Making sure everyone is actively engaged.
 Question: How do you make sure everyone is actively listening when you're reading aloud or giving a short lecture?1) Ask comprehension questions as you go. Perhaps they are written out ahead of time on a sheet of paper, and you can have students write down answers as you get to the question. Perhaps you ask questions out loud and all students can call out the answers together. Perhaps you ask a question and draw a student's name out of a jar with popsicle sticks with all their names on it...who will get called on next, they'll wonder?2) Give them something to do during the reading or lecture. Engage aural, visual and kinesthetic elements. Have them point to follow along with the reading. Have them create a chart during the lecture.3) Have them synthesize the information following your reading or presentation. They can act out what happened. They can make an outline summarizing new information learned. 4) Direct them to important key concepts as you go. Example, "I want everyone to look at what I'm about to read to you in paragraph 2. There is an excellent example of the concept of sentence fluency in this paragraph and I want you to locate this so we can discuss it. When you think you know what I'm talking about with this paragraph, give me a thumbs up. Everyone look at the paragraph now while I read it."5) Give them reasons for why you are reading/lecturing. "We are going to be learning a very important skill today (name skill) and I'm going to give you some critical information right now to help with that. This will help in the following ways...

"Natural consequence for not doing work?  Question: What is the "natural consequence" for not doing work?I'd rather see kids positively rewarded for completing work. So the kids that complete their work in a timely manner participate in enjoyable activities, while kids who don't complete their work have to sit there and complete it!! Why not get it done so you can have the enjoyable activity??? See one of my other answers for ways to set this up or examples of "enjoyable activities."

 Repetitive misbehavior?  Question: How do you deal with repetitive disruptive behavior? i.e. you have talked with the student, decided on consequences together, and it is understood amongst parties the behavior is not acceptable but it keeps happening. Regroup with the student. "This consequence is not motivating you to stop your behavior. What can we do about that?" Ask other teachers for suggestions. Partner with parents or other teachers. Get creative. Remember the principle: kids hate boredom. Use a behavior plan. Find something the kid really likes or is good at. Perhaps use this as positive reinforcement instead of applying a negative consequence.

Kids who don't calm down until teacher threatens them?  Question: My kids don't calm down until my CT threatens to take lunch minutes away from them. Always start with instruction...is the instruction engaging/well-paced enough to hold the kids' attention? Are the classroom expectations clear?If so, then don't threaten. Just apply a consequence. The FIRST time!! Threatening to do something can be effective sometimes, but often if kids learn that there is a consequence the first time they do something, they will be less likely to do it. If your classroom has fallen into a bad pattern, regroup with the kids. Have a little class convo. "Kids, our classroom is not running as efficiently as it needs to. Here is the problem I see (name problem.) Let's brainstorm some solutions to this. What could I do to help us stay on track? What type of consequence would be effective for you?" Let the kids talk and then tell them you'll think it over and let them know the new plan.

Students who say NO!  Questions: What to do when a student says NO and refuses to do anything? What to do when a student won't do what is asked--won't talk about an issue, come out in the hall, go to a principal, etc.? What if a student refuses to listen, just runs around?A few things I have learned: If you have a student who is refusing to leave the room and needs to for his own safety or the safety and learning of others, one successful strategy I have tried is to take the student gently by the hand. Often if a student is participating in this kind of behavior, they are in desperate need of positive contact, and this simple act of kindness can be disarming. I might lead the student by the hand kindly (without any kind of anger!) to a place to calm down, or outside the door to the hall. I never grab the kid's hand, just gently hold, and then usually you can feel them grip your hand slightly, and then can lead them where you need to. In some cases you may need to call for adult back up, and just be sure you know the protocol at your school for who to call and when. In several schools where I taught, several of the teachers in classrooms next to mine all partnered up. (Kids were not worried about getting sent to the principal, it was kind of "fun" to go there.) So we used each other's classrooms as "time out" areas for misbehaving students. For example, if I had a kid who was refusing to do work, I'd tell him that I had a class of kids who did want to do work, and that he could go stand in Mr. Sievert's room across the hall for a while. Let's just say that standing in the back of Mr. Sievert's room (where the older kids looked at him/her with looks of disdain) while he stood there feeling foolish was a big deterrent. The teacher across the hall often sent her students over to my classroom to sit and complete an assignment while she took the rest of her class out to recess. Partnering with other teachers definitely helps. We made sure to ensure that any kids our fellow teachers sent over had a fairly unenjoyable experience in our classroom. I also mentioned in class: when a student won't "talk about" an issue, perhaps get them engaged in some sort of activity (helping you clean the blackboard) and talk about something else for a while, then go back to the other topic.

 Hallway behavior  Question: Is walking silent/straight realistic?Depends on the school culture and the reasoning. Will you be passing other classrooms where students are working? Then it needs to be quiet. Will other classes be passing us in the hall, then it needs to be orderly, if not perfectly straight. I, personally, am opposed to militaristic hall behavior (I have been in schools where students must walk perfectly straight, in lock-step, no other movement.) The reasons this was done was to prevent any hallway mishaps or fights, but I believed that students could be quiet and orderly and still have a little fun. Sometimes I would sign them words using letters and see if they could get my "message" by the time we got to our destination. Sometimes we would tippy-toe in rhythm with some song we had learned (silently, singing in our minds:) If a student swings her lunch bag while walking, I am ok with that. (if it doesn't hit others!) The important thing is to teach students what you expect and come up with a plan if that doesn't happen.

Energetic and Wiggly kids  Question: What do you do to keep the really energetic and wiggly kids from distracting themselves and others? How do you tap into their energy and draw them in?First of all, it starts with your instruction. Your instructing has to be so engaging, well-paced and cohesive that there is no room for distraction. The first question is always, "where can my own instruction become tighter?" Watch other master teachers who can model this for you. If every kid is feeling successful, they won't need to be "distracted." Also be sure that you allow for outlets for those wiggly kids. We had these foam wiggly seats that kids could sit on, for example. I had a reading corner with rug and couch (and big bookshelf of books) where kids could move from their desks when they had completed tasks. I also had a stack of carpet squares that kids could use at times for reading on the floor, or working around the room. Ask, do kids really NEED to do this at their desks, or can I let them move to a different location? Also, break up the activities in the classroom. Take wiggle breaks. Dance or sing. Also realize that it is NOT unreasonable for kids to sit still and complete an assignment quietly (provided you give them ample opportunity throughout the day to move.) To motivate students to do this, I will sometimes give task-oriented rewards. For example, "I can tell you guys are a little stir-crazy today. How about this? If you work with me to complete this assignment, I'll allow you to do...-whatever teacher wants- as soon as you are done." I have allowed students to go to the gym to play ball (with supervision), play a classroom board game, get out my box of dress up clothes and puppets and make up a play in the hall, get out the box of fun art supplies and make a "project," go down and read to a 1st grader, go outside and play (with supervision, perhaps partner with another teacher). Boy is it motivating to a student to see other students get immediate rewards for completing an assignment efficiently and completely (I always check and make sure they didn't just slop something down.) You better believe that the next time you tell them they get to do X as soon as they complete an assignment, they will be on it.

Working in a team with teachers who have different management philosophies  Question: If I am working in a team-teaching situation where teachers have clashing ideas of how to manage the classroom, how do you compromise/discuss/decide the best way w/o giving up your values, but still respecting theirs?In my experience, just agree on different roles that you will play in the classroom. If one person lead teaches, then the other assists students complete what the teacher is teaching them. Perhaps you take turns leading on different days. Perhaps you each always lead certain tasks. I once worked with two different people, one who taught violin with me, the other who taught choir with me (both after-school programs.) The other choir teacher had a real warmth and enthusiasm about her. While I was teaching the songs, she was participating with the students, encouraging them, helping them get motivated. She was just so excited and passionate that it was contagious. I was more of the "disciplinarian". My other friend who taught violin with me was more organized and efficient. She got all the students in the door, in their seats, got their violins out and made sure they knew the plan for the day. She kept them all on track as the lesson went along. I didn't have to do any "discipline," I just provided the musical instruction.If one of you likes a more organized, "strict" classroom, perhaps you can decide whose philosophy to follow with the children. It is fine to sit down with another teacher and discuss this! For example, "it drives me absolutely crazy when students don't put the markers and scissors back in this certain order. Is it ok if I have them do it this way when we work together?" Etc. Then the other teacher can let you know how they would like to do things. I've learned so many things from working with other teachers, who were both "stricter" and "less strict" than me, and I was able to gain from that, and find ways to adjust my own teaching as well. Bottom line is, build relationships with the other teachers (you want to model what you teach the students, which is that it is important to work with and compromise with others.) If you are having a moral conflict with a teacher you are working with (the teacher belittles students verbally, or something like that), it is important to first say something to that teacher and let him/her know that you disagree. Then, you should follow up on that if it continues (your moral responsibility). Bring in a teacher-leader to observe or ask for advice from a more experienced teacher in the school.

Problems with Group work/ students not "liking" each other  Question: What to do if students refuse to help their fellow group members/ rely on one person to do all of the work? Even if I assign people/members to specific tasks, they still will not cooperate. Related question: How to get students engaged in classwork when they are spending so much time fighting/arguing and telling on others. Example: No I won't sit by him. He keeps bothering me.My personal opinion/philosophy on this is that I don't accept that students can't get along. I don't allow students to switch groups if they "can't work with someone." I'll be sure to give lots of support and help them figure out how to get along. That being said, I'll be sure not to have kids always working in the same groups with the same people, and sometimes allow them to choose their own groups. My reasons for this (that I share with the students) are that they will have to work with many people during their lives and they need to figure out strategies to make this enjoyable. Also, it destroys our "team" atmosphere if there are team members that can't stand each other. See my first post for ideas on a first-day group activity that can be used to teach students how to work together in groups. I'm always sure to emphasize that it is far more important how they treat each other and work together than worrying about the end product (the end product is always better when they cooperate). I also help students focus on the positive attributes of other classmates. One way I like to do this is to have everyone take a piece of paper, put their name in the middle with a circle around it. They then pass the paper to the person next to them and everyone creates a web where they write positive attributes that they appreciate about that person (paper continues to get passed around.) Students then get to keep their papers (usually staple in the front of their journals.) (Note: be sure to monitor this activity closely for "spoilers". Watch for kids who write negative stuff.) This builds the positive climate. Another activity I've used to help kids become good group-mates is to partner with a younger grade. I did this with my 4th graders and the 1st grade classroom at one of my schools. I arranged it with the teacher that we would be book buddies with her classroom. We started off by pairing each 4th grader with a 1st grader. The first grader picked a book to read to the 4th grader and vice versa. They got the same partner for a few weeks and then switched. I reinforced with my students that they were good examples for the younger students, and that they should help the student learn to read, but more importantly be a good friend to that student. When we debriefed as a class after these sessions, my students LOVED it, but sometimes said things like "I couldn't get my first grader to do..." whatever. We were able to talk about how frustrating it can be when one member of a team doesn't do their work. After a while with book buddies, we expanded to doing small projects with the first grade. I put them in groups of 4 (two 4th, two 1st.) I taught my students how to make the craft (something cheesy from Oriental Trading magazine) and then they taught their 1st graders how to make the craft. Again, I emphasized for them that the point was to have fun and enjoy being with their group mates, it did not matter if the 1st grader made a perfect product. Afterwards we debriefed about how much fun the 1st graders (and 4th graders) had, and how good that felt to help them. It became such a nice relationship that we often sat with them at lunch, made cards for them, and even had "field day" with them on the last day of school where we planned activities that we could all do together, complete with water balloons, watermelon and a rubber chicken toss. What could be better? Anyway, this relationship really helped my students learn the importance of building relationships and being nice to each other, regardless of what the task. Group work in our own classroom went much smoother. Even still, we did have problems. The bossy student, and the student who won't do anything (although the student who won't do anything became much less frequent as the year went on.) The consequence was the same, just removed for a time from the group. When they were ready to come back and agree to participate appropriately, they could. I made sure they could still watch/listen to what the group was doing so they wouldn't be behind when they rejoined. The key to this is that the students realized that it is more fun to work in a group than to do it all by yourself. (This is where working with the 1st graders helped.) I also encouraged cooperative learning on individual tasks. If students were working on a math worksheet for example, I'd give them the choice of completing it on their own, completing it with a partner, or working on it with me in a "focus group." Sometimes I'd have students that had certain gifts with certain subjects become an "expert" and help others when they were done with their work. (This works if you have a classroom climate where everyone is an expert in something.) So in math, perhaps one student always finishes early and would enjoy helping others. I always work with this student first to make sure that he/she is skilled in "helping" without just giving the answers--goal being to teach, not do the work for them.I've also had to trouble shoot with kids who have special trouble working in groups. Once I had this kid who was always offended because he felt his group members never wanted any of his suggestions. He got upset, quit working, and left the group. I worked with him to help him realize that his group couldn't always take every one of his suggestions, and offered him a place to "cool down" and think about it when that happened, then he could return to group. Next day, I went to check on his group, he was AWOL. His group members said, we can't figure it out...he keeps going over by your desk, then coming back! Sure enough he was over by my desk, deep breathing and counting to ten. I about died, but he was trying a strategy! So, bottom line is: scaffold group work for students to be successful (start with easy group tasks where students focus on being nice/working together first.) Teach specific group work skills to the students (explaining, listening, compromising, sharing tasks, encouraging those who don't want to participate, etc.) Carefully instruct students before beginning group work, so they know exactly what they are supposed to do for better success.

First Day of School  Hi everyone, I'm going to post some answers to questions that you have emailed me after class today, and also some questions that I didn't get to in class. Question: How to establish authority as the teacher on the first day of school?
First, have a plan for EVERYTHING on the first day. Check out the book called
Elementary Classroom Management for all the things to think about.
Usually on the first day, I want several things to happen:
1) The first thing I do is to have a "meeting" with the students where
I introduce myself and tell them what my ideas are for the school year,
and ask them theirs. I sometimes use the picture book "Thank You Mr.
Falker" to start off discussion and I ask the students to talk about
how the girl in the story feels and how we can prevent that in the
classroom. Then I present my "rules" which are a little different than
traditional rules. I want the students to see us all as a team right
away. (I'll attach those "rules"). I also let them know what my
consequences will be. 2) Then we get started with the business of
school! I want students to get familiar with how the classroom
operates. We'll label folders for each class (all same colors for
everybody, for example, all math goes in the yellow folder. For
everybody!), choose class jobs, and then get to work!
3) Students get a positive experience with school. This means we do
academic lessons right away, and I make them engaging and successful. I
walk them through each step. The first time I give directions I let
them know exactly what my expectations are. (Getting materials out
quickly, following along during instructional time, raising hands when
appropriate). We go slowly and complete each task before starting a new
one. If I want to use any type of system (such as that in Tools for
Teaching), I make sure that we save time for this. At the end of the
day, we celebrate the first day of school. 4) At some point during the
day, I also want students to get to know each other. Usually I do this
in coordination with an activity that the students complete in small
groups. (This also helps me to teach them to work in small groups.) I
usually make this an activity that is fun, and I let them know my
requirements for group work--everyone gets to participate, everyone is
polite to each other, everyone has fun. For example, one year, I had
read the students a picture book and I had them work in groups to
create a collage that represented aspects of their personalities that
related to ideas in the book. I talk with them about what to do if
someone gives an idea for the group that you disagree with (sometimes
we need to compromise), etc. and sometimes I will model the activity
with a small group first. I help them think up phrases that help
include all members of their group, such as "what do you think?" "Do
you have any ideas?" "That's a great idea, let's think up some more!" I
tell them that for this activity, I won't be assessing them on their
final product, but on how well they work together and how inclusive
they are. During the activity, I circulate and point out positive
behaviors that I see. Afterwards, we debrief, and talk about how it
feels to be included. I also let them know that any bossy, dominating
behavior won't be allowed, and that if they can't "be nice" they'll
have to take a little time out to collect themselves. (Usually, I just
make them move their chair a few feet away, so they can still see what
the group is doing, but they just can't participate. Then I let them
move back after a few minutes.) 5) Another thing that I like to do this
first day and also on any regular days is to ask students who in the
class was especially nice or helpful to them that day. Sometimes the
students will share things about their classmates that I didn't witness
or notice (Joe helped me with my math today. I was feeling discouraged,
and he told me I could do it and gave me some tips.) It gives us a
chance to celebrate those students who are building a positive climate
in the classroom.
6) FINALLY: WATCH for the first time a student tests the boundaries of
the limits you have set up. It will most likely happen on the first
day, but may hold off until the second day. That is KEY, because if you
don't follow through and deal with the misbehavior calmly and in the
way you described to the students, they will ALL immediately think
"she/he didn't mean what they said. I wonder what else they didn't
mean. Let's test!" You can even debrief with the students after this
first misbehavior. If it is minor, I might even say, "Students, you
just saw Joe line up in a way that was inappropriate. Does anybody
remember what I said would happen?" "Yes, teacher, you said he would
get a warning." "Right. So Joe, here is your warning. Does anybody
remember what will happen if Joe chooses to do it again, which I'm sure
he won't?" etc. This will help you establish leadership more than
anything else. It also shows students that you can be trusted, and that
you are consistent.Hope
this helps!
P.S. Here is the text of a sample letter I sent out on the first day of
school one year. It was written for when I worked at a Christian
school, but could be easily tailored for public school. August 24, 2004
Dear Parents,
Welcome to a brand new year at Hope! Ms. Lake and I are looking to a
year full of learning and new friends. I will keep you informed of
classroom happenings as well as your child's individual progress. I
will make every effort to meet the individual needs of your child. You
are your child's first and best teacher, and I highly value any
insights you can give me about your child. Please feel free to call me
at school and make an appointment if you feel your child's needs are
not being met and you have any suggestions or would simply like to
brainstorm with me. I am looking forward to beginning my 8th year of
teaching. I am originally from Appleton, Wisconsin, where I studied at
Lawrence University and received my teaching certificate. I taught for
6 years in Denver, Colorado, and last year, taught music and 4th grade
here at Hope. In my free time, I enjoy reading, skiing, sewing, hiking,
and spending time with my family. Ms. Lake will be my full time
educational assistant this year. She is a student at MATC, and is
interested in and active with many political campaigns in the area.
Here are some things you can expect in 4th grade this year:
MONDAY FOLDERS: On the first day of the week, I will send home a folder
with graded student work, a letter from me and the homework packet for
the week. Please look through the contents every Monday and sign the
sheet in the folder to return to me. The sign in sheet also has a place
to write me a note, and for you to write back. Please use this to
communicate regarding any aspect of your child's schooling.
HOMEWORK: Students will have homework every Monday-Thursday that we
have school. I will send home the work on the first day of every week
and students will bring each assignment back as it is due.
Monday=Reading, Tuesday=Math, Wednesday=Word of God, Thursday=Memory
Work. If a student does not turn in the assignment on the day it is
due, they will be required to miss their recess and make up the work.
Please monitor your child's homework as needed. DISCIPLINE: Students
are expected to comply with all school rules in the classroom. In
class, I expect students to pay attention to instruction, complete work
as instructed and to assist their fellow students by mutual
encouragement. In class consequences for poor choices in behavior will
consist of a verbal warning first, missing recess and writing regarding
any poor choices made next. If misbehavior continues, students will be
given a weekly behavior plan to be signed by a parent and school
consenquences will be used. Sincerely,
Ms. Ruth Balza