Classroom Management More Articles of Interest CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT TIPS Differentiated Instruction, Flexibility Make Multi-Age Classes Work Multi-grade classes sound like a lot of work for teachers. But by regularly assessing students, differentiating instruction, and using flexible groupings, the experience can be revitalizing for a teacher. Included: Tips for planning lessons in multi-grade classes. Goal Setting Made Easy Teaching students how to set goals is easy with Goal Setting 101, a 3-part article that describes the process, and the Goal Tracker booklet, a student journal for recording goals and focusing on action steps. Tools for Teaching Supplies Specifics for PBIS and RtI The objective of Tools for Teaching for the past 40 years has been to develop specific classroom management procedures that prevent both discipline and instruction problems.
Maintaining Classroom Discipline Promoting Good Methods of Classroom Discipline Helping students to govern their own behavior in ways that help them learn is a longstanding goal of all teachers. There are a number of ways that a teacher can promote good discipline in the classroom. Know school guidelines for discipline procedures. Be fair, positive and consistent. Provide a list of standards and consequences to parents and students. Keep your classroom orderly. Get to know your students. Let the students know you care. Treat students with the same respect you expect from them; keep confidences. Learn the meaning of terms, especially slang, used by students. Begin class on time and in a professional manner. Make learning fun. Praise good work, good responses and good behavior. Don’t threaten or use sarcasm. Avoid arguing with students. Be mobile, moving around the room as students work or respond to instruction. Keep your voice at a normal level. Grade assignments and return them as soon as possible. Keep rules simple.
Top Proven Classroom Management Tips » Elementary Education Degree Teaching is tough job, no doubt about it. And working with young children can be a little overwhelming at times, especially when class sizes are large. But many seasoned educators have a sixth sense when it comes to classroom management—what works and what doesn’t—and thankfully, many of their strategies are available on the web and in print to help other teachers achieve the same success. Tip #1: Establish classroom rules immediately and enforce them consistently. Establish rules on the first day of class, and always follow through on the specified rewards for achievement and consequences for misbehavior. Tip #2: Set logical rules and consequences. Keep the goal of learning in mind and make sure students know why the rules are what they are: “We walk instead of running in the hallway because we want to make sure that everyone is safe.” Tip #3: Use positive instead of negative language. “Be prepared” instead of “Don’t forget your pencil.” Not all students learn at the same pace. [tsl]
Team-Building Games and Activities for the Classroom Looking for great ways to help students learn to work together, listen carefully, communicate clearly, and think creatively? Try some of these awesome team-building activities for kids. They’re a super way to give your students the chance to get to know one another, build trust as a community, and, best of all, have fun! 1. Seeing Spots For this activity, you’ll place a colored sticker dot (blue, red, green, or yellow) on each student’s forehead without them knowing what color it is. 2. Looking for team-building activities for kindergarten kids? 3. Divide students into groups of four and have them sit together in these small groups. 4. There are quite a few team-building activities for kids that use Hula-Hoops. 5. This classic outdoor activity is double the fun of the traditional tug-of-war. 6. This fun game is a lot like the game show Password. Flash images one at a time on the screen behind the people in the hot seat. 7. 8. 9. 10. This hopping game will crack your students up. 11. 12.
Bringing Classroom Rules to Life School rules. The mere mention of these words can elicit heavy sighs and moans from children and adults alike. Rules order us around. Rules constrict us. “No running, no hitting, no pushing, no cutting in line, don’t interrupt . . .” As one young child put it, “You want to do something and the teacher just comes along and says you can’t!” But it doesn’t have to be this way. Early in the year, students and their teacher articulate hopes and dreams for the school year. The resulting classroom rules take on a radically different feel for students: These are our rules. Once the rules are created, teachers help students practice the rules. Of these three components—creating the rules, practicing the rules, and responding to rule breaking—the most often overlooked in the busy life of the classroom is practicing the rules. If we want children to get better at piano, what do we tell them? The importance of practice Two key ways for students to practice the rules are modeling and role-playing. Mr.
Getting to Know Each Other Getting to know your students at the beginning of the year is crucial in establishing a strong teacher-student rapport. Take five to ten minutes several times during the first two weeks to engage students in activities that help them get to know each other. These activities also provide ways to practice active listening, expressing feelings, and cooperation. What Do We Have in Common? What Is Classroom Management? A Guide for Newbie and Veteran Teachers There are some topics that are so broad, so overwhelming that it’s hard to know where to begin. For teachers, classroom management can be one of those topics. It is a critical skill; some say it’s more important than content knowledge. And yet, there is no single method or protocol to follow to ensure success. So what’s a new teacher, or a teacher returning to the classroom after many years away, to do? What is classroom management? Simply put, classroom management refers to the wide variety of skills and techniques that teachers use to ensure that their classroom runs smoothly, without disruptive behavior from students. This can look different depending on which subject and age group you teach, how many students you have, and most importantly, your core personality. Of course, the ultimate goal for any teacher is an academically productive classroom with focused, attentive, and on-task students. The bottom line is this: Effective classroom management is an absolute must.
Listening to Students Last week, my son's third grade teacher sent home what at first glance looked like a long homework assignment -- three sets of survey questions with many lines for his responses. After reading the directions, we learned that I was to ask him the questions and transcribe his responses. Each night we settled down for what turned into a thoughtful, reflective conversation about my child: his reading preferences, learning style, interests, likes and dislikes, fears and hopes. I thought I knew my kid, but I was surprised by some of his responses -- "What distracts you more -- sound or movement?" one question asked. "Movement, definitely," my son said. "What's one thing you're afraid of?" This was the best homework assignment my kid has ever received, at least from my perspective (and I've generally been an advocate of abolishing homework. Beginning of the Year Surveys I also knew that by asking these questions I was building a relationship with my students.
22 Top Tips for Better Classroom Management Classroom management can be a challenge. In this post, I’ll share twenty-two of my top tips and ideas that have helped me have an awesome classroom. While I won’t claim to ever be perfect, I have learned so much over the last seventeen years. If this post helps some of you avoid the mistakes I learned early on, then it will accomplish its purpose! Classroom Management Tip #1: Build a Partnership With Your Students It’s true that you must relate before you can educate. How To Start The School Year By Building Relationships Lesson Plan Idea: For example, I kick off the year in “Masterpiece Theater” (the name of my classroom) by having students create a masterpiece in Play-Doh representing something that’s essential to the masterpiece of their life. The objective of this “The Masterpiece is You” assignment is actually fourfold: I copied this idea from a former student of mine who later taught my son. Classroom Management Tip #2: A chart I show that explains the workflow in one of my classes.
How To Build Effortless Rapport With Students Because it’s one of the most effective and most powerful ways to influence behavior, having a natural, trusting rapport with your students is crucial. Rapport provides the good vibrations between you and your class that makes your classroom management plan matter. It gives your plan its teeth, infusing it with meaning and muscle and dissuading students from ever wanting to disappoint you by breaking its contract. The simple truth is that the better rapport you have with your students, the easier classroom management becomes. The key question, of course, is how? Playing catch at recess, eating lunch with small groups, joining in a PE game . . . these activities can indeed strengthen your ties. But building genuine, behavior-influencing rapport, the kind that fills your students with a deep desire to fulfill your vision of a dream classroom, is less about what you do proactively and more about what you don’t do. Rapport is nothing more than the positive feelings students have about you.
20 Classroom Management Strategies Paper airplanes fly across the room. Students race between desks. You can’t get a word in, as they yell over you. It doesn’t have to be this dramatic, like a movie scene you’d watch in a media literacy lesson, but poor classroom management will almost assuredly elevate your stress and burnout rates. Unfortunately, 2006 research indicates that teachers overwhelmingly report lack of professional development support in improving classroom management. Available as a downloadable list to keep at your desk, below are 20 research-backed classroom management strategies and techniques. Use the ones that best appeal to your situation and teaching style. Universal classroom management strategies 1. Make a habit of demonstrating behavior you want to see, as many studies show that modeling effectively teaches students how to act in different situations. A straightforward way to model certain behaviors is holding a mock conversation with an admin, other teacher or student helper in front of the class. 2.
4 Quick Ways to Build Rapport With Students Seventy high schoolers I’ve never met are either staring at me or pretending I don’t exist. I’ve come 750 miles from my home in Kalamazoo to spend a day teaching this diverse group of at-risk freshmen and sophomores. I have just 6 hours to build rapport with them, to shift their thinking, and to help them in any way I can. Teaching a random group of students for just one day or one hour is one of the hardest aspects of public speaking. Thankfully, what I’ve learned about quickly building relationships as a speaker has helped me better connect with students in my classroom—especially reluctant and disengaged students. 1. For students who don’t like school, our first impression is already fighting a negativity bias. Shake hands with everyone. Bringing it into the classroom: Every day, every lesson, begin by building connections before getting into content. 2. Take a moment to consider whether a certain student seems more like a cat or a dog. Strategies for Dog Personalities 3. 4.