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At some point, most of us have said the words, “I need a brain break…” or some variation of it. Brain breaks are important not only for kids but for adults as well. In life, we often feel like we need to focus on things intently to understand something or finish a project. Sometimes, during a long day at school, there is only so much we can take and only so long we can concentrate on one thing before everyone’s brain gets too tired to keep on. Hence where brain breaks for the classroom come into play.
Brain breaks are a great tool in almost any setting, but especially helpful in the classroom, either with small children up through the high school senior. These …

The pros and cons of technology in the classroom have been debated for as long as new technology has been introduced in education systems. Whether we like it or not, this integration of computer technology in class will only continue to expand and advance. Critics and experts understand this but often wonder what price students pay at the expense of innovation.
When we think of the classroom, some of us may have classic images stuck in our minds from our favorite movies and TV shows, if not our past experiences. In your mind, you likely still see a teacher scrawling their name on a chalkboard, a pencil, paper, and a 500-page used textbook on your wobbly desk—vocabulary words lightly…

In the ever-changing educational climate, with its constant adjustments, classroom learning has become much more student-directed. As good teachers know, student-directed learning is interesting and engaging for students. Children learn best when they are enjoying themselves and fully engaged in classroom lessons. By involving students in lesson planning and activities, student-centered learning can be an incentive for students to understand their learning styles. This will help them succeed in their future adult lives. Developing educational objectives is crucial to find effective, student-centered learning goals. All learning goals should be observable and the three M’s-…

In this article, you will find the five best pencil grips for better and more comfortable handwriting. In addition, we included a buyer’s guide at the end of the article.
As adults, we often take for granted how easily we can pick up a pencil and write. We think of a task or name or number we don’t want to forget, and we write it down. For many daily users of pens, pencils, paintbrushes, and more, it can struggle to hold these items. Young children under 7 are especially prone to having difficulty using handwriting items, as they are still developing grip …

Small group instruction refers to teaching concepts, information, and learning strategies to a small group of students. Having fewer students allows the teacher to share a deeper level of opportunity with students across different skill levels. Some of these students may struggle with different learning problems.
Benefits of Small Group Instruction
Teaching students in small groups allows the teacher to give each student more individual attention. This benefits especially those who are struggling in bigger classes. It gives them a better chance of catching up with the rest of the group.
A teacher with a smaller class can give a better formative assessment…

A text features anchor chart is a unique way to teach your students to learn and detect different nonfiction work elements. These charts give students an understanding of what text features to look for, how to find them, and why they are important. A text feature anchor chart can be more useful than a traditional lecture. It gives the reader a visual representation of the things they are looking for within a book or other work.
Creating anchor charts can be an interactive learning process. It is another way to facilitate greater learning and comprehension of the material.
How to Make A Text Features Anchor Chart
You can buy …

Helping our students practice and understand different text features is a key part of imparting reading comprehension. Interactive learning is effective at helping kids retain information and understand concepts better.  One way to make a non-fictional text more exciting is a scavenger hunt. Below you will find a free text features scavenger hunt template. You will also find some ideas of how to set up a fun scavenger hunt in the classroom.
How to Set Up the Text Features Scavenger Hunt
Before you begin your text features scavenger hunt, make sure that your students have a basic understanding of what a text element is and how to find them.
There are tons of free text …

Students retain information a lot better when their lessons are interactive and engaging. Teaching kids about text features and reading comprehension and finding ways to make these lessons interactive is a great way to really assist students during guided reading and nonfiction reading sessions. In this article, you will find fun examples to integrate text feature activities into your classroom.
There are tons of different ways to turn lessons about text features into fun tasks that make teaching nonfiction a lot easier …

In this article, you will find a list of our 10 favorite review games that are fun for students and teachers.
A review game is a fun and unique game to prepare students for tests. There are many different types of review games that students can play. They help students prepare for upcoming tests and better solidify their understanding of the content in class.
A review game aims to find ways to get students to answer questions correctly in a way that doesn’t feel like work. Group activities whereby students work in teams is a great way to foster team-building and help students with test prep.
This type of game can make the time in the classroom more…

Classroom jobs refer to in-class tasks that elementary students partake in to help them learn how to assist others, develop manners, and learn basic responsibility. These tasks make kids feel like they are part of the class. Classroom jobs promote positive social behavior and save a teacher’s time in the process. Later in this article, you will find a list of our favorite classroom jobs.
Jobs in the classroom can take a lot of different forms. They help foster a better classroom community. The teacher can assign them at the beginning of the year or change them during quarters or semesters. These small tasks are a great way to prepare kids for the real world, …

We talk a lot about how important a teacher’s work is, but we don’t often take the time to think about how much of themselves they put in their work. Let’s take a minute to look at some facts about teachers and how our teachers put in hard hours every day to help ensure all students’ quality education under their charge. Here are 10 facts about teachers that make us appreciate their work more.

1. …

Text features are an essential part of teaching. It is an academic phrase that refers to parts of the text but is not part of its main body. These features are part of the text organizational structure but don’t necessarily appear directly within the nonfiction text.
The most common areas for text features in books are the index, table of contents, captions under pictures or diagrams, glossary terms, labels or features of graphs and charts, and bolded words.
Text features are commonly used in nonfiction work. They are a unique way to help the student understand a key concept or theme. Quality text …

As great as technology is, sometimes old fashion,, writing on the whiteboard can be the best method to deliver certain types of instruction. Plus, there are so many fun things that you can do with dry erase markers in the classroom. Have students write notes of encouragement to others or write your exit ticket question up on the board for students to answer on a sticky note.
Even the classrooms with the best overhead projectors and document cameras will still find teachers who need their dry …

Stamps are a great way to bring a little extra flair to your papers and your class – and even brighten up your day. There are tons of teacher stamps to choose from that all your students will love! They can be self-inking, rubber stamps with ink – or even wooden if you’re going old school. Students love getting these on their papers, and they are a great addition to your grading routine.
Stamps can be used to ask students and parents to sign, resubmit work, or request additional assistance. Students can’t miss these large calls to action, and it is quick for a teacher to grab, stamp, and go. They are also a must-have in any …

Taking students on field trips is fun and challenging at the same time. Counting heads, booking busses, packing food and water, medical bags, and tracking down that last kid that had to get the snack bar right before leaving is always tiring. However, 2020 has left every kid and every teacher wishing for some normalcy the opportunity to see something new and exciting. The question arises as to how teachers and homeschoolers can make classes fun and exciting. How can we, as teachers, bring that loving field-trip-feeling into the classroom? The answer is virtual field trips for …

No matter where you find yourself teaching, having access to some of the greatest headphones available today will prove to be invaluable for the upcoming marking period. Headphones offer tons of fantastic opportunities for teachers and kids alike, from exciting lessons to interesting group activities. The only issue with having headphones in schools is finding the right devices for you. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of our top 10 classroom headphones for schools to use in 2021.
Each device has been tested and proven to be effective by teachers. Choose the right headphones with confidence by following our buyer’s guide to picking the right device. …

We’ve all been there – we need to write something down, and we’re missing a pen to take these critical notes – or even worse, the ink is dry! There are so many pens out there, and it may be hard to navigate the difference between gen pens and felt tip pens, why you should choose ballpoint pens over other pens, and so on. The options are almost limitless, but we’re here to make your job a little bit easier and share the best pens for teachers you can get on Amazon. Trust us; you’ll love them, no matter which one you will buy!
If you’d like to skip to the end, here’s our ultimate ranking of the best teacher pens.
Best Teacher Pens …

Gone are the days where desks are always in rows, where students are essentially seen and not heard, and where the classroom environment was all note taking and PowerPoint presentations. Students don’t learn well that way. But with those environmental factors fading away, teachers are taking on roles that they were never trained in. So, how can teachers create a positive learning environment in the classroom without too much cost?
Teachers have become parents, encouragers, counselors, and the complete scapegoat for much of the failure in education. However, we power on and continue to serve our students with little material and much strategy. With this said, one thing that doesn…

Music is a highly underrated, underutilized tool in the classroom. Not only is it an impactful medium to integrate into your lessons, but music also offers numerous benefits. Whether you are tutoring online or in-person this year, there are several ways to include music in a way that ensures the kids in your classroom enjoy the lesson and continue to stay engaged. Read more below to learn about the benefits of music, how to integrate it into a lesson plan, and suggestions for 20 school-appropriate songs to start your own kid-friendly playlist.
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Thankfully, chalkboards are becoming a thing of the past – they are dusty, difficult to clean, and hard to write on. They’ve been replaced in most modern classes with whiteboards, interactive whiteboards, and smartboards, which are way more fun to work with. Many whiteboards are of high quality, have different color dry erase markers, and can be easily cleaned, with or without cleaners. That’s where the best whiteboard erasers come in!
This handy product will help you erase your white board without soap and water, cleaning it simply by swiping back and forth. They …