The Compliment Box is another one of my favorite classroom management tools. Teaching students how to compliment one another not only promotes kindness, but it provides them with an opportunity within the school day to practice that kindness. WHAT YOU NEED: To set up your own Compliment Box, all you need is a small box (I used a cardboard box and painted it) and some Compliment Cards printed on ASTROBRIGHTS paper. WHEN IT'S DONE: Students can leave compliments for each other if they ... READ the POST
Solve It Strips
When math is hands-on, I have found that students will engage, no matter how difficult a math concept may initially seem. I have seen this over and over during my years in the primary classroom. Building math fluency, as well as student confidence in math, is critical in the early elementary years. In order to help my students be successful, as well as build those foundational math skills and fluency, I created this student-favorite activity... Solve It Strips are a series of ... READ the POST
Learning ABCs – Games and Centers
A-B-C-D-E-F-G, let's learn the alphabet, yippee oh yee! I love teaching the alphabet because the possibilities are endless for ways to introduce and review all of the letters. In fact, I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to Learning ABCs, full of hands-on games and crafts for little learners. Over the years, I have tried out many of my ABC Pinterest finds, but I want to share with you a few of my favorite games and activities that I have successfully helped my own kiddos learn their ... 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 this turn-in basket super easy to make, it also lends itself nicely to being a student "job," so that students are in charge of the clips each day. If your students have class numbers, then all you ... 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 which students had already been called on. I would pick a stick and set that stick aside, but when the "question session" was over, I would just put all the sticks back in the cup. So, the next time I ... READ the POST
