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Larry Ferlazzo

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Over the past week, I've published three posts bringing together many of the materials I've either developed or collected on topics I've written books about:
A Collection Of My Best Resources On Parent Engagement A Collection Of My Best Resources On Student Motivation A Collection Of My Best Resources On Teaching English Language Learners
And, though there is certainly a lot of overlap between "Student Motivation" and "Classroom Management," since I did put together a book specifically on that topic, I thought one last collection would be useful:

Classroom Management Q&As: Expert Strategies for Teaching is the title of that book. Going to the link will lead you to a number of free and useful resources.

Five key strategies to get/keep kids engaged at school is a book excerpt that appeared in The Washington Post.

Here are some of the best articles I've written on the topic that have appeared in various publications:

Q & A Collections: Classroom Management Advice is the headline of one of my Education Week Teacher columns. It contains links to all the columns on classroom management from the past six years!

Here are All My BAM! Radio Shows About Classroom Management
Ten-Minute Podcast: Vicki Davis Interviews Me About Classroom Management
One of my most popular "Best" lists is The Best Posts On Classroom Management. It includes links to even more pieces I've written (including other related "Best" lists) about the subject, along with lots of good resources from others.

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A Collection Of My Best Resources On Classroom Management

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Over the past week, I've published three posts bringing together many of the materials I've either developed or collected on topics I've written books about: A Collection Of My Best Resources On Parent Engagement A Collection Of My Best Resources On Student Motivation A Collection Of My Best Resources On

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This is one of our favorite classroom procedures because it's easy and cuts back on a big problem. "The no-name papers will disappear," says Kristin B.W.

Learn more: Free Highlight Your Name Poster at Teachers Pay Teachers

12. Greet every student at the door

"They behave better when they feel cared about," says Debra M. Don't we all?

13. Use a visual timer

A Time Timer or visual timer shows how much time is left in an activity, letting students answer the "how much time do we have" question on their own.

Buy it: Visual Timer at Amazon

14. Streamline hall passes

Having a hall pass that works for your class will make your day infinitely easier as students will know if they can leave your class, and other teachers will know the students are permitted to move around the school.

Learn more: Paintbrush Hall Pass/Create Art With Me and Hall Pass Ideas

15. Stamp your feedback

Get a set of self-inking stamps that you can use to give feedback on student work. Or for students who are working on completing work independently or improving behavior, use rubber stamps that address common concerns as well as data tracking for students with IEPs.

Buy it: Rubber Stamps at Mrs. D's Corner

16. Get their attention

Having a selection of attention-getters that you can alternate, depending on your and your students' moods, will help you direct students throughout the day.

17. Set up a cell phone charging station

It's important to establish classroom procedures for cell phones from the beginning. Having a cell phone charging station solves the problem of students checking their phones during instruction. Set up the expectation that students store phones in the station so there's no back-and-forth about how much charge they have (their phones charging is not the point).

Learn more: Tips and Tricks for Managing Cell Phones in Class

18. Prep task boxes to keep kids busy

Having a set of boxes with coloring sheets, worksheets, extra practice, and games that students can play quietly or independently gives students a way to stay busy and learning while other students are finishing work.

Learn more: Swoop Into Kindergarten

19. Assign classroom jobs

Assign class jobs so that every aspect of the day is taken care of, and so students have ownership over what happens in your room during the day. Set up a way to rotate the jobs each week, and once students have their preferred jobs, keep tabs on who is doing what so it feels fair.

Learn more: Big List of Classroom Jobs

20. Have students apply for class jobs

Once students know what the class jobs are, have them apply for a job to have for the semester or year. You'll have consistency from week to week, and students will get the experience of applying and managing their responsibilities.

Learn more: Free Student Job Application at Teachers Pay Teachers

21. Communicate with cups

Provide students with a set of green, yellow, and red cups. As they work, they start with the green cup on top. If they feel like they need help, they switch the cup to yellow. And if they are totally stuck, they put the red cup on top. You can respond to the red cups first.

Learn more: Ingenious Ways To Use Solo Cups/K Teacher Tiff

22. Make bulletin boards work for you

Interactive bulletin boards can help you collect exit tickets, give you information about what students think about a question, and provide a fun procedure for students to complete each day.

Learn more: Our Favorite Interactive Bulletin Boards

23. Tighten your exit ticket procedures

Create a predictable way to collect exit tickets so students can spend their time showing what they know instead of figuring out how to pass it in.

Learn more: Exit Ticket Ideas

24. Be strategic with seating

A Double E, Pairs, Four Square-these are all ways to arrange your classroom. Your classroom routines and procedures will go much smoother if the class is set up to facilitate everything from passing papers in and out to lining up and finding groups and partners to work with.

Learn more: Student Desk Arrangement Ideas/Lucky Little Learners

25. Organize classroom procedures around a theme

Who says your theme can't incorporate procedures? Choose a classroom theme and get creative. If your theme is "Under the Sea," have seashells on the wall where students can post exit tickets, an octopus cell phone charging station, and a paper return tray decorated like a coral reef.

Learn more: Our Favorite Classroom Theme Ideas

26. Sort students into groups creatively

If students are going to be working together at all, you'll save time by having a quick procedure to move them from whole group to pairs or teams. One idea: Use pairs of cards to have students match up with their partner. Another idea: While students are seated, place a colored button (one color per group) on each desk. Then, have students stand and find the people who have the same-color button. After they're finished, have students return the buttons to a jar up front. You can use buttons or any other materials (colored sticks, tiles, etc).

Learn more: Clever Ways To Put Students Into Groups

27. Simplify grading

For informal assessments, let students know if they did or did not meet the assignment expectations. This is easier on you and gives students a quick update that they don't have to calculate (7/10) or respond to (letter grades).

Learn more: Creative Ways To Check for Understanding

28. Make transitions magical

As students move from place to place in the room, use a "magic" wand and turn them all into snowflakes, unicorns, or yetis. Get silly with it, and as students get more familiar with this procedure, put them in charge of the magic wand.

Buy it: Magic Wand at Amazon

29. Post a visual schedule

A visual schedule outlining your classroom procedures is a great way to help students know what's coming next. And for students who process visual information easier than auditory, it's helpful to be able to see the schedule and refer to it throughout the day. An individual visual schedule for a student with autism or processing needs can help them move throughout the day as well.

Learn more: Free Visual Schedule Templates

30. Bring nonverbal reminders wherever you go

Hang nonverbal reminders around your neck/lanyard and use them to prompt students to follow procedures, anywhere you go.

Buy it: Pictoral Communication Cards at Twinkl

31. Buzz in answers

Once students are in groups, have them use answer buzzers to chime in. It reduces noise and calling out.

Buy it: Light and Sound Buzzers at Amazon

For more teacher tips, tricks, and ideas, be sure to sign up for our free newsletters to find out when they're posted!

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31 Must-Teach Classroom Procedures and Routines

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These seriously cut your stress. We've compiled the best classroom procedures and routine ideas from our community and around the web.

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By Jennifer Serravallo

One of the questions I hear most often from teachers is What note taking system do you recommend for conferring? It is quickly followed by What exactly do you write down? Today on the Heinemann blog, I share some of my quick and helpful tips!

With a class of 25 or more students, each reading a different book, each working on individual goals and strategies, it's too much for a teacher to keep it all in their head. Taking notes during a conference or small group helps you record the most important happenings during each conference, which then sets you up to link one conference to the next and to stay focused on each individual student's strengths and needs.

Here are some general note-taking tips:

Keep each student's notes on a separate page so you can see their progress over time. Even when you meet with them in a group, keep notes on them as individuals.

Format your note taking form to include any information you like to have at-the-ready to scaffold your decision-making, such as questions to ask or a skill progression to keep in mind.

Record the date and the strategy you taught.

Jot strengths and possible next steps.

On this form, a skill progression runs down the left hand side to keep me focused on how to support Lucas's growth within his goal. Questions at the top focus my research during a conference. I take notes on both his strengths, the strategy I taught, and what he still needs to work on.

My organizational system for notes has changed over the years. For many years I used a binder with a tabbed section for each student. This allowed me to see an individual's progress over time but had its drawbacks: I couldn't share my notes with other teachers very easily, and when I met with students in groups, I had to flip between sections to write notes for each student.

The solution I found was to move student notes out of binders and into two pocket folders-one side for reading, one for writing. I kept the folders in a basket near the classroom door and I'd grab the ones I needed for that day. When notes are kept in folders (rather than binders or notebooks), they are portable and can travel with the student. This is especially helpful in co-taught classrooms or for students who see additional teachers for intervention or extra support. Other teachers could use the notes in the folder as a way to catch up on what the student and I had worked on, and also to record notes on that same page, allowing me to see what the student had done with the other teacher. This new system worked out brilliantly, ensuring consistency of messaging between all the adults that worked with each student.

When notes are kept in folders (rather than binders or notebooks), they are portable and can travel with the student. This is especially helpful in co-taught classrooms or for students who see additional teachers for intervention or extra support.

This "separate page for each student in a folder" idea also made my small group note taking so much easier: Rather than flipping between sections in a binder, I could now open up students' individual folders in front of them and take notes in each as I made my way around from student to student.

Although I prefer folders, paper, and pen, some teachers might prefer digital note taking. Free apps and extensions like Google Keep or Evernote, or purchasable apps like Confer or Pensieve are also popular. These all would allow the same note taking on an individual, and shareability with other adults who work with that student. What's most important is that the forms and format work for you, so try a few until you find what you like.

The most important final advice I have for you is to remember that when you meet with kids, really listen to them and try to help them. The notes are important, but shouldn't get in the way of the intimate conversation that a conference is. You can always stick around for a minute after a conference concludes to take your quick notes instead of writing during the conference if you find it distracts you or changes the tone of the conference.

In her book A Teacher's Guide to Reading Conferences, Jen offers readers a sneak peek into the note taking that happens during each of the nine conferences that are available on video in the online resources. Note taking forms aligned to each of the 13 goals, complete with skill progressions to each decision making as teachers work on supporting development within each goal, are available as a free download when you register your book.

Jennifer Serravallo is a literacy consultant, author, and speaker who supports teachers in making responsive instruction doable. She is the author of several popular titles including the NY Times Bestselling The Reading Strategies Book and The Writing Strategies Book, both of which have now been translated into French, Chinese, and Spanish (the latter now available from Heinemann). Her newest professional books include Understanding Texts & Readers and The Teacher's Guide to Reading Conferences. She also just released Complete Comprehension for Fiction and Nonfiction. She was a Senior Staff Developer at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project and taught in NYC public schools. Twitter: @jserravallo Instagram: @jenniferserravallo.

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Conference And Small Group Note Taking Made Doable

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By Jennifer Serravallo One of the questions I hear most often from teachers is What note taking system do you recommend for conferring? It is quickly followed by What exactly do you write down? Today on the Heinemann blog, I share some of my quick and helpful tips!

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For a long, long time, tracking the progress of my readers felt like a ride on a huge swinging pendulum. I was always looking for a method that would work for me, yet I always settled on something either too complicated and fussy, or too open-ended and random, or just plain meaningless, all of which created this Bermuda Triangle of short-lived attempts at tracking my students as readers. Where I write from today is where I landed after finally sliding my way off the pendulum, somewhere (I hope) near the middle of its swinging arc.

I want to show you how I track readers, and of course the thinking behind it.

This post is part of a series related to literacy block planning and structure. Be sure to check out the entire series:

When it comes to tracking the progress of readers during a reading group or one-to-one reading conference, I've been to both edges of the spectrum. On one end, I've used forms teeming with boxes to check and strategies broken down into every possible category. And on the other end, I've used a plain ol' notebook. Like, literally a blank notebook. The only thing I haven't used are digital note-taking programs like Evernote. Maybe that would solve everything, but I've mostly been a pen-and-paper sort of guy.

It took me awhile to find the right balance between structure and flexibility. (Hmm, this sounds a little like my other literacy block posts, doesn't it?) I wanted something simple, so it wasn't bogging down the actual interactions with the reader, but also something that enabled me, urged me even, to record significant information that would actually help me move the reader forward, and also sustainable and versatile enough for me to use throughout the year.

Before I show you the record-keeping method that works for me, I want to be clear about what I think the purpose of your notes should be: to help you move readers forward. If you can't somehow track it back to that purpose, I don't think you need to write it down.

If that's the purpose, then the most effective vehicle for me to achieve it are goals. Having a goal for each student helps me stay focused on recording things that help me move readers forward. I like to have a broad reading goal, like Fluency, and then set more specific, reachable goals based on the interactions between the student and me, small goals that allow me to be responsive to the reader's needs right now. The broad goals that I pull from include: Comprehension, Accuracy, Decoding, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Extend Meaning (And yes, there are some similarities here to the CAFE model, created by the Sisters.)

So if I have a purpose for tracking my readers, and I have goals to push towards, what exactly do I write down? For me, there are two categories of things I tend to record, both tied closely to my purpose of moving readers forward: "Now" and "Next." And when I say "write down," I mean something short, specific, and to the point.

NOW: This refers to observations I make about a reader right there during the reading group or conference, either evidence of progress toward a goal or a struggle that is significant which might lead to another goal later.

NEXT: This refers to where I want to take the reader next, based on the "now." It's the reflective thinking "in the moment," right there at the table, of my next steps with this reader. It is usually one word or a phrase, enough for me either to pick up the thread again in our next interaction, or sometimes to form a strategy group of readers with the same struggle.

I designed my forms in a way that solves another glitch I always ran into with other methods. I like to have a dedicated page for each student, but when I met with a reading group and had notes to make, I found myself flipping from one student's record sheet to another, wasting precious seconds and getting annoyed. So then I made a page for each group, which eliminated the constant flipping, but then I had notes about a particular student on her group page and her individual page, which made it cumbersome to look at her growth (in came the flipping again), unless of course I copied the notes from the group page over to each student's individual page, which was even worse than the constant flipping from before.

And that's when I started using sticky-notes.

I could record notes about a reader on a sticky-note, and I could stick it anywhere... on the group page, on the individual page, on her forehead.

AND, the notes are movable! It could start out on the group page and then be transferred to the individual page later. I could stack them, rearrange them, whatever.

AND, sticky-notes are small! Using sticky-notes was almost like giving myself permission to be brief. I already knew I didn't like using up interaction time with a reader just to write down a bunch of "stuff." The sticky-note is small enough that I literally couldn't write very much.

And hey, if an interaction with a reader brought nothing significant enough to write down, or if I just didn't have time to write it down, I simply didn't. And guess what... there wasn't a bunch of blank boxes staring at me making me feel guilty for not writing anything down. I just had a blank sticky-note ready.

What follows are the forms I created to track readers, to use within a teacher "reader binder" and in conjunction with sticky-notes, all for that same purpose of helping myself move readers forward.

Let's start with the Individual Record Sheet.

Each individual record sheet has a place for the student's name and number. (I assign each student a number to make labeling a sticky-note quicker.) There are basically three parts to the form. In the top right portion is a small table to record formal reading assessment data. I record fall, winter, and spring scores. Below this is an open area to gather sticky-notes of information not related to the student's reading goal. For example, maybe we had a small-group lesson on visualizing, and a student with a fluency goal really struggled, so I may note that here.

Let's look at Estelle's individual record sheet "in action":

The entire left side of the form is dedicated to the student's reading goals. The goal is written at the top (using the code at the bottom), and then sticky-notes are stacked from the bottom up, following the chevron arrows, literally reaching toward the goal.

When Estelle reaches her goal, or if I feel we should change her goal, I gather the post-its and stick them over on the right side (or even onto the back of the page). Let's zoom in now.

You can see five spots for goals, and I've written two for Estelle, the first one being crossed out. Goal #1 was a fluency goal about paying attention to punctuation. After working with Estelle on this, I felt like she was ready to move on to another goal, so I crossed out Goal #1, signifying it has been met, and we wrote her next goal about reading in phrases. That specific goal is what I'm tracking with sticky-notes during individual conferences and reading groups.

Let's look at the Reading Group Record Sheet now:

So when my binder is open to a specific group's page, I have a left side and a right side. And I have a sticky-note for each student in the group, literally in front of where each student sits.

On the left page, toward the spine of the binder, is a space for bare-bones planning for the group: the text we're using, the text's level, and the focus for the session. On the right page, in line with the plans, is space for group notes, to help in knowing where to go next. Sometimes it's easier to record something once here than write it six times, one for each student.

Also included near the bottom of these forms are some simple codes I use for commonly used language, like for goals and for oral reading record-keeping (e.g. if I'm listening to a student read to me and notice great expression, I could note: "E++" or if I notice trouble decoding a multi-syllable word, I could note: "D-") At the very bottom of the right side is the alphabet, to note the group's current reading level. I like to circle the letter of the current level and record the date we moved to that level. Hopefully over time, I see the level moving to the right.

Let's look at a group's record sheet "in action":

Sometimes it takes a few interactions before I fill a student's sticky-note, and other times I may need to grab a second one to really capture a significant moment. Either way, at any time I can transfer a student's sticky-note over to her individual record sheet. Let's zoom in to a couple of places now.

In the image above, you can see the use of codes to help speed up the record-keeping process.

You probably have noticed each sticky-note's set-up. I like to make a quick t-chart of my "Now/Next" format on the sticky-note, to help organize my notes. The image above shows that Frank has a comprehension goal, and on 9-15, I noted that his fluency was great, and even his comprehension was good, but out of order. When I asked him to retell what happened in the previous section, he started with the last main event, so I noted in the "next" column to work on "sequence" with Frank.

Questions You are Probably Wondering

Do you only record goal-related notes during a reading group? What about notes related to the focus of the reading group session?

I definitely lean more towards writing notes that are related to students' individual goals. I may make a couple quick notes in the "group notes" section of the form about the focus for the lesson, so that I know where we need to go next as a group, but I usually don't write something down for every student that relates to the group lesson's focus.

Why not? I don't have time to write down everything, and I want to focus on recording things that will move readers forward, and I've already identified each reader's individual goal that I think will do so right now. Also, in general, my small-group guided reading lessons support my whole-group reading lessons, and in both cases, whole-group and small-group, students have opportunities to practice a skill in their notebook or with an activity, and these I can use as formative assessments to track progress of those skills.

If a reading group is working on cause and effect for instance, how would you have anything to write down for a student with a fluency goal?

The general structure of a reading group session, for me, is to introduce a focus skill/strategy to the group, model the skill/strategy with a text, and then ask students to practice the skill/strategy while reading the text independently, either in writing or to share/discuss with the group at the end.

During this independent reading time, I visit with each reader (or at least half of them, and the other half at their next session) and have them read aloud to me. And THIS is the time I'm checking in with their specific reading goal and trying to relate it to what they are reading to me right now. Sure, sometimes it doesn't match up very well and sometimes I really want to discuss the skill I asked them to practice, but in general, if I write something down during a reading group about a student's individual goal, I do it during those two minutes of one-to-one interaction.

What if you want to move a student to a different group?

But what you mean is, what happens to the notes and forms, right? So if I want to switch Jerry and Newman, moving Jerry up a level and bringing Newman down a level for instance, I transfer their sticky-notes to the appropriate reading group pages in my binder, and I cross out (or white-out) their names and write the new member's name (which isn't perfect, I know, but it's a heck of a lot better than trying to rewrite all of Jerry's notes or starting a whole new group sheet just because of one small movement).

Now sometimes, especially after a seasonal formal assessment, I'll want to rearrange groups completely. In these cases, I'll start with fresh group forms, and then transfer students' current sticky-notes onto the fresh group forms.

How do you organize the binder as a whole?

I keep four tabs in my Reader Binder.

1. The first is for my monthly calendar, where I jot down my weekly reading group schedule. (See my post on Organizing Your Small Groups for details.)

2. The second is a place for me to stuff class reports printed from the formal assessments we are required to do (like NWEA, for example).

3. The third is where I keep my Reading Group Record Sheets. I have to pay attention when I'm hole-punching here because I want the left-side form and the right-side form to look correct. I do not copy the group forms front-to-back because if I want to change a group around, or add another sheet, I don't want the way I copied the forms to be a problem. So, if my binder is opened up to a particular group's record sheet (where I'm looking at both the left-side and the right-side), when I turn the page, I'm now staring at blank pages. When I turn the page again, now I'm looking at the record sheets for my next group.

4. The fourth is for my individual forms, one for each student. I do not copy these front-to-back either. I want to be able to flip through and see every student's name in the upper right corner. It also allows me to easily add a second record sheet for a particular student if needed.

You can download all the forms I talked about in the post (for free!) by signing up for my email newsletter. Included are two versions of each form, one a little more structured (which I used here) and one a little less structured. Sign up just below the following image.

Remember, I think you should only record notes that will help you... Move. Your. Readers. Forward.

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Tracking Readers In a Sustainable, Simple, & Significant Way

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For a long, long time, tracking the progress of my readers felt like a ride on a huge swinging pendulum. I was always looking for a method that would work for me, yet I always settled on something either too complicated and fussy, or too open-ended and random, or just plain meaningless, all of which created this Bermuda Triangle of short-lived attempts at tracking my students as readers.

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10 Things Every Teacher Should Know Before Their First Year of Teaching

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10 Things Every Teacher Should Know Before Their First Year of Teaching

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Raymond Gonzalez currently resides in Las Vegas and serves the East Las Vegas community as the dean of the students at Equipo Academy, a charter school he helped to establish that focuses on getting students in the community to and through the college of their dreams. Full profile →

When I joined the teaching force almost a decade ago, many veteran teachers warned me that classroom management was the key to success. In the first week of school, I knew exactly what they were talking about and that first weekend I made managing my classroom my main focus. I had come to the realization that I needed to provide a structured, consistent and firm space if I wanted my students to learn math that year and do well on the end-of-year assessment.

I went into the rest of the year on the defense, ready for the slick comments, the attitude and the apathy to do work in my class. After collaborating with various teachers, I learned how to combat this.
1. Love Your Students
I learned how to engage my students in their education and to encourage them to respect me and the space we were in. Using what I have learned these past few years, I have compiled a list of tips that educators can use as a resource if they are struggling with classroom management or want to be proactive before they begin their first year of teaching.
2. Establish Clear Expectations
For starters, if you have chosen to be in education and teach the youth of tomorrow, your students need to know that you care and have love for them. You are an adult figure in their life, and they need to know that every piece of information that you are going to give them is because you care about their future. One of my favorite quotes explains this sentiment, "students don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." Students are often coming from troubling home lives and need a positive adult figure in their life, one that guides them and teaches them but most importantly one that cares about them. Once they feel the love, they are more likely to work hard for you and for themselves.
3. Provide Clear Consequences
It's essential to establish crystal clear expectations. Students need to know exactly what they must do to be successful in your course. If the students do not have clear expectations they will spend time confused and using energy to guess what they need to do to do well. Eventually that confusion will lead to disengagement and students will begin to lower their expectations in your class. Avoid that at all costs and instead make it clear to them what they need to do to excel.
4. Consistency is Key!
When students make a mistake, they should have clear consequences for their choices. Although, we never expect our students to be perfect, we should have meaningful, thoughtful consequences that help students get to the root of their mistake. For example, do not assign an hour of detention for a student that did not come into class silently. Make it something productive that helps them learn not to make this mistake again. For example, having them practice coming back into the classroom quietly in that immediate instance would help them see that there is a consistent, meaningful consequence. Students need to understand that they will be accountable to their choices, good or bad.
5. Practice. Practice. Practice!
If a student makes a mistake, it is very important to follow through with the consequence. There are many reasons teachers chose not to follow through including, not wanting to engage in a verbal altercation with the student, wanting to give the student another chance, but the key is to be consistent. Students need to understand that their choices and actions have consequences. If teachers are not consistent, students will not take the consequence seriously and will be more likely to lash out when redirected or held accountable.
6. Assume the Best
In order to have students attain habits that will benefit their success, they need to practice. Similarly, in order for successful basketball stars to make the majority of their free throws, they must practice, over and over again. Many professional athletes practice basic skills many times throughout training. That should be no different for our students. They need to practice passing up their tests without talking and turning and talking with a partner and keeping it productive just as athletes practice basic skills. The more practice students have with procedures, the more likely students are to avoid making bad choices.
7. Incorporate Fun
We must remember that students are on our team and our team's mission is that they be successful. Even if students are not on the same page (for a minute, a day, or a few weeks) and are working against their own success, we must remind them that we believe in their best self. When students make a mistake, remind them that you believe in them, want them to be successful, and assume the best in them. They are probably fighting a battle you know nothing about and it's good advice not to take it personal when they act out, talk back, or are refusing to work. We need to assume that no student wants to fail. Even if in the moment all you want to do is give up, don't. You might be the only champion they have left.
8. Praise!
I know there are a lot of standards to get through in one scholastic year, and often we find ourselves overwhelmed with how many things we have to teach, what to differentiate, and how to catch students up who are grade levels behind. But at some point, we have to incorporate fun into our curriculum to keep our students engaged and excited to learn. This doesn't mean you need to be a one person circus but this includes many things, like having students play a game, conducting an ice breaker, or even having incentives for good work. For example, allowing students to listen to music as they work independently could be a huge way to motivate and encourage great behavior.
9. Check Your Privilege!
When students are doing great things, praise them! When students hear praise for great things, they are more likely to continue being amazing for you. On that note, it also encourages students around them to do well and follow suit. Another reason this helps is because it shows that you are paying attention to the class and have eyes on them as they work.
10. Plan Ahead
When you walk into the classroom, you need to be conscious about your identities. You need to understand how being a male will be a huge privilege, how being White will be a barrier in a community of predominantly students of color, and how walking in with a college degree will automatically make you more privileged than your students. Even if you grew up the community, have the same ethnic background, and are from a working-class background, you were afforded resources to go to college, resources that our students cannot fathom, so we must understand all our privileges before successfully serving our students.
An original version of this post appeared on LaComadre.
There should be no minutes in your day unplanned. Those minutes will surely become a time for students to make mistakes. Whether you have a 55-minute class period or a 90-minute period, there should be no gaps. Plan for students to be productive the entire time that they are with you. Whether it's notes, group work, or a quiz, students should be kept busy the entire time.

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10 Things Every Teacher Should Know Before Their First Year of Teaching

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Raymond Gonzalez currently resides in Las Vegas and serves the East Las Vegas community as the dean of the students at Equipo Academy, a charter school he helped to establish that focuses on getting students in the community to and through the college of their dreams. Full profile → When I joined the teaching force almost a decade ago, many veteran teachers warned me that classroom management was the key to success.

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The Summer To-Do List for First Year Teachers

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The Summer To-Do List for First Year Teachers

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You've probably got about 80,130 things swirling around in your head that you want to do before the school year starts. It's such an exciting time!

I remember the summer before my first year teaching obsessing over EVERYTHING #anxiety. I thought I needed to make my plans incredible and have my classroom looking absolutely perfect before the school year started... OR ELSE. And I had no idea where to start.

Here's a Reality Check: You can keep working on your classroom and your plans even after school starts. Like organizing your classroom library, putting up decorations, or creating a great newsletter for Parent Night.
And here's Reality Check #2: The number of Pinterest decorations you put into your classroom won't change the lives of your students... but your teaching will.
That's good news. Because you're ready-you've got spirit, enthusiasm, and passion.

You have training from your program and student teaching under your belt. So what's the most important thing to do before the school year starts? The key is to design systems that will put your classroom run on autopilot as much as possible - leaving you free to focus on the reason you're there: HELPING KIDS LEARN THINGS.

Many first-year teachers tell me they don't know where to start with summer preparations, so I've put together this list of priorities.

It's a given/accept the fact that you won't get everything done, so it's important to keep your priorities straight and invest your time where you'll going to get the biggest bang for your buck later.

First of all, I wholeheartedly recommend Wong & Wong's, The First Days of School - in my opinion, it's the go-to reference for any first-year teacher. It was a complete game-changer for me before my first year.

I spent hours listing my ideas and plans for every conceivable behavior that might happen in my classroom.

I designed efficient ways to handle routine classroom needs like bathroom passes, paper flow, and grade and behavior documentation.

Once the school year started, s*** still happened (kids are still kids, after all) and my life was crazy, but I had a plan for EVERYTHING.

Compared to many other first-year teachers, I was almost never caught off-guard. At the end of the school year, administrators told me they couldn't tell that I had been a first-year teacher.

What's the moral of this story?

In the summer before your first teaching year, things like classroom management planning is WHERE IT'S AT. It's the key to keeping your sanity intact while having the freedom to do all the awesome, life-changing lessons you've been dreaming about this year. And it will save you a lot of stress down the road.

I'll cover the basics here, but in the meantime, you can download my FREE Summer To-Do List Guide here. You'll receive a seven-day email course that will walk you through setting your own "nobody-will-ever-know-you're-a-first-year-teacher" classroom management system.

So let's get down to the basics of planning your classroom management system.

There are essentially six aspects to brainstorm and design:

1. Classroom Procedures

What will your kids need to know to navigate your classroom? If you don't tell them how to do things, they'll invent their own way. Clearly set procedures will minimize the number of bad inventions and ensure everything is done in a way that maximizes instructional time.

Some examples of procedures to brainstorm and teach are:

You can see all 35 of my own procedures in the Summer To-Do List Guide, which you can download for free .

2. Classroom Routines

Routines are your lifesaver when it comes to lesson planning. The more you can put on auto-pilot, the more energy you can put into awesome things. Routines can be within a lesson (what a typical lesson structure looks like - see mine in the guide you can download ) or perhaps a weekly routine (every Wednesday is ____ Day). Some examples of routines might include:

Beginning and end of the class expectations (your true headache savers!)

3. Classroom Rules:

Despite what they say, kids feel safer when they know what the boundaries are. Knowing the limits before school starts helps you communicate them to your students before problems arise, and deal with them in a fair way.

I recommend coming up with four non-negotiable rules-these are the rules that, if broken, will send a child to your discipline plan. For the sake of simplicity (for me and the kids), I limited this to three broad rules:

Respect your classmates and your teacher.

Of course, rules need to be explained and modeled, so expect to plan that in to your first week or two of teaching. Many administrators and teachers recommend creating class rules -and I fully support that. However, you need to know where you stand, especially because these are the grounds you'll use for more serious disciplinary measures like calling home or writing a referral.

To set the tone for your own boundaries in the classroom, it might be helpful to explain that these three rules are very important to you, and then have students brainstorm adjustments or additions together.

Another idea might be to have students come up with rules, and during your discussion, guide them toward something that resembles your three or four non-negotiables.

4. Discipline Plan:

This is your plan for when someone disobeys the rules. Rules are useless without a way of enforcing them, and you'll want to avoid sending kids out of your classroom for as long as possible. I've seen first-year teachers lose the trust of their principal right away because they had no plan in place to handle the classroom behavior, and they used the principal as their first line of defense.

There's no reason to be nervous about it as long as you're prepared. Misbehavior is bound to happen, and when it does, you've got a plan and can execute it calmly.

It's best to keep your discipline simple, fair, and versatile. Here's an example of my discipline plan:

4th Infraction: Write-up or sent to principal's office

If the behavior gets beyond the 1st infraction, I will (unofficially) have a private conference with the student, usually in the hall.

This should cover most of your bases for interventions. For me, very few kids ever got to Step 4, but if they did, I was able to communicate to administration every intervention I had already tried. Boom! Organized.

5. Policies

What are the parameters for your boundary-testing students? Kids are born line-crossers - so it's just best to know where the line is, communicate it right away.. and then expect someone to cross it anyway.

These aren't so much about your non-negotiables as about simple, day-to-day expectations. Where are your lines, and what will you do when a student crosses them? For example...

What happens when students don't bring their materials to class?

This is just a sample-my free Summer To-Do List Guide has many more suggestions.

6. Rewards and Incentives

Kids love to work toward goals, and goals are great for boosting classroom morale at the beginning of the year. One awesome first-year teacher I worked with started off the year playing Beat the Teacher , and she's played it all year ever since.

I can't overstate the importance of having a list of incentive ideas and reward ideas ready at the beginning of the year-especially those that go beyond candy and cookies. You might also search for lists on Pinterest and make notes on what you might be interested in right at the start of the year. Then give yourself a reward for being a proactive teacher!

Again, check out my guide for more ideas.
>>Psst: Are you coming to my free webinar, "How to Plan a Standards-Based Curriculum from Scratch" on June 12? RSVP and sign up for more info here.
This will both calm your nerves and allow you to focus your energy on what will really make the biggest impact on your year - How you launch your classroom.

What to do in your first few weeks?

If you've already completed all six parts of your management plan, you know that you have much of what you'll need to communicate to your kids.

You won't communicate every single thing you've brainstormed, but believe it or not, getting-to-know-you activities, pre-assessments, and your procedure/routine/discipline lessons will completely take up your first few weeks.

This was mind-blowing to me as a first-year teacher... it almost felt wrong.

But TRUST ME!
You're spending a few weeks now so you don't lose MONTHS of instruction playing classroom management catch-up later in the year, then going home and crying yourself to sleep after a few glasses of wine.
It's definitely easiest when you set the stage from the beginning of the year.

Here's how I recommend going about planning:

Collaborate: Try to talk to another teacher who teaches the same subjects as you do (or a mentor teacher) over the summer. They may have materials and tips that can give you a head start.

Skim and get an overview of the year's curricula (if available). What are your goals for your students' progress by the end of the year in each subject? What things might you do in the beginning of the year to help you figure out where they're starting?

1. "Backwards plan" your first couple weeks:

2. Set learning goals both for yourself and your students:

3. "By the end of 2/3/4 weeks, I want students to know [insert procedures], _[number]__ of peers, and understand ___ about the year.

4. "For myself, I want to know _____, ____, and _____ about my students, and have contacted ____ guardians."

5. List out steps that would help you accomplish those goals (getting-to-know-you activity ideas, specific procedure lessons, specific pre-assessments)

6. Break up that list of items over the first few weeks of school. You may be surprised how much time it takes... and that's okay!

7. Start at the first week, and start creating your scripts and materials!

Psst! I'd love to help you with this. Find out how !

I have made this a separate step to encourage you to make an effort to include some good get-to-know-you activities because it's easy to get wrapped up with procedures and curriculum. There are many ideas for this online, and you seriously cannot do enough of it.

If you're nervous, think about how nervous your students will be, walking into a classroom with a couple dozen peers they may have never met before. Providing some low-stress activities to help them ease into the new year and find some friends will go a long, long way.

Decide where students will turn in papers, where you'll put stacks to grade, where you'll file away important paperwork, and where your "to-do" pile will be. Angela Watson has some ingenious systems for this.

Figure out what resources you'll need to make available to students, including systems to make them independent (but accountable) with using them. Extra paper? Textbooks? Classroom library? How can your students interact with all of these in an organized and productive way?

What kind of student data - personal, academic, and behavioral - do you want to track? How will you track it? Where will you track it? And where will you keep those papers?

Pinterest has a zillion ideas for this, though you'll need to sit down and consider your priorities.

In my Writing classroom, I wanted an efficient conference log, a behavior log, and a way to record progress towards standards for all my students. I also wanted to include some information about my students' home life, for which I created a "Class Application" at the beginning of the year, and kept the information electronically.

Your system will evolve as the year goes on, but it's really helpful to have something in place from the beginning. That way when you're in front of the kids and realize "Oh! I should remember that about them," you can pull out a binder with a place to write it down all ready to go.

During the year, you're going to have kids who either never brought a notebook and pencils, or who run out. You are also probably going to go through Expo markers like there's no tomorrow. The summer before my first year teaching, my beautiful teacher of a mom showed me the ropes by buying BOXES of school supplies for less than $10 by shopping the penny sales. If you have the sanity to look for the sales, or if you find yourself in an office store, BUY ALL THE CLEARANCE SCHOOL SUPPLIES!

I know you've been dreaming about your classroom décor forever. The problem is, that stuff takes a lot of time and energy, and in the end, it won't have the effect on your kids' learning as much as the above priorities will. You're anxious right now, so you're going to be especially vulnerable to perfectionism. There are more constructive ways of channeling that perfectionism than on things that won't help your kids learn.

Think of it this way - you're not going home each day pulling your hair out about non-coordinated stool covers. Instead of worrying about trivial things, you can focus your energy on figuring out why Danika isn't getting it or why Nick won't stop blurting out during class.

Here's the point: The kids are going to love you for yourself and your amazing lesson plans, not your polka-dot theme. Besides, wouldn't it be awesome to have them help you design and decorate your classroom over the first couple weeks? And it's a great way to get to know your students.

As you get to know your kids and your colleagues during that first month, your ideas about what's best are likely to change. I recommend focusing on getting your first month straight (probably mostly procedures/get-to-know-you and some introductory content). It's okay to start out with a cursory understanding of the rest of the year and wait until you know your kids better before planning the rest.
>>Psst: Are you coming to my free webinar, "How to Plan a Standards-Based Curriculum from Scratch" on June 12? RSVP and sign up for more info here.

Anything else that distracts you from setting up a smooth-running, welcoming classroom or getting to know your students

I know it feels like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders right now.

But the reality is-if you're reading this post right now, you are in GREAT shape.

It means you care and you're proactive.

It means you're resourceful.

And it means you're well on your way to an AMAZING first year!

I wish you the best of luck with preparing for your first teaching year. I hope you'll stick around for more posts about classroom management and getting off to a great beginning!

Still feeling a little overwhelmed?

Download your FREE Summer To-Do List Guide here. You'll receive a 7-day email course that will guide you through the steps to setting up a smooth, nobody-can-tell-you're-a-first-year-teacher classroom management system that will pay dividends for the rest of the year with examples, explanations, and places to create... all in a simple-to-use guide.

There's no need to reinvent the wheel. Don't waste your time on things that won't matter this summer... Download the guide today!

If you found this post helpful, you might find these helpful, too:

Classroom Management Toolbox here, which can help you brainstorm classroom management ideas.

New Teacher Resources Pinterest Board, where I pin resources I wish I had seen before starting teaching-including innovative lesson strategies as well as lists of tricks from seasoned teachers.

Classroom Management Pinterest board, where I've been curating some of the most clever management ideas I see on Pinterest.

A List of What to Prepare for Parent-Teacher Conferences

And PLEASE, feel free to drop me a line. I would love to hear from you-whether about a question you might have or about if something was helpful to you. It helps me churn out more resources to help teachers like you!

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The Summer To-Do List for First Year Teachers | Teacher Off Duty

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You've probably got about 80,130 things swirling around in your head that you want to do before the school year starts. It's such an exciting time! I remember the summer before my first year teaching obsessing over EVERYTHING #anxiety. I thought I needed to make my plans incredible and have my classroom looking absolutely...

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10 Tips for Surviving and Thriving Your First Year of Teaching

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10 Tips for Surviving and Thriving Your First Year of Teaching

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Dear New Teachers,

This blog post is for you. Perhaps you've heard that your first year will be "sooo hard." I want to offer you another possibility. Your first year might just be awesome. You might not only survive it but you could even thrive.

Here are some suggestions to help you have a fantastic first year in the classroom.

1. Build Community

Your relationships with others will keep you strong, and they might be the key to fueling your energy to persist through challenges. Build strong relationships with your colleagues and administrators and with your students and their parents. If you're shy, now is the time to pick up some strategies for making connections with others. Ask questions, knock on doors, and invite people into your classroom. Your community will be a buoy when times get hard.

2. Find Hopeful, Positive Mentors

There are veteran teachers who are sad and cynical, and there are others who are wise and hopeful. If you find yourself amongst the cynical (I found them congregating in the staff lunchroom), leave. Stay far from that negativity. You need mentors who can share their wisdom and expertise and who can remind you at the end of October that things will get easier. If you can't find any in your school, look in other schools in your district. They are there, and many will happily mentor you. Ask.

3. Ask for Help and Demand Good Professional Development

Yes, I do suggest that you demand good professional development (PD). You have so much to learn as a new teacher (and I know you know that), and you can't do it alone. Ideally, you need an instructional coach (coaching is a form of PD), but if you can't get a coach, then at least you need some high quality PD. Ask other teachers to recommend workshops, online courses, and conferences. Your administrators don't expect you to be perfect. They know you have a lot to learn -- so ask for support (persistently) to close those gaps.

4. Observe Other Teachers

Ideally, observe really effective teachers in your school or other schools. Even if they don't teach the same thing you do, you'll learn a great deal. Pick one thing to pay attention to so that you don't get overwhelmed. For example, pay attention to routines and procedures, the pacing of a lesson, how questions are asked, or the different ways that students are engaged. Ask your administrators for a release day so that you can do this. If they say no, then at the very least, take ten minutes a few times a month to poke your head into another teacher's classroom during your prep period. You will learn so much from observing your colleagues.

5. Do Home Visits

Visiting the homes of just a few of your students will provide unique insight and perspective into your students. You could visit just about any of your students' homes and this would be the case. Visit the home of a student you are concerned about, as well as the home of a student you're confident is doing well. This is easiest to do in the first few weeks of school when you're building relationships with families, and you can explain that you want to learn more about your students. Use the visit as an opportunity to listen to parents -- to ask about their child's interests, family, friends, and so on. Be curious. It's not a time to share your concerns or complaints.

6. Write Down Your Vision for Yourself as a Teacher

What do you see as your goal or purpose as a teacher? Can you distill that into a short paragraph or a few sentences? Creating a personal vision or mission statement can help anchor you when times get hard. It can serve as a guidepost when challenges come up. You don't need to make it too complicated or fancy. You don't need to share it with anyone. This is for you.

7. Don't Neglect Your Body

Sleep. Rest. Eat well. Exercise. You've heard it before. It really matters during your first year of teaching when the stress -- plus all the new germs -- depletes your immune system. Don't wait until you get the flu in January to commit to taking care of yourself -- start now. Sleep.

8. Do Something Non-Teaching Related

Once a week, at least, do something for yourself. Take a Saturday pottery class or a Brazilian dance class. Run marathons. Join a romance book club. Do something that engages other parts of your being. It's easy and tempting to get sucked into all teaching, all the time during your first year, but you need a mental break from it.

9. Catalogue Every Single Success in the Classroom

Write them down. Make lists of what's going well. Identify your successes; include every single tiny one: Alfredo smiled today when he walked into class; James remembered his book; Jackie said goodbye to her mom and didn't cry; I ate lunch; my lesson plan is done for tomorrow. If you don't do any of the other tips on this list, but you do this one thing every day, I can almost guarantee that you'll have a great year.

10. Take a Day Off

Most teachers get personal days. Plan ahead, get a sub, and take them. Take them and catch up on laundry, go to the dentist, sleep, or go for a walk. Use them. You need days off. It's okay.

Your first year doesn't have to be hard -- nor do subsequent years. These strategies can help you thrive in your first year and build the kind of resilience that will carry you through the many challenges we face as teachers.

By the way, welcome to the teaching profession. You're embarking on a wonderful, wonderful journey.

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10 Tips for Surviving and Thriving in Your First Year Teaching

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Dear New Teachers, This blog post is for you. Perhaps you've heard that your first year will be "sooo hard." I want to offer you another possibility. Your first year might just be awesome. You might not only survive it but you could even thrive.

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If I had to draw one very broad generalization about teachers, it would be that teachers love school supplies. To this day, I am exhilarated by walking down the school supply aisle. I have compiled a list of my favorite teacher supplies, all priced under $20. These are all supplies that I have found useful in my classroom, along with some great ideas for incorporating them. Some supplies you might be able to pick up at Target or Walmart during their back to school sales, but below are Amazon links for your convenience.

20 Must have teacher supplies under $20

I have rated each supply with its necessity in my classroom.

*One Star = It will get used but you could settle for something less convenient.

**Two Star = Nice to have

***Three Star = BUY NOW!

1. Stapler**

This handy dandy Paper Pro Stapler is my favorite. It has endured daily abuse use by middle school students for five years. That is 935 days! It opens up easily to punch into bulletin boards and is less likely to jam than others. It makes a pretty loud pop when it staples, which provides some entertainment to new users.

2. Clipboard**

Clipboards are the perfect teacher supply- cheap and with multiple uses. I always loved having one that held my grade sheets and seating charts at my desk. You can utilize wall space by hanging them around the room. Next to the door, I hung several for the following purposes: tutoring sign in sheet, tardy sheet, and fire drill/emergency documents. dry erase clipboards are now my favorite! This class set has held up great for three years.

3. Manual Pencil Sharpener*

My personal opinion is that all electric pencil sharpeners are worthless. I know, probably a little harsh. However, my thought is this- at $8.00 a pop, I can buy four manual pencil sharpeners for the price of a decent electric one. Manual sharpeners are quieter, can be placed anywhere in the room, and require some work on the students' part, making sharpening their pencils not quite as much fun. 🙂

4. Dry Erase Markers***

A teacher can never have enough dry erase markers . If you have PTA money or any sort of school funds, I would recommend spending it on markers. Then, ration them throughout the year so that come May, you are not left high and dry. I kept several boxes for my use on the whiteboard and then utilized the remainder for student whiteboard use. As a math teacher, I loved using student whiteboards to formatively assess, play games, and in general, just make practice a little more interactive. Update: don't go off brand. Expo markers don't stain and wipe off clean.

5. Mr. Sketch Scented Markers***

These are my favorite markers! If you make anchor charts and haven't used them, you are going to fall in love. Not only do they have a great chisel tip, but they come in great colors. They don't leak through the page either. I keep these markers under lock and key because I love them so much!

6. Poster Board***

Never buy chart paper again. Poster board lasts longer, looks nicer, and is WAY less expensive. Make your own anchor charts by using your projector to trace.

7. Sticky Post-It Notes*

Post-it notes are kind of a given, but I want to challenge traditional post-it note thought. Have you tried the full back sticky ? These are perfect for labeling things, and sticking to the walls, and they aren't going to lose their "sticky" after a humid weekend with the air off.

8. Colored Card Stock***

Another favorite item that is great to have on hand is colored card stock . It's so versatile and so nice to have an extra pack or two. I use them for task cards, classroom management cards, I Can Statements, letters and posters, decorations, dividers in my binders, and in general, to brighten things up.

9. Binder Clips**

I have already shared my love for binder clips in my Teacher Organization post, but I wouldn't be doing them justice if I didn't include them here as well. These clips are perfect to hang posters on the wall, and they make clipping 150+ papers together a breeze. Don't waste any money on paper clips!

10. Magnets**

My sister introduced me to the greatness of . These revolutionized my pencil check out system . (Credit for the idea: To The Square Inch)

11. Command Hooks*

I mentioned using wall space to hang clipboards, and this wouldn't be possible without the joy of command hooks . I also used the giant hooks to create a place to hang my purse and scarves inside my cabinets. You can use them to hang task cards or any other ringed item.

12. EZ Grader*

Confession: I taught math and love the .

13. Timer***

Sure, you can use your phone, but that is one way to drain its battery. I love having a small timer up near the document camera to keep students on track and class moving along quickly. Bonus points if the timer can also attach to my lanyard.

14. Baggies*

At the beginning of the year, I buy a box of gallon-size and sandwich-size bags. You will be surprised at how many times you use them and how glad you are to have them on hand. I used them most often for keeping card sets together.

15. Plastic BINS**

I loved using plastic caddies in my classroom. I used them for group supply boxes, to hold classroom supplies, and to hold my personal supplies. I totally recommend the ones with locking lids! I know they are pricier, but at least for ones that are handled by students, this is a must!

16. Disinfectant Wipes*

Disinfectant wipes , a must have necessity. Who knows when disinfectant wipes will be back in stock consistently? If you are seeking an alternative, you can use old fashion cleaner and microfiber cloths or a UV sanitizing wand .

17. Stamps & Stickers**

I loved using for praise within the classroom. I know it sounds so cheesy, but let me tell you, even middle school students loved it! As they worked in groups, individually, on the warm up, etc., I would circulate and stamp pages. Sometimes it would be for the right answer, and sometimes it would be for those who were working hard. You would be shocked at how students would ask for the stamps and be quick to call out if they got missed. Stickers and stamps are must-have teacher supplies!

18. Glue Dots*

I love for labeling things. It's much less messy and more sturdy than tape. A great second to glue dots is a especially if your walls are concrete.

19. Scotch Expressions Tape and Washi Tape***

Jazz up your whiteboard and other items around the room with colored tape . I used it to create an agenda board and to keep my word wall organized. Update: washi tape is a must-have for keeping a Chrome Cart organized.

20. Soft Dice*

are a great tool to have in the classroom. Not only can you use them while teaching probability and statistics, but you can use them to call on students, practice quick math, and spice up a worksheet. Plus, they are quiet.

Splurges

Below are two other items that I don't think I could teach without. In fact, when I moved to a district that still had overhead projectors (not even kidding), I went out and bought my own.

Document Camera***

There are lots of fancy features to document cameras , but in all honesty, I think it is mostly used to model, whether that be working a problem, dissecting the text, or showing how to complete an activity. I seriously used my document camera almost daily. The Hue doc cam plugs straight into your computer (no extra power cord) and works with Zoom.

Bluetooth Speaker*

Music is such an incentive for teens. allows you to play music, set timers, or play the news (maybe something you do with your homeroom everyday). You can also turn off Alexa's microphone and control her by your phone.

Can't get enough school supplies?

Find out our 20 favorite technology gadgets for the classroom here.

Find out our 20 must have supplies for math teachers here.

I realize that being a teacher really adds up! Many of you purchase not only teacher supplies, but student supplies, curriculum resources, and other various items to keep your students engaged and learning. You buy lunches, participate in school fundraisers, pay for jean days, and donate for student gifts at the holidays. Remember to pace yourself. There will always be new supplies to buy!

Editor's Note: Maneuvering the Middle has been publishing blog posts for teachers for nearly 6 years. This post was originally published in July of 2016. It has been revamped for accuracy and relevancy.

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If I had to draw one very broad generalization about teachers, it would be that teachers love school supplies. To this day, I am exhilarated by walking down the school supply aisle. I have compiled a list of my favorite teacher supplies, all priced under $20.

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Classroom Icebreakers for Every Grade Level

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Classroom Icebreakers for Every Grade Level

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Your students receive many educational benefits from classroom icebreakers. They may not realize it at the time, but those get-to-know-you activities bear much weight in terms of social emotional learning.

Since we're your ally in education, we've compiled a list of classroom icebreakers for every grade level.

Grades: K-5 Classroom Icebreakers

Ah, the elementary age group. From kindergarten to fifth grade, children start becoming their own unique person. In other words, their personalities, aspirations, and apprehensions develop during this admittedly fragile stage. Plus, these years constitute a crucial period for social development.

As their teacher, part of these responsibilities fall to you. What happens in your classroom can help them flourish into adults who enjoy fruitful, balanced relationships. (No pressure.)

Not to worry, these icebreaker activities for elementary students will set them on the most ideal social learning path.

Name Word Search

Here you go: This worksheet download provides a fun way to exercise your kids' minds while they learn their classmates' names.

To let you in on a little secret, the teacher might also use the word search generator linked above. After all, it's never easy to memorize another set of names on the roster.

Handwriting-Class Roster Edition

The necessity of cursive as a cornerstone of curriculum has remained up for debate. But good handwriting shall remain a permanent foundation. Either way, the good news is that you can use a handwriting exercise as a classroom icebreaker.

Download this handwriting worksheet, plug in the names on your class roster, and you're good to go.

Student Interviews-Elementary Edition

Student interviews allow kids to develop a deeper rapport with one another. Divide your students in pairs, and give them a list of questions to ask one another. At the end of the activity, each student will reveal what they discovered.

Questions can be tailored for individual age groups. A few examples include:

What is your favorite color?

Do you have any pets?

What is your favorite TV show?

Grades: 6-8 Classroom Icebreakers

We've arrived at the middle grades. These students are growing up. They're undergoing an awkward stage in their social and intellectual development. At this point, activities, popular musical groups and television, and other trends factor into the equation.

In short, these kids don't want to be "uncool." Lucky for them, their teacher is trendy and hip. But most importantly, their teacher wants to help them sharpen their social skills. We've got you covered with these classroom icebreaker ideas.

Guess that Picture

Get some scraps of paper ready. While you're at it, grab a bowl. For this activity, simply fill that bowl with categories such as cartoon characters, chain restaurants, sports, household objects, or whatever springs to mind.

After dividing the class into teams, one person draws the item they pulled from the bowl, while the group attempts to guess what it is. It's pretty much a makeshift Pictionary.

Snowball Fight

It works like this. Students write three things about themselves, then crumple the paper up into a "snowball." At that point, you set up a timer and allow them to have a one-minute snowball fight. Yes, it'll make a mess, but it's worth it.

When the timer goes off, everyone grabs the closest snowball and has to try to find the person the three facts describe. Afterward, students can introduce their person to the class using the information they learned.

Student Interviews-Middle Grades Edition

Really, this one works for all grades. Teachers can pair students up and give them a list of questions to ask. At the end, each student will tell what they discovered.

Once again, questions can be tailored for individual age groups. Here is a handful of examples that may work for the middle grades:

What is your favorite subject in school?

What is your second favorite animal?

What kind of music do you like?

Grades: 9-12 Classroom Icebreakers

High school students. They stand at the gate that opens to adulthood. At this point, they're mostly worried about being awkward and feeling as if they belong. That said, icebreakers might not be their thing. But, as their teacher, you have the students' best intentions at heart.

Two Truths and a Lie

This activity involves revealing three details about a person, two of which are true and one that is false. Students say the three things out loud and then guess which one is untrue. It's a classic icebreaker, and it still works.

Your ____________ Name

This is a fun game that allows students to brand their alter egos - e.g. their rock star name, their detective name, their superhero name, and more. Teachers can change parameters as they wish.

Let's say one's superhero name comes from a combination of their favorite color and a common office supply. Who wouldn't read a comic about a caped crusader named the Blue Stapler?

A premade version of this icebreaker is available to download here.

Student Interviews-High School Edition

One more time. Student interviews really do work for any age group. The trick is finding the appropriate set of questions to give each pair of students. Here are a handful of more mature interview queries that will help high schoolers break the ice and enjoy class:

If they made a movie of your life, what actor would play you?

What is a surprising fact about yourself?

Who is your hero?

If you're looking to motivate your students, improve your classroom morale, and upgrade the fun factor in school, consider these PD courses.

Advancement Courses, a Wiley brand offers K-12 educators more than 200 online, self-paced professional development courses covering both foundational topics and emerging trends.

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Classroom Icebreakers for Every Grade Level | Advancement Courses

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Your students receive many educational benefits from classroom icebreakers. They may not realize it at the time, but those get-to-know-you activities bear much weight in terms of social emotional learning. Since we're your ally in education, we've compiled a list of classroom icebreakers for every grade level. Ah, the elementary age group.

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Every class has a chatterbox who can stall an entire lesson and distract his or her classmates. It takes creativity and patience to keep these students focused, but you don't have to figure it out alone. Advancement Courses asked 10 teachers for their best tricks for quieting noisy students. With these tips, no chatterbox will be a match against you.

Tips for Quieting a Classroom

I always play music in my classroom. I have transition songs that I use for students to get materials ready for the next subject area. At the beginning of the year, I teach each subject's song so that students know what to listen for and what to have ready based on the song.

-Melissa A.

I had an exceptionally noisy group my first year of teaching. I had previously taught deaf and hard of hearing students, and one of their issues was they did not know how loud they are. For them, I had a microphone connected to my computer, and I used an app called "Too Noisy." It would give them a visual for their noise level. I decided to try it with my fourth graders, and it worked! It was a meter with green, yellow, and red that they watched, and if it started getting too close to the red, I would hear someone say, "Shh, look at the meter!" It gave them a way to monitor their own noise level.

-Brianna C.

I begin drawing on the board - anything at all. What matters is that I'm engaged in something that occupies my attention fully, or that (the students) think I'm occupied. Normally, their innate curiosity will cause them to grow quiet, and of course, someone will inevitably ask what I'm doing. When that happens, the whole class grows quiet to hear.

-Christopher W.

I teach Kindergarten through 12th grade, so I use various techniques depending on the grade level. I have used the following:

I raise my hand, and those who are willing to help quiet the class raise their hands without making a sound. I count backward from 5. I start talking very quietly, almost a whisper, to those who are already quiet. I strum a wind chime.

-Terri L.

To quiet a noisy class, I find it very effective to locate the few students who are quiet and give them stickers or other tangible rewards for their cooperation. Calling out their names and allowing them to stand is great. Instant gratification for adhering to rules and expectations works very well for the young ones.

-Lydia B.

I do a three-minute mindfulness exercise allowing my students to breathe and exhale, focusing their thoughts on their breathing. This exercise helps their bodies relax so when it's time to transition to the next lesson, my students are in a calm state. Sometimes, I will use chimes during the mindfulness exercise; the sound is very relaxing to the ears.

-Ariana V.

When I wanted to quiet my classroom several years ago, I put on a self-meditation CD and had the students put their heads on their desks. I turned the lights off and had them relax and follow the prompts for breathing and stretching. The funny thing is I ran into one of these students recently, and the first thing he said is he remembered when we would meditate in class!

-Mary M.

For middle schoolers, I choose a word related to the unit we are studying - for example, when we were studying suspenseful short stories, my word was "Poe," then the students responded with "Creepfest." Then we got down to business (yep - that is a call out, too, and the response, of course, is "to defeat the Huns"). In middle school, the interest is key. I change it like the change in middle schoolers.

-Judith P.

At my school, we have a school-wide strategy for communicating to students that we need for them to quiet down. This strategy is the "Zero Voice" hand gesture. This gesture is simply the raising of one's arm, overhead, with the hand held in a closed fist. When an adult does this, several students will usually respond, creating a ripple effect throughout the classroom.

-Marsha M.

My favorite way to quiet a noisy class is to stand at the front and center with a smile on my face, and simply say, "Good morning/afternoon, everybody!" A few will answer, so I will repeat it until I get full response back. So simple, yet so effective! And it allows me to really look at every student's face with a smile.

-Karen R.

Own Your Classroom

Quieting students is just one aspect of creating an orderly classroom where real learning can take place. For more practical, effective classroom management techniques to keep your students on track, check out our courses Classroom Management Strategies for an Organized Classroom, Getting off on the Right Foot with Bell-Ringers and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports for Successful Classrooms.

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Creative Ways to Quiet a Classroom | Advancement Courses

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Every class has a chatterbox who can stall an entire lesson and distract his or her classmates. It takes creativity and patience to keep these students focused, but you don't have to figure it out alone. Advancement Courses asked 10 teachers for their best tricks for quieting noisy students.

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I had taught art for eight years and was making the leap to teach second- and third-graders. As I prepared to teach reading, writing, and math instead of the elements of design and color theory, I was overly nervous. I turned to my principal for guidance on how to be an effective classroom teacher. He gave me one piece of advice: "Pick up the phone and call your parents regularly."

That's it? What about how to teach these little people how to read? Wasn't learning how to problem solve with numbers more important?How am I supposed to set up a writer's workshop when I'm not sure where to start with writing instruction?

It seemed like answering my questions was far more important than calling parents. But when I pressed him for a different response, he said, "Calling parents is one of the most important things you can do."

Parent-Teacher Communication: Why It Matters

Over half of my first class qualified for free or reduced lunch, one-third of the students had displayed significant behavior issues in previous years, multiple students had an IEP (four needed a referral), two students were repeating third grade, and two-thirds of the students came from single-parent homes. Did I mention that I had the youngest child of one of the Board of Education members? No pressure, right?

Those first telephone calls were excruciating to initiate since I was a bashful introvert, but I forced myself to do it. I immediately saw that my principal was right. Communicating with parents and guardians is one of the most important things an educator can do.

Why is that?

First, we must understand the power of relationships. The most basic of human instincts is to feel a connection. It's no secret that when a teacher creates positive relationships with students, students will do better in school. Many studies indicate that if a meaningful connection can be made between home and school, student achievement will increase.

In today's time, initiating and maintaining communication between home and school can be challenging. Posting a newsletter or blog online does not guarantee it will get read, especially if it's the same information from the previous week with only minor changes. Plus, that newsletter or blog is generic and one-way communication. The only ones who will read it, faithfully, are the families who are most involved. And the students of those families will have a successful school experience regardless of the communication or lack of communication that occurs.

But what about the students whose families are less involved?Chances are, their parents are those with whom communication is most difficult, but that's where your attention is needed the most. If the job of schools is for every child to be successful, then we must communicate to all families, not just some.

As a principal later in my career, I watched teachers masterfully maintain communication with all types of families. The key to the success was making it personal and not generic, meaningful and not negative, and finding a way to make the connection regularly with families. The result? Students in those classrooms achieved at higher levels than others.

Recently, a former graduate student of mine who is a middle school special education teacher told me about a difficult meeting with a parent whose child had a long history of disruptive behavior. After addressing disciplinary concerns, the teacher and mother developed a communication plan to address behavior and achievement. Because the mother was overwhelmed with other children and her job, being consistent in communicating with school was practically impossible.

But the teacher made the plan easy for her by setting up regular text message updates to keep her informed about her son's behavior and achievement. She even texted randomly when the student did something right in the classroom and let the student see the message. Guess what. After multiple exchanges, the mother looked forward to hearing from the school, and the student's performance improved. A positive relationship had been made with the student and, now, the mother.

Initiating the Connection

Keeping families informed. Isn't that the heart of home-school communication? Conventional forms of communication, like newsletters, blogs, and report cards have their place for providing general information and school news. But to truly connect and inform families effectively, educators must build a relationship that allows two-way communication.

When I made those first phone calls years ago, the families of my most challenging students were wary when I identified myself. Their immediate response was guarded. When I said I was calling just to check in, they were dumbfounded. And when I told them something positive about their child, purposely leaving out any negative comments, they were speechless.

As a result, they were more eager to talk, the next time I called. For the parents who didn't (or wouldn't) answer their phones, I left a message telling them that I wanted to talk to them about a great thing that their child had done. Every single one of them called me back. I always gave my home number and found that parents never took advantage of having it.

Granted, it sometimes takes some creativity to find positive words for intensive children, but they deserve and need praise as much as anyone else, if not more. Communicating the good stories helps strengthen the relationship, so when you have to discuss the bad, resolutions are discussed more easily.

And as for the board member, he said it was the first time out of three children's school experiences that a teacher had ever called "just to check in." He wasn't the last parent to tell me that. I continued the calls as principal and got the same reactions and unwavering future support from families.

Most problems in life can be tied back poor communication. Why wouldn't we want to do all that we can do to keep communicate open and on-going with parents?

Make the call. It is one of the most important keys to school success for students - all students.

Fulfilling Your PD Requirements?

Choose from 280+ online, self-paced continuing education courses for teacher salary advancement and recertification. Available for either CEU/clock hours or in partnership with regionally-accredited universities for graduate credit.

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Enhance Your Parent-Teacher Relationships

Learn more about building strong parent-teacher relationships with Advancement Courses' Successful Parent-Teacher Conferences. Opportunities for parent-teacher interactions are limited, so it's critical to maximize your conferences. In this course, you will learn how to host effective parent-teacher conferences that foster relationships for the rest of the year, and you'll create strategies for sharing student data, approaching difficult topics with parents, and involving students appropriately in your communications with their parents.

Interested in learning more? Advancement Courses offers K-12 educators more than 200 professional development courses that are online and self-paced covering both foundational topics and emerging trends.

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Importance of Parent-Teacher Communication | Advancement Courses

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I had taught art for eight years and was making the leap to teach second- and third-graders. As I prepared to teach reading, writing, and math instead of the elements of design and color theory, I was overly nervous. I turned to my principal for guidance on how to be an effective classroom teacher.

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I'm a huge fan of podcasts. Right now in my queue, I have one on a fiber diet-turned-legal drama, a deep dive into the Mom Internet, and a fresh take on the Donner party.

What can I say? I contain multitudes.

Like many teachers, I left the universe of education podcasts unexplored for a long time. The idea of sitting through more teacher-talk after a long workday seemed like more professional development without the credit.

And I bet a lot of education podcasts can feel that way. But not these.

From readers' suggestions, we've curated a list of teacher podcasts that are everything but hokey, dry, or fake. Give these a listen and prepare to laugh, be inspired, and have your teacher mind blown wide open.

MindShift by KQED

The premise: It's easy to see a child's education as a path determined by grades, test scores, and extracurricular activities. But genuine learning is about so much more than the points schools tally. MindShift explores the future of learning and how we raise our kids.

A promising review: "This podcast adds so much to my life, I don't know how I survived before it. Short, yet tells a complete story that is well researched and captivating. As a parent, this expands my view so wildly, and for that I am appreciative."
Listen to MindShift on Apple Podcasts Listen to MindShift on Spotify
Too Dope Teachers and a Mic

The premise: Race, power, and education have always mingled since the foundation of this country, but Kevin and Gerardo seek to remix the conversation about it.

A promising review: "Love Too Dope Teachers and a Mic! Kevin and Gerardo bring conversations about education through a critical lens, with deep experience as male teachers of color in a world where that makes you (unfortunately) a bit of a unicorn. Keep up the great work, fellas! And to everyone out there, subscribe now. You won't be disappointed."

Another promising review: "I know you're tired from teaching all day and you aren't sure if you want to listen to a teaching podcast. You do. These guys are intersectional, obviously care about others, and have amazing guests. I'm a white teacher looking for how to be better, and these guys deliver."
Listen to Too Dope Teachers on Apple Podcasts Listen to Too Dope Teachers on Spotify
The Creative Classroom

The premise: I want to see teachers transform classrooms into spaces of imagination and wonder. So, here's where I explore what it means to make this a reality.

A promising review: "This podcast is the breath of fresh air that I needed in my teaching craft. Teaching is a constantly developing craft, and John speaks to support and build that. After listening to this podcast, I'm wondering where I can take his classes!"
Listen to The Creative Classroom on Apple Podcasts Listen to The Creative Classroom on Spotify
Cult of Pedagogy

The premise: Teaching strategies, classroom management, education reform, educational technology-if it has something to do with teaching, we're talking about it.

A promising review: "I am in love with this podcast. Jennifer does such a great job explaining teaching strategies and research. There is example after example in every episode to guide you with your teaching. Try out this podcast-it's totally worth your time."
Listen to Cult of Pedagogy on Apple Podcasts Listen to Cult of Pedagogy on Spotify
Teachers Off Duty

The premise: Your favorite TikTok teachers sharing stories and experiences from the classroom and beyond, brought to you by Bored Teachers.

A promising review: "I am a veteran teacher and I love this podcast. It is 100% the truth! I recommend this podcast to everyone!"
Listen to Teachers Off Duty on Apple Podcasts Listen to Teachers Off Duty on Spotify
Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers

The premise: Truth for Teachers is designed to speak life, encouragement, and truth into the minds and hearts of educators and get you energized for the week ahead.

A promising review: "The last few years have been so hard in education, but when I am especially frustrated, I can always count on this podcast to bring me right back to center. As a 40-hour member, I have gained so much all while cleaning my house, exercising, or working in my classroom. Thank you for being that REAL voice for what is going on and having a vision to aspire to!"
Listen to Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers on Apple Podcasts Listen to Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers on Spotify
Google Teacher Podcast

The premise: The Google Teacher Podcast is designed to give K-12 educators practical ideas for using G Suite and other Google tools in classrooms and schools.

A promising review: "While I use Google for Education tools regularly, listening to this podcast helps keep me up-to-date when new features or changes are made to the tools I already use and love. Highly recommend."
Listen to Google Teacher Podcast on Apple Podcasts Listen to Google Teacher Podcast on Spotify
Two Mr. Ps in a Pod(cast)

The premise: Two U.K. teachers-who are also brothers-share funny stories from the classroom.

A promising review: "These two brothers make me laugh so hard. I feel like they could be a part of my own family. You don't have to be a teacher to relate to their stories and enjoy the descriptions of the characters and kids they encounter. Best of all, they clearly enjoy kids and seriously respect individual differences while not taking themselves too seriously."
Listen to Two Mr. Ps on Apple Podcasts Listen to Two Mr. Ps on Spotify
What's your favorite education podcast? Let us know in the comments!

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Teachers Swear By These 8 Education Podcasts

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Looking to develop your skills during lunch or down time? These top education podcasts are teacher-approved.

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Stress. It makes your heart pound, your breathing quicken and your forehead sweat. But while stress has been made into a public health enemy, new research suggests that stress may only be bad for you if you believe that to be the case. Psychologist Kelly McGonigal urges us to see stress as a positive, and introduces us to an unsung mechanism for stress reduction: reaching out to others.

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Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, “They don’t pay me to like the kids.” Her response: “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.’” A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level.

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Welcome to your first year of teaching. This year will test you more intensely than just about anything you've done up to now. It will deplete all your energy, bring you to tears, and make you question every talent or skill you thought you had. But all these tests, if you approach them the right way, will leave you better and stronger than you are today.

Advice is available everywhere you look, and some of it is very good. Still, with everything you have to do right now, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of it all. And the fact is, a lot of those tips won't work very well if you fail to follow this one essential rule:

Surround yourself with good people.

By finding the positive, supportive, energetic teachers in your school and sticking close to them, you can improve your job satisfaction more than with any other strategy. And your chances of excelling in this field will skyrocket. Just like a young seedling growing in a garden, thriving in your first year depends largely on who you plant yourself next to.

Many experienced gardeners follow a concept called companion planting: placing certain vegetables and plants near each other to improve growth for one or both plants. For example, rose growers plant garlic near their roses because it repels bugs and prevents fungal diseases. Among companion plants, the marigold is one of the best: It protects a wide variety of plants from pests and harmful weeds. If you plant a marigold beside most any garden vegetable, that vegetable will grow big and strong and healthy, protected and encouraged by its marigold.

Marigolds exist in our schools as well - encouraging, supporting and nurturing growing teachers on their way to maturity. If you can find at least one marigold in your school and stay close to them, you will grow. Find more than one and you will positively thrive.

Few teachers will be lucky enough to be planted close to a marigold - being assigned to one as a mentor, co-teacher, or team leader will be rare. You will have to seek them out. You can identify them by the way they congratulate you on arrival, rather than asking why anyone would want this godforsaken job. Or by the way their offers to help sound sincere. Or just by how you feel when you're with them: Are you calmer, more hopeful? Excited to get started on a teaching task? Comfortable asking questions, even the stupid ones? If you feel good around this person, chances are they have some marigold qualities.

Once you've identified your marigolds, make an effort to spend time with them. Having a hard day? Go to your marigolds. Not understanding how to operate the grade reporting system? Go to your marigolds. Confused by something the principal said at the faculty meeting? Marigolds. They may be on the other side of the building, out of your grade or subject area, or otherwise less convenient to reach than others. If your school is especially toxic, you might have to find your marigolds in another school, or even online. Make the effort. It's worth the trouble.

While seeking out your marigolds, you'll need to take note of the walnut trees. Successful gardeners avoid planting vegetables anywhere near walnut trees, which give off a toxic substance that can inhibit growth, wilt, and ultimately kill nearby vegetable plants. And sadly, if your school is like most, walnut trees will be abundant. They may not seem dangerous at first. In fact, some may appear to be good teachers - happy, social, well-organized. But here are some signs that you should keep your distance: Their take on the kids is negative. Their take on the administration is negative. Being around them makes you feel insecure, discouraged, overwhelmed, or embarrassed.

WALNUT TREES ARE POISON. Avoid them whenever you can. If you don't, they will start to infect you, and soon you'll hate teaching as much as they do.

Doing this may be a challenge: Your supervisor might be a walnut tree. You may be co-teaching with one. You might work on a whole team of walnut trees, spending hours with them every week. Touching base with your marigolds will help flush out the toxins that build up from contact with the walnut trees. On top of that, simply identifying certain co-workers as walnut trees can help dilute their power over you. If I'd had a label I could mentally place on certain people in the schools where I worked, they would have had far less of an impact on me.

So in the spirit of identification, here are some common walnut tree varieties to look out for:

Kid-Hatin' Kate, who will snort every time you share a positive anecdote about your students. Spend enough time with her and you'll believe every single one of them is a lying, cheating little sneak and you're a fool if you think otherwise.

Retirement Dan, who regularly reports on how many years he has left before he's "outta here." He then adds with a chuckle that you have about thirty, right? Dan will find your enthusiasm about school "cute," but will then tell you to "just wait...it'll wear off."

Twenty-Page Tina, who sets impossibly high standards for her students and brags when kids fail. You had your kids write a five-page paper? Tina assigned twenty. Your mid-term had fifty questions? Tina's had a hundred and fifty, and only a dozen kids passed it. The students say her exams are the only ones they ever have to study for. After talking to Tina, you'll feel the urge to triple your kids' workload and add at least ten trick questions to your assessments, just to get your average down.

Badass Bobby, who overhears you talking about your students acting up in class and says, "They would never try that crap in my room." Whenever you leave a conversation with him, you go and scream at your kids.

Hattie-Who-Hates-the-Principal. Self-explanatory.

Lawsuit Steve, who sees you touch a student's forearm and says you better watch out. He "had to give up hugs years ago" and is always reminding you to "be careful."

My-Time Margaret, who counts the number of minutes she got for lunch, complains about serving one more day of car-rider duty than anyone else, and knows precisely what time she's legally required to be in the building each day (not a minute earlier).

And Good-Old-Days Judy, who hates anything new and never fails to mention how much better things used to be.

Be especially vigilant during PDs, when you'll find yourself in a veritable forest of walnut trees. It will be the worst when the presenter asks you to perform some task - read student work, for example - in groups. The trees will slowly turn toward the center, leaves rustling, snarky comments dropping off their branches like walnuts whacking the table. It won't matter how potentially interesting the activity might be, as soon as they huddle up it will be snark, snark, ugly, ugly, hate, hate. When this happens, recognize that you are surrounded, hold tight to your roots, and remember your marigolds.

Your search for marigolds will yield imperfect results: Not everyone is all-marigold or all-walnut tree. There will be some in the building who just make you happy - go to them for a mood boost. Some who aren't terribly good at the teaching part, but love the kids to death - seek them out when you need to be reminded of how much you love them, too. Others will take care of you - encourage you to rest, slack off a little, not beat yourself up. And some who are intensely into the craft, who always have a great strategy on hand and keep up on current research - they can really help you stretch your abilities. Learn who has what marigold qualities and get what you can from each of them.

Finally, try to find some compassion for the walnut trees. Their toxicity comes from a place of real pain, and they themselves probably fell under the influence of the walnut trees who came before them. Plus, it's not like their complaints have no basis in reality. Teaching is a ridiculously hard job, some say almost impossible - like climbing Mount Everest (if you'll allow for one last metaphor). Still, you're aware of the difficulty, and though many before you have failed, you have accepted the challenge.

Before you climb that peak, you'll need to choose a sherpa to escort you through the trek. The first option is Walter Nutt, who starts by asking why in the world you'd want to do something like this. He describes the many others who have died trying to do this climb, how sick you'll get, how people have polluted the trail, all but destroying what was once a pristine and beautiful mountain. The second option, Mary Gold, congratulates you on your courage, sits down with you to map out some important strategies, and finishes off by saying It's a crazy-hard, mammoth task, but you know what? We're going to kick that mountain's ass.

Who do you want leading you up that peak?

Find your marigolds and stick close to them. Grow big and strong. Kick that mountain's ass. ♦

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Find Your Marigold: The One Essential Rule for New Teachers

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Welcome to your first year of teaching. This year will test you more intensely than just about anything you've done up to now. It will deplete all your energy, bring you to tears, and make you question every talent or skill you thought you had.

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Yes, 2020 has been a year like no other, and today's guest, Pamela Livingston Guadet, interviewed a wide variety of school tech directors to hear their stories of triage teaching during the COVID-19 emergency. Today, she shares their wisdom, including the positives, negatives, the things that shocked her, and what her...

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Join full-time teacher Vicki Davis, author of the Cool Cat Teacher Blog, as she dives into what matters most to classroom teachers. The best and brightest educators and idea creators will inspire you as they are interviewed on this show. You'll learn behind the scenes tips, classroom ideas, and practical mindsets for anyone working with today's kids.

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Larry Ferlazzo

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Two days ago, I published A Collection Of My Best Resources On Teaching English Language Learners, which brought together many of the materials on that topic that I have either written or collected.

And, since I also have a very large amount of materials on student motivation, I published A Collection Of My Best Resources On Student Motivation.

And, since I've also written a book about parent engagement and have shared many related resources, here's the last in this series of "Best" posts.

Building Parent Engagement In Schools is the title of the book I co-authored. You can find some free resources at the link.

Here are some of the best articles I've written on the topic that have appeared in Ed Week, ASCD Educational Leadership and The Washington Post. You can find links to even more here.:

I've published quite a few posts at my Education Week Teacher column on Parent Engagement In Schools.

There are about fifty "Best" lists specifically related to parent engagement here.

I host a blog, Engaging Parents In School, where I share new resources two or three times each month.

I was interviewed by Val Brown on parent engagement.

It was part of the Center for Teaching Quality "microcredential series."

If you find it useful or interesting, you can read and/or listen to other commentaries I've done on the topic.

Prefer to listen to #TeachingPartners podcast with @Larryferlazzo on iTunes? Here it is! https://t.co/6TfldmnC4T

- teachingpartners (@teachingpartner) July 19, 2017

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A Collection Of My Best Resources On Parent Engagement

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Two days ago, I published A Collection Of My Best Resources On Teaching English Language Learners, which brought together many of the materials on that topic that I have either written or collected. And, since I also have a very large amount of materials on student motivation, I published A Collection Of My Best Resources On Student Motivation.

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Dave Stuart Jr.

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These 6 Things by Dave Staurt, Jr. | Transforming Learning Podcast

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Dave Stuart, Jr. is a teacher, author, blogger, and presenter motivated by the pursuit of his students' long-term flourishing. Hear more about how here!

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Scholastic

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Teaching Tools | Resources for Teachers from Scholastic

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Ten Activities for Establishing Classroom Rules

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Ten Activities for Establishing Classroom Rules

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Ten Activities for Establishing Classroom Rules | Lesson Plan

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Surprisingly, student-created rules are often much the same as rules a teacher might create.

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It's almost time for the first parent-teacher conferences of the school year. Whether this is the first round of conferences of your teaching career, or your hundredth, communicating with parents can be intimidating. Remember, despite the stress and challenge of these conferences, your mission is to partner with parents to ensure your students' success. Here are a few tips to develop strong relationships with parents:

Engage Parents While Waiting

Parents may become impatient if they have to wait to meet with you. To create a more positive atmosphere, arrange the chairs outside of your door so parents have a comfortable place to sit while waiting for their meeting. To help parents pass the time until it's their turn, put a box of folders containing student work in the seating area that parents can look through while they wait. Label the folders with each student's name so the parents can easily find their child's folder. This is a great way for parents to see what their children are doing and to get them excited about discussing their child's progress in your class. For reasons of confidentiality, never include work that lists students' grades. In addition to student work, you may also want to include your class syllabus and a letter that the child has written to his/her parent(s).

Set a Timer

Often, parents work full-time, which means parent-teacher conferences may need to be scheduled for the evening hours. Typically, parent-teacher conferences are packed into two or three evenings, and you will need to see parents one after another. Keeping to the schedule will be vital, so keep a timer on your table and set it as each parent sits down to talk to you. As you set the timer, explain to the parent that the conference will end as scheduled so that you are able to meet with every student's parents, but if they have other questions remaining, they may contact you afterward.

Begin with Positives

Some conferences may be difficult, especially if a student isn't performing well. Always start your conference with positive words about each student. Even if the student is doing poorly in your class, talk first about his/her good behavior, kind acts toward classmates, or talents. By starting with the positives, you convey to the parents that you also see their child's strengths, not only his/her weaknesses. It shows that you take the time to look for positives first and that your main concern is ensuring their child's success in your classroom.

Use Rubrics and Anecdotal Notes

Rubrics are great tools because they aren't subjective. Instead, they focus only on the product. As much as possible, focus your discussion about the student on objective and evidenced-based classwork. If there are behavioral issues, use specific details to discuss them with parents. When behavior incidents happen, make sure to keep dated anecdotal notes so you're able to reference them as needed. An easy way to do this is to write incidents on post-it notes when they occur. At the end of each day, place the dated notes into a folder with the student's name on it. This way, when you need to access this information, it is all there in one place.

Have Suggestions as to How Parents Can Help

Be prepared to end the conference with suggestions for how parents can help at home. Prepare a handout to give to parents that outlines what will be covered during the upcoming weeks along with suggestions for how they can help their child succeed at home. If you have a class website, share it with parents and encourage them to check it weekly to keep updated about what's happening in your classroom.

Follow-Up Letters

In some cases, when there are serious concerns about academic and behavioral issues, you may want to consider following up with a letter. The letter should document your concerns and summarize what was discussed during the conference. This allows you to have a record later in the school year if retention is recommended. Before sending such a letter, you should consult with your principal.

Next Steps

Remember that the goal of a parent-teacher conference should always be to establish rapport and build a supportive relationship with parents. By working together with families, you can achieve the ultimate goal of success for every child. For more tips about effectively communicating and partnering with your students' families, check out our courses Building Parent Engagement about the Common Core State Standards and Building Meaningful Partnerships: Connecting Schools, Families, and Communities.

What is one of your most memorable moments from a parent-teacher conference? Share your stories on our Facebook page!

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Navigating Parent-Teacher Conferences | Advancement Courses

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It's almost time for the first parent-teacher conferences of the school year. Whether this is the first round of conferences of your teaching career, or your hundredth, communicating with parents can be intimidating. Remember, despite the stress and challenge of these conferences, your mission is to partner with parents to ensure your students' success.

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ASCD

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NEA

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Getting parents more engaged in school is a necessary variable in the equation of student success. In fact, parent engagement can have a direct impact on student engagement itself. Multiple studies prove that students whose parents are actively engaged in their schooling typically show the following:

Higher grades

Higher test scores

Greater social skills

Better reported behavior

Easier adaptation to school

Greater likelihood of continuing into post-graduate education

It's only logical that involved parents positively impact student achievement. According to an NEA 2008 report, when schools, parents, and families work in partnership to support students, then those students succeed at a higher level. It's also important to note that when a school engages more parents, all children benefit, according to a 1995 study called A Generation of Evidence: The Family is Critical to Student Achievement.

That's great, Heather. You might be saying to yourself. But how? How do we engage parents in our schools when they themselves are busy and stressed and many are just struggling to get their students to school on time?

So I've developed what I'm calling The Eight Ps of Parent Engagement. These are meant to help guide a teacher or school or district in making outreach decisions to increase parent engagement.

Of course, it's easy to know how to increase parent engagement, but it's not as easy to actualize the steps to make it happen. Don't worry, however, you don't have to do it alone. Partner with parents to create a think tank devoted to outreach and dedicated to increasing the numbers of engaged parents. And don't limit those you partner with to those who are already engaged. Call directly to invite others. Create a shared vision where school is seen as a positive place for all stakeholders, and get ready to launch a campaign to engage more parents than ever.

Your students will thank you for it and they, too, will be more engaged.
Heather Wolpert-Gawron is a teacher at Jefferson Middle School in San Gabriel, Calif., and the author of Just Ask Us: Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement.

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The Eight Ps of Parent Engagement - NEA Today

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Getting parents more engaged in school is a necessary variable in the equation of student success. In fact, parent engagement can have a direct impact on student engagement itself.

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10 Books to Build Your Professional Library

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10 Books to Build Your Professional Library

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Megan Cyphers

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10 Books to Build Your Professional Library

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BrainPop

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Explore our collection of one-week pacing guides and accompanying two-day lesson plans. Find content in all grade levels and subject areas. Lesson Plans include modifications for offline learning, personalization and English language learners.

More content is added continually, check back often.

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Pacing Guides and Lesson Plans | BrainPOP Educators

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Explore our collection of one-week pacing guides and accompanying two-day lesson plans. Find content in all grade levels and subject areas. Lesson Plans include modifications for offline learning, personalization and English language learners. More content is added continually, check back often.

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10 Things Teacher's College Never Prepared Me For

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10 Things Teacher's College Never Prepared Me For

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Having been held hostage by the whims of the cutest sort of five-year-old juvenile delinquents and lived to tell the tale, I have given some thought to the unlimited number of things I was NOT taught in teacher training, so as to prepare me for these uncertain days in which I find myself now: as a real-LIVE teacher.

1. I was never given any formal training on what to do in the situation...whereby one might be locked outside one's classroom to the delight of one's five-year old students -- whose bright minds concocted the idea of closing the door, turning out the lights and then hiding under and inside various areas of their classroom, all as part of a practical joke played on their teacher prior to her return from her prep period. And the former, these cute little delinquents also decided to keep said teacher in suspense while they continued their delightful, little game while she pounded on the door repeatedly- all while listening to them scamper about with glee on the other side of the door.

To be sure, this teacher was given absolutely no training on this possibility in any of her B.Ed. courses nor did it EVER come up in any discussion she might have had with her advisors, teacher mentors (nor were there any articles or the like written about such phenomena in any of the engaging textbooks she might have had the privilege of reading. An apparent lack in the literature, perhaps?)

2. I had no idea the copious amounts of visible nasal mucus (snot) one would encounter while on the job, not did I realize that parallel lines of the same would be a permanent feature on the elementary child's facial features causing me to re-think how students structure self-portraits so as to accommodate for such. I also didn't realize that grass was considered a part of the body. Nor did I know that some children visualize themselves as a piece of toast, an angry bird, and a mouse (in no order of importance of priority).

3. No one told me how often I would use the laminator.

4. I really had no idea that someone as un-crafty as myself would become an expert on all things feathery, sparkly, glittery, pom-pom-y, tissue-y, play-doh-y or in general: that I might be able to make something from nothing, in a matter of speaking. Literally, I have made crafts from someone's garbage.

5. I had no idea that I would spend my meal times balancing a yogurt/banana in one hand while applying cold compresses wrapped in Kleenex with the other to children's faces who decided to do face-plants on their way out the door for recess. No one told me about that one.

6. I wasn't prepared for what children would confide in me. Things like what their parents do for pastimes (shoot buffalo), what their parents wear to bed (nothing) to some very tall tales about houses that (never) burned down and the rescue plans that (never) ensued.

7. I had no idea how many hours a kindergarten teacher would spend at school after hours. I knew that there was some preparation involved. But no one quite prepared me for the days/nights that I would spend inside an empty school where toilets flush spontaneously while the rest of the sane teaching-world spent their time after-hours preparing from home. Apart from adding a room onto my house full of markers, construction paper, paint, chart paper, a photocopier and a laminator, it looks like this kindergarten teacher will continue to haunt the school hallways "as long as she so shall teach."

8. There use to be a time where I would cringe if I came in contact with bodily fluids, crumby bits of food, crud, mud, goo, grease, glue, dirt or dust bunnies. Now, I realize there are too few hours in the day to sweat the small stuff. And that's why I have baby wipes on my list of classroom supplies.

9. I never realized that patience was something you could grow. I always use to think you were either born with it -- or you were not. I was not born with it, for the record. But I am growing it in fast supply. Baby, I wasn't born this way...but I am still hanging in there anyway.

10. I didn't know back in those heady days of teacher prep that you could actually LOVE your students. I never knew that love was even part of the equation. I just thought it was about teaching. About content. About learning stuff. About knowledge. But what the B.Ed. program never taught me was that 'my kids' are not just the ones born to me -- they're also the ones I hold close when they're tired. The ones I help when they're hurt. The ones I laugh with when they're being funny. And the ones I learn alongside- because we're all in this together. And when those kiddos say they love you they really mean it. And so do I.

The B.Ed program taught me some pretty great things, but it certainly didn't get me ready for all the important stuff. The stuff that really matters. And that stuff of teaching that I'm talking about here: it's the reality of the classroom. It's what they didn't teach me about in teacher training that is really the heart and soul of teaching. It's what teaching is all about.

And you don't learn about it, you've got to live it to understand it.

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10 Things Teacher's College Never Prepared Me For

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Having been held hostage by the whims of the cutest sort of five-year-old juvenile delinquents and lived to tell the tale, I have given some thought to the unlimited number of things I was NOT taught in teacher training, so as to prepare me for these uncertain days in which I find myself now: as a real-LIVE teacher.

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Teacher Training Doesn't Prepare You for Everything

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Teacher Training Doesn't Prepare You for Everything

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So I'm about to finish my seventh year of teaching...where did the time go right? And, with the news that I would have a student teacher in the fall, I began thinking about all the things that college didn't prepare me for. I know education theories, how state exams work, how to make a professional portfolio, and ideas of how to teach the material. But anyone who's been in this game for a while can tell you that all this stuff you learn in college doesn't really prepare you for that first step into your classroom.

After some soul searching while studying abroad, I decided to go down the path to becoming a teacher. I consider myself lucky in being from a very small school where you had the opportunity to make lifelong relationships with teachers.

One of the most influential teachers I had was my science teacher, who I had from seventh grade through my senior year. And it was because of her that I decided on high school science. Then four years later, I was walking into a classroom that was to be my domain.

1. Now onto the hard part...where do you even begin?

That was the first thing I worried about. I was given a classroom, a set of textbooks, and told to get started. I was in a situation where I was in charge after spending years on the opposite end. College doesn't prepare you for that...heck, student teaching doesn't really prepare you for that either.

Hopefully, you will go into your first classroom and find tons of resources left by the previous teacher but if not, talk to other teachers (especially if you're not the only one in your grade or subject). There are lots of websites, facebook groups, and conferences where you can find material to use.

2. Another thing I'd wished I'd learned was how to talk to and deal with parents.

The most dreaded days of the year is Parent-Teacher Conferences. I was terrified in the beginning about talking to parents and always worried about saying something wrong or something they didn't want to hear.

But what I've found over time is that the parents that show up, are usually claiming the "good" kids and you have good things to tell them. The parents of the "bad" kids will almost always be absent. In the event that they show up, having your administrators or a buddy teacher in the room with you will help.

3. With the influx of technology, most schools have transitioned to online grade book systems.

These can be a nightmare if you don't have the basics down. I've experienced three different systems and all have been different. Having a generic training course for this is college would have been a godsend. You will get a login and password from your I.T. person then told to "play around with it." Your best option, ask your building secretaries (they know everything) or an experienced teacher for a tutorial.

4. Something I struggled with was when to handle a difficult student myself or to send them to the principal.

For some reason, I felt that if I sent kids to the office I wasn't doing my job in the terms of classroom management. But what I had to learn was it's better to send the disruptive student out of the room to maintain order.

You can read all the books on classroom management written but it still won't prepare you when you're standing in front of your students. One trick I've stuck with is to be very strict in the beginning. Stress that respect and privileges are earned, not given. You can always relax your management later on, but if you go in soft it's 10 times more difficult to become strict. You will learn within the first few weeks which classes to can relax with and which ones you need to be tougher with.

5. There are certain people you need to have a good relationship with at all times.

The office and secretarial staff are the first because they know everything, they usually have a stash of office supplies, and they tend have tons of helpful information about the community. The other important group includes the janitors, custodians, and maintenance crew. Things will break, cause a minor disaster, or you just need something fixed...if you don't have a good relationship with this group, you will find out just how long you can go without it.

This is not everything I've learned in my time as a teacher but it's a start. If you are reading this, I hope you take away some good information that will benefit your situation. Please don't be discouraged if something doesn't work out the way you planned. Approach new classroom ideas like Thomas Edison approached the light bulb- "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

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Teacher Training Doesn't Prepare You For Everything...

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So I'm about to finish my seventh year of teaching...where did the time go right? And, with the news that I would have a student teacher in the fall, I began thinking about all the things that college didn't prepare me for.

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Move students in and out of class and between activities smoothly to save valuable instruction time.

While facilitating a demo lesson in front of eight Georgia instructors, my credibility crumbled when 35 cranky middle graders gridlocked themselves in a failed attempt to move their desks into small groups. Charitably, the observing teachers pretended not to notice.

Botched transitions are not only embarrassing, they're lost time. If you save 15 minutes a day through more efficient transitions, that will result in 45 extra hours of instructional time per year. Therefore, shifting students from one task to the next is worth getting right.

There are essentially three types of transitions: entering class and taking a seat, switching from one academic activity to another, and exiting class. And just like any academic procedure, transitions are taught through explicit explanations, clear models, rehearsal, and review.

1. Secure students' attention: "Focus on me, please."

2. Explain the procedure: "In a moment, return to your desks and take out your history textbooks."

3. Prepare kids for the signal to start: "When I say 'smooth,' you'll quietly proceed."

4. Initiate the transition: "And... smooth." Don't say "go," warns Linsin, because that word cues students to race.

5. Observe: Watch to make sure all students are complying.

Whether students are transitioning from reading to math, or PE to the drinking fountain, author Mike Linsin recommends standardizing the process with five steps that I paraphrase this way:

Troubleshooting

Did I provide too many or too few directions?

Did the transition catch kids off guard when they were absorbed in an activity?

Did too many kids have nothing to do?

Are there specific students who created chaos?

When transitions take too long or learners misbehave, it's time to don your figurative Sherlock Holmes deerstalker hat and reflect on these questions:

After answering those questions, try some of the techniques described below.

When transitions take too long: To counter students dragging their feet, announce how many seconds are left before the next event begins. Teachers like Tyler Hester take out a stopwatch and challenge kids to beat the transition times of other classes ( see a video example at the 35 minute mark). And here's a personal secret: Slowly counting down from five in a booming voice never fails to accelerate transitions.

When procedures aren't followed: Lining up her students at the end of the day was a problem for one fifth-grade teacher. Her challenging class often erupted into fights, and the assistant principal chewed her out for delaying the buses. As a solution, she affixed black dots to the floor three feet apart for students to stand on and provided more time for packing belongings. After a few practice sessions, her students' dismissal behavior improved.

Any transition benefits from showing young students how to ninja walk. Other routines are equally engaging; Watch Madeline Noonan's fifth graders ready themselves in "super scholar style" or with "word of the day" signals.

A number of studies show that reminders called precorrectives reduce misbehavior during transitions. Right before a transition, ask a child to describe the proper progression of steps for, say, entering the class after recess. Or play " correct the teacher " by performing examples and non-examples while learners indicate incorrect actions with a thumbs-down signal. Then call on someone to articulate or model the correct procedure.

In another precorrective, described by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, a child walks through the procedure while the teacher narrates: "Let's watch Noel at the sink. First, she turns the handles a bit. What does she need next? That's right, soap! She pumps once because that is all she needs. Now she is rinsing off the bubbles and is ready for her paper towel. How many pulls does she need? Let's say it together-one, two, that will do!"

Finally, an effective strategy for reteaching transitions is simply to direct the entire class to start over. Budget extra time for do-overs during the first two weeks of class and be patient. As the Navy SEALs say, "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast."

When students don't want to quit what they're doing: Have you ever seen a boy wail when bedtime is announced? More than likely, he felt blindsided. In the classroom, many kids feel the same volcanic emotions when asked to stop doing an activity that absorbs them. However, displaying a countdown timer, like E.ggtimer.com, Online-Stopwatch.com, or Timer-Tab.com -when combined with verbal time signals-helps students anticipate and prepare for an approaching transition.

When younger children get distracted: In an article on transitions, Sarah E. Mathews cites a 2007 study that showed how "children appeared excited to engage in many routines that were part of music." Singing the following song, says Mathews, will help kindergartners straighten their work areas between activities: "A helper I will be. A helper I will be. / There's work to do. There's work to do. A helper I will be." Or play this clean up song.

Letting students take charge of transitions: Transitions don't have to involve an entire class. Watch how Wendy Hopf's sixth graders use hand signals: Raising one finger requests help, raising two fingers asks for a bathroom or water break, and raising three fingers indicates that a pencil needs sharpening. "I love it," says Hopf, "because I have the option of saying no."

Research suggests that successful transitions are quick and have clear beginnings and endings. Meeting those requirements will maximize learning time. However, don't be afraid to add in some whimsy, like the North Carolina teacher who greets each student with a charming individual handshake as they enter the classroom each morning, thus illustrating that transitions happen with kids, not to them.

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Move students in and out of class and between activities smoothly to save valuable instruction time.

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We all know that the first days of school lay the foundation for the entire year. As educators, one of our immediate goals is to make sure that all of our students from various cultures and backgrounds feel included and supported in our classroom, so they are ready to learn. To welcome students back to school, here are six printable diversity and inclusion activities from Read for a Better World, a new classroom literacy collection that includes books, lessons, and activities designed around the themes of identity, diversity, justice, and action.

1. Puzzle Pieces of Me (Pre-K-1)

This activity uses identity as a theme. It is based on the idea that the collection of all the little things you do makes you who you are. Part of your identity is made up of things you like to do. The puzzle pieces in this activity encourage self-reflection and group discussion. This is another way for students to share more about who they are as you welcome them back to school.

How it works: Have students write their names at the top of the page. Then, in each puzzle piece, have them draw a picture of what they like to eat, their favorite thing to do, what they look like, and their favorite color.

Get printable: Puzzle Pieces of Me

2. Family Portrait (Pre-K-1)

Much of a child's early worldview is shaped by caregivers and family members. A student's identity is influenced by those adults in their lives, and this activity gives them a chance to share their families with their classmates. You can encourage them to include family members that aren't biologically related to them. Ask them key questions such as: What makes a family? What are some of the ways family members support each other?

How it works: Have students draw a picture of their family. Then answer some questions about their families. For example: My family takes care of me by... I help my family by... I show my family I care about them by...

Get printable: Family Portrait

3. Classmate Interview (Grades 2-3)

This activity helps students discover all the many ways they are the same and how they are different from one another. It establishes that our identity makes the world a more interesting and beautiful place despite differences. And it helps students find how much they have in common. Additionally, this activity is designed to build empathy by actively learning about others.

How it works: Start off by talking about the general ways we are all different from one another and how we're the same. You can write the student's answers on a dry-erase board. Then have students pair off and interview each other. Have the students take turns asking each other the same four questions included on the activity sheet.

Get printable: Classmate Interview

4. Shaped by Place (Grades 2-3)

This activity explores the importance of place and setting in making us who we are. This helps students understand some of the ways people are shaped by where they live. This can be an opportunity to reflect on how the places in which they spend time help to inform who they are.

How it works: Focusing on the idea that a place makes you who you are. Have students answer these three questions three times: What do I do here? Who do I like here? How do I feel here?

Get printable: Shaped by Place

5. Outer Me, Inner Me (Grades 4-5)

This diversity and inclusion activity is great for welcoming students back to school as it invites them to explore identity and their inner and outer selves. Ask students to think about the feelings they have inside and the identity they share with the world. Remind students that identity is something that people can see, and there are parts of themselves that are hidden.

How it works: Ask students to draw a realistic self-portrait. They could bring a photo into class and work off of that. Ask students to draw the photo based on what they think people see when they look at them. This would be the "Outer Me." Using the worksheet, students answer questions about themselves such as: When people look at me, what do they think? My friends would say I am...?

Then ask students to draw a self-portrait of themselves based on what people don't see when they look at them. They can answer questions such as: One thing people don't know about me is... I think I am...

Get printable: Outer Me, Inner Me

6. My Media (Grades 4-5)

This activity helps students to begin thinking critically about diversity and representation in what they watch. They begin to understand the importance of fair and accurate representation in films and TV. Ask students to think about whether or not the shows they watch represent a diverse community of people. You can take this opportunity to talk about the history of American film and television. How Black characters were once played by white actors in "Black face." Challenge students to think about their responsibility in what they watch and how they might change it.

How it works: Have students answer questions about what they watch, focusing primarily on the characters. The students will explore how the characters are like them and how they're different. They ask themselves if the character is likable and to describe how they behave.

Want 6 more diversity and inclusion printable activities?

Help your students grow as readers and people with 6 more diversity and inclusion printable activities + tips on talking to students about diversity, inclusion, identity, justice, and action from Read for a Better World. It's a new literacy collection for grades Pre-K to 5 that includes classroom libraries of authentic and culturally relevant texts. Just fill out the form to get your free printables.
Get More Diversity Inclusion Printable Activities

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6 Diversity and Inclusion Printable Activities to Welcome Your Students Back to School

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We all know that the first days of school lay the foundation for the entire year. As educators, one of our immediate goals is to make sure that all of our students from various cultures and backgrounds feel included and supported in our classroom, so they are ready to learn.