When our students hear the word "test" they cringe and you can see the fear on their face. When we start to talk about the standardized test, that fear turns to panic and sheer horror. Thoughts flood their minds,  "I'm going to have to repeat 5th grade! My parents are going to ground me forever if I don't pass this test. Maybe I can pretend I'm sick and get out of the whole test. I wonder if I broke my writing arm if I would have to do it?" After 40 years of combined teaching at grade levels where standardized tests are administered, we have developed a TOP 10 LIST that we think will help not only your students, but yourself cope with the "stress of the test." #1: Treats! What student, or teacher for that matter, doesn't love treats? About a week before the test begins we read a letter to our students about how their parents can bring in healthy snacks and healthy drinks on the days of the test. This gets the students excited.......

Organization for new teachers can be very difficult. In this blog post we will identify the top 5 organizing tips for the school year if you are a new teacher. By no means are these the only five, but they will get you started on having a great year. Make a list... A teacher's best friend can be a list. Make sure to start making lists of items you need to buy to decorate your classroom and things you want to do once you are in your room. If you are a new teacher, you will want to make your classroom your own. This would involve making a list of the decorations that you will choose to use for the school year.  Your list should also have the supplies you will need to get your classroom up and running. Click here or on the picture below for a free checklist that you can use to get started in your classroom. Have a calendar/planner... If there is one thing that a teacher cannot live without, it is a planner. This is your lifeline to what is happening in your classroom and ......

In our district we have witnessed how teacher morale can be impacted by high stakes testing, district mandates, increased teacher professional requirements, and lack of funding for public schools. Not to mention, increased class sizes and lack of special education funding as well. But day in and day out educators show up for their students. They still want to be the best they can be in the face of all these issues that make teaching more difficult. We want to offer some tips on what educators can do in their buildings to change morale and bring back some joy on a daily basis. Below we have listed 10 ways to help increase teacher morale in your building. We hope you begin to implement some of these to bring some joy back into your building. Music Who doesn't love a little music to sing or even dance to? If you have a PA system think about pumping some upbeat music at the end of the week on Friday into the hallways and classrooms, or even make it a part of every morning as th......

When teachers mention the term "persuasive writing" some students already fall down for the count. But we are here to teach you how to pack persuasive writing with a P.U.N.C.H. P ick a topic that matters. The most effective persuasive essay will be the one in which you allow your students to choose the topic that matters most to them. Do not tell your students that they need to pick from a list of your teacher-selected topics. That immediately takes away ownership and investment of the students in their self-selected topics. Instead help them brainstorm topics that are important to them. It may be bullying in school, picking up trash in the neighborhood, or as complex as finding ways to stop animal abuse. The point is to allow them to select a topic that they truly care about. U npack the evidence. In order to have an effective persuasive essay, there has to be evidence to back up students' claims. You will need to provide students with the resources that......

Soft Start Mornings Just like adults, students need a time to adjust in the morning. I am sure most of you start the day with a cup of coffee or have a routine that helps get you ready for the day. Why don't we do this for students when they arrive to school?  Soft start mornings is probably not something new, it may just be a new name for something that you already do. It is a time set aside in the classroom when students arrive for them to have a few minutes of choice before starting the academic part of the day. We would like to share how we implement soft start mornings in our upper elementary classroom. We have found this to be extremely beneficial for a smooth start to the school day. Students love the routine and we know it helps them get focused for the day. Listed below are the many choices you could have for students for soft start mornings. Pick and choose which ones you think would be successful with your students. You may want to start with five choices a......

You have made it, or almost made it, to the end of the school year. So many thoughts are racing through your mind as you start to think about the next group of students you will teach. But before you go into full-fledged teacher mode, take our top five tips to get ready for next school year to heart. 1. Relax You have been going like the Energizer Bunny for nine months. Your work week has probably topped 50-60 hours during this span. It is OK to take a break for yourself. Teacher burn-out is a real thing, and the last thing you want to do to yourself is not be re-energized for next school year. So, however you find the best way to relax, do it. If it is binge watching shows on Netflix or your DVR, reading a book, gardening, or just sleeping in, now is the time for YOU. 2. Re-acquaint yourself with your family You have spent more waking hours with your students for the last nine months then you have with your family. It is time to spend quality time together. It doesn't h......

With all the recent events happening across the United States in schools, we felt it was time to address the issue of bullying. In this article, we hope to help you, as an educator, to stop bullying in its tracks. In order to stop bullying, students have to understand what bullying is. Brainstorm with your students what their perceptions are about bullying. Ask your students to share a time when they felt they were bullied or when they saw another student being bullied. Students can share in front of the entire class- just make it clear that they are not to use any specific names. Students can also share their experiences on an index card that can be collected. Write down some of their experiences on chart paper. After the list is compiled, engage your students in a discussion as to which of the incidents would be considered bullying. Your main focus for this part is for your students to understand that bullying is where someone is repeatedly harassing a student. Keep the compiled......

Your literature book selection is off the charts. You are set for guided reading groups for the next ten years. But then you realize, you lack a good selection of informational text. Your class library doesn't have enough titles to make one guided reading group, and your school book room is inadequate as well. You want to make informational text not only a part of your teaching, but you want to make it engaging for your students as well. Believe it or not, there are some great informational text websites out there that you can start using right away. Here are some great websites (many of which are free) that will help teach informational text to your students. 1. Readworks This is probably our favorite informational text website. It does a great job of finding informational text articles that relate to many different areas in both science and social studies. For example, there are many articles on Westward Expansion, Civil War, Slavery and so many more. The great thing a......