5 Practical Time-Saving Tips for Primary Teachers
It’s no secret that preparing for back to school season is quite the undertaking. As a primary teacher, this is often one of the busiest times of the year for us! With getting your classroom ready, organizing lessons, and all the planning, time can feel pretty limited! So what’s a teacher to do? Implement some time-saving tips of course! Come along to see these 5 practical tips for saving time and your sanity!
Why You’ll Love These Time-Saving Tips
Listen, friends, as a veteran first grade teacher, I’ve tried it all! Some of the time-saving tips out there worked for me, and others not so much. I’ve done all the things, adjusted, fine-tuned, and even gone back to the drawing board a few times. The result is that I’ve discovered 5 simple things that have made a huge impact, and these time-saving tips will also serve you throughout the year – not just during back to school time!
Before We Dive Into the Time-Saving Tips
Before we get started, I want to say one more thing. While this list is practical and actionable, I also want to acknowledge that this time of year is just plain crazy! There’s no tired like teacher tired at the beginning of the school year, right? So while you may be tempted to plow full-steam ahead and organize all.the.things, remember that the key to keeping your sanity during this time is balance. What I mean by this is that we can’t do it all. We just can’t!
So that being said, don’t get sucked down the rabbit hole of “Pinterest-perfect” classrooms and a long list of “shoulds”. Focus on the things that matter. These are the ones that will make the MOST impact on the success of your students and help your day-to-day routine run smoothly. This is where I recommend directing your limited time and energy. Now, with that being said, here are my favorite time-saving tips for planning and prepping in the classroom!
1. Start with the Big Picture
Are you a big-picture thinker, or a small details person? It seems that most of us are pre-wired to swing one way or the other. While I do appreciate a focus on the details when it comes to planning, looking at the BIG picture is an absolute must. What I mean by this is that if you take some time to consider your whole scope and sequence for teaching, you’ll save yourself a ton of time in the long run.
This is a great project for summer break when your mind is naturally a bit more clear and relaxed. I liked to take a fresh planner and flip through month by month, jotting down notes for what we’ll be working on. Or maybe you’re a digital planner – in which case, grab that laptop. Bonus points if you do this poolside! Keep in mind that these plans don’t have to be super detailed, but rather a high-level overview. Doing this ahead of time means you can plug in your lessons monthly. Plus, you won’t have to worry about skipping something important, or not allotting enough time for a tricky topic. This process was always calming to me since it helped me know what was coming and how to plan and prep accordingly!
2. Prep Decor Pieces Over the Summer
This next time-saving tip is one of my all-time favorites. Take some time to choose your classroom decor pieces and prep them over the summer. This way, when school opens up for set-up, you’ll be able to show up and hang everything on the first day. This is a super motivating feeling when everyone else is sitting on the floor in a pile of paper scraps with the mini-laminator running! Not to mention, this can easily be done while you’re relaxing in the evening and watching TV. It comes together quickly, and you’ll be SO glad you took the time to do it!
If you’re not sure where to start with classroom decor, I’ve got your back! Check out this post to learn about 7 essential elements of classroom decor. These ideas will help ensure that your classroom is both beautiful and functional. Consider this a bonus time-saving tip since it will help your students get their questions answered and stay on task all year long! If that’s not a win, I don’t know what is!
3. Use a Consistent Morning Routine
Do you have a daily morning routine in place? If not, take some time to consider how you’d like this to run in your classroom over the summer. This will be the ultimate time-saving tip when your kiddos learn the routine and jump right into work every day. Not to mention, it helps eliminate decision fatigue since you’ll be doing the same thing daily. It’s also helpful for ensuring that your students have daily reviews as well. Here are some ideas for what to include in your morning routine:
- Unpacking Procedures – students should have an idea of how to enter the classroom and where to put all of their supplies.
- Spiral Review – using your mornings for review is a must in my opinion! I like to use daily spiral review pages to ensure that we’re touching on important math and ELA concepts daily.
- Calendar Time/Morning Meeting – setting aside some time for a morning meeting helps set the tone for the day and foster a sense of community. Not to mention, calendar time will be a game-changer when it comes to weaving math skills into your day!
The Benefits of Spiral Review
If you’re just getting started with a morning routine, I can’t recommend spiral review morning work enough. Choosing morning work pages that align with what you’re teaching and follow a predictable pattern is key for smooth mornings! Once students know what is expected of them, you won’t have to spend time giving directions day after day. Instead, they will grab their work and get to it! I liked to follow up our daily morning work with a whole class review using a digital Google Slides version of the page they worked on. We’d go through it together, and they can check their work, allowing them to learn from their mistakes! If you’re interested in learning more, take a closer look at the morning work pages and slides we used here!
4. Have a System for Grading & Progress Monitoring
Do you have a system in place for assessment and grading? If not – now is the time to think about this! There’s nothing worse than having papers pile up on your desk, or realizing you didn’t allot time for progress monitoring! My favorite time-saving tip for when it comes to grading is batching. Consider blocking a set amount of time every week to grade papers. This will allow you to focus on one task at a time, making you more efficient overall. And if you have a parent helper, provide them with answer keys and pass this task off! Taking it off your plate is a life-saver.
For progress monitoring and assessment, consider ways to weave this into your weekly routines. Can you informally assess during small groups? This is one of my favorite ways to monitor progress since small groups are typically aligned to skill level. It feels like killing two birds with one stone since you’re teaching and assessing at the same time. I also recommend choosing dates for when you plan to do formal assessments. Mark these down in your calendar and set reminders so that you allow enough time!
5. Opt for Low-Prep Centers
As a primary teacher, you probably know that center time materials can take a fair bit of time to plan and prepare. There’s no denying that center time is valuable and essential for young learners. But how do we balance our prep load and ensure our students have fun and engaging activities to work on month after month? Low-Prep Centers for the win!
In my classroom, I was a big fan of using center activities that required minimal prep. To me, this means easy cuts, game-board style activities, and simple games. The goal is to simply print them out, laminate pieces as needed, and store them away for the month they relate to. While I would have to make copies of recording sheets, I loved knowing that the actual center supplies were prepped and ready to go! This is another great project for the summer if you find yourself with some downtime and motivation to get ahead!
Another thing to keep in mind is that choosing consistent centers will help save time in the long run as well. If the games and rules are the same, students become familiar with the format, and how to play. This is a major time-saving tip! Since students will recognize familiar games and center activities like BINGO, and task cards, you won’t have to spend a ton of time explaining games each month. Not to mention, if you have a sub in your classroom – they will greatly appreciate it.
Time-Saving Tips for the Whole Year
As I mentioned before, these time-saving tips will continue to pay off as the year progresses. They will absolutely make an impact on your load at the beginning of the year, but where you will really see the magic happen is as the school year goes on. When your students file in every morning and jump into morning work, you’ll be so happy that you set that consistent routine right off the bat! When you realize you’re an efficient grading machine with no stress or piles of papers eating away at you, you’ll be so thankful you took the time to make a plan (and follow it)!
So yes, these time-saving tips make back to school easier, but they also save the day over and over again as the school year flows. So here’s to you, teacher friend! Wishing you all the best as we step into another amazing school year! Let’s make this one your most organized, efficient one yet!
Looking for More?
While planning and prepping are essential for a successful school year, it’s also important to take time for YOU too! Read this post next to see 10 ways you can decompress over the summer and prepare your mind for a new school year!
Save These Time-Saving Tips for Later
Don’t lose track of these time-saving tips! Pin this post on Pinterest so you can come back and read through them again later.
