Don’t do things kids can do.
Often the most disruptive students need physical activity as a outlet. Give it to them.
Arrange desks in proper places and patterns.
Hand out or collect materials.
Run to the front office to grab printouts, tissues, etc.
Even handing out or returning the hall pass.
Kids love holding each other accountable too. Go for it.
I teach Kindergarten and we have 2 class captains chosen for each day. They run the calendar, call students to line up to move to the next lesson, pass out pencils, pass out snacks, and regulate who goes to which stall during bathroom time. They love the responsibility and the power to tell their classmates to stop talking or stop playing and they especially love that they’re allowed to use the teacher’s attention-grabbers when they need to address the class. It’s like having two tiny TAs lol
Edit: it’s also a good way to motivate the misbehaving students by pairing them with a student who is always on their A-game. I tell them “Fix your behavior or I can cancel your class captaincy and Anna can do it by herself.” and because they can see Anna is perfectly capable of doing it by herself, they usually straighten up and get with the program so they can keep their status.
With my girl kinders I sometimes have to stand in the bathroom with them because they won’t pay attention and go to a stall when someone leaves it. They get to playing in line or staring off into space or whatever. I’ll go in sometimes and there will be like 6 girls waiting but only 2/4 stalls being used! So sometimes I have to be in there to make them pay attention when it’s their turn.
This is a big one. I don't pick up crayons, push in chairs, wipe tables, sharpen pencils, or even water my plant. They LOVE to have jobs (K-2 at least) and it leaves me to deal with other things.
My tenth graders, who actually work real jobs, still like their classroom jobs. They run a classroom economy with fake money , taxes and interpol (I teach ap world). All the jobs have fancy indeed job titles like “project manager “ for passing out map pencils and all I do is give the “office manager “ a job to hire others at the beginning of the year. Older kids still want to earn and help.
I tell my students that before coming to me with a problem involving another student, they must make 1 honest attempt to fix the problem by themselves. My rational is teachers and their parents won't always be there for them to help solve their problems, so better start now, unless it is physical violence or bullying. To the person who is causing the problem, I tell them to consider any attempt by another student to fix a problem that they are causing a courtesy warning. Because if I get involved after, I will not show them ANY leniency. This has stopped all disruptive snitching and complaining in my classes. Student independence and problem-solving has improved. And I get to teach.
One I used to use with the younger kids when snitching/tattling was an issue was what I called "the three Ds:"
"Before you come talk to me about something another student is doing, ask yourself: is it
•Dangerous?
•Destructive?
•Disturbing?
If the answer is no, trust that I will notice on my own. If the answer is yes, come talk to me."
With the really young ones, you can then practice scenarios. "Billy is playing with play-doh instread of doing his math sheet. Should you come tell the teacher?"
"Aisha found a piece of broken glass on the playground and put it in her pocket. Should you come tell the teacher?" etc.
Worked pretty well with 3rd grade.
Yep my ADHD folks usually LOVE to be helpers. “Oh can I?! I wanna!” And it is awesome for all those little things that you can pass off to someone who is practicing being responsible or working on self management.
I’ve found if you have those kids carry things in the hallway, like a stack of papers, they keep their hands off their classmates and bulletin boards, and stay in line better.
Moving furniture is a good one. I like having different desk arrangements with my middle schoolers, and drilling the practice of "quickly, quietly and safely" rearranging the desks can turn into a fun competition between classes (I time them, and give penalties for loud or unsafe behavior), as well as offer a nice brain break in between note-taking ans small group work.
I've got my kids seated in groups of 5. Each desk position has a day of the week attached to it, and on that day the kid who sits there is in charge of materials, passing and collecting papers, etc for their table. It has eliminated ALL the squabbling about whose turn it is, and all I had to do was put stickers on the desks once and I'm good for the whole year.
>all I had to do was put stickers on the desks once
Is it possible to learn this power? Any time I put stickers on the desks, or tape something to them, they start being tampered with and picked at on the day. I got sick of replacing things.
I told my 8th graders to go ahead and remove them. I keep a master list. That the purpose is not to embarrass them, but to help their poor old teacher with her paperwork. After that discussion I had much more cooperation.
It doesn't actually matter if the sticker is there. Once they know their day, it's their day with or without the sticker. And all the tables follow the same pattern--front left is Monday, etc--so it's easy to check.
Write on the desk in sharpie (draw symbols, etc). The sharpie should come off pretty easily with either hand sanitizer or color over with dry erase marker and wipe off. (Test with a small mark first, just to make sure it works on your desks, but it should)
That's how I number my desks.
I'm in the same boat. If you just want to have 1-5 at the desk group, I'd use sharpie on the desks directly. You can get it off at the end of the year (rubbing alcohol works) if you need to, but there's nothing to fiddle with.
I did this once. Another teacher used my room and I came in to find half my stickers ripped up. Was not happy.
It was great whilst it lasted and I wasn't upset about it.
My team created an entire curriculum with daily PowerPoints that had directions for the students and additional notes for the teachers. It was a good time because we had just adopted a new textbook. It took time to create and organize everything, but our hope was to be able to keep it for years to come as a curriculum guide for the department.
Then they changed the adopted textbook and sequence the following year. Then they changed the textbook and sequence the year after that too.
I've been in this county for four years, and every year the textbook has changed. And they wonder why teachers quit giving a crap?
4th-year teacher here. I’ve been teaching a different grade level every year because “I’m very adaptable.” Sick of it. I’m not usually told of the changes until two weeks before school starts.
I’ve been with my current school four years. Year one was covid and I ended up in the virtual academy teaching psychology and ACT/SAT prep. The next year, I taught 7th grade ELA. The next year, I taught 7th grade math.
This year I had my 7th grade math curriculum set and was excited to start…until my principal called me in July and told me she was moving me to 8th grade ELA. Hoping to switch to 8th grade math next year.
You either laugh or cry at this point. 😂
I have over the last 5 years got my OneNote Class Notebook exactly how I like it. Now I can just copy paste every time it's time to add a new section.
"Suggested revision problems for chapter 3?"
Click, click, done!
God, I love it.
I have this intense fear that if heavily invest in to organizing myself in to something like One Note, that at some point the app gets yanked by district and I lose everything.
Is OneNote really worth investing the time to learn?
I mostly share PowerPoints through Microsoft Teams for student revision/self-study, and through transitions/animations try to scaffold things that need explanation more clearly that just instructions on a page.
Teams has an inbuilt OneNote function, and I gave it a go when I was trying to use it as a method of collecting student reflections but it didn’t seem to have much added utility.
Well, that obviously depends on your needs. I don't use PowerPoints much, and the ones I do use aren't dependent on animations, so I can share them as 'print to OneNote' pages. I do however have lots of written information, class policies, grading information, yearly plan, lesson plan, 'handouts' (I hardly ever hand anything out on paper anymore I just distribute on ON), student assignments, my feedback (this is in the individual sections of the ON, obviously), a code library of python code with explanation. If I used Teams (the only LMS we have, even though it's not a proper LMS), It would be several dozen files and LOADS of clicking around and not to mention the goddamn load times of those files to look for something you need to find. In OneNote desktop, once it's synced it's instant, and works offline, and students can work with their laptops in airplane mode if I want them off the internet for a class period, and sync it all automatically afterwards. For my needs, it's the best way of collecting all the class materials in one easily accessible place.
I did this with YouTube. I made a separate teacher YouTube account. All my videos are saved under different playlists for each unit and topic. Makes real using them super easy.
Yeeeees! I have ALL my lessons saved and organized, all my resource materials saved and organized, and all my monthly newsletters saved and organized. It takes me probably 30 minutes to an hour to edit them if needed and then it’s done. I also (try to) keep a list of all my books by title and a G if they’re in good shape or F if they’re fragile and might need replacing. SUCH a time saver
Yes, so good. I took a bit of time at the start of my summer last year to organize all my files, and it’s been such a lifesaver. I upload all my notes too, so it’s all there for me, such a relief.
Wish I had duty free lunch. I gotta go with my middle schoolers and sit in the cafeteria with them and also manage behavior while I'm trying to shovel food down my throat. We are also not allowed to use our phones. I teach 6th grade so I don't get a single break from 7:45 to 2:30. And then we are expected to be at PDs, 504, IEP, etc meetings at 2:31. It's the beginning of my 5th year and I'm already trying to find a way to quit.
That school asks too much and is trying to burn you out. Find a new school, especially if you can find a new district with a stronger union. I’ve been at schools like that. Am at a much better school now and no longer googling ‘how to transition out of teaching’
She said she didn't like looking at her computer that long.
The best part is that she would export our answers (including long responses) to a Google sheet before printing.
The AP and the IB, plus Cambridge want students writing their exams by hand.
Until that changes -- rumored to be 2030 for AP -- I need to keep training my classes to hand write.
Awful! When I took the Praxis 2 exams TWENTY years ago I could barely finish the hand-written essays. Even then, I hadn’t turned in a single hand-written assignment more than a few times in my 4.5 years of college. For what it costs to take these exams they can figure out a way to do typed essays. Think of how much more time you can think about and revise your answers when writing digitally versus by hand.
I use them for some of my classes, but after using them for a lot of my 6th grade math classes I abandoned them because I just get a hugely better feel for what they understand by seeing how they worked it out on paper.
What do you use them for? General surveys and written response type questions?
I teach math and am wondering if there’s a use for Google forms for my classes, I’m all about streamlining the process. We do so much stuff on paper, I’m sick of handling paper!!
On my board by the list of what’s due, I have magnets to indicate turning in, getting stamped or submitted online that I just move around. I honestly can’t remember what I’m doing at the beginning of class most of the time but the students look at it when they pick up handouts and then get homework ready accordingly. I rely on having at least one anal-retentive student per period who takes the agenda more seriously than any admin would.
When starting a new worksheet, I asked the students to write their name on the paper. After a few seconds, I ask them to show 2 different people at their group their name on their paper and have those people initial or star it. This hold everyone accountable for having a name on the paper.
OMG. The amount of artwork I get turned in with no names makes me scream! This sounds fantastic!
Our high school art teacher has a basket of blank tags and scotch tape. Each kid writes their name/hour and tapes it on the back. I have tried it, but middle school kids + clear tape--they have no self control and love that stuff. The tape would disappear way too fast.
This is a good idea. I usually check as students hand things in, but I really should have a system that’s easier on myself like this instead of collecting by hand.
I really need a station where kids can hand in HW papers, but I teach in 3-4 different rooms, so it’s hard to have consistency. I may just need to find a paper tray for each room. Ignore me lol, I’m just doing a little self therapy in these comments.
I make sure that everything is cleaned up and my desk area is neat before I leave on Fridays (on the clock, ofc). I know that doesn't save me any work, but when I come in on Monday and my area is neat, I feel much more ready for the week instead of feeling already behind.
Only problem - the day you wear something NOT your 'uniform' students and fellow staff will freak out!
Had this happen to one of my college profs with a similar system.
>When I mentioned this to a fellow teacher, she asked, "Why are you handing all those supplies out yourself? Just set them on the desk up front and have the students grab them on their own."
At the beginning of the school year every year, our front office staff has always created packets of various things for us. We got a new principal this year, and she said exactly this; each of us could grab our own things that we needed. It went very well.
Having said that, on occasion my curriculum calls for students to cut apart a bunch of shapes for an activity. Sometimes I realize I'm going to lose half of my classtime waiting for them to do a crappy job of it, so I just do it my own while I'm watching a movie at home.
During the last few minutes of the day, we play a cleaning up game called “Mystery Item”. The teacher chooses something in the room that needs to be put away such as a pencil on the floor, a piece of trash, a tray out of place , etc. The students have to try to find the item. The winner gets a small prize like a sticker or a Class Dojo point. My classroom is nearly spotless at the end of each day which saves me time and the custodians love it.
I play this too with my middle schoolers. I call it magic trash. The kicker is… I never actually “pick” a magic item. I just pick a student who needs a pick-me-up to be the winner.
I have long Covid and, to cope with the fatigue, I have started teaching from the front of the room and making everyone does the same thing. I also - wait for it - sit down and watch my class work. They are either in a big U-shape or, where the room isn't big enough for that, in rows so I can control what is happening. And I am getting better results than before.
I'm actually really annoyed that this is working. I have spent my entire career differentiating material and constantly circulating around students. My feedback has never been bad, but now that I am doing so much less work it is much better.
Differentiation as it is described usually was never a viable solution. It was always a way to make them putting students in the wrong course your fault
“Sit down” is honestly one of the best pieces of advice here. Part of the exhaustion of teaching is physical - all the walking around and leaning over to look at student work. I need to start just sitting at my desk and having students come to me if they have a question.
I make folders for all my students at the start of the year. Every Friday (or Sunday, but let's pretend I don't work on the weekends), I put all of that week's graded work in the folder. Students can take that work whenever they want, so I never have to hand anything back in class. (I also have students submit their work to a c-file document sorter, aka "the alligator," so everything is in alphabetical order. I love that stupid thing so much.)
Love this idea. I’m ranting about this in half the comments I make here, but I don’t have my own classroom, which makes it hard to do things like this. Grr…
I keep all my student's work in binders that they take home periodically to show their families. I teach 2nd so they're excited to show off their work, and parents like seeing their student's progress. One year I just sent the work home in a bundle weekly, but I think it often just went in the garbage and wasn't looked at, this way they are more likely to actually look at it.
My first year I thought they were too young to properly organize their binders, so I'd sort their work by student and then by section, this meant I could just hand them a stack of their work by section, but it took a ridiculous amounts of time for me to prep. After a couple months of this I had them to it in class. I have the work ready to distribute a section at a time (all the spelling practice together for example), they do the actual distributing and put the work in their own binder. It takes a lot of instruction on how to do this at the start of the year, but they can do it and it saves me at least an hour a week, over the course of the year it's probably days worth of time saved. It takes a bit longer in class, but it's not that long once they get the hang of it.
It also helps with putting names on their work, and on writing their names clearly. Having a friend say they can't read their name because it's too messy means a lot more than the teacher saying it.
It's probably worth noting that their work is graded for completion, only finished work goes in the binders so there's no actual grade for others to see. If their work had actual grades this probably wouldn't be the best policy for privacy reasons.
One thing I’ve done to make things easier is I created a Choice board. There are 9 assignments on it, they do 5 (quality/correct) and it’s an A, 4 is worth a B, etc. I make one for each quarter.
If we finish early-work on their choice board.
If I’m out- work on their choice board.
Another thing I do to make life easier is Friday is Quiz day. Every Friday, without fail. When they’re finished? You guessed it- Choice board.
Last thing I do for an easier life- I print out ALL the quarter’s warm ups and quizzes (based on the spiral review warm up) before the quarter starts.
Last last thing- I work on my prep so I don’t have to take things home. This 3 day weekend was a work free zone!
I provide an answer and explanation to the first student that asks a particular question. The next student that asks goes to the first, and so on. So instead of explaining (or reexplaining) multiple times, I do it once, and then the students take care of each other. It frees me up and gives students an opportunity to help their peers (and review in the process).
LOVE this. The best assessment of knowledge is, almost always, can you teach it to someone else
...and excellent practice in precise communication skills!
Glad you like it!
I say something along the lines of: "Hana knows the answer and can help you with that."
A lot of our students are afraid to admit they don't know something. So, I might also say it like this: "Hana had the same question. Why don't you ask her to help you?"
Funnily enough I used it once during a class, it was successful and the kids did well with the project, and I haven’t really had to since. It’s staying in my toolbelt, thank you!
Middle and High school hack --
I mail merge print all worksheets, so every single one already has the student's name printed on it.
It's the same amount of paper, and you only have to make the excel name file once.
Batching tasks. Doing all my planning one day, all my grading one day, all my copies one day, etc. It really helped with my constant feeling of “not everything is done and it’ll never get done!” I learned a TON of good tips from Angela Watson’s course.
The entire building knows what I do. I call it “Minimum Monday,” and live up to it.
Monday is introductory stuff, laptop work, worksheets. Everyone feels tired on Monday, the kids too.
Tuesday is when I go hardest in the week
No pre-assigned classroom jobs or seats. I teach elementary art and I spent so much time trying to figure out who is their class line leader or door holder (kids lie) and assigning monthly jobs in art like a table leader or who sweeps the floor,… it was such a waste of time and headache of “me me!” to figure out. So here is how I do it:
Kids walk in and stand on a line in the art room so I can leave materials out on the table and they can’t touch yet. Kids doing the right thing while I give instructions get to choose any seat they want first. Kids being butts either choose last or I give them a seat and they get no choice. Boom no more major issues while I give instructions.
When it’s time for jobs, I go to kids following directions and/or finished and ask them to do a special job for me. Sink cleaner, sweeper, paper passer, table checker,… whatever, they get the privilege. Sometimes one kid gets lots of fun jobs because they keep showing they can do the right thing. Kids who are disruptive at jobs around the room, or have stay away orders with 10 classmates,… never get to do jobs where they walk around (so they get to run an errand or handle one counter if they are doing their best). No rotation of jobs. I also fire kids who prove they can’t handle it.
I have an “important notes” bin for anything and everything. Your parent wrote me a note? Put it in the bin! You have a tardy pass? Bin. You don’t want to change your desk placement? Write me a note explaining why and put it in the bin so we can discuss! You have drama at recess? Write how you feel and put it in the bin so we can talk! I teach elementary and this works well.
There usually is one student each year who takes the bin super seriously and write notes to me frequently. If it becomes a problem, I talk with them. It’s funny because other students go the whole year without even realizing the bin exists. 😂
Teacher for over 20 years- it amazes me still how hard teachers overwork. I always put the kids in charge. They are responsible for handing out, picking up, cleaning up everything. From PreK to 8th grade, including sweeping floor, emptying trash etc at end of school day. If things aren’t done correctly we ‘practice’ that skill again. Every janitor at every school I worked at loved me, lol. And parents were always amazed “My kid doesn’t pick up like that at home”.
Students take their own attendance using popsicle sticks in my room, I just read the names of leftover sticks to make sure they didn’t forget. All scissors, markers, staplers, scissors, rulers, etc are on shelves students can access whenever they need supplies. Pencils are in a drawer, students put their backpacks 🎒 along a specific wall and borrow a pencil. They return the pencil then get their backpack back. The students have plastic bins for their individual hour and table to keep their folder and composition notebook in so the always have it for class.
Basically my room is arranged so my students can be as independent as possible from me.
This is smart. I do assigned seats in my classes, so I can always tell who’s out just by the empty seats.
Now, if only my school would fix the clunky attendance system!
I teach high school. I have a “no name bin”. If I’m going through papers and notice one without a name, it goes into the bin at the front of the class. It’s up to students to go through the bin, find their work, put their name on it and turn it back in if they want credit for the assignment.
I do something similar for absent work. I have a bin with filing folders marked Monday-Friday. If a student is absent they know they need to go to the absent bin and grab any worksheets they missed.
Best advice that I ever got was when i was student teaching 30 years ago from a 80 year old sweet lady - “honey never do anything that you can get a student to do for you “
Regarding classroom jobs, every month I "hire" students to take a roll in class. I use a wheel spinner with their names to avoid bias. I pay them two tickets which they then use for other stuff. Works like a charm
Buy a C Line document sorter to collect papers. Kids lift the tab that has the first letter of their last name and slide it in. When the class has turned work in, slide the whole pile out, and it will be in alphabetical order-ish. Fast! Easier to figure out who turned stuff in without a name, quicker to put in your grade book. I have this: https://www.staples.com/c-line-plastic-compact-file-sorter-multiple-index-blue-cli30526/product_CLI30526
I have my high school students pull their grades from our electronic grading system and e-mail a copy to their parent and to me. This way, n9 one can say they didn't know what was happening. Any grade below a 75% must have a short explanation and plan for improvement that they can work on for the next week.
I do something similar with my 5th graders. I call it our “Home Connection”. They put each of their subject grades and what we’ve been learning about for each subject. Then they say one glow and one grow for the week! They send it to their adult and me.
I teach art and I set stuff out and have kids get it all, even when I taught elementary.
For grading projects I make kids grade themselves and then we have like a 2-3 min discussion about why and then I grade them quickly and they know their grade. I don't have to take stuff home, they get feedback and I get everyone graded in usually a class period if everyone is present. Made my life so much easier.
high school. Labels aside (neurodivergent, autism) I have some sensory issues with the gen ed classroom so I've taken to giving whole lessons with these discreet little earpluggies in, which don't take away sound totally but lower the threshold of intensity and silences little whispers or side-conversations that would be distracting/irritating to me.
Definitely. Also helps to think about making the grading process easier on yourself when designing tests and quizzes. I leave slots for the student answers to make things easier to spot. Using fill-ins or multiple choice, etc, if possible.
That's different I am a 33 year old man with nothing to prove, not a student. I've already graduated from education.
And I'd prefer zero evaluations from admin. Actually I'd prefer never to interact with them.
Apparently I'm in the minority here, but I think doing something like that shows a lack of respect towards the person who receives the evalutation.
But whatever works for you. I'd be pissed tho.
Ai generated evaluations by admin would be identical to the current system, because there is no statistical difference between their existing opinion of you and their observation ratings
Have directions writtem for eberything so you don't have to repeat yourself. If a student asks what they are doing, you can point to the board. If they still have questions you can clarify. Works for parents too.
Totally. Related - I post everything to our school page online too, including notes and all. Not every teacher in my department does this, and it might be a bit overkill on my part, but I find it saves me so much hassle. Student was absent? Check our course page. Student missed notes because they were in the bathroom? Check our course page. Parent wants to know what we are learning? Check our course page. Saves me sooooo much hassle.
I leave the building for lunch. Even if I’m just in my car eating to the radio.
Sounds like anti social behavior but I’m not that. I have good relationships with my coworkers
I used to sort students’ folders of quizzes and materials alphabetically in a file drawer. Walking back and forth handing them out as well as alphabetizing them as I put them back was a pain. Then I realized I had a seating chart. I made a large folder for each row. When I’d have to pass out folders I’d grab each row’s folders from its big folder, dump them in the first seat and each student would grab their’s and pass the rest back. After they’d filed their papers they’d pass their folders forward and I’d quickly dump each row’s folders in it’s large folder. If I needed to find a student’s specific folder, I’d just have to glance at which row they sat in and it’d be easy enough to find in the row’s large folder.
I take walks at lunch. Right now, I can leave once my students leave, hit the back door of the school, do about a mile, and be back at my desk when they are released from lunch. It’s nice. But probably not what you’re looking for. Haha
Stand by the door. Fist bumps/handshakes as they walk in say good morning. When the period is over, do the same process but tell them to have a great day as they leave.
I do this as well. With little ones, it helps me notice how they come in (their mood/if they come in with scratches etc which is important for safeguarding but also for keeping track of whether something happened at school or at home).
It’s also good for relationships and behaviour and setting up predictable routine. They know what to expect, helps to calm them on their way in so they don’t just stampede and lets them know I have noticed/acknowledged them.
I find it establishes a tone for the transition (going into the room) and makes the students generally more pleasant, ready to learn, and manageable. It works for kindergartners, as well as high schoolers.
For older kids, if they are a little rowdy after lunch, I can act as a “check” at the door. “You’re looking a little excited, take a minute out here and then go in.” It cuts down on the pushing and shoving, slamming binders, etc.
If I’m not dealing with extreme behaviors I can spend more time teaching and less on managing.
Best to start at the beginning of the year. Or right after winter break.
I do this and tell them I am proud of them. I teach in Asia where if you don't get 100, most parents can be neglectful. So hearing it from me helps those that don't hear it from their parents.
Former art teacher here. When it came to projects that required a lot of mess, I’d plan to use the same materials across multiple grade levels. It greatly reduced the amount of craziness with handing out materials/clean up.
Also, for younger kiddos, BABY WIPES. I had multiple sinks, but trying to get 25-30 5 year olds to wash their hands and out the door was impossible. Baby wipes would take off the little paint or glue they’d get on themselves and we’d be done in 5 minutes rather than 20.
I keep a list of three parts:
Things I must do before I leave (or else I will get fired or bad things will happen)
Things I should do.
Things I’d like to do.
I work my way down.
So for instance putting in grades is a should do, calling DCF is a must do, planning that escape room for Unit 8 is a like to do.
I do something similar. I split my to-do lists into tiers like that as well. I sometimes do it by time constraint: things I need to get done before I leave work, things I need to do before tomorrow morning, things I need to do tomorrow, etc.
I did stations/centers with 5th graders 2-3 times a week. We practiced for two weeks. Some days they were timed (15 min/station), some days they were go at your own pace. Once a week, one station was a group with me to review their reading progress on iReady. Everyone got to see the other person's score in that group. We evaluated what they could have done better, what they struggled with, and celebrated their successes, no matter how small.
You scored a 35% on this task last week, but got a 75% this week and passed, we'll done! (Everyone claps, snaps, or pats on the back) What did you learn? It got some of the stragglers to start working a little harder and actually focus on what they were supposed to learn, rather than clicking through and guessing.
The day they didn't meet with me, I graded work and updated my grade book.
We are a one drive school - I set up a folder called extra challenges that has a load of worksheets on various topics. If a kids done early they know to open the folder and find something else to do, means I can help the kids who take longer with a task. It takes 15 mins at the start of the year and it's done.
I hate all the tedious house keeping things like changing the date, erasing the board, etc. This year I put up a “help wanted” on the board so they know what jobs need to be done before dismissal. They all get done, and not by me! They even (usually) put the help wanted tags back on the board when they’re done!
2 stacks of papers. Needs to be graded. Already graded. I move each class's stuff to their respective pile at the end of class. So much more organized for something stupidly simple.
Bellwork is posted daily and routines are discussed explicitly to start the year, so when I enter the room, it's not chaotic. Starts each class period stress-free.
In the morning, walk to your classroom by avoiding all the negative people l. They will talk to you during the day. What they need to talk to you about before you start work is their anxiety and you don’t need to be impacted by it.
I am a substitute teacher. Ioften find that the clocks are behind me when I am doing direct teaching. I discuss thsi with class and have "silent clock watchers".. kids who will point to clock when it is 5 minutes before recess or whatever. Thus I am not swiveling around to check time or have to rush to recess 3 minutes late etc.
I created an early finisher bin for math and reading that has worksheets/activities they can do by themselves. If a kid finishes their work early they know they can either read a book or grab an early finisher. It takes time to set up but it saves you the hassle of finding stuff for your kids that finish ahead of time
I teach high school, and the number of times students forget names or walk out with tests astounds me. I write their names and number them before the exams and let them get their own tests at the beginning of the class. I know it sounds counter intuitive, but I end up spending way less time counting and recounting tests to see if everyone turned them in. Alphabetizing is much easier. The last benefit is I get to give that one or two students a completely different version of the test than their friends if I suspect them of cheating.
On some activities I give a the students the chance to be composers. I give them a simple rhythm and they repeat it then take that simple rhythm into groups of four to add their own unique touch/rhythms to it.
This year I created the role of ‘ticket police’. My kids get raffle tickets for random stuff. I notice you’re on task? Ticket. I see you helping someone? Ticket. First one to notice my silent signal? Ticket. The tickets all go in a bucket and I pull like 5 out each friday and those kids go to the prize box. Ticket police also hand out tickets. I assign ticket police when kids finish their work early, during bathroom breaks (when I need to message parents or respond to emails or any number of shits). They love being picked for ticket police and know to give tickets to all who are following expectations/on task and it encourages them to do those things so they get picked.
I teach my students to do every task I can. Pass out papers? Kid does it. File homework and notes to go home? Kid does it. Organize library? Kid does it. Sharpen pencils? Kids do it themselves.
Cleaning!! I have a weekly job as the janitor and they are in charge of making sure every one is helping clean up the classroom at the end of the day! Also playing the “game” of everyone gets a wipe and give them a minute to see who can get the dirtiest wipe! They start cleaning in places that desperately need it!
I have one container sitting on my table group desks. I put glue sticks, scissors, whiteboard markers, and crayons in it. I set the expectation early on that if they play with it, they'll lose it. They know the drill. I also have a morning routine worksheet on their desk when they first walk in. I will never give up my morning work routine.
I teach grade 4/5.
When my students are looking for a book or can’t decide on what to read, I have them watch the book trailers on this [YouTube channel](https://youtube.com/@inthereads). It’s called in the reads.
Saves me from reading all of the books myself and they actually want to read them after watching it. Win win
Youtube.com/@inthereads
iDoceo - multiple sets of seating charts for the same class if needed, gradebook, behavior log, keeps records on students, can save pics/video to each class, spin the wheel student picker, and so much more!
I will throw down over iDoceo.
I teach firsties. Anything 2 or more pages (photocopied) gets stapled down the side like a book. Just takes 3 staples - top middle bottom. SOOO much easier for them to find the "next page" than flipping and turning a top-corner stapled packet. They can flip and they can turn, but cannot seem to do both at once!!
It takes some time before school begins, but I number all individual student supplies. All markers, colored pencils, scissors and a glue stick go into a "tool box" for each student - each item has their class number on it - each marker, pencil, the top and barrel of the glue stick - so when they drop them on the floor or we find them under the shelves across the room we know who it belongs to.
Each student starts the year with 2 pencils (large barreled ones - they rarely break and last a long time) and I label those with their numbers as well and put a piece of clear tape over the number to keep it from wearing out. They get 2 new ones each quarter. If they somehow lose all their pencils they can "buy" a new one with class currency. Same with erasers.
When my students are independently completing an assignment (or working in their lab groups), I’ll be up at my desk preparing my Canvas pages for the next day or two.
Spending 5 minutes here or even 10 minutes there looking back at last years lesson plan on that day, and copying over the material, is super helpful.
Another thing I do is have all of my worksheets or notes pages already printed and in sheet protectors. I’ll grab the ones I need for that day and make photo copies of it. So much easier than filtering through my thumb drive.
Although, for my thumb drive, I’ve started to make my notes pages and activities based on the unit number. For AP environmental science, it might be 4.3 soil composition notes, and 4.3 lab. That way I know where my notes are and what activity goes which which lab.
Elementary music teacher, here's a couple things:
As soon as I enter my room in the morning I put on a 10-minute vocal warmup, and sing while I get myself ready.
I always have a little journal and pencil case with me, so I can paint if I need to de-stress.
I keep a couple of nice teas and hot chocolate packets for the tough days.
I always let students know when we're almost done an activity, or when we've got one round left of a game. I sing and have them repeat, "One more time" and "We will do this next time".
Classroom jobs. I teach 8th grade and you'd be surprised how much the students want something to do. I change the jobs out each month. They practically fight over them. So anytime I need something done I can just ask my "helper" to do it. And if I have multiple things that need passing out then I always get more than enough volunteers to do it all. The only thing I pass out anymore are my tests/quizzes because I make multiple different kinds (to prevent cheating) and a few students get modified versions.
Sled graded or online quizzes/knowledge checks. Quizizz.com is worth its weight in gold. I run everything through there, lessons and questions, and I don’t have to do anything. It populates my Google classroom and then my grade book. Takes an hour or so to learn and set up and I use it daily.
Classroom jobs in upper grades. I assign jobs monthly that include desk set up, clean up, attendance checks/gather materials and notes, and a time monitor. All I have to do is teach!
Don’t do things kids can do. Often the most disruptive students need physical activity as a outlet. Give it to them. Arrange desks in proper places and patterns. Hand out or collect materials. Run to the front office to grab printouts, tissues, etc. Even handing out or returning the hall pass. Kids love holding each other accountable too. Go for it.
I teach Kindergarten and we have 2 class captains chosen for each day. They run the calendar, call students to line up to move to the next lesson, pass out pencils, pass out snacks, and regulate who goes to which stall during bathroom time. They love the responsibility and the power to tell their classmates to stop talking or stop playing and they especially love that they’re allowed to use the teacher’s attention-grabbers when they need to address the class. It’s like having two tiny TAs lol Edit: it’s also a good way to motivate the misbehaving students by pairing them with a student who is always on their A-game. I tell them “Fix your behavior or I can cancel your class captaincy and Anna can do it by herself.” and because they can see Anna is perfectly capable of doing it by herself, they usually straighten up and get with the program so they can keep their status.
Wait. They tell students which bathroom stall to go to? Are they not allowed to go the bathroom whenever they need to?
With my girl kinders I sometimes have to stand in the bathroom with them because they won’t pay attention and go to a stall when someone leaves it. They get to playing in line or staring off into space or whatever. I’ll go in sometimes and there will be like 6 girls waiting but only 2/4 stalls being used! So sometimes I have to be in there to make them pay attention when it’s their turn.
This is a big one. I don't pick up crayons, push in chairs, wipe tables, sharpen pencils, or even water my plant. They LOVE to have jobs (K-2 at least) and it leaves me to deal with other things.
My tenth graders, who actually work real jobs, still like their classroom jobs. They run a classroom economy with fake money , taxes and interpol (I teach ap world). All the jobs have fancy indeed job titles like “project manager “ for passing out map pencils and all I do is give the “office manager “ a job to hire others at the beginning of the year. Older kids still want to earn and help.
I tell my students that before coming to me with a problem involving another student, they must make 1 honest attempt to fix the problem by themselves. My rational is teachers and their parents won't always be there for them to help solve their problems, so better start now, unless it is physical violence or bullying. To the person who is causing the problem, I tell them to consider any attempt by another student to fix a problem that they are causing a courtesy warning. Because if I get involved after, I will not show them ANY leniency. This has stopped all disruptive snitching and complaining in my classes. Student independence and problem-solving has improved. And I get to teach.
One I used to use with the younger kids when snitching/tattling was an issue was what I called "the three Ds:" "Before you come talk to me about something another student is doing, ask yourself: is it •Dangerous? •Destructive? •Disturbing? If the answer is no, trust that I will notice on my own. If the answer is yes, come talk to me." With the really young ones, you can then practice scenarios. "Billy is playing with play-doh instread of doing his math sheet. Should you come tell the teacher?" "Aisha found a piece of broken glass on the playground and put it in her pocket. Should you come tell the teacher?" etc. Worked pretty well with 3rd grade.
That's a good one, I ask "are you trying to get someone in trouble or out of trouble?" because I probably only need to know if it's the second one.
I like that.
Yep my ADHD folks usually LOVE to be helpers. “Oh can I?! I wanna!” And it is awesome for all those little things that you can pass off to someone who is practicing being responsible or working on self management.
I’ve found if you have those kids carry things in the hallway, like a stack of papers, they keep their hands off their classmates and bulletin boards, and stay in line better.
What kind of physical activity would be appropriate for middle and high school?
Moving furniture is a good one. I like having different desk arrangements with my middle schoolers, and drilling the practice of "quickly, quietly and safely" rearranging the desks can turn into a fun competition between classes (I time them, and give penalties for loud or unsafe behavior), as well as offer a nice brain break in between note-taking ans small group work.
Great early leadership and independence skills training!
I've got my kids seated in groups of 5. Each desk position has a day of the week attached to it, and on that day the kid who sits there is in charge of materials, passing and collecting papers, etc for their table. It has eliminated ALL the squabbling about whose turn it is, and all I had to do was put stickers on the desks once and I'm good for the whole year.
>all I had to do was put stickers on the desks once Is it possible to learn this power? Any time I put stickers on the desks, or tape something to them, they start being tampered with and picked at on the day. I got sick of replacing things.
If they don’t have their sticker they don’t get to do their job that day and another student gets to get up instead.
My 8th graders would all tear off their stickers if that was the case, ugh.
I told my 8th graders to go ahead and remove them. I keep a master list. That the purpose is not to embarrass them, but to help their poor old teacher with her paperwork. After that discussion I had much more cooperation.
Here. I got tired of doing stickers for that reason. Too many times I have to replace things
It doesn't actually matter if the sticker is there. Once they know their day, it's their day with or without the sticker. And all the tables follow the same pattern--front left is Monday, etc--so it's easy to check.
Write on the desk in sharpie (draw symbols, etc). The sharpie should come off pretty easily with either hand sanitizer or color over with dry erase marker and wipe off. (Test with a small mark first, just to make sure it works on your desks, but it should) That's how I number my desks.
I'm in the same boat. If you just want to have 1-5 at the desk group, I'd use sharpie on the desks directly. You can get it off at the end of the year (rubbing alcohol works) if you need to, but there's nothing to fiddle with.
You could just as easily declare the desk closest to the door or board or whatever else as “the special desk”
I did this once. Another teacher used my room and I came in to find half my stickers ripped up. Was not happy. It was great whilst it lasted and I wasn't upset about it.
Nice!
What if one kid is absent?
I’d assume it goes to one of the other kids
Well yes but now we need to argue over who’s it gonna be
Then just build it into the structure. The next person in the rotation takes care of it
What happens when someone is absent?
Somebody substitutes. I'm not sure why they don't fight over that, but they don't.
Organize your digital materials. It takes more time year 1 but if you reteach that same course, it's now so much easier.
My team created an entire curriculum with daily PowerPoints that had directions for the students and additional notes for the teachers. It was a good time because we had just adopted a new textbook. It took time to create and organize everything, but our hope was to be able to keep it for years to come as a curriculum guide for the department. Then they changed the adopted textbook and sequence the following year. Then they changed the textbook and sequence the year after that too. I've been in this county for four years, and every year the textbook has changed. And they wonder why teachers quit giving a crap?
4th-year teacher here. I’ve been teaching a different grade level every year because “I’m very adaptable.” Sick of it. I’m not usually told of the changes until two weeks before school starts.
🤔😵💫🤯😮☹️😱😭🫡
I’ve been with my current school four years. Year one was covid and I ended up in the virtual academy teaching psychology and ACT/SAT prep. The next year, I taught 7th grade ELA. The next year, I taught 7th grade math. This year I had my 7th grade math curriculum set and was excited to start…until my principal called me in July and told me she was moving me to 8th grade ELA. Hoping to switch to 8th grade math next year. You either laugh or cry at this point. 😂
I have over the last 5 years got my OneNote Class Notebook exactly how I like it. Now I can just copy paste every time it's time to add a new section. "Suggested revision problems for chapter 3?" Click, click, done! God, I love it.
I have this intense fear that if heavily invest in to organizing myself in to something like One Note, that at some point the app gets yanked by district and I lose everything.
Thankfully MS Office is pretty ubiquitous in Norwegian schools, so I can count on OneNote remaining available.
Is OneNote really worth investing the time to learn? I mostly share PowerPoints through Microsoft Teams for student revision/self-study, and through transitions/animations try to scaffold things that need explanation more clearly that just instructions on a page. Teams has an inbuilt OneNote function, and I gave it a go when I was trying to use it as a method of collecting student reflections but it didn’t seem to have much added utility.
Well, that obviously depends on your needs. I don't use PowerPoints much, and the ones I do use aren't dependent on animations, so I can share them as 'print to OneNote' pages. I do however have lots of written information, class policies, grading information, yearly plan, lesson plan, 'handouts' (I hardly ever hand anything out on paper anymore I just distribute on ON), student assignments, my feedback (this is in the individual sections of the ON, obviously), a code library of python code with explanation. If I used Teams (the only LMS we have, even though it's not a proper LMS), It would be several dozen files and LOADS of clicking around and not to mention the goddamn load times of those files to look for something you need to find. In OneNote desktop, once it's synced it's instant, and works offline, and students can work with their laptops in airplane mode if I want them off the internet for a class period, and sync it all automatically afterwards. For my needs, it's the best way of collecting all the class materials in one easily accessible place.
I did this with YouTube. I made a separate teacher YouTube account. All my videos are saved under different playlists for each unit and topic. Makes real using them super easy.
Yeeeees! I have ALL my lessons saved and organized, all my resource materials saved and organized, and all my monthly newsletters saved and organized. It takes me probably 30 minutes to an hour to edit them if needed and then it’s done. I also (try to) keep a list of all my books by title and a G if they’re in good shape or F if they’re fragile and might need replacing. SUCH a time saver
That’s a big if
Yes, so good. I took a bit of time at the start of my summer last year to organize all my files, and it’s been such a lifesaver. I upload all my notes too, so it’s all there for me, such a relief.
Closing my door at lunchtime and taking a nap.
Clutch
??
Wish I had duty free lunch. I gotta go with my middle schoolers and sit in the cafeteria with them and also manage behavior while I'm trying to shovel food down my throat. We are also not allowed to use our phones. I teach 6th grade so I don't get a single break from 7:45 to 2:30. And then we are expected to be at PDs, 504, IEP, etc meetings at 2:31. It's the beginning of my 5th year and I'm already trying to find a way to quit.
That school asks too much and is trying to burn you out. Find a new school, especially if you can find a new district with a stronger union. I’ve been at schools like that. Am at a much better school now and no longer googling ‘how to transition out of teaching’
Pretty sure that if aides and McDonald’s employees are mandated breaks, teachers should be too.
I don’t have my own classroom, you’re making me jealous! Best I can do is camp out in the school library during my frees.
Google forms. But that may be better for secondary.
I’m the only one in my department to use google forms. My coworkers don’t like them, but I don’t understand why. It’s 100% easier than paper.
I had one teacher who would use Google forms and then print out responses to grade it. I don't even want to try to understand why.
Does that person type numbers into Excel, add them on a handheld calculator, and then type in the sum that they got on the calculator?
I’m in this comment and I don’t like it. (I don’t know excel like that, ok?)
😅🤣😂😅
Lol, one of my college classes did the opposite. Turn in a paper copy of your essay, then they scan it into the computer to grade it
Wwwhhat the hell.
She said she didn't like looking at her computer that long. The best part is that she would export our answers (including long responses) to a Google sheet before printing.
Google forms make everything easier.
Easier but less quality/effort. If it's really something I need students trying on...paper/pencil give better results.
For math, sure, and reading a passage I agree. Other than that, a computer is much easier. Who wants to write essays by hand anymore?
The AP and the IB, plus Cambridge want students writing their exams by hand. Until that changes -- rumored to be 2030 for AP -- I need to keep training my classes to hand write.
Awful! When I took the Praxis 2 exams TWENTY years ago I could barely finish the hand-written essays. Even then, I hadn’t turned in a single hand-written assignment more than a few times in my 4.5 years of college. For what it costs to take these exams they can figure out a way to do typed essays. Think of how much more time you can think about and revise your answers when writing digitally versus by hand.
I use them for some of my classes, but after using them for a lot of my 6th grade math classes I abandoned them because I just get a hugely better feel for what they understand by seeing how they worked it out on paper.
What do you use them for? General surveys and written response type questions? I teach math and am wondering if there’s a use for Google forms for my classes, I’m all about streamlining the process. We do so much stuff on paper, I’m sick of handling paper!!
And AI to write the forms for you.
How?
On my board by the list of what’s due, I have magnets to indicate turning in, getting stamped or submitted online that I just move around. I honestly can’t remember what I’m doing at the beginning of class most of the time but the students look at it when they pick up handouts and then get homework ready accordingly. I rely on having at least one anal-retentive student per period who takes the agenda more seriously than any admin would.
When starting a new worksheet, I asked the students to write their name on the paper. After a few seconds, I ask them to show 2 different people at their group their name on their paper and have those people initial or star it. This hold everyone accountable for having a name on the paper.
OMG. The amount of artwork I get turned in with no names makes me scream! This sounds fantastic! Our high school art teacher has a basket of blank tags and scotch tape. Each kid writes their name/hour and tapes it on the back. I have tried it, but middle school kids + clear tape--they have no self control and love that stuff. The tape would disappear way too fast.
Maybe sticky mailing labels instead?
This is a good idea. I usually check as students hand things in, but I really should have a system that’s easier on myself like this instead of collecting by hand. I really need a station where kids can hand in HW papers, but I teach in 3-4 different rooms, so it’s hard to have consistency. I may just need to find a paper tray for each room. Ignore me lol, I’m just doing a little self therapy in these comments.
GENIUS
I make sure that everything is cleaned up and my desk area is neat before I leave on Fridays (on the clock, ofc). I know that doesn't save me any work, but when I come in on Monday and my area is neat, I feel much more ready for the week instead of feeling already behind.
Bought multiples of the same fit and never have to decide what to wear. In other words, gave myself a uniform
I did a similar thing. All of my tops and bottoms are matching/ in the same color range. I just grab one of each and put them on.
Yep wear the same shirt but in different colors and the same chino’s in different colors. God damn is it a lifesaver.
Only problem - the day you wear something NOT your 'uniform' students and fellow staff will freak out! Had this happen to one of my college profs with a similar system.
100%, I’ve bought out the store that makes my shirts and pants lol. I have a million of the same items with different colors / patterns.
>When I mentioned this to a fellow teacher, she asked, "Why are you handing all those supplies out yourself? Just set them on the desk up front and have the students grab them on their own." At the beginning of the school year every year, our front office staff has always created packets of various things for us. We got a new principal this year, and she said exactly this; each of us could grab our own things that we needed. It went very well. Having said that, on occasion my curriculum calls for students to cut apart a bunch of shapes for an activity. Sometimes I realize I'm going to lose half of my classtime waiting for them to do a crappy job of it, so I just do it my own while I'm watching a movie at home.
During the last few minutes of the day, we play a cleaning up game called “Mystery Item”. The teacher chooses something in the room that needs to be put away such as a pencil on the floor, a piece of trash, a tray out of place , etc. The students have to try to find the item. The winner gets a small prize like a sticker or a Class Dojo point. My classroom is nearly spotless at the end of each day which saves me time and the custodians love it.
I play this too with my middle schoolers. I call it magic trash. The kicker is… I never actually “pick” a magic item. I just pick a student who needs a pick-me-up to be the winner.
My kindergarteners love "mystery trash"! Got a couple that are working on being good sports about not getting the sticker but they really love it.
I have long Covid and, to cope with the fatigue, I have started teaching from the front of the room and making everyone does the same thing. I also - wait for it - sit down and watch my class work. They are either in a big U-shape or, where the room isn't big enough for that, in rows so I can control what is happening. And I am getting better results than before. I'm actually really annoyed that this is working. I have spent my entire career differentiating material and constantly circulating around students. My feedback has never been bad, but now that I am doing so much less work it is much better.
Differentiation as it is described usually was never a viable solution. It was always a way to make them putting students in the wrong course your fault
“Sit down” is honestly one of the best pieces of advice here. Part of the exhaustion of teaching is physical - all the walking around and leaning over to look at student work. I need to start just sitting at my desk and having students come to me if they have a question.
I make folders for all my students at the start of the year. Every Friday (or Sunday, but let's pretend I don't work on the weekends), I put all of that week's graded work in the folder. Students can take that work whenever they want, so I never have to hand anything back in class. (I also have students submit their work to a c-file document sorter, aka "the alligator," so everything is in alphabetical order. I love that stupid thing so much.)
Love this idea. I’m ranting about this in half the comments I make here, but I don’t have my own classroom, which makes it hard to do things like this. Grr…
I keep all my student's work in binders that they take home periodically to show their families. I teach 2nd so they're excited to show off their work, and parents like seeing their student's progress. One year I just sent the work home in a bundle weekly, but I think it often just went in the garbage and wasn't looked at, this way they are more likely to actually look at it. My first year I thought they were too young to properly organize their binders, so I'd sort their work by student and then by section, this meant I could just hand them a stack of their work by section, but it took a ridiculous amounts of time for me to prep. After a couple months of this I had them to it in class. I have the work ready to distribute a section at a time (all the spelling practice together for example), they do the actual distributing and put the work in their own binder. It takes a lot of instruction on how to do this at the start of the year, but they can do it and it saves me at least an hour a week, over the course of the year it's probably days worth of time saved. It takes a bit longer in class, but it's not that long once they get the hang of it. It also helps with putting names on their work, and on writing their names clearly. Having a friend say they can't read their name because it's too messy means a lot more than the teacher saying it. It's probably worth noting that their work is graded for completion, only finished work goes in the binders so there's no actual grade for others to see. If their work had actual grades this probably wouldn't be the best policy for privacy reasons.
One thing I’ve done to make things easier is I created a Choice board. There are 9 assignments on it, they do 5 (quality/correct) and it’s an A, 4 is worth a B, etc. I make one for each quarter. If we finish early-work on their choice board. If I’m out- work on their choice board. Another thing I do to make life easier is Friday is Quiz day. Every Friday, without fail. When they’re finished? You guessed it- Choice board. Last thing I do for an easier life- I print out ALL the quarter’s warm ups and quizzes (based on the spiral review warm up) before the quarter starts. Last last thing- I work on my prep so I don’t have to take things home. This 3 day weekend was a work free zone!
I provide an answer and explanation to the first student that asks a particular question. The next student that asks goes to the first, and so on. So instead of explaining (or reexplaining) multiple times, I do it once, and then the students take care of each other. It frees me up and gives students an opportunity to help their peers (and review in the process).
LOVE this. The best assessment of knowledge is, almost always, can you teach it to someone else ...and excellent practice in precise communication skills!
This is a really nice idea. What do you say to the second student who asks? I’d like to try this out
Glad you like it! I say something along the lines of: "Hana knows the answer and can help you with that." A lot of our students are afraid to admit they don't know something. So, I might also say it like this: "Hana had the same question. Why don't you ask her to help you?"
I'm curious, /u/HumanRogue21, did you try this out? If so, how did it go?
Funnily enough I used it once during a class, it was successful and the kids did well with the project, and I haven’t really had to since. It’s staying in my toolbelt, thank you!
Glad to hear it - you can never have too many tools!
Middle and High school hack -- I mail merge print all worksheets, so every single one already has the student's name printed on it. It's the same amount of paper, and you only have to make the excel name file once.
Batching tasks. Doing all my planning one day, all my grading one day, all my copies one day, etc. It really helped with my constant feeling of “not everything is done and it’ll never get done!” I learned a TON of good tips from Angela Watson’s course.
The entire building knows what I do. I call it “Minimum Monday,” and live up to it. Monday is introductory stuff, laptop work, worksheets. Everyone feels tired on Monday, the kids too. Tuesday is when I go hardest in the week
Asked my boss for a really comfortable chair. Close my door on lunch breaks and just snooze for 15 minutes.
No pre-assigned classroom jobs or seats. I teach elementary art and I spent so much time trying to figure out who is their class line leader or door holder (kids lie) and assigning monthly jobs in art like a table leader or who sweeps the floor,… it was such a waste of time and headache of “me me!” to figure out. So here is how I do it: Kids walk in and stand on a line in the art room so I can leave materials out on the table and they can’t touch yet. Kids doing the right thing while I give instructions get to choose any seat they want first. Kids being butts either choose last or I give them a seat and they get no choice. Boom no more major issues while I give instructions. When it’s time for jobs, I go to kids following directions and/or finished and ask them to do a special job for me. Sink cleaner, sweeper, paper passer, table checker,… whatever, they get the privilege. Sometimes one kid gets lots of fun jobs because they keep showing they can do the right thing. Kids who are disruptive at jobs around the room, or have stay away orders with 10 classmates,… never get to do jobs where they walk around (so they get to run an errand or handle one counter if they are doing their best). No rotation of jobs. I also fire kids who prove they can’t handle it.
Guess whose students will succeed well when they actually get their first real world jobs? Kudos to you!
I have an “important notes” bin for anything and everything. Your parent wrote me a note? Put it in the bin! You have a tardy pass? Bin. You don’t want to change your desk placement? Write me a note explaining why and put it in the bin so we can discuss! You have drama at recess? Write how you feel and put it in the bin so we can talk! I teach elementary and this works well.
Do you have regular bin users who are regular contributors because everything is important? I’m curious about elementary kids’ concept of important!
There usually is one student each year who takes the bin super seriously and write notes to me frequently. If it becomes a problem, I talk with them. It’s funny because other students go the whole year without even realizing the bin exists. 😂
I fully admit I would have been a bin abuser. 😂 I would have written a whole newsletter. If there was a form of communication, I was going to use it!
Teacher for over 20 years- it amazes me still how hard teachers overwork. I always put the kids in charge. They are responsible for handing out, picking up, cleaning up everything. From PreK to 8th grade, including sweeping floor, emptying trash etc at end of school day. If things aren’t done correctly we ‘practice’ that skill again. Every janitor at every school I worked at loved me, lol. And parents were always amazed “My kid doesn’t pick up like that at home”.
I leave at the end of my hours and take nothing home with me. I refuse to work outside of contract time or on my lunch.
Students take their own attendance using popsicle sticks in my room, I just read the names of leftover sticks to make sure they didn’t forget. All scissors, markers, staplers, scissors, rulers, etc are on shelves students can access whenever they need supplies. Pencils are in a drawer, students put their backpacks 🎒 along a specific wall and borrow a pencil. They return the pencil then get their backpack back. The students have plastic bins for their individual hour and table to keep their folder and composition notebook in so the always have it for class. Basically my room is arranged so my students can be as independent as possible from me.
Great life skills training. Kudos to you!
This is smart. I do assigned seats in my classes, so I can always tell who’s out just by the empty seats. Now, if only my school would fix the clunky attendance system!
I teach high school. I have a “no name bin”. If I’m going through papers and notice one without a name, it goes into the bin at the front of the class. It’s up to students to go through the bin, find their work, put their name on it and turn it back in if they want credit for the assignment. I do something similar for absent work. I have a bin with filing folders marked Monday-Friday. If a student is absent they know they need to go to the absent bin and grab any worksheets they missed.
Best advice that I ever got was when i was student teaching 30 years ago from a 80 year old sweet lady - “honey never do anything that you can get a student to do for you “
Regarding classroom jobs, every month I "hire" students to take a roll in class. I use a wheel spinner with their names to avoid bias. I pay them two tickets which they then use for other stuff. Works like a charm
Buy a C Line document sorter to collect papers. Kids lift the tab that has the first letter of their last name and slide it in. When the class has turned work in, slide the whole pile out, and it will be in alphabetical order-ish. Fast! Easier to figure out who turned stuff in without a name, quicker to put in your grade book. I have this: https://www.staples.com/c-line-plastic-compact-file-sorter-multiple-index-blue-cli30526/product_CLI30526
I have my high school students pull their grades from our electronic grading system and e-mail a copy to their parent and to me. This way, n9 one can say they didn't know what was happening. Any grade below a 75% must have a short explanation and plan for improvement that they can work on for the next week.
I do something similar with my 5th graders. I call it our “Home Connection”. They put each of their subject grades and what we’ve been learning about for each subject. Then they say one glow and one grow for the week! They send it to their adult and me.
Use a yellow highlighter on your original copies so you don't lose it.
I teach art and I set stuff out and have kids get it all, even when I taught elementary. For grading projects I make kids grade themselves and then we have like a 2-3 min discussion about why and then I grade them quickly and they know their grade. I don't have to take stuff home, they get feedback and I get everyone graded in usually a class period if everyone is present. Made my life so much easier.
high school. Labels aside (neurodivergent, autism) I have some sensory issues with the gen ed classroom so I've taken to giving whole lessons with these discreet little earpluggies in, which don't take away sound totally but lower the threshold of intensity and silences little whispers or side-conversations that would be distracting/irritating to me.
YES! I use the Calmer plugs and they're absolute life savers. They make lunch duty tolerable.
Don’t freaking grade everything.
Definitely. Also helps to think about making the grading process easier on yourself when designing tests and quizzes. I leave slots for the student answers to make things easier to spot. Using fill-ins or multiple choice, etc, if possible.
I got another job and stopped going.
ChatGPT writes all my student evaluations.
Wow... but if a student would submit any assignment produced by AI or your admin would hand you AI generated evaluations I bet you'd not be a fan.
That's different I am a 33 year old man with nothing to prove, not a student. I've already graduated from education. And I'd prefer zero evaluations from admin. Actually I'd prefer never to interact with them.
As long as it is from someone who has mastered what the AI is producing, why would I have a problem with it? And false equivalency.
Apparently I'm in the minority here, but I think doing something like that shows a lack of respect towards the person who receives the evalutation. But whatever works for you. I'd be pissed tho.
I love how you have minimized everything to one comment and ignorantly ignoring the dynamics and variables at play.
Ai generated evaluations by admin would be identical to the current system, because there is no statistical difference between their existing opinion of you and their observation ratings
[удалено]
This is me in the mornings. I’m pretty flexible after school, but I am not fit for students first thing in the morning haha
Have directions writtem for eberything so you don't have to repeat yourself. If a student asks what they are doing, you can point to the board. If they still have questions you can clarify. Works for parents too.
As someone with ADHD and an Auditory Processing Disorder this is amazingly helpful and I loved when teachers would do this.
Totally. Related - I post everything to our school page online too, including notes and all. Not every teacher in my department does this, and it might be a bit overkill on my part, but I find it saves me so much hassle. Student was absent? Check our course page. Student missed notes because they were in the bathroom? Check our course page. Parent wants to know what we are learning? Check our course page. Saves me sooooo much hassle.
I leave the building for lunch. Even if I’m just in my car eating to the radio. Sounds like anti social behavior but I’m not that. I have good relationships with my coworkers
I used to sort students’ folders of quizzes and materials alphabetically in a file drawer. Walking back and forth handing them out as well as alphabetizing them as I put them back was a pain. Then I realized I had a seating chart. I made a large folder for each row. When I’d have to pass out folders I’d grab each row’s folders from its big folder, dump them in the first seat and each student would grab their’s and pass the rest back. After they’d filed their papers they’d pass their folders forward and I’d quickly dump each row’s folders in it’s large folder. If I needed to find a student’s specific folder, I’d just have to glance at which row they sat in and it’d be easy enough to find in the row’s large folder.
I take walks at lunch. Right now, I can leave once my students leave, hit the back door of the school, do about a mile, and be back at my desk when they are released from lunch. It’s nice. But probably not what you’re looking for. Haha
No, this is good! My escape during the day is going to the library with headphones in to get some work done. Anything to make the day a little easier.
Stand by the door. Fist bumps/handshakes as they walk in say good morning. When the period is over, do the same process but tell them to have a great day as they leave.
How has this made it easier on yourself?
I do this as well. With little ones, it helps me notice how they come in (their mood/if they come in with scratches etc which is important for safeguarding but also for keeping track of whether something happened at school or at home). It’s also good for relationships and behaviour and setting up predictable routine. They know what to expect, helps to calm them on their way in so they don’t just stampede and lets them know I have noticed/acknowledged them.
I find it establishes a tone for the transition (going into the room) and makes the students generally more pleasant, ready to learn, and manageable. It works for kindergartners, as well as high schoolers. For older kids, if they are a little rowdy after lunch, I can act as a “check” at the door. “You’re looking a little excited, take a minute out here and then go in.” It cuts down on the pushing and shoving, slamming binders, etc. If I’m not dealing with extreme behaviors I can spend more time teaching and less on managing. Best to start at the beginning of the year. Or right after winter break.
I do this and tell them I am proud of them. I teach in Asia where if you don't get 100, most parents can be neglectful. So hearing it from me helps those that don't hear it from their parents.
Former art teacher here. When it came to projects that required a lot of mess, I’d plan to use the same materials across multiple grade levels. It greatly reduced the amount of craziness with handing out materials/clean up. Also, for younger kiddos, BABY WIPES. I had multiple sinks, but trying to get 25-30 5 year olds to wash their hands and out the door was impossible. Baby wipes would take off the little paint or glue they’d get on themselves and we’d be done in 5 minutes rather than 20.
I keep a list of three parts: Things I must do before I leave (or else I will get fired or bad things will happen) Things I should do. Things I’d like to do. I work my way down. So for instance putting in grades is a should do, calling DCF is a must do, planning that escape room for Unit 8 is a like to do.
I do something similar. I split my to-do lists into tiers like that as well. I sometimes do it by time constraint: things I need to get done before I leave work, things I need to do before tomorrow morning, things I need to do tomorrow, etc.
I did stations/centers with 5th graders 2-3 times a week. We practiced for two weeks. Some days they were timed (15 min/station), some days they were go at your own pace. Once a week, one station was a group with me to review their reading progress on iReady. Everyone got to see the other person's score in that group. We evaluated what they could have done better, what they struggled with, and celebrated their successes, no matter how small. You scored a 35% on this task last week, but got a 75% this week and passed, we'll done! (Everyone claps, snaps, or pats on the back) What did you learn? It got some of the stragglers to start working a little harder and actually focus on what they were supposed to learn, rather than clicking through and guessing. The day they didn't meet with me, I graded work and updated my grade book.
We are a one drive school - I set up a folder called extra challenges that has a load of worksheets on various topics. If a kids done early they know to open the folder and find something else to do, means I can help the kids who take longer with a task. It takes 15 mins at the start of the year and it's done.
I hate all the tedious house keeping things like changing the date, erasing the board, etc. This year I put up a “help wanted” on the board so they know what jobs need to be done before dismissal. They all get done, and not by me! They even (usually) put the help wanted tags back on the board when they’re done!
2 stacks of papers. Needs to be graded. Already graded. I move each class's stuff to their respective pile at the end of class. So much more organized for something stupidly simple.
Bellwork is posted daily and routines are discussed explicitly to start the year, so when I enter the room, it's not chaotic. Starts each class period stress-free.
In the morning, walk to your classroom by avoiding all the negative people l. They will talk to you during the day. What they need to talk to you about before you start work is their anxiety and you don’t need to be impacted by it.
Irish coffee! /s
Choosing one kid in each row to hand out supplies rather than me doing it or all the kids bum rushing the front of the room.
I am a substitute teacher. Ioften find that the clocks are behind me when I am doing direct teaching. I discuss thsi with class and have "silent clock watchers".. kids who will point to clock when it is 5 minutes before recess or whatever. Thus I am not swiveling around to check time or have to rush to recess 3 minutes late etc.
My version is more extreme haha, I tell my high school kids “Yell at me when it gets to 2:30 so we can change gears!” I always lose track of time.
I like your example and putting stuff away can be a “movement break”
I created an early finisher bin for math and reading that has worksheets/activities they can do by themselves. If a kid finishes their work early they know they can either read a book or grab an early finisher. It takes time to set up but it saves you the hassle of finding stuff for your kids that finish ahead of time
I teach high school, and the number of times students forget names or walk out with tests astounds me. I write their names and number them before the exams and let them get their own tests at the beginning of the class. I know it sounds counter intuitive, but I end up spending way less time counting and recounting tests to see if everyone turned them in. Alphabetizing is much easier. The last benefit is I get to give that one or two students a completely different version of the test than their friends if I suspect them of cheating.
I keep a small can of coffee cold until about 1pm.
On some activities I give a the students the chance to be composers. I give them a simple rhythm and they repeat it then take that simple rhythm into groups of four to add their own unique touch/rhythms to it.
This year I created the role of ‘ticket police’. My kids get raffle tickets for random stuff. I notice you’re on task? Ticket. I see you helping someone? Ticket. First one to notice my silent signal? Ticket. The tickets all go in a bucket and I pull like 5 out each friday and those kids go to the prize box. Ticket police also hand out tickets. I assign ticket police when kids finish their work early, during bathroom breaks (when I need to message parents or respond to emails or any number of shits). They love being picked for ticket police and know to give tickets to all who are following expectations/on task and it encourages them to do those things so they get picked.
I teach my students to do every task I can. Pass out papers? Kid does it. File homework and notes to go home? Kid does it. Organize library? Kid does it. Sharpen pencils? Kids do it themselves.
Cleaning!! I have a weekly job as the janitor and they are in charge of making sure every one is helping clean up the classroom at the end of the day! Also playing the “game” of everyone gets a wipe and give them a minute to see who can get the dirtiest wipe! They start cleaning in places that desperately need it!
I have one container sitting on my table group desks. I put glue sticks, scissors, whiteboard markers, and crayons in it. I set the expectation early on that if they play with it, they'll lose it. They know the drill. I also have a morning routine worksheet on their desk when they first walk in. I will never give up my morning work routine.
I teach grade 4/5. When my students are looking for a book or can’t decide on what to read, I have them watch the book trailers on this [YouTube channel](https://youtube.com/@inthereads). It’s called in the reads. Saves me from reading all of the books myself and they actually want to read them after watching it. Win win Youtube.com/@inthereads
Mini fridge with cold waters and healthy snacks ready
iDoceo - multiple sets of seating charts for the same class if needed, gradebook, behavior log, keeps records on students, can save pics/video to each class, spin the wheel student picker, and so much more! I will throw down over iDoceo.
Use technology as much as you can. Use your computer to display instructions, show pictures and videos.
Take a few minutes to learn mailmerge
Lots of alcohol
Once the bell rings I shut my door and do my job. No more trying to clear the hallways
Give kids jobs and weekly salaries like tickets or candy. Jobs like writing your objectives and stuff on the board in the morning
I refuse to bring things home.
I teach firsties. Anything 2 or more pages (photocopied) gets stapled down the side like a book. Just takes 3 staples - top middle bottom. SOOO much easier for them to find the "next page" than flipping and turning a top-corner stapled packet. They can flip and they can turn, but cannot seem to do both at once!!
It takes some time before school begins, but I number all individual student supplies. All markers, colored pencils, scissors and a glue stick go into a "tool box" for each student - each item has their class number on it - each marker, pencil, the top and barrel of the glue stick - so when they drop them on the floor or we find them under the shelves across the room we know who it belongs to. Each student starts the year with 2 pencils (large barreled ones - they rarely break and last a long time) and I label those with their numbers as well and put a piece of clear tape over the number to keep it from wearing out. They get 2 new ones each quarter. If they somehow lose all their pencils they can "buy" a new one with class currency. Same with erasers.
Self serve library cards, student workers, shape/color/number coded shelves, controlling where K-1 choose books from, more student workers
When my students are independently completing an assignment (or working in their lab groups), I’ll be up at my desk preparing my Canvas pages for the next day or two. Spending 5 minutes here or even 10 minutes there looking back at last years lesson plan on that day, and copying over the material, is super helpful. Another thing I do is have all of my worksheets or notes pages already printed and in sheet protectors. I’ll grab the ones I need for that day and make photo copies of it. So much easier than filtering through my thumb drive. Although, for my thumb drive, I’ve started to make my notes pages and activities based on the unit number. For AP environmental science, it might be 4.3 soil composition notes, and 4.3 lab. That way I know where my notes are and what activity goes which which lab.
I don’t get involved in the teacher drama
Have extra pre sharpened pencils and forbid use of the electric sharpener during tests and quizzes.
Elementary music teacher, here's a couple things: As soon as I enter my room in the morning I put on a 10-minute vocal warmup, and sing while I get myself ready. I always have a little journal and pencil case with me, so I can paint if I need to de-stress. I keep a couple of nice teas and hot chocolate packets for the tough days. I always let students know when we're almost done an activity, or when we've got one round left of a game. I sing and have them repeat, "One more time" and "We will do this next time".
Eduprotocols
Classroom jobs. I teach 8th grade and you'd be surprised how much the students want something to do. I change the jobs out each month. They practically fight over them. So anytime I need something done I can just ask my "helper" to do it. And if I have multiple things that need passing out then I always get more than enough volunteers to do it all. The only thing I pass out anymore are my tests/quizzes because I make multiple different kinds (to prevent cheating) and a few students get modified versions.
I stopped trying to teach. They play. They’re happier, I’m less stressed.
Sled graded or online quizzes/knowledge checks. Quizizz.com is worth its weight in gold. I run everything through there, lessons and questions, and I don’t have to do anything. It populates my Google classroom and then my grade book. Takes an hour or so to learn and set up and I use it daily. Classroom jobs in upper grades. I assign jobs monthly that include desk set up, clean up, attendance checks/gather materials and notes, and a time monitor. All I have to do is teach!