Read this post to learn about 10 reading centers for upper elementary.
We had another class Monday night with our new dual/ELL staff members, and this time we focused on differentiation and what that may look like across the subject areas. As we have done in the past, we had the teachers participate in a gallery walk and thus rotate around with their groups to add to a series of posters focused on this topic of differentiation. Yet again, our wonderful staff did not disappoint and came up with a wide assortment of ideas as to how instruction can be differentiated for our students! I typed up their ideas on a nice one page spread for them, and thought you all may find it useful as well! Click on it to grab a copy for yourself or a friend. Graphics/Fonts: Scrappin' Doodles, Rowdy Fonts, My Cute Graphics Also, (as if you haven't already heard ;)), I wanted to let you all in on the big secret. TpT will be hosting a "3 Million Teachers Strong" sale February 27-28th. In using promo code TPT3, you can get up to 28% off at my store along with so many more! How exciting is it to see this community of teachers growing and working together :)!
I am feeling really lucky this year. I have the kind of class that tries everything you throw at them, and does it with gusto. Like when one of my students who visits our ESL teacher came back to class with a little notebook and explained that he was trying to find awesome and interesting […]
It's frustrating when students don't follow directions the first time! Here are 5 quick tricks for getting students on track fast!
Need to help your students get more hands on practice for their vocabulary words? I've got 5 fun vocabulary games you can use right away!
How to prevent bullying of kids with autism! With 9 ways to stop bulling & 15 anti-bullying activities, learn how to educate, protect & empower our youth!
FREE response to intervention forms and how to use them
Are you looking for a fun hands-on activity for teaching quadratic trinomial factoring? A factoring activity we did in class using cereal is described in this post as well as links to other fun quadratics activities.
I wanted to share a fun project my kiddos did. We had been working on fractions and I wanted to come up with a little fun that would reinforce some of what they learned as well as let them have some fun being creative. WARNING.....LOTS of pictures ahead....they all were so unique and creative, I had to share them all:) Directions Google Doc HERE We were fortunate enough to have a local pizza place donate enough boxes so each of my kids could have one. This is the first time I have done this project.....I'm sure next time I will add to it but for a first time, I am pleased with it and THRILLED with how they turned out. I typed up an instruction sheet for the kids to follow. Basically, they were supposed to represent 5 different fractions using different toppings. They had to include a "key" explaining their fractions. For each of the 5 fractions they had to write 2 equivalent fractions. They also had to write 2 word problems to go with their pizza:) Some of them put their word problems on a different sheet or on the bottom:) I absolutely LOVE how different each project is....some drew theirs, some used construction paper, some used playdoh, buttons, all kinds of creative ideas flowing:) I'm so proud of my kids and I know they are proud of their projects! It was fun to see them bring them in every morning and everyone would gather around to take a peek:) We were also excited because we got to display them in our Science Fair. I know they aren't Science BUT I felt like they all had put too much work into them for just me to see them. We got to set up a table to display them so others could enjoy their hard work. Hope this is something you can use in your classroom as you explore and learn about fractions! Have a blessed day all!
As we learned about different smarts each day last week, we added pieces to our MI magnet man. Now that we have learned about all eight different intelligences, our magnet man is complete. As we learn and share during the day, students enjoy identifying which parts of magnet man we are using. Sometimes we are using three or more smarts, and other times we use only one or two. It's become a game! Students have enjoyed MI man so much this year that as soon as the class marble jar is full, we will be making our own mini MI magnet men as a craftivity celebration! Tomorrow is OPEN HOUSE! The students completed a "smarts survey" today to show their parents. I know the parents will enjoy looking at their child's brain maps, self portraits, and MI surveys. I am always amazed at how children view themselves and how they are able to set personal goals for their learning. Many times I have parents take the survey about their child before I show them the survey their child completed. Feel free to download my MI survey and use with your students to identify their learning styles and strengths.
Use factor trees to find the prime factors of numbers. Pg. 1 scaffolds the tree chart while pg. 2 allows students the opportunity to build it themselves. Follow me on TPT! https://www.pinterest.com/trofe21/ms-trofes-tpt/
Every year I give my students a questionnaire to complete on the first day of school. Later that night, when I have finally recovered from the excitement of the first day, I sit down with my stack of questionnaires to read all about my new students. My students' responses are such an important piece in getting to know each and every one of them. While there is a whole list of get-to-know-you questions for students to respond to, there are five questions that I make sure to pay extra close attention to: What do you like to be called? This question might seem like an obvious one, but I speak from personal experience when I tell you that this question can make such a big difference for certain students. My name is Rebecca, but as a kid I ONLY went by Becky. Every year, when my teachers would call my name during attendance on the first day, I would simply respond with "HERE", instead of letting them know that I preferred to be called Becky. I was painfully shy as a child and too afraid to speak up. Often it was not until Back to School Night, or even conference time, when teachers would meet my parents and learn that I preferred to be called Becky. It may seem like a small thing, but it was a HUGE deal to me as a child! On this same note, it is just as important to students that we know how to PRONOUNCE their names. It is definitely worth the extra effort to make that connection with students, and make them feel valued in our classrooms. What is something that makes you feel proud? This question is the one that allows me to make connections with my students. This is where they share what they're good at in or out of school. It gives them a chance to reflect on what makes them feel good about themselves. For me, it helps me to start conversations with students, recommend books they might like, or encourage other interests or activities that may be related to what makes them proud. What is something that is challenging for you? This next one is an obvious one, but still an important one. Those things that challenge our students are the very things that might lead to anxiety or discomfort in the classroom. The responses to this question are ones that I like to keep in the back of my mind as I am preparing lessons for new and challenging content. It gives me a chance to think of ways to help students overcome those challenges, or to simply shift their mindset when it comes to challenges. What is something you wish I knew? I used to ask the question, "What is the MOST important thing you want me to know about YOU?" While I got some great responses to this question, I would also get things like "I am really good at baseball" or "I like math". Of course these things are important, but we cover interests and favorite subjects with other questions. I want to hear the one thing (or more) that my students need me to know about them, in order for me to be the best teacher I can possibly be for them. A few years ago, a teacher named Kyle Schwartz posed this question for her students. She shared some of the responses on social media, highlighting the need for teachers everywhere to truly get to know their students and what they might need. Needless to say, this question is now asked on my questionnaire. What is something you expect from me as your teacher? We discuss so many expectations that we have for our students during the first week of school. I also think that it's important to see what our students expect from us. I am always surprised by my students responses to this question. They are often honest and specific about what they need. I have had students share that they like to have fun, but that they need structure. I have also had students share that they expect me to listen to them. Leave it to our students to remind us what it takes to make us better teachers! Believe it or not, students' responses to these questions stick out in my mind throughout the year. I always keep their responses in the back of my mind as I am interacting with my students, planning lessons, or even dealing with challenges. A student questionnaire is a great jumping off point for getting to know your students. You can download this questionnaire for FREE by clicking HERE or on the pic below. This questionnaire is just one of the get-to-know-you activities from my Back to School resource. If you're looking for more activities for those first days of school, click HERE or on the pic below to take a closer look. This resource now includes digital pages for distance learning. It's never too early to start thinking about the next school year. I hope that you will keep these questions in mind when getting to know your students this upcoming year.
With the Common Core Standards in place, students are being asked more and more to use critical thinking skills to analyze literary and informational text. Inference is a prime example of a critical thinking skill used in classrooms today. Students are asked to read text and analyze it by
"Mrs. Braun, you know that mark, it's like a curve, I can't remember what it's called, but do I need to use one here?" When kids get to second grade and they're exposed to contractions,
This week at school our focus has been on growth mindsets. In Primary 1 and in Primary 6 we have been comparing fixed and growth mindsets. This is something we believe is a fundamental part o…
A blog full of tips, lessons, and ideas to use in the upper elementary classroom.
Hello! It's Nicole from Learning Lab again! Co-Teaching can be one of the most rewarding, yet challenging experiences. The co-teaching partnership is kind of like a marriage and usually it's an arranged one! Often, two teachers are partnered up without knowing much about each other. Administrators dealing with staffing issues may not be able to look at teaching styles and personalities before pairing teachers up. Here are some tips on how to make your co-teaching relationship a successful one! It takes time to develop a rapport. Get to know your partner over the summer, if possible. Attend trainings together. Go out for lunch and chat about your family, interests, likes, and dislikes. The trust built over the summer will make the entire year run more smoothly. Talk about what your expectations are for the year and set boundaries. Do you expect to plan everything together? Do you expect to work before or after school? How will you address grading and report cards? Do you prefer to be contacted at home with a question or would you rather wait until returning to school? Discussing your expectations before the school year starts will make your partnership more cohesive. Think about the general education teacher as the curriculum specialist. Chances are, they are more familiar with the grade-level curriculum and expectations. The special education teacher is the modifications expert. They will have great ideas of how to modify the classroom environment and assignments to fit the various needs of the classroom. Each of you brings great things to the classroom. You each have different experiences and training that has gotten you to this point in your career. You may be used to doing things differently than before you started co-teaching. Just like in a marriage, your co-teaching relationship is a give and take. You will learn a lot and gain a lot if you are open-minded. Whether you share one space or you each have your own “home base”, it is important for both of you to truly feel at home in each space. Within the main classroom, you each should have a desk or other personal space. The classroom signs should include each of your names. My classroom signs always include the names of both teachers, all of the teaching assistants, and all of the related service providers that play an active role in our classroom. It is important for everybody to feel a part of the team. To avoid using the terms “my room” and “your room”, I named my assigned room the “Learning Lab” and refer to the co-teaching classroom as just our “Classroom”. When you split up into groups, it might be a good idea alternate which teacher leaves to use the other space. Banish the phrases “your kids” and “my kids” and replace it with our kids. Both of you are equally responsible for the students assigned to your classroom. Your students should not feel a sense of belonging to one teacher over the other. When you split into groups or assist 1:1, alternate which teacher works with the different levels of kids. The same goes for working with parents. Communication should come from both of you. Just like in a marriage, you need to appear to be united. You might not always agree with the other teacher, but it is important to put on a united front and then speak about those differences in private. You always need to back each other up and also support your paraprofessionals as well. Your students will pick up on any disconnect between you and will try to use that to their advantage. Always speak positively about your partner. You need to work together for at least the entire school year so your relationship needs to be strong. The staff lunch room is not a place to talk about your issues. If you do not have anything nice to say, do not say anything at all. A few years ago, a friend of mine was having some trouble within her classroom. Her team of paraprofessionals were disjointed and often went against each other in front of the students. She reached out for some advice and it inspired me to create a product geared towards helping classrooms with multiple adults to work together collaboratively in harmony. I have found it quite useful in my own classroom which has four paraprofessionals. Whether you are new to co-teaching, new to your partner, or have been paired up for years, I hope you find this these tips helpful. If you want more information about co-teaching, you can find just about everything you need in my Ultimate Co-Teaching Start-Up Kit. Thank you for stopping by Classroom Tested Resources today! For more ideas, stop by my blog, Learning Lab, or follow me on Instagram (@Learning_Lab). Instagram is my favorite way to share quick ideas! See you again next month!
Book Talks are a powerful way to share new books with students and encourage them to try out different genres they may not have thought about before. While I have been doing book talks with my students for years, I wanted to bump it up a notch and not only have them begin to create... Read more
O'Keeffe's paintings make great inspiration for kids' art projects, so let's check out 10 of the best Georgia O'Keeffe projects for kids!
When teaching narrative writing in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade, there are so many writing skills to cover. They range from creating a sequence of events (beginning, middle, and end) to more difficult
