Helpful Things.

So, throughout the course of the semester so far and through do my fieldwork, I have learned a lot of helpful little tips and tricks and rules of thumb from not only the class, but most specifically from other teachers. I have learned about little things to do inside the classroom, and things that are fantastic resources for teachers. Here is a little list of a few of the little things I've learned.

Inside the classroom:

• Write a small list of the the things that students need to be doing during quiet times of work and study. It helps to stay on track and on top of work because they can visually see what they need to work on, and they can mentally check off the list.
• Use fun little phrases to get the classes attention (ex. "1, 2, 3 eyes on me.."). My personal favorite is, "ready to rock"..."ready to roll". 
• At the end of the day, after the kids clean up, pack up and stack up, have a little competition for the "magic piece"...it gets them to clean up and it makes it fun.
• Create separate and small reading groups, this helps students who are not only struggling but it allows kids who are on different levels of reading to learn with kids on the same level. It goes back to the idea of the "increasing 'staircase' of complexity" that we talked about in class.

Resources for teachers:

• www.uen.org - great for looking at the curriculum and getting lesson plan ideas.
• www.teacherspayteachers.com - great for finding fun little lesson plans and ideas and a great resource for finding classroom supplies like signs, posters, boarders, pictures, etc.
• My favorite, PINTEREST! Great place to go for lesson ideas, classroom ideas, projects and crafts, and parties! 
• Craft stores like Michael's and  Hobby Lobby--great places for arts and crafts or different kinds of projects.
• Map World, which is actually is a large teacher supply store. I never would have thought of going there, but it actually is pretty fantastic.

All these little things I have learned have been really helpful and have made me that much more excited to become a teacher! I hope that it helps any future teachers and existing teachers out there! 

The biggest thing that I have learned so far that you just have to enjoy what you're doing and have fun, even when it gets hard and stressful.