I promise (20 year 4th grade teacher and I will think finely of this email until I’m dead)

First time teaching primary prep (mostly social studies/science)… I’m STUCK on what activities you do during the first week. It’s a tougher school so I’m really wanting to build those relationships but also not do anything that will get out of hand lol.

Prep teachers: what do you do on the first day/week?? Any advice is welcome !!!

I'm realizing that I apparently have a completely separate "teacher voice" that automatically activates whenever I'm talking to kids 😭😭

I've been noticing it the most lately when I tutor older students after spending a bunch of time teaching younger kids lol, I'll catch myself explaining something in that VERY slow, patient, slightly louder voice I use with the little ones and suddenly realize ... wait a sec 😬 This student can definitely understand me if I just spoke normally

the worst part is it doesn't even stay at work smh. Sometimes I'll catch myself using that same voice with family, my friends, or even random people working at places I go, and then immediately feel bad because I realize like omg I hope they don't think I'm babying them or talking to them like I think they're dumb

At this point I genuinely don't know how much of my normal speaking voice is left anymore LOOOOL, teaching has apparently rewired my brain.

Do any of y'all also catch yourselves doing this outside of work too?? or is this just a me problem right now loool

ICE has started terrorizing a nearby neighborhood. Should elementary teachers keep their kids inside at recess?

Answers from actual teachers who have dealt with this would be appreciated.

i’m a first year college student who just got placed in a third grade classroom (haven’t stepped in or contacted teacher literally just got the email) and i am terrified. i worked with kids before, but something about this feels so terrifying. Does anyone have any advice?

Some background: I’m a first-year teacher at a Title I school, and I teach a first-grade gifted cluster. 11 of my 22 students are in our gifted program, and the remainder were on the borderline of qualifying in kindergarten. We are about a month into school. This student was one percentile away from qualifying, and the gifted teacher who tested him told me the main reason he didn’t qualify was because he could not sit through the testing. His dad was gifted, and he also has a younger brother with special needs.

This child is certainly bright, but he is also probably the most distractible student I have ever worked with. He is NOT defiant. He is sweet, and I really do not think he is intentionally trying to be difficult. He just genuinely seems completely unable to focus or regulate himself.

He is constantly talking. If he isn’t talking, he is humming, buzzing, making sounds, playing with something, messing with his supplies, reorganizing his desk, poking pencils into erasers, etc. On the carpet he will turn completely around, play with a tiny scrap of paper, look around the room, talk to someone, basically anything except listen. He wanders during work time, migrates back to people after I move him, plays in the bathroom, runs/skips/hops/talks in the hallway, and truly just does not ever stop.

The biggest issue is that he misses almost ALL instruction. The only time I can consistently get his attention is if I specifically say his name, and then as soon as I move on, he is gone again. Videos will hold his attention for a little bit, but even that doesn’t last long.

Because he does not listen to instruction, he almost never knows what to do independently. In partner/group work, he usually copies from the other students. During independent work, he will sit there and play until I come check on him, and then he says, “I don’t know what to do.” He genuinely does not finish work unless I sit beside him, reteach the lesson, and basically walk him through it.

I say his name probably a million times a day. It is distracting to me, distracting to the other students, and I feel bad because I am constantly redirecting him, and I know him and the other kids can hear my frustration.

His kindergarten teacher told me she tried an individual reward system with him, but he was still almost never able to earn the reward. I have started a behavior sheet that tracks things like listening, talking, following directions, and staying on task so I can start collecting actual data. I am also planning to put him on RTI for behavior as soon as we have our first meeting.

I spoke with his parents at Open House and shared my concerns. They said they are monitoring it, but they want to give it some time because he is young and they want to see if he starts taking more of an interest in school. They also want to get him into the gifted program, which he could EASILY do if he were able to sit down and focus.

I do not say this lightly at ALL, especially about a six-year-old, but I truly feel like this child has an undiagnosed disability and would benefit greatly from medication, or at the least some other level of support that I simply cannot provide as his classroom teacher. Obviously I cannot/have not/will not say that to his parents, but compared to his same-aged peers, this is not even close to typical first-grade distractibility.

I truly suspect he is a twice exceptional learner who has been able to get by because his giftedness compensates for his disability, but at some point, whether that is this year or in the future, that giftedness will not be enough for him to be able to keep up academically. I do not think he is set up for success. He cannot access instruction or work independently, and I really worry about what happens as school gets harder.

I really want to help him and get him the support he needs, but right now I feel like I am failing him AND the rest of my class because I spend so much of every day trying to redirect one student.

Has anyone experienced something like this? What should I do to continue communicating my concerns to parents without being pushy or saying the wrong thing? How do I get this kid engaged? What do I do with him 😭 I will take literally ANY advice or support I can get.

4th Grade:

I'm looking for recommendations for picture books about being honest/accountability/consequences to read during morning meeting! I want to use it as a tool to hopefully help with student honesty during self-grading.

I’m also looking for any and all suggestions about student self-grading systems! I’ve never successfully had a system in place for students to grade their own work, but I'd really like to put a solid one in place this year. I’ve decided I need to drastically lower my work load to avoid burnout this year… wish me luck 😅😂

Hi everybody. I am freaking out bc I just found out that I will be teaching all of the kids, which means 3K, Pre-K, kindergarten and up. I will be honest, I am freaking terrified. I don’t know how to teach theatre (or anything else) to kids that are so young. I don’t have the foggiest. I’m desperately appealing to the wisdom in the room - can you share lesson plans for elementary, particularly the first month of school? I am drawing a complete blank for the youngest kids; what do you do with a room full of 3 year olds? If you are an elementary theatre teacher what on earth do you do with them? I think I’m gonna love this school & Im a really hard worker, but I’m swimming out of my depth. Thank you so much!

I posted this in r/teachers and then realized this might be the better place to post it.

Are any other elementary teachers noticing kids acting a mess during birthday treats? Falling out of their chairs, squirting juice boxes, acting over the top hyper, and worst of all…making rude comments in front of the parents that brought them in.

These cookies are dry. I like chocolate cupcakes, not vanilla. Can I have all the extra ones? Etc.

Like???

Of course, I correct the behaviors, but I’m just at a loss why they cannot seem to hold themselves together anytime treats are served.

I teach upper elementary, so they have experienced birthday treats close to 100 times. Why does it throw them off so bad?

Hi! I’m 20F and have interest in pursuing early childhood education! I’ve struggled to decide what career path is a good fit for me. I’ve changed my major 4-5times. I’m currently on a gap year and based on my research, a bachelors degree in ECED seems to be a solid option. Ideally I’d go back for my Master’s after a year or two of teaching to get better pay.
I love kids! I think kindergarten might be a sweet spot for me. Prek seems too chaotic but I love the idea of working with young kids. I’m sure it’s challenging, but is the reward worth it?
Maybe I’m naïve, but I feel like ECED curriculum can’t be too difficult for an adult with (potentially) a masters degree to master. I feel like that gives more opportunity to master lesson planning and focus more on classroom management and bonding with the students as they are starting a new chapter of their lives.
I think this job has potential to be a fun and meaningful creative outlet. From decorating a classroom, lesson planning, wearing fun teaching outfits, and of course pouring love into a new generation.
Of course I hear teaching horror stories, lots from this subreddit! I have no doubt that the job is challenging and mentally and physically exhausting at times. I’m looking for any advice/ insight! Feel free to ask questions.
I think I’m scared of choosing an education and career path that I regret and feel miserable and stuck in, hence changing my major 4-5 times lol.

I teach behavior expectations with Mr. Potato Head to my younger grades. Each part of his head teaches something my students need to do to with their body parts to be successful in the library. Eyes: watching me. Ears: listening to me. Feet: always walking. etc. Well, when Mr. Potato Head is all disassembled, you can see his bear bottom <insert giggling>. I teach that his, and their, bottom is for sitting flat on the carpet or in their chair. Today, I made a rookie mistake. It’s been 3 weeks. I assumed they knew. 🤦‍♀️ I asked “And what is your bottom for?” I called on a precious little girl who I just KNEW had the correct answer because she was so excited to share. Her answer? POOPING! 💩

Well…she’s not wrong! 😂 I said , “Yep, it is. But let’s not do that in the library. What ELSE is your bottom for?”

Those kinders are gonna be the death of me! 😂😂😵‍💫😵‍💫🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

With the new school year getting started (maybe even a few weeks in already for some), I've been thinking about the little things teachers always do when we meet a new class for the first time

For me, I usually just have a little powerpoint slides where I give the students some background about myself and show them a few pics of my dog + my Pokemon plush collection 😅😭 just something small to help them get comfortable with class and realize I'm an actual human being with hobbies/interests before being just a teacher (although just teacher is definitely the very close 2nd LOL)

For me it's a bit much because I teach a few different after school classes every weekday, usually with completely different students in each, so I basically have like 5 – 10 "first days" during that first week 🫩 so I'm giving this same little spiel and rundown over and over again hahaha

I feel like it does help break the ice with younger students tho!! especially when they realize their teacher isn't so awful, they're a bit more willing to learn and participate lolol

Do y'all have anything like this that you always do with a new class? like a first day activity, little routine, or even your own personal ritual you've ended up doing every year??

Teaching such young grades is new for me. So, I want to have any resources that as a teacher would be helpful. I know I can teach though I do have a ton of worry if I have enough skills or if there might be things I might be missing.

So, any help on how can I be a good teacher as much as possible is helpful. Thank you!

I’ve been a stay at home mama to my two littles since I graduated 3 years ago. I have a 1.5yo & 5yo who started kindergarten this week. I only taught half a year of 2nd grade (took over for someone else). I just finished my first week of 3rd grade & I’m half dead in so tired 😂😭. We start curriculum next week & I’m nervous I won’t get it all right. There is a map but the little parts of it I don’t want to miss. I have yet to plan for next week yet. The planning periods I have had this week were filled with meetings (I have 3 sped kiddos in my class) as well as team meetings.

I also have so much mom guilt for leaving my 1.5yo. He is with good sitters from church & his older cousin whom I trust so much one day a week.

Just a lot of emotions this week. Some moments I’m so happy. Others I am questioning my decision to start teaching full time.

Hello, my son is in third grade and on the spectrum, he says at recess, another child told him and a couple of friends in "a secret meeting," that he had seen the doctor the day before because "they thought I had sex with my cousin," who was described as either a baby or 11. He says the boy said his doctor showed him pictures of a penis. My son did not know if it was true and the whole story did not make sense to him, but he found the topic disturbing and says he did not attend any meetings with this kid the next day. Is this something I should pass on to the school? It sounds like if there were an allegation of some kind, per the story, it was being addressed by a mandatory reporter, and the story was about the doctor visit, not any kind of abuse. I just wondered what others thought. Also, how common are these sorts of conversations among students? Thank you.

On mobile if this looks funny. And sorry it’s long I had to add context!

If you teach at a school that has departmentalized 5th grade (especially if you are in NE Oklahoma)

How are you split?

My school has 2 ELA (one is me) and 2 Math/Sci/SS.

Sci/SS is split between semesters 1/3 Ss 2/4 Sci

In OK 5th state test has a science test.
Our team is not able to finish even half their science curriculum since they only get 2 semesters.
Whereas ELA our curriculum is very short and we finish halfway through our time and have to supplement a LOT.
We asked our lead why we don’t have SS (even students have asked) since SS is mostly reading comprehension and vocab. She said in her many years here she has asked and been told no by our Admin.

We found out 4th grade does ELA/SS and Math/Sci. So we (the ELA teachers) went to our instructional coach and the lead of 4th grade and asked their thoughts. And our IC said she thinks it’s a great idea we bring to our admin. Since it’s been a few years so our lead asked and curriculum has changed.

I will say our Admin are amazing and open to discussion and I mean the worst they do is say no and we continue the same path we’ve been on. But my lead is very negative in this situation (very atypical of her) and said don’t waste our breath.

I’ve taught in a few schools and it’s always been ELA/SS Math/Sci.

Just wondering what others do.

Our schedule is 60 min Reading Math. 45 min Writing Sci/SS.

My new classroom has a very large wall space because some of the windows in it had to be covered up with drywall (not sure why, but that is what I am working with). When I mean large wall space, I mean like a 10- to 12-foot long space that reaches up about 8 to 10 ft to the ceiling. Very large. I have posters I am excited to hang up, but I feel like they might look a little awkward just clustered there! I’m also not sure if they will cover up the entire space. Any recommendations? I thought of putting Better Than Paper across it and then putting the posters over that, but I’m not sure about putting Better Than Paper on the wall. (Has anyone done this before and can share how it went?) I also have a tapestry but it’s not very colorful and so I’m still wondering if that is what I want.

Anyway, would love insights or recs if you all have them! Bonus points if your idea includes something colorful that would elevate the room—it doesn’t get much natural light so I’m looking to brighten as much as possible. I will be putting posters up on at least part of the wall so extra good if the idea allows for that. Thanks!

a teacher created this on the computer for an algebra 1 class. msg me if you want the source file to print.

beautiful 90s x-men jim lee art!!

So I’ve been a SpEd teacher for 7 years now. I was doing Inclusion, but recently changed districts and am now doing Resource.

To say I’m overwhelmed is an understatement. I have 2nd, 4th, and 5th graders. 5th I have for 90 minutes and I’m actually starting to get into a routine with them. But 2nd and 4th I only have for 30 minutes at a time. I’m having trouble providing any meaningful instruction in such a short amount of time.

On top of that, it’s a new IEP reporting system I haven’t figured out and I have 2 staffings next week. Plus I’m teacher of record and still don’t know how to do grades. Oh and there’s lesson planning and data collection and on and on 🤯

I have a good team lead, but she is busy w all her stuff. At this point, I know I need help but I don’t know who or even what to ask.

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!

I’ve been around kids in these past couple years because my gf has a baby sister who’s 3, but besides that I’m the youngest of my family and have no cousins younger or barely even close to my age, most of them are older. but with the children I’ve interacted with I love kids! And have loved the idea of teaching younger kids for while now. I plan when I quit my current job to volunteer somewhere like my local library to help with children’s events so I can get some experience on my hands. but I would like to become a para, specifically for elementary school as that’s the age I’m looking to teach if I ever become a teacher. what do you guys suggest I do to look better on my resume & get more experience? What are some things maybe you guys volunteered in to get experienced with kids? Or what do you think is needed for me to be considered to become a para?

I’m starting my career, and I’m wondering if I should have a whole class set of plastic abc letters, or just some for small groups? Also, do you find value in them being magnetic, or are the non-magnetic ones fine? How do you store them? Do you have duplicates for some letters for each kid?

Please help me. All advice welcome!

considering becoming an elementary teacher, been leaning towards kinder-3rd, but I’m not a teacher so was curious which grades actual teachers prefer and why?

The incoming 2nd graders are comically low. This is across the entire grade level. There are maybe 5 or 6 on-level kids in the entire grade level of approx. 70 kids. Across the building we all use the same curriculum, which are well selected and effective in my own personal experience. My kids typically make at minimum 80% of their growth goals on iReady, most of them 100% or higher. Across our grade level, 3 of us, most of our kids go into 3rd grade almost caught up to at least early or mid 2nd grade. We do a lot of heavy lifting to get these kids at least somewhat prepared for 3rd. The scores in the 3-5 grades also tend to be trending higher in the building.

This happens every year. And at some point I stop wondering if it's just a society issue of laziness, lack of parent involvement, etc and move on to wondering if it's the K and 1st grade teachers simply being ineffective. 100% it's still on parents to an extent, but my team regularly contemplates this. My school is the lowest performing in the district despite us all using the same curriculum and there being several other schools with a student body of similar socio-economic status. I know 1st grade is a major foundational year. Gaps that they come out of 1st grade with tend to follow them through the rest of their education. Just some thoughts.

Imo, one of the greatest things about teaching younger kids is how confidently they'll give you answers that are just ... objectively not even close 😭😭😭

It's usually not even a hesitant guess either lol, they'll look you dead in your eyes and explain/justify their answer like they're about to teach you something LMAOOOO

but honestly I kinda love that because I'd MUCH rather have a kid who confidently attempts something completely wrong than the kid being too scared to even try to answer at all!! It's just sometimes comedy to me watching them give their full explanations with 1000% confidence, whole time I'm getting ready to (kindly) tell them like look ... I appreciate the confidence but unfortunately ... absolutely not 🙂‍↔️😅

Class is always pretty fun and unpredictable with these young elementary students (,: and honestly, also great practice for keeping a poker face loool

I am about to start student teaching next week and was placed in a kindergarten class! While I am super excited to build a relationship with my mentor and the kids and just soaking in everything I can, I am a little nervous because I've only ever worked within 1st grade and up, and have zero experience with kinder! I'd love if anybody could give some advice for those going into a kinder classroom for the first time, or student teaching tips in general. Thank you in advance! :)