Amazon Prime is one of those deals that keeps on giving. You get all kinds of special deals on Prime days, but you also get other great benefits throughout the year. Here are some of those benefits.
Believe me, Amazon Prime pays for itself very quickly.
But if you’re still on the fence about purchasing a Prime membership, you can try out one week of Amazon Prime for only $1.99 and see what you think! Just remember to cancel after your trial is up, or you’ll get charged.
Download the free Amazon app so you can find the top deals during Prime Day. Throughout the year, you can also get notifications for the Deal of the Day, Lightning deals (short-term deals), and other sales. (To get notifications: go to the Prime Day page and set up your alerts.)
Here are some great teacher options for Prime Days. If you’re allowed to turn in receipts for reimbursement (to your school or your parent-teacher organization), this is a great time to stretch your dollars and get some supplies that will make you happy. 🙂
MY FAVORITE DEAL
*You can get 50% off select children’s books! Just search for your favorite titles and look for the “limited time deal” banner. (If you need some suggestions for upper elementary picture books, see my list HERE. And THIS is my list with some great titles for upper elementary chapter books.)
In this post, I am offering suggestions for how to incorporate more knowledge-building activities into your teaching. This will be especially helpful to you if your school or district does not use a knowledge-building ELA curriculum.
There is a LOT here. Please don’t let it overwhelm you! Just choose one or two tips to start and add on other tips when you feel ready.
Building Knowledge in Literacy Instruction
*Use one of these 18 strategies from the New York Times before reading a fiction OR nonfiction text. (While the New York Times lists these strategies as being warmups for nonfiction text, there are many fiction texts that include information as well. These strategies work well for both types of text.)
These strategies will help build the necessary background knowledge for understanding the text and will help “prime” students for the learning to come from the book.
*If you do not have an educator’s guide for the particular text you are using for instruction, search for one online. There are many free resources available. But if this is a text that you will re-use every year, it might also be worth it to invest in a purchased guide.
*Use text sets to go more in-depth on a topic. For example: if you are reading a novel such as Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson (an awesome book, by the way), you might also read the nonfiction book Everybody’s Revolution by Thomas Fleming or Spies in the American Revolution for Kids by Carla Killough McClafferty.
*Keep in mind before using any text for instruction that you want to give kids “just enough” background knowledge. What do they absolutely need to be told or taught in order to understand the text? Don’t tell them everything that’s already in the text, leaving them no reason to even read it. (And please tell me I am not the only teacher who has ever been guilty of doing that!)
*Before reading a text, consider asking students the following questions to rate their amount of prior knowledge.
I have never heard of it.
I have heard of it, but don’t know what it is.
I have some idea of what it is, but it’s not very clear.
I know what it is and could explain what it’s used for.
I know what it is and when to use it, and I could teach a class on it myself.
*One of the most useful literacy question frameworks I have ever used comes from Kylene Beers and Robert Probst’s books Disrupting Thinking and Forged by Reading.
A photo of my anchor chart is below. (As you can see, I am not an artist.)
The question “what changed, challenged, or confirmed your thinking?” is especially important, especially for those students who believe themselves to be “experts” on a topic already. This question encourages them to keep themselves open to new information that may not fit with what they thought they knew.
*I can’t say it enough: read aloud, read aloud, read aloud. Every chance you get. See my post about incorporating Jillian Heise’s #classroombookaday in my classroom HERE.
*Whenever possible, teach the meaning of idioms, multiple-meaning words, and homophones. The book Idioms for Kids and Dear Deer: A Book of Homophones are fun and engaging ways to learn.
*Have you heard of Reading Rev? I found this website and immediately bought the intermediate phonics/spelling/morphology program. Here’s the link if you want to check it out. Bri Luna, the creator, also shares lots of free resources and has several helpful YouTube videos as well.
*One of my very favorite literacy gurus is Jen Jones. Her website is Hello Literacy. Jen has created all kinds of resources based on the Science of Reading and offers professional development (both in person and online) as well. One of my favorite products is her Shades of Meaning which gets kids so engaged in learning the exact meanings of various verbs or adjectives, before placing them on a continuum according to their meaning.
*Some tried and true strategies to use in reading instruction:
~teaching nonfiction text features and using them when reading
~teaching students to activate their own background knowledge before reading. Good questions to ask are: “what do you already know?” and “how does this connect to something else we’ve learned?” It’s also good to find out when your students know very little or absolutely nothing about a topic!
~teaching vocabulary as you read together. Model for students your own word curiosity and word learning. Stop and use Google to show students how to find the exact definition of unknown words.
~when assessing a standard or a reading strategy, consider including questions such as “what are the big ideas about ______?” or “what is important to remember about _______?”
~having students write about what they’ve read. One of my favorite strategies for this is using The Writing Revolution’s three conjunctions “because, but, so.” There are lots of great resources on their website HERE. If you want a more step-by-step guide for how to implement many of their strategies, TPT has a great resource HERE.
*Wonderopolis is one of my favorite websites. You and your class can search for specific wonders related to a unit of study, or you can ask students to find and read about one wonder of the day that interests them. Either activity will build knowledge.
*Street View Treks lets you and your students explore places around the world, using Google Maps.
*5 Clue Challenge – here is the site description from Michael Soskil, who created the site and the challenge: “Below you’ll find short videos where you will get 5 clues to guess a location, animal, or person. Some videos were created by me as I traveled. Others were submitted to me by teachers and children from around the globe. Your mission is to do research and figure out the answer to each challenge in as few clues as possible. Have fun!”
*Where possible, align your literacy instruction with social studies topics. This post from We Are Teachers suggests some great ways to do that.
*Read aloud, read aloud, read aloud. When you read informational picture books, make sure to share the extra information which is often included at the front or the back of the book.
*Teach the vocabulary words your students will need to access the content. Keep a list or chart of the words you are learning. (This chart also helps you remember to review those words with your students from time to time.)
*Similar to the tip in the Literacy section above: when you are assessing a standard or a topic of study, consider including questions such as “what are the big ideas about ______?” or “what is important to remember about _______?”
*Another tip from the Literacy section that applies to content area topics: have your students summarize what they have learned (or what’s important about the topic) as a way to solidify their learning.
*Use videos from BrainPop (subscription site) or EdPuzzle (free).
*Use some of the free Core Knowledge curriculum for your grade level. Even if it doesn’t align to the standards you are mandated to teach, you can choose some topics to extend your students’ learning or use some of the reading selections for small group instruction.
What about math instruction?
*Read picture books about mathematicians and stories about great moments in math.
Building knowledge is critically important for building our students’ language comprehension, leading to stronger reading comprehension. I hope that these strategies are helpful to you. Please share your own strategies!
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!
If you are still wrapping up your school year, you might be looking around, watching your students enjoy the engaging and independent activities you’re giving them (see this post for some ideas!). They’re excited for summer. You’re excited for summer.
But ugh – then you start thinking about that end of the year checklist and all of the things you need to do to pack up your classroom after the students leave. You feel exhausted before you’ve even started.
Wouldn’t it be nice to actually get started packing up before they leave AND get them to help at the same time?
Here’s how to do that.
In this post, I’ll share some lists of what you need to do to pack up, and what your students can do to help. The work will get done, everything will get cleaned out and organized, and you will start your summer feeling accomplished and ready to relax.
2-4 Weeks Before School Ends:
*Begin cleaning out cabinets, drawers, and your closet, if you’re lucky enough to have one.
Be ruthless when it comes to purging things you know you won’t use again.
For everything that’s a maybe: store these things together. If you need them, you’ll know where to find them. If not – they should be tossed early in the next school year.
Since this task can be pretty overwhelming, I find it helps to work on it for 5-10 minutes every day. If I get in a groove with it and want to keep going, fine, but even 5-10 minutes will eventually get the job done.
*Clean out your desk. I mean – REALLY clean it out. Throw away or recycle everything you know you will never use, wipe out those drawers, and organize everything that goes back inside.
*Take pictures of your classroom so you will remember how you might want to set things up next year. You think you’ll remember, but you won’t! Email the photos to yourself or just save them on your phone.
Before State Testing:
*Remove all posters and anchor charts from your classroom walls. (Sometimes students can help with this, depending on where charts are located.)
Last Week of School:
*Finish up report cards and any other end-of-year paperwork for student files.
*Organize/file necessary documents in student cumulative folders.
*Start returning everything that does not belong to you or that needs to be returned to the library, the science lab, other teachers, the office, wherever. (Some of your students may be able to return some items for you.)
*Go through any piles of paper and get rid of them. Either grade and return papers, or recycle them.
*Have students take home any workbooks or other personal items.
*Remove posters, anchor charts, and everything that your school requires you to remove from walls and the door. (This might be a job that students can do.)
*Make a list of possible office supplies you will need to order early in the next school year.
*Shred student IEP’s or health information (or return it to the appropriate person for shredding).
*Turn in any order forms or other paperwork for next year.
*Turn in any furniture inventory or damaged items needing repair lists.
*Make a pile of books or items you want to take home for the summer. My school district is currently doing the LETRS professional development and I want to finish one unit over the summer. So I’m taking that book home.
Take home any professional texts or other professional development books you might want to read or refer to during the summer.
*If you have any personal items that you don’t want to leave at school over the summer, start taking these home.
*Optional: make a list (or pull out your files) of back-to-school activities or lists of tasks to do.
*Another optional task but it’s a nice one: write thank you notes to teacher friends who are leaving, to mentors or other school friends who have supported you this year, to supportive parents.
*Delete unnecessary emails! (If there are emails you need to save, either save them in an email folder marked “Important Emails,” print them, or save as PDF’s and save to a file on your desktop.
*If your technology set-up is complicated (with a Smartboard, document camera, etc.), take a picture of that set-up! Future You will thank you.
Get Your Students to Help!
The following are tasks that students can do. I usually save all of these tasks for the last week of school. Hopefully, you have planned some independent activities for your students.
One of the end of year activities I offer is “help with classroom pack-up.” I list the jobs on the board and put a number beside the job to indicate how many people can work on this particular task. (The number depends on the size of your space and how many items you need organized.) I then let students sign up for the jobs they want to do.
(A caveat here: if there are students who might not be able to work well together or who might interrupt you constantly to get help with the task, I reserve the right to move people around or find something else for them to do.)
Typically we don’t do all of the jobs at one time. I might get the more time-intensive jobs groups working first, then allow other groups to start at other times. This keeps everyone from bumping into each other and causing more stress.
Here are the jobs I use, in the order that we do them.
*Organize classroom library bins. (This one starts first.)
*Clean out school supply bins. Throw away broken crayons, dried-up markers, glue sticks, etc. Organize the remaining items in the appropriate storage bins.
*Re-organize math manipulatives, science equipment, etc.
*Take down bulletin board displays and paper.
*Take down any remaining posters & student work.
*Remove classroom door display.
*Label all furniture with your room number on masking tape. When the floors get waxed over the summer, everything gets mixed up. Having your classroom stuff labeled is a big help.
*Label any personal items or furniture with your name on masking tape.
*Remove name tags from cubbies, mailboxes, etc.
*Once students have removed all personal items, clean the cubbies.
*Store classroom library bins in cubbies (or cover the bookshelves with bulletin board paper or newspaper).
*Clean tables, desks, chairs, and other furniture.
*Clean the whiteboards (and put away the markers and erasers for good).
Last day of school:
*Students stack chairs.
You may still have a few more tasks to do after students leave, but if you get started early and enlist your students to help, you’ll be ready to leave for summer knowing that your classroom is organized and ready for the next year!
Enjoy your summer!
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!
Yes, we’re tired at the end of another school year. Yes, our students think school is basically “done.” Yes, we have billions of things to do to wrap up the year.
But we also want to enjoy the last days with our students while keeping them busy and engaged.
What we need are some easy, low-prep activities.
None of these are especially new or never-before-seen, but I have tried to curate some of the best ideas out there that will take the least teacher time and energy. So here we go!
Daily Activities
1 – Hang up bulletin board paper along one wall or bulletin board. Give students markers and let them write messages, memories, shout-outs of appreciation, etc. They can draw pictures or add whatever other creative (and appropriate) touches you want them to add. Leave this up for several days and let students continue to add to it.
3 – Make an end of year playlist. Here are some songs to consider including from We Are Teachers website.
Writing Activities
4 – Write a letter to next year’s students. Give them some prompt ideas such as these:
*here’s what to expect in _____ grade
*here are the best parts about _____ grade
*here’s what you need to know about your teacher . . .
*one of my favorite things we did was . . .
*a favorite field trip was . . .
*some of my favorite books we read were . . .
*some books you should read in _____ grade are . . .
5 – Write a letter to their next year’s teacher if they are continuing in a grade at your school. Give them some prompt ideas such as these:
*my name is ________ and I prefer to be called ________.
*I am looking forward to ______ grade because . . . (OR I am worried about _______ grade because . . .) or write about both!
*some things I especially like at school are . . . and here’s why . . .
*some things that are more challenging for me are . . . and here’s why . . .
*some goals I have for _______ grade are . . .
*I’m hoping you can help me with . . .
*some things I enjoy doing outside of school are . . .
*some things I want you to know about me are . . .
6 – Write an EOY reflection. Here are some ideas to spark their thinking:
*what was their favorite thing to learn this year?
*what were some favorite books we read this year?
*what was a favorite field trip and why?
*what were some of your favorite class traditions or rituals?
*what are some of your favorite memories of our class?
*if you could change anything about this year, what would you change?
*what is one of your favorite accomplishments of the year?
*what is one of your favorite memories of your teacher(s)?
*what is one of your favorite memories of your classmates?
*what will you miss most about this school year and why?
*what advice would you give to yourself, if you could return to the first day of school?
7 – create a class yearbook or memory book. Here’s a link to one that my team uses.
Here is another version from Curriculum Corner (one of my favorite resource websites, by the way).
8 – Write thank you notes to other teachers or adults within the school.
9 – Jennifer Findley has some awesome end of year writing prompts HERE! She also has some great ideas about prepping students for the next grade’s content in this post. (And her website is another great resource site for all kinds of topics.)
10 – Make a Padlet wall for each student with the focus question “What do you like about . . . ?”. Send one Padlet wall link to your students daily (through email or post in Google Classroom). Then each student can add brief notes or stories about the focus student. You can print these Padlets or email them to your students and families.
11 – Have your students write a six-word memoir! Here are our directions for writing the memoirs.
12 – Consider giving your students a Google form with feedback for you from the year. (“EOG” stands for “End of Grade,” which is the name of our state test.)
13 – Mary at Teaching with a Mountain View has a great activity called Three Words. To do this, have each of your students (or small groups of students) come up with a creative three-word phrase to describe the school year. Then, have them come up with a creative way to display their three words. You can read more about it HERE.
14 – Another great idea from Mary at Teaching with a Mountain View: make an ABC book about the school year. You can read more HERE. Jennifer Findley has a great template for this activity.
15 – Make a ME – THEN & NOW poster. Have students look back at books they were reading at the beginning of the year compared to now, compare writing samples, and think about math and content areas that they know much more about now. Also include skills such as friendship or work habits skills they have learned or have improved throughout the year.
16 – Paper plate keepsakes – Pick up a pack of paper plates and give out some colorful markers. Have each student write their name in the middle of the plate, then start passing! Each student writes complimentary words to describe their classmate, then passes it to the next kid. They’ll each end up with a sweet keepsake for the school year! (Another option – if you’re concerned about what some students might write: have them write these separately, then you do the writing on the paper plate.)
17 – choose some quotes from this list. Have your students write what the quote means to them.
Activities about Books/Reading
18 – Have your students make a class “summer reading list.” What are some books that they recommend kids should read over the summer? You can google lists if you want to give your students something to choose from (or to inspire their own ideas).
19 – Make a list of “Books You Should Read in ______ Grade” for next year’s students. Or add these suggestions to a chart paper for next year’s beginning of year display.
20 – Does your school or local library or local bookstore offer any kind of summer reading program? Consider inviting a librarian or bookstore representative to visit your class and talk about the program. If that won’t work, you can still visit the website (or share the link with your students) and have them learn about what the program entails.
21 – Take your reading outside if it is safe to do so! Allow students to bring towels or blankets, set up a comfy reading spot, and do some independent reading (or read aloud) outside.
22 – Read a book together, then watch the movie. To make this activity more rigorous (and standards-aligned), have your students answer and discuss the following questions:
*Which did you enjoy more – the book or the movie? Why?
*Did the main characters look and act like you expected? Why or why not?
•What scenes were different in the movie? Were these differences good or bad, and why?
*What parts were better in the book, and why?
*What are some other differences between the book and the movie?
23 – Allow students to do some readers’ theater! This is a fun way to work on fluency, learn some content (depending on the script), collaborate, and have a good time.
24 – Have students create their own poetry anthologies. Collect some books of poetry. They can be from your classroom collection, your school library (if you’re still able to check out books), or your public library.
Give students blank paper. Their job is to find poems that they love (for whatever reason), and copy the poem in their best handwriting/cursive (including the title and author), one poem per page.
Then they can illustrate the poem or create a design for the page.
When they finish, they can put the pages together along with a cover page with their name, the words “Poetry Anthology”, and the year.
27 – Boost your students’ vocabularies by letting them play Free Rice. (It also benefits the United Nations World Food Programme.)
28 – Wonderopolis is another great site for exploring and learning.
29 – Street View Treks is a fun site for exploring places around the world.
30 – 5 Clue Challenge is fun for watching short videos and using clues to guess the animal, location, or person!
31 – Watch videos on TeachFlix (one of my new favorite sites!).
Games, Puzzles, & Art
32 – Allow students to play card games or board games! You may have a set of games but you can also find inexpensive ones at thrift stores. Here are some favorites:
37 – Allow your students to create board games about a math concept for next year’s students. Show them examples such as the games on this site (click your grade level, then scroll down the left side of the page to the Game File). Let them work as partners or in teams to create the games.
38 – Play math games! Our North Carolina Department of Public Instruction website (same site as linked in #37 above) has some awesome games to print and play. Here is the link.
I hope you found some fun ideas here! Enjoy the last few days with your students. Summer will be here soon!
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!
No teacher looks forward to end-of-year testing. The complaints are valid: they take too much time (our state’s reading test, for example, is two hours long), they cause too much stress (primarily to the students who do NOT need to be worried about them), and they don’t always reflect all of the learning and growth that we have seen in our students throughout the year.
But the tests are not going away any time soon. Thus – we want our students to be prepared. We don’t want them to face questions or situations on the tests that we have not shown them how to navigate.
Obviously, great teaching throughout the year is the best test prep strategy ever. But there are also specific tips and strategies that can help your students be prepared.
Here are 16 tips gathered from veteran teachers’ many years of administering standardized tests! I hope they help you and your students. (And if testing season is over for you this year – lucky you! – save this post for next year!)
1 – Find your state’s released versions of tests. These items are the best for showing your students exactly what the test questions will look like.
2 – It can also be helpful to use other states’ released test items so that your students see a variety of problems and questions.
3 – Practice by taking the test yourself! What do YOU do to help yourself solve the problems or read the passages and answer questions? What tips helped you? Show your students your thought process!
4 – Plan for some practice time before state testing begins. This doesn’t need to take hours or several weeks. Two weeks is usually ample time. This also doesn’t need to take up all day, every day. It’s better to do little bits every day, rather than big “cram” sessions which tend to burn kids out and cause anxiety.
5 – A great way to review is to have kids “brain dump” everything they know about a content area topic (weather systems, for instance) or for a math topic (how to calculate volume, for instance).
Here’s how to do that:
~List the topic on the board and set a timer for 2-3 minutes.
~Have students write down everything that they can remember about the topic (or about how to do the math).
~Another option is to ask them to write 1-3 things they can remember, and NOT set a time limit.
~Then let students turn & talk with a partner or table group and share what they remember.
By the way, this is a fun and engaging strategy to use for review and practice throughout the year, not just when preparing for end of year tests.
6 – Provide lots of opportunities to study vocabulary terms for science or math tests. Sites like Kahoot, Quizlet, Quizizz, and Blooket are great for this. Another good option is to google free online Jeopardy games.
7 – Mix up the math problems – addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems. The tests never have all of one topic together, so we need to help students practice “switching” between different math topics.
8 – Show students what to do with the blank paper that is provided for the test. Do you expect them to use it for solving math problems? Listing vocabulary terms for content? Taking notes on a reading passage? Show them what you expect and incorporate that into your test prep practice.
9 – Stamina is one of the most important factors in test-taking. These standardized tests usually take about two hours. That is a long time to maintain focus and stare at a screen. Building up stamina throughout the year (during independent reading, for example) is their best preparation. You can challenge your students to work on their stamina as part of their test prep practice. Then have them share their strategies for getting back on track if they find their energy waning and their minds wandering.
10 – Hopefully you have used anchor charts all year long. Remind your students to refer to them often! Even though you have to remove them before the test, when students look at that area of the wall, they will remember most of what was on the chart.
11 – Teach your students test-taking strategies and have them practice the strategies as they take practice tests or work on practice problems.
Some examples include:
*previewing the selection on a reading test, identifying the genre, and (possibly) identifying where you will stop & think about what you’ve read so far
*tell yourself that you are excited to read the reading test selection (this actually works!)
*when you read the reading test question, think about what you think the answer might be before reading the answer choices
*read all of the answer choices before making a selection
*look back in the text, especially for the vocabulary questions
*actually solve the problems on the math test – don’t just guess an answer choice that looks like it could be right
*use the 50-50 strategy – try to eliminate two answers that couldn’t possibly be correct
*flag a question and come back to it later if you’re having trouble with it
12 – Teach your students to take their own brain breaks during the test when their attention is wandering (look away from the screen, close your eyes, massage your temples, take quiet deep breaths, stretch your shoulders and your legs).
13 For the math questions: visualize what the question is asking you to do. Draw a picture of the scenario or make a model to help you solve the problem. Double-check your multiplication facts, addition and subtraction.
14 – Show students any tools they may use on the test. For example, our state’s online test includes a highlighter tool and a tool for slashing the wrong answers. Show students how to use these tools.
15 – Teach students some testing affirmations and allow them to make their own reminders/poster. They can look at their affirmations and keep reading them until it’s time to clear their desks for the test.
16 – Ask families to write a letter to their student, encouraging them to do their best on the test and reassuring them of their love and belief in the student. These letters can be opened on the morning of the test. (My students have always loved receiving these.) Let families know about this and ask for the letters to be returned to you by 1-2 weeks before the test. If a family does not return a letter, this gives you time to find a special adult within the school who will write a letter to the student.
No one likes standardized testing, but we all understand the purpose that it serves. Helping our students to be prepared and confident is our goal. I hope that some of these tips will be helpful to you and your students! And the good news about testing season is that summer is not far away!
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!
Springtime and the approach of the end of the year can bring out lots of troublesome behaviors in our students. And with some students missing out on so much in-school “socialization” time during COVID, we are seeing more of these behaviors than ever.
This post will be a bit of “when this happens . . . do this.” Please note that this is not a “be all/end all” list of responses. I do base much of this on the Responsive Classroom approach and I encourage you to read more on their website HERE.
(I would love to hear if this type of post helps you! I would also love to hear from you if you have suggested behaviors to add to this list and/or suggestions for how to address those behaviors.)
You’ve probably seen this quote:
“The children now . . . have bad manners and contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. . . . They contradict their parents, chatter before company, . . . and tyrannize their teachers.”
~attributed to Socrates, 469-399 B. C.
In other words: children have always had behavior challenges. They need to be shown and taught what we want them to do.
The Responsive Classroom approach is based on the principle of logical consequences. The three main types of consequences are reparations, loss of privileges, and positive time-out (or taking a break). But Responsive Classroom also teaches the importance of creating a sense of belonging and significance (often fostered through activities such as morning meeting – more on that later) and just plain fun!
Here are some general tips:
*Talk to your PLC first. Sometimes this is a grade-level issue and you all can exhibit “strength in numbers” by implementing the same rules and consequences.
*Talk to your administrators and school counselor. Get their advice and guidance. If they are not supportive, you may need to make some decisions about where you want to teach. (The good news about teacher shortages is that teachers are in high demand. You can go just about anywhere. So take your show on the road if you feel that you are not getting the support that you need.)
*Keep in mind that your students need to know how we “do school.” Realize that they missed out on some of the “practice” that they would have had in the earlier grades. Extend some grace, but plan to spend more time teaching them what you want them to do. If you are expecting to have to do that, the behaviors will not frustrate you and irritate you quite as much.
*Review your expectations for group work and any other classroom procedure. Don’t assume they know it. And keep on reviewing/reminding/reinforcing – even on the last day of school!
*Consider offering extra free time and/or extra recess for your class at a specified time. (This is especially popular in the spring.) But – they have to earn it.
You can have them earn and then accumulate “points” that they trade in for their free time (by keeping their space clean & neat, paying attention/staying focused, completing work, or whatever you need to reinforce). Or you could start everyone out at 10 points (or whatever number), then deduct when they do something they should not be doing. They have to have at least 8 points to earn the free time.
*Do not hesitate to “write up” students (using whatever paper trail your school or district uses) when warranted.
*Social-emotional learning has always been important, but never more so than now. Here are some of my posts on topics that will help you establish (or re-establish) relationships and address your students’ social-emotional needs.
My students keep pushing the boundaries, even though they should know the rules, know what to do by now, etc.
Agree. They should know. But clearly, they don’t. So it’s time for review.
*Teach the rules and procedures again, as if it’s the first week of school. Go over every single one. Tell them why it’s important, how it helps them, and how it helps the classroom community. Show examples of what NOT to do (this can be fun if you’re comfortable with acting things out), but then immediately show them what TO do.
*Do this every day, and more than once a day if needed, for about three days. (“About” means if you see improvement before three days have gone by, you can stop the review for now. If you’re still seeing the same stuff every day, keep the review going.) If/when they ask you why you’re still reviewing, explain that good teachers review until their students show that they have learned it. 🙂
*If you haven’t implemented consequences for not following the rules, it’s time to start. Follow your school’s guidelines.
*Now for the hard part: show no mercy and be consistent. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Implement those consequences without getting angry or giving a lecture. Implement them every single time with every single student who breaks the rules or does not follow procedures.
*At least one of these consequences should involve notifying parents/caregivers. Sometimes this takes care of the behavior right away, but not always. Continue to be a “burr under the saddle” of the parent/caregiver anyway. You are acting in the child’s best interest when you continually notify their caregivers about their behavior.
*Document the behavior and the consequence. You can use a simple class checklist for this and create your own codes for how often the behavior and the consequence are happening. (This documentation will help greatly when you speak with parents/caregivers and your administration.)
Most of my class is following the rules, but I have a few students who continue to defy them.
Annoying. I agree.
*Here is a basic “rule” about children: the more adults talk, the less children listen. Also, when we talk too much we tend to sound more like we’re trying to persuade students to behave rather than implementing consequences.
*Keep implementing the consequences, but take it up a notch. You’re going to have to find what matters to them. If they value social time, maybe they need to sit apart from everyone else for a period of time or have silent lunch on the days they need a consequence.
*Continue to teach your rules. Follow through like you’re a robot and implement those consequences.
*As much as possible, let the punishment fit the crime. If they are abusing technology, they lose the privilege of using technology for a period of time. If they are talking at inappropriate times, they lose the opportunity to talk at social times (such as lunch). If they are not getting work completed, they will need to complete it while other students are having free time. (More about that later.)
*Keep in mind that students who continue to act out really do want you to be the grown-up and to be in charge. They are trying to find their boundary lines. Show them where those boundary lines are! That helps them to feel safe and to settle into learning. Say what you mean and mean what you say. This shows all of your students that you are safe and that you can be trusted.
*Contact parents or caregivers. Explain the rule, tell them what the child is doing (or not doing), and ask for their help with the behavior. (Most of the time, they help. Sometimes, they don’t. Continue to contact them anyway. They can’t then say that they didn’t know what was happening.)
*If you haven’t already, you will need to involve a school counselor, your administrators, and possibly a social worker. Tell them about what you’ve tried, the results you’ve gotten (good and bad), and ask them for their guidance and suggestions.
My students talk or blurt out ALL the time.
*Talk to the whole class about the problem. Be sure to describe all kinds of inappropriate talk (blurting out, starting side conversations, talking during lessons, or while directions are being given). Tell them how it impacts your teaching and their learning. You might even ask for their suggestions about how to curb the talking.
*Next you’ll need to implement consequences. You might try having a private conversation with individual students first and see if they can work on solving the problem.
The first consequence to consider would be to take away social talking time, such as during lunch. They have to sit alone and can’t talk to anyone. Do this for only one day at a time.
Another effective consequence would be to move them away from whoever they are talking to. They might even need to sit on an “island” (all alone) for a period of time.
*Finally, contact parents/caregivers about the problem.
My students are so lazy and unmotivated. They don’t do any work! How can I make them want to do the work?
You can’t. The truth is that you can’t make anybody do anything. You can make things uncomfortable for them in the sense of giving grades, removing privileges, etc., but ultimately – it’s up to them.
*Here’s what you CAN do. First, create and teach the best lessons you can possibly teach. Plan for engagement opportunities (see my posts about that HERE and HERE). Be friendly, be encouraging, be as interesting as you can possibly be.
*Next, stop begging them to do the work!
One thing I have done is to have a 1:1 meeting with a student about their work habits and lack of work completion. I tell them what I have noticed and ask what they see. I ask what might be getting in the way of their getting work done, wanting to complete assignments, etc. (I often learn a lot of things in these meetings that I did not know before which helps me gain a better understanding of the student and their world.)
I acknowledge that I cannot make them do anything, but that I want to do my best for them and I want to help them succeed. It is their job to do the learning work. Finally, I ask them to tell me what I can do for them, how I can help them, etc. We make an “agreement” with what I will do and what the student will do.
Does this solve every problem? Not necessarily. But it does make a big difference and is worth a try. For the student to see that you are taking the time to talk to them, listen to them, and to try to understand what is going on with them goes a long way toward building the relationship with the student.
*If they are perfectly capable of getting the work done, try sending the work home with them and alerting parents/caregivers about why they have extra work to complete. Another option might be a working lunch if you’re able to have them sit apart from the class, eat their lunch, and complete the work.
My students are misusing classroom seating. They put their feet up on tables, stretch out on the floor, spin around on stools. They throw the pillows in the reading corner and leave it a mess. It’s driving me crazy!
*A quick lesson on “this is the appropriate learning posture for school” will help. Show them how you want them to sit. Show them what you do NOT want to see them do. Then model the correct way again. Tell them to take notice of how they feel when they are sitting up straight and tall, not sprawled out everywhere.
*If you have a “cozy corner” or comfy reading spot and that area is being abused, take it away for awhile. Tell them that the cushions, pillows, etc. will return when they show you that they can use the area responsibly. (When you see better classroom seating behavior, consider returning just one item at a time.)
*If you see that many of your students are fidgeting or wiggly, it’s time for a movement break! You can use a site like GoNoodle, you can play some music and let them dance or just stand up and walk around, you can take them outside for a quick walk or jog around a safe outdoor area, you can do some yoga poses. This doesn’t have to take a long time, but it can make a world of difference.
My students seem to be addicted to technology. Even when we’re not doing an assignment using computers, they still open them up and go on game sites or YouTube.
*It’s time for a quick lesson on “this is when we use Chromebooks and this is when we do not.”
*If your district provides some sort of technology monitor (such as Go Guardian), USE IT! And implement consequences (such as locking a student’s device) if they misuse technology.
*Make sure that you can see student screens at all times. They should not be allowed to be in unsupervised spaces or with their backs against the wall when using technology. That is a safety concern. If, for some reason, you are not able to monitor their technology use (because you are doing small group instruction, for instance), then don’t allow any technology at all.
My students talk back about EVERYTHING.
*Stop. Fix them with a teacher look. Then say something like, “That was a disrespectful response. Try it again.” If they seem to have no idea of how to “fix” what they said, model a possible response for them and have them repeat it.
*Try not to have this be a public thing, but that may not be possible. Address the disrespect anyway.
*If you will have a chance to talk to the student in private within a few minutes, consider saying something like, “That was a disrespectful response. We’ll discuss it in a few minutes/before recess/at lunch, etc.”
*If a student calls you inappropriate names (it happens), stay calm. If you have a way of having the student take a break, ask them if they need that. Do not engage with them. They are clearly frustrated and not able to be reasonable or respond to you in any sort of positive way. This behavior would be a good example of something that needs to be “written up” and turned in to administration.
*When the student is in a more calm state, have a quiet chat with them (privately, if possible). Assure them of your care and concern for them. Let them know that you are here for them, even when they are upset. Let them talk about what happened and (hopefully) discuss ways to handle the situation differently in the future.
My students seem to have no social skills whatsoever.
*You’re probably right about that. We might need to think of them as being two to three years younger than they really are. If you can see them that way, it will help you to have a bit more compassion.
*Model some social behaviors like saying “please,” “thank you,” and “excuse me” and let your students practice. Model having a polite conversation with someone else and asking them questions about themselves, then allow them to practice.
My students are often talking about inappropriate topics or using inappropriate terms they’ve heard on social media.
*Use Urban Dictionary or just google words/phrases they say. Talk to them privately about what they said and what it really means. (Believe it or not, sometimes they don’t know. They’ve just heard it somewhere and think it makes them sound cool.)
*If they do know what it means and show no remorse, ask, “ “would you say that to your grandma? Then don’t say it here at school.” Another option is to calmly say, “_______ is not a school word. You are not allowed to use that word at school.” The end. (Of course, if they do say it again, your consequences will need to escalate.)
*Call parents/caregivers, preferably with the student present. Tell the caregiver that you hate to call them with bad news, but that their child is choosing to say some inappropriate things and you know that they would not be happy about that and would want to know about it right away. Then put the child on the phone and let them tell the adult what they said. This tends to be pretty effective.
*For more about cursing and how to handle inappropriate talk, here are some helpful tips from We Are Teachers.
I hope that that some of these tips will be useful to you! I’d love to hear what worked and what you still need help with. I’m here for you!
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