SOCIAL SKILLS
Using Gratitude to Fight Burn Out
Teacher and student burn out seems to be at an all time high right now. Our team has an idea to fight the burn out...focusing on the gratitude in your daily teaching life. Putting gratitude at the forefront of your mind can help the negative seem, well, less negative....
50 Teacher Mindset Mantras to Build Your Resilience
Teaching is truly one of the most rewarding professions, and for a good reason. It's a journey filled with moments of inspiration, growth, and transformation. However, like any journey, it can also come with its fair share of challenges and obstacles. Sometimes those...
Tips to Help Kids Build Stamina in 1st Grade Reading & Writing
The beginning stage of the year is over, and teachers are itching to dig into content and small group instruction. However, there is a problem. 1st graders can lack the stamina to sit down and get work done! (For sure not long enough for teachers to successfully run...
Ideas for Handling Tattling in the Classroom
Tattling in the classroom is one of the most challenging behaviors to manage. It can be draining, distracting, and downright frustrating! Keep reading for creative and constructive ways to tame the tattling. Why Do Students Tattle? It is essential to create a...
Strategies for a Talkative Class
Our Lucky Little Learners community is a special place where teachers from around the world gather to discuss best practices and share advice and inspiration. One of the most popular topics that comes up year after year is how to manage a talkative class. How can you...
Captivate Your Students During Whole Group Lessons With Toothy
Toothy is a fun way to review different skills across all subjects. It is especially fun to use Toothy as a whole group activity. With just a click of a button, students will be engaged and excited about practicing their math facts, digraphs, nouns, and more! Once you...
How to Create a Bucket Filler Classroom
I am a firm believer in positive and encouraging classroom environments. Students who feel safe and encouraged are being set up to take risks, challenge themselves, and work hard. There are a few ways that I achieve this in my classroom. This post...
Classroom Management with Brag Tags
Classroom management can be tough, but it does NOT have to be hard, negative, high maintenance, or expensive. So often teachers go home tired, crabby, and frustrated with their students' behaviors. Say goodbye to that stress because here is the answer:...
Morning Meeting Conversations
Peer-to-peer sharing is a commonly used practice in elementary classrooms. Many teachers utilize "think-pair-share" or "turn and talk" during core classes. But what if encouraging student-to-student conversations in a relaxed way could improve student learning...
The Benefits of Social Learning Routines
A lack of appropriate peer interaction has created a social development drought for some students. The “normal” expectations of behavior have changed and it’s time for our instruction to change with it. Read on to find out how to use social learning routines to...
Books and Activities to Build Self-Esteem
Picture books are one of the most powerful tools a teacher can use. Literature has a way of reaching students. They can relate to a character or event in a picture book, and it inspires and influences their thinking and behavior. We hope this list of picture books and...
10 Morning Message Ideas
The classroom morning meeting is one of the most important parts of the school day. It is where students can share, connect, listen, laugh, and learn! A great morning meeting sets the tone for the day. Using a morning message is a fun way to engage your students and...
Fall Early Finisher Activities
A teacher just finished a well planned, thought out lesson. She heads to her desk to take a sip of coffee while her students work on their independent work. She plans on walking around the room and assisting several students with skills they need to work on. But then,...
Setting Up A Daily School Routine
Ask any veteran teacher, “What’s the best way to create a positive and productive environment in your classroom?” and you’ll hear the same answer over and over. Our young students thrive in a safe and consistent environment, so setting up a daily school routine is...
Keep Students Learning With Summer Review Packets!
Teachers and parents are always looking for ways to keep kids learning during the summer months. But there's no need to spend time digging through files or collecting a variety of worksheets. Here's everything you need to make summer review packets your students will...
Social Emotional Learning in the Classroom With Toothy!
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) skills are huge in the world of education right now. They are skills that are needed for a successful, productive and happy school year (and life!) for students and their classmates. There are SO many ways to incorporate these skills...
2nd Grade Jokes and Riddles
We have a blast in our Lucky 2nd Grade Teachers Facebook group swapping ideas and stories - and every once in a while, 2nd grade jokes and riddles make an appearance! Having a great joke on hand isn’t just a cool party trick - it works wonders in a classroom...
5 Easy Ways to Incorporate Social Emotional Learning in the Classroom
If you know your school day could be more productive but the behaviors and social interruptions are getting in the way, incorporating social emotional learning (SEL) into your classroom routine can help! The biggest benefits I’ve seen now that I’ve been...
Social Emotional Learning Curriculum for 1st and 2nd Grade
Elementary teachers know that addressing a child’s social emotional needs in the classroom is an essential part of a well-balanced learning experience. After all, the ability to focus, manage emotions, and treat others with respect plays a large role in a child’s...
How to Support Social Emotional Learning in the Classroom
These days it’s more apparent than ever that social and emotional learning (SEL) is an essential part of a child’s physical and mental health, as well as academic achievement. Teachers agree that weaving SEL instruction into daily classroom routines is an important...
A Week of Gratitude: 5 Lessons to Teach Students About Being Thankful
November is the perfect time of year to incorporate thankful lessons and teach our students about gratitude. After all, its the season of giving thanks! Truth be told, gratitude isn’t just a fun seasonal theme. Studies are showing the benefits of passing on this...
Morning Routine Ideas for Students to Calm the Chaos
A classroom morning routine is essential because it sets the tone for starting the school day. Routines offer students a predictable structure; as a result, this consistency sets them up for success each and every day.. We've gathered A TON of morning routine tips and...
How to Teach Perseverance
Some people call it GRIT; some call it a growth mindset. No matter what you call it, our students need to learn perseverance. Perseverance is that ability to keep going when things are tough. Even if students don’t achieve or master something right away, they can keep...
Must-Have Children's Books and Videos About Self-Confidence
Teaching kids to be confident is a key to helping them to find success. Self-confidence shapes us a lot, so learning to have confidence in yourself and in your decisions at a young age is imperative for Little Learners. This assortment of books, videos, and classroom...
Children's Books, Videos and Activities for Teaching Self-Control
Teaching kids to have good self-control by keeping their hands to themselves and to not speak out of turn can be difficult to do. A lot of the time kids don't realize that blurting out answers or statements is disruptive and touching things or pestering classmates is...
Must-Have Children's Books and Videos About Cooperation
Teaching kids about cooperation and working together is so important while they are young. Being able to be a team player and work with others is something that will help kids in all aspects of life. This selection of books and videos will work as building blocks to...
Digital Stickers with Google Classroom and SeeSaw
Teachers are finding ways to get creative when it comes to rewarding their students while distance learning. Whether you are full or part time distance learning, digital stickers could be what you are looking for! Digital stickers can be used on Google Classroom or...
Must-Have Books and Videos About Manners
Do you feel like getting your students to say please and thank you is an impossible task? Well, these books and videos are here to help with that! Each of the following resources is focused on teaching little ones to use good manners in their daily lives, making your...
Must-Have Children's Books and Videos About Kindness
Kindness is an essential social emotional skill for kids to learn early. It's something that can be taught with both actions and words and learning to be kind is a skill they will use and benefit from every day. Learning the little effects that kindness can have on a...
Must-Have Children's Books and Videos About Empathy
One of the most important things we can teach our little ones is how to be empathetic towards others. Seeing things from someone else's point of view instead of our own is a skill that not all kids are being shown at home. This collection of books and videos do an...
Must-Have Children's Books and Videos About Compassion
Compassion is an essential social emotional skill for kids to learn and develop early. Knowing how your actions and words can directly impact someone else is something that is so important for children to grasp at a young age. Compassion is a life-long ability for...
Must-Have Children's Books and Videos About Responsibility
Responsibility is such an important skill for kids to learn while they are young. One of the greatest ways to teach this characteristic is through videos and books. The assortment of both books and videos below will be sure to interest and be an enjoyable way for your...
Must-Have Children's Books and Videos About Respect
Teaching children about respect for self and peers is so important. This can be accomplished through both books and videos. This collection will be sure to grab your students' attention and open up the conversation to ways respect can be shown and demonstrated. Books...
Why I Will ALWAYS Do Morning Meetings in My Classroom
Right now, most teachers are more worried about the social-emotional well-being of our students than how their math and reading scores will look in the fall. Yes, academics are important, but so is building classroom community and checking in with your lucky little...
Relationship Building Activities for Back to School
It's almost time to go back to school! Whether you're teaching online or in person, the first step is focusing on building relationships with your lucky little learners. When your students feel safe and supported in your encouraging classroom, classroom management...
How to Teach Cooperation in the Classroom
More than anything, we need to help our lucky little learners work together through collaboration and cooperation! Teamwork is such an important skill to practice in the primary classroom. In the Lucky Little Learners Social Emotional Learning Curriculum, you’ll...
How to Use End of the Year Awards
As teachers, we look forward to a few times each school year: the beginning, the breaks, and the end. The beginning allows us to meet the new lucky little learners in our classroom. We’re energized, challenged, and excited. The breaks give us a chance to regroup and...
Breathing Techniques for Kids
School and at home learning can be stressful for your lucky little learners. Being mindful and teaching your students how to be responsible for their own learning and well-being in the classroom is so important. This is something we emphasize in our SEL Curriculum for...
5 Ways to Start the Day with a Positive Attitude
School can be frustrating and overwhelming for both teachers and students. There is so much work to do, and for our students, new concepts don’t always come easy. There are a lot of emotions and skills to navigate outside just academics. By focusing on a growth...
How to Teach Empathy in the Classroom
Empathy is the ability to really put yourself in someone else’s shoes and feel the way they are feeling. It’s more than just sympathy and feeling sorry for another person. It’s truly trying to understand what they are going through. This is a hard concept for...
The Best Sensory Tools for Your Calm Down Corner
When it comes to teaching, having a set of tools or a special area for kids to breathe is incredibly important. That's where Calm Down Corners come in! They are a small designated area in your classroom where kids can decompress and try to relax when they are feeling...
Ideas to Help with Blurting out in the Classroom
Your lucky little learners are ready to learn and share (usually verbally) all of their knowledge. Sometimes, these facts and figures are ready to pop out of their mouths at anytime. Blurting can be a big problem in the primary grades. It’s so important to teach your...
How to Teach Honesty in the Classroom
Let’s be honest. Teaching students how to tell the truth isn’t as easy as it sounds. Honesty is more than just avoiding lying. Honesty also includes integrity and using open communication at home and school. These are definitely skills students need to practice from...
How to Teach Responsibility in the Classroom
"Be responsible" is a phrase that teachers often tell their students. How do you teach them the skills necessary to show their own responsibility? From staying on task, being organized, and doing their job of being a student well, it’s so important that teachers focus...
How to Teach Respect in the Classroom
Character education and social emotional learning is just as important (if not more so) as academics for our lucky little learners. The problem most teachers encounter is how to fit it all in! You’re responsible for getting them to pass tests, teaching them to read,...
12 Ways to Build Relationships with 2nd Grade Students
Your role as a first or second grade teacher is crucial! You create engaging lessons, support your students daily, and communicate with parents. You design your classroom for learning and differentiate instruction for success. But the foundation of it all is building...
Social Emotional Learning – Why Now?
Social emotional learning is a hot topic in schools today and if you're a teacher you are probably thinking to yourself, "Why now?" Teachers already have a ton of things to teach, do they really need to add another thing to their plate and the answer is yes but here's...
The Top Social Emotional Learning Books for Kids
Social emotional learning books should be a requirement in every classroom. Children love read alouds and when an important life skill can be incorporated with a good story-this is when the magic happens! Social emotional learning is the process in which kids are...
Tips for Creating a Healthy Classroom Environment
A classroom is more than just a place where students go to learn the academics. A classroom is an environment that teachers create to transform the whole child both academically and emotionally. It's a place where students learn manners, respect, responsibility, how...
Everything You Need to Get Set Up With Brag Tags
Everything you need to get set up with brag tags can be found in this post. This post hosts all the links to everything that teachers may need to get brag tags up and running in the classroom. Disclaimer: affiliate links are shared in this post which means...