I like to start with going out over the summer with my team so that we invest in the relationship first and get to know each other better. Depending on your outlined responsibilities as lead, you can talk with your colleagues to see what they need from you to be successful. Dropping positive notes during the school year helps lift morale!

We encourage kids to find what works for them by introducing them to multiple methods. Our upper grade elementary students are provided with a paper planner. Since we are 1-to-1 iPads, students are also encouraged to take photos of assignment boards. Finally, our learning management system, Canvas, has a calendar function that students can use. Hopefully kids will find something bc that works for them.

If kids continue to struggle, conversations with parents can help. You can also develop a Google Form to have students reflect on what they can do differently to remember homework on a daily basis. Parents can receive a copy of their student’s responses.

Have them start in their world by coming up with an idea to enhance their school or district. Students can learn about the board policies that impact them, attend or speak at a school board meeting, and write letters or create campaigns around issues they feel would improve their classroom environment. You could also connect them to institutions that might offer grants to students towards their project ideas.

Similar to Kristin’s response…even our babies are required to have 90 minutes uninterrupted for ELA. Developmentally, I think all classroom teachers would agree that that isn’t possible without A LOT of built in movement. Finding ways to incorporate motion and a variety of learning opportunities is key.

Additionally, sometimes these types of mandates can also force districts to cut minutes in other subjects like science and social studies, so finding cross-curricular opportunities is important. Using social studies as an extension of ELA has helped me break it up for my 5th graders. So many ELA standards can be covered with the writing and reading skills used during social studies. In fact, a recent Harvard University Graduate School of Education study has shown that classes who use science content as the basis for their ELA skills develop better comprehension skills!! https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/usable-knowledge/23/03/building-background-knowledge-science-improves-reading-comprehension

Especially with older kids (I teach 5th grade), it is always good to directly ask them what would help them learn. One of my students on a behavior plan has started recently showing some undesirable behaviors. I talked to him and we changed what he was working towards—from something tangible in my classroom store to free time minutes earned towards an activity with a friend.

For my 5th graders, I try to read aloud each day. I love Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, Ungifted by Gordon Korman, Lawn Boy and Lawn Boy Returns by Gary Paulsen, Savvy/Scumble/Switch by Judith Law, Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan, The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare, Gossamer by Lois Lowry, and Ben and Me by Robert Lawson. I know there are others, but these are some of my all time favorites!

UMB Bank sponsors what they call The School of Economics here in KC. Kids run businesses, create and sell products, and elect government. This trip covers our economics standards. We also do a TON of digital field trips—I just booked 4 today for later this spring! The Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration have some great trips, and many are free! Even those that are not free tend to be pretty reasonable per student.

If it’s something for use in your school district, you might check whether or not they have a print shop. Ours does (mid-to-large suburban district), and so I am able to send digital files and get them printed in a variety of sizes, laminated, bound, etc.

Another option is digital field trips. The Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (cilc.org) has a bunch that are free to places all over the US.

You can give each student a multiplication chart. As they learn their facts, they can cover up the answers in each row with a fun piece of washi tape, small stickers over each square, etc., so that having them covered becomes a fun thing, while still providing access to the ones they are still practicing.

My 5th graders and I do “Rose, Bud, Thorn”. A rose is something good that has already happened, a bud is something you are looking forward to soon, and a thorn is any negative feelings or events they want to share. It’s a good way to check in with kids and get some insight into their hearts!

Giving students sentence starters for discussion can help them see what it looks like to discuss with group members. “I agree with _____ because…”, “Can you tell me more about ____?”, “Did anyone else think _____?”, “I didn’t understand _____.”, “One connection I made to myself/the world/previous learning/a book was _____.”

I let my 5th graders draw while I read aloud. I print out pages from an adult coloring book. They can color the design or free draw in the back. I have the kids put their sheet in their ELA notebook. That way they aren’t getting up to grab it while I read. You could also do an informal exit ticket—on a sticky note have them write what happened at the beginning, middle, and end of today’s reading.

Join your teacher’s union and take advantage of their free professional development opportunities. Network with other new teachers. Ask us oldies for resources—we likely have a bunch of stuff we’ve created or accumulated that we would love to share with you!!! Ask your teacher friends at other schools to put you in contact with veteran teachers in your grade level.

Also, when we make class lists, our teachers have input. We try to make sure that each kid has one or two people that they work well with and seem to enjoy in their next grade level class. I know not all schools have the privilege of teachers having that same level of input, so if that is not something your principal does with you, I would ask them if you could suggest some pairs of kids to keep together.

As for helping students build relationships with their peers. A lot of times, if I see someone who is alone, I will ask a couple of my sweet kids to invite them to play. I also will make offhand comments such as “oh my gosh, she is so good at art! I bet since you are so creative, you guys would get along really well!“ I also try to mix groups in class so that they can work with a variety of people. At conferences, I try to suggest some possible names for play dates outside of school to parents if their child, in particular seems to be more of a loner.

I don’t think the app has that capability yet, but I will suggest it to our developers!!!

It’s a recent change, so I believe it is where posts show that have new comments added??

Great question! You also should be able to learn about us, teachers by going into our buyers. All you have to do is tap the images at the top of the app!

Found the book I have used, but it is out of print. A few of the activities from it can be found online by searching “ TS Denison plotting points”.

My 5th graders love activities where they are given a bunch of coordinates that leads them to create their own dot-to-dot. I have a book of them that are seasonal and holiday based. Google “coordinate grid pictures free” for some examples!!

I also try to bring home the chapter book I am reading aloud to my 5th graders if we have a pretty good idea we will be out the next school day. Let’s make time to read great books snuggled up in jammies and blankets!!!

of should say off

Dang it, autocorrect!! Sun should say sub; retract should say reteach. I’ll proofread better next time. Maybe. 🤞

I also try to keep as normal of a routine as possible as far as scheduled times and curriculum to be covered. However, I try to make the accompanying activities things that the kids can do in small groups or individually when possible so that the sub can wander around and help as needed. This helps when a sub comes that isn’t comfortable with a grade level or subject. I also put myself in the mindset of “I will have to retract all of this when I return”. That way, I’m pleasantly surprised on days when a bunch of the material was covered in my absence, and less grumpy on days when all the sub seemed to accomplish was to keep the blood off my carpet!!!

Not a direct answer from me, but more of a helpful tip: when I do paper notebooks using a spiral or composition notebook, I have the kids cut a triangle off the top right corner (diagonally across the box made at the top of the margin) each time we added or used a new page. This really cut down on my 5th graders who would slap foldables and notes anywhere in the spiral. They would put their finger on the blank space their cut provided and be able to immediately flip to the next clean page!!!! It sounds silly, but, man was that a game changer for me!!!!

We use Canvas as a district resource. It varies from teacher to teacher as to its use in the classroom on a regular basis. My teaching partner and I use it for our 5th graders. In social studies and ELA, most of my resources are either pdfs or created as a Google doc or slides, which are super easy to attach and have students access. On snow days, we are expected to reach out and have activities ready if our administration chooses for it to be a learning day. Most of us provide choice menus, reading assignments, and practice apps for learning on those days.

Here’s a great article… https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/ed-tech-tools-2024/

Beth, I don’t think my district currently has a policy other than those that guide use of any technology use. I have really gotten a lot out of magicschool.ai! I have been able to take different texts and modify their readability level to suit my 5th graders while maintaining the content. I have used it to create choice boards that cater to different learning styles and levels of Bloom’s, just by giving it a state standard or topic of study. I’ve also created “choose your own adventure”-style stories that guide students through a historical event m, such as the development of the Jamestown colony. I am finding it really useful as a way to create new activities for my students.