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Educators are facing more demands than ever, and most of us are desperate for any hacks to make life easier. We dream of being able to save time, organize more efficiently, and engage students throughout the school day. Fortunately, crafty Instagram teachers have been sharing new life-changing hacks to help teachers survive and thrive during the rest of this school year and beyond.
Here are the best new teacher hacks on Instagram right now.
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1. Tape together lamination sheets to avoid inserting one page at a time
We’ve all sat on the floor at home laminating countless papers for our latest bulletin board. By taping together multiple lamination sheets, you only need to feed the sheets once and the lamination train will continue on by itself. Mega time saver!
2. Hot glue tacks to the back of clothespins, push into your board, and display student work
Displaying student work around the classroom is so important! Teachers have been using clothespins on strings or bulletin boards to hang up student work for years. However, these tactics always seem to result in work sliding off or the system breaking early in the school year. Leave it to our IG teachers to find a hack for this debacle. Simply hot glue a tack (or two) to the back of a clothespin. Push the pin into your board, and you instantly have a secure way of swapping out student work!
3. Use Tidy Tubs when students are crafting in the classroom
Whether you love to craft with your students or not, we can all agree that the mess left behind can be frustrating. To limit the mess, try using Tidy Tubs when doing any kind of activity that involves cutting. Give each table or group of students a Tidy Tub to discard trash into rather than scraps falling to the floor.
4. Magnetize your base ten blocks for use on whiteboards
Using base ten blocks in math is a staple for many elementary educators. We often have students use place value mats with these blocks, but it can be hard for the teacher to model expectations using mats on the floor. Adhere magnetic tape to the back of blocks, and you’ll be able to put the blocks on whiteboards and other magnetic surfaces for a more versatile and engaging lesson. Students could also use these themselves during guided math lessons.
5. Eliminate students crowding the teacher for help by implementing the new “Waiting Room” system
We always love a new classroom management hack! “Waiting Room” replaces the idea of signing up for writing conferences, but could be used for any other time of day when students need 1:1 assistance from a teacher. All you need to do is write one digit on 10 individual clothespins and stick it in a visible place for students to access. If the teacher is busy, students can grab a clothespin and wait at their seats for the teacher to call their number. It’s just like waiting for an appointment.
6. Practice math facts (and more!) with pop-it boards and dice
Teachers have been using pop-its to engage learners in different subject areas for the past few years, but these new pop-it boards take it to the next level! The boards come with room to roll dice in the middle. You could have students roll dice to add or multiply digits, using the bubbles to help count up. Another option is to have students pop bubbles for correct answers and see which partner pops more bubbles. The possibilities are endless!
7. Create tens frames out of pouches
Another math class hack! Use these clear pouches and store counters inside of them. Then, use a sharpie or your Cricut to outline a tens frame on the outside of the pouch. Students can grab-n-go with this manipulative when they need help to solve math problems.
8. Place a small class list inside your teacher badge
You’d be surprised how often it can be helpful to have a class list handy. Print a small class list out and slip it inside the back of your badge for easy reference during fire drills, making groups, or even playing class games.
9. Use highlighters/color-coding to reflect on learning
Student reflection is important for not only teacher data. It also helps students realize what skills and strategies they need more practice with. Instead of having to make and input rubrics on student work for self-assessment, simply have students highlight their name in the color that best reflects how they feel about the skills on the given worksheet before turning it in. Place the colored highlighters near your classwork bin to make this process an easy routine for students.
10. Organize the letters for your letter board in a jewelry organizer
Letter boards can take a long time to switch out, especially if your letters are all jumbled in a baggie. Try separating your letters out into this jewelry organizer instead. You’ll be amazed at how much more often you’re willing to switch out your creative letter board phrases.
11. Use pill boxes to store dice that represent place values
Finding new manipulatives and teacher hacks to help students with number sense is always exciting, especially when all you need are dice and a pill box. For this hack, label each section of a pill box with one place from a place value chart. Place one die inside each section to represent the digit in that place. Students can shake the pill box to make new numbers or use the tool for support during math lessons.
12. Save lids from dried-out glue sticks and markers to replace missing lids
If you scan the classroom on any given day, you’ll be likely to find perfectly usable markers and glue sticks with missing lids. By creating an easy-to-use system where students place lids from dried-out markers and used up glue sticks into a bin, students can replace lost lids in an instant.
It’s hard to choose between all of the creative and useful ideas from Instagram teachers. Which new hack will you try first?
