SOCIAL SKILLS
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...
Early Finisher Ideas
A teacher has just finished teaching a well planned, engaging lesson. It’s time for students to work independently. She pulls out readers to work with a student one-on-one feeling pride at how well the lesson just went. When suddenly, across the room comes a happy...
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. Setting up a daily school routine is crucial. Our young students thrive in a safe and consistent...
Keep Your Speedy Students Learning With Early Finisher Packets
Whenever it comes to our speedy students who finish early we are always looking for a way to help them keep learning. Whether you want to bulk up your activities for early finishers or have a great packet for summer review, this bundle of resources will help keep your...
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 Your Students About Being Thankful
November is the perfect time of year to 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 skill to our children go beyond...
Classroom and Online Morning Routines and Ideas
A classroom morning routine is going to be the key to starting the school day. Routines provide students with a predictable structure that sets them up for success every single day. Whether you are teaching in the classroom or online this year, we have gathered some...
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 Morning Meetings are More Important than Ever
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 for 1st...
How to Use End of the Year Awards with Remote Learning (or In-Person Learning!)
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 young...
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 job is so important! As a first or second grade teacher, you make engaging lessons, show up for your students every day, and communicate with parents. You set up your classroom to make sure your students learn and grow. You differentiate instruction to make sure...
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 to 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...
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:...
Brag Tag Supply Links
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 I get a...
Partners in Positivity
I am excited to announce my partnership with Stacey and Kim of School Life. At their website, you will find bookmarks, lanyards, magnets, water bottles, plastic brag tags, and so much more. The brag tags from School Life are different than what I offer...
13 Surefire Ways to Help Remember to Hand Out Brag Tags
You've got these brag tags, the students respond well to them, but for some reason their brag tag collection isn't growing as fast as you'd like it to grow. Trust me, you aren't alone. Here are 13 surefire (and practical) ways to help remember to hand out brag tags...
How to Quickly and Easily Create Brag Tags
By now you've probably purchased a set or two (or ten...it's okay, I'm addicted too) of brag tags and maybe you've even ventured into the editable ones. Well, great news, you can now create your own brag tags! If I'm being honest, when I first started making brag...
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...
Starting the School Year with Brag Tags
You have these brag tags but now what?! Let me give you my top tips to starting the year off right with brag tags. First, let me congratulate you! Brag tags are going to transform the culture of your classroom. They will motivate your students to...
Back to School Bash
Those who know me know that I am a huge fan of brag tags to promote and reward positive behavior in the classroom. As we go back to school, the first few weeks are essential for building routines and expectations. I am often asked, "How do you start the...