Are you looking for easy, cute, inexpensive end of year student gifts??

Then you have come to the right place!

I like to give my students a little gift at the end of the school year to celebrate our time together and to let them know I care about them and will miss them!

However, I don’t like breaking the bank on end of year student gifts!

These are all easy and cheap gifts that you can give your students to say goodbye to your year together!

Bubbles

I actually gave this one to my students just last year!!

Who doesn’t love bubbles? They’re fun and perfect for summer!

The bubbles are from Michaels. They come in a 6-pack and are only about $2.99 for that 6-pack. Click HERE to see the ones I used!

Sunglasses

Just like bubbles, sunglasses are perfect for end of year student gifts because they go perfectly with the summer theme!!

Plus, there are so many options for little phrases you can use on the gift tags!

One option is, “You made this year so BRIGHT!”

Another option is, “Keep shining BRIGHT this summer!”

You can buy these sunglasses in bulk on Amazon, which makes them perfect for the whole class!

These particular ones come in a 24-pack for about $17. Click HERE to see them on Amazon!

Glow Sticks or Glow Bracelets

Anything that glows is so much fun!! You could use these during an end of year glow-in-the-dark party!!

Or, give them to the kids to have their own glow-in-the-dark fun during the summer!

I got these glow bracelets from Michaels, but I’ve seen them at Party City and even in the discount section at Target!!

This tube of 12 bracelets cost about $1.49, so each student could have their own tube. Or you could give each student a couple individual bracelets. Up to you! Click HERE to see the ones I bought!

A Fun Book

I appreciate an end of year student gift that encourages the kids to read!

That’s why I did fun summer-themed books one year as a gift!

What’s also great about giving your students a book at the end of the school year is you can personalize it with a special note inside the front cover. Or differentiate for your students’ interests by giving them a book you know they’ll love!

I bought this book on Scholastic and used some of my book club points, so it was especially inexpensive!

Notebook/Journal and Pencil

Along the same lines as giving the kids a good book to read, giving them a notebook or journal encourages them to keep writing over the summer!

The last time I gave this gift to my students, Target had cute little spiral notebooks in the discount section. I had to go to two different Targets to buy enough for all my students, but it was worth it!!

The notebook pictured above came from the Dollar Tree because Target didn’t have the cute notebooks when I was looking for notebooks the following year.

However, I did get the pencil from the Target discount section! I usually find a 10-pack for one or two dollars!

Play-Doh

This end of year student gift is obviously a little better suited to younger grades, but it’s still worth a mention!!

You can buy single little tubs of Play-Doh at Michaels for 99 cents each. Or you can buy a kit of them (price varies depending on which kit you choose).

Click HERE to see the individual tubs at Michaels!

Chalk

Encourage the kids to get outside and express their creativity with sidewalk chalk!

I found this little tub of chalk in the discount section at Target, but I can’t say that it’s available every year.

You can find other varieties of sidewalk chalk at Michaels or Party City, though!

Legos or Building Blocks

This is a great end of year student gift for a class who likes to build and construct!

I found this set in the discount section at Target. I have seen little building block sets a few different years, so keep your eyes out!!

Summer Bucket

Honestly, this one can be a bit more expensive of a gift… Depending on what you choose to put inside the summer bucket.

The pale and shovel came together as a set, and I found it in the discount section at Target. They actually had a few different options to choose from.

Inside the bucket, I put a summer book, a tub of Play-Doh and a container of bubbles. However, you could put anything you want inside (or nothing at all)! That’s where the amount you spend for this gift could really vary depending on what you want to do!

End of Year Student Gifts– Gift Tags!

Whatever gift you choose, it wouldn’t be complete with a cute gift tag to go with it!!

All of the gift tags in the pictures above are in my TeachersPayTeachers store! And they are editable– you can type your name into them and they will auto-populate into the rest of the tags!! That way you don’t have to type your name into each individual tag!

Just click the picture above to check them out in my store!!

Be sure to save this blog post to Pinterest so you can come back to these ideas year after year!!

The post 9 Easy (and Cheap) End of Year Student Gifts appeared first on A Differentiated Class.

Do you struggle with keeping all of your teacher stuff organized? I don’t blame you. You have a million things on your mind, so the last thing you want to do is think about organization.

That’s why I did the thinking for you!

I’m sharing with you my tried-and-true teacher organization tips that have helped me streamline my classroom and de-clutter the mess!

Teacher Organization Tip #1

Get a teacher cart.

No joke… This teacher cart CHANGED MY LIFE.

First of all, it’s cute. It rolls everywhere. And it’s the perfect size to tuck into small spaces!

I got both the cart and the white bins inside the cart from Michael’s. Click here to see the teacher cart. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the white bins on their website, so I don’t know if they carry these exact ones anymore. I did see these ones that looked similar, though.

Different teachers use their teacher carts for various purposes. I use my teacher cart to hold my small group supplies. Here’s what I keep on it:

• Extra pencils
• Miniature white boards (from Really Good Stuff)
• Face pads to use as white board erasers (from Dollar Tree)
• Dry erase markers
• Markers
• Crayons
• Glue sticks
• The other bins are holding my guided reading books for each group

When I need it, all I have to do is roll it on over to my small group table!

In fact, my teacher cart was even featured in the blog post “41 Instagram-Worthy Teaching Hacks” on the We Are Teachers website!! That’s how useful it is! Want to see their other 40 teaching hacks? Click here!

Teacher Organization Tip #2

Get a durable teacher paper organizer.

I don’t really know what it’s officially called, but you know what I’m talking about! The things with all the shelves where you can stack your papers!

This will help keep your teacher desk organized and *hopefully* clear of clutter!

Here’s what I use…

I got it from IKEA and I love it!! You can click the picture above to check it out (no affiliate link… just sharing what I love!).

It’s made of metal, so it’s super durable!! And the shelves slide out so you can easily grab whatever papers are in there. As you can see in the picture, I actually have two of them… Side by side.

I’m in a new role now, so this picture shows how I’m using it to organize the various papers and activities for each grade.

In my own classroom, I used it very differently. Here’s how I labeled my shelves:

1. Work too be graded
2. Papers to be copied
3. Papers to be filed
4. Extra copies
5. Important papers

But play around with it and see what works for you!

Teacher Organization Tip #3

Decide how you want to store your activities and lessons for the week.

This one took me some time to figure out! I played around with all kinds of different set-ups for how to organize my activities for the week!

Ultimately, I decided on the ever-so-popular method of storing my activities for the week in book bins. (I got these book bins from Amazon… Click the picture below to see the ones I bought!)

However, what I did differently is that I didn’t organize the activities by the day of the week (i.e. Monday, Tuesday, etc.). That was too limiting for me. If I don’t get to an activity on Monday, should I move it to the Tuesday bin? What if I don’t get to it until Friday? Will I remember which bin it’s in?

Nope.

So, here’s what works for me… I organize my weekly activities by SUBJECT AREA. That way I always know where to look!

I label my bins with these categories…

• Reading
• Math
• Writing (and word study)
• Social studies/science
• Miscellaneous (for the random activities that didn’t really fit with any particular subject)

Organizing my lessons and activities this way made my life so much easier!

Teacher Organization Tip #4

Have a place for “extra” supplies.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to go out and buy a bunch of extra crayons, scissors, etc.

It just means that when a student ends up with an extra pair of scissors, for example, because they grabbed someone else’s by mistake, they have a place to put them.

Or, if you find a few crayons on the ground after cleaning up from an activity, you have a place to put them.

Then, when a student realizes they’re missing their scissors or their red crayon, they know where to look! The “extras” drawer or bin!

This is sooo helpful for a number of reasons!

1. You don’t have to be the “keeper” of all the misfit supplies.
2. The kids don’t have to come to you every time they can’t find something… They look in the “extras” bin first.
3. It helps build responsibility… If a student finds a crayon, they can put it in the extras bin instead of ignoring it because it’s not theirs. (At least that’s the idea… Does that always happen? Of course not. But we can dream.)

Teacher Organization Tip #5

Have a place for your students to turn in their classwork and their homework.

Because if you don’t, the piles of papers will consume you!

Some teachers use hanging files. I use plastic bins.

Why do I use plastic bins, you ask? A few reasons…

1. Plastic bins are simple. One place for classwork, one place for homework. I don’t need to go digging through individual files to get to all of the kids’ work.
2. They’re portable. For example, I can take the bin with me to the assembly and start looking at their work.
3. They’re cheap. I got these bins in the discount section at Target several years back. I think they were like $3 each.

Whichever you choose, be consistent with it! If the kids always know where to turn in their work, there’ll be fewer questions and more organization!

Teacher Organization Tip #6

Have a way to organize games and other activities.

I LOVE using games for a variety of activities… Centers, whole-group practice with a skill, and for fast-finishers. (I mean, what’s easier than saying, “Go grab a math or spelling game!” when a student finishes their work early??)

Because I use games so often, I need a way to organize them so that they’re easy for both me and the students to access!

For *most* of my games, I use the same plastic drawers that I use for the extras supplies. I just label each drawer with the name of the game.

These games are from my CVC Games resource! I have a blog post all about what’s included with these games, so click here if you’d like to read it!

The other way I organize games is with zipper pouches. These are great for card games and anything that involves small pieces!

Teacher Organization Tip #7

Have a place to store student files.

Believe me… You’re going to want all of your students’ work in one place when it comes time to do parent-teacher conferences and report cards!

I used to use a binder system where I put each student’s work into big binders with one for each subject area. The problem with this was that big binders are not easily portable. So if I wanted to work on report cards at home, I had to bring home 3-4 huge binders full of stuff! The other problem is that I had to flip through 3-4 binders in order to complete each student’s report cards. Not fun.

So instead, I started using this portable hanging file bin. I don’t remember where I bought this one, but I’m sure all the usual places carry them.

Why the hanging files work better…

Is this still a big, bulky to have to take home with me if I want to work from home? Sure. But at least it’s only ONE big, bulky thing instead of many!

Plus, this way I can easily pull their work out to have in front of me for parent-teacher conferences. With the binder system, I’d have to flip through a bunch of different binders to collect all of their work.

To make it even MORE organized, I kept 3 folders inside each hanging file– one for each trimester. So when it was time for trimester two conferences, I only had to pull out the trimester two folder.

And in case you didn’t already notice, I labeled all of the hanging files with student numbers!! That way, I don’t have to change out the labels every year. I can just re-use them.

*By the way, using student numbers is one of the time-saving tips I talk about in my blog post, “Time-Saving Tips for Teachers.” If you want to read the other tips, click here!!

I hope these teacher organization tips have helped you de-clutter and reduce the mess!

Comment below and tell me which tip (or tips) you have implemented in your classroom!!

And don’t forget to save this post on Pinterest for future reference!!

The post Teacher Organization Tips Every Teacher Needs appeared first on A Differentiated Class.

So many teachers have been thrown into the world of distance learning with very little preparation. Many of you might even have your own kids at home that you’re trying to care for.

This is why I’ve pulled together some distance learning resources and tips for you to *hopefully* make things a little easier!! And best of all… They’re free!

Distance Learning Choice Boards

Choice boards work wonders for student engagement because the kids get to pick which activities they work on each day! Distance learning makes this no different.

These choice boards will keep your students engaged! And students can work on them throughout the day to fit their schedule!

And here’s what I especially love… Just about all of the activities are screen-free! That’s right… Almost every activity on these choice boards will give your students a break from being on a device.

I’ve created 4 different versions of choice boards:

• Kindergarten
• 1st grade
• 2nd grade
• Editable

Each choice board has activities that are specific to that grade level’s common core standards in math and ELA. Plus, there’s an editable version with a blank template so that you can create your own choice board!

Click the image below to download them from my freebie library!

*If you don’t already have access to my freebie library, you can sign up to receive access! This will allow you to download free resources straight to your computer!

Educreations is Perfect for Virtual Lessons

Educreations is a digital whiteboard where you can write, draw, type and import images. There is a free version and a premium version. I’ve always used the free version, but you do have access to more features and more storage with the premium version.

I’ve always used the app on my iPad, but there’s also a web version to use on a computer.

The best part of Educreations (at least for distance learning) is that you can record both your voice and screen while you annotate! So you can show students how to use a particular math strategy, for example, at the same time that you’re explaining it.

The second best part of Educreations is that your students don’t need their own accounts. Once you’ve sent the link to a video you’ve created, your students can view it without signing into anything.

And the third best part of Educreations is how easy it is to share the video with your students!!

Click the video below to see some of the features of Educreations and how to share the video with your students once you record it!

Epic! Books

Many of you might already know about Epic! Books! If not, it’s basically a collection of digital books for elementary-aged kids. So awesome!

When you search for books, you can click the “Read to Me” option and it will only show you the books where it will read the book to the child. This is perfect for young students who are not independently reading yet.

And what’s even better is that parents can sign up for a free trial for 30 days! This means that you don’t have to send them any log-in information because they’ll create their own accounts!

Or, as a teacher, you can create an account for your class where you can assign books to your kids to read. You’ll just need to notify the parents/kids of their usernames and passwords.

Either way, it’s free and there are a ton of amazing books to choose from!

Scholastic Learn at Home

Scholastic has developed resources and activities for parents to use at home with their kids! And they’re categorized by grade level!

The activities include books that the kids can read digitally, videos and activity suggestions. This resource is meant for parents, so these are by no means in-depth lesson plans. But it’s a super helpful website for busy teachers who want to give parents an easy resource to go to that doesn’t require a log-in!

RAZ Kids/Kids A-Z

Similar to Epic! Books, RAZ Kids is an online library of digital books (the free app is called Kids A-Z). However, there are a few differences between Epic! and RAZ Kids:

• Almost all of the books on RAZ Kids have a listening option where the book will be read to the student.
• RAZ Kids has comprehension quizzes for each book that are standards-based.
• Kids/parents can choose books that are on their level.
• RAZ Kids is not normally free, but as of March 2020, they are offering a 90-day free trial for parents (14-day free trial for teachers)

If you direct the parents in your class to sign up for a free trial, they can have their child read or listen to books and take the comprehension quizzes.

Distance Learning Resources: Parent Sheet

I have compiled the above resources into a Parent Sheet that you can email out to your parents! That way, they can access all of these free resources and all you have to do is send them the PDF!

The beauty of this list is that none of these online websites require you (the teacher) to set anything up. The parents can create their own accounts with their own passwords and you won’t have to manage any of it.

Ergo… Absolutely no extra work for you!

Click the image below to download the free PDF from my freebie library!

All you would do is send the parents in your class the PDF via email (or upload the PDF to your Google Drive and send the link via ClassDojo or Seesaw).

You could also include a blurb in your email about how these activities can be “sprinkled” throughout the day, any day.

I hope these free distance learning resources are helpful for you!! Leave a comment below to share how you’re tackling distance learning and making it happen!!

The post Free Distance Learning Resources to Ease Your Stress! appeared first on A Differentiated Class.

I L-O-V-E reading lots of picture books during the first few days of school!! They ease everyone’s fears and worries about the new school year, teach valuable lessons and are just plain FUN! Plus, they’re super easy to grab when you have an extra 10 minutes to fill!

Here are my tried and true, go-to first day of school books!!

Build Classroom Community

Building a positive, accepting and welcoming classroom community begins on day one!

The Sandwich Swap

This is a great first-day-of-school book to read before your students go to lunch.

I’ve found that this book is a great way to begin a discussion about celebrating our differences as well as what to do when someone likes/does/eats something that you’re not familiar with!

Leo the Late Bloomer

Another important lesson in my classroom that I always try to emphasize is that not everyone learns things at the same speed or in the same way. I might not read this next book on the first day of school, but I for sure read it within the first few days!! It’s especially important as my students start to take those beginning-of-the-year assessments!

I want my students to know that it’s okay to not be good at something right away and that it’s okay for others to not be good at something right away… We all bloom in our own time!! #growthmindset

Introduce Class Rules

As boring as they are to talk about sometimes, we all know that classroom rules are a NECESSITY!

I believe that the kids should participate in the rule-making process. This helps them take ownership of the class rules and helps them understand why we have them in the first place.

Officer Buckle and Gloria

I use the following book to begin my discussion about why we need rules. It’s a fun first-day-of-school book because it’s silly and always makes the kids smile. But it’s also a great segue into brainstorming rules we should have in our classroom!

Library Lion

This next book is another great one for discussing classroom rules!! Although the ultimate lesson of the book is that sometimes rules need to be broken (like in an emergency), it’s still a great way to begin talking about the importance of having rules!

Ease Your Students’ Nerves

First Day Jitters

This first book is PERFECT to read at the very beginning of the day on the first day of school! The surprise ending is always fun too!! (Spoiler alert… The teacher is the one with the jitters!)

The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School

I love reading this next book before taking the class on a tour of the school… Just like the gingerbread man! It’s important for the kiddos to know right from the start where the closest bathrooms are, the nurse’s office, etc. Sure, many of your students will probably already know where those are. But you may have some new kids who don’t.

Making sure everyone knows where the important locations are can really ease some nerves and help everyone feel welcome!

FREEBIE ALERT! Want an editable template that you can use to create a fun scavenger hunt around your school that’s inspired by the Gingerbread Man?? Click the picture below to sign up for my FREEBIE Library where you can download the scavenger hunt activity for free!!

Already have the password to the FREEBIE Library?? Click the button below to go straight to it!

What are some of your favorite books for the first day of school?? Let me know in the comments below!!

Don’t forget to save this post on Pinterest so you can reference each school year!!

The post My Go-To First Day of School Books! appeared first on A Differentiated Class.

Need a fun and engaging way to teach your students short vowel sounds in CVC words?? What could be more fun and engaging than games?!? These 3 CVC games will help your students master their short vowel sounds AND they’ll have no idea they’re learning!

Hint: Make sure you read to the end of this post for an exclusive CVC Games FREEBIE!!

First things first… When teaching phonics, it is important that the students first learn how to both blend and segment sounds. Here’s a reminder of what the difference is between the two.

Blending Sounds

Blending sounds is when you take separate sounds in a word and blend them together to read a word. For instance, a student would take each sound–c-a-t–and blend them together to read it as “cat.” This skill is very important when learning how to read.

Segmenting Sounds

Segmenting sounds is basically the opposite of blending. It is when you take a word and separate it into its individual sounds. For example, “hat” would be separated into h-a-t. This is important when learning how to spell words.

Both skills are important for students to learn because you obviously want your students to be able to read and spell CVC words!

Luckily, these games help your students practice both skills!

And these games are incredibly easy to prep! All you have to do is print, laminate (if you wish) and play! Plus, the only supplies you need are materials that you probably already have on hand!

Match a Picture! CVC Game

The “Match a Picture!” game focuses on helping students blend sounds together to read CVC words. There are 5 different game boards for the 5 different short vowel sounds, so the students get plenty of practice with reading words with each sound!

The students read the words on the game board and then color the corresponding picture on their recording sheet that matches the word. Any game that also involves coloring is sure to be a hit in the classroom!!

Spin and Bump! CVC Game

Like “Match a Picture!”, “Spin and Bump!” also helps the students practice blending sounds in CVC words. This time, the students spin words, and then look for the matching picture. Again, there are 5 versions for each of the short vowel sounds!

The students will LOVE being able to “bump” their opponent’s counter off of the board when they spin the same word!

Roll and Write! CVC Game

This one helps the students segment sounds in order to spell CVC words correctly. When the students land on a picture, they need to write the word on their recording sheet.

Using the CVC Games in Your Classroom

These 3 CVC games can be used so many ways!

Literacy Centers

One of my favorite ways to use games is as an independent literacy center! Once the students know how to play the games, they can play them on their own while I meet with small reading groups! Plus, with 15 different game boards, there are plenty of options and they won’t get bored!

Fast Finisher Activity

Another way I love to use games is as a fast-finisher activity. I like to keep the games somewhere that is accessible to the students so that any time they finish an activity early, I can say, “Go grab a game to play with a partner!”

Reading Groups

Use these with your small reading groups to help them practice important short vowel sounds!

Organizing the CVC Games

Because these CVC games don’t require a bunch of tiny pieces or cards, keeping them organized is super easy!

I laminate my game boards to help keep them durable and then store them in plastic drawers for my students to access easily.

Another way to keep the games organized is to glue them into file folders and use them as file folder games! You can write the name of the game and the vowel sound it features on the tab so that you can quickly tell which game you are grabbing!

CVC Games: Short Vowels

These games are perfect for your students and super easy for you!!

• They help your students practice both blending and segmenting sounds!
• These games are so easy to prep… Just print, laminate and use!!
• They don’t require a bunch of materials or supplies– everything you need you probably already have on hand!
• Easily keep them organized with file folders or plastic drawers!

Ready to grab all 15 game boards and their recording sheets? Click the image below!

CVC Games: Short “a” FREEBIE!

Want to give these games a try for yourself? Click the image below, sign up with your personal email address and you’ll get the password to my FREEBIE Library where you can download lots of FREEBIES including all of my short “a” games!

After you download the games, I would LOVE to hear how you use them in your classroom!! Leave a comment below and let me know!

If you’re looking for more resources to help your students master their phonics skills, check out this post all about my 104 Must-Have Phonics Word Lists!

The post 3 CVC Games for Teaching Short Vowels appeared first on A Differentiated Class.

I have a confession to make… I’m a procrastinator. I’ve been a procrastinator for as long as I can remember. But in teaching, procrastination doesn’t really pay off.

I would always end up more stressed and with less time on my hands than if I had just buckled down and done the work when I should have. So over time, I learned these 5 time-saving tips for teachers… And now I want to share them with you!

I really hope that these tips can help you manage your time more effectively! They’re all things you can quickly and easily do at the beginning of the year (or any time of the year, really) that will make your life easier and save you time later on!

Time-Saving Tip #1: Make “New Student” Bags

Out of all of my time-saving tips for teachers, this one is my FAVORITE!

If you’ve ever had a new student start in the middle of the school year, you know how stressful it can be! It’s no fun staying at school for hours trying to get everything ready for your new kiddo.

That’s why this time-saving tip will come in SO HANDY! Ready for it?

Put together some “new student” bags at the beginning of the school year!!

Take a few gallon-size plastic bags and put some extra supplies inside each. Include supplies that a new student coming into your classroom would need. Here are some ideas:

• pencils
• erasers
• glue
• notebooks
• folders
• extra workbooks you use with your students
• scissors
• crayons or other coloring supplies

Then, when you find out a new student will be arriving to your classroom, all you need to do is grab one of your “new student” bags, label the supplies with their name or student number and VOILA! No more staying late trying to get everything ready!

Time-Saving Tip #2: Make a Template for Sub Plans

Similar to when you have a new student arriving, having to miss a day of school can be so much work!! To me, writing sub plans is like washing the dishes with a toothbrush… So tedious and annoying. I know sub plans are necessary, but trying to make sure your sub has all the information he/she needs for the day (or days) is a huge task!

Therefore, I bring you my next time-saving tip… Make a template for your sub plans ahead of time!

Here’s how…

Create a basic outline of your schedule.

The key to this is to do it at the beginning of the year… NOT the night before you need the sub! That doesn’t save anyone any time!

Start by typing a basic outline of your schedule. Then, when the time comes that you need to miss a day (or days) of school, all you have to do is fill in the outline with the specific activities you want the sub to do. I really recommend making this on Google Drive because then you can access it anywhere, any time!

Believe me, when you have a fever, this will be so amazing!! The last thing you want to do when you’re shivering with a thermometer in your mouth is have to start fresh with sub plans! This way, you’ll at least have the basic outline for the day and will just have to fill in the activities for each chunk of time.

Include important information for your sub!

Another thing you can include in your sub plans template is any student information that’s important for your sub to know. Here are some ideas:

• Allergy information
• Names of helpful students
• Names students with any special needs
• Dismissal notes (i.e. who takes the bus, who walks home, etc.)
• Classroom management strategies they can use with your class

Having all of that already typed and ready to go will save you so much time because you won’t have to keep re-typing it every time you have a sub!

Some people include that information in a sub binder or sub tub. I have a sub folder where I keep some of that information. However, if I’m out sick, it’s sometimes easier to just email everything to a colleague who can print it for your sub. That way you don’t have to explain where to find the sub tub/binder/folder. Again, that’s why having everything typed on Google Drive is great because you can access it wherever!

Time-Saving Tip #3: Create a Consistent Morning Work Routine

The morning times can be chaos… The kids are coming in and getting settled, there’s homework being turned in, Ashley is handing you a note from a parent, Susie is late, Johnny has a question…

So much to juggle! That’s why I needed to come up with a morning work routine that was easy for me to implement and predictable for the kids so they wouldn’t have to ask me questions about what to do.

This is what I have displayed on my projector each morning:

• Turn in your homework.
• Complete your DLR and math morning work (more details on that below…)
• Read books quietly when you’re finished

Daily Language Review

We use Daily Language Review for part of our morning work routine, so all I have to do on the slide for that day is tell them which page to complete. Luckily, the workbooks are provided to me by my school. If you’re not familiar with Daily Language Review, it’s basically a workbook where the students correct sentences each day and practice grammar skills.

Math Morning Work

But I felt like my students needed more than just language skills. They needed to practice math skills also! But I didn’t want to make something that would require me to make copies every day. Thus, I created my math morning work!

My math morning work uses a number of the day, so students can practice the same skills multiple times– just with different numbers! At the beginning of the year, I photocopy each sheet onto a different color of cardstock (that way it’s durable enough to last the year).

I put the sheets in sheet protectors so that the kids can write on them with dry erase markers and use them over and over again. I introduce each sheet one at a time, and the students keep them in a morning work folder. Eventually, they store all 8 sheets in their folder and they complete different sheets on different days.

So once the students know how to complete all of the sheets, I can change up which sheets they complete on which days. One day, I might say to complete the pink sheet, but the next day they might complete the blue sheet. The day after that they might complete the yellow sheet. That way my students can practice all of the skills and won’t get bored!

I have a set for kindergarten and first grade and a set for second and third grade! Click the links to check them out!

Time-Saving Tip #4: Use Student Numbers

I learned this when I was student teaching and I have never gone back!! Give your students numbers at the beginning of the year. Typically, their number order is the same as the order of their names alphabetically.

But here’s the best part… Use student numbers for everything that you want to reuse the next year!

• Student Mailboxes
• Student Hooks/Cubbies
• Individual Whiteboards
• Book Bins
• Anything else you might reuse the next year!

If you use student names on these items, then you have to relabel them year after year with each new class. But, if you use student numbers, you can reuse them for as long as you want without having to relabel!

Don’t get me wrong… I do label things with their names if it’s something that I can’t reuse– things like workbooks, folders, etc. I definitely want there to be some items that are personal to them. Other than that, I use student numbers to label and it has been such a time saver in the long run!!

Time-Saving Tip #5: Don’t Grade All the Things

As teachers, we have the tendency to feel like every. single. piece of work the students complete needs to be graded.

However, you do not have to grade everything!

Some things that you assign to your students to complete are things that help you see which students “get it” and which students need more practice. Sure, you’ll want to look through them and write down the names of students who need extra practice, but you probably don’t need to formally grade them all. Boom! Ten minutes of time saved right there!

Also, I don’t grade work that is completed with a partner or with a group. I look it over to see how the group did, but because it was a joint effort, I feel like grading it doesn’t really give me feedback on each individual. Therefore, I’ll stamp it with a “great job” stamp and move on! Boom! Another ten minutes saved!

Here’s my general rule of thumb…

If it doesn’t HAVE to be graded, don’t grade it! Simple as that!

Please don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying you should have the students complete a bunch of work and then never look at it! You will still want to look it over to make sure your students are understanding the concepts and skills, but you don’t need to formally grade it every time.

Freebie Alert!!

Don’t want to have to memorize these time-saving tips for teachers?? Luckily, I have compiled them into a FREE checklist!! Click the image below to sign up for access to the FREEBIE Library where you can find the Time-Saving Tips Checklist… And other free resources as well!!

After you download the checklist, comment below to let me know how these time-saving tips for teachers have helped you!! What other time-saving tips for teachers do you use??

Free Distance Learning Resources

We all know that distance learning has added a whole new layer of stress to teachers’ jobs!

I wanted to help out as best I could, so I wrote THIS POST that includes free distance learning resources.

Click the picture above to check it out!

I hope these time-saving tips have been helpful!! Let me know in the comments below if you’ve used any of these tips… Or, let me know if you have your own time-saving tips for teachers!!

The post 5 Time-Saving Tips for Teachers appeared first on A Differentiated Class.

After coming back from Winter Break, I always love to have an easy activity planned to help ease the transition back into school (I’m usually the one who needs the easing… Not the students ha!)

That’s why this go-to book and New Year Resolution For Students activity is PERFECT!! It takes pretty much no prep or planning! Plus it’s a great way to kick off the new year with your students!

I read this book aloud to my students every year! It’s a super cute story about a squirrel who has trouble coming up with a New Year’s Resolution so he goes to his friends for advice. Just click the image above to check it out on Amazon!

And this book is a great lead-in to the students writing their own New Year’s Resolutions! I created this FREE New Year Resolution for Students activity for the kids to record their resolutions. I usually back them on colored construction paper and display them in my window for the parents to read. They turn out super cute and are so fun to read!!

This FREEBIE includes a full-page version and a half-page version so that some kids can write more while others might not.

Digital Version Now Included!

I’ve created a digital version in Google Slides that you can assign to your students through Google Classroom!

The text boxes are already provided for your students to make it super easy for them to use!!

Click the picture below to gain access to my FREEBIE Library where you can grab the New Year Resolution for Students FREEBIE (both paper and digital versions included) for yourself!!

The post Free New Year Resolution for Students! appeared first on A Differentiated Class.

Are you ready to start teaching close reading but aren’t sure how to start or what to do? Don’t worry! I got you!

Teaching close reading is very do-able when you have the right resources and these easy steps!! Get ready to tackle close reading like a PRO!!

PLUS… After you read about how to teach close reading, be sure to look for the exclusive FREEBIE at the end of this post that will help you give close reading a try with your students!

So let’s dive in…

Step 1 of Teaching Close Reading: Choose the right text

Not every text is worthy of being a close reading text. Why? Because your students will read the text 3 times! So you’ll want the text to be short and have interesting content for your students! That doesn’t mean you can’t use books… Just choose a single chapter or section instead of making your students read the whole book three times!

Animal Habitats Close Reading Resources

If you don’t want to have to go hunting for close reading texts, the above passages are perfect for close reading! They only have 3 paragraphs each, so they’re not too long to read multiple times. Plus, they go perfectly with any habitat unit because each set of passages is about animals from a different habitat: ocean, desert and rainforest. Click the picture above to check them out!

Step 2 of Teaching Close Reading: Decide how to read the text

Close reading doesn’t always have to happen the same way. Sometimes I read texts aloud to my students to model different strategies and sometimes my students read the texts on their own. There is no “right way” to read the texts when you are doing close reading. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Whole group read-aloud: Read it aloud to your students. This is great for introducing close reading to your students and modeling for them how to look back at the text multiple times.
• Small groups: Close reading works well for small reading groups because the students will have more opportunities to discuss and share their thoughts.
• Independently: Once your students are more experienced with close reading, they may be capable of completing their close reading independently.

Step 3 of Teaching Close Reading: Read the text multiple times

Here’s the fun part! Now you’re ready to actually read the text with your students!

However, you do NOT want the fact that they’ll be reading the text multiple times to be a secret!! That is a sure-fire way to end up with some upset students!

Instead, tell your students that they will read the text more than once and that they will be looking for different kinds of information each time they read it. Try not to give your students too much background information about the topic because you’ll want them to to use text evidence later on to answer questions!

The structure below is just a guideline. If you’d rather change it up and focus on vocabulary during the 1st read, go for it! Or if you want to focus on comprehension during the 2nd read, feel free! As with anything else in teaching, teaching close reading needs to work for you!!

1st Read: Overall comprehension

The goal for this first read is for your students to just read and get a basic understanding of the text. Try not to ask any comprehension questions after this first read. What you might want to do is talk about the text structure instead. Here are some ideas for questions to ask after the 1st read (if you choose to ask any at all):

• What kind of text is this (i.e. fiction or nonfiction)?
• What kind of text structure is this (i.e. compare/contrast, description, sequence, etc.)?
• What is the author’s purpose in writing this text?

2nd Read: Vocabulary

This time your students are going to focus on tricky vocabulary. You can either pick the words ahead of time or have the students pick out the words that they felt were tricky. Either way, try to have your students make predictions and use the context clues to figure out the meanings of these unknown words.

Having the definitions ready to go is so helpful because a) you’re not trying to think of the definition on the spot, and b) your students can check to see if the word actually means what they thought it means!

The vocabulary cards in the picture above come from my Animal Habitats Close Reading resources. What makes these amazing is that the words and the definitions are all right there for you!! You don’t have to do anything except print them and cut them out!

For each close reading passage, there are 3 vocabulary words for your students to focus on. There are also 2 options for the vocabulary cards: one-sided cards with the word and definition on the front, and two-sided cards where the word is on one side and the definition is on the other.

3rd Read: Dive Deeper into Comprehension

Now is the time for your students to really dive into comprehension! This is when you get to ask your students those text-dependent questions that you’ve been waiting to ask!! Just like with the vocabulary words, it’s best to have some questions prepared ahead of time!

My Animal Habitats Close Reading sets not only include various nonfiction passages and vocabulary cards, but they also include two different comprehension activities for each passage.

Every close reading passage has a short-answer comprehension activity where students can go back and highlight where they find the answers. There is also a more open-ended comprehension activity for each passage that helps your students practice comprehension skills like:

• Identifying the main idea and supporting details
• Comparing and contrasting
• Identifying myths vs. facts

To check out the whole resource with all 18 nonfiction passages, 54 vocabulary cards and 36 comprehension activities, click the picture below!

Or, if you want to try out my nonfiction passages, vocabulary cards and comprehension activities for free, you’re in luck!! I have an exclusive FREEBIE for my readers! When you click the image below and enter your personal email address, you’ll receive the password to my FREEBIE Library where you can find this resource (and other free resources) that aren’t found anywhere else!

Click the image below to sign up to receive the password and download your close reading FREEBIE!

Looking for close reading passages about specific animal habitats? You can also check out these resources! Click any of the pictures to see them in my store!

Now you are ready to give close reading a try in your classroom!! Be sure to leave a comment below to let me know how it goes and, as always, feel free to ask me any questions you may still have!

The post Teaching Close Reading in 3 Easy Steps! appeared first on A Differentiated Class.