Teaching students the power of their words is so important, especially early on in the elementary years! Giving students an opportunity to practice using their words for encouragement, kindness and to bring others joy is something that we as teachers can so easily build into our day. The Compliment ... READ the POST
Classroom Communication Tools (Freebies)
I love finding and implementing new classroom management strategies! Having anywhere from 20-36 students (depending on my grade level) made it necessary to have strong, positive communication tools in place, to help maximize every minute of instructional time. I want to share with you ... READ the POST
My Favorite Turn-In Basket
This simple clip turn-in basket is one of my favorite classroom management tools ever! This sweet little basket is what finally freed up my recess time, so I wasn't spending the first half of it sifting through homework, figuring out which students did or did not turn in their homework. Not only is ... READ the POST
The Toothpaste Lesson
One of my favorite activities to do with my students is "The Toothpaste Lesson." As early as preschool, most students are exposed to the phrase, "If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all." I think it's great that they learn this, but what is even better is when they ... READ the POST
Flip Sticks!
Flip Sticks are an amazing participation tool for calling on students at random! The idea of using name sticks is nothing new. In fact, this classroom management strategy has been around for a long time. Unfortunately, what I didn't learn until a few years into teaching, was how to keep track of ... READ the POST
PUNCH IT!
I am so excited to share this FUN and MOTIVATIONAL classroom management tools/incentive board...PUNCH IT! This board is super easy to make, only requiring a few tools. How it works is students earn letters (one letter at a time) on the whiteboard every time the class is working well as a whole. For ... READ the POST
