20 Brilliant Teacher Hacks You'll Love!

Hi, I'm sharing 20 brilliant teacher hacks with you today that you will absolutely LOVE! Some that I currently use in my own classroom and some I just recently discovered! Read on as you're going to want to start using these hacks in your classroom right away!

*All of these hacks are from Instagram and therefore photo credit links for each photo will take you to the original author's Instagram account. 

1. Cut your composition books/journals in half to stretch them out and save paper. I do this as well for my students' morning work journals and their  writing journals. {Idea & photo courtesy of @thespedhead}

2. Use these inexpensive, portable, battery operated lights as a Classroom Voice Level Indicator. {Idea & photo courtesy of @misscourtneysclass}

3. Have no place to hang backpacks and they keep falling off the chairs? Tired of tripping on them? Try hanging them on a Command hook on the back of students' seats. {Image unkown}

4. Store your bulletin board borders on a dowel rod on a shelf. I've also seen them stored in icing containers too! {Idea & image courtesy of @nicoleallisonslp}

5. Use a shower caddy on or beside your whiteboard to store your markers, erasers, and flashcards. I always keep "my" markers separate from my "students' markers," because they always ruin my good ones by pressing down too hard and/or leaving the caps loose. I actually just made this for my own classroom, but haven't been to my classroom yet to hang it! #summerbreak "Learning in Wonderland" offers this printable for free on her blog here. {Idea & image courtesy of  @learninginwonderland}

6. This door stopper hack from @teaching&muchmoore is exactly what I needed for my classroom. I leave my door locked at all times (for emergencies & drill procedures), but slightly cracked with a magnetic metal clip that holds it slightly open. When people come and go, it slams against the clip really loud! So thank you for this idea I will be implementing this year! I just bought my pool noodle today for just 2 bucks! {Idea & image courtesy of @teaching&muchmoore}

7. Glue Sponges!! Best.Thing.Ever!!! I love glue sponges and so will you if your students use a lot of glue. I totally despise glue bottles and glue sticks. With glue bottles my students tend to put WAY too much and with glue sticks, they press too hard, break them, go through them way too rapidly, and leave the caps loose, so they dry out! I am a total glue sponge girl. I've been using them for about 3 years now! Read Angie's tutorial here on how to make your own. {Idea & image courtesy of @luckylittlelearners}

8. Use magnetic towel rods to display your anchor charts. I keep saying I'm going to do this for two years now and still have not, but looks brilliant. {Idea & image courtesy of @peppyzestyteacherista}

9. I just made this a couple nights ago and I'm so excited to hang and fill it when I get back in my classroom tomorrow. Mine has 24 pockets. It's a hanging shoe bag...I got mine from Amazon here...and "We Heart Teaching" has the labels for free in her store here. {Idea & image courtesy of @weheartteaching}

10. Ahhh, yes, velcro! This hack is from "Teach Love Autism" and it's just brilliant and she explains it right here! {Idea & image courtesy of @teachloveautism}

11. This is brilliant for a simple "never get lost" bookmark and page marker! Love it! Tape a piece of ribbon in the back of the book and students place the ribbon on the page they stopped on. This way they can easily find their page each day.  I did this last year when we were using Interactive Notebooks and it worked perfectly! Of course I had that ONE student that decided to tear his out! But maybe tying a reward to this could help if this is a problem. {Author Unknown}

12. Is this not just the GREATEST and most CLEVER!? Need to number your iPads?? Amy Groesbeck numbers hers this way with a wallpaper selfie!!! I love this so much! {Idea & image courtesy of @theamygroesbeck}

13. These 3 compartment containers apparently store all of your Base Ten Blocks; your tens, ones, and hundreds as individual student containers for hands-on activities! Apparently, they are from Dollar Tree, but not at my Dollar Tree! I have been on a hunt for these containers! They are out of stock on Dollar Tree Online and I have ordered two different sets from Amazon...neither big enough to hold the hundreds! Seriously, and this is NO JOKE! If you can find these at your Dollar Tree...I believe they are "Sure Seal," and send me a set of 5...they come in sets of 3 (I need 15), I will send the very first person to purchase and mail these to me a $100 store credit to my store! {Author Unknown}

14. Use "Repositionable Glue Sticks" to make anything in your classroom a sticky note! Seriously...I can make anything a STICKY NOTE??? I can't wait to get my hands on this stuff!! {Idea & image courtesy of @aroundthekampfire}

15. Need a room divider or privacy curtain?? Check out this simple alternative. Erin from "You Auta Know" creates one using a shower curtain, binder clips, and a garment rack from Amazon for less than $30 bucks. I shopped for dividers last year and couldn't find a decent one for under $100 bucks! {Idea & image courtesy of @youautaknow}

16. As special education teachers, we need to have our timers handy at ALL times. I personally wear mine on a lanyard around my neck, but this is a wonderful teacher hack if you'd prefer to wear it around your wrist. {Idea & image courtesy of @tinasteachingtreasures}

17. Everyone has their own thing about headphones, but headphones were a nightmare for me until I started this system last year; thanks to the inspiration of "A Smiling Teacher." This is a "double pocket shoe bag" (meaning each pocket holds two shoes, making it large enough for headphones) and I purchased it from Amazon here. @asmilingteacher offers the labels in her store here. It's also helped in teaching my students responsibility and how to take care of their things and put them away when they're done.

18.  I don't know about you, but we can't keep erasers on our pencils, because my students literally eat them. Or...OK...I'll admit...sometimes the pencils are just so cheap, the erasers just remove themselves after a couple of uses. :) Anyway, for this reason, I always have alternative erasers on hand at each table. My teacher hack is cut them in half as shown above to stretch them out!

19. Can't believe I didn't think of this! I worked so hard last year on getting my students to write "margin to margin," and you mean all I had to do is place a piece of tape on the margin Miss Decarbo?? Thank you for this! {Idea & image courtesy of @missdecarbo}

20. A hack I learned two years ago and it works amazingly! It makes students hold their pencils down below! This was a tip from one of my student's Occupational Therapist. 

Do you have a "brilliant" teacher hack I missed?? Let me know in the comments and send me a picture and I will add it to this post!!

Be sure to follow all of these lovely people on Instagram using the links to their IG page posted on each hack!

There were a couple of hacks I did not have an author to credit. If you recognize them, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due!

 PIN these images to SAVE these hacks for LATER!

The ONE & ONLY Special Education Teacher Planner

The One & Only Teacher Planner Designed Just for Special Education Teachers!

Finally!! A planner designed for Special Education Teachers! I've tried planner after planner and have yet to find one that meets my needs until now! I've created a planner that specifically meets the needs of special educators!

~Everything you need in ONE place
~Free Calendar Updates for Life
~Includes 3 Editable Binder Cover Sets
~Ink Friendly
~Editable

*Lesson Plan Templates will be added on 7/31.

This planner includes a 12-month calendar that runs from July 2018 to June 2019 and once you purchase, you will receive FREE calendar updates every July! Each monthly calendar includes a monthly teaching tip and a monthly quote.

With the exception of the calendar, this planner is fully editable, so you can easily add text boxes and type in your information on all of the forms! Or if you prefer, you can print the forms and hand write in your information.

Watch the full video preview here.

Here's a list of everything included:
12-month Calendar
Class Roster/Caseload (2 options)
Teacher Password List
Student Password List (2 options)
Dismissal Checklist
Birthday List
IEP/Eval Due Date List
Communication Log
Class Schedule
IEP Snapshot Sheet
Student Info Sheet
Notes Page
Editable Binder Covers (3 sets)
*Lesson Plan Templates coming on 7/31

If you're looking for a substitute teacher binder, this planner can easily serve as that too!

Organization is KEY to a successful school year! Start the year off right with everything in ONE place....with the Special Education Teacher Planner!

Claim yours today here!!!

Top "Teacher" Apps

Let's talk "Teacher" apps! I'm not talking about apps you can use with your students, but apps exclusively for teachers! Here are my top teacher apps! 

GOOGLE DRIVE

DROPBOX

Google Drive and Dropbox both offer FREE online storage and will quickly become your best friend. Access your files from any computer anywhere, share files with friends and colleagues, and never worry about losing another flashdrive again! 

GOOGLE PHOTOS

FREE unlimited online photo storage! Take all of the classroom photos you want without taking up space on your phone. You can set it up to automatically upload the photos you take while erasing them from your phone, if you choose that option! Create folders and easily share classroom photos with families with one simple link.

RANDOM NAME SELECTOR PRO

I love this app for randomly selecting student helpers or a student to answer a question. It's very fun and engaging for students too, as they watch the curtains open to see which name will be revealed. It was free when I started using it a couple of years ago, but it appears to be $3.99 now. But I would have totally paid that! So worth it and so easy to use.

COMMON CORE

If your school and curriculum is based off of the Common Core Standards, you'll love this app. Easily retrieve and keep the standards for all grade levels right at your fingertips!

GOOGLE CLASSROOM

I am new to Google Classroom this year and I am loving it so far! Take your classroom website, announcements, newsletters, assignments, emails, Remind 101, etc. and combine them all into one....and that's Google Classroom!

BEHAVIOR TRACKER PRO

I am not currently using this app at this time and went back to paper/pencil, but that's just me. If you like to keep data electronically, this is hands down the best behavior tracking app I have found and used to date. It is $29.99, but well worth it if you want to go electronic!

TOO LOUD KIDS NOISE METER

I just started playing around and using this app the last couple of weeks, and my students and I really like it for tracking the noise level in the classroom. Display on your Smartboard for students to see. You can customize your noise levels and times. While this app is free, you can unlock even more great features and characters for just $4 more.

TIME TIMER

Say What? Time Timers are available on an app??! I LOVE my Time Timers! I use them for my center rotations and for my students that need a time warning, but they are so expensive! I just discovered this app and am so excited! It is $2.99 but the actual Time Timers range from $30 - $40. 

TIMER FOR KIDS-VISUAL COUNTDOWN

When looking at the Time Timer apps, I ran across this one which is FREE and works the same way as the Time Timer; showing how much time is left. 

QUIZLET

I'm loving Quizlet! It's all about flashcards. You can create your own flashcards study sets, or choose from tons of flashcards already available on the app created by others. I've been using it for sight word practice this week. Students can practice reading their words, writing their words, and even take an assessement on their words. I plan to use this app alot this year! And it's FREE!

TRELLO

I've been playing around with Trello quite a bit the last couple of months. This app has a lot of great reviews. It's a great organizational tool for staying organized and on task. You can create checklists, reminders, upload images, assign tasks to others, and more.

CLASS TREE

I haven't had chance to delve into Classroom Tree yet, but it sounds amazing! Turn all of your classroom permission forms, responses, and correspondences into digital documents that parents can e-sign and save on paper. No more keeping track of paper documents! I'm super excited to try this app out!

ADDITIO

 I haven't tried it yet, but I've heard lots of great things about Additio and can't wait to explore it! It looks like you can keep grades, attendance, class notes, and more all in one place and share and collaborate with other teachers. Looks great and has lots of good reviews!

What am I missing? What are your favorite teacher apps!?

PECS Storage System & Giveaway!

Hi friends! I'm dropping in briefly today to show you how I organize my PECS using a toolbox from my local hardware store...AND to offer you a giveaway opportunity!

 This is the toolbox that I use. It is a 39-drawer toolbox and you can find it from Ace Hardware here. Other sizes could work too, but I like this one due to it having both large and small sized drawers. Some of our more frequently used PECS require larger drawers, and this toolbox is very deep, so even the small drawers store alot of pictures and also have a divider in each allowing you two sections if needed.

I then organize my PECS into categories. So some examples of the categories I have are:

nouns

verbs

people

toys

clothing

school supplies

colors

attributes

snacks

sentence starters....and so on.

The PECS you see in the picture above are from this set. I highly recommend this purchase if you are just starting PECS. You will have just about every symbol you could imagine right at your fingertips without the stress of having to create symbols you find you need as you go or worrying about what program you will need to create them. While I do occasionally still need to make a symbol from "Smarty Symbols" or "Symbol Stix," this set has been a major timesaver and is worth every penny. The symbols are all pre-cut and ready to use!

You can find this symbol set here and it is currently $15 off!!

Here is a close up look. I just love this system and I know you will too! I've tried binders with trading card pockets, hanging plastic shoe pockets, and cigar boxes even! This is the first system that has worked well and lets me easily retrieve my PECS easily and quickly as I need them!

If you're interested in the PECS Toolbox labels they are available here, but don't go anywhere just yet! 

I'm giving away one 39-drawer toolbox just like this one, to one lucky winner and I'm even throwing in a bonus! You'll also receive a set of my labels for FREE!

To enter, just pin the image below or pin from here and leave your pin URL in the comments! I'll choose a winner this weekend!

 Good Luck!

WINNER ANNOUNCED: Mrs. Bloemer

How to Differentiate Your Centers Easily

I've written about my center rotation system a couple of times, but never in isolation or with details of how I often have to differentiate my centers within one group to meet my already differentiated groups and all of my students' needs. 

To start with the basics....and I must add, at this time, I am working with moderate to high functioning students. I teach grades 3-5, but do have a 2nd grader this year. I have students with Autism, Downs, MI, HI, and am mostly consumed with EBD students this year and this is how I differentiate centers in our classroom. 

Back to the basics. With three grade levels, I find that I can easily break my students into 3 to 4 groups that fit nicely. One group is my very low-non-readers/non-verbal students that are on more of a functional curriculum, one group is my beginning readers, one group is my students that are reading but are 2-4 years below their grade level, and one group is my high functioning group that are at or near grade level, but are in my room due to severe and extreme behaviors. 

I color code my groups into 3-4 colors; so I have a pink, blue, green, and yellow group and these colors remain consistent throughout my centers. This is ONE center in my reading rotations; the "Word Work Center." 

One of my aides works this center and knows exactly what to to with each group of students depending on what I have placed in that groups' basket. 

I also use this same system for my Math Centers. When I took these photos last week, I only had 3 groups for math, but that has since changed with our school-wide schedule change and I now have a "yellow" group included here too. This is my "Number Work" Center that one of my aides also runs.

These colors also correspond with the same colors at the "Teacher Table" center. Reading is kept in their color-coded basket, while math is kept under their basket keeping it easy for them to manage during reading and math centers.

Again, my groups are organized based on the criteria I mentioned above and here is my visual center rotation chart. I always have my students rotate counter-clockwise so this is easy for them to learn and follow. My centers are on the walls around the room, so they are not bouncy back and forth. Having them rotate counter-clockwise provides a nice, easy rotation flow for them that they can easily follow after a few days of practice. 

This year, I have only one student that requires an individualized step-by-step schedule, and this is his schedule. 

Note that his daily schedule matches the pictures on the class rotation schedule. 

Each time the timer goes off and it is time to rotate, he checks his schedule by grabbing his next visual and then matches it to the corresponding visual located in his next center.

Like this! 

This is his number work station, so he matches the visual from his schedule to the corner of this poster and knows he is in this center until the timer goes off again! 

Here is an example of his Word Work Station Visual that he will independently rotate to.

This looks like our Whole Group Station, but it is actually a picture of whole group posted on our whole group board where he will match this visual to. 

Here he will match his technology visual schedule piece when he rotates to computers. 

Here he will match his "At Your Seat" visual schedule icon when it is time for him to rotate to this center. This is taped at his seat and where we do IEP Tubs. Some of these are a little worn, but it just shows how much they are being used and what it really looks like.

Although my centers are pretty differentiated in themselves with my four groups, I still find that I still sometimes need to differentiate even further within each center. Here are some ways I differentiated Math in my classroom last week in each center. 

This is such an easy one to differentiate! On this game in my "Number Work" station, students typically would roll two die, make an addition problem, solve it, and then remove that heart. For my lower functioning students I use it as counting practice for them. They simply count the dots on each die and remove that number. Students on different levels can still play together. :)

Here we were working on "10 more, 10 less" and "1 more, 1 less." Some students needed a hundreds chart while some students didn't. 

By the way, this little guy aced this activity with his hundreds chart. I was so proud of him!

I love these math fact task cards from TouchMath! Some of my students will complete these using touchpoints, while some of my students don't need them. Some of my students may need a numberline or manipulatives to complete these. It's all about differentiating for what EACH of your students need!

I love this math curriculum from Angie Neal! I differentiate it by using my flair pen to make touchpoints on the numbers for this student. 

I created these Money Mats to be differentiated for 3 levels in my classroom (Level One not shown). Students just learning money and to count by 5's can complete Level 2, while more advanced students can complete Level 3 where they actually count out the coins.  

This is another center I differentiated last week in my centers. Some students were required to simply add the next sequence to the pattern, while higher functioning students were required to add the next 3 sequences without a box, plus discriminate between big, small, and medium. 

Yes, my students are doing this! Some do only ones, some do tens and ones, and some can do hundreds, tens, and ones. I actually have a new student that can do thousands! :) Again, I differentiate depending upon student needs and levels.

Differentiating money is super easy! Who doesn't love money! Some of my students can tell me the name of the coin, while some can tell me the value of the coin, some may tell me how many quarters make up a dollar, and then I have a couple that can actually count dimes and nickels.

Another easy one to differentiate! TIME! All of my students can tell time to the hour, so this is what they practice. Some can tell time to the hour and some can tell time the quarter hour, and I'm even teaching my high group to tell time to the minute. These clock matching puzzles and other clock activities are so easy to differentiate with all of these unique learners. 

When it comes to reading and phonics, look how easy this activity was to differentiate. Four students working on four different skills. One student was working middle sounds, one on ending sounds, one on building the whole word and one was learning to write the whole word. Differentiation at its best!

My students ALL love these, and while they are perfect for my beginning readers, my readers want to play them too! So how I differentiate for them while still letting them participate and play these games is I challenge them to give me the long vowel word for the short vowel word, give me a rhyming word for each word, or for higher functioning students, they have to write a sentence with their word. 

Writing is probably the most needed differentiated task in my classroom! While we all write on the same topic, I have students that write on this paper and copy modeled sentences and some that write paragraphs in regular lined papered journals.

I have students that write in beginner writer journals, and some that write on raised line paper to practice letter formation and staying on the baseline. 

This is another BIG part of differentiating in my classroom! My IEP Tubs! One of my popular posts to date....you can read it here....and one of my most favorite centers in my classroom that is always differentiation at its best! I won't go into detail here, but you can certainly learn more about my IEP Tubs here. 

I really hope you take away some ideas for how to better set up and differentiate centers in your classroom to better meet your students' needs! You can read more details about my center setup and how I manage them and my paras' time here. Feel free to post questions if you have them and I will be happy to answer!