30+ Essential Teacher Resources for Back-to-School 2021

That fresh back-to-school feeling is back, and teachers everywhere are busy prepping lessons, decorating classrooms and welcoming students back after a challenging year. 

Things might look a little different, but we’re still here to support you! Prodigy’s powerful teacher tools and actionable student data can help every student get as excited about back to school as we are. 

We put together a list of resources to help you hit the ground learning as you head back to the classroom. 

You’ll find:

• How to get your Prodigy classroom ready for students
• How to win amazing prizes when you go back to school with Prodigy
• Back to school tips and tricks
• Social emotional learning resources
• An invite to Prodigy’s exclusive Champions Club!

Get your Prodigy classroom ready for back to school

Whether you’re a Prodigy expert or logging into your teacher dashboard for the first time, it’s easy to get your students practicing lesson-aligned skills as they play. 

Read our Teacher’s Guide to Prodigy for everything you need to know to get started, or browse the resources below and level up learning in your classroom!

Get started with Prodigy

• Creating a new class list
• Managing your Prodigy classroom
• How to use your teacher dashboard
• Managing your student roster in Prodigy
• I forgot my Prodigy account password, how do I reset it?
• Log in to your Prodigy account and add students with Clever

Get students playing and start collecting data

• What’s the Placement Test, and how does it work?
• 7 ways to engage and reward students with Prodigy
• Track student progress and understanding with real-time reports
• How to invite parents to join Prodigy and support learning at home

Align Prodigy with what you’re teaching in the classroom

• Assess student knowledge with Assignments and Plans
• How to use Prodigy in your everyday teaching strategies
• How to use Prodigy as part of your station rotation set up
• How to align your classroom with Prodigy and reinforce lessons
• Understand learning gaps and prep for standardized tests with Test Prep
• How to use Prodigy to find learning gaps and pre-teach important concepts

Don’t see what you’re looking for? Check out our help center or contact our support team!

Enter Prodigy’s Back to Class Contest for a chance to win!

It’s time to hit the ground learning with Prodigy’s Back to Class Contest!

Get your new class started on Prodigy for your chance to win a $250 or $500 USD Visa Reward® gift card. To enter, all you have to do is have your students answer at least 300 questions between August 4 and October 1, 2021.

Plus, earn up to two bonus contest entries through easy actions that set you and your students up for an amazing school year! After your students answer 300 questions, all you have to do is:

1. Log in to your Prodigy teacher account at least five (5) times within the contest period
2. Create at least two (2) assessments (Assignments, Plans or Test Preps) within the contest period.

You’ll earn one extra entry for completing each!

See full contest rules here.

Back-to-school tips for teachers

As students get back to learning this year, we’ve gathered some inspo to help you create a fun, welcoming learning environment.

• First day of school activities
• Fun bulletin board ideas for every season
• Organization tips to keep your classroom tidy
• 30 virtual school activities students and teachers
• Engaging classroom games for effective learning
• Icebreakers for the first day of school (in-person or virtual!)
• Find the best teacher discounts to help you check off your back-to-school shopping list

Social emotional learning resources for back-to-school

After a topsy-turvy year, focus on social emotional skills in your classroom to equip your students with self-awareness, a growth mindset and confidence. 

• 25 social emotional learning activities for all ages
• Peekapak, a social emotional learning curriculum
• SEL resources from the University of British Columbia, along with ways to apply it in the classroom and assess the impact
• Weekly SEL webinars with CASEL, covering topics like starting the school year, equality and challenging racial injustice

How to keep students engaged in and out of the classroom

Engaged students are learning students! Keep them excited to learn with these teacher tools and tips.

• Student engagement strategies for your classroom
• 18 modern teaching strategies to use in your classroom
• Remote learning engagement tips from teachers like you
• Brain teasers that will engage, delight and maybe even stump your students! 
• Our list of essential teacher apps for classroom management, engagement and more

Join Prodigy's Champions Club!

Did you know Prodigy has a VIP community of teachers? Join today to access:

• Exclusive tournaments for your students
• The chance to complete fun challenges and earn rewards
• Printable resources, plus tips and tricks to help you use Prodigy in your classroom

We can’t wait for you to join us!

You’ve got this

As you head back to the classrooms, we hope Prodigy and these resources will help you do what you do best — inspire a love of learning in every student. 

Log in to your Prodigy teacher account to get started today!