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Classroom
Management
Every
Teacher Could Probably Use a Little Help Here
(Listed Alphabetically)
A
"Nuts and Bolts" Approach to Classroom Successes
A former teacher, Dr. Jane Bluestein turned her pages
of tips for teachers about classroom management and organization into a book
and then a business. She works with educators seeking new ways to improve their
teaching and interactions.
A Safe
and Orderly Environment
"That's a put-down," John Ash tells his students. "We don't use
put-downs. We tell the other person how we are feeling and what we want to
happen." Can Ash's strategy help you eliminate put-downs from your
classroom too?
A
Teacher's Back-to-School Supply List
Each summer, teachers send home a list of supplies students will need during
the upcoming school year. Until now, little thought has been given to the
supplies teachers might find useful. Noted educator Howard Seeman
corrects that oversight with his back-to-school list for the well-equipped
teacher. Included: Twenty-seven must-have items.
A
Techtorial: Create a Seating Chart with Excel
Creating a seating chart couldn't be easier when you use Microsoft Excel. With
just three simple steps, you can create a seating chart that's both easy to
read and easy to edit.
Academic
Choice
Discover a powerful tool for motivating and maximizing students' learning in
this adapted excerpt from Learning Through Academic
Choice, a new Northeast Foundation for Children (NEFC) book by Paula
Denton, EdD.
Anger
Management
A single student whose emotions are out of control can
sabotage the learning of an entire classroom. A variety of strategies and
programs have been developed to help teachers deal with what many consider to
be the Number 1 threat to an effective learning environment -- the angry,
frustrated, or aggressive student. Learn about some of them.
Bang Bang's
Message Reverberates
Author William Mastrosimone has been overwhelmed by
students' response to his Showtime movie Bang Bang
You're Dead. Mastrosimone
hopes schools will use the movie as part of their own anti-bullying efforts.
Carrots
or Sticks? Alfie Kohn on Rewards and
Punishment
Former teacher Alfie Kohn is an outspoken critic of
the focus on grades and test scores. In an exclusive e-interview
with Education World, Kohn shares his views on classroom rewards and punishment
and talks about how teachers can encourage intrinsic motivation.
Changing
Attitudes About Student Discipline by Developing a Code of Conduct
I was new to the school. To me, the general atmosphere of the school seemed too
focused on punishment; the atmosphere seemed more negative than positive. I saw
an opportunity to increase discipline and students' self-respect.
Cheating: How
to Prevent It (and How to Handle It When It Happens)
Have you ever considered that there are things you might do to head off
cheating before it occurs? Classroom management expert Howard Seeman offers tips for preventing cheating and for
handling it if it does happen.
Class
Meetings: A Democratic Approach to Classroom Management
Patterned after family meetings in her own home, teacher Donna Styles
established a format for class meetings that enabled her students to share
their thoughts and solve classroom issues on their own.
Class
Rules Smooth Way for the Year
Rules in School, a book from the Northeast Foundation for Children,
tells teachers how they can regain instructional time during the school year by
helping students develop class rules and consequences at the beginning of the
year.
Classroom
Management
The term classroom management refers to the procedures, strategies, and
instructional techniques teachers use to manage student behavior and learning
activities. Effective classroom management creates an environment that is
conducive to teaching and learning. It is the most important -- and the most
difficult -- skill a teacher must master.
Classroom
Management: Ten Teacher-Tested Tips!
Hallway conferences, pasta discipline, buddy rooms, bell work: Those and six
other ideas for taming temper tantrums and other classroom disruptions are the
focus of this Education World story.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Angry Outbursts, Part 1
At some point, almost every student becomes angry in
school. Anger isn't a problem as long as the student expresses feelings
appropriately. It is a problem if she expresses her anger in a way that is
hurtful or disruptive. Your challenge is to control your own temper as well as
that of the student. Five tips for dealing with an angry student.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Angry Outbursts: Part 2:
An angry student might display his temper in a variety of ways. He also might
trigger feelings of anger and frustration in you. In last week's column, Dr.
Shore discussed ways to defuse student anger and help him learn better
self-control. This week, he offers some additional strategies. Six more tips
for dealing with an angry student.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Bathroom Behavior
Because it often is unsupervised, the school bathroom
is a frequent site of behavior problems. Setting firm rules and carefully
monitoring bathroom use can keep those problems to a minimum. Nine tips for
dealing with bathroom behavior.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Checking the Chatterer
Some students just love to talk -- and their talking
can become contagious. To gain quiet, you need to pay attention to the nature
of your instruction, as well as to the structure in your classroom. Dr. Ken
Shore offers six tips for dealing with excessive talking.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Chronic Complainers
Some students seem to find fault with everything. They gripe about the amount
of homework, food in the lunchroom, their seat in the classroom, and comments
of other students. Dr. Ken Shore offers eight tips for dealing with those
chronic complainers.
Classroom Problem Solver: Class Participation
Class participation is an important aspect of student learning. Dr. Ken Shore
provides eight tips for encouraging students who are reluctant to participate
in class.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Creativity Flourishes in the Structured Classroom
"Specials," just like regular classroom teachers, need to give
careful consideration to discipline in their classrooms. Structure and limits are
important educational tools; tools that give rise to a climate in which
creativity can emerge and flourish. Seven tips for establishing order in phys ed, music, art...
Classroom
Problem Solver: Dealing with a Student with Asthma
Asthma symptoms and accompanying anxiety can hinder concentration on schoolwork
and give rise to emotional difficulties. Dr. Ken Shore offers eight tips to
help minimize the effects of the asthma on students' academic and social
success.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Dealing With an Attention Deficit
Almost every classroom includes at least one student with an attention deficit.
A child with an attention deficit can pose serious classroom management
problems and take up a considerable amount of instructional time. Seven tips
for dealing with a student with an attention deficit.
Classroom Problem Solver: Dealing with
Bullies
Bullying can create a climate of fear and anxiety in a
school, distracting students from their schoolwork and impeding their ability
to learn. Dr. Ken Shore describes strategies for preventing and dealing with
bullying.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Dealing With Cheating:
When deciding how to respond to students who cheat, you need to think not just
about punishing the behavior, but also correcting it. Failing to focus on the
reasons for cheating can simply create more crafty cheaters. Five tips for
dealing with a student who cheats.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Dealing With Student Aggression
In dealing with an aggressive student, you want to
send a strong message that aggressive behavior will not be tolerated while
helping the student develop more appropriate ways of settling disputes. Six
tips for dealing with an aggressive student.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Dealing with Teasing
Students need to know that teachers will protect them
from teasing. You need to send a strong message that ridicule will not be
tolerated in your classroom, and then be alert for signs of ridicule. Dr. Ken
Shore offers eight tips for dealing with teasing.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Dealing With Toileting Accidents
When a student wets or soils herself in school, it can
embarrass and distress the student, disrupt the class, and give rise to
ridicule and rejection. It is critical that you deal with the incident in a way
that is sensitive to the student's emotional well-being, while preserving her
dignity and self-esteem. Eight tips for dealing with toileting accidents.
Classroom
Problem Solver: ESL Students
ESL students present many challenges for teachers, including teaching them
academic skills, supporting their English proficiency, helping them adjust to
the school setting, and helping them adapt to the American culture. Eight tips
for dealing with ESL students.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Hitting or Threatening a Teacher
When responding to a child who has hit or threatened a
teacher, the first goal is to ensure that he doesn't do it again, by impressing
upon the student the seriousness of his behavior and providing consequences
that reinforce the message. Eight tips for dealing with a child who strikes or
threatens the teacher.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Johnny Come Late -- Again!
Some students are late for school for reasons beyond their control. Some
students arrive late because of choices they've made. And some students are
late because they like the attention. Dr. Ken Shore offers seven tips for
dealing with the habitually tardy student.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Lunchroom Behavior
The lunchroom often presents more challenging management problems than the
classroom: students may believe that classroom rules don't apply in the
cafeteria. So it's not unusual for lunchrooms to get out of control. Learn 14
tips for improving lunchroom behavior.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Math Anxiety
Students with math anxiety have confidence in only one thing -- that they can't
do it. The teacher needs to prove to those students that they can do it,
convincing them -- through a variety of successful experiences -- that they are
more capable than they think. Nine tips for banishing math anxiety from your
classroom.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Prevent Cheating
Classroom
Problem Solver: Prevent Teasing
Teasing can result in anxiety and low self-esteem, affect academic performance,
and even escalate to physical conflict. Teasing hurts some students, and makes
all students uncomfortable. Dr. Ken Shore offers six tips for preventing
teasing in your classroom.
Classroom Problem
Solver: Preventing School Vandalism
For some students, vandalism is a way of expressing anger or frustration. For
others, it is a way of impressing peers. Whatever its reason, even minor
vandalism can markedly drain a district's financial resources. Seven tips for
preventing school vandalism.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Preventing Student Aggression
Aggressive students can engender a climate of fear in the classroom, creating anxiety
among other students and distracting them from their schoolwork. Six tips to
help prevent aggressive incidents in your classroom.
Classroom
Problem Solver: School Vandalism
Vandalism in schools can take a variety of forms, from doodling in books to
writing on desks; from gouging walls to breaking windows, from slicing school
bus seats to smashing school furniture. Teachers who pay attention to the
reasons for vandalism can play an important role in preventing it. Six tips for
dealing with school vandalism.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Students Who "Bother" Their Classmates
Students "bother" their classmates in a variety of ways: by poking,
tripping, pushing, interrupting, and ridiculing them. Whatever form the bothering takes, if the incidents come to your
attention, you might need to get involved -- before a small problem turns into
a large problem. Eight tips for dealing with students who pester their
classmates.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Suicide Threats
Classroom
Problem Solver: Teaching Students With Attention
Deficits
Students with attention deficits often have problems focusing, low frustration
tolerance, and organizational and learning difficulties. In fact, about one of
every three students with an attention deficit disorder also exhibits a
learning disability. Seven tips for teaching students with attention deficits.
Classroom
Problem Solver: The "Noise Maker"
Students make noise in a variety of ways -- they tap their pencils, click their
tongues, sing a song, crack their knuckles.... Some of the noises can drive you
and your students to distraction. Five tips for dealing with the classroom
"noise maker."
Classroom
Problem Solver: The Arguer
If you have an argumentative student in class, you can spend considerable time
debating, justifying, and explaining every decision. This diverts you from
lessons and can lead to similar behavior in other students. Five tips for
dealing with the argumentative student.
Classroom
Problem Solver: The Backtalker
A student who speaks to her teacher in a disrespectful manner undermines the
teacher's authority; the disrespect becomes even more serious if other students
begin emulating the behavior of the student who "talks back." Six
tips for dealing with the backtalker.
Classroom
Problem Solver: The Chair Tipper
Nothing is more unsettling than watching a student tip
back in his chair, teetering on the brink of a dangerous fall. Before you can
break a student of that risky habit, you need to make him aware of what he's
doing. Six tips for dealing with chair tippers.
Classroom Problem Solver: The Disorganized
Student
Elementary teachers must recognize the importance of teaching organizational
skills. Such skills will be essential in middle school, when students will be
expected to keep track of their assignments and school responsibilities with
little teacher assistance. Dr. Ken Shore offers eight tips for teaching
organization skills.
Classroom
Problem Solver: The Field Trip
Class trips offer unique learning experiences and allow students to experience
firsthand what they are studying. They also offer increased opportunities for
disciplinary problems. Nine tips to help you ensure educational and
trouble-free field trips.
Classroom
Problem Solver: The Messy Student
It's not hard to identify a messy student. His desk
and his backpacks are dead giveaways, and he spends much of his day searching
for supplies and redoing lost work. Eight tips for helping the messy student
clean up his act.
Classroom
Problem Solver: The Note Passers
Passing notes is a time-honored method of classroom communication. Although not
a serious problem, it suggests that the students are not paying attention. Note
passing also can disrupt lessons and trigger conflict. Six tips for dealing
with classroom note passers.
Classroom
Problem Solver: The School Assembly
Your challenge when faced with student misbehavior during a school assembly is
to respond in a way that does not draw attention to yourself or to your
student, that leaves the misbehaving student's dignity intact, and that allows
other students to enjoy a disruption-free program. Included:
Six tips for dealing with behavior during an assembly.
Classroom
Problem Solver: The Spitter
Few behaviors are more unappealing than spitting. The
challenge for a teacher with a student who spits is to stop the spitting, while
giving minimal attention to the student's behavior. Five tips for dealing with
a student who spits.
Classroom
Problem Solver: The Student Who Lies
Most children lie sometimes. Although an occasional lie is not a reason for
serious concern, teachers should be concerned about a student who lies
frequently. Dr. Ken Shore offers eight tips for dealing with students who lie.
Classroom Problem Solver: The Student with
Low Self-Esteem
When working with children with low self-esteem, the
challenge is to restore their belief in themselves. That means showing
appreciation for the things they do well, expressing confidence that they will
improve in areas in which they don't do well, and adapting instruction so every
student experiences success.
Classroom
Problem Solver: The Student with Tourette Syndrome
Tourette Syndrome is a neurological disorder
characterized by involuntary body movements and/or verbalizations. The disorder
can present classroom management concerns for the teacher and self-esteem and
peer acceptance issues for the student.
Classroom Problem Solver: The Unmotivated
Student
The unmotivated student is the one whose attitude toward schoolwork screams,
"I don't care!" When working with an unmotivated student, you first
have to convince him that he can be successful, and then you must figure out
how to capture his interest.
Classroom
Problem Solver: The Whiner
Few behaviors are more annoying to teachers than
whining. The student who constantly responds in a shrill, high-pitched voice
can annoy even the most tolerant teacher. Seven tips for dealing with students
who whine.
Classroom
Problem Solver: Tips for "Specials"
Regular classroom teachers aren't the only educators who confront behavioral
problems. Teachers of special subjects, such as art, music, and physical
education also face disciplinary issues. Six classroom
management tips for special teachers.
Classroom
Problem Solver: While You Are Out
An outsider with no personal connection with the students, a substitute has all
of a teacher's responsibilities, but little of the authority. Six tips for
preparing your classroom and your students for your absence.
Classroom
Rewards Reap Dividends for Teachers and Students
Classroom Teachers say rewards -- free time, school supplies, or tasty treats
-- can help kids master the expectations of acceptable classroom behavior and
scholastic achievement. Included: Ten tips for using rewards in the classroom!
Completing
Seatwork
When responding to a student who doesn't complete
in-school assignments, you first need to figure out why. Dr. Ken Shore offers
nine tips for getting successful seatwork from all students.
Creating a
Climate for Learning: Effective Classroom Management Techniques
In Positive Classroom Discipline, Fred Jones
states, "The most widespread management technique at home and in the
classroom is nag, nag, nag." It's also probably the least effective. Learn
how to stop nagging and start teaching.
Do Seating
Arrangements and Assignments = Classroom Management?
Now might be a good time to take a long look at your classroom seating
arrangement. Advice and opinions about classroom arrangements and seating
assignments abound, and Education World explores the possibilities!
Evaluating In-School Suspension Programs
Monitoring in-school suspension programs can make them
more effective, or even unnecessary, if school climate changes occur, according
to education analyst Anne Wheelock. Schools need to
monitor who is suspended and by whom.
Firing Up
Teacher-Student Communication
What do high school students really want from their
teachers? According to the 40 students who expressed their views in Fires in
the Bathroom: Advice to Teachers from High School Students, they want respect,
honesty, and an understanding of them as individuals. Included:
Students' tips for classroom teachers.
From
Beginning to End: Making Memories All Year Through
Experienced educators share how they enrich their classes with projects and
activities that take students from the beginning of the school year to the end
-- while creating memories that last a lifetime. Included: Ideas for time
capsules, memory books, welcome letters, more.
Guest
Teacher Handbook
Students create a Guest Teacher Handbook containing information they think a
Guest Teacher should know.
Guide
Offers Practical Character Education Lessons
With more teachers and parents seeing the need for
character education, the not-for-profit Heartwood Institute has released a book
of lessons for teachers and counselors to teach children ethics, social, and
emotional skills.
Help for Homework
Hassles!
How can teachers motivate students to do their homework? How should teachers
handle kids who just don't care? This week, Education World explores ways to
ease homework hassles!
Helping
Boys Learn
Over the past several decades, boys' behavior and performance in school has continued
to decline. Researchers like Michael Gurian say these
are indications that schools are not structured to accommodate how boys' brains
work and how they learn.
Helping Students
Find the 'Write' Way to Behave
Having students write about their misbehavior, why it occurred, and what they
are going to do to correct it is valuable for students and teachers.
Hopes
and Dreams: A Strategy to Begin the Year
"In classrooms using the Responsive Classrooms approach, teachers begin
their year generating 'Hopes and Dreams.' The process of developing hopes and
dreams each year is a process of reviving hope -- and hope is one of our most
critical community resources. How do we teach or learn without it?" Ruth Charney shares strategies for developing hopes and dreams.
How Responsive
Classroom Practices Work
Mary Beth Forton, director of publications for the
Northeast Foundation for Children (NEFC), and a former teacher, talks about how
Responsive Classroom techniques can save teachers time and make students' and
teachers' lives more pleasant.
In a
Million Words or Fewer...
A simple activity offers a powerful tool for learning about your students and
connecting with their parents. "I was suddenly a part of each child's
life," teacher Trisha Fogarty said.
Incentives
Teach Lessons
The management of cooperation in the classroom focuses
on giving students a reason to cooperate. If you want students to cooperate
class after class, day after day, you must answer for them the question,
"Why should I?"
In-School
Suspension: A Learning Tool
While educators agree that keeping suspended students
in school is better than having them home unsupervised, schools need more than
a room and a teacher for in-school suspension to change behavior. Included:
Administrators share effective programs.
Keep
It Clean
Do you find yourself spending precious after-school time cleaning up your
classroom? Have you tried student cleanup and decided it wasn't worth the chaos
or loss of learning time? Maybe all you really need to turn class cleanup into
a fun and productive activity is a little help from some creativity colleagues.
Know When to
Discipline!
When is a discipline problem not a discipline problem? When it's a miscall! Classroom management expert Howard Seeman explains why prevention and knowing when to
discipline can be more important than knowing how.
Latecomers:
Tips for Handling the Disruption of Students Who Come Into Class Late
You're already five minutes into the lesson and a late
students walks in. How do you handle the disruption? Do you stop the class? Do
you ignore it? Included: Classroom management expert Howard Seeman
offers eight tips for handling latecomers.
Let's Cooperate!
-- Teachers Share Tips for Cooperative Learning
Cooperation starts at the top! Teachers who use cooperative learning in their
classrooms have developed techniques that make the most of this method, and
they share them. Included: Teacher tips, rubrics, and more!
Logical
Consequences Teach Important Lessons
Logical consequences help teachers intervene when children break rules. It is a
strategy that reinforces the limits of the classroom, the accountability of
each individual, and the belief that we can take better care of ourselves, one
another, and our environment.
Manners
and Etiquette: Teaching Essential Ingredients for Success
Whether they use a formal curriculum or simply take
advantage of serendipitous opportunities, two teachers are taking good manners
off the back burner. Those educators say that focusing on manners in the
classroom is not an option -- it's a must!
Meaning
Business, Part 4
When students confront you verbally, everything they
are doing -- the challenge, the upset, the talk itself -- seems calculated to
get you to do one thing -- to speak! Could there be a method to their
madness? Dr. Fred Jones offers three rules for dealing with backtalk.
Middle School
Teachers, Students, Combat Teasing
A group of students and teachers at
Modeling
Procedures
Modeling classroom rules involves demonstrating the
specific behaviors and language patterns of an expectation. Teachers act out
the behaviors, showing what each looks and sounds like. Included:
Eight procedures for modeling and practicing expectations.
NBPTS:
Building Better Teachers
A goal of the National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards is to "provide a national voluntary system certifying teachers who
meet high and rigorous standards." NBPTS president Joseph A. Aguerrebere Jr. explains how that certification process can
improve both teaching and learning.
PAT:
Learning to Give in Order to Get
To learn time management, students must have time -- time they desire; time
they are willing to work for. "Preferred Activity Time" or PAT, is
the time you give students to teach them time management. Dr. Fred Jones
provides a grade-by-grade schedule for PAT.
Playground
Problems
Behavior problems on the playground run the gamut from arguments to bullying to
vandalism and beyond. Dr. Ken Shore offers twelve tips for dealing with
playground problems.
Preferred
Activity Time (PAT) Is Preferred by Kids and Teachers!
If you talk with any group of teachers, you are likely to discover that at least
one uses PAT, or preferred activity time, a reward system described by Fred
Jones in his book Positive Classroom Discipline. Included: Teachers
share favorites from their PAT repertoires!
Put an End to
Homework Horror!
If your students lack interest in your homework assignments, it may not be your
students -- it may be the assignments! Author Nancy Paulu
has some advice for teachers who want to make the most out of homework.
Included: Links to school homework policies.
Recovery
Rooms" Put Disruptive Students on Road to Recovery
Are disruptive students inhibiting learning in your school? If so, the answer
may be creating a place for them to refocus and regroup -- a "recovery
room." With guidance, students can reflect on their mistakes and find ways
to improve.
Responsive Classroom Strategies: Teaching the Rules
We have generated our hopes and dreams. We have
constructed our classroom rules, which are signed and beautifully and prominently
displayed. We have shared our rules with parents. Now comes the interesting
part, the part where we teach the rules.
Restorative
Practices Build Community, Responsibility
Although student misbehavior impacts many people at
school, often only the student is involved in the discipline process. The
restorative practices approach stresses correcting the harm rather than
punishing the deed, and advocates including the affected parties in the
process.
Revisiting
Hopes, Goals, and Classroom Rules
Revisiting September's hopes and goals is an important midyear activity that
will help students see the progress they've made so far, while setting the tone
for productive learning during the remainder of the year.
Reward Systems That
Work: What to Give and When to Give It!
Read about ways four teachers reward students' good behavior and motivation.
Learn what to give and when and how you can encourage students to improve.
Included: 35 reasonable rewards!
Rubrics
Help Improve School-Wide Behavior
Teachers have seen the value in using rubrics to assess student work and
behavior. Now some principals are using them as a tool for monitoring and
modifying behavior on a school-wide basis. Included: Examples
of behavior rubrics.
Rules Are
Back in Style
Ron Clarks's best-selling book, The Essential 55:
An Award-Winning Educator's Rules..., has educator Brenda Dyck reflecting on the resurgence of classroom rules. Included: Tips, Web resources for personalizing your classroom
rules.
School-Wide
Rules Creation
Learn about one school's efforts to improve school climate by developing a more
consistent approach to discipline from classroom to classroom and in common
school areas, such as the playground, lunchroom, and hallways.
Signaling
an End to Classroom Chatter
Some teachers are finding that mini traffic lights are
as effective at regulating student conversation levels as the real signals are
at controlling traffic flow. Devices such as the teacher-created Yacker Tracker tell students when to put the brakes on
their chatter.
Singing
for Societal Change... Again
Disrespect has become rampant in U.S. society, according to singer, songwriter,
and activist Peter Yarrow of the trio Peter, Paul & Mary. Yarrow's
curriculum, Don't Laugh at Me, teaches children to respect themselves and
others.
Strategies
That Work: "Brag" Phone Calls
Too often, parent-teacher communication is about
negative things students do. Many teachers see the value in calling parents to
report good news. Teacher Donna Kelly believes in the power of "brag phone
calls," but she lets her students make those calls!
Strategies
That Work: Bullying
According to noted expert Dan Olweus, bullying
affects the social climate and learning environment of the entire classroom.
Set the right tone in your classroom this year by making it clear that bullying
-- or harassment of any kind -- will not be tolerated.
Strategies
That Work: Curbing Cheating
A 1998 national survey found that four out of five top
high school students admitted to cheating at some point. Is cheating a problem
in your school? Education World explored that issue with students, teachers, and
other experts who offered workable strategies to curb cheating.
Strategies
That Work: Differentiated Instruction
Differentiated instruction is a teaching approach in which educational content,
process, and product are adapted according to student readiness, interest, and
learning profile. Discover how research into how students learn led to the
changes in how teachers teach.
Strategies
That Work: Electronic Portfolios
Hardcopy portfolios have been used to save student work for some time; the use
of electronic portfolios, which allow students to save and display sound and
video files as well as text and graphics, is a relatively recent, but growing,
trend in K-12 education.
Strategies
That Work: Homework Study Hall
Startled by the number of failing grades his students were receiving, principal
David Chambers made making up missed work a mandatory activity. The policy has
raised students' GPAs and improved teacher morale. Could it work for your
school?
Strategies
That Work: Motivation
The most successful ways teachers can motivate students who are not
intrinsically motivated to learn include engaging their interest; demonstrating
the relevance of what they're learning; displaying enthusiasm for what we're
teaching; establishing challenging, but achievable expectations, and employing
a variety of instructional strategies.
Strategies
That Work: Pretzels
Pretzels -- an activity from the Northeast Foundation for Children, creators of
the Responsive Classroom approach to teaching and learning -- is a
primary-grade strategy that focuses on students' kindnesses and results in
improved classroom behavior.
Strategies
That Work: Rewards
In a perfect world, the acquisition of knowledge would be reason enough for
children to want to learn. In the real world, however, some extrinsic
motivation often is required. Learn about some of the incentives teachers use
to reward students for good behavior and academic effort.
Strategies
That Work: Rules
One of the most basic factors in establishing a
positive classroom climate is the development of class rules. In these
Education World articles, some of education's most respected experts on
classroom management discuss how to develop and implement effective classroom
rules.
Strategies
That Work: SLANT
The class participation strategy known as SLANT is a simple, easy-to-remember
technique for helping students increase their contributions to -- and benefits
from -- group instruction and class discussion. Included: How one teacher uses
SLANT in to increase the academic engagement of her middle school students.
Strategies
That Work: Stress Relief
Do you ever find yourself dealing with unmotivated, disrespectful, or unruly
students? With students from disadvantaged or multicultural
backgrounds? With large classes, heavy workloads, or
unreasonable accountability standards? With
job-related stress? What teacher doesn't? These Education World articles
can help.
Strategies
That Work: Teaching Manners
Although character education is a hot topic in schools,
education in manners often receives scant attention. Teachers who
"teach" manners say, however, that they notice a real difference in
students' attitudes, in the way they treat one another, and in their
schoolwork.
Strategies
That Work: The "Jigsaw" Technique
The "jigsaw" cooperative learning strategy helps students create
their own learning. Each member of a group works to master a segment of
information; when group members come back together, they "piece
together" a clear picture of the topic at hand.
Strategies
That Work: Tools for Teaching
Dr. Fred Jones, having studied highly successful teachers for more than 30
years, has developed a method of classroom management in which the prevention
of discipline problems and training children to be responsible are carried out
in a positive and affirming context. His practical, clear-cut techniques are
both effective and doable.
Students Rule
With 'Design Your Own Homework'
"I started by sending home a letter to parents at the beginning of school
explaining that … students could bring in their own homework projects,"
said teacher Valerie Grimes. Included: Learn more about the types of
assignments Grimes's students have selected!
Tattle Tales
The important issue to help children understand about tattling is not when
to report. Nor is it what to report. The critical decision involves who
to report to.
Teachers,
Start Your Engines: Management Tips from the Pit Crew
Who said classroom management has to be boring?
Education World offers 20 successful classroom management strategies to get
your year off to a great start and keep your classroom running smoothly
throughout the entire year.
Teaching
Self-Control: A Curriculum for Responsible Behavior
Martin Henley has created a curriculum for teaching 20 self-control skills all
children need. The Teaching Self-Control curriculum includes role-plays,
simulations, learning center activities, and children's literature that can be
used to teach those skills.
Ten
Mainstreaming Strategies
With the current trend toward inclusion, educators often find themselves
teaching students with problems they have little preparation for dealing with.
These ten tips might help.
The Class
Clown
Almost every class has a clown. For a teacher, such a student rarely is a
laughing matter, however. Dr. Ken Shore offers eight tips for quieting the
clown and restoring order in the classroom.
The Class
Cry-er
For some students, frequent crying is less a reaction
to what is happening than an effort to get a reaction. Such students
have learned that crying is an effective way to get what they want. Crying
episodes interfere with lessons, distract other students, and cost valuable
teaching time. They must be addressed. Six tips for dealing with the student
who cries easily.
The
Essential 55: Rules for a Lifetime
Ron Clark, the author of The Essential 55: An
Award-Winning Educator's Rules for Discovering the Successful Student in Every
Child, discusses his classroom rules and the philosophy behind them
The Homework
Dilemma: How Much Should Parents Get Involved?
Just what kind of parental involvement -- and how much involvement -- truly
helps children with their homework?
The King of
Classroom Management! (An Education World e-Interview
With Classroom Management Expert Fred Jones)
Since 1969, Fred Jones has offered teachers advice about how to manage students
and classrooms effectively. The author of Tools for Teaching, his third
book on classroom management, shares his thoughts about the difficulties
teachers face in classrooms today.
The
Last Six Weeks of School
It is as important to end, as to begin, the school
year with intention and care. When we take the time to review and record the
work of a school year, we see the power of “hopes and dreams.” We see the
evidence of much learning and the value of our teaching.
The Overly
Dependent Student
The goal in working with an overly dependent student is to help him become more
self-reliant and develop more trust in his own judgment. That requires that a
teacher communicate expectations and set firm limits on student-teacher
interactions. Five tips for dealing with an overly dependent student.
The
School-Phobic Student
The problem of school phobia requires immediate attention. Prolonged absence
can result in significant academic and social difficulties, and the longer a
student is absent, the greater his anxiety about returning is likely to become.
Dr. Ken Shore offers eight tips for dealing with school-phobic students.
The
Socially Isolated Student
All children need a connection with their peers. Not only are socially isolated
children denied the opportunity to learn the skills necessary to develop and
maintain friendships, their schoolwork also can be affected as their attention
drifts to social concerns. Six tips for helping the socially isolated student
form peer relationships.
The
Student with Poor Listening Skills
Telling a student with poor listening skills to
"pay attention" is not sufficient to solve the problem. Teachers can,
however, promote good listening skills by varying the ways in which they
communicate, and by making subtle changes in the classroom setting. Eight tips
for dealing with students with poor listening skills.
The
Student with Special Needs
In choosing how to respond when a student with special
needs presents behavioral problems, teachers need to consider what underlies
the behavior, and provide the student with appropriate support and guidance. Seven behavior management tips for students with special needs.
The
Three R's of Logical Consequences
'Logical consequences' is a strategy that seeks to help children learn from
their mistakes. A logical consequence has two steps: the first stops the
misbehavior; the second recalls children to the rules and teaches alternative
behaviors.
Token
Economies Yield Promising Results
When classroom management is a struggle, the answer might be as simple as the
traditional American "five and dime!" See how systems based on
"token economies" can work with even the toughest classes.
Tools
for Teachering: Meaning Business: Part 3
Poker is a simple game. You either bet or fold. In the body language poker
game, teachers fold when they turn a way from a situation before the students
have folded. Students fold when they abandon pseudo-compliance and actually get
back to work. You have to stay in the game until the students fold. Dr. Fred
Jones provides step-by-step instructions on how to win at "body language poker."
Tools for
Teaching: Adding Motivation to Mastery
The question underlying the topic of motivation in the student's mind is,
"Why should I?" If you answer that question successfully, you can get
work from an unmotivated student. If you cannot come up with a good answer, you
get nothing. Included: How the right incentives can motivate your students --
and free up your evenings.
Tools
for Teaching: Bell Work
Bell Work is the work that students are doing when the opening bell rings. It's
the work that provides purpose to the process of "settling in." Dr.
Fred Jones explains how Bell Work can add teaching and learning time to your
day.
Tools for Teaching: Effective Room
Arrangement
Classroom management expert Fred Jones identifies "three zones of
proximity" and discusses how knowing what they are can help you "work
the crowd" in your own classroom.
Tools for
Teaching: Escaping the Paper Grading Trap
The paper-grading ritual, says Dr. Fred Jones, not only fails to improve
student learning, it also cannibalizes the after-school time available for
planning tomorrow's lessons with yesterday's clerical work. The more adept you
become at building work check into teaching, the more responsibility students
take for quality control, and the more your evenings are freed up for lesson
planning.
Tools for
Teaching: Exploiting Structured Practice
In a previous segment of this series, we quoted Vince Lombardi, who said,
"Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes
perfect." A key part of teachers' jobs is to create perfect practice.
Creating bad habits is the alternative. Teaching it right the first time is
easier than breaking bad habits.
Tools for Teaching: Having Fun with PAT
In Responsibility Training, students earn Preferred Activity Time (PAT) when
they save time. Apart from curriculum enrichment activities, team competition
is perhaps the most reliable and easy-to-use motivational "hook" in
education. Anything can be taught in the form of a team game.
Tools
for Teaching: Instruction Meets Discipline
While school discipline codes focus on large
infractions, discipline management within the classroom is dominated by
continuous small disruptions. It is a picture of endless "goofing
off" and time wasting. Tools for Teaching might be viewed as an
attempt to prevent the goofing off typical of most classrooms. As you might
imagine, instruction and discipline go together.
Tools for
Teaching: Meaning Business, Part 1
Classroom management requires calm. You never will be able to manage another
person's behavior until you can manage your own. A calm response to provocation
can be learned. Because upset happens quickly, however, you have to learn to
relax immediately and automatically when confronted. That takes practice.
Tools
for Teaching: Meaning Business, Part 2
Kids read body language. They are born with that ability, and they get better
at it with each passing year. Dr. Fred Jones explains how you can exploit that
skill by employing the body language of meaning business. Included:
A step-by-step guide to completing "the turn."
Tools
for Teaching: Meaning Business, Part 5
In the first four segments of this series, we examined
the mental, emotional, and physical components of Meaning Business and the body
language of classroom discipline. What happens, though, when the body language
of Meaning Business produces the opposite of what we expect? How do we handle
the exceptions to the rule?
Tools for Teaching: Omission Training for
Behavior Problems
“Omission Training in conjunction with Responsibility Training is as close to
magic as you will get in behavior management,” says Dr. Fred Jones. “I have
seen it bring an outcast child into the middle of the class sociogram
in two weeks!”
Tools
for Teaching: Positive Discipline: Part 6
Rules carry a price. As teachers, when we look up to see one of our rules being
broken, we face a moment of truth. Will we act -- or will we equivocate? In
this column, Dr. Fred Jones examines the importance of meaning business, and
explains how consistency, commitment, and calm can help you act like a teacher
as well as think like one.
Tools for
Teaching: Rules, Routines, and Standards
Classroom management expert Fred Jones explains why educators need to teach -- not
just announce -- classroom rules and routines. In this month's column, he
offers effective strategies for getting students to take your standards
seriously.
Tools
for Teaching: Starting the New School Year
On the first day of school, the first question in students' minds is, "Who
are you?" Their second question is, "Who are
they?" Students do better when they are comfortable, relaxed, and
"at home." A very good reason to devote the lion's
share of your first class period to creating comfort.
Tools for Teaching: Teaching Students to Hustle
Responsibility training teaches students to be responsible about everything
they do in the classroom. All the various forms of responsible behavior can be
organized, however, under one heading: time. Dr. Fred Jones examines the
procedures that train students to hustle to save learning time.
Tools for
Teaching: Teaching to the Physical Modality
Say, See, Do Teaching, says Dr. Fred Jones, reduces many of the learning and
behavior problems that teachers face every day, by attacking structural
problems that underlie the more common "bop 'til you drop" teaching
approach.
Tools
for Teaching: The School Discipline Code
Look in your student handbook under the heading "Discipline Code" and
you will find a "hierarchy of consequences," beginning with a verbal
warning and ending with suspension and expulsion. Does it work?
Tools
for Teaching: Training the Class to be Responsible
Training kids to do what you want them to do when you ask them to do it is the
side of discipline management we call Responsibility Training. The goal of
Responsibility Training is to make responsible behavior in the classroom a
matter of routine. In this brief summary of Responsibility Training, Dr. Fred
Jones offers new options for classroom management.
Tools for Teaching:
Weaning the Helpless Handraisers, Part 1
Ah, the helpless handraisers
-- those students whose hands are waving in the air no matter what you do or
say. Do you find yourself tutoring the same half-dozen students day after day,
while the rest of the students fend for themselves. You can break the
cycle, says Dr. Fred Jones.
Tools for
Teaching: Weaning the Helpless Handraisers, Part 2
Last month, we looked at verbal modalities for dealing with students who sit
through Guided Practice with their hands waving in the air, waiting to be
personally tutored. This month, Dr. Jones discusses how to go beyond the verbal
to the visual, and reduce the duration of your helping interactions from 30
seconds to 5 seconds.
Using
Language to Encourage and Empower Children
In the Responsive Classroom® approach, our goal
is to use our language to encourage and empower children. Three simple
structures support encouraging and empowering language. We call those
structures "The Three R's": to reinforce, to remind, to redirect. A four-part series.
Virtual
Workshop: Project-Based and Problem-Based Learning
The difference between project-based and problem-based learning lies largely in
their application: Problem-based learning focuses on the problem and the process,
while project-based learning focuses on the product.
Voice of
Experience: Back from the Iditarod -- Teaching Is a Lot Like Mushing!
Educator Jeanie Olson is home from her trip to the 2003 Iditarod Sled Dog Race.
As she reflects on her Alaskan adventure, she sees quite a few similarities
between the skills it takes to be a dog sled musher and a classroom teacher!
Voice of
Experience: Choice -- The Ultimate Tool for Engaging and Empowering Students
Educator Max Fischer recalls a childhood trip to
Voice of
Experience: Handling Difficult Students -- Lessons from Mrs. G
Educator Perri Gibbons pays tribute to teacher Deb Graudins, whose success with the most challenging students
wins respect from students and colleagues alike. Her measured, consistent
approach could hold lessons for any teacher who must handle difficult students.
Voice of
Experience: Is Student Disinterest Curable?
What happens when students "check out" of the learning process? Is it
an educator's job to re-engage them? If so, how can that be
accomplished? This week, educator Brenda Dyck
reflects on some ways to tackle the sticky problem of student disinterest.
Voice of
Experience: Planning for a Substitute Was Never This Easy
Unhappy with inconsistent results and lousy reports from substitutes, educator
Bob Brems came up with a new strategy for his planned
days off. He turns over the teaching reins to one of his students. Included:
Tips for planning for student-as-teacher days.
Voice of
Experience: Put On Your (Six) Thinking Hats!
Want to move your students' thinking from the predictable to the profound?
Educator Brenda Dyck describes a powerful thinking
tool that will help students approach problem solving in innovative ways.
Voice of
Experience: When Students Rock the Boat, I'm the "Master and
Commander" of My Classroom
Max Fischer has learned about dealing with student outbursts and
insubordination. Past experience has taught him to remain calm in a storm; to
be "Master and Commander" of his emotions. Included: Tips for keeping
control when the classroom "ship" is sinking.
Ways to
Teach Empathy Skills
Everyone has met people who are highly compassionate. But we would meet more of
them if children were taught at an early age to be empathetic, according to
author/teacher David A. Levine, who has created lessons and activities to teach
empathy skills.
Who's Fault Is it, Anyway?
Students who fail to make the connection between effort and results attribute
their successes and failures to someone or something other than themselves.
Successful students see their successes as something they can influence.
Classroom
Management Tips
(Incredibly Useful Tool)
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 31
Reward students for a job well done.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 30
Activities to help you get to know students better.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 29
What do you do when the whole class is good -- or not?
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 28
Encourage new learning partnerships with creative grouping strategies.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 27
Stay within a budget with these free storage solutions.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 26
Tips for getting kids to do their homework.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 25
Parent involvement gets homework done.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 24
A job done well earns a big "well done."
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 23
Tips for easing the bulletin board burden.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 22
Students get to know more about one another.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 21
Do you know where your students are?
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 20
Tips for making the most of daily attendance.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 19
Morning routines set the tone for the day.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 18
Random selection keeps kids on their toes.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 17
Inexpensive storage yields valuable space.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 16
Simple tricks to get kids to complete their homework.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 15
Tips for making a sub's life a little easier.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 14
Students, teachers, parents learn through written communication.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 13
Reward students with more than a pat on the back.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 12
Parents are teachers too.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 11
Teacher tips for connecting with parents.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 10
Keep a record of important names, faces, and events.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 9
Start off the year with some great back-to-school activities.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 8
Creative solutions for parent open house.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 7
Introduce yourself to students.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 6
Getting-to-know-you activities provide learning opportunities.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 5
Seat assignments that avoid arguments.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 4
Keep seating flexible with Velcro.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 3
Bulletin boards serve a variety of purposes.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 2
Room arrangement makes a difference.
Classroom
Management Tips Volume 1
Planning for a new school year.
Stepping Out Materials
Required: Copy these papers and change them to fit you GRADE
LEVEL: 4-12 Give one or more
worksheets to student when you send him/her to detention or send him out of
the room or put him aside from other students because his behavior was not
accepted. After the student copies down the lesson (as many times as you
want them to write it) Have them write/devise a
plan on how they can change their behavior to be allowed back in class.
This plan must be brought to you before you should accept the student back
in class. RESPECT LESSON Ø
Please copy onto a separate piece of paper. Be sure to put your name in the right hand corner of
your paper. Title your paper "Respect". We all need and
deserve to be respected. However, we cannot respect others when we don't respect
ourselves. When you are rude, put people down, talk negatively, or insult
people, you are hurting your respect for yourself as well as for others. Everyone needs to
feel good about themselves in order to get along
with others. When someone does not feel good about himself
or herself, he or she speaks and acts in ways that hurt others. When you
don't feel good about yourself, everyone loses. We all have bad days.
No one is immune to having things go wrong. That is why we always have to
remember to treat people with respect, even if we are not feeling very good
about ourselves, or can tell that they may not be feeling much respect for
themselves. When you automatically treat people with respect, you help
everyone feel better about themselves. How can I treat
people with respect automatically? 1. Ignore them when
they say or do something that hurts my feelings. Directions: Copy the
lesson onto a separate piece of paper. Be sure to title it "Talking
Lesson" and put your name on the top right-hand corner of your paper. I understand that
time is one of the most valuable things we have. Forty-eight minutes is so
little time to do all the things we need to do in class, so it is vitally
important to make every minute count. When I talk or goof off or disrupt
the class, I am wasting valuable learning time. That is not fair to my
teacher, my classmates or to myself. But I know that I
must not talk: I can see that
learning how to talk only when it is proper to do so is very important, so
I will copy this paper as many times as it will take to show you that I
have learned this lesson. THINKING ABOUT BEHAVIOR LESSON Ø Answer the
following questions in complete sentences, using most of the words in the
question in your answer. 1. What did you do
that got you into trouble?
__________________________________________________________________________ TIME OUT LESSON Directions: Copy the
lesson and fill in the blanks with your own words. Be sure to title it
"Time-out Lesson" and put your name on the top right-hand corner
of your paper. I understand that
school is a place for learning. Every student in I understand that the
teacher is responsible for many things. She needs to plan the English
lesson and then do everything possible to help students understand the material.
The teacher has a big job because it is not easy to help a class full of
students. When I behave disruptively, I am making it hard for the teacher
to do her job. This isn't fair and I don't have the right to do this. I understand that the
other students in my class have a right to the best education possible.
When I behave disruptively, I not only keep the teacher from doing her job,
I am also keeping students from getting the best education possible. This
is not fair and I don't have a right to do this. I am here copying
this because I was sent out of the room. I was sent out of the room because
__________________________________________. I understand that right now, I
am missing out on valuable learning time. Instead of learning, I am copying
this lesson. I understand that I made a decision to behave unacceptably in
class and the consequence for this was being sent out of the room and
points are deducted from my grade this week. I understand that I have the
power to make good decisions or bad decisions. When I make good decisions I
am rewarded. In school, this means getting a good education and feeling
good about myself as a student. I understand that
I deserve a good education and I have the power and responsibility to make
this happen. When I return to class, I will
______________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
Activity Time: unspecified
Concepts Taught: Discipline behavior modification
2. Don't argue or fight with someone who is obviously not feeling good
about him/herself.
3. Overlook it when someone is trying to tease me to get me mad.
4. Don't say things in anger-count to ten before I speak or don't say
anything until the anger has passed.
5. Don't say negative things. I have a right to my opinions, but I do not
have the right to express it.
6. Always try to think of everyone as doing the best they
can-see everyone as the best that they can be.
7. Put myself in the other person's place and try to understand what their
point-of-view is.
8. Treat others as I would like to be treated.
TALKING LESSON
I understand that it is okay to talk:
1. If I raise my hand and the teacher calls on me.
2. If talking is necessary to complete my assignment.
3. If it is free time and I have completed my assignments.
1. When the teacher is talking.
2. When a student is asking or answering a question.
3. When the teacher has instructed the class to be quiet.
Ø Please think carefully about your answers. An administrator and/or your
parents could read them in the near future.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
2. Why was it wrong to do what you did?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
3. What can you do differently in the future so that you will not get into
trouble? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
4. What can the TEACHER do to help you stay out of trouble and to help you
succeed in her class? __________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.