secondary classroom management Archives

Everything You Need to Know About Bell Ringers

Bell Ringers, Faulkner's Fast Five, Julie Faulkner

Bell ringers are a staple in my high school English classroom. Even my yearbook students must complete a task at the start of the period. Without fail, each day my students have an assignment to do right after the bell rings — every day! About my 2nd or 3rd year teaching, I implemented a system of top-of-the-period daily work, and I haven’t looked back since. Along the way, I learned what didn’t work and what did. Here I’m sharing everything you need to about bell ringers for class.

What is a Bell Ringer?

Also known as warm ups, bell work, do-nows, openers, entry-tickets, or jump starters, a bell ringer is the short activity that students do upon entering the classroom. They may be standards-driven, spiral review-orientated, inspirational, challenging, or even game-like. Bell ringers are more than just “something students do while you check roll;” they are the engine to the classroom train, the secret sauce to setting the tone, and the trick to calming the chaos.

Benefits of Using Bell Ringers

There are many, many reasons why you should start each period with a bell ringer. Those advantages include establishing classroom management/procedures, engaging students, helping students mentally prepare as they’ve transitioned to a different subject, implementing skill drills, and squeezing in spiral review. Of all the perks on this list, the top two reasons why I love bell ringers so much are establishing classroom management/procedures and drilling skills. I use my Ten-Minute Grammar Program each day to set the stage when students come in, and this choice allows me to cover ALL those grammar skills. We do work from “bell to bell” in my classroom, but I can’t start teaching right away because of attendance, announcements, etc. However, because my bell ringer is ready-to-go when students enter, they are working immediately. That also lets them know that a certain level of responsibility and academics is expected in my class.

What to Avoid When Using Bell Ringers

While bell ringers are the “best thing since sliced bread” for a classroom, you do need to implement them correctly in order for them to work. Three major pitfalls I’ve seen with teachers using bell ringers ineffectively are being inconsistent, selecting irrelevant/meaningless/basic/disconnected material, and never holding students accountable. Bell ringers must be used daily; otherwise students forget that’s the routine, and they take longer than intended to get started, etc. Secondly, bell ringers must be important, meaningful, and useful for students; otherwise they know it’s just busy work. Avoid selecting tasks that do not connect to your class’s goals or even your students’ learning levels. I don’t have students write in journals each day or record their feelings about a famous quote because that’s not a standard I’m trying to cover. Choose something that requires thinking and action; just reading a fact, writing a definition, or copying down a definition doesn’t require much of students. These types of tasks could be strengthened by adding a follow-up question or other requirement that increases the level of critical thinking. The third huge “no-no” when using bell ringer is not holding students accountable. Students always ask “is this for a grade?” While that question does make my eye twitch, it is relevant. We don’t want to do work that isn’t going to “count,” either. So, there must be some level of accountability. I don’t think that a completion grade or notebook check always suffices, either, and that’s another reason why I feel the bell ringer tasks really need to be standards-based. If I’m going to use class time for it, it needs to matter, and I need to measure if students are learning and growing as a result.

For example, when my students do their ten-minute grammar exercises each it day looks something like this: On Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, they correct two sentences for errors. They do them on their own, and then we go over them and take notes (grammar rules) for the corrections on their paper. I do not collect those notes. Instead, I give a multiple choice grammar quiz on Friday where I test those skills we covered for the week. The catch? Students can use their daily notes! If they don’t take notes, they are at a disadvantage on Friday’s quiz. Does it work? You bet! EVERYBODY takes notes all week, and all I have to grade is a quick multiple choice quiz once a week. With my yearbook students, their bell ringers look a little different. They are completing different tasks daily in a notebook-style resource, but each task still relates specifically to honing their journalism/photography/grammar skills. Most days we go over their answers in class, and then I evaluate their responses more in depth at the end of the week. Ultimately, I see them producing better pictures, writing, and content in the publication of our book. The same is true for my grammar exercises — student writing and test scores improve drastically.

A few other things that can sidetrack your bell ringer game are failing to help students be organized and mistaking the bell ringer for the “set” to your lesson. Especially if you are working with younger students or students with IEPs, it would be very helpful to have students create a notebook or folder just for the bell ringer activities. Take it one step further and have a place in your room for them to store it. Lastly, I don’t consider the bell ringer as part of my core lesson. Having students “Tweet” something from yesterday’s lesson, recalling a fact on a sticky note, reflecting on their understanding of this week’s skill, etc., is really more of a lesson set or lesson activator than it is a bell ringer. For me, the bell ringer and lesson set activities are not related – apples and oranges. Even when I have only 45 minute periods, I still used a separate bell ringer each day.

Tips for How-To Use Bell Ringers Effectively

Step 1: Evaluate which skills/goals you want to meet with your bell ringer time.
Step 2: Design/Select tasks that students can attempt on their own and that can be done in a short amount of time.
Step 3: Decide how you will evaluate student learning and/or hold them accountable for their work. Consider tasks that are easy to check daily or weekly. Instant feedback is always preferred.
Step 4: Plan to have the bell ringer on the board while classes change, so it is ready when students enter.
Step 5: Initially, model the procedure, proper responses, and expectations. Give students students several days to practice the procedure before letting them swim on their own.
Step 6: After a few weeks, evaluate the procedure and results from a teacher standpoint. If you find something isn’t working, change it! You know your classroom and students best!

Get Going These Great Options for Bell Ringers in All Secondary Subjects

For English/ELA:

Ten-Minute Grammar by Julie Faulkner and Read more about my Ten-Minute Grammar procedure here
Paragraph of the Week (High School) by Julie Faulkner
Paragraph of the Week (Middle School) by Julie Faulkner
Article of the Week (High School) by Julie Faulkner
ELA 7th Grade Spiral Sheets (Even though these are labeled as homework, they work perfectly for bell ringers.) by Julie Faulkner and One Stop Teacher Shop
ELA 8th Grade Spiral Sheets (Even though these are labeled as homework, they work perfectly for bell ringers.) by Julie Faulkner and One Stop Teacher Shop
ELA Bell Ringers Upper Elementary Middle School by Martina Cahill – The Hungry Teacher
Digital Middle School ELA & Reading Bell Ringers by Delightful Designs- Alissa Cook
Inspirational Quotes Daily ELA Bell Ringers by English Teacher Mommy

For Math:

Linear Equations by Scaffolded Math and Science
Spiral Math Pages 7th Grade (Even though these are labeled as homework, they work perfectly for bell ringers.) by One Stop Teacher Shop
Spiral Math Pages 8th Grade (Even though these are labeled as homework, they work perfectly for bell ringers.) by One Stop Teacher Shop
Geometry Bell Work Prompts for the Entire Year by One Stop Teacher Shop
Algebra 1 Spiral Review by One Stop Teacher Shop
Geometry Spiral Review by One Stop Teacher Shop
Algebra 2 Spiral Review by One Stop Teacher Shop
Two Kinds of Math People Engagement Slides by One Stop Teacher Shop
Algebra 1 First Semester Warm-Ups / Bell Ringers by MathHop by Jackie B

For Spanish:

For History:

History Bell Ringer Templates and Prompts by Stephanie’s History Store

For Science:

For Yearbook/Journalism:

Other:

Community Circle | Middle Grades | Full Year Social and Academic Prompts by 1 Passionate Teacher

Love this content? Join a group! There are already tons of ideas, freebies, and fabulous teachers in my new groups, and joining is simple. Just click over to the following links, answer a few questions, and voila! Thanks again for following along my classroom stories and small-business journey. I really do hope you to see you over in my new “backyards” where we can chat and share all things English and Yearbook.

Written by: Julie Faulkner, 2021

Best Secondary Resources for Back-to-School

Planning for back-to-school just got easier with this carefully curated list of ideas, tips, suggestions, and resources for your secondary classroom – in any subject!

1) Teacher Planning and Organization: Calendars, planners, notes, Oh My! The list goes on and on for what the teacher needs to get organized and feel ready-to-go for the first days of school. For me, that’s my planner and my high-level curriculum map. In the past it has been hard to find a planner perfectly suitable to the unique schedules of the secondary world, so I made some. And then I made some more! Now I have a fun line of different themes tailored specifically to the various schedules in a middle or high school – in traditional and digital formats.

Choose a planner that works for you, and get comfortable with it. I like a planner that is only for planning because it helps me keep focused. Watch a quick Facebook live video where I explain how I set mine up, and I also wrote a blog post explaining how to get the most out of your planner. Read that post here.

My friend Lauralee over at Language Arts Classroom wrote about her process for classroom organization over on her beautiful blog. You can read her ideas here. And her back-to-school pack of goodies will establish consistency in your secondary classroom from the first day of school with this organizational bundle. Included are an editable presentation covering routines, procedures, and expectations; hallway passes; a parent letter; Google Classroom Backgrounds, and syllabus. The design is clean and simple and made with older students in mind. So pretty!

2) Classroom Decor: Decorating and organizing my classroom is probably one of my favorite things to do to get me in the mood for back-to-school. I don’t always do a lot with decor each year, but I always try to bring in one or two things new. I’ll pause here to address the camp of people that say, “It’s not about the room. The kids just want to meet you, the teacher.” That’s true… to some degree. However, I think the room needs to be as clean and organized as possible to create a welcoming environment, but I think the aforementioned sentiment comes from the place where teachers go regarding overspending and unhealthy comparing. To read more on that topic, swing by this blog post: How my trip to Magnolia Market helped me prepare for back-to-school. With that said, I’d love to share some cute student-centered and student-created classroom decor supplies and ideas. If an activity can double as classroom door (AKA – the kids create it and I don’t have to), then that is perfect to me. For all my secondary math friends out there, take quick trip over to Math in the Middle’s blog and read her post on setting up your middle school math classroom. She has tons of practical ideas and pictures! Scaffolded Math and Science does just that for her middle school math classroom with her back-to-school math pennants. Some pennants ask students to fill in information about themselves (name, birthday, favorite color, favorite class), some have numbers of the Fibonacci Sequence within the Spiral, and others are more open-ended for coloring or adding what you’d like to see on the pennants. Super cute!

O Some Great Stuff for English Teachers has her students create “Share Your World” globes that reveal their true identities. Perfect classroom decor and icebreaker all in one! I typically have my freshmen do a Soundtrack of their Life, but I think I’ll add this activity in as well!

The growth mindset trend continues to grow, and I think that’s because it’s actually something that makes sense and works! Chalk Dust Diva has a no-prep set of posters she made for any subject at the secondary level that you could use a million different ways! Promoting growth mindset is also an excellent way establish a positive classroom climate, and Chalk Dust Diva has a creative presentation and reading lesson that will teach your student what it means to have a “growth mindset” and how the views and beliefs they have about themselves impacts the decisions they make and the lives they lead.

Sometimes just putting a few posters around the room will help spruce things up a little, too, and I love reminding students that how we treat each other is so important. Grab my free anti-bullying awareness posters here. They are super easy to print and go!

3) Housekeeping: We all have to satisfy requirements from admin, ensure communication with parents, track data, make sub plans, keep attendance, and more. Here are a few resources to help make all that easier. Math by the Mountain keeps office hours, and she posts them for students and parents. This idea really helps students respect boundaries and take ownership. Elly Thorsen fixed up a parent and student survey in English and Spanish, which I think is awesome to already have that done! It provides information about how to contact family members, the strengths and areas of need of the student, and other helpful information to know as a teacher.

Unfortunately, a major issue we have to plan for is absenteeism. Free to Discover created a cute set of absentee slips to help students stay organized if they have been out. They are free; grab them here. I also write weekly assignments on the board each week and post the list on the Google Classroom stream. Having a method for tracking data is another item on our back-to-school list, and I like to set up a way for that to be student-centered. Take a quick look at a blog post I wrote about how I track data. It’s super simple, and best of all — it’s authentic and collected by students! Read that post here. Grab my data pack here… or get it in a money-saving bundle of other great back-to-school goodies for any subject at the secondary level here.

Sub plans are another item on my back-to-school to-do list as well. I usually grab the matching Sub Plans label (from the planners I make) and fix up a new 3-ring binder with the daily schedule, class rosters, seating charts, and school emergency plan. Then, I’ll add a few emergency lessons in another section just in case of an unexpected absence. In my high school English classroom, I typically use my Hot Topics Info Text lessons because they are no prep and have the substitute instructions sheet included.

4) Classroom Climate: From the moment students step foot in the classroom, they need to feel welcomed. Even though, we may not as secondary teachers do a hug or high five with each student who enters, we can set a positive and inviting tone. Icebreakers and team building games play a role in creating a welcoming environment for students. Teens love to talk, but they are pretty insecure when it comes to speaking up and out in class. These conversation starters from Pathway 2 Success are a flexible way to get kids chatting. The 170 task cards are the ideal mix of questions regarding self, home, friends, school, family, and beliefs. They would be awesome to help students share information, open up, and begin to form positive relationships.

Escape games are still really hot right now, and I know my kids would love to participate in one as an icebreaker on the first day of school. Presto Plans won’t let her middle school students zone out on the first days of school! Her back-to-school zombie escape game is highly engaging! It can be used in English class as it incorporates some ELA skills, but can also work for any other subject.

Lit with Lynns created one that will work with any class. Her game includes a crossword puzzle, a completely EDITABLE syllabus accompanied by a syllabus scavenger hunt, and a get to know other students activity. I love that it’s a quick 3-puzzle game, so it doesn’t take up too much time, but lets kids have a little fun! Barraug Books and Curriculum goes old school for her back-to-school team building game: Cup Towers. While students are racing against the clock to build the tallest cup tower, you are evaluating their strengths and interpersonal skills. It’s a win-win!

Since I’m not a science teacher, it didn’t even occur to me that part of setting up a classroom climate should include safety measures until I saw this science lab for teaching science lab safety from Strawberry Shake! This resource contains everything you need to get your students started safely in your lab or science classroom, and I think your middle school science kids would love it.

Andrea from Right Down the Middle has a cool idea for incentives, which an excellent tool for positive classroom management. Students are able to earn reward incentives through their kind deeds, actions, and performance in class, then they cash them in at various times during the year.

Bell ringers are probably the #1 activity teachers need in their toolbox to set the stage for class right from the beginning of the year. Part of classroom climate, to me, is structure and order. Bell ringers say to students: We are going to be serious about work and have purpose in this class. Content-specific bell ringers are meaningful for your subject matter, and they teach students to get busy and orderly right from the start of class. Spanish teachers can also set things up for each day of school with Angie Torre’s Spanish Bell Ringers. They are packed full of tasks to challenge your high school students. I love use to grammar bell ringers with my high school English classes. Ten minutes each day covers a lot of ground in grammar, and my students are working from bell to bell.

Last but not least, are the classroom rules… but going over classroom rules doesn’t have to be boring! I created these fun emoji puppets that I use every year with my high school students on the first day of school.

If setting up station rotations is more your idea of fun for addressing classroom rules and procedures, check out of a few of these ideas: With Tween Spirit’s back to school stations, students search the syllabus, take selfies, and more. Room 213 sets up stations, too, and she has students setting goals, meeting classmates, and learning rules.

5) Activities and Lessons: A teacher can never have too many back-to-school activities, in my opinion. It’s like a girl with her shoes – something to match each outfit and/or situation. If you are like me, once you do a few icebreakers and go over classroom rules, you are ready to get to work. A good place to start is with review. Real Lessons for the Teenage Mind has a bundle of review activities for English skills that would be perfect for your middle school students because they combine authenticity, movement, competition, and collaboration to make sure your students stay engaged and build a positive classroom culture in the first week. I like to use my 100 Words Every High School English Student Should Know list as a pre-test to see where students are with their Tier 3 Vocabulary. Science teachers can review key terms and even lab safety with The Lab’s Back to School Science Color by Number Activity Bundle.

If you teach middle or high school Spanish, you are going to love The Stress Free Spanish Teacher’s Spanish Llama Mystery Pictures. We all have that crazy picture day right at the beginning of school, and these are so clever. I laughed out loud when I saw them!

Once the first few days are over, then what? Start looking at long-term units and units that build on each other through the year. OCBeach Teacher has her students working on writing prompts that encourage students to think critically about situations requiring problem solving. Teacher of any high school subject who want to get in more reading and writing this year could take a look at my no prep Article of the Week Resource. Reading pedagogy suggests that students are most successful with a text when they revisit it more than once with a different and meaningful purpose each time. The “article of the week” approach does that. Get ready for standardized reading assessments and improve your students’ reading and comprehension skills a little at a time week over week!

I also love this email etiquette mini unit from Reading and Writing Haven. She said, “You might be surprised to learn that 91% of people check their email daily. It’s a real-life skill. Email is the #1 app used on a smart phone. In short, email matters. We need to teach students how to represent themselves well when communicating in this genre.” Melissa is passionate about helping teachers help kids gain the skills they need to function in the real-world, and this mini unit is the perfect way to set kids up for success during those first days of the year.

Luke Rosa from Students of History says, “As all teachers know, it is [going to be] a long school year. Over the course of [the next] 180 school days, there are bound to be point where both you as a teacher, and the students, are burned out, bored, or just otherwise not excited about the curriculum.” Bookmark his blog post, “6 Awesome Insta-Worthy Classroom Activities.” I plan to visit it throughout the year to give myself a little boost when the activity idea bank starts running low.

Here’s to a great school year. Please feel free to link up in the comments what you use and do successfully for back-to-school!

Love this content? Join a group! There are already tons of ideas, freebies, and fabulous teachers in my new groups, and joining is simple. Just click over to the following links, answer a few questions, and voila! Thanks again for following along my classroom stories and small-business journey, and I really do hope you to see you over in my new “backyards” where we can chat and share all things English and Yearbook.

Written 7/2019

Cover Photo Matt Raglan

Benefits of Google Classroom

A second title to this blog post could have been: Benefits of Blending Google Classroom with a Traditional Classroom. To elaborate, I teach high school English in a rural school district in the south. Every student doesn’t have his/her own iPad or Chromebook, but most have smart devices, and we have department sets of Chromebooks we can check out. We also have several labs throughout the school. So, when I use Google Classroom, it’s as an extension of my own traditional, four-walls classroom. That means my students still have textbooks, but we use GC for posting video tutorials and audio links to books. I still print worksheets for grammar each week, but I can use GC to send home virtual practice quizzes. I still lecture live in class with my PPT slides and students take notes, but with GC I can post key slides for review. Presentation days are streamlined now as students turn in their projects to the Assignment tab, but I still grade using a hard-copy rubric. In that way, GC as allowed me to enhance and improve instruction, organization, more. Here are five ways a blended traditional and digital classroom benefit my students and me in my secondary classroom.

1) Easy Set Up – I set up my virtual classrooms as soon as I know my teaching assignments. Navigate to your Google Apps, and find the Classroom Tab. Once inside, just click the + sign by your picture to add a class. You can customize those pictures at the top as well using the free pictures included! GC will automatically generate a code for each class (find it in settings); all you need to do is copy it or project it and go. I like to put that code on my syllabus, and on the first day of school, I have my students join my Google Classroom. If students don’t already have the GC and email apps installed on their phones, I have them do that then, too.

2) Communication – This piece is critical for me as GC allows me to communicate with my students easily and creatively, and it offers another channel for communication with parents – automatically. With GC, I can enter parents’ email addresses for each student (or your school might already have them entered), flip the parent/guardian switch to “ON,” and GC will automatically send email summaries to my students’ families…I don’t have to do a thing! If you don’t see this feature, be sure to ask your school admin to turn it on. Word of caution: If you are entering parent/guardian emails, make sure you are sending info to the correct legal guardian. The emails aren’t two-way, but I still love that families get a snapshot of what we’ve done each week.

Communication with my students through GC is the ticket. I can post to the stream reminders, notes, pictures, videos, weekly schedule/calendar, etc. and they get a notification when I’ve done so. I also like that with the students the communication can be two-way, if you set your classroom up like that. I do leave it open for students to post and comment on the stream, but you can decide what works best for you. I also use GC as an extension of my classroom for discussions. Using the Question feature or just by posting on the stream, students can have virtual discussions beyond the walls of my traditional classroom. They can ask me and each other questions, and since students are very responsive to notifications on their devices, they often get immediate answers.

3) Snazzy Features – I’m not really a gadget-lover type person, but I think of the features in GC as cool gadgets! The first snazzy feature in GC that I like – probably the most – is the scheduling feature. I am crazy, crazy busy during the day (shocking for a teacher to say that, right?), so being able to schedule several posts and/or assignments at once when I finally get (or make) some time makes my life so much easier. For example, I like to send home a “Flipped Classroom” grammar video on Tuesday nights for students to watch in prep for the worksheet on Wednesday. I already have a list of the videos I want to use, so with the scheduling feature, I can post several of those at once.

Another cool tool I like inside of GC is what I call the “Student at a Glance” sorting feature. When you click on the “People” tab, you see all of your students in a class. From there, you are able to click students one at a time, and all of the assignments, completion, grades, etc. show up. It’s perfect for conferencing, make up work, etc.

GC has made the movement to more digital/virtual resources a snap with the “Make a Copy for Each Student” switch. While most of my classwork is still traditional paper and pencil, GC has allowed me to move to a few virtual assignments. For example, when my students are researching for a major writing assignment, I have the computer cart booked, so the logistics work out for GC classroom to play a larger role during that unit. Since students are researching online, I created digital note cards on which they can collect their info. It’s easy to pull the file from my drive and “Make a Copy for Each Student.” That way we aren’t all making changes to the original, and I don’t have to change any URLs. The same is true for my yearbook bell ringer workbooks. I’ll schedule several weeks’ worth in advance, make a copy, and students will have them right in their own drive ready-to-go when class starts!

4) Organization – Keeping up with late work and dues dates is so easy with GC because you set all that when you create an assignment. I also love that all student work is submitted and stored in the assignment you create, so grading, responding, and presenting is so easy. GC also automatically makes folders in the Drive for each assignment, too. A new feature I love is the “Create a Topic” option, which takes the organization to a whole new level. Not to mention – the differentiation options that opens up: Create topics for varied levels of readers (with cute names/colors, etc.), post certain assignments in that topic, let them know what topic they are to click on, and set students on their individualized way.

5) Feedback – As a writing teacher, feedback is critical. However, with 75-minute periods and often 25+ students in a class, I can’t conference with all of them as in depth as I’d like – or as often as I’d like. With GC, I create an assignment for their draft, and then I can use the Suggestion feature in Docs or Slides to make comments. This is also a two-way feature, so students can respond and reply to me there. Of course, virtual feedback doesn’t replace traditional face-time, but it does help get the conversation going and allows me to provide very personalized instruction. You can read more about my feedback process on writing here.

PS: If you haven’t ever used the Comment Bank via Docs or Slides, run – hurry – use it! You can save your most-used comments, and I took that to the next level by adding links to videos and tutorials on the most common grammar and writing mistakes I see. Doesn’t that sound amazing? If you’d like to automate that process even more, take a look at my Essay Grading Annotations for Feedback in Printable and Digital format so all you have to do is copy and paste!

We are a Google school, so all of our teachers and students have a Google email address, and we had access to Google suite, classroom, etc. for a while before I was “ready” to give it a try. (I’m a little slow to jump on a bandwagon.) Once I did, though, #gamechanger. Share your best GC tips below!

Love this content? Join a group! There are already tons of ideas, freebies, and fabulous teachers in my new groups, and joining is simple. Just click over to the following links, answer a few questions, and voila! Thanks again for following along my classroom stories and small-business journey, and I really do hope you to see you over in my new “backyards” where we can chat and share all things English and Yearbook.

Written 7/2019
Coffee photo created by freepik – www.freepik.com

Interview with a First-Year High School English Teacher

This past semester I had the honor of meeting Megan Ryan, who began her teaching journey in the school where I teach. My first year was a long time ago 😉 — another place and another time. So, when the year came to a close, I really wanted to pick her brain. Learning from each other’s experiences — successes and struggles — is what makes us grow as teachers. For this blog post, I’m breaking my traditional “fast five” format to bring you Ms. Ryan’s responses in her own words; I loved her candor and detail.

Meet Ms. Ryan:

1) Describe your teacher-education experience.

I went to a private Christian school (Lee University). They have a fantastic education department, although there are many things I wish they had better explained to me before becoming a teacher. For example, I began teaching with very little knowledge concerning practical things that may come up in the classroom. I think a lot of things you just have learn from experience, though. Student teaching was very helpful, as it gave me a better idea of what to expect as a licensed teacher. By “practical things” I just mean things like how much contact I should have with parents, how differently (if any) I should grade work that is turned in by students with learning needs/disabilities, how harsh consequences should be depending on the rules broken… smaller things of that nature. Most of those things are up to me to decide about, but I didn’t think about many of these smaller details until the time came where I was faced with making a decision about them.

2) What are your thoughts about teaching in a rural school district?

I attended a relatively large suburban high school, but I really enjoyed my experience teaching in a rural school. There are, of course, pros and cons to teaching in a rural school. A rural school district means less funding, and that can be difficult. I loved having smaller class sizes because I felt that I was able to better get to know my students. I think that teaching in a rural school my very first semester of teaching was a bit less intimidating than a city school would have been, mainly because of the smaller setting.

3) Were there things you needed/wanted and didn’t have?

For the most part, I had everything I needed. There were several times when the copy room was out of paper, or something of that nature, but it was always a situation where I could just improvise my instruction. I did an independent reading unit with my students, and this was a little difficult because the library didn’t have as wide a variety as I would have liked. I ended up bringing all of the young adult books I own so that my students had a wider selection to choose from.

4) Most useful “teaching tools” to you as a first-year teacher.

A few resources I found useful were the Remind app and Google Classroom.

5) What did you feel prepared for… and not prepared for?

I felt prepared for the amount of grading and lesson planning–student teaching prepared me for that. I felt less prepared for managing my classroom. As a student teacher, my cooperating teachers handled most of the management because they chose the rules, procedures, and consequences.

6) Describe and explain one lesson that worked… and one that didn’t.

One lesson that worked: poetry stations! First, I modeled how to annotate and analyze a poem. Then, I had stations set up for students to annotate and analyze a poem that was inspired by the poem that we had read together. Each station had thorough instructions. Each student had a poetry packet with one page for each station. I had 5 stations: reading and analyzing, rhyme scheme and format, figurative language, vocab and word choice, and poetry comparisons (comparing the poem we read as a class to the poem they read that day). I was amazed at how engaged the students were during each station. I think they were able to make sense of the poem because of the way it was broken down into smaller tasks.

A lesson that didn’t work: argumentative speed debating (on Valentine’s Day). I was so excited about this lesson during our argumentative writing unit, but it just… flopped. I had two rows of desks set up so that students would be paired with a partner who was sitting across from them. I read a topic out and they had one minute to “argue.” They would then rotate so that they were with a different partner for each topic. During my first class, I realized that students were NOT as excited as I was about moving around and arguing their opinions. No matter how enthusiastic I was, they just would not debate with each other.

7) What did you learn about classroom management?

I learned–quickly–that in order to successfully manage a classroom, there must be specific rules and consequences. I’m an easygoing person, but this will not always work as a teacher. Once I realized that I was having problems because of the lack of specific rules and consequences, I went over more specific regulations with my classes. I saw a drastic change in behavior.

8) What did you teach?

I taught three regular English 9 classes. My largest class was 26 students.

9) What will you change…. not change next year?

I would like to continue having at least one unit where students are able to choose their own reading material. I believe that giving them a choice about what they read is the best way to plant a love of reading in students. I had several students who claimed to hate reading find books that they fell in love with. This only happened because I allowed them to choose their own books. I definitely want to change the way I handled classroom management. I learned that it is crucial to set clear rules and consequences the very first week. Kids need structure and guidelines just as much, if not more, than we do.

10) What else can you add to help new (and other) teachers?

My advice for other new teachers is to ask for help and advice from experienced teachers. I wish that I had asked more questions in the beginning because it would have saved me from making a few mistakes. However, know that it is okay to make mistakes. There is much knowledge in the world of teaching that you’ll only gain from experience. I still have so much to learn!

It is my hope that first-year teachers and veteran teachers alike will enjoy reading about this experience. As I reflect on what Ms. Ryan said, it helped me realize a few things about my own experience as an educator. It’s not always easy to say what doesn’t work, but admitting it is the only way to repair it. On the flip side, we often don’t give ourselves much credit either when things go well. Last, teachers need to work together: I have so much to learn from new teachers coming into the profession, and we veteran teachers need to do more to ensure first-year teachers are mentored, encouraged, and supported. Thanks again, Megan, for sharing your experience. Best of luck to you and all first-year teachers!

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Written June 2019

What My Trip to the Magnolia Silos Taught Me About Teaching

My husband and I visited Waco to tour all things Magnolia back in June. It was an amazing trip — I love going on trips to new places because I can let my brain relax, and I feel so inspired. Magnolia was no exception – inspiration is everywhere. So, I said I can let my brain relax, but what really happens is that it just gets filled up with all kinds of new ideas at every turn because of all the awesomeness around me. Chip and Jo have truly built an empire that personifies their greeting “Welcome Home.” If you read my previous blog post where you toured my classroom, then you know my classroom theme is the journey, but it’s focused on reminding students that home is at the center. It doesn’t get much more perfect than that for inspiration. So, here’s what my trip to Magnolia taught me about teaching – and you’ll see that these are things I can do in my classroom, changes and implementations and thought processes that require nothing from admin or anyone else – just me.

Make my classroom a place where “Everyone has a seat at the table.” The first place we visited on our trip was Magnolia Table, the newly renovated restaurant. We had, of course, watched the episode where they remodeled it, and I remember Joanna discussing how she wanted it to be a place were all people could come together and enjoy great food and great company. The restaurant is beautiful, as expected, and she has a variety of seating arrangements. Above one of the larger community tables is the beautiful metal artwork sign made by Jimmy Don that reads, “Where Everyone Has a Seat at the Table.” It has a huge presence in the restaurant, and it spoke to me immediately. The students who come into my classroom are from all different families, friend groups, backgrounds, experiences, and ability levels. Because we are a very small, rural school, a lot of times we do know each other’s names at least, but when I think about a table symbolically, there’s so much more there with that idea. To me, it reminds me to get to know the students beyond that and see from their point of view, and I want them to do that for each other, too. I want to invite all voices to speak in discussion. This one is especially difficult because students are so shy or uncertain or they think what they have to say isn’t good enough. I work for weeks getting all kids to open up. Sometimes I have to just sit and wait – it’s that important. When I make worksheets, I need to represent as many different types of students as possible. Reading selections should be carefully curated so that all students have an opportunity to see themselves and see others. I want them to know that when they walk into my classroom that they – each student as an individual – has a place.

Take something that seems like it’s nothing and make it great. If you watched Chip and Jo’s show, Fixer Upper, then you know they are in the construction business to buy houses and fix them up to sell. Many of the houses they have chosen to remodel have been forgotten by the masses. Nobody has “the guts to take on a fixer upper,” so these houses with beautiful bones are just rotting to the ground. My husband and I do some work with construction and remodeling, and often times we get into some we want to run from. But, we have to step back and see the potential- it has good bones, they say. This one hits home hard when I think about the students in my classroom. From struggling learners to excelling learners to the well-behaved student to the trouble-maker, there’s always something that can be transformed in them. It’s when I had the struggling learners for so many years that it sometimes became hard to even want to look for the potential. We sometimes want to run in the other direction or complain about what students come into our classroom. Eventually this became my prayer: God, place the students who need me to see them and their potential in my classroom and give me the grace and strength to get the job done. Any kid who comes into our classroom has the ability to grow and be transformed, and we have to be willing to pick up our tools and go to work. I don’t want to run from the challenge, but rather I want to be part of the before and after – the amazing reveal – at the end of the year. I’m honored to have been selected and placed in the role of having a small part in helping to build these students into who they will be someday.

Seek feedback and put it to use. At breakfast, we had a lovely conversation with one of the managers who was a friend of Joanna’s mom. She, of course, asked us about our breakfast (which was amazing. More on that later.) She told us that since they are relatively new to the food industry, they are always learning. Part of that process, she said, is gathering and implementing feedback. At Magnolia, they ask visitors to give feedback via their website, and they have learned everything from how to improve processes to what new items to add to the menu. One of the things I’ve learned over the years is to ask my students their thoughts on lessons, assignments, projects, the novel excerpt, etc. So how does that look? After we finish a lesson, I ask them what else do they need to know or do to have it. After a virtual discussion with them on their thesis checkpoints, I’ll ask them was that enough help. Do they have enough info to go forward? After we finish a project, I’ll ask them was it interesting, helpful, useful, etc. I ask them what works and what doesn’t. Some responses aren’t helpful, but most actually are. I genuinely want and need to know what I can do to help them. Plus, this process helps them to help themselves, too. The process of me asking for feedback teaches them not only how to think critically from outside an assignment, but it also shows them that I genuinely care and value their role in their own learning and in my teaching. It lets the wear the teacher tool belt, of sorts.

Differentiation is a must. I have been having health issues for some time, and at the beginning of the year, I found out that I was going to have to change my diet completely. I am now 100% gluten free, and I also have to stay away from certain foods that aren’t low FODMAP. It has been a process, and in many cases I can’t enjoy what others are eating. So, when I’m traveling I’m always apprehensive about what choices I’ll have. Magnolia is obviously largely about enjoying food, but I had just planned to make the best of it. To my surprise, Magnolia Table has several amazing gluten-free options and so did the bakery! I was thrilled to be able to have the french toast and the avocado toast at breakfast (we ate there twice LOL). This was amazing for two reasons: french toast is my favorite breakfast dish and the avocado toast was one of Jo’s specials. Then we visited the bakery, and while I didn’t get to try the “wow” cupcakes (according to my hubby), I was able to select from three tasty cookies. Even one of the food trucks on the lawn at the Silos had a unique option for me to try. Now, not every dish was available in gluten free; no cupcakes were either; and not every food truck was able to make a gluten-free creation. The fact still remains, though, that some of the most important items had been differentiated. In our classrooms, differentiation is important because some kids have specific needs that must be met differently in order for them to be healthy – educationally speaking. One size certainly does not fit all when it comes to instruction. We have to offer a different creation that they can digest. That is not to say that everything we do needs to be created all anew. If I did that for every class of 28-34 students I had for three sections, I wouldn’t survive even one semester. It is not feasible to make 20 different flavors of this or that or 20 different math worksheets. What we can do is recreate what is necessary, and work to provide extra support and options on other items where time, energy, and personnel allows. Menu boards, task cards, video links, pre-annotated texts, or dictionaries all provide differentiation in ways that make it possible serve all learners without exhausting yourself. In some cases, we may even have to face that not all students will complete all tasks – but what we can ensure is that all students complete the task that allows him or her to grow and feel fulfilled.

Give them an experience. One of my biggest take-aways from my trip to Magnolia was the feeling of the environment. Not only was everything beautifully created and designed (and I loved all the shout-outs to books and literacy), but it smelled good, and it was clean. Most importantly and impressively, though, at every door there was a staff member to open it for us, smile, and say hello and welcome. Welcome. The feeling of being invited and wanted. I want my students to know they are welcome and wanted. Like I said before we are in a very rural area where many students live in transient housing and family lives are unstable, but that could be true in any demographic. Students are in my classroom for just a short time each day, but I want to be there to welcome them and let them know they are wanted. Your room doesn’t have to be beautiful or amazing, but a nice smell along with some sense of cleanliness and order does help the learning experience. It is often over-quoted, but the old saying of “People won’t remember what you say, but they will remember how you make them feel” is so true. Welcome home, students, welcome home.

As school starts soon for me… it’s almost #demoday! In fact, aren’t we all just a bunch of fixer uppers?

Sign up for my monthly newsletter – “Teaching Tidbits” – that is delivered directly to your email inbox each month. Each month you’ll get announcements, tips for teaching, updates on new and revised resources, and, of course, an email-only exclusive FREEBIE! Just for joining, you’ll receive a free gift: Worksheet Analysis Sampler for a Variety of Texts.

How My Trip to Disney Prepared Me for Back-to-School

How My Trip to Disney Helped Me Prepare for Back-to-School

My family and I traveled to Disney World several years ago, and I hadn’t been there even half a day before I started feeling inspired. For me, school is pretty much always on my brain, so it’s not surprising that it came to mind even when I was on vacation! But, truthfully, there is so much going on at Disney that I couldn’t help but learn from the best while enjoying my time at the happiest place on earth. Many of these things that I noticed at Disney reaffirmed what I’ve done in my classroom for years, but it’s nice to review, revisit, and recap. Here’s how my trip to Disney prepared me for back-to-school this August.

1) You can have a happy place and still have rules. Disney is known for being “the happiest place on earth.” So how is it possible that the happiest place has rules? Oh, but they do. They want you to move left, stay inside the tape, stand in straight lines, keep your hands and feet inside, etc. Why do they do this? So people are safe and get to do what they came to do. In turn – happiness. They aren’t unreasonable rules and requests at all. However, don’t most of our students – and maybe even the public – think that rules are just for fuddy-duddies who want to put a damper on all the fun? I, for one, believe in establishing rules up front so that it’s clear what the expectations are. I don’t like to make rules that are arbitrary and just have a bunch of rules just for the sake of having rules, but there must be a set of guidelines. In my classroom I typically select 3-5 overarching rules that serve as my classroom expectations – and that are good rules to live by as well. Too many rules, and all you’ll be doing is enforcing rules, but if you don’t have some rules to control the chaos, the chaos will control you.

I’ve had the following three rules hanging in my classroom for 10 years now:

Mrs. Faulkner Rule #1: Own it and stay in your lane.

Mrs. Faulkner Rule #2: Be aware of your surroundings.

Mrs. Faulkner Rule #3: Make a way, not an excuse.

You might notice I don’t have rules about gum, food, phones, etc. Now I do talk about these specific items on the first day. Check out my fun Classroom Rules Emoji Puppets for doing just that! I’ve learned if students are following those governing guidelines above and if I’m doing my job of actively teaching and facilitating each period, we can have a successful and happy place.

2) Schedules, plans, routines, and structure are necessary for things to run smoothly, for things to get done, and for everyone to feel good about it. Disney has everything planned down to the minute, and there is very, very little interruption to the plan. If you think about how much they have going on to make the parks the happiest places on earth, it’s critical to establish and maintain routines. They have a plan for shows, parades, buses, rides, fast passes, rain delays, and more. They even publish specifically when and where the characters will appear. Now think about how much we have going on in the classroom: attendance, lunch count, signing field trip forms, turning in lesson plans, differentiating, signing devices on the wi-fi, providing make-up work, collecting homework, passing out tasks, assigning groups, scheduling conferences, RTI, passing out a Band-aid, and on and on. Imagine if there were no plan for how to take attendance or how to pass out papers, etc. It would be chaos, kids would know you had no plan, and you wouldn’t get anything done. I am probably an over-planner or over-scheduler, but I do have a plan for every minute of my class period, every day of the week, and even an extended plan for the month. I have routines for turning in papers, passing out papers, getting in groups, and so forth and so on. Now, no plan, routine, or schedule is any good if no one knows what it is. That’s why Disney has the published pamphlets up front each day and even an app. The first few days of school, I talk about my classroom routines and schedules. We even practice, so they know what to expect. Some may argue that it takes up precious time at the beginning of the year, but it SAVES so much time later on. Plus, I just work them into what we are doing so that it feels natural. Each week I write the daily schedule on the board, and each day, I go over the daily plan with students before we start the lesson. We are all on the same page that way and can get moving.

3) Kindness and smiles matter. There are so many opinions about whether or not to smile at students right away or be overly kind to them. I would even say that my own opinion here has evolved over the years. The people who work at Disney wear a smile as part of their uniform – and maybe they are just genuinely happy to be there. I mean, if I were a Disney princess instead of a high school English teacher, then maybe I’d be all smiles all the time, too. But I chose to be an English teacher – I want to be there. So why wouldn’t I let my kids know that with a smile? So can you be kind and smile AND maintain a professional image and relationship with students? Absolutely – yes. I am 100% not my students’ friend – not in any way, shape, form, or fashion. That doesn’t mean, though, that I can’t – or won’t – be kind to them. That also doesn’t mean that I have no classroom management either or that I’m crossing any lines or that I’m not stern or won’t correct them. Believe me, I have plenty of lines drawn. Kids of all ages crave kindness, and for the 90 minutes that I have them each day, I need to find ways to show kindness. And going back to the idea of really wanting to be there – I do and I like to see kids learning and hear what they have to say. That makes me smile. They make me smile. So from the first day of school to the last, I greet them at the door and smile. I say please, thank you, and great job, and I really mean it. Smiles are contagious – give one and get one!

4) Have a grand finale, but start with the fire fingers. The best closing show at Disney this year, in my opinion, was the Fantasmic show at Hollywood Studios. I loved all the closing and opening shows at all the parks because Disney doesn’t ever do anything halfway, but the HS park show had several things that really spoke to me in terms of back-to-school. If you’ve seen the show, you know that it opens with lights and music – it’s the best and biggest lead at any of the shows, and so you are expecting something really, really great. Then up from a mountain on a stage far, far away pops up a teeny, tiny Mickey. Granted, it was a live Mickey and not a projection or puppet, but he was so, so small. I guess I was just expecting more. Then several minutes of almost nothing go by and out of nowhere, he starts to dance and shoot fire from his finger tips!! That is a new level of spirit fingers, folks! Immediately, I was in. Why didn’t they start with that? Why didn’t they start with the fire fingers? The lead in was good and it got me interested, but then it was a huge let-down – until minutes later when Mickey whipped out those fire fingers. When I think about applying this experience to my classroom this year, I was reaffirmed that I must start and end the lesson with something great to get my students’ attention. It certainly won’t be fire fingers every time – or ever LOL! – but it needs to be relevant to activate their learning and draw them in – and keep them in – before I lose them. The law of primacy and recency says you remember the best whatever is at the beginning and ending. I’ll carefully plan bell ringers this year and exit tickets with specific purpose and pizazz so they aren’t just a waste of time or means to an end or a way to check a box. For me, that will look like carefully chosen daily grammar practice because my junior and seniors have ACT on the brain. For yearbook, it will be inspirational photos and team building tasks. To end, I’ll be sure to have students review the lesson and make their own connections. The beginning and end really do matter and make meaning. Every day won’t be “on fire” – that’s just going to be a reality – but this reminded me I do need to bring it to the best of my ability day in and day out.

5) Keep the focus and purpose in mind. I went to Disney with my family and two nieces – nine and three. The girls are super familiar with most Disney characters, and those we knew they weren’t interested in, we didn’t spend much time at. But there was one show we went to and about half way through, my three-year-old niece asked, “Who is that?” We all knew who it was and hadn’t even thought that she might not know. At that moment I realized that might be how our students feel when we present knew material to them. Sometimes we take for granted they know it. Because I have a very tight schedule, I can’t afford to spend time teaching material they already know, but I also can’t afford for them to be lost and have to rush and make it up later. So, at the beginning of the year, I always give a pre-test of 100 words that every high school English students should know. These are words from the CCSS, standardized testing words, and other words that are specific to English. Also, it’s really important to share with students the purpose of the lesson or activity for the day. They need to know why they are learning it and how it connects with the larger purpose. I usually explain it so explicitly to them so that they could tell anyone who comes into the class period to observe or anyone they talk to after class.

At the end of the day, Disney is in the business of making dreams come true. But we teachers are, too. In fact, the biggest of dreams are in our hands. What an honor and privilege to have that role in someone’s life. As I prepare for back-to-school this year, I want to make as much a magic in my classroom each and every day that I possibly can. Here’s to a “Soarin’” kinda year, and not a “Hollywood Tower of Terror” kinda one!

Share with me in the comments how you prepare for back-to-school.

Written by: Julie Faulkner

Formula for Classroom Success Series Post #2: Modeling

Today we are continuing on in the Classroom Success Formula Series. I am excited to be sharing today one of my favorite teaching strategies – Modeling. It isn’t new, but perhaps I can share a few new ideas that you might can use.

How many of
us would rather watch a youtube video of how to make chicken dumplings rather
than reading the written directions? I know I certainly would. There are at
least seven major learning styles, and while not everyone would prefer to see
a video, the point is, working through a process to learn something is often
much easier than just diving in head-first with no guidance. After all, how does that saying go? – Teaching is
the one profession that creates all other professions.

1) Modeling is not the same as lecturing. I’ve heard educational trainers say
that lecturing is the worst way to teach, and you should never do it. I’ve
also heard that a carefully crafted lecture is sometimes needed. I’m torn on the concept of lecturing. Personally, as a learner myself I struggle being
attentive during lectures – unless they are very quick, show me what I need,
and then I get to try it myself. I
personally lean against an “old-fashioned” PowerPoint no matter how cute it is; I just think
they are dry. However, I note that my classroom is fully of diverse learners,
and to be as effective as possible, I must provide many different learning
strategies and opportunities. I do believe, though, that a teacher’s job is not
to impart knowledge but rather to insight discovery. ‘nough said.

2) “I do/we do/ya’ll do/you do” gradual release
model of teaching. In
this model of teaching the student is active the entire time, where in a
lecture, the student is largely copying notes or just watching the teacher talk
for an entire period or a large part of the period. This isn’t a new strategy by any means, and I
love it. It is pretty much what my classroom looks like every day. If you are
new to this strategy, it goes something like this:

– “I do”: The
teacher explains and demonstrates the skill while the students follow along,
trying on their own or processing. Here sometimes I do use a PPT, anchor chart, Activ Flipchart, white board, video, or guided notes. I just depends on what skill I’m teaching.

– “We do”: In
the “we do” stage, the teacher is again modeling, but the teacher engages the
class. For example, if I am teaching paragraph writing, I will have already
written one for the students in the “I do” phase. In this phase, I am asking
for student volunteers to give me sentence starters, active verbs, or
transitions. Faster learners often step up in this phase, and I think that’s a
good way to let them lead.

– “Ya’ll do”: Common
statistics in education are that you retain 10% of what you hear, 20% of what
you read, 50% of what you do, 75% of what you discuss and 90% of what you teach. Here students
are working on an activity with a partner or very small group. I like to give them something hands-on here or with movement, so they are talking about it and explaining it to each
other. This is an excellent place to use task cards. Also, students who are too shy to
speak out in class will be more likely to ask a friend or peer in a small
group. The teacher monitors during this
time taking notes for formative assessment.

– “You do”: Finally,
this is the time where students must show they understand the skill on their
own.

How to pace
this strategy for best results? Every period is different, and so is the depth
of every skill we teach, but I have 90 minute blocks. So I set up each step for
about 15 minutes. What I love most about
this strategy, is that anybody teaching anything can use this strategy successfully
and reach every student in the class. Every teaching pack that I have available in my TpT store is designed this way. I
had the privilege of meeting Sarah Wessling at a conference I presented at last
fall, and she was just as inspiring and down-to-earth as I had hoped. See a
video on the Teaching Channel of her explaining this process. https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/improving-teacher-practice#video-sidebar_tab_video-guide-tab

3) Build confidence and eliminate
frustration. I, personally, feel really uncomfortable
cooking. I’m not horrible at it where I
burn everything; I just don’t have that special touch. So the thought of trying to cook something
new causes me anxiety. If I’ve seen someone do it, I feel a little better about
trying it on my own. I think the same is
true for students.

4) Modeling works for new concepts and
even review. When I begin to teach writing, I use the RACE paragraph. RACE is an acronym for the formula I want students to use in my
classroom when we write. I’ve seen variations of this
formula, but I’ve tweaked this one specifically to help students formulate
short, entire constructed responses and branch out to larger pieces of writing.
In my mind, it is a simple formula – to my students, it’s foreign. I once just wrote the formula on the board,
gave a prompt, and said, “Go.” The students
tried, but what they produced was not on point.
Then I was frustrated, and so were they. Now, I just go ahead and stick
to my trusty modeling technique to ensure all students are comfortable before we
proceed. I understand sometimes letting
them take off flying on their own can work, but mostly I think they just
leave the nest and fall to the ground.

How to Write a Paragraph Constructed Response, Writing For

5) Modeling also ties in with classroom
management/routines. I described my grouping snafu in the last post in this series. Again, though, it’s critical to model what we expect of students,
even if we think it’s something simple. It prevents time being wasted, and we
know how precious class time is.

Practical Tips for Surviving Back-to-School

Are you a new teacher? Or a seasoned teacher who has started to dread heading back-to-school? We’ve all been there! However, the start of the school year doesn’t have to feel like a survival of the fittest game show! Here some tips that I’ve learned (from making plenty of mistakes) and tools that I’ve used that can make going to back-to-school much less stressful. Hopefully, these tips for surviving the back-to-school season will help you get your year off to a successful start.

#1) Plan to Communicate with Students and Parents

One of the biggest battles (especially at the secondary level) is making sure everyone is on the same page. It is important to get going with the communication early on so that it doesn’t escalate into a huge problem later on. If you struggle to get forms in or homework signed all year, you will never feel caught up. I teach secondary English, and parents never seem to know when a project is due or when a report card comes out, and teenagers like to keep it that way. However, I’ve found that my students can’t resist social media and their electronic devices. There are several options available. Remind is a texting app/website that sends text messages to anyone signed up for your list. I like it because it doesn’t use my cell phone number, I can schedule the messages for right after school, and parents and students can sign up. One thing I found that works for me with different periods and assignments due, etc. is to set up different classes. Then I can do one big blast or just pick certain classes. Students have to sign up using a code the website generates, and parents see the code on the syllabus I send home. The second tool I’ve used is dialmycalls.com. There is a free trial of this one available. Also, Google Classroom will send notes to parents weekly too if you set that up. These methods are easily documented and quick.

I also love to get information from my students and parents on the first day with an informational collection sheet. It is designed to interview BOTH the student and guardian. I really do enjoy reading the answers from both points of view. You can get the editable printable and digital form in my Back to School Survival Pack!

Back-to-School BUNDLE for the First Days of School, Middle/High, Any Subject

#2) Build in Breaks for Yourself

I discovered this trick several years ago, while in survival — not thriving — mode. Every week, usually Fridays, I plan an activity that takes the pressure off of me, but still keeps the students engaged in a purposeful and meaningful way. For example, all week long I am lecturing on skills, monitoring assessments, engaging discussions, facilitating small groups, and being full-on up and going for 90 minutes straight. The kids are working, too, but I am doing a lot as well. Typically, on Fridays I plan a sneaky little breather for myself. Maybe the kids do a hands-on activity to reinforce what we did that week, and I just mingle and offer encouragement. Maybe the kids take a quiz or spend the period doing a quick writing assignment. One of my favorite things to do each week on Friday is my weekly reflection and book club meetings. The weekly reflection takes about 15 minutes, but it is the best 15 minutes! The kids are working, thinking, and talking while I am just sitting back listening, learning, and loving it! Find it in my back to school survival kit. Read more about my book club meetings here.

#3) Get to Know your Students in a Meaningful Way

It’s really hard working with people you don’t really know. The more you know someone the better the relationship is and the time you spend together is more enjoyable. I believe it is important to do some getting-to-know you activities at the beginning of the year, but not the kind that you forget and throw away after a few weeks. And certainly not ones that are just busy work. I only have so much time with my students to get everything covered, so every minute counts. I used to be hesitant to say anything about myself at all, but I’ve come to realize that it does help to do some honest sharing with students. Otherwise, all they ever know about you is what you wear each day and everything else that they imagine to be true.

Also whatever activity you choose needs to have some sort of a diagnostic component. For me as an English teacher, it is easy to fall back on a quick writing assignment or short project. I can share my own response to the writing or project, so they learn about me. If you are teaching math, think about what students could accomplish or do to show their math abilities and have a fun product that shows you something about them. I love what Solutions for Math did with THIS back-to-school Figure Me Out getting-to-know you activity for high school math students. They will be practicing equations while getting to know their teacher and peers! General tasks for the first days work very well if you have very short periods or need something quick. My back to school survival kit has several of those.

Once you done introductions and icebreakers, direct your attention to something a little more standards-driven and subject-specific. Below is one of my favorite projects to do. It was featured in the History Channel‘s teacher magazine, and it’s free! It is really perfect for English, history, or digital classes.

#4) Classroom Routines

Chaos is overwhelming and anxiety inducing. It’s frustrating for teachers and students. Over time that starts to affect your health and emotions. Decide what routines you need in your class to make each period run smoothly, start them from day one, and practice them with students. Each day, my students come into the room and do a few things BEFORE the bell rings:

Put their bags and purses on the cabinet near the door. They get out what they need and leave the bulk behind.
Check the “Take One Table” for any worksheets they need to pick up for the day. More on the “Take One Table” at this video on Instagram.
Students sign themselves in for attendance. I do that with a Google Form that I create a QR code for. Students sign in with that code on my splash screen every day. Click over to my Instagram for an explanation. Highlight linked here. (It’s after the Macbeth bulletin board.)
Get started on the bell ringer. You can read more about my bell ringers here. I love to give students responsibility before the tardy bell rings because it frees me up to greet them, eat a snack, and get anything else ready. It also allows us to waste zero time at the beginning of the period.

Some other routines I swear by are turning in papers into one place every time, labeling papers a certain way, and moving in and out of groups quickly and quietly. All these are things that I teach students during the first week of school – week, not day. It’s impossible to teach them all on one day and expect students to remember. Just add in and teach the different routines once they come up. Also, to be sure you’ve covered them all, make a list and chart out in your lesson plans what day you’ll be doing them. You can see more of my journey-themed classroom at this post.

#5) Go Home On Time

…or as close to on-time as possible. Nothing will drain you faster than staying over every single day; teachers are notorious for doing this. We work and work and lose track of time. Then we work when we get home and on weekends. I am very guilty of this myself. I feel like I can’t get it all done or am not being a good teacher if I don’t. But by Christmas I have worn myself out so much that I am either in the hospital or sick on the couch all break – true story. Our last bell rings at 3:00pm. I have been working on this the past few years. If I stay late, it is only one (or maybe two) days a week. …or as close to on-time as possible.

What’s helped me improve is having a system and staying organized. For example, at the beginning of my plan period, I run all my errands –copies, paperwork, bathroom, etc. Then I come back to my room and check my email. After that I grade any papers or create any worksheets, lessons, etc. If I work through this system and don’t backtrack or get distracted, I can usually get things done. (We’re pretending here no one knocks on my doors, calls me on the intercom, wants a meeting, or stops me in the hall.) Also, I have 75-minute periods. Nonetheless, having the system works for the most part and helps me feel accomplished. I also plan out which days I work on things such as on Thursday I plan for next week so Friday I can turn in my lesson plans. On Friday, I do a quick swipe through my room to clean and put things away. I talk about using your planning time more here in this video on my Facebook page.

Implementing the steps and tips above really can ease the back-to-school stressors. Many of the tips can even be done prior to school starting without impeding too much on your summer time. Some would say the goal is to thrive and not just survive, and I completely agree with that. However, you have to stay alive and get the point where survival is happening before the thriving can begin.

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Written by Julie Faulkner