Some newcomers arrive with no English at all and need to focus on basic classroom English first. This pack will help.

Get your students reading and writing this summer with these fun and engaging enrichment activities for elementary grades.

A fun and engaing, problem solving spelling word game. No prep - simply print and play to learn. Use with any spelling word list.

Twelve topics with prompting words to speak on. Thank you!!! - ESL worksheets

Hello darlings! This post is an overview of the Word Study Program I use in third grade. Stick with me though, because you could do the same thing in your classroom, you just need some word lists. These pics will take you through the program step by step. It is a mash up of Words ... Read More about Differentiating Spelling in the Elementary Classroom

Kids and young adults need extensive practice in strengthening their executive functioning skills. Executive functions are the processes in our brains that help us accomplish all tasks from beginning to end. We use them when we plan our day, organize our materials, begin a chore, focus on important

Here are some great grammar games, ideas, and activities that will help early/middle elementary aged kids enjoy grammar just a bit.

Classroom tips,teaching ideas, and resources for the upper elementary classroom. Teacher Giveaways

Need to help your students get more hands on practice for their vocabulary words? I've got 5 fun vocabulary games you can use right away!

Differentiation and scaffolding can help students better understand and learn. Here are teaching ideas and tips to use in class.

Are you teaching students to identify the four types of sentences? Check out this blog post. It contains multiple activities that you can use in your upper elementary classroom! Check out the types of sentences anchor chart and download the FREE worksheet and interactive notebook foldable!

Hi everyone! Welcome to the next stop on the Bunny Trail. (and if you missed the other stops this week, click on the bunny below to go to the beginning!) This post will be short and sweet, as today is moving day in my household (yay!!!) and my keyboard is packed away (thank goodness for touch screens!) I have a fun little math page for you today. It is a "secret code" page, where the students use order of operations to solve the puzzle. My students always enjoy these, and I thought yours might too. So here you go! I told you, uncharacteristically short and sweet ;) And now on to your next stop, Kim at Finding Joy in 6th Grade. Notice how the button is purple? It matches Kim's blog perfectly! Oh, and for those of you who saw this earlier but were directed to an unfound page...you can thank the touch screen for that mistake ;)

Real-life kindergarten spaces!

I love to see my students work together! So I use a Whole Class Rewards system where students do that. This is a whole class rewards system that teachers...

A Letter From Your Teacher: On the Last Day of School (The Classroom Community Collection) [Olsen, Shannon, Sonke, Sandie] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A Letter From Your Teacher: On the Last Day of School (The Classroom Community Collection)

Each day this week, I will be sharing one of my top 5 teacher must-have items. These are items that make my teacher life easier, my classroom more organized, and my time more efficient. So join me each day to see another must-have item! Edited to add: See the other blog posts in this series {HERE}, {HERE}, {HERE}, and {HERE}. #1: Sterilite 3-Drawer Storage Containers {Affiliate Link} This links to a 4-pack of drawers which is how many I use in my classroom. These 3-drawer containers made by Sterilite are a life-saver! They are designed to fit 8.5" x 11" paper perfectly with room to spare. Let me show you how I use them in my classroom. Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: 2nd Grade Stuff is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. If you click on an affiliate link on this blog and purchase, Amazon will toss a few coins my way, at no extra cost to you, to help keep this blog up and running. I have one drawer per subject area. I plan one unit at a time, so I put all of my unit plans, materials, and copies in the drawers. Then when it's time to use a set of copies or materials, I just pull them out of the drawer and down into the Monday - Friday bins. I will have a blog post about those later! ;) These colorful labels are from Learning in Wonderland and can be purchased {HERE}. The larger size drawers are also the perfect fit for iPads or similar sized tablets. If you are able, you can also drill a hole in the back of the drawer for your charger cable to slip through! The smaller 5-drawer containers are also a perfect fit for iPods if you're lucky enough to have those in your classroom. Those can be found {Affiliate Link} HERE in a pack of 4 as well. Lastly, I use the 3-drawer containers on my teacher desk to organize papers that need to be graded, copied, and filed. Notice that I left these transparent purposely so that I can see inside! It's easy to forget about papers when you can't see what's inside. This set stays on or near my teacher desk and helps to avoid stacks of paper sitting everywhere! So there you have it! My #1 Teacher Must-Have item - 3-Drawer Sterilite Containers {Affiliate Link}! Join me tomorrow night here on the 2nd Grade Stuff blog, on my Facebook page, or on Instagram to see #2! See ya then! :)

How many of us have gone to work sick because it was easier than planning for a sub? We just can't afford to do that anymore, especially in the world of Covid. Years ago, I was determined to find an easier, more manageable way to plan for a substitute teacher. I am sure you know the feeling of waking up sick and not knowing how you are going to get everything ready for a sub when you feel so terrible. With that in mind, I created a Substitute Teacher Binder and Sub Tub. In this post, I will share how I prep for those surprise sick days and how I prepare for days that I know ahead of time I am going to be off. I most recently had to plan for a sub for a week, so I will share some tips and tricks for planning for those days off. At the beginning of the year, I create my Substitute Binder. I divide it into sections for easy access to different topics and parts of their day. I print the section cover pages on cardstock and laminate with 3M laminating pouches. You could also just use a clear binder if you don't want to use the rings like I did. (The discs/rings and the paper punch I use are from Happy Planner.) Choose which sections you want to include that are important for a sub to know. I then sit this by my door so that they see it when they come in. If it's a day I had already planned on being off, I put it on my desk or teacher table with everything they need for the day. As for the sub tub, I always put extra worksheets in the bottom of it throughout the year that we didn't get to. This just gives the sub something extra if they need time filler throughout the day. First, let's talk about the sub binder and what I include. All of this is very helpful for those surprise days off. I can just text a teammate and ask them to set out my binder for the day if I get sick. I always sort my worksheets and activities in daily bins, so I ask them to set that day's bin out along with the binder. It makes planning for a sub super easy for me and for my teammates. The tabs on the binder are super important to have. This lets the sub know what's important for them to know and shows them where to quickly turn if they need that section at a particular time. I always have a little WELCOME note to make them feel welcomed. You could also include any special information you need them to know first thing. I include a full page ROSTER of my class. I also print the half sheet rosters and clip them to the front of the binder. They can take attendance on these since they don't have access to our online attendance. Be sure to include a note about that on your lesson plans so they know where to put attendance. The next sections I like to make are STUDENT INFO and IMPORTANT INFO. These are the sections where you will include important health information, such as allergies or other medical conditions they need to know about. I also include emergency procedures, pull outs, seating charts, a class schedule, and any other helpful information about students or special situations that could arise. For RELATED ARTS, I include our rotations. If I know I am going to be out, I include the exact one that we go to that day in my lesson plans. If not, they can just ask another teacher what day we are on. I put my classroom management strategies and classroom rules in the PROCEDURES section. I let them know the specifics of expectations, consequences, and incentives that they can use. I also include another pull out list here, just in case. The ARRIVAL section gives important details about expectations during the first part of the morning. This is where you tell them what students do when they first come in, details about announcements, and how to complete attendance. The LESSON PLAN section includes a basic class schedule in the first part of the section. I then include very detailed plans for our day. For the lesson plans you put in the binder or planner, you can give a general run down of what they do during each part of the day. This will help your sub so much if you are out unexpectedly. I tell them how the lesson generally goes and they can grab the practice from the daily tub. I also tell them where they go and how to do lunch, recess, and all of the other parts of our day. By including these detailed break down of your day, you can ensure that instruction continues as if you are there. I don't like to plan something totally different from the pacing guide, because it throws everything completely off. I include dismissal procedures in the detailed lessons plans, but I also add it to the DISMISSAL section. Be very specific about how students go home, how they pack up and clean up, and what the sub's responsibility is during dismissal. The TRANSPORTATION section includes how each student goes home. I also put a note in there telling them that students have to go home that way, unless they receive a change of transportation note from the office. I like using this box sheet for each student. I normally have that all typed in here but I used a blank one here for confidentiality purposes. The CLASS section is where each student has a box. They can use this to tell me about any students who were absent or any behavior issues they had that day. The BEST DAY EVER section is where I ask them to leave a note about their day. I have found that this helps to end the day on a positive note. Always let them know how thankful you are for them filling in. Being a substitute teacher is not an easy job. I want them to know that they are appreciated. Finally, I just include a NOTES section, in case they need somewhere to take notes throughout the day. Now let's talk planned days off. The only things I do differently are change the lesson plans and lay everything out for the day. I recently was out for a whole week, so I will show you how I planned for those days off. I color coded everything! First I used the lesson plan section I had already made, but I added more details about each specific lesson, as well as what related arts we went to each day. Just copy and paste the lesson plans pages. I also put the day of the week at the bottom of each packet. I did not put these in the binder. I decided to staple each day's plans printed on different colors of paper. For the sheets that were needed for each day, I used the same color sticky notes to label each day's activities. You could even put the time that they will need each activity. I also lay everything out in order for the day. I just spread it all out across the table for the sub, and it keeps everything organized and the expectations clear. If they needed a teacher edition for that lesson, I also marked the pages with those same color sticky notes and put them in the stacks. I hope seeing how I plan for a substitute teacher helps you plan for yours. So many subs have thanked me for having everything prepped for them, and they love coming back to my class. I have had other teachers request for me to share how to properly plan for a sub, particularly how to put together a proper Substitute Teacher Binder. Often times, teachers do not leave detailed plans, which makes the day difficult not only for the sub, but for the other teachers on your team. You want your sub to feel prepared and to want to come back. It's so hard to find a sub these days, so we want to do everything we can to support them. You might even want to include a little treat for them. We know that chocolate makes everything better! You can grab this free tag by clicking on the photo below. If you have any questions, feel free to send me an email or reach out on Instagram. What tips do you have for planning for a substitute teacher?

Transform your classroom into an engaging learning space with these classroom decorating ideas! Get inspired to create a classroom theme your students will love.

Let's talk about classroom library organization using book spine labels! These labels with transform how you organize your classroom library!

Freebie Vault Login How do I login??? Keep Reading! Welcome to the freebie vault, Teacher Friend. As a thank you for being an email list subscriber and supporter of my business, I love to create and add monthly freebies for YOU to enjoy! It is absolutely free to join this community and to continue to […]