Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies

Is your classroom feeling cluttered and chaotic? In this replay episode, we’re sharing six simple and effective spring cleaning tips to help you freshen up your space. We’ll walk you through easy ways to declutter, organize supplies, and create a more functional, inviting learning environment. From tackling paper piles to refreshing classroom decor, these tips will help you finish the school year strong and set yourself up for succ...

Are your students forgetting everything by test day? In this episode, we’re sharing smart test prep strategies that actually help students retain and apply what they’ve learned—without last-minute cramming. You’ll discover two research-backed methods that make information stick, why some common test prep practices might be doing more harm than good, and an easy way to integrate these strategies into your daily routine. Plus, don’t ...

Ready or not, test season is coming, which means it’s time to start thinking about test prep! In this episode, we dive into retrieval practice for test review, a proven strategy that boosts memory and recall. Instead of passive review methods, retrieval practice helps students retain more and feel prepared for the test. We’ll discuss why this technique works and how you can easily implement it in your classroom!

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Spring break is almost here, and while you’re excited for the time off, the thought of catching up on work when you return can be stressful. What if you could prep for the first days back before break starts—without the overwhelm? In this episode, we’re sharing top strategies for teacher spring break prep, including how to break tasks into manageable steps and make the most of prep time in small bursts. With these tips, you’ll be a...

Morning work is more than just busy work! It sets the tone for your day, reinforces important skills, and encourages independence. In this episode, we’re sharing our five best morning work tips to help you create a routine that works for both you and your students. If you're looking to start your day with ease and purpose, this episode is packed with actionable advice you won’t want to miss!

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Teachers pour their time and energy into the major aspects of teaching, but it’s often the smaller, overlooked parts of the job that create uncertainty. One such challenge is managing fast finishers—a topic that doesn’t always get the spotlight but plays a crucial role in the flow of your day. In today’s episode, we’re going to unpack this loaded topic and discuss how fast finishers can find success in the classroom.

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By this point in the school year, your class is very familiar with each other. And while you love the community aspect, it can often bring unnecessary or excessive talking amongst your students. If this sounds like your class, we’re replaying a fan favorite episode sharing five teacher approved to help you tame your chatty class!

For all the resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.secondstorywindow.n...

Now that you’re back to school from winter break, you might be noticing that some of your classroom procedures aren’t running as smoothly as they were before break. While this might be caused by multiple reasons, it’s something you want to address right away. In this fan favorite episode, we’re sharing questions that help you identify your classroom management problems and ways to fix them!

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Returning from winter break, teachers are well rested and ready to start the second half of the school year. But oftentimes, students come back feeling excited and forgetting all of your procedures and expectations. This can lead to a lot of rough days in the classroom! 

We were recently on another podcast, Educate & Rejuvenate, where we discussed four tricks for having a rough day reset in the classroom. With teachers goin...

For our last episode of 2024, we wanted to share another fan-favorite episode. In this replay episode, you will gather some tools that will help prevent behavior problems before they even start in the new year! 

With school in session for a while now, you might be seeing some behavior issues starting to creep up that weren’t there before. Instead of just dealing with them as they come, it’s much better to put strategies in plac...

As we wrap up 2024, we’re bringing back our top two most popular episodes—fan favorites that truly resonated with our listeners. First up, we’re revisiting an episode packed with strategies to boost student engagement through active participation!

When designing lessons and activities, our goal is always to make them engaging and encourage active participation. But true engagement goes beyond academics. For students to be fully enga...

If there’s one thing we’re passionate about, it’s procedures and routines! Earlier this year, we had the chance to chat about this topic on the Rainbow Skies for New Teachers podcast. We found the discussion so valuable—especially for this time of year—that we had to share it with you, too. In today’s episode, we’re diving into why it’s never too late to introduce (or revisit) procedures and routines in your classroom.

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Along with January being the start of a new calendar year, it also allows teachers a new beginning to the school year. Both bring the opportunity for fresh starts and a new perspective on how to handle the upcoming year. But in order to achieve that, it’s best to plan ahead and treat the first day back from winter break like the second first day of school. So in today’s episode, we’re sharing how to maximize the week after winter b...

Teaching during the month of December can be a magical time for both you and your students, but it can also be challenging! With so many interruptions to your regular routine like holiday assemblies and class parties, your energy can be drained quickly. So in order to fill your cup back up, we’re sharing some of our tried and true December teaching tips.

For all the resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https:...

With the holiday season in full gear, we can imagine how bombarded you are with how to make everything in your classroom feel festive. And if that’s your jam, by all means, you go for it! But for most of us, we worry that too many holiday festivities will derail our classroom management or get us behind in the curriculum. So in today’s episode, we’re sharing three ways to be the fun teacher in December without losing control of you...

With winter break just around the corner, we want to do everything we can as teachers to be prepared and enjoy our break from school. In last week’s episode, we walked you through how to plan your end of December and start of January lessons in advance. However, finding the time to actually plan is the tricky part. So in today’s episode, we’re sharing our best teacher prep for January tips and tricks.

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When December hits, it seems like a long road until you’re on winter break. So when break finally arrives all you want to do is relax, spend time with family and friends, and enjoy doing things you love! Then as break nears the end, you get stressed and overwhelmed with all the work you still need to do when school resumes in January. In order to resolve that feeling, in today’s episode, we’re sharing a system for teacher winter br...

On Sunday afternoon and evening, do you ever feel anxious about the upcoming week? This recurring feeling that you’re experiencing is actually called the Sunday scaries. Since many people have this feeling, it’s important to learn what’s happening to your mind and body and strategies to move past it. To give us a better understanding of it all, guest Kelsey Sorenson is sharing ways to overcome the teacher Sunday scaries.

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In order for a classroom to run smoothly, sometimes it takes more than just the teacher to make it happen. Getting students involved provides them with responsibility and ownership of the classroom and building its community. One of the best ways to achieve this is by incorporating classroom jobs. But like with everything, class jobs have their own set of headaches. So in today’s episode, we’re sharing how to troubleshoot your clas...