Gearing up for a new school year can sometimes feel daunting! It is such a very busy time of year, and a teacher’s to-do list can seem never ending! In this post I want to share with you a Back to School Bundle that will make getting into the swing of a new school year a breeze!
In this bundle you will find resources that will save you time, energy, and create an efficient way to track data from both students and parents. Here is a breakdown of what is included in this awesome Back to School Bundle !
If you have not already made the transition to a digital grade book and digital lesson planner NOW IS THE TIME! Both of these templates are already formatted so you don’t need to feel nervous about setting it up yourself! Here are some of the main reasons why having a digital grade book and and digital lesson planner are so beneficial!
You will be able to
- Access your records from anywhere
- Have automatically calculated data
- Easily share important data with other teachers who work with your students
- Your grade book and plans will always be up-to-date
- Multiple teachers can view the information in both documents as needed and use that information to guide their instruction
Collecting information from both parents and students at the beginning of the year (as well as throughout the school year) is extremely important, but also a challenge! There are so many papers that get handed out at the start of the school year, it’s a mission in itself to keep everything organized! These digital google forms will make gathering this information so easy! The best part is when using Google Forms, all of the information will be stored in an organized way automatically! Here is a closer look at what each of these forms has to offer!
- Information about the student
- Family information from the student’s perspective
- Learning styles (multiple choice options using student friendly language that allows students to select how they learn best)
- What the students feel are their strengths and challenges
- Something important about themselves they would like to share
- And so much more!
- Information about the parents/guardians
- Family information (who the child live with and any other additional information parents/guardians feel comfortable sharing)
- Medical information to be aware of
- The students’ strengths and challenges from the perspective of the parents/guardians
- Academic and behavior goals for the students that the parents/guardians are hoping to be addressed and worked on throughout the school year (lots of options for this in a checklist format)
- Emergency contact information
- And so much more!
- This Google Form is already formatted, however the teacher inputs the name of all students directly into the form
- Each child has a grid with the 4 ,3, 2, 1 scale rating at the top horizontally, and the social and behavior goals are listed vertically on the left-hand side
- You can use this google form for all students (or a select few), and it can be administered as frequently as you want
- I would suggest administering this form at least once a week in order to get some great data over the course of each semester. This will also provide you with enough data to be able to see behavior/social patterns happening.
Another amazing form that is included in the Back to School bundle is this How Do You Feel Google Form which can be used as a private and safe space for students to be able to express how they are feeling. Often when students feel upset they don’t always have the means to verbalize it, nor do they typically want to. This form is a great tool to allow students to let you know how they are feeling using the options such as amazing, great, okay, not good, and terrible (all options are editable). Once students select how they are feeling, they are then given the option to express if they want to talk about it or not. If they want to talk about it there is a spot for students to write in a short response box. I love this because it keeps this information stored in a safe place which is always important when dealing with these types of situations. If the student does not want to talk about it, they receive a pop-up reminding them that their teacher is always available and willing to talk when/if they decide they are ready to. Since this is a Google Form, all information is stored privately, and the information is automatically organized for you! I also love that multiple personnel are able to view this information, for example a co-teacher/guidance counselor etc. so all adults can work as a team to support every student with access to the same information in real time.
Decorating a classroom is one of my FAVORITE parts about heading into a new school year! I love the look on students’ faces when they walk into their new classroom for the first time. They immediately start checking out every detail of their new learning environment with excited eyes. Both the Bitmoji Class Jobs and the Bitmoji Birthday Chart are sure to catch their eyes!
Not sure where to start with integrating technology into your classroom? A-Z Digital Activities for Technology Integration and Podcasts in the Classroom are both included in the Back to School bundle . I will discuss both of these resources more in-depth soon, as technology integration is one of my favorite topics to chat about!
In the 11 years that I have been teaching, I have changed my classroom library 11 times. Each year I make changes, some large and some small. I come up with new ideas and bring them to fruition. Most importantly, I really think deep about how to make my classroom library the most inviting place to foster a love of reading for children. I also think about how I can maintain a level of organization for both myself and my students. This Library Bin Labels resource gives a few of my favorite options for organizing a classroom library over the years. I love the positive affirmations of READERS ARE and READERS CAN to promote a confidence in reading, while also discretely leveling my books by choosing specific affirmations that represent letters A-Z (for example Readers Can Decode represent level D books). I also love having colorful genre and author bin labels for both fiction and nonfiction!
I hope you find these resources to be helpful when starting your upcoming school year! Stay tuned as there is so much more to come!
