Quick Tips: 5 Tips for Back to School Prep

I'm back with another Quick Tips post to give you 5 things to think about when setting up your classroom and preparing for your students. These 5 tips have saved me a lot of time throughout the year by shaving minutes off of day to day activities. This time adds up, people!

Let's Go:

No more arguing over whether or not you already stacked your chair or wondering where your chair ended up during center rotations (because apparently in third-grade world, it is super important to have the exact same chair all day).

It is no fun to do this for them in August, it takes time. But, there will be no more confusion over what side houses what. This is more to hold my parents accountable for their end of communication than my students. I also include my procedures, homework schedule, and contact information right on the folder so I will never hear the excuse, "I didn't know" (...hopefully). This 3 pocket folder is from Teacher Direct.

You will thank yourself mid-year when everything is a mess and you don't have time for figuring out where something needs to go. It also makes it easy to give students directions to find something because we all know "on top of, right beside, to the left of, etc..." will not result in you getting the thing you need.

I am so glad that I hopped on this bandwagon after reading this post from The Kindergarten Smorgasboard. If you do interactive notebooks in your classroom, this is a must! It saved me so many precious minutes throughout the year when gluing down smaller, sort pieces.

I have noticed students respond better to libraries that have a corner. When bookshelves lay flat against a wall, there isn't really a space for students to gather. Creating a nook makes them feel like it is a separate area and they are more likely to spend time there. It sounds cray, I know...but it's true!

Check out my other quick tips!

Morning & Afternoon Routines

Managing Student Interruptions

Keeping Up with Unfinished Work

TPT BIG SALE: Do it like a BOSS ...5 Tips

Have you heard?!? There is a monstrous sale going on RIGHT NOW over at TPT! Seriously, I'm not being dramatic when I say it is the best sale of the year! Take the opportunity now to stock up with things you know you will need (...or want) throughout the year.

The vast majority of sellers, including yours truly, have placed their stores on sale at a whopping 20%. With a total of 28% off when you use the code BTS15. Don't miss out!

Here are my tips to ensure that you WIN during this sale:

1. Buy something you NEED

Invest in something that is an absolute must for your classroom this year. It could be a teacher organizational tool or a curriculum need.

Have to teach grammar this year? Check out my Grammar Interactive Notebook.

2. Buy something you WANT

Come on, you can't go shopping and NOT get something you want. Pick something pretty or something you've had your eye on that makes you smile.

Like to eat? I know I do! 

Check out these resources that use food to hook your students when teaching comprehension skills.

3. Buy a BUNDLE

The quality of work and quantity of resources that you get in a bundle is amazing! However, for us on a budget, they can also be amazingly expensive. Take the time now to buy a bundle that you've had your eye on. 28% makes a BIG difference on higher priced items.

     

Do you INB? Check out these bundled reading and math interactive notebooks, 5 notebooks in one!

Two more tips for my fellow TPT teacher-author-sellers:

4. Invest in CLIPART

Yes! You can have a solid educational resource, but if it's not cute, it won't sell (as much). You have to invest in your business and this is a great place to start. I love Creative Clips by Krista Wallden.

5. Invest in FONT

How can you not? Fun Fact: Even fonts that were free for you to download are probably not free for you to use commercially. Take the time now to buy font licenses, you will need them. I love Kimberly Geswein Fonts.

There you have it. So go be a BOSS!

#2getherwearebetter Bulletin Boards

I am so excited to be linking up with Angie and Ashley to talk about Bulletin Boards! My old classroom actually only had one bulletin board (gasp!?!)....I know, I know. So, I got pretty creative with using all of my wall space. This post will show case all of my boards (bulletin, white, chalk) and hopefully I can give someone in my same situation some inspiration!

*Disclaimer: Here in my part of Virginia, we are not back at school. We aren't even allowed back in the building yet. Yup. So that means all of these pictures are from the school year that just ended. I am also moving schools and leaving my beautiful classroom behind for a "portable" classroom (you can read more about that here). 

Portable = Trailer

Make sure to come back next month for another #2getherwearebetter linky where everyone will be showing off their rooms (and trailers), it should be interesting!

You are going to see a theme in my boards. It is my favorite tip:

....Now on to the pictures...

This is a panoramic view of my room. The bulletin board I told you about is the one with the black paper. You will notice a lot of wall space left unused. We have a very strict fire code in our county and their are specific regulations about how much of our wall we can cover and how much space we have to leave between the items on our wall and the ceiling. Don't even get me started on classroom doors...NO PAPER! You heard that right, as of 3 years ago, we can't even decorate our classroom door. Everything has to be at least 2 inches away from the door frame. Wack.

I actually don't use paper for my bulletin boards. I use plastic table cloths. You can get 3 table cloths in any color for $1.00 from Wal-Mart. I like these because they keep their color all year. I know a lot of people like fabric, but there are just too many hoops I would have to jump through to use them in my county (fire code again).

My chalkboard, which is huge, is along the entire front wall of my classroom. Right in the middle is my Promethean board, which leaves me with a left and right side to utilize. The right side of the board is my student center. This is the side closest to the door and it has everything they need to interact with throughout the day. 

Here's what the numbers mean:

1. My state objectives: I printed these on neon paper a couple years back . I keep them in a plastic sleeve. When I switch units, I just switch up the order of the papers in the sleeves. It works perfectly because I never forget to post my standards.

2. Missing Work Chart: This is my missing work station (you can see a better close up below). When I grade an assignment and notice a student didn't turn it in, I issue them a missing work ticket with their name, the assignment name, and the due date. I place these tickets in the pocket chart next to their number because let's face it, if the assignment never made it out of their desk, the ticket won't either. My parents always stop by to peek at this when they are in the building to see what their kids is missing.

3. Classroom Rewards: My school has a reward system where every class can earn stickers for good behavior around the school. We tally and reward by quarter, so these black papers became covered in our school pride stickers throughout the year.

4. Helpers: There is a list with boys names and a list with girls names. Each day I would circle the girl and boy helper of the day. The list went in order so the students always knew who was next.

5. Bathroom Checkout: My students got 3 bathroom breaks a week (outside of our regularly scheduled class break times). As they used each one, they crossed off a number on the red, yellow, then blue sleeves. Any bathroom breaks not used by Friday result in a ticket for our class drawing.

6. Lunch Count: All of the sections represent a different choice. The students move their name magnets (you can see those in a column along the side of the board) to the choice they were having that day.

The precious teacher who was in this room before me had a whiteboard installed, which I appreciate. This white board is not magnetic, which I don't appreciate. So, I decided to use it as my class calendar. I didn't expect this to build responsibility like it did. My 8 year olds were checking it to make sure they brought sneakers on PE day and that they were prepared for their day to be the helper. You can read more about what I included on the calendar here.

Ok, so this is my actual bulletin board. I might have had only one, but it was super long! I always divide my bulletin board into sections to house my retired anchor charts. When I add anchor charts, I only staple it at the top, so students can flip through if they need to get to an older chart.

About a year ago, I asked maintenance to hang another bulletin board on the wall, it ended up being about the size of the ones they sell for college dorms. But, that's ok! It was just big enough to hold my Behavioropoly board.

When you run out of bulletin boards, anything will do. My cabinets turned into my Data Wall and blank wall space turned into our Homework Turn-In Spot!

Thanks for stopping by!

Make sure to check out some of the other teachers linking up to get even more great ideas for your bulletin boards!!!

First Day Tried & True Linky: Lesson Idea for the First Day!

When I first joined this amazing linky of First Day plans, I knew I wanted to share my favorite writing lesson for the first day. It gets students sharing and building relationships right from the start!   It all centers around one of my favorite first day read alouds:  How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Mark Teague 
I have read this book every first day for the past four years, people. You know it has to be good if even Pinterest (which has exploded over the past 4 years) hasn't yet shown me a lesson that I would use to replace this. It is definitely tried and true! Click here for my lesson plan.

The writing template I use for this activity is apart of my Back to School Essentials Pack.

Thanks to Chrissie at Undercover Classroom and Sarah at Education Electrification for hosting this great linky party! Be sure to check out other Tried & True activities as you plan your first day!

An InLinkz Link-up

Step Your Game Up #LikeaBOSS TPT Products Musts

I'm back with another post in my Blogger to Blogger Series. Today is all about how to step your game up #LikeaBOSS! If you own a TPT store, then you are a boss and there are some things you should be doing.

(The first post in this series can be found here.)

Here are some quick ideas to consider doing with your products if you are not already:

Tell buyers how they can use your product. To get ideas for writing your terms of use, look at how the sellers you buy from did it.

Make sure to mention:
-Who owns the rights to your work (you)
-Buyers don't have permission to distribute as their own
-Buyers purchased a license for single-classroom use
-Additional licenses should be purchased for multi-classroom use

Put your name ON EVERY PAGE of your product. You can make it 5pt font, or gray vs. black so it is less noticeable, but put your name on it! You can layer it behind text, but on most pages it should be visible. Make sure to lock it down before uploading to your store.

Here's why this is important:
-No one can copy and redistribute your pages as their own
-Buyers know who you are and where to find you when they are in need of more items and forget where they got the one they love so much

*In my periscope about this, someone asked me if they should put their blog/store name or their real name. Another "scoper" commented that they do both, this is an option. I always just use my real name. Your blog/store name may change or be trademarked by someone else, but your birth name never will.

Here's What:
-Thank whoever you bought the font and clipart from (this is required by most clipart/font sellers even when you buy a commercial use license).
-You can put your terms of use here.
-ADVERTISE! This is free advertisement for your store. Add some product pictures and link to correlated products in your store.
-Leave contact information for how they can find you across all social media platforms.
-Write a short personal note about yourself or the product.
-Insert this page right after the title page (not at the very end of the document), so people can't miss it.

My template looks like:

Longer products especially need a table of contents to help buyers navigate. If at all possible, make your table of contents available to buyers before they buy the products. This will eliminate frustrated buyers who thought they were getting something they weren't. A table of contents makes it very clear what is on each page.

Here's where you could include your table of contents (in addition to inside the product):
-TPT description page
-Product preview download
-Product preview images

Captivate buyers with your cover. If someone searches "Grammar Interactive Notebook", and you have one, what is going to make your cover stand out above the rest? The cover image gets them to your store and then your preview and description seal the deal. I have been spending time making over my covers lately and it has really paid off with sales. I have moved to a more clean, easy to read, simple look and have received a great response. Sometimes with too much on a page, people get overwhelmed and keep scrolling.

Not only is the description page of the TPT website your place to really sell your product (which it is, so describe in detail and make it sound great), but it can also be a place to sell you.

Here are some other things to include on your product description page:
-Links to similar products in your store
-Links to find you (Blog, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook)
-Links to specific blog posts where you showed your product in use in your own classroom or gave a more detailed look into the product

Well, there you have it! Step your TPT Teacher-Preneur game up and #BeaBOSS! 

I am still learning myself and would love any tips you have.
Please comment below if I left something out.

Parents Be CRAY! #realtalk & Tips for How To Deal

I realize I have to navigate a fine line with this post, but if Periscope has taught me anything, it's that teachers appreciate realness. Realness helps people identify and leads to real solutions. So let's just get real...parents be cray! 

It's true. 

I came from a school where parents were either highly involved or not involved at all until they thought their child was wronged...then they were. No fun. 

My first year and a half of teaching, I was scared of parents. I didn't want to talk to them, I didn't like that they had so much power (which I was giving them), and I didn't get why they had to be so cray all the time. 

Then, I had my daughter.

My view of parents changed drastically and I soon as I had to give her over to a babysitter, I realized... I be cray too! I got it. 

She is MY child and MY everything. I recognize that to you, she is just another child in your care. I need to be her advocate and I'm the person in her life forever. I'm the one who's been praying for her since before she was born, planning for her future, and investing all I have in her safety and quality of life. Me. Not you. You don't know her or her needs like I do. So just listen to what I have to say and do things they way I want them done...okay?!?

...Whoa! See? That was a whole lot of cray.

But, just because I understand it, doesn't mean I like being on the receiving end of it as a teacher. Here are some tips and revelations that have helped me become a firm force in my partnerships with parents while still building relationships, collaborating, and covering my backside!

(Feel free to jam while you read.)

Parents, like everyone else on the face of the Earth, don't know your job. Unless they are teachers themselves or know a teacher, they don't get what we do. They don't understand how much time it takes to do everything involved with teaching our class and everything involved with the paperwork of teaching, testing, scoring, etc.

Some parents might continually "ask" you to do things. They might expect you to do these things, but these things might not actually be a part of your job. For example, staying late or coming in early to tutor is not a part of my contract. I might do it, if I have the time and I enjoy both the student and the parent, but I'm not required. You need to know what the school and county requires you to do, so that you know when you are well within your rights to say no (more on that to come).

Another thing I've learned over the years is that nothing is above being questioned. Here are some things to be able to speak to on the fly:

-Why you are a stickler on certain behaviors: Reference county, school, and classroom rules and the importance of those rules

-Why you teach the way you do: Reference research and best practices, as well as school expectations/norms

-Why is your homework is the way it is: Reference how your students learn best and how your HW is incorporated (ex. nightly homework due every day because daily spiral review is important)

Everything else I do is covered by one of my two goals (that are posted in my room) which are to:

1. Create students who are kind, caring, respectful, problem-solvers (basically create better human-beings)

2. Create students who have mastery of the curriculum

If a parent questions a decision, I can usually point to one of these two goals. I respect their position to advocate for and protect their child, but it is my position to advocate for and protect all of the students in my class. I have to think of the whole, not just an individual and these goals help me keep perspective.

This one can be hard, especially for new teachers. It is just flat out awkward to tell a parent to their face what their child is doing wrong. It is so much easier to sugar-coat things and tell a parent that their child "occasionally needs reminders to stay on task" vs. "constantly needs redirection (2-3 times in a 5 minute period) and lacks the ability to maintain focus during independent work time". But, with the first one, parents hear that their child is sometimes having problems and it is easy for them to say, "He is only 8 and he is a boy". With the truth (the second phrase) that includes a quantitative measure, parents are given power. They may not like to hear it and they may not like you for saying it, but they are given the opportunity to step in, intervene, and look for outside help if needed. 

Sugar-coating only makes things easy for you in the moment, not the long-run. This was my issue my first year teaching. I sugar-coated the problem during a parent conference and a week later when the student went off the chain for real, I was in a predicament. I had documentation for my principal to suspend the child because she had been acting up in class frequently. But, I sugar-coated with the parents so they had ammunition to say that it was unfair that their child was getting suspended because if they had known how bad it was they could have prevented it. I doubt they could have, but they were right. They deserved the opportunity to know the truth about their child, even if they didn't want to hear it.

As teachers, we know this is a golden rule for students: no empty threats, no empty promises. It is a way to lose respect and crumble relationships quickly. The same goes for parents.

If you told parents at back to school night that students would be allowed to retest unit tests, then you have to let them do it even if it was open-notes to begin with and you are already behind in pacing.

If you told parents that students would receive a referral with the next poor behavior choice, then do it. They might be happy if you were wishy-washy on this one, but it will come back to bite you when you are sticking to something they don't like. They will most likely say, "But last time you said you were going to give a referral and you didn't, that's not fair". Yes, it happens. Favors can bite you later.

Pick your battles. You don't need to win everything. You have to compromise for the sake of the relationship sometimes. As problems or requests arise, the first thing you need to do is decide if it is worth the fight, sometimes it's better for everyone to just let it go.

Sometimes you just can't give in. Not because you don't want to or because they made you mad, but because it's just not best. You are the advocate for your classroom and you are responsible for each student's learning. Just because the parent insists that you make a student's desk an "island" and deny them recess and center activities because of poor grades doesn't mean you do it. It's not best practice. I appreciate the support of academics, but I'm not doing that. Period.

One time a parent wanted me to call everyday after school to talk about their child's behavior, in addition to the daily behavior chart I was sending home. Ummm...no. Ain't nobody got time for that. I have to get my room together, get ready for tomorrow, and pick up my own child from the baby-sitter by a certain time. I realize they felt like this was the best thing for their child, but it was outside of my contract time (hence: Know Your Job) and it was not something I had the time for, which leads us to the next point...

This one can be hard, but it is so worth it. Say no when you need to. You need to respect your time and your family.

"Can I volunteer in your room even though I am a nosy parent looking for gossip?"
No.

"Can I chaperone the field trip even though chances are I will "misplace" at least one child in DC?"
No.

"Can you come in before your contract time or stay after to tutor my child for free?"
No.

No, I can't. #sorrynotsorry

Now, this isn't always the case. As teachers, it is our nature to do things that we don't have to do just because we love teaching and we love our students. I mean, my county pays me and then I turn around and blow it all on my classroom. 

Just know that it is okay to say no, you are not a bad person, the choice is yours.

This is not a new tip. Document EVERYTHING: Conversations, phones calls, notes sent to school, notes sent home, grades, informal assessments, behavior, EVERYTHING. For example:

-We have an online gradebook at my school, but I still keep a paper one. It has saved me a couple times.

-Be super specific in your report card comments. Report cards can be subpoenaed by court so keep that in mind. Not necessarily only if a parent is suing you, but also if their is a custody hearing and one parent needs to prove that something from home is affecting a child's performance in school. It's happened.

-Print your emails! Don't trust your email system, if we have learned anything recently it's that a hack can happen...or you could just delete an email when trying to save it. I still have a file an inch wide of emails from one parent 3 years ago. I am definitely keeping those bad boys!

The best way to maintain a good relationship with parents is to keep them in the know. Here's some ideas:

-Send home newsletters with reminders and information

-Set up a class webpage with information they can easily access

-Use Remind to send text alerts

-Set up a class instagram to share pictures throughout the day (I am going to try this for the first time. I am moving to a school with low involvement so I'm hoping that taking to social media will help.)

-Create a private class facebook page

*TIP* If you plan on using any sort of social media for your class, get permission! Get permission from your school admin and from the parents. Even if your school or county sends home a photo release form, you should create your own. Write a quick letter explaining the purpose and benefit of using that social media platform and have parents sign that it is okay for you to post pictures of their child and their child's first name to a private account. 

...to an extent. I have found parents can relate to you better when they know more about you. When my parents find out that I have a toddler, they can relate. Most of them have younger children as well or can remember a few years back when their children were that age. I always include a picture of my family in my welcome back letter that I send before Meet the Teacher Day. What I've noticed is that at least half of my parents use my toddler or my dog (I have a boxer) as a springboard to spark a conversation with me. They like to relate. Find something you can use to relate to your parents; maybe it's a sports team, a college, or a hobby.

BUT WAIT.....

Before I go, I just want to note that this post is referring to only some parents. Most parents we get are amazing and understanding and respect our time. This is not for them. This post is for the ones that give you a run for your money. I had a student teacher this year and I unofficially mentored a new teacher at my school. It was infuriating to watch parents run over them while they did nothing to stand up for themselves. 


I hope to empower new teachers to know that their classroom is theirs. So- set goals, protect your students, and protect yourself.