Are you looking for fun, versatile games for the classroom? I know I always am! My favorite thing ever is taking a super simple, low-prep game and turning it into something educational. The BEST games are ones that can be easily adapted to use for any subject. Today I wanted to share with you one of my favorite, versatile games for the classroom… Musical chairs! Yes! Musical chairs! Everyone knows how to play it, it’s SO low-prep (just need some chairs, music, and a worksheet). And the best part is you can play this game in ANY subject! I obviously used it in math, but since it’s a game that’s…
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How to R.E.S.E.T. Your School Year with These 5 Teacher Tips
Teacher Tips for the New Year Happy January! I absolutely love the start of a brand new year. Crisp new planners, fresh goals, and good intentions are my jam. The thing I don’t like about the new year though? The fact that these “good intentions” only last about a week…and then we settle right back into our old routines. I personally believe the reason this happens so often is due to not have an actionable plan. People make their “resolutions” based off things they want to accomplish, but then don’t ever take the time to think about how they are going to accomplish it! The “how” is the most important…
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10 of the Best Elementary Math Ideas and Activities
Brilliant Elementary Math Ideas Are you on teacher Instagram? If not, you should be! Instagram is one of my favorite ways to find amazing ideas for teaching elementary math. When you connect with hundreds (or thousands) of teachers across the globe, you learn so much! Today, I wanted to share some of the most GENIUS elementary teaching tips and ideas for math that I’ve found on Instagram. If you like the ideas, too, then click the links for each one and give them a follow! 1. Teaching Times Tables I love this tip from @perfectforprimary! Instead of teaching times tables in order from 1-12, she teaches them in a more…
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5 Practical Tips for Teaching Responsibility in the Classroom
Teaching Responsibility in the Classroom All teachers know that there is so much more to our jobs than just teaching the content. Part of our job also involves molding our students into productive members of society. Perhaps one of the most important parts of that, is teaching responsibility in the classroom. Responsibility is a big deal to me. Of course I wanted my students to learn the content I was teaching, but just as important to me was that I teach them how to be responsible. Today, I wanted to share with you a few ways that I would help to foster a culture of responsibility in my classroom. It…
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4 Super Practical Tips for Departmentalized Classroom Organization
Departmentalized Classroom Organization Is your grade level departmentalized for instruction? I’ve been blessed in that 3 out of my 5 years of teaching, I was departmentalized, teaching only math and science. Personally, I’m a huge fan of departmentalization! However, organizing your classroom to prepare for having different classes in and out all day long can present a challenge. Figuring out departmentalized classroom organization can be hard – so today, I’m sharing my best tips with you to help streamline you routines. Tip #1: Color Code Everything My first tip for departmentalized classroom organization is to color code everything! Assign each class a color, and use bins, labels, folders, etc. that…
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9 Back to School Tips for a Successful Start to the Year
9 Back to School Tips Back to school is just around the corner! Whether you start back in just a few weeks or still have a whole month ahead of you, you’ve likely already started getting ready for the first days of school. I know that back to school can be such an overwhelming time, and it can be hard to keep track of all the things you need to do. To help you out, I’ve compiled some of my favorite back to school tips to help you start the year off on a good note! Tips for Back to School The beginning of the year is really important to…
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An Outstanding Room Transformation Doesn’t Have to Be Hard
A room transformation is an instructional technique that helps us engage our students by bringing real world scenarios into the classroom. It is exactly what it sounds like – teachers transform their classrooms into something else in order to pique students’ interest. Room transformations are super trendy right now, but many teachers are concerned that in order to implement one, they have to spend a lot of time and money. Fortunately, that doesn’t have to be the case! I am a firm believer that creating engaging lessons shouldn’t cost a lot of time or money, and room transformations are no exception! Today I’m sharing with you my super simple tips…
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How to Incorporate Movement in the Classroom
Kids need to MOVE! We know this is a fact. Plus, scientifically speaking, movement helps improve learning, too. For this reason, it is so important to get our students up and moving during class time! Unfortunately, with so much content to get through, this can be difficult to do. Today I’m sharing 3 of my favorite, super easy ways to add movement in the classroom without interrupting instruction time. Obviously, brain breaks are important – small instructional breaks taken throughout the day so students don’t get burned out. But, often times, brain breaks aren’t enough to keep our kiddos focused on instruction. My tips are not only easy to implement,…
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How to Teach Place Value in a Fun Way
How to Teach Place Value Place value is one of my absolute favorite topics to teach in math. However, when I first started teaching, I had absolutely no clue how to teach place value. It seems easy enough, but it can certainly get pretty mundane and boring after awhile. Over my years of teaching, I found some pretty creative ways to make teaching place value way more fun for our students. I’m sharing 5 place value activities with you today that can help add a little something extra into your instruction. How to Teach Place Value Activity 1: Place Value Ring Toss View this post on Instagram A post shared…
