Symmetry Bugs – Idea from 4th Grade Frolics

This activity uses symmetry and reflection to create unique looking bugs. Tara’s blog has step by step instructions for you to use to teach your students how to effectively create a reflection of their name to make an outline of an original bug. It’s fun and requires little prep.

Optical Illusions – Idea from Rundee’s Room

This activity is AWESOME. It’s great for following directions because there are several steps that students need to follow for a successful illusion. If you can get a parent volunteer to help you by walking around and monitoring each step while you provide the instructions I would recommend that. Also, ask students to bring in markers and colored pencils if you don’t have enough in class.

Emoji Agamographs – Idea from Art with Jenny K.

My students went bonkers for this activity. I loved it because there was a narrative writing component to it. Jenny has SO MANY incredible resources in her TpT store that integrate art and curriculum. If your testing days fall near a holiday, check out her store. She has many holiday themed art activities.

I’m always looking for new ideas to do with my kiddos during testing week! What do you do? Leave a comment below!

The post 3 Easy Art Activities to Do in Your Classroom the Week of State Testing appeared first on Tanya Yero Teaching.

1.) Confide in someone – You have to find a teacher BFF. I didn’t find mine until year four. I often felt alone and left school feeling like I was the only one struggling. When I found my teacher BFF she reminded me that all teachers go thru highs and lows. I also had a wonderful team of good listeners. They listened to me and gave good advice for handling difficult situations. Don’t isolate yourself when you are struggling with your job. Talk to other teachers. I promise you this will help. My teaching squad are my best both inside and outside of the classroom.

2.) Take a day – Mental health days should be part of our contracts. Everyone needs them. The most difficult year I have ever had resulted in me taking a mental health day every quarter. It’s a sad truth, but I needed it. I needed to recharge and take some time for myself. I also made sure a family member or friend would be around that day, so I could spend the day laughing or doing something I enjoyed.

3.) Do something non-academic with your students – Sometimes you lose sight of why you became a teacher. For majority of us it’s because of the kids. We chose this profession to watch students grow and learn. With today’s high expectations of state testing and performance pay, we often become consumed with data and fitting everything in. It’s okay to take a moment in your classroom to enjoy something that isn’t on the curriculum calendar. I had a class that was obsessed with my toy Poodle, Penny. They asked about her all the time and wanted to see videos and photos. On Fridays we would spent 5 minutes talking about Penny. Such a simple thing to do with my students, but it brought me comfort and reminded me why I became a teacher. I looked forward to sharing a new story about my little one, and our bond as a class grew. This small act got me thru a challenging year.

You are not alone. We all hit rough patches, and you will come around the other side a better teacher.

The post 3 Things To Do When The Teaching Cup Feels Half Empty appeared first on Tanya Yero Teaching.

1.) Be realistic – Your students do not need the bells and whistles for E.V.E.R.Y lesson. I wanted a theme every week….an over the top lesson for every standard I taught (in every subject). It became too much and quite frankly I was spending a lot of my teaching salary on extra materials. I have learned thru time to pick and choose lessons I wanted to go “ultra Pinterest” with. I ended up agreeing to do the over the top activities for skills that proved to be complex for students. Don’t get me wrong. I strive for highly engaging lessons every day to reach all my learners. I’m talking about the “dress up as Cat in the Hat and have students fish out sight words from a fish bowl with magnetic fishing poles” kind of lessons. Yes, I really did this back in the day.

2.) Organization – Organization is everything. It will save you so much time in the long run. If you’re new to the profession or switching grade levels, organizing the new year is hard, but do it! With time you build mini arsenals of file folders or binders that will always leave you with ample resources at your fingertips. I still love to search online for new ideas, but some weekends I just want to binge watch on Netflix. Then my file folders save the day.

3.) STOP CHECKING SCHOOL EMAIL – This was the hardest thing for me to stop doing. I checked my email HOURLY years ago. I wanted to stay on top of every little thing that came thru my inbox. Over time I discovered it gave me anxiety and sometimes ruined my weekend. I would get a dreadful parent email and I would stew on it all weekend. The last few years I have been upfront with parents and inform them I don’t check my email over the weekend.

You’re a teacher and that’s an incredible thing, but you’re a person too. You have needs. Make sure to give yourself time on the weekends to recharge, so you can be the best teacher for your students.

The post 3 Things Teachers Need to Do to Get Their Weekends Back appeared first on Tanya Yero Teaching.

1.) Talk to individuals that have had interaction with the child you are tutoring – Collect as much background information as you can about the student and their needs. Ask for some graded assessments. Beginning of the year data is especially helpful as they usually paints a clearer picture of the child’s ability. Closing gaps can be challenging because sometimes the holes run deep. I once worked with a child that was about 1 ½ behind her grade level. That meant I had to talk to several of her previous teachers. Don’t be afraid to reach out to other teachers, but make sure you don’t monopolize a lot of their time. Make a list of questions you want to ask them before making contact.

2.) Talk to the parents about their long-term and short-term goals – Sometimes parents think tutors are miracle workers. After you have collected data for the child you will be working with, talk to the parents about their expectations for tutoring. Don’t be afraid to be open and honest about the child’s ability and set realistic goals. For example, a child that has major gaps is not going to plug those holes in 3 months’ time.

3.) Have activities and resources ready for tutoring sessions – A lot of tutors will use the child’s homework to help drive the instruction. But what if the student comes to you with no homework or resources? Make sure you have material aligned to the skills they are not showing mastery in.

4.) Keep sample work – Because most students that are tutored are the same students struggling in class, they are often participating in intervention groups at school. You may be called to participate in IEP or RTI meetings, so keep sample work of the child’s ability on hand for reference.

5.) Make periodic contact with the child’s teacher – Touch base with the student’s teacher to see if he/she wants you to work on anything specific. Ask the teacher if the student is showing improvement. You don’t want to bother them every week asking what you want you to work on with the child, but keep in contact. You both share the same child.

Combining these simple steps with a dash of fun will produce a recipe for a successful tutoring endeavor!

The post New Tutoring Gig? Here’s what to do! appeared first on Tanya Yero Teaching.