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H is for Helpful Hints {Linky Party!}

Hi Blog Hoppers! Today is Day 2 of our 'We are Thankful' Linky Party and Giveaway! Today we are sharing our TOP TEN helpful hints for a successful school year.


Top 10 Helpful Hints for Teaching:

10. Develop a good management system! It is true that your classroom management can set the tone for your entire school year. Take time at the beginning of the year to teach and model your classroom rules and procedures, and then continue to review them for the entire school year. For some fun management ideas, check out some of these posts by the girls at What the Teacher Wants: The Ultimate Battle, Santa's Surprise, Fast Finishers, Tattling, Baseball, and Soccer.  


9. Have a system to prep your materials. We love this stacking shelf that we use. The top drawer is where we put things that have been prepped for the next week. The middle draw is where we keep the things that need to be made, copied, or prepped. This is great for if parents come by. They often come a little early and help prep for the next week. My favorite drawer is the bottom drawer. This is where I put things that I am finished with. As I use things, I just put them in this drawer instead of laying it down. Then at the end of the day I can put everything away at one time.
 This is a second shelf that we use to prep materials. On Friday afternoon, we simply take things from the ready drawer, collect up books and manipulatives we need each day, and stock up each drawer. That way each morning we aren't stressed. And talk about easy for a sub?



8. Keep it simple! When taking writing conference notes, I used to write down mini-novellas about each students' writing progress. A few years ago, at a writing conference, I learned this little trick that saved me so much time:
 
A file folder and index cards - that's it! Saves me space and I can write down the *important* info I need for each child. It is such a simple tool to pull out when report card time comes or for a parent-teacher conference.


7. Set some goals. What do you want to accomplish by the end of the school year? How can you make this school year better than last year? Setting goals as a teacher gives you something to work towards and helps motivate you to keep working hard. 
{Download this Goals freebie by clicking HERE.}


6. Have a place for everything and have everything in it's place. I especially love hidden storage! It might seem a little obsessive, well maybe a lot, to have everything labeled, but it saves tons of time hunting for the things we need.


  
5. Keep a to do list! This probably sounds like a simple thing, but I notice that when I keep up on my to do list, things run much smoother. The times I forget to write a list, I seem to be scrambling a bit more. 



For this cute {and free} printable to do list, click here.


4. Have a "panic shelf"! This is a shelf that we keep in the front of the room. It holds all of the items used daily during large group. Also, when we take the things out of our daily drawers (above) we put the items needed for large group



3. Make your students feel special! We teach because we love kids. Let them know how special they are and create a classroom environment full of respectful, caring students who cherish each other. We usually have a star of the week in our classroom and every Friday we make this little booklet for them to have as a keepsake:
*she is a really nice friend*
The students (and parents) love these books and keep them for years to come!
You can snag a free copy of this star of the week book, here.


2. Have a way to document your curriculum. This can help with planning, re-teaching, RTI, and more! These Common Core Galore Checklists and Common Core Data Checklists have been a HUGE help! {Available for grades K-6!} These are a great tool to have to help you as you implement the new CCSS in your classroom. 


1. GO HOME!
Seriously.
You could spend all night and day in your classroom if you wanted to because there is always something you can do, fix, make better. Sometimes it is just better to put it to rest, take some time for yourself, and show up the next day relaxed and refreshed. Your students will appreciate a well-rested teacher who is ready to teach!

  
These helpful hints brought to you by: 




Kim Adsit from
KinderGals



Rachelle and Natalie from 



Now it's your turn! Link up and share your teaching helpful hints!

11 comments:

  1. My image didn't come out above. I'd like to redo it, but I can't click on the x to delete the link because the pinterest circle is in the way. Is it possible to delete it on your end?

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  2. I love your Star of the Week book. I really want to start that up in the spring! : ) Thanks for hosting this linky!

    Yeehaw! Teaching in Texas

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  3. I love anything and everything to do with being more organized! I think your conferencing folder is a great idea!
    Stephanie
    Forever in Fifth Grade

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  4. My favorite tip is number one: go home! Every teacher is thinking it, but sometimes it's nice to hear it from someone else! I could live in my classroom for months and STILL have lots to do.

    The Frizz
    The Frizz in First Grade

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    Replies
    1. I have two links up there. Was wondering how to get the number 34 one off there. Thanks!
      And I agree with the "Go Home" as well. School work is like laundry...it never is really DONE!

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  6. Thank you for the TO DO page - I am an organization freak too, but going crazy this year. I really think this is a simple and effective way to help me out. Thanks for sharing it. :)

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  7. I love the index card idea for keeping notes! I never listen to tip number one, though haha!

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  8. Sorry about this, but I ended up as number 58 AND 59 trying to figure out the thumbnail thing. First time linking up ever!

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  9. I totally love this blog! Thank you for the planning/ goals freebies and for the ideas for storage. When I get my next pay check, I am going to buy the containers! I also loved the go home statement. It is true- my school work is like the laundry- I can never catch up!!

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  10. This stupid "Blog Hoppin'" link thing keeps popping up on my favorites bar! How the heck do I get rid of it!!!! Not only that but it has populated itself onto my work computer as well!!!!

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