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Creativity in the Modern Classroom

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Top 5 Social Emotional Learning Activities for the School Year

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Social Emotional Learning has to be front and center during the school year. We have our top 5 resources that you should use in your upper elementary classroom.

Top 5 Social Emotional Learning Activities

  1. Social Emotional Learning Task Cards
    Social-emotional skills are needed for all students to be successful at school and home. The purpose of these task cards is to have your students read a scenario, think, and share how they would respond. These 20 scenarios are intended to help students build confidence, understand their own strengths and weaknesses, navigate social situations, and make better decisions.

2. Digital Student Engagement Trivia Activity
The purpose of this trivia activity bundle is to increase student engagement by having students try to determine what is being described when given three clues that describe a famous person, an animal, a country, a famous historic place, etc. Students will become detectives and earn points for correct answers.

3. Student Engagement Quiz Time Cards
The purpose of these Quiz Time Cards is to engage your students in learning about a number of random topics ranging from animals to countries to planets to famous explorers. There are a number of ways that the Quiz Time Cards could be used in your classroom.

Each card contains a fact and four statements about a specific topic (skunk, ladybugs, Jupiter, the Great Wall of China, Italy, bagpipes, etc.). Students are asked to choose the one statement that does not belong (or is false).

4. Student Engagement Task Cards
These 25 task cards are intended to help you to increase student engagement in your classroom. We all know that students need to be engaged in order to learn.

Included in this file are 25 activities to help with student engagement. Here are just a few ideas included:
-Rock, Paper, Scissors
-QR Codes
-Paper Basketball
-Music Movers
-Tic-Tac-Toe
-Jigsaw
-Knowledge Parade
-Penny for Your Thoughts

5. FREE! Growth Mindset Student Engagement Questions
Here is a free Growth Mindset student engagement question sheet. This activity is designed to find out how to increase motivation and student engagement in the classroom. Questions center around favorite singers/songs, favorite books/genres, research the students would like to do, what the teacher can do more of to make school engaging, and a set of true/false questions about a Growth Mindset.

Make sure that social emotional learning is front and center during your school year. Connecting with your students is crucial to their success!

Top 5 Resources to End the COVID 19 School Year

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This COVID 19 school year has been difficult. But that doesn’t mean the end of the year has to be! It is time to celebrate all that the students have accomplished over the past year. Both you and your students need to end on a positive note.

Here are our top 5 resources to end the COVID-19 school year.

Resource #1: Time Capsule Activity

Help your students document this year by creating a digital time capsule! Students will share how their learning looked during the pandemic compared to previous years. They will also design a mask and share thoughts on what they know about the COVID-19 virus and what they hope school looks like next year.

Resource #2: Bingo Activity

This is not your ordinary BINGO. You will be using the word “COVID” instead. All the words that the students will put on the digital bingo board will be covid-related terms such as: masks, hand washing, sanitizer, online and so many more. Students will be asked to grab and drag words onto their COVID BINGO card. This is a great way to spend some time talking about how the year went.

Resource #3: End of Year Memory Book

The purpose of this activity is for your students to reflect on their school year as they learn away from school. This is a 10-page interactive resource that covers several topics such as school memories, teachers, friends, favorites, ratings, writing a quick letter, creating “apps”, and more!

Resource #4: COVID Journal Reflection

This is a great resource for your students to reflect on this school year changed by COVID. Students will respond to questions about safety procedures, how they learned, what they learned about the virus, and more.

Resource #5: End of Year COVID Bundle of Activities

This includes all the end of year resources above, plus the Memory Booklet in digital format as well. This bundle will provide you and your students with some great resources to end the school year.

Whatever you do, make sure to end this school year with some fun and memorable activities. You and your students deserve it!

How to Prank Your Students on April Fools’ Day

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We hate to admit it, but April Fools’ Day is probably one of our favorite days of the school year.

Being in education for a combined 50+ years has really shown us that having a sense of humor is extremely important for longevity. Especially over this past school year!

We would like to share our top 5 April Fools’ Day pranks that are true and tested with you!

Top 5 April Fools’ Day Pranks

1. The good ole’ following directions prank
Not only is this a great April Fools’ Day prank, but also a great tool on teaching your students how to follow directions. Print off the handout and tell the students that this is a test in which you must follow the directions. Tell them that you are preparing them for spring testing (which many of us are currently doing).Sit back and try not to crack a smile or laugh as students stand up, say things out loud and do other crazy things that they are not supposed to do!

This April Fools Day Following Directions Activity will sure teach them how important it is to read all directions first! You can also find this in a digital version here.

2. The traditional “brownie” treat prank
You have probably done this one too. If not, it is an oldie, but a goodie. Tell the class that you made a special treat for all of their hard work this year. You made a pan of “brownies.” Pass out napkins and then begin passing out your brown letter “e’s”. You will immediately see their looks of bewilderment. When done tell them to enjoy! Of course, have some regular brownies on hand to pass out after the prank.

3. Pop Quiz Day
There is nothing that students hate more than a pop quiz! So why not spring one on them on April Fools’ Day? You could make up a pretend spelling list with words that you gave them “wink, wink” last week to study. Or you could give them math problems that they have never seen before and watch their eyes bulge when they see it. Another fun thing would be to give a word find assignment, but none of the words appear in the puzzle! Have fun with this one!

4. Switching Team Loyalties
We are both huge football fans and one year we decided that we were going to switch teams based on a “trade” that happened. Right around this time of the year teams are getting ready for the NFL draft. So we created a fake Associated Press article stating that our favorite player has been traded to the rival team, We then told our students that we are mad at our team and love this player. We played it up the entire morning.

Then after lunch we had two different piles of colored beads on the back table. One of our former favorite team and one of our new team. It was amazing to see how many students changed loyalties! We, of course, let them in on the secret that it was April Fools Day of course! We made it all better by giving them beads from the favorite team.

5. The Google Earth Grand Finale
Now this one took some planning! We typed up an “official” letter from Google Earth, informing our class that there was going to be a flyover for new photos for Google Earth of our school at a specific time. We hyped this up to say that we could be a part of history and be on Google Earth. So as a class we “steered” them to come up with the suggestion of laying on the ground to spell out our school name with our bodies.

We got them all outside at the specific time and put them all into position. We then took our cameras and snapped a photo of the class on the ground. Of course once we had that we let them in on what special day it was. They really got a kick out of this one! We then let them have some extra recess to make it a little better. 

Enjoy the day!

We would love to hear what you have done to your students on April Fools’ Day. Please feel free to drop us a note at wiseguystpt@gmail.com.

Make sure to share this with colleagues so they can experience the laughs. Have fun and enjoy the day!

Spring Break Self-Care Ideas for Teachers

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What a year it has been!

Whether you are teaching virtual, hybrid, in person, or a combination of any of those methods of instruction, we have never seen a year quite like this!

Talking with teachers across our district, they have gone above and beyond to make sure their students are cared for, heard, and educated. This has been no easy task, and it has taken its toll.

Never in our combined 50+ years of teaching have we seen teachers so stressed and burned out. Spring break couldn’t be coming at a better time. Even though we have two more weeks until our break, you can already see the desperation and yearning for a break on educators’ faces.

Below are our five tips for teachers of how to rest, relax and rejuvenate over spring break.

Top Five Tips for Teachers

1. Do not, we repeat, do not, step foot into your school over your vacation. It is called “break” for a reason. It means to separate yourself from your work. You have earned it. Do not feel guilty that you are taking time for yourself. You deserve it!

2. Reconnect with extended family. We are hoping by now that your parents, if they are 65 or older, have received at least one, if not two doses of the vaccine. Under new CDC guidelines, you are now able to get together with them and even give them a hug if it has been two weeks after their second (or only Johnson and Johnson) shot. We have missed being able to hug our loved ones. This will help tremendously in uplifting your spirits.

3. Put your bookbag away! Yes, we told you to stay away from your building. But this also means hide that bookbag somewhere and don’t pull it out until Sunday night or Monday morning before you go back. You need time to do what you enjoy. If you enjoy reading books about a new educational topic, fine. But don’t correct papers, lesson plan, or check your school email either. 

4. Take time for yourself. Whether it is binge watching a show, taking a walk, having a glass or two of your favorite beverage, soaking in an extra long bath, or just going for a drive, do it! You have dedicated over 3/4 of the school year to your students. It is now time to focus on you.

5. Help out your colleagues. Sometimes helping others is a great boost to your own self-worth. Before or after break spread a little cheer in your building with some of these ideas:

Inspirational Ideas for Colleagues


Inspirational Quotes and Sayings for Teachers provide your co-workers with some inspiration for the rest of the year!

Teacher Gift Tags are a great way to give an inexpensive gift with a little fun message to a teacher in your building.

Make sure to rest, relax and rejuvenate this Spring Break!

Preparing Students for Standardized Testing During a Pandemic

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We are not happy about standardized testing taking place during a pandemic.

But we know we must prepare our students for the test. We have combined for over 50 years or teaching experience in grades 4-6 and want to share our tips, ideas, and resources to help you prepare for state testing.

The biggest thing this year is easing students’ fear of such a huge test in such a crazy and stressful year for not only students, but educators as well. We have some great ideas and tips below that will help you get ready for the test.

If you are looking for a way to have your students de-stress before the test, take a look at our FREE Stress Breaker Chain activity. This resource is intended to help your students share their concerns/fears before the common core test is administered. The best part is for the students to tear up the chain at the end of the testing!

If you want to put together a fun little test kit for your students, look no further than our FREE Test Taking Survival Kit! The kids love the contents of their test taking survival kits and I’m sure yours will too!

Who doesn’t like a little treat and some motivation during testing? We have our Student Gift Tags that are perfect for this! Your students will love these inspirational cards with treats attached. It is a sure way to help lower stress before the test!

Showing evidence is always a part of the standardized test. We have our ELA Test Prep Citing Text Evidence activity that is a perfect way to get your students ready. This high interest test prep resource includes: a 13-page kid friendly resource that will walk students through what citing evidence is, some examples to work through together, and then an assignment at the end to practice.

We all know test vocabulary is hard for students to understand. So we created a Test Prep Vocabulary bundle of resources. This bundle NOW contains five activities intended to help your students understand some of the key vocabulary that they may see on a standardized test.

If you are looking for the complete package, then take a look at our TEST PREP BUNDLE!!  This is a test prep bundle that features 14 different resources including: informational text, vocabulary, games, activities and more to get your students ready for standardized testing.

Take some of the stress away with our resources for your classroom today!

Teaching the Presidential Election Without Bias

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The 2020 Presidential election is fast approaching. This election has been one of the most controversial ones in recent memory. How do teachers tip-toe around student opinions and just teach the facts? We have created this blog post to help guide you on how to teach the presidential election without bias.


Do’s and Don’ts

Teachers must maintain professionalism in the classroom when teaching about the election. Favoritism toward one candidate cannot be displayed in any way. Even though the classroom teacher may have strong convictions, s/he cannot try to persuade the students to support one candidate over the other. Because of this, we have created some tips emphasizing the do’s and don’ts in the classroom that should be adhered to.
Do discuss the following: the major two political party system, how a presidential election operates, the requirements in order to be president, the candidates’ positions on the issues, the electoral college system, who is eligible to vote, the difference between the electoral college and popular vote, the importance of debates in the election.

Do not: show favoritism toward a candidate, get into arguments regarding statements by candidates, bring in prejudice or discrimination toward a candidate, only share one candidates’ view, bring in guest speakers from only one side, hold debates without the facts.

What Ifs…

There will probably be some questions and tense moments in the classroom. Here is a list of “What if’s” that may surface in the classroom and how to handle them.

A student shares his/her opinion of a candidate? We all have opinions, and that is okay, but we are not going to talk about our opinions. We are going to talk about the system and the process of becoming president.

A student disagrees with a statement another classmate made? We don’t have to agree. We have to respect everyone’s viewpoints and make informed decisions when you are an adult and have the right to vote.

A parent has an issue with talking about politics in the classroom? Make sure to send home the parent letter and assure parents that you are teaching about government, the political process, and how a person can become president in the United States.

Students want to change the opinions of their parents? Let your students know that their parents are adults and allowed the freedom to vote for whichever candidate they prefer. When the student turns 18 years of age, s/he will be able to vote for the candidate of his/her choice.

A student refuses to participate in the activities? Have a talk with the student and let him/her know that this is an assessment unit and there will be a grade associated with it. Also, discuss the importance of the freedoms we have in the United States and how elections are what has made our nation great. If the student continues to be uncooperative, then you may have to reach out to the parents.

Parent Communication

Communicating with parents will be important when teaching about the election. A letter should be written to parents that outlines what will be taught, how it will be taught, and how you, the teacher, will deal with issues as they arise.

As the teacher, your primary goal is to educate your students about government and the election process in a non-biased way. We would love to hear how you teach the presidential election in your classroom.

To help you teach about the presidential election in your classroom, check out our Presidential Election Day Activities on TPT.

Topics Covered in Election Detective Activity:
→K-“No W”-L chart
→Election Vocabulary
→Citizen Voting
→The President: Roles and Responsibilities
→Past Presidents
→Presidential Election Process
→Candidate Stances
→The Electoral College
→Election Night Results

Remember it is your job to teach about the election, the election process, and the presidency. Stay away from showing favoritism toward any side. You’ve got this!

How to Restore Teacher Morale During a Pandemic

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There is nothing like teacher tired.

I see it on the faces of my colleagues every day at the end of the school day in our hybrid face to face model. I see it on my wife’s face when I come home after she is still working on teaching virtually.

Being tired is one thing, but unless you are a teacher, you don’t know what teacher tired really is.

We can see how much this school year is already draining out of educators. Is this pace sustainable? Is this realistic for teachers?

The problem is, we have already answered “yes” to both those questions because that is who we are. We would walk barefoot over hot coals for our students.

But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been easy for us. During these times of unprecedented workloads and fear for our overall safety, we need to band together even more to help each other through this difficult time.

The popular verse, “Lean on me when you’re not strong, and I’ll be your friend…” should be our rallying cry this year. We NEED each other.

Because of this, we wanted to share a few teacher tips on how to help teacher morale in your building.

Here are some fun blog posts to read that will help you out.
How to Deal With Back to School Anxiety During a Pandemic
Do You and Your Students Need a Vacation?
Why Inspirational Quotes For Educators Make a Difference
How to Improve Teacher Morale in Schools

And here are some great resources to use in your classroom or to use with colleagues.
Teacher Morale Inspirational Quotes and Sayings Growing Bundle


Would You Rather Teacher Edition Question Cards (this is perfect for staff lounges or meetings!)


Teacher Gift Tags (surprise a colleague with a nice affordable treat!)

Please share this email with your colleagues. They will thank you for it!

How to Deal with Back to School Anxiety during a Pandemic

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Do you have back to school anxiety about teaching during a pandemic? Here in our district we are doing a hybrid model which means we will be face to face with one cohort of students Monday and Tuesday and face to face with the other cohort Thursday and Friday.

It has us anxious for many reasons:
1. Will there be proper PPE for students?
2. Will there be proper PPE for staff?
3. How will rooms be cleaned and who will be responsible?
4. How will students move or will teachers rotate classrooms?
5. What will lunch look like?

And these are just a few of the many questions that we have yet to find the answers for. 

There is already enough anxiety as a teacher getting ready for the school year, and now we are faced going back to school during a pandemic.

So we have tried to come up with some tips, strategies and resources for you to help with your justified anxiety.

Tips and Strategies

1. Unplug from Social Media
I am sure you have already seen comments and posts by the general public and angry parents about those “lazy teachers.” You don’t need that. Put your phone, tablet, or laptop away. It will make a world of difference.

2. Do something for yourself
This could be binge watching your favorite show. You could have your favorite beverage or get your favorite carry out. It could be as simple as taking a walk too. You just need to schedule some time every day just for you. No, that is not being selfish. It is being realistic!

3. Connect with your colleagues
You are all going through the same thing right now. It will be so important to re-establish those teaching relationships heading into the school year. Human interaction is so important and we know we have missed being in touch with our teacher friends this summer.

4. Make sure to be on your custodian’s good side
This is a no brainer. But it is more important this year than any other year. Your custodian is probably stressed out trying to figure out how everything will work. Empathize with him/her. Show that you care. Heck, maybe even get a small gift card to show your appreciation. It will go a long way in these uncertain times. You might find an extra bottle of hand sanitizer or a willingness to help you out first. It is worth a shot.

5. Be there for your students
If you are like us, you miss seeing your students. This is what is keeping us going right now knowing that our students cannot wait to see their teachers and friends. That human social interaction is so important. Focus on the positives and the relationships you will form with them. Be a light in the darkness for them.

Resources

We also would like to share some resources that may help put a bounce back in your step this school year.

1. Teacher Morale Quotes Growing Bundle
We have included three sets of 30 inspirational quotes that will help keep you motivated these first three months of school. These are great to print off and look at daily on your teacher desk, or even to display in the classroom or online for students to see. We have them deeply discounted when you buy the bundle. 

2. Would You Rather Teacher Edition Cards
If you want to boost morale either in the building or online, try out these funny “Would You Rather” Teacher edition cards. These fun predicaments will have your colleagues laughing or showing signs of disgust, but more importantly, will provide your group with that much needed time to be together without data to look at or articles to read. find them here. 

3. Teacher Gift Tags
Who couldn’t use a back to school gift from a colleague? We have some teacher gift tags that would be perfect for any employee at school. Your colleagues will love these inspirational cards with treats attached. It is a sure way to boost morale in your building!

Thank you for all that you do for your students. You are appreciated!!

Why Social Emotional Learning is Needed for Back to School

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Social Emotional Learning is going to be so important for this upcoming school year. With schools being shut down across the country last March, many students have not been able to see their peers and friends for close to six months!

That is why how you start the school year will be so important for your students. Yes, there is a lot of talk of how students will be behind in their learning. Guess what? So is the rest of the nation and world!

As educators, we need to make sure we check on our students either the moment they step into our classroom or login to that first zoom meeting. These kids have been through a lot and are seeking that attention from us and their classmates.

So, how do we do this in these crazy, uncertain times? Well, we start off by just being there.

1. When your students see you for the first time, smile. Smile because you also have not had that connection with students in so long. Smile because they need it. Your students are longing for attention and for recognition. Smile because you want to show your students that you are there for them and are happy to see them.

2. Do not ask about last school year. For some it has been very difficult and even traumatic. We cannot change the past and cannot fix things that happened. By all means, though, if students do want to talk about that, either set up a one on one conference or ask them to talk with the guidance counselor. We are not saying ignore their feelings, but in a large group setting you set the tone for the school year. You want that tone to be positive from the start.

3. Use engaging activities to start the year. You want students excited to be back at school. We have created some amazing resources that will be a hit with your students! Click on the links below to learn more about each activity.
Distance Learning Trivia Bundle
Back to School Social Emotional Ranking Activity
Online Scavenger Hunt
Would You Rather School Edition Questions
Back To School Getting to Know You Google Form

4. Make sure to do a daily greeting every day. It is important to recognize students each day. This can be a simple “good morning”, but make sure you acknowledge each and every student. It will make a difference to them.

5. Let parents know that you are there. Within the first month of back to school, reach out to families to let them know that you are here for their child. Whether it be a phone call, email, or text, make sure to connect with a guardian. This will make a huge difference to them to know that their child is cared for and is valued. They will thank you for it too!

In these unprecedented times, be there for your students. Put on your teacher face and show them that you care!

Why You Need this Distance Learning Bundle Now!

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As teachers have moved to distance learning, the demand for online resources has increased dramatically. Being in the classroom, this has been challenging times for all of us. We have been working early in the morning and late at night to convert and create our print resources into digital.

We now have a distance learning bundle that will make it easier for you as your students learn away from school. All activities are compatible with your Google Drive, Google Slides and Google Forms. We even threw in some PDF versions of our popular miss you posters and inspirational backgrounds. There are a variety of activities for you to choose from.

Below, we will outline all that you will get in our growing distance learning bundle.

Genius Hour

Your students will be engaged in an exciting journey to become an expert on a topic they are passionate about. Genius Hour is intended to engage even your most difficult students because it allows them a choice in their learning. Genius Hour is designed to engage all to become passionate learners.

Distance Learning Plan

The purpose of this activity is to encourage your students to organize their day as they are away from school. This resource will provide your students some ideas about their day. Then they will create their day by dragging activity boxes and entering times of the day. This can be changed to fit their schedule for different days throughout the week.

Bored BINGO

The purpose of this activity is to engage your students while they are away from school. This BINGO activity provides 25 activities that your students can do either inside or outside. Students choose which activities they want to participate in to try to get a BINGO (or BORED). Along with the Bored BINGO Board, there are two detailed pages that describe each activity.

Reading Journal

The purpose of this activity is to engage your students in their daily reading through journaling. Students will respond to their daily reading by writing a summary and a reflection. Students also record the date and the number of pages/chapters that they read.

Writing Journal

The purpose of this activity is to engage your students in their daily writing through responding to 25 creative and unique prompts. Students will write a detailed response to each prompt. Students also record the date for each writing response.

Social Studies Journal

The purpose of this activity is to engage your students by having them respond and reflect on eight prompts that relate to the themes of social studies (Current Events, Geography, History, Culture, Government, Economics, Science & Technology, and Citizenship).

Memory Reflections

The purpose of this activity is for your students to reflect on their school year as they learn away from school. This is a 10-page interactive resource that covers several topics such as school memories, teachers, friends, favorites, ratings, writing a quick letter, creating “apps”, and more!

Back to School Get to Know You Form

The purpose of this activity is for you to do a back to school get to know you inventory with your students using a Google Form. This is a simple and easy way where you can gather data on your class and find out quickly some of your students’ favorites. This will be very valuable information to collect.

Back to School Subject Reflections Form

The purpose of this activity is for you to do a back to school subject reflections inventory with your students using a Google Form. This is a simple and easy way where you can gather data on your class and find out quickly how your students perceive various subjects. This will be very valuable information to collect.

Brain Break Activity

The purpose of this activity is to engage your students in a brain break activity that is will challenge them and test their brain. Students are to decode the phone numbers provided to spell out words. Students use the phone provided, which contains the letters for each number on the phone. This is a resource that is not geared toward any subject other than a challenge- and maybe a break from the typical learning.

Daily Check in Form

The purpose of this activity is for you to do a check in with your students using a Google Form. This is a simple and easy way where you can gather data on your class and find out quickly who is doing well and who needs assistance. This is perfect to stay connected with your students.

Inspirational Backgrounds

The purpose of this activity is to provide you with inspirational background images that you could print out and display when you are teaching online. You can also share the quotes with your students using Google.
This will help increase student engagement and to show your students that you care. You post these in your background to students over 30 school days that will provide for motivation during their online learning. We included a “Happy Birthday” one at the end to help you celebrate students’ birthdays too.

Miss You Posters

The purpose of this activity is to provide you with “miss you” statements that you could print out and display when you are teaching online. This will help increase student engagement and to show your students that you care. You post these in your background to students over 30 school days that will provide for motivation during their online learning, or you could hold up as you teach online.

End of Year Reflections

The purpose of this activity is for you to do an end of year reflection with your students using a Google Form. This is a simple and easy way where you can gather data on your class and find out quickly how distance learning went for each student.

Why use this distance learning bundle resource?

  • These resource are paperless.
  • These resources are easily accessible using Google Drive™.
  • Your students will work directly on the digital documents.
  • It’s a way to integrate technology into instruction.
  • Students will be engaged in their work.

We have made it easy and simple to use these resources by providing a directions page resource. This will help you implement the Google Docs, Slides, and Forms with your students.


SAVE $$$ This would cost you $38 if bought without the distance learning bundle. You are getting a $14 discount!!

Do not pass up on this great deal for online learning in your classroom. You can purchase the distance learning bundle here.