Ninja Notes

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Classroom Organization

How to Prepare For Your Reading Groups

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Teaching reading is as much organization and planning as it is about teaching. Get yourself organized with these tips that will get you ready for the whole year from our classroom experts. Come read the whole post.

You’ve been asked to do teach reading as part of your Language Arts program and you’re a little worried. It seems overwhelming. Teaching reading can be challenging.

We’ve been there. It feels like you have to learn so much on the spot and you’re concerned that you won’t do a good job. Here’s the truth. You’ll learn as you go and you will get better at it. Everyone has to start somewhere.

A big part of doing a good job maximizing your teaching time with students comes from being prepared and organized. So, let’s dig in and get you organized so you can do a great job of teaching reading.

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It’s Time to Get Your Emergency Sub Plans Ready

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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!

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The Ultimate Guide to Field Trips

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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!

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Everything You Need to Know About Flexible Seating

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Flexible seating is not about buying lots of different seating options. It's about teaching students how to regulate their emotions and learn how they work best. Come learn how we implement flexible seating in our classroom.

Do you want to try flexible seating in your classroom but you aren’t sure where to start? Maybe it’s not the right fit for your classroom management style. Let us walk you through how to start alternative seating options in your classroom so you can decide for yourself if it’s the right fit for you.

Hint hint! It’s not right for everyone.

Our goal is not to convince you to try flexible seating, but instead give you a realistic idea of how flexible seating can be a benefit to your students, problems you’ll encounter and what you should think about before you go buying yourself flexible seating furniture.

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23 Ways to Clean the Clutter From Your Classroom Hoard

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It's time to up your classroom organization game and get rid of the clutter that is drowning you in your own classroom. Come read our huge list of ways to cut back so you can streamline your classroom organization and get rid of the clutter hoard.

Is your classroom organization struggling like mine? Mr. Ninja once had to bring a giant rock on a 1400 km trip because there was a possibility it might come in handy for a science lesson. It’s lived in our garden for twelve years. Why do we do this to ourselves?

Let’s be honest. Teaching lands somewhere between collecting and hoarding. But don’t you fret! It’s time for some spring cleaning-classroom style. Classroom organization starts by cleaning out your space. Let’s clean the clutter. I promise it is hard work, but it will leave you and your students feeling refreshed!

Why did we start this classroom organization process?

Well, a big part of it is money. If teachers can get something for free, we’ll take it. We all know our classrooms are underfunded and so when interesting items come along (whether we actually need them or not) we tend to take them. What is wrong with us?

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How to Teach Reading With Book Clubs

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Using book clubs is a great way to help students read books with support while enjoying books they've chosen. We put together all our book club tips in one post to get you started. Make book clubs part of your language arts instruction. Come have a read.

Our students love to have some choice over what they read as part of our Language Arts program. Book Clubs are one way to encourage reading and discussions just like adults do. Students read for enjoyment and then talk about what they have read and recommend books to others. Setting up book clubs can be a little confusing, especially if it’s your first time. Don’t worry! We’re here to help you out.

You’re going to love book clubs!

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