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Field trips can be so much fun when they run smoothly. However, there can also be those field trips where you want to pull your hair out or vow never to do it again. We’ve gone on hundreds of field trips over our careers. Some of these trips are cherished memories of special classes. Others are permanent scars and trauma (ok, that might be pushing it). Come learn from our mistakes so you can avoid these field trip problems.
[Read more…] about 5 Field Trip Problems and How to Prevent Them
If you have been using a forced copy to receive Google files, you may have noticed a glitch that can cause problems. To be clear, when we allow for a copy of our Google files to be made in your drive, we should never have to share or give you access. We’ve already done that step to automate it. However, there have been lots of problems with Google glitches lately so we gathered up all the knowledge we could find online and put it in an easy-to-use format so that you can get your files as quickly as possible. Many teacher authors like ourselves use these forced copy links because sharing folders isn’t possible (yet).
[Read more…] about How to Fix Your Forced Copy Google Glitches
We love to read to our students, but they are in grades four and five, so we try to avoid books about romance when we look for Valentine’s Day books, but sometimes it just sneaks in. Quite often, the books are too young for our students, but when that happens, we encourage our students to read to their younger buddies. Come read through this list of Valentine’s Day books we’ve collected over the years.
[Read more…] about Our Favourite Books to Use on Valentine’s Day
The pressure of social media to have the “Pinterest Perfect” classroom can be a little overwhelming for any teacher, especially those on a budget. We are very fortunate in our classroom that we have a small budget for items needed, and we have full discretion on how we use it, but the last place we want to spend it is on decor. We prefer to spend any money we have on quality resources and learning materials. Check out this list of ways to decorate your classroom that don’t break the bank.
[Read more…] about 7 Inexpensive Ways to Decorate Your Classroom
Read-aloud novels are a huge part of our daily literacy routine. We built in fifteen minutes each day where one of us reads from a novel to our students. It is important (even at the higher grades) to model fluency, self-monitoring, and questioning techniques when reading aloud to students. We include these minutes in our weekly Language Arts minutes.
[Read more…] about Five Novels With Amazing Young Protagonists
If you have a bunch of completed art projects or partially completed ones, we came up with a whole bunch of ways to recycle them into new things. Recycling art projects not only helps reduce waste but also encourages creativity and resourcefulness.
Before we recycle any piece of art, we encourage students to take a picture so it can be remembered but won’t take up space. This is so that students can see how they grow and change as artists as opposed to keeping it as a memory.
We hate wasting materials, so whenever possible, we recycle pieces of art projects and craft materials so they can be used again in the future. The last thing we want is for art projects to be thrown into the landfill. Sometimes we do art projects that are not meant for display because we are practicing skills. These are the ones we recycle first.
[Read more…] about Recycle Old Art Projects 9 Fantastic Ways
As a student, I hated dodgeball with a passion. I wore glasses and could barely see without them, but I wasn’t allowed to wear them in case they were broken. So, there I would be, blind as a bat, wandering around, trying not to get pelted by those giant red rubber balls that always left a mark. I saw a pattern immediately. The few top athletes (usually the biggest boys) knocked everyone out, usually hurting them in the process and then continued playing amongst themselves while the rest of us sat bored on the sidelines licking our wounds.
I vowed, as a teacher, I would never let any of my students experience that. This means there is no dodgeball in any of my gym classes. These are some of the games we love to play instead.
[Read more…] about 5 Games We Love More Than Dodgeball
As a student, I never appreciated the first month of school. It always seemed like we didn’t get too deep into the content and spent a lot of time playing games and doing art projects. It wasn’t until I became a teacher that I recognized how much work teachers do during the first month of school. While we created a list with nine of the most important, there really are so many more that could be added.
[Read more…] about 9 Things To Do During the First Month of School
We teamed up with several Canadian teacher-authors to collaborate on different historical (and modern) Canadian trailblazers that you should be teaching your students about.
A trailblazer is the first to do something or to lead the way for others. This term is often used to describe someone who pioneers a new idea, creates a new path, or achieves something that has never been done before. Trailblazers are often seen as innovators or leaders who inspire others to follow in their footsteps. They create positive change in society. They may face challenges and obstacles along the way, but they persist in pursuing their goals and paving the way for others to follow.
How well do you know these Canadian trailblazers?
[Read more…] about 5 Fascinating and Inspiring Canadian Trailblazers
Sticky notes are a versatile tool that can be used in a variety of ways to enhance classroom learning. It’s no secret that most teachers love sticky notes because they come in a variety of styles, sizes and colours. There are so many different ways to use them whether they have lines or are blank. We’ve collected our favourite ways to use sticky notes in the classroom and felt we had to share them with you.
[Read more…] about 15 Ways to Use Sticky Notes in the Classroom
Of course, you want to be a great teacher, so congratulations on getting the chance to be a teacher! Your student teaching experience is usually the first chance you’ll get to take control of the classroom. Many factors can come into play and you might have lots of “when I have my own classroom” moments, but use this time as a chance to learn and ask questions.
We’ve been lucky enough to have amazing supervising teachers when we began our careers and it was important to us to take on student teachers when we were ready for it. Passing on our knowledge is important. This is all the advice we have given to our student teachers over the years and we hope it can help you, too.
[Read more…] about How to Thrive During Your Student Teaching
The pressure is always on teachers to move through the curriculum and to use their learning time as wisely as possible. We agree. There are already enough interruptions to learning these days that you don’t need to create more distractions. So, why would we encourage you to place games with your students? Quick games are one way we build relationships, teach students to follow directions, teach our classroom management expectations and foster teamwork between classmates. Come read some of our favourite quick games you can use in your upper elementary classroom or with your fellow teachers.
[Read more…] about 9 Quick Games to Teach Your Students
