My favorite teacher tools all preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten teachers need to teach your little learners effectively (plus save you time & energy)!
Three AI teacher assistants, a curated collection of math activities, a website-building curriculum, a site for helping students change the world, and more.
I’ve posted before about my teacher binder. As an organizationally-challenged person, I had to find that one thing that would hold me together as a teacher… and my binder is it. I love this thing. It’s within an arm’s reach at any given moment (home or school) and keeps me sane. And honestly? Creating it was simple. Unfortunately, my teacher binder had seen better days, so it was time to perform a little overhaul. While I’m working on my own, I thought I’d share 5 steps to creating your own teaching binder! 1. Plan first. For me, the easiest way to do this was to gather all the papers I thought I wanted in my binder, and split them into piles. This will help you know how many dividers and what size of binder to buy. Don’t forget that you can use the space in front of and behind the dividers! 2. Get the supplies. Pick a binder you LOVE (for me, color is huge) and splurge for the heavy duty one. Believe me- you’ll be using this thing a lot. I also picked dividers that had pockets and were easy to write on (and erase, if I change my mind later). A friend gave me Vera Bradley binder clips, and I use this one to pin my lesson plans to the cover so that the 2-page spread opens instantly when I open the binder. This binder clip also adds just enough “cute” to make me smile whenever I look at my binder! It sounds silly (seriously who has designer binder clips) but I probably see it 20 times each day. Worth it. 3. Think about the covers. What are the things you constantly need to reference? For me, a cute cover with my name on it would be okay- but really, I need my class list, my current Post-It list, and the weekly newsletter (with spelling & vocab. words, academic focuses, etc.). Normally, this would have a class list, which I didn’t show for obvious reasons, and there’s usually a Post-It list or two. Still… I like how clean and neat my binder looks on my desk! (Plus, the color stands out if it does find its way into a pile.) 4. Think about order. What papers do you need access to the most often? My lesson plan pages go in the front because I reference them throughout every day, and my calendar goes next. (I love Google Calendar, but a written one works best for me. I printed this one for free from The Twinery Blog.) I put any lists for quick reference (computer logins, school schedules, curriculum maps, policies, etc.) in the reference tab. My Student Info tab holds my data (so useful when I plan my small groups at home!), but also copies of anything like IEP’s, ILP’s, RTI plans, and documentation. The back includes things I might need to look up once a week while planning, but not daily, like my standards lists and my archive of planning pages/ meeting notes. Once you’ve decided, write on the dividers. (I used a skinny Sharpie- on most surfaces, nail polish remover will take it right off if I ever change my mind!) 4. Hole punch everything and try it out! This is the perfect time of year to give this baby a trial run and give you plenty of time to tweak it for next year! I found out that having a “meeting notes” section was just not enough for me, so I added some extra subsections. You’ll find what works for you! I plan my teacher binder as something that I will take to every meeting, take home every night, and use constantly throughout my day. It means that whether I’m at home, in my classroom, or somewhere in the school, I have everything I need to stay organized and up-to-date! There are plenty of other guides out there to making a teacher binder, but it’s my hope that this can help you make the one that’s right for you. Yes, it takes a bit of time… but I put mine together in about an hour (minus shopping) and it has saved me so much more than that!
Happy …JULY?! Is that right? Is the summer really flying by that quickly?! ? As it normally does, our summer vacation is racing toward the finish line, but I’m finding myself more energized and rejuvenated for the new school year than I was at this time last summer. Thank GOODNESS! I really think the combination ... Read More about 5 AI Tools To Try
Gamification tools for teachers are the topic of our blog post today!
When it comes to organizing and planning a classroom, every teacher has a few items they couldn't possibly ever go without! It might be that favorite stapler, the perfect book, or an amazing resource! I know, I know. I just posted about Supplies I Can't Live Without but I
Get your teacher life organized with 200 free Google Keep headers! This note-taking system will revolutionize the way you teach.
These teacher hacks are brilliant ideas for your classroom that'll make your life so much easier this year. Number nine will change your life!
I wanted to share these Free Resources for Teachers & Schools Shifting Online. With so many schools closing right now, many districts are moving their in-person instruction to online instruction. Finding high-quality classroom resources is important in order to help teachers continue their classroom activities online. Classroom teachers everywhere are learning how to teach their
Ah, the wonderful world of Amazon! Click to check out my favorite Amazon teacher must haves that can be delivered right to your doorstep!
Classroomscreen.com: A Web Tool Teachers and Students will LOVE. Easy way to turn your browser into an interactive board. Digital stoplight, timer, calendar, random name picker, drawing tools, work symbols, text area, QR generator and more are all tools included in this free web tool.
If you need to start teaching online unexpectedly, check out these two videos on using your LMS class website and other free digital tools.
Are any of these ineffective teaching methods still part of your practice? Time to reconsider.
These teacher hacks are brilliant ideas for your classroom that'll make your life so much easier this year. Number nine will change your life!
Here is another of our popular visuals we published in 2017. The visual features some good educational web tools and websites to help you in your teaching. We arranged these resources into the following content areas: science, math, language arts, history, art, physics, music, and social studies. A printable PDF of this infographic is available for free from this page. Links to the tools featured in this visual together with several other suggested resources are included in this chart. Check it out and share with us your feedback. This post originally appeared in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning ( www.educatorstechnology.com ).
Start the year out right.
Helping K-2 Teachers Like You Save Time, Grow Instructional Skills, and Teach With Confidence!
After spending a week at my alma mater at Penn State Altoona, my heart is full after getting to spend an entire week sharing my story as a teacher turned entrepreneur with student teachers l…
The best tools for teachers. 5 tools every teacher needs.
Find out how ChatGPT technology can assist teachers and save time in the classroom!
Prep for any absence with the substitute teacher binder! Use these editable forms to give the substitute teacher all the information needed!
