Make Semester 2 Successful!

Check out some ideas on how to jumpstart the second semester for students!

Make the Most of Your First Days Back

https://www.teachingchannel.org/video/refocusing-students/?utm_source=newsletter20190112

A Case for Kindness

We have spent the entire month of February collecting examples of Random Acts of Kindness.  The examples in this post are just a handful of over 250 reported acts thus far. Even though this is a friendly school competition, we all win by teaching, modeling, and showcasing kindness.

Why stop when February ends?  We all hope our students experience kindness at home, but what if that is not true? How can we continue to recognize and model kindness everyday? According to Aristotle, "Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all." Here are some easy ideas that allow you to make a case for kindness everyday. You can use them as is or adapt them to fit your style. 

1) One Good Thing: This takes less than five minutes, but sets a positive tone for the day or class period.  Tell students to turn to their neighbor and finish the sentence: "One good thing in my life is..." or "Something good that happened is..."  You could randomly ask for a couple of volunteers to share daily with the class. The teacher might model one each morning, then ask for volunteers.  The possibilities are vast for this one.  This a great opportunity for students to be celebrated and affirmed.

2) Writing Kindness Activity: This activity is a good way to get some writing fluency in while catering to those who might not share this information otherwise. Give out the following sentence starters (or put them on the board, draw out of a hat, have them make up their own, etc..):

• One idea I've gotten from you is...
• I really like your personality because...
• I know I can count on you when...
• I really appreciate when you...
• Some adjectives that describe you are...
• I am impressed by the way you...
• I look forward to seeing you because...

Have students put their name at the top of this paper BEFORE filling it out.  Take them up then randomly pass them out and ask the students to answer three of these prompts about the name at the top of the paper.  After a few minutes, pass them around again.  Do several rounds and then return it back to the name at the top of the paper. Instant smiles. You could do this one time at the beginning of the year and read one comment per day.



3) Shout Out: Start modeling this on day one and see how long it takes before your students start
doing it.  "I really like how...", "I noticed that...", or "I'd like to give a shout-out to..." You can fit a few shout-outs in as the bell rings, as students are coming in, or before you start class.

4) Appreciation Box: This is a great activity for students who do not like to share with the whole group.  Create a box and put it somewhere in the room with sticky notes or small strips of paper. The teacher and students can leave appreciations for classmates, encouragements, and/or shout-outs.Then, take one out each day and read it aloud before class starts.  One teacher who did this said, "We became a family."

5) Temperature Check: Ask the simple question, "How are you feeling today?"  This simple emotional check-in is a great reminder that we all share the same feelings and emotions and they go up and down depending on circumstances. This also gives the teacher insight to students who may be having a tough time, and who may need you to follow up with them privately after class.  For young students, this is also a great way to build a larger vocabulary of feelings for better communication.

6) Community Circle: This activity would be reserved for once or twice a year.  Maybe there has been a traumatic event, the students are not getting along, or other various reasons that impact the classroom. Move desks into a circle or sit on the floor in a circle.  One person only may speak at a time.  The teacher facilitates by posing a question or topic.  You can also have an object that students hold and can only speak when holding this object. This is a great activity to model sharing, listening, respecting others, and collaboration.

For more Kindness In The Classroom Activities Click HERE

Management Strategies

Click here to check out Todd Finley's complete article on Edutopia, "18 Big and Small Classroom Management Strategies."  

Big Strategies: Fundamental Principles of Classroom Management

1. Follow the first step of hypnosis.
A hypnotist's first induction technique often involves directing subjects to focus on something they're already doing. "Feel your eyes getting tired" is a good opening, because everybody's eyes feel tired all the time, but we don't notice until someone points it out.

Teachers, like hypnotists, can string along a series of requests by asking students to do something most are already doing, then waiting for 100-percent compliance, and finally issuing another directive, etc. It's better for teachers to say, "Point your eyes toward me" and wait for compliance, instead of saying, "Stop talking, turn around, turn to page 237, take out a pencil, and head your paper with 'Geology Frame.'"

2. Keep your consequences as minimal as possible.
When a rule is broken, assign the smallest consequence possible and see if that gets the job done. Don't use up big consequences too fast.

3. Appropriate curriculum is a classroom management strategy.
For some, being thrown out of the room for backtalk has a lower social cost than appearing dumb in front of peers. Assigning appropriately difficult work (which often means differentiating) eliminates that risk.

4. Rehearse transitions.
Most disruptions occur before the bell rings and between activities. "Silent 30" was my signal for all students to clear their desks and sit silently within half a minute. A class reward occurred after 30 were completed successfully. My kids loved how visitors witnessing the routine would drop their jaws in surprise.

5. Anticipate problems and be creative.
At the beginning of one year, my middle-grade students charged into class like Mel Gibson and a thousand Scottish warriors. To solve the problem, I asked my kids to line up for class outside my door with their left arm against the wall and a foot of space between them and the person in front of them.

To enter class, each child had to answer either a content-related question or a random dumb question like, "What type of weapon would you use to battle Aquaman?" The dumb questions kept the line entertained. After answering, they were directed to take a seat, quiet as moonlight, and follow instructions on the board. Students talking or violating any of the protocol were sent to the back of the line.

6. Make positive phone calls home and send letters.
I used to send a positive note home to every student's guardians, and that note included a magnet (100 cost about $9.00) to encourage its placement on the refrigerator. I also left complimentary voicemails. That way, parents and kids saw me as an ally.

Little Things: Quick Interventions That Support Classroom Management

1. Show students that it pays to behave.
At the end of tough classes, I'd daily give out two raffle tickets -- one for academic effort and one for good behavior. After writing their names on the tickets, kids dropped them in a jar. On Friday, I randomly drew two student names -- both received candy bars.

2. Never punish an entire class.
Even when you feel like the the entire class is misbehaving, there are always some kids following directions. Punishing the class as a group only incites further resistance.

3. Build content-related anticipation.
At the beginning of class, say, "Later today, I'll tell you. . ."

How to cure cholera (Clean water makes all the difference.)
What most super-geniuses have in common (They burn through acolytes.)
How the X-Wing fighters in Star Wars violate Newtonian physics (Blasters and afterburners don't make sounds in space.)
The goal is to get students interested in the teacher's agenda in lieu of misbehaving.

4. Change the tone.
To interrupt a class of aggressive complainers, I cued up Katrina and the Waves on my CD player. When the first grumbling complaint occurred, I raised my palm and played "I'm walking on sunshine, woooah / And don't it feel good!" Everybody laughed. Another kid started to whine until I pressed play again. Bigger laughs. After that, complaints rarely occurred.

5. Find things to appreciate.
Instead of starting class braced for conflict, make yourself look for things to delight in: that Serena knows everything about Detroit hip-hop or that your thermos of Intelligentsia Coffee is three quarters full.

6. Ramp up your enthusiasm.
There's no downside to being 20 percent more enthusiastic.

7. Use your words.
Students sometimes miss the obvious. Say, "This class makes me glad that I teach."

8. Don't pander.
Never cueing students to meet your emotional needs is an important adult boundary. And one of life's paradoxes is that people who never obsess over being adored are often the recipient of adoration.

9. Forgive.
When students get kicked out of Katie Riley's ninth-grade English classroom, she always tells them that everything is forgiven and that the next day will be a fresh start. When a student commits a felony, he sees Ms. Riley sitting in the courtroom gallery. That's all he needs to know.

10. Give students choices.
"Do you want to do this assignment in class or as a take-home quiz?" "Should this project be group or independent work?" Choice increases students' buy-in.

11. Publicly announce classroom management goals.
Say, "Yesterday, the noise was at an 'eight' during work time. Let's shoot for a 'five' today."

12. Establish routines.
For more chaotic classes, keep the class predictable. Also post the day's schedule.

13. State the truth when things go wrong.
If students are confused and lost, don't brush over it. And when you've sent a student out of the classroom, say, "That makes me sad and frustrated, but let's get our brains focused back on the third math problem."

Classroom Management by Michael Linsin

Check out this interesting and timely article that Kristi Stacks shared with the staff of PI.  This classroom management blog is written by a veteran teacher named Michael Linsin.  This is from a post he titled, “How to Drench Your Students in Learning.”

http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2016/01/30/how-to-drench-your-students-in-learning/