Secrets of Launching a Stellar School Year

What if you could walk into the class of your dreams this year? Of course you'd jump at the chance! But what does that mean? What would your "dream class" be like? Would the students be self-motivated and excited about learning? Would they treat each other with kindness and respect? Might you look forward to Monday mornings instead of dreading them????

Believe it or not, this year's class could be your dream class. In fact, the secret to having an amazing class might be directly tied to what you do during the first week of school, and it might not have much to do with who's assigned to your classroom roster!

Consider this: When you know how to unlock the amazing potential in every student, magic happens in the classroom!

I know from personal experience that what teachers say and do during the first week of school sets the tone for the rest of the year. Unfortunately, it took me YEARS to figure out how to launch a great school year, and it wasn't always easy. I knew it was essential to get the school year off to a great start from day one, but I had so many unanswered questions about the right way to accomplish this. How can we find the right balance between being friendly and setting clear expectations? Should we seat our students in rows or in cooperative learning teams on the first day of school? Is it true that we shouldn’t crack a smile until Christmas?

After years of trying different strategies during the first week of school, I finally nailed down a system that really works. In the process, I discovered that it's actually a lot easier than you might imagine to create a caring classroom of students who are motivated and excited about school!

Buddy Bio Poems: Partner Poetry Writing

Imagine yourself in a new classroom during the first week of school. Unless your teacher starts off with at least a few getting-to-know you activities, it might be weeks before you feel comfortable enough to talk with your classmates and actively participate in lessons. 

On the other hand, if you're lucky enough to have a teacher who does start off with icebreaker activities, you'll settle in and be ready to learn in no time! 

The only problem from the teacher's standpoint is that it can be challenge to find meaningful icebreakers that don't feel like a complete waste of time. That's why you'll appreciate this partner poetry lesson! Having students write Buddy Bio Poems is a perfect way to integrate a content-based writing lesson with a fun icebreaker! In this lesson, each student interviews a partner to gather facts and information about his or her classmate. Then each person composes a short bio poem to share what he or she learned during the interview.

My Buddy Bio Poem idea began as a simple back-to-school activity based on my Bio Poems Made Easy freebie. However, as I began to write out the directions and create the printables to go with the lesson, I realized that the activity is something you can do any time during the year! If you like the Buddy Bio Poems concept, feel free to adapt the printables in that freebie to use with the activity. 

Ready-to-Use Buddy Bio Poems Lesson
On the other hand, if you're short on planning time or don't want to bother creating your own printables, you can purchase the ready-to-use Buddy Bio Poems pack shown below from my TpT store. If you'd like a closer look at what's in this packet, click here to see a complete preview.  Buddy Bio Poems includes complete teacher directions, a sample bio poem, buddy interview questions, a list of character traits, a bio poem planning page, and a variety of decorative writing papers for the final poems. In other words, I've done all the work for you, and all you have to do is print what you need and have fun teaching the lesson!

Sharing Buddy Bio Poems

Did I mention that bio poems make a terrific bulletin board display, perfect for open house? :-) One option is to add a student photo to the final version of each poem as shown in the example below. If you choose this option and post the finished products on a bulletin board or wall, your students will learn each other's names in no time! The poems can also be laminated and bound together to create a class book to keep in a literacy center for students to read at their leisure. Or you could scan the poems, convert them to PDF files, and create a digital ebook to publish on a class website or blog. 

Included in Laura Candler's Poetry Combo!

If you've already purchased my Poetry Combo, I have good news for you! Because I just added Buddy Bio Poems to that combo, those who already own it can download this new addition absolutely free! Go to your My Purchases page on TpT and search for this product, then download the file again.

In addition to being a fun back-to-school icebreaker, the Buddy Bio Poems activity would be a fun lesson during the hectic days before a holiday or as an introductory lesson for a poetry unit. No matter when you do this activity, your students will be proud of their poems and will enjoy learning fun facts about their classmates!

How to Create a Class Handbook that Rocks!

The Teacher's Back to School Survival Guide

I'm excited to be joining some of my favorite upper elementary teacher bloggers who have put together a Teacher's Back to School Survival Guide with some of our best tips!

Most schools have a handbook of guidelines and district policies, but have you ever thought of creating a handbook just for YOUR classroom?

My back to school survival tip is to take a little time now to create a class handbook that rocks! It's easier than you think, especially with the tips and samples I'm including in this post. A class handbook is a fantastic way to communicate your classroom policies right from the beginning of the year. It also sends a message to parents that you care enough to keep parent informed. When you make it attractive and thorough, it shows that take pride in your role as an educator.

Why You Need a Class Handbook 
Have you ever had parents tell you during a conference that they didn't know their child would lose credit on late assignments or that they needed to sign their child's daily reading log? If you sent home a handbook during the first week of school with information about that policy, you can politely direct the parent to that handbook.

Creating a handbook also forces you to think through ALL of your classroom policies in a logical way. There's something about explaining your policies in writing that makes you examine them more closely. Finally, a class handbook is a real time-saver when you get a new student. It's a nice way to welcome the child and to help him or her feel more comfortable about your expectations.

What to Include in Your Handbook
You might want to include the items below in your handbook. If the list seems overwhelming, include only the most essential information now and update your handbook next year.

• Welcome letter
• Best way to contact you
• Class website or blog info
• Homework and grading policies
• Snack guidelines
• Birthday party policies
• List of classmates's names
• Classroom lunch schedule
• Supply list or materials requested
• Brief descriptions of your instructional methods (i.e., cooperative learning, literature circles, reading workshop, etc.)

Click to download a PDF sample of my class handbook pages. You can't edit it, but it will give you some ideas for what to include. You can also download two free printable handbook covers.

Class Handbook Tips
Consider these tips in mind if you're just getting started:

• Ask a colleague to review it for both clarity and grammatical errors. You don't want your first communication with parents to be confusing and filled with errors!
• If you're worried about the amount of paper needed to print copies for all students, you can create a digital version and it email it to parents or upload it to your class webpage. 
• Before you print copies of your handbooks or send it out digitally, ask your principal to review it to be sure all of your policies are approved by your administration. Also, if a parent disagrees with one of your policies and takes your handbook to the principal, you'll be glad that it's not the first time your principal is seeing it! 
• Print at least 5 extra copies to have on hand for new students, and be sure to keep a copy for yourself. Staple and punch three holes along the left edge of each print copy to make it easy to store in a binder.
• Give each student a handbook on the first day of school, but DON'T spend the entire first day going over it! Instead, only cover the very most important information on the first day, and space out those discussion with other first day activities. It might take you a week to go through the whole handbook, but at least they will remember the information! 
• Allow a few days for parents to read your handbook and provide a deadline for it to be signed and returned. Ask that it be stored in their child's binder for future reference. If you email a digital copy or post it on a class website, send home a paper permission form to be signed by students and their parents. 

I hope you found these class handbook tips to be helpful. Creating a handbook that rocks will save you time later in the year and will pave the way for student success in your classroom. What do you plan to include in YOUR handbook?

If you're short on time, check out my newest teaching resource, a collection of editable files that make it easy to create your own class handbook. Click the image on the right or this link to take a closer look at Create Your Own Class Handbook. You'll be able to preview all the handbook pages and cover designs from that page.

By the way, I added it to my Back to School Super Start Combo, so if you've already purchased that item, you can download Create Your Own Class Handbook for free. Go to your My Purchases page on Tpt, locate the Back to School Super Start Combo and download the zip file again.

To visit all the blogs participating in this event, click on the logos in the link up at the bottom of this page to visit each blog. By the way, I'd like give a big shout out to Kristen of Ladybug's Teacher Files who designed the awesome logos for our blog hop! She is so talented!

An InLinkz Link-up

Team Formation Tips for Smooth Sailing into the New School Year!

Smooth Sailing Into a New School Year 

I'm excited to be linking up with some of my favorite grade 3-6 bloggers who are sharing our best tips to help you sail into the the new school year. At the end of this post, you'll find 19 more blogs to visit and they all have terrific ideas to help you get off to a great start!

Team Formation Tips to Start the Year
If you use cooperative learning in your classroom, you might have questions about the most effective way to form teams and when you should begin to seat your students in teams. Here are some tips that worked well for me. You can find a more comprehensive explanation and answers to many more questions about team formation on my Team Formation Tips page on Teaching Resources.

• Optimal Team Size - Teams of 4 are by far the best size because you can easily divide them into 2 sets of pairs for partner work. Also, in a team of three, one student tends to feel left out, and teams that have more than four students tend to get off task easily.  
• Team Composition - As much as possible, I formed teams with students of mixed ability and from different ethnic backgrounds. I wanted my students to learn to appreciate others who were not like themselves, and to be exposed to different types of thinking and values. The best way to do that was to assign them to mixed teams rather than letting them choose their teams.  
• Desk Arrangement - I loved using the desk arrangement shown in the illustration above. I called it the T-Table arrangement, with the two students at the top of the "T" facing the front of the room while the other two are facing each other. You can find other team seating arrangements on my Seating Options page. 
• When to Start - I always started my students in teams right from the first day because I wanted them to learn that this is how we operate. Cooperative learning wasn't just for special activities, and they needed to learn now to get along right from the start. 
• Mix 'Em Up the First Three Days - I created new teams every day for the first three days so that my kids would get to know everyone and so I could observe them as they worked together. Each morning after they were reseated, we started the day with a teambuilder like Team Talk or Team Interview. You'll find these strategies and more on my Caring Classrooms page on Teaching Resources. After the first three days, I was ready to create more permanent teams that lasted a month or more.

Be sure to visit all the blogs in the link up to discover more teaching tips to help you sail into the new school year!

An InLinkz Link-up

Make Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Work for You!

Make this Year Your Best Ever!

For the first few weeks after a school year ends, it's hard to forget about your previous class and think ahead to the coming school year. But after a few weeks with plenty of time to relax and de-stress, your thoughts began to turn to your next year's class. What will your new students be like? Will you bond and have a great year?

When I was teaching, I remember that this topic was on everyone's minds as the school year approached. Once I heard a teacher joke, "I had a great class last year, so I guess this is my year to have the class from you know where." Everyone in the room laughed, but as I walked away, I wondered if a subconscious belief like that might actually cause a teacher to have a tough year instead of a great year.... not be because the students ARE more difficult but because we EXPECT them to be more difficult?

Think about it. As soon as we receive our new rosters, we quickly scan them to see who's in our class. We see names that we recognize, and we frantically try to remember what we've heard about these students. "Oh no . . . Johnny's the one who was always clowning around in Mr. C's class" or "Tameka is that nice quiet girl who helps Mrs. D after school." We've already begun to make judgments about students we haven't even met!

What if statements like these are no more than self-fulfilling prophecies? If that's true, then perhaps we have far more impact on the type of class we get than we ever imagined!

How to Make this Year Your Best Ever

Every year I said the same thing on the first day, "Class, I have to tell you that I had a really awesome group last year, and I'll miss them. But the amazing thing is that every year, my new class is even better than the one before! I don't know how it's possible, but it's true. I can't even begin to imagine how amazing this class is going to be! I know we are going to have a great year together!" I say this with absolute sincerity because it's true! Maybe I just keep getting more effective as a teacher, or maybe this statement makes them want to be the best class ever, but it works!

What do you think about your new students when you see their names on your roster? What do you tell your class on the first day of school? What subtle messages do you convey about their worth and their future success in your classroom?

When you scan your roster, be encouraged by the thought that another teacher's "problem child" may turn out to be one whom you cherish the most! That quirky sense of humor or that restless, inquisitive spirit is finally appreciated and the student just blossoms under your attention.

If the self-fulfilling prophecy is really at work in the universe, let's make sure it's working in our favor! Tell your students that you know they are going to be the most amazing class ever, and that's exactly what they'll become!

Free Back to School Webinar 

Sign up for the replay here

If you'd like specific strategies and tips for getting your school year off to a terrific start, sign up to watch the replay of my webinar, How to Launch a Super School Year! I'm excited to have the opportunity to share some of my favorite strategies and activities with you. Watching the webinar will put you just a little closer to making this the best school year ever!

Back-to-School Resources for You!

Are you already thinking ahead to the next school year? Chances are good that if you're reading teacher blogs this summer, you're already planning activities for the coming year! I've just updated my Seasonal Page on Teaching Resources with teaching materials to help you get your year off to a good start. You can also find great resources on the Seasonal Teaching Resources Pinterest board.

The first few weeks of school are so important! My top priorities were establishing procedures and creating a warm, caring classroom climate. I spent a lot of time on these areas, but it paid off for me later in the year. To help other teachers, I've created several pages on my Teaching Resources site to share strategies that I learned or developed over the years. For more information, on these topics, visit and bookmark the following pages:

• Creating a Caring Classroom
• Classroom Management Strategies
• Cooperative Learning Resources

One resource that you might find helpful at the beginning of the year is Classroom Goal Setting. This ebook is about teaching kids the importance of setting goals and helping them to establish specific action plans for reaching their goals. You'll find that taking a little time to teach these skills will have a big impact on your classroom. 

What are some of your favorite back-to-school strategies and resources?

Laura Candler ~ Teaching Resources