Dear Classroom Colleagues,
Although I originally wrote this post in August 2014, I find these teaching tips never go out of style. These slightly revised Six Teaching Tips will always offer teachers a workday life that is more calm than chaotic. Personally, they head my Classroom Management repertoire because they stop off-task and behavioral brushfires from turning into forest fires.
Teaching
Tip #1
Stop
the Chattering
When a few students are disrupting the lesson with repeated
chatting, giggling and other verbal interruptions simply stop talking. Stand or sit
quietly and just stare at the class with blank look. In a few seconds you’ll hear a few students
go, “Shh,” while others nudge each other. Within a minute, the class will be
quiet. Do not address the talking issue
at all; just continue from the point where you stopped. Before long the students will catch on to
this method, and will quiet down more quickly.
Teaching
Tip #2
Guess
Who’s Tardy?
Place a small table by the door with spiral note book. Tie a
string around a pen and attach it to the spirals. On the top of the page, write
the Day of the Week and the Date. Below that write, “If I have to
remind you to sign in when you are tardy, you will stay after the period dismissal
bell for 30-seconds.”
Next, make two columns.
The left one should be titled: NAME,
and the right one should be: TIME. On the first day of school, explain to the
students that if they are tardy, they must sign in with their name and the time
that they came to class BEFORE they
sit down. You will have to remind them a few times until this becomes a habit
for them. If a student tries to slip past the table without signing in just say, “Sign in,” and continue with your
teaching. Remember to keep this student
after class since you had to interrupt the lesson to remind him/her to sign
in. This gives you a list, in the
students’ handwriting, to keep in your Attendance Folder. It comes in handy in
parent/student/administrator/teacher conferences.
Teaching
Tip #3
Organize
With Colored Files
This idea saved my sanity and insured
that I took home the right folders every time that I had papers to grade.
- Choose two file
folders for each period, both the same color. Each period should be a different
color. Example: Period 1-Red, Period 2-
Green, etc.
- Label both
folders of the same color with the Period Number and Course Name. Example Period 1/English 12; Period 2/
Journalism
- Working with the two
folders of the same color, designate one as WORK DUE; label the other GRADED
WORK.
- Choose a place
close to your desk to line up the WORK DUE folders.
- You want these near to your
desk so you can keep an eye on them. If you have a plastic file tray for each
folder, this really helps keep the work organized.
- Place ONE folder in each
tray. Explain to the
students, that the day work is due, each one of them must place his/her work in
the proper class folder. Clarify that they are never to hand in their work to you.
- On your desk, place
a vertical plastic file organizer with the same number of spaces as you have
classes. Place a GRADED WORK folder in each slot.
- When you have work
to grade for a class, pick up the folder for that period and grade the
assignments, tests, etc.
- After you have
graded the papers, place them into the coordinating colored folder labeled
GRADED WORK on your desk, and place the empty WORK DUE folder back in its tray.
- This colored
folder system makes it easy for you to grab the correct WORK DUE folder
quickly. When it is time to hand back
the graded papers, you will have the folder in plain sight on your desk. If
someone was absent the day you passed back the work, you will know right where to
find this person’s papers.
- This method saves you time, and guarantees that the
correct papers are in the proper class folder.
- Another plus- this method puts the responsibility for
turning in assignments on the students-where it should be.
Teaching
Tip #4
Students
are Responsible for their DUE WORK
Teaching Tip #4 corresponds with
Teaching Tip #3. A good way to save the stress of students blaming you for
losing their assignments is to never,
ever let them hand the completed work to you. The first day of school, show
the students the colored WORK DUE folder for their class period. Explain that
the day an assignment is due, they are to place their papers in this folder.
1. If a student comes up to you at some point in the class and says, “Here’s my work,” as they shove the paper in your direction, respond by asking, “Where are you to put it?”.
If a student waves the work in your face and asks, “Where do I put this?” don’t say a word, but just point to the correct folder.
When an occasional student repeatedly asked me this, he or she was usually greeted with my raised right eyebrow silent, and “REALLY?” stare. More often than not, this solved the problem.
Although this method took an assignment or two before every student caught on to the system, before long, they all followed it without hesitation. No one wished to be the recipient of the raised eyebrow frown.
2. Make it very clear that they should NEVER try to hand the work to you.
If a student comes up to you at some
point in the class and says, “Here’s my work,” as they shove the paper in your
direction, respond by asking, “Where are you to put it?”.
If a student waves the work in your face
and asks, “Where do I put this?” don’t say a word, but just point to the
correct folder.
When an occasional student repeatedly
asked me this, he or she was usually greeted with my raised right eyebrow
silent, and “REALLY?” stare. More
often than not, this solved the problem.
Although this method took an assignment
or two before every student caught on to the system, before long, they all followed
it without hesitation. No one wished to
be the recipient of the raised eyebrow frown.
Teaching
Tip #5
Remembering
to Laugh
For this tip, I’m paraphrasing Randle McMurphy
from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, when
he expressed this thought, “Lose you laugh and lose your footing.” On any given
day in this wonderful field of education, anything from the sublime to the
ridiculous can, and probably will happen. Also, matters best described as
nonsensical, unreasonable, and/or preposterous are guaranteed to erupt on the
days you feel the least able to deal with them.
This…this is when you truly need to
remember McMurphy’s words. Stop, take a deep breath-or two-or three-, turn your
back to the class, or walk in the hall if you can, silently primal scream, and
then throw back your head, lift your shoulders and remind yourself that someday
you will laugh about this incident, and then force yourself to smile.
Believe me, this works.
Teaching
Tip #6
Be
Prepared
Plan lessons, activities and projects
for the whole first month BEFORE the First Day. Being prepared to teach allows you
to expend your time and energy on Back To School administrative duties,
planning for Parent Night and-most importantly-on getting to know your students’
academic needs, personalities and viewpoints. When students feel that they come
first, they are more willing to be engaged in becoming life-long learners.
Get this and other planning forms:https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/EBook-The-House-of-Comprehension-1557114
We teachers expend so much of our time
and energy on our students’ needs-where it should be- and on our professional
duties and responsibilities-where it is often required, that little is left for
us- and we need it the most if we are going to be the best we can be. I hope
that these Six Teaching Tips will work for you.
Thank you colleagues still leading classrooms for creating your magic by so willingly
sharing your knowledge, abilities and skills with your students and peers. Kudos to you all for creating joyful,
inspiring and safe classrooms for each and every one of your charges, especially
for those who might not experience such pleasures in their worlds.
Have a fantastic school year.
Enjoy a Teach It Now Day Every Day.
