By Presto Plans With the pressure for secondary teachers to meet curriculum expectations in such a limited time, building a classroom community can sometimes be put on the back burner. What many teachers don’t realize is that by intentionally taking time to build a positive community in your classroom, you can ease the challenges of classroom management, improve student attitude toward learning, and create an environment where students feel welcomed and supported. Below are my 5 favorite ways to build classroom community in middle and high school. Establish a positive classroom community by having students complete short activities that encourage kindness, collaboration, teamwork, expression, and the sharing of ideas and opinions. These challenges don’t need to take up a lot of time. Have them last 5-10 minutes. They can be used daily as a bell-ringer, weekly as a fun Friday activity, or even randomly when you finish class a few minutes early! How it works: The teacher sets up a "Classroom Challenge" bulletin board display that includes 20 hidden activity prompts. Once a challenge is revealed, the teacher finds the corresponding activity, passes it out to the class, and they are ready to go! Here are a few of the prompts I include in my challenge to give you an idea of the types of activities can help build community: • Write a thank you card for someone you appreciate. • Talk for one minute to a partner about the topic you receive from your teacher. • Write a top 10 list on the topic of your choice. • Imagine you are stuck on a deserted island. Pick one book, one movie, and one other item to bring. • Play a game of 20 questions with a partner. You know that nostalgic feeling you get when you are reminiscing with your friends about times past? Bring that into your room with “Classroom Throwbacks.” Students use small cards to write down funny, interesting, and memorable moments that happen within the classroom and put it in the “Classroom Thowbacks” jar/box. You can have students fill out the cards randomly, or you can pass them out from time to time, put students in small groups, and have them fill the cards out with a couple memories. Once the throwback jar starts to accumulate some cards, you can begin sharing them in class. You might consider sharing one a week for a “Throwback Thursday” activity. Grab this free resource by clicking here. I once had a principal who left notes of appreciation (and a small treat) in teachers’ mailboxes for little things she had noticed them doing (staying late at school working, helping out at an after-school event, giving extra help at lunch etc.). It was such a small gesture, but it had a dramatic impact on the morale of the staff. Build this same kind of morale in your classroom by finding ways to celebrate your students for the things you see them doing that deserve some praise and appreciation. There are lots of ways you can do this. You can post student work in your classroom, call or email parents to brag up those students who don’t often get a pat on the back, or even have a student of the month/week display for those who deserve special recognition! I also like to keep funny cards tucked away in my desk for those occasions where a student surprises or impresses me. Ask for volunteers for “student paparazzi”. Their job is to take pictures of students in the classroom and send them to you via email to print and post. Of course, students should only take pictures when you deem it appropriate. They could take some before and after the bell rings or during a class activity (when appropriate and with permission) or at the end of the period if class finishes up a couple minutes early. When you post the pictures in your classroom, consider framing them! I pick up low-cost frames at the dollar store and put them in different locations in my classroom (on the wall, on my desk, on the desk at the front of my room, on a bookshelf). No need to go use expensive photo paper. Simply print the pictures on regular letter paper to fit the frame's size (pictures below from the classrooms of @CamilaCdipietro and @Tarafarah7) Framed photos create a home-like, family atmosphere where students feel welcomed and accepted. If you have a classroom website or social media account, you could also post the pictures there as long as you have parent media release permission forms. Providing students with an opportunity to reflect on the positive moments of the week and look forward to the next week is another way to help foster classroom community. One way you can do this is by starting a weekly tradition called “Friday 5-4-3-2-1”. Students fill out the sheet by jotting down 5 things that made them smile, 4 words to describe the week, 3 things they have planned for the weekend, 2 things they learned, and 1 goal they have. Give students a few minutes to fill it out and have them share with a partner, a small group, or have a whole class discussion. If you’d like to try this out with your students, you can download it for free here. You can also choose to make up your own 5 prompts, as a blank version is included! Just write the prompts on the board and students can fill it out. Looking for more ways to promote class community? Find more ideas below! Student-Teacher Conferences from The SuperHERO Teacher Classroom Community Bell-Ringers from The Daring English Teacher The Kindness Project from Room 213 Do you have any other ideas for fostering a positive classroom community? Click the comments button at the top of the post and share your ideas! SaveSave SaveSave

Send your kindergartners off for the weekend excited to come back on Monday by using these wonderful fun activities for kindergarten! Fun Friday...

Send your kindergartners off for the weekend excited to come back on Monday by using these wonderful fun activities for kindergarten! Fun Friday...

Some of my students struggle with reading. Looking around the room, looking at the back cover, looking at the front cover, looking around the room again, etc….sound familiar to any of your students?So we decided to create mini anchor charts on what reading looks like and what it doesn’t look like. They did great with […]

Inspired by THIS pin and a new social studies standard, I created this kindergarten year timeline. Each month my team puts up pictures of our activities. At the end of the year I use this timeline to have my students write about their year. Get this freebie in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store. BONUS: I also used these to label my monthly activity tubs. ANOTHER BONUS: This timeline matches my birthday posters.

I teach a class on Fridays called "MART" which is essentially art projects inspired by Math. Students from Grades 4-6 can choose to tak...

It’s been a longggg week, so Friday calls for an individual serving of my raw SALTED TAHINI CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH. It takes two seconds to make and

Good morning! Today, I'd like to welcome you to the start of a new series called "Friday Favorites". Fridays will be a fun day ...

Send your kindergartners off for the weekend excited to come back on Monday by using these wonderful fun activities for kindergarten! Fun Friday...

I really can't call this a Fabulous Free Pattern Friday piece as this was done by The Weekend Designer back in August of 2008. And since no pattern was published, it really doesn't fit in the Thrifty Thursday file either. But it's a great bag that is super easy to make, so in the event that you haven't seen this bag, I think you'll really enjoy making one for yourself. The suede bag was originally sold in the Sundance catalog, and like most things in the catalog, it was very nice, but fairly expensive. They came in a lovely selection of colors. I didn't have a piece of suede that was of a suitable weight, so I made mine out of a supple piece of leather. As long as I don't carry bricks in the bag, the lighter weight of leather should be fine. You can find all of the detailed instructions for this bag here. In the instructions for the bag, there is a graph for the pattern. Rather than make you count the tiny squares, I thought I would just draw it out for you. You can see that the bag is really nothing more than a few connected rectangles. The width across the bottom is 9" The side length is 11" The length of the handle is 9" And my apologies, I neglected to add that the width of the handle is 2 1/2" I did not draw out the bottom of the bag, but it is a simple 9" square. In order to achieve the curved edge on my handle, I used my curved ruler, but to be honest, you can easily draw the curve in by hand. In order to have the same exact curve on either side, I simply folded the pattern in half and then cut the handle out. If you have never sewn with leather or suede, I encourage you to give it a try. To be honest, I absolutely love sewing with leather. The leather comes as a skin and there will be imperfections. In the picture below you can see a hole in the lower left hand corner. So when choosing a skin, look carefully at the piece before purchasing it. If there was a large imperfection in the center, it would really limit the possibilities of what I could do with the skin. The instructions from the Weekend Designer says to cut the handle on the fold. This would not allow me to make the best use the leather, so I decided to just add a seam to the top of my handle. One of the nice things about leather is that is no grain, so you can turn your pieces in whatever way you like as you see below. I have marked my pieces on the wrong side of the leather. The bag has 4 sides, so since I didn't cut the handle on the fold, I will need to cut 4. I was able to get 3 sides out of 1 skin. Once all of the pieces have been cut, it's time to start sewing them together. Leather can be a little tricky especially since you can't pin it. The instructions say to use mounting tape. I have never used tape on any leather project. If you would like, you can use paper clips to hold the pieces together as you sew. You can also use a walking foot. But to be honest, I don't use either. Just take your time, be patient and practice a little with some of your scraps and I think you'll get the hang of sewing with leather. One thing to keep in mind is that you must use a leather needle. Please don't try to use a regular needle. The leather needle has a special point specifically for sewing leather. It makes all the difference in the world. Once you sew the seam, I used 1/4" seams on this bag, you can either glue down the seams with rubber cement, or you can top stitch them. I prefer to top stitch my seams. It must have been the angle at which I took the picture as my stitches look like they are on an angle, but they really aren't. Once the seams for the sides of the bag have been sewn, you'll then attach the bottom. Pay close attention to the fact that the seams of the bag do not match up to the corners of the bottom. The seams of the bag match the center of the bottom of the bag. It can be a little tricky, but you can top stitch the seams around the bottom of the bag. Just take your time. Since I didn't cut my handles on the fold, I simply over lapped the 2 ends and sewed them together. My finished bag. You can see that the bag is quite roomy. If you would like a hard bottom, you can always cut a piece of chip board, a thick cardboard, and place it in the bottom of the bag. I rather like the soft, easy feel of the bag. If you have never sewn with leather or suede, I urge you to give it a try. This is a great first time project. If you are a little concerned about spending the money for leather for a first time project, there are a lot of home dec fabrics that mimic leather, so that's a nice alternative. The Weekend Designer no longer writes at that address. You can find him at http://bagntell.wordpress.com/ The blog is full of wonderful information and projects. He also has a Craftsy class that teaches you how to work with leather and you can find it here.

Yes, you saw that right. It's a Crafty Friday post! Since I'm teaching an art class on Friday to middle and high schoolers, I have to come ...

More pictures and a downloadable PDF of the pattern are available on Ravelry. Happy Friday! Have a seal (thank you Pokemon for making me doubt how a four letter word is spelled). A little guy that …

Tales and insights of an emerging school leader

It took me a couple of tries to get these right. The first mitten (post and pic last week) was far too small. I was able to take the hem out, lop it off, pick up the sts and then knit a new cuff. It's now the right size for my 3 year old Spidey-obsessed grandson. These are very specifically sized, for a 3-4 year old child. If you want to knit larger child-size mittens, I suggest adding a couple of sts to the vertical borders, using size 3 needles, adding cuff length, and working a few more rounds of web before the decreases. You will also need to set 1 or 2 more sts aside for the thumb, and pick up that many more when you knit the thumb(the extra sts can be part of the side border). If you want to knit an adult size pair, I would try worsted weight yarn and size 4-5 needles and this pattern (you may have to adjust the length, but you might not). As mentioned, these mittens were inspired by Pumpkinmama's We Call Him Spidey Hat, and she gave me permission to use her chart. Thanks so much! My grandson will be delighted! http://pumpkinknits.blogspot.com/2007/10/we-call-him-spidey.html#links http://pumpkinknits.blogspot.com/2007/10/spidey-chart.html Click on pattern page images to enlarge, right click to save as a jpg. Print from any graphics program.

Thousands of teachers have used these tried and true GUARANTEED tups to stop students from blurting out. Chatty Class? YOU NEED TO READ THIS!

...A lesson of Friday to teach on Monday... **scroll down for temple trivia categories and questions** We love a good quiz game {aka 'Jeopardy'} for family home evening. Not only is it fun, it's an easy way to learn. After realizing this was going to be in our permanent F.H.E. rotation, I decided to make a reusable game board. Here's how to make your own.... You will need: 1 poster board 25 flat fold 5x8-inch brown paper bags, cut 2 1/2 inches from the bottom to create a 2 1/2 x 5-inch pocket (bags like this) decorative paper glue clear packing tape (optional) 30 3x5-inch index cards 1. Arrange your cut paper bag "pockets" on your poster board in five columns of five pockets. Then, glue each onto the poster board. 2. Decorate as desired. I then "laminated" mine with packing tape for durability, which is optional, just be sure to not tape over your pocket openings. 3. Reserve 5 index cards for your categories, the rest write the score along the top of the card, the question near the bottom. Then slip one into each pocket. Write out your categories and attach to the top of the poster board with paper clips, clothes pins or tape. **We like to have a different noise maker for each child to "buzz in" with. Some examples: baby rattles, toy instruments, a small plastic container filled with rice, dried beans, or pasta...just make sure they make different sounds so you can tell who is buzzing in.** **Make up rules that work for your family. We follow the classic "jeopardy" rules, except we don't deduct points.** **This is great for almost any topic. We've done manners & Christmas as themes, and also played just random categories. Don't feel like you have to always use all five category spaces, it can take some time to play this game.** Now onto some categories & questions for you {with a 'temple' theme} 1. NAME THAT TEMPLE...this category is easy, just choose 5 temple pictures {find printable images here} to be identified. 2. NAME THAT TUNE...either have someone play a few notes on the piano, hum or play a short clip {see link with each song} to identify the song, then sing the song together. I Love To See The Temple (cs. 95) Families Can Be Together Forever (cs. 188) High On The Mountain Top (h. 5) How Beautiful Thy Temples, Lord (h. 288) Truth From Elijah (cs. 90) 3. IN THE LATTER DAYS The first temple completed after the restoration was dedicated on March 27, 1836, name that temple. {Kirkland, OH} At what age can we first attend the temple and what ordinances can we perform starting at that age? {12, baptisms for the dead, confirmation} In the temple we can preform ordinances for ourselves and for our relatives that have died. Name these ordinances. {Baptism, Confirmation, Endowment, Sealing} How many temples are in operation today? {142, this will change, check here for updates} We do this work before attending the temple to find names of ancestors that need work completed. {genealogy, family history} 4. SCRIPTURE CHASE...the first to find the scripture earns the points & reads it aloud. Isaiah 2:2-3 Doctrine and Covenants 138:47-48 Doctrine and Covenants 97:15-16 Doctrine and Covenants 109:13-16 Doctrine and Covenants 132: 46 5. MY GOSPEL STANDARDS...fill in the blank (all are taken from "My Gospel Standards" in the Faith in God Pamphlet) I will follow ________ ________ plan for me. {Heavenly Father's} I will remember my baptismal _________ and listen to the Holy Ghost. {covenant} I will choose the right. I know I can _______ when I make a mistake. {repent} I will keep my mind and body ________ and ______, and I will not partake of things that are harmful to me. {sacred and pure} I will live now to be _______ to go to the _______ and do my part to have an eternal family. {worthy, temple}

I was invited to be the featured artist this week over at Blind Contour Friday. Below is my submission for the Friday challenge. These are really fun to do and a great way to prime the creative pump - give one a try and then on Friday add your blind contour to the submission pool. All the details can be found by CLICKING THIS BUTTON: "lamp & clock ~ blind contour" one-line #18

Perseverance is that ability to keep going when things are tough. Here are some ideas to help you teach perseverance in the classroom.

Fesenjan is a Persian chicken stew made with chicken breasts or thighs that are slowly cooked with ground toasted walnuts and pomegranate molasses.

Happy Friday, Friends! I hope you all had a fabulous week. This summer, I led a two day workshop called Success with Small Groups and it was SO

Looking for easy appetizer ideas? These recipes are perfect for a night in watching Netflix! This list of finger foods will help you find a delicious snack to make for your movie night at home.

A blog about a Kindergarten classroom.

This is a Sharing Time I did this year on the topic of Repentance. (Previous entries in my Primary ideas series are A Chieko Okazaki Sharing Time Lesson and How to Sincerely Enjoy Working in Nurser…

I have realised that if I am going to post a list of the links I have found, I should probably call them something! So here is the beginning of “Friday Finds”!! Tonight I thought I woul…

Are you looking for good team-building and problem-solving activities? Here are a few I've tried as an elementary school principal. If I thought it was accomplished with a good amount of success, I gave those activities a “thumbs up”. I’ll also share a few that I thought fell short! Look for the “thumbs down”!

How to make slime putty at home. Just 3 ingredients and you can turn classic slime into homemade putty slime for kids.

Keep the kids busy and teach them a skill at the same time! These EASY STITCH Cards teach children beginning sewing skills as well as fine motor skills.