How to Hit Reset After a Break…& Giveaway

I am joining in with a few of my blogging friends from the Middle School Mob to share a few quick tips on resetting after break. We’ve all been there before! You know that point when you come back from an extended break well rested and ready to pick right up, but your students have other plans! Below are a few (quick) tips on how to hit reset and quickly build momentum with your class! 

1. Reestablish key Rules and Procedures: Simply put, I remind students of expectations and practice as necessary. It might be me, but there’s something about practice that establishes the tone and sense of urgency around getting started right away. I give students strong rationale and try to get keep practice quick, positive, and lecture free. This means no, “you guys forgot the expectations so we are going to practice until we get it right!” Instead I say something to the tune of, “If you are like me you gave your full attention to the break! Let’s make sure we are all on the same page with expectations. We might practice a few if we’re rusty.”

2. Change Seats – Nothing says reset like a good seat change, and one of the best times is after a break. I market it as a fresh start and a chance to get to know another teammate. 

3. Let them Share – Last, but not least, I advise giving students a change to share about their break. This doesn’t have to be long, but sometimes students come back after having an AH-MAZING, or AW-FUL break. In either case, students sometimes just need a minute to vent/talk it out, and then move on. This can be done in the form of a turn and talk, or in small groups. In my experience when I just mowed on to the next topic without taking 5-10 minutes for students to chat, we lost time because I had to continually address students talking about their break. 

Well, that’s all I have for now! I’d love to learn more strategies for resetting after break in the comments, and be sure to click the links below for more strategies and resources for the new year! 

In addition to our linky, we’re giving away 12 of our best-selling resources. We’ve even included some products that are perfect for bringing in the New Year with your students! Make sure to enter using the Rafflecopter below.

Lit with Lyns – Argumentative Writing Process & Task Cards
EB Academic Camps – New Year’s Unit & Activities for Middle School
Caffeine and Lesson Plans – PROBE Notebook: A Creative Yearlong ELA Research Project
Just Add Students – Poetry Analysis – “A Day” by Emily Dickinson
Raising Rigor and Readers – Winter Reading and Writing Activities
Anchored in Reading – ELA Text Dependent Analysis Questions – Author’s Craft Task Cards
Teach Inspire Change – Student Behavior & Parent Communications Binder
Mrs. Spangler in the Middle – The Giver Reading Comprehension Games – Four in All!
Tori Gorosave: A Middle School English Teacher’s Journey – Expository Close Reading: The History of New Year’s
Edison Education – Multiplying and Dividing Integers
Koch’s Odds ‘N Ends – Student Worksheet for Self-Review / Analysis of Test Results
The Marvelous Middle – Looking Back Looking Forward New Year’s Activity

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Sincerely,