Effective Parent Communication Strategies – a Guide for Upper Elementary Teachers

Upper elementary students can appear very mature and sophisticated, but – they are still children. And, like most children, they still want the grownups in their lives to be proud of them.

(By the way, if you’re new to upper elementary grades or just want to know what to expect, here are eight generalizations I have found helpful. This is the seventh and final post in a series where I will discuss these eight topics in more depth, along with some tips for addressing upper elementary students’ needs. You can read the first post in the series HERE, the second post HERE, the third post HERE, the fourth post HERE, the fifth post HERE, and the sixth post HERE.)

1 – They want to know the rules and expectations & they expect the teacher to be “the boss.”

2 – They thrive on routine with occasional changes to liven things up – they want you to be predictable, but engaging & fun.

3 – They want to be part of a supportive community. They don’t want to be embarrassed in front of their peers or to feel “stupid”. They worry about bullies.

4 – They want to be more independent & to be asked for their input. They still want to please their teachers (even though some may not show it).

5 – They still love to help and to feel useful.

6 – They want to know their teacher likes them & respects them.

7 – They want to learn more about the world and topics they care about. They question things and want to know the “why.” They are starting to understand different viewpoints besides their own, making for some thoughtful classroom discussions. They still get excited about learning! They will be at very different achievement levels (similar to lower grades), but they are better at hiding their lack of understanding. The curriculum is more difficult, but they can rise to the challenge. Most of them love to work together and find it to be more engaging.

8 – They still want their grownups/families to be proud of them.

In this post, we’ll focus on observation eight. Here are some suggestions for strengthening relationships with your students’ significant grownups.

COMMUNICATING AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR

*It’s a good idea to introduce yourself to your students’ families at the beginning of the year. Here are some great examples of introduction letters from We Are Teachers website.

*Speaking of the beginning of the year – try to contact all families with a positive observation to share about their child. Try to do this within the first two weeks of school, if possible.

A phone call or voicemail is fine, but it’s also fine to send an email, a text, or a short, handwritten note. The purpose is to set a positive tone early, before any issues arise. When/if discipline or other issues arise, you will already have credibility with families. Don’t be fake about this, but do look for something good you can say about the student.

Here is a “template” to follow:

I’m _________ and I am _________’s _______ grade teacher. I wanted to tell you that I’m very happy to have ________in my class this year. I can see that ____________ is (name 1-2 positive traits). I’m looking forward to a great year! Please contact me (in whatever ways you prefer) any time. Thank you!

*Invite your students’ families to tell you anything and everything they want to tell you about their child. An easy prompt for this is: “In a million words or less, tell me about your child.” You might give more suggestions such as the following:

~what does your child love to do?
~what does your child really dislike?
~what does your child like/not like about school?
~in what ways would you like to see your child improve this year?

~Communicate your homework plan or policy for the year. Let them know what homework to expect and how long it should take. You might give some tips for what to do if the child is having trouble (how much help to provide, etc.) and when they should contact you about homework. You will probably need to re-share this information throughout the year, especially if the amount of homework changes at any point.

COMMUNICATION WITH FAMILIES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

*Think about how/when you will contact parents with updates from the classroom. Try to send something weekly or every other week. You could send an email newsletter, a paper newsletter, or use an app. (This website can help you stay up to date with great tech tools.)

What to communicate? Update your families with a brief blurb about what students are learning in class, what units are coming up next, important dates for the class (upcoming tests, field trips, etc.), and important dates for the school (picture day, teacher workdays, etc.).

Something I have done in the past, which was very popular, took a little more time: get three quotes from kids about something going on in class. It could be something about what we’re learning, something we did together, whatever.

If you do this, keep a record of which kids gave a quote so that you can include everyone at least once. Kids love this and families love this. Another positive aspect is that families tend to read the newsletter when students are featured. The only drawback is that it takes a little bit of time to get the quotes.

*Another option is to have your students write a letter (or an email) to families each week or twice a month, updating them on what is going on in school. Create a list of possibilities for topics to share on chart paper and display it when students are writing their letters. The letters don’t have to be long!

Describing what they are learning, what they are excited about, what is still challenging for them, and how they feel like they are doing with academics and behavior/social skills are great topics to share. I’ve never met a family who didn’t love this.

*Give families sufficient heads-up about such things as picture day, what days your class has P.E. (so students can wear appropriate shoes) or library (so students can return books on this day).

If students need to bring something to school that is out of the ordinary (like a plain white t-shirt, a shoebox, whatever), try to give families several days’ notice. (Giving them notice before a weekend, when many families shop, is especially appreciated.)

*Reach out about the little things before they become big things. You don’t need to nag families about every little annoying thing a student does, but if you start noticing a pattern in work habits or behavior, go ahead and let the family know about it.

Reassure them that you are seeking solutions for how to help their child. This goes a long way toward keeping the bigger issues from happening. A message in a parent communication app or an email works fine for this (and provides a paper trail for the communication if that becomes necessary).

*Give families information about the entire class. Your newsletter works fine for this, but if you are comfortable using a social media app, you can share information easily and in real time. If you use Instagram, you may want to make the account private or make sure that students’ families have given permission for photos to be used.

*Let families know about the best ways and times to contact you. Respond within the time frame that your district or school requires. (You might want to let families know about that as well, so that they don’t expect an immediate response.)

*Try to communicate positive information for every student throughout the year. You can send a quick note, text, email, or make a phone call.

Here are some possible ideas for communication:

~improvement you’ve noticed (academic, work habits, or behavior). This is especially good if it follows up on previously-communicated information about a concern.
~compliment something about the student (making a good choice in some way, being a good friend, persevering at a difficult task)
~letting them know about some kind of award or recognition (in your class or in another class)
~letting them know you missed their child when they were absent
~communicating a great job done on a test or assignment
~something cute or funny that the child did or said

*One easy thing that students and families enjoy: buy some plain white address labels. Print positive notes on them such as “did a great job all day long today!,” “was a good citizen/good friend today,” “worked hard at a difficult task,” “showed improvement in reading/math/content area,” etc. Occasionally give students a sticker to display on their shirt before going home that day. Even older students tend to like this recognition.

*Document communication with families. Using a simple spreadsheet with space for students’ names, date, form of contact (phone call, voice mail, email, note home) makes this documentation easy to maintain.

*Give families ideas for talking points with their child. “What did you do at school today?” is almost a guaranteed way to get the response “nothing” from many upper elementary students! Give them ideas for asking specific questions about content you are learning, events at school, etc.

*Another helpful tip – give families ideas for how to help out at home. Ideas that come easily to you might not come as easily to non-educator parents. You could give suggestions for how to help with math problems (using prompts you might use in the classroom), possible games to play to reinforce math facts, questions to ask about reading, etc.

*Invite families into the classroom for special activities. Author shares, presentations, gallery walks, etc. are all great times to include families and make them feel like welcome partners in their child’s education.

*Consider using a take-home folder and explain your process to families.

Here’s an example: on one side of the folder, you might include any graded work or papers that need to be signed or returned to school. On the other side, you might include homework or school flyers.

And remember – train your students to put papers in the appropriate part of their folders. That should be their job, not yours.

*Ask families for help! If you need anything – volunteers, chaperones for field trips, donations of snacks or books or craft supplies or pencils – ask families if they can help volunteer or contribute. (They might not be able to, and that is fine. But asking them helps make them feel more involved in their child’s education.)

Another way to ask for help: if you are having difficulty with a student, let the family know that you would like to hear their suggestions. This helps to get them on your side instead of feeling defensive.

*Consider attending after-school events. If your students are in a church choir or play a sport, see if you can attend one of their performances or games. You don’t even have to stay the whole time! But making an effort to attend shows the student – and their family – that your interest in the child extends beyond your classroom.

WHEN YOU HAVE TO COMMUNICATE BAD NEWS

*It will happen. But the first thing you should always do is start by saying something positive about the child. This helps set a positive tone for the conversation.

Here is a possible script for what to say:

~Hi, ________. This is not an emergency and ______ is fine. [This helps calm any anxiety about an injury or illness.}

~[Start with a compliment.] ______ is doing a great job of _______. OR ______ is really improving at _______. I love _______’s _________ [enthusiasm, energy, smart ideas, etc.]

~But I need to let you know ______________.

~I’m sorry to have to call/email you about this, but I knew you would want to know right away. I know that you expect _______ to do their best/be honest/work hard/be kind or respectful and that this behavior would not be okay with you.

~Is there anything you can suggest that would help me with this issue?

~Thank you for your time and your support.

OTHER HELPFUL POSTS

Here are some of my other posts about communication with families.

12 Things Parents Want Teachers to Know

Planning for Parent-Teacher Conferences

Common Sense Parenting (feel free to share this post with your families so they can hear me give this advice instead of you!)

Common Sense Parenting – Homework Tips! (same with this post!)

I hope this helps you establish positive relationships with your students’ families. We all know that when families are involved in a positive way, students’ behavior and academic success improve greatly.

For my upper elementary veteran readers, what would you add to this list?

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How to Enrich Your Upper Elementary Curriculum & Engage Your Learners

One of the best parts about upper elementary grades is that the curriculum becomes more engaging. Students are more curious about the world. They are also starting to understand that people have different experiences, backgrounds, and viewpoints. Most students ages 8 – 11 enjoy working with partners or small groups and find it to be more engaging.

The job of teaching students who are at different achievement levels continues to be a challenge. Keeping students motivated and engaged can be challenging as well.

(By the way, if you’re new to upper elementary grades or just want to know what to expect, here are eight generalizations I have found helpful. This is the sixth post in a series where I will discuss these eight topics in more depth, along with some tips for addressing upper elementary students’ needs. You can read the first post in the series HERE, the second post HERE, the third post HERE, the fourth post HERE, and the fifth post HERE.)

1 – They want to know the rules and expectations & they expect the teacher to be “the boss.”

2 – They thrive on routine with occasional changes to liven things up – they want you to be predictable, but engaging & fun.

3 – They want to be part of a supportive community. They don’t want to be embarrassed in front of their peers or to feel “stupid”. They worry about bullies.

4 – They want to be more independent & to be asked for their input. They still want to please their teachers (even though some may not show it).

5 – They still love to help and to feel useful.

6 – They want to know their teacher likes them & respects them.

8 – They still want their grownups/families to be proud of them.

In this post, we’ll focus on observation seven. I will give you lots of suggestions for addressing curriculum challenges and engaging your learners.

Upper elementary curriculum can be pretty difficult. Math concepts move from the concrete to the abstract. Reading texts become more rigorous. But with careful scaffolding and modeling, your students will rise to the challenge!

Before we get into some specific content area suggestions, here are some ways to keep the learning engaging for upper elementary students.

KEEPING THE LEARNING ENGAGING

Students at this age tend to be cooperative and love to socialize which makes working in groups an especially engaging way for them to learn. However, this is also the time when competition becomes a bigger issue as well.

Set your expectations and rules for group work. Keep the focus on learning, not on “winning” or “losing.” Encourage working as teams to master content and build confidence in taking learning risks.

Because students are at different achievement levels, you will find some students finishing almost any activity much more quickly than you expected while others seem to take forever.

To address these differences:

1 – encourage/require students to go back and check their work carefully before turning anything in. Stress that finishing early is not the goal.

2 – provide an “anchor activities” list of things that students can always do when they are “done.” No one should ever just be sitting around doing nothing in your class!

Some suggestions:
*independent reading
*finishing incomplete work from another content area
*exploring learning websites like Wonderopolis, Time for Kids, DOGO News, Smithsonian Tween Tribune
*studying math facts (with flash cards or online games)
*word puzzles
*math problem-solving such as Math Superstars
*studying notes from content areas
*studying vocabulary words

Consider making a chart of these activities so you always have a reference available for students.

*Because of the amount of content and the pace of instruction, sometimes you (and your students) are going to need a little downtime to catch up. That’s okay! Try to build it in to your pacing and plan for time to catch up or review. You need the mental break too!

*Take the learning outside (or at least outside of your classroom) whenever you can. This provides a much-needed brain break and keeps the learning engaging.

*See more of my posts about keeping students engaged in their learning below. (Even though some of these posts reference the end of the year, the strategies are effective at any time during the year!)

How to Keep Your Students Motivated & Engaged at the End of the Year

Four Classroom Engagement Strategies for Group Work

Five Classroom Engagement Strategies for Content Area Reading

How to Engage Students’ Brains When Everyone is Ready for a Break

How to Engage Students’ Brains When Everyone is Ready for a Break – part 2

End of Year Activities to Keep your Students Busy & Engaged

UPPER ELEMENTARY CURRICULUM TIPS

It’s important to map out your curriculum for the year. If your district provides pacing guides for curriculum, take a look at those and draw up a map of your year. This way, you can look for resources that will scaffold or enrich your teaching of that content when you get to it.

ELA

Regardless of your curriculum, here are some skills and routines to incorporate wherever possible.

*Read aloud as much as possible! Upper elementary students love to hear picture books and chapter books read aloud. I have found this to be a calming reset at any time of the day.

*Incorporate writing into every subject. This builds necessary writing practice and helps them see the value of writing for clarifying their thinking.

*A great anchor activity is to let your students write for fun. We Are Teachers website has some fun writing prompts.

Third grade writing prompts
fourth grade writing prompts
Fifth grade writing prompts

You don’t have to read/grade everything they write! They can share their writing in class discussions, share with partners or small groups, or not share at all if they don’t want to. The practice of writing is the point.

*Most students still need explicit writing instruction. Hopefully, your district provides writing curriculum resources, but if not, here are some favorites:

~The Writing Revolution by Judith C. Hochman & Natalie Wexler

~Writing Our World (daily lessons based on The Writing Revolution)

~The Syntax Project (based on The Writing Revolution)

~Empowering Writers books

~Any books by Barbara Mariconda

*Continue to write narrative stories, but also expand writing genres to include writing informational texts, persuasive or opinion texts, summaries, letters, and poetry.

*As you teach your students to write informational texts, you can also teach important research skills of paraphrasing information and citing sources.

*Help develop an appreciation for poetry by sharing favorite poems and books of poetry with your students.

One fun thing to do as an anchor activity is to allow students to create their own poetry anthology. This consists of blank paper inside a construction paper cover. Students use the blank paper to copy a favorite poem, along with the poet’s name and the poem’s source. (This serves as good handwriting practice as well.) Then you can allow students to decorate the page (as long as they don’t spend all day doing that).

*Teach and expect appropriate use of punctuation.

*Teach students to speak & write in complete sentences.

*Teach cursive writing and practice it frequently. (This could be done in those poetry anthologies I mentioned. Another fun thing to do is to practice copying a quote every day.)

*If you’re familiar with Science of Reading research, you know that building knowledge is critical to helping all students develop reading comprehension. (You can read more about that in The Knowledge Gap by Natalie Wexler.) Here’s a link to my posts about how to build knowledge in your upper elementary classroom.

How to Address the Knowledge Gap in Your Classroom

How to Build Valuable Background Knowledge to Boost Your Students’ Reading Comprehension

*Building vocabulary is also super important. I love Jen Bengel’s resources. Here’s a link to her sets for grades 3 – 6 (one for each grade).

We Are Teachers has some more fun vocabulary activities in this post.

Another option is to keep a chart on the wall and add vocabulary words when you teach their meaning to your students. The good thing about a chart like this is that it reminds you to review the words frequently. You can do this in small chunks of time.

*Use orthographic mapping to teach multisyllabic words. This builds decoding skills, spelling skills, and vocabulary skills. (A great resource for all kinds of phonics activities is David Kilpatrick’s Equipped for Reading Success.) This blog post explains the how and why of orthographic mapping.

*Teach morphology! A great resource for this is the Morphology Project. Here is a resource for teaching Greek and Latin roots.

*Teach figurative language and point it out in every text where possible. Idioms are especially fun for upper elementary students. This website explains the meaning of some popular idioms. (Idioms are also fun to illustrate.)

*If you’re interested in a structured literacy program for upper elementary students, I recommend Bri Luna’s Reading Rev program. She has lots of free resources on her website that give you an idea of what her resources are like.

*Occasionally incorporate book groups to discuss books together during your literacy block. (If students are not able to read the book independently, look for a recording of the book online or in your library. Another option is to allow students to read the book together.)

*My favorite go-to resources for upper elementary ELA are The Stellar Teacher Company and Jennifer Findley’s website.

MATH

*Provide lots of practice with math fact fluency. This post from Count on Tricia and this post from Math Coach’s Corner will give you some great ideas for how to do that.

Mathigon is a great website for all kinds of math resources. Their Multiplication by Heart practice is especially good.

*Here are my strategies for implementing (or re-implementing) your math block.

*Incorporate math centers. Donna at Math Coach’s Corner explains how to set that up HERE.

*Include math games in your math centers. Students enjoy practicing when the practice is in game form. Here are some links to some games on the We Are Teachers website.

Third grade math games

Fourth grade math games

Fifth grade math games

North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction has also created some great math games that require little prep or resources. Here are the links.

Third grade math games

Fourth grade math games

Fifth grade math games

*Teach math word problem strategies. This post gives some suggestions.

*Provide lots of practice with fraction concepts.

*I have been exploring the Inside Mathematics website. If you click on “Inside Problem Solving,” you will find lots of great tasks for students to solve. The “Math Cuts” section includes quick videos for professional learning.

*Here is another good resource for math tasks!

*My go-to math resource sites for upper elementary are Math Coach’s Corner, Math Geek Mama, and Teaching with Jennifer Findley.

*I have another post about upper elementary math resources HERE. If you need suggestions for establishing (or re-establishing) math norms in your classroom, here are some tips.

CONTENT AREAS

*Use as many hands-on science opportunities as possible! Once again, We Are Teachers website has lots of great ideas. You’ll need to scroll through these posts to find options that fit your particular science curriculum.

Third grade science

Fourth grade science

Fifth grade science

*Take as many field trips as possible! Yes, I know that planning and paperwork are a pain, but the learning opportunities (usually) make it all worthwhile.

In the United States, some general options that fit the curriculum include the following:

*zoos and aquariums
*state or national parks
*local historic sites
*state historic sites
*science museums
*history museums
*anything related to the Revolutionary or Civil War eras

If time and finances are an issue, try taking some virtual field trips! Here is my list.

*Make connections to real-world events (keeping in mind the need to make it age-appropriate). Some options:

~CNN 10
They also include a transcript of the short (10-minute) videos and sometimes there is a news quiz as well.

~Tween Tribune

~DOGO News

~News Quiz

~NewsELA (some articles are behind a paywall)

Good news magazines with subscriptions:

~The Week Junior

~Scholastic News

~Time for Kids

*Allow students to use maps frequently. Locate cities and towns within your state, locate states in the U. S., and locate countries around the world. This helps teach geography skills.

*Provide opportunities to learn about people who have had a positive impact in the world (both living and no longer living). BrainPop often has videos for different month-long celebrations such as Black History Month and Women’s History Month.

*Use the website Wonderopolis any time you have a few free minutes! You can use the “Wonder of the Day” or search for something related to your current curriculum area of study.

*Finally – here is my list of some great content area resources.

I hope you found some helpful suggestions for planning age-appropriate and engaging activities for your upper elementary students.

Please subscribe for more upper elementary tips, plus resources for managing your teacher time and taking care of yourself!

For my upper elementary veteran teachers, what would you add to this list?

How to Build Positive, Trusting Relationships with Upper Elementary Students

All students, no matter the level, want their teachers to like and respect them.

Some students have been disappointed by adults (either school adults or home adults) and may try to act as if they don’t care whether you like them or not, but this tends to be a defense mechanism.

Our job, with all of our students, is to find things to like and respect and to communicate that to our students. Here are some suggestions for how to do that!

By the way, if you’re new to upper elementary grades or just want to know what to expect, here are eight generalizations I have found helpful to know. (This is the fifth post in a series where I will discuss each of these eight topics in more depth, along with some tips for how to address upper elementary students’ needs. (You can read the first post in the series HERE, the second post HERE, the third post HERE, and the fourth post HERE.)

1 – They want to know the rules and expectations & they expect the teacher to be “the boss”.

2 – They thrive on routine with occasional changes to liven things up – they want you to be predictable, but engaging & fun.

3 – They want to be part of a supportive community. They don’t want to be embarrassed in front of their peers or to feel “stupid”. They worry about bullies.

4 – They want to be more independent & to be asked for their input. They still want to please their teachers (even though some may not show it).

5 – They still love to help and to feel useful.

6 – They want to know their teacher likes them & respects them

7 – They want to learn more about the world and about topics they care about. They do question things and want to know the “why.” They are starting to understand different viewpoints besides their own, which makes for some thoughtful classroom discussions. They still get excited about learning! That being said, they will be at very different achievement levels (similar to lower grades), but they are better at hiding their lack of understanding. The curriculum is more difficult, but they are capable of rising to the challenge. Most of them love to work together and find that to be more engaging.

8 – They still want their grownups/families to be proud of them.

In this post, we’ll focus on observation six. Upper elementary students want to know their teacher likes and respects them. As I mentioned in the last post, encouraging students’ independence and asking for their help and input are great ways to show that you like and respect them.

This post is all about building and maintaining great relationships with students. Those relationships go a long way toward curbing negative classroom behaviors. (Notice I didn’t say it will eliminate everything – sometimes there is much more going on with a student’s emotional and mental health – but a good relationship with a caring adult makes a big difference.)

A few things to remember:

~”First, do no harm.” They are still children! You are the adult. (I actually keep the words “You are the adult” on a sticky note on my clipboard. I need reminding sometimes.)

Before you say anything or react to anything, think about what you will be communicating and teaching with your words. Take a deep breath & count to five before speaking/reacting.

~Every student is someone’s child. Think about how you would want someone to respond if this were your child.

I know we can tend to think, “If this were my child, they would never act this way!” But remember that all children need direction and discipline. Some need it more than others.

~Try not to take behavior personally. That’s hard, I know, and I am not suggesting that you allow yourself to be abused with disrespect. But try to disconnect a bit and think about what the child needs right now. (Sometimes what the child needs right now is to be removed from the classroom so that you can continue to teach the other students.)

~Default to compassion. (Again, give yourself some time if “compassion” is not your first thought.) Give kids the benefit of the doubt.

~Students will remember kindness, not curriculum.

LEARNING NEEDS

*Ask your students to tell you what they need in order to do their best learning. Quiet music? Different lighting? Standing up at a counter instead of sitting? This helps them to think through what they actually do need and to communicate that appropriately. You can use a checklist for this, or just ask verbally and list their suggestions.

*Be “real” about your own struggles and mistakes. This shows that you are human and it models learning from mistakes.

*Apologize publicly when needed. This earns their respect and also models appropriate ways to respond to mistakes.

*Every day, focus on a new day being a new beginning and a fresh start. Even if I had to redirect (or fuss at!) a student at the end of the day, I would always emphasize that tomorrow is a new day and a chance to do better. That is a powerful message for all of us.

*Take notice of when your students might be stressed by the pace of your curriculum. There is much we cannot control about curriculum pacing. But if you can squeeze out even 10-15 minutes of time to “catch up,” you will be showing them that you care about their stress and you want to help. (This gives you a bit of a mental break too.)

*Don’t be afraid to veer from the lesson plan if something isn’t going as planned. Acknowledge whatever it is your students are showing you that they need. Do they need another explanation? A more concrete way to learn a math concept? Ask them, then do your best to provide what they need.

BUILDING INDIVIDUAL RELATIONSHIPS

*In my earlier posts, I have talked a lot about the importance of building relationships and class community. Try very hard to establish an anti-bullying culture and a kindness culture from day one. Use read-alouds, have daily class meetings, post kindness posters (here are some free ones from We Are Teachers).

*You hear a lot about the importance of building relationships with students. And yes – it is very important and it is what brings joy to an often difficult job. It won’t solve every problem, but when students feel a bond with you, they will do better, both academically and behaviorally.

Building those relationships starts on day one, of course, but there is much you can do throughout the year. Here are 8 tips for doing that.

From the moment students step in your classroom and meet you, they want to know if they are emotionally safe with you and if they “belong” in your class.

You may have heard the phrase “You have to Maslow before Bloom,” meaning you have to meet students’ physical and emotional needs before they will be ready to learn. Here are 10 tips for how to do that.

Besides those tips, here are some other favorite strategies I like to use.

*Leave positive sticky notes for students. I love this article from We Are Teachers. You could start by just doing one or two of these each day. Just keep a list so you can remember who you have given a note to and who still needs to get a note.

*When something seems “off” with a student, try to have a private conversation with them. Start by saying, “Tell me what’s going on.” If they don’t want to talk right now, that is fine. You have still communicated your caring and your interest in the student. Just tell them that you’re available if they need you and that you care about what’s going on with them.

*Truly get to know your students. Talk to them. Laugh with them. Show genuine interest in their lives and activities. Let them get to know you. Share stories about your life or about when you were their age. Tell them about your likes and dislikes.

*Try to always discipline out of a kind and loving heart. This can be hard sometimes. If you don’t feel like you can do that at the moment, then wait until you can. Tell them that you are very upset right now and that you need to think about what happened and you will talk to them about it later. (This helps lessen the tension between you and the student and gives you some space and perspective to think about the best reaction.)

*When students tell you something, always say, “Thank you for telling me.” Sometimes they just want to be heard and they don’t necessarily need you to solve it for them.

*Try to show up at extracurricular events, even if you only stay for a few minutes

*Find something good and unique about each student & reinforce that.

*Here’s my favorite tip for making sure that you are looking out for every child: when you get in your car at the end of the day, name every child in your class. Don’t go down the roster, just name them as you think of them and keep a count so you’ll know when you’ve named everyone.

When you get to the last five names, jot them down. Those are the students you need to look out for and check in with the next day. For whatever reason, they are not at the top of your mind. That is human and nothing to feel guilty about. But it helps you be mindful of those students that might be “slipping through the cracks” because they’re not clamoring for your attention in some way.

CLASS ACTIVITIES

*Give occasional rewards of free time or extra recess when students have been working extra hard or going above & beyond in some way. Unexpected rewards are much more effective. If your school or district doesn’t have restrictions on candy or treats, sometimes a bag of Jolly Ranchers or a package of Oreos are a welcome surprise as well!

*If you want them to lower their voices, try lowering yours first. For some reason, this works. Something else to try: write directions on the board or under the document camera. That gets their attention and focuses them on what you are doing.

*Here’s a fun idea: when taking attendance, have them respond with their favorite something (color, food, holiday, book, song, cereal, candy, etc.). This helps start the day on a positive note.

*Tell them that they are your favorite class or tell them that they were specially chosen to be in your class. (In some ways, that is probably true!). This helps build a family culture in your classroom.

*Laugh with your students whenever possible. A sense of humor is a great motivator & relieves whatever stress/tension is happening in the moment.

*Give your most challenging student a job to do for you. Ask them to deliver the clipboard you left on a table, bring you your coffee mug or water bottle, grab a book for you, etc.

*Remember that you are not their friend! You are their teacher. This doesn’t mean you can’t be “friendly.” But when issues arise, you have to be “the boss.” They expect that and they want you to be in charge.

*Say what you mean and mean what you say. When you are consistent in this way, students learn that you can be trusted. That is huge.

*Try the secret student strategy. Here’s how I do that.

Choose a student at the beginning of the day and write down their name. Don’t reveal the name. Remind your class of the goal for the class. It might be quick transitions, quiet hallway walking, not blurting out, etc. All day long, monitor your class’s work on the goal but pay careful attention to your secret student.

At the end of the day, announce the progress. If the student was successful, give the class some sort of reward (or points toward a future reward) and announce the student’s name. (You have to know your students – if some students are not comfortable with that, then don’t announce the name to everyone but do let them know about their success privately.)

If the student was not successful, do not announce the name but do say that the goal was not met and we will try again tomorrow.

I don’t use this strategy all the time. I pull it out at times of the year when we need a renewed focus on appropriate behavior.

*Implement morning meetings or class meetings. Here’s my post about how to do that in a step-by-step way.

*Implement dialogue journals. This is an awesome way to have private conversations with every student in your class. Here’s my post about how to get them started.

*Try giving your students one minute for silence and deep breathing. This is especially helpful after transitions.

*Find a reason to laugh with students every day

*Start and end the day with “what’s one good thing?” You’re not trying to deny that some things are hard or that there were challenging events throughout the day. But looking for the good can help keep your students (and you) from spiraling into negativity. (For myself, I try to list three good things daily.)

I hope this helps you think about how you can build trusting relationships with your students. While good relationships will not solve every problem, they go a long way for creating a positive classroom environment for you and for your students.

Remember to subscribe so you don’t miss my next posts about upper elementary students!

For my upper elementary veteran readers, what would you add to this list?

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How to Encourage Independence and Teach Executive Function Skills with Upper Elementary Students

One of the biggest differences between upper and lower elementary is the level of independence. Most of the time that’s a good thing! But If you’re new to teaching upper elementary students, you may be wondering about how much independence is appropriate to expect or how to best encourage that independence. So here are some suggestions for how to do that!

By the way, if you’re new to upper elementary grades or just want to know what to expect, here are eight generalizations I have found helpful to know. (This is the fourth post in a series where I will discuss each of these eight topics in more depth, along with some tips for how to address upper elementary students’ needs. You can read the first post in the series HERE, the second post HERE, and the third post HERE.)

1 – They want to know the rules and expectations & they expect the teacher to be “the boss”.

2 – They thrive on routine with occasional changes to liven things up – they want you to be predictable, but engaging & fun.

3 – They want to be part of a supportive community. They don’t want to be embarrassed in front of their peers or to feel “stupid”. They worry about bullies.

4 – They want to be more independent & to be asked for their input. They still want to please their teachers (even though some may not show it).

5 – They still love to help and to feel useful.

6 – They want to know their teacher likes them & respects them

7 – They want to learn more about the world and about topics they care about. They do question things and want to know the “why.” They are starting to understand different viewpoints besides their own, which makes for some thoughtful classroom discussions. They still get excited about learning! That being said, they will be at very different achievement levels (similar to lower grades), but they are better at hiding their lack of understanding. The curriculum is more difficult, but they are capable of rising to the challenge. Most of them love to work together and find that to be more engaging.

8 – They still want their grownups/families to be proud of them.

In this post, we’ll focus on the observations 4 and 5 since they go together well. Upper elementary students want to be more independent and to be asked for their input. They generally want to please their teacher and do the right thing (although they may not think it’s “cool” to show that). They still love to help and feel useful. Asking for their input and asking them to take on more responsibility are also great ways to show them the care and respect they crave.

One of the most important things to do here is to teach them what you expect from them. This will help them to be more independent while still doing the things you want them to do.

Here’s how to do that.

*Have routines for every part of your day. Teach them the routines, and then expect them to follow them. Examples include: morning routines for entering the classroom, routines for lining up and traveling through the school, routines for re-entering the classroom (after specials or lunch/recess), routines for transitioning from one subject to another, routines for the end of the day.

As you teach and practice the routines, take note of which routines might need a visual reminder in the form of a chart or a list of reminders on the board. (Morning routines often need a visual reminder, at least at first.) But once you have taught the routines and students have successfully practiced several times, expect them to follow the routine independently.

*Start out a little more on the strict and structured side with routines, procedures, and expectations. You can always loosen up later when they show you they are ready for that. They expect you to be “the authority.”

*Encourage them to explain their thinking. Have them give the reasons for their opinions, tell how they solved a problem, explain what makes them think something. Make sure you are showing genuine interest in their thoughts.

*Affirm what they do correctly and help them to revisit the parts that are not correct (or re-do something that needs attention).

*Watch for little tasks that your students can be “in charge” of – such as sharpening pencils, organizing supplies, checking off papers or homework, organizing bookshelves, etc.

There are all kinds of ways to organize class jobs and you can make that as simple or as complicated as you want.

*Along those lines, encourage them to take a larger part in keeping the classroom clean and organized. Taking a few minutes throughout the day (and at the end of the day) to clean up their workspace and to tidy up another classroom area helps everyone with some executive functioning skills. (See more about that below.)

*Pencils – Nothing raises a teacher’s blood pressure more than pencil problems. There are lots of good suggestions for teaching them to be responsible and keep up with pencils. But the bottom line is that they need a pencil, so just give them a pencil. Don’t let pencils become such a stress for you. (Some suggestions: buy golf pencils and add cap erasers; write their names on pencils; give everyone a certain number of pencils at the start of the month and offer a reward for anyone who still has a pencil at the end of the month).

*Upper elementary students still love to be read to and they love sharing their thinking about books. To that end, read picture books. Every day. Here are some suggestions.

Chapter books are, of course, popular as well. Here are some suggestions for that.

*As much as possible, keep this in mind: consistency, consistency, consistency.

*Get their help in writing your weekly newsletter to parents – parents love this too. Develop a format for your weekly communication such as: what we’re learning now, ways families can help at home, upcoming dates to note. Students love to contribute to the part about what they’re learning and what they’ve been doing in class. You may still need to add some detail, but they tend to be pretty good at this part. It’s also a great way to reflect on your week together.

*Teach executive functioning skills. Here is a definition according to the article “Helping Students Develop Executive Function Skills” on Edutopia:

Executive function is an umbrella term in neuroscience to describe the neurological processes involving mental control and self-regulation. Executive functions control and regulate cognitive and social behaviors like controlling impulses, paying attention, remembering information, planning and organizing time and materials, and responding appropriately to social situations and stressful situations.

Experts believe executive function is regulated by the frontal lobe of the brain—the prefrontal cortex. Because humans are born with brains that are not fully developed, children are not born with these skills, but they have the potential to develop them.

Here are some ways to develop those skills.

~Post a daily schedule and review it in the morning. This helps students think ahead about their day.

~Write homework or other assignments in the same place on the board.

~Reduce distractions as much as possible. Try to keep your classroom uncluttered as best you can, including how much stuff is posted on the walls. Play soft instrumental music to help drown out other noises that might be distracting.

~Explicitly state (and repeat) the most important information in a lesson.

~Teach and practice routines! (sound familiar?!)

~Use visual timers and give reminders about how much time remains or how much time is available for different tasks to help students develop a sense of what they need to get done and how much time different tasks will take.

~Help students plan their time for getting the required tasks done and then moving on to things they want to do. List tasks such as “must do” and “may do.” Talk about how long the “must do” activities should take to help students learn to estimate time.

~When you give directions, give them verbally one at a time. Maybe hold up a finger for each direction. Repeat if necessary. Then post the directions where they can refer to them visually.

Here’s an example:

“Here are your directions for our reading block:
1 – finish your practice work from today’s lesson
2 – put your completed practice work (wherever you want them to do this)
3 – work on your reading group assignment
4 – read your independent reading book.”

After giving those directions verbally, you might post:
1 – practice work
2 – turn in (or put in folder, etc.)
3 – reading group work
4 – independent reading

~Give mini-deadlines on larger projects where some part of the project will be checked for completion or will be assessed. This helps students learn to break down larger tasks into smaller components to complete.

~Provide a minute or two at the end of class for organizing papers, putting materials away, and cleaning up.

~Give brain breaks throughout the day. (I have some suggestions HERE and HERE.)

~Keep supplies in areas where students can access them. Teach them how and when to get the supplies, how many things to take at one time, etc. (This goes along with the pencil suggestions mentioned earlier!)

~When challenges arise for students (and they will), teach them how to work through those challenges. Do they need to ask for help? Do they need to take a break when they’re getting stressed? Do they need to break something down into smaller pieces?

~As you transition from one content block to the next (or to specials classes, lunch, etc.,) remind students what they need to put away or take out to be ready for the next activity. You can also ask students to remind everyone, once you have practiced this numerous times.

~Teach strategies for doing the things they will do over and over. Examples: how to decode multisyllabic words, how to solve a math problem, how to spell a multisyllabic word, how to find a book they can read independently, how to find something online, how to check your work for mistakes, etc.

~Reinforce accepted social norms such as listening when others are talking, making eye contact, using appropriate voice levels, not blurting or talking over others, using conversational sentence stems (these are good to post), using good manners.

~Teach them to set goals and make a plan for achieving them! This can be done daily, weekly, monthly or all three. Share examples of your own goals as appropriate. Provide time to reflect on their goals and what they can do differently/better next time.

For my upper elementary veteran readers, what would you add to this list?

I hope this helps you think about how you can communicate with your students, enjoy them, and still earn their respect. Remember to subscribe so you don’t miss my next posts about upper elementary students!

All of my content is intended to save teachers time and energy. Making good teaching sustainable – while also having a life outside of teaching – is my goal. Let me know how I can help YOU with this quick form!

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How & Why We Can Establish Math Norms in Upper Elementary Classrooms

Every upper elementary teacher knows the importance of establishing norms in the classroom. Norms are the expectations for how we will work together and treat each other throughout the year. We know that the norms we establish will help to create a positive and productive learning environment.

How do we do that for our math class?

While most of the norms we set in our classrooms will work for all subjects, there are some specific norms we can establish in math that will help create the environment we want to see.

How to set norms:

~Discuss the importance of norms for math class. Explain how they contribute to a more conducive learning environment where everyone can be successful. Encourage your students to contribute ideas.

~Keep it simple! Math norms should be simple, clear, and easy to understand. Try to limit your norms to three to five.

~Model the norms yourself! When students see you practicing what you preach, they are more likely to do the same.

~Be consistent. Enforce the math norms consistently. When students violate a norm (and they will), respond promptly but respectfully.

~Keep the norms on display to serve as a reminder for both you and your students.

~Review and reinforce the norms. Adapt them as needed.

~Celebrate success when the class consistently follows the math norms. This helps motivate students to continue adhering to the norms.

Here are some suggested norms to establish in upper elementary classrooms.

How to handle “this is easy”

One of the quickest ways I’ve seen students shut down is when they’re struggling with a concept and other students are squealing about how easy it is. While we don’t want to shut down the students who are so enthusiastic about what they’re learning, we also don’t want to shut down the students who automatically decide there must be something wrong with them because they don’t find this concept easy at all.

One of my all-time favorite math resource books is Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You’d Had by Tracy Johnson Zager. One of the (many) helpful parts of this book is how she and a collaborating teacher decided to take on “this is easy.”

Zager notes that there are two ways she has seen this phrase used. One is when students are actually saying, “I already know how to do this.” To clarify what students are actually saying, Zager and the collaborating teacher, Deborah Nichols, made an anchor chart with phrases such as these:

“This is familiar to me.”
“I used to struggle with this kind of math, but now I can do it.”
*I’ve practiced this before.”
(There are other great phrase suggestions in the book, so check it out!)

The other way that Zager and Nichols saw this phrase used was when students were learning something new or challenging. When students said, “this is easy,” they were really saying, “I just made sense out of this.” Some clarifying phrases students could say instead include:

“This seemed hard at first, but I think I can do it!”
“Oh! Now I understand the question!”
“I have an idea to try!”
(Again – there are more phrase suggestions in the book.)

Encouraging students to use these phrases (and to empathize with peers who were not feeling “this is easy”) is a great norm to establish and to reinforce throughout the year.

What is helpful/what is NOT helpful

My fifth graders and I would always make a T-chart for our math class with these headings. We would display the chart all year long. And – I never took a picture of it. 🙁

Here are some of the comments that students shared.

What is helpful:
Be kind
Be respectful
Be helpful
Encouraging comments
Everyone participating
Help each other understand

What is not helpful:
Not even trying
Not using time wisely
Making mean comments
Just giving the answer without explaining
Being distracting
Bossy people

Seven math norms to establish

Jo Boaler’s YouCubed website is one of my go-to sites for tasks and activities. This resource shares seven positive classroom norms to set for your class. The resource includes videos and activities for reinforcing the norms. (Yes, I know that seven norms exceeds my suggestion of 3-5. You could try to combine some of these, or just use the ones that are most applicable to your class.)

The seven norms she recommends:

~Everyone can learn math to the highest levels
~Mistakes are valuable
~Questions are really important
~Math is about creativity & making sense
~Math is about connections and communicating
~Math class is about learning, not performing
~Depth is more important than speed

Establishing math norms (or revising them) can be done any time of the year. They are invaluable for helping to establish a supportive, positive math community in your classroom. Please share the norms that work best in your classroom!

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Big List of the Best Science & Social Studies Resources for Upper Elementary

I recently posted a big list of math resources for upper elementary teachers. You can find that post HERE. Since then, several teachers reached out to ask me about the best resources for science and social studies. So here we go!

Similar to the math post, this post is a little different, because it’s going to be a list of suggestions rather than in-depth explanations. Think about your own situation, your own students, and pick and choose the activities that will work best for you. You do NOT have to use all these things!

Another suggestion would be to come back to this post a few times a year (maybe every quarter) and see if some of the suggestions and activities might be options for you to incorporate into your content area instruction at a later time.

Social studies and science content learning has always been important, but it is getting extra attention now as we learn more about the science of reading and the importance of building background knowledge. You can read more about this topic in my posts HERE and HERE.

Go-To Social Studies Blog & TPT Resources

~Jenifer Bazzit of Thrive in Grade Five is the best resource I’ve found for general fifth grade social studies resources. Her post about starting the year in fifth grade social studies is super helpful.

~I also love Becca from The Clever Teacher. Becca’s resources are especially good for teaching history.

~Teaching is the Sweetest Thing has great resources for teaching fourth grade social studies (and science too).

~Ashleigh’s Education Journey is an awesome resource for all third grade subjects.

~The Great Cate History, Teaching in the Fast Lane, and Cheryl Gourley offer great resources on TPT. (Another hint: search your own state’s history on TPT to find sellers who have created products for your particular state’s standards.)

Helpful Social Studies Websites

~Core Knowledge – an OER (open educational resources) social studies curriculum

~*iCivics is a free resource for teaching civics lessons.

~American Ride – this website contains different episodes where the host, Stan Ellsworth, travels to different places and teaches about American history.

~Liberty Kids on YouTube – great videos about the American Revolution. This product on TPT provides video response forms and reflection questions for the videos.

~EdPuzzle has lots of good video content for various topics.

~Wonderopolis – another great site with information about various topics. It also includes great activities to go along with the reading.

~Learning for Justice has awesome resources for teaching social justice.

~Geogussr is great for teaching geography and map skills. The quizzes are really fun.

~Mission U. S. has great simulations for teaching history.

~If you have access to BrainPop or Flocabulary (both paid resources), they have outstanding resources for many topics.

~I’m not sure of the source for this U. S. History pacing guide, as it was shared with me. But it looks awesome! (If you know the author, please let me know so I can give them credit for their work!)

Sites for Social Studies Content Reading

~NewsELA

~ReadWorks

~Common Lit

Sites for Primary Sources in Social Studies

~National Archives

~Docs Teach

~Spartacus Educational

~Fordham University resources

~Yale’s Avalon Project

~LIFE Magazine Photo Archive

~Library of Congress (LOC) resources

~Mount Vernon collection

~Colonial Williamsburg collection

Current Events for Kids
~DOGO News

~Time for Kids

~CNN 10

If you’re looking for ideas for engaging your students before reading informational text, take a look at these tips from the New York Times.

Helpful Science Websites

~Mystery Science is a paid site, but they often offer free trials. Every teacher that uses it really loves the resources!

~Wonderopolis – I love this site. Besides providing engaging content, they include “wonder words” (vocabulary), a quick test, and suggestions for more activities related to the topic.

~NASA’s Space Place for Kids is a great site for all things space.

~National Geographic Kids is a tried and true resource.

~Sheppard Software has lots of online games, activities, and articles.

~PBS Learning Media Zoom has lots of great activities.

~SciJinks is an awesome site for learning about weather!

~Similar to Mystery Science, Generation Genius is another paid site but they offer a free trial.

~Sock Monkey Science is a great teacher-created site!

~Crash Course Kids has awesome science videos on YouTube.

~Study Jams is a Scholastic site with excellent, engaging content.

~Science Buddies has lots of great resources for teaching science.

~Science Journal Kids includes engaging science content articles.

~EdPuzzle videos

~If you can purchase access, BrainPop and Flocabulary have excellent video content.

~If you need to supplement your science curriculum, Core Knowledge Science is a high-quality OER curriculum.

GREAT STEM ACTIVITIES FOR TEAM-BUILDING

~Water Drops on a Penny activity to teach scientific method – free on TPT

~Gummy Bear Lab to teach scientific method – free on TPT

~Name Tag STEM Challenge – free on TPT

~20 Cup team building activity

~Saving Fred – a classic!

~Help Harry

~Spaghetti & Marshmallows. Here’s another version.

~Hurricane House STEM Challenge

I hope this list has given you some inspiration for your social studies and science instruction. Let me know which resources you found to be especially useful! If you have other resources to add, please share them with me!

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