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Back to School

Are You Still Wasting Time With Brain Breaks?

by BrainNinjasWP

Are brain breaks taking up too much time in your lessons and interrupting learning? You're probably using them incorrectly. Come read this post to help put the best practices for brain breaks into your classroom.

Do you find that brain breaks are disrupting your learning and working time? Do students seem more stimulated after a brain break? Is it difficult to get them calmed back down? Maybe you’ve been using brain breaks wrong? Stop wasting your learning time with brain breaks by managing them differently.

[Read more…] about Are You Still Wasting Time With Brain Breaks?

Filed Under: Classroom Tips Tagged With: Back to School, brain breaks, Classroom Management, Differentiated Instruction, Differentiation, Inclusive Classroom, professional development, Professional Learning

9 Things To Do During the First Month of School

by BrainNinjasWP

Getting back into the school year is an exciting time, but there is can be so much to do that it can be difficult to prioritize what needs to be done first. Come read through our must-do list during the first month of school in your upper elementary classroom and we'll help you out.

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

Filed Under: Classroom Tips Tagged With: Back to School, building relationships with students, Classroom Community, Classroom Organization, Classroom Set Up, communicate, communicating, communicating with parents, communication, communication with parents, First Year Teachers, first-year teachers, Holidays and Seasonal, Math Worksheets, new teacher, new teachers, Professional Learning, Teacher Mental Health, Teacher Organization, Teacher Wellness, Teacher Workload, Worksheets

You Got Your First Teaching Job…Now What?

by BrainNinjasWP

Congratulations! You got your first teaching job and are now an elementary school teacher. All that hard work has paid off and you are gainfully employed in your vocation (or calling or job to pay the bills-your choice). Now the real work begins. But don’t panic. We’ve been there! Read what you need to know to get your new job started off on the right foot.

Congratulations for getting yor first teaching job. Now the hard work begins. But where do you start? Don't worry. We've got a list of things you can do to get your school year started off right (and none of them involve teaching yet). Come have a read and put your mind at ease.
[Read more…] about You Got Your First Teaching Job…Now What?

Filed Under: Classroom Tips Tagged With: Back to School, new service teacher, new teacher, new teachers, Planning, Student Teachers, Teacher Stories, Teacher Wellness, Teacher Workload

15 Free Activities for the First Month of School

by BrainNinjasWP

Are you looking for free activities you can use during the first month of school? We gathered up some of our favourite writing, math, reading, art and classroom community activities just for you. Best of all, they're all free! Come check it out!

The first month of school is filled with so many new adventures. There is so much to do regarding setting up classroom routines. We don’t start teaching content until a few weeks into the school year. Up until that time, we see what new our students can do. We generally assess reading and writing and review math. This is a great way to get to know your students so you can plan your lessons for their needs. Here are nine free activities we use for the first month of school.

[Read more…] about 15 Free Activities for the First Month of School

Filed Under: Engaging Lessons Tagged With: Art Lessons, Back to School, Classroom Community, Classroom Set Up, Free Activities, Holidays and Seasonal, Reading, Teachers Pay Teachers, Writing Activities, Writing Prompts

How to Use Collaborative Tasks to Create Classroom Community

by BrainNinjasWP

Collaborative tasks help students learn to work together toward the classroom community they want to achieve. Read more about how we use collaborative tasks to build classroom community and learn more about the types of tasks we use.

One of the most effective classroom management strategies is the classroom community you build with your students. We start our school year with collaborative tasks to help students get to know each other. These activities help students learn to communicate and build trust. Collaborative tasks help students learn to work together toward the classroom community they want to achieve.

Come learn more about how we use collaborative tasks in our classroom.

[Read more…] about How to Use Collaborative Tasks to Create Classroom Community

Filed Under: Teaching Strategies Tagged With: Alberta, Back to School, Brain Ninjas Shop, Bulletin Boards, Classroom Community, Classroom Management, Collaborative Posters, Collaborative tasks, Diwali, Eid, Eid Al-Fitr, group work, Indigenous Cultures, Indigenous People of Canada, Posters, Remembrance Day, research, research skills, Teachers Pay Teachers, Teamwork

Simple Art Projects for Back to School

by BrainNinjasWP

Are you looking for some amazing back to school art projects? You can grab the instructions for this one on our site or get the free lesson plan in our Resource Library. Come check out these great art projects perfect for the first day of school.

One of our favourite things to do on the first day of school is a simple art project. We’ve collected some art projects for back to school that we’ve used over the years to help us get to know our new students. Self-portraits and names are great ways to get to know the personalities of your new students. Even more, having conversations while students are working is a fantastic way to get kids talking without realizing they are sharing.

Come check out these art projects for back to school (that can work any time of year)

[Read more…] about Simple Art Projects for Back to School

Filed Under: Engaging Lessons Tagged With: Art, Art Lessons, Back to School, Classroom Community, school fun

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  • Are brain breaks taking up too much time in your lessons and interrupting learning? You're probably using them incorrectly. Come read this post to help put the best practices for brain breaks into your classroom.
    Are You Still Wasting Time With Brain Breaks?
    Do you find that brain breaks...
  • There are so many people in schools that work hard to make it a special place. Find ways to thank volunteers, bus drivers, support staff, custodians, educational assistants or anyone else who makes your school a special place in this blog post chock full of of easy and inexpesive ways to show your appreciation.
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  • Are you looking for ideas to your school's Meet the Teacher Night? The last thing you need is more things added to your to-do list, so we've taken care of it for you. Come find these easy to prep and quick ways to get your classroom ready without much extra effort.
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