I use this form when I want to conference with a student about their behavior but I want them to do some reflecting first! I like that this gives them a second to collect themselves before we have a one-on-one. Include: - Editable Reflection Form

Here's a great idea I spotted on Pinterest.... I tried this lesson with my middle school students and they had so much fun with it! I originally used a copy machine to enlarge students' fingerprints. It was cumbersome and time-consuming. But then I figured out a faster, easier, and better way! For detailed instructions with photos, tips, writing prompts, a student gallery, and fascinating fingerprint facts, check out my fun resource on TPT! My pdf also comes with 3 ready-to-use fingerprint enlargements in case you don't have time to take students' actual fingerprints. This can also be helpful for students who arrive late or miss the first day when you work on these. Optional... use colored pencils to lightly add some designs in the background before tracing over your writing with Sharpie. This will personalize your self-portrait even more!

One of the best ways to get to know your new students is through an interest inventory. I love to collect as much information as I can about my students at the start of the school year. I want to know about their likes, their dislikes, their learning style, and so much more. The Purpose ... Read More about Grab this Interest Inventory!

I’ll admit, when I first began using stations the main reason was so I didn’t have to make copies for 200 students. The copy machines at my school were frequently broken, out of toner, and often inaccessible due to high need from other teachers and the lack of regular and predictable planning periods. If I wanted to make copies, I either had to get to school around seven or stay well after the final bell rang. Even then I might not be able to print what I needed for my students because the paper might be locked away to save the district some money. Stations were a perfect solution to my copy machine dilemmas. However, once I began using stations I found many more reasons to keep using them in my seventh grade science classes. Perhaps most importantly, students love stations and are motivated simply because they can be out of their seats and be more in charge of their learning (more on that later). Stations are super easy to differentiate and can be used to meet the needs of all of your students. Also, they are easy to use and quick to set up. If you’ve never heard of stations, ever considered using stations, or if you currently use stations and they aren’t quite as effective as you’d like, keep reading. Students practice identifying variables and writing hypotheses with these Scientific Method Stations. What are stations? Stations are a way for students to practice lesson content while moving around the classroom instead of being seated at desks. (That might sound scary when considering certain classes—believe me, I’ve been there. However, I’ve used stations with even my most rambunctious, out of control classes of 35+ seventh grade students. It can be done successfully.) Stations can be questions or short tasks posted on the perimeter of the room. In my science classes I typically used questions that could be answered with students’ notes, textbooks, knowledge, or skills. I included a variety of question levels—some easy and straightforward and others rigorous and challenging. I have also set up measurement stations with tasks to complete such as finding the volume of an object using the water displacement method or predicting the mass of an object and then using a balance to see how close their predictions were. When I noticed students had a hard time finding information in textbooks, I had stations where students had to find a specific piece of information using glossaries, tables of contents, or indexes. I’ve even cut up a worksheet and posted it around the room as stations. Answering the questions on a worksheet can be tedious, but when that same worksheet is in station form it becomes more engaging and meaningful. When students are up and around the room doing stations they’ll need to record their answers. This can be done on notebook paper that they hand in when they’re finished or in their interactive notebooks. How do I set up stations in my classroom? Start off by writing the questions or tasks you want your students to answer. Use fairly large font so they are easy to read from a distance of several feet. Then print them out and cut them up. If you want, you can laminate them so they are in good condition by the time the last class of students goes through them. I personally did not laminate them, so I always had some rips or pencil marks on the papers by the end of the day. Instead of laminating I just used extra tape to prevent the majority of damage. Once you have your stations printed, cut out, and maybe laminated you can tape them around the room on walls, windows, or tables. Finding space in my classroom was always easy because my room was ginormous. I also had countertops bordering the walls of three-quarters of my classroom. The space you leave between stations obviously depends on how many stations you have, but whenever possible try to leave at least a yard between them. This helps the students stay focused on their task instead of socializing with nearby groups. It also helps the teacher spot misbehavior earlier and sprout fewer gray hairs. When should I use stations? There were two purposes for using stations in my classroom: practice or review. If I was using the stations as a way to reinforce the material we learned, I scheduled them after taking notes and doing a whole class practice. Basically, I wanted my students to have the fundamentals down and the ability to be decently independent before beginning stations. If students needed to review material, I typically used stations as a review activity the day or two before a test. I’ve also had luck using stations before big breaks like Thanksgiving break, winter break, spring break, or summer vacation. Whenever students are especially squirrelly, stations are usually a good choice because students can move around the room and still engage in the material they need to learn and understand instead of wasting learning time. (Stations have kept me sane on more than one occasion before a break.) What behavioral expectations should be established before beginning stations? Before beginning stations, you MUST go over your behavior expectations. Otherwise, the students have a 95% chance of turning feral within three minutes. Here are the station expectations I went over every time we did stations. Students will have no more than three students to a station at any time. If there is already a group at that station, then they must go to another station. Students do not have to go in order. They may skip around to any station as long as they write their answers in the correct location on their own papers. As long as students are on task and working, students may pick the student(s) they want to work with. Students may also work individually. Students will receive only one warning for off task behavior. If they are off task a second time, they will have to complete the assignment individually in their seat using a worksheet form of the stations. Students may only visit the answer sheet twice during the stations. When students finish the stations they need to check all of their answers and return to their seats. How do I monitor behavior during stations, and what do I do about misbehavior? If you aren’t directly supporting a group of students, walk around the room and monitor behavior. Keep an eye and ear out for horseplay. Whenever students misbehave or don’t follow a station expectation give them a warning. If students have a second problem, direct the offending students back to their seats and give them a worksheet form of the stations to complete individually. Remind students they cannot get out of their seats for the remaining station time, otherwise you might find them messing with their friends and wandering around the room “working on the stations.” Depending on whether your stations consist of questions or tasks, your students might not be able to do every station on their worksheet. In that case instruct them to skip the station or complete it individually later on. Biggest advice here: don’t let small misbehaviors get out of hand. Immediately give the warning/consequence and briefly explain to the student what they did wrong and why it’s a problem. Here is an example of how that might sound: “Billybobjoe, you were visiting another group again. When you do this it is distracting to other students and you can’t learn. Because you didn’t follow the station expectations, now you will finish the stations at your desk by yourself on this worksheet.” How can I use stations to meet the needs of all of my students? Stations are excellent for differentiation purposes. Students can choose what works for them. For example, I let my students determine if they wanted to work independently, with a partner, or in a group of three. They also determined the order in which they completed the stations. They could skip around or go in numerical order while working at their own pace. Posting an answer sheet gave my students support by allowing them to check their work or get help with a problem they were struggling with. While my students were working, I was free to meet with a small group of students who needed extra support. Sometimes I determined ahead of time who should be in that day's support group and other times I left it up to the students to come to me for assistance. Consider posting answer sheets (like I did with the Changes in States of Matter Stations) so students can check their work and get assistance if needed. Another way to differentiate is by arranging the stations from easiest to hardest. For the most part, students are pretty good at determining their levels of understanding. Whenever I arranged the stations this way, I explained it to my students and let them choose where they needed to be. Providing the right context and reasoning is important for this. Don’t just say: left is easy, center is medium, and right is hard. Then you’d have a flock of students on the left with no one really benefiting. Explain that the stations on the left side are for students who feel they are having difficulty with the content and need to build up their knowledge and skills first. The stations in the center are a medium level of difficulty for students who feel they have a fairly good understanding of the content and are ready for reinforcement practice. The stations on the right side of the room are for students who feel they understand the material very well and need a challenge. When I explained it this way, my students didn’t feel bad if they were on the left side. As for the right side, many were eager for a challenge and would start by looking at the questions to see if they were ready or needed to go more towards the center. When arranging by level of difficulty, give your students a number of stations to complete. If there are 30 stations, maybe have them choose any 10. Having students complete all of the stations can defeat the purpose of arranging them this way. What do I do when students finish the stations at different times? There are several solutions to this. You can set a timer and have students complete as many stations as they can in 20 minutes. If there are a small number of stations or if the questions/tasks are relatively quick to get through, you can start a five-minute timer after the first five students finish; then announce that everyone needs to be done in less than five minutes. You can have students begin their homework or an individual class assignment at their seats. They can read a book. I’ve tried all of these methods in my class and switched it up depending on the student or lesson needs. What stations do you use in your own classroom? I'm so glad you asked. :) In my Teachers Pay Teachers store you can find many of the stations I have used in my seventh grade science classroom. Currently, these are the stations in my store: Scientific Method Stations: These can be used in a variety of ways. Most often my students used these stations to identify independent and dependent variables and write hypotheses. Changes in States of Matter Stations: These stations give students practice with the key points of melting, freezing, vaporization, condensation, and sublimation. Genetics and Heredity Stations: These stations give students practice with a variety of genetics topics. They are great to see what students know or to review key concepts. Human Body Organ System Stations: Students practice the important characteristics of the skeletal system, circulatory system, respiratory system, muscular system, digestive system, and nervous system. Properties of Matter/Physical Science Review Stations: I use these stations to review physical science concepts before the unit test. They go over atoms, states of matter, changes in states, physical and chemical changes, law of conservation of mass/matter, homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures, elements, and compounds. Measurement in Science Stations: These stations are all about the tools and units used to measure metric length, volume, mass, and density. Density Stations: My students always need extra practice with density before things really sink in. These stations help them understand. Volume Stations: These stations focus on finding the volume of solids and liquids and measuring correctly. Mass and Weight Stations: Students get practice with the difference between mass and weight with these stations. If you haven’t already, try using stations in your classroom. With the correct implementation, they can really benefit your students. Plus, you don’t have to make a bazillion copies ;) Are you a middle school science teacher? You might be interested in my newsletter. Sign up for my newsletter here. Just for signing up you'll receive an exclusive freebie that you can't get anywhere else.

As students head back to school, ELA teachers everywhere are considering how they are going to begin the school year, so I wanted to walk you through one of my favorite lesson plans entitled, “Why do we read?” As an educator, there are few things as exciting and rewarding as introducing a young person to […]

It's time to go back to school! With the back-to-school season upon us, it is time to start planning back-to-school activities for the first week of school.

As we embark on a new academic journey, there’s no better time than the start of the school year to introduce and master the art of implementing stations in your classroom.

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Grab these Back to school table settings with free printables so you can send your kids off to school in style!

Today I am brining you the perfect combination of back to school ice-breakers and games for those first days of school! Back to school is a crazy time and we all want to hit the ground running. There are routines and procedures to teach and we are ready to get to them the second those kids walk in the door. Building community and getting to know

A name tag glyph is a great getting-to-know-you activity for the first day or first week of school. I will show you how to make one here (or if you just want a free one, scroll down to the bottom! I will never know!) A glyph is a picture or symbol that gives information. Name ... Read More about Back to School Name Tag Glyph

It's time for some truth telling.

A back to school cone (German schultute) is a great way to make the first day of school fun and exciting and get your kids those school supplies they'll need for the school year. I love to make a back-to-school schultute for my daughter every year because they are so easy, fun, and it's a great way to get the first week of school off to a good start!

Guest Post by Christine Weis | For the Love of Teachers There’s no crazy like back to school crazy so I like to start off the year with some fun and easy activities that build classroom community a…

Want to save some time during that first week of school? Check out these 5 back to school songs that your elementary music classes will love!

Keep all of your lesson plans for the whole school year in one streamlined easy-to-access place with a Google Sheets Lesson Plan Template!

Ready to go student check-in activities to find out what your students are thinking and feeling. Find the ones that work for you!

One of my favorite things about back to school, is knowing that I get to meet and love on a brand new bunch of kids for the school year. I’m sure you feel the same way, and have your lesson planner packed to the max with different “get-to-know-you activities.” I want to share with you […]

Create back to school memories with 25 super-cute back to school coloring pages for kids. Grab the free printable PDF download for each!

Have you thought about having a class pet, but don’t want to add one more thing to take care of in your classroom? Well, I have the perfect solution---a take-home stuffed animal! Kids love it and there is no cage or tank to clean out! Having a traveling class pet was by far the most popular class pet I ever had. Kids couldn’t wait for their week to take home the pet and have it be part of their life for a few days. Of course, I had to include a journal for the kids to write in through the week. Tips for having a take-home class pet. 1. Choosing a stuffed animal is the easy part because kids love them all. But, keep the size of the pet in mind. Too large and it's difficult to transport home and then back to school. Too small and it feels too much like a toy instead of a real pet. 2. Pick a traveling bag for your pet. I like clear plastic bags so everyone can see the adorable pet inside. Make sure it's large enough to hold the pet and the journal. I found this bag on Amazon for under $10. (Search "clear plastic tote" for lots of choices.) 3. Decide on the requirements for the journal. The requirements should be based on the writing level of your students. Kindies can have a drawing journal where they draw a picture or two that shows what they did with the pet. Firsties can write a few sentences along with illustrations. For older students, they can write paragraphs and add illustrations. Make sure all requirements and suggestions are included in the journal, so kids know exactly what is expected. 4. What will you use as a journal? I like using a composition book. It's sturdy and will last the whole year. You can glue on a cover and then glue all instructions and suggestions to the inside cover. Click here to download this freebie from my TpT store. (Click on this image.) 5. Make sure you share the journal on the day it's returned and before it goes home with a new student. 6. A letter home at the beginning of the year, explaining the Take-Home pet is a good idea. That way, parents know what to expect. I also let parents know the take-home schedule a few weeks in advance. That way, the schedule can be adjusted if a family needs to reschedule the pet's visit to their home. Above all, have fun. Just like a live pet, the stuffed animal pet is a great way to teach responsibility.

This is your last year of high school and you want to celebrate it by wearing senior jeans? Here are 17 outstanding senior jeans ideas to copy

Flu season is upon us, so I wanted to compile some of my favorite free resources for last-minute sub plans. Everything I've chosen is 100% free and ready to print. These resources don't take a lot

Catch your students' attention with our back to school bulletin board ideas. A fun and interactive way to establish a fun and welcoming classroom community.

Alright friends it’s Monday and I am here with a quick classroom management freebie! This is not an original idea I’m sure so I don’t take any credit for it! I started this in my classroom a few weeks back and it’s being going great so I wanted to share with you! It seems...

These free color by number printables and worksheets are filled with learning fun and benefits for preschoolers and kindergarteners.

This FREE handout is a great activity for warm-ups or even early finishers. This handout was inspired by the book Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg. Here is the BLANK version. This is a good opti…

I came up with the idea for Race to the Galaxy (originally named Space Colonies) after reviewing games on the PhysEdGames YouTube channel. Since I’m a huge Sci-Fi fan, I really wanted to add a space-themed activity to my cooperative … Read More

- An ode to a favorite art supply - Printed on heavy cardstock - Shipped in rigid mailer with chipboard for extra support - Painted using Procreate -Colors may vary from computer screen to actual print in hand. Digital Illustration by JFeldmanArt Check out my other listings or find me on social media @jfeldmanart

Hi! I recently finished rewriting my K-6 art curriculum plan. We are required to do this every 4 years. You can see my first blog post about organizing curriculum that I wrote a few years back. I use the curriculum plan as a guide for my yearly planning. If students are interested in one area of art more than another, I tend to adapt my plans. If I have a brilliant idea for something new I want to try with … Read more... →

If your school wants a school wide PBIS incentive, here are some ideas for what to do! Reward students with this easy, fun, and cheap incentive.

Last week we sent a bunch of Scout Books to SXSW in Texas with @rohdesign and @austinkleon for their Visual Notetaking 101 Panel. These guys take awesome notes, and they designed this pocket notebook to offer you a chance to create beautifully illustrated notes, too. The cover features illustration exercises for better notetaking. Count yourself lucky if you were at the panel and received one of these! They ran out right away! Collectors item.

Looking for a list of the 10 best math movies ever made? This collection of movies with math as a central theme celebrates math in the movies and is appropriate for all ages. The list includes excellent movies about math, examples of math in the movies, and suggested math movies for middle school st

This single classroom procedure has made a HUGE difference in my experience teaching middle school. My first year teaching I didn't do this and I knew that something needed to change. I decided to put into a place a daily bellringer for every one of my classes. I am a Family Consumer Sciences teacher so I teacher 4 different classes!You can call it whatever you want to call it but I call it a bell ringer because my students are expected to be doing it as soon as the bell rings to start class.Her

Trying to find activities for little ones that are both fun and educational? Not always easy. Especially when you want to keep them away from screens and engage their minds a bit more.

This FREE handout is a great activity for warm-ups or even early finishers. This handout was inspired by the book Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg. Here is the BLANK version. This is a good opti…

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

Want to improve your students' vocabulary? Included are 38 Word of the Week posters, one for each week of the school year. Stick them up on the wall each week, or put them all onto a keyring and hook them onto your board to switch them easily each week. CHECK OUT OUR BUNDLE WHICH INCLUDES WORD, IDIO...

Are you a parent, teacher, or mentor working with teens? If so, you'll want to check out these awesome growth mindset activities for high school students!

Have you ever thought about living in a short school bus conversion? This list of perfect short bus conversions will make you want to build your own!

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