Ninja Notes

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Classroom Community

How to Chuck the Classroom Management Charts

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If you are still using clip charts or behaviour charts as part of your classroom management plan, it's time to rethink it. Come take a look at these options.

Did you know that it is possible to have good classroom management without the use of charts, rewards, or bribes?

The kids in our classrooms now are not the same as those in our classrooms even ten years ago. Many students struggle with regulation. Most students and families have not dealt with the trauma (yes, it’s trauma) that the global pandemic caused. This trauma trickles into the classroom daily.

We’re not saying you can’t reward your students when they exceed your expectations. The key here is to exceed. Come read about some of the classroom management strategies we use to help maintain the sanity of everyone in our classroom without the use of charts, rewards, or incentives.

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Inspire New Friendships With Classroom Buddies

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Classroom buddies can be much more than reading buddies. We've collected some of our favourite mentoring activities that you can use in your school to make the most of buddy time. Come learn about how you can foster these meaningful relationships.

One of the most rewarding aspects of teaching is fostering positive relationships between students. A powerful way to do this is through cross-age buddy programs. Pairing older students with younger students can create lasting friendships, enhance social-emotional skills, and promote academic growth. Buddy teachers can also become life-long friends. Come learn the benefits and collect these ideas to add to your classroom buddy time.

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How to Host a Carnaval de Québec in Your School

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We have gathered up a list of some of our students' favourite activities during our Carnval de Quebec so you can use them to host your own. It's perfect for teaching about Francophone celebrations in Canada or French culture in Canada. Come read the list.

Each year, we host a simple event to celebrate the Carnaval de Québec with the students who are learning French in our school. It doesn’t have to be complicated or elaborate to celebrate, but over the years, we’ve learned some tips to make the day go smoother. Come check out some of the events you can do to make your day special.

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Five Ways to Use a Collaborative Poster

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Collaborative posters are much more than simply colouring. You can use them to teach, communicate, work together and have fun. Come learn different ways to use collaborative posters and justify the learning that can happen during the process.

We love creating collaborative posters. They are so much fun to make, but our students also love to create them. Of course, we have made over one hundred different designs and nobody is going to have the time to use them all. But, there’s more than one way to use a collaborative poster. Come learn some of the different ways you can use them (and spoiler alert–they aren’t more complicated and still don’t require much prep).

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Last Minute Substitute Teacher Ideas When Plans Fall Through

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If you are a substitute teacher and the plans have fallen through, you need this post full of ideas. We cannot recommend planning for the worst more, but this post will get you through the start of day until things get sorted out. Come read it!

Have you been hired as a substitute teacher at the last minute? Are there no substitute teacher plans in place or you can’t find them? We pulled together this list of activities you can use to get your day sorted out. Most of the activities are designed for upper elementary, but you might be able to adapt them for your group of students.

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5 Field Trip Problems and How to Prevent Them

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Field trips can be a great way to enhance student learning and for many students it is their only chance to see and do things in the community. While they are so valuable, field trips can come with some challenges when it comes to getting volunteers to help with the supervision. Come read about five common problems on field trips and how to deal with them proactively.

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.

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