Protect Your Joy in Teaching – 15 Tips for Reclaiming Joy

Even those of us who love teaching have our moments when we get down or discouraged or just plain tired. Here’s how to regain some joy in teaching.

Many negative elements of the education system are systemic issues and beyond our control. But focusing on what we can control is one way to keep ourselves positive and hopeful.

“Don’t let other people steal your joy. If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s not to let other people take what you love.”
~Riley Hart

1 – Find a fun journal and use it to write down one good thing. Just one. (Actually – you can write down whatever comes to mind as some days will have several good things.)

But even on the worst days – think of one good thing that happened during the day. One moment during the school day when you felt some joy.

I’m not going to suggest any of the toxic positivity recommendations of “remember your why!” or “you’re in it for the outcome, not the income!”.

But I do think it’s helpful to focus on what IS good and what IS going well. That does not eliminate or deny the things that are NOT going well, but looking for the good helps keep your focus in a positive place.

2 – Maybe you’ve heard of the circle of concern and the circle of control. Here’s an image from Positive Psychology.

This image shows that while we have many things that are outside of our control, we do have a circle of influence and a circle of control.

The Stoic philosopher Epictetus said:

“Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: Some things are within our control, and some things are not.”

Focusing on what we CAN control and what we CAN influence will go a long way toward making us feel more joy.

Here are some ways to do that. Grab that journal and write down some things you can control or influence.

~Write down the names of students who you know are being impacted by your influence and your teaching.

~Write down one part of a lesson that went especially well.

~Write down one moment with a colleague that was affirming or encouraging or made you laugh.

~Write down one thing about your classroom that makes you happy.

3 – Speaking of your classroom, try adding some decor to your classroom that makes YOU happy.

Bring in framed photos of people or places you love.

Buy some inexpensive flowers once a week (or some favorite artificial flowers).

Add a plant that you like (or some artificial plants).

Buy some pens that you love. (My favorite are Flair pens.)

4 – Recognize that you will never reach the end of your to-do list until the last day of school (or the last teacher workday). Be willing to let some things go. Prioritize the essential tasks and don’t worry about the rest.

Take a look at your to-do list and think about what can be removed. Ask yourself the following questions:

~what will happen if you don’t do this task?

~is there someone else who could do this for you? (or help you get it done, if it’s a task that does have to be done?)

~can you half-do it and move on? (Not everything deserves your best energy and effort!)

Want some more help in this area? I will soon have a course on Thrive Cart to help you gain control of your time! Join the waitlist here!

5 – Teaching, as you well know, can be exhausting. Think about what times of day and what times of the year are especially exhausting for you.

Then, think about how you can plan for those low-energy times and plan things to boost your energy.

If a certain time of day is difficult for you, think about what you can do that will help you get past that hurdle.

Can you walk outside and get some fresh air? Taking a walk, even if it’s just down the hall, will give you an energy boost. Sharing a laugh or having a conversation with a teacher friend are other good options.

Stop, take a break, and take some deep breaths. You can do this in your own classroom, in the restroom, or any place else in the school! I found that recess was a great time for this, but any time of day will work.

If a certain time of year is exhausting for you, here are some options. Try to plan some fun activities for your class during those times.

If there are some units or read-aloud books or other activities that you especially enjoy, see if you can save those activities for your more sluggish times of year.

Even though field trips take a lot of work and energy to plan, they can be great options for your low-energy times of year. They help get you and your students out of the same old routine.

Another good option is to plan to take your paid time off here and there. Plan for it by making your sub plans, yes, but also by planning some fun activities for your day off. Getting coffee or lunch with a friend, visiting a park, or doing something out of your usual routine are all good options.

6 – Avoid email at night and on the weekends. Your personal time is YOUR time.

7 – Seek out other people who can encourage you OR that you can encourage.

One of my favorite things to do in any school is to look for excellent teachers who have been teaching for ten or more years and remain positive. Talking to them and asking them for tips is always encouraging and helpful.

Another good option is to encourage other people. Leave a sticky note or a note of encouragement for a teacher friend, especially if it’s a younger teacher who you see doing a good job but might need a reminder of how good they are. Getting encouragement from others and giving encouragement to others are great ways to boost your own joy.

8- Be careful about comparing yourself to other teachers. We’ve all had the experience of seeing someone else’s perfect-looking classroom (on social media or down the hall) and feeling like what we’re doing is inadequate. But know that other teachers are probably looking at something you’re doing and admiring that. Remind yourself of the things you are doing that are good, and let go of the comparison.

Ask for opportunities to observe other teachers you admire in action. You will see all the good things they do, yes, but you will probably see mistakes they make as well. That will help you feel better about yourself and realize that we are all doing the best we can. Students don’t need a perfect teacher – they need teachers who care about them and do their best to present content in ways that they can understand. That is all.

If something another teacher does is inspiring to you, feel free to add that to your plans or your classroom. But if it brings you down in some way, do everything you can do to let that go. You are enough. You are doing enough.

9 – You hear it repeatedly but it’s true – take time to build relationships with your students. I have lots of posts about ways to do this. Implementing class circles and using dialogue journals are two practices that have helped me.

10 – Work with small groups as much as possible. This helps you target students’ learning needs, it enables you to get to know your students better, and it helps your students to feel more bonded to you because they got some of your time and attention.

11 – Keep your expectations of your students reasonable. Look for something lovable in every child (you may have to look harder with some kids, but trust me – something is there).

Be “real” with your students and apologize when you’re wrong. Thank them for what they contribute to the class (thoughtful comments, paying attention to you or others when they’re speaking, doing something helpful).

Be consistent – say what you mean and mean what you say. Students will respect you and rise to your expectations when you’re consistent.

12 – Take every opportunity to have some fun – with your class and with your colleagues. Smile at each of your students – every day. (Even if you have to address misbehavior at some other time, make sure that at least one of your interactions involved a genuine smile.)

Look for opportunities to laugh and tell stories. Finding humor in situations and enjoying your time together go a long way to helping you find joy in teaching.

13 – Do the best you can. That is all. And that is enough.

14 – Maintain a file of positive notes of thanks or appreciation, pictures your students draw for you, and positive emails. Any time you’re having a bad day – take a look at this file. Know that you are making a valuable difference, even when it doesn’t feel like it.

15 – Be kind to yourself. Remember that the work you do matters, every single day, regardless of what the politicians or anyone else say. Think about it – every single person in the world can name teachers who had a big influence on their lives. What other profession can say that? You are a very important part of your students’ lives. Never forget that.

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!

How to Reset Your Classroom After a Break (or Any Time of Year)

You can reset your classroom any time. It’s never too late!

But one of the best times to consider a reset is after a break of some sort. Try some of these tips to reset!

CLEAN UP

*Clean up your classroom. Get your students to help. Somehow, a messy environment encourages poor work habits and less than stellar behavior. A simple process like cleaning up can help reset your own expectations and alert students that there are going to be some changes around here!

Start with your own space. If you use a small group table or a table for your computer, clean up those spaces. If you have a teacher bookshelf in the classroom, straighten up the books, recycle whatever you can, store resources in a closet or cabinets if they are not used every day.

Now – for your students. Have them clean up their tables, desk caddies, or desks. Everything needs to be removed and either put in the appropriate place or recycled/thrown away. Then move on to student storage spaces, such as cubbies. Have them clean those out by removing everything and only putting back what needs to be there.

What about all those stray papers flying around? They belong somewhere – in student binders, student folders, turn in work bins, or the recycling bin if they are past their use.

You can then give students cleaning wipes to clean up all surfaces. They will love showing you and each other how dirty the wipes are when they finish! (Make sure they wash their hands afterward.)

REVIEW/RESET PROCEDURES

*Now it’s time to reset your classroom procedures. I like to make a T-chart for this. I list the procedures that we’re doing well on the left and the procedures that need some practice on the right. Starting with the positive (what we’re doing right) is always helpful.

You can share your list with your students or, even better, you can make a class T-chart with their suggestions. (See if they match up with yours! They might be more strict about what they need to improve than you are.)

To reset procedures from the right side of that chart, choose 1 – 3 procedures to start.

Here are some quick tips for resetting procedures.

1 – introduce the procedure

2 – discuss why it’s important

3 – discuss what it should look like and sound like

4 – model the right way to follow the procedure

5 – act out the wrong way to follow the procedure (really exaggerate this – it keeps things light and students enjoy it)

6 – review what it SHOULD look like or sound like

7 – practice the correct procedure

List the “focus procedures” on the board. This helps keep those procedures at top of mind for both you and your students.

When you and your students believe that those procedures are “mastered,” move on to the next 1-3 procedures and repeat.

REVIEW/RESET RULES & CONSEQUENCES

*Now that your classroom is clean and procedures are being reviewed, review your rules and consequences.

I tend to keep classroom rules fairly simple so they can cover a lot of behaviors and so they can be remembered easily.

You may have seen posts about “1 Rule Classroom” on social media. Here it is:

If what you are doing:
~interferes with learning
~hurts someone’s heart or
~prevents you from being your best self
YOU SHOULDN’T BE DOING IT.

If the rules that you and your class created at the beginning of the year are not working somehow, don’t be afraid to repeat the process, or simplify it to one rule.

Now for the consequences. Follow your school’s procedures, of course, but here is a simple framework:

1 – Use some kind of visual warning to redirect (hand signal, “teacher look,” proximity, quietly shaking your head NO, gently touching the student on the shoulder).

2 – Call attention to positive behaviors as a reminder of what is expected.

3 – Set limits by reminding students what you expect (and what you will not tolerate). Allow students to fix it without redirection.

4 – Pull the student aside and have a private conversation (or as private as possible) with a natural consequence. (Change seat, use a calming area to get yourself under control, etc.)

5 – Provide choices (which gives the student some sense of control in the situation).

6 – Change the student’s location.

7 – Consider using a buddy teacher’s classroom as a place for a student to “reset” by being in a different environment.

8 – Use some sort of “think sheet” or reflection sheet (here are some examples from We Are Teachers website).

9 – Contact parent/caregiver.

10 – Seek other help for the student’s behavior.

*Once you have established or revisited your procedures and rules, we get to the hardest part – you have to be consistent. You don’t have to be mean about it, but you do need to say what you mean and mean what you say.

Use logical consequences whenever possible.

Remove a student from a situation (partner, table group, area) where they are not doing their best work or are causing problems for others.

If they “broke” something (made some kind of mess or hurt someone’s feelings, etc.), they need to “fix” it. (That might mean cleaning something up or having a conversation with the other student or writing a letter of apology, once they are ready to apologize.)

Suppose they are misusing something (technology, breaking pencils on purpose, talking at inappropriate times to students at their table). In that case, they might need to lose the privilege for a period of time. (Losing the privilege of using technology, sitting alone instead of at a table with others, for example.)

In the case of pencils – offering them golf pencils is a way to give them a pencil, but have it be a material that is not as easy to misuse.

*Provide time to practice whatever procedure or rule is not being consistently followed. I know it’s a pain, but it’s another way to show students that you mean business.

When/if it becomes an issue of only a few students not following expectations, let the rest of the class go on to some activity and schedule a time when those few students can practice with you. (Maybe they have to be late to lunch or recess?)

*Use other tools (besides your voice) to get students’ attention. Clapping rhythms, a doorbell chime, a bell, windchimes – whatever works for you.

*Get kids up and moving whenever possible. I have more suggestions for doing that in this post.

*Keeping kids active is great, but sometimes you just need some peace and quiet.

One good technique for that is to get students’ attention (and wait for their silence), then tell them that you are all going to take one minute of silence. During this time, no one should talk, move, or make any other noises. Closing eyes is optional (but encouraged). Demonstrate how to take deep breaths (breathe in to a count of four, then out for a count of four).

Set a timer. And enjoy the quiet. (Or play a calming music playlist if you prefer.)

This helps calm everyone, brings down the “temperature” of a stressed or agitated class, and helps everyone reset.

What about students who will not comply? This is where your rules and consequences need to come into play. It’s also fine to let students know that you will continue practicing one minute of silence until everyone gets it “right.” Once students see how relaxing it is, they usually get on board.

*One of my favorite ways to reset behavior is to have a mystery student every day.

I write down the name of a random student, but I don’t tell the class the name of the student. Then we choose a focus behavior that we are working on. It could be a procedure as mentioned above, or it could be some other behavior that needs some “work” (like excessive talking during work times, interrupting/blurting out, rowdy transitions, etc.).

Throughout the day I remind them that I am watching the mystery student to see if they are showing the appropriate behavior.

At the end of the day, I do one of two things.

If the mystery student exhibits the appropriate behaviors, I announce their name (if they’re okay with that) and the class earns points toward some kind of class reward (such as free time or extra recess).

If the mystery student did not exhibit the appropriate behavior, I do not announce their name. I simply say that the mystery student did not meet the goal, but that tomorrow is a new day and a chance to do better.

*Notice and comment on the good things your class is doing. Don’t make this about singling out a “teacher’s pet”; instead, find things that many students are doing. (If you do want to give shout-outs to individual students, you might do that with a private post-it note OR choose different students every day to highlight so that it doesn’t become a “choosing favorites” issue.)

*A great way to reinforce positive behaviors and recognize students is to use something as simple as a mailing label sticker. You can write on them (or print them) with comments like:

*ask me how I had a great day today
*ask me how I helped my teacher
*ask me how I helped a friend
*ask me why I am proud of myself
*ask me how I made good choices
(or any other fun ideas you have). Most students really love getting these and proudly wear them home.

*Give occasional “you deserve it” class rewards. Whenever it works for you, do something fun like giving them extra recess, 15 minutes of free time to draw, play games or just talk, bring a stuffy to school day, “beach day” or “camping day” (they can set up towels as beach mats or campsites and do their work there that day). If you’re allowed to give food treats, small pieces of candy or non-allergenic treats are fun.

RELATIONSHIPS & SOCIAL SKILLS

*If social skills are an issue, you can read some picture books about kindness (see my list HERE) and reinforce your expectation that everyone treat each other with kindness and respect. It’s fun to create some scenarios and have students act out good ways to talk to each other (encouraging each other instead of criticizing, for instance, or ways and times to use good manners).

*Work on your relationships with your students, especially students who are more difficult to love. Try to touch base with each student positively every day (a checklist helps you keep track of this).

Use the words “I noticed . . . “ to point out something you see that the child is doing well or something that you see they enjoy (as a way to start a conversation). Join them at recess and just chat. Sit with one or two students at lunch (allowing them to choose a friend to join). This will help students want to do the right thing. (No, it does not solve every problem. But it helps make many behaviors better.)

*Default to compassion. Asking a student about what is going on with them always works better than accusing or assuming the worst. (Again – no, it will not solve every problem. But it will give you a heck of a lot more information about how to help the child while reassuring the child of your love and concern.)

*Contact families/caregivers with positive information about their child. A simple email or voice mail or message on a family communication site will do. Keep track of these communications so you can make sure you get to every student.

RESET YOURSELF

Here are an assortment of tips for taking care of yourself while resetting your class!

*Do some “spring cleaning” at home. Play some music, declutter a closet, clean up an area that is bothering you.

*Buy some inexpensive home decor that cheers you up. Fake plants,
fake flowers (or buy yourself some real flowers!), new dishtowels, a good-smelling candle, a cute notebook, some new Flair pens, and/or a bag for your pens! Whatever makes you smile!

*Plan a fun “field trip” for yourself, even if it’s to a local state park.

*Try a different workout, even if it’s just for 15 minutes

*Buy yourself something new to wear! Try Stitch Fix if you want a personal shopper to make some choices for you. You only pay for what you choose to keep!

*Find some new playlists on Spotify (or Apple Music) or make your own!

*Get a new water bottle and keep yourself hydrated!

*Stock up on healthy snacks like protein bars or packs of almonds.

*Make a list of movies or shows you want to watch when you have the time.

*Make a list of books you want to read when you have the time.

*Go for a walk and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air.

*Keep a gratitude journal .

*Make some plans with a friend.

*Clean out your closets and donate whatever you don’t need.

*Do something creative – calligraphy, writing, painting, playing a musical instrument.

*Plan some spring and summer menus.

*Splurge on a manicure and pedicure.

*Eat some really good ice cream!

*Do a brain dump in a journal.

*Plant some flowers or a new plant.

*Try meditation.

*Try some yoga poses.

There you have it! Some quick and relatively easy ways to reset your classroom (and yourself) after a break, or any time of year.

I have several posts with more detail about resetting. But if you’re interested in a mini-course with more resetting guidance, get on the waiting list here!

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?

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

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!

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