Back to School: Tips for Teachers

Getting back into the swing of things after a summer out of the classroom is both exciting and a bit of a challenge: getting used to a new classroom, setting up routines with a new group of students, and getting everyone settled into the day-to-day life of being back in school.

Get a head start with our back-to-school classroom tips to help you hit the ground running this September, and make the transition smoother for you and your pupils.

Get organised

So you've been in over the summer and tidied out your cupboards and reading corner... but how can you put systems in place to help the organisation last longer than just the first day back?

• Organise your worksheets: Use a set of plastic drawers and label them with the days of the week. Print your worksheets ahead of time and store them inside. For extra organisation, use plastic wallets inside each drawer for individual lessons.

• Organise digital resources: You can organise your digital activities in the same way on Purple Mash. Inside the Work area, use the Staff folder to keep resources organised. All teachers in your school can then access these, making year group planning so much easier! Organise other handy websites by using bookmarks and folders within your web browser, or by adding links to tablet home pages.
• Plan ahead: Make sure you're aware of upcoming event days and celebrations and add them to your calendar. Not got a calendar yet? The handy Purple Mash Wall Planner already has key dates added for you. You can download a free copy here, or inside Purple Mash.
• Use boxes and baskets: Every teacher knows a good basket is worth its weight in gold! Magazine files help to store workbooks neatly, while small baskets keep pencils, rulers and sharpeners tidy on group tables. Larger storage boxes at the front of the classroom work well for Homework drop offs and 'To be marked' books (pssst - make sure children syacltack

Establish clear routines

The start of the new school year is the perfect time to set expectations and set consistent routines.

• Discuss the expectations: Set aside time in the first few days to discuss what the class rules should be - this makes children feel part of the decision making and gives them ownership and a feeling of responsibility.
• Set morning routines: As children come into the classroom in the morning, make sure they know where to put all their things, where their desk is, and what to do once they get there. 2Challenge in Purple Mash has got ready-made activities for morning tasks that can be on the board when the children arrive.
• Start good homework habits: If your school sets weekly homework for children to build their key skills, you can easily set online tasks as a 2Do. Children will be notified when they have been set an activity, and can access them at home. try it with some of the spelling quizzes, maths games or writing tasks.

Boost engagement

Make sure children are engaged with learning from day one with interactive and exciting activities that set them up for success.

• Scaffold and differentiate activities: Make sure that the learning activities students are completing are at the right level for them. Purple Mash has hundreds of ready-made activities that can be easily edited or adapted to suit your learner's levels and needs.

• Gamify learning: Almost all of your students will have been playing computer games over the school holidays, so why not continue the fun in the classroom? There are lots of websites where you can find fun games for learning, including Purple Mash. All games on the platform are educational, and the scores are all saved in the Data Dashboard so you can an instant record of progress.

• Interactive activities: Sick of worksheets? Check out the topics area inside Purple Mash and you'll be amazed at the range of activities you can find. Design an Aztec mask, make a database all about earthquakes, play Roman numeral pairs, or animate a volcanic eruption!

Protect your work-life balance

• Use ready-made resources: There are so many brilliant resources out there already - don't spend ages reinventing the wheel! Tweak what you need to fit your class and focus on the most important part: teaching. You'll find whole schemes of work for Computing, Online Safety, Spelling and Grammar on Purple Mash - great quality resources that save you time.

• Be an efficient marker: A great technique for teachers is live marking. As you go around the classroom supporting children, give their book a quick mark. It will mean children implement feedback immediately, and there's not piles of books at the end of the day. You can easily mark online work inside Purple Mash, with self-marking quizzes (no, really!) and the ability to mark a whole group's work in one go.

Try Purple Mash

Want to try the features of Purple Mash mentioned in this blog? Take a no-obligation free trial and discover how it can save you time in the classroom while engaging learners.