Teaching With Haley O'Connor

Let's build a better world together-one classroom at a time!

Turkey Activities

This post contains affilate links. I receive a small stipend when you purchase something on Amazon. However, I stand behind each product and wouldn't recommend something I didn't believe in. This is at no cost to you. Now that Halloween is over (😭😭) it's time to move on to Thanksgiving. I'm so thankful for other educators and activists who teach me how to be more respectful of other cultures ... read more

Creepy Carrots

This post contains affiliate links. That means I get a small compensation at no cost to you. I use that to keep this blog up and running. Have you read the book Creepy Carrots? It's probably my favorite Halloween book of all time, but it could truly be used at any time of year! All of the resources shown below are in my Creepy Carrots pack on TPT. Click the photos to purchase. I wanted to ... read more

Books for Teaching Kindness

I recently was able to update my Kindness Curriculum to include digital components. I love that so many teachers around the world are able to use it in a classroom setting and digitally. One easy way to add social-emotional learning into your day is by read-alouds. In my classroom, I strive to do one SEL lesson a week. During the week though, I try to read at least two books that focus on the ... read more

Ruby Finds a Worry

One of the most powerful ways we can connect with our students and normalize "big feelings" is by sharing quality literature with them. Often, they can identify with a character and label their emotions before they can label their own. Even if you're not ready to add Social-Emotional learning to your daily or weekly lesson plans, bringing in powerful read-alouds is a great first step. I am ... read more

Using Google Classroomâ„¢ for Remote and Digital Learning

Man what a crazy world we're living in! Years ago, I heard Google was moving into the education space. I was excited for what this could mean for students and teachers...especially in upper grades. But here we are and even Kindergarteners are learning to use Googleâ„¢ and Google Classroomâ„¢! It's pretty exciting! Unfortunately, so many teachers are asked to use these tools without much help. I want ... read more

Teaching Social-Emotional Skills Digitally

Sometimes I wake up and feel like I'm dreaming...or maybe having a nightmare. I never imaged we would be trying to build relationships and teach social skills through a computer screen. It's difficult to teach math online...and guided reading is even more challenging. But tackling social-emotional learning is a "whole new monster." We use our body language, tone of voice, role-playing, and class ... read more

5 Simple {and FREE} Ways to Build Relationships Virtually with Students

Today I wanted to stop by and share 5 ways to connect with students virtually. Even though we're wrapping the year up, some of you may find you want to reach out to students over the summer. I hope you'll also keep this info in your back pocket in case we have to remain socially distant in the upcoming school year. 1. Using whatever platform you're currently using, send a fun video or photo ... read more

FREE Editable Awards

The end of the school year is so emotional. We're excited for summer and rest, but sad not to see the same little faces each day. We worry about them regressing over the summer and if we worked with them enough. This year is even more complicated as so many of you didn't get to say goodbye to students. The last few weeks of school are usually full of award ceremonies, parties, and lots of ... read more

Make the Most of Digital Student Memory Books

As we near the end of the school year, I've been racking my brain coming up with substitutes for all the fun EOY activities. Even though we won't be able to have award ceremonies in person or share our yearbooks together, we CAN still make special memories. I absolutely love this blog post that Elementary Nest wrote about digital ideas for the end of the year. She even has a free Balloon Pop ... read more

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day in the Inclusive Classroom

This post contains affiliate links. As I have grown as an educator, I have started to see so many things in a new light. Mother's Day and Father's Day is something I went into teaching knowing it was sensitive. Having grown up with divorced parents and several step-parents, I knew it could be awkward for kids. I remember only getting one packet to fill out and wondering who I should give ... read more

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  • As you get ready to go back to school, it is important to think about ways you can build parent teacher relationships. In this post, I am sharing 5 questions to ask families to help build a strong classroom community. You can use these questions at Meet the Teacher, for conferences or just to get to know students and their families through email. Use this free parent questionnaire to get to know more about your students and their family’s culture, beliefs, or religion.
  • Do you feel like you are ready for a new classroom management system? Are you ready to ditch the clip chart? In this post, I am sharing 5 classroom management strategies that will help your students feel valued and take ownership of their behavior rather than feel publicly shamed. These classroom management tools and ideas will empower kids to make good choices. Use these student behavior strategies to set students up for success. Focusing on intrinsic motivation is key.
  • Gratitude is a hard skill for students to learn but with picture books, they are able to better understand and learn how to be grateful. In this post, I am sharing 4 books about gratitude for kids. These kids books about gratitude are great to read around Thanksgiving. These are some of my favorite November read alouds. They are not necessarily Thanksgiving books but they do tie in very well into the month of November. These are great to read during classroom meetings or readers' workshop.
  • Struggling with classroom management this year? Today, I am sharing 4 classroom management ideas that actually work. These non-verbal cues for the classroom are a great way to help students stay on task and complete their work. Instead of using a clip chart, try one of these behavior management tools instead. These visual cues for behavior help students regulate their behavior on their own. Try one of these behavior management strategies today using picture cards and other classroom visuals.
  • Are you using clip charts as part of your classroom management system? In this post, I am sharing 4 reasons why you should stop using clip charts in your elementary classroom today. Using a clip chart for behavior problems damages teacher student relationships and student relationships with their peers. Clip charts for behavior also don’t work long term. It is time to ditch this behavior management system and try something new.
  • Are you still using clip charts for your behavior management system? If this is your go-to classroom management system, it is important to identify why you are using this to manage student behavior. In this post, I am sharing why teachers chose to use clip charts over other classroom management tools. There are tons of other classroom management strategies out there but clip charts for managing behavior still are high on the list, especially for new teachers.
  • Kindness lessons and activities by Teaching with Haley. Kindness is a great place to start your social-emotional curriculum and I’m excited to share some of my favorite ideas with you in this post. I cover my favorite kindness videos, kindness read alouds, and kindness activities. Including what kindness is, character education, what boundaries are, and more. Great social-emotional learning lessons for kindergarten, first grade, and second-grade students. Learn more
  • Digital phonics activities have become a hit in elementary classrooms. Digital resources are great because they are no prep for the teacher and they are super engaging for students. In this post, I share my favorite phonics activities during literacy centers, Daily 5, or guided reading groups. There are magnetic letter activities, vowel team activities and diphthong activities. Students can work on creating sentences, cvc word activities, and phonics patterns.
  • All Are Welcome is the perfect read aloud for back to school. It is a great introduction to social-emotional learning about kindness, inclusion, and diversity. During the beginning of the school year, it's so important to set up a strong classroom community and start building relationships. This helps with behavior management and student learning. This book does a beautiful job celebrating diversity and helping students feel safe in our classrooms. Grab this All Are Welcome book activity!
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