Third Grade Teacher Must-Haves
Welcome to Third Grade! We love third grade because by this time our students know what to expect when they come into our class...
Classroom Organization
Prepping for a Sub in 15 Minutes or Less
As teachers, we all know that a day off work can mean more planning, stress, anxiety, and worry. It shouldn't be that way, and ...
50 Tips from Teachers to Start the School Year
The season is upon us. Are we ready for it? Looking for some tips to start the school year? I am speaking of a brand new scho...
10 Quick Progress Monitoring Ideas for Primary Students
Back-to-school time means it is time to find assessment and progress monitoring ideas. Summer has flown by, and now you will h...
15 Ways to Decorate your Classroom Walls
Setting up your classroom can be overwhelming both physically and mentally. From moving furniture to lesson planning for the fi...
22 Must-Buys for Your School Year
So, what's the best part of going back to school? Shopping, of course! Have you decided on your Must-Buys for 2023 yet? So many...
27 Prime Day Deals for Teachers
Here we go again, Amazon Prime Day. The day where teachers get to save money on things that will make their lives just a little...
15 Inexpensive Ways to Build Your Classroom Library
When I think about my time in school, I always think back to a specific moment. I was in third grade, and I finished my work ea...
17 Tips to Start the School Year Off Right
It happens to me every year! I start summer break thinking that I have all of the time in the world. I have all of these big pl...
22 Simple Things You Can Prep for Next School Year Now!
When the calendar flips to May, some teachers start thinking about what they can prep and get ready for their classroom NOW. Wh...
15 of the Best Classroom Pack Up Hacks
Have you gotten the checklist yet? Mine came through email yesterday. You know the one I'm talking about... the "Classroom Pack...
9 Ways to Engage Your Students During Reading Block
For many of us, our reading block lasts anywhere from 90-120 minutes every day. That time is extremely important because it is...
Prep Literacy Centers in 10 Minutes or Less!
Ah, literacy, my personal favorite to teach. We do literacy in the afternoons and it makes for such an easy and relaxing end to...
13 Student Engagement Strategies for Elementary That Work
It's always the first thing my principal does when she walks into my classroom. Quickly scanning my students, she counts how ma...
Is a Minimalist Classroom For You?
I am a hoarder. Is anyone else able to relate? Plus, having a minimalist classroom was not ever on my wishlist. I do not like t...
Homework in the Primary Classroom?
The topic of homework seems to be a hot-button issue in education lately. Do we give it to students? Do we not? If we provid...
17 Instagram Accounts for Teachers to Follow
There are so many Instagram accounts out there. Sometimes, it is hard to determine which one is worth following. Well, we are h...
Making the Most of Your Sound Wall
Should I put a sound wall up in my classroom? Perhaps you were like me and wanted to, but didn’t know what to do with it. Her...
20 Social Media Hacks for Teachers
Once there were encyclopedias, then there was google, and now there is TikTok. We no longer need to hunt high and low for tips ...
Making 2022 an Equitable Year
Did you make a personal New Year’s Resolution this year? Perhaps you are choosing to spend more time with family/friends, or ge...
30 Best Books for Professional Development
Here is a moment of honesty for you: I hate when my administration sets up book study groups on ANY topic for professional deve...
15 Strategies for the Student Who Can’t Sit Still
Sit down in your seat, it’s time for math. Please sit down in your seat, Tashir cannot see the board. Alright, time to start ...
Sub Plans for Teachers: Planning and Prep Done for You!
We've all been there... those days when you really should stay home. You just can't bring yourself to prep sub plans for hours ...
The Benefits of an ETTC Membership
Teachers, there is so much on our plates this year. It feels like every teacher could use a 4 week paid vacation to the tropica...
Focus and Reduce Stress with 30 Breathing Exercises
Talk about stress… we just finished our first marking period, report cards are due, I have parent-teacher conferences coming up...
All About Math Focus Walls
Teachers have been using focus walls in their classrooms for a very long time. But, if you are anything like me, all of the cho...
Anchor Charts For Your Primary Classroom
"Every sentence begins with a _____ and ends with a ______." I repeated for the tenth time within a 30 minute writing lesson. ...
30 Quick and Easy Time-Fillers
We all have been there. The thirty-minute lesson we planned went much faster than expected, and now we have time to fill before...
66 Fantastic Teachers Comments on Students' Progress Reports
It's that time again for most of us...completing Progress Reports! I don't know about you, but it is a struggle sometimes to ca...
Spooky Season Must-Haves for Teachers
BOO! It’s finally spooky season and that means it's time to bring out all of the cutest spooky season must-haves! Yes, we are...
Over 45 Books to Teach Social Skills
Are you starting to see some behaviors in your classroom, such as non-stop talking, bullying, and problems with sharing and sta...
9 Reasons Your Students Will Love Interactive Notebooks
I'll admit... I wasn't on the interactive notebooks train when it was presented to me (read: mandated with zero background or f...
Second Grade Teacher Must-Haves
What's on your must-have list for Second Grade? By this time students have had experience writing and reading. They are compre...
20 Tools to Include in Your Guided Reading & Math Baskets
Guided reading and math groups are where all of the magic ? happens. You get to hone in on the specific skills your students in...
A Dive Into the C.O.R.E. Binder
I may not be at the level of Marie Kondo or The Home Edit, but I am an obsessive neat-freak. Everything has its place and it go...
Setting Up Your Classroom Library
What is one area of the classroom that you can spend hours and days creating and organizing, only to have it look like a tornad...
30 Morning Tub Ideas for Primary Students
Mornings seem to come way too fast! I know in my classroom that my kiddos need time to eat their breakfast and complete somethi...
11 Ideas for Creating Community in Your Classroom
Creating a learning community where students feel a sense of belonging and connection is so important in order to maximize the ...
What Should I Put on my Classroom Walls?
Are you a brand new teacher staring at those blank classroom walls? Or perhaps you are a veteran teacher looking to mix things...
25 Books for the First Weeks of School
Starting your 1st year of teaching and don't know where to begin? Starting your 20th year of teaching and need some new ideas? ...
17 Tips for Meet the Teacher Night
The time has come... 🥳 your classroom is set up, copies made, student seats ready, and lesson plans prepped. It is time for Me...
9 Morning Meeting Ideas to Wake Up Your Routine
Have you ever heard of MORNING MEETINGS? (Also known as, the couple extra minutes to take attendance, submit lunch counts, read...
Setting Up Your Classroom
Congratulations! You just landed your first teaching job with your own classroom! Who knows what you could be walking into. Or ...
Social Emotional Learning or Character Education
What are your initial thoughts about returning to the classroom this upcoming school year? Do you have any concerns or reserva...
Your First-Year Teacher Questions ... ANSWERED!
We asked first-year teachers in our Fearless Teachers Facebook groups to ask their burning first-year teacher questions and som...
30 Activities for Early Finishers
I'm sure you've experienced this with your early finishers: you are helping little Jake with his reading while also scanning th...
7 of the Best Classroom Management Systems
Classroom management... it is always the big elephant in the room. ? You know that if you don't have a grip on the daily runnin...
Everything You Need to Know About Data Binders
As you know, data binders, data worksheets, and data tracking are a big part of teaching. Plus, we often must give assessments ...
Organizing Ideas for Teachers
Bins, Boxes, Buckets, and Bags... Are you a pile of papers all over your desk person, or does every marker and pencil have its ...
35 Dollar Store Deals for Teachers
Teaching littles can be expensive on a limited budget. You are given limited funds and make a fixed salary. Ugh!! So, teachers ...
30 Ways to Support Sensory Needs
Have you noticed more children struggling with focus and attention? Although you provide all of the bells and whistles to make ...
60 Spelling Activities for Elementary Students
How many hours a week do you spend prepping spelling activities? ? What if you had a resource that would allow you to create 60...
32 No Prep Activities Perfect for Individual Centers
Individual centers are nothing new...whether pre/post-COVID or in the thick of it, I use them with my students. Center learning...
Restorative Practices
Hello ETTC Teaching Trailblazers! I am thrilled to present another addition to our Vlog series: “Teaching Trailblazers with Ch...
Distance Learning Tips for Special Ed Teachers
IEPs, 504s, Goals, and Objectives. Work Jobs, 1:1 Minutes, Oh My! Questioning how to do any one of these things crossed my min...
Equity in the Classroom and Beyond
Hello ETTC Teaching Trailblazers! I am thrilled to present another addition to our Vlog series: “Teaching Trailblazers with Chr...
Tips for the Socially Distant Classroom
I am heading back into the classroom for face-to-face learning and I am nervous! I teach first grade and the last time these s...
25 Items For Any Teacher Who is Type A
Sticky notes cover my desk. I have lists everywhere that I am constantly checking and crossing off or adding items to. My calen...
15 Spotify Artists and Playlists for the Primary Classroom
Music. It has the ability to make us feel emotions like joy, inspiration, gratitude, and more. We listen to it at home, in our ...
Gym Teacher’s Free YouTube Fitness Lessons
Many educators were forced by the Covid-19 pandemic to change their daily instruction. We were tasked with the challenge of no...
Creating a Behavioral Plan That Works For You
Preventive? Check! Instructive? Check! Responsive? Check! Okay, now what? Creating a Behavioral Plan with tons of interventions...
15 Amazon Products Under $15 That Teachers Need
Next to teaching and Netflix, shopping on Amazon is my next favorite hobby. Through COVID restrictions and the holidays, I am c...
15 Responsive Strategies To Do After A Behavior
One may think once a student’s behavior is over you’re in the clear. Let’s face it you’re probably feeling exhausted, stressed...
Spread Smiles, Not Germs! Easy Ways to Teach Fairness in the Classroom
“That’s not fair!” “How come she gets that and I don’t?” “Why doesn’t he have to do it?” “You’re not being fair!” How many t...
SEL & PBIS: Your Journey Starts Here!
Hello ETTC Teaching Trailblazers! I am thrilled to present another addition to our Vlog series: “Teaching Trailblazers with Ch...
Using Positive Affirmations in the Classroom
Have you ever found yourself repeating a positive statement enough that you finally believe it? For example, I can do this! I w...
20 Instructive Strategies To Do During A Behavior
One of my most stressful moments of teaching is when a student is involved in a behavioral episode. I feel helpless, alone, fr...
Keeping Your Teaching Assistants Involved During Distance Learning
Many of you are blessed with a teacher assistant while in the classroom but may be struggling with how to best utilize your TA ...
30 Preventive Strategies To Do Before A Behavior
What’s one thing I can do for student behavior that I can see almost an immediate response? Incorporating quick and easy preven...
Relationships Through Team Building: Teaching Trailblazers VLOG
Hello ETTC Teaching Trailblazers! I am thrilled to present another addition to our Vlog series: “Teaching Trailblazers with Ch...
18 Emotional Regulation Games for Kids
Have you ever experienced a student who has difficulty with waiting in line or taking turns? What about those students who may ...
The Best Teaching Hacks We Learned in 2020
2020 has been a year of teacher flexibility and innovation. We have come up with the Best Teaching Hacks we Learned in 2020. Te...
Creating a Calming Corner for Your Primary Classroom
Whether you are a parent, a teacher, or both; creating a Calming Corner is a great addition to any primary classroom or home en...
17 Icebreaker Videos for Virtual Teaching
If you are like me and many other teachers, you may be tired of the same daily routine for your virtual teaching. I am ready to...
13 Ways to Kick Off the School Year Right
Our alarm clocks are set, bags are packed, and we are ready to take on the rest of the school year! To help you kick off the N...
15 Fun Ways to Review Rules and Procedures After a Break
Returning to school after any break can be challenging, as our students often forget routines, procedures, and rules. Taking ti...
YouTube Videos that Teach Calming Techniques for Kids
Included in this blog are YouTube Videos that Teach Calming Techniques for Kids. By providing these calming activities for your...
To The Teacher At Their Breaking Point
To the teacher at their breaking point, I see you. I hear you. I understand you. Lately, on social media, I have been notici...
11 Homeschool Supply Must-Haves
One of my favorite things growing up was going school shopping! I loved going to Staples or Walmart to pick out my cute folders...
10 Centers that Get Kids Moving
I have been working on centers that get my kids moving (especially since we don't get to leave the classroom for lunch or speci...
17 Ways to Use A Doorbell in Class
The Wireless Doorbell has been an amazing addition to my classroom! There are so many great ways to incorporate this into your ...
20 Ideas for Socially Distanced Indoor Recess
It is those dreaded words, ‘indoor recess today’, that make all of us teachers cringe and roll our eyes right now. How are we g...
Teaching Trailblazers VLOG: Mindfulness and Movement
Hello ETTC Teaching Trailblazers! I am thrilled to present our first interview of the series: “Teaching Trailblazers with Chri...
Teaching Tips from Veteran Teachers
Veteran teachers have a lot to offer, but the thing we newbies appreciate the most are the valuable teaching tips from veteran ...
Be Your Own Author… Create a Social Story
Have you ever dealt with a student or child who has meltdowns every time you are going to a specific place? Do they have diffi...
19 Items to Help Students Sit Still
As teachers, we want our students to remain in their seats during the day, but not all students can handle this task at times....
25 Brain Breaks that Keep Students Socially Distanced
Brain breaks that keep students socially distanced will be much needed this year. We've heard many teachers say that their stu...
Tips for Returning to the Classroom After Distance Learning
The feeling is surreal as I turn the key to my classroom door. I am finally returning to the classroom after months of distanc...
How to Help Your Child Stay Engaged in Class
Distance learning has definitely taken its toll on the relationship I have with my middle child. Let's face it... learning on t...
Boards, Menus, and Choices, Oh My!
Choice empowers students as well as provides a tiered approach for teachers to differentiate allowing for more of a challenge a...
Building Community in the Virtual Classroom
Building Classroom Community is always first and foremost at the beginning of the school year for me. But... this year looked ...
25 Mindful Breathing Exercise for Students to Stay Calm and Focus
If you are noticing that you are have been using breathing exercises to help you stay calm and focused, then more than likely ...
I Made a Bitmoji Classroom... Now What?
If you were anything like me during the summer months of quarantine and social distancing you spent your time scrolling throug...
Teaching Tips for the Hybrid Classroom
"Starting next week, we will be moving from all virtual to hybrid instruction. Please refer to your guidebooks for next steps...
Moving and Grooving with ADHD
How can "Dancing With the Stars" lead me to write a blog about Moving and Grooving with ADHD?! Well, let me give you a bit of ...
Online Teaching Tips for Primary Teachers
When I first heard that I was going to be teaching remotely for the entire first semester, my heart dropped. I panicked and qu...
30 Fun Spelling Activities for Primary
We spend countless hours creating spelling practice activities for our primary students that are fun and not just writing the w...
25 Classrooms Items Every Teacher Needs From Amazon
Which classroom items do I need? This thought runs through my mind every year. At Education to the Core, we want you to be th...
How to Create a Digital Memory Book
Need a DIGITAL End of the Year Memory Book for Distance Learning? We’ve got you covered with templates for every subject! Belo...
How to Upload a PDF into SeeSaw
Have you ever needed to upload a PDF into SeeSaw? We get this question a lot and we want to help you! First up, we wanted to ...
Tips for Using Google Classroom
At ETTC, our mission is to serve elementary teachers in the best way we possibly can, no matter what. We have been working arou...
47 Boredom Busters for Kids at Home
For many of us, school is happening at home to help keep our students, staff, and families healthy during the Covid-19 pandemic...
10 No Prep Activities to Include in Your Send Home Packets
So you found out you need to make 1-2 week's worth of send home plans, and you need to put something together ASAP! Education t...
9 Ways to Increase Fluency in Students
Increasing reading fluency in our students is one of the main goals of any elementary school teacher. If they are not fluent ...
30 Spelling Activities for ANY List of Words
We work hard to teach our students how to spell words correctly—and we spend countless h...
Handling Parent-Teacher Conferences Like A BOSS!
Whether you are a veteran, or a newbie, parent-teacher conferences are something all of us have to do at some point. After my ...
13 Classroom Management Tips for the New Year
The alarms are set, the bags are packed, and a fresh start is here! As we kick off the second half of the school year, I’m shar...
Guided Reading Groups in 5 Simple Steps
It is hard enough planning for whole group reading block and small group centers/stations. We now also incorporate guided read...
Teaching Emergent Readers: 14 Tips to Ensure Success!
“My kindergarteners need to be able to do what?!” I still remember the day my principal sat my team down and explained to us t...
25 Amazon Must-Haves for Teachers
We put together a list of 25 Amazon Teacher Must-Haves that you need for your classroom. Congratulations! You hit the jackpot o...
25 Back to School Items Every Teacher Needs on Amazon
At Education to the Core, we not only want to you be the very best teacher you can be, but we want to help you achieve better w...
Literacy Centers: Your Top Questions Answered
You asked, and I am here to answer! Play the video below to get your burning questions answered when it comes to our 1st and 2n...
Literacy Centers Done Right
You might already know the many different options in which you can run your literacy centers. You can have students work in rot...
Habits of Highly Effective Teachers
Good habits are essential to living a healthy fulfilling life. Making a conscious effort to create good habits can be extremel...
How to Simplify your STEM Challenges
If you have ever been hesitant on teaching the engineering design process along with the stem challenges you do in your classro...
7 Ways to Simplify Your Literacy Stations
Planning and implementing literacy stations can seem so daunting when the possibilities are virtually endless. When I first sta...
Organizing Your Literacy Centers in 3 Easy Steps
Fact: Organizing your Literacy Centers can be a nightmare. Consider this scenario: You find the perfect centers, print, laminat...
Teaching Grammar Using Interactive Notebooks
As a primary teacher, it can be very difficult fitting in grammar instruction into your day. I also have a little secret you...
8 Do’s and Don’ts for Using Games in the Classroom
Whether you’re playing a whole class game, small group game, or individual game, games in the classroom provide great learning ...
Close Reading: Unlocking the Layers of Text
Guest Post by Sharon Fabian from Classroom in the Middle Close Reading: Unlocking the Layers of Text Just like a picture creat...
28 Bulletin Board Ideas for Teachers
If you are like me, you could look at bulletin board ideas all day long! I have a love-hate relationship with bulletin boards ...
The Best Back to School Tips from Real Teachers
We polled the Education to the Core Community, and these are some of the best "Back to School" tips from real teachers all arou...
Use Color Tiles Efficiently With Masking Tape
I hope you are all enjoying your summer break! I sure am. We just got back from Costa Rica, so I am definitely out of teacher ...
Simple Ways to Stay Organized in the Classroom
Hello and Welcome to the Bright Ideas Link Up! This is the ultimate Link-Up for the best ideas in your classroom. Be sure to c...
A Strategic and Efficient Way of Implementing the Daily 5
Since I started teaching, I have always looked for the most efficient way to do things without compromising the learning of stu...