Back to School Must-Haves to Keep You Organized!

Are you changing grade-levels? Do standards based grading? Need a way to keep track of which standards you taught and when? Or maybe you need a refresher of your current grade-level?

Common Core Checklists are for you! There are 2 versions.






The Mastery Data Checklists  are perfect for report cards, RtI, data for PLCs, or to give you detailed information for your small group work. You can type in the names of your students and it will autofill on all of the pages (up to 30 students)...or you can write them in like the picture above. 
Grades K-6th available! 



  

  

  








We also have CCSS tracking checklists available called Common Core Galore Checklists in our store)! These make it so you can "check off" things as you teach them so you can track what/when you've taught. You can also track whole-class mastery (not individual students- that's the data checklists). Grades K-6 available! 


  

   

   





The Substitute Challenge!

Sometimes when I have to get a substitute in my class, I leave a challenge for my students to complete while he/she is there.  It keeps them motivated and is a constant reminder to follow the expectations. The very first time I'm absent in the school year, I send my students this video to watch right when they come in!





The video isn't mandatory, but it adds an element of excitement! I email the video to the substitute  and leave her a laptop from our laptop cart (when we request for a sub, it gives us an option of contacting them via email), but you could also burn it on a DVD or have another teacher quickly show it for you. I made this video in iMovie, but if you don't have an iPhone or a Mac, you can use the app InShot. It's free and simple!


So, here's the challenge! If the students follow the expectations, the sub can open up an envelope and get a clue out! As the day goes on, the substitute can keep opening up the envelopes. I have my clues spell out iPad, so I only needed 4 envelopes. I feel like in my classroom that was just enough. The last clue is unlocked at the very end of the day!



You'll leave the envelopes hanging on the board so that your students can see them! I leave the substitute direction sheet on my desk with my sub plans so she can fully understand it as well. This freebie comes blank, in case you want to change it up each time you have a sub (different reward).


Click here for this freebie!





Back to School Part 2 {Bulletin Boards}

I have to admit...now don't hate me here.... I love bulletin boards.  Do I change them out every month? HECK NO. It's maybe every 3 or 4. ;). But, I do love creating them and sharing them with my students.

Here are some of the back-to-school bulletin boards I've created over the years. You can see the quality gets better over the years. Don't judge my oldies.





Most of these bulletin boards are just made by me putting the letters in PowerPoint (tying one letter per page), printing and cutting them out. Then, I'll find clipart that goes with it and print them off and stick a label with my students' names on it!




First Grade is our Jam



Donut Worry 1st Grade is Sweet!



A Minion Reasons to Love 1st Grade!


Picture Perfect Class

  

Under 'kid"struction 

"Ant"icipating a Great Year!

A New Twist on a New Year

Back to School Part 1

I wanted to throw it back (to school) and re-post some of my favorite back-to-school ideas!

I have a few random pictures of what I've been doing in my classroom to get ready! I love the energy of my school during back-to-school time! Everyone's excited, but slightly bummed that summer is over.  That feeling goes away once we all start working in our classrooms and prepping for our new students (ok, well that bummed feeling *mostly* goes away).

I LOVE to think of fun ways to welcome my students to my classroom with my back-to-school bulletin board. Check out *some* past bulletin boards HERE.
 This year, I took some inspiration from my husband who LOVES Minions (he's a little kid at heart). We watch Despicable me with our niece and nephews and my husband laughs louder than they do. ;) Sure do love that man!  Anyway, I found a piñata at Walmart that just CALLED MY NAME and then I found these cute Minions on TpT. Off I went to decorate!




 I cut the headers for this board on my Silhouette Cameo (best crafting tool, ever!).
The names on the Minions are just Avery mailing labels. Easy-peasy.


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Each year I do a Donation Door for our Back-to-School Night. Parents can come by and grab a sticky note off of our door that says the name of a school supply. They can send in the donated school supplies with their child to school the next day! It's an awesome way to get a variety of supplies for your classroom and not just getting 3,934 boxes of tissues. ;) {You can check out another donation door I've done, here}




I did print on SUPER sticky notes (found at Target) and I used a tutorial from this cute blog.
Arrows are vinyl and made with my Silhouette Cameo with KG Arrows font.


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A few years ago I found this CUUUUUTE behavior mangament idea from Growing Kinders.  I've always done Brownie Points as a whole-class incentive, but this year I'm doing Mr. Potato Head.  I'll pull off all of his parts (hehe) and if the students are working quietly, I will add one part at a time until he is all put together.  Once he's all back together, there will be a MYSTERY prize that the whole class will win (lunch with teacher, extra recess, or maybe popcorn party).

With pretty much everything, I got mine on Amazon. Praise all that is holy for Amazon Prime. ;)

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