An illustration of a hot air balloon flying over green hills with a clock tower behind and the title "60-Second Strategies" in the center.
Illustration: Katie Lukes
Teaching Strategies

60-Second Strategies for Educators

Our popular series of short videos that break down effective classroom practices for every grade level in literally one minute—all in one place. How’s that for a quick win?

July 25, 2023

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  • Social & Emotional Learning (SEL)

    Pom-Pom Jar

    Explicitly teaching and celebrating kindness is a simple yet powerful way to build a positive classroom culture.
  • Collaborative Learning

    Math Partners

    When kids explain their mathematical thinking to their peers, they learn there’s more to math than just the right answer.
  • Social & Emotional Learning (SEL)

    Shout Outs

    Nurture a positive, supportive atmosphere in your classroom with fun and fast peer shout-outs.
  • Classroom Management

    Ask 3 Before Me

    When students help each other in the classroom, they gain confidence and independence—and you get to keep on teaching.
  • Social & Emotional Learning (SEL)

    Respectful Touch

    A simple activity can help preschoolers better understand boundaries and learn to be gentle when it comes to physical contact.
  • Formative Assessment

    TAG Feedback

    This quick exercise scaffolds peer critique for elementary students.
  • Classroom Management

    Equity Sticks

    Looking for an easy way to ensure all voices are heard in your classroom? Try equity sticks.
  • Social & Emotional Learning (SEL)

    Guided Meditation

    A short contemplative exercise can help students calm themselves and get ready to learn.
  • Teaching Strategies

    Framing the Lesson

    When teachers make their teaching and learning goals clear to their class, every activity has a purpose and every student understands what they’re doing.
  • Communication Skills

    Traverse Talk

    This fun classroom activity helps students find their voice by teaching the basics of debate in an accessible way.
  • Teaching Strategies

    Daily Intentions

    By making small goal setting part of the everyday routine, teachers help students build the skills they need to achieve larger and longer-term objectives.
  • Social & Emotional Learning (SEL)

    Community Circles

    An opening and closing exercise where every student contributes is a way to ensure that they all feel seen and heard in the classroom.
  • Assessment

    Respond, Reflect, and Review

    This simple activity helps students practice giving and receiving peer feedback—and gets them out of their desks.
  • Teaching Strategies

    Jitter Sticks

    When students need to get their wiggles out so they can settle down to learn, this fun movement-based brain break does the trick.
  • Student Voice

    Participation Cards

    A quick formative assessment tool also encourages all students—even shy ones—to participate in discussions.
  • MATH

    3-Read Protocol

    Demystify math word problems with this easy technique that helps kids see the story beyond the numbers.
  • Communication Skills

    Talk Detectives

    Improve the quality of class discussions by giving young kids a checklist of key things to look for when their peers talk.
  • Teaching Strategies

    Peer Review

    When students take charge of their own feedback, they learn to work with others in the room—and not just their friends.
  • Brain-Based Learning

    3 Noses

    An active math warm-up that is inclusive and fun puts students in a positive frame of mind—and gets them ready to learn.
  • Communication Skills

    SLANT Listening

    A simple strategy encourages students to give their full attention when listening to others.
  • Collaborative Learning

    Cooperative Learning

    Giving students randomly assigned roles in their group work helps ensure that they all participate.
  • Classroom Management

    Teacher Queue

    An easy, fair way to manage multiple students' needs when they’re working independently or in groups.
  • Literacy

    7-Minute Writes

    Looking for a way to get your students writing—fast? Try a low-stakes timed exercise.
  • Assessment

    Interview Assessments

    A face-to-face chat provides an alternative for students who struggle to show what they know on tests.
  • Classroom Management

    TUMS at the Door

    An intentional greeting at the door forges a strong teacher-student bond.
  • Assessment

    Bean Critique

    A quick way to get students talking positively about their peers’ work—and thinking about how they might improve their own.
  • Student Engagement

    Participation Spinner

    This simple technique can help ease students’ anxiety about sharing out in class—and make it more fun.
  • Communication Skills

    The Hot Seat

    Providing the active listeners in the outer ring of a Socratic circle a way to jump in with their burning questions and comments keeps all students engaged.
  • Collaborative Learning

    Pass the Marker

    Getting students up on their feet and solving problems together helps build engagement—and stronger math thinkers.
  • Formative Assessment

    NAEM Tracker

    With a series of quick check-ins, students can assess their own learning—which lets teachers plan their next lesson with ease.
  • Social & Emotional Learning (SEL)

    The 'What Are You Doing?' Game

    When middle school students play an improvisation game that encourages a bit of silliness, they get more comfortable with each other and themselves.
  • Teaching Strategies

    Rapid Review

    Getting content to stick can actually be fun if you use a quick and energetic activity to review the material.
  • Communication Skills

    Fishbowl Discussion

    A discussion technique based on peer feedback helps students delve into complex texts and develop communication skills.
  • Blended Learning

    Do Now Sheets

    A basic pen-and-paper warm-up activity helps teachers see that students are on track in a self-paced blended learning classroom.
  • Communication Skills

    Double Circle

    With a simple discussion activity that gets every learner in the class speaking and listening, teachers can help students boost conversation skills—and develop their opinions.
  • Classroom Management

    Appreciation, Apology, Aha!

    A quick, low-key way to build community in your classroom on a daily basis.
  • Communication Skills

    Discussion Mapping

    Following discussions with a short reflection exercise helps students sharpen their speaking and listening skills.
  • Mental Health

    Snowball Toss

    An active, fun classroom activity fosters open dialogue while releasing pent-up energy.
  • Classroom Management

    Professional Courtesy

    For anyone who’s ever wondered, “How do I get their attention back in a 1:1 environment?”
  • Formative Assessment

    Closing The Loop

    A strategy for using a quick, whole-class reflection on content as a verbal exit ticket.
  • Professional Learning

    Stand-Up Meetings

    Having staff stand for meetings keeps them tight—15 minutes, max—and efficient.
  • Collaborative Learning

    Whiteboard Relay

    The team competition is fierce in this informal assessment activity, in which students have to work together to win.
  • Literacy

    Role Reading

    By giving each student a job to do when tackling complex text, teachers help ensure that students actually understand what they are reading.
  • Differentiated Instruction

    Heat Warm-Ups

    Differentiated levels of “heat” for these math worksheets mean every student starts class feeling both challenged and accomplished.

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