Anchor charts are a staple in any elementary school classroom. Here are some truly inspired ones:
Group work expectations anchor chart
Ways to compare fractions anchor chart
Great Anchor Charts
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Tag Archives: Teachers
Fall Crafts for Kids
Here’s a collection of some of my favorite fall crafts for kids. These would be great to do with your class or your kids at home. Happy fall!
Directions for Paper Roll Pumpkins
Directions for Hand Print Owls
Great Language Arts Ideas
I never get tired of Pinterest. There are so many great ideas, and it’s just fun! Here are some of my favorite finds as of late…
Use clips to connect the letter cards to make words. Also helps develop fine motor skills… and it’s just a fun way to activity to use with spelling words! (source)
Make a salt tray and grab some alphabet cards. Easy to make and kids have fun smoothing out the salt after correctly making the letter. (source)
Craft a kite that displays contractions! Super simple, and it would make a great classroom bulletin board! (source). Click here for more activities using contractions.
Awesome Classroom Ideas!
Here are some more of the coolest elementary education ideas I’ve seen so far lately. Enjoy!
Work boxes for each student. When they finish their work they can go to their work box and pull out things to work on that the teacher has placed in there. Lets the teacher assign different things for the student/if they need extra practice in an area–DIFFERENTIATION! This makes a great fast finisher system too. Click here for more fast finisher ideas.
Here’s an easy way to do number of the day. If you’d like a number of the day program that gets increasingly more difficult and is aligned with the common core, click here. (source)
Help students focus more by covering sections of the page with a cut file folder. This would be a great way to help students who get distracted easily or have a hard time completing work. After they finish a section, they can stand up, walk around the room once, etc. (source)
Fire Prevention Week
Fire Prevention Week 2013 will be October 6 – 10. Most teachers won’t be able to spend a lot of time discussing fire prevention, so the National Fire Prevention Association has made a few quick activities for you to use, that will actually support what you’re teaching in school. For example, the NFPA has a kitchen safety checklist you can discuss. Why not have your kids circle 10 nouns, highlight 10 verbs, etc. while you go over the sheet? Grammar practice!! And for lower grades, use the Stay Safe in the Kitchen story for some quick comprehension practice.
Click here to go to the Fire Prevention Week page.
The Secret Way to De-clutter your Classroom!
(I wrote about this idea a while ago, but I’ve made some signs to help you execute it, so here’s the idea again…) This idea is PURE GENIUS! I learned this trick from my mentor teacher during student teaching (way back in the day). Designate a tote or box for a super secret purpose: a secret recycle bin! Students don’t work as hard when they know their teacher isn’t going to look at their paper. So use this bin to collect papers you don’t need to look at, but still want kids to work hard on. At the end of the day when all the students are gone, you can recycle the paperwork and keep your students’ desks clutter free!
The picture above is from a lower grade classroom that doesn’t have any real turn in bins. I suggested this idea to the teacher and she said it works so well, she’s gotten other teachers at her school to do this trick! She just calls the secret bin the “turn in bin.” But if you have a real turn in bin (for work you actually want to look at, grade, etc.), consider naming this bin the “big turn in bin” or something else to distinguish it from your other trays/bins. I’ve made some signs (1/3 sheet size) for you to print off and label your tote with if you’d like. Your choice of chevron or polka dots.
Click here: Turn In Bin signs PDF
Awesome Classroom Ideas!
I absolutely LOVE Pinterest. It’s one of my favorite productive diversions. Here are some cool elementary education ideas I’ve seen recently…
Awesome way to help kids practice tying shoes! (source)
Ticket Out the Door! Have students write their answer to a given problem as they leave the classroom each day. Motivational, and a good way to check who did it and who did not. (source)
Turn in basket sheet reminds students what’s required before they turn it in, and students can’t “peek” at papers turned in before theirs. (source)
Last 20 days of school, each balloon has a special activity. Everyday you pop one balloon to find out what it is! (For example, sit wherever you want for the day. (source)
Classroom Rules Poster – Owl (DIY)
Owls are pretty trendy these days. So when I saw a cute owl-shaped note pad at the dollar store, I just had to buy it (with plans to work it into my classroom somehow). Here’s the poster I came up with (pretty proud of my DIY project!):
Our classroom rule is “no one has the right to interfere with the learning, safety or well being of others.” Each student will sign the poster and we’ll put it up on the wall so everyone will remember our classroom behavior expectations.
Squarehead Teachers 