Warm Ups that Work!

It's Secondary Smorgasbord time (thanks for setting this up ELA Buffet and Desktop Learning Adventures) and we're talking about bell ringers and daily warm ups today.

I'm going to honest here, I've attempted to create engaging daily warm ups for many years now...and I've failed at a bunch of them.  Although I had really good intentions, I just couldn't find a warm up that was the right fit for middle school students.  

Some of my warm-up fails were super boring (the kids wouldn't do them), or way too difficult (students needed a mini-lesson to even get started), or too easy (they were done in less than 30 seconds), or completely unrelated to what we were learning.

So, this past year I really focused on creating a set of warm ups for my students.  Here were my criteria...

The warm-ups needed to...

----- Instantly engage students so that I didn't have to spend the first five minutes of class begging my students to get working.
----- Include activities that they could complete all on their own without additional instruction from me.
----- Be simple enough so that kids could truly finish them in 5-ish minutes at the start of class, yet still challenge students to think.
----- Have a way to extend the leaning for fast finishers.
----- Tap into a variety of critical ELA skills.
----- Be EASY TO GRADE. 

And from this list, the THIS OR THAT Daily Warm-Ups were born.  Click the video below to see what I have to say about them :)!

And I'm not kidding when I tell you that I'm in love with them...and my students are too!  They meet each of my criteria.

INSTANTLY ENGAGING - Here's the cool part about the This or That Warm-Ups, they're all about choice.  That's right, students get to choose which portion of the warm up that they'd like to complete each day.  They can either do the "This" activity or the "That" activity.  It's built in differentiation and super motivating!

NO ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTION NEEDED - Along the top of each warm up I included essential information that they'll need to complete the warm up. That means that they can truly do the warm up without any additional instruction for me.  Love that!

FAST FINISHERS?  NO PROBLEM - Since there are two activities on each warm up, fast finishers can just complete the other version of the warm up.  How cool is that?  And fast finishers are rewarded for their effort with bonus points.  Easy!

SKILL VARIETY - Not only do the warm-ups have a variety of activities from matching to editing to fill-in-the-blanks, the warm-ups themselves tap into a variety of skills.  Within a pack of 20 warm ups kids will work on grammar, punctuation, mechanics, creative writing, and reading comprehension.  This helps them feel novel and engaging!

EASY TO GRADE - I've developed a simple system to grade students' warm-ups with grade sheets.  On the grade sheets students are required to write down what they learned while completing the warm up.  Then, once a week I review their work and grade it based on a check, check-minus, and check-plus system.  So simple!  Oh, and since I use the warm-ups in different ways throughout the year, I created 4 different grading options.  

Not only are the This or That Warm-Ups filled with choice for students, they're also filled with choices for teachers.  Of course there's the grading options.  But, teachers can even choose how they set up the This or That Warm Ups in their classroom.  You could have kids create folders to store their work or you could simply create warm up packets.  Oh, and some teachers are even using them in interactive notebooks.  How cool is that?

It's true, I'm nuts about the This or That Warm Ups, but my favorite part about them is that my students are independently learning and practicing critical skills as they settle into classroom each day...and that creates the opportunity to read aloud to them at the start of the class period.  It's such a calming way to start the class and sets the tone for learning.  

You can find two sets of the This or That Daily Warm Ups here and here.

Thanks so much for stopping by,

An InLinkz Link-up

The Literary League's Back To School Giveaway!

By the time I grab my books and I give myself a look I'm at the corner just in time to see the bus fly by. It's alright’ cause I'm saved by The Literary League! That’s right, we are at it again! It’s one of the biggest back-to-school give-aways courtesy of some of your favorite ELA sellers. 

We’re teachers too, so we know that feeling of going back to school.  Cure those back to school blues by entering this HUGE give-away. Not only multiple prize packs, but also multiple winners!

The give-away will run Monday 8/31 to Monday 9/14. You’ll see some familiar and maybe even some new faces, so follow our stores and our social media accounts, and stay updated with what’s new! Winners will be announced Tuesday 9/15.

Prize # 1: Gift Card of Choice
Win a $50 gift card to Teachers Pay Teachers, Amazon, Staples or Target.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize #2: Middle School Resources
Win all of the resources listed below for your middle school ELA classroom.

12 Genre Book Reports
Holy Task Cards! 4- Fiction and Non-Fiction Task Cards Bundle
Tools for Positive Behavior Management
Write Like the PROS! Essay Anchor System + Flipbook
Test and Study Tips Don't Flip! Flip Book Bundle
Expository Writing Prompts Grade 6-8
Biography Writing Unit
Figurative Language Bundle
Writing Pack
Literary Element Analysis Mini-Book
Point of View {Hands-On Interactive Notebook}
Book of the Month Independent Reading Program
Theme in a Snap!
New Interactive Reading Literature Notebook 2

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize #3: High School Resources
Win all of the resources listed below for your high school ELA classroom.
Close Reading: Guide Your Students Through the Process
Interactive Notebook Bundle
Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasion
Common Core Literature Bell Ringers for Secondary English
Found Poetry Packet
Introduction to Close Reading for Middle and High School - Model and Practice
Critical Thinking: What is Textual Analysis #2
Fiction and Nonfiction Test Passages
Short Story Starters Task Cards 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize # 4: Middle School TpT Store Shopping Spree 
Win a $10 shopping spree to one of the TpT Stores listed below.
2 Peas and a Dog
The Creative Classroom
Literary Sherri
Mrs. Spangler in the Middle
Darlene Anne
Fisher Reyna Education
Brain Waves Instruction
Stacey Lloyd
James Whitaker's Sophist Thoughts
Created by MrHughes
ELA Everyday

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize #5: High School TpT Store Shopping Spree  
Win a $10 shopping spree to one of the TpT Stores listed below.
Room 213
The Daring English Teacher
Nouvelle
Making Meaning with Melissa
Linda Jennifer
Brynn Allison
Juggling ELA

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Back to School Sale!

It's happening!  Back to School Time!  I love dreaming of a new school year, setting up the classroom, and finding just the right resources for students.  Luckily, finding high-quality resources for secondary ELA is as easy as stopping by these sellers' stores on Teachers Pay Teachers...

The best part?  The Literary League of Secondary ELA Teachers are all participating in TpT's site-wide sale!  I'm off to check out these shops right now...

Danielle Knight (Study All Knight)

Darlene Anne- ELA Buffet

Mrs. Spangler in the Middle

Created by MrHughes

The Classroom Sparrow

The Daring English Teacher

ELA Everyday

Juggling ELA

Nouvelle

Literary Sherri

Making Meaning with Melissa

2 Peas and a Dog 

Secondary Solutions-Simply Novel

Addie Williams

Linda Jennifer 

Fisher Reyna Education

The Creative Classroom

Stacey Lloyd

Room 213

Brynn Allison

Open Classroom

Perfetto Writing Room

Secondary Sara

Tracee Orman

James Whitaker

The Superhero Teacher

Created for Learning

Wishing you a wonderful school year!

Brain Waves Instruction Goes Back to School

I'm blog hopping with some awesome secondary ELA teacher-authors from The Literary League today.

Everyone's sharing a bit about themselves and their teaching experiences, a favorite novel, and a favorite get-to-know-you back to school activity for the first days of school.  I don't know about you, but I'm super psyched to read all the other blog posts from the Literary League members.  (So, I won't be offended if you just skim over my post below and skip right to checking out the others' posts...after all, I can hardly wait myself!)

OK...if you're still reading, let's get started.  The first element of this blog hop is sharing about ourselves.  I'm going to make this pretty brief...mostly because I'm pretty boring. 

For my entire life I've wanted to be a teacher...and I've had lots of fun teaching lots of awesome kids (mostly adolescents) in different states and countries (Belize, Africa, and England --- see pics below).  

The majority of my teaching career has been in the middle school classroom and I love it!  Middle schoolers keep me humble --- they tell me when my outfit is horrible.  They make me laugh -- they call concrete poetry "cement poetry."  They make me proud -- they take risks and grow every day.  They're pretty great!

Aside from feeling happy in the classroom, I also love having adventures with my boys (two + one husband).  I'm crazy about home design, finding a great deal (on anything), laughing with friends, traveling to new places, escaping into a great book, writing curriculum, and eating dessert!

 Now, let's talk books.  Teachers are always on the hunt for a great classroom novel, right?  Well, if you haven't read Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen, you might want to give it a try.  It's a page-turner about a troubled teenager.  I love reading this book aloud to students (when they're doing their bell work) or teaching this book in small groups.  It's an especially wonderful book because it turns even the most reluctant readers into engaged readers.  It's a must-read...or must-teach!

And, now let's talk about Back to School!  One of my favorite get-to-know-you activities is to have students create name tags with a twist.  The twist part is that the name tags are also a way to get to know students.  

First, students complete a survey about themselves.  Then, they color in the name tag with specific colors based on their answers to the survey.  Finally, they fill in their name and assemble their name tag.  Once the name tags are made it's fun to have students find classmates with name tags that are super similar to their's or name tags that are very different.  When the name tags are on students' desks they're great for learning kids' names...and the added bonus is that there's a little inspiration on the back of the name tag for students to look at.  It's simple, interactive, and functional!

You can find FREE copies of this back to school activity in my 5 SIMPLE WAYS to PREPARE for BACK to SCHOOL blog post.

Thanks for stopping by!

Well, that's it for me...be sure to check out these great teacher-authors...

An InLinkz Link-up

5 Simple Ways to Prepare for Back to School

 In some ways I feel like teachers are always preparing for a new school year.  We're a profession of planners.  Daily, we write intricate instructional plans.  While teaching a unit, we're thinking of ways to improve the instruction during the next school year.  During our well deserved summer break, we're seeking new ways to teach.  We care about our work.  That's why it's no surprise that I have back to school on my mind already.  Today, I thought I'd share some of the easy ways I prepare for the beginning of a new school year.

A few weeks before school starts I love to send a letter to my students.  I keep it fairly simple.  However, I believe that a note about the upcoming school year not only shows my students that I'm excited about teaching them, but that I take learning seriously.  In my letter I like to give students an insight into what they'll be learning and how I like to structure my classroom.  I also mention the critical role of parents in their success.  Finally, I try to infuse a little excitement.  Year after year I've found that my students and parents appreciate the back to school letter.   It's a powerful first-impression-maker!

Find a sample Back to School Letter HERE.

What's back to school without a little instructional planning?  I carve out some time each summer to put together some long-range plans.  When completing long-range plans sometimes I list out the critical skills I want students to master during the school  year.  Then, I build the units of study around those skills.  Other times, I list out the major units of study for a year and consider the critical skills for each unit.  After I make a huge list of learning, I number the units and put them in the order I plan to teach them during the school year.  Next, I take a look at the units I want to teach in the first quarter and begin to map out a 10-week plan.  I've found that long-range planning is a great way to start any school year.

Find these planning guides for FREE HERE.

Another simple way to prepare for back to school is to plan a fun and engaging get-to-know-you activity for students.  I like to plan something that students can complete all by themselves when they enter the classroom.  That's why I'm nuts about these back to school name tags.  Each year I place the directions and crayons or colored pencils at students' tables.  Then, they get to work coloring in their name tag based on their answers to the "about you" questions.  In just a few minutes they have a completed name tag and I have a way to learn each of their names!  Love it!

Click HERE for a free copy of the back to school name tags.

Just like everything else, I like to make decorating the classroom for back to school super simple.  So, I've created some classroom decor posters that I can string along a classroom clothesline or staple to a bulletin board.  I especially love these posters because I've created a writing prompt that coordinates with the decor.  You can read all about these posters and find a link to them for FREE here.

Summer is a great time to come up with ways to solve common classroom problems.  I've used my summer days to figure out ways to set up seating charts, find a solution for kids without pens or pencils, make durable bathroom passes, design classroom displays, and manage handing back papers.  You can read all about the ways I like to solve classroom problems HERE. 

Well, that's it for now.  I hope you've found some simple ways to make your back to school preparations easier.  Don't forget, you can find the back to school resources mentioned in this post for FREE HERE!

CHECK THIS OUT!  I've put together a 100+ page guide for back to school for teachers. It includes tips, tools, and printables for classroom décor, classroom organization, lesson planning, community building, and planning the first day of school.  It's absolutely FREE!  

Just click here to sign up. When you sign up, you'll get access to 6 mini-courses that cover everything Back to School including classroom design, organization, curriculum planning, and ways to build a positive classroom community.  There's also a TON of exclusive freebies, bonuses, and videos!  If you'd like to learn more and sign up, just click HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

Simple Classroom Decor - Free Motivational Posters for Bulletin Boards, Clotheslines, or Classroom Walls

Have you ever been stumped by what to do with those blank bulletin boards or empty classroom clotheslines at the start of a new school year?  If you've ever found yourself pondering how to infuse life into these blank spaces, you're not alone—I've been there too. While showcasing student work is my go-to classroom decoration method, the challenge arises at the beginning of the school year when there's no student work to display...yet. That's precisely why I've curated simple and effective ways to adorn your classroom.

One of my favorite ways to do just that is with inspirational quotes. 
 Take a look...

First I created simple inspirational posters.

Since I'm planning to hang them on a classroom clothesline, I gathered some supplies.

Then, I glued the quote pages to fun scrapbook paper.

Next I simply hung them up! Couldn't be easier!

I put together this little image for inspiration in case I want to ever put all the posters on one bulletin board.

But...my favorite part about this classroom decor is that it can also be used to get to know students a bit more.  That's right, I've paired a little writing prompt with the bulletin board or clothesline display.  It's perfect for the first day of school...imagine the writing worksheet waiting for students at their desks.  Or, it'd be fun to have as an extension activity during the first few days of school just in case a lesson gets off track or ends too soon.

If you'd like to add some simple inspirational quotes to your classroom decor, you can find everything you'll need for FREE right HERE.  The writing prompt is included, too.

Wishing you a great school year!

Thanks for stopping by,

Mary Beth

P.S. Check out fun classroom decor kits with everything you'll need to decorate your classroom here!

How Being a Parent Has Changed Me as a Teacher

I'd been teaching for five years before I had my first son...then, I taught for five more years before I had a school-aged child.  For ten years I created report cards, lessons, projects, and homework assignments to the very best of my ability...like every other teacher in the world.  But, that September morning when I put my greatest love on a bus and sent him into another's classroom, I began to look at teaching with new eyes...parent/teacher eyes. 

As my sons have navigated through their early years of public education they've had the greatest teachers.  They've learned so much...and just like everything else in life, they've taught me so much.  Navigating parenthood with school-aged children has created a shift in my teaching style and approach.  

Being a parent has changed me as a teacher.  This is what I've learned...so far...

As you know, teaching can be hard.  Sometimes we have a class filled with a bunch of challenging students...or even one challenging student...and that student makes the days even MORE challenging.  It's hard to be patient with him.  It's hard to love him and care for him...but parenthood has reminded me that maybe that challenging student is MY child.  What if I'm sending the most difficult student into a teacher's classroom each day?  How do I want him to be treated?  With kindness.  With patience.  With love.  

When I became a mom I realized that all of us mothers are doing the best we can...we'd love to send perfect angels into school each morning, but if we fall short of our goals, we hope that they'll be educated and loved in spite of their flaws.  So, in the classroom, when a sassy student pushes one of my buttons I try to remember to respond with kindness...if not for him...for his mother's sake.

My husband is a teacher, too.  That means that he and I are on top of all long-term projects and assignments and have homework assignments completed with ease each night, right?  No.  We actually joke all the time that the teachers in the teachers' lounge are saying..."Two teachers in that house and they can't get their kids to complete _____."  It's true.  All our years of advanced education and we still struggle to get homework and long-term projects completed in our house.  It was actually during a timeline project that had us trying to print pictures and write captions and get poster board and make a straight line when everyone in the house was snapping at each other when I realized that there has to be a better way to get these big projects done.

Before I was a mom, I just assigned a huge project and had my students write down the due date.  Yes, I talked all about chunking the assignment up into smaller pieces...and I fooled myself into thinking that my students were chugging along on their assignment before the due date.  Then, when I became a mother I realized that most houses are probably just like mine and they're all waiting until the last minute to do the project...and bickering...and struggling...and rushing.  So, these days instead of just giving students a single due date, I give them three due dates.  I do the chunking for my students.  I think it helps...or perhaps I'm just creating three family fights instead?

As a young teacher I'd always stress when an administrator walked into my classroom.  I'd become hyper-aware of my actions and my words.  I'd try to do my job to an exceptional level.  I thought that he or she was the person watching and evaluating about my work.  

Then...during our first dinner after my son's first day of school, I realized that the most careful watcher and critic of my classroom was not my administrator.  It was the 24 students sitting in front of me each day.  From that first day of school to today, my kids share a bunch about their teachers.  Really awesome things.  Really funny things.  Really inspiring things....and really human things.  They share things like, "She was on her phone all afternoon," or "she just sat at her desk and asked us to color," or "she eats candy for breakfast."  Of course, as parents we know that our kids exaggerate and speak in generalities, so we let their words go in one ear and out the other.  However, as my kids babble about their teachers, I remember that at that very moment 24 other kids might be babbling about me and my words and actions.  So, I've shifted my early actions of impressing my administrator and now try to act more professional when he/she leaves the classroom...after all, I have 24 more important people to impress.

Early in my teaching career I made it a point to assign homework every night.  Every. Night.  I thought homework was super important.  

But, since having my boys I've come to realize that homework is a family interruption...and sometimes it can become a family eruption...a parent-child tug-of-war.  We've had many nights of challenging homework completion in my home and there's nothing more frustrating than when we're fighting over a crossword puzzle or math worksheet or other worksheet that feels a lot more like busy work and a lot less like a true extension or practice for the day's learning.  So, that's why my focus has shifted from assigning homework to assigning purposeful work.  If there's not a natural assignment that extends my students' learning, then there's no homework that night.  

I've also come to realize something else, sometimes my home is so busy on a particular night that my kids just don't have enough time to allot to an assignment.  That's why I started the practice of handing out FAMILY HOMEWORK PASSES during Parent Information Night.  

I give each family two passes and my students are welcome to use them throughout the school year.  So, on a busy family night my kids and their families can skip the homework and focus on the truly important stuff...family.

P.S. Since not everyone can get to Parent Information Night, I send home the passes as well. 

Just the words "report cards" can send a teacher like me into a tailspin.  With so many students and classes, they're a complete bear to write and prepare.  In my early years I spent days preparing report cards and filling them with the standardized comments associated with them.  

Then, when my son came home with his first report card I had a revelation.  I read each comment and they sounded so automated, so robotic, so mass-produced.  There was nothing in that report card that gave me the impression that the teacher truly knew my child.  And I knew that she did.  I knew  that she was a great teacher.  So that got me wondering...how many parents reviewed the report cards I slaved over throughout the years and thought the same thing?  So, during the next quarter, I decided to input less of the standard comments and instead write one or two truly personalized comments about each students' learning, progress, and contribution to class.  What a difference!  I spent about the same amount of time doing report cards, but ended up with report cards that actually reported something meaningful.

Finally, more than ever being a parent has taught me that we're all truly trying our best.  Teachers and parents want the same thing...to work to create the kindest, smartest, and happiest kids that we can.  We're all in this together!

Thanks for stopping by,

Mary Beth

P.S.  Click here for a FREE copy of the Family Homework Passes.