If you’ve spent any time around teenagers, you know… they’re so weird! Whether or not you’re wanting to teach middle school or you’ve already signed your contract, you are ready to go because this is what you went to school for. WRONG! You’re about to become the sole adult in a room of preteens who do not play by anyone’s rules other than their own. True, your college classes prepared you to be a teacher. I quickly found out there were valuable things they left out about being a middle school teacher. Here’s my list of things to know: 1. They smell BAD. There’s not even a way to sugar coat it. Middle school kids smell like a combination of body odor, sweat, feet, dirt, Hot Takis, Skittles, and Axe. Sometimes it’s necessary to find some way to bring it up. I usually stick to addressing it passively by joking with the whole class and telling them deodorant is important because they all stink… because you can do that in middle school. Often times you will have to smile and suffer through it because it’s (hopefully) just a phase, and chances are that kid’s self-esteem is more fragile than an […]
In my Jr. High classroom, I post a daily question on the whiteboard and students answer using whiteboard markers or post-its. I will use the answers to mark my attendance. In the past, teachers have used these as writing prompts for journals. I have created my questions for the year. On my students ...
Use this GEMDAS poster to create a large and vivid bulletin board display or anchor chart for your middle school math classroom word walll! Order of Operations is a VITAL concept for upper elementa…
Free 7th & 8th grade worksheets, printable games, and activities to make learning math, literacy, history, and science engaging and FUN!
I wanted to do something for my choir kids as a thank you for all their hard work this semester. This was a relatively affordable "gift" even though I ended up getting the giant sized Symphony bars (since Walmart didn't have enough of the XL bars stocked....) I conned my sister into helping me cut out the tags and tie up the ribbons. Here is the finished product. I designed the tags in powerpoint. Here is a closer picture and a PDF if you'd like to print your own.
Learn about the human digestive system for kids twith this memorable digestion experiment. ZANY human body project making poop!
In the first month of school, teachers are usually focused on classroom setup, establishing procedures, launching routines, and digging into the first unit. Although we DO want students to be organized and to feel safe as individuals, we also need them to open up and collaborate as part of a bigger classroom community. Read on for 9 ideas about how to create bonding, shared experiences, and interactions that foster community-building. (By the way, you can check out a similar blog post of ours about community-building here.) The SuperHERO Teacher Teaching kindness and collaboration amongst students is such an important part of a positive classroom community! I love using interactive bulletin boards to encourage students to motivate each other. Recently, I created this nature-themed bulletin board using Polaroid frames with inspiring quotes, twine, and clothes pins. Basically, if students need a bit of motivation, they can take a quote from the board, but they must replace it with a new quote! At the end of the year, students will be exchanging quotes from each other-- making a strong classroom relationship! Here's the link. Addie Williams I work hard to create a collaborative and welcoming classroom community and one way I do this is through writing about kindness. I share a kindness quote with my students as a writing prompt and have them work on it individually before sharing their ideas with a partner and then with a larger group. I ask them to look for similarities in their responses. Demonstrating to my students that I value kindness and community early on in the year will hopefully create a sense of caring throughout the year. Use these free Kindness Quotes to get started! Secondary Sara One of the hurdles to community-building is when students aren't willing to be vulnerable, they try to be perfect, or they compete instead of connect. As much as strengths and growth mindset are important, we teachers also need to help students identify and tackle their weaknesses in an honest way. I like doing this in a humorous way by "curing" student diseases. I joke about students who have "Procrastinitis", and when students own that problem, it becomes a springboard for other areas of concern as well (like upset binders, high test pressure, and silence infections). Get the poster set AND activities to accompany them here. Danielle Hall One of the ways students build our classroom community is by working together to solve problems or puzzles. I use team trivia to start out our class at the beginning of the year, getting students used to collaborating and thinking critically. They develop a healthy sense of teamwork and competition. Here's a free week to get you started. The Classroom Sparrow A simple way to create a positive classroom community is to display work from students around a classroom. It doesn't necessarily have to be an assignment, even a collaborative discussion full of insight from everyone in a class adds positivity and shows that everyone's opinion/view is valued! If you're lacking in work to display, simply begin a class with a simple prompt, motivational quote, or question! Here is a collaborative poem I had students create to begin a poetry unit. Everyone took 10-15 mins to cut out 30-40 words, then I paired students and peers to create a beautiful and colourful example of poetry, which remained on my bulletin boards for the length of the unit! The Daring English Teacher I teach at a very diverse school, and there are 23 different home languages represented in our student body. Bringing together such a diverse group can sometimes be challenging, so I created Classroom Community Bell Ringers to help us all find a common ground. These bell ringers include quotes about love, acceptance, diversity, and tolerance and a brief writing prompt. My students take the first five minutes in class to read the quote and quickly respond to the prompt. Then we share our responses aloud. This exercise has helped forge new connections amongst students who once thought there was no common ground. Stacey Lloyd At the beginning of the year we always spend time thinking about positive and negative behaviors in the classroom: social, emotional and academic. Students come up with their suggestions by walking around the room and anonymously adding their thoughts to various prompts. I then compile these into a list and have students all sign their names on the document - which stays on the wall all year. Any time I find a student acting out or being unkind or unhelpful, I point to their signature and hold them to account. Room 213 We spend a great deal of time during the first few weeks building our classroom climate. I want kids to feel free to discuss their views and to know that it's okay to disagree with someone, as long as they do so respectfully. We develop a class code of conduct, and I put up posters to remind them to be empathetic, kind and understanding of differences. They are a good visual reminder of the things we discussed and the exercises we do during the first few days of school. You can grab them for free here. Presto Plans Building a positive classroom community is an intentional process. One way to do this is by having students complete short challenges that encourage kindness, collaboration, teamwork, expression, and the sharing of ideas and opinions. Start your year or semester by presenting short classroom challenges that can be used as bell-ringers, a class close-up activity, or a fun way to start or end the week. I suggest you set up a bulletin board that allows you to build suspense and reveal one challenge at a time. Make the challenges fun, collaborative, and stress-free. For example, you might consider getting students to write a thank-you card for someone, write a funny top 10 list, play a game of 20 questions, or interview a classmate. We hope you enjoy these ideas! Tell us what you think, or tell us more ideas in the comments!
Here's a terrific display for any language arts classroom. The huge, colorful poster clearly defines nine important elements of literature: plot, theme, setting, characterization, conflict, mood, style, tone, and point of view. The teacher's guide contains additional information, teaching suggestions, and related instructional activities.
Product Description A complete and absolute beginner's guide to the Scratch computer language! Scratch is a free, online program that was developed at MIT and is designed to give kids an easy introduction to coding with command blocks that can be dragged, dropped, and stacked into place. All you need is a computer with an internet connection (and a keyboard) and this easy-to-follow, playfully written and illustrated book! Start simple with the basics of what coding is and how it works. Learn all about how Scratch works and how you can use it to make just about any kind of 2D animation or game you can imagine. Then - Start coding! You'll learn how to animate a story complete with dialogue, costume changes, and scene changes. You'll learn how to build a number-guessing game, a pattern maker, a race-car game, a space adventure, and more. It's a whole universe of possibilities just waiting to be discovered by YOU! Get started on Scratch without starting from scratch with the Coding for Beginners Using Scratch book. Coding For Beginners Using Scratch Just-for-kids book for learning how to program with Scratch Encourages an interest in computers and technology, logic, problem solving, creativity Get started on Scratch without starting from scratch! Step-by-step, illustrated instructions make it easy to get started, make games, animations, and more Features complete Scratch menu guides and glossary - Easily find your place Discover extra help and downloads online Written by Rosie Dickins, Jonathan Melmoth, Louie Stowell Published by Usborne Requires a computer with a keyboard so kids can play along - Not included High quality hardcover binding Related Categories:
This will be a short one — with the first (read: frenzied) week of school just behind me and Crystal off on a girls retreat, it's Daddy Domination time, and the girls are bound to wake up in moments. Although my school year has only just begun, I know that some of you are using […]
Are you studying music theory in your homeschool? Use this worksheet with students from upper elementary on up to help them to understand time signature.
This PEMDAS Order of Operations Bulletin Board Poster is the perfect classroom decor for any 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th Grade Math Class!
Invisible Math is a must have bulletin board for every middle school math classroom. Your students will really benefit from having a constant reminder on the wall about their invisible ones!
About four years ago I decided to “flip” my traditional classroom. I moved myself away from being the center of the room. I used to stand at a podium and offered 5 lectures a week. Instead, I shifted to a more student-centered classroom. This was not something I did overnight, however my first transition into the student centered… Continue reading →
Teach characterization using short films to engage students and aid in analysis skills. Pixar films, commercials, and cartoons create a fun lesson.
This eye-catching bulletin board poster is perfect for any math classroom! Help your students memorize square roots and perfect squares and add to your cute classroom decor!
These eye-catching bulletin board posters will help your students learn the types of triangles and will look GREAT on your word wall with your anchor charts. Some of your students may need help mem…
Make digital ransom notes with this free web tool! Works on any device with a web browser. Fun ways to use ransomizer.com in the classroom!
Too many classroom icebreakers require students to take big social risks with people they barely know. Or they don't really help students get to know each other. Or they are just plain cheesy.
In my Jr. High classroom, I post a daily question on the whiteboard and students answer using whiteboard markers or post-its. I will use the answers to mark my attendance. In the past, teachers have used these as writing prompts for journals. I have created my questions for the year. On my students ...
Inside: Read about my favorite opener activities for Spanish class, as well as warm-up strategies and routines for starting Spanish class each day! Find access to free resources, too!
In this engaging lesson, students investigate the angles created by lines cut by a transversal to determine the angle pairs' relationships.
10 inexpensive rewards to use in your middle school class.
This model and template will help college, high school, and middle school teachers put together a syllabus that sets you and your students up for a great year.
By setting strong class rules at the start you’ll be setting the tone for the rest of your time. Here are 47 ideas for middle school and high school classrooms.
To take quality notes, students need to be taught how. This fantastic station-rotation lesson gets the job done, and it can be used with all kinds of other content as well.
This GEMS Order of Operations Bulletin Board is perfect for any middle school math classroom. When you’re teaching the GEMS method, it helps to have this poster on the wall!
Check for Comprehension in Language classes– learn how to make sure your students are actually understanding you when you speak the target language in class!
