Grade me tips
Set the tone for work time with background music.
From Piano Guys to Afrobeat to The Jingle Punks Hipster Orchestra, you can find a Pandora station for every occasion.
Build relationships with your students’ parents.
Read 11 Teacher-Tested Ways to Make Your Classroom Parents Adore You.
Use all the anchor charts.
Here are 22 anchor charts just for first graders!
Stop the pencil-sharpening interruptions!
Source: A Life Homemade Students can drop their dull pencils in the Sharpen Please tin and take a sharpened pencil from the Ready to Write tin. Add pencil sharpener to your list of classroom jobs, and lessons will never be interrupted by an errant sharpener again! —A Life Homemade
Have students use colored sticky notes to communicate their understanding of a concept.
Source: Love, Teach, Inspire Students signal if they’re struggling, stuck, or solid on a concept they’re learning! You can use sticky notes or colored index cards.
Let students pick their own seats (carefully).
Teaching 1st grade is part of easing kids into the school experience. Let them practice their independence with these tips for letting students choose their seats.
Reduce stress during dismissal.
Dismissal time doesn’t have to be chaotic! Check out these great tips on handling dismissal time.
Take a brain break.
Check out these 25 brain break videos, gathered just for your first graders.
Use a snappy call-and-response to get their attention.
For 27 fun ideas for quieting a noisy class, click here- good attention grabbers.
There’s a chart for that.
These classroom management anchor charts tackle every possible issue.