Teaching Tips

Spring Fever!

Spring is in the air and around this time of the school year students and teachers alike both start to get a little restless. Below are some tips that you can use and try to keep students focused and engaged until that oh so needed Spring Break.

1.    Review with games!

Testing season is upon us and students and teachers are getting burnt out with all of the test prep. In order to keep students focused through it all, try to do test prep through fun and interactive games. Games such as Scoot, Jeopardy, I Have, Who Has, Quiz Quiz Trade are all fun games that help students review for tests as well as keeping them on track.

2.   RECESS!!!

Recess is very important during the spring time. The sun is shining and the weather feels good out.  By just going outside for a quick recess break or walk around the school building, may give students the refresher they need to get through the day and to let some of that energy out.

3.   Rewards

Spring time is a time that more students tend to get in trouble for being off task and not focused. Establish a reward system for students who are “caught being good or doing the right thing”. This will show students that you appreciate them for being on task and show the other students that if they too behave when not asked they can be rewarded as well.

4.   Music

Just like adults students may need a little background noise as they work. Turning on some music as students work may help your students get some of their energy out even if its just them rocking back and forth in their seats and bobbing their heads.. As we all know music is good for the soul and can help combat some of that spring fever!

5.   Brain Breaks

Brain breaks are a fun and easy way to give students a break from all of the studying and writing they are doing throughout the day. Brain breaks can be done in several ways. You can have students get up and do quick fun exercises, turn on Go Noodle (an interactive website that gets students moving) or old school indoor games such as Heads Up 7up, Hangman and etc. Whatever brain break you do could just be what students need to get them back focused on the task at hand.

August Back to School Tips!

As we all know it is back to school time and teachers are gearing up for another great school year! Below are some back to school tips!


1. Establish routines early- Please make sure that you establish routines and procedures early with your students. Students love consistency. Remember if you make it a rule be sure that you follow it!


2. Have a checklist for everything!- As students start returning forms and materials, keep  track of who brings what by creating checklists. Checklists allow you to quickly assess who had brought back what.


3. Get to know students names quickly. Honestly  by the second day of school you should know all of your students names! That goes for first and last names!


4. Straighten up your classroom before you leave for the day. Every teacher knows that coming into a fresh new straightened classroom is like heaven. You never know if you will have an unexpected observation at 8am and you would like your room to be nice and neat for this pop up observation.


5. Review Review Review! Spend the first week of school getting to know your students and not focusing on teaching new skills! You should be assessing students to see where they are and establishing routines. Teaching new skills the first day may not be a true refection of our students best effort.