Teacher Memory Book

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Students love giving things to their teachers… everything from pictures of themselves to drawings of their family vacation. But after a while, teachers often end up with huge collections of things and they’re not sure what to do with them. Here’s one teacher’s idea: a memory book! She uses page protectors and a regular 3 ring notebook.

Some years, she has had space for a bulletin board to display kids’ gifts before adding them to the book, but other years, she hasn’t had one so she just adds them to the book right away. She puts the memory books in her classroom library, where her kids love to look at things she’s saved from years past. What a great idea!

Read to Lead and Succeed! (UPDATED)

Posted on July 6, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I don’t really think I need to justify making these cute reading mini-posters, do I?

Click here to get the free mini-poster pictured above: Puppy Reading Poster 1

reading kitten poster
Click here to get the free mini-poster pictured above: Kitten Reading Poster

Today's Readers poster

Click here to get the mini-poster pictured above: Puppy Reading Poster 2

Phone Call Home

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Sometimes kids make poor choices at school. When that happens, it’s often helpful to have them call home. Here’s what one teacher posted near her phone to help kids know what to say when calling their parents.

I thought it was such a smart Idea that I made one for you! Print it as a full sheet (or smaller if you prefer), laminate it and post it near your phone. You might want to also keep next to your phone a log where you can record details about each phone call you make/receive.

Return to Sender: No Name Papers

Posted on June 22, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Dealing with “no name papers” has always been a test of patience for me. I mean, how hard is it to write your NAME on a paper!? (Ok, I’m off my soap box now.) Here’s one idea I saw that takes care of this problem. The teacher simply puts no name papers in this tray and empties it (into the recycle) after school on Friday. This way, kids have a few days to retrieve papers, but they don’t sit around forever in her room.

I think I would add this feature to the system: Make a stamp that says “return to sender” or something else distinct that would indicate that it was received without a name. Then when kids write their name on it and resubmit it, they get a small point deduction, but can still get some credit for it. I know stamping no-name papers is an extra step for the teacher, so just make the judgement call for your own classroom.

End of the Year Awards (44 Printable Certificates)

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

end of the year awards Sticker

Many teachers give out classroom award certificates at the end of the year. But there’s always those few kids who are hard to find an award for. And who has time to come up with gobs of awards that fit their students. Well, look no more! Here are 44 (yes, 44) pre-made award certificates for you to print off, fill out and distribute! If you plan on teaching for multiple years, it might save you time in the long run to print off a set and sign them (your
name only, not the date or grade) and save them in a folder so you don’t have to find them and sign them next year.

Here’s the PDF version (click to download: End of the Year Awards Collection) so you can print them all at once. I’ve also included a End of the Year Awards- Tracking Sheet for you to write down who gets which award in case the end of the year gets a little hectic. This is what the awards look like:

Super Scientist Award

Personal note here… these are so much more fun to fill out for your students when you’re writing with these Gelly Roll Stardust pens from back in the day! (Yes, I found them on Amazon!! They still exist!)

Click the picture to grab a pack!

One teacher requested a blank version of this certificate so you can write in your own award title. Such a good idea. Here it is:

And since I’m a “pen junkie,” I’ll share with you my other favorite for writing certificates… METALLIC sharpies! They make everything so fancy!

Click the photo to check them out!

Click here to check out my collection of upper grade “Hashtag Awards” (46 printable classroom awards). Here’s a sample:

Hashtag Award 1

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Classroom Treasure Chests

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

This is one of the coolest classroom treasure chests I’ve ever seen! The teacher found this old chest at Michael’s, and then glued plastic gems on it to add to the “treasure” effect.

You don’t need a cool box for your treasure chest. I used a woven basket with a lid. Other teachers just use a cute gift bag or a decorated plastic box. The point is to find something that will motivate your students, and be manageable for you.

MUST-READ TIP: My first year, I put all the prizes in the box at the beginning of the year. This was a big NO-NO. After a few months, all the good stuff was picked out and the kids weren’t very motivated by the basket. So I had to constantly worry about what new stuff to add and what to do with the stuff that wasn’t ever getting picked. So, don’t put all your prizes in at once. Instead, split your stuff into 4 groups (or some other number) so you can add new stuff every quarter.

Here are some things you can put in your classroom treasure chest:

candy (some schools have a policy against this, so check with your principal)
pencils
stickers
coupons (click here for coupon ideas)
coloring pages
holiday stuff (click here for ideas)
junk from catalogues like Oriental Trading Company, etc.

The Poor Teacher’s Classroom Rug

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Classrooms need carpet space for the whole class to sit and learn during various activities. One challenge with this (besides finding space in your classroom) is getting kids to have their own space in a place where they can listen and learn best. Many teachers have found it helpful to use a large rug with individual squares for each student. But what if your budget doesn’t allow for such a purchase? Let me introduce the poor teacher’s classroom carpet!

Just go to the store and purchase different colors of duct tape and make one yourself! You can choose the colors, number of rows and size of each square. Be sure your school’s facilities policies allow the use of tape on the floor before doing this.

Classroom Coupons UPDATED

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Sometimes it’s hard to come up with good ideas for classroom coupons. So I’ve searched for the 20 best coupon ideas I could find. Here they are (in no particular order):

Wear a hat
Sit at the teacher’s desk
Sit in a special chair at your desk
Use a pen
Piece of candy
Choose your classroom job
Sit with a buddy
Bring a stuffed animal
Read a book to the class
5 bonus points
Skip one night’s homework
Positive note to parents
10 minutes free computer time
Late work pass
Bring a show and tell item
Lunch with the teacher
Choose a song to play during end-of-the-day clean up time
Choose your spot in line
Go to lunch 2 minutes early
1 free word on a spelling test

Here’s a sheet for you to use for your classroom Coupons. I recommend printing out this page and then writing your desired rewards on the page before copying it. You can write your initials on the “signed” line or just use a special teacher stamp to make sure the coupon is authentic. When I taught sixth grade, as a matter of principle, I never signed them ahead of time. If a kid chose a coupon as their prize from the prize box, I would write their name on it and sign it then.

Click here for the free printable PDF: Classroom Coupons PDF