5 things Happy Teachers Do!

Since teaching can be one of the most challenging, exhausting, and downright difficult professions, I thought it might be interesting to figure out exactly what happy teachers are doing to meet the challenges of the teaching profession. I went on search for 5 things happy teachers do. You actually probably do a lot of these things, but I hope that you'll find an idea or two to help you feel a little happier in the classroom.

It's a fact...happy teachers laugh. That's no surprise since science has proven that laughing can lower your blood pressure, improve concentration, and reduce anxiety. Teachers need opportunities to laugh. Of course, it's great if you can laugh at work, but if you really need a quick laugh, you can actually get the same positive effects of belly laughing with friends by pretend laughing. I know, it sounds crazy. However, if you force yourself to laugh all on your own, you can reap the benefits of laughter.

Here's a technique that you can try to make yourself laugh. It's an idea from author Lesley Lyle's book Laugh Your Way to Happiness. It's called Aloha Laughing. To do it...

--- Raise your arms over your head.

--- Give a little stretch while saying, "Aloooo" long and loudly

--- Then, lower your arms and say, "Ha, ha, ha."

According to Lyle, the anticipation factor gets us laughing and feeling better. So, the next time you need a stress relief, you might try fake laughing. Or, just imagine if you did this with your students. Your entire class would be in stitches!

It's also a great idea to laugh with your students. You can infuse laughter in the classroom with silly voices, improvisation games, jokes, or funny videos. Find more ideas and an EXCLUSIVE FREEBIE here.

A happy group of students almost always leads to a happy teacher. And...what makes students happy? That's easy! Fun and engaging lessons! Giving students a chance to be creative is a sure-fire way to increase engagement in the classroom. In Dawn Dupriest's article "Creativity in the Classroom," she wrote that, "students of all ages need to learn by creating. It helps to synthesize information and bring joy and meaning into their educational experience." I couldn't agree more!

Planning fun lessons doesn't have to be overwhelming. Instead, adding a creative element to a rigorous lessons can easily amp up the "fun factor." Here are some simple ways to plan fun lessons:

--- Connect vocabulary to doodling. When students connect their learning to simple sketches, they're not only more engaged, they are also making powerful connections in their brains.

--- Teach engaging creative writing lessons. Creative writing lessons are inherently fun and super educational too! (Find out why I love teaching creative writing and grab 5 free lessons here.)

--- Set up a literacy cafe after a writing unit. Get students excited about sharing their writing pieces with a literacy cafe. It's easy! Arrange the chairs in your classroom to look like a coffee shop's "Open Mic Night." Play some soft jazz music. Bring in a podium for students to stand behind. You might even bring in some sweet treats or serve some hot chocolate.

Want to set up a Literacy Cafe in your classroom? Find a FREE printable banner right HERE.

The idea is to plan lessons that you are excited to teach. Then, your students will be excited to learn...and that makes every teacher very, very happy!

According to a study on "Global Work Connectivity," over half of employees today feel isolated and lonesome at work all or most of the time. When I read this, I was reminded about just how lonely teaching can be. It's true that teachers are surrounded by students all day, but often they are alone in their work. That's why happy teachers make a conscious effort to connect with their coworkers.

Michael Stallard, an author, says that connecting with coworkers is one of the keys to fruitful work. Therefore, it's important to build bonds with others while teaching. Making an effort to develop relationships with teacher-friends or other staff members can be as easy as...

--- Leaving a treat or note for a colleague. (Find a free set of positive notes here.)

--- Inviting a colleague to go for a walk before, during, or after school.

--- Checking in with new teachers.

--- Seeking advice from seasoned teachers.

Happy teachers also make connections with their students. When teachers build bonds with students, it can have a profound impact on them. Connecting with students helps teachers feel happier, too. You can connect with students through writing journals, attending school events, or even infusing your students' interests into your lessons. 

Happy teachers build meaningful relationships with others. It helps them feel less lonely and more satisfied in their jobs.

Practicing self-care can be hard for teachers. With crazy, busy jobs and stressful lives, taking time to take care of yourself isn't always easy. However, it's important to check back in with yourself. Here are some ideas that Dr. Tchiki Davis suggests...

--- Sleep (develop a nightly routine, use meditation apps, stay away from sugar at the end of the day)

--- Exercise (Daily exercise can boost our moods and reduce stress.)

--- Say "no" to others (Politely decline the next obligation or committee to give yourself a break.)

When teachers take time to nurture their own needs and interests, they become less stressed and more able to enjoy their jobs.

There is so much pressure on teachers these days. Often teachers feel misunderstood, unheard, and disrespected. Teachers sometimes feel like they have critics around every corner...and sometimes...their biggest critic is themselves!

How many times have you thought: Am I creating the right lessons? Do my students feel supported and loved? Have I done enough to prepare them for state assessments? Are my students' parents happy with me? The list of self-doubt is endless for a teacher. It seems that if the world is hard on teachers, teachers are even harder on themselves. That's why happy teachers give themselves grace.

Giving yourself grace means that when everything seems to be falling apart, you give yourself a gesture of kindness. Happy teachers remind themselves that they are doing important work to the very best of their ability. They know that perfection is an illusion. In fact, successful teachers make lots of mistake. Happy teachers let themselves mess up, and they forgive themselves for their errors.

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I hope you've found a few strategies for infusing a little more happiness into your teaching days. Even if it's just taking a walk around the building at lunchtime or sending your co-worker a sweet message, each little thing you do can create happier moments in your day. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Mary Beth

P.S. Don't forget to grab the Literacy Cafe banner here. It's free and ready for your classroom!

5 Rules to Break in the Classroom - Innovative Teaching Methods

As teachers we’re pretty amazing at creating rules. We have rules for just about everything. There are rules for how to behave, how to participate, how to get along, how to move, how to speak…well, you get my point. And it’s a good thing. Without rules and guidelines, a classroom and the children in it would go absolutely bonkers. However, as they say, “some rules are meant to be broken.” I’m here to suggest that it might be time to break some of our standard classroom rules and encourage our students to learn in new ways.

If you’re OK with breaking some rules (and being a bit of a rebel), here are just a few rules that you might want to break in your classroom...

Most of the time, it makes sense to have our students maintain an appropriate noise level. So, it’s no wonder that we have some rules about speaking quietly in the classroom. But, wouldn’t it be fun to break that rule? In fact, by encouraging loud voices, funny voices, and every voice in between, we can engage students in their learning a bit more.

Here are easy ways to break this rule...

➤ Create a jar full of silly voices. Pull them out when you want students to read out loud or share with the class. The voice challenges are an instant motivator. If you'd like a set of silly voice cards, just click here to grab them for FREE.

➤ Take the kids outside and let them shout about what they are learning. Can you imagine how many students would happily participate if they could shout out each letter in their spelling words or yell out vocab definitions?

➤ Don’t forget to try out some funny voices of your own. Leave behind that reserved-teacher voice and play around with voices during a classroom read aloud or during an everyday lesson.

More and more, teachers are breaking this rule. The flexible seating craze is definitely transforming classrooms. If you're like me, then you know that there are certainly times when students do need to find a seat to learn, but breaking this traditional rule can lead to some super fun lessons.

Here are easy ways to break this rule...

➤ Get students up and out of their seats with learning centers or stations. Have students rotate to different centers as they learn. (Check out my favorite learning stations HERE.)

➤ Play games to get students up and out of their seats. When games are combined with movement, students are more engaged and interested in learning. (Find free vocabulary games HERE.)

➤ Flexible seating options allow students to choose where they would like to sit. When students have flexible seating options, they can build community, collaborate, and feel more comfortable. Here are some of my favorite flexible seating ideas:

Stack Stools, Portable Lab Desk, Saucer Chair, Balance Ball, Wobble Stool, Director’s Chair

This rule is standard in most classrooms and schools. Since it can keep our classrooms and schools clean, it is an important one, too. However, sometimes it’s fun to bring out the bubblegum and amp up the fun-factor in the classroom.

Here are easy ways to break this rule...

➤ Hand out gum during standardized assessments. Did you know that studies show that chewing gum helps with concentration? According to Science Daily, chewing gum can help with focus and productivity. It's great to use for motivational test prep, too.

➤ Want to engage students in reading? Why not write a few reading passages about chewing gum. They’ll read a bit more eagerly if you promise gum while they work.

➤ Use chewing gum as a classroom motivator. Set a classroom goal like 90% class-wide homework completion for a week. Then, when students meet the goal, have a gum party. Bring out the gum and set up fun chewing gum stations. Stations could include tracking the biggest bubble, creating a new flavor of gum, writing stories about gum, and inventing new uses for chewing gum.

As a kid, many of my teachers enforced this rule. We weren’t allowed to doodle on our notes while we were learning. However, this may just be a rule worth breaking every single day. Studies show that doodling can help our students' brains stay active. Doodling also helps with memory recall while promoting creativity. So, it may be time to get rid of the "no doodling" rule for good!

Here are easy ways to break this rule...

➤ Teach a Doodle and Do unit that encourage students to doodle as they learn and while they practice their learning. (Check out all of the Doodle and Do units here.)

➤ Have students complete a homework assignment with doodles. You’ll be amazed at how excited students get about a doodle homework assignment.

➤ Let students doodle to show their learning. Wouldn’t it be fun to add a question on a test that students could answer with a doodle?

➤ Connect vocabulary to doodles. Give students a chance to deeply understand their vocabulary by moving beyond just learning the definition. Have them create doodles about the words to tap into their visual skills. (Here's a popular Doodle Vocabulary resource.)

For some reason, this rule gets followed a lot. Typically, teachers and students are expected to stay in their classrooms. While it makes sense a lot of the time, sometimes breaking this rule has a big payoff. In particular, a new setting can motivate, engage, and inspire students.

Here are easy ways to break this rule...

➤ The next time you need to give students notes or you want students to review information or even introduce a topic, create a set of facts. Then, hide them around the school for students to find. This fact hunt will get them out of the classroom and learning! (Find ready-made fact hunts here.)

➤ One of the most powerful places for students to learn is right outside our classrooms. When students need a change of pace, take the kids outside. It’s super fun to host a poetry reading or some book talks under a shady tree. Or, you might have students read on blankets under the sun.

➤ The cafeteria is a great place to use during the school day. Since there are many times that no one is in the space, it’s a perfect place to shake things up. Imagine setting up learning stations at the different tables or hosting literature circles with snacks in the cafeteria. The change of scenery makes the lesson instantly more fun.

➤ Organize a walking field trip around your school’s town…or better yet, have students organize the field trip. They could research different notable places around town. Then, as the class tours the town, different students can share what they’ve learned.

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Something tells me that you might already break a lot of these rules. However, I hope that you’ve found a few ways to take your rebellious rule breaking a bit farther. I'd love to hear about some of the other rules you break in your classroom. Just leave your ideas in the comments below.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mary Beth

P.S. Don't forget to grab your exclusive freebie of silly voice challenges HERE.

* This post contains affiliate links.

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Mary Beth

Tips for Managing and Handing Back Papers in the Classroom

Do you ever feel like you're drowning under a mountain of students' papers? Sometimes, as a teachers, it feels like we're constantly shuffling and sorting papers. I don't know about you, but after creating a lesson plan and grading students' work, it feels like getting the papers back to students can be a serious hassle. There has to be a better way! And...good news...there is! 

I surveyed a group of dynamic teachers about how they manage and hand back students' papers in their classroom. They came back with some awesome ideas! Check them out...

Setting up a central system of mailboxes is a great way to get materials back to students. Jennifer F. sets up a mailbox for each student. Then, she has a "mail person" as one of her classroom jobs. She just places graded work in a basket labeled "to be delivered," and the mail person sticks it in their classmates' mailboxes. 

Other teachers that use mailboxes noted that they place any work with grades on them in the mailboxes themselves and have a student "mail" all other papers.

Mailboxes aren't just for the elementary classroom, either. I used them successfully in my middle school classroom for years!

I love this fun spin on a typically boring task...handing back papers. In Kelly G's class, she puts on dance music once a week and students get all of their papers passed out while dancing around the classroom. Kids enjoy this because they're up and moving, and enlisting everyone's help means that it goes super fast.

Oh, and wouldn't this be fun to do this with an audio book or a read aloud? Imagine reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio while students help to pass out papers. Wouldn't that be sweet?

Google Classroom is a great way to keep track of everything in the classroom. Christine W. tries to have everything in Google Classroom. Google Classroom is nice because teachers can easily send feedback to each student on assignments. Another bonus is accessibility. Teachers can access and assess students' work from any mobile device. Oh, and that means that students can check out how they did on an assignment from anywhere too! Skip handing back papers all together and just go paperless!

Alyse A. sets up a plastic bin for hanging file folders. Each file folder has a number on it. The numbers correlate with the numbers that she gives students at the beginning of the year. Then, she has a "secretary" classroom job who files the completed work in the hanging file folders.

Dawn Z. uses folders to organize students' work, too. She has a designated "Homework Hot Spot" in the back of the classroom. Students hand their work in their numbered pocket. This makes it super easy to see if anyone hasn't turned in their work. Then, when it comes time to hand back graded papers, a student helper grabs the papers out of hanging folders in numerical order, making it quick business to hand back work.

Designating a specific time each day or class period is a great way to get a handle on students' papers. Bell work or morning work is a perfect time to hand back papers. While students are quietly working on the daily challenge, you or a fast finisher can hand back papers. 

Beth O. passes out work during bell ringers and she said that rotating around the room while handing back papers makes it easy to check in on how students are doing on their bell work, too.

Hanging a folder pocket chart or putting together magnetized plastic folders can help keep work that needs to be passed out in order. Students can easily "hand in" their work by placing it in the pocket chart or collect their work once its graded and placed in their chart.

If you're looking for helpers to place work in the pocket chart, you can always make it a classroom job or even offer a volunteer a "free" answer on the next test for helping to sort out graded work. 

Make handing back papers super fast by creating group folders or baskets for students to hand their work in. Then, as you grade the work, just stick it back in the group's folder. Simply give the folder back to the group and they can quickly grab their graded assignments. 

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Well, there you have it, some easy ways to manage and hand back students' papers. I hope you've found something that can work in your classroom. If you have any other ideas, be sure to share them in the comments below.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Mary Beth

* This post contains affiliate links.