**Visit our Astute Hoot TPT store on August 20 for a bonus sale of 25% off using the code BTSBONUS19.
Planning back to school lessons is similar to cooking a gourmet meal—you need several elaborate ingredients, thorough instructions, specific materials and a great deal of time. Despite my best intentions, my back to school lessons, much like my gourmet meals, always seem to fall short of my expectations.
After 11 years of teaching, I finally cooked up the perfect recipe in The Best of Back to School Lessons and Activities. It’s a well-balanced combination of community building activities, procedures practice, behavior basics, assessment time along with a heaping dose of fun. This unit includes: –Comprehensive first week lesson plans –50+ interactive, engaging activities with objectives & detailed instructions –Homework ideas with accompanying parent instructions –Daily math lessons –Quality Back to School literature –Cooking and art projects –Photos of completed projects
As veteran teachers, we know that Back to School often means countless meetings, endless hours of preparation and a great deal of stress. Combat the chaos of the classroom with these quick, easy, low cost tips!Read more
Our school recently kicked off the holiday season with a Winter Wonderland celebration this past week. In Arizona, that means delivering 12 tons of snow to school grounds! The kids are super excited for all of the wonders of this magical season. It can be difficult to fall into the trap of filling December up with a variety of holiday fluff activities. Don’t let yourselves make that mistake and waste weeks of instructional time. Holiday activities and lessons can be both rigorous AND fun!!! We’ve created CCSS aligned integrated literature units that use anchor texts to support a variety of standards in engaging and interactive ways. Check out these great tools to help you survive the craziness of the holiday season…
Christmas Essentials: An Integrated Common Core Unit
In addition, to keep students motivated and working hard, download our Reindeer in the Room: Holiday Behavior System. We completely understand that these next few weeks can seem like pure torture as students seem to get wilder by the minute.
Reindeer in the Room is the perfect solution for maintaining a calm, productive classroom during the holiday season. A special reindeer, only used by teachers, is sent to watch over the classroom and this reindeer reports nightly to Santa. Each day the reindeer watches the classroom and he/she picks one student who demonstrates outstanding behavior; this student gets an antler award. The students who did not make good behavior choices (i.e. shouting out incomplete homework, etc.) will get a big hoof, telling them to stomp out misbehavior. The reindeer moves each morning after he gets back from the North Pole.
Is Christmas craziness taking over your classroom? As a veteran teacher, I’ve tried every behavior management trick and technique to calm holiday chaos that predictably arrives every year around December 1 and found limited success. These three weeks should be full of fun and learning, but for years they left me exasperated and exhausted. I decided to take back control with Reindeer in the Room, a customizable, effective behavior management plan I created based upon Elf on the Shelf. It’s made a tremendous difference in my classroom and I’m excited to share this idea with other teachers. Follow these easy steps to introduce Reindeer in the Room to your class:
1. Purchase a small reindeer. I found mine at the Hallmark store, but they can be found anywhere.
2. Read Elf on a Shelf to introduce Reindeer in the Room. The majority of students have an elf at home and it is a perfect connection to the Reindeer in the Room. I explain that Santa sends elves to watch children at home, but Santa gives teachers an extra special helper, a reindeer. He comes down from the North Pole and gives Santa a daily behavior report. This report provides valuable information to Santa because education is very important to him. Santa expects that all children listen, participate and give their best effort.
3. Read poem to students to introduce the reindeer and show them the reindeer. Explain that the reindeer works just like the elf, watching the class carefully and then reporting to Santa each night. Each day the reindeer will give a special antler reward to one or two well-behaved students. The reindeer will also leave a hoof on the desk of misbehaved students as a symbol to “stomp out” poor behavior immediately.
4. Discuss behavior goals with the class and record on board. Students will write 3 individual behavior goals and record them on the Reindeer Promise sheet. The reindeer reads these goals and watches students’ progress towards them.
5. Display Reindeer Promises and Reindeer in the Room on a bulletin board. I purchased this Santa head from Hobby Lobby and then added the title, “Santa’s Watching….” as a reminder to students.
6. In order to determine gets an antler and hoof each day, I take quick notes on a Post-It throughout the day. I specifically look for students that I see going above and beyond (helping others, picking up trash on playground, etc.). I give a hoof to students who lose a star (as part of my classroom behavior plan). Antlers and hooves can easily be used with existing behavior systems. For example, antlers can be given to students who get to blue (excellent behavior) and hooves can be given for students who go to yellow or red on stoplight behavior system. There are days when no one gets a hoof.
7. Each night before I leave school, I put the antler(s) and hooves on students’ desks and move the reindeer to a new location. Students are so excited to discover the reindeer’s new location and see who earned antlers and who got hoofed. I briefly discuss this with students before we go over the schedule and take attendance in the morning. It sets the tone for the day and reminds them about their behavior goals.
Today I had a rare moment: some peace and quiet at home and an opportunity to sit down and read a book. As I was diving into Lean In, by Sheryl Sandberg I read about the “imposter syndrome”- the phenomenon of capable people being plagued by self-doubt. It perfectly described how I felt as a special education teacher during my first few years in the classroom. Even though I graduated with honors, received exemplary reviews from my principal, and made significant academic and behavioral gains with my students, I still sometimes felt as if I was a fraud and didn’t belong the classroom. Eventually those feelings faded as I continued my education and experience, but I wished that I had some resources at the beginning of my career that would have helped me feel more confident and be more effective in my role. Although sometimes I felt as if I was using trial and error to best reach my students, I know that that I always gave them 110% and feel so blessed to have been a part of their lives.
When I was working with pre-service and first year teachers, I wanted to impart my knowledge and experience to not only them, but to all teachers working with students with special needs. After 19 years of teaching special education, I’ve gathered my top resources and bundled them together for the “Ultimate Special Education Survival Kit.” Now, that I’m back in the classroom, I recently revised and updated several resources and forms to be even more effective. The following resources are in a zip file, with a total of 165+ pages, including a ton of new FULLY EDITABLE resources for easy customization:
-Beginning of the Year Checklist for Special Education
-Beginning of the Year Welcome Letter from Special Education Teacher
-Co-Teaching Guide
-Co-Teaching Weekly Collaboration Agenda
-IEP at a Glance
-IEP Goal Bank
-IEP Goal Tracking for Small Groups
-IEP Progress Monitoring Calendar
-IEP Goal Tracking for Caseload
-General Academic Interventions
-Behavioral Interventions
-Reading Interventions
-Writing Interventions
-Math Interventions
-Lesson Plan Differentiation Checklist
-Lesson Plan for Specialized Instruction
-Paraprofessional Roles and Responsibilities
-Parent Input Form
-Progress Monitoring Data Trackers
-Special Education Caseload Organizer
-Special Education Due Date Tracker
-Special Education Master Schedule
-Teacher Input Form
-Time on Task Observation
-Reading Foundational Skills Rubric
-Reading Comprehension: Literature Rubric
-Reaching Comprehension: Informational Rubric
-Narrative Writing Rubric
-Expository Writing Rubric
-Written Response to Text Rubric
-Math Problem Rubric
Work smarter not harder! Don’t be stressed out…LOVE your special education career with these ready-to-use tools, assessments, and templates that will make your life so much easier.
Do you struggle with helping students process their behaviors and learn to make better choices? Are your time-outs ineffective? Are your students repeating the same negative behaviors? Having strategies for effective behavior reflection is critical to creating a positive learning environment (and staying sane).
Dos
Choose the appropriate behavior reflection form based on your students’ levels (reading, developmental, age, etc.)
Present this tool to the student in a 1:1 setting after their behavior has deescalated and they are ready to reflect
Provide supports in completion (e.g., teacher prompting, student can dictate to adult)
Select, model and practice appropriate replacement behaviors for the future
Guide student to write an apology letter to help them realize how their behavior affects others
Copy and send home for parental signature; save original in student file for behavior documentation and data collection
Don’ts
Use for every minor behavior infraction; instead focus on target behavior(s) and/or moderate to severe issues
Present and discuss in front of whole class
Forget to review and discuss the behavior reflection and appropriate replacement behaviors with student
Overlook positive behaviors and attempts to make better choices
Two versions of the Think Sheet are included, as well as a template for an apology letter.
You know that feeling of excitement you feel when you spot a cute new idea on Pinterest? Those all-too-familiar thoughts run through your mind. “It looks so easy, there aren’t that many materials, how hard could it be?” Yet despite your best intentions (and a few hours of your life you’ll never get back), you experience that dreaded Pinterest fail.
Just like that cute Pinterest project, we all start the new school year with the best intentions and high expectations. However, the beginning of the year can evoke that same dreaded Pinterest fail feeling. I remember thinking, “Why aren’t students listening to me? Why can’t they unpack quietly? Can’t they just sit at the carpet? I’m telling them to do these things, but they aren’t.” What I failed to realize is that I wasn’t teaching students how to perform these routines and procedures and I was setting myself up for failure.
Those wonky Pinterest cupcakes can easily be thrown in the garbage and remade, but those first few days are the most valuable time in the whole school year. This precious time shapes expectations, behaviors, and routines for the rest of the year. Invest up front with practicing key procedures during the first few weeks of school and this investment will be returned to you tenfold throughout the year. Students will clearly understand expectations, behavior problems will be eliminated, and instructional time will be maximized. Nail those first few days using 3 of our tried-and-true, fool-proof tips for teaching key procedures and routines.
1. Teach Active Listening: Listening, like any other concept or skill, must be explained, modeled, practiced and reinforced, especially the first few weeks of school. Students must know what listening looks like, sounds like and feels like. First, create a common definition of active listening. To do this, I give each student 3 colored Post-Its. On the first Post-It, I ask them to write down what active listening looks like. I call students up to the board and each student shares while I sort and label students’ responses. After all have shared, we come up with a consensus and repeat the process for the sounds like and feels like indicators. I record these on my Good Listening Poster. Next, we practice active listening indicators. I share my Alert Listening Position (ALP) poem that teaches specific active listening behaviors and we practice these behaviors several times. Students are actively engaged in learning as they chant the second line of each stanza and model the listening behaviors with their bodies. We also practice non-ALP behaviors such as slumping in seat, head on desk, no eye contact so students can understand non-examples. While we are practicing, I rove the room and take pictures of excellent ALP examples and post to my ALP poem to use as visual reminders of expected behaviors. Students also get a copy of the ALP poem and add visual cues to help them remember active listening expectations.
2. Perfect (Un)Packing Procedures: Unpacking and packing up can be a laborious, timely chore that can lead to a huge waste of instructional time. Students who have trouble staying focused often forget items or get lost during this time because they may struggle keeping track of this multi-step procedure. To teach this critical procedure, I select an unpacking/packing up song that I play every day the entire year. Students become familiar with the timing and lyrics and can use this to gauge how much time they have left to complete this procedure. I use Pharrell’s “Happy” as our unpacking song and it is a hit with the kids.I also create a visual checklist of all of the items needed to unpack and pack up. I use this visual checklist to model each specific step, one step at a time. I show the students how to do it and then start the music and let them do it. Have students freeze when done with that specific step. Then, refer to the visual checklist for the next. Be sure to set expectations for completion. Explain what students should do when they finish unpacking or packing up or else they will wander, talk, or dig in their desk. I tell my students to sit at their desks with an ALP and always praise those who unpack or pack up efficiently and redirect those who need a little extra help. Students will need a lot of modeling, practice, and reinforcement as they learn these new procedures. During the first week, I have students unpack and pack up with me, step by step. I gradually reduce the assistance, reviewing the visual checklist, and watching the students as they unpack/pack up. I stand in high traffic areas, reminding them to stay in a line or wait until person is done before putting water bottle away. I pick a couple of role models who demonstrate excellent unpacking skills and have these students model the specific behavior(s) to the class. By the end of the second week or start of the third week, students should be able to unpack/pack up independently using the visual checklist and music to assist as needed.
3. Gather at the Carpet Area:Assign each student a seat on the carpet area. I measure the space needed for each student and then add a self-adhesive label with child’s name on the carpet. Be sure to put students who have vision issues or behavior issues up front as a support. Model how to stand up, push in the chair, and walk quickly and quietly over to the carpet area. Name students in the first row in order, and have them walk over to the row and sit down in criss-cross position. Repeat for the rest of the rows, giving praise for specific behaviors. Model returning to desks and then call rows one at a time back to desks. Practice this procedure several times over the first few weeks. When students are proficient with this, remove the labels.
Are you overwhelmed with the thought of all of the routines, procedures and transitions you need to teach your students at the beginning of the year? Our Back to School Teacher Toolbox has everything you need to create an efficient classroom. This Toolbox contains engaging, colorful resources and activities that explain how to model, practice and reinforce important routines such as moving in the classroom, gathering materials, cleaning up, freezing at teacher’s signal, lining up, and tightening transitions.
Work smarter, not harder with our ready-to-use back to school lessons and activities. Happy New Year!
The Morning Meeting should be the most meaningful 10 minutes of your day. Morning Meetings are at their best when they are the perfect blend of social, emotional, and academic activities. It is a time to reflect on yesterday’s success, set goals and focus for the day, and build classroom community all while practicing vital ELA skills. Despite the many benefits, the Morning Meeting is often the first item cut when teachers are crunched for time. Here are some tips to implement a meaningful Morning Meeting all year long:
Gather students in a large circle in your central meeting area. This is a skill that must be taught and practiced many times before students are expected to do it independently. Here are my students at Morning Meeting making a Friendship Web.
Check out our Back to School Toolbox: Routines, Transitions, and Procedures unit for strategies to teach students how to gather at a meeting place.
Select a student facilitator. Selecting a student facilitator in the Morning Meeting engages the students in the process and builds ownership. This duty improves each student’s public speaking skills and confidence by allowing him/her to take charge of the group. It also promotes a sense of pride and accomplishment. A rotation for the student facilitator ensures that all the students get the opportunity to lead the group.The teacher must model these procedures several times (at least 2 weeks) before selecting a student facilitator. The teacher then serves as a coach, scaffolding support using sentence stems and cues until students are adept facilitators.
Include behavioral and learning reflection. Use specific sentence stems to help students determine Glows (success) and Grows (areas of improvement).
Use a learning scale to help students rate and assess their progress towards a specific behavior or learning goal. Students can use a scale such as this and point to the corresponding box that represents their rating or use a finger cue to show their rating.
Greet each other. Teach students a variety of greetings or songs to promote classroom community. We love using Dr. Jean’s songs and chants for this purpose; they are ideal for K-3 students.
Unpack and start your day. After students have set goals and a purpose for the day, they are ready to unpack and start their learning.Have a great Morning Meeting routine? We’d love to hear from you! Looking for additional strategies and tips to teach vital Back to School routines and procedures? Download our Back to School Toolbox: Routines, Procedures, and Transitions unit for tried-and-true suggestions from veteran teachers.
Animal characters are present in children’s lives from the very beginning on toys, books, and cartoons. Children soon learn to associate animals with comfort, play, and safety. When animals are personified, children readily understand and apply the lessons and messages from the animals. Our extensive research in animal assisted therapy along with our classroom experiences were the inspiration to creating our magical world of Astute Hoot filled with endearing animal characters to help children learn critical reading, writing and math characters.
At the start of each school year, I dress up as Hazel Hoot and read our introductory books to our students: Hazel Meets the Reading Strategy Friends, Hazel Meets the Math Strategy Friends, Hazel Meets the Writing Strategy Friends. Students are instantly hooked and can’t wait to meet each strategy animal in upcoming lessons. They get really into the read aloud and ask me questions about my roost and my animal friends such as “Who is your favorite animal friend?”, “How far did you fly from your roost?” and “Can you take letters from our class to the forest to give to the animals?”.
My students’ favorite activities are using Sally Sounding-Out Snake and Charlie Chunking Chipmunk during our word study. Using these tools not only add much needed visual support, but also dramatically increase motivation and engagement. This is so important when using systematic phonics intervention programs as they can easily become monotonous.
Just recently I was doing a fact assessment. I always remind students to double-check their answers, but they rarely do. I got out my Fiona Fact Fluency Fox puppet and had Fiona remind the kids about double-checking and what do you know, they all double-checked their answers. They listen to Fiona’s reminders more readily than mine!
As you can see, our strategy animals anchor the classroom. Our students LOVE meeting each new character and consistently use their strategies in whole group, small group and even independent work! Many parents even report learning about the strategy animals from their children at home too!
Meet all of our strategy animals here! Bring the magical world of Astute Hoot to your classroom too by downloading our comprehensive strategy units from our TPT store or directly from our website: Reading, Math, Writing.
Download these strategy posters here. See how our very own students interact with our strategy animals in this cute video!
As you can see, our animals are a hit with our students! Do you use animals in your classroom? We’d love to hear about it! Please comment below.
You know the horrible feeling when you walk into a room and you don’t recognize a single soul? Even worse, everyone else already knows each other, happily mingling together. Most adults shudder at the thought, yet as teachers, we fail to consider how these situations make our students feel. Many students come to school on the first day without knowing anyone, much less bathroom and cafeteria locations. We fill the first days with procedures, rules, and other endless explanations without taking any time to help students feel comfortable and safe, two basic conditions required for learning.
Here are my top 3 icebreaker activities:
Student Scavenger Hunt: Make a Bingo board and write an interesting fact in each (e.g.,Went to Disneyland this summer). Students will hunt for a classmate who matches the fact and record his/her name in the box. This activity gets students moving and talking, both of which they are hesitant to do the first few days. It also allows time to practice important transitions and procedures such as freezing at teacher’s signal, cleaning up and active listening.
Scavenger Hunt
Me Bags: Me Bags are a great way to build community. Send home a brown bag with a cute label asking students to bring 3-5 items that represent them. These items can be favorite toys, colors, pictures or special treasures. All items must fit in the bag. Set aside 10-15 minutes each day to share the Me Bags. The students will love learning about each other and discovering all the similarities they have! This is also a great activity to strengthen listening and speaking skills.
Me Bag
Friendship Salad: Purchase 3 cans of fruit, bag of marshmallows, 1 large container of yogurt and an old, very rotten banana. Read a friendship book (Horace, Morris But Mostly Delores is a great choice) and stop right after friends get in a fight. Discuss possible strategies to solve the disagreement. Then make the Friendship Salad. Show the bowl and tell students this represents the classroom; it is empty and needs many things such as good friends, happy days and lots of learning. Pour in one can of fruit—these are kind kids in the room who help others (can elaborate). Pour in the second can of fruit—these are the hard workers in our room—they always give their best effort and complete their work. Pour in the third can—this represents students who share. Dump in the bag of marshmallows—these represent respectful, polite words used with each other. Add the yogurt—this is for smooth, happy days. Stir together and walk around to let the kids see and sniff. Then show, the secret ingredient—the rotten banana! Start to peel and put in and students will start to scream in disgust. Explain that it only takes one person with rotten behavior or a rotten attitude to ruin the whole classroom. Extend the explanation to the story (i.e., Horace and Morris were being rotten friends when they excluded Delores). The moral of the lesson—don’t be a rotten banana!
Hazel Hoot, an adorable green screech owl, is a struggling learner as she lacks the strategies needed to help her succeed. In our charming book, Hazel Meets the Reading Strategy Friends, Hazel stumbles upon a magical tree in the forest.
Out of the tree appear 10 colorful woodland animals that each introduce a research-based, standards-aligned reading strategy. These animals guide Hazel to become a proficient reader.
In the sequel, Hazel Meets the Math Strategy Friends, Hazel swoops down to catch her dinner at the local pond when she grabs Upton, an enchanted fish.
Upton oversees Problem-Solving Pond and promises to introduce Hazel to his animal friends, all who teach a special problem-solving strategy. Using these strategies and Upton’s guidance, Hazel blossoms into an accomplished mathematician who is able to tackle problems with ease.
Astute Hoot’s unique cast of strategy animals make learning safe and fun while teaching critical strategies in a child-friendly way. Students make an immediate connection to the animals and relate to Hazel’s struggles. These delightful animals and rhymed text motivate the most reluctant readers and alleviate math anxiety.
Take a glimpse into the magical world of Astute Hoot by downloading See What The Hoot’s About, a comprehensive file with samples of our most popular resources and tools. Check out our store at www.astutehoot.com for complete units guaranteed to spark enthusiasm in your classroom.
During my 14 years as a special educator, I’ve created and designed various tools, forms, and charts to support students and teachers. This Time-On-Task Chart, however, is one of my top tools as it has enabled me to gather valuable data about student performance in both general education and special education settings. It measures behavior in 30 second intervals and tracks specific off task behaviors so teachers can easily see patterns in behavior in as little as 10 minutes.
Here are some examples of how I’ve use it throughout the years…
Pre-Referral:Data collection and documentation is an important part of the pre-referral and RTI process. This chart has been an effective tool in helping teachers gather baseline data, pinpoint patterns of behavior and determine triggers early in the process. This information is then used to design behavioral interventions. The chart can be used to measure effectiveness of intervention and compare subsequent ratings to the baseline rating. Furthermore, since time-on-task data is collected for a control subject as well, important information about the classroom environment, management, or teaching style is gained. For example, if the control subject’s time-on-task behavior is just as low as the target child’s time-on-task, then perhaps there is an issue with the learning activity or behavioral expectations being provided during that time.
Evaluations:Classroom observations are critical components of multidisciplinary evaluations. I’ve used this chart to collect data and gather important information about how a child functions in the classroom for every single evaluation I’ve completed. I am able to provide concrete data regarding classroom functioning and on-task behavior which helps to provide a holistic picture of the child.
IEP Progress Updates:For students who have time-on-task or classroom functioning goals, I’ve used this chart to regularly progress monitor and update IEP goals. It allows me to provide a concrete percentage of time-on-task, along with information about specific behaviors, learning tasks, grouping arrangements which impact student behavior. I’ve also charted the data and shared with students and parents. Students love to see when they make improvements! If a student is not making progress, it is a great opportunity to discuss challenges and make necessary changes with them. This helps to increase ownership and responsibility.
Behavior Intervention Plan:Data collected from the time-on-task chart provides key information about antecedents, behaviors, and consequences in authentic classroom settings. Since data collection is quick and easy, frequent data points can be collected throughout the day or week to measure effectiveness of behavior intervention plans.
Communication with Parents:In addition to sharing information about time-on-task behavior on formal IEP updates, I’ve also used this data during conferences and informal check-ins with parents. Parents have also reported that this information was helpful to share with outside counselors and doctors to assist with ADHD diagnosis and monitor effectiveness of treatment and/or medication.
Directions This easy-to-use documentation tool can be used by special educators, general educators, paraprofessionals and related service personnel.
1. Choose a target student to observe and a control subject (same age,same sex peer) to which to compare the student.
2. Indicate type of instruction: W-whole group, S-small group, I-independent, O-one to one for each interval of the observation.
3. Use a watch or stop watch to track the time. At every 30 second interval, either mark + for on task behavior or – for off task behavior.
4. If the student is off task, indicate the specific off task behavior in the chart.
5. Total up data and calculate percent to determine total time the student was on task.
6. Use comments below to note additional observations and anecdotal data.
Download our Time-on-Task chart today! Available on TPT and here.
Don’t just take my word for it though…Here’s what others have said about this chart as well:
“Perfect! Just what I was looking for. Great observation form.” ~Jill Y.
“This is an excellent tool! I’ve used it for three students today! Very helpful…thanks!” ~Bill J.
“Exactly what I was looking. Thank you for saving me the time :).” Julie W.
“Really handy form to have to use for observations.” ~Renee R.
“I had my principal use this during one of my observations! It also gave me concrete data to take to my RTI meeting.” ~Marecela W.
As a former special education teacher, I always thought that homework time would be a breeze when my boys Alec and Jake got to school. I knew all of the most effective strategies and consulted many parents during conferences and IEP meetings about homework tips. I even helped create this Free Homework Reward Chart. Some days really do go very smoothly. I have a delicious, healthy snack waiting for them when they get home; they are focused, independent, and complete all of their work quickly; they look forward to reading their book and read for more than the required daily minutes!
Sometimes, however, things do not go as smoothly and we really struggle to get through homework. On these days, all of my best strategies back fire and I have to admit that homework time stinks! Here are my homework confessions on these not so ideal days…
1) I don’t always make my boys read the full 30 minutes listed on their reading logs, but I still sign off on them.One day I was volunteering at school and another mom and I started talking about homework. We shared that sometimes we let out kids just read for 15 or 20 minutes. We both felt so naughty for admitting to it, but also relieved that we weren’t the only slacker mom! When I think about the overarching purpose of daily reading time, I am confident in saying that my boys get daily reading practice and that they truly enjoy reading. I do not want to get in a power struggle about reading exactly 30 minutes or more. Reading should not be an unwelcome chore. It is a part of our daily routine, but we are flexible about the exact minutes because my boys read for enjoyment on the weekends as well.
2) Sometimes we do not have a quiet, distraction free, organized space for homework.I know that children work best under these peaceful, scholarly environments, but when the reality of our busy schedule sets in, we need to adjust at times. My boys have completed their homework in the car, on the soccer fields, and in the doctor’s office before. We’ve also gone on whole family searches for necessary homework supplies such as a ruler, sharpener, or glue stick that is not dried out. These experiences have taught us to go with flow and adapt to get things done. That’s an important life skill!
3) On occasion, I have served up an unhealthy snack after-school.I work from home now so I am so fortunate to be able to greet my boys when they walk home from school and have a healthy snack ready for them on most days. Like these yummy apple crescent roll-ups I found on Pinterest…
There have been days, however, when my work day has run longer or I have been on a call and the boys have had to fend for themselves to get snacks. Those snacks will usually consist of Cheetos, fruit punch or candy. Eeek! Definitely not brain food, but it kept them quiet while I wrapped up work.
4) We’ve experienced our share of full on homework meltdowns.If you’ve never experienced this, consider yourself lucky. For the rest of us, I’m sure you know what this consists of: tears, crumpled up papers, broken pencils, slammed doors, yelling, refusal to work, etc. Unfortunately, I’ve lost my cool a few times in these situations. I had difficulty understanding why the boys were not accepting my help, were shutting down when I knew they were fully capable, were struggling to stay in their seat and focus, or why an assignment that usually takes 5 minutes is now taking 30 minutes to complete. Well, guess what? We all have bad days and get stressed out, even kids. Through the years, I’ve learned that it is much more effective to take that movement break, provide them with some extra help even though I know they can do it, break assignments into smaller parts, give them some extra TLC and empathize with them because homework can be overwhelming.
Overall, I’m so proud of how far my boys have come along with homework and school in general. They are now in 4th and 2nd grades (Alec got on Honor Roll this past quarter and Jake got straight As) and the for the majority of the time homework time is a success.
Some days, however, I know it is going to be a rough day from the moment they walk in the door. Now, I do some deep breathing and put on some relaxation music in the background in preparation for what lies ahead! I’d love to hear what your challenges and successes are as well! Please leave your comments and homework tips below.
Do you have difficulty getting your class to line up quickly and quietly? Does your line seem to go on forever? Like most teachers, I have experienced the frustrations of lining up and walking in line. Follow these five easy steps to put an end to the talkers, the stragglers and the wanders once and for all.
1. Establish line procedures: Explain and model expectations. Students will face forward with arms at side and closed, quiet mouths. As students walk in line, they stay close to person in front of them and use gentle, walking feet.
Scaffold the steps by using these sentences:
“When I say one, please stand up and push in your chairs.”
“When I say two, please turn and face the door.”
“When I say three, please follow your line leader to the place to lineup.”
When students are very familiar with these steps, simply call the number or use a nonverbal cue by holding your fingers. You should expect this process to take two-three weeks and constant reinforcement.
2. Use tape to model line formation: To design effective transitions in your classroom, start by mapping the route. There is one right way to line up, one path each student follows on the way to the reading area, door and other areas. Teach students to follow the same path every time. First model this path and then students practice it under your watchful eye, several times per day. You can even tape each path using a different color of masking tape so students know the exact route to get to designated area. Once students have mastered these routes, remove masking tape so it doesn’t leave a permanent mark on the carpet.
3. Label stopping points: Map the route to important places around the campus. Take the same routes to specials, cafeteria, playground and bathrooms, labeling stopping points along the way. Stopping points allow the students in back to keep up with the line (no more stragglers) and help wanders remember the designated routes to specific destinations. I tape small owl decals to the sidewalk at class stopping points; these serve as a good visual cue to remember these important points. Remove decals after stopping becomes automatic.
4. Provide visual cues: Create a visual cue to remind students to stay (or get) quiet in line. We are Weinberg Wranglers at my school and students all use a ‘Wrangler W’ to signal quiet time. Visual cues don’t add any additional noise and give students feedback.
5. Reward and reinforce: Add some fun to the line by setting a daily goal. For example, set a stopwatch and time students as they line up in ABC order. Encourage students to beat the previous time. Be sure to provide modeling, praise and constructive feedback as needed.
I also use the Mystery Walker poem and select one Mystery Walker for each line. This student gets a ticket to Treasure Box drawing at the end of the week. You can also give students Mystery Walker paper bracelets or a hat as a reward. If all students are doing a great job, give them a Quiet Line Loop. Attach loops together to make a class chain. Determine how long the chain needs to before the class earns a reward. If the class earns a compliment in line, add an additional loop to the chain.
Does anyone hear me? Am I speaking English? Why aren’t my students listening to me?
Do these questions run through your mind frequently? I found I was repeating myself over and over like a broken record and ready to bang my head against the wall. I finally realized that I was making a costly oversight that was hindering academic achievement and testing my sanity.
Listening is such a critical skill, yet I never took the time to truly teach it. I expected that my students would walk into my classroom with the understanding and ability required for active listening. When they didn’t listen, I would punish them for something that hasn’t been taught.
Listening, like any other concept or skill, must be explained, modeled, practiced and reinforced, especially the first few weeks of school. Students must know what listening looks like, sounds like and feels like.
Now I introduce active listening on the first day of school in 3 easy steps:
1. Create a common definition: I give each student 3 colored Post-Its. On the first Post-It, I ask them to write down what active listening looks like. I call students up to the board and each student shares while I sort and label students’ responses. After all have shared, we come up with a consensus and repeat the process for the sounds like and feels like indicators. I record these on my Good Listening Poster.
2. Practice active listening indicators:Next I share my Alert Listening Position (ALP) poem that teaches specific active listening behaviors and we practice these behaviors several times. Students are actively engaged in learning as they chant the second line of each stanza and model the listening behaviors with their bodies. We also practice non-ALP behaviors such as slumping in seat, head on desk, no eye contact so students can understand non-examples. While we are practicing, I rove the room and take pictures of excellent ALP examples and post to my ALP poem to use as visual reminders of expected behaviors. Students also get a copy of the ALP poem and add visual cues to help them remember active listening expectations.
3. Reinforce and provide regular feedback: During the first few weeks of school, we say the poem together before each lesson to ensure that all students are active listeners. As students become proficient, we recite poem in the morning only and I will give active listening reminders before each lesson by saying, “Let’s do an ALP check,” and provide feedback as necessary. I also share this with specials’ teachers as well as cafeteria aides so that students understand that I expect active listening throughout campus, not just in my classroom.
Do you every feel as if you are a glorified manager, simply trying to control the herd and maintain peace? Your classroom management plan is to blame. Most of the current, trendy behavior plans focus solely on teacher-based management. In these systems, the teacher directs and tries to control students’ behavior with little student involvement or ownership.
The clip system is the perfect example. Each student has a clothespin labeled with his/her name on it and begins the day in the middle of the chart on green “ready to learn.” During the course of the day students have the opportunity to move their clothespin up and down the chart according to their behavior choices. Positive behavior choices allow the student to move up a level and inappropriate behavior choices cause the clothespin to move down a level.
This system is extremely laborious as it requires constant teacher monitoring and feedback. What happens if the students didn’t move the clip when asked? What happens if you forgot to tell the student to clip up or down? What do you tell the concerned parent when you forgot why her son clipped down? How do you handle the student who “lost” his clip? Everyone who’s used the clip system has experienced these scenarios, probably more than once as in my case. These issues occur because we are trying to dominate students’ behavior rather than make them accountable.
The Golden Keys to Success Classroom Management Plan and accompanying lesson plans are your answer! This program teaches five critical life skills: be respectful, take care of self, be prepared, be prompt and participate. Students learn how to apply them to the classroom and transfer them to new settings and situations.
In this program students learn the definition of each key and practice the specific, accompanying behavior indicators. Furthermore, it provides daily home-school communication as students are required to get parental signature on the Keys to Success chart nightly. If an infraction occurs, parents can easily read the marked indicator to understand what happened.
The Golden Keys Success also provides weekly reflection; on Fridays, students write a Glow, an achievement, and a Grow, a short-term goal for upcoming week. A colorful, parent brochure explains the system, positive and negative consequences and essential questions about classroom behavior.
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Clearly I love owls and my students do too! Here is a peek into my second grade classroom, my home away from home. Each year, I refine my classroom with special finds from Target and Hobby Lobby (my favorite!) to make it comfortable and inviting. My goal is to make the room a safe, creative space that promotes engagement and exploration.
Welcome to my classroom!
HAZEL HOOT’S READING ROOST:
This area is my students’ favorite place. Each day students attend Hazel’s Reading Roost (my guided reading group) as one of their four reading rotations. During this time, we use a woodland strategy animal as we learn and practice specific reading concepts through the context of authentic literature. Students read text at their instructional level using our Hoo Can Read? Reading Fluency and Comprehension flashcards and complete graphic organizers that accompany the strategy animals.
Hazel’s Reading Roost revolves around Hazel Hoot, a struggling reader, who comes across a magical tree one day on the way home from school. She meets 10 strategy animals who help her learn the necessary skills and strategies needed to become a successful reader. To replicate the magical tree, I purchased an inexpensive faux tree from Goodwill and gave it a dusting of gold glitter spray paint. I glued glitter foam leaves to give it an enchanted gleam and used Velcro to attach the animals. This allows for easy removal during reading group time.
Hazel’s Reading Roost: Guided Reading Center
HAZEL HOOT’S PROBLEM-SOLVING POND: Our Problem-Solving Pond features 10 strategy animals that help students solve story problems. In the pond story, Hazel Hoot swoops down to eat a fish and he begs her to let him go as he is Upton Understanding Fish, the ruler of Problem-Solving Pond. Hazel lets him go and Upton introduces her to the strategy animals, teaching her critical problem-solving skills in the process. Each week students learn and practice new strategies as they complete a differentiated template in their problem-solving journal.
In order to recreate the Problem-Solving Pond, I covered a bulletin board with fadeless blue water paper and added green tulle and pond stems to border the pond. I found this stuffed animal on Ebay that looks just like Upton Understanding Fish at the top along with his problem-solving steps. As I introduce each strategy animal, I put it in the pond for students to reference.
Hazel’s Problem Solving Pond: Math Bulletin Board
O.W.L. BULLETIN BOARD:
Observe, Wonder, Learn are the key themes in my room and this bulletin board is the first thing you see when you walk into the room. I made the paper using turquoise water color paint, water and white butcher block paper. I love the watercolor effect. I purchased the owl rug from Target (in the bath section) and painted thin wooden letters purchased from Hobby Lobby. I added laminated orange cardstock squares as a backdrop for student work. I change this board frequently to display our learning.
OWL Bulletin Board
THE LEARNING NEST:
This area serves as our whole-group space for activities such as morning read-alouds, writing lessons and center activities. In the beginning of the year, I create a carpet seating chart. The owl rugs are the start of each row; I put horizontal lines of masking tape on the carpet and write each student’s name in his/her spot. After students are trained, I remove the tape (I’ve learned that custodians hate masking tape). I place thematic, leveled books in the bookcase and hang student work from the owl clips made from clothespins and our owl templates.
The Learning Nest
Owl clips for displaying work
STORAGE BINS:
I used owl-shaped labels to organize and clearly mark the contents of supply baskets, book bins, and other storage containers throughout my classroom. It not only pulls the classroom theme together, but also creates a literacy rich environment.
Storage bins
Books bins for classroom library
DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS:
Sometimes it’s the small things that matter most. I regularly add new owl accents, picture frames, rugs, and other items to the classroom (I might have a problem….). Ebay and Target have a wide variety of owl accents and I love the fuchsia, turquoise and apple green frames and accents found at Hobby Lobby. Here is an example of how I used masking tape and an owl rug to teach students the correct pathway to pick up their mail from their cubbies for their dismissal routine.
Perfect pathways
Owl decor details
CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR:
Even my newsletters, parent communication forms and behavior charts coordinate with my owl themed classroom! Here are two FREEBIE behavior chart files for you!
INSPIRATION: It is fun to collaborate and share ideas with fellow owl lovers! I’ve started an Owl Themed collaborative Pinterest board to collect inspiration for my classroom and share ideas. If you’d like to be added to the board, please follow the board and comment with your Pinterest information below and I will add you.
Standardized testing is stressful for everyone! Prepare these Test Prep Bags to help motivate and encourage your test-takers. Sugar cures everything!
Simply purchase treat bags or paper lunch sacks and select the candy to be used. I choose the camo pattern because my class is the Test Prep Troops. During our practice sessions, students say a special test prep chant, wear dog tags and use camo pencils.
A week before testing, I send home a donation letter asking parents to provide healthy snacks and treats. I include the candy I need for the Test Prep Bags so I don’t have to purchase myself.
The day before testing, I gather kids at the carpet and we read, “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss. We discuss the story’s message and I tell them how proud I am of their hard work and dedication. I remind them that they are prepared for the test and I believe in them whole-heartedly. At dismissal, I pass out their Test Prep Bags and have them open at home.
Students absolutely love this inexpensive gift and you will love priceless encouragement and motivation it provides. Download our other standardized testing tips here.
Use these tried and true active engagement strategies to strengthen motivation, increase achievement and infuse fun into any classroom:
1. Think-Pair-Share: Students partner up and take 1-2 minutes to think silently about an answer to a specific question. At the teacher’s signal, each student faces his/her partner and discuss questions together. At the signal, students share responses discussed.
2. Quick Write: Students use white boards to write a specific response for an allotted amount of time. This can be used to activate prior knowledge, provide reflection or make connections.
3. 5-10 Word Summary: In 10 words or less, students summarize key details of the lesson or specific text.
4. Ticket Out Door: Write down 1 or 2 ideas learned from the lesson on a Post-It and how it will be used in other activities.
5. Partner Teach: Students pick partners; partners take turns teaching each other 2 most important items learned from the lesson.
6. Spectrum: Place a line of masking tape on the floor. Label one end “Strongly Agree” and the other end “Strongly Disagree.” Students line up according to their opinion of the topic. Students could also write their name on a small Post-It and place accordingly on the masking tape strip.
7. Four Corners: The teacher posts questions, photos, etc. in the four corners of the room. The teacher assigns each student to a corner. Once in the assigned corner, students discuss the question or photo in the corner. Students rotate through each of the four corners, repeating the process.
8. Jigsaw: Students read different passages from the same text or selections from several texts. After reading the passage, they take on the role of an “expert” with the passage. The “experts” share the information from their specific reading with a designated group or the entire class.
9. Get One, Give One: Students write their names on the top of a piece of paper and list 3 to 5 ideas about the assigned topic. Each student will draw a line after his/her last idea to separate ideas from other classmates. Discuss responses together.
10. Talking Chips: The teacher will pose a question for the students to discuss. Each student is given a “chip.” Each student takes turns “talking” by placing his/her chip into the center of the table. The first person to talk may only talk at that time and may not speak again until all the group members have placed their “chip” in the middle. Repeat the process with the rest of the group members.
11. Fishbowl: This strategy allows students to engage in a formal discussion and experience roles both as a participant and active listener. Students must also support their opinions and responses using specific evidence from the text. Students will be placed in two circles: 1. Inner circle students will model appropriate discussion techniques. 2. Outer circle students will listen, respond and evaluate.
12.Charades:Students can act out specific vocabulary or characters from read-alouds (i.e. “gnaw” students can pretend to chew).
You know the horrible feeling when you walk into a room and you don’t recognize a single soul? Even worse, everyone else already knows each other, happily mingling together. Most adults shudder at the thought, yet as teachers, we fail to consider how these situations make our students feel. Many students come to school on the first day without knowing anyone, much less bathroom and cafeteria locations. We fill the first days with procedures, rules, and other endless explanations without taking any time to help students feel comfortable and safe, two basic conditions required for learning.
Here are my top 3 icebreaker activities:
Student Scavenger Hunt: Make a Bingo board and write an interesting fact in each (Went to Disneyland this summer). Students will hunt for a classmate who matches the fact and record his/her name in the box. This activity gets students moving and talking, both of which they are hesitant to do the first few days. It also allows time to practice important transitions and procedures such as freezing at teacher’s signal, cleaning up and active listening.
Friendship Web: Students and teacher sit in a large circle. The teacher starts with a ball of yarn, says his/her name and throws the ball to a friend. When the friend catches the yarn, he/she states his/her name and a fun fact about him/herself. Explain that we are building a class web where we are always here to help and support each other. We are all connected in learning. Take a picture and post.
Friendship Salad: Purchase 3 cans of fruit, bag of marshmallows, 1 large container of yogurt and an old, very rotten banana. Read a friendship book (Horace, Morris But Mostly Delores is a great choice) and stop right after friends get in a fight. Discuss possible strategies to solve the disagreement. Then make the Friendship Salad. Show the bowl and tell students this represents the classroom; it is empty and needs many things such as good friends, happy days and lots of learning. Pour in one can of fruit—these are kind kids in the room who help others (can elaborate). Pour in the second can of fruit—these are the hard workers in our room—they always give their best effort and complete their work. Pour in the third can—this represents students who share. Dump in the bag of marshmallows—these represent respectful, polite words used with each other. Add the yogurt—this is for smooth, happy days. Stir together and walk around to let the kids see and sniff. Then show, the secret ingredient—the rotten banana! Start to peel and put in and students will start to scream in disgust. Explain that it only takes one person with rotten behavior or a rotten attitude to ruin the whole classroom. Extend the explanation to the story (i.e., Horace and Morris were being rotten friends when they excluded Delores). The moral of the lesson—don’t be a rotten banana!
Do you have the Behavior Blues? You know, the horrible knot you get in the pit of your stomach when you think about the “naughty” students in your class, the cold sweat when Johnny challenges you in front of the class, the cringed toes as you repeat directions for the 100th time or the exasperated groan when you call home yet again. We’ve all experienced the Behavior Blues in one form or another, but how do you beat them, once and for all?
We all know that misbehavior, whether minor or major, causes major teacher stress and loss of instructional time. Yet many teachers, including me, have made the conscious choice to “just deal” with it and trudge forward rather than create an effective solution. Why is this? For me, I tried everything I had in my repertoire—Treasure Box, teacher helper, loss of recess, parent contact, principal referral—with little results. I kept using the same techniques simply because I didn’t know what else to do.
A few years ago, the Behavior Blues finally got the best of me. After a daunting year with extremely challenging students, I was defeated and ready to quit teaching. Something had to give. I spent the summer reading about behavior management strategies and programs. After a great deal of research, I created the Golden Keys to Success, a systematic behavior system that teaches 5 key life skills that students need to become successful citizens. Students learn to be respectful, responsible, prepared, prompt and active participants. As a result, they take ownership of their behavior. Specific positive and negative consequences are used to reinforce behaviors. There is also daily home-school communication, which promotes a strong partnership.
The Golden Keys to Success program has everything that my classroom was lacking: explicit behavior expectations, specific positive and negative consequences, consistency, parent communication and student ownership. Detailed lesson plans and activities teach behavior indicators in a fun, engaging way with quality literature, cooking, writing and art activities.
With the implementation of Common Core standards and performance-based pay, teachers are under more pressure to perform than ever. Every minute must be devoted to instruction, causing teachers to cut any activity not directly aligned to standards.
This intense pressure starts at the beginning of the year, a vital time to set expectations and establish procedures and routines, or tight transitions. The costliest mistake teachers make is to introduce academics too early without laying the foundation for tight transitions. Many think they are saving time or getting a jump-start on the year; but in reality, this is costing them their most valuable resource—time. Sounds contradictory doesn’t it? Time wasted in poor transitions equates to a great loss of instructional time. It’s the difference between finishing a lesson effectively and running out of time without recapping or closing the lesson, a critical component of effective lessons. Furthermore, messy transitions often invite misbehavior and other disruptions that require teacher redirection, a loss of time. Tightening transitions saves up to 10 minutes daily, which equates to hours of instructional time throughout the year.
It took me years to perfect the art of teaching tight transitions. At first, I couldn’t understand how students didn’t know how to line up—it’s such a simple concept. Why couldn’t they quietly put their materials away or quickly meet at the carpet? After a great deal of professional reading and help from fellow teachers, I realized that I need to explicitly model and teach these transitions starting from day one.
I’ve created the Back to School Teacher Toolbox: Routines, Procedures and Transitions to help all teachers with the critical process. This Toolbox contains engaging, colorful resources and activities that explain how to teach, model, practice, and reinforce important systems and routines throughout the year.
Check out our next week’s Back to School blog: The Do’s & Don’ts of Classroom Management.
Are your mornings hectic, frazzled, or full of frustration? Try making a visual schedule to break down all of the steps. Use photos or clip art as a visual cue. Kids can refer to the chart to see what they need to do. No more nagging needed! 🙂 Our mornings are so much smoother using this simple tool. I also made a “Bedtime Routine” visual schedule.
