Here is a look at what you can find on Teach Grow Sow in August. Remember you can also stay up to date by signing up for notifications on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Looking for a printable calendar of August? You can print this free one.
Traveling this August? Check out these Travel Tips to help get the most out of your trip.
For Teachers
Are you teaching at a new school this year? Whether this is your first year teaching, or your thirtieth, being a new teacher in a new school has lots of challenges. Here is a list of All the Questions for Teachers to Ask at a New School, since you often don’t know what it is you don’t know until it comes up at your busiest moment.
Use these pages for a first activity of the day (aka, “Morning Meetings”). Each one varies in style a bit to keep students on their toes and is designed to get in just a bit of thinking without overwhelming students with work.
It’s time to prepare for the beginning of the school year! Check below for plenty of ways to get prepared, from the classroom, to the community.
Help students to feel welcome on their first day with these banners.
Print these on cardstock (and laminate to keep using year after year) and attach to craft sticks for a first day photo booth.
Use this fun activity to help children remember that everyone has a different strongest suit…and a different weakest suit. For older students, use this activity to help them develop self-awareness and utilize the diagrams to strengthen study skills.
This is a great activity for the first week of school. Children can keep these books in their binders (behind the same tab as their class schedule and class rules), on their shelves or in their desks, and can refer to them throughout the year to review what they learned about their teacher and classmates at the beginning of the year.
For younger children, use this form to learn about students from their parents.
This is a fun activity page for children to create at the beginning of the year. Save in students’ files to add to their memory books at the end of the school year.
Losing homework can be very stressful for young children. To help put them at ease, let each child fill out one excused homework pass at the beginning of the year, to keep in their file for when they want to redeem it. If you want to get a bit silly, read students a book such as Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst, or Arnold in a Pickle, by Marc Brown. Encourage them to make up the wildest, most extravagant excuse for their lost homework (making it clear that this is intentional fiction, not lying, since you are in on the joke). The creative writing will well make up for one day’s lost homework.
At the beginning of the year many parents will make vague offers to help “with anything you need.” The problem is, parents don’t always know what is actually needed, and teachers don’t always know in what ways parents are actually willing and able to help. Parents are often happiest to help when it is something they are passionate about and/or have the ability to do well.
Cut out these angel cards and hang them on a class plant, from a string with clothespins, or on the door, for parents to select at back-to-school night.
Print these frames onto cardstock for children to color. They can either draw a picture of themselves inside or cut out the inside and take a photo with it framing their faces.
Print these hats for younger children to color and wear on their first day of school.
Print these signs in color onto cardstock to use in first day of school photos.
Print the page of your choice to give students for a first day photo. And don’t forget to use the teacher version for yourself!
Sends these cards home the first day to let parents know their child started the year strong.
The beginning of the year is the perfect time to start planning for the end of the year. Use these pages to brainstorm what you would like to save throughout the year to create a cumulative end-of-year book to give to your students as a parting gift.
Here are some tips and tricks for managing classroom behavior so that you and students can get the most out of your time together.
Check out these fun Games & Object Lessons for teaching behavior expectations.
Keeping a classroom organized can be a daunting task. Read up on some tips and tricks to help you keep your sanity.
Print these onto full- or quarter-page labels and place in folders to help children remember which papers go where (and practice learning right from left).
Free, printable schedule cards.
Free, printable class jobs.
Free, printable name tags.
Prepare ahead for having a substitute with these fun cards.
Send these behavior charts home in students’ binders each day to give parents a quick snapshot of their child’s day. Have them stay at home on Friday and start with a new sheet each Monday.
Attach these slips to unfinished work when sending home, so that parents will know why it is in their child’s folder.
Print these templates onto cardstock and keep in your desk to grab quickly whenever you need to send a short note.
Print these templates onto cardstock and keep in your desk to write a quick thank-you for a gift received.
Help parents (and yourself) keep track of missed work from sick days and vacations with these pages.
Highlight students’ good behavior with these cards that are quick to fill out and slip into take-home folders.
Building a sense of classroom community can do wonders for student learning and behavior. Check out these fun ideas of things to do throughout the year to help this grow.
Start each day on a funny note with this list of printable jokes.
Keep track of lost teeth with these fun envelope labels and tally chart.
A great activity for students to do is creating acrostic poems. These can be used on a card for a birthday, Mothers/Fathers Day, or any special activity. Use this list of positive adjectives to help guide students to write their own acrostic poems.
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