Welcome to Teaching Channel’s very own Back-To-School Backpack. We’ve filled it with four fresh notebooks on subjects we know are important to think about at the start of the school year. While brand new notebooks with blank pages are exciting, it’s also comforting to have some starter ideas. Each notebook contains carefully selected links to related Teaching Channel content that can support you in the back-to-school journey.
Set Targets and Plan Backwards
Planning to Assess (PARCC)
Inform instructional decisions by examining standards, goals, or targets.
Give Students the Lead with Learning Goals and Success Criteria
Shift the ownership of learning by collaborating with students on targets.
Assess Along the Way
Formative Assessment Practices to Support Student Learning
Read about formative assessment as a deliberate process.
Formative Assessment Resource: Try Them Today, Tomorrow, or Sometime Soon
Build your toolkit of formative assessment methods and tools.
Engage Students in the Process
Student to Student Assessment
Watch how you can involve students in the feedback process.
Reflect on Learning with a Portfolio Defense
Consider using portfolios in the classroom.
Provide Feedback
Quality Evidence Rubrics
Watch how Mark Egger uses rubrics in math class.
Tests Without Grades: Learning Moments
Help students learn from mistakes by focusing on the process when giving feedback.
For New Teachers
What If Assessment Was Used to Elevate Learning Rather than Rank Students?
Ron Berger discusses the power of turning assessments into a set of tools students can use for their growth.
5 Ways to Personalize Feedback
Read about the different ways Sarah Brown Wessling offers feedback.
From the Community
Get ideas from other teachers and contribute your own assessment resources.
Build and Sustain Class Culture
Sustaining Strong Class Culture Throughout the Year
Sarah Brown Wessling’s strategies for setting up and maintaining class culture.
6 Ways to Build Relationships with Students
Watch these videos for tips on building relationships with your students.
From the Community
Get ideas from other teachers and contribute your own on this collaborative Google Doc.
Routines/Agreements
Ready to Learn: Creating a Positive Classroom Culture
Jen Saul and her students use a class pledge to maintain their class culture.
Tribes: Agreements for Learning Together
Consider using class guidelines across grade levels.
Language & Communication
Respectful Talk
Learn strategies for teaching students how to communicate respectfully.
Scientists & Scholars: What’s in a Name?
Consider how language impacts class culture.
Encouraging Growth Mindset
Carol Dweck on Struggle
Learn about the importance of growth mindsets.
Growth Mindset Made Visible
Watch these new videos of two teachers using growth mindset practices in their classrooms.
For New Teachers
New Teachers: Building Strong Class Culture All Year Long
Lily Jones shares some of her past goals for class culture and how she worked towards them.
Building Relationships with Students: Walking the Line Between Rewarding and Exhausting
Read about ways to strike a balance in your relationships.
Getting Started
10 Great Lesson Planning Templates & Resources
It all starts with a plan. Learn how to get started with this collection of resources.
Lesson Planning: Completed Lesson & Unit Plans
Need more guidance? Check out this collection of places to go for lesson plans. Pick one and get started!
Helpful Tools
Start with a “Do Now”
Include this strategy in your lessons to ensure students always have something meaningful to do at the start of class.
Tch Lesson Planner
Use this tool to schedule lessons you’d like to teach.
From the Community
Get ideas from other teachers and contribute your own on this collaborative Google Doc.
Plan with the CCSS
Skinnying the Standards into Six Buckets
Use this strategy to break the Common Core State Standards down into themed groups.
Skinnying the Standards 2.0
Sarah Brown Wessling reflects on using the Skinnying the Standards strategy last year and what she’ll do differently.
Strengthening Lessons for the Common Core
Use the EQuIP rubric to align, evaluate, and improve lessons.
Work Together
Collaborating to Plan a Common Core Lesson for ELLs
Watch two 2nd grade teachers collaborate to plan a lesson about reading informational texts.
Cross-Discipline Lesson Planning
Teachers from two disciplines come together to plan lessons that complement each other.
For New Teachers
Countdown to Your First Year: Making Planning Manageable
Learn strategies to keep you from feeling overwhelmed by all the content you need to cover.
Go With the Flow: Plan & Adjust
Sarah Brown Wessling shares why it’s important to be flexible and adjust your plans according to the needs of your students.
Cool Ideas
Seating Arrangements with Workstations
Setting up desks with materials in the middle encourages collaboration and minimizes disruptions.
3 Ideas for Setting Up Your Classroom
Learn quick and effective ways to set your classroom up for success.
From the Community
Get ideas from other teachers and contribute your own on this collaborative Google Doc.
Cover the Walls
School as a Living Museum
What if you turned your classroom into a living museum, with student artwork lining the walls?
Teach from the Walls
Post student work around the room to give students a chance to learn from each other.
Get Organized
Tch’s Pinterest Board
Check out our Pinterest board full of cool organizational ideas.
3 Tech Tools That Help Teachers Stay Organized
Classroom setup isn’t all about the physical classroom. Learn how using technology can help simplify your classroom clutter.
For New Teachers
Rounding up Supplies
Prepare for the start of school by getting together all your classroom materials. Use this list of resources to help you get everything you need.
7 Minutes, 7 Attention-Getting Tools
Before school starts, think about how you’re going to get your students’ attention. Check out this playlist for ways to build your toolbox of strategies.
