Task cards and flash cards are classroom staples for pretty much every teacher! They are so versatile, and can be used in so many different activities! But, as your collection grows, it can be difficult to keep them organized in a convenient way. If you’re a card-collecting queen (or king!) like me, then these ideas for task card and flash card organization might be helpful to you! Here are some helpful teacher hacks for making sure your task card and flash card sets stay organized! Hack #1: Mark the back of task card sets to keep them separated. Sometimes, an activity calls for multiple copies of the same set of…
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This Is the Organized Teacher’s Secret Weapon
Want to be a more organized teacher? Hands down, one of my top strengths as a teacher is classroom organization. I had to get pretty creative with my organization systems, because I had a really tiny classroom! On top of that, our school was inside a church building, and we had to break down our rooms every Wednesday and Friday so they could use the rooms for church. Even for a pretty organized teacher, this was a challenge! Hands-down, one of my absolute favorite organization tools for the classroom was my 3-tiered rolling cart. Not only is it functional, it’s super stylish, too! These days, many teachers have (at least)…
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How to Encourage a Successful Classroom Clean Up
I don’t know about you, but I can’t function in a messy classroom. And unfortunately, working with children isn’t exactly the best way to keep things clean. Because I am a huge stickler for keeping the classroom tidy, over the years I’ve perfected my classroom clean up routine for my students. If you need help encouraging your students to effectively clean up the classroom, here are some of my best tips. Keep in mind, my method does involve a little bit of micromanaging. Normally I am 100% against micromanagement in the classroom, but with cleaning up, I find it is somewhat necessary; at least until students fully understand your expectations.…
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6 Awesome Classroom Management Strategies That Really Work!
Classroom management can be tough. It’s hard to find a solution that works when every class and every student is so different. Often, we think we’ve finally found a system that works, and then suddenly it doesn’t anymore! I found this often happened around Christmastime for my classes. Are you in the same boat? If so, I’m sharing 6 of my favorite classroom management strategies with you for some inspiration. Classroom Management Strategies 1. Mystery Reward Board This is one of my favorite strategies for classroom management. I always used these at the beginning of the year to help reinforce our routines and procedures. A reward board is basically a…
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The Most Effective Classroom Management Plan I Ever Used
It’s that time of the year when I always had to take a step back and evaluate my classroom management plan. Toward the end of the semester, things that worked earlier in the year seem to become less effective. This is probably because both teachers and students are tired and getting antsy! If you’re looking for way to switch things up, I thought I’d share with you the most effective classroom management plan I’ve ever used. Of course, every teacher and every class is different; but at the very least, I hope this can give you some fresh ideas and inspiration as you work on a new classroom management strategy…
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How to Build a Strong Community with Classroom Jobs
Do you use jobs in your classroom? They can be a really great way to build classroom community! Classroom jobs instill a sense of responsibility and belonging in students. They understand that everyone has an important role to play. However, classroom jobs can also be a pain point for many teachers. It’s just one more thing to have to keep up with! I know personally, as I was on that struggle bus for several years before I came up with a solution that worked for me and my students. I’m sharing with you how I used jobs in my classroom last year and why it worked, along with some classroom…
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Teacher Organization Part 1: Organization Basics
One of my top skills as a teacher and the thing I probably pride myself the most on is organization. I cannot function in a disorganized room, and firmly believe that staying organized is crucial to your success as a teacher. I know a lot of teachers consider this a strength of theirs as well; however, I have also met many who struggle with teacher organization skills and have run into problems because of it. I decided to focus my blog this month on helping teachers prepare their classrooms for the upcoming year with a teacher organization series. Every Tuesday and Thursday in August, I will share a post focusing…
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Summer Guest Post: Five Things To Do When Designing Your Classroom
Katherine Rowe has taught high school science for five years and runs her blog, The Online Instructional Coach, on the side. Whether you are returning to the same classroom you’ve had for years or, like me, are switching to another classroom for the seventh time in a row (in five years), it’s that time of year when we start thinking about what we want to do with our classroom space. Pinterest abounds with ideas for themes from Harry Potter to Dr. Seuss, but if you really want your classroom to work for you, you have to go beyond the theme and think about the practical cues that will help your…
