5 Tips for New (or New-To-Grade) Teachers

😊This post is also featured on the TpT blog!😊

Are you a new teacher or a veteran teacher who is changing grades? 

I see you!  I've been you! 

In my 15+ years of teaching, I've taught 7 grades! Teachers are not always given the luxury of time to plan for changes, either. Quite often, you catch word that you are being moved in August, then you are so worried about setting up your classroom that you can't even begin to think about curriculum!  

Been there, done that!

Now I'm here to help! I've pulled together some of the things that I wish I had access to right away at the beginning of a new year in a new grade, and I'm laying it all out for you! I hope you can find some calm in the storm knowing that someone has walked a mile in your shoes, survived, and is willing to pass on tips to make your transition easier...

Tip #1 Make Learning Fun for Them, and Easy for You!

When I first moved up to middle school, I had to remember a lot of grammar rules, terms, and tricks that I had stored in the far reaches of my memory bank!  Since I know teachers get bumped from grade to grade, I decided to make some products that would make teaching grammar skills easy for veteran teachers and new teachers alike! The students will like these activities, too, because they aren't boring fill-in-the-blank worksheets or diagramming sentences!

         

        

        

     

Tip #2 Don't Reinvent the Wheel!

Something else I would have loved to have as a new-to-grade teacher is pre-made, ready to go lesson presentations and activities to start my year off right and RIGHT AWAY! There is no reason you need to customize every single lesson.  Until you are comfortable with your new curriculum, use lessons that have worked successfully in other classrooms. Borrowing lessons from veteran teachers is a great way to ease into new or unfamiliar curriculum.  

 

Tip #3 Read, Read, Read!

I think that most English or Elementary teachers have a secret crush on books.  I freely admit that I am a book addict! I love books of all kinds, board books on up to novels! My primary goal as an ELA teacher is to get kids to LOVE reading. I love reading aloud to kids, even middle schoolers. I love recommending books, I love doing novel studies, I love discussing what students are reading in their free time. Still, as teachers, we do have to teach reading comprehension strategies and other vocabulary and writing skills. I've created some novel study guides that offer more than just your basic comprehension questions and get students deeply involved in the story - not just lists of vocabulary words and comprehension questions! These novel study guides won't take the joy out of reading by burying students in busy work.

Tip #4 Teach with Music!

Students often have difficulty understanding theme and mood in literature, but they totally get T.V. shows and popular music! I've created these two products to help! Each activity starts with an exploration of popular theme songs, either from T.V. shows or movies. Kids often learn better through music, so these activities spark interest and grow dendrites :) I love to use these activities at the beginning of the year because students LOVE them and I love learning more about my kids!

 

Tip #5 Use Interactive Notebooks!

I'm a BIG FAN of Interactive Student Notebooks, too! I like to think that after my students leave my class and head to high school, they will have an ELA Reference "Bible" to take along with them! These notebooks are essentially a collection of skills learned throughout the year. My students find themselves referring back to notes in their ISNs at different times of the year to refresh their memories or to review for tests. Here are a few of my favorite ISN templates and activities:

 

I hope that some of these suggestions will help you in your quest to make this your best year yet! Take a deep breath, believe in yourself, and let those who have walked before you help you get started on your new path!

Click on the pictures above to find out more about my best-selling products in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store. To get you started, you can click on the two pictures below to download some ready-to-use TODAY freebies!

   

 Find more great activities and resources from Tween Spirit on Teachers Pay Teachers!

Gamify Your Classroom!

At this point of the year, I think it's safe to say the kids are losing interest in being in school and teachers are pulling out all the stops to keep kids motivated and engaged!

Between state standardized testing, end-of-the-year evaluations, and the weather finally improving in some parts of the world, student engagement is probably pretty weak in your class...am I right?  I'll bet most of you are running on fumes, too...I'll admit that I am!

Well, here's my secret to re-energizing yourself, your students, and your curriculum...

gamify (ˈɡeɪmɪˌfaɪ)

verb

(transitive)

to adapt (a task) so that it takes on the form of a game

Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

What does "gamifying" look like in a classroom?  It can look a few different ways!  Read on...

Low- or No-Tech: I love using Task Cards with my students as a way to up the fun while learning! Task cards require no technology at all...well, once you've printed them!  I use task cards in a few different ways, depending on my mood:)  

• Play Scoot! "Scoot"  is a fun way to get kids moving.  I tape as many task cards as I have students around the room or on desks.  Each child gets an answer form, then they move from one card to the next in number order and responds to each task card on their answer sheet.

Scoot!

• Pass the Cards! In this version, the kids stay at their seats, but the cards move.  Once a child answers the card's question, they pass it to the person next to them until they've responded to all the cards.  This works especially well for task cards with multiple choice or short answer questions.

Poetry Vocabulary Task Cards

• Scramble!  I give students parts of a sentence that they have to unscramble to create a complete, correctly assembled sentence with proper punctuation. You can find this game (in a non-holiday version) "The Great Clause Race" in my TpT store for only $1!

The Great Clause Race

• Around the World! This is the classic game we all played as kids in school, usually with multiplication flash cards.  2 kids stand up next to each other, the teacher reads a question from the card, and the first child to shout out the answer moves to the next opponent.  
• Team Challenge! This may be my favorite!  I make 5-6 sets of the same task cards.  Rather than giving students an answer sheet, I put them in small groups and have them race against other groups to sort them.  (This doesn't work for all types of task cards, though!  I especially like to do this with parts of speech, three types of verbs, verbals or other grammar topics.) This variation requires kids to work together and gets their competitive juices flowing.  It's great support for weaker students and they don't feel as intimidated.

Task Cards

• Minute to Win It!  This is also a great team variation.  I separate kids into teams and create challenges like "find all the cards with a noun underlined, then be the first to clothespin them together", or "be the first to alphabetize the words", or even "use all the sentences containing an infinitive to build a house of cards".  My middle schoolers LOVE playing Minute to Win It!

 

• I Have, Who Has? You can't do this with basic task cards, but you can find specific "I have, who has?" cards on TpT, at teacher stores, or you can make your own.  This is a great game to calm kids down and really make them focus.  Each student gets a card or two (you have to pass out all the cards in the set for the game to work and come full circle).  One card will say "start"-that student begins by reading his card.  The rest of the students have to listen to the speaker, then look at their card to see if they have what the speaker is looking for.  For example, card one may say, "Who has the prefix that means 'under'?"  The student holding the card that says 'sub-' responds, "I have 'sub-', who has the prefix that means 'to do again'?" and so on until one student is left with the "stop" card.  When I taught elementary, I'd often end my day with this game while we waited for buses, or right after lunch recess to calm students down and get them re-focused.

 

Tech Required: There are SO MANY amazing, interactive game programs designed just for schools!  If you haven't tried any, please do!  Here are a few of my favorites: 

• Quizlet and Quizlet Live! I really think this is the complete package of games!  It's really easy for teachers to set up an account at quizlet.com and to have his or her students join their class.  Once you've got an account, you can either create a set of flashcards, or use a set that another teacher has already posted.  Now that you've got a set of flashcards created, the FUN begins!  Kids can log in at anytime and use the flashcards in a variety of ways-as normal flashcards, as a matching game, a race between players, and my personal favorite in-class game-Quizlet Live!  Quizlet Live allows a teacher to break a class into teams that have to work together-YES! TOGETHER!- to match up terms and definitions.  They have to work together because each student only has a few of the answers.  As a team, they all see the definition, but only one teammate has the answer, so one kid can't do all the work!  Watch a demo here: https://vimeo.com/161809345.  Trust me your class will LOVE this!  Quizlet is something kids can do on their own at home to study, and it even has an option for teachers to create a variety of tests to print off.  Quizlet is super student and teacher friendly!
• Kahoot! This is actually my least favorite online game, but kids like it.  Kahoot allows you to create your own or use sets made by other teachers, just like Quizlet.  Unlike Quizlet, Kahoot is a multiple choice game.  Here's what I don't love.  The question is only visible on the teacher's projected screen, but the answers are only on a student's device.  That makes for a lot of looking up and down, and honestly some frustration visually.  This game is usually played with all students playing for themselves against the rest of the class, which is great for bright, competitive kids with quick fingers, but can be frustrating for slow-processing kids.  The newest update does allow for teams, which I think is an improvement to keep all kids engaged. 
• Quizizz!  Quizizz is my latest find and current favorite.  Quizizz is similar to Kahoot, in that it lets you create or use sets of multiple choice questions made by other teachers.  However, the big difference is that each student sees the question and answers on their own screen and that it is student-paced.  In Kahoot, the whole class has to wait for all students to answer (or the teacher can set a time limit) before moving on to the next question.  In Quizizz, as soon as a student answers a question, the next question pops up on their screen and they can move on.  It takes the pressure off slower students, and eliminates boring wait time for quicker students.  There is still a level of competition involved because the teacher can post a leaderboard and a winner can be named, but this is an option, not a necessity.  The other fun thing about Quizizz, is that after each question, a meme pops up congratulating them or encouraging them.  There are pre-loaded memes, or teachers can create their own.  The kids and I think they are pretty funny!
• Nearpod! Now, Nearpod isn't as much of a game, as the others, but it is still a fun teaching tool.  I wrote a blog post about it last year, if you want a more in-depth review.  Since that blog, they've made updates which I think make it more fun.  With Nearpod, you can upload your own powerpoint or google slide presentations and add student activities to the slide show.  When you present, each student sees your slide show on their own device while you project it.  Between slides, you can insert activities such as multiple choice questions, polls, short answer responses, drawing responses, true/false questions, etc.  The students answer the question or do the activity on their device, then all responses pop up on the teacher's screen.  It's a great way to quickly insert formative assessments in a presentation, and it keeps kids' attention and gets students actively learning  during what would otherwise be a lecture-based lesson.  Most of Nearpod's functionality is free, if you upload your own slide shows.  However, there is a paid option that allows you more choice of activities, and the ability to purchase already created Nearpod presentations.

If you are looking for ways to keep student engagement high right up to the end of the year, I hope you try out some of these activities!  Do you have other ideas to gamify a classroom?  Let me know by commenting below!  

TPT Flock 2017 Recap and Giveaway!

Last weekend I had the privilege of hanging out with a bunch of
 AMAZING Teachers Pay Teachers authors!

We all flocked together!

TpTFlock17 was a meet up of teacher-authors/bloggers in Rochester, NY.  It was organized by a team of upstate New Yorkers and a few others with roots in the NY region.  These women pulled together an amazing workshop filled with teaching advice, business advice, and even some TpT "celebrity" sightings! 

I want to send a shout out to the organizers: Literary Sherri, Tricia's Terrific Teaching Trinkets, A Double Dose of Learning, Brain Waves Instruction, Miss V's Kindercrazies, Selma Dawani,  Worth a Thousand Words, and The Classroom Nook!

Thank you for putting on such a great event!

The event was held at the beautiful Woodcliff Resort and Spa in Fairport, NY.  We had a group dinner Friday night, then Saturday was filled with workshops on Pinterest, Instagram, Blogging, product creating, and more!  I feel like I need to take a week off from school to sit at a computer and make new products and pins and blogs!!!

For me, the best part of the weekend was meeting new people.  I had the opportunity to get tips from successful TpTers like Danielle from Study All Knight, Tammy from Juggling ELA, Tabitha from Flapjack Educational Resources,  Jamie from The Not So Wimpy Teacher, Erica Bohrer, Karen Jones, and Hallie from Speech Time Fun.  These women are all so helpful and just fun to be around!  Staffers from the TpT HQ in NYC were also in attendance!  Amy and Elliott led a panel where we were able to ask questions about TpT as sellers and buyers, and they were really listening to our suggestions and concerns. 

Dinner at Champps

Hanging after the conference with Amy from TpT HQ and Tricia from Tricia's Terrific Teaching Trinkets

Chatting with Danielle Knight

  Jenny from Art with Jenny K was the keynote speaker and led us all in an incredible group art project that was revealed at the end of the day!  How cool is this creation??

Everyone at the conference made one little square and it turned out THIS cool!

Besides taking away TONS of ideas and tips, the gifts and giveaways were amazing!  Many of us participated in a gift exchange- items that we all use to make products or our lives easier.  I received this fun bag of goodies from The Teacher's Cat filled with Flair Pens, Post It Notes, and a waterbottle.

We also received a "swag bag" filled with donations collected from Teachers Pay Teachers, Starbucks, Tailwind, and generous TpT sellers such as Melonheadz, Illumismart, KB3 Teach, Poppydreamz, SillyOMusic, AlinaVDesigns, and Pigknit...just to name a few!

I loved everything about this meetup...it was honestly as good as the full Teachers Pay Teachers conference in the summer...just in a smaller dose.  If you are interested or involved in TpT in any way, you HAVE to check out this conference next year.  It was well worth my trip from Michigan, and I've already got it on my calendar for April 2018!

Giveaway Time!

I'm still on cloud nine from all the fun and I want to share the love with you!  Comment below for a chance to win a $10 Target gift card by April 30, 2017.  Write a comment about what kinds of things you'd like to see more of on TpT, your favorite resource from my store (or anywhere on TpT:), topics you'd like me to blog about in the future...whatever!  On May 1, I'll choose a commenter at random and he/she will win a $10 Target gift card!

Celebrating Holidays in the Middle School Classroom

Let's face it...no matter how old the students are, they are still crazy on holidays!  ESPECIALLY those holidays that lead in to breaks!

So what can a teacher do to get through the holiday or the day before a holiday break? (other than pop in a movie!)

I'll let you in on my tried and true holiday-crazed-kids survival plan!

First, for each holiday, I gather a collection of holiday-themed worksheets...yes, worksheets-they DO have value at times! Then, I think of ways I can get kids up and moving for SHORT amounts of time. Next, I think of things students always want to do in class, but rarely are allowed to. Finally, I make it all into a competition with some sort of prize attached!

Sounds simple, right?  That's the best news...IT IS THAT SIMPLE!

Let me break it down for you.  Let's take Halloween as an example.  Halloween this year was on a Monday, so in my 6th grade ELA class, we celebrated "Monster Monday" (I've had years when I've called it "Witchy Wednesday" or "Freaky Friday"...you get the point!).  I hung a few decorations and turned the lights down.  When kids came into class, they picked up a "Monster Monday To Do List".

This worksheet has students identifying sentence parts (subject or predicate) and coloring by code to create the picture!

I created a list of grammar worksheets, silly challenges, and physical movements that all tied into Halloween some way or another.  I told them the first 2 students to complete all the challenges would win a prize from me (this time it was ghost-shaped Peeps candy from the Dollar Store). The students had fun working together on the worksheets, and they LOVED having the chance to draw on the whiteboard!  I had fun watching them do jumping jacks and moonwalk.  Because it was a challenge, they all got competitive and worked hard to win!  

This is the best way I've found to keep kids engaged during holidays!  It is super-easy for teachers, too!  Once you've found the worksheets and thought of the activities, you can use the same plan year after year.  Now, I can actually enjoy holidays with my students because I know they aren't just wasting a class period watching a movie.  Plus, since the kids are interacting with each other and with you, it's a great relationship building day!

I do this for many holidays: Halloween, before Winter Break, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, before Spring Break!  Here's another example, this time of a Winter Break to do list:

I hope that gives you some ideas to get through those tough-to-manage days ahead! 

Here's another example of one of the worksheets I use for Thanksgiving week to review punctuation: 

If you are looking for some ELA activity sheets to get you started on your collection, I just added a bunch of new Color By Code holiday-themed activities!  You can find activities for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa, New Year, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Easter! Visit my Teachers Pay Teachers Store to check them all out!

First Week of School Plans

3 Simple Activities to Help You Get Back Into the Swing of Things!

I know some states have been back to school for a while, but here in Michigan, we are just getting ready to go back! Kiddos in Michigan start the Tuesday after Labor Day every year...state law!  We like to get as much summer vacationing "up North" in as we can!

Today was my first "official" day back at work, but I've been working in my classroom a little bit over the last few weeks.  Isn't setting up fun?  Seriously, no sarcasm!  I LOVE setting up my room, especially since this year I HAVE a room!  I'll post my classroom makeover in a future post because believe me it's a big change from what I walked into a few weeks ago!

Now that my room is ready to go, I sat down today with my teaching partners and we planned out our first week!  I'm super excited to share what we've got planned with you because it is SO student-centered and EASY for the teacher to implement!

Since Labor Day week is just a 4-day week, here are 4 days worth of plans, all ready to go!  All the activities are in my TpT Store, so if you are a middle school or high school ELA teacher hop on over and your first week will be all set!

Day 1: Get to Know You Station Rotations!

The first day is a wild day...especially for incoming 6th graders or 9th graders.  Students are overwhelmed with new teachers, new rules and routines in each hour, and wondering which friends are in their class.  Many teachers begin day one with a lecture of expectations or a reading of the syllabus.  Others start with icebreaker or get-to-know-you activities.  I've decided to do things differently!  I'm not going to stand in the front of the room and talk at my kids.  I'm just going to say  a general "hello, I'm Mrs. B", then sort the kids into 7 groups and let them loose at stations.  (To make grouping easy, each desk will have a sticker on it when the kids come in to identify their group.) Each station consists of an activity designed to get kids talking to each other, to get them to understand me and my classroom, and for me to get to know my students.  Here is a breakdown of the stations:

1. Syllabus Search-students read the syllabus looking for answers to questions I've asked on a worksheet.

2. ELA Continuum- students place a sticker along a continuum to show their perceived ability and interest in each ELA area.

3. Book Recommendations- students talk about books they've read and jot down favorites.

4. Goal Setting- Students create a speech bubble for a bulletin board by writing down a goal for the year.

5. Questions for the Teacher- students have a safe, anonymous place to jot down questions for the teacher.

6. Brainstorming the Perfect Teacher, Student, Classroom- students list ideas for what could be used to describe the ideal teacher, student, and classroom. (Further discussion to follow at a later date)

7. Taking a Selfie and Posting to Instagram - students will use an iPad to take a selfie and then create a bio for themselves which will later hang in our classroom so we can all get to know each other.

Our first day is just a half-day, so we may need to finish these activities on day two.  I'm thinking the kids will really enjoy this, and it will give me time to meet kids at their groups to start building relationships right away!

Day 2: Class Rules, Routines, and Expectations!

The second day, we will get down to the business of rules, routines, and expectations.  This can be a very dull lecture, so I decided to make it more fun.  I've created a set of posters in "tween talk" to keep kids interested and to let them know that even though I do expect them to follow the rules and routines, I am not a big meany!  I used these last year, and my 8th graders really responded well.  We all laughed together, but my message was loud and clear.  The file is in PDF form, but I showed it like a powerpoint presentation.  After presenting and discussing, I will print the posters to hang in my room as a visual reminder to all students.

Day 3-4: What is Your Theme Song?

This is my ABSOLUTE, MOST FAVORITE activity to do with my kids!!!  We are jumping right into learning and they don't even know it!  Isn't that awesome?  This is a 2-day activity with the first day being a quick intro (or review) of the definition of "theme".  Then, in groups, students analyze lyrics to theme songs of popular TV shows (such as Scooby Doo, Phineas and Ferb, and Friends).  They have to explain how the theme song matches the theme of the show.  (I also have youtube clips for each song...I love hearing the kids sing along!).  Then, once they've discussed all the TV show theme songs, I ask them to pick their own personal theme song.  They have to pick a song and find the lyrics to bring back to school the next day.  I always share mine first...it's "The Good Life" by One Republic.  On day two, the students write an essay explaining WHY they chose the song to be their theme song.  I share my example (included in the activity), but give no further help.  These essays are my first look at students' writing AND I get to know about my students based on their song choices!  I also ask students to share their song choices with each other...another kind of an icebreaker!

Whew!  That's a full week of lessons and a full week of fun, without a full week of prep because it's all done for you!  You can click on the pictures above to see previews and full descriptions of each activity.  So get back to doing the fun stuff...decorating your room and enjoying the last few days of summer!  I've got you covered!

Let me know how these activities work in your classroom by commenting below, by leaving feedback on TpT, or by emailing me directly at teachwithmrsb@gmail.com!  I wish you the best back to school EVER!