Top Teacher Hacks for Your Classroom

Top Teacher Hacks for Your Classroom

What are some of your worst teacher tasks? Grading? Inputting grades or attendance? Sorting through the dreaded stack of paperwork that you’ve been telling yourself for months you’ll get to tomorrow?

Teaching has its perks and joys—seeing students grow and watching them be excited to learn—but there are definitely some necessary evils as well. Sometimes these tasks feel like they pull us away from what we actually want to do—teach and engage with students. But where do we even begin with the best or most useful teacher hacks?

In a time of Pinterest boards, TikToks, and DIYs, it can be hard to know what hacks are worth your time. We’ve compiled some of our favorite teacher hacks and a few tricks that will enhance your classroom management and create engaging experiences for students.

Classroom Management

Utilize Nonverbal Cues & Signals. Visual cues are a great hack for younger students to keep them on track while minimizing noise in the classroom. Try out different hand signals or colored cards to set standards of communication with students.

Try Color-Coding. Use different colored bins, folders, and labels for each subject or table group. Keep classroom materials organized by category in colored bins (e.g. blue for art supplies, red for math tools, etc.). This will help save time by minimizing students asking questions about where to find materials and worksheets. Bonus hack: check out dollar stores and Facebook Marketplace to find these materials at a cheaper price and save some money. There are numerous Facebook groups for teachers to swap ideas and materials, and some may even be specific to your location.

Implement Call and Response. Engaging call-and-response phrases can be quick attention grabbers for students. Save time by bringing students back together with just a few simple words. Check out a few fun attention grabbers here.

Make Anchor Charts. Use charts around the classroom to capture the most important content from a lesson—vocabulary, step-by-step instructions, and main ideas. Involve students in making the chart so they’re engaged and the content sticks in their minds better.

Essential Organization Hacks

Take Advantage of Online Platforms. Google Classroom allows students to access class content, homework, and instructions at any time and place. Plus, it will minimize classroom and desk clutter by taking paper assignments online. Get more tips and tricks for optimizing your Google Classroom use by checking out this YouTube video. Canvas is another great option that lets you organize class content, lessons, and assignments in whatever system works best for you. 

Organize Lesson Plan Binders. Keep a master binder full of lesson plans. Divide it by subject or school term. Keep all lesson plans and worksheets in the binder, including emergency sub plans in the front or back (containing a class roster, seating chart, and backup lesson plans).

Stock Up on Binder Clips. Use labels or sticky notes on binder clips to keep papers organized. Use labels like “to grade,” “enter grade,” “missing name,” etc. This is another great opportunity to consider color coding — color code by subject, or color code by your own tasks.

Hacks for Time Savers

Use Sticky Notes. Dog might be man’s best friend, but sticky notes are a teacher’s. Use sticky notes to create your daily to-do list and stick it to your computer, water bottle, or car keys so you make sure you see it throughout the day. Use sticky notes as an exit ticket for students, such as having them write down a question about a new subject they learned, or answering a simple question of the day.

Take Advantage of Automated Grading & Feedback Tools. Google Classroom is a great option for keeping track of student work. Look into other self-grading quizzes like Google Forms, Quizizz, or Kahoot! to quickly assess student learning and minimize busy work. Canvas also offers features to give automatic feedback on what a student can re-study if they miss a quiz question.

Embrace AI. While the development of artificial intelligence and its role in the workplace is still up in the air, it is a great tool to streamline processes. Make the school year a breeze with a few simple tricks that make AI your friend. For more ideas, check out our Teacher’s Guide to Effectively Utilizing AI.

Fun and Engaging Student Hacks

Have Flexible Seating Options. Offer a variety of seating choices (cushions, bean bag chairs, etc.) to help students get a change of scenery. Use the more “fun” seating options as rewards for good behavior. Keep an eye out on Facebook Marketplace or sites like KSL Classifieds to get fun seating at a lower price and save money!

Create Popsicle Sticks for Name Draws. Students love using popsicle sticks for random selection. Have them decorate a stick with their name at the beginning of the year. Consider also using popsicle sticks like “has the next birthday” or “wearing the most colors today” to keep things interesting.

Gamify Learning Experiences. Gamification and mission-based learning is one of the best ways to get students excited about learning. At Mission.io, we’re all about making learning fun, but more importantly, we want students to be engaged and develop essential skills like collaboration and leadership. Check out our Mission Library to find missions for your grade and subject.

Create a Mystery Motivator Jar. Rewards for meeting learning goals and good behavior can be simple but made more fun if an element of surprise is involved. When a class successfully completes a Mission.io mission or behaves well for a sub, reward them with things like homework passes, an extra recess, or a fun game to end the day.

Employ “Ask Three Before Me.” Teach students to advocate for themselves and collaborate. “Ask three before me” puts the rule in place that a student should try to ask three classmates for help before approaching the teacher.

Organization and Handling for Classroom Supplies

Prevent Lost Glue Stick Caps. Add a velcro dot to the top and bottom of a glue stick so students can keep the cap and stick together. You can also consider having a velcro dot on their desk and the top of the cap. Whenever a student uses a glue stick they can put the cap on their velcro dot. No more dried-out and crusty glue sticks!

Know Plastic Plates Are Your Friend. Always keep a stack of plastic plates on hand (again, check out the Dollar Store!). You can use these as easy ‘whiteboards’ for quick student answers. Add an anchor chart to the back so students have an easy reference.

Try Pencil Grip Techniques. For younger learners, writing and holding a pencil properly can be an initial challenge. Try out the “pom-pom trick”—put a little pom-pom in a student’s palm, and have them hold it in place with their ring and pinky fingers while holding a pencil correctly. For additional guidance, wrap a rubber band around a pencil to mark the correct spot to hold it.

Game Changer Teacher Hacks for Lesson Planning

Create a Lesson Plan Template. Streamline lesson plans by having templates for math class, writing workshops, or science experiments. Store these templates somewhere easily accessible for easy access and reuse.

Set Up Student-Led Routines. Give your students a chance to develop leadership skills by creating small group discussions or peer teaching time. Assign a student once a week to lead out a warm-up exercise for that day’s lesson.

Saving Money with Thrifty Classroom Hacks

Take Advantage of Teacher Discounts. Save money by utilizing every resource that offers a discount. Check out a list here of stores that provide teacher discounts.

Repurpose Material for Bulletin Boards. Laminate everything you want on a board so it can be reused and save money. Also, try cutting out letters and shapes from magazines, newspapers, and packaging instead of buying pre-made sets. Fabric and wrapping paper are also great reusable options over bulletin boards.

Be Consistent. Be consistent in routines—turning in papers, returning assignments to students, and clean-up routines. This will help the day-to-day be smoother and streamline your lesson prep time.

Encourage Collaboration and Small Groups

Provide Team-Based Learning Opportunities. Working in a small group is a great opportunity for students to develop leadership and critical thinking skills. Provide teams with a clear objective that they can collaborate on. Check out our Mission Library to provide fun and engaging teamwork opportunities for your students.

Read more about the benefits of student collaboration and how to do it in your classroom here.

End-of-School-Year Hacks

Create a Countdown Checklist. Avoid stress and create a week-by-week or day-by-day list of tasks to help you break down the classroom as you lead up to the end of the year.

Declutter Ruthlessly. Don’t hold on to any supplies or materials that are broken or outdated. If you haven’t used something all year, toss or donate it.

Photograph Classroom Layouts. Snap a picture of bulletin boards, learning centers, and storage areas that you want to use again. As a bonus, print out a picture of the area and tape it to the bin with those supplies for easy setup next year.

Prepare For Next Year. Provide students with a survey or a feedback box to learn what is working and what isn’t. Use this feedback to set some thoughtful goals of what you want to improve on next year.

Conclusion

There you have it, some of our favorite teacher hacks to save money, declutter, and make the most out of your school year. Try out these ideas in your own classroom—gamify learning, color code, hit the thrift stores! Share with us your success stories from these tips and tricks!