The pencils are sharpened, your classroom is clean and the bell rings…gulp…here they come! My feelings on the first week of school are conflicted. On one hand, it’s one of the most important weeks. Explaining and practicing the class procedures and expectations sets the tone for the rest of the school year. Success is vital. On the other hand, I’m so excited to start teaching my historical content that waiting until all the expectations are explained requires a lot of patience! Every teacher has their own plan of action for that pivotal time. Here are 5 things I can’t live without during the first week of school: One: An Icebreaker. I aim to try and make kids feel comfortable in my classroom on day one. One of my favorite little activities is Fact or Fiction. Each student receives a small slip of paper and they’re instructed to write one fact and two fictions. Then each person (including myself!) introduces themselves and we all try to guess which statement is the fact! It’s a great way to quickly learn about each other. Two: Classroom Information and Expectations. This is every teacher’s staple, I know, but it had to go on the list because it’s a must-have! When you’re making your own, spell everything out – from the obvious grading procedures and late work policy to how to pass back papers and when to sharpen pencils and go to the bathroom. Trust me, leave no stone unturned. Your classroom will function much better if you set the tone from day one. (Oh, and don’t forget a seating chart!) Three: Fun and Games. On the second day of school, I love to start class with a little game. It’s a great way for the kids to start practicing our classroom procedures and expectations while getting familiar with their teacher and classmates. Here are some of my favorite games that I use during the first week of school: (P.S. Some of these activities can be found in my Back to School Activities resources! Click the grade level you’re teaching to check them out: Sixth, Seventh, Eighth) InstaFriend: This activity gets students moving around the room and interviewing fellow classmates! Their InstaFriend paper has a series of descriptions and characteristics. When they find a student who matches the description, they write their name in the box. Each name can only be used once! Right or Wrong: I love skits. LOVE THEM. I like to introduce students to the idea of skits during the first week by allowing them to create their own based on our class expectations. I first divide students into small groups of 2-3. Each group then randomly receives one of our class procedures or expectations. As a group, they have to work together to create two mini skits – one showing the RIGHT way to follow the expectation, the other showing the WRONG way. They get to be silly and I get to reinforce my class expectations. After each skit I happily point out all the positive behaviors as well as each time a class policy was violated. It’s a light-hearted way to grab their attention and create a positive atmosphere all while practicing the laws of the land. Classmate Bingo: I love to play this game at the end of the first week. I give each student a blank bingo board with a large selection of personal characteristics, hobbies, etc. at the bottom. The students choose 16 off the list and create their customized board. Then, I randomly select characteristics from the list. If a student has that characteristic on their board, they have to write down a student’s name that matches the characteristic – but no cheating! They have to use what they’ve learned about others during their first week of school to try and win the game. Four: A Pre Test. After a few days of class information and fun, it’s time to start getting down to business. Each year, I make a short pre-test on the information they’ll learn about that year. It gives me a chance to see what the kids already know and gives them a feel for what subject matter they’ll be learning about in the coming weeks. FYI: Your pre-test probably won’t take the whole class period. Make sure to have plans for other activities, too, on the day you give your pre-test! Five: A Writing Activity. True fact: when I tell kids they’re going to do a writing activity, they groan every time. It’s a signal that the “real work” is about to begin. Luckily, they’re always relieved when I assure them that this activity will require very little research because it’s about a subject they’re experts in – themselves! I have a few different activities to choose from each year. Here are some suggestions: Student Survey: What are your strengths? Weaknesses? What do you hope to learn in this class? These are just some of the questions I ask students in the survey. The more I know about my students, the better I can help them achieve success in my class. Write Away: A staple of many: write a letter to a future you! I ask students to write goals for the year, dreams they wish to see realized, and questions they want to ask their “End of the Year” self. I tuck these letters away and revisit them during the last week of school. I’m Ready: Like every middle school history class, we do a lot of writing and students always have to back up their reasons, statements, etc. with evidence to support their claim. In this writing activity, students have to identify which class rule or expectation they believe is most important and provide evidence to support their claim. This activity both reinforces my classroom policies and secretly gives me a preview of their writing proficiency. Have I left anything out? If you have any fun plans for the first week of school, share them in the comments. I’m always looking for new ideas for my classroom!

Elevate your teaching game with these unique partner pairing techniques. #ClassroomPartnering #EducationStrategies

Let me tell you about my favorite cooperative learning strategy. This strategy is the Jigsaw Method. Now, I have been using the Jigsaw Method since I was a student myself, but just didn't know the name of it, and I would bet that you are using some form of it as well.

Use this list of 107 instructional strategies to fill-in that lesson plan or teaching portfolio with some high quality teaching strategies.Or, try some of these strategies out when you’re low on ideas and looking for a fresh way to teach in the classroom!

A large part of the Classical model is its method or the manner of teaching the content. The classical model employed at Bradford Academy recognizes that the ancient TRIVIUM aligns […]

If you have never heard of Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) before, soon it will take over your life. CSR ( created by J.K. Klinger & ...

My name is Kalie Schult and I am a PE teacher from Winterse, Iowa. I posted a video of my students playing Strikerball on Twitter for my striking unit in PE and it was a hit! Below I have shared … Read More

Teach elementary students to set SMART Goals. Help your 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and even 6th grade students identify their academic goals and individual student goals with this fun elementary classroom activity! Included are lessons for teaching students how to set strategic, realistic and measurable goals with an action plan and time limit.

When it comes to setting goals, do you lead with the specific details or the bigger picture? Write your objectives before your tactics. Use examples in this post to gain inspiration and download the FREE worksheet.

How to facilitate successful Socratic Seminars in the secondary ELA

One thing I know for sure is that our use of math manipulatives is going to look very different. With these printable versions, we can use them in the classroom (and not worry about sharing supplies), or send them to families to support remote learning.

Before diving into planning and executing a transformation program, you need a digital transformation strategic roadmap.

Your new favorite teaching strategy: This pared-down version of learning stations keeps the movement, interactivity and variety while minimizing the prep work.

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…

Here is an easy strategy for differentiating math instruction in middle school that doesn't take a lot of time or resources.

Multiplication facts can be difficult to learn, and difficult to teach. Luckily, there are strategies that we can use to help us teach the multiplication facts more effectively so that every student can be successful.

One Page Strategic Plan design for Executives (CEO, COO, CAO) and board of directors to develop a profitable path forward. Simple Business plan to gather all information on one page helps to align the focus on the strategic plan for executives and managers to follow through. You will receive One (1) digital PDF file which can be printed, or modified within the PDF document. You will receive One (1) excel file which can be printed, or modified within the PDF document.

Cone Ball is fantastic for providing an opportunity to practice throwing, catching and moving skills in a game setting. So if you are tired of the same old PE games, try this alternative! These skills will transfer to other sports. By teaching your students Cone Ball, all your students will be on an even playing field, learning the game at the same time. Included in this resource: * An explanation of how to set up and play the game * Tips for using this game successfully with different ages * Rubrics for assessment and evaluation ************************************************************************************************************* Here are some other PE Games to try with your class: Beginner Volleyball Game Alternative Capture the Person Capture the Bean Bag (free) If you are interested in several products in my store but they aren't all a part of a bundle you want, check out how you can order a Custom Bundle with a 20% discount! ************************************************************************************************************* Be the first to know about my new discounts, freebies and product launches: Look for the green star near the top of any page within my store and click it to become a follower. Voila! You will now receive customized email updates about this store. Be sure to leave feedback on all your TPT purchases. You'll earn Credit for your future purchases!

Today I thought I’d share a strategy I use to help my students communicate their thinking during the inquiry process. See, Think, Wonder is a thinking routine I use with my students to help t…

Expanding upon one of his high-level foundational teachings: Strategic Coach co-founder Dan Sullivan explains why achieving 10X growth is easier than going for 2X growth. Dan Sullivan, the world's leading coach for highly successful entrepreneurs, wants you to know that achieving 10X growth is exponentially easier than striving for 2X growth. Most find this idea confusing at first because simply imagining 10X growth causes them to think they need to do 10X more work to achieve it. However, being a 10X entrepreneur is nothing like what most people think. 10X is not the outcome; it's a counterintuitive process you can apply every time you want exponential growth in your life and business. To make 10X possible, you must focus on expanding what Dan defines as your four most important freedoms—time, money, relationship, and purpose. As your time becomes 10X more valuable, you increasingly multiply the money you earn both in terms of amount and profitable satisfaction. As money becomes a tool you can increasingly access with greater ease, you will engage with a growing number of other freedom-motivated individuals. As both your professional and personal life fills up with 10X more unique and collaborative relationships, you will realize that your most powerful purposes in all areas become 10X more lasting and positive for everyone involved. You will be impressed by what your life has become, and the meaning and impact you're having. 10X is fundamentally about quality vs quantity, and the quality of your freedoms determines the results you achieve.

In writing, diction is the strategic choice of words based on the audience, context, or situation. It can…

Here is an end of the school year, yes we made it through the crazy pandemic hybrid schedules game for you. It is a great way to review any type of text - a short story, legend, several chapters in a novel, news articles, - anything with enough text to be able to write 14 comprehension questions. I test drove this new game with three classes and made changes after the first two classes to improve the game and rules. Now, it is ready for you. Students will like the game because they decide what they will do with the points they earn, but it is mixed with an element of uncertainty. You'll like it because the students want to answer correctly in order to have that control over their points. So here you go... DECISIONES Materials Needed: - Deck of Cards. I use Spanish cards, Baraja Española. They're authentic, the face cards have the number values written on them. If you use a regular deck, I suggest taking out the face cards so keep it simple. - Mini-White Boards, Markers, Erasers, or something for students to write their team's answers - 14 Decisiones Cards (5 Regalen, 5 Quédense, 3 Dupliquen, and 1 Regalen los puntos negativos) - 14 Questions for the game based on a text you have read with your students Goal of the Game: Earn more points than the other teams Instructions/Rules: 1. Put the students into three groups. If you have large classes, you can have 4 or 5 teams, but it will take longer to complete the game. 2. Students need to sit with their teams to be able to discuss the answers to the questions. Give each group a set of the DECISIONES cards - 14 cards per set. Each team also should have 1 mini-white board, a marker, and eraser *I copied each set in a different color to make it easier to keep track of the cards each team has used. 3. Read the first question. Team members will quietly discuss the answer and one team member will write the answer on the mini-white board. This is NOT a race. Allow sufficient time for students to discuss and write their answer. 4. Tell teams to hold up their answers. Teams that answer correctly will have the chance to earn points or to gift points. Teams that answer correctly will lose a DECISIONES card. When Teams Answer Correctly: 5. If several or all teams answer correctly, start with the first team and pull a card from the top of the deck. Students look at the number on the card and decide which of the following actions they want to do: - Quédense con los puntos - Keep the points, add it to their score - Regalen los puntos - Gift the points to another team (They cannot gift it to their own team) - Dupliquen los puntos - Duplicate the point value of the card, add it to their score - Regalen los puntos negativos - The point value of the card is negative, gift it to another team to take aways points from that team's score 6. Keep track of each team's score and write it on the board on project the score so throughout the entire game, students can see the running scores for their team and other teams. 7. After the first team has decided what to do with the points, turn over a card for the net team that answered correctly. They decide what to do with their points. Continue until you have pulled a card for all teams that answered correctly . If a Team Answers Incorrectly: 8. If a team answers incorrectly, they will lose cards. The first card they need to surrender to the teacher is the Quédense con los puntos card. If they answer incorrectly the second time, take away another Quédense card from the team. Continue taking away the Quédense cards until they do not have any more of those, then take away the Regalen los puntos negativos card, and then the Dupliquen cards. The End of the Game: 9. The game ends AFTER students answer ALL of the 14 questions, and have no DECISIONES cards remaining. A basic version of the DECISIONES cards are available HERE for download. It will ask you to make a copy. Suggestions/Insights: - The game works best when there are more than two teams playing. The reason for this is that when three teams play, and if one team starts to pull ahead, the other teams will most likely gift their points to the team with the lower points. This naturally helps to keep the scores close and teams won't give up and stop trying to win. - Make the majority of the questions that students will know the answers. The best part of the game is students strategizing what to do with the points they are presented with. Throw in a few harder level questions to keep everyone on their toes and to encourage collaboration with their teammates. - Students will quickly learn that they want to duplicate the cards with high numbers and gift the cards with the low numbers. - If a team has used all of their cards and only have the Regalen los puntos cards remaining, you may want to add a rule that if they answer incorrectly, they lose X number of points. The reason I say that is because today one team had only Regalen los puntos cards remaining and I heard one of them say, "If we answer incorrectly, we don't have to give any points to other teams". Of course students will figure out every angle to their advantage. But, I'm telling YOU ABOUT IT, so you can add that extra rule to prevent that from happening. - When pulling a card off the top of the deck for the teams that answered correctly, I always started with the same team and went in the same order. It made it easy to follow the same order and NONE of the teams complained about it. - Another plus to this game, you have to read a text with your students first! We all know the power of reading when helping your students to acquire another language!

Enjoy a classroom tour from a teacher who has been teaching for 15 years - classroom ideas and strategic set-up!

One of the most effecitve parts of a lesson plan is the anticipatory set. It can set the mood for interest, enagement, and wonder. But how?

Whether your students are lethargic or super-charged, adding movement to your lesson plans will help to solve both issues. Not only is it healthy to move throughout the day, but it can also help students focus and become more engaged with the content they are trying to master. Due to the nature of English classes, ELA ... Read More about 10 Ways to Add Movement in the ELA Classroom

Adult coloring has taken the world by storm, yet getting started can be a bit intimidating. This is a guide for getting started, beginning with the basics.

So, your child hates writing? Don't panic, Friend. Back away from the writing curriculum & check out these 25 teaching tips that work!

Emotional Wellness Blog By Rebecca Bowen

Want your students to have rich, complex conversations about the texts they read? This method leads to the kinds of classroom discussions you thought only happened in college.

In order to effectively teach math fluency, we must define fluency. In years past math fluency has simply been defined as the speedy recall of math facts. Thus, the birth of timed assessments. We’re looking

The very first principal I had was a huge fan of building anticipatory set, or a short activity that "hooks" your students and focuses their attention for the instruction that will follow. I don't rem

Enjoy a classroom tour from a teacher who has been teaching for 15 years - classroom ideas and strategic set-up!

Use these strategies to help you maximize class time and use it efficiently. Don't waste any precious time with students...use it well!