Teacher’s Brain

As we approach the end of the school year, I’ve been thinking about how we can celebrate our student’s accomplishments in a fun and meaningful way. With everything going on, virtual end-of-the-year award ceremonies have become quite popular, and if you’re considering hosting one yourself, you’re in the right place.

I know it might sound a bit daunting, but it’s actually much easier than you might think! I’d love to share what I’ve found with you and help you plan your own virtual ceremony! Let’s start with the basics. 

What are the best awards for students? 

For elementary students, it is so fun to think of cute and exciting award ideas that will make your students smile from ear to ear. Here are some ideas. 

• MANNERS
• ARTIST
• ATHLETE
• HAIRSTYLIST
• CEO
• BOOKWORM
• MOST UNIQUES
• MOST CARING
• BRAVE HEART
• DEPENDABLE
• DANCER
• SINGER
• FRIENDLIEST
• ENERGETIC
• BEST LAUGH
• SWEETHEART
• HELPER 
• FUNNY

Whether you’re looking for virtual awards or in-person awards, I have a resource that covers them both! 

My Virtual End of the Year Awards Ceremony Resource makes it easy for you to print out physical copies or virtually send awards to your students. 

This resource includes Google Slides™, directions, a planning sheet, and a tutorial video. Just add students’ pictures and use the edit boxes that are ready for you to insert names and dates.

Students will love meeting online or in person for an end-of-the-year award ceremony! 

Here’s what’s included: 

48 Slides 

37 are pre-made awards

3 are blank awards

1 pdf with directions and a planning sheet

Music is set and ready to loop

You can add images, videos, names, dates, and your signature. Simply delete the slides you don’t want in the show. 

You can practice first by pushing present and when you are ready for your virtual award ceremony invite students and families. 

This resource includes all of the award ideas listed above and more! Check out the demo video here. 

Are you doing a virtual or in-person end-of-the-year award ceremony this year? Let me know in the comments! 
For more end-of-the-year activities, check out my post here.

You know how hard it can be to keep your classroom organized, right? Well, lucky for us, technology has made it a lot easier. Thanks to recent world events, we all got a crash course in relying more on technology in the classroom, and as challenging as it was at first, it has some benefits! You may be wondering:

What is the best way to organize your classroom?

How do you organize digital teaching materials?

Here are some tips that can help digitally organize your classroom!

First things first, get yourself a digital calendar for your classroom organization

You can use tools like Google Calendar to keep track of everything from holidays to exams. Plus, you can easily access it from any device, so you’ll never forget an important event. If you’re a pen and paper kind of teacher, that’s fine! This can be a great supplement to your current system. 

Another thing to try is creating a digital gradebook. 

This can be a lifesaver when it comes to managing grades, tracking student progress, and sharing grades with parents. You can use tools like Google Sheets or specialized gradebook software to make it super easy.

Have you heard of digital classroom management systems? 

These systems can help you manage your classroom digitally, from attendance to lesson plans to student communication. Some popular options include Canvas and Schoology. They can really streamline your classroom processes and make things run more smoothly.

Digital note-taking is another cool option to consider. 

You can use tools like Evernote or Google Keep to keep your notes organized, collaborate with other teachers, and share information with students.

Finally, don’t forget about organizing your digital files! 

Use a file management system like Google Drive or Dropbox to keep everything in one place. You can even create folders for each subject or topic, which makes finding what you need a breeze.

If you’re looking for some digital classroom resources that can be used for online learning or in the classroom to keep everything organized and low-prep, I have you covered. 

These Google Slides Templates make it easy to teach digitally or in person. 

They make it easy to personalize your classroom too! Decide the slides you want to use with your class, delete what you don’t want, add clickable links, forms, images, a quiz, or videos of you to personalize your classroom.

What is in this download?

15 Google Slide Templates for Home Room, Reading, Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies, Art, Music, PE, Centers and a Brain Break. They have home buttons of the slides so students can use presentation mode and easily find their schedule on the Home Room slide.

18 Google Slides with links for a DEMO. There are extra slides from my own digital resources for you to use as a demo or in your own presentation or if you are K-2, you can use the demo for an emergency sub plan if needed. 

3 Page PDF with Directions

Slides are 11 x 8.5 so you can add other slides that can be printed out by the students at home if needed.

Easily share Google Forms to collect information, images, videos, audio, online games and more! Share during a virtual meeting or in-person to keep your schedule on track!

Check out the video tutorial!

There are so many great digital tools out there to help us stay organized in our classrooms. It might take a bit of effort to get started, but trust me, it’s worth it! 

What are your digital classroom organization tips? Share them in the comments!

Let’s talk about community helpers! 

As a teacher, you have an amazing opportunity to help your students understand and appreciate the community they live in, and the people who work hard to make it a great place to live. 

By teaching your students about this topic, you can help them develop a sense of pride and respect for those who work to keep their community safe and thriving.

If you’re looking for fun community helpers activities for your elementary students, you’re in the right place! 

How do you teach kids about community helpers? 

There are lots of different things you can do! Here are some ideas to get you started. 

Invite community helpers as guest speakers

One fun way to teach your students about this is to invite them to visit your classroom! Reach out to your local police department, fire station, hospital, or library, and ask if someone can come speak to your students about their role in the community. Your students will love getting the chance to ask questions and learn firsthand from those who work in their community.

Take a field trip

Another great way to teach your students about community helpers is to take a field trip! You could visit a fire station, police station, hospital, or other public service facility. You could also take your students on a walking tour of the community to show them where these helpers work and how they serve the community. It’s a great way to help your students see how important these helpers are to the community.

Read about it and watch fun, educational videos. 

Books and videos can also be a great way to introduce your students to this subject. There are so many wonderful stories and videos out there that showcase helpers in action. You can find a wide variety of books and videos at your local library or online on YouTube. Reading stories about firefighters, doctors, police officers, and other community helpers can help your students understand the important work these individuals do.

Create a community helpers journal

Starting a journal all about the things that students learn about this topic can be an effective and fun way to help students retain what they learn and make it fun! Ideas for their journal are lists of helpers in the community, what they do for us, ways they can volunteer, and more! 

If you’re looking for the perfect resource to help with your community helpers lesson plan, I have you covered. 

These community helpers activities and worksheets are the perfect addition to your community helpers unit. 

It includes 9 weeks of lesson plans, worksheets, and activities for students to learn all about the helpers in our communities!

What is in this download?

Pg. 1 Cover
Pg. 2 Information on the Unit/Journal Set Up
Pg. 3 9 Weeks At A Glance
Pg. 4 Table of Contents
Pg. 5-13 Weekly Detailed Lesson Plans for 9 Weeks
Pg. 14 Home Connection Parent Letter
Pg. 15 Journal Cover
Pg. 16-17 Word Bank for the Journal
Pg. 18 KWL
Pg. 19- 53 (Printables to insert as a journal or use individually covering Community Helpers, Tools and Equipment, and Today & Long Ago)
Pg. 54 RUBRIC for Journal (Last Page of Journal)
Pg. 55- 63 Nine Interactive Notebook Pages (suggested to do once a week on Fridays)
Pg. 64-75 Posters
Pg. 76-78 Examples of how to put your Interactive Notebook Pages in a notebook.

➜EXTRAS:

Pg. 79 – 80 Poem/Songs
Pg. 81 Dial 911
Pg. 82 Cut and Label the Police Officer
Pg. 83 Cut and Label the Firefighter
Pg. 84 Community Helpers
Pg. 85 Volunteer Art Handprint Gift
Pg. 86 Sample of How to Make the Gift
Pg. 87 & 88 Police Office Hat/Headband
Pg. 89 Police Badges
Pg. 90 & 91 Firefighter Hat
Pg. 92 Credits

This is a 9 week unit on Community Helpers for primary aged students focused on K-1 skills. It is full of engaging activities keeping in mind the ages of the learners. It covers three areas: Community Jobs, Tools and Equipment for Jobs, and Today vs. Long Ago.

What is in this download?

• 9 WEEKS of Suggested Lesson Plans (45 Days of Instruction)
• Posters Posters
• Social Studies Journal with a Rubric (pg. 8-47)
• Home Connection (Invitation for Guest Speakers)

I hope this post gave you some inspiration for your lesson plans! What are your favorite activities for teaching about this subject? Let me know in the comments! If you’re looking for more social studies activities for elementary, check out my post here!