Open House Resources

Advice & Ideas for Teachers

Whether you are a first year teacher or have been teaching for 20 years, there wil never be a moment where you aren't learning something new. In this section, puruse resources for working with your students in the classroom, students' parents, and utilizing strategies for teaching different grade levels. You're definitely going to want to put this in your teaching repertoire!

• Getting Parents Involved

  Encourage parents to volunteer in the classroom year round as an important positive step in improving their child's education. New teachers, who are trying to build solid relationships with parents, will find this resource particularly valuable.

• Parent/Teacher Relations

  Handy suggestions for creating and maintaining positive parent/teacher relationships.

• Getting to Know Your Student: Parent Form

  Send this letter home to parents to help you know your students better.

• Getting to Know Your Students: Classroom Activities

  Get to know new students through icebreakers, name games, and first-day celebrations. Our activities and advice will help teachers develop classroom community and establish positive relationships.

• Positive Descriptions of Student Behavior

  An extensive list of verbs and phrases that will help you to prepare positive, descriptive statements about a student's behavior. New teachers will find this resource particularly valuable when they're writing their first report cards and progress reports.

• Parent-Teacher Communication Advice from Veteran Teachers

  Communication with parents is an essential part of teaching. Here is a list of helpful suggestions from experienced educators.

• Tips from Veteran Teachers on Dealing with Parents

  Enlisting parents in their child's education is one of the hardest yet most rewarding undertakings for teachers. Here are some practical tips from veteran teachers on managing these challenging relationships. New teachers will find this resource particularly valuable.

• Preparing for the First Day of School

  Discover great ideas on how to introduce yourself to your new middle grade or secondary students and their parents.

• First Day at the Elementary Level

  Prepare yourself for your first day teaching at the elementary level with these ideas, including getting to know your students and discussing classroom rules. New teachers will find this resource particularly valuable.

• First Day at the Secondary Level

  Get ready for your first day teaching at the secondary level with these tips on everything from outlining the syllabus to starting a fun and hands-on project. New teachers will find this resource particularly valuable for back-to-school.

Advice for Parents

Sometimes as teachers we don't realize teaching our students' parents on how to work with our students at home is just as important as teaching in general. Work on the home-school connection and collaborating with parents with the resources in this section.

• Organization: Advice for Parents

  Offer these tips to parents to help them teach their children to become more organized.

• Help Parents Deal with Homework

  The strategies outlined in this article will help parents work successfully with their children to finish homework. Discuss these methods with parents at teacher-parent conferences or on the phone.

• Stages of Development (Grades 1-12)

  Learn about the developmental stages of children from first grade through twelfth grade. This information will be of great help to parents.

• Building Skills: Handouts for Parents

  Give these reference sheets to the parents of your students. They provide useful information about skill-building in each subject.

• More Advice for Parents

Preparing for the Open House

Open houses are an extremely exciting part of the year for schools. Here is your time to shine and showcase all that is great in your classroom and school. Use these general tips or grade leveled resources to make this year's open house the best one ever!

• Hosting a Successful Open House

  Your students' parents are powerful allies and can make your job much more manageable. Learn some tips on how to foster a positive relationship with parents and host a successful open house. New teachers will find this resource particularly valuable.

• Kindergarten Open House

  Prepare for Open House with these ideas about making refreshments, setting up the classroom, and creating activities for the parents to do.

• First-Grade Open House

  Prepare for open house by decorating the room with your students' work, making refreshments, and planning activities for the visiting parents.

• Second-Grade Open House

  Print a worksheet that describes various ways to prepare your classroom for open house so that parents can see what their children are learning.

• Third-Grade Open House

  Use this printable to come up with activities and refreshments to demonstrate your students' progress for their parents.

• Fourth-Grade Open House

  Prepare for Open House with these activities for you, your students, and their parents.

• Fifth-Grade Open House

  Prepare for Open House with these activities for you, the students, and their parents to demonstrate what is being done in the classroom.

• Sixth-Grade Open House

  Prepare for Open House with these ideas for bulletin-board displays, student-provided refreshments, and activities for their parents to complete.

• Create a Meaningful Open House

  Your students' parents are powerful allies and can make your job much more manageable. Learn some tips on how to foster a positive relationship with parents and host a successful open house.

Showcasing Student Achievement

Reward your students hard efforts with a showcasing of their terrific accomplishments. Whether it's in your classroom for your class to reflect upon, during parent teacher night, or just cause, uses this section to truly put your students into the limelight. They will definitely appreciate the recognition.

• Creative Writing Teacher Resources

  Build solid creative writing skills with our extensive collection of printables, graphic organizers, and lesson plans. You'll find poetry activities, short-story writing exercises, journal topics, and more!

• Art Resources for Teachers

  Emphasize the importance of art education across the curriculum with TeacherVision's art lesson plans, printables, activities, quizzes, and references, for grades K-12.

• Music Resources for Teachers

  Bring some music into your classroom with lessons and printables! Celebrate Music in Our Schools Month in March, or enjoy music on a regular basis with your students.

Additional Resources

Need some resources for a rainy day? This section is a great place to look for things that you may need for your classroom or may need someday.

• Back To School Headquarters

  Return to school this fall prepared to conquer any questions you or your students might have about the school year. Our resources range from teaching students the school's layout to assessment tips.

• New Teacher Resources

  Discover everything a beginning teacher will need for a successful school year, from tips for your first day, to classroom-management advice, to printables and lesson plans that will support your curriculum all year long.