Are your students forgetting everything by test day? In this episode, we’re sharing smart test prep strategies that actually help students retain and apply what they’ve learned—without last-minute cramming. You’ll discover two research-backed methods that make information stick, why some common test prep practices might be doing more harm than good, and an easy way to integrate these strategies into your daily routine. Plus, don’t forget to grab our morning work spiral review pages to reinforce key concepts effortlessly!

Prefer to read? Grab the episode transcript and all resources mentioned in the show notes here: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/smart-test-prep-strategies/

Resources:

• Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning by Pooja K. Agarwal and Patrice M. Bain 
• Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
• Spiral Review Morning Work
• Fiber Well Gummies
• Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow.
• Shop our teacher-approved resources.
• Join our Facebook group, Teacher Approved
• Leave your review on Apple Podcasts!

Related Episodes to Enjoy:

• Episode 182, Boost Your Test Prep With These 3 Retrieval Practice Activities
• Episode 122, 20 Best Teacher Approved Tips for Surviving Testing Season
• Episode 121, How to Plan Your Test Prep Around What Content Matters Most
• Episode 5, Ditch Your Test Review (This This Instead!)
• Episode 3, Strengthening the Brain

Ready or not, test season is coming, which means it’s time to start thinking about test prep! In this episode, we dive into retrieval practice for test review, a proven strategy that boosts memory and recall. Instead of passive review methods, retrieval practice helps students retain more and feel prepared for the test. We’ll discuss why this technique works and how you can easily implement it in your classroom!

Prefer to read? Grab the episode transcript and all resources mentioned in the show notes here: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/retrieval-practice-test-review/

Resources:

• Around the Room review 
• Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning by Pooja K. Agarwal and Patrice M. Bain 
• Emily Amick’s Substack 
• The Favorites
• Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow.
• Shop our teacher-approved resources.
• Join our Facebook group, Teacher Approved
• Leave your review on Apple Podcasts!

Related Episodes to Enjoy:

• Episode 122, 20 Best Teacher Approved Tips for Surviving Testing Season
• Episode 121, How to Plan Your Test Prep Around What Content Matters Most
• Episode 5, Ditch Your Test Review (This This Instead!)
• Episode 3, Strengthening the Brain

Spring break is almost here, and while you’re excited for the time off, the thought of catching up on work when you return can be stressful. What if you could prep for the first days back before break starts—without the overwhelm? In this episode, we’re sharing top strategies for teacher spring break prep, including how to break tasks into manageable steps and make the most of prep time in small bursts. With these tips, you’ll be able to enjoy your break while feeling ready for a smooth return to school!

Prefer to read? Grab the episode transcript and all resources mentioned in the show notes here: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/teacher-spring-break-prep/

Resources:

• Bioderma shower oil
• Gavin and Stacey: A Fond Farewell
• Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow
• Shop our teacher-approved resources
• Join our Facebook group, Teacher Approved
• Leave your review on Apple Podcasts!

Related Episodes to Enjoy:

• Episode 168, How Teachers Can Get a Jumpstart on a Stress-Free Winter Break
• Episode 169, Our Best Teacher Tips for Finding Pockets of Prep Time to Get Ahead For January
• Episode 172, The 2nd First Day of School: How to Take Advantage of the Week After Winter Break

Morning work is more than just busy work! It sets the tone for your day, reinforces important skills, and encourages independence. In this episode, we’re sharing our five best morning work tips to help you create a routine that works for both you and your students. If you're looking to start your day with ease and purpose, this episode is packed with actionable advice you won’t want to miss!

Prefer to read? Grab the episode transcript and all resources mentioned in the show notes here: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/morning-work-tips/

Resources:

• Spiral Review Morning Work
• Shrinking
• A Man on the Inside
• Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow.
• Shop our teacher-approved resources.
• Join our Facebook group, Teacher Approved
• Leave your review on Apple Podcasts!

Related Episodes to Enjoy:

• Episode 179, How to Find Fast Finished Success: No More ‘I’m Done, Now What?’
• Episode 173, Getting Into the Nitty Gritty of Classroom Procedures and Routines
• Episode 150, Perfect Your Classroom Procedures With the Help of Our Guiding Questions
• Episode 94, A Great Day Before School Even Starts: Your Perfect Teacher Morning Routine at School
• Episode 91, Start Your Day Strong: Top Tips for Maximizing Your Morning Work

Teachers pour their time and energy into the major aspects of teaching, but it’s often the smaller, overlooked parts of the job that create uncertainty. One such challenge is managing fast finishers—a topic that doesn’t always get the spotlight but plays a crucial role in the flow of your day. In today’s episode, we’re going to unpack this loaded topic and discuss how fast finishers can find success in the classroom.

For all the resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/fast-finishers

Resources:

• Word Family Poems - 1st Grade
• Word Family Poems - 2nd Grade
• I’m Done, Now What? How to Challenge Fast Finishers Blog Post
• Nex Playground
• Valari Pillow
• Oriental Trading Valentines
• Target Valentines 
• MindWare Valentines
• Paper Source Valentines
• Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow.
• Shop our teacher-approved resources.
• Join our Facebook group, Teacher Approved
• Leave your review on Apple Podcasts!

Related Episodes to Enjoy:

• Episode 173, Getting into the Nitty Gritty of Classroom Procedures and Routines
• Episode 165, Keeping Students Engaged All Year Long, No Matter the Season
• Episode 163, The 6 Key Ways to Boost Student Engagement Every Day
• Episode 159, How to Set up Successful Learning Centers at the Beginning of the Year

Mentioned in this episode:

If you're enjoying this podcast, we would love to hear from you! You can leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/teacher-approved/id1613980327

By this point in the school year, your class is very familiar with each other. And while you love the community aspect, it can often bring unnecessary or excessive talking amongst your students. If this sounds like your class, we’re replaying a fan favorite episode sharing five teacher approved to help you tame your chatty class!

For all the resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/chatty-class

Resources:

• Editable Digital Seating Chart Tool
• Classroom Procedures and Routines Planning Guide Bundle
• Class Craft noise meter
• Bouncy Balls noise meter
• The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
• Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow.
• Shop our teacher-approved resources.
• Join our Facebook group, Teacher Approved
• Leave your review on Apple Podcasts!

Related Episodes to Enjoy:

• Episode 98, 5 Reasons Your Attention Signal Isn’t Working and How to Improve It
• Episode 97, 3 Secrets For Using Your Classroom Seating Arrangement to Boost Classroom Management
• Episode 83, Classroom Setup Tips For Success: 8 Guiding Questions for Designing Your Space

Now that you’re back to school from winter break, you might be noticing that some of your classroom procedures aren’t running as smoothly as they were before break. While this might be caused by multiple reasons, it’s something you want to address right away. In this fan favorite episode, we’re sharing questions that help you identify your classroom management problems and ways to fix them!

For all the resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/classroom-management-problems

Resources:

• Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow.
• Shop our teacher-approved resources.
• Join our Facebook group, Teacher Approved
• Leave your review on Apple Podcasts!

Related Episodes to Enjoy:

• Episode 154, 5 Steps for Classroom Procedure Success
• Episode 75, Classroom Procedures and Expectations: How they Differ and How to Teach Them
• Episode 32, 5 Classroom Management Questions to Help Banish Bad Class Habits
• Episode 20, Mastering Morning Routines
• Episode 18, Procedures for Success!

Returning from winter break, teachers are well rested and ready to start the second half of the school year. But oftentimes, students come back feeling excited and forgetting all of your procedures and expectations. This can lead to a lot of rough days in the classroom! 

We were recently on another podcast, Educate & Rejuvenate, where we discussed four tricks for having a rough day reset in the classroom. With teachers going back after the new year, we thought this information was so valuable that we wanted to share it with our listeners as well.

For all the resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/rough-day-reset

Resources:

• Educate & Rejuvenate: The Podcast - Episode 154, 4 Tricks to Reset a Rough Day of School with Heidi and Emily of Teacher Approved
• Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow.
• Shop our teacher-approved resources.
• Join our Facebook group, Teacher Approved
• Leave your review on Apple Podcasts!

Related Episodes to Enjoy:

• Episode 167, How Teachers Can Say Goodbye to the Sunday Scaries with Kelsey from Educate & Rejuvenate
• Episode 132, An Easy Mindset Hack for Teachers with Kelsey of Educate and Rejuvenate
• Episode 51, 4 Reliable Ways to Hit Reset on a Rough Day of School
• Episode 15, Own Your Teacher Wins with Kelsey Sorenson from Wife Teacher Mommy

For our last episode of 2024, we wanted to share another fan-favorite episode. In this replay episode, you will gather some tools that will help prevent behavior problems before they even start in the new year! 

With school in session for a while now, you might be seeing some behavior issues starting to creep up that weren’t there before. Instead of just dealing with them as they come, it’s much better to put strategies in place that prevent behavior problems from occurring in the first place. Tune in to hear 10 easy strategies for preventing classroom behavior problems!

For all the resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/behavior-problems

Resources:

• Digital Classroom Seating Chart Planning Tool
• Classroom Procedures and Routines Bundle 
• OneTab
• How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney?
• Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow.
• Shop our teacher-approved resources.
• Join our Facebook group, Teacher Approved
• Leave your review on Apple Podcasts!

Related Episodes to Enjoy:

• Episode 99, Get Students Engaged With 3 Types of Active Participation Strategies
• Episode 97, 3 Secrets For Using Your Classroom Seating Arrangement to Boost Classroom Management 
• Episode 92, Teacher Approved Tips: Teaching Recess Games and How to Save Time
• Episode 75, Classroom Procedures and Expectations: How they Differ and How to Teach Them
• Episode 50, 3 Guidelines to Make Classroom Transitions Work Smarter Not Harder
• Episode 49, Rapid Classroom Transitions: How to Save 45 Hours a Year 
• Episode 48, How to Make Classroom Transitions Simple With Clear Beginnings and Endings [Classroom Transition Series]
• Episode 35, 5 Ways to Increase Student Engagement - Our Secret Weapon for Teachers
• Episode 32, 5 Classroom Management Questions to Help Banish Bad Class Habits

As we wrap up 2024, we’re bringing back our top two most popular episodes—fan favorites that truly resonated with our listeners. First up, we’re revisiting an episode packed with strategies to boost student engagement through active participation!

When designing lessons and activities, our goal is always to make them engaging and encourage active participation. But true engagement goes beyond academics. For students to be fully engaged, they need to be involved behaviorally, emotionally, and mentally, actively contributing in every aspect of the classroom. So, in this episode, we’re sharing ways to increase student engagement with 3 types of active participation strategies.

For all the resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/active-participation

Resources:

• Jargon Journal Book Units
• Salt Lamp Nightlight
• Podcast: The Dream
• Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow.
• Shop our teacher-approved resources.
• Join our Facebook group, Teacher Approved
• Leave your review on Apple Podcasts!

Related Episodes to Enjoy:

• Episode 38, How to Survive December in the Classroom: 3 Creative Teaching Tips
• Episode 35, 5 Ways to Increase Student Engagement - Our Secret Weapon for Teachers