Use Student Music to Build Rapport, Increase Engagement

One of the things I love about National Public Radio is listening to the bumper music between segments. After the program, I often visit their online site to find out just what the music was and whether or not I can find a copy of it.

Music is universal. It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t like music or who doesn’t have a preference for a particular sound. For a teen, his music is synonymous with his group of friends and his clothing. It’s a part of his identity.

Shutting Down Brainstorm Session Saboteurs

The purpose of a good Brainstorming session is to have a shower of ideas from which to choose. I like to use Brainstorming when I’m asking the class for input on a project rubric, project topic ideas, and possible endings for the novel we’re reading.

Like anything else, good procedures make the Brainstorming session go smoothly. I set down the procedures early in the year and use a transparency to remind the class of my expectations every time we Brainstorm. Sure, it’s redundant, but I think that the sessions go more smoothly when everyone understands what to do.

10 Alternative Assessments for Homework

Homework is a dreaded word for many of our students. To them, homework means endless problem sets, memorizing vocabulary, or filling in the blanks. It’s hard for many kids to find a quiet place at home for homework or even a quiet place on the bus ride to the JV basketball game.

Extending classroom learning outside the school walls is a great idea; it reinforces objectives and makes for better classroom discussions. But the same ol’ read-and-respond assignments get dull. It’s good for everyone to mix up the assessments. After all, the brain loves novelty.

Do You Grade Class Participation?

Grading class participation or giving students a daily grade is beneficial because these grades hold students accountable for their learning in class. If a student is chronically absent from class or sits in the office for most of the period, her participation grade will suffer. These grades also reward students who come to class and stay on task.

But, grading class participation can be tedious. It’s also tough to make it fair. What makes good class participation and what is just merely warming a desk?

Using a Beach Ball for Review Questions

Whenever the seasons change, I start to get really excited. There are few things I love more than a good clearance rack. One of the items you can depend on finding at half price this time of year is the beach ball. I can usually pick one up for about a dollar, but I’ve seen them in August for 50 cents or less. I buy a good half dozen.

Beach balls are wonderful things. You can blow them up and, deflated, they store flat. If you puncture a beach ball, a small bit of duct tape will allow you to continue to use the ball, at least for a time. You can also repair them with vinyl repair kits (be careful not to stick two layers of the ball together).

Why all this talk about beach balls? They make for a wonderful review game and a great change of pace. Pull out the beach ball and start blowing it up and you’ll have a class full of engaged students.

Five Deadly Staff Meeting Sins and How to Avoid Them

When I was teaching, I used to say, “May I die during a staff meeting. The transition between life and death would be so subtle.”

It’s kind of snarky, but I’m sure you’ve sat through staff meetings where you were guilty of watching the clock, grading papers, doodling, or making lists.

It’s the beginning of another school year and I bet you have at least a half day full of staff meetings – maybe several days. Man, that’s rough. What makes these days so painful and what takeaways do we have for our own teaching?

Teaching Advice: Don’t Smile until Christmas

I remember when I entered my classroom for my first teaching position. I had 24 mismatched desks (I needed 28) and the only supplies in my closet were paper clips and ditto masters for a machine that was long gone.

That first year can be a really tough year and veteran teachers in my hall stopped by to give me bits of wisdom. Some advice was great, some was lousy. One gal told me to be myself. Yeah, well, myself wasn’t a teacher, so I didn’t know how to act.

What Did You Like about Your Favorite Teachers?

One of my favorite teachers was my high school French teacher. I really liked the way he started off the class in our first year of language learning with total immersion for the first quarter. When we finally heard him speak English, we all thought it was the funniest thing. He had a good sense of humor and made learning the language fun. We talked in silly voices, sang, drew pictures, and threw parties. I looked forward to his class every day.

That’s quite a compliment, isn’t it? I looked forward to his class every day.

Managing the Stack of Ungraded Papers

I have a collection of old student essays that makes me smile. One of those essays is, “Taxidermy Changed My Life,” by Pete. (I am not making that up.) Another gem is from Kevin who wrote about wanting to become a math teacher. Kevin wanted to teach math because he could leave work at 3:30 and be at the country club for a round of golf by 4 p.m.

Kevin didn’t stick around after school long enough to see the lights on at 8 p.m. in his teachers’ classrooms, didn’t watch as the teachers left the buildings with their briefcases full of papers to grade, and didn’t come to school on the weekends when teachers set up labs or planned lessons. Kevin was a smart kid, but he had an inaccurate picture of what a teacher’s workday looks like (and paycheck, too).