When it comes to organizing and planning a classroom, every teacher has a few items they couldn't possibly ever go without! It might be that favorite stapler, the perfect book, or an amazing resource! I know, I know. I just posted about Supplies I Can't Live Without but I
10 ESOL Teacher Must Haves As an ESOL teacher I worked with students in a variety of settings. Here are my 10 ESOL teacher must haves that I have found to be valuable tools for working with students in a wide range of ages and levels. Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links, which means
5 must-haves for a functional virtual teaching workspace: the essentials you need to help you teach remotely. Extra screen, planner, and more.
Hey hey, teacher friend!! Oh MY, congratulations on landing a teaching job! I’m so INCREDIBLY stoked for you. I remember that feeling and it’s so SO good. Whether it’s your first classroom or maybe you’re going back after being away for a bit, either way that’s super exciting and I know you’re goi
Hi there, teacher friend!! Since you’re here, you probably either JUST snagged a new teaching job or are planning to in the very near future, yes? Either way, CONGRATS! Starting a new job is so exciting and full of adventures. I’m STOKED for you. So, whether it’s your very first teaching job or you
The ultimate list of teacher must haves to make your classroom run smoothly. From organization, paper products, and more...
This shopping guide shares 25 classroom essentials that every first year teacher needs to be confident and prepared to begin the school year.
Writing instruction often fits into a small corner of the day. This makes it so challenging to find time to teach grammar, spelling, punctuation, and all the other foundational skills students need to be more effective writers. While working through the writing process is an important piece of writing instruction, many
Special education classroom supply list. Ten must have items for setting up your new special education classroom. Links to free resources for new teachers.
Teaching growth mindset can be done with read-alouds! Rosie's Glasses is a great book for this. Get ideas for using this book to teach being positive.
There's a lot of ground to cover when you teach creative narrative writing. Here are 5 creative narrative mini-lessons you should be sure to use!
Scissor salad is a fun way to practice how to use scissors and build fine motor scissor cutting skills. Get free labels and worksheets!
Who's ready for a smoother year? ? Stock your classroom for success with these 11 essential supplies, resources, and strategies.
As teachers begin planning for back to school, I see an abundance of creative classrooms filling my Instagram and Pinterest feeds. I love seeing how other
Amazon is a teacher's best friend! Each year my list of must haves for the classroom grows so I'm here to share more of my Amazon classroom finds!
These are my must-have speech therapy materials "schools edition!" I'll share my professional philosophy so you can understand my suggestions.
A simple way to teach your students classroom procedures and expectations at the beginning of the school year
At the end of each novel I teach, I like to have my students participate in some sort of culminating literary analysis project that allows me to assess their
A Printable Mega List of Kindergarten Classroom Must Haves Written By A Current Kindergarten Teacher. These supplies will make teaching kindergarten better!
Children Learning Reading review - here is an honest opinion from a mom on why this is a great tool to teach reading to kids.
Learn how to teach quadrilaterals conceptually rather than having your students memorize the names of shapes. Tips for teaching quadrilaterals are included! Implement in your 4th grade or 5th grade math class today!
As a teacher, I am always on the hunt for the perfect tools at the cheapest prices for my ELA classroom. Taking care of our students and keeping our learning
Fact fluency – It’s a BIG deal. Our state standards call for fact fluency and we all know how much easier it is for students who just “get it.” So how do we support fact fluency in our classrooms and help those students who stumble. Ugh. The struggle is REAL! Over my years of teaching I have learned a few tricks that make fact practice time fun, engaging, quick and help my struggling students see their improvement! So they may never win if we player “Round the World” (aka – they may never be the fastest in their class at facts), but I can help them feel SUCCESSFUL! Since I teach 3rd Grade, I will be sharing mostly about multiplication, but many of these ideas can be modified for other facts. Differentiating Fact Fluency Practice - Great Intervention Last year I learned about the free online fact practice site called XtraMath. At first, I wasn’t convinced, but after sticking with it anyway, boy am I glad I did! It allowed my students to progress at their own pace and level, and now that I have done it for over half of the school year, I can see it has made a difference. I had students who were just struggling with addition facts at the beginning of the year, but now they are much quicker and it has tremendously helped with multiplication (even though some of them are still working on addition or subtraction in January in XtraMath). I often teach my students strategies such as, if you know 5x6=30, then you just add 6 more for 6x6. For students who are fluent in addition, this is no problem, but for our strugglers, it is a HUGE deal - cue the counting fingers from 30 to 36. Since I have used XtraMath everyday, I see less finger counting and more confident students. This is also wonderful RTI (INTERVENTIONS) data. You are intervening at their level and pace. I do teach my students their multiplication facts whole class, but XtraMath allows me to continue supporting their intervention needs. Multiples with Music If you can’t use YouTube in the classroom, I apologize in advance, because that is where this links to. We can teach our students just about anything, but if it is set to music, they are much more likely to remember it. Not too long ago, I was getting ready to introduce the multiples of 7 to my 3rd graders. I told them about the fun multiples of 7 song we were going to learn, and I said “I bet even the 8th graders remember this song!” Well of course inquiring minds want to know. So we called down to the 8th grade (small school privileges) and guess what? They rocked it! My heart was beaming because even 5 years later, my former students remembered it! Sooo, without further ado, here is the amazing video we rock out to with out pretend guitars and microphones, ever year! Disappearing Skip Counting Sooooo, I could explain this, buuuuut a video is so much better! Once we learn a song or jingle like the song I linked to above, I will quickly write the numbers on the board and each time we sing the song, I will erase a few numbers. This is especially helpful for visual learners, because even though the number gets erased, they can still "picture it in their mind." Fact Fluency Tents I was so tired of copying flash card for my students, taking the time to cut them out and write the answers on back, only for them to lose some of the cards! So, that is why I created fact fluency tents! It's like having 50 flash cards on one page! Yay! How do I use them? Almost everyday, we pair up right after recess and practice just like in the video here with the green x2 fact tent. Once we get the routine down, it literally only takes us 5 minutes. I also assign it as homework every night. My students write their progress down on a fact tracker sheet and I check to see if they completed it as homework and have a parent leave their initials. You can grab a FREE sample of these fact fluency tents here. >>> Free Fact Fluency Tents Excited about the fact fluency tents and want them all now? >>> Fact Fluency Tents Bundle (You can buy fact fluency tents separately. Just look in the description on TpT for links.) Growth Mindset One of the BIGGEST changes I have made in the last 3 years is teaching "the power of yet." So often, students feel like they fail when they can't beat the "fastest multiplier in the west." I say that is bull-oney! The BEST tactic I have ever instilled is NOT fastest or best; it is "I am not good at this YET, but I WILL be great!" I have my students track the number of facts that they finish in one minute each day so THEY can see THEIR OWN GROWTH! At the end of the week (or when we are finishing up a fact), I allow my students to share their growth if they want to. I am always amazed by how many of them share and how many really encourage each other with positive affirmations. My students will share their growth with, "I started by finishing __#, and today I finished ____#." For some students those numbers are 3 to 24 and for others it is 14 to 52. Whatever the progress, I make sure and reply with a positive affirmation, and I love it when other students join in with their positive words. This is the FACT TRACKER SHEET I use for each fact. You can snag it for free with the Free Fact Fluency Tents. Donut Math I use donut math when my kids have the wiggles and we just need to get up out of our seat. This is a fun team competition type of game that my friend Kim from Elementary Antics explained in a previous blog post here in All About 3rd Grade. Check out the donut math post here with all the simple step by step directions! Silly Fact Sayings Some of the facts just need a silly saying in order to memorize them, so here are some ideas: Skate x Skate = Slicky Floor, 8 x 8 = 64 I tell my students to imagine that they have ice skates on and they are making figure eights on the slick icy floor. Four wheel drive when I am 16, 4 x 4 = 16 I do come from a rural school where lots of families have 4 wheel drive vehicles, plus you can get a drivers license in our state when you turn 16. I am not sure if some states have changed the license age. 5, 6, 7, 8.... 56 = 7 x 8 6 x 8 is really great, 6 x 8 = 48 6 x 7 is stuck in glue, 6 x 7 = 42 3 x 7 is lots of fun, 3 x 7 = 21 Games and Centers I am a fan of fun and hands-on! If I can make it "click" with my students using activities rather than worksheets, I am all over it. Multiplication and Division Bump My students often choose this as a free time Friday (if they have earned it) activity or an indoor recess game. Yay! Basically the students are playing against each other on a multiplication or division game board and trying to claim as many spots on the board before their opponent knocks them off. They can claim spots on the board by correctly answering a math fact, but an opponent can also knock them off it they draw (or roll with dice) the same fact. If you are interested in bump games, you can see several different bump versions here in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Multiplication and Division Sorts These are my favorite! Why do I love sorts? My students can do this activity again and again, unlike worksheets that can only be done once. I send sorts home as homework, use them in my centers, send them with anyone who may be working with my students for interventions, use them in my small math groups....... you get the picture. Repetition is the key with multiplication and sorts allow you to have students repeat a sort again and again without having to reinvent the wheel. You can easily make some sorts just using index cards and colorful markers. If you are pressed for time, you can also get your students involved and have them help you make some sets or you can purchase some on TpT. I have several sorts available because I am a huge fan of math sorts. They are available in these bundles or you can check out the individual resources within the description. 3rd Grade Math Centers Year Round Bundle 3rd Grade Math Centers Winter Theme 3rd Grade Math Centers Spring Theme I hope that you can go back to school tomorrow with at least ONE NEW IDEA and you feel inspired to be able to help your struggling multipliers tackle the "POWER OF YET" for their multiplication facts. You can do this!
USB PowerPoint Clicker Presentation Remote Contro This Amazing powerpoint pointer so you can teach away from your lap top! Magnetic Spinners to make learning fun and engaging! Magnetic Whiteboard S…
Looking to create a calm-down space for your kids? Learn the must-have calming corner items that will help keep them regulated and content.
Your kids or students will love coloring and cutting out our free Squishmallow scissor skills activity pages. Kids will have fun learning, great for homeschooling, teachers, road trips, and more!
We have another fun project for your kids (or you) to do during the hot summer months, this time we are sharing a fun summer agamograph template with you. Making an agamograph is really, really
Ah, the wonderful world of Amazon! Click to check out my favorite Amazon teacher must haves that can be delivered right to your doorstep!
Ladies and Gentleman... we officially have the first week down in the books!! And what an AMAZING week it was!! #BestFirstWeekEver!! My kiddos are just awesome. We learned a lot and laughed a lot! My own children also had a great week (aside from a quick bout of a stomach bug that kept one home for a day!). My oldest, Drew, started 1st grade. My middle, Quinn, started Kindergarten. And my toddler twins, Addy and Chase, began two-mornings-a-week preschool. Additionally, Mr. Musings from the Middle School (my husband Dennis), started a new school year, too! Phew!! My head is spinning! Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great weekend and recovering from this busy time of year. This post is mainly a pictorial of some of the goings on in my classroom this week. As we settle into our routine, I'll be back with more "meaty" posts (and hopefully some new videos, too!). One of my favorite activities from the week was this Growth Mindset lesson that I adapted from here. Basically, the kids had to create the image on top using just a piece of paper and scissors. It was NOT easy... but that's exactly the point! As the kids worked, I wrote down some of the comments I heard. Things like, "this is impossible," and "I give up!" After I let them struggle for a while, I brought them back together and discussed the activity with them. It was eye-opening to see their words. They all agreed that their attitude was too negative so of course they would never have been successful. Then we read the Growth Mindset posters hanging in our room and discussed what each one meant. I closed with this video from Khan Academy. It was a fun and powerful lesson. One of the BEST purchases I made from TpT for this school year is the Icebreakers that Rock bundle from Cult of Pedagogy. This product contains three PowerPoint activities that allow students to talk to each other in an easy, comfortable way. What is great about these is that you can use them as one, big activity, or you can break them up, showing just a few slides here and there, as "brain breaks" through out the day. That is how I used them. So, on the first day, I did a big "Find Someone Who" activity with them. This allowed all the kids to learn each other's names. Next, I assigned them all their lockers and we practiced opening the combination locks (super-stressful for these first time locker users)! After that, we did a few slides from Icebreakers that Rock. Then, we went over the syllabus. Next, a few more Icebreakers that Rock slides. After that, I handed out and went over all the paperwork that had to go home and be signed (oh, the paperwork!!!). Then, a few more slides right before lunch. And then a few more right after lunch. Next up, a tour of the building. Then a few more slides before trying our lockers again. Finally, another slide right before dismissal. It was the perfect break/filler/attention-getter/distraction to use throughout the day... actually, I used the slides throughout the whole week! Run to TpT and pick this product up today! Totally worth every penny. (Some of the slides can be done silently. I LOVED these slides!!) Of course, we had to number our notebooks to get ready for ELA next week. I always tell kids that this is the easiest, most difficult task that we do all year :) I really the love smell of a Mr. Sketch anchor poster in the morning! This year, I'm starting with Reading Nonfiction: Notice and Note Stances, Signposts, and Strategies. My thinking is that it will really help with getting started with Article of the Week. Here is one of several of the posters I'll be using to teach these strategies. I'm jumping on the #ObserveMe bandwagon! Read more about it here. I'll keep you updated on how this goes throughout the year! Okay... that is enough for now! The beach is calling my name... nothing beats September here at the Jersey Shore! Hope the back-to-school season is treating you well! I'd love to hear how your school year is going so far. Happy Teaching!!
See these simple character building activities for kids and help them learn more about values, morals, and character today!
Read about activities, lessons, and centers you can implement to help teach numbers. Download 6 free activities for your students.
Today, on the blog, I am sharing 15 of my favorite Amazon finds that I use in my classroom.
Learn how to homeschool preschool with simple hands-on activities, fun activity books, and the most manageable open-and-go curriculum on the market!
Teaching Art using the Bible and teaching Bible using Art. Bible Art lessons connecting Art with the heART for kids. Bible based Christian art.
This Annotating Text-Teach, Model, & Apply activity will encourage your students to learn how to annotate properly and efficiently.
Are your students disinterested and tired of the traditional ways of learning characterization? Have you been searching for a really fun, student-centered, interactive way to eliminate their boredom? Well, look no further! I present to you a wonderful student-collaboration activity that will get your students involved and excited for a character analysis for any novel, […]
Paragraph writing is a big challenge for many students. This post includes a step-by-step method to help your students write great paragraphs in no time.
These three icebreakers for teens will make the first class, youth group, or club fun for everyone, even the introverts.
Discover the top 10 must-have materials for effective literacy instruction aligned with the science of reading. From whiteboards to games, letter tiles to graphic organizers, find essential tools to engage students and enhance learning. Plus, explore tips for organization and practical strategies fo
Rene Magritte Art Project Template16 Face Shapes/HairstylesHave your students choose the template that most resembles their hair and have them personalize the template. Or have them make up a person! It doesn't have to be a self-portrait.Have them choose an object to cover their face, like the famou...
