Beginning of the school year

The beginning of the year is always a whirlwind with the first few days of school and Open House/Visitation. Whether you have your Open House/Visitation before school starts, or once the year is already in full swing, it’s still a huge undertaking! Today I’m sharing with you my 5 favorite tips for your Open House ... Read More about Kindergarten Visitation!

Today I'm sharing one of my favourite tasks for building community in the classroom. Students are able to share an important aspect of themselves (the story of their name) with the class and with me, their teacher. Through this task we are also working on important skills, like reading comprehension, writing, and reflection. Day 1 To begin, I asked my students to write any name they wish they had on a sticky note. They then placed it in a mason jar. I read my class the story "The Name Jar"…

Step by step directions for teachers explaining how to teach students to build reading stamina in order to become independent readers.

One of the best things to do on the first day of school is plan cooperative learning activities where students can get to know one another.

These 20 books are perfect to read aloud at the beginning of the school year to build community and teach rules and procedures.

To have a good relationship with your students from the very beginning of the year, it’s important to build trust, understanding, and acceptance. To help you do this and get your new school year kicked off right, check out these 27 different read-alouds to get your new students setting goals, building relationships, having positive attitudes, and just being excited about being back in school!

Back to school time is hectic for every teacher. Here are ten things teachers can do before the first day of school that will set them on track for a successful new school year.

Hang these Amazing Work Coming Soon Posters at the beginning of the school year and then replace them with student work. It's perfect for back to school season when you want to brighten those empty boards. The posters can be used year after year! Choose from color and B&W posters. Print & cursive options are also included.

Fun and engaging ideas to get to know your students at the beginning of the school year. Build a strong classroom community with these free resources.

We read Chrysanthemum at the beginning of each school year. Not only is the topic a good one for talking about healthy and respectful classroom communities, but because her name is sooo long, the story lends itself well to fun name activities on the first day of school. In this post, I share an activity that's perfect for 2nd grade children who have experience collecting and graphing data (math skills they likely learned the year before) and a differentiated version for new firsties. Come…