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!!
