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Classroom Organization

How To Transform Your Closet into the Ultimate Teacher Home Office

One of the first things you’ll notice when you walk into my classroom is how much I adore using organizational tools from The Container Store. I always save up to purchase a couple special items for my classroom each year from their amazing selection. Over the past ten years, I’ve been able to slowly-but-surely design a learning environment that meets my organizational dreams and helps students work as self-directed learners. That organized space is something I’ve

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Core Inspiration job cards attached to classroom whiteboard next to class schedule.
Classroom Management

Are Your Classroom Jobs Ineffective? Here's What You Can Do.

Creating an efficient learning environment that feels calm and easy to navigate so students can focus on learning is essential. Many teachers head into the start of a school year ready to welcome their students into a carefully-planned environment, but find themselves struggling to maintain that environment once the school year gets rolling. If this sounds familiar, then it is time to start leveraging the power of classroom jobs and interactive modeling.  Classroom jobs are

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Core Inspiration Third Grade Classroom Library Shelf
Back To School

Three Quick Tips for Social Distancing in the Classroom Library

At this point, we have no idea what school will look like come fall or exactly how we’ll need to tweak our routines and expectations to ensure students stay safe and healthy if they return to the classroom. One thing that helps ease the feelings of uncertainty is to think of each space in your classroom and brainstorm ways to maintain the systems you’ve put in place as much as possible with modifications that will

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Core Inspiration fraction word problem solving task card next to storage box with fractions label and word problem solving recording sheet with specific problem solving steps.
Classroom Organization

8 Ways To Organize Your Math Problem Solving Task Cards

As you may know, problem solving task cards are one of my favorite learning tools for building students’ ability to solve complex word problems. Over the years, I’ve tried a few methods for keeping my task cards organized, and I wanted to take a moment to share those approaches with those of you who are looking for an efficient way for students to use task cards in your classroom. This post includes affiliate links for

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Google Classroom Distance Learning Schedule shown on laptop screen on desk
Classroom Organization

Tips for Communicating With Parents During Distance Learning

Communication overload is what a lot of teachers are feeling during their distance learning journey. The energy it takes to teach online is a totally different beast. Add in the parent communication demands that have been amplified by this new reality, and you may find yourself with a very empty tank at the end of each day. Many of you have reached out in search of advice on maintaining strong parent communication because you know

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Third grade math units being stored in binders to keep unit materials organized for the teacher. Math games stored in page protector within each binder.
Classroom Organization

Twelve Ways to Organize Your Math Games

An organized classroom is a place where students can focus, feel appreciated, and navigate their learning environment with ease.  Setting up organization systems that can be maintained by you and your students is essential to creating an organized space that lasts. This is especially true for spaces in your classroom that receive heavy use on a daily basis, or have many moving parts, like your math manipulatives and math games.  This post includes affiliate links

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When writing collaborative rules, the teacher takes time to group all the rules written by students into categories without headings.
Classroom Management

How to Write the Best Classroom Rules with Your Students

When students are part of the process of creating rules, they have a deeper understanding of them, feel a stronger connection to them, take ownership of them, and hold themselves to a higher standard for following those rules each day. This is why I take time at the beginning of each year to write rules with my students, rather than for my students. I also find great value in revisiting those rules and working together

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I meet with students on our carpet by the front door for reading conferences and word work activities.
Classroom Management

3 Ways to Make Small Group Reading Instruction More Productive

Originally posted: February 28, 2016 | Updated: February 20, 2020 About 60% of our second grade day is spent in small group instruction, and our reading block is one of the longest stretches of time when small group instruction is used. Although this teaching approach is highly targeted and differentiated, it is also intense to plan and deliver. Over the past few years, I have evolved from a teacher who dreaded small group instruction to

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Core Inspiration Homework Drop Dox
Classroom Management

Homework Drop Box : A Routine To Organize Homework Collection

One of the most exciting parts of being a teacher is having the creative freedom to experiment with routines and procedures that work best for you and your students. The little tweaks we make in our classroom throughout the year create an environment that is more functional and exciting for students. The Evolution of Homework Collection One of the classroom routines you may find yourself tweaking frequently is homework collection. Those first few minutes when

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Classroom Management

How To Spend Less Time Reteaching Routines After A School Break

After a long school break, it is always important to revisit your classroom routines and expectations with students much like you did during the first weeks of school. Students benefit from reminders about the consistent focus you have on expectations for respect in your classroom. With the use of the R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Classroom Management System, I spend less time reteaching routines after a break. Instead, we spend a quick one-hour session reviewing our guiding principle of

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Low cost flexible seating option: lap desks from Michael's allows students to sit anywhere in the room and have a hard surface to work on.
Classroom Management

Did You Know Flexible Seating Doesn't Need to be Fancy?

There’s not always a need for fancy chairs or furniture to create flexible seating options in your classroom. In fact, you can arrange your existing classroom furniture and weave in a couple tools that help create more natural flexible seating choices. The options discussed below leave room for students who are interested in working away from their desk, but still create an environment where every student has their own desk – their own home base.

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Core Inspiration PowerPoint slide displays on board during tidy up with the detailed tidy up classroom routine written out so students can follow it.
Back To School

Do You Wish Your Classroom Was More Tidy?

A tidy classroom makes for more a productive learning space, but how do you maintain a tidy classroom? This post is filled with tips for getting your students genuinely involved in maintaining a tidy classroom environment each day so you as a teacher aren’t the only one working hard to maintain organization and tidiness throughout the school year.

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Core Inspiration problem solving challenge task sign next to challenging math problem solving task for third grade and sample recording sheet with model and math reasoning written in complete sentences.
Math

3 Ways To Challenge Your Advanced Students During Math Workshop

Your math block is likely a time of day when your advanced learners stand out like a sore thumb if you don’t have the resources to keep their brains stimulated. Often times, these learners become disinterested or disengaged because they are bogged down with busy work when they meet expectations and demonstrate mastery early on in a unit. At times this can result in a subject where they demonstrate great talent and ability becoming a

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These monthly unit bins are perfect for keeping art projects and seasonal projects in good condition without the need for a filing cabinet.
Classroom Organization

Teacher Organization Ideas To Help You Declutter Your Classroom

Many teachers reach out to me with questions about how to minimize paper clutter in the classroom and keep their unit resources organized. When it comes to organizing your teaching resources, it’s helpful to find an organization system that will help you store the essentials and force you to tidy up routinely so paper clutter doesn’t build up in the first place. Here are my favorite organization tips for four categories in your classroom.  Organizing

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Core Inspiration Respect Poster up close shot. A perfect tool for helping teachers build a respectful community while focusing on social emotional learning.
Back To School

What Happens When You Focus on Building Respect In Your Classroom

Strong classroom management is one of the critical components to making your life as a teacher more smooth and enjoyable. No matter where you fall on the classroom management spectrum – from “My classroom is a zen, well-oiled machine” to, “I never feel my classroom is in control…maybe I’m not cut out for this teaching thing”, it is possible for you to transform your classroom into a space where respect is the core focus, and

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Khan Academy open on Chromebook next to math workshop rotation schedule for the week. Khan Academy tracker is laying on the keyboard of the Chromebook. Core Inspiration Math Workshop transition desk on display on whiteboard in background.
Math

How To Make the Third Week of Math Workshop A Success

This is part three in a series of posts about how I introduce the routines of Math Workshop over the course of three weeks. If you would like to start by reading about the first two weeks of Math Workshop, visit the links below.   Math Workshop Week 1 Math Workshop Week 2 BACKGROUND ABOUT THE THIRD WEEK OF MATH WORKSHOP My goals for the third week of Math Workshop are focused around further solidifying

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Classroom Management

A Design Challenge Your Students Will Absolutely Love

The end of the school year is such a special time as testing winds down, and you finish teaching those last few standards. You may even find you have little pockets of time throughout your days when you and your students can work to strengthen that special classroom community bond that’s been building throughout the year. One of my favorite ways to savor that last few weeks with my family-away-from-home before they head off for

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These two versions of the "My Summer Reading Plan" sheet makes goal setting for summer reading easy to differentiate.
Literacy

The Perfect Activity to End Your Year With Reading

As the school year winds down, some of the most absolutely memorable days of the year are upon us. In most cases, that final week of school is a time when all the standards have been taught, you’ve finished most of your report cards, and you’re starting to organize your room for the summer break. It’s also a time when our young learners are starting to get antsy for the year to end and need

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I love setting up a different deck for each day of the week so I can easily open the file that matches that day of the week and jump right into efficient classroom transitions during math workshop. I use the rotation planning grid to make setting up slide super easy at the beginning of the year.
Math

This Is How To Make Your Workshop Transitions More Efficient

Workshop teaching is one of the most effective ways to differentiate instruction for the wide variety of learners in your classroom. But with so many moving parts, a workshop classroom can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming for students and teachers. Students need to know what activity they are assigned to work on at any given time, the details of their assignment, and when to move on to the next activity. Without clear directions and smooth

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Every Monday morning, my third graders find their job pocket stuffed with class cash. They get paid a salary every week. One of our class jobs (Payroll Courier) is responsible for distributing the cash.
Classroom Management

A Classroom Economy Students & Teachers Love

When it comes to classroom management, some of the most common struggles I hear about from teachers are the lack of respect students have for their learning space, and a desire to maintain a more organized classroom. If you are struggling with these, I urge you to consider utilizing well-developed classroom jobs, and a classroom economy system.  Imagine this. After completing a job application, students can be hired for classroom jobs that require detailed responsibilities.

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How to Weave Project Based Learning Into Your Math Block

A common question I receive is, “How do you find time to teach your full math curriculum, do Math Workshop, and do project based learning?” In my classroom, these three parts of my math instruction are not separate entities, they are all done together during Math Workshop.  Many teachers have

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A sheet titled "Classroom Volunteer Record" laying on the teacher's desk next to several sign up sheets that have been completed by parents to show their interest in volunteering in the classroom.

Classroom Volunteer Organization and Scheduling

Parent and family volunteers are a major asset to any classroom. Here at the start of the year, many afternoons are filled communicating with volunteers about expectations, scheduling and training. When bringing parent volunteering into the classroom, it’s important to dedicate time and effort toward creating routines and expectations for

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Four Simple Back to School Parent Communication Tips

Focusing on parent communication during the first week of school can help you build trust in your classroom community. It can also make your entire school year immensely easier because parents will begin to see you as an organized, proactive expert. A strong start in the communication department really helps

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Core Inspiration's desk elf classroom job card with desk elf checklist and bowl of tidy up tickets sitting on a white table.

How To Manage Your End-of-Day Classroom Tidy Up Routine

Tidying and organizing your classroom shouldn’t be something that takes much of your teacher time. Your students share the space with you and they should share the responsibility of keeping it clean/getting it ready for learning each day. When your students work with you to keep the space clean, there’s

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Math workshop parent communication cover sheet laying on top of blue weekly work folder next to file bin with weekly student work.

Five Tools To Help You Communicate With Parents About Their Child’s Progress During Math Workshop

These five communication tools make it easier for you to consistently share student progress about math understanding with families. If you love using hands-on learning, multi-step projects, and work that students refer to multiple times throughout the unit so they can build on their learning and deepen their understanding, these tools are for you! Each tool is designed to keep parents in the loop with what their child is learning and how they are progressing in your workshop-style classroom.

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