Must-Watch (Free!) Mini-Trainings for New Elementary Teachers

Your first few years of teaching can be a whirlwind! Maybe you’re still in your teacher prep program, you’re new to your school or even new to a grade level or specific group of students.

As teachers we spend a lot of time feeling “new” because things are ever-changing in education. (It keeps us on our toes to say the least!)

Every school year is a new beginning. Heck, sometimes every DAY feels like a new beginning. There’s always a new strategy, activity, or method to try.

So whether it’s actually your first day in your teaching job OR you’re simply feeling that “new” feeling… we have some free training to help you find your way, get inspired, and hone your craft. Here’s our PopPD Playlist of the essential 10-minute trainings & resources you need for a simple, fun school year, created by your fellow elementary teachers!

Free training? Amazing! How does this work?

Each of the trainings are a quick 10-minutes long, and most come with a free downloadable resource! Click on the link to the class you’re interested in taking, and you’ll be able to get started right away. You can watch your classes on your own time, as many times as you need.

How do I access my free trainings?

The first time you click on a free class, you’ll need to register for our PopPD site to view your class and download the resource. After that, you’ll have a login on PopPD ready to use! All your classes will stay in your PopPD account for easy access. You can even chat with other educators taking the same class.

What if I want MORE?

YAY! Our PopPD Coaches have already created some classes we know you’ll love. If you find a PopPD Coach you love to learn from, sign up for their full 60-minute class to get more.

Our 60-minute classes cost around $40-$50 on average. (The price of a good teaching resource book!) Many teachers will send the link to their school leader to request use of funds (or reimbursement) from your district’s continuing education budget.

Need help? Contact the PopPD team! We’re here to help you get access to the training you want.

Managing Time for Elementary Teachers

Audit Your Work-Life Balance in 10 Minutes

A course by educator and mentor teacher, Brittany Blackwell.

Who’s it for? Any teacher who is looking to find balance between their career and personal life with a practical approach to time management.

What will I learn? New and veteran educators will leave this quick 10 minute PD with with an understanding of what work-life balance is and method to audit their work-life balance periodically, in order to create an authentic plan to recover from or avoid teacher burnout.

What will I be able to implement right away?

• Learn a practical approach to examining energizing and energy draining teacher tasks.
• After working through 3 simple steps, you’ll have a clear view of what stays and what goes, leaving room for living your authentic life and setting boundaries that serve you and your students, while combatting teacher burnout.

What’s included?

• Free 10 Minute Work-Life Balance Audit Training
• 11 page Audit Workbook

Access the free training and downloadable resources HERE.

Building Community in the Elementary Classroom

Building Classroom Community with Co-Created Expectations

A course by Instructional Coach, Caitie Cupples.

Who’s it for? Lower elementary teachers (grades 1-3).

What will I learn?

Rules are a classroom management necessity. But what if we took it to the next level? Creating rules with your students increases student motivation and ownership while also fostering a sense of community.

And even better? Let’s add a classroom promise that is based on how students want to feel at school, and the actions they commit to making the classroom a happy and safe place to learn.

What will I be able to implement right away?

• An understanding of what it means to have community within your classroom.
• The distinction between classroom rules and a class promise.
• Examples of how to co-create both with students.

What’s included?

• Workbook for note-taking
• Classroom Discussion Guides (printable!)

Access the free training and downloadable resources HERE.

Upgrade Student Breaks

A course by special educator and trauma professional, Rachel Nye.

Who’s it for? Any teacher who has asked a student, “Do you need a break?” But quickly noticed the results of the break aren’t what the teacher or student actually needed.

What will I learn?

The problem with breaks is that they’re often vague and don’t actually lead students back to regulation or engagement. You will learn specific strategies for upgrading student breaks that lead to greater engagement and regulation.

What will I be able to implement right away?

• Understand why traditional breaks aren’t actually working.
• Strategies for helping students get regulated.

What’s included?

• 10 minute training
• Action plan for adding to your student break toolkit

Access the free training HERE.

What teachers are saying about Rachel’s free training:

“Great presentation! Your stuff is always amazing and full of great helpful ideas.”

“Great intro! Thanks!”

Lesson Planning & Organization for Elementary Teachers

How to Use Data to Drive Instruction

A free mini-training by educator, Tara Dusko.

Who’s it for? Elementary teachers who want to be able to easily use data to help their students make more progress.

What will I learn?

5 easy steps to help make data-informed decisions that will guide whole group lessons and small group instruction.

What will I be able to implement right away?

• Have a list of different types of data you can collect (with EASE!)
• Ways to share results with students
• Simple ways to plan based on data

What’s included?

• 10 minute training

Access the free training HERE.

How to Structure Your Small Groups

A free mini-training by educator, Angel Honts.

Who’s it for? Elementary teachers looking for a simple structure for small groups.

What will I learn?

• The 3 steps to setting up small groups successfully
• How to teach expectations for small groups explicitly

What’s included?

• 10 minute training
• Printable workbook

Access the free training HERE.

7 Strategies to Differentiate Instruction

A free mini-training by educator, Kirsten Hammond.

Who’s it for?

Cater to all learners throughout the year with 7 strategies to differentiate instruction for your elementary students. These easy-to-implement strategies are perfect for any subject and helps meet the needs and strengths of students in your classroom!

What will I learn?

• 7 simple strategies to differentiate instruction

What’s included?

• 10 Minute Free Training
• Printable PDF Slide Deck

Access the free training HERE.

More Mini-Trainings for Elementary Teachers

Building Creativity Into Your Lessons

Don’t feel like you have to be an artist to be creative or to be able to encourage creative practices with your students!  In this session, we will work through ways that align with your interests, skills, and talents when it comes to feeling like you are able to add creativity into your life and your classroom.

You can be creative in so many ways!  Explore this free training with fresh eyes when it comes to creativity so that you can bring new ways of learning to your students.

Parent Communication 101

In this mini-class, you’ll learn a basic script for calling home, how to adjust the script for your introduction call (before concerns arise), how to celebrate students, and tips for keeping ongoing communication simple. You’ll also get a digital parent communication log that can be used for multiple class periods. (I see you, my secondary-teacher friend.)

4 Easy Steps to Powerful Reading Lessons

This training covers reading lesson ideas and instructional techniques to lead powerful literacy lessons in your elementary classroom. I explain ways to structure your reading lessons for the most meaningful results and specific ideas you can implement immediately with your class. All of these ideas can be altered to fit your class needs and personality. Let’s make reading the BEST time of the day!

Click here to access all of our free mini-trainings!