If the school year’s starting to feel a little messy and your routines aren’t hitting like they used to, this episode is your cue to pause for a mid-year classroom reset! We’re using the K.I.S.S. Retrospective (Keep, Improve, Stop, Start) to help you reflect on what’s working in your classroom and what needs a refresh. From routines and student behavior to differentiation and teacher workload, you’ll get practical questions, real-life examples, and permission to simplify. Tune in to reflect, reset, and head into the rest of the year with confidence and a renewed sense of joy.

Prefer to read? Grab the episode transcript and resources in the show notes here: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/mid-year-classroom-reset/

Resources:

• Classroom Procedures and Routines Editable Slide Decks
• If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia
• A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
• Join the Teacher Approved Club!
• Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow.
• Shop our teacher-approved resources.
• Join our Facebook group, Teacher Approved
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
• Leave a comment or rating on Spotify.

Related Episodes to Enjoy:

• Episode 150, Perfect Your Classroom Procedures with the Help of Our Guiding Questions
• Episode 173, Getting into the Nitty Gritty of Classroom Procedures and Routines
• Episode 176, Our 4 Tried and True Tricks to Reset a Rough Day of School
• Episode 223, The Core 4 Routines Every Classroom Needs to Run Like Clockwork

This is episode 231 of Teacher Approved.

You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping

educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I'm

Heidi.

And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story

Window, where we give research based and teacher approved

strategies that make teaching less stressful and more

effective. You can check out the show notes and resources from

each episode at secondstorywindow.net.

We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to

the show.

Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's

episode, we are pausing to take stock of where we are as we head

into term two, and we're sharing a teacher approved tip for

getting things back on track.

But first, let's start with a try it tomorrow, where we

share a quick win that you can try in your classroom right

away. Emily, what is our suggestion for this week?

This week, add some art time to your vocabulary

practice. Call out a vocabulary word and have students sketch it

in 30 seconds, then have them compare drawings with a partner.

This is quick, it's fun, and it is surprisingly helpful

for retention. Studies show that having students draw vocabulary

words is one of the most effective ways to make them

stick.

I love that, and it makes sense, because visualizing a

word and putting it on paper makes you process it in a

completely different way than just writing a definition.

If you like this idea or anything else we share here on

the podcast, would you take a second and give us a five star

rating and review in your podcast player? Ratings and

reviews really are so helpful to podcasts, and we would be very,

very, very, very grateful.

Thank you so much for sticking with us last week as we

were wrapping up our book.

Now, are we done yet? No, we are not, but we're at least

in the editing stage as opposed to the writing stage, and it

turns out that is a much easier process.

Oh, and much more fun, and that's why we had enough

time this week to prepare a new episode, and we are all set to

dive into a KISS retrospective.

Yes, I'm so excited to talk about this. Now, I know

it's cliche, but I think my favorite Kiss song is probably

Rock and Roll all night. What about you, Emily?

Well, that is not the KISS retrospective that I had in

mind, this is a framework from the business world that's used

to evaluate progress and make plans for moving forward.

Well, I sure wish you had explained that before I put on

the Gene Simmons makeup.

Well, it suits you. It looks so nice. Good thing this

isn't a video podcast.

Well, lesson learned, I guess, always double check

before covering yourself in black and white stage makeup,

and hopefully none of you have made that same mistake in the

last 30 seconds. Now, if you are listening to this episode the

week it comes out, you are probably about to wrap up your

first term, or even starting your second term of the school

year.

And that is such a weird spot to be in, because September

feels like it was five years ago. But you're also looking at

the calendar thinking, Wait, it's only November?

And at this point, you're starting to notice things like

that morning routine that worked so great a few weeks ago is

starting to fray around the edges. Or that student you

thought would settle down by now is still struggling.

Yeah, those patterns are becoming clear, and that is why

now is the best time to pause and take stock. Because if you

wait until January, when you're really exhausted, some of these

issues are going to feel impossible to fix, but right

now, you've still got time on your side, and hopefully you've

still got a little bit of energy.

So today, we want to help you figure out what's actually

working in your classroom right now and what needs to change.

And to do that, we're going to walk you through four

questions that can help you evaluate what's working and

what's not. And then we're going to apply those questions to five

different areas in your classroom.

As we mentioned earlier, this is called the KISS

retrospective. Keep, Improve, Stop, Start. It's basically

asking yourself, what's working that I should protect, what's

kind of working that needs tweaking, what should I just let

go of, and what do I want to add?

To help you get clarity on where you are, we're going to

Okay, first up, we've got classroom routines and

apply the KISS approach to five areas: classroom routines and

procedures, of course, student behavior and classroom culture,

student needs, teacher workload, and motivation. So let's dive in.

procedures. This is the stuff that either makes your day run

smoothly or makes you feel like you're herding cats from bell to

bell.

And what worked in September might not be working

now, because the kids have gotten comfortable, they have

you totally figured out by now, and they know which procedures

you'll actually enforce and which ones you will probably let

slide.

Oh, they absolutely know.

Stinkers. So let's start with the first question, what

should you keep? What's actually working?

Think about the routines that feel smooth, the ones that

you don't even have to think about anymore, because they just

happen.

For me, my morning meeting routine was always

really solid. That was the one thing that I would not

compromise on, even on the craziest days, because I could

feel the difference in my classroom when we didn't do it.

In your classroom, it might be something really small,

like how you dismiss kids to line up, maybe you've started

calling kids by table instead of all at once, and it's made

lining up so much quicker.

So that's why we want to start by looking at what's going

well. If something's working, you want to protect it. Name it,

so you don't overlook it, and make sure that you keep doing

it.

The second question for procedures is what needs to

improve? What's kind of working, but feels clunky?

This is the stuff that you're spending way too much

mental energy managing. So like, maybe your kids are working

great during center time, but rotating between them is bedlam,

or your end of day routine technically exists, but it's 10

minutes of you shouting over backpacks flying everywhere,

while the kids ask you the same 17 questions.

Yeah, I've been there, and probably some of you are

there too. The structure is there. It just needs tightening

up. And honestly, this really is the easiest category to fix,

because you aren't starting from scratch, you're just smoothing

out the rough edges.

And once you have this list of procedures to improve,

schedule time to tell, try tally, talk those bad boys. If

you set up slides at the beginning of the year, kudos to

you, because you can bust them out now. Anytime is a good time

for reteaching.

Okay, our third question, what should you stop? No, don't

get too in your head about this, you are allowed to stop doing

things that aren't working.

If you have an elaborate folder system for turning in

work that kids just aren't maintaining, maybe it's time to

switch to a simple inbox.

Knowing what to stop can feel tricky, because once you

have gone to all of the work to set up something, you kind of

feel obligated to keep with it. But consider what you gain by

letting it go.

Yeah, if something isn't serving you or your kids, just

you can stop. We're giving you permission because you tried it,

it didn't stick, and that's fine.

Yeah, that's not failure, it's feedback. Use it to make

your next step more strategic.

Oh, I love that. That's so good. It's not failure, it's

feedback.

Thank you very much. I said that on threads the other

day, and it got like 1000 likes, so I figured I should try it on

the podcast.

Oh my gosh. Your thread's famous. This is your new

tagline. You gotta trademark it.

Yeah, you can basically call me an influencer now.

I will. Okay, moving on. Fourth question for procedures,

what do you want to start? This is your chance to add something

intentional. It might be as simple as greeting kids at the

door every morning.

Or maybe you want to start a Friday afternoon reset.

Ten minutes, where everyone cleans their space, organizes

materials, so you start Monday morning ready to go.

The key is to keep it small. One new routine that

you'll actually follow through on is better than five new

routines that will fizzle out in two weeks.

So think about your routines and procedures. Think

about what you want to keep, improve, stop, and start to make

your days run smoother.

Alright. The next area is student behavior and classroom

culture. And by now, you know your class. You know the vibe,

you know which kids are going to be pushing boundaries, which

ones disappear into the background, and whether your

classroom feels the way you want it to feel.

So let's think through those same four questions.

First, what should you keep? What's working when it comes to

how your class functions? Maybe you have built a culture where

kids feel safe taking risks, or you're helping kids learn how to

cooperate when working as a group.

Whatever is working with your classroom culture, protect

it, and then consider what needs to improve. Where are the

hotspots that could use a tweak? This might be the way your

students treat each other. Maybe they're respectful to you, but

you've noticed a few sarcastic comments creeping in when they

talk to each other.

Or maybe they're willing to try things, but they give up

the second it gets hard. Those are things that you can improve

without starting over. It's about being more intentional

with what you're already doing.

And then comes the hard question, what should you stop?

And this one you may not want to admit.

Yeah, sometimes we're doing things that we think are

helping, but they're actually making behavior worse.

Yeah, like, maybe you're giving too many warnings. This

is such a problem for me, I would give a warning, then

another warning, then a final warning, and kids learned real

fast that they had at least three chances before anything

happened.

Well, what did you do instead?

Well, you just have to get clear, right? So this is the

expectation, if you choose not to meet it, here's the

consequence. And then I had to follow through with it the first

time. Once the kids could trust that I meant what I said, then

things turned around.

In your classroom, maybe it's a reward system that has

turned into a negotiation every day. Kids are asking what they

get for doing what they are supposed to be doing anyway. If

something's creating more problems than it's solving, you

are allowed to stop doing it.

And finally, what do we want to start? What's one thing

you could add? Maybe you want to start doing class meetings once

a week, or positive phone calls home, or maybe you want to be

more intentional about celebrating positive behavior,

like I noticed you helped her pick up those pencils without

being asked. That's the kind of community we're building here.

It may feel like small stuff, but it's the small stuff

that shifts your culture.

Okay, let's take a look at our third area, student needs

and differentiation. In September, you're still getting

to know everyone, but now you know exactly who's struggling.

You know who's coasting, you know who needs a nudge, and who

needs some hand holding.

So let's take a look at what you should keep. What's

working when it comes to meeting student needs? Maybe your small

group instruction is solid. You've got your groups, you've

got your rhythm, and you're seeing your kids make progress.

Or maybe you've been good about checking in with certain

students, and you can tell it's making a difference. Those 30

second conversations at the start of the day are helping

your students feel seen.

Whatever's working, keep doing it, because

differentiation is exhausting, and when you find something

that's actually helping, you don't want to mess with it.

The second question is, what needs to improve? Maybe

when you poll small groups, the rest of the class loses it, or

your groups haven't changed since September, and some kids

have outgrown them.

This can be such a challenge to stay on top of, I

would set my groups in week three, and then get to December

and realize that I hadn't moved anyone. But as you know, kids

change, and what they needed in September is not what they need

right now.

Right, exactly. So improving might just mean

looking at your current data and asking, do these groups still

make sense? Also consider where you're seeing students slip

through the cracks.

Now there are likely issues, maybe even a lot of

issues, with your students that you are not equipped to handle

on your own. Consider if you need to reach out to your

special ed teachers for advice.

Okay, our third question, what should you stop? And with

differentiation, this might be the most important question.

It's really easy to feel like you need to take on too

much when it comes to differentiation. You likely

don't need to make three versions of everything. Modify

the assignment for kids who really need it, but for most

kids, you can likely differentiate how you support

them during the actual work time.

Yeah, which is way more sustainable.

And, honestly, probably more effective.

Also stop expecting yourself to fix everything at

once. Use your data to identify holes in basic understanding,

whether that's number sense, phonics skills or other areas,

and prioritize building understanding one skill at a

time.

And then let's think about what to start. What is one

thing you could do that would better meet your students'

needs?

Maybe you've been meaning to start progress monitoring

more consistently, that's a hard one to keep up with, so that you

actually know if what you're doing is working, or maybe you

want to start regrouping based on current data, instead of

sticking with your September groups.

But this could be even simpler, like doing more

formative assessments, like exit tickets, no stakes quizzes or

self assessments, so that you're catching students before they

fall too far behind.

Yeah, and the key is to be strategic, put in the effort

where it can do the most good and let the rest go.

Okay, let's look at the biggie, teacher workload and

energy, because none of the other stuff matters if you are

completely burned out.

Yeah, by early November, you are tired. You've been going

so hard since August, the newness has worn off, and if

you're not careful, you're going to white knuckle your way

through the next seven months, and we do not want that for you.

No. So let's think about what's worth preserving. What

should you keep? What's actually making your life easier?

Maybe you've been good about leaving school by a

certain time most days, and you can tell it's helping you show

up better the next morning.

If that is you, please keep that boundary. Don't let it

slide just because you feel guilty. Heading home at a decent

hour is really one of the best things you can do for your

students.

Or maybe you simplified your grading. You're not putting

a score on every single paper anymore, or you're not grading

every question on every page. Shifting how much you grade can

free up hours, and it's not hurting your kids learning.

And then it's time for improve. Which parts of your

week feel most stressful, and what small change could lighten

that load?

Maybe you're trying to create everything from scratch

and it's taking forever. You can improve that by finding a

curriculum or buying resources that do some of the work for

you, like maybe from a little shop called Second Story Window.

Yeah, maybe. Or maybe you need to be more intentional

about how you're using your planning time. Perhaps a block

schedule where you focus on one type of task each day of the

week would be helpful.

The third question is, what should you stop, and be

honest with yourself here. What are you doing that you don't

actually have to do?

I think with teachers, extra committees and bulletin

boards are two of the biggest culprits. If something doesn't

light you up and it doesn't improve your students learning,

let it go.

Yeah, let it go, if you can. We know there are schools

out there where the administration insists on

teachers completing worthless tasks like changing your

bulletin boards every month or posting your standards for every

lesson, and we are so sorry if you are in that boat.

I know that's so ridiculous, and unfortunately,

right, teachers just don't always get to decide what they

can and can't drop. But if a task is mandated and it does not

impact learning, do the bare minimum and call it good. It's

not like you're gonna get a raise if you go above and

beyond.

Yeah, if only, if only your beautiful bulletin board

would earn you a bonus this month.

No joke.

So here's your permission if it's draining you and not

helping anyone, stop doing it or do the bare minimum.

But also think about what you want to start. This might

sound backwards like, why would you add something when you're

already overwhelmed, but sometimes adding the right thing

makes everything else easier.

Maybe it's a Friday afternoon routine where you get

everything ready for Monday so you can actually relax the rest

of the weekend. Or maybe it's batching similar tasks, like

doing all of your planning one day, all of your copying the

next, that way you can get more done without having to work

harder.

Think about one thing you could start that would make your

week feel more manageable. And then let's look at our last

area, recentering joy and motivation.

By this point in the year, it's really easy to slip

into get it done mode. You've got units to finish, assessments

to prep parent conferences coming up. Somewhere along the

way, those little moments of joy that make teaching fun get

buried under the to do list.

Right. It is so common to think, oh, once I catch up on

grading, once I get through this unit, once the behavior settles

down, then I will make time for the stuff I like about teaching.

But the truth is, joy is not an add on.

No. Joy is the fuel for your teaching. It keeps your

classroom running. When you and your students enjoy being there,

everything else flows more smoothly.

That's why it's so helpful to use the KISS method

here too as a way to check in on classroom joy and motivation. So

let's start with Keep. What's already bringing you and your

students joy?

Maybe it's your morning meeting routine, your daily read

aloud time, or those silly Friday dance parties. Whatever

it is, celebrate it and keep it going. Those are your

classroom's bright spots, and it's worth protecting them.

Now for Improve. Ask yourself which parts of the day

feel flat or uninspired? Could a touch of creativity or student

choice bring those moments back to life? Even a small change,

like adding a class playlist or letting students vote on a brain

break, can make a big difference.

Then there's Stop. Stop waiting for things to calm down

before you start enjoying your job. There will always be more

to do, but fun and connection are what sustain both you and

your students. Make space for it now, even five minutes can shift

the tone of the day.

And then we're going to start, but we're going to start

small. What's one small joy builder that you could add this

week? It does not have to be elaborate. Try a gratitude share

at the end of the day, a two minute game, or a Friday Fun

Fact ritual. Simple ideas can create powerful moments of

connection.

So this week, take a moment to jot down one thing you

want to keep, improve, start and stop when it comes to classroom

joy. Because joy isn't something to earn once you've caught up,

it's what helps you and your students thrive right now.

If you sit down and work through one of these areas, we

And as you KISS your term one goodbye, be patient with

yourself. The goal isn't to fix everything. It's just to make

one intentional choice that helps you get through the rest

of the year with a little more sanity.

would love to hear about it. You can join the conversation in the

Teacher Approved Facebook group.

Now for our Teacher Approved Tip of the Week, where we share an

actionable tip to help you elevate what matters and

simplify the rest. And this one ties in perfectly with what

we're talking about. This week's teacher approved tip is schedule

time to revisit your procedures. Tell us about this, Heidi.

Well, since we are in the bridge between terms, this is

the perfect time to have your students reflect on and rate how

well they're meeting your expectations. The kids are

getting lazy, you are tired of reminding them about the same

things over and over, and it feels easier to just let stuff

slide.

But stop letting close enough be good enough. Hold

students accountable for meeting the standards you set. If you

tighten things up now, you're going to save yourself so much

frustration later. And we have made this so easy for you, all

you need is a list of your main procedures and our review slide

decks. Look over your list and identify which procedures are

going well and which are causing headaches, and then add one

procedure to each slide.

You don't have to cover each of your procedures unless

you've got the time, but include all of the sticky ones, and then

throw in a few procedures that actually are going smoothly.

Then you gather your students and have them rate how

well they think they're doing with each procedure. Show them

the name of the procedure, and have them hold up fingers from

one to five. Five means we have got this down, one means we are

really struggling with this.

Now, obviously you could do this purely as discussion

without our slide deck, but the slides do have a fun feature.

Once you have looked around to see how most of your students

are rating the procedure, or, you know, more likely, how you

think they should be rating the procedure, you click the slide

that many times and then that many stars appear, so students

can see right away where they need to improve.

Once you've got the ratings, talk about what needs

to change. This is so powerful, because when kids are the ones

identifying what's not working, they are much more likely to

actually fix it.

And then the hard part, you follow through. You reteach

if you need to, go back to tell, try, tally, talk like it's the

first week of school, hold them to your standard.

So take 10 minutes this week and rate your procedures

with your class and add it to your plan book for the beginning

of term three. Honestly, it's going to save you hours of

frustration in the weeks ahead.

To wrap up the show, we are sharing what we're giving

extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets your extra

credit?

I'm giving extra credit to the book If It Makes You

Happy, by Julie Olivia.

Oh no, the song's in my head again.

I'm sorry. This is like all the fall tropes that you're

looking for in one. Like, it's, it's cozy, she's like, moving to

a small town to take over her mom's Bed and Breakfast after

she passes away. And handsome dad, single dad next door, and

he's a baker, of course.

Of course, he's a baker!

And I should mention, I'm pretty sure this is set in like

September 1997 through like, through the end of the year, or

something like that. So it's like September to Christmas, and

so it's like exactly what you want this time of year. I am

100% a mood reader, and this checked all of the boxes for me.

It had all of the cute, predictable tropes, but I didn't

find it tedious. Like, sometimes you got to be careful with the

tropes. Sometimes they just get boring, because, you know, like

this, I felt like had enough to it that I was interested, and it

just was so fun and cozy. Oh, and at the beginning of the

book, she lists out a playlist of these, like 90s bangers, if

you also were alive in the 90s, listening to music that wasn't

Barney, if you're old enough for that.

Yeah, September 1997 was my freshman year of college.

Yeah, I was in junior high, so I was still I was

young. I was still young and fresh.

Just a baby.

Yes. But anyway, you can find that playlist on Spotify.

Someone has put the songs onto a playlist, so I've actually been

listening to that playlist, and it's been a really fun walk down

memory lane with The Cardigans and The Cranberries, all of it.

Yes, so good. I will say it is a wee bit spicy.

Oh, okay.

It's just got a couple spicy scenes, but they're real

spicy. So just, just keep that in mind. Because sometimes, when

you go into something cozy, you sometimes don't know what to

expect. And I was a little like, Oh, we're going cozy and spicy.

So just be prepared. Just be prepared. What are you giving

extra credit to, Heidi?

Well, I'm also giving extra credit to a book. This is

the book A Witch's Guide to Magical Inn Keeping by Sangu

Mandana, I think is how you say her name. And this is so sweet.

two, and schedule some time to review procedures with

It's, so as a teenager, Sara accidentally used up all of her

magic, resurrecting her recently deceased aunt and an unfortunate

your students.

And if you haven't subscribed yet, go ahead and do that so

rooster who happened to be in the vicinity. The rooster, such

a nice touch, I loved it so much. And now Sara is on a quest

to restore her magic while trying to manage the coziest,

rickettiest inn that you know, rains tea on Sunday afternoons.

She has to take care of a quirky but lovable cast of characters,

and, you know, maybe find love along the way. I love love loved

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, if you read

that by the same author, and this is right up there. I

thought it was so charming and so cozy. And also takes place in

the fall. So perfect mood read.

that you don't miss an episode. And if this episode was helpful,

please share it with another teacher who might need to hear

it.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm Heidi.

And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow

or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an

episode.

You can connect with us and other teachers in the

Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.

Bye, for now.

Bye.