Things I Can't Teach Without

As a teacher is are things we MUST have in order to do our jobs everyday. 

I have been thinking about my next blog post and was inspired by several others who were posting about things they love using to teach with. 

So here is my list:

1. My Smartboard. 

I came from a school with smartboards and was so happy to find out that my new school had them as well. They are the best interactive whiteboards I have ever used. Which for me is really just a comparison between smartboard and promeathean. But having used both, I think that Smartboards are so much better in the elementary classroom. I am going to have to train my kids how to use it because while the school has smartboards, the kids haven't used them much and when I let them manipulate things in my lessons they are all itching to be picked to come up and do something. I also use it for my lunch count every morning.

2. Class Dojo. 

I struggle with classroom management consistency. I have strong classroom management but keeping up with a specific behavior plan is not my strong point. I try to implement too many things to meet all the needs of my kids. Typically I get distracted and stop using whatever I happened to use, but since I have found ClassDojo thanks to Fourth Grade Lemonade! I have really stuck with this and my kids love it! This year my school is implementing PBS (Positive Behavior Support) and I have been able to use ClassDojo to give PBS awards as well as general behavior points. This year I have been able to get my parents involved as well which is fabulous. My kids log in and change their little monsters and most of my parents are logged in and keeping track of the behavior points. I love that the parents are so involved. They have also come out with DojoMessanger which looks like a great feature to communicate with parents as well.

3. A Laminator. 

Do I really need to say more? How any teacher goes through teaching without laminating I will never know. I absolutely love laminating and yet hate it at the same time. Thankfully we have an awesome Workroom Parent who will laminate and cut our things out for us. Which is a huge time saver for us. I even have a personal laminator at home so that I can laminate at home quickly if I needed to!

4. YouTube and Pandora. 

YouTube has some interesting videos on it. However it also has some amazingly educational videos. I found some AWESOME videos on camouflage that really helped my kids understand the concept. I also have found other videos for things that aren't on SafariMontage. I think that teachers should have access to youtube because it is a great educational resource. I know plenty of teachers have youtube channels to share their classroom songs, teaching methods, etc. YouTube is a must!

Pandora is a great site to share music with your students. Even if you are playing music for a movement break, or playing classical music during writing or reading time, but especially when you are lesson planning at school having a good music channel to listen to is great. Good news friends...just heard that IHeartRadio is not blocked in my county!! YAYYYY

5. Pens. Cute Pens. Oh and Smelly Markers! 

Every teacher has those pens that are their favorite. I love pretty pens. I grade in colorful pens or markers and my kids LOVE it. Not to mention writing notes in cute pens makes writing notes so much more fun. My favorite pens are:

 Sharpie Fine Point they come is really cute colors!

Papermate Flair Pens they make everyone's handwriting neat and colorful!

Smelly Markers!!! I check my kids work and put a star on their work and instantly their faces are to their paper smelling to figure out which smelly marker I have picked. I love it and they love guessing what the flavor is. Currently I have Crayola Supertips with Silly Smells but I am looking for new smelly markers because we have run through all these smells.

6. Sticky-Notes. 

I absolutely love Sticky-Notes whether it is for my own uses or for the kids to use for exit tickets, book marks, responses to reading, taking notes, etc. There are TONS of other great classroom uses for sticky notes, check out this blog post for more great ideas.

7. Expo Markers. 

Really good chisel tip EXPO markers are fabulous. I love the colored ones but they leave color on my whiteboard, so I usually just use the black ones. I have used several brands of Whiteboard Markers but the best ones I have found are EXPO. The kids love to use the mini whiteboards and write with them too. I am so glad they are on supply lists now!

8. CloroxWipes. 

CloroxWipes are amazing. Especially in elementary school, germs and germs and more germs. I wipe down my kids desks regularly and my reading table. It makes everything smell clean and keeps germs at bay too.

9. Stickers. 

Who doesn't love stickers? Everyone loves stickers. I love using stickers on my kids graded work. It adds that extra fun to the kids day.

10. ZipDrive/ThumbDrive. 

A good thumb drive or zip drive is a MUST. Keeping track of it is a trick. But making sure you keep a back up of your lesson plans and daily classroom things you might need is SO helpful. I have a super cute panther zipdrive right now but I have seen an Olaf one at Walmart. So cute!

What are your top 10 list of things you can't live without? Happy Teaching!