So, you're all of a sudden a new manager! Here's a new manager checklist to help you navigate successfully through that critical first week.
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If you’ve ever thought about going into project management, you’ve probably heard that you need to get a certification. And if you’re planning to become a project manager without experience, it can be hard to choose between all the training options available on the market. The acronyms alone can be dizzying: PRINCE2, SCRUM, CAPM, PMP,
So, I invented a new game today. It was completely necessary at the moment. It requires zero prep and zero materials (other than a class list). It. Works. Like. Magic! The name of the game is 'Last Kid Standing'. How
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!
Unwanted talking is near the top of the list of teacher frustrations. In this article, learn the actual strategies to finally get rid of it for good.
Singing during transitions makes moving from one thing to another almost seamless. These classroom management songs and chants will keep students engaged, focused, and excited to learn, which in turn will save valuable instruction time. Most of the songs included are parodies of popular songs all kids will know. The words have been changed to help students transition in a positive manner. Simply print and laminate. I like to hang them on a binder ring in my classroom for easy reference. Three color options are included! SONGS and CHANTS INCLUDED: New songs have been added! Editable versions of the songs and chants have also been added! Like It Was (centers clean up song) (Tune: As It Was) We're Amazing (words of affirmation song) (Tune: Levitating) Good For You (student praise song) (Tune: Good4U) •The Carpet (transition to the carpet song) (Tune: The Middle) •All I Do Is Freeze (freeze and focus song) (Tune: All I Do is Win) •Clean Up (clean up chant) •Back to My Seat (transition back to seat song) (Tune: Old Town Road) •Let’s Line Up (line up song) (Tune: Let it Go) •Partner Up (partner signal song) (Tune: The Git Up) •Quiet Time (quiet signal song) (Tune: Frere Jacques) •Learning Math is Awesome (math song for signaling the beginning of math) (Tune: Everything is Awesome) •We Can’t Stop Reading (reading song for signaling the beginning of reading) (Tune: Can't Stop the Feeling) •See! (share time song) (Tune: Me!) TEACHERS LIKE YOU SAID… ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Stephanie M. says, "I am a teacher who ADORES incorporating music into my everyday instruction and these songs add life/zest to it! I am so happy this resource was made and my students love it too! Thank you for making something that greatly enhances the learning experience!" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sarah W. says, "My students loved using this! It got them so engaged and made their learning so fun! I would highly recommend this product to anyone and everyone!!" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Hannah M. says, "I love this resource so much! I started using the carpet song on the first day of school and my students love it, plus it helps with our transition time! " You may also love: Classroom Management Games for the Entire Year Back to School Classroom Management Activities and Crafts First Grade Interactive Read Aloud Lessons First and Second Grade Learning Toolkit Reading Comprehension Activities and Craft Bundle Second Grade Interactive Read Aloud Lessons Get more classroom tips and instructional strategies from me below: INSTAGRAM PINTEREST THE LEMONADE STAND BLOG Would you like to SAVE on new resources? Just click the GREEN STAR below my name. This will allow you to follow my store and receive e-mail notifications when a new resource is added. Don’t forget to leave feedback on your purchase to earn TPT credits!
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Guest Blog Post By Sam Bradford Let’s talk about “Classroom Rules.” Are they something you keep in your syllabus and mention the first day of class and never return to? Do you find that printing--and, if necessary, even laminating--a list of rules and tacking them on your wall safeguards you from problems with student conduct? We’ve all had the experience where a student comes to us and says “Gee, teacher, I sure was on a bad path, but when I saw that little sign that said ‘Respect Yourself and Others,’ it turned my life around. It was like, all of a sudden, I realized that I needed to respect myself. And others. I don’t know where I’d be if it weren’t for that sign!” Oh, you haven’t had that experience? You see where I’m going with this. I’ve been teaching for twelve years, with four of those years as a department chair, and two as Dean of Academic Affairs. I’ve had the opportunity to observe lots of classes across all disciplines in high school, and one of the most prominent trends I’ve noticed is that we could be a lot more intentional about building classroom culture. One other connection I’ve noticed is that the teachers who say “Some years you get good kids. Some years you get bad kids. At the end of the day, there’s not really much you can do about it” are often the same teachers with that posted list of classroom rules--rules that are not even readable from the back of the class and go as unnoticed as whatever paintings are in the same room as the Mona Lisa. I was one of those teachers until I learned about norms from the School Reform Initiative (SRI). I think that norms are one of the best tools for improving a healthy classroom culture. Norms are not rules. Rules can’t change. Norms change with the different chapters of the year. Rules are created by teachers. Norms are thoughtfully crafted by both teachers and students. Rules tell us what to do and what not to do. Norms remind us of what we need to be resilient and take risks. Step Up. Make Room. We’re All Trying. Stay Open, Stay Cool. Adopt, Adapt, Adept. One Second At a Time. Shake and Bake. What are norms? They are bumper-sticker-length phrases, usually in the imperative tense, crafted, agreed upon, and revised by the class. Norms can give us a boost when we’re feeling complacent. They can help us breathe when we feel paralyzed (especially for classes with overachieving students). They are things we tell ourselves and remind each other. Norms can mean slightly different things to different people. Step Up can translate to “I’m going to try to speak more often in discussion” or “I’m going to get ahead in the reading.” They can also be really creative. One of my all-time favorites: VolSTAYved. Get it? Stay involved. Rhetorically, they give you buy-in from your students and allow you to avoid the role of disciplinarian. Instead of “because it’s on my laminated page of Classroom Rules,” the stance is one of “I’m reminding us of our own language we agreed to. Is that language not helpful for us anymore? What would help?” How To Create Norms With Your Students At the start of the year, I use a discussion protocol to remember that learning comes when we take risks. SRI’s “Zones of Risk, Comfort, and Danger” is crucial for me. Then, we do a different protocol to establish norms, framing them with the idea that these are things that keep the maximum number of people in the risk zone for the maximum amount of time--either SRI’s “Attritubtes of a Learning Community” or “Norms Construction” works really well. I aim for no more than three norms per class so that it’s easy to remember. Once norms are established and unanimously agreed upon, I do make a sign with our norms, which are separate for each class. Yes, I sometimes laminate them. At the start of each class, I remind the students of our norms. Some days, it takes ten seconds. Occasionally, I’ll turn it into a warm-up activity. For example, “journal on which norm you most need help with today and why” or “take a post-it note and write the norm you most need today on that note and stick it on your desk as a reminder” or “find a meme that best captures our norm.” Similarly, you can use them as a conclusion activity: “Who in here deserves the VolSTAYved award for today’s work?” If I start to notice patterns in classroom conduct that impede learning, I’ll ask the class if any norms need to be revised or replaced. They can take ownership and build self-awareness. Things are very different when it’s the start of the year and no one knows anyone else as opposed to when it’s mid-semester and we’re comfortable. Or if it’s one week before a much-deserved Spring Break. Those chapters all feel different and require different reminders in order to do good work. By the end of the year, I’ve usually revised norms half a dozen times. The Result Of Using Norms The result? Better class cohesion than I’ve ever had. Constant positive feedback on student surveys. The student who, a month ago, told me “I adopted ‘We’re All Trying’ as a norm for our Diversity Alliance.” More than once, I’ve heard some variant of “even outside of class, I tell this norm to myself--it helps me.” Can your list of Classroom Rules do that? Related Articles: High School English Teachers: I Planned Your Frist Week Back To School (abetterwaytoteach.com) Want An Outstanding First Day of School Activity for Your High School (abetterwaytoteach.com) For more information on School Reform Initiative and how to bring this to your classroom or school, check out: School Reform Initiative – A Community of Learners SRI Theory of Action – School Reform Initiative Protocols – School Reform Initiative
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With these classroom management strategies, your room will have order and your students will thrive. Quickly create your classroom management plan here!
Sales Management Dashboard - Deskboard designed by Ali Husni ✨ for Pickolab Studio. Connect with them on Dribbble; the global community for designers and creative professionals.
Classroom management and thinking through how my classroom will run is more important than the decorations and arrangement! Do you agree? My classroom has several different strategies set up; and as needed, I will adjust accordingly as my students arrive and I learn their needs. Today, I have 8 Classroom Management Tips for you to […]
As kids, we enjoyed all sorts of fun hobbies. Somehow, back in the day, no matter how much homework we got, we still managed to do all this other cool stuff. But even if you are very busy as an adult, you should definitely find some new hobbies to try and attempt fitting them into your schedule. These hobbies don’t even have to be something complicated or time-consuming. There are tons of easy hobbies to pick up out there, and so everyone can find something to their taste.
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Tips for making Life with an ADHD child easierLooking for advice about how to calm a child with ADHD without medication? You've scoured the internet HOPING to find that advice for parenting an ADHD child that will change your life.You've talked to family and friends.You've searched for things like How to help an ADHD Child in Schoolor maybe support for parents of an ADHD child.You've joined the facebook groups, you've talked to friends and family, but nothing works.I understand your struggle. ADHD warriors, we've seen it all, heard it all, and probably punished it all. (right?)I know you've heard advice like 'Get her
This free printable teacher planner is an excellent resource for staying organized. To our dear teachers, this planner is designed with your needs in mind! It includes the basic organizers that can…
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