Back to School

Back to School Resources for Teachers: Tips and Tools for a Successful Start

Here's a list of tips, tools, and resources to help you create a positive environment, build strong relationships with your students, and grow personally and professionally.

Back to School Resources for Teachers: Tips and Tools for a Successful Start
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As we gear up for another school year, I’ve compiled a list of tips, tools, and resources to help you create a positive classroom environment, build strong relationships with your students, and grow personally and professionally. From practical strategies for interactive learning to hybrid organization systems, you’re covered. Check out these recommendations and start the school year off on the right foot!

  • Culture and Belonging - Here will find various activities and resources to help you create a positive classroom environment, including team-building exercises, gratitude lists, and STEM Challenges.
  • Sticky Notes - Explore 7 practical ways to use sticky notes in the classroom to engage students and promote active learning.
  • Relationships - Check out eight ways for teachers to build relationships with their students at the beginning of the school year. These methods include learning students’ names, prioritizing classroom management, giving students voice and choice, and being quick praise. Learn more here.
  • Back to School - This resource from PBS LearningMedia features a collection of activities, lesson plans, and video resources to help students prepare for the start of a new school year. Topics covered include getting ready for school, routines, and transitions, emotions, building new relationships, health and healthy behaviors, and more.
  • Quizziz - Use Quizziz to build connections with students and teach some of your most important procedures. These templates will get you started.
  • Reading - Explore these ideas for conducting successful guided reading lessons, including selecting appropriate texts, planning mini-lessons, and incorporating comprehension and writing activities.
  • Edutopia - This article provides a list of resources for parents to help their children transition back to school. The resources include advice and checklists, easing the transition, tech tips for a new school year, gearing up for fall learning, and the power of parental involvement.
  • Organization - Learn how to use a hybrid organization system for teachers that combines analog and digital tools to increase efficiency and organization. The system incorporates elements of bullet journaling, paper planners, online lesson planning tools, and productivity software like Notion, and is designed to be customizable and adaptable to individual needs.

Personal and Professional Development

Here are some of the tools I use regularly to keep track of my learning, keep organized, and grow professionally and personally.

  • TGIF Teacher Newsletter - This has become my labor of love. Each week I compile professional and personal development ideas and resources that help educators improve their teaching, and spark personal growth, and wellness. This has helped me stay positive and improved my teaching and I hope it offers educators the same benefit. You can read through the archives (and sign up) here - TGIF Teacher Newsletter
  • Readwise - This is a service to use to highlight things that I read that I want to remember. When I read books on the Kindle app or articles on the web I simply highlight what I want to remember and then send it to Readwise. Each day I get an email that sends me 15 of my highlights to review. It’s become part of my daily routine and helps me remember important lessons gathered through reading. You can try it out for free for a month using this link.
  • Notion - Notion* is a popular all-in-one workspace that has gained a lot of popularity among teachers. I’ve used Notion over this past year to help me write my weekly newsletter and just recently started to use it to improve my school organization.
  • Book - Moonshots in Education - Learn how to develop self-directed learners and leverage the power of technology to improve student learning outcomes. Here’s my book summary.
  • Book - Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning - Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning by Doug Buehl is a practical guide to assist teachers in creating engaging and effective learning experiences for their students. Here’s my book summary.

Have a fantastic start to your school year.

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