Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies

Teaching during the month of December can be a magical time for both you and your students, but it can also be challenging! With so many interruptions to your regular routine like holiday assemblies and class parties, your energy can be drained quickly. So in order to fill your cup back up, we’re sharing some of our tried and true December teaching tips. For all the resources mentioned in this epi...

With the holiday season in full gear, we can imagine how bombarded you are with how to make everything in your classroom feel festive. And if that’s your jam, by all means, you go for it! But for most of us, we worry that too many holiday festivities will derail our classroom management or get us behind in the curriculum. So in today’s episode, we’re sharing three ways to be the fun teacher in Dec...

With winter break just around the corner, we want to do everything we can as teachers to be prepared and enjoy our break from school. In last week’s episode, we walked you through how to plan your end of December and start of January lessons in advance. However, finding the time to actually plan is the tricky part. So in today’s episode, we’re sharing our best teacher prep for January tips and tri...

When December hits, it seems like a long road until you’re on winter break. So when break finally arrives all you want to do is relax, spend time with family and friends, and enjoy doing things you love! Then as break nears the end, you get stressed and overwhelmed with all the work you still need to do when school resumes in January. In order to resolve that feeling, in today’s episode, we’re sha...

On Sunday afternoon and evening, do you ever feel anxious about the upcoming week? This recurring feeling that you’re experiencing is actually called the Sunday scaries. Since many people have this feeling, it’s important to learn what’s happening to your mind and body and strategies to move past it. To give us a better understanding of it all, guest Kelsey Sorenson is sharing ways to overcome the...

In order for a classroom to run smoothly, sometimes it takes more than just the teacher to make it happen. Getting students involved provides them with responsibility and ownership of the classroom and building its community. One of the best ways to achieve this is by incorporating classroom jobs. But like with everything, class jobs have their own set of headaches. So in today’s episode, we’re sh...

Did you know that just like there are four seasons in a year, there are seven seasons in a school year? And just like there are positives and negatives to each environmental season, the same applies to the seasons of school. But one thing that stays consistent is the need to engage your students. So in today’s episode, we’re sharing tips for keeping students engaged all year, despite the seasonal...

We have an exciting treat for you today! We're introducing you to our new podcast, The Holiday Headstart. If you like the thought and care that we put into planning for back-to-school, you're going to love the way we plan for Christmas (and other holidays!). 🎄 Tune in to hear an episode of The Holiday Headstart where we deep dive into the importance of intentional holiday planning. Then, head to...

There are several spots inside a teacher’s classroom that are special and impactful for students. However, none build a classroom’s culture or relationships more than the classroom carpet! This designated gathering space is the heart of the classroom, which is why having specific procedures and routines for it is vital. So in today’s episode, we’re doing a deep dive into how to manage student beha...

Whenever teachers plan their lessons and activities, besides making sure the content is right, their next priority is student engagement. We’ve talked many times before on the podcast about the idea of balancing the structure and novelty in your classroom. However, we’ve never fully explained what it is and how to effectively use it. So, in today’s episode, we’re sharing six ways to boost student...

When it comes to the profession, a lot of teachers get nervous and struggle to communicate with parents, so when parent-teacher conferences come around, it makes a lot of teachers anxious. We felt the same way when we were in the classroom but have since learned a few tips and tricks along the way. In today’s episode, we’re troubleshooting some common problems with parent-teacher conferences and s...

Raise your hand if you’ve spent time planning a lesson, but it flopped when you taught it in front of your student. We’re raising our hands high! It can feel deflating when a lesson doesn’t keep the interest of your students. However, there are things you can do to increase student engagement when presenting a lesson. So, in today’s episode, we’re sharing five techniques that will ignite active st...

You’ve made it to the end of the day smooth sailing but hit the rough waters of chaos right before your students leave. You’re tired, exhausted, and unsure why there’s turmoil at this every day. If this sounds like you, there’s a disconnect in your daily routine. So, in today’s episode, we’re sharing how to troubleshoot this routine and giving four teacher-approved tips for streamlining your dismi...

As you all know by now, we love having efficient and effective procedures and routines. We believe they’re the backbone of your classroom management and the key to having everything else in your classroom run smoothly. However, there’s one routine we’ve neglected to discuss, which is setting up your centers. The complexity of successfully run centers is why we’ve never discussed them before. In to...

One of the biggest struggles as a teacher, especially when you’re new to the profession, is managing your classroom. With so much going into classroom management, the main component being student behaviors, you want to find ways to keep students motivated and exhibit positive behaviors in your classroom. And one of those ways is through class rewards. So, in today’s episode, we’re sharing how to m...

Every Thursday this summer, we've been bringing you a weekly bonus episode highlighting new and favorite teacher-approved tips you can apply in your classroom as soon as today. And today is our last Thursday tips episode for the summer! This week's tips are: [00:49]: Tip #1 - Ways for teaching class consequences to your students. [06:22]: Tip #2 - Plans for dealing with and managing classroom...

If you are anything like we were, one of our main goals at the beginning of the year was to build positive relationships with our students. We know the countless benefits having positive relationships can have on your students and classroom, so we always did the typical getting-to-know-you activities at the start of the year. However, we needed to find ways to keep those relationships growing with...

Every Thursday, we're bringing you a weekly bonus episode highlighting new and favorite teacher-approved tips you can apply in your classroom as soon as today.  This week's tips are: [00:52]: Tip #1 - How to master the art of the “teacher look.” [05:04]: Tip #2 - How to have effective classroom management using attention signals. To hear more about these tips, head to the show notes: https://...

If you’ve been listening to us long enough, you know how much we love procedures. We’ve covered the importance of establishing them, how to teach them, how to plan them, and how to fix them. However, we’ve never discussed putting all that information together with a few simple steps. So, in today’s episode, we’re sharing how to make classroom procedure planning successful and effective this school...

Every Thursday, we're bringing you a weekly bonus episode highlighting new and favorite teacher-approved tips you can apply in your classroom as soon as today.  This week's tips are: [01:16]: Tip #1 - How thriving at back-to-school starts with a clean slate. [06:00]: Tip #2 - Give yourself the space to live in your season during back-to-school. To hear more about these tips, head to the show...

We’ve talked a lot over the last few weeks about how to effectively plan your first week of school. We like to think of these first few days as a launchpad for a successful school year. With so much you need to think about, we’ve decided to help you create and organize a way to manage it all. In today’s episode, we’re sharing the three lists you need to make to plan your first week of school. For...

Every Thursday, we're bringing you a weekly bonus episode highlighting new and favorite teacher-approved tips you can apply in your classroom as soon as today.  This week's tips are: [00:49]: Tip #1 - 3 reasons why you should make your inside recess plan now. [03:46]: Tip #2 - Our best teacher-approved tips for inside recess activities. To hear more about these tips, head to the show notes: h...

If you’ve been with us long enough, you know how much we value procedures. We truly believe establishing clear and concise procedures and routines leads to an efficient classroom and decreases behavior problems. But with the number of procedures you need throughout the school day, it can be challenging to think through it all. So, in today’s episode, we’re sharing guiding questions that will assis...

Every Thursday, we're bringing you a weekly bonus episode highlighting new and favorite teacher-approved tips you can apply in your classroom as soon as today.  This week's tips are: [02:24]: Tip #1 - 10 teacher-approved tips for when you get your class list. [08:13]: Tip #2 - Why affirming is the most important goal at the start of the year. To hear more about these tips, head to the show no...

At the start of every school year, we talk a lot about establishing and incorporating your ATTABOY goals into your lessons and activities during the first few weeks of school. And while we believe in the training component of your goals, the most important goal is actually affirming. So, in today’s episode, we’re sharing some practical takeaways for building positive student relationships and affi...