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The collection of strategies I chose for this section is a variety of technology-based behavior sites that parents have access to. It is also a visual and auditory response on whether the students get points for good or bad behavior. These behaviors are chosen by the teacher and are updated on the parent's app either on their phones or computers. I also added class management strategies like class jobs that engage and include students in taking care of the class and they are also rewarding. There are also ideas for classroom rules and consequences of violating those rules. This helps with class management because students understand what is expected of them.

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Digital sharing platform for teacher and parents

Teachers can document the day in class and share with families

Each student is assigned a character and they get points for things the teacher uses like good behavior etc.

Students can be rewarded after getting to a certain amount of points.

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ClassDojo helps teachers, parents, and students build amazing classroom communities.

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Discuss classroom rules with parents during open house or send them home on the first day

Make sure they are all informed of classroom rules that are now expected of their children

Have parents ask any questions or concerns they may have to clarify all the rules and expectations

When calling parents specify which rule the child broke and they will know

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In these sources, I included strategies to help create a more inclusive, democratic classroom where students can feel safe. These strategies also promote interaction and inclusivity through furniture placement, labeling in different languages, learning terms for our emotions, creating a caring poster, using books to help students understand their feelings, having activities that help students appreciate one another, and implementing interactive games to help students get to know their classroom.

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Use a Y-chart to get an idea of what our classroom community should look like

For a classroom with interaction, change the seating into groups.

Label things in the classroom in both English and other languages

Include students in decisions on rules for how to treat each other to create a safe space

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The sources I gathered here are a culmination of strategies to make education accessible to all students. There are sites that are user-friendly and visually appealing for students who are visual learners. There are sites for studying that support different ways of memorizing information. I also added a site for implementing Universal Design for Learning to help students who may not be on the same level as others; to implement equity. I also included strategies to help students become engaged in new concepts like the 3-2-1 strategy. Some sites are for visual learners, and others target auditory learners like podcasts.

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To promote student power set up the classroom in groups

Create small group seating that does not all face the wall

Promotes agency and leverages the power of collaborative peer-to-peer learning.

Place stools/seats in a circle for discussion within groups

Removes teacher-as-authority stance

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Teach students how to communicate their emotions

Teach them the vocabulary to name their emotions so they can express how they feel

Use this Youtube Video to teach students about emotions

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Create a poster showing how students can show they care about others

Use sentence frames to help students practice saying kind things to other

Sample/model what respect and acts of kindness looks like

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Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds.

Images
Statements to show you care poster by Miss Froome | TpT

www.teacherspayteachers.com

Images may be subject to copyright.

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Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds. Images Statements to show you care poster by Miss Froome | TpT www.teacherspayteachers.com Images may be subject to copyright.

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This book helps children with processing their feelings.

It is important for students to talk about their feelings.

Books can be helpful in helping them feel validated

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Wemberly Worried [Henkes, Kevin, Henkes, Kevin] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Wemberly Worried

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Sentence starters like "One thing I really appreciate about you is..."

Teach students words and how to appreciate others in the classroom.

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Help students get to know the classroom

Go around the classroom with a partner

Know where things are located

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Students write information about themselves to get to know their classmates.

Have each child share two things from their shirt to the class.

Students get to know one another without having to sit next to each other

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Create a bingo game to get to know the students in the class

Students will fill a bingo card with the names of their classmates

Play using information about each student gained from the paper t-shirt activity

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Show Notes:
You've probably been dreaming about teaching your first day of school inside your very own classroom for years - but never, in your wildest dreams, did you think that you would have to consider things like "How do I keep students from touching each other?" or "How do I ensure that students wash their hands and keep my classroom clean?"

In short: "How do I keep my students safe throughout all of this?"

I get it.

It's a very weird time in our world, and COVID may change the way we do things inside of classrooms for a very long time.

However, I want to encourage you to shift your mindset around this away from, "Oh, I wish things could just be normal!" to accepting what is and pivoting to make this first week of school the most incredible experience possible for your students.

It's about DECIDING that you are going to make this an amazing experience for your students and leading them through this in the most positive way possible.

In your new role of classroom teacher, you will quickly realize that you are now a leader.

YOU will set the tone for how your students respond to this new normal.

The more positive you are about it (or the more freaked out and nervous you are about it), that is how your students are going to respond.

So - before you get started with planning, it's really important that you get your mindset right:

DECIDE and commit to becoming as nimble and as solution-oriented as you can, and encourage your students to help you to set a safe and positive tone to everything that happens while you are together at school.

The thing is - it's very possible to develop a positive, close, and loving classroom community - even when students can't be physically close to each other.

Now, before we dive in and talk about exactly how you can do this, if plans at your school are still up in the air and you are concerned that you might need to make the transition to teaching online with your students, you might want to check out a brand new mini-course I've created to help you with that.

I provide step-by-step PDF resources and audio downloads, awesome resources to set up your at-home teaching space, and a spreadsheet loaded with teacher-tested links for each subject area. Just click the image below to check it out now!

All right, let's dive in and talk about 8 Ways to Create a Caring Classroom Community in the First Week of School (Even When Social Distancing is Required):

If you're a member of the READY for School Academy, inside Step #4 of the Academy, I share 14 Fantastic First Week of School Activities that I used in both lower and upper elementary with great success over my ten years in the classroom.

If you AREN'T an Academy member, you can grab your copy of this resource very inexpensively inside my Beginning Teacher Talk TpT store. You certainly don't need to purchase my resource in order to do many of the activities we are going to talk about today, having it just makes things a little easier for you to grab and go with the ideas I'm going to share.

Let's talk about how to adapt some of these activities (as well as talk about some new activities) you may want to consider to ensure social distancing is maintained inside your classroom - all while creating a caring classroom community from the very first day!

1. Choose books that help children to process their feelings.

Especially with everything that is going on in our world right now, giving children opportunities to talk about all of the emotions that are often stirred up for everyone (including the teacher) at the start of a new school year is going to be particularly valuable.

Especially during this time when back to school will likely feel a little different than usual for many children, giving students opportunities to talk about what they're feeling can be a valuable first step towards creating an open, honest, and caring classroom community.

So, let's talk about three great books that I love to use (from K to 5):

Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes: This is an adorable story about a little mouse named Wemberly who worries about EVERYTHING. Wemberly's parents think that she worries too much and so does her grandmother. So, you can imagine how poor Wemberly feels on the first day of school. She has a whole list of worries. What will school be like? Will she make friends? Will people laugh at her doll, Petal? This is such a great book to use during the first week of school when of course, everyone has some worries of their own.

Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt: This is another award-winning book I love about how to conquer fears and worries. This book is about a little squirrel who never leaves his nut tree because it's way too dangerous out there in the unknown. What if he encountered a tarantula? Or a green Martian? Or killer bees? Or sharks? But Scaredy Squirrel knows he's well prepared for any emergency with his antibacterial soap, his Band-Aids, and his parachute.

Then, one day, Scaredy Squirrel finds himself literally out on a limb of his tree - and as he leaps out there into the great unknown, he discovers something he couldn't have imagined. This is a really great book to help your new students gather their courage and develop the confidence to conquer new things and achieve huge goals.

First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg: Everyone knows that sinking feeling in the pit of their stomach when they are starting anything new, and so of course, school is no exception. Sarah Hartwell is scared because she doesn't want to start over at a new school. She just knows it's going to be terrible!

However, somehow Sarah manages to pull herself together and get to school - where of course, she meets a new friend, Mrs. Burton, who eases her through this new challenge. Your kids will love the surprising way that this story ends!

For more of my favorite 10 books to use at the beginning of the school year, check out Episode #20 of the Beginning Teacher Talk podcast - My 10 Favorite Books for the First Weeks of School: (And Activities to Use with Them).

2. Invite students into the conversation about how to stay safe.

As a follow-up discussion to one of the books I've suggested above, you may want to involve your students in a conversation about some of the ways you are going to work together to keep everyone safe inside your classroom and inside the school this year.

Brainstorm ideas to list on chart paper: This may involve wearing masks, maintaining social distance, washing hands and the surfaces of the classroom more often than usual (and having new, dedicated jobs on your job board to help achieve this inside your classroom).

I mentioned this in a previous episode, but adding jobs like "Chief Sanitizing Officer" and "Table Cleaner" to your Happy Helpers Job Chart might be great additions this year, having one boy and one girl in charge of doing each job.

You will already be teaching and practicing your classroom routines with your students on the first day/week of school, so it's a natural extension to talk about special things you're going to do this year in your classroom because of COVID.

And, my advice to you is to talk about these changes matter-of-factly, and don't make this a bigger deal than it is. Instead, "normalize this new normal" for your students by talking about it as naturally as you would your pencil-sharpening routine.

Remember - kids will take your lead, so be positive and upbeat - even if you're a little nervous, too.

3. Create a class poster about "How We Can Show We Care"

Help your students to take ownership of their new classroom by brainstorming ways that they can demonstrate care and kindness for each other - even when they can't hug or share in ways they have been taught to do.

This might mean:

Showing respect for each other's ideas (you will need to teach your students what "showing respect" looks like and sounds like when you are teaching your class jobs on the first day of school),

Being patient with each other (share examples of what this looks like),

Encouraging each other (again, give examples),

Taking ownership of our own things (cleaning up after ourselves), and

Cleaning the shared spaces in our classroom regularly to keep everyone safe.

Involving your students in the creation of these new ways they can show care and consideration for each other will likely help them to feel like they have at least some measure of control over their environment at a time when nothing seems very certain.

I include this activity inside my 14 Fantastic First Week of School Activities resource. This activity is a wonderful way to build community inside your classroom in the first weeks of school.

It's appropriate for 3 rd grade and above at the beginning of the year (or for 2 nd grade if you have an academically very strong class).

This activity involves giving each child a paper bag that they decorate using positive adjectives to describe themselves. Then, students either randomly draw a classmate's name who will be their secret pal for the week (who they write a genuine compliment for each day as their morning work), or you can randomly assign one child to each student for them to write to each day.

Continue to rotate names for two weeks, and then let your students open their bags and read all of the wonderful things their classmates have said about them!

5. Appreciation Circles

Not only can we help our students to develop a caring classroom community through writing, but we can also teach children to do this by being intentional with language.

Teaching children that words matter and that the way they speak to each other has the power to either make someone's day or hurt them deeply can go a long way towards developing a classroom community where children feel safe and loved.

Following up from the activity, review what a genuine compliment is and share some examples of genuine compliments. Then, in a classroom where children are practicing social distancing, have them sit in a wide circle and take some time to think about things that they appreciate about each other.

You might want to brainstorm some sentence starters to help your students formulate their ideas, like, "One thing I really appreciate about you is..."

Then list a bunch of ideas, generated by the students. Emphasize that they need to really think about whether or not a statement truly applies to a person, because the more true it is, the better it often feels to that person.

It works well to have some a group incentive to encourage children to get started with sharing their appreciation. One idea is to place one paper heart (or some other kind of token) in front of each child. When someone says one thing that they appreciate about another, that child gets to add their heart to a jar that is placed in the center of the circle.

Once everyone has received one compliment about why they are appreciated, the class earns a special reward (such as a 2-minute dance party to a fun, upbeat song), a quick game that the class loves, a surprise hilarious video that you've found to share with them, or maybe even a bit of free time.

Sometimes, I loved to surprise my class with a secret reward that I would print and place in a fancy gift bag beside our heart jar. Once everyone received one compliment about how they were appreciated, I would open the bag and tell my students what the reward was (after a few guesses, of course)!

If you're a READY for School Academy Member, I've given you 24 Creative, Almost-Free Student Awards to help inspire your imagination for how you might want to decide on a special goodie for your kiddos. Or, you can even include a few and let them vote for the one they want.

The first time you do Appreciation Circles with your students, it may be difficult and it may feel uncomfortable for some students. However, holding Appreciation Circles on a regular basis (once each week, if you can) will change the way your students interact and feel as members of this amazing classroom community.

6. Classroom Scavenger Hunt

You might think that having students do a fun scavenger hunt inside your classroom to learn about where everything is kept is going to be off-limits in a classroom with COVID restrictions, but this is still possible!

I would usually do this activity with students in pairs, but if you are practicing social distancing in classrooms, this is an activity that can be done individually - with 5 or 6 students walking around the classroom at a time (being careful to maintain social distance) while the rest of the class is engaged in another activity.

I give you the full instructions for how to do this activity in the 14 Fantastic First Week of School Activities resource. It's always a class favorite and a great way for students to get out of their seats to explore their new classroom.

7. T-Shirt Activity and Guess-that-Person Bingo

Two of the other activities that I share inside your 14 Fantastic First Week of School Activities download are a T-Shirt Activity and a follow-up Bingo activity. Both of these activities are great ways for children to get to know their classmates without needing to sit physically close to each other.

In a nutshell, the T-shirt activity involves having children design a paper T-shirt with specific information about themselves.

For example, you might have them draw and label their favorite food on the right sleeve of the shirt, their least favorite school subject on the left sleeve, and their favorite thing to do on the weekend on the shirt pocket - or whatever you want. Once they're done, your students will have a paper t-shirt that showcases a whole bunch of fun information about them.

Then, children introduce themselves and share one or two pieces of information about themselves from their T-shirt (but no repeats - if someone says that their favorite food is pizza, then nobody else can say that)!

Record all of this information so you have it for the follow-up activity:
Guess That Person Bingo!

Kiddos fill an empty Bingo card with the names of their classmates and play using information they've just collected about their friends. Finally, display your T-Shirts on a clothesline and string across your room (students can study them during their free time and be better prepared for the next round of Bingo)!

Such simple, fun, and meaningful ways for children to connect and get to know each other - all while remaining socially distant and staying safe in the classroom.

There may never be a better year than this one to create Time Capsules with your students to document this time in history (and in their lives).

Have your students draw and write about what school is like at the start of this school year. Encourage them to write about how they're feeling and what they miss about how school (and life outside of school) was like before COVID-19.

I give you a basic template inside your 14 Fantastic First Week of School Activities resource, but you may want to customize this for your specific situation and circumstances at your school. I give you the full instructions for how to create Time Capsules with your students inside that resource, but again, this would be an especially meaningful way to help your students to bond around this very unique circumstance that they find themselves in at school this year.

So there you have it. I hope that this was helpful for you to see the many ways that it's still very possible to create a fun and meaningful first week of school while creating a caring classroom community and keeping kids safe during COVID-19.

Again, if plans at your school are still up in the air and you are concerned that you might need to make the transition to teaching online with your students, you might want to check out a brand new mini-course I've created to help you with that.

Just click the image below to learn more now!

I hope you have a wonderful week, and remember - just because you're a beginning elementary teacher, there's no need for you to struggle like one.

💛 Lori

Dr. Lori Friesen | Beginning Teacher Mentor

Creator of the R.E.A.D.Y. for School Academy, Dr. Lori Friesen has mentored thousands of beginning teachers across the country through her workshops and courses. Host of the popular podcast, and creator of the innovative literacy program for 1st and 2nd grade, Dogs Help Kids Read and Succeed, Dr. Lori is dedicated to serving educators and inspiring learners. Learn more at drlorifriesen.com and at howdogshelpkids.com.

Want to listen to the podcast on a different platform? Here are the links:

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How to Create a Caring Classroom in the First Week of School

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Show Notes: You've probably been dreaming about teaching your first day of school inside your very own classroom for years - but never, in your wildest dreams, did you think that you would have to consider things like "How do I keep students from touching each other?"

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A look at how to set up a classroom that promotes shared responsibilities so that students are engaged in their community.

What is a democratic classroom? It's not a partisan space. It doesn't focus on political parties and their viewpoints. Instead, a democratic classroom engages students in living democratically by promoting values such as inclusion, voice, representation, and participation.

After prolonged periods of remote learning, our classroom communities have never been more relevant as spaces to nurture student agency, foster social belonging, and prepare our learners as active citizens. We can create this environment by establishing democratic classrooms: safe, inclusive learning environments, where students actively practice democratic values, understand their rights, and take responsibility for their behavior as both individuals and members of a community.

High-trust relationships and shared power between teachers and students

High degree of student voice and agency

Respect for children's ideas and contributions

Intentional sharing of diverse perspectives, including those about challenging issues

Use of dialogue and group decision-making, often through protocols

Development of the whole self, including students' critical consciousness

These are characteristics of the democratic classroom:

Practical Ways to Promote Agency and Participation With Students

Classroom setup: Start the school year by co-constructing features of the classroom with students and integrating their ideas into the design of the learning space. With your learners, consider the underlying beliefs and values that the classroom should promote. Using a Y-chart, ask them, "What should our classroom community look like, sound like, and feel like?"

For example, if students want a space that promotes collaboration and social belonging, how might a furniture layout help or hinder this? While rows of desks will limit social interaction, table groups will foster discussion and sharing. Make decisions with students about the placement of furniture and the nature of classroom decorations-for example, signs in students' home languages that reflect their beliefs and values. Think about what interactions might look like in the classroom space. How might this connect to the purpose of a space, such as promoting reflection? When and how should the teacher and students revisit the classroom design to see how it functions?

Reflect on how the classroom setup might communicate underlying power dynamics. For instance, does the teacher sit on a soft chair while the students are on hard chairs? Are all chairs directed toward the teacher? Does the teacher sit at a higher level than the students-for example, on a chair in a carpeted area, while children sit on the floor? How might such decisions promote or impede a democratic classroom climate?

Instead, we can shift power and share it with our students by decentralizing our classrooms. Using small group seating, not all physically directed toward the same classroom wall, we can promote agency and leverage the power of collaborative, peer-to-peer learning. When stools are placed in a circle for class discussion, students can speak directly to others in the class, instead of requiring constant meditation by the teacher. The traditional student-teacher ping-pong becomes a multiplayer basketball game. This allows us to move away from a teacher-as-authority stance and to the role of a learning facilitator as students develop communication and social skills.

Co-constructed class charter: Rather than creating classroom rules or expectations, co-construct a classroom charter with students. A charter is different because it focuses on students' rights as well as their responsibilities. It models how individual and group needs intersect, yet also deviate. As part of the design of a class charter, introduce students to a rights framework, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ask students to choose rights they believe need to be in place in order for them to learn. Next, given these rights, what are their responsibilities to ensure that these are upheld in the classroom community?

Importantly, the rights that students choose can't be taken away as punishment. However, the opportunity to infringe on other people's rights can be withdrawn. For example, a student can be stopped from exercising their freedom of speech if their words are discriminatory against others in the classroom. UNICEF Canada has more information about class charters.

Peaceful place: Peace begins with each student. If we want peaceful classroom communities, where students learn how to recognize their emotions and navigate conflict in productive ways, we need to teach strategies for being at peace. "A peaceful place" is a physical location in the classroom where students can reflect on their feelings, calm down, or resolve conflict with their peers. It may be a table at the back of the class, a play tent, or even a large cardboard box that can be painted by students.

By inviting students to identify, design, and decorate a peaceful place, we can introduce the notion of peace and set up classroom routines that promote personal and group well-being.

For instance, with elementary students, place paper, markers, and reading books in the space, so that students can use the area to cool off when feeling frustrated. Likewise, arrange a few chairs inside or next to the space to promote conflict resolution strategies such as recognizing emotions, using "I statements," and active listening. Importantly, a peaceful place should never be used for disciplinary purposes, such as a time out. Peace is a dynamic rather than passive concept, so ongoing practice and reflection on behavior is key. There's more information about this strategy in a book I wrote with Elizabeth O. Crawford, Worldwise Learning: A Teacher's Guide to Shaping a Just, Sustainable Future.

Structures for discussion and dialogue: Students benefit from structures and protocols that enable them to feel safe and secure during discussions. This is especially true when speaking about current events that may be contentious or produce strong emotions in our learners. Structures and protocols provide predictability and help to scaffold the development of communication skills. For engaging students in conversations about social justice issues, Learning for Justice's provides a number of concrete tips. For example, when structuring critical conversations, teach students to "Restate, Contemplate, Breathe, Communicate" to manage emotions or use temperature-check strategies such as Fist to Five to understand students' comfort level.

Likewise, Facing History and Ourselves has a number of strategies that teachers can use before, during, or after discussions, such as "Big Paper" to promote silent conversations or "Cafe Conversations" where students take on the role of an assigned perspective in a small group discussion.

The democratic classroom fosters critical thinking, authentic participation, and social and emotional learning. It's a humanizing space that empowers our students. As American scholar and activist bell hooks says, this is "education as a practice of freedom." Part of creating a democratic classroom is being aware of how to set up our classrooms, establish community, and make space for students' diverse voices, opinions, and perspectives.

This is part of our hidden curriculum. Whether intentional or not, our choices communicate beliefs, values, and expectations to students. If we want our students to become active citizens, we must ensure that our routines, structures, and interactions mirror this aim.

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A look at how to set up a classroom that promotes shared responsibilities so that students are engaged in their community. What is a democratic classroom? It's not a partisan space. It doesn't focus on political parties and their viewpoints. Instead, a democratic classroom engages students in living democratically by promoting values such as inclusion, voice, representation, and participation.

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Can be used in the class for student projects

Helps with visualizing sequence of events

Helpful for Social Studies class

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Tiki-Toki Timeline Maker: Beautiful web-based timeline software

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Create beautiful interactive timelines that you can share on the web. The perfect timeline maker for company history timelines and school projects.

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Uses different ways for students to study a concept

Flexible and user friendly

Test students in a variety of ways to help with memorization

Allows the use of pictures to help learn content

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Know the strengths and weakness of my students

Have a flexible and adaptable classroom

Adapt information for multilingual students

Helps to build equity in the classroom by having everyone's needs met

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School Leaders

School Leadership

When something is universal, it applies to everyone. So, when hearing the term universal design for learning(or UDL), it makes sense to imagine it as a blanket format that covers all students.

But is that really what UDL is all about?

In this guide, you're going to learn that universal design for learning is focused on flexibility and adaptability to different types of students.

But that's not all.

By the end of this article, you'll be completely equipped to use UDL in your school, for the benefit of teachers and students' learning outcomes.

What is Universal Design for Learning?

To start, let's define universal design for learning.

While the word 'universal' may make this seem like a one-size-fits-all program, that is actually the opposite of what UDL stands for.

In everyday life, we constantly run into examples of universal design. This includes things like closed-captions, text-to-speech features on your smartphone, or other things that we normally label 'accessibility features'.

In principle, universal design for learning is the same: it is an adaptive learning program that allows equal opportunity for all students.

But, this raises a question:

Is Universal Design for Learning only applicable to students with learning and attention issues?
First, let me ask you this: have you ever used an automatic door?

Let's face it: if you have two legs and two arms that work, you're not the person that door was designed for. However, if your hands are full of groceries, or you're at the end of an exhausting day of work, an automatic door is quite useful.

The same idea applies in the classroom.

While universal design for learning (UDL) does greatly benefit students with learning and attention issues, it is also beneficial for the average student.

Each student has their own specific strengths and weaknesses. This can have absolutely nothing to do with attention disorders or learning disabilities: it is simply how their unique brain takes in and processes information most easily.

By applying universal design for learning in the classroom, all students are allowed to take in, digest, and express information in the way that is easiest for them. This improves the learning experience for everyone, and helps each individual student to expand his or her knowledge of the subject without the constraints of the traditional classroom.

Ultimately, UDL can be defined as a teaching method that aims to make learning accessible to every student's individual needs, regardless of the challenges and barriers they may face.

Basic principles of UDL

According to CAST, there are 3 key principles of UDL:

1. Engagement: The why of learning

Everything starts with how students engage with the class and the subject.

This principle encompasses the ideas of motivation, building on the interests of the students. The area of engagement also helps students to see the reasons why they should learn what they're learning, and makes it relevant to their life.

This also includes helping students become self-motivated by guiding them through rubrics that allow for self-reflection and personal goals.

The goal of engagement in UDL: To give students purpose and motivation to learn.

2. Representation: The what of learning

Allowing students to choose the methods by which they take in information allows for all types of students to thrive as they interact with subject materials.

Customization is key here. This involves providing multiple ways to assimilate subject material, such as textbooks, audio files, digital books, or images and graphs. It also implies customization and flexibility within those formats.

With this kind of flexibility, students have access to the material that best suits their needs. This is useful for children with disabilities such as dyslexia, as well as for average students who simply perform better when listening to instruction than when reading, for example.

The goal of representation in UDL: To allow students to be more resourceful and knowledgeable.

3. Action and expression: The How of learning

Once students have taken in the information, it's time for them to express and show what they've learned.

This principle of universal design for learning takes into account the differences of students' manner of expression. Flexibility is provided in the way that students show their knowledge of the subject, meaning they can choose not to perform a test and instead opt for a more adaptive expression that fits their strengths.

Action and expression also touches on the idea of goal-setting for students. Here, teachers help students set goals for learning, and guide students through monitoring their own progress.

The goal of action and expression in UDL: To help students to become more strategic and goal-directed.

Universal Design for Learning examples and guidelines

Are you ready to see what universal design for learning looks like in the classroom?

Here are 13 different guidelines for how to use universal design for learning, along with examples that show what it looks like in practice. Follow these guidelines to make universal design for learning a part of your school.

Examples of engagement in UDL

Let's first look at examples of UDL through the principle of engagement:

1. Know the strengths and weaknesses of students

In order to correctly apply universal design for learning in the classroom, it's important for teachers to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of each student.

This can be as easy as asking each student how they want to learn that day's lesson, and offering different choices for the content used, the reward applied, the tools used for gathering information or producing results, or the order of tasks to be completed.

It also may be helpful for teachers to take note of which students excel when using certain formats, or even to involve parents in helping find their children's strengths and weaknesses in learning.

2. Give students specific learning goals

Teachers have one very obvious goal: to help students to learn. In fact, within the lesson plan they may already have goals in mind for specific information that children should know by a certain point in the school year.

To help motivate and engage students, why not include them in the goal process?

A great example of this is posting lesson goals for all the students to see in the classroom. To do this, teachers must have one clear goal for each lesson. Then, they can discuss this goal with the class at the beginning of the lesson and write it out in a visible place for the whole class to see.

That way, students know exactly what to expect from the lesson, and will feel more motivated to pay attention to complete the lesson goal.

3. Create and follow classroom routines

Helping students to feel safe in their learning environment is essential to a productive and motivated classroom. One great example of universal design for learning is creating classroom routines that help students feel secure.

While this helps adapt to students with disabilities such as autism, it's good for all students to get used to classroom routines. This means structuring class time so that each student knows what they should be doing and when.

This can still allow for flexibility in the order or time spent on subtasks, but helps students to know exactly where they are in the lesson.

4. Provide prompts that let students know it's time to ask for help

It's true that some students will have more trouble with certain aspects of a lesson than others. But, instead of simply getting frustrated and giving up, students need to know when to ask for help.

Unfortunately, not all students will recognize when it's time to ask for help.

That's where providing prompts comes in. For example, a math teacher could set a specific amount time that each student should spend on a problem. If they can't solve the problem in 2 minutes, for example, they should ask the teacher or a peer for help in understanding the problem.

This helps students to avoid unnecessary frustration and continue learning effectively.

5. Group learners with common interests or learning strengths and weaknesses

By now, teachers should be aware of which students learn better through audio descriptions, which students have specific interests or which students require a particular learning process.

When there are several students who share the same learning style or who have common interests, these can be grouped together for specific activities in the classroom.

For example, students who prefer to create a video instead of completing a written essay can be grouped together to create a video project together.

Group work can help students to reinforce skills by teaching others, it can also improve their collaborative and social-emotional learning skills too.

6. Provide flexible classrooms

Flexibility in the classroom also involves the physical space where students are learning. Try flexible seating by switching up the furniture arrangements to make students feel more comfortable (which, in turn, makes them more productive).

This could mean getting some bean-bag chairs or exercise balls, or even standing desks, mats for the floor, or stools with high-top tables. Flexible seating helps students who have trouble sitting in one place, and gives all students the ability to choose their best workspace.

Examples of representation in UDL

7. Display Information in a Flexible Format

Following the information above, teachers should now be aware of how their students learn best.

So, it's time to provide flexible ways of learning.

This could involve a number of different formats, including:

Traditional paper books

Digital books

Text-to-speech

Images or charts

Learning games

Videos

Music

Ideally, students should also have some flexibility within these different formats. For example, using a digital textbook allows students to adjust the size of the font or the color of the background. With a video, students should be able to adjust the speed and volume.

You ultimately want to foster an inclusive learning environment where the content can be delivered to suit every student's learning needs.

8. Adapt information for multilingual students

Schools nowadays are becoming more and more international. When viewed in a positive light, this international flair can boost the atmosphere of a classroom and make it more inclusive.

However, adaptive representation of information is essential in this aspect of universal design for learning.

How can teachers apply this principle in a multilingual classroom?

Whenever possible, students should be able to access information in both the dominant language of the school and in their own native language.

Teachers can also provide visual aids to help clarify vocabulary that is unfamiliar to students, or provide multilingual students with dictionaries either in paper or digital format. ESL students can be disadvantaged in assessments due to language barriers, even if they have a strong command of the topic.

Adaptability in this area also applies to deaf and hearing-impaired students. Teachers should ensure that there is a visual-only option for these students in all aspects of the classroom, such as assistive captions under videos, automated speech-to-text software, or at best a sign language version of the information.

9. Prompt students to identify key ideas and relationships

In all aspects of life, students must learn to separate critical information from information that isn't as important.

This aspect of universal design for learning can be used in the classroom when teachers prompt students to highlight important phrases from their textbooks, or summarize the important aspects of a video lesson in one sentence.

Teachers should also guide students to build relationships between information they've already learned and what they're currently learning.

For example, a math teacher could help students see the relationship between addition and multiplication, prompting them to draw on past experience to help them learn new concepts.

Examples of action and expression in UDL

10. Create multiple options for expression and assignment completion

Once students have taken in the information, it's time for them to demonstrate their understanding. While a test is the traditional choice for expression, giving students a choice of how they'll complete assignments allows each student to demonstrate his knowledge in a way that is relevant to him or her.

Some options could include:

Creating a video essay

Drawing a comic strip

Completing a test in digital format, or with audio questions

Putting on a group demonstration

Building a physical model

For example, a history teacher may want students to show an understanding of the events that led to World War 2. He could give his students the option to complete a written test, to create a video 'reporting' on the events, or to draw a comic strip that shows which main events led to the start of the war.

That way, each student gets to complete the assignment in the way that is best for them, while all students demonstrate a reasonable understanding of the topic.

See how one teacher utilizes this concept in their learning below:

11. Give access to learning software

Software in the classroom is a great way to be adaptable to different students. For example, language teachers can use language-learning apps and games to help students learn while tracking their progress step-by-step.

Math teachers also love learning software, like Prodigy, because it helps students get involved in the problems and work through the information in a way that is engaging and productive.

12. Provide multiple means for navigation and control

Being adaptable means allowing for adaptive software and hardware for students that have limitations.

For example, with digital content on the computer, students can be allowed to control with voice, joystick, or an adaptive keyboard when necessary.

Alternatives should also be available for students when it comes to the range of motor action required to interact with the materials used in the classroom.

13. Give regular feedback that helps students develop goals and strategies to reach them

Learners need to have a clear picture in their mind of the progress that they are making in class. With regular, personal feedback for students, they're able to see where they are, what progress they've made, and what they still need to accomplish.

While grades are important in this discussion, they are not the only aspect of the student's feedback. Teachers should also include goal planning and achievement when giving feedback.

Teachers should also help students through their own self-evaluation. For example, during feedback sessions they can ask questions as:

Do you feel like you reached the lesson goal for today?

How close do you think you got to reaching your goal?

What do you think you could've done differently to reach that goal?

What skills have you learned this week that you didn't know last week?

How do you plan on reaching our lesson goal for tomorrow?

This helps students to learn how to reflect on their own activities and make plans that help them reach their own learning goals.

Put Universal Design for Learning into Practice!

Universal design for learning is an incredible tool in the classroom. As we've seen, using this method in your school will help all students to learn in the way that works best for them, improving their knowledge of the subjects they're learning.

UDL also helps teachers focus their efforts on the students that need it most, while allowing all students to thrive in an equalized classroom. In a classroom using universal design for learning, there are no students with limitations, only students who accomplish the same tasks and learn the same information with different methods.

Put universal design for learning into practice in your school this year, and your students will grow beyond your expectations.

Are you a math teacher? Prodigy Math is a game-based learning platform that makes it easy to tailor learning to every students in just a few clicks.

But that's not all.

But, this raises a question:

Some options could include:

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Historic sites and landmarks

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6. Teach your Monster (reading, phonics, & math)

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Interactive game that teaches students reading, phonics, and math

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Our games are...

Designed with leading academic experts.

Trusted by teachers and parents.

Mindful, enjoyable screen time.

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Our games are designed to complement programmes used in schools.

Find out how

Who we are...

We're part of The Usborne Foundation - a charity set up by Peter Usborne CBE of Usborne Publishing to support early years learning.
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Teach Your Monster: Free Phonics, Reading and Mathematics Games

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Help children learn with our free, award-winning reading, mathematics and phonics games.

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A willingness to bring new teaching strategies into your lesson plan is one of the best qualities a teacher can have.

In Effective Teaching and Learning, educational researcher Naga Subramani argues that an effective teacher:

"Constantly renews himself [or herself] as a professional on his [or her] quest to provide students with the highest quality of education possible. This teacher has no fear of learning new teaching strategies or incorporating new technologies into lessons. "

Is that you?

There's more than one way to teach a diverse and dynamic classroom. In this post you'll find:

A comprehensive list of 36 teaching strategies to use in math class and beyond

A list of essential resources for using them effectively

Classroom teaching strategies and techniques

1. Classroom management strategies

Infographic: 20 Classroom Management Strategies and Techniques. Click to expand!

According to research from 2006, teachers overwhelmingly reported a lack of professional development support when it came to improving their own classroom management strategies. This can lead to confusion for students and frustration for teachers.

When students clearly understand what's expected of them, they're more likely to be focused and engaged with their lessons. Some tips for building a positive environment include:

Model ideal behaviour: Clearly explain proper behaviour, and then follow it yourself.

Encourage initiative: Allow students to actively participate in the learning process with class discussions and exercises that support the initiative.

Avoid collective punishment: While it can be difficult, make a point of calling out disruptive behaviours on an individual, not collective, basis.

For more actionable classroom management teaching strategies, read 20 Classroom Management Strategies and Techniques [+Downloadable List].

2. Flexible seating

Kristine Fourman, a teacher in the Bucyrus Elementary Preschool Program, connects student seating and academics: "When students aren't trying to hold themselves still in their chairs, they can integrate auditory, visual and tactile systems of the body."

There are so many different ways to incorporate flexible seating into your classroom in a way that fits with your students' learning goals. For examples and best practices, read Flexible Seating: 21 Awesome Ideas for Your Classroom.

3. Webb's Depth of Knowledge

Norman Webb's Depth of Knowledge (DoK) is familiar to many teachers from a theoretical perspective, but it can be incredibly difficult to apply practically and consistently in your teaching strategies.

There are four DoK levels:

Level one: Recollection and reproduction

Level two: Knowledge application

Level three: Strategic thinking

Level four: Extended critical thinking

There are a number of engaging activities that can promote different DoK levels: read more about them in Specific Ways to Use Webb's Depth of Knowledge in Class.

4. Summative assessment

Summative assessments are end-of-unit tests, final projects or standardized tests used to assess student understanding on a broad and absolute level.

Critics of summative assessments say they're inauthentic and don't accurately reflect the learning process. But there are important benefits to using summative assessments as a teaching strategy: they motivate students to pay attention and challenges them to apply their learning. They're also a valuable source of insight for teachers, especially for those with larger classes -- allowing them to easily identify and correct any wide gaps in understanding across the classroom.

Don't be afraid to get creative when making summative assessments! Read Summative Assessment: A Comprehensive Guide for ideas on how to get students engaged with the testing process.

5. Formative assessment

Formative assessments are the opposite of summative assessments because they take place during the teaching process.
Formative Assessment Summative Assessment
Formative assessments can reduce student stress around testing. They give you the chance to course correct mid-unit if there are serious comprehension issues and to see which students might need a bit more one-on-one time.

Some examples of formative assessment techniques include:

For more examples and ideas, read 20 Formative Assessment Examples to Try [+Downloadable List].

Put students at the center of the classroom with active learning strategies - a teaching technique that increases student engagement in daily lessons. According to active learning advocate James Ballencia, the technique can also help teachers as much as it helps students:

"With the goal of teaching mindful learners who actively pursue knowledge, teachers become more actively engaged in how they teach the curriculum and how they develop each student's learning potential. They mix and match a variety of ... tactics to ensure that students not only learn more, better, and faster -- they also learn smarter."

7. Differentiated instruction

Differentiated instruction is a popular and effective teaching strategy that involves reacting to the diverse learning styles in every classroom with adjusted content and processes.

Carol Ann Tomlinson, a reputable thought leader on differentiated instruction, recommends analyzing teaching strategies on a constant basis to respond to needs:

"Frequently reflect on the match between your classroom and the philosophy of teaching and learning you want to practice. Look for matches and mismatches, and use both to guide you."

Strategies like learning stations and the think-pair-share method are small ways that you can bring unique learning experiences to your students.

For more differentiated instruction ideas, read 20 Differentiated Instruction Strategies and Examples [+ Downloadable List].

8. Personalized learning

No two students are exactly alike. That's why personalized learning builds a learning experience that addresses the unique abilities of each student.

According to a study by the Gates Foundation, personalized learning can improve test scores when used to supplement math class:

"Students attending [schools using personalized learning] made gains in math and reading over the last two years that are significantly greater than a virtual control group made up of similar students selected from comparable schools."

Personalized learning allows students to learn without stigma and gets students involved in what they're learning.

Explore different options for bringing personalized learning to your classroom, including Edtech teaching strategies and increased student involvement. For a full list of tips, read 7 Personalized Learning Strategies and Examples.

9. Universal design for learning

Universal design for learning (UDL) is an educational framework that ensures all students have equal access to education. Use it in your classroom to give unique students flexible ways to learn and become more goal-oriented.

Some best practices for UDL:

UDL gives all students an impactful learning experience and helps teachers focus their efforts on students who need it most. For more information on how to make sure all your students succeed, read Universal Design for Learning: Principles and Examples.

10. Response to intervention

Response to intervention (RTI) focuses on early and continuous identification, assessment and assistance for students who have learning or behaviour needs. It's best used as part of a more general classroom management plan, and involves small-group or individual intervention that quickly addresses trouble spots.

The most effective RTI strategies are proactive. Start with everyday teaching and move to targeted intervention as soon as you spot a problem. When you're prepared to move quickly, you're more likely to be able to develop a tailored and effective learning plan.

For more information on RTI strategies and tips for bringing them to your classroom, read The Teacher's Response to Intervention (RTI) Guide: Tiers, Strategies and More.

11. Classroom technology

Technology is a great way to improve student engagement and get students excited for class, but it can be difficult to incorporate seamlessly into the classroom. There are an endless number of ways to make use technology to enhance lessons, including:

A virtual field trip: Use virtual reality apps to explore famous landmarks and natural phenomena. Take a trip to the Great Barrier Reef to study ecosystems, or tour Barcelona as part of a Spanish class.

Video mini-lessons: TeacherTube offers an education-only version of YouTube, with videos on a number of core subjects. This makes the learning process more engaging, especially for visual learners.

Podcasts: Give students relevant podcasts and engage auditory learners, or have older students create their own -- they'll develop research and technology skills at the same time.

For more ideas on how to use technology in the classroom, read 25 Easy Ways to Use Technology in the Classroom [+ Downloadable List].

Math teaching strategies and techniques

Similar to classroom gamification, math games can play an active role in getting students engaged in class and excited to learn. Offline or online, they're usually customizable and easy to incorporate into other teaching strategies.

Some examples of popular math games:

Bouncing Sums: Label a beach ball with integers, decimals and fractions. Each student must read the number on his or her label, adding or multiplying it by the sum from the previous student.

101 and out: Divide your class in half and give each group a die. Have groups roll the die and either keep it at face value or multiply it by 10. See which group can get closest to 101 without going over.

Math goodies: Math goodies is a free resource that provides puzzles and word problems. Students can either use this resource on their own or you can use it to create custom worksheets.

For more math games, read 20 Engaging, Skill-Building Math Games for Kids [1st to 8th Grade].

13. Math websites

There are thousands of math websites that can be used as part of a game-based learning approach or differentiation strategy. Online resources get students excited about learning math and can often be scaled based on knowledge and grade level.

Popular resources include:

TeacherVision: Looking for interdisciplinary activities? Look no further. TeacherVision gives teachers access to resources that connect math with subjects like art, history and geography.

SuperKids: SuperKids is a one-stop resource for building worksheets. Select a skill and number range, and generate a custom assignment.

Prodigy Math: Students go on adventures, collect pets and battle with friends, all while answering skill-building, targeted math questions.

Mental math is an important part of math fluency. When students have a quick recall for math facts and can do simple equations quickly, they have the confidence to attempt more difficult problems.

The Manitoba Association of Mathematics Teachers defines mental math as:

"A combination of cognitive strategies that enhances flexible thinking and number sense. It is calculating mentally without the use of external memory aids. It improves computational fluency by developing efficiency, accuracy, and flexibility." There are lots of resources available to boost mental math skills, including:

For more ways to practice mental math skills, read 12 Practices to Improve Students' Mental Math + Downloadable List.

Common Core math is a new framework that seeks to improve students' conceptual understanding of math by encouraging problem-solving, critical thinking, and discussion skills.

Since it's so new, instructors have struggled to prepare materials that align with the standards. If that's you, here are some techniques to get you started:

For a detailed explanation of the eight standards and ways to teach them, read 8 Common Core Math Standards, Explained [+ Examples].

16. Solve math problems faster

Teaching students to solve math problems quickly and without help can improve confidence and math fluency.

Provided your students have a solid grasp on the concepts behind what they've already mastered, math "tricks" can give them more confidence and get them excited about trying new problems.There are tricks for just about every basic function, including:

For a full list of math tricks, read How to Solve Math Problems Faster: 15 Techniques to Show Students.

17. How to teach multiplication

Multiplication is a big and often daunting step for learners, who feel like they've just mastered addition and are suddenly being thrown something new. Teachers also often struggle to communicate new concepts to student effectively.

What if we told you that multiplication could be one of the most rewarding lessons you ever taught?

Our six-step guide to teaching multiplication is designed to engage students in the learning processes with a clear and logical progression of ideas. There are lot of fun ways to teach multiplication and reduce student anxiety, including:

Multiplication doesn't have to be stressful -- start with basic concepts and work your way up, and your students will be multiplication masters in no time at all!

18. Multiplication games

Multiplication is a difficult concept for many students to grasp. Memorizing and understanding core multiplication facts is a key element of math fluency, and provides an essential foundation for further study.

Game-based learning can be a successful way to help students develop this understanding and can engage students on stressful topic. Some multiplication games include:

True or false?: Write a multiplication sentence on the board that's either true or false. In teams, the class has a minute to discuss and respond with "true" or "false" cards.

Beach ball toss: Write multiplication questions on a beach ball and throw it. Have students answer the question that is closest to their pinky finger.

Jeopardy!: It's a classic for a reason -- find an interactive template and fill it with questions. The team with the most points at the end of the game, wins!

For more fun multiplication games, read 15 Multiplication Games to Make Math Lessons Fun.

19. Multiplying fractions

So your unit on fractions is finished, and it's time to move on -- to multiplying fractions.

For some students, this leap is even more daunting than the switch from addition to multiplication. But not to worry! There are teaching strategies that will have your students multiplying fractions in no time at all.Some best practices for teaching your class about multiplying fractions:

For a comprehensive overview on how to teach multiplying fractions, read How to Multiply Fractions (+ 7 Engaging Activities).

20. How to divide fractions

The only thing scarier for students than multiplying fractions? Dividing them.Lucky for them, we did the research. There are three simple steps to dividing a fraction:

The best way to make sure that students understand how to solve a problem is to make sure that they understand what, exactly, is happening. Instead of just teaching the answer, teach students what the answer means. For more details on dividing fractions, read How to Divide Fractions in 3 Easy Steps.

21. Math puzzles

Math puzzles have been around almost as long as math has - for a reason. One study found that math puzzles "develop logical thinking, combinatorial abilities, strengthen the capacity of abstract thinking and operating with spatial images, instill critical thinking and develop mathematical memory."Math puzzles build foundational skills and increase math fluency, while also connecting to existing curricula and promoting problem-solving skills. Some popular math puzzles include:

Make sure the puzzles are the right level for your students and that they're being used appropriately. For more ideas on how to use math puzzles in the classroom, read 20 Math Puzzles to Engage Your Students.

Student-focused teaching strategies

22. Gamification

Classroom gamification is an effective way to take a child's love for play and turn it into a love of learning. The benefits are huge: gamification can help students focus and build essential skills. A 2011 study from South Korea also found that gamification kept students motivated and engaged in the classroom.

In order to effectively use gamification techniques in your classroom, start with your students: What do they like? Where are their learning needs? Are there any notable behaviour issues? Other tips include:

If you want more examples and techniques for gamifying your classroom, read How to Gamify your Classroom in 5 Easy Steps.

23. Convergent and divergent thinking

Convergent and divergent thinking are two terms coined by American psychologist JP Guilford in the 1950s.

Convergent thinking means understanding how separate pieces of information can be used to reach one solution. It's usually reserved for first or second depth of knowledge (DOK) levels, and can be used to answer questions that require a limited range of skills and knowledge (like multiple choice questions).

Convergent and divergent thinking are two terms coined by American psychologist JP Guilford in the 1950s.

Convergent thinking means understanding how separate pieces of information can be used to reach one solution. It's usually reserved for first or second DOK levels, and can be used to answer questions that require a limited range of skills and knowledge (like multiple choice questions).

Divergent thinking requires students to start with one prompt, then think critically about it to diverge towards to distinct answers (think essay-writing, brainstorming and creative analyzing). This takes place at the third or fourth DOK level.

While convergent thinking is an important part of building math fluency, divergent thinking allows students to understand the base concepts underlying their work. Convergent and divergent thinking are essential skills in any subject. When you understand the difference, you're better equipped to incorporate both into your classroom.

For more examples of each and how to teach them, read How to Teach Convergent and Divergent Thinking: Definitions, Examples, Templates and More.

24. Project-based learning

Students have to take an active role in their own learning, but are often disengaged from the learning process. Project-based learning allows students to be fully immersed in an authentic and nuanced problem that has real-life implications.

Project-based learning is open-ended, and allows students engaged in group work to find their own way to the solution. It doesn't look the same in every classroom -- class size, student ability and learning styles play a large role in shaping the process.

While proponents point to increased engagement, knowledge retention and improved critical thinking, there are also significant criticisms: Project-based learning can be too focused on product creation instead of learning, and assessment is often subjective.

To learn how to effectively incorporate project-based learning techniques into your classroom, read The Definitive Guide to Project-Based Learning: Definition, Debates, Ideas and Examples.

25. Experiential learning

Every classroom has a wide range of levels and learning styles, which can be difficult for any teacher to effectively address. Use experiential learning activities to counter student disengagement and get them involved in the learning process.
Traditional learning activities

Teacher-centered/focused

Fixed rubric or scoring system

Explain knowledge or skills by transferring information

Fixed structure, high degree of facilitation

Experiential learning activities

Student-centered/focused

Flexible and open learning outcomes

Develop knowledge and skills through experience

Flexible structure, minimum facilitation

Provide students with new ways of learning to help them stay focused, learn dynamically and learn faster.

Engage students in the process of inquiry and reflection! Ask them to create three to five questions (with answers) on a recent lesson. In pairs, have students quiz their partners on the questions they wrote, and watch to see which concepts students consider to be the most important from their lesson.

For more experiential learning activities, read 7 Experiential Learning Activities to Engage Students.

26. Peer teaching

Proponents have been pointing to the advantages of peer teaching since the 18th century. It's one of many teaching strategies that helps develop reasoning and critical thinking skills, and a pioneering 1988 study found it improved self-esteem and interpersonal skills.

It can be difficult, however, to bring it to the classroom -- students might have different proficiency levels or be hesitant about teaching their peers, and it can lead to confidentiality issues about which students are struggling.

Some best practices for peer teaching include:

For more ideas on how to successfully bring peer teaching to your classroom, read 15 Easy Peer Teaching Strategies to Help Students.

27. Inquiry-based learning

Inquiry-based learning has been around since the 1960s, but can still be a demanding teaching strategy to implement in the classroom.

In the inquiry-based learning classroom, teachers are responsible for guiding students through their questions - past curiosity and into critical thinking and understanding.

There are 4 main types of inquiry-based learning:

Confirmation inquiry: Students are given a question along with a way to answer it

Structured inquiry: Students are given an open question and investigation method

Guided inquiry: Students work from an open question to design investigation methods

Open inquiry: Students develop original questions that they answer through their own methods

A study from the Association for Psychological Science found that students who use inquiry-based learning are more likely to retain information from the activity and curriculum content in general.

For more benefits and examples of inquiry-based learning, as well as how to effectively use it in your classroom, read All About Inquiry-Based Learning: Definition, Benefits and Strategies.

28. Problem-based learning

Problem-based learning is a student-centred pedagogy that puts students in groups to solve open-ended problems together. This teaching strategy has its advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages Disadvantages
Even taking into account the different opinions on problem-based learning, there is an undeniable value in giving students a degree of control over their own education.

For more ideas about problem-based learning and tips for designing projects, read 5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Problem-Based Learning [+ Activity Design Steps].

30. Reciprocal teaching

Reading isn't every student's favorite subject. With reciprocal teaching techniques, you can turn even the most reluctant reader into a bookworm.

Reciprocal teaching involves students in reading and gets them excited to learn. Learners are asked to predict what a text is about, ask questions about what they don't understand, re-read for clarification, and summarize what the text is saying -- instead of just absorbing material as quickly as possible.

And the technique can even be adapted for math class: one study found that reciprocal teaching in math can improve understanding of word-based problems, and can help students understand questions better.

For more ideas about reciprocal teaching, read 4 Reciprocal Teaching Strategies to Use.

31. Blended learning

Blended learning combines online learning with traditional classroom instruction. It's a valuable tool to use in differentiation teaching strategies, and can help students learn tailored content at their own pace.

There are a number of different ways to bring blended learning to your classroom, but some common methods include implementing learning stations and putting certain lessons online in part or entirely.

With many classrooms supporting hybrid learning environments in the last two years, blended learning has become a more common teaching strategy across classrooms.

For more information on the six blended learning models and how to use them with your students, read How to Put the Six Blended Learning Models into Action [+ Examples & Download].

32. Culturally responsive teaching

Diverse classrooms are an amazing opportunity for teachers, but it can also be difficult to reach students with dramatically different backgrounds or learning styles.

Culturally responsive teaching aims to link content with students' contemporary and ancestral cultures.

Research by Geneva Gay, Professor of Education at the University of Washington-Seattle and author of Culturally Responsive Teaching, shows that when teaching is tied to lived experiences for students, those experiences are more personally meaningful, appealing and learned more easily and thoroughly.

Dr. Christy Byrd, psychologist and Associate Professor at NC State University, has also published research which found that "elements of culturally relevant teaching were significantly associated with academic outcomes and ethnic-racial identity development."

Start by getting to know your students - where do they come from? What do their parents or guardians do? What's their favorite after-school activity?

Then, take that information and connect it to your lessons. Explain how a topic relates to different cultures, and make sure the classroom is a place where all students feel empowered. Encourage students to ask questions and share unique answers.

Other options for culturally responsive teaching include:

For the full list, read 15 Culturally-Responsive Teaching Strategies and Examples + Downloadable List.

33. Interdisciplinary teaching

Use interdisciplinary teaching strategies to encourage students to develop creative and critical thinking skills - and draw information from a number of different academic disciplines - as they solve real-world problems.

In your classroom, interdisciplinary teaching could involve collaboration with other teachers, or asking your students to make connections between different subjects. Try these activities to get your class started:

For more interdisciplinary teaching activities and tips on how to get started, read 10 Interdisciplinary Teaching Activities and Examples [+ Unit Design Steps].

34. Service learning

According to the National Youth Leadership Council, service learning is "a philosophy, pedagogy and model for community development that is used as an instructional strategy to meet learning goals and/or content standards."

Service learning brings the classroom into the larger community and teaches students about the value of being an active citizen. Students get hands-on experience in interdisciplinary study, and often improve their academic outcomes and reduce behavioural problems.

Service learning contains five steps: Preparation, Action, Reflection, Demonstration, Celebration

Pick an issue that your class is passionate about and get them brainstorming. For more service learning project ideas and how to get started, read The Teacher's Guide to Service Learning [+5 Examples].

35. Media literacy

Students are saturated with an endless number of different media influences, from TV to social media to comic books. Students need to be educated on how to interpret and understand what they're consuming.

Media literacy allows students to recognize bias and develop critical thinking skills within the context of their existing interests. Some activities you can try in your classroom include:

There are lots of other ways to teach valuable media literacy lessons to students -- check out our Teaching Media Literacy: Its Importance and 10 Engaging Activities [+ Downloadable List] blog post for more ideas.

36. Growth Mindset

Even though it sounds more like a corporate buzzword, the philosophy of growth mindset has infiltrated the classroom. It focuses on helping students see the value of effort, persistence and risk in their learning environment, and pushes them to try new things and learn new concepts.

Since growth mindset is a relatively new teaching strategy, some teachers might struggle to use it effectively. Here are some best practices:

Give positive feedback: Instead of rewarding intellect, praise students when they try new methods and make plans.

Promote a diverse classroom: When diversity is modelled for students, they're more likely to embrace different perspectives in their future learning goals.

Encourage goal-based journaling: Ask students set goals and reflect on their progress. Have goals follow the SMART method (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-Based) for maximum effect.

For more ways to encourage a growth mindset in your classroom, read 10 Ways Teachers can Instill a Growth Mindset in Students. Your students will benefit for the rest of their lives.

37. Asynchronous Learning

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers have had to deliver their usual content and teaching strategy in an entirely virtual environment. This abrupt transition was difficult for many, with challenges like technology issues and inability to support child in person.

However, while most schools are back in session and remote learning much less common, lessons learned from this experience can easily be applied to situations where students can't attend school in person.

Asynchronous learning is a good complement to your teaching strategy and can help support your students in many different ways. This includes short-term issues like student or teacher illness to longer-term ones like helping students catch up with an intervention program. Techniques for asynchronous learning include:

Resources for effectively using teaching strategies

Google

Books, scholarly articles, maps, news coverage - if there's something you need to do, there's probably a Google application for it. Use Google Forms to collect student feedback on new teaching strategies, Google Drive to store and coordinate student papers, and Google Arts & Culture to visit the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam - without ever leaving the classroom.

With two games - Prodigy Math and Prodigy English - the applications are endless!

Use Assignments and Plans to differentiate learning, track student growth through comprehensive reporting tools, engage students through game-based learning, or use it as part of a blended learning approach.

Students will love practising their math and English skills with these free games.

In Prodigy Math, they'll go on adventures, collect pets and earn rewards; in Prodigy English, they'll gather supplies, gain energy and create their personal village - all while answering curriculum-aligned questions tailored to their individual skill levels.

In order to know which teaching strategies will be the most effective, ask your students to provide you with some feedback: What do they like? How do they think they learn best? What do they want to learn more about? Students are more likely to be engaged in the learning process when they have a voice.

There are a couple of ways to gather feedback:

Professional development

In order to be an effective teacher, you need to have access to resources that allow you to continuously grow your skills. According to a study with teachers from eight different countries, teachers who had access to professional development were more likely to effectively use different teaching strategies in their classrooms:

"This suggests that the exchanging of ideas and experience about teaching with other teachers in the school, observing each other's classrooms and providing mutual support increases the likelihood of implementing good teaching strategies."

Teacher journal

After gathering all this amazing information from student feedback and professional development efforts, you're going to need somewhere to keep track of it all.

Consider keeping a teaching journal to track student progress, new insights, areas you think your class might need extra help in and successes you've had. Build it up as a reference for that year's class, and keep it as a reminder of everything you've accomplished. Bonus: you'll have a ready-made resource for writing stellar report card comments.

Parents

Parent involvement in student learning is a key indicator of student success and performance. Keep parents informed with a quick paper or email newsletter every month, and let them know about new things happening in the classroom. Communicate individual issues quickly and effectively to avoid any report card surprises, but don't just mention the problems -- make time to give praise or share news of an achievement.

Final thoughts on teaching practices and techniques

There are so many different types of teaching strategies available for your classroom that the options can be overwhelming.

But that's good news! Your teaching style, students and classroom are all unique - why shouldn't your teaching strategies be too?

Start small, and work your way up. Don't be afraid to try new strategies and see what works best in your classroom. Not everything's going to be a good fit, and that's OK -- keep engaging with your students and you'll build up lifelong learners with a passion for knowledge.

Create or log in to your teacher account on Prodigy - a free, curriculum-aligned game-based learning platform for math and English that's easy to use for educators and students alike.

Create your free account!

A willingness to bring new teaching strategies into your lesson plan is one of the best qualities a teacher can have.

In Effective Teaching and Learning, educational researcher Naga Subramani argues that an effective teacher:

"Constantly renews himself [or herself] as a professional on his [or her] quest to provide students with the highest quality of education possible. This teacher has no fear of learning new teaching strategies or incorporating new technologies into lessons. "

Is that you?

There's more than one way to teach a diverse and dynamic classroom. In this post you'll find:

A comprehensive list of 36 teaching strategies to use in math class and beyond

A list of essential resources for using them effectively

Classroom teaching strategies and techniques

1. Classroom management strategies

Infographic: 20 Classroom Management Strategies and Techniques. Click to expand!

According to research from 2006, teachers overwhelmingly reported a lack of professional development support when it came to improving their own classroom management strategies. This can lead to confusion for students and frustration for teachers.

When students clearly understand what's expected of them, they're more likely to be focused and engaged with their lessons. Some tips for building a positive environment include:

Model ideal behaviour: Clearly explain proper behaviour, and then follow it yourself.

Encourage initiative: Allow students to actively participate in the learning process with class discussions and exercises that support the initiative.

Avoid collective punishment: While it can be difficult, make a point of calling out disruptive behaviours on an individual, not collective, basis.

For more actionable classroom management teaching strategies, read 20 Classroom Management Strategies and Techniques [+Downloadable List].

2. Flexible seating

Kristine Fourman, a teacher in the Bucyrus Elementary Preschool Program, connects student seating and academics: "When students aren't trying to hold themselves still in their chairs, they can integrate auditory, visual and tactile systems of the body."

There are so many different ways to incorporate flexible seating into your classroom in a way that fits with your students' learning goals. For examples and best practices, read Flexible Seating: 21 Awesome Ideas for Your Classroom.

3. Webb's Depth of Knowledge

Norman Webb's Depth of Knowledge (DoK) is familiar to many teachers from a theoretical perspective, but it can be incredibly difficult to apply practically and consistently in your teaching strategies.

There are four DoK levels:

Level one: Recollection and reproduction

Level two: Knowledge application

Level three: Strategic thinking

Level four: Extended critical thinking

There are a number of engaging activities that can promote different DoK levels: read more about them in Specific Ways to Use Webb's Depth of Knowledge in Class.

4. Summative assessment

Summative assessments are end-of-unit tests, final projects or standardized tests used to assess student understanding on a broad and absolute level.

Critics of summative assessments say they're inauthentic and don't accurately reflect the learning process. But there are important benefits to using summative assessments as a teaching strategy: they motivate students to pay attention and challenges them to apply their learning. They're also a valuable source of insight for teachers, especially for those with larger classes -- allowing them to easily identify and correct any wide gaps in understanding across the classroom.

Don't be afraid to get creative when making summative assessments! Read Summative Assessment: A Comprehensive Guide for ideas on how to get students engaged with the testing process.

5. Formative assessment

Formative assessments are the opposite of summative assessments because they take place during the teaching process.
Formative Assessment Summative Assessment
Formative assessments can reduce student stress around testing. They give you the chance to course correct mid-unit if there are serious comprehension issues and to see which students might need a bit more one-on-one time.

Some examples of formative assessment techniques include:

For more examples and ideas, read 20 Formative Assessment Examples to Try [+Downloadable List].

Put students at the center of the classroom with active learning strategies - a teaching technique that increases student engagement in daily lessons. According to active learning advocate James Ballencia, the technique can also help teachers as much as it helps students:

"With the goal of teaching mindful learners who actively pursue knowledge, teachers become more actively engaged in how they teach the curriculum and how they develop each student's learning potential. They mix and match a variety of ... tactics to ensure that students not only learn more, better, and faster -- they also learn smarter."

7. Differentiated instruction

Differentiated instruction is a popular and effective teaching strategy that involves reacting to the diverse learning styles in every classroom with adjusted content and processes.

Carol Ann Tomlinson, a reputable thought leader on differentiated instruction, recommends analyzing teaching strategies on a constant basis to respond to needs:

"Frequently reflect on the match between your classroom and the philosophy of teaching and learning you want to practice. Look for matches and mismatches, and use both to guide you."

Strategies like learning stations and the think-pair-share method are small ways that you can bring unique learning experiences to your students.

For more differentiated instruction ideas, read 20 Differentiated Instruction Strategies and Examples [+ Downloadable List].

8. Personalized learning

No two students are exactly alike. That's why personalized learning builds a learning experience that addresses the unique abilities of each student.

According to a study by the Gates Foundation, personalized learning can improve test scores when used to supplement math class:

"Students attending [schools using personalized learning] made gains in math and reading over the last two years that are significantly greater than a virtual control group made up of similar students selected from comparable schools."

Personalized learning allows students to learn without stigma and gets students involved in what they're learning.

Explore different options for bringing personalized learning to your classroom, including Edtech teaching strategies and increased student involvement. For a full list of tips, read 7 Personalized Learning Strategies and Examples.

9. Universal design for learning

Universal design for learning (UDL) is an educational framework that ensures all students have equal access to education. Use it in your classroom to give unique students flexible ways to learn and become more goal-oriented.

Some best practices for UDL:

UDL gives all students an impactful learning experience and helps teachers focus their efforts on students who need it most. For more information on how to make sure all your students succeed, read Universal Design for Learning: Principles and Examples.

10. Response to intervention

Response to intervention (RTI) focuses on early and continuous identification, assessment and assistance for students who have learning or behaviour needs. It's best used as part of a more general classroom management plan, and involves small-group or individual intervention that quickly addresses trouble spots.

The most effective RTI strategies are proactive. Start with everyday teaching and move to targeted intervention as soon as you spot a problem. When you're prepared to move quickly, you're more likely to be able to develop a tailored and effective learning plan.

For more information on RTI strategies and tips for bringing them to your classroom, read The Teacher's Response to Intervention (RTI) Guide: Tiers, Strategies and More.

11. Classroom technology

Technology is a great way to improve student engagement and get students excited for class, but it can be difficult to incorporate seamlessly into the classroom. There are an endless number of ways to make use technology to enhance lessons, including:

A virtual field trip: Use virtual reality apps to explore famous landmarks and natural phenomena. Take a trip to the Great Barrier Reef to study ecosystems, or tour Barcelona as part of a Spanish class.

Video mini-lessons: TeacherTube offers an education-only version of YouTube, with videos on a number of core subjects. This makes the learning process more engaging, especially for visual learners.

Podcasts: Give students relevant podcasts and engage auditory learners, or have older students create their own -- they'll develop research and technology skills at the same time.

For more ideas on how to use technology in the classroom, read 25 Easy Ways to Use Technology in the Classroom [+ Downloadable List].

Math teaching strategies and techniques

Similar to classroom gamification, math games can play an active role in getting students engaged in class and excited to learn. Offline or online, they're usually customizable and easy to incorporate into other teaching strategies.

Some examples of popular math games:

Bouncing Sums: Label a beach ball with integers, decimals and fractions. Each student must read the number on his or her label, adding or multiplying it by the sum from the previous student.

101 and out: Divide your class in half and give each group a die. Have groups roll the die and either keep it at face value or multiply it by 10. See which group can get closest to 101 without going over.

Math goodies: Math goodies is a free resource that provides puzzles and word problems. Students can either use this resource on their own or you can use it to create custom worksheets.

For more math games, read 20 Engaging, Skill-Building Math Games for Kids [1st to 8th Grade].

13. Math websites

There are thousands of math websites that can be used as part of a game-based learning approach or differentiation strategy. Online resources get students excited about learning math and can often be scaled based on knowledge and grade level.

Popular resources include:

TeacherVision: Looking for interdisciplinary activities? Look no further. TeacherVision gives teachers access to resources that connect math with subjects like art, history and geography.

SuperKids: SuperKids is a one-stop resource for building worksheets. Select a skill and number range, and generate a custom assignment.

Prodigy Math: Students go on adventures, collect pets and battle with friends, all while answering skill-building, targeted math questions.

Mental math is an important part of math fluency. When students have a quick recall for math facts and can do simple equations quickly, they have the confidence to attempt more difficult problems.

The Manitoba Association of Mathematics Teachers defines mental math as:

"A combination of cognitive strategies that enhances flexible thinking and number sense. It is calculating mentally without the use of external memory aids. It improves computational fluency by developing efficiency, accuracy, and flexibility." There are lots of resources available to boost mental math skills, including:

For more ways to practice mental math skills, read 12 Practices to Improve Students' Mental Math + Downloadable List.

Common Core math is a new framework that seeks to improve students' conceptual understanding of math by encouraging problem-solving, critical thinking, and discussion skills.

Since it's so new, instructors have struggled to prepare materials that align with the standards. If that's you, here are some techniques to get you started:

For a detailed explanation of the eight standards and ways to teach them, read 8 Common Core Math Standards, Explained [+ Examples].

16. Solve math problems faster

Teaching students to solve math problems quickly and without help can improve confidence and math fluency.

Provided your students have a solid grasp on the concepts behind what they've already mastered, math "tricks" can give them more confidence and get them excited about trying new problems.There are tricks for just about every basic function, including:

For a full list of math tricks, read How to Solve Math Problems Faster: 15 Techniques to Show Students.

17. How to teach multiplication

Multiplication is a big and often daunting step for learners, who feel like they've just mastered addition and are suddenly being thrown something new. Teachers also often struggle to communicate new concepts to student effectively.

What if we told you that multiplication could be one of the most rewarding lessons you ever taught?

Our six-step guide to teaching multiplication is designed to engage students in the learning processes with a clear and logical progression of ideas. There are lot of fun ways to teach multiplication and reduce student anxiety, including:

Multiplication doesn't have to be stressful -- start with basic concepts and work your way up, and your students will be multiplication masters in no time at all!

18. Multiplication games

Multiplication is a difficult concept for many students to grasp. Memorizing and understanding core multiplication facts is a key element of math fluency, and provides an essential foundation for further study.

Game-based learning can be a successful way to help students develop this understanding and can engage students on stressful topic. Some multiplication games include:

True or false?: Write a multiplication sentence on the board that's either true or false. In teams, the class has a minute to discuss and respond with "true" or "false" cards.

Beach ball toss: Write multiplication questions on a beach ball and throw it. Have students answer the question that is closest to their pinky finger.

Jeopardy!: It's a classic for a reason -- find an interactive template and fill it with questions. The team with the most points at the end of the game, wins!

For more fun multiplication games, read 15 Multiplication Games to Make Math Lessons Fun.

19. Multiplying fractions

So your unit on fractions is finished, and it's time to move on -- to multiplying fractions.

For some students, this leap is even more daunting than the switch from addition to multiplication. But not to worry! There are teaching strategies that will have your students multiplying fractions in no time at all.Some best practices for teaching your class about multiplying fractions:

For a comprehensive overview on how to teach multiplying fractions, read How to Multiply Fractions (+ 7 Engaging Activities).

20. How to divide fractions

The only thing scarier for students than multiplying fractions? Dividing them.Lucky for them, we did the research. There are three simple steps to dividing a fraction:

The best way to make sure that students understand how to solve a problem is to make sure that they understand what, exactly, is happening. Instead of just teaching the answer, teach students what the answer means. For more details on dividing fractions, read How to Divide Fractions in 3 Easy Steps.

21. Math puzzles

Math puzzles have been around almost as long as math has - for a reason. One study found that math puzzles "develop logical thinking, combinatorial abilities, strengthen the capacity of abstract thinking and operating with spatial images, instill critical thinking and develop mathematical memory."Math puzzles build foundational skills and increase math fluency, while also connecting to existing curricula and promoting problem-solving skills. Some popular math puzzles include:

Make sure the puzzles are the right level for your students and that they're being used appropriately. For more ideas on how to use math puzzles in the classroom, read 20 Math Puzzles to Engage Your Students.

Student-focused teaching strategies

22. Gamification

Classroom gamification is an effective way to take a child's love for play and turn it into a love of learning. The benefits are huge: gamification can help students focus and build essential skills. A 2011 study from South Korea also found that gamification kept students motivated and engaged in the classroom.

In order to effectively use gamification techniques in your classroom, start with your students: What do they like? Where are their learning needs? Are there any notable behaviour issues? Other tips include:

If you want more examples and techniques for gamifying your classroom, read How to Gamify your Classroom in 5 Easy Steps.

23. Convergent and divergent thinking

Convergent and divergent thinking are two terms coined by American psychologist JP Guilford in the 1950s.

Convergent thinking means understanding how separate pieces of information can be used to reach one solution. It's usually reserved for first or second depth of knowledge (DOK) levels, and can be used to answer questions that require a limited range of skills and knowledge (like multiple choice questions).

Convergent and divergent thinking are two terms coined by American psychologist JP Guilford in the 1950s.

Convergent thinking means understanding how separate pieces of information can be used to reach one solution. It's usually reserved for first or second DOK levels, and can be used to answer questions that require a limited range of skills and knowledge (like multiple choice questions).

Divergent thinking requires students to start with one prompt, then think critically about it to diverge towards to distinct answers (think essay-writing, brainstorming and creative analyzing). This takes place at the third or fourth DOK level.

While convergent thinking is an important part of building math fluency, divergent thinking allows students to understand the base concepts underlying their work. Convergent and divergent thinking are essential skills in any subject. When you understand the difference, you're better equipped to incorporate both into your classroom.

For more examples of each and how to teach them, read How to Teach Convergent and Divergent Thinking: Definitions, Examples, Templates and More.

24. Project-based learning

Students have to take an active role in their own learning, but are often disengaged from the learning process. Project-based learning allows students to be fully immersed in an authentic and nuanced problem that has real-life implications.

Project-based learning is open-ended, and allows students engaged in group work to find their own way to the solution. It doesn't look the same in every classroom -- class size, student ability and learning styles play a large role in shaping the process.

While proponents point to increased engagement, knowledge retention and improved critical thinking, there are also significant criticisms: Project-based learning can be too focused on product creation instead of learning, and assessment is often subjective.

To learn how to effectively incorporate project-based learning techniques into your classroom, read The Definitive Guide to Project-Based Learning: Definition, Debates, Ideas and Examples.

25. Experiential learning

Every classroom has a wide range of levels and learning styles, which can be difficult for any teacher to effectively address. Use experiential learning activities to counter student disengagement and get them involved in the learning process.
Traditional learning activities

Teacher-centered/focused

Fixed rubric or scoring system

Explain knowledge or skills by transferring information

Fixed structure, high degree of facilitation

Experiential learning activities

Student-centered/focused

Flexible and open learning outcomes

Develop knowledge and skills through experience

Flexible structure, minimum facilitation

Provide students with new ways of learning to help them stay focused, learn dynamically and learn faster.

Engage students in the process of inquiry and reflection! Ask them to create three to five questions (with answers) on a recent lesson. In pairs, have students quiz their partners on the questions they wrote, and watch to see which concepts students consider to be the most important from their lesson.

For more experiential learning activities, read 7 Experiential Learning Activities to Engage Students.

26. Peer teaching

Proponents have been pointing to the advantages of peer teaching since the 18th century. It's one of many teaching strategies that helps develop reasoning and critical thinking skills, and a pioneering 1988 study found it improved self-esteem and interpersonal skills.

It can be difficult, however, to bring it to the classroom -- students might have different proficiency levels or be hesitant about teaching their peers, and it can lead to confidentiality issues about which students are struggling.

Some best practices for peer teaching include:

For more ideas on how to successfully bring peer teaching to your classroom, read 15 Easy Peer Teaching Strategies to Help Students.

27. Inquiry-based learning

Inquiry-based learning has been around since the 1960s, but can still be a demanding teaching strategy to implement in the classroom.

In the inquiry-based learning classroom, teachers are responsible for guiding students through their questions - past curiosity and into critical thinking and understanding.

There are 4 main types of inquiry-based learning:

Confirmation inquiry: Students are given a question along with a way to answer it

Structured inquiry: Students are given an open question and investigation method

Guided inquiry: Students work from an open question to design investigation methods

Open inquiry: Students develop original questions that they answer through their own methods

A study from the Association for Psychological Science found that students who use inquiry-based learning are more likely to retain information from the activity and curriculum content in general.

For more benefits and examples of inquiry-based learning, as well as how to effectively use it in your classroom, read All About Inquiry-Based Learning: Definition, Benefits and Strategies.

28. Problem-based learning

Problem-based learning is a student-centred pedagogy that puts students in groups to solve open-ended problems together. This teaching strategy has its advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages Disadvantages
Even taking into account the different opinions on problem-based learning, there is an undeniable value in giving students a degree of control over their own education.

For more ideas about problem-based learning and tips for designing projects, read 5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Problem-Based Learning [+ Activity Design Steps].

30. Reciprocal teaching

Reading isn't every student's favorite subject. With reciprocal teaching techniques, you can turn even the most reluctant reader into a bookworm.

Reciprocal teaching involves students in reading and gets them excited to learn. Learners are asked to predict what a text is about, ask questions about what they don't understand, re-read for clarification, and summarize what the text is saying -- instead of just absorbing material as quickly as possible.

And the technique can even be adapted for math class: one study found that reciprocal teaching in math can improve understanding of word-based problems, and can help students understand questions better.

For more ideas about reciprocal teaching, read 4 Reciprocal Teaching Strategies to Use.

31. Blended learning

Blended learning combines online learning with traditional classroom instruction. It's a valuable tool to use in differentiation teaching strategies, and can help students learn tailored content at their own pace.

There are a number of different ways to bring blended learning to your classroom, but some common methods include implementing learning stations and putting certain lessons online in part or entirely.

With many classrooms supporting hybrid learning environments in the last two years, blended learning has become a more common teaching strategy across classrooms.

For more information on the six blended learning models and how to use them with your students, read How to Put the Six Blended Learning Models into Action [+ Examples & Download].

32. Culturally responsive teaching

Diverse classrooms are an amazing opportunity for teachers, but it can also be difficult to reach students with dramatically different backgrounds or learning styles.

Culturally responsive teaching aims to link content with students' contemporary and ancestral cultures.

Research by Geneva Gay, Professor of Education at the University of Washington-Seattle and author of Culturally Responsive Teaching, shows that when teaching is tied to lived experiences for students, those experiences are more personally meaningful, appealing and learned more easily and thoroughly.

Dr. Christy Byrd, psychologist and Associate Professor at NC State University, has also published research which found that "elements of culturally relevant teaching were significantly associated with academic outcomes and ethnic-racial identity development."

Start by getting to know your students - where do they come from? What do their parents or guardians do? What's their favorite after-school activity?

Then, take that information and connect it to your lessons. Explain how a topic relates to different cultures, and make sure the classroom is a place where all students feel empowered. Encourage students to ask questions and share unique answers.

Other options for culturally responsive teaching include:

For the full list, read 15 Culturally-Responsive Teaching Strategies and Examples + Downloadable List.

33. Interdisciplinary teaching

Use interdisciplinary teaching strategies to encourage students to develop creative and critical thinking skills - and draw information from a number of different academic disciplines - as they solve real-world problems.

In your classroom, interdisciplinary teaching could involve collaboration with other teachers, or asking your students to make connections between different subjects. Try these activities to get your class started:

For more interdisciplinary teaching activities and tips on how to get started, read 10 Interdisciplinary Teaching Activities and Examples [+ Unit Design Steps].

34. Service learning

According to the National Youth Leadership Council, service learning is "a philosophy, pedagogy and model for community development that is used as an instructional strategy to meet learning goals and/or content standards."

Service learning brings the classroom into the larger community and teaches students about the value of being an active citizen. Students get hands-on experience in interdisciplinary study, and often improve their academic outcomes and reduce behavioural problems.

Service learning contains five steps: Preparation, Action, Reflection, Demonstration, Celebration

Pick an issue that your class is passionate about and get them brainstorming. For more service learning project ideas and how to get started, read The Teacher's Guide to Service Learning [+5 Examples].

35. Media literacy

Students are saturated with an endless number of different media influences, from TV to social media to comic books. Students need to be educated on how to interpret and understand what they're consuming.

Media literacy allows students to recognize bias and develop critical thinking skills within the context of their existing interests. Some activities you can try in your classroom include:

There are lots of other ways to teach valuable media literacy lessons to students -- check out our Teaching Media Literacy: Its Importance and 10 Engaging Activities [+ Downloadable List] blog post for more ideas.

36. Growth Mindset

Even though it sounds more like a corporate buzzword, the philosophy of growth mindset has infiltrated the classroom. It focuses on helping students see the value of effort, persistence and risk in their learning environment, and pushes them to try new things and learn new concepts.

Since growth mindset is a relatively new teaching strategy, some teachers might struggle to use it effectively. Here are some best practices:

Give positive feedback: Instead of rewarding intellect, praise students when they try new methods and make plans.

Promote a diverse classroom: When diversity is modelled for students, they're more likely to embrace different perspectives in their future learning goals.

Encourage goal-based journaling: Ask students set goals and reflect on their progress. Have goals follow the SMART method (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-Based) for maximum effect.

For more ways to encourage a growth mindset in your classroom, read 10 Ways Teachers can Instill a Growth Mindset in Students. Your students will benefit for the rest of their lives.

37. Asynchronous Learning

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers have had to deliver their usual content and teaching strategy in an entirely virtual environment. This abrupt transition was difficult for many, with challenges like technology issues and inability to support child in person.

However, while most schools are back in session and remote learning much less common, lessons learned from this experience can easily be applied to situations where students can't attend school in person.

Asynchronous learning is a good complement to your teaching strategy and can help support your students in many different ways. This includes short-term issues like student or teacher illness to longer-term ones like helping students catch up with an intervention program. Techniques for asynchronous learning include:

Resources for effectively using teaching strategies

Google

Books, scholarly articles, maps, news coverage - if there's something you need to do, there's probably a Google application for it. Use Google Forms to collect student feedback on new teaching strategies, Google Drive to store and coordinate student papers, and Google Arts & Culture to visit the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam - without ever leaving the classroom.

With two games - Prodigy Math and Prodigy English - the applications are endless!

Use Assignments and Plans to differentiate learning, track student growth through comprehensive reporting tools, engage students through game-based learning, or use it as part of a blended learning approach.

Students will love practising their math and English skills with these free games.

In Prodigy Math, they'll go on adventures, collect pets and earn rewards; in Prodigy English, they'll gather supplies, gain energy and create their personal village - all while answering curriculum-aligned questions tailored to their individual skill levels.

In order to know which teaching strategies will be the most effective, ask your students to provide you with some feedback: What do they like? How do they think they learn best? What do they want to learn more about? Students are more likely to be engaged in the learning process when they have a voice.

There are a couple of ways to gather feedback:

Professional development

In order to be an effective teacher, you need to have access to resources that allow you to continuously grow your skills. According to a study with teachers from eight different countries, teachers who had access to professional development were more likely to effectively use different teaching strategies in their classrooms:

"This suggests that the exchanging of ideas and experience about teaching with other teachers in the school, observing each other's classrooms and providing mutual support increases the likelihood of implementing good teaching strategies."

Teacher journal

After gathering all this amazing information from student feedback and professional development efforts, you're going to need somewhere to keep track of it all.

Consider keeping a teaching journal to track student progress, new insights, areas you think your class might need extra help in and successes you've had. Build it up as a reference for that year's class, and keep it as a reminder of everything you've accomplished. Bonus: you'll have a ready-made resource for writing stellar report card comments.

Parents

Parent involvement in student learning is a key indicator of student success and performance. Keep parents informed with a quick paper or email newsletter every month, and let them know about new things happening in the classroom. Communicate individual issues quickly and effectively to avoid any report card surprises, but don't just mention the problems -- make time to give praise or share news of an achievement.

Final thoughts on teaching practices and techniques

There are so many different types of teaching strategies available for your classroom that the options can be overwhelming.

But that's good news! Your teaching style, students and classroom are all unique - why shouldn't your teaching strategies be too?

Start small, and work your way up. Don't be afraid to try new strategies and see what works best in your classroom. Not everything's going to be a good fit, and that's OK -- keep engaging with your students and you'll build up lifelong learners with a passion for knowledge.

Create or log in to your teacher account on Prodigy - a free, curriculum-aligned game-based learning platform for math and English that's easy to use for educators and students alike.

Create your free account!

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37 Powerful Teaching Strategies to Level Up Learning in 2023

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A willingness to bring new teaching strategies into your lesson plan is one of the best qualities a teacher can have. In Effective Teaching and Learning, educational researcher Naga Subramani argues that an effective teacher: "Constantly renews himself [or herself] as a professional on his [or her] quest to provide students with the highest quality of education possible.

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School districts often end up using five to ten different classroom communication apps across all their schools. Schools might be using one tool for msging, and a completely different tool for taking attendance or healthcheck forms. When a school or district uses too many communication apps, things get lost in the shuffle. Overloaded parents often miss important messages leading to further disengagement and frustration.

Bloomz is the unified parent teacher communication app that increases parental engagement by connecting everyone with one easy-to-use tool. Bloomz handles ALL district, school, teacher, parent, and student communication. Bloomz is designed to be the complete unified solution, bringing together teachers, parents and students.

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Parent Teacher Communication App with PBIS Behavior Management

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Bloomz makes it easy for teachers to securely share photos and classroom updates, reach parents through messaging, and coordinate events.

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Assign class jobs to students

Jobs like door monitor, line leader, secretary, library helper, door holder, paper passer, and hand sanitizer

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Straightforward rules that are easy to follow

Keep the number of rules to 5 or 6

Make sure to include all expected behavior

Make sure rules are about expected behavior instead of what they should not do. It is more effective this way.

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When students trust their teacher they try harder to follow the rules

Get to know each student individually

Class should feel like a family

Crates a safe space for students

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7. Make Positive Phone Calls to Families 

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7. Make Positive Phone Calls to Families 

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Instead of constantly making calls to parents about bad behavior, call for good behavior and other positive reasons.

Parents and students will feel validated for their hard work

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Send behavior updates from either ClassDojo or Bloomz

Other rewards for good behavior could be homework passes, sit next to a friend for the day, lunch with the teacher, pick a classroom job, or anything else the students might like

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Call parents only when necessary

Send copies of reflection sheets to parents

Send behavior updates from ClassDojo or Bloomz

Have a behavior calendar to send home everyday

Lose a couple of minutes from recess, a class job, or a choice in a certain activity

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Teaching can be tough job, especially if you have ongoing behavior issues with young learners. If you're a new teacher, switching grade levels, or realizing that your current classroom management plan isn't cutting it, you may feel overwhelmed. Sure, it's fun to browse Pinterest, teacher blogs, and educational websites to get ideas, but filtering and assembling those ideas into a classroom management plan is a lot of work.

So instead of starting from scratch, implement our plan as a framework and tailor it to your needs. You can pick and choose what you believe will work best for you, and as you find other ideas you like, just mix them in.

This classroom management plan is a step-by-step guide and includes proven strategies and tips for elementary school teachers, and it covers four key components for establishing a successful, well-managed classroom:

In this plan, we make a lot of references to the first few weeks of school, but if you're reading this after the start of the school year, or even in the second semester, it's not too late.

If you try something for a while, and it just doesn't work for your students, that's okay, too. Consistency is good, so don't change your entire management system once a month; however, it's better to introduce something new than to spend the rest of the year with a chaotic classroom. And if things go sideway, just take a step back, reevaluate, and take some time for self care!

Classroom Organization and Set-up

You may feel a lot of pressure to make your classroom look attractive and colorful. If you're just starting out, or crafts aren't your forte, this could seem daunting. Effective classroom organization and set-up is functional first with the cute factor second. But we've got you covered on both!

Before you can instruct students on procedures, routines, and expectations, you need the layout and physical systems in place. For example, you don't want to tell students that part of their morning routine is to turn in their homework if there's no spot in the classroom for them to put their work. Otherwise, you'll have 25 students shoving papers in your face when they walk in the door.

The goal is to encourage student independence so your classroom runs smoothly even if you aren't in the room. You'll want to make sure students are able to access all of the materials they need without your being the gatekeeper of the pencils, books, paper, etc. Having everything in its place allows you to delegate tasks to your students, empowering them and saving you time. Why do something yourself when you can teach the students to do it for you, right?

The goal is to have your classroom organized so that when the kids get there, you can start teaching the procedures right away.

Organizing Near the Door

Cubbies: You know students come to school with all sorts of things from home, including jackets, backpacks, rain/snow boots, lunch boxes, balls for recess, etc. Assigning a spot in your classroom for each student to put their belongings will not only keep your classroom organized, but also make students feel like they have a place of their own in the classroom. Put students' names on their cubbies so that they will be easy to find on the first day. If you don't have built-in cubbies in your room, consider getting some Command hooks or cheap plastic crates.

Attendance/lunch choice: Taking attendance and lunch choice yourself is not an effective use of your limited morning time. As we said earlier, if your students can do it, they should. Somewhere near the door (if possible), create an attendance and lunch choice station. One way to do this is to use a simple clip chart. The top of the chart will say "good morning," and you'll clip a clothespin for each child there at the start of each day. The rest of the chart will have spots for students to choose their lunch option for the day. Whichever clothespins are left on "good morning" indicate students who are absent. Laminate each section of the clip chart, and connect the sections with a hole punch and binder hooks. As another option, you could create a similar system on a cookie sheet with magnets for each student.

Turn in "take-home" folders: Give each student a folder to use for all of their "take-home" documents. These documents can include homework, permission slips, notes home, newsletters, and anything else that parents may need to see. Parents can also use this as a reliable way to deliver notes back to school, such as changes in transportation or early dismissal. On a small table, have three trays (stackable paper trays work well): homework, parent notes, and permission slips. You can also customize these trays for things you commonly send home or receive from parents. If you're putting this on your supply list, ask for the specific folder that works well for you (e.g., all blue with prongs, yellow double pocket folder).

Organizing the Front of Your Classroom

Rules poster: Display the classroom rules prominently in the front of the room. You'll want to refer to them often in the first couple of weeks of school and as needed throughout the year.

Daily schedule: Write out the most common components of your daily schedule on sentence strips (e.g., math, science, art, PE) and use a pocket chart to display them. You can easily rearrange and swap out the sentence strips. Students will know exactly what is happening each day - what special they're going to, what time recess is, etc. - and you will save yourself from answering a million questions about the schedule.

Morning and end-of-day procedures: Post your morning and afternoon procedures so students may refer to them as a daily checklist.

Homework/Other assignments: Write homework and other assignments in the same place daily so that students know where to look for them and can copy them down as part of your routine.

Setting up Desks and Student Seating

Decide how you would like to arrange students' desks for the majority of activities. Some schools have preferences for this, so check with your administration. Remember that none of the students should have their backs to the board. If you're going to arrange the desks in groups, angle them so that the desks are perpendicular to the front of the room. Arranging desks in groups can foster cooperation and communication among students, and the expectations you implement and reinforce will limit/prevent disruptions from chatty students. Assign seats from the first day of school, and make adjustments in the first week as you get to know your students.

Label your desk groups so that you can easily call on them for things such as lining up. You can use different colors, college names, animals, or something else that works for the theme in your classroom.

For younger students who will spend a lot of time on the carpet, create a spot for each child to help teach them the concept of personal space. Some classroom rugs are nicely squared off with different colors. If yours isn't, don't feel like you have to go buy an expensive new carpet. You can use cheap placemats from the dollar store, or fabric or carpet remnants to create personal squares for each student to sit on.

Additional Classroom Orginization

Cool down corner: Inevitably, an upset student will need a safe place in the classroom to cool down and take a break. Establish a corner of the room with a beanbag chair or pillow and a poster of emotion regulation strategies. Students can practice identifying emotions and managing their feelings in different situations in the interactive online game, Zoo U.

Behavior: We'll chat more about the different options for encouraging positive behavior later on. If you choose an option that tracks behavior publicly, like a clip chart, you'll want to have that set up before you introduce the system to your students. Even if you aren't going to track behavior publicly, you'll probably want to display posters or anchor charts reminding students of your behavior system (which is different from your rules poster).

Classroom jobs: Create an area to display and assign classroom jobs. An easy way to do this is to take a picture of each student in the first week of school and attach a magnet to the back of the photo. Arrange the classroom jobs on a magnet board, and easily swap the photos around when students change jobs.

Display some personal items: Displaying a few personal photographs, your college banner, or other trinkets on your desk helps to build a relationship with your students. You don't have to (and shouldn't) tell your students everything about you. But knowing you as a person, rather than just a teacher, will help students feel comfortable sharing their own home life with you.

Classroom Rules and Procedures

Every school day isn't perfect, even for the best teachers; kids are human and will have bad days. But, you can work toward whatever your ideal classroom looks like by establishing clear classroom rules and procedures from the first day of school.

When students know what is expected of them, and these expectations are reinforced daily, there is little room for power struggles between teacher and student, or complaints from parents.

Classroom Rules

Imagine a basketball game in which none of the players know the rules. The referees would blow the whistle constantly, admonishing players for breaking rules they didn't know existed. How frustrating would this game be for both the players and the refs, and for the fans in the bleachers? It would be chaos.

In your classroom, you are the referee, your students are the players, and the fans are parents and guardians. If your students don't know the rules, your classroom will be just as chaotic. So, set your classroom rules from the first day of school, and make sure they're understood by everyone so there will be no surprises or room for arguments from students and parents.

Less is More

Create a few straightforward yet inclusive rules for your classroom. Too many rules will be hard for students to remember and follow, so try to keep it to five or six. That means the rules need to be broad enough to encompass all of the behaviors you want to avoid, while being clear enough that students understand what behavior is expected. The most effective rules tell students what they should do, not what they shouldn't do. For example, "Keep hands and feet to yourself" is preferable to "No hitting or kicking."

We just gave you a lot of rules for writing classroom rules! You can use our posters or refer to it for creating your own. Display your rules poster prominently in the front of the classroom so that you and your students may reference it often.

"Something I do in my classroom that works great is to write the rules with my students," explains Katy Jaeger, a first-grade teacher in Colorado. "We come up with them together, and then everyone signs their name so we all agree. I also call them "Classroom Expectations" as opposed to "rules" to increase positivity." You can steer your students toward coming up with the rules you've already written, and unveil your poster the next day.

Communicate with Parents

Discuss the classroom rules with parents at open house, and send them home on the first day of school. Explain that your students will contribute to the rules on the first day, and invite parents to ask clarifying questions or contribute their thoughts as well. Now that you have their buy-in, if you do need to call home, parents will understand what rule was broken and why this was a rule in the first place. This is your first step in developing a partnership with your students' parents.

If you have time to send mailings home before the start of school, this is a good opportunity to begin building a positive relationship with your students with a personal letter. Students are often nervous to start a new school year, and this will get them excited to join your classroom. And what child (or adult!) doesn't love getting a letter in the mail?

Be Consistent

Reinforce classroom rules consistently with all students, even in seemingly minor infractions. If students notice that a classmate doesn't receive a warning or consequence for breaking one of the rules, they'll develop bad habits that will be hard to break. And you'll get a lot of "Why are you picking on me?" responses from students. We'll cover more on rewards and consequences in the next section.

Classroom Procedures

Procedures are different from rules and are just as integral to a well-managed classroom. If your classroom rules are like the rules of a basketball game, your procedures are the plays, the strategies of the coach and team to keep the game organized in order to win. The coach foresees all of the upcoming obstacles in a game, and designs plays to overcome them. He doesn't need to give specific instructions during a game, only the name of the play, and each player knows exactly where to be on the court and what to do.

Plays are not learned one day and then used successfully in a game the next. The coach spends time teaching the play and making sure the players understand, and then the players practice over and over again until the play is routine. If a play doesn't end up working in a game, the coach will make changes and start the practice again.

When working on classroom procedures with your students, you are no longer the referee, you are the coach. You need to foresee all of the different situations that will come up daily in your classroom, and design procedures that will tell your students how to navigate them. Your students will not internalize your procedures with one explanation. You need to spend plenty of time in the first couple of weeks of school explaining the procedures, modeling them, and putting them into practice. If a procedure doesn't end up working, don't be afraid to make the necessary changes and practice again.

Teaching Procedures

When teaching procedures, you can use a similar strategy to teaching academic lessons: I do, We do, You do.
I do:

First, explain the procedure while modeling it yourself. Use explicit directions that don't leave any room for interpretation or student failure. Have you ever done the writing exercise that asks you to give instructions for making a PB&J? You might start with the first step of "spread the peanut butter on the bread." But if I'm totally unfamiliar with the concept, where do I get the bread? How do I open the jar? What do I use to spread the peanut butter - my fingers, a spoon? You've probably made a PB&J so many times you could make one in your sleep, so it's more difficult to break down everything that goes into making the sandwich, and things such as using a knife seem obvious. It's the same with a procedure such as lining up to leave the classroom. Children need all of the tiny, seemingly obvious steps to set them up for success.

If you want them to end up standing quietly in line at the door, you might explain the procedure like this:

1. When I call your table group, you will silently stand up.

2. Without talking, push your chair in gently, trying your best not to have it make noise on the floor.

3. Walk slowly and silently to the door.

4. Stand in a single-file line, keeping your hands to yourself.

5. Wait silently and patiently for the rest of the class to line up.

After you explain this procedure, model it for your students while explaining it a second time. Sit down at one of the student desks and go through the movements. Next, check for understanding by asking if anyone can explain the procedure. Call on a student and have her re-explain the procedure to the class. Make any corrections needed.

We do:
Have a couple of students demonstrate the procedure while you narrate. "Billy is standing up silently. Sofia pushed in her chair as gently as she could. Daryl is walking silently to the door. Aaliyah is standing behind her three classmates with her hands to herself. Billy, Sofia, Daryl, and Aaliyah are all standing silently and patiently waiting for the rest of the class to line up."
You do:
Call on the rest of the table groups to practice this procedure, acknowledging students who are following it correctly. If a student misses any of the steps, have him go back to the previous step and gently remind him of the procedure. "Charlie, remember we are pushing our chairs in gently, so they don't scrape the floor or bang our desks." Continue practicing until the whole class can complete the procedure together.

The explicit directions may feel a little silly and unnatural when you first start, but the kids need to know exactly what you expect of them. There are a lot of procedures you will teach in the first weeks of school, and as new situations and activities arise throughout the year. We'll go into detail on a few examples below.

Common Procedures

Emergency procedures (fire drill, tornado drill, lockdown, etc.):
Teach these procedures first. You never know when an emergency will happen, and your students will need to behave calmly and safely.

Your school may have specific guidelines for these types of drills, so consult with other teachers and administration. Most schools are required to have a fire drill once a month. School-wide lockdown drills happen less frequently (sometimes only once a school year) but are just as important, so consider having your own drill with your students once a month as well.
"Leave now" codeword:

There could be an emergency situation in which you would want your class to leave the room quickly while you stay behind. This could be due to a medical emergency, such as a student having a seizure, or a student becoming violent/dangerous to others. There won't be time for explicit directions in these situations, so you'll need to establish a codeword and procedure. An example of a codeword is "hot dog." When students hear you say the codeword, they should quickly pick up what they are working on (scooping it up in their hands like they're holding a hot dog) and silently leave the room. Designate a safe place for them to go, ideally another classroom, or the hallway if necessary. Assign one student to tell the teacher in the other classroom the situation so she can call for help, while the rest of the students sit down and continue working. Once you have practiced this procedure a couple of times, begin to practice it about once a month without warning students, like a fire or lockdown drill.
Morning Routine:
You can start off on the right foot each day by establishing a morning routine. What are the most important things you want students to do before instruction begins to prepare for a successful day? You'll have a lot going on in the mornings, so students will need to be able to come in and get settled independently.

Morning Routine Example

Enter classroom quietly

Mark attendance and lunch choice

Turn in homework in designated homework spot

Put jacket/backpack/lunchbox and anything else in cubby

Make sure you have sharpened pencils and any other materials needed for the day

Read today's schedule

Complete your Do Now (explained below)

Attendance/Lunch choice:

Students will take their own attendance and make their lunch choice on the same clip chart (see Part I of this plan for instructions on how to make and use a clip chart). Instruct students to move their clip from "Good Morning" to their lunch choice. Some schools offer more than one hot lunch choice. If you have laminated your clip chart, you can write in the new choice each day. For the first few weeks of school while students are practicing this procedure, double-check the attendance before you send it to the office. If any students forgot this step in their morning routine, have them go back and do it. Once students have gotten this procedure down, you'll only need to do a quick scan each morning.

Turning in homework and notes:

After students have made their lunch choice, they should take out their Take Home Folder and put their homework and any notes from home in their corresponding trays. For K-2 students, you could have them turn in their entire folder so that you can look for homework and notes yourself.

Do Now:

Once students have completed the rest of their tasks in the morning routine, you'll want them to have an activity to start the learning for the day. A simple way to do this is to have a similar "Do Now" each morning. For example, each morning you could put a sentence on the smartboard with grammatical errors and have students correct them. Younger students could practice their letters or handwriting. If, later in the year, your students are struggling with another fundamental, you can switch the Do Now.
End-of-Day Routine:
At the end of the school day, both you and your students will be tired and ready to go home. Keep an awesome school day from devolving into chaos with an established routine for packing up to go home.

End-of-Day Routine Example

Make sure you have all materials needed for homework

Pack all belongings in backpack

Pick up trash around your desk

Stack chair on desk (ask your school's custodian what would be most helpful)

Line up quietly for dismissal

Getting attention/Listening to a speaker:
Throughout the day, there will be times when your students are working independently and you need to call their attention. If you don't practice a procedure for this from the beginning, you may find yourself flicking the light switch on and off while students yell and giggle, or trying to shout above the noise. (This is especially no fun when another adult is in the room.) You'll also need to establish how you want your students to get ready to listen while you, a classmate, or anyone else is speaking.

A call and response is a fun way to get your students' attention. You'll say a phrase, students will respond with the corresponding phrase or action, and you'll repeat the process until you have everyone's attention. One common example is "If you can hear me, clap once; if you can hear me, clap twice"; and so on, because the clapping helps get students' attention. There are tons of examples out there, including this great list compiled by National Board Certified Teacher Angela Watson.

To connect your call and response to your active listening pose (explained next), here's an example:

"Whooooo's ready? ... Hoot Hoot"

or

"Whooooo's ready? ... to make wise choices?"

When you call the whole class' attention, it's because you have something to say, whether it's directions, a new lesson, or a visitor in the room. Students need to know how you want them to behave once you have their attention, and how to show that they are listening. In comes the Active Listening Pose. Active Listening is "mak[ing] a conscious effort to hear not only the words that another person is saying but, more importantly, try[ing] to understand the complete message being sent."

Note that this active listening pose does not focus on where students' body parts are. Some students may actually listen better with a fidget toy in their hands, or while they're standing or bouncing on an exercise ball. If you've made these accommodations for some students in your classroom, you don't want your active listening pose to prescribe that all students have their hands folded, as it will cause confusion and arguments about fairness among your students.

However, if you're in a situation where students need to sit a certain way because they're in tight quarters, such as carpet time or an assembly, you might introduce an additional pose for that particular situation. A good call and response for carpet time is "Criss-cross applesauce ... spoons in the bowl," reminding students to sit with their legs crossed and hands in their laps.

Additional Classroom Procedures
Voice levels:
When students are supposed to talk, whether giving a presentation, working with a group or partner, or answering a question, they need to know your expectation for how loud to speak. Introduce the different acceptable voice levels at the beginning of the year, and model what each of them sounds like. Then, throughout the year, whenever you are about to start an activity in which students will talk, tell them which voice level they should use.
Classroom Jobs:
Once your whole class has learned their procedures, assigning classroom jobs can save you time and transfer ownership of the classroom to students. As with any of your procedures, be sure to teach, model, and practice the classroom jobs with students. When it's time to switch jobs, have the previous student teach the new job holder the ropes. For upper elementary students, consider switching jobs each month, and to increase accountability, have students fill out an application to choose their new job.

Here is a list of classroom jobs and their responsibilities from Scholastic.
Use a timer:

It's always going to seem like there's not enough time in the day. Students, especially those who may come to you below grade level, need all the time you can give them to learn. Implementing these procedures will cut down on wasted time, but you also need to foster a sense of urgency in your students that any wasted minute is taking away from their learning time. We walk quickly, but safely, in the hallway to our next destination because we need as much time as possible to learn. We put away our ELA notebooks and transition to math as quickly as possible so we don't lose any math time. Using a timer will help hold both you and your students accountable to the schedule.

You can use e.ggtimer.com to display a timer on the smartboard. This clock-like timer is also a great visual representation for students who can't tell time yet. In the hallways, you can use your watch or smartphone.
Throughout the day:
These are just a few examples of important procedures, but you'll want to implement procedures for every aspect of the day. "Whether it's lining up for recess, sharpening a pencil, or transitioning from one activity to the next, having classroom procedures and routines is extremely important. There is honestly nothing better than having your classroom run like a well-oiled machine," says Kristine Nannini, an elementary school teacher and blogger. Nannini offers a checklist of 100+ procedures on her Teachers Pay Teachers store, including "What to do if someone enters our class with a birthday treat?" and "What do you look like at an assembly?"

Classroom Management Strategies
"I've worked in dozens of schools as a school change coach, and I have seen firsthand that the very best schools teach children how to regulate their own behavior rather than relying on adults to tell them if they are "good" or "bad"...It's a lot more fun and satisfying working in a school with students who take that responsibility rather than the adults making judgments and always being "in charge." Why should we be responsible for their behavior? Let's teach them how to do it!"
Mike Galvin - Senior consultant at Focused Leadership Solutions

Ideally, you will create a classroom culture in which students behave because they want to make good choices, rather than to earn rewards or to avoid negative consequences. But, you can't expect intrinsic motivation to happen overnight. You will need a thoughtful set of classroom management strategies.

Just as you spend time practicing procedures over and over again, you also have to spend time positively reinforcing good behavior and negatively reinforcing bad behavior until students internalize the message. As Galvin says, we have to take the time to "teach them how to do it."

Teaching Students to Take Responsibility

In Part II, we mentioned transferring responsibility to your students (access to materials, classroom jobs, taking attendance, etc.). Similarly, we can put students in charge of their own behavior with the right system. Students should be able to recognize appropriate and inappropriate behavior in themselves and others, and adjust accordingly.

Bonus: We have a great lesson, Would You Rather Questions for Kids, to help you discuss the tradeoffs involved in making different choices.

In her blog post, Becky discusses the Raise Responsibility system she uses, based on Marvin Marshall's book, Discipline without Stress, Punishments, or Rewards. This system gives students a framework to think critically about their behavior, deciding for themselves if it needs to change. There is also a nuanced distinction between doing something to look good or be rewarded, and doing something simply because it is right.

The Raise Responsibility model separates behaviors into the following zones or levels:
D - Democracy

Being kind and helping others

Doing something because it's the right thing to do, even if no one is watching

C - Conformity

Listening and following directions

Working well with others

Doing something to look good, be rewarded, or avoid trouble

B - Bullying/Bossing

Name calling

Bothering or bossing others

Breaking classroom rules

Must be bossed to behave

A - Anarchy

Loss of control

Actions that could hurt yourself or others

Running, hitting, or kicking

The A and B levels encompass bad choices that need correction. The C level includes good behavior, but the student is extrinsically motivated by classroom rewards. The goal is for students to achieve D level, meaning they're intrinsically motivated to behave well. Display these levels on posters in your classroom.

If a student continues to misbehave after one warning about their level, Becky suggests they fill out a behavior reflection think sheet. She also gives each student a personal level ring so that they can all do a "level check" if needed. You can download these personal level cards for free from Becky's Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Miss At, another blogger and teacher using the Raise Responsibility model, has students choose their consequence after finishing their reflection. This reinforces the idea of students regulating their own behavior. Miss At suggests providing students with some acceptable consequences as a starting point so that the consequence they choose is still one you find appropriate for their behavior.

Clip Charts

Another popular model for reinforcing and tracking positive and negative behavior is the clip chart. Each student in your class would have a clothespin with his or her name on it that would start in the middle of the chart each day. Students earn the opportunity to move up the chart with good behavior choices, or move down the chart with poor behavior choices. Students start each day with a clean slate with their clip reset to the middle.

Former teacher Rick Morris has a helpful e-book explaining how to create and introduce a clip chart system in your classroom. He says, "Any student who has been asked to move his clothespin down a level or two ... has the opportunity to improve his behavior and see his clothespin rise to a better level ... The thought that a child is offered a chance at redemption is not only a powerful motivator for the student, it also enables the teacher to act on problem behavior and not just talk about it."

When introducing the chart system, make it clear to students what to expect from each level of the chart. Set the rewards for the top parts of the chart or consequences for the bottom levels from the beginning so you are not making these decisions based on your emotions.

As with the Raise Responsibility System, you could also use a reflection sheet or have students choose their own consequence when they reach a certain level on the chart.

ClassDojo

ClassDojo is a free, electronic way to manage behavior in your classroom. Teachers input their students' names via the app or a computer, and each student gets their own monster avatar. You can customize which skills are most important to your classroom, such as cooperation and impulse control. Throughout the day, you can award dojo points to individual students for displaying those skills, and you can also award whole-class points. Students will hear a "ding" noise when you award a point. You can also take away points when students are not making good choices. Some teachers display the points breakdown to the whole class, while others don't - that's up to you!

ClassDojo also has features to connect with parents. According to their site, "Parents can see their child's feedback from their own device at home. Plus, [teachers] can also easily share with parents:

Photos and videos of students working hard in class

Ideas for how they can help at home

Important announcements and reminders"

Sarah, a special education teacher, uses ClassDojo in conjunction with a clip chart. "I...can't assume that all parents will log into ClassDojo, and I am a big believer in strong home-school communication, especially when it comes to behavior. So I came up with a system to incorporate ClassDojo with my color chart so we could have all hands on deck," Sarah explains on her blog.

Classroom Rewards

While we want to teach students to do the right thing without expecting a reward, a little recognition when students are making good choices goes a long way. Even as adults, an unexpected "job well done" or shout-out at a staff meeting gives us a little boost. Positive behavior reinforcement can be an important part of your school's culture, especially if your school uses PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Supports). Now that doesn't mean you have to hand out candy or some other trinket to students every time they follow a rule. Below are some examples of rewards and acknowledgments that you can use to reinforce positive behaviors with individual students or the whole class:

Classroom Rewards for All Students

When a majority of the class has been exceptional (D level for an extended period, top levels on the clip chart, certain number of dojo points, etc.):

Cheers and energizers are free celebrations that also get students up and moving and get their wiggles out. You can write the titles on a popsicle stick and choose one from a can each time.

Put a pom-pom in a jar. If the jar gets filled to a certain point by Friday, give the class a special reward, such as a five-minute dance party.

Give whole-class points on ClassDojo.

Individual

Call home on a regular basis to praise students so when you need to call home with a negative, you already have a relationship with the parents. Parents may not be used to getting positive calls and will be delighted.

If you know you won't have a chance to call home that night, send a note. Consider getting a notepad with carbon copies so you can keep one for your records.

Send home behavior updates via the ClassDojo app.

For younger students, consider having a behavior calendar that gets sent home every day. On each day, you can mark which level of your particular behavior system a student ended the day on, or was on the most.

Have students be on the lookout for good behavior to give shout-outs to their classmates. Put shout out slips (available for free below) in an accessible part of your classroom, along with a spot for students to submit them. You can choose to read a couple or all of them each day to encourage students.

Examples of individual rewards:

Homework pass

Sit next to a friend for the day

Have your shoes off while working

Lunch with the teacher

Pick a classroom job

Anything else you've noticed your students like

Consequences

While you'll put in every effort to create a positive classroom culture, consequences will still be necessary. In the same way that we want students to learn to do the right thing simply because it's right, we want students to avoid poor choices, not because they are afraid of getting caught, but because they know they are wrong. Be clear and consistent about what behavior will lead to what consequence.

Call parents when necessary. If you've already built a strong relationship with positive calls, parents will be more supportive and willing to help correct a negative behavior.

Send copies of reflection sheets home to parents.

Send home behavior updates via the ClassDojo app.

For younger students, consider having a behavior calendar that gets sent home every day. On each day, you can mark which level of your particular behavior system a student ended the day on, or was on the most.

For severe behavior, send to office/write referral.

Examples of individual consequences:

Lose five minutes of recess

Loss of classroom job

Loss of choice in a certain activity

Sit by yourself for the day

Silent lunch

Loss of participation in a whole class reward

Take away a privilege your individual students find valuable

"Stay consistent, stay consistent, stay consistent, when giving rewards and especially consequences!" says Alexa Baird, a 4th-grade teacher in North Carolina. "Even the best behaved kid can act out if given the opportunity. Be strong with rewards and consequences for the first two to three months, and the rest of the year will be smooth sailing."
When Things Aren't Working:
There may come a time when you lose control of your classroom. These plans and systems are unfortunately not foolproof, and there could be a day when the full moon, Halloween, and three kids' birthdays perfectly align. "When you are in an emergency situation and you don't know what else to do to get you through the rest of your class period, pull out a notebook and start writing," says Jennifer Gonzalez of Cult of Pedagogy. In one of her videos, Gonzalez explains that whenever she did this in her classroom, her students calmed down within a minute. "It doesn't matter what you're writing," she says, "but the students are caught off guard and start to focus on you." It also works as an exercise to calm the teacher down in this stressful situation. "It's a self-soothing strategy, a form of meditation, and what it can do is help the teacher get into a calmer state of mind so he or she can make a smart decision, rather than a knee-jerk one," says Gonzalez.

To use the notebook in your classroom management plan apart from an emergency strategy, see Part 2 of Gonzalez's video.

And, lastly, make sure you practice self-care! It's essential for long-term success in the classroom.

Effective Classroom Management with SEL
"If you focus instruction only on what to do or not to do in a given circumstance, the child will be left at a loss when he faces a situation that was not explicitly taught ... We need to help children understand not only how to behave appropriately, but also why behaving in an appropriate manner will be good for them."
Melissa DeRosier, PhD - Clinical Psychologist

In order to succeed in the classroom and in life, students need to be able to evaluate the pros and cons of different behaviors and understand why the one they choose would work best. And this doesn't come from robotic following of rules and procedures.

Instead students must develop appropriate social and emotional skills. According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL):
"Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions."
Just like with your rules and procedures, the key is to introduce, model, and practice social and emotional skills and behaviors with your students - You can use our free SEL lessons to help. Here are a few examples:

Yazmin Chavira, a KIPP alumna and teacher, says, "Once you have one concrete language that everyone is using - teachers, parents, students - that they see it on the walls, their teachers are using it every day in class, that makes it a lot more salient for them."

And KIPP teacher, Alaina Harper explains how a focus on character impacts reinforcement of behavior in her classroom: "Instead of it being 'I have a feeling about what you're doing,' it's 'I have this behavior that you're doing which highlights this particular strength.' And so it takes a lot of the personal out of it. So it's no longer 'Ms. Harper doesn't like me' or 'Ms. Harper is unfair to me.' And because of that, they're more open to being able to address it. Because it's not that I'm gonna to like you better, it's that you're going to be better."

How do you provide students the opportunity to practice these social and emotional skills? Our online SEL interventions are a great way for students to practice and improve in common situations they would experience at school.

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A Classroom Management Plan for Elementary School Teachers

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This classroom management plan is a step-by-step guide and includes proven strategies and tips for elementary school teachers for a well-managed classroom.