Ninja Notes

Let us help you teach like a ninja!

BrainNinjasWP

It’s Time to Get Your Emergency Sub Plans Ready

by

Are you prepared for a substitute teacher in the event you have to leave your classroom unexpectedly? Get these tips and some templates to make your planning simpler, faster and FINISHED!

Writing emergency sub plans for a supply teacher is a big pain in the butt. Even more so, when some sort of family emergency comes up and you’re still legally responsible for two days of classes (or more depending on where you teach).

It’s strange that these certified teachers who come into our classroom don’t have to plan anything for two full days. At least, that is the rule in the province where we live. Teachers are responsible for leaving two full days of plans for their students regardless of the situation. This must be in the only job in the world where you do just as much work on the days you aren’t there as on the days you are.

I once wrote sub plans on my phone from a hospital bed. True story. And as crazy as that was, I learned a valuable lesson from it.

Emergency Sub Plans!

[Read more…] about It’s Time to Get Your Emergency Sub Plans Ready

The Reasons Your Classroom Management Isn’t Working and How to Fix It

by

Are you struggling with your classroom management? Are you out of ideas? Ditch clip charts and rewards and learn how to manage your classroom with strategies that work. Come read the whole post and find some relief!

Recently I was having a discussion with a former student teacher. She had reached out because her last school year felt like a disaster and she was wondering how could improve. She’d tried clip charts, behaviour charts, communication journals, reward baskets and everything else she could think of, but nothing worked. She wanted to know how she could improve her classroom management because she feared she couldn’t last another year. She asked about my secret because she didn’t remember what I did.

Was it that uneventful that she didn’t know what I did? No. Not quite.

[Read more…] about The Reasons Your Classroom Management Isn’t Working and How to Fix It

How to Differentiate For Your Students in Less Time

by

Learn how to differentiate for your students in less time with these strategies. These are practical ways to take some of the planning off your plate and still provide your students with the supports they need. Come read the whole post.

One of the biggest issues teachers talk about is how much time it takes to differentiate their instruction for the needs of the different learners in their complex classrooms. All teachers want to help, reach and teach all their students, but understanding how to do this can be a challenge especially for teachers who are new to teaching, new to a grade level or new to the types of challenges and barriers a student is facing.

Full Disclosure: Differentiated instruction is hard.

And there seems to be some sort of unwritten out there that everyone should be good at it the first time you try.

Gee, no pressure.

Well, what if we could give you some tried and true strategies that have worked for us? We all know differentiation is important, but what does it mean to truly differentiate for everyone?

[Read more…] about How to Differentiate For Your Students in Less Time

How to Differentiate Your Instruction

by

Differetiating your instruction does not mean you need a different lesson plan for every students. Come learn how to differentiate in your classroom without writing a million different plans.

You have a complex classroom full of complex behaviours and learning challenges. Do you worry about how to teach all of them to the best of your ability? Are you spending all your time trying to differentiate instruction but feeling like you’re spinning in circles not getting anywhere?

Differentiation means different things to different people. We’re here to work through the clutter and streamline the planning process. Then you can differentiate for the different learners you have in your classroom without spending all your time planning.

[Read more…] about How to Differentiate Your Instruction

The Ultimate Guide to Field Trips

by

Fields trips are a great way to extend learning beyond your classroom, but they take some planning and organization. Check out this post jammed packed full of ideas to help you get the most out of your day of learning outside the classroom.

Whether you call it a field trip, excursion, school trip or outing-it’s exhausting! True, field trips can be a lot of fun. They can also be stressful if you are unprepared or if things go wrong. Nobody wants that. All it takes to have an amazing field trip is some planning, a great place to go and a positive attitude. Okay, that might not be all. Check out our ultimate guide to field trips!

[Read more…] about The Ultimate Guide to Field Trips

How to Give Student Feedback That’s Amazing

by

We try to give students feedback that makes them do the thinking. It's more than a judgment call. Come learn how to take feedback off your teaching plate, but still give students valuable suggestions to improve their work.

How much thinking do you do before you give student feedback?

When I was in grade four I had a teacher tell me that I would have to work very hard if I wanted to be a writer when I grew up because my writing wasn’t very good.

That tiny sentence said in passing one day after I’d shared a story I wrote on my own, has stuck with me for all these years. When you give a student feedback, it sticks with them, even when you don’t think it will. You need to make sure your feedback helps them become better students and guides them without being ultra-judgy and destroying their self-esteem.

This can be a challenging task (especially when we’re overwhelmed with things to get done). Keep reading to find out how you can master the art of giving students feedback.

[Read more…] about How to Give Student Feedback That’s Amazing