DoubleDutyTeachers

               Starting a classroom library can be an overwhelming feat. There is lots to consider- What grade will you be teaching? What will your students be interested in? How will you get your hands on all these books without spending an arm and a leg?!        There are lots of ways to snag books. Our favorites include yard sales, used book sales, and our favorite: getting them from a retired teacher. Books for your classroom are a great addition to any wish list and can even be purchased for graduation or Christmas. There's also Donor's Choose ! An awesome website that lets people donate to your classroom. We're also able to snag discounted books using reward programs from sites like Scholastic Book Clubs (let us know if you're a new teacher and we can get you a code for free bonus points for signing up!). This is a best kept secret when you have your own classroom!        No matter what grade you teach...

                      A few years ago, I saw Miss 5th's idea for a March Madness book tournament and LOVED it! I decided to adapt her idea and use it in my 4th grade classroom as well! It has become a hit every year and one of our favorite things to look back on! In this post, I'll detail how I incorporate it in my classroom and I'll also link Miss 5th's pack about the tournament on Teachers Pay Teachers.           On the first day of March when students walk into my classroom, they'll hear "Are You Ready For This?!" playing with the lights off (Double Teamed vibes anyone?!). I'll have some fancy lights on and sometimes I'll bring in a basketball to dribble. We have to set the mood! This is what gets them bought in from the very beginning! Once their curiosity is peaked, and they're wondering what is going on, I introduce them to the March Madness Book Tournament!  The Sweet 16   ...

          This year of teaching in the time of Covid is SO different and unlike anything we've experienced. However, we still knew we wanted to bring in some of that room transformation magic! This year, our gifted enrichment unit was all about the solar system. One of our ELA units this year is called "The Making of a Scientist" (5th grade Guidebooks unit) where the students research the start of the solar system and if Pluto should be considered a planet. So for the first time, we introduced our Solar System Room Transformation! It was out of this world!      To start, we gathered our materials (linked below) and the help of our husbands (they always deserve a shoutout). We cut table cloth rolls displaying constellations to size and hung them up on the ceiling as our night sky. We also draped some star backdrops (also table cloth rolls) on the walls for more of a dramatic look. We inflated our inflatable solar system and hung them from...

          Classroom community is so important to make students feel loved, safe, and happy. We want our students to have a voice in their learning environment and feel respected by their teachers. Here are some ways we build classroom community and ideas for how to adapt them for online learning!    Class Meetings     When we attended the Teach Your Heart Out Conference in 2017, we fell in love with Brittany Root's (@Miss5th) class meetings. We took her base and made it work for our classrooms! On Friday afternoons, we have a class meeting. We choose a class leader to run the meeting. This person is someone who really exemplified great qualities that week. Whether it was picking up trash in the cafeteria when no one asked, or helping a friend with an assignment- we make whatever they did a big deal! Everyone cheers for their classmate when we announce the leader! This person gets the microphone and leads the meeting. This year we added ...

      These are unprecedented times, especially for modern education. One thing is for sure: More teachers and students will be working from home than ever before. It's important to be comfortable in your own space. But how can we make that possible in a small space on a reasonable budget? We've got some creative ideas for you!     If you are teaching virtually from home, not only is it important to have a space that is "quiet on the set" but it's also beneficial to have a background free from outside distraction. This can be HARD to achieve at home! We wanted to introduce you to Taylor's home work space. This is about a 4 foot section of wall in her spare bedroom. She had some decor hung up, but wanted to spice it up a little more so she took it down in favor of extra bulletin board paper she had from her classroom. Yes, that background is bulletin board paper! It is hung with just a few command strips and made a big impact. This desk was recommended ...

         Do you ever find yourself needing to print in color? You go to print and then realize you need to buy more ink. You search Amazon or run to Office Depot and realize it's PRICY. So you decide to just have it printed at Office Depot. 50 cents a print?! That adds up quick when you're printing a new alphabet to hang in your classroom! Well I'm here to save the day because all of those first world problems are a thing of the past thanks to HP Instant Ink!      HP Instant Ink allows you to print as much color or black and white prints as you want for a monthly fee. The monthly fee is based on how much you'd like to print each month, and can be changed at any time (I've got a great hack for you down below). The printer is connected to the internet so when you run low on ink, more is automatically delivered straight to your house, before you even run out! Here is some more information on the program:  https://store.hp.com/us/en/cv/...

               When schools let out in March, no one knew what to expect. By the end of the year, school supply lists were the last thing on everyone's mind, since we didn't know what school would like like in the Fall. As schools start to open up, there are some things that may not be on your supply list, but you may want to take them into consideration. Affiliate links are provided for your convenience.  **Please check with your individual district/school/teacher for their restrictions. 1. Mechanical Pencils                     It's a common practice for students in classrooms to share pencils. Typically, we have a a basket for sharp pencils and a basket for dull pencils. Students can switch out their dull pencil for a sharp one during class so as not to disturb lessons with the sound of the pencil sharpener. Mechanical pencils would greatly decrease touch points around the pencil ...