Attach With Velcro  Submitted by: Karen Attaching velcro to posters and fabric will make your life easier if you do not have the traditional bulletin boards. The one warning with velcro is to make sure that you are consistent with hard or soft sides to the wall and to your poster. Grade Level(s): Preschool, K, 1-2,…

Calling On Students  Submitted by: Sharon Riddle, 1st Grade On or before the first day of school, I paint each child’s name on a tongue depressor with colorful puff paint. These “sticks” are kept in a small pail on my desk. I use them to “call on students”, pick a line leader, decide who will read…

Folder for Substitutes  Submitted by: Phyllis Crabtree, Special Education Paraprofession Grade Level(s): 1-2, 3-5 I make a sub. folder. I put in my schedule, emergency information, a map of our school, and telephone numbers. I took pictures of teachers and students and include a brief description of the students’ goals. Fun tip from a sub  Submitted…

Tips for the supervising teacher Having just completed a practicum experience, I thought I might add a couple of tips: If you’re in a school were students need to trust teachers before they warm to teachers, tell the student teacher If your class is very possessive of you, consider team teaching – this will make…

Above and beyond  Submitted by: Mrs. Ivy, Grade Level(s): 7-12 Go above and beyond during your student teaching! Jobs are very competitive, so do everything to stand out. Attend every meeting required or not, and volunteer to do anything and especially volunteer to help with different clubs. I did this at my host school and landed a…

Clean Up Captain  Submitted by: Mackie, Originally posted at the Discussion Forums I would suggest designating a clean up captian for each center each week. This way you can give the responsibility to the children and they can motivate the others to help them. Post their responsibilities and make sure their is a visual for the class…

A Sound Idea  Submitted by: L. Stone Make a tape of sounds from the environment. I have one with crickets chirping, cell phones ringing, water running, a thunderstorm, a kitty mewing. When the tape is played the students are asked to identify what the noise is. Keep a numbered list for your own reference so you…

Altoid Tins  Submitted by: Upsadaisy Don’t throw out those handy Altoid tins. When empty, they can be used in many ways. Fill with beans and glue shut for a flat toss piece for games like hopscotch; fill with various objects for discovery boxes; punch or drill holes in ends to hang for wind chimes; thread ribbon…

Conference Scheduling  Submitted by: Amanda Post (A to Z Teacher Stuff), Kindergarten When it comes to scheduling, I send home a form with students outlining all the time slots available for conferences. I instruct the parents to mark their top 3 preferences with a 1, 2, and 3, and to put an X on any times…

Communication Notebook  Submitted by: Kim Bodenstab Parent provides a spiral notebook that goes back and forth from home and school daily in the child’s backpack. This provides an easy way to write a note to a parent and to make sure that they know to look for it. The parent can write info to the teacher…