Here is a list of 300 sixth grade spelling words that your students should master. Hyphen, Struggle, Beliefs, Noticeable, Immediate, Mention

First days of school can be stressful. There's an insane amount of pressure to make a great first impression. The administration wants you to go over the handbook of rules for the district. There's tons of forms that need to be filled out. You need to learn their names and it's hard because half the names don't match your class list. His name is Samuel but he goes by S.J. Her name on your roll says Mary, but she goes by Mary Beth. You want to start off the year on the right note regarding procedures and expectations, but you also want it to be a little bit fun, too. Yes, it can be complicated to plan out the first day. My first day was absolutely fantastic. Yes, I learned names. Yes, I went over the handbook. Yes, I went over forms. But we also did some quick exciting things that started us out on the right foot. In no particular order, here is what made my first day FANTASTIC. 1. I let my students collaborate on a story. I started a story on the whiteboard and each student could only add four words to the story. It ended up being hilarious and making ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE but no one cared. It was fun. They worked as a family. 2. That bring me to my next point--we don't call our classes, um, classes. Or homerooms. We call them families. So I have Mrs. Johnson's Family for my 1st period class and Mrs. Anderson's Family for my second period class. (Homeroom teacher names were changed for this post.) You get the idea. And it really does reinforce this idea that we need to work together like a family should. 3. I embraced and addressed my students' biggest fear. Each teacher has his/her students coming to the room with a big fear. Go ahead and address it. Since I'm the first year of middle school, the big fear is the locker. Will I ever get into it? Will I have enough time to get everything out of it? My students can't begin to learn procedures until we address the locker issue. Once they feel confident with their locker, they are ready to learn procedures. So, what did I do? I lined up my wonderful parents to come work with my students one-on-one the very first day of school on their locker. And it was the best thing for that first day. Address your students' fears with a solution. Don't think, "Oh I need to teach procedures! I'll help them with that later on in the week." No. Their Big Fear is ALL THEY CAN THINK ABOUT. Fix the fear, then they can face all the procedures and rules head on! 4. If you know me, you know that I ABSOLUTELY DETEST GETTING TO KNOW YOU GAMES. Why do I have to name a fact about myself that starts with a J just because my first name is Jordyn? Nothing starts with a J that I like! I hate jelly beans. I'm ok with jolly ranchers but they aren't anything special. I. HATE. GETTING. TO. KNOW. YOU. GAMES. I think I've made my point clear. Soooooo---what did I do to get to know them? I made a statement and pointed to two sides of the room. The students moved to the side of the room for their answer. Examples: 1. Team Cat or Team Dog 2. Would you rather travel every day or never leave home? 3. Team Math/Science or Team Language Arts? 4. Alabama or Auburn? (I live in Alabama, so this is a big deal around here. Feel free to change to whatever sports teams works for you. And by the way, the correct answer to me is the side of the room that was yelling WAR EAGLE!) We didn't do this as one big activity. I broke up the reading of the district handbook by doing a couple of these, then back to the handbook, then a couple more of these, then back to the handbook, a couple more of these, then going over forms. THEY LOVED THIS ACTIVITY! It didn't force the quiet kids to talk, but they did participate by moving. It let the other ones announce why they were on that side. It was just a great icebreaker for those of us who are anti-icebreaker. --->Do you need a GETTING TO KNOW YOU ACTIVITY perfect for the first few days? (And not icebreaker questions that tweens dislike---actually questions they enjoy answering!)

Extra math practice with FREE 6th Grade Math Worksheets for 6th grade math at home. You will love that these 6th grade worksheets include the answer key!

Brilliant ideas from brilliant teachers (like you).

This divisibility rules poster is a MUST HAVE poster for any 4th, 5th, or 6th grade math class. It will look BEAUTIFUL on your word wall and it will help your students with division.

Are you a first year 5th grade teacher? Find out how to have a great first year with this post! Get tips that work well in ALL 5th grade classrooms.

By mid to late July every year, I can't wait to go back to school to get my classroom setup. I miss grading papers. I dream about school. And I can’t help but work on

A blog for elementary school writing teachers!

Does your 6th grader love to read books? There are so many good books for sixth graders (children ages 11-12) that not just give reading pleasure but also develop children’s imagination. Below, we have put together some highly-recommended books for kids who are in 6th grade. Best 6th Grade Reading Books Artemis Fowl Written by […]

Are you looking for a way to scaffold math vocabulary and concepts and make math more visual? In this post are photos of math word walls for elementary, middle and high school math along with photos of math classroom word walls that teachers have sent to me of their math classroom set up. Included in this post are links to free math word wall cards and discounted printable math word wall bundles for a variety of math topics. I am updating each math word wall to include a virtual option. Now in the files will be color, black and white and interactive digital math word wall options.

Your kiddo is going to absolutely devour this summer reading list 6th Grade, 7th and 8th Grade. I know they'll get hooked once they start!

Looking for inspiration for teaching middle school reading skills? Read on to see how I teach the essential elements in a 6th-grade classroom.

Capturing your students interest and curiosity during the first few minutes of class is the key to keeping them engaged for your entire lesson. But not all math warm up activities are created equally. Math teachers miss out on activating their students’ critical thinking and reasoning skills when

I develop curriculum for middle school math. I focus on using critical-thinking skills in my content so the math makes sense to the students.

Got a talkative class? Check out these 5 ways to quiet the chatter!

Mastery of these sixth grade spelling words will help your students succeed. Use at home or for classroom activities! Free resources; no subscription required.

These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back

I develop curriculum for middle school math. I focus on using critical-thinking skills in my content so the math makes sense to the students.