classroom management Archives - Page 2 of 5

How To Create A Positive Affirmations Station in Your Classroom

February 17, 2023 teachersbrain Classroom Decor, education

As elementary teachers, we all know how important it is to create a positive and nurturing environment in our classrooms. We all strive to build strong relationships with our students and help them develop the skills they need to succeed both in and out of the classroom. One of my favorite tools to achieve that is positive affirmations!

Positive affirmations for kids are short, powerful statements that are used to challenge negative thoughts and replace them with more positive and empowering beliefs. It’s powerful to teach them the vocabulary that they need to have a positive mindset!

Do positive affirmations work for kids?

Yes! When used in the classroom, they can help students develop a more positive self-image, build self-confidence, and improve their overall mental health and wellbeing.

How do you teach positive affirmations for kids?

Start by explaining what positive affirmations are and why they are important. You can help your students understand that these are short, positive statements that they can use to remind themselves of how amazing they are!

Here are a few tips for teaching affirmations:

Create a list of affirmations. Together with your students, create a list of affirmations that they can use in their daily lives. Encourage them to think about their strengths, accomplishments, and qualities, and to come up with affirmations that feel right to them and make them feel good.
Use visualization. Visualization is a powerful tool that can help students to internalize their affirmations. Encourage your students to close their eyes and imagine how they will feel when they reach a goal.
Practice daily in a designated space. These are most effective when they are used regularly! Place affirmations around a mirror or create an affirmation station by setting aside a space in your classroom just for positive affirmation work. You can place a mirror here or just create a board with many positive affirmation cards displayed that students can use to remind themselves of how amazing they are.
Celebrate successes. Finally, be sure to celebrate your students’ successes as they begin to use positive affirmations in their daily lives. Acknowledge their efforts and encourage them to continue using affirmations to build self-confidence and develop a positive mindset.

If you’re looking for a list of positive affirmations for kids or a positive affirmations resource that you can use to create your own Affirmation Station, I have you covered!

I created these Positive Affirmation Cards that you can display on a mirror or elsewhere in your classroom.

In this resource, you’ll find pre-made cards and editable cards full of positive affirmations that you can place around a mirror in your classroom or at an affirmation station.

Included in this download:

Black and White Themed Editable PowerPoint:

24 Pre-made Affirmation Cards (4 per page)
4 different types of Titles Cards
2 Worksheets (To help students understand how to turn a negative thought into a positive thought.)
2 Blank editable pages for you to easily add your own affirmations and titles.
Directions with Suggestions
A Definition Affirmation Poster

If you want to add a pop of color, consider adding construction paper to the back for a border.

This is a wonderful and easy way to incorporate the power of affirmations into your classroom and help your students develop the positive mindset that they need to thrive.

Are you using affirmations in your classroom? Let me know in the comments! For more classroom management resources, check out my post here!

Why You Should Keep A Large Visual Schedule in Your Classroom

August 12, 2022 teachersbrain Classroom Behavior Management, Classroom Decor, Teaching Tips

With the new school year starting, many teachers are looking for ways to improve their classroom routines and procedures for a smoother year. Things like classroom management systems and classroom job charts are great for helping students understand what to expect, behavior guidelines, and how they are expected to contribute to the classroom community during the year.

Classroom visual schedules are also great for helping students understand what to expect which leads to a smoother transition. When I was in the classroom, a large visual schedule was a must.

What does a visual schedule do?

Visual schedules are schedules of your day that are created with a visual element to help communicate to students the sequence of events for the day. This is especially beneficial to students who struggle to read. They will be able to find out for themselves where and when they will be doing activities.

Why are visual schedules helpful?

As teachers, we have likely all experienced situations where students struggled with transitions. Having a schedule so that students can see for themselves what the plan is for the day is empowering. It allows them to understand what is coming up next so they can manage and predict their own day independently because it helps them understand time.

This means they don’t feel the need to repeatedly ask what they’re doing next. It also helps keep you on track when things get a little hectic. If a student is still struggling, you can allow them to hold the card while transitioning to ease their stress.

How do I make a visual schedule?

Teachers are busy people. They don’t all have time to create custom visual schedules for their classrooms, and that’s okay! You can easily find a great visual schedule template or visual schedule printables that you can easily edit and use in your classroom. There are tons of options online if you simply search around.

If you’re looking for the perfect visual schedule template for your elementary classroom, make sure to check out this Boho Visual Classroom Schedule Resource!

This editable Boho style Powerpoint is easy to use and perfect for a boho-themed classroom. Use these cards on a pocket chart, wall, or magnetic board to easily edit and move your schedule around.

What is in this download?

50 Editable PowerPoint Slides (*Make sure you have PowerPoint)
BOHO Rainbow with Clocks (moveable hands and text boxes provided) Also, without clocks.
Cursive and Print for Intermediate or Primary Classrooms
Blank Cards
2 Editable Individual Daily Schedule Cards
Directions with Suggested Fonts
Pictures Cards include ( A+, apple, backpack, chalkboard, books, bell, lunch, milk, glue, globe, clock, crayons, owl, grad hat, paint pallet, paintbrush, bookworm, bus, pencil, pen, check, bell, stars, scissors, beaker, music, paper airplane, protractor, data journal, music, magnets, locker, glasses, light bulb, ruler, flask, heart, sun, tent, music notes, tie, flashlight, plant, tie, test tube)

For even more visual schedule options, check out my post from last week here!

What are your favorite ways to help students transition? Let me know in the comments!

What are Blurt Beans?

March 29, 2022 teachersbrain Classroom Behavior Management

Blurt Beans are beans you want to use to help remind students to STOP blurting out during your lessons. Blurt beans do work in helping students to identify the number of times they interrupt or blurt out during class.

How Blurt Beans Work

You will have a jar full of beans (coffee beans, dried beans, jelly beans) that you will use to store your beans. Each student will get 5 blurt beans. Please note you could do this for a classroom that won’t stay in their seat and call them Jumping Beans. As soon as a student blurts out, they will put a bean back in that jar. You will have a second jar with 3 or 4 lines to mark reward points. At the end of the day, students will pour the beans they have left on their desks into the reward jar. When the jar reaches a reward point, they earn that reward.

What Kinds of Rewards

I like to let students pick their rewards. It helps them to take ownership in the process. Some ideas are extra recess, reading time, library time, lollipops, movie day, ice cream, virtual field trips or maybe an escape room. Let the students come up with 3 or 4 that start off small and the highest goal will be the biggest reward.

Once beans are earned they cannot be taken away from them. They need to trust that you won’t change the rules on them after earning the reward. Soon students recognize their behavior and begin to change. You can lessen the rewards to 2 or a single reward after they learn how to keep their beans.

Want to learn more about Blurt Beans for Classroom Management? Look HERE.

Why You Should Be Using Classroom Jobs For Your Students

December 17, 2021 teachersbrain Classroom Behavior Management, Teaching Tips

In all of my years of teaching, one of my favorite classroom management strategies is assigning classroom jobs. While it’s not a method of tracking behavior directly, it does improve it and generally, the operations of the class run smoother as well.

What are classroom jobs?

Classroom jobs include things like “line leader”, “cubby inspector”, “attendance”, “caboose”, etc. These are simple jobs that students of any age can complete with little guidance or assistance from the teacher.

So why give students classroom jobs?

There are so many reasons! Classroom jobs are an amazing way to grow a classroom community. It gives students a sense of belonging and importance as they are contributing members of the classroom.

Having assigned duties helps students make new friends and develop those valuable social-emotional skills that are so important in early elementary. It also builds leadership skills because they are taking responsibility for their own job and leading their classmates in the process.

Another huge benefit is that it takes some tasks off your plate! I always loved seeing how proud my students became of the work they do. They felt important and valued, and when students feel valued, they perform better in the classroom.

If you can’t tell, I love classroom jobs. That’s why I created these editable classroom jobs chart cards.

These classroom job cards are made with PowerPoint which makes them easy to edit to fit the needs of your class. You can use them on a pocket chart, wall, or magnetic board to easily edit and rotate your students to new jobs.

Here’s everything included in this resource

52 Editable PowerPoint slides
Black and white slides with or without images
Cursive and print for intermediate or primary classrooms
Blank cards for editing as needed
Directions with suggested fonts
Picture Cards include Line Leader, Greeter, Caboose, Folders, Lunch, Teacher’s Aide, Pet Care, Book Monitor, Sweeper, Kindness Keeper (Make a list of who has been kind), Door Holder, Schedule Helper, Attendance, Lights, Cubby Inspector, Hand Sanitizer, Backpacks, Music, Meteorologist, Computers, Pencils, Bell Ringer, Recycling, Absent Keeper (write a note to those absent).

I love that these are so versatile. If you think of something you really want to include as a classroom job, you can easily add it! They are flexible enough to meet the needs of each individual teacher.

Do you assign classroom jobs to your students? Let me know in the comments!