How do you prepare for Open House? What do you have students share or leave out for their families? What is the overall structure of your Open House? Do families stay for length of time or do they come and go?
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Do you have your students create memory books of any kind at the end of the year? What do you include in them?
Anyone else attending the 2024 national teacher leadership conference in Denver Colorado?
How do you structure your prep time to get through all of your tasks?
What are your favorite items to include in a science notebook (paper or digital)?
How do you know when to and how to refer a student to a study team?
“Children don’t learn from people they don’t feel connected to.” – Rita Pierson
As educators, it can sometimes feel like there’s no room for social-emotional learning (SEL) in our already-packed days. But here’s the thing: SEL isn’t an added extra, it’s part of the foundation. When students feel safe and connected, they’re not only emotionally supported but ready to focus, behave, and perform better academically.
The best part? SEL doesn’t require hours of extra work. A quick morning check-in, an “emotion of the day,” or modeling empathy can have a lasting impact. Research even shows that students in SEL programs tend to perform 11% better on standardized tests because when you teach the heart, the mind follows.
What challenges do you face while making room for SEL in your day? Share your thoughts in the comment. Let’s learn from each other!
I was having so much trouble with finding some pattern block task cards to help students who are struggling with geometry skills that I decided to make my own! Attached you will find 16 task cards and all you need is some pattern blocks! What other activities do you do with student to help understand geometry standards?
How do you keep parents informed about their child's progress in school? I make sure that I keep my grades current so that my parents can see how their child is doing in our portal.
I want to include some Science of Reading strategies in my science teaching. What are some ways to go about this?
Introducing essays to 3rd graders can be a rewarding experience when broken down into manageable steps. I’ve found that starting with personal narratives works best since kids are more comfortable writing about their own lives. Using tools like graphic organizers to help them structure their ideas, and modeling the writing process as a class, are key ways to ease them into it.
For example, teaching them the basic structure of an essay (introduction, body, conclusion) is crucial, but I focus on just a few sentences at first so they don’t feel overwhelmed. Sentence starters like “One time I…” or “In my opinion…” also help students get over the hurdle of that first blank page.
Peer review sessions are another great way to make writing feel like a shared experience instead of a solo task. This also gives students a chance to see how others express their ideas and can encourage growth in their own writing.
What strategies have you found most effective for getting students excited about writing?
It’s time again for parent teacher conferences. How do you best organize and prepare to communicate and stay on track time wise? I find it essential to have a front and back page guide to cover everything and to stay on track. I love starting with stars and steps. This allows all parents to hear something amazing about their child and also an area to work on. Here is a resource my teammates created that I use for conferences.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Parent-Teacher-Conference-Packet-4147269
What tips do you have for productive conferences?
My class is doing a First Grade Zoo project in which students in all grades and parents will be joining us for an oral presentation in which my students present and others can ask questions quickly. I have worked with a newer student with no English language from Guatemala. Other than Google Translate what can I do to include him in the presentations Friday? We have his poster and paragraph in English and Spanish, I am wondering if there is anything else out there to create independence for my ELL student in this activity?
What are some of your favorite activities using primary source documents for upper elementary?
Our intervention team uses the approach of Remind, Redirect, Return-this for students that are being disrespectful and/or not participating etc How do you address student behavior so that it gives them choice/s yet doesn’t interfere with the learning opportunities for other students in small groups?
How do you motivate disengaged parents to take on more active roles in their students' education?
How Can You Make IEP Students Successful in Your Classroom?
Even though you may not have a degree in special education, it is likely that you will have students in your classroom that have an IEP. These students can be just as apprehensive as you might be. As their teacher, you have the power to turn this apprehension into something positive. What can you do to make their year successful? Here are a few tips:
Work with the special education team for ideas and strategies.
Get to know them and find out their strengths. Utilize these strengths as you are working with them.
Break things down into smaller chunks – this will help to make things more manageable and provide steps of successful tasks. The more success they have- the more confident they will become.
Working with students who have learning needs can often be challenging. Be aware of your body language and your voice – this might influence the other students’ attitude toward them. You want all your students to feel that each one brings something unique and special to the classroom.
Celebrate each success your students have, no matter how small they are. There is no better feeling than seeing the joy of their accomplishments.
What ideas can you add to this list?
