Tips for Staying Positive at the End of the School Year!

Let’s face it. The end of the school year holds some of the hardest weeks of the entire year! It can be some of the most stressful weeks, too. Whether you’re testing students day in and day out, you’re tackling end-of-year paper work on each and every student, or getting over the recent shock of being reassigned to a new grade level for the next school year – it can be overwhelming!

Trust me - no one needs this blog post more than me! This time of the year is always so hard. Right now I’m spending my days reviewing absolutely everything I’ve ever taught this year and getting ready for THE TEST! You know that test. The one that determines how “effective” I am as a teacher.

With the demands we face as teachers it’s easy to complain, but it’s also exhausting. So, after this past week (yes, it was a crazy one) I decided that I definitely needed some positivity in my life! I’m sure if you’re reading this, and you’re a teacher, you can relate. So with a month of school left (32 to be exact for me) there are things I (we) can do to make life a little easier and help bring about a more positive attitude.

#1 GET ENOUGH SLEEP – yeah, yeah, yeah…I know. What is that? As a teacher with 2 jobs (Yes TpT counts as a second job. If you’re a seller you know what I mean!) I rarely get enough sleep. I stay up late working at night and regret it every morning.  Just remember our emotions are at an all-time high when we are tired, and it’s really easy to overthink things.

#2 SLOW DOWN & BREATHE – the end of the year will come and go just like every other year and I (we) have always survived just fine, test scores and all! Life is hectic; the end of the school year is even more hectic. Take a minute to relax and have some “me time” even if it’s only for 30 minutes.

#3 MAKE A LIST – a TO-DO list, and not just any TO-DO list a RUNNING TO-DO list. What do you need to accomplish before the end of year? Include anything and everything you can think of – even down to the very last day of packing up your room. Now, prioritize that list. What is most important? What needs to be done now? Keep your list handy at all times, add to it as you think of things, and mark each item off as you do it. You’ll feel a sense of pride and accomplishment at the end of the day. (Okay – if you’re not an OCD list person like I am, this may not work for you, but I encourage you to give it a shot!)

So, I’ve spent my weekend sleeping, resting, and making my to-do list. Yes, it’s quite a list to say the least! Yes, it’s overwhelming to look at, but I’ve already crossed a few things off, and tomorrow I’ll cross off more. The end is in sight! 

Teachers often go unrecognized and unappreciated. So, if you’re having a hard day, week (or in my case) a hard year in general it’s important to remember…

What do you do to get through those last few weeks of school each year? I’d love to hear how you manage to stay positive and stress free! 

Comment below and help me add to my tips.

Wanna read more about my crazy end of year chaos? Read my latest blog post here.

Students need encouragement, too! Who wouldn’t get stressed about taking a 3 hour long test for 2-3 days just to prove they’ve mastered every single skill for the year? Check out my student encouragement desk tags and notes from home. My students love these every year, and the notes from home makes the perfect bulletin board display during testing.

Rockin' the Test with Less Stress on Teachers AND Students!

If you’re a teacher in grades 3 and up, you’re probably approaching (or maybe you’re already there) that dreaded crunch time before state testing arrives. This time is typically accompanied with anxiety, tension, and stress for both students and teachers.

What makes standardized testing so stressful? Maybe it’s the actual method by which they are administered?

1. They are rigidly timed.
2. Instructions are complicated.
3. Rules are inflexible.
4. The room is completely rearranged.
5. Day-to-day life in the classroom is interrupted.

These are all things that (at this point) are out of our control. So, until a law is passed with less emphasis on high-stakes testing, we must find a way to muddle through the mess, calm our nerves (and student’s nerves), and ease the stress of testing. There’s many ways to do this as teachers.

When it comes to testing we want our students to perform well. We know that scores will be analyzed, published in newspapers and on websites, and banners will be given to exemplary schools. Teachers are even analyzed based on “their” test scores. We know that this can in turn affect our teaching position for the following year, or even worse – our paycheck! Naturally this brings about a high degree of stress on teachers.

How can we, as teachers, limit that stress?

Create a Positive Atmosphere

One thing I’ve learned in 14 years of teaching is that my students can read me pretty well. They know when I’m in a bad mood. They know when I’m tired. They know when they should be on their best behavior. They know when I’m stressed out! These feelings and emotions I have in the classroom affects my students.

Create an atmosphere in your classroom that makes students feel at ease. Praise them for their hard work. Encourage them with words like, “You’ve got this,” or “You can do this.” Reassurance goes a long way - especially when it’s coming from their teacher. Remaining calm and friendly will help ease their nerves. It’s important that your students not see you upset or worried (even if you are).

Get students excited!

Yes, I know…excited about taking a test? Excited about taking a 3 hour test? What student gets excited about that? Well, the reality is, standardized testing is not going to go away (or at least not anytime soon), so we might as well try to make it as enjoyable as possible for students. Give your students magic pencils or special stickers to wear. Before the test, allow your students to show off how smart they are by playing review games and competing against each other in class.

In my classroom, students get special testing “treats” on their desk each day of testing. For example, I might leave a note on each student’s desk that says, “You’re one smart cookie!” with a few cookies for a snack, or “You can lick this test!” with a sucker attached. On the last day, I like to leave a note that says, “This test is o-fish-ally over!” with a bag of Goldfish Crackers. We typically test for 3-4 days straight, so my students love coming in each morning to see what special treat I’ve left them that day. By doing this I transform anxiety into excitement!

Practice, Practice, Practice!

Not knowing what to expect naturally evokes fear and anxiety – especially in children. Practice taking similar tests before the “REAL” test. Follow through with testing protocol just as if students were taking the big test. Allow students time to practice bubbling answers (since this is not typically how we assess students throughout the year). Practice time management, by administering the test with time limits. Giving students the opportunity to experience this different way of testing will ease their fears, and they will know exactly what to expect come testing day.

Involve Parents!

Inform parents about the test, when it will be administered, and what they can do at home to help ease the stress of testing for their child. Simple tips for parents like – going to bed early, eating a healthy breakfast, and encouraging their child to do their best – can go a long way!

Along with keeping my parents informed about testing, I also send home a special letter and blank note. I ask parents to write a letter on the blank note encouraging their child to do their best. In my letter I instruct them to send the note back with a picture that’s special to their child. During testing days, I display each note and picture on a bulletin board in our classroom. Sometimes I receive family pictures, pictures with a child and their pet, or pictures with grandparents. It always varies, but the notes and pictures serve as a reminder to each child that they have support and encouragement from home as well. They love reading the notes and looking at the pictures. They can visually see how much support they have from home just by glancing at the bulletin board. 

Relax!

As I said before, test anxiety and stress doesn't just occur in students.  WE (teachers) feel it, too. You've no doubt done an excellent job to prepare your students for this day. Now, let them do their job to show off what they have learned. Most (notice I said “most”) students want to please their teacher and parents. We have to hope that students will take the test(s) seriously, but it’s easy to play through scenarios in our mind. What if they don’t look back for the answers? What if they don’t work out the math problems? What if they don’t finish in time? Is there REALLY anything we, as teachers, can do about it? As I like to say, “It is what it is.” Stressing about it gets us nowhere, but of course that’s sometimes easier said than done. (By the way, I’m preaching to the choir here.) J The most important part is relaxing and remaining calm around our students. A student’s anxiety can be contagious, but it will be easier to get them to relax if you’re relaxed!

Above I mentioned the special desk treats and parent letters I display on a bulletin board in my classroom.  Below, you will find my testing treat tags (treats not included – sorry), and a copy of the letter and blank note I send home to students. This product is available in my store. Click on the images for a closer look!

     

Best of luck with testing, and don’t worry – Your students are going to do great! More times than not, they surprise us!

Top 10 Web Tools to Use in the Classroom

Hi friends! Welcome to our "Top 10" series here at Upper Grade Memoirs! I'm Kim from For a Love of Teaching here to share with you my Top 10 Web Tools to Use in the Classroom. It was hard nearly impossible for me to come up with only ten web tools to share! I have so many! I actually had a hard time narrowing it down to just ten.

So, here goes.  I'll start with one of my favorites!

#1 Remind (formally Remind 101)

This is one of my favorite ways to connect instantly with students and parents.  Remind is a safe and FREE service that sends one-way messages via SMS, push notifications or email to anyone you invite with a special code for your class. Remind keeps phone numbers private while still staying in touch with students and parents. You can even set up numerous classes, or send a message to just one or a few students or parents on your list.

Simple step-by-step instructions are provided through a downloadable letter for parents. Try it today! You won't be disappointed!








#2 Symbaloo

Symbaloo is a FREE visual bookmarking tool that makes it simple and fun to organize the best of the web.  With an account you can access your bookmarks from any device and share your online resources with others. How can you use this in the classroom you might ask? Until recently I didn't really see a how this would be a "classroom tool", but you can create a webmix of links in an overview, share it at one time, and your students will get automatic updates when you make changes. Symbaloo will generate a link for you to share with others that will take them straight to your webmix.

Teachers are also using Symbaloo to create lesson plans by creating a webmix for each subject they teach. You can embed a webmix in your class website or blog. Check out their website for more ideas. The possibilities are endless! How do you Symbaloo?



#3 Story Jumper

I absolutely love this!  With this web tool students can create illustrated books with super easy tools and then publish their own hardback or paperback books. This website is very user friendly for students while bringing their imagination to life! The wide range of graphics are incredibly detailed and fun to explore. When turning the pages, it has a nice little papery "whoosh" sound just like turning the pages of a real book. Step-by-step instructions are available for teachers, and the Classroom Edition for teachers includes a separate dashboard with a lot of helpful resources.

Once published, parents have the option of purchasing their child's book, or it can be safely shared on Story Jumper, with friends and family through social media networks, or embed on a website. It's amazing what you can do with this site and the best part is that your students can become published authors!

#4 Kidblog

Kidblog is a safe and simple blog for your students. It provides teachers with tools to help students publish writing safely online. Teachers can effectively monitor all activity within a secure classroom blogging space. I love how Kidblog gives students' writing a meaningful purpose as they are motivated to write for their peers and engage with a global network.

This is a great way to engage students in the process of pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, publishing, and (of course) commenting. Kidblog has a basic FREE edition, and a paid premium edition that comes with more features. I can't wait to try this with my class! I have a feeling they will love it!



#5 Timetoast

Timetoast is a FREE website where students and teachers can create engaging timelines complete with expanding windows, pictures, text, descriptions, and hyperlinks. It's so easy to create an account and use! It's a wonderful tool that allows students to create timelines of a story, research project, historical events, and much more. Students can add details, photos, and links to their timelines.

They can share their timeline on Timetoast and explore timelines made by others. Teachers can use Timetoast to create timelines for lesson plans and/or embed their timelines on their website. This is an amazing educational tool that can be used for any subject or topic related to time, history, or important events. Did I mention it's completely interactive?!?

#6 Google Drive (formally Google Docs)

This is a FREE web based service that allows students and teachers to create documents, presentations, spreadsheets, or upload previously created material. Students will need a gmail account which is easy to set up. What I love about Google Drive is that everything is stored electronically in

the Google cloud. Documents stored there can be accessed from almost any device with an internet connection. You can easily get sharable links and more than one person can be logged in and editing a document at any given time. As a teacher, you can have your students share their work or projects with you, and you can provide instant feedback usually from the comfort of your own home!  Now, how much better can it get? Right? Check out 12 Roles for Google Drive in the Classroom to get started!






#7 Class Dojo

This wonderful and FREE classroom management tool is quickly becoming one of the most popular web tools for teachers! I don't personally use it for myself, because I found it hard to manage in my classroom. However, there's so many teachers that use it and love it!  I definitely need to revisit this positive behavior management system. With Class Dojo each student has a profile that you set up - complete with their own avatar - to which teachers can assign positive and negative points (or dojo's) throughout the day.

There's an app that you can download to your phone which makes this tool manageable inside and outside of the classroom. All points and information is recorded on students' profiles that can be reviewed throughout the year. Parents even have their own login so they can view their child's performance and achievements from home. Class Dojo seems to have an astounding effect on students! Your class homescreen can be displayed on the board, and It serves as a constant visual reminder as you communicate with students without even having to say a word!  Students quickly begin to recognize the sounds that are played when dojos are rewarded, and it's encouraging to see an increase in effort as they try to earn points for themselves. There's so much hype about Class Dojo, and given the fact that over 35 million teachers use - it must be worth looking into!

#8 Graphite

Graphite is my new best friend!  Well...not really, but I do love it! Graphite makes it easy for teachers to find the best digital learning tools by giving them independent ratings and reviews based on a rigorous rubric. The site also gives teachers insights on how to best use these tools in their classroom. Who has time to waste on searching the web for a great app or website to introduce to your students or use in a lesson? Graphite takes all the leg work out of finding the best games, apps, and websites for your classroom. As a teacher, you can explore by topic or Common Core standard. Yes, Graphite is aligned with the Common Core Standards, and what's even better than that? It's FREE!

#9 Storybird

With more than 5 million stories in its database, Storybird is one of the world's largest storytelling communities! Students can make visual stories in seconds with  some of the best artwork from illustrators and animators from around the world! There are no ads on the site, and it has a user friendly format that makes it perfect for the classroom. Teachers are able to create student accounts, give students assignments, and easily view any stories their students have written. Students can collaborate with other students as they write stories together, and then share their stories with friends and family.

Once written, student's stories can be purchased for $1.99 (USD). This allows students to download a PDF file of their story which can easily be opened on the iBook app, on a Nook Color, or any Android device. Stories can also be embed into a blog or website which allows students to have an authentic audience to write for. I definitely want to try this out in my classroom this year!

#10 Go Noodle

Does your class need a few brain breaks throughout the day?  Of course they do! Maybe even more than one! If you haven't used Go Noodle yet, then you have to try it out.  I use Go Noodle almost every day in my classroom, and my students love it! So, what is Go Noodle? It's a FREE collection of interactive brain breaks that gets kids up and moving while channeling all of that classroom energy. Go Noodle uses research-based brain break activities that are healthy, engaging, and beneficial. You can literally complete a brain break in less than 5 minutes. Students can set goals as a class and be rewarded by their Champ, a virtual mascot, who grows as the class earned minutes needed to advance to the next level.

Teachers can set up multiple groups so that each class can view their own progress and rewards. All you need is a computer, internet access, and a screen (projector/interactive whiteboard). I use Go Noodle for rainy day recess, and it works great! It has a variety of exercise programs that I can choose from for my students. Our favorites are Zumba Kids and Koo-Koo Kangaroo. Now, they don't mind if it's raining outside, because they know they'll get to get their wiggles out using Go Noodle!

I hope you enjoyed my Top 10 Web Tools to Use in the Classroom! I could have added soooo many more! I'd love to know which web tools you use in your classroom. I'm sure you could add to my list. Leave me a comment and let me if there's some you think I should try!

       

December Memoirs: Christmas Crafts with Kim from For a Love of Teaching

Hey friends!  It's Kim here from For a Love of Teaching, and today I'm going to share with you one of my favorite classroom memories!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  If you're like me - you're singing that in your head now! However, for a teacher that last week of school before Christmas break is not always the "most wonderful time of the year"! Something happens to students that week before break.  You can literally feel the excitement in the air!  Pair that with all the festivities, special programs and anticipation of Santa coming, and you've got one geared up, wild bunch of students!  At this point in the year, they are ready for a break and teachers are, too!  By the end of this last week you can forget keeping them focused very long on a meaningful content lesson.

In upper grades, we don't spend a lot of time doing the fun "cutesy" activities that you might see going on if you enter any primary classroom.  Due to testing requirements, pacing guides and quarterly benchmarks we don't always have time for "the fun stuff."  However, I always use this last week before Christmas to do special Christmas crafts with my students.  I've always been "crafty" by nature, and any sort of hands-on craft catches my attention quickly!  What I like most about doing crafts with my students is the uniqueness that shines through with each individual product.  You can literally see their personalities in the special ornaments or crafts they make.  In turn, these make wonderful keepsakes for themselves and their families.

Making Christmas ornaments each year with my students is a classroom memory that I cherish, and hopefully my students cherish, too!

This year I chose to make a version of a Christmas tree craft ornament I saw on Pinterest.

This craft is fairly simple to make with upper grade students, but it involves some prep time. I thought I'd give you a "how-to" in case you'd like to make these special keepsakes with your class one year! Below are the items you need to make this craft.

You will need a high-temp glue gun to make sure these ornaments last for years! I do this craft in groups of 4-5 students, and I'm always the one in charge of the hot glue gun.  Students are not allowed to apply the glue on their own!

Final Product!

That's it! A 4th grade Christmas keepsake that will hopefully be treasured for years to come!  I hope this tutorial comes in handy if you decide to try this with your class. :)

Click here to download the gift tags I used for this project!  FREE!

*Note: The original idea (found on Pinterest) used cinnamon sticks instead of tree branches.  The cinnamon sticks I found were costly, so I opted for the cheaper way out and used tree branches instead. 

Thanks for sticking around to read all about my favorite classroom memory!  What's a cherished classroom memory that you have with your students?  I'd love to hear what you do around the holidays in the classroom!