Summer is a great time to think about changing classroom routines for the following year. While we get caught up in our standards-based teaching during the school year (as we should), we don’t usually have the time (or the bandwidth) to think of ways to change the routine.
I have collected random ideas from teachers I have worked with and social media. Try one, or try them all throughout the year!
General Tips
Think about what would make something fun for YOU. If you are having fun teaching, your students will have fun learning.
1 – Incorporate Whole Brain Teaching! Here is some information about it. And here are ways to start some of the routines.
2 – Incorporate read-alouds!
Here is a list of my favorite upper elementary chapter books.
And here is a list of my favorite upper elementary picture books. These are specifically identified as being great for back-to-school, but they can also be used at any time of year.
Here is a link to my Teachers Pay Teachers store, which includes more read-aloud lists.
3 – Besides all of the assessment and data tracking you do, consider doing some “kidwatching” to look for positives you see in students’ work habits, social skills, and behavior.
This information can be shared with students’ parents/caregivers as a quick email/text/phone call, or you can keep the information together to share as part of conferences, progress reports, or report cards.
Here is a quick way to do this: use five post-it notes per day and put the names of five students on the notes. For that one day, closely “kidwatch” those five students and jot down the positives that you see. (If a day gets extra busy and you don’t get to everyone, just continue the next day.) When you’re done, move on to five more students!
4 – Use Padlet! Here are some suggestions for using Padlet from Matt at Ditch That Textbook.
5 – Speaking of Ditch That Textbook – Matt is a high school teacher, but his site has great tools and ideas that can be incorporated in upper elementary as well. Here is a link to some of his back-to-school tips.
6 – Have you heard of Classroom Transformations? I learned about them in a Facebook group, and it reminded me that I used to do them occasionally but have not done them recently.
Here is a link to Lifetime Learner on Teachers Pay Teachers so that you can get an idea of what these are like. This link is for fourth-grade math class transformations.
7 – Use Kagan’s cooperative learning strategies! This explanation of five strategies will get you started.
Morning meeting/end of day routines/SEL tips:
8 – If you need guidance in starting a morning meeting routine, here you go!
9 – Learn something about the National Day of (whatever)! This website is a great resource for choices.
10 – Make “student sub plans” for when you’ll be out. I also saw this in a Facebook group, but cannot remember who to credit for this idea. (If it was you, or if you know who suggested it, please let me know!)
This is a brief checklist for students that lists what they need to complete at different times of the day. It helps them feel more responsible for their own learning on days you are absent. The list can be posted on your online learning platform, or you could ask your substitute to print and copy for each student.
11 – Celebrate birthdays! We’re not allowed to have food to celebrate birthdays in our district, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do special things.
Create a Padlet for the student called “What We Like About . . . “ and let everyone add something. (You can still preview the Padlet if something is shared that would not be appreciated.) Then you can share them digitally with the student and family, or print it out.
You could also do this on a large piece of construction paper or chart paper and let the student take it home.
12 – Incorporate Classroom Book a Day! Here’s more information about how I use it.
13 – Incorporate dialogue journals to communicate individually with your students. Here’s more information.
14 – Try using “The First Five” as a morning meeting activity! Here’s a link.
15 – Consider using Steve Hartman Kindness 101 in your morning meetings.
16 – Have an end-of-day class meeting with On the Road with Steve Hartman.
17 – End the day with 3 A’s – appreciation (kids can thank someone else or share appreciation with a classmate publicly), apologies (kids can apologize to someone specific or to the class), a-ha moment (kids can share something that they learned or something that made sense to them during the day).
We have also added questions to this mix. Kids can ask you or each other questions. (I always give students the right to decline answering a question by asking, “Are you taking questions right now?” before the question is asked.)
18 – Play quiet instrumental music during independent work times. Here are some suggestions from YouTube.
19 – Try using two minutes of quiet mindfulness time after recess.
20 – Include Daily Fun Facts from this site.
21 – Go on virtual field trips! I created this list during COVID, but it’s still a fun thing to do!
ELA tips:
22 – Hopefully, you are incorporating the Science of Reading research in your classroom in some form.
I am creating a list of resources for upper elementary teachers. Sign up here if you want to be notified when I publish it! (It will be free.)
23 – Incorporate Reader’s Theater! This is a great way to incorporate fluency practice and content area instruction.
Here are some links to free scripts:
~Readers’ Theater Scripts & Plays
~The Best Class scripts
~Weebly scripts
~Readers’ Theater All Year
~T. P. Jagger scripts
~scripts on Education.com
~scripts on Just Two Teachers website
24 – Have an occasional Beach Day or Camping Day to add novelty to independent reading! Allow students to bring blankets/towels (for a “beach towel” or “campsite”), stuffies, and possibly flashlights (for Camping Day). Put a campfire video or beach video on your interactive whiteboard, allow students to set up their reading spot, and read! Super easy and fun.
25 – Use Free Rice as a fun way to learn vocabulary words.
26 – Create flashcards in Quizlet for any book or content area. Allow students to study the flashcards, then play Quizlet Live!
Math tips:
27 – Use Steve Wyborney’s Esti-Mysteries.
28 – Incorporate math stations to give you more time for small group instruction.
A typical model is the MATH system:
M – meet with teacher
A – apply it (independent practice of concept)
T – technology (facts practice or some other math website assignment)
H – hands-on (an activity or game)
29 – If you’re not ready for math stations, here’s another way to give small group instruction time.
Post a list of “must do/may do” activities, then pull small groups as needed.
Content area tips:
30 – Participate in a postcard exchange as a way to learn about different states! Join a Facebook group for your grade level and search “postcard” to find ways to incorporate this activity.
31 – Explore the Wonderopolis Wonder of the Day. You could choose something related to your current content area of study or just select wonders you and your students are interested in.
32 – Try a Socratic seminar! Here are some tips from Janis at Lodge’s Learning.
33 – Incorporate Reader’s Theater about content topics. See tip #23 above.
34 – Go on a virtual field trip! See tip #21 above.
35—Try EduProtocols! I have not used this, but it looks interesting. Here is a link for more information. Let me know if you use this and tell me how you incorporate it! I’d love to credit you and share your ideas.
There you have it! 35 tips for adding fun and novelty to your upper elementary classroom next year.
Which tip will you try first? Do you have suggestions to add? Comment below or email me at stillteachingstilllearning@gmail.com.