Looking for ideas on how to build positive relationships with students? these relationship building tips and strategies will help you build rapport with students and effectively manage your classroom community
Get your students outside this school year! We have some tried and true ideas and teacher tips to help you teach your students outside!
Use these six back to school activities packet to get to know your students and support them to get to know each other.
Image 18 of 20 from gallery of Brooklin Community Centre And Library / Perkins+Will. Plan
I've been asked about this a few times recently, since I am not so secretly disappointed that the community I live in is not as supportive and enthusiastic about the ideas and implications of physiological birth as I wish they were. This is a nice way of saying, I whine a lot about people choosing to birth in ways that I think are way less than optimal. We are offering our 5 week class for free for locals next month in hopes of helping shift the culture here, even if just a fraction of an inch. But I was prepping
I share these stories because I suspect you have also had moments you’re not proud of, stories you’ve never told anyone; I want you to know you’re not alone.
All students want to feel part of their classroom community. Here are four activities to help them feel welcomed and comfortable.
How to Create Audio QR Kids using Seesaw
Using Google Drawings to create graphic organizers can help students gather their thoughts and customize to their needs.Sometimes, we just need some help
A list of 38 impactful community service project ideas for kids of all ages. Kids will develop and grow while making an impact on the community around them.
Guidance, access to resources and accountability are key components of success. Case management is the core of how our shelter program operates to provide these tools. Our case managers provide structure, guidance and support to help families address their needs. From changing destructive patterns to gaining new life skills, every family works to rebuild their […]
One of our most challenging tasks as teachers is to build classroom community. This post shares a huge list of ideas to help you do just that!
Teamwork in the classroom is essential in order to have a high functioning and welcoming environment for students. Check out three easy ways to build teamwork with your students.
Many schools use PLCs for teacher collaboration, but whether they really fit that description is up for debate. Here are 5 ways to tell if your PLC isn't living up to its name.
Free chat where ESL learners and teachers can chat in English 24/7. For learners of English.
I teach reading at an elementary school. I love what I do! I wanted to share some "ways to praise" that we use in my classroom. These aren't my own ideas just the ones my students love. And here's how it looks: { I look FABULOUS! } Click HERE for printable. =) In what ways do YOU praise?
Too many classroom icebreakers require students to take big social risks with people they barely know. Or they don't really help students get to know each other. Or they are just plain cheesy.
The human life is truly a magical process. The life stages of typical women are accompanied by considerably bigger hormonal changes and can generally divided into these 5 stages - infancy, puberty (adolescence), sexual maturation (reproductive age), climacteric period, and elderly years.
Community outings can help teach students in a natural environment. Grab your free printables for high school students today and start practicing...
Back to School is right around the corner for us and I am SUPER excited to kick of this school year with some fun, hands-on and engaging resources for The
Teaching safety skills to kindergarteners is an important part of their education. As children begin to explore the world around them, it...
These Emotions charades are a fun way to get kids talking about their emotions after watching Inside Out.
Teacher collaboration tips for members of a professional learning community. Learn how to create a positive culture through self-reflection.
A Flicker of Hope: Teaching Children How to Have Hope and to Ask for Help No comments Hope, Julia Cook, Picture Books, Read Aloud, Social Emotional Needs There are two kinds of books that I am constantly seeking out. They include books about individuality and books that help teach resilience and perseverance. So, when the National Center for Youth Issues reached out and asked if I would like to review A Flicker of Hope by Julia Cook, I jumped at the chance. I received this book for free to provide an honest review. All opinions expressed within this post are genuinely my own and impartial. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my links. For more information about my Disclosure Policy, please visit this link. What's it about? A Flicker of Hope is Julia Cook's newest book. If you aren't familiar with Julia's work, do yourself a favor and get familiar with it. Her books are perfect for addressing a myriad of issues relating to kids' well-being and development. A Flicker of Hope is about a little candle whose flame isn't burning as bright as it once was. She constantly finds herself beneath a canopy of black clouds, which is dulling her flame. Little candle feels like giving up. This all changes when another candle approaches her and offers her words of encouragement, or hope. Little candle is reminded that she is important, that she has a special role to play in this world, and that she matters. She's also reminded that she isn't the only one who feels bogged down by troubles and that it's alright to ask for help. As her new friend gives her hope, little candle's flame begins to grow brighter, and eventually, she is able to share hope with others. Why is this message important? Having hope is a part of life. In fact, it's a necessary part of life. Without hope we have don't have perseverance, determination, or a sense of accomplishment. Our world is filled with high expectations, unkind people, naysayers, and other pressures. Hope helps us to overcome these adversities. Having hope can take us from a place of darkness to a place of light. It can free us and empower us to believe that better days are ahead. Sometimes, as a part of having hope and coping with the challenges of everyday life, we have to ask for help. While this may seem basic and obvious to many, the reality is, many kids struggle with this. Seeking help is interpreted as being weak or lacking knowledge. Or, it's downright scary. Kids need to know that reaching out to others is an important life skill. One that will benefit them more than they could ever imagine. Fostering the psychological and emotional development in children is important. If you haven't heard of the The National Center for Youth Issues, be sure to visit their site. They create resources that address the developmental needs noted above. They also provide adults with effective tools to help kids as they develop in these areas. What they do is important. Please visit their website to learn more. How will this book benefit me? Picture books are a classroom teacher's most powerful tool. Kids love to be read to. Even the bigger kids (this book is perfect for this age group). This book offers a means to facilitate important conversations about asking for help, valuing your strengths, and helping others to do the same. How can I use the book? Read it to your class and lead them in a discussion about having hope and asking others for help. You might create an anchor chart with them. Brainstorm a list of people they can turn to and how those people can help. Turn the book into an interactive read aloud. Meaning, you read the book and in doing so, engage your students in meaningful discussion about the text by asking questions. Be sure to plan this out ahead of time to maximize the effectiveness of your read aloud. After reading the book, have your students complete a reading response journal entry. They could write about a time when they reached out to someone for help, or a time they helped someone find hope. Or, they could write about why they think having hope is important. After reading the book, discuss the points noted on the organizer pictured below. Then, have students complete the organizer. Use this organizer to help students identify what hope is and what they can do to when they need hope. You can grab this free organizer by clicking here. Click here to see this book on Amazon. This book is a wonderful tool to have on hand. Sometimes it can be difficult to have conversations about psychological and emotional needs when your expertise is in differentiating math, or creating engaging reading lessons. However, more and more, our students need us to be able to address these needs, and a book like A Flicker of Hope, is a great way to help you facilitate this process. For more wonderful Julia Cook books, click here. DON'T FORGET IT, PIN IT! Share It:
Trying to keep the kids busy at home? Here are free educational printable worksheets from 'The Clever Explorer's Activity Book'!
Pick something off this list of family-friendly volunteer opportunities to spread kindness and participate in community service projects with your kids.
Quick and easy board game (Get-to-Know-You activity) for the first week of class. Students roll a die twice to find their question to talk about for one or two minutes. (Questions such as:
We are a Leader In Me School and talk a lot about using the 7 Habits of Happy Kids in our everyday lives. I love the idea of encouraging kids to act as leaders in the classroom and beyond. What I have noticed, however, is that sometimes "leadership" comes off as "bossypants" and that is not the route we want to take! I know you've probably heard of Sheryl Sandberg (of Facebook fame) and her campaign to end the word "bossy" (read or listen to an NPR story HERE), but I was hesitant to come straight out and use that word in our class. Instead, I wanted them to think on terms of "boss" and "leader" to recognize the differences between the two and to think about their own language choices in the classroom, in small groups, on their sports teams, and more. We first looked at this picture and talked about what we noticed: (source) This led to some discussion about leadership versus boss behavior. While the kids were discussing, I was passing out example cards to their table spots. Before I dismissed them, I shared this leadership quote from John Quincy Adams: They were then given instructions about our activity. I had printed example cards on two colors: blue for boss and green for leader (although they didn't know that yet) and they needed to read their card and find someone with an opposite color card and opposite example (good time to incorporate the word antonym, too!). I dismissed them to their tables and first had them converse with students in their table group to ensure they understood the word or phrase on their card. When they gave me the thumbs up, I told them to find their match and them meet to discuss why they went together and be able to give examples. We then began assembling our Anchor Chart. Each pair would come to the front of the class and would explain which card was descriptive of a "boss" and which was descriptive of a "leader" and why. They gave examples and I elicited a lot of help from the classroom for additional examples and language that both a boss and leader may use during that example. I would tape the cards to the Anchor Chart and we continued through each pair. There were two groups of three (with two leaders to one boss) and that worked out perfectly with my class (definitely feel free to adjust if you have lower numbers). Our completed anchor chart looked like: It was so powerful to see how often kids may think they are helping, but instead find themselves on the "boss" side of the chart instead of the "leader." I know several of the examples are repetitive, but we really talked through these and used examples from our own lives to recount when using "leader" words and language set us up for success. I also explained the "me vs. you" mentality of bosses versus the "we and us" mentality of leaders. Overall, it was a very powerful lesson and I look forward to referring back to this Anchor Chart this year, especially when "bossypants" behavior leads to conflict. I think these concrete examples can help guide the naturally strong leaders in my class to make better language decisions that can help grow them as leaders and really inspire others, just like the Adams quote! If you'd like a copy of these cards and quote, you can download this as a *freebie* HERE. How do you address bossy vs. leader behavior in your class? Share in the comments, I would love to build on this lesson!
Your economics activities should not be boring. There are SO MANY fun ways to make it engaging for students, as well as teach vocabulary.
Practice using a map key, a compass rose, and a scale to read, interpret, and create basic maps! These printables are perfect for teaching geography or quick map skills assessments in first grade, second grade, or third grade! The following print-and-go map skills activities are included: Map Vocabulary Foldable: Students cut along the dotted lines to create three flaps and then fold along the solid line. Under each flap, students define the vocabulary word shown on the top of the flap. Words included are map key, compass rose, and scale. In my own classroom, I use this foldable with an introductory map skills video found on Brain Pop Jr. (This is a paid subscription based service.) Alternatively, you can pair it with a map skills read aloud or provide definitions for your students. Reading a Map Printables: Students will use the map at the top of the page as well as the map key and compass rose to answer questions found at the bottom of the page. Two printable map skills worksheets (Our Neighborhood and Our Zoo) are provided. Our Campground Coordinate Map Printable: Students will complete the coordinate map and answer corresponding questions by following the instructions at the bottom of the page. Our Playground Map Making Performance Task: Students will work alone or in pairs to create a playground map based on given criteria. Two directions page checklist options are provided for differentiation. Symbols sheet and map paper are also provided. Optional digital overlay has been added to the following pages for digital use with Easel by TPT: vocabulary foldable, reading a map printables Teachers Like You Said... ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Extremely satisfied "These resources are wonderful! The formatting is great, the maps look so attractive. The students LOVE these and find them easy to work with. I can't say enough positive things, these made my map unit a lot better." - Katherine M., 3rd Grade Teacher ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Extremely satisfied "This was an amazing resource to use with my 2nd graders as we started to study maps. It was very engaging and the students were excited to share their answers and find things on the maps. My school has a high population of ESL, and so this was a wonderful resource for them as well. Thank you so much!" - Amanda R., 2nd Grade Teacher ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Extremely satisfied "My students really liked this activity. It's fun to build their own maps and a good showcase of if they can read local/simple maps." - Audrey G., 1st Grade Teacher Related Products ☆ Me on the Map (Geography Flip Book) ☆ Continent and Oceans Center Activities ☆ Continents & Oceans Lapbook ☆ Continents and Oceans Geography Research Book, Study Cards, & Quizzes ☆ Continents and Oceans for Google Slides Digital Resource If you enjoy this product, please consider following my store. I post new products and freebies regularly! You can contact me with any questions or requests at [email protected]. Thank you, Amanda Taylor @ Second Grade Smiles
Sponsored by Scholastic Magazine I was recently contacted by Scholastic Magazine and asked to come up with a creative lesson or idea using their DynaMath magazine, for students in grades 4-6. I was so excited and then panic set in immediately. My thoughts were, “How can I come up with an original idea for Scholastic?” They sent me the magazine and as soon as I opened it up, the ideas came pouring out. The magazine is full of high interest stories that are current, with amazing graphics and information. The stories include math connections, but can easily be used in other content areas including science, language arts, and social studies. We are using STEAM in my school and this magazine is a perfect fit. "DynaMath magazine makes math meaningful by applying curriculum-connected concepts to engaging, real-world topics. Your student will also get plenty of math practice with over 40 motivating problems in every issue (with 40 more online)! Subscriptions also include full access to DynaMath Online featuring instructional videos, learning games, printable skills sheets, and much more. Grades 4–6, Monthly." Go to their website and check it out at http://scholastic.com/dynamath. My Lesson The front cover of the November issue is a giant Pikachu and I knew which story I was going to highlight immediately. True confession…I may have become a little addicted to “Pokémon Go” over the summer and many of my fifth graders are still obsessed. I work in a Middle School setting and making connections with kids is important. What better way than something that they love? My topic was chosen, but I wanted to plan a lesson that connected to our curriculum. I started thinking about my current science and math standards. I wanted to teach something that we need to learn about. I sat with my teammate and we came up with so many ideas that we decided to plan a whole day of learning! I planned a STEAM lesson on “Gravity” and wanted to review decimal reading, writing and ordering decimals. My teaching partner teaches ELA & SS, she planned a poetry and grammar lesson. We set a date and planned our first annual Poke Day. Poke Day One of my favorite teaching hooks is dressing up. I look silly in my hat, but it is for the kids! This is a judgment free zone. (BTW...I could not take off my Pikachu hat due to severe hat head) The day started with our classes in one room. I bought a set of plastic figurines from Amazon. I had sorted them by color and listed the eight colors on the board: Red Yellow Brown Gray White Blue Purple Green The students picked a figurine based on their choice of color without looking. I wanted to keep it fair. (I removed Pikachu) I was surprised there were no complaints. Note: The figurines could be used in different math activities based on your grade level and current standards; making graphs, sorting based on type, making arrays, counting, and creating word problems, etc. DynaMath Magazine The students read the article, “Counting Pokémon” and discussed the game turning 20 and the changes in technology over the years. We have a huge span of reading levels and found the story perfect for all levels. The kids loved getting their magazines. They can’t wait to read the other selections with math practice. Next, the students were given a Pokémon Trading Template. They created their own Poke Cards. We used our Chrome books to research our characters and collected information. We compared and ordered the decimals of their characters' heights and weights. The students took string and measured the actual heights and could see that the drawings of characters are not to scale. Here are a few of the finished trading cards. We used Pokemon.com and went to their Pokedex tab.(Make sure this website is available in your school) If not, Google the name of the character and a photo and facts will show up. If students do not know the character, have them ask an expert in class, I had two. You can also search by colors on the Internet, with photos for names. We broke into two groups for the next activities. Some kids wrote poetry and went on a Poke Hunt in ELA (sorry no photos) and the other half built parachutes used the engineering design process in my room. Then we traded off classes. The trading card and poetry sheets are available on my TPT store for free. Click here for link. Poke Parachutes I had taught a lesson on air resistance the day before our Poke Day and modeled all materials in a wind tunnel. I dropped samples of materials and my students observed the air resistance. The students wrote down the materials they wanted to use and sketched their designs. We have used the designed process several times this year. The Parachute STEAM lesson is available for free on my TPT store here. Click here for link. The task: to design a parachute that will get your Pokemon to the ground safely. (we discussed that safely means slowest) We jumped right into the parachute building. The materials were laid out. We spent about 30 minutes building, testing and redesigning. Both classes were engaged and love STEAM challenges. Once both classes were finished we took them to our back entrance that has a big foyer. We had them drop them off the second floor railing. Students worked in pairs and recorded their times using stopwatches. They were beyond excited. We used decimals and ordered their times. (I wish I could share my videos) Here are samples of their data sheets: I will have my students complete a reflection sheet next week about our day. Learning should be fun and meaningful. This was a day that I hope they will always remember. Do You Use Scholastic Magazines? The day was a great success and I want to give a big shout out to Scholastic Magazine. This was my first experience with DynaMath magazine and would love to have this in my classroom on a monthly basis. It would liven up many of my math lessons and the articles would make the real-life connections. No more "Why are we learning this?" Scholastic Magazines is hosting a #SmartTeachingTips contest for teachers to develop your own creative ideas on how to incorporate Scholastic Magazines into the classroom! You could win a $200 gift card from the Scholastic Teacher Store! Share your #SmartTeachingTips for how you use Scholastic magazines creatively in your classroom. Tell us about it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram, and include a photo or video. Be sure to use #SmartTeachingTips. Three winners will be chosen based on outstanding creativity. Each winner will receive a $200 gift card to the Scholastic Teacher store. We’re excited to see your ideas! Follow Scholastic Teachers on social media to learn more. Other Great Offers from Scholastic Printables – 30 Day Free Trial Scholastic Printables offer teachers full access to our online database of over 20,000 amazing activities, engaging lesson plans, and other incredible teacher-created resources for grades PreK-6. Try it free for 30 days by clicking here. Scholastic Magazines - Promotional Code Scholastic Magazines are the most affordable and exciting way to bring current, curriculum connected nonfiction into your classroom. To save 40%, mention code “2905” when ordering. Call 1-800-SCHOLASTIC or visit www.scholastic.com/magazines. Good luck on the contest and enjoy these great offers from Scholastic!
