Let’s be honest, classroom management can feel a lot like juggling while trying to ride a unicycle. One tool I’ve been loving lately is daily slides templates.
These slides keep you and your students on track, answer a million questions before they’re asked, and make your room run more smoothly and efficiently! Ready to learn more?
Here are my favorite ways to use daily slides to rock your teaching routine.
Start with the Basics: The Daily Agenda Slide
Imagine your students walking into your classroom in the morning and knowing exactly what’s happening that day. No “What are we doing?” or “Is the test today?” questions.
This slide lays out the day’s big activities and events.
Here’s what to include:
Subjects or Blocks: List the main subjects and routines like: math, reading, centers, specials.
Special Events: Is there an assembly? Is it picture day?
Homework Reminders: Remind students of any assignments they need to turn in.
Pro Tip: Add icons or emojis to bring more attention to your list. A little stack of books next to reading or the painting palette next to art makes it more engaging and helps students that might not be strong readers yet.
Keep Everyone on Track with the Daily Schedule Slides
These are slightly different than the daily slides agenda. I have a daily schedule slide in my slide deck to project during transitions, or any time where students seem to need a little more structure. I use times on the daily schedule slide, where as the agenda slide is more of a list of things we’ll be doing that day.
Morning Meetings to Set the Tone for the Day
Morning meeting slides are a great way to build community and set a positive tone for the whole day. Using slides is an easy way to keep morning meetings structured. You can make these daily slides as simple or as complex as you need.
Here are a few ideas of what to include on your morning meeting slides:
Number of the Day: Depending on your grade level and what math topics your learning, add a few math problems that all equal the same number.
Word of the Day: This is a good place to showcase a new vocabulary word each day. I encourage students to let me know if they hear the word being used that day or even a few days following.
Fun Fact Friday: Share a fact your students will think is interesting. I usually go with facts dealing with our science unit or an animal fact I know they’ll love.
Reminders: I use this section to remind students to turn in permission slips, sign up for their lunch choice, sharpen a pencil, turn in library books, or change into their PE shoes.
Joke of the Day: I pick one day a week and put up a funny joke or riddle. The kids LOVE it.
To Do: Sometimes I’ll have a task for students to work on like, write a sentence using a vocab or spelling word on their whiteboards, take out their math books and do/finish a problem from yesterday… or even last week, edit sentences, or revise a paragraph.
Would You Rather Wednesday: My students love this section!
Question of the Day: Sometimes I’ll ask silly questions, and sometimes just conversation starter questions. Who is the funniest person in your family? What is your favorite special? What career seems like the most fun to you?
Pro Tip: Keep your morning meetings fresh by rotating through the different sections.
Small Group Rotation Daily Slides
Ah, small group time – both a blessing and a curse. Small groups can be amazing for reteaching and differentiation, the logistics of it can be more than a little chaotic. These small group slides can save the day!
Here’s how I use them:
Group Names: type group names or student names.
Rotation Schedule: Show which students are working with the teacher, independently, or a math game center.
Visual Countdown Timer: Copy and paste a timer to keep everyone on track to get the expected work done in a timely manner.
Pro Tip: Include the expectations for each station on a separate slide. No more questions like, “What do we do here again?”
Keep Your Learning Objectives Front and Center
Posting your learning objectives helps students understand the why behind their learning. These daily slides generally use prasing like, “I can…” or “I will…” Plus, a lot of school districts require teachers to have them posted during your lesson. These daily slides make it easy to keep your learning objectives visible and up to date.
Here are a few different ways I’ve used learning focus slides in my room:
Subject Specific Slides: Dedicate one slide for math, one for reading, etc. I think this is ideal for younger students or even special education classrooms where students might get overwhelmed with too much information on each slide.
Multiple Subject Slides: This slide has a box for each subject that I can easily edit as the learning focus changes.
Pro Tip: Make sure you’re using clear language that is age appropriate for your students. If Im using my whiteboard for my teaching, I show this slide at the beginning to go over what they’ll learn, and then again at the end to remind them the main focus of the lesson.
Tips for Using Daily Slides in Your Classroom
Plan ahead: I try to set up my daily slides at the end of each day. It usually takes less than 15 minutes and it makes me feel ready to tackle tomorrow.
Keep it Simple: Stick to easy to read fonts that are on the bold side. If your students cannot read cursive, don’t use scripty scrolly fonts.
Adapt as Needed: Daily slides are a tool to make your day run more smoothly. Adjust them to fit your teaching style and your students’ needs.
Why You Should Use Daily Slides
Using daily slides is like having a really good teachers aide in your classroom!
You’ll get fewer interruptions because students can check the slides instead of asking you a million questions. Daily slides help your students take ownership of their time management.
Transitions will be less chaotic because everyone knows what’s coming cutting down on the confusion. Daily slides help you maintain the flow of lessons and activities.
Consistency! Students will know where to look when they have questions, even on those unpredictable days. Daily slides help provide structure for your students that reinforces your routines and reduces those off-task behaviors.
Are daily slides already a part of your classroom routine? Or are you ready to give them a try?
Looking for more classroom organization hacks? Check out this blog post!
