Hello! It's Nicole from Learning Lab again! Co-Teaching can be one of the most rewarding, yet challenging experiences. The co-teaching partnership is kind of like a marriage and usually it's an arranged one! Often, two teachers are partnered up without knowing much about each other. Administrators dealing with staffing issues may not be able to look at teaching styles and personalities before pairing teachers up. Here are some tips on how to make your co-teaching relationship a successful one! It takes time to develop a rapport. Get to know your partner over the summer, if possible. Attend trainings together. Go out for lunch and chat about your family, interests, likes, and dislikes. The trust built over the summer will make the entire year run more smoothly. Talk about what your expectations are for the year and set boundaries. Do you expect to plan everything together? Do you expect to work before or after school? How will you address grading and report cards? Do you prefer to be contacted at home with a question or would you rather wait until returning to school? Discussing your expectations before the school year starts will make your partnership more cohesive. Think about the general education teacher as the curriculum specialist. Chances are, they are more familiar with the grade-level curriculum and expectations. The special education teacher is the modifications expert. They will have great ideas of how to modify the classroom environment and assignments to fit the various needs of the classroom. Each of you brings great things to the classroom. You each have different experiences and training that has gotten you to this point in your career. You may be used to doing things differently than before you started co-teaching. Just like in a marriage, your co-teaching relationship is a give and take. You will learn a lot and gain a lot if you are open-minded. Whether you share one space or you each have your own “home base”, it is important for both of you to truly feel at home in each space. Within the main classroom, you each should have a desk or other personal space. The classroom signs should include each of your names. My classroom signs always include the names of both teachers, all of the teaching assistants, and all of the related service providers that play an active role in our classroom. It is important for everybody to feel a part of the team. To avoid using the terms “my room” and “your room”, I named my assigned room the “Learning Lab” and refer to the co-teaching classroom as just our “Classroom”. When you split up into groups, it might be a good idea alternate which teacher leaves to use the other space. Banish the phrases “your kids” and “my kids” and replace it with our kids. Both of you are equally responsible for the students assigned to your classroom. Your students should not feel a sense of belonging to one teacher over the other. When you split into groups or assist 1:1, alternate which teacher works with the different levels of kids. The same goes for working with parents. Communication should come from both of you. Just like in a marriage, you need to appear to be united. You might not always agree with the other teacher, but it is important to put on a united front and then speak about those differences in private. You always need to back each other up and also support your paraprofessionals as well. Your students will pick up on any disconnect between you and will try to use that to their advantage. Always speak positively about your partner. You need to work together for at least the entire school year so your relationship needs to be strong. The staff lunch room is not a place to talk about your issues. If you do not have anything nice to say, do not say anything at all. A few years ago, a friend of mine was having some trouble within her classroom. Her team of paraprofessionals were disjointed and often went against each other in front of the students. She reached out for some advice and it inspired me to create a product geared towards helping classrooms with multiple adults to work together collaboratively in harmony. I have found it quite useful in my own classroom which has four paraprofessionals. Whether you are new to co-teaching, new to your partner, or have been paired up for years, I hope you find this these tips helpful. If you want more information about co-teaching, you can find just about everything you need in my Ultimate Co-Teaching Start-Up Kit. Thank you for stopping by Classroom Tested Resources today! For more ideas, stop by my blog, Learning Lab, or follow me on Instagram (@Learning_Lab). Instagram is my favorite way to share quick ideas! See you again next month!
How many of you struggle with remembering which kid has which testing accommodations? This year, I have 12 students with IEPs and 1 student with a 504 plan. They all have testing accommodations, but they are all DIFFERENT! Did I mention that I have 4 paraprofessionals to help me administer the tests? I am so thankful for that! I don't know what I would do given the variety and high needs for testing sessions. With so many kids and so many adults, I needed to find a way to streamline our processes for our testing days. For years, I would scramble to group the kids and place them with an adult according to accommodation. On top of that, I would have to search for space to put the groups. Why did I keep reinventing the wheel for each test? Testing folders to the rescue! First you will need to get a folder for each adult that is available to provide testing accommodations. On the front of the folder, you have the adult that will be proctoring, the location, and the students in the group. On the inside of the folder, you put the Testing Accommodations Organizer with the accommodations for the students in the group. Front of Folder Inside Folder When it is test day, just put the correct number of tests inside the other pocket. Be sure to include an extra test if your proctor is reading the test aloud to the group. Easy Peasy! I also keep a few other things stocked in the test so my TAs won't need to scramble to find anything. Here is what a fully stocked testing folder contains: You can find the form in my TpT store. I even included an editable version in the file so you can type in your information instead of writing it if you want. I return to school in a couple of weeks and am finding myself organizing ev.er.y.thing! I have gone through the closets, cabinets, drawers, bins, pantries. I can't help it. I joked with my husband that the last time I organized like this was when I was about to have a baby. Then I thought of this: Happy organizing!
Virtual dissections can be a huge help in teaching science, biology, physiology and anatomy. Here are some of the best resources for your lessons and labs.
Fun and engaging force and motion experiments, project ideas, demonstrations, book lists and more! Great for the classroom and home!
Frequently asked questions about the k5tech.net elementary technology curriculum. Read this if you're considering subscribing.
Virtual dissections can be a huge help in teaching science, biology, physiology and anatomy. Here are some of the best resources for your lessons and labs.
This differentiated foldable will serve as a great vocabulary introduction to your electricity and magnetism unit. It is a fun way to learn or review common electrical terms and will fit perfectly in interactive science notebooks. ************************************************************************ This resource may be used: ➜ with grades 3-5. ➜ with whole group, small groups or individual instruction. ************************************************************************ ✅ This resource is adapted to address different learning styles and was tested in my classroom (5th grade). ************************************************************************ Here are a few suggestions on how to use this resource: ✔ interactive science notebook ✔ homework ✔ mini-assessment ✔ review ✔ study guide ✔ science centers activities ✔ summer school ************************************************************************ What teachers have said about this resource: ❤️ Very creative, I think I have bought all of your units! Vicky C. ❤️ Very useful resource. The kids enjoyed referring to it for our electricity unit. Ashleigh F. ❤️ Love this!! Great way to reinforce vocab and differentiate. Margaret B. ❤️ This foldable was excellent. I printed both versions for my classes. Decyna R. ************************************************************************ What is included: ✔ Notes to the teacher (instructions with pictures + tips) ✔ Petal book/foldable with 6 definitions ( electrical circuit, conductors, insulators, open circuit, closed circuit, electromagnet) + 1 blank template ✔ A blank template for DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION ✔ Both color and black and ink saver versions are included. ✔ Copyright and Credits pages at the end of the product. ************************************************************************ Electrical terms included: ✔ an electrical circuit ✔ a conductor ✔ an insulator ✔ a closed circuit ✔ an open circuit ✔ an electromagnet ************************************************************************ ⭐ Please take the time to look at the preview to have an idea of what is included. This file is a .pdf. ************************************************************************ ✅Click here to follow me and be first to hear about resources, sales and updates! ************************************************************************ ❤️ You may also like ❤️ : Back-To-School resources EDITABLE calendars 2018-2019 {FREE UPDATES FOR LIFE} EDITABLE Meet the Teacher templates EDITABLE EMOJI Back-To-School PowerPoint EDITABLE Task cards Labels {Iris boxes} EDITABLE Light Box Designs Scientific Method Scientific Method foldable . Scientific Method-posters and mini-posters. Science safety rules-posters. Science safety rules-foldable. Cells Cell foldable. Cell flip book. ************************************************************************ ► If you like this product, please leave some feedback so I can get back to you :). You will also receive FREE credits towards your future purchases. ►You may blog about this activity but please link back to my store. ► Copyright © Satsumas and Bees. All rights reserved by author. Not for public display. For personal use only. This product is to be used by the original downloader only. Failure to comply is a copyright infringement and a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). ************************************************************************
Characteristics of life and homeostasis are foundational topics in biology. This is a homeostasis lab that illustrates the concepts and relationship.
Wondering how to teach vocabulary effectively and meaningfully in secondary classrooms? Try these activities, strategies, and approaches if you're interested in upping your vocabulary game. #vocabularyactivities #highschoolela
Practice the vocabulary for meeting people in Spanish with exercises on a PDF worksheet with introductions and expressions to share personal information.
In this six part series on How to Teach Spelling, this third post discusses and provides teaching resources for teaching the eight conventional spelling rules.
At my school, we use Kath Murdoch’s Inquiry Cycle. Many of our staff are new the PYP and new to inquiry-based teaching and learning, so we find this inquiry cycle provides some structure to t…
Read the step by step guide for using discovery labs to help students gain a deeper understanding of systems of equations.
Grammar Comics! is the fun and easy way to help students grasp the basics of grammar and usage. For many kids, grammar is a difficult subject, one that is not particularly interesting, perhaps a bit difficult, and not immediately useful. "A sneaky way to get students to learn. Thank you! They love it! 4 stars for qual
This activity is a great introduction to speed and motion. Students measure the time it takes to walk 5 meters and use this to calculate their average speed. They are then given the challenge to see if they can estimate an unknown distance using their average walking speed and the amount of time it takes to walk the unknown distance. Needed Materials: Meter sticks or metric measuring tape Timers/stop watches Sidewalk chalk, tape, cones, etc for marking start and ending calculators To do this activity, find a place outside with plenty of space. I use the blacktop at my school and have the students mark their distances on the ground using sidewalk chalk. You can also do the activity on the field and use cones or other markers. Measure and mark an unknown distance for the students to estimate in part 2. I do between 10 – 20 meters. In part 2 of the activity, students will measure the time it takes to walk this unknown distance and use this to estimate the distance. You can set up several different distances too. Students love being outside and gathering data. This is a great way to introduce calculating speed and the speed equation. It also shows students that the equation can be rearranged to calculate distance.
This post is part of our Fair Is Not Always Equal…Now What? blog series. Stay tuned for many more posts! Happy Thursday, everyone! Today I’m bringing you a list of critical success factors for all co-teachers, excerpted and adapted from Julie Causton’s book, The Educator’s Handbook for Inclusive School Practices. If you’re currently […]
Get the definition and examples of osmosis and diffusion. Learn the differences between osmosis and diffusion and how solute and solvent particles behave.
These ideas of fun ways to teach mitosis are fun for both students and teachers. This list includes some classic ideas and few new modern approaches.
Use Escape Rooms in ELA to promote collaboration and critical thinking. Here's how to develop and set up a successful escape room for your students.
In the 5th grade TEKS, students design a force and motion experiment. They'll love this balloon rockets experimental investigation design activity!
If you’re an educator who swears by traditional, tried-and-true teaching strategies, the idea of embracing universal design for learning (UDL) might be a little overwhelming. But UDL doesn’t have to equal a top-to-bottom overhaul of everything you’re doing now. With a little planning, it can also fit right in with traditional teaching strategies—and infuse your […]
When I asked my Facebook Group "If you're already teaching virtually, what is your best advice for those just getting started?"
This is what I give my students to introduce the inquiry process. We then spend time going over parts of it - variables, drawing graphs, inferences etc. The second page is the checklist they are to use before they hand...
I am sharing tips for using Cornell Doodle Notes to teach in your middle school science class!
This coding vocabulary resource will enhance your technology focus wall. 39 coding words will each print on a half sheet of paper. This coding vocabulary resource includes: loop data bug debug algorithm conditional decomposing embed language logic input output simulation value variable sequence parallelism program operator branch procedure string event function binary brackets command pseudocode composition abstraction if statement if else statement conditional statement while loop nested loop user interface user experience navigation code This coding vocabulary resource also includes a banner that reads: "Coding Kids" *Click the green star above or click HERE to follow my store and be the first to know about new products and sales! *Did you know you can earn FREE TpT resources by rating your purchases and earning credits?! Your feedback also helps us continue to provide quality resources for educators. Thank you for visiting! Fourth Grade Frenzy
Mitosis and Meiosis Teaching Ideas: Coloring Activities, Video Project Ideas, and Animations for teaching cell division. Blog Post by Science with Mrs. Lau
Chrome Music Lab- Andrew Keegan shares 5 lesson ideas to try to save you time. Full of practical ideas to share with you students.
CER is used in the science classroom to promote critical thinking using image prompts, templates and inference commercials.
Chets Creek Elementary is a K-5 professional learning community with 1,300 learners in Jacksonville, FL. Coaching Chronicles was first created when I served as the school's Instructional Coach (2004-2011). I have since served as a third grade learning leader(2011-2013), and am now the school's Assistant Principal. Regardless of my role, this blog shares snippets of our learning journey and Creek Life.
