Keeping track of student work can be a headache in most classrooms.  In the schools I’ve worked at, I’ve seen a lot of different ways to organize work.  Some teachers let the students keep all of their work, some store it all on shelves in the classroom, others do a hybrid of both.  I don’t think there’s any “right” way to do this, but I do know what has worked best for my students and me.

I have always chosen to keep most student work in labeled ‘buckets’ on the shelf.  It’s not that I don’t trust my students to keep their own work organized, it’s that many of them simply haven’t learned that skill yet.  

Technically, these are laundry buckets and I get them from the local dollar store.  I keep them in the same place and use dollar store labels to create one for every subject/topic we are covering.  Before we start something, 3-4 kids grab the bucket and hand out the work to their peers. After the work is finished, each student is responsible for putting their work back in the correct bucket.  I find that this step helps to build a bit of independence. Students learn that their work needs to be put in the proper place or else it won’t be marked.

This isn’t a fix-all to student work organization.  Some students will still put their work in their desks or backpacks, but eventually, they learn how to pause and check for where it should actually be.  I’m trying to build independence and responsibility at an age-appropriate level.

When it comes time to hand-in work, I place a mini-checklist beside each bucket.  As a student hands in their work, they also check off their name. It’s a quick way to see who has forgotten to hand in their work.  

My favorite part of the system - I can just grab a bucket and take it home to mark!

One of my favorite parts of my classroom is the math manipulative shelf.  I try to keep it stocked with a variety of materials that can help students build concrete models of all sorts of math problems.  

We have a rule in my class: if you can’t solve a math problem on your own you must build it before asking for help.  So much of third-grade math is abstract: the perimeter of imaginary places, the area of imaginary floors and walls, fractions of abstract objects, imaginary money being exchanged between two people, etc.  These can all be tricky concepts to visualize mentally.

Our school has never provided any math manipulatives, but I have slowly gathered a set of must-have manipulatives for third grade.  Check them out!

Bears

My students love counting bears.  They are easy to grasp and can help to model addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. These come in especially handy as students are learning to multiply and divide.  

Bingo Dots

These are a particularly inexpensive manipulative.  Along with our bears we use bingo dots to make physical representations of most addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems.  One of my favorite ways to use bingo dots is during our first multiplication lesson of the year. We build arrays with bingo dots.  It's a quick and easy lesson that is super hands-on!  

Fraction Pieces and Magnets

I always introduce fractions with manipulatives.  Having students build fractions really helps them to develop a concrete understanding of how you can have a fraction of an item. Although there are many cut-and-glue fraction sets, I prefer to use store-bought ones. I just find that when students cut them out their pieces are not always exact, and this leads to confusion when trying to compare fractions.

Money

Play money is a great manipulative to add.  In third grade, we spend a lot of time counting counts and subtracting money.  I have a handful of students who prefer to count physical money and this is great for them!  When doing word problems about ‘buying something at a store’ my students know how to role-play this in pairs and use play money to find their answer.

Clocks

Teaching time (especially quarter-to, quarter-past, and half-past) is such a tricky part of third-grade math.  I always teach the first time lessons with each student holding a clock.  Then, as they get to these questions in their homework and independent practice they are able to return to those clocks to physically create each time (or elapsed time) that is needed.  I love how using a clock really helps to cement this concept for most students!

Drawing Paper

This is the least expensive of all my manipulatives!  I keep a stack of scrap paper in my math manipulative area. I find that it is super helpful when students are able to draw out a problem - particularly when it involves distance (i.e. “A car travels 250 miles…”) or area/perimeter.  Some of my students are super successful when they are able to make a quick sketch and add in dimensions to visualize the ‘whole picture’.

I’m always looking to add to my math manipulative collection.  What works best in your class? Send me an e-mail or sound off in the comments below! 

Looking for Low-Prep Third Grade Math?

I can help with that! I have 9 digital and printable math units that are ready to print (or upload) and go! These engaging and rigorous units align with third-grade standards and are just so fun.

grab the math lessons

We’ve all had ‘those days’ in the classroom.  You know what I mean, the days where it seems like nothing can go right.  The math lesson flopped, the social studies’ guest speaker canceled at the last minute, a child is in tears because their paper is” too wrinkled”… and you are about to lose it.  This is #teacherlife, am I right?

I am currently spending a year substitute teaching, and I can’t tell you how many days I have walked into a classroom to a plan that says “Find something to do for reading, writing, math, and PE” or, better yet, walked into no plan at all.  

These days are inevitable, and they happen to everyone.  This year, more than any, I’ve learned to have a handful of on-the-go games ready at any time.  These games can fill a few minutes and allow you to gather your thoughts before you proceed with the day.  Sometimes I use them as a ‘re-set’ after a tough lesson. Hopefully, they can help you as well!

Activity 1: Silent Ball

I always keep a small dollar store ball in my teaching bag for this very game.  In Silent Ball, students sit (gasp!) on top of their desks. Then, a ball is passed to the first student.  The goal of the game is to keep the ball moving around the classroom without dropping it or making a peep. If the ball is dropped or someone speaks the round is over.  You can keep ‘score’ by counting how many passes are done, or timing how long the students can keep the ball going without dropping it. I love this game because it is cooperative and forces students to work together to achieve their goal.  

Activity 2: Charades

I almost always have a deck of charades cards in my teaching bag.  This game is great for almost all levels, and meets some important Speaking and Listening outcomes at the same time. I play charades in a few ways.  First, we play the classic version where students have to act out the card pulled. I also play an alternate version where they have 30 seconds to describe as many cards as they can.  Then, after all cards have been described, students have another 30 seconds to describe the cards using only one word. That one is a lot of fun, and usually draws on students’ memory from the previous round.  I haven’t yet met a class that doesn’t like a charades break!

Activity 3: Go Noodle

Wiggly group? Energy coming out of everywhere?  Go Noodle is my best friend in these occasions. Accounts are free for teachers, and there is plenty of free content to get your students up, sweating, and moving around.  My younger students love “Koo Koo Kangaroo” while my older students prefer “Fresh Start Fitness”. So far, all kids from K-5 have loved the track-and-field style channel “Go With the Pro”.

No internet connection or projector?  Keep a few high-energy, kid-friendly songs, ready to go on your smartphone.  A quick game of freeze dance will have almost the same effect on K-3 students!

Activity 4: Four Corners

This is a classic in-school game and for a good reason.  Students love being able to get out of their desk and try to win in a game of Four Corners.  To play this game, label each ‘corner’ of the classroom 1, 2, 3 and 4. Then designate a student to be “it”.  This students sits in the middle of the room with a blindfold (or very covered eyes) and slowly counts down from 10.  During this time, students must sneak to one of the designated corners. The ‘it’ students then yells out a corner number, and all of the students in that corner are out.  The game continues until only one student is left. To keep things moving, I tend to ‘close’ a corner as fewer students remain in the game. By the end, the final few students are only allowed to choose from two of the corners.

What are your go-to activities for a tough day?  Do you have any favorite classroom games or activities? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below.

I think we’ve all heard the expression about walking in someone else’s shoes for the day. However, we don’t get the opportunity to do this very often. One of my dear friends had an interesting opportunity a couple weeks ago that she was telling me about. She says this was the hardest job she has ever had to do. Here’s her story of walking in someone else’s shoes.

Hi everyone! I’m a primary teacher in Canada. In my class, I have a little girl who has severe learning needs. I will call her Joanne for anonymity. In Canada, kids with severe special needs get 1:1 support from an Educational Assistant or Paraprofessional (Para) within the regular classroom. The Para might occasionally pull the student out of class for breaks and assist the child in the washroom. However, the goal is to stay in the classroom for as long as possible.

I was able to work with Joanne for two days straight when the regular Para was unable to be at school. My school called in a substitute teacher to cover my class. Since Joanne has such extreme learning needs with a specific schedule, it was easier to call a substitute teacher to teach my class than to arrange for a substitute for Joanne’s Para. The school figured having a familiar person would be comforting to Joanne.

Over the course of the two days, I learned a lot. For starters, people who work with kids who have special needs are champions. They are working to give all kids dignity and strategies for success.  Every day, they have to make split-second decisions to help calm temper meltdowns, adapt work, and help the child interact with their peers in successful ways.

Since I was not Joanne’s regular Para, Joanne had countless meltdowns throughout the day. I ended up sitting on the floor with Joanne more times than I could count, just waiting for Joanne to finish her meltdown and stand up.

At the end of my two days, I came away with some epiphanies:

1. Tracing Worksheets are not enough. Prior to this experience, I would simply create worksheets that allowed Joanne to trace letters and words. I thought I was so clever! At the beginning of the year, Joanne loved these exercises, but like every kid, Joanne progressed. She quickly mastered tracing and was bored of these worksheets. I saw first hand how upset Joanne would get when she saw another tracing activity. I have now committed to making interactive activities for Joanne, such as velcro activities or hands-on manipulative activities.

2. Other students should be involved. I saw that Joanne wanted to be with her peers, but didn’t yet have the skills to know how to interact with them. I’m now asking others students to approach Joanne and initiate activities.

3. Communication is more than words. Even though Joanne is non-verbal, communication has so many other forms. After being with Joanne for two days, I started to pick up on things Joanne did for communication. For one, Joanne would grab my hand and direct it to an object that she wants. Joanne communicated that she wanted to paint during free time by guiding me to the paint supplies.

4. First _________, then ________”. I learned the beauty of the phrase, “First _______, then ________”. I think we’ve all used this phrase at one time or another: “First Math, then snack”, “First clean up, then home time”, etc. As teachers, we use this for big-ticket items. However, I learned that for some kids with special needs, this phrase needs to be used in much smaller increments. I found myself saying things like, “First stand up, then walk” or “First apples, then water”.

This was the hardest job I have done in a long time. However, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything because it has helped me reflect on my own teaching practices and I am already making the necessary changes.”

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There you have it! A tale from one of my fellow teachers. Have any of you had an opportunity to walk is someone else’s shoes? Or have you had the chance to work for an extended period of time with a student who has special needs? I would love to hear about your experiences! And I can pass along any tidbits to my teacher-friend!

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How often have you just wanted to pull your hair out because the students won’t get along? No classroom is immune from conflict. And conflict comes in all varieties: fights, misbehavior, kids being rude, you name it. How many times have you heard some of these in your classroom:

“He started it!”
“It wasn’t me!”
“Dooonnnn’ttt!”
** eye roll **
“I don’t need to listen to you!”
** budging in line**
“Teacher! He pushed me!”

How many times have you witnessed something like this in your classroom? How often have you just wanted to pull your hair out because the kids won’t get along? No classroom is immune from conflict. And conflict comes in all varieties: fights, misbehavior, kids being rude, you name it. What can we do when our students do something wrong? I’ve had to privilege of working alongside some gifted teachers who have taught me a lot about dealing with conflict and I’ve learned some helpful things along the way as well.

Talk It Out

When given the opportunity, most students are quite articulate. Try to get to the root of the problem and give the student a chance to speak. All too often, the teacher does most of the talking; sometimes it’s important to do most of the listening. Often times, problem behavior comes from something else. Chances are, the students are not acting up because they want to misbehave. Rather, they might be tired, hungry, sad, or a plethora of other reasons. By giving students an opportunity to talk, you feed a positive student-teacher relationship. Through talking and listening, you show your students that you care about their thoughts and feelings.

Give Space

Give your students space to cool down, if necessary. The immediate moment following an incident may not be the best time to debrief. Let the student go for a walk down the hall, or sit outside the door. Some classrooms use a cool down space to give students a safe place to regulate their emotions before they are ready to talk things through. You can find more information about this in my post about anxiety. 

Give Perspective

After a student does something wrong, it’s important to help the student see how his or her actions affected others. Young children, especially, are quite self-interested. They do not readily think about cause and effect. Thus, we have a responsibility to teach them how their actions involve others and affect them. Some may come to this realization on their own, others may need help. Perspective can be taught through role-playing, drawing the situation, social stories or a graphic organizer. I use these behavior reflections to help students to reflect on what happened and reach conclusions about how their actions affected others.

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Teach Restoration

Students need lessons on how to ‘make it right’ after an incident occurs. In my classroom, after I have talked through an incident with a student, it always ends with an apology and a way to ‘make it right’ with the person that was hurt. A Kindergarten teacher friend teaches her kiddos to say “I’m sorry. What can I do to make it better?” This gives the student who was hurt an opportunity to feel cared for. I’ve also seen teachers encourage students to draw a picture, ask the person to play at lunch, or share a snack with the person (although some schools have strict policies against sharing food). I’ve found that apology letters also work quite well. Plus, this integrates literacy into character building! 

Conflict is present in every classroom and in every grade. No classroom is immune. But there are many things that we, as teachers, can do that will help our students build character. If you’ve discovered any tips and tricks that have helped you, feel free to share!

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Helping students to think critically about the media, and general media literacy is an important part of our curriculum in third grade. Books, movies, TV shows… our students are bombarded with media everywhere! It’s so important that our students learn about media literacy from a young age, and critical thinking is a huge part of that!

Last year, in Third Grade,  we had a bad case of the “I Wants”.  My students wanted absolutely everything they saw on TV, or in a movie, or in the advertisements that pop up on YouTube. If they saw it, they had to have it.  I wanted my kids to know that they were being advertised to, plain and simple. Most of these ‘wants’ and ‘gimmes’ were the direct result of good advertising.  I wanted my students to have the tools to see this for what it was, a clever marketing campaign where they were the perfect targets.  I thoroughly believed that they were capable of looking at Media with a critical eye. Our unit on media literacy and critical thinking was a direct result of this situation, and it made a huge difference in our class.

Once we defined different types of media we got to work looking for them in our everyday lives. We started by cutting up and sorting our Scholastic book order to help students to see that all media has a purpose: to persuade, to inform, and to entertain.   It was fun to see them try and see which books fit into which categories. As a teacher, I loved that ‘lightbulb’ when my students realized that their book order was designed to make them want to purchase things.

“Mrs. P, I know why this is in bright colors!  So we will want everything on it!” BINGO!

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Using our class book order flyer helped students to make a real-life connection to the content.

Plan Out Media Literacy With One Click

It only takes a few minutes to plan your media literacy unit for upper elementary. In just a few clicks you can grab all of the pieces you need: lessons, hands-on activities, and a fun project. Click and print. Planning is really that easy.

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Media Literacy Unit for 2nd-4th Grade

Together, we looked at clips from popular movies and examined how characters always hold the latest gadgets, toys, and treats. Another way to convince us to buy, buy, BUY!  But my favorite lessons, by far, were the ones where we explored YouTube.   My students love YouTube, but the dreaded before-video-ads make me cringe.  This unit helped us to look at those ads critically, and use the advertisement time as teachable moments.  What are we being sold? Why is this ad here? How are we being persuaded?  

It was so rewarding to watch my students develop as critical thinkers.  I noticed a huge change in their attitudes towards “I Want” as the year progressed.  Sure, they still wanted new toys and treats, but they were ‘calling out’ persuasion tactics they saw in the media.  A student even came home from a superhero movie on the weekend and told me about all the products he had seen on the screen.  

“Do they think we will fall for that?” he asked.  

I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud.

My Media Literacy Unit is available on Teachers Pay Teachers.  It’s perfect for third, fourth, or fifth grade.

Quizzes and tests are inevitable when it comes to teaching. And as teachers, we need to help our students prep for tests and be ready to show what they know. It’s not enough to give study guides and do practice tests. But what can we do? Take a peek at some of my favorite quiz and test prep activities in my third-grade classroom, and let me know if you have some new ideas to add.

I think all of us have had that moment sitting in front of our computer, Google ope, trying to search out how to engage our students in lesson reviews before a test. I’ve been in that place multiple times. Over the years, I’ve discovered some fun and engaging ways to review for any test. Here are my favorites:

play ‘stump the panel’ as test prep review

This is a game where all students come up with a set of quiz questions. Several students are chosen to be on a panel and they sit in a row of chairs at the front of the class. The remaining students are in the audience and they are responsible for asking questions of the panel. If one of the panel students does not answer a question correctly, they will take a seat in the audience and be replaced by the student who asked the question.  Learn more here!  

review for a test with kahoot

This is a website based game. I love creating purposeful review activities and this website is a fantastic tool. On Kahoot, teachers are able to program in questions that they would like the students to answer. I have my students bring in their devices (or you can use school devices). Then I group my students together and give them the access information for the website. On their devices, they can pick their answers to the review questions and see a growing graph of what answers other students picked. This also provides a quick check for me, so I can see who might need some extra review.

Photo from getkahoot.com

preparing for a test with flashcards

This is an oldie, but a goodie. Students really do need to be taught to create flashcards or study notes. It’s an essential skill that they will use throughout all their education. However, flashcards do not need to be stagnant. I once had a parent tell me that she inserted “Gummy Worm” cards throughout the flashcard deck. As she quizzed her daughter on sight words, the “Gummy Worm” card would come up every once in awhile. She would then give her daughter a gummy worm. Her daughter LOVES doing sight word flashcards now.

take part in a ‘quiz takeover’ activity

Students often like to put on their teacher hats. Give students an opportunity to “think like a teacher” and predict the quiz questions. Then, have them write a few quiz questions for their peers and coach their peers through the answers.

This ‘Quiz Takeover’ game is available for FREE in my TPT store. It’s a great print-and-go way to review for any quiz or test, in almost any subject! It’s the perfect way to have your students think critically about the subject matter.

FREE Quiz Takeover Game

A quick test prep activity where the STUDENTS create potential questions for an upcoming quiz and challenge their peers to solve them!

download it here

use Charades or Drama to review

I like doing charades or dramas because it lets students interact with each other and move around. Another bonus is these movement games take virtually no preparation! To play charades, throw a bunch of the unit vocabulary words into a hat and have students act out the words without saying anything. Alternatively, you can have students create a short drama to enforce vocabulary terms. For example, if you were learning about the lifecycle of a plant, students could pretend they are a plant growing through the stages of seed, germination, seedling, young plant, and mature plant. While this might make some students uncomfortable, it will definitely give your kinesthetic learners a chance to shine.

I’m always looking to expand my repertoire of review games and activities. Have you discovered any that work well for you?
 

I have literally heard it all from parents. The great, the bad, and the tear-inducing. If you’re anything like me, you’re a perfectionist and some of these things are so hard to hear. You work so hard towards creating engaging lessons, building good student-teacher relationships and organizing your time well. But there always seems to be some parents who are hard to connect with. By all means, I am not an expert on building perfect parent-teacher relationships, but I have learned some tricks over the past few years that have greatly minimized misunderstandings and hurts.

“Let me know if I can help you with anything”
“You’re not meeting my child’s needs.”
“Thanks for being a great teacher!”
“You give too much homework.”
“You don’t give enough homework.”

Tip One: Meet Parents as Soon as Possible

This is key to starting a positive relationship. I like to have quick chats with each parent after school as they are picking their children up. Usually, I’m able to connect with each parent at some point in the first week or two after school. However, sometimes parents work long shifts, or daycare comes to pick up the children, so I don’t get a chance to talk with them in person. For those parents, I will call them on the phone. During these brief conversations, I’ll introduce myself, and get to know the parents a little bit. If the conversations lead to it, I’ll even ask them about their greatest hopes for the year.

Tip Two: Stay Positive

Say as many positive things as possible. This helps parents trust that you see their kid and recognize their child’s positive attributes. It also helps when you have to have those inevitable tougher conversations. When a tough conversation comes around, the parents know that you have seen the positive things about their child too.

Tip Three: Stay in Contact

Find out how parents want to be contacted and make sure that information is getting home. Information should be sent home in a few consistent ways.  Kids’ backpacks often become black abysses, where notices and information get crumpled up and lost. I’ve learned to never assume that information is getting home when I give it to a child. I will often follow up with an email or a reminder to make sure parents received the information. On the other hand, some families don’t have internet at home, so they might not be getting your super-informative emails. Thus, you might want to print off the emails to give those parents a hard copy. There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to parent-teacher communication. You’ll have to find the method that works best for you :)

Photo by William Iven on Unsplash

Tip Four: Send Information Home

How many times have you asked a child what they did during the day and they respond, “Nothing.” We all know that this isn’t true, but kids often forget what they did during the day. An easy solution to help parents out is to send home information about what you are doing during the day. This might be in emails, through an app, a notice, or whatever method works best for you. Did you do a great science experiment? Send home a picture or a quick message. Did you watch a youtube clip to introduce a new concept? Send the link home, so parents can watch it again with their child. By sending home these sneak peaks of the day to the parents, you give them a starting point for conversations with the students. These conversations make you, as the teacher, look really good.

Do you have any awesome ways to create and sustain strong parent-teacher relationships? I would love to hear your tips and tricks.

Devotions - spending time with the Lord for a focused period of time. Morning devotions with kids - spending time with the Lord for a focused period of time, and teaching kids the importance of following God. This is so important! But sometimes it’s hard to do because we lack ideas. If you’re anything like me, you like to establish routines in your classroom, and finding a devotion routine for school (or at home!) can be tricky.

Despite all the excuses that I come up with - my biggest one being “I don’t have time today”, I have discovered that devotions help to ground my day. When my students come in, they do morning work. Let’s be practical, we need those few minutes to talk to parents, organize backpacks, etc, etc. But right after that, we all sit together at the carpet for devotions. I find that doing devotions in the morning is a way to invite Jesus into the day. It sets the tone for the day: we are first focused on Christ, then our endeavors of the day. It reminds the students (and me!) about the importance of obeying and trusting God in everything we do.

Devotions are important for every age, so here are some suggestions for devotional books that can help you establish a routine in your classroom (or at home), no matter which age group you teach.

Pre-K and Kindergarten: Read and Share Bedtime Bible and Devotional, by Gwen Ellis

Although titled “Bedtime Bible”, it does not have to be read at bedtime. This book is full of short Bible stories written in kid-friendly language, with colorful illustrations. Each story is only about 50 words long, and at the end there is a discussion question. Since the stories are short, more than one story could be read and discussed.

Kindergarten and 1st Grade: Betty Luken’s Flannelgraph, by Betty Luken

Both the Kindergarten teacher and 1st Grade teachers at my school use flannelgraph when teaching Bible stories. Betty Luken’s book is written in the form of a narrative story, with flannel pieces to accompany it. The K and 1 teachers will do one story in the morning, then chat about the story and pray. Later in the day, during play centers, the students can use the flannelgraph pieces to retell the story. The kids love doing this!

2nd and 3rd Grade: The Jesus Storybook Bible, by Sally Llyod-Jones

In my room, we use the “Storybook Bible”, which has beautifully written stories that focus on God’s plan for the world and our need for a Saviour. We gather on the carpet to read one story a day. This way, all students are super familiar with the “Big Picture” of the Bible. After reading, we talk briefly about the story and then take time to pray.

2nd, 3rd or 4th Grade: The One Year Book of Devotions for Kids

If you’re looking for something that goes beyond Bible stories and delves into specific Bible passages, this is the book for you. Each day, there is a short Scripture to read, followed by a short narrative story about modern-day kids who have to practice the virtue or principle outlined in the Scripture passage. At the end, are discussion questions and suggestions for a Bible Memory Verses.

4th Grade: Jesus Calling - 365 Devotions for Kids, by Sarah Young adapted by Tama Fortner

This book is written as if Jesus is speaking to the children. Each page starts with a Bible verse. Then there’s a short passage, written from Jesus’  point of view, telling the students about how wonderful His plans are and how He wants them to live their lives. This book does require students to have a background knowledge of the Bible, so that’s why it’s better for older children who have some foundational knowledge.

These are only a handful of the resources that my teacher-friends and I have used for our morning devotions with our students. There are so many wonderful books and routines out there. What are some of your suggestions and tried-and-true routines?

- Rachel

Think back on your schooling, which teachers do you remember with fondness? My favorite elementary teachers were the ones who encouraged me along the way. The ones who took time to get to know me and what kind of positive encouragement needed. The teachers who really knew how to “fill my bucket”, with activities and words that meant a lot to me.

Practical ways to encourage elementary students - ideas for the classroom.

A little bit of encouragement can go a long way in the classroom. As teachers, we have a unique job because we have the privilege of setting an example for our students. I don’t know about you, but I want to set an example as an encourager and someone who takes the time to intentionally build a positive community. Here are some simple ideas for how to encourage different personality types in our classrooms.

Encourage Students with One-on-One Tea Time

This Tea Time anchor chart is where students sign-up for some one-on-one time with me. We chat about their day, or play a quick board game. This could also work virtually over Zoom during distance learning!

This is for those kiddos who feel love through ‘quality time’. I set aside time a day or two a week (during Lunch, Recess or Centers) to have some one-on-one time with a student. I brew a cup of herbal tea for each of us and we chat. In the past, I’ve had a chart on the back wall where students can sign-up to spend tea-time with me.

The kids really look forward to someone on one time with Mrs. P. Some kids thrive on starting conversations and carrying them on, so chatting with them is easy. Other students need some prompting. For those kids, I use questions from Question a Day for Kids to help the conversation to flow more naturally.

Write Your Students Positive Notes

This is for those kids who feel love through ‘words of affirmation’. Students love to receive little notes of encouragement and hear positive things about themselves. When these notes go home, parents also love to read the positive things about their child. I try to have a stack of notes ready to go in my desk drawer.  (You can find the notes that I use here.  I also have a Bible-based version for Christian classrooms) In the package, there are many pre-made notes that you just need to print out and give the students. These are great to slip into report cards, journals, or leave on the kids’ desks in the morning.

Ready-to-print positive notes are a great (and easy!) way to show students that you see their positive character traits and care about them in the classroom.

Start Encouraging Students TODAY

Grab everything you need to start leaving encouragement notes for your students today! In just a few clicks you can grab 37 different positive notes that will work for almost any student. Click and print. Building a positive classroom community is really that easy.

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Leave Some Encouragement with Whiteboard Markers

Another great idea for leaving encouraging words is writing on their desks with a whiteboard marker. (Yes, it really works, and erases quite easily!) I like to do this the night before, so the kids see the notes when they come in for the morning. It’s also fun to hear the shock in their voices when they see you have written on their desk. It’s so worth it.

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Give Small Gifts or Trinkets

Some students feel the most loved when they receive a small gift. I’m not saying that you need to break the bank on getting 20+ students a massive gift. It could be something as small as a new fun pencil or eraser for each student. I once surprised my class with a cheap pair of dollar store sunglasses (bought in a 4-pack for $1) and you would have thought it was Christmas morning! Or maybe you could bake cookies for your kids, just because! There doesn’t need to be a reason. If everything is a reward, it can lose meaning. Sometimes a surprise gift will bring the biggest smiles to your students’ faces.

In the past, I’ve used small gifts like bubbles, pencils, drinks or food treats to help build our classroom community. I made cute gift tags to go with the gifts. You can grab all of the tags below. They work for so many different occasions.

Gift Tags for Any Occasion

I have a FREE set of gift tags - there’s a printable tag for almost any occasion in an elementary classroom - Back to School, Winter Holidays, Mothers/Father’s Day, and random gifts of encouragement. They’re a free download in my TPT store.

Download them here

These are only a few ideas that I’ve used over the years, and I’m always on the search for more ways to show my kids some extra love. What are your favorite ways to encourage your students?

- Rachel

Building community in the classroom starts with the teacher! These are my four tried-and-true ways to encourage and show kindness to elementary students in grades two, three, and four.

This year, my teaching career looks very different from the past few.  After university, I was super lucky to land a third-grade teaching contract, and I stayed there until this past June.  After moving to a new city over the summer,  I am trying something different.  While we get settled somewhere into our new house and community,  I am taking the year to be a substitute teacher in our local public district (or, as we call it up here in BC, a TTOC, Teacher Teaching On Call). 

It's been fun to pop into many different grade levels for the day and see how different teachers and schools choose to run their classrooms.  Most often, teachers leave me wonderful day plans with exactly what I need to teach each day.  (However, I have been very thankful for emergency plans on days that there has been nothing left!)  

In looking through many, many different 'sub plans' I've noticed that most are missing a few key pieces of information that would make my day, as a substitute teacher, so much easier.  Here are the things I wish all sub plans would include:

Your Usual Attention-Getter

How do you usually get the attention of the students in your room? Are you a clapper?  Do you do a call-and-answer?  Do you ring a bell?  Does someone turn the lights off?  As a sub, it can be almost impossible to establish a new attention-grabbing routine in a day or two, and kids respond best to what they are familiar with.  When a teacher leaves this key piece of information in his/her plans, it helps to set me up for success! 

Extra Class Lists

So often, substitute teachers are only given one class list for attendance, and then it is required to go back to the office first thing in the morning.  The rest of the day, I am without a complete class list.  I love when the teacher has left a few easy-to-find copies of the class list somewhere readily accessible.  

Important Routines

I have found that students thrive on routines, so when a substitute teacher arrives, they can be very thrown off by familiar routines that are not 'done right'.  If you have an important routine in your classroom - morning meeting, end-of-day dismissal, birthday songs, line up, how centers are chosen, etc.  write down the procedure to help different substitute teachers maintain the routines while you are away.  

Off Limits Items

Regardless of how 'on' I am as a teacher, there will always be one or two students who try to get away with things that the classroom teacher would not normally allow.  If there are things in your classroom that the students can't use, touch, or do - jot them down in your sub notes.  

Student Notes

As a classroom teacher, you have days (and weeks, and months) to try and 'figure out' some of the tougher students.  Substitute teachers have only minutes.  If you have a student with special needs, or a student who may need some behavior help, write down some of the strategies that have been successful.  As a sub, we want to help your students be successful, but the best way to do this is to partner alongside the work that you are already doing daily in the classroom.  

Have I missed anything?  Is there anything that you include in your sub plans that is a lifesaver for your students?  Let me know in the comments below!

- Rachel

I know I’ve said it before, but I love hands-on events in a classroom. I love creating learning moments that students will talk about for months (or years) to come.  Last year, while learning how to make an inference in our reading curriculum my teaching partner and I decided to turn our classroom into an interactive crime scene to really dial up the excitement.  We had such a fun day and the kids were buzzing about this inferencing activity it until they went home for summer break.

We decided to set the classroom up as a crime scene to help explore how making inferences is a lot like being a ‘detective’ when you read.  When you read, you must use observations to draw a conclusion and read-between-the-lines of a story.   At a crime scene, detectives have to use clues to figure out what happened, there is no obvious sign explaining everything. 

Don’t forget to teach inferencing explicitly

Before we dove into the crime scenes themselves, both third-grade classrooms set the stage with a few explicit inferencing lessons. These lessons were KEY to make sure that students understood WHAT an inference is and HOW to make one. We used physical observations (of clothing, of each other, of pictures) and read wordless picture books to help students build a solid foundation and understand how to make an inference on their own. You can grab one of these (scripted) lessons below and try it out for yourself!

But, undoubtedly, the real highlight of our inferencing unit was our Crime Scene Classroom.  Here are my top 4 tips for planning your own Crime Scene Day. 

Tip 1:  Make a list, check it twice

Be prepared.  However you choose to set up the scenes in your classroom, have everything ready to go ahead of time.  I would suggest preparing materials for each scene in a large Ziplock bag or ice-cream pail so that it is quick and easy to set up.  If possible, choose Crime Scene scenarios that require very few additional supplies.  Try brainstorming ‘crimes’ that can be committed with things you already have in your classroom.  Are there any rules that you have in your classroom?  What if the criminal broke one or two of them?  I have also planned out 4 easy-to-assemble crime scenes in this packet.    Store your supplies away so that they can be quickly accessed during a prep or recess break.  I've laid out the supplies that I used in a convenient checklist in my Crime Scene Classroom packet. 

Organization is key!  The Crime Scene Class pack has detailed set-up instructions to make planning/set up so much easier. 

Tip 2:  Set up the scene in secret

I set up the crime scene during my prep time and made sure that none of my students knew about the activity before the walked through the door to begin solving crimes.  The surprise on their faces when they came into our classroom was so worth it!

Setting up the class while students were at recess allowed them to be really surprised when they walked in! Do we look sneaky?

Tip 3:  Set the stage for learning

Instead of handing students a workbook and telling them to go solve each crime, I would suggest getting into character and really setting the scene.  This helps students to get excited about the event.

  “Grade Three! Something terrible has happened in our classroom.  Someone or many people have broken into our room and committed crimes.  The police need your help to solve them.  Will you be Junior Detectives for the day and help me to figure out what happened to our beloved classroom?”   

The more engaged you are, the more engaged they will be in return.

Tip 4:  Start the activity together

After I invited students to become Jr. Detectives for the day, we all entered the Crime Scene Classroom together, as one group.  Then, we proceeded to the first scene together.  Here, made observations and inferences as a group so that all students understood how to participate in the activity. By modeling this, students had a good understanding of how to visit each crime scene and make observations without rushing.  (Well, most of them at least!)

Tip 5:  Be prepared for early finishers

While most of my students moved carefully through each crime scene, one or two finished with lightning-speed.  And the worst part… their work was well done!  I quickly came up with a few tie-in activities to extend their learning. 

• Write a timeline of the crime

• Draw a map of how each crime was committed

• Write a first-person story about one of the crimes

We had so much fun completing our Crime Scene Day, and it was a great way to help students understand what it means to make an inference. 

The plans for the complete Crime Scene Class (along with 2 scripted inferencing lessons, printable decor, planning pages and student workbooks) can be found here! 

Have you tried a day like this?  I’d love to hear your best tip in the comments below.