Let me help take some of the overwhelm out of the holiday season in your classroom. I have organization tips, writing activities, and holiday activities perfect for your upper elementary students.

Read on as I take you through five teaching resources that will help save your sanity and keep your students engaged this holiday season.

There is a better way to lesson planning. A way that streamlines the process, saves you time, while also boosting rigor. I’m talking about planning backward. This idea might be new to you. If it is, I ask you to keep an open mind, continue reading, and trust me.

The best approach to behavior management is to be positive and proactive. Build a positive classroom environment in which students feel safe and know they can trust you. Starting a lunch bunch is just one way to make that happen. Let me show you how to get started.

Connecting with difficult students, those who challenge us in many ways, isn’t easy. But it is essential. When you succeed in building connections with your difficult students, the reward is huge. Today, I’m sharing seven simple but effective things I’ve done to build connections with those students who challenged me the most.

Taking time to rest and recharge is so important. I hope you’ve taken that time for yourself during these summer months. Giving yourself time and space to process and reflect on this past school year - as well as time to think about anything but teaching - is essential to your well-being as a teacher. But… there is another gift you need to give yourself during this time away from the classroom - the gift of a smooth start.

Every teacher wants to start the school year feeling prepared, organized, and in control. And that means setting up systems at the beginning of the year so the rest of the year runs smoothly. Today, we’re talking about three systems to put in place now to help start your school year off on the path to success.

One of the best pieces of advice I could give to any teacher is to establish (and stick to) daily classroom routines at the very beginning of the year. Not only will creating routines help you manage all there is to accomplish in the classroom every day, but it also provides much needed structure for your students. Consistent routines are one of the best strategies for avoiding behavior management issues as well. Let me share with you a few tips on how classroom routines benefit you, the best places to have routines, and advice for sticking to them.

Spontaneity can be fun when you’re planning a last minute trip or deciding what to have for dinner. However, it’s not a recipe for success when we’re talking about lesson planning. Planning without having a system in place leads to so much time wasted searching for activities and resources that might fit with what your students need to learn.

There is a better way.

To make lesson planning less time-consuming, less stressful, and infinitely more effective, you need a system. It starts with saying no to planning “Pinterest-style.”

Over the past several years, I’ve talked to hundreds of teachers about lesson planning. We all have to do it and yet so many of us never quite find a way to make the process streamlined or easy. With something so foundational to our work as teachers, establishing a successful routine for lesson planning is paramount to simplifying our jobs as a whole.

The act of lesson planning will never go away - it’s something you’ll always have to do as a teacher. So why not incorporate a few changes now that will streamline the process and save you hours of time later? With these three tips, you can easily cut your planning time in half.

Lesson planning doesn’t need to be a chore. Establishing routines and using a planning approach can go a long way to simplifying your lesson planning process. Here are four simple steps that streamlined my lesson planning process and saved me hours of time.

Planning backward will change what and how you teach. Radically. It will challenge you. It might even frustrate you at first. It will also result in instruction that is cohesive, aligned, and meaningful.

When I started planning backward, using the Understanding by Design® method it transformed my teaching. My lesson planning process and the quality of my instruction as a whole changed dramatically. For the better.

In order for learning to happen, students must be engaged. Engaging students during instruction can be a challenge, even for the best teacher. This is especially true during virtual learning. But there are ways to engage students during distance learning. Megan, a 15-year veteran, is here to share four ways she’s found to keep her students motivated and excited about their learning even while learning virtually.

Holding students accountable for assigned work can be difficult, especially during distance learning. Virtual teachers spend a great deal of time every week tracking down students who miss class meetings, fail to turn in assignments, or submit incomplete work.

Sarah Huler is a virtual 4th grade teacher in North Carolina. After being frustrated with students’ lack of accountability during distance learning, she decided to create her own solution. Because so many of you are experiencing the same frustration, I’ve asked her to share her solution with you today.

Do you have English Language Learners in your classroom? Are you looking for ways to support ELLs while teaching virtually? Well, you’ve come to the right place!

I’ve asked ShaQuina Stanley, who is an ELL Case Manager, to share her best tips for supporting ELLs during distance learning. And she did not disappoint. Get ready to learn all about how to incorporate ELL accommodations, instructional strategies for ELLs, breaking misconceptions about ESLs, and ways to build connections with ELLs and ESLs.

Just like in a brick and mortar classroom, all teachers need to set behavior expectations for students while teaching virtually. This might seem overwhelming at first, but several teachers have found ways to manage the transition from face-to-face instruction to distance learning.

Kayla, a third grade teacher from North Carolina, has found one system that works well for both in person instruction and virtual learning. Today she’s sharing with you her best tip for online classroom management

Engaging students’ families during distance learning can be a challenge. Various work schedules, learning systems, and means of communication can make it difficult to connect with parents and guardians. However, there are a few simple ways to encourage family involvement even while teaching virtually.

I’ve invited Emily Levine, a third grade teacher, to share her ways of boosting parent involvement during distance learning. As always, I encourage you to choose one that works best for you and your particular students.