I have taught for 9 years in North Alabama. . I have a Master's Degree in Elementary Education K-6 with an ELL minor, along with a certification for middle school math. I am a National Board Certified Teacher for Early Adolescence Math.
So I am completely obsessed with teacher Instagram.. I can’t even deny it. I have an addiction! But it’s such a great one to have- I am constantly inspired. An awesome teacher (exceptionalelementary) shared three things that her first three years of teaching taught her. SO I wanted to share my own ‘fab four’ things that I have learned in my first 4 years. (I still can’t believe how fast 4 years have come and gone!)
Kids watch me 24/7. The way I act is contagious to them. They watch how I handle situations, they watch how I interact with other teachers.. they watch how to I respond to just about anything. They watch and they remember. Set the example.
I will not be everyone’s person & that is okay. I’m here for the kids. They are my ‘why’ to everything. I saw a quote on Twitter that said, ‘Be Bold. Be Brave. Be the best thing for kids.’ I’ve learned it’s okay to do something different or to just be different in general, especially if it’s what my kids need.
This job probably won’t get any easier, but every year I get better & better. My goal is to be better than I was the year before. I have learned to be competitive against myself. There’s a lot I can improve on. Focusing both on what has gone well and what can get better has really helped me every year.
I have the ability to make or break a kid. Even when there are circumstances I can’t control (home life for example), I actually have a lot I can control when they are under my care. This past year I learned to make every moment count & that actually impacts a lot more than I used to think. For those minutes they are with me.. I can control ALL of that.
What have you learned over the years? I would love to hear! xo Brooklyn
I saw this idea floating around on teacher Instagram stories but couldn’t quite find a printable so I just had to make one for myself!! I have since been asked by others to have a copy, etc. I think this tool is so useful so I wanted to upload it on here for any teacher to use and enjoy at the end of the year! Enjoy!
I am THAT teacher that truly & honestly HATES being absent!!! It does not matter what the reason is for.. I just hate being out. Over the years I have two incentives that I always stick with when I have a sub and I wanted to share those with you!
My first tip is to leave substitute coupons!! These are free from Mrs. D’s Corner when you make a free account for her resource library! These definitely have more of a primary look, but if you teach older students I would simply suggest making a coupon with a more mature look. I think students of any age would want these!! Ideas for a reward: HW pass, 5 bonus points on lowest grade, CANDY, extra free time, lunch with a friend, chew gum in class, etc. The possibilities are endless.
So the coupon is definitely an individual thing, which I like. My second tip is more of a whole class incentive. I have a puff ball jar and we get a puff ball for things such as 100% attendance, class compliment, etc. If a REALLY good note is left by the sub I give 5 puff balls. You can adjust the amount as you wish. When it is filled we do something like donuts, pizza, extra free time, etc. I even did this when I taught two 3rd grade classes- I just had 2 jars.
What are your tips for good behavior incentives with a sub!?
I truly feel students that work hard deserve rewards! My class had exceptional growth this year on their DIBELS state reading assessment. We celebrated in multiple ways! First, I made growth badges for students to wear. They are free in my TPT.
We also had donuts and GENIUS juice (Sunny D) for breakfast one morning. SOOOO easy!
Finally, we had an ice cream celebration. About a good month before testing, we set goals for ice cream & toppings. Each component of our DIBLES was worth a topping if the student benchamarked/met a goal. I also had a bonus topping for hard work/effort. I made some cute signs that you just print on cardstock & fold in half to stand up. They are free in my TPT.
How do you celebrate growth, success, testing, etc.!? I would love to know!
With all of the test prep my class has been doing lately, I knew I needed to reward them with some type of fun review! I created this very low-prep racing theme for my students to ‘race’ into 2nd grade and prep for our reading assessment!
Materials:
Cones- borrowed from my PE dept
Referee shirt from Amazon (I got mine 4 years ago for another transformation, but this link is similar.)
I created a driver’s license for my students that you can find here. This really got them excited! I told them if they were not on task they *might* lose their driver’s license. :0
I had 4 rotations for this transformation. This one is a card game using sight word phrases from the DOLCH list. There are 2 special cards: Speed it up (draw 2 more cards) or stop for fuel (miss a turn). I told them as they read the phrase show it to their group to make sure they read it correctly. (: When all the cards are gone they count to see who has the most- that is the winner!
The next rotation was a sight word board game using sight words from our reading units. We use Reading Street so I pulled from that. Students roll a dice and read that many spaces of sight words. Whoever reaches the end first wins.
This rotation was for nonsense words. Students took turns drawing a card and reading the words- again they had to show it to their group to make sure they said it correctly. If they drew a flat tire card they had to place one of their cards back in the bottom of the stack. When all the cards are gone they count to see who has the most- that is the winner!
As I mentioned, I had four rotations. my final one had oral reading fluency passages and students took turns reading those!! The other 3 rotations + driver’s license can be found in my TPT here.
Overall this transformation was VERY simple to prepare & the 3 rotations in my store will be used in centers for weeks to come! They were easy to explain and my class loves card and board games. If you have every done a racing transformation, I would love to hear details!! (: -Brooklyn
I have wanted to do this for years and I am so glad I finally did! Besides the black lights this is actually not expensive. Many teachers borrow black lights from family friends. I was able to purchase some rather well-priced ones linked below.
Got the hype started the day before with this free note! You could even use this without black lights but they make it SO much fun! My number detective resource.
I used two resources to make 3 activities for my students! One is my own number detective activity that includes addition and subtraction within 20 without regrouping. Students use highlighters to draw models and it is awesome to see it glow! I used manilla envelopes to give it a real case file look. There is a certificate you can award at the end when they solve them all. I made sure to check each case before they moved on to the next.
The other activity I used was a missing number fluency to help prepare for DIBELS math state testing. I used a Target halloween ring toss kit and students solved those cards as they got a ring. The tic tac toe (first picture on the post) was made using the neon tape and students also used those cards. They had to solve a card before they could pic a spot for the X or O. These cards are great because answers are on the back! (Our math coach recommended them.)
CertificateRing Toss. I wrapped the glow tape around it all!
I know that SO many glow transformations have been planned in classrooms! I would love to hear about yours! One of my students actually said this was the best day of his life LOL so I definitely want to do another before the year is over!! (:
Last year was the first time that I tried a math egg hunt and it was SO great that I have planned even more for this year! I just updated my own Egg Hunt product but this post will be beneficial for setting some ground rules so your classroom egg hunt is successful!
I got my eggs very cheap at Target but they can be found just about anywhere this time of year. I numbered the eggs 1-16 with a Sharpie as that is how many I wanted to personally hide. Each of my egg hunt products have numbers on each question through 16, so each question matches an egg. I fold the question inside & place the eggs around the room. I strategically place my students in pairs & they have a recording sheet to share.
Here are my rules. *Only ONE partner at a time goes to find an egg. They are to take turns. I give them a moment to decide who will get the first egg. *Then we talk about how we will not run around the room. *We also talk about not hiding these in impossible places, such as someone’s backpack. lol *I also remind them that time is of the essence– when they are finished solving the egg, they are to raise their hand for me to come check their work before they can move on. When they are checked off (I mark that question with a smiley face so we all know it is good to go) they know to quickly place the egg back & grab another.
The winning teams are chosen for a Minute to Win it Challenge. SOOOO this really motivates them to not play around hiding the egg because the more questions they get answer the better. Guys- I teach first grade and they do SO WELL with this. I am convinced if this group of 6-7 year olds can do it, so can yours!!
We have a specific set of criteria to pass on to the next egg. Keeps everyone doing their best!
Now, once time is up (I set a timer for about 20 min.) the teams with the most solved eggs participate in a Minute to Win it. Sometimes I also pick a ‘hardest working team’ to also participate even if they didn’t have the most answered. This is a very popular choice among the kids too- it really gives an even playing field. Our two favorites are jelly beans and Oreos. For the jelly bean challenge, students take a straw and suck up jellybeans from the desk into a cup. (I model this.) The student with the most in the cup after one minute wins a medal– and their partner! DO NOT WORRY- the jelly bean cannot go up the straw!! They are too big to fit trust me. I have done this for years even when I taught 3rd! The Oreo challenge is to place an Oreo on your forehead and get it into your mouth with no hands. I pull up a video for this & show them how it works. There are many other Minute to Win it ideas you can try as well.
Oreo Challenge- PRICELESS!
Jelly Bean Minute to WIn It
I have seen SO many ways to use Easter eggs in the classroom lately. If you have used them in your classroom, comment below. I would love to hear about it!
This is one of my favorite classroom transformations!! It is a popular one and I love the endless possibilities! We completed this contraction surgery in my classroom. Here are the details!
I got the tip to hang tablecloths from the ceiling by Simply Engagement with the Velcro dots!! It was SO cool. I had a parent make copies beforehand of the contraction booklets which saved me a lot of time, so I recommend doing this if possible. I of course modeled to the students how they were to cut the patients (words) with their scalpel (scissors) because this is VERY important for students to see the purpose of the surgery.
One trick I used to keep my students focused was reminding them that we could NOT wake the patients.. so we had to stay quiet!! If the noise level got a little loud you would hear a student say, โDO NOT WAKE THEM UP GUYS!โ and it was all I could do not to laugh. If a student finished early I told them to help a fellow surgeon!
There are so many possibilities with surgical transformations- before I taught 1st grade I used a TPT resource for a distributive property surgery. Have you done a medical transformation before!? I would love to hear about it!!
This has got to be the BEST transformation ever! I was inspired by Vanessa on instagram and knew I had to make this work for my first graders. This could be used for ANY grade- trust me. You can use whatever skills you want. I will explain what materials I used and what content I used for my first graders, but I hope you are inspired to do this no matter what grade you teach!
Starbucks Materials- Donated by local Starbucks (Details below)
Green butcher paper for the sign- our school keeps this on hand.
Getting Supplies Donated
I simply asked one of my local Starbucks (inside of Target actually) if I could have some supplies donated to do a Starbooks transformation in my classroom. I had taken my teacher badge just in case they needed to see it but they said they didn’t even need it! They even gave me the cute little drink stoppers! I made sure they gave me a few extra cups for the tip jar and sign. They also offered the sleeves but I opted out because I knew I wanted to make sure the Avery labels were showing.
Parents were more than happy to donate some hot chocolate!
The Content
I used this as a review component so we focused on fact and opinion from nonfiction texts, and character/setting/retell from fiction! We also had spot a sight word on the back, so if students found one of the sight words from our last unit, they put a dot next to the word. I have all of this in my TPT store, along with an editable version because I want you to make this work for your classroom, your standards, your needs, etc! I also included some chalkboard print outs if you don’t want to buy chalkboard stands. I offered two flavors, but let’s say you’re in kinder and want to try this.. you could just have the one flavor and have lots of book choices for that flavor! You can still do the sight word search and you can choose what you want the kids to be looking for as they read. If you are an upper grade, you can incorporate more vocabulary since sight words may not be your focus, or discussing the theme of the book, etc. So. Many. Options. (I’m even sitting here thinking if you’re studying fables you could have a Fable Frappe.. or how about a Fantasy Frappe? The list goes on..) And I will also add with older kids this could last all day if you want as you read longer texts! This took about an hour and a half total, but a good 20-25 min was me modeling what I wanted them to write down on those tasks! (:
I literally made this sign on the floor during indoor recess the day before.. so don’t think you have to stay forever after school getting this ready! The chalkboard markers worked great even on this thin butcher paper! I hot glued the cups on for an extra touch.
I let the edges curl naturally and just used binder clips to make it hang from my curtain.
I also wanted to incorporate contractions, so we had a tip jar where students wrote down a contraction if they came across it while reading. I also had them write their name down under the contraction so I would know who tipped me & they liked that! We ended up having two tips jars because so many were found and the kids were thrilled that I was ‘rich’ from so many tips! I only had to stay about 20 min after school to get all this ready. (Making the poster during indoor recess did help- that took 20 min.) I already had my books chosen- I grabbed here & there for a couple weeks leading up to this. The morning of, I plugged up the crockpot as soon as I got to school because I knew from experience it takes a little time for mine to heat up for this.
One of their favorite parts for sure!
Logistics..
Okay, so what do you do once you have everything set up & it’s time to begin!? I completed an example of each choice with the kids. I told them they could choose from the two flavors, so be thinking what you would like to taste today. Once examples had been shown explicitly (this is first grade lol) they returned to their seats & I called one table at a time to take their order. I wrote their name on their cup and checked either Fiction Frappe or Dark Roast Nonfiction. They chose their book from the table, the task sheet that matched their drink choice, and then they went to their table to begin reading. Once I had taken all of the drink orders, I made my rounds facilitating and helping students as needed. (They were allowed to help neighbors with a word if needed, things like that, etc.) Once I saw a student was about halfway through their tasks, working hard, etc. their order was served. This kept everyone on track and focused!! First grade can be really challenging to keep everyone focused and I promise you that they knew they would not get that hot chocolate unless they were working hard and it WORKED. Again- if they also saw contractions, those went in the tip jar mentioned above. If students finished early (because we all know that happens!) they were allowed to return their book and grab another. For the second book I didn’t require them to grab a new task sheet but instead they could keep searching for sight words as they read this second choice. It worked very well! I had about 5 students who actually really wrote detailed answers and finished their tasks later in the day with their books.
Taking those orders!
Avery labels had the cutest coffee theme already made under pre-designs! Enter your own text & it’s good to go!
Samples
First and foremost YES these have permission to be posted! (: This is a student sample of the Dark Roast Nonfiction and Sight Word Search to give you an idea of what they were working on as their orders were served!
This is editable in my store. This is editable is my store.
Unforgettable Transformation!
This was so memorable for my students because they were able to read and have FUN. “Miss McCarley we feel like real teachers because we are drinking coffee.” (It’s hot chocolate guys LOL) “Miss McCarley can we take these cups home?” We all know reading is hard for many students, and in first grade it’s hard for almost everyone because this is when we are all learning how this works. This transformation served a purpose- yes it looks cool and has some hype, but at the root of this were skills we practiced all week reviewing.. and we topped it off by incorporating them into this little Starbooks experience on Friday. Their faces say it all! I encourage you to think about skills your students need- they may be similar or different than mine- and you can create this for your students! Again, my product can be found here and is editable. If you do this transformation please tag me on instagram because I want to see it!
Place Value Bootcamp has been one of the best transformations EVER! To me the best part of a bootcamp is that it can be about any content.. I have seen bootcamps for reading, writing, and math! This particular bootcamp is content-wise perfect for 1st grade (or review for 2nd grade) BUT will also lay out the perfect general set-up for a bootcamp in your classroom no matter the grade. (:
Tell your kids to wear camo, black, brown, green.. I wore a camo tulle skirt!!
Make this a BIG deal!!
I told my class on Monday that we would have bootcamp on Friday. (They said what is a bootcamp???? #firstgrade) I told them every day we would be preparing for bootcamp- we mentally had to be prepared… OR ELSE lol. My particular bootcamp had 4 stations, so each day I taught how the station would work in small groups. (You could also do this whole group. My class needs small group everything.. I know my kids!) I only showed them enough so that they knew the routine of the game, task cards, etc. Then I would say okay, clean up, I have to show another group. They 100% protested!! They didn’t want to stop. I reminded them to be here Friday for bootcamp & they would see it again. This built up so. much. anticipation. I cannot tell you how many times I was asked if ‘today’ was bootcamp…. My particular bootcamp can be found here.
Bootcamp Chant!
There is a chant by Teacher Tipster on Youtube, but we changed it just a bit to add some personalization. (: In between rotations I had my students drop and give me ten! We did push ups, pull ups, jumping jacks.. it was SO much fun!
My Stations
Station 1:
These come with and without a QR code option.
Students will sort if place value statements are true or false. There are base ten models & descriptions such as 15 = 5 tens 1 one (false) or 35 = 3 tens 5 ones (true) There is a QR code option for this sort. 20 task cards total either way. (1.NBT.2)
Station 2:
This can be played as partners or as a trio.
This would be voted as the class favorite for sure! Students played a place value game 4 in a row to practice identifying 10-19, those tricky numbers made from a group of ten and then some ones. The students can play over & over again in this rotation. The best part are that the cards cover 3 variations. EX: 10+4, base ten models, and a description such as one ten and six ones. Students put their game piece (dollar spot erasers in my room) on the identified number to get 4 in a row. (1.NBT.2)
Station 3:
Some questions ask about tens and ones- some ask to draw base 10 models.
The dog tags are a part of my TPT product btw.
For this station, students completed a Write the Room for drawing base ten models and identifyfying the number of tens or ones in a number. There were a couple of variations. EX: Draw a base ten model for 13. How many ones are in 65? There is a recording sheet and 20 task cards total. (1.NBT.2) I was really impressed with those models!
Station 4:
There is also an option to print the task cards without the QR codes.
You can see the variation in contexts.
This station was great because my students compared numbers, but there was a little rigor here. Some number comparisons are listed such as 45 and 6 tens 3 ones. (Comparing the number 45 and 63.) There is a QR code option for this set of task cards. 20 cards total either way. (1.NBT.3)
Have you ever completed a bootcamp transformation? I would love to hear about it!
