The first day of school is a mix of excitement and anxiety, both for students and the teacher! Putting in the effort to carefully plan the first day of school helps me start the first day with confidence and calm. After many first days of school, I have a list
We all know that Parent-Teacher conferences can be a really nerve-wracking time for teachers. But don’t forget that it can feel just as nerve-wracking for parents! They may have concerns about their students that are making them feel uneasy. They may feel awkward because they don’t know what to expect.
This year we’ve been busy creating Fluency in a Flash, our digital interactive fluency mini lessons for the 1st-4th grade. To start the school year, we wanted to create a special Back to School themed Fluency in a Flash for you to use in your classroom for FREE! (And even though
One of the biggest challenges for a new teacher (or a teacher moving grade levels) can be building up your classroom library. It’s so important to have a robust selection of books for your students but that doesn’t mean you need to break the bank to do it! Here are
After 20+ first days of school between the two of us, we’ve gathered many essential tips for back to school! Whether you’re a new or veteran teacher, we hope you’ll find some tips here to help make this back to school season the best one yet! Make friends with the
Back-to-school is the worst of times. It’s so stressful and exhausting (seriously it’s so, so tiring!). It’s also the best of times! The feeling of a new beginning is absolutely exhilarating. I love that fresh start, where everything is possible and I haven’t screwed up…yet! After 17+ first days of
The way we begin each day in our classroom sets the tone for learning and speaks volumes about what and whom we value, about our expectations for the way we will treat each other, and about the way we believe learning occurs. –Roxann Kriete How do you start your school
Before you can really plan out the first days and weeks of your school year, you need a plan in place for how you intend to handle the routines and procedures in your classroom. Effective procedures are a hallmark of every well run class. They’re an indispensable part of a
When I’m creating my first week of school plans, I always make time for several read aloud books every day. Reading aloud picture books is a great way to: take a break from procedures and routines introduce ideas of friendship, community, rules, and more model fluent reading bond as a
There are a few professional development books that I pull out to reference (and sometimes reread) every single year. The First Six Weeks of School by Paula Denton, Roxann Kriete, Responsive Classroom – Tools for Teaching by Fred Jones The First Days of School by Harry Wong The Joyful Classroom
How you start your day is often how you live your life. –Louise Hay Beginnings matter. What happens before the first bell even rings has a huge impact on the outcome of the entire day. The tone of the day is established in the first 20 minutes of the day.
I sat down to type up what I did the first week of 2nd grade, but a few thousand words later, I’d only covered the first day! So it seemed like we probably needed 2 posts on that topic. If you want to know how I organized the first DAY
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