B2S Bash: The GRAND Prize!!

Have y'all had fun hopping around to all 18 of our Bash Baskets?  If you haven't done that yet, please start HERE and make sure you do!  You only have until midnight on August 2nd to enter!  You may be thinking "Ohhh, I'm not lucky enough to win... I never get picked for prizes...There's just no way that my name will be selected!"  But, I would say:  YOU NEVER KNOW UNTIL YOU TRY!  So, go for the gold, folks!

Here's what you NEED to do FIRST... like RIGHT NOW!  We are doing an Instagram Hop with a secret message.  This secret message MUST BE entered on the Rafflecopter below or you will NOT be chosen as a winner!!!!  Look for THIS graphic on Instagram.  THIS graphic will start the secret message.   Hint:  You'll start with @stepintosecondgrade

You might want to grab a sheet of paper and a pen so that you can collect all letters as you are doing the Instagram hop because YOU MUST COLLECT THE SECRET MESSAGE!  Here are some tips for your Instagram Hop!

Don't have an instagram?  Well, sign up so you can enter the grand prize basket!!!  If you start in the right place and follow the order then all of your letters will nicely flow into one message :)  If you go out of order then you will have to unscramble the letters to make a word, and no one wants to do that!!!

So, let's talk about the Grand Prize!  This is the LARGEST, MOST AMAZING, INCREDIBLE Grand Prize ever... in the history of teacher giveaways!  

Your eyes are not deceiving you, that is a REAL Smartboard!  Whitlock (a Smartboard distributor) generously donated a Smartboard to our giveaway!  Isn't that amazing?!!!  Do you want to know all the details about the specific Smartboard and if it will work for you?  Look HERE!!

Whitlock will ship the Smartboard to the winner (continental US only!).  It comes with a projector and all software needed!!  The winner will need to have a way to mount the Smartboard AND will be in charge of maintenance after installation.  We want to make sure we lay it all out there before you enter :))  I'm sure that your school or district would be happy to help if you were the winner!

And, that's not all, y'all!  The winner will also receive a Silhouette Cameo and a One-Year ESGI Subscription!  OHMIWORD!!!

Once you have collected the secret code from our Instagram Hop, you can enter below!  You only have 24 hours, so don't delay!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The ABC's of Classroom Organization

Organization...the 12 letter swear word. ;)

We all want to be more organized, I know!  Well...now is the time! You're getting ready to head back to school and your furniture is all pushed against one wall of your classroom.  There's no better time than RIGHT NOW to pull yourself together and put your big-girl panties on. Let's get ORGANIZED! Here are the ABC's of getting your classroom to look in tip-top shape!

I will be doing a short series on organizing your classroom. You'll want to download {these} FREE handouts.  Up first this week, organizing TEACHER STUFF.

I bought these tubs at Dollar Tree last year (they still have them this year) and I store supplies on the top of my cupboard.  I pick supplies that I don't need every day and maybe just extras of things my students use.  I used clothes pins to attach the labels to the bins (since I'm constantly changing things).

 Inside of my cupboards I label ALL THE THINGS (there's even labels on the sides of the big containers. I want an outsider to be able to come to my classroom and find whatever supplies they are looking for (ie. substitute). 

Would you like these labels (over 48 labels PLUS 6 that are editable)? Perhaps the opportunity to edit and customize? Snag them {HERE}!

I love to hide things under table with a simple table skirt (my mom made it). 

These rainbow drawers (I got mine on Amazon and sometimes they have them on sale at craft stores)

You can get the labels for these drawers {here}. 

*Please note these are free and I won't be able to customize these or offer them to be editable. Love you!

I'll be back next week to talk Lesson Organization!

Classroom Management for the 1st Days of School

Tonight I did something totally out of my comfort zone. I talked to over 200 teachers about classroom management LIVE through a Periscope broadcast. Periscope is a new app, designed by Twitter, that you can download on your smart phone/device where you can stream live video feeds from across the world. Teachers have been taking Periscope by storm and have been posting all kinds of great teaching ideas.

<< You can catch the broadcast HERE until 7:30 pm MST on July 22nd!>>

My topic tonight was all about establishing classroom procedures for the first days of school. I talked about how important it is to go into the school year with a clear plan of your expectations and to teach students all about the important procedures you want to create for your classroom.

I'm not going to type up the whole broadcast, but I will outline a few of the things I talked about. 

First, I shared my very favorite resource for getting ready for Back to School. This book, "The First Days of School" is especially good for 1st year teachers, although I will say that I've read it and re-read it every year before school starts. It gives fabulous tips for setting up your expectations and procedures for the year. It's like a giant pep talk to get you excited about going back to school and starting the school year off on the right foot. 

Waaaaay back in 2011 I posted this resource on our blog here at What the Teacher Wants. It is not meant to be used in your classrooms. Use it as a guide to create your own classroom expectations. I suggest to type it all up into a PowerPoint and use it as you teach your expectations and procedures to your class.  

***Important Update***

After getting many requests for an editable version of this PowerPoint, I have recently created a new and improved (and EDITABLE) version of this resource. It is available in my TPT store by clicking here: 

To help you get started in creating your own management system, I created this new resource just for you! It contains a procedures checklist you can use as you create and teach your own set of procedures in your class. 

  

  

These pages are available as a FREEBIE in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I would like to ask 2 favors if you download and use this in your classroom this year.

1. Please follow my store. Click the little follow me button up by my picture.

2. Please leave me some feedback on this product. Just tell me what you like about it or tell me a procedure that you like teaching to your students. I would appreciate any love you could leave for me!

Here are my tips to a successful year:

1. Have your PowerPoint ready on the 1st day of school outlining all of your expectations, definitions of your classroom rules, and explaining all of your procedures.

2. On day 1, go over your slides in class and explain what each of the slides mean.

3. Stop and practice your procedures after you learn them. Model what they look like, have students act out what they don't look like. Discuss what they each look like and sound like.

4. Take breaks while you teach them. Teach 3-5 new procedures and then take a break. Do an assignment, play a get-to-know-you activity, or do a fun brain break in between. Keep it exciting!

5. Don't expect students to learn and remember each of these things on day one. Practice, daily if needed, until students understand and know what you expect in your classroom. 

6. Revisit each of your rules and procedures as needed throughout the year. If students forget, PRACTICE. After school vacations, PRACTICE MORE. Don't be afraid to remind them how you expect them to behave in your classroom. 

7. Be consistent. The key to being a good classroom manager is to be consistent. Any time you let one student get away with not following your rules/expectations/procedures, you are sending a message to the rest of your students that they can get away with it too.

8. Love your students. Let them know that you care about them and you want them to learn. Explain that the reason why you have these guidelines is because you care about everyone and want to help everyone learn. 

9. Type some of these into your sub plans. Let your sub know how you expect students to behave while you're gone. Reward students when they get excellent sub reviews.

Have I missed anything important?

I wish you ALL the best of luck as you prepare for the upcoming school year! It's a lot of work getting everything ready, but it sure is fun and totally worth it when you see those smiling faces show up in your classroom on the 1st day of school! GOOD LUCK!!

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If you liked this post, you might also be interested in some of the other resources I have available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store:

  

All About Me - 24 Beginning of the Year Writing Activities {Upper Grades}

All About Me - 20 Beginning of the Year Writing Activities {Younger Grades}

 

Class Job Chart - Primary Chevron Themed

Behavior Cards - Soccer Themed

 

Back to School - Parent Volunteer Sign Ups

Back to School - Student Inventories

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Read more about Stuck in the Middle HERE:

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Last, but not least, please post any questions you might have for me here in the comments. 

Did you find this information helpful? 

What are your best tips for setting up your 

management system at the beginning of the year? 

What's the biggest struggle you face when 

creating your classroom procedures? 

Students Taking Ownership of their Behavior

When it comes to behavior management in our classrooms, we are all different.  What works in my classroom might not work in yours. No judgements here.  I've used the "pull card" system since I started teaching.  It's worked for me and it's been fine, but I am ready for a change. I've always loved clip charts because they are cuter...haha! WELL- actually I wanted my students to be accountable for their behavior on more of a personal level and I didn't want it displayed in the classroom for all to see (if you do display it, THAT IS OK! I promise!).  So... I decided to make personal clip charts for my students and I thought I'd share them with you! I used these for the first time last year and let me say- they are AWESOME!  The students liked them and my principal and the parents raved about them.

I have my students keep their personal clip chart UNDER their desks (I use magnet tape on the back with a piece of book tape over it for durability and they magnetize the chart on the bottom of their desks)!  I bought mini clothespins on Amazon but I found that a regular old paperclip does the job!

This personal clip chart will help your students stay accountable for their behavior (all while keeping it personal and not displaying it for all to see). This pack expands past just the clip chart and provides you with a whole behavior plan!

This pack includes:

*Personal Clip Charts (3 versions)- Customizable
*Behavior Report (student)- Full page
*Behavior Report (student)- Half page
*Behavior Report (teacher)- Customizable
*Student Behavior Report Binder Cover
*Red Clip Report Form
*Behavior Plan Note (4 versions)- Customizable
*Behavior Punch Cards

You can check it out {here}