You’re coming to the end of the second month of your school year, maybe your first year as a teacher. You’ve gone through many of your strategies to help support a student who might struggle with behavior, academics, or social interactions. You can talk to the student, get advice from colleagues, former teachers of the student, or their family members. What if you need more options, more strategies to support your student? Consider visiting All Kinds of Minds. They have a library that “provides insights into the learning challenges that students face”, including: Thinking with Numbers Mastering the Challenges of Reading …
  Why doesn’t “a piece of cake” simply mean a yummy dessert? Why does it also mean a task that’s very easy? What about “let them eat cake“, “slice of the pie“, or “icing on the cake“? “Half-hearted” means lack effort or enthusiasm. “Big deal” means something important or consequential. “Wake up” means, well, stop sleeping! All these idioms mean something very different than their literal interpretation. Idioms can be a challenge for English language learners because they’re not literal. They can be puzzles to solve for all students in your classroom. I just posted seven new products that are …
You’re really, REALLY sick! You arranged to get a substitute teacher who needs information so your students can have a successful day and you can take care of yourself and feel better. Instead of laying in bed at home feeling sick AND guilty because you’re not sure how the day is going for your students, feel a bit better because you’ve left a sub binder for the teacher who is taking care of your students while you take care of yourself. Create your sub binder with enough information for a successful day. Try to avoid too many words that would require a lot of reading …
Is there a large event you’re responsible for planning? A math night? A science night? A reading night? These events are great at creating memories that last for a lifetime. Does it seem to take a lifetime of planning to coordinate activities, gather materials, prep volunteers, hold the event, and then clean it all up? I have some advice for you to consider. Recruit colleagues, capable students, and parents to help with the event. That might be obvious but my suggestion is give each person just one task to do – this can avoid anyone feeling expected to “do it all” or wondering …
At the beginning of every school year I would ask my parents to fill out a survey that gave me very important information. It was sent to parents separately from the packet of papers the office needed completed and returned, usually on brightly colored (yet easy to copy or read) paper. I bribed my kids to get it back to me promptly. Why send out a separate survey? Some of the information was redundant with the information the office wanted but this way I had it for the file I created for each student in my class. I didn’t always get information about health or …
Sometimes I have parents who pop into my classroom and announce an impending trip. They need me to provide them with a packet of work for the student to do while on the plane, when there’s a few minutes of spare time, or to keep up the routine of practicing skills while on the trip. I’ve found that the trip is usually pretty exciting, time gets away from everyone, and my carefully constructed packet of activities takes much more of my time to prepare than my student has time to complete while on the trip. And, I wasn’t even invited!! 😉 …
Are you implementing new curriculum? As an author of science curriculum, I’m sure I need to explain background and activities very clearly and that takes a lot of words. I try to save time by including videos in my materials so teachers can listen to me instead of reading all the text in their teacher guides and students books. What might you do if your energy sink is implementing new curriculum? Can you clearly identify what makes this curriculum different from what you have been using? A unique approach? A refocus on learning strategies? Different content? Does that help you …
images by Education Graphics Group Do you want to publish a weekly communication? Parents say they appreciate it, kids love seeing their names mentioned, and it can keep everyone up to date on coming events. What can you do to keep it from taking two or more hours to write, print, and distribute each week? Focus on why you are writing a newsletter If you write about every subject, mention many students, give a detailed overview of the curriculum, AND a preview of coming events your newsletter will be L-O-N-G. It takes time to write and may not be read by parents. Define the purpose of your newsletter. Is it reminders, …
Students need timely feedback. While a student is wondering “I’m not sure about that last question” you have a great opportunity to capitalize on this interest to review answers. Tomorrow or the next day that student might not remember the assignment or the quiz. If you don’t need the information from the assignment to assess student understanding or plan activities here are a few suggestions for giving feedback quickly. Here’s your obvious choice: Project the answers or hand out answer keys. Students correct their own papers. This can be an opportunity to discuss an answer that students identify as needing clarification. Note: I usually avoid …
Does it seem like there’s always papers to grade? Are there stacks of paper on your desk and a few more on the shelf? What information do you need to adjust your teaching and plan future lessons? Students need timely feedback, does it take an hour or more every day? Here are a few suggestions: Grade one assignment each day and set up the other assignments for students to grade themselves Plan ahead so you have time to grade an assignment that needs more time, like an essay Learn to quietly grade papers during a staff meeting IF your attention …
