Book Recommendation

I would like to recommend Teaching Outside the Box: How to Grab Your Students By Their Brains by LouAnne Johnson. She is the author of the book My Posse Don't Do Homework. It covers subjects from classroom management, being prepared for a new year, motivating students, and shares some time and energy savers. I am currently re-reading this book and getting more out of it the second time. You will probably see me post about different things she has reminded me of or taught me through the book.

Student Participation in Discussion

Most often I am finding that the same students participate in discussions or respond to questions in the classroom. One thing that I have seen in some classrooms is an action that students do when they agree with something said or were going to respond in a similar fashion. A few actions I have seen include snapping, giving two thumbs up or patting themselves on the head. I like this because it gives the students an opportunity to do something instead of blurting "I was going to say that." I believe that it demonstrates who is tracking along with the discussion and who is thinking the same thing.
I have also found that there are different ways that I would like students to respond in different situations. There are times I would like students to raise their hands. Other times I want to hear the first thing that they think by saying it spontaneously. Yet, at times I would like students to think before they respond. LouAnne Johnson recommends teaching all three of those ways in Teaching Outside the Box: How to Grab Your Students by Their Brains. She discusses it on pages 90-92. She suggests explaining each and making a visual to display for what types of responses you expect in a discussion. I am going to implement this in my classroom.
She also talks about how beneficial wait time can be in some discussions. It is amazing the type of responses that you can hear after giving students some time to think. She states that "Students who normally didn't respond began raising their hands, and their thoughtful comments inspired deeper thinking from the quick thinkers." (pg. 92) I have found this to be true even in an early childhood classroom.

How do you get students to participate? What kind of procedures do you use for classroom discussion? Do you have any stories or comments about using thinking time before allowing students to respond?

Classroom Discord

Today, I was in a classroom that was full of discord. (My mom would call it strife.) I am not saying that everyday is like this in the classroom I was in. On the contrary, I am sure it is not. I have experienced it before. It just happens to be that it is very fresh in my mind. I would like to discuss what to do when the classroom gets this way.

Today, I reiterated who each student was responsible for, I talked about how I was responsible to help each student in the class follow directions, and I also talked about how it makes us feel when there is so much discord in the classroom. We discussed that being responsible for yourself will help to make the classroom a place we want to be. During our discussion, they explained what reporting was and when to do it. They also talked about how tattling is inappropriate and what it was. In the past I have also modeled how to tell a classmate something when necessary. I have also talked about how to be a good friend. In a classroom I was in earlier this year the teacher had a fish who the students could talk to and tell or write notes about their concerns about others to. I believe it helped squelch the discord in that classroom.

What are some of the things that you do in your classroom? How do you hold each student responsible for him/herself?

The Power of Words

I believe words can build up or tear down. They are so powerful.

Just think about the words we remember? I was called Tweety when I was in first grade because I was short and some other children referred to themselves as Sylvester. I remember that Kevin said that he couldn't believe I made the cheerleading squad when we were in eighth grade. I just happened to be walking not to far behind him as we were getting on the bus. I also remember a teacher telling me that my handwriting was bad. I don't remember exactly what she said. I had given up trying because my effort didn't seem to get me anywhere. (My finger was also bandaged up because I had broken the tip of bone off on my ring finger and cut it open really bad.) I also had a student today very upset over one word that another student had said to him. I think it was disqualified. I don't think the context for the word was quite right but the meaning was sure there. He was in tears.

I just think that I need to remember this especially in the classroom.

Tomorrow Is a New Day!

I have to say this is easy for me because I am currently subbing. I subbed for sixth grade today. This is my second time doing that grade level. I enjoyed it more the first time. I tend to do much better with my homeroom class then for classes that switch into my room. I am unsure of the reason. Perhaps it is because I tend to start the day successfully and if I began a new class that way it would be good. I also find that is more challenging to get to know students when you are with them for shorter amounts of time. I will have to ponder this some more...

I also find that I have a very difficult time with students who are constantly telling others what to do or telling me that a student is not following the directions. At the same time, I do believe that students should be able to talk to another student who is bothering them. In fact, I would rather have them work it out then having to involve me if possible. I do tell students to try and work it out. I also tell them to, "Be responsible for yourself." I would be curious to see how others deal with this.

Things I Have Learned Along the Way About Classroom Management

Joel, who blogs at So You Want To Teach?, has gotten me thinking about classroom management with his post today.

He mentioned being proactive. I agree with that! Be aware of what is going on in your classroom and deal with potential problems before they grow. Sometimes just letting a student know you are aware of what is going on the student will make a choice to change it. I think this is where "the look" comes into play.

Another key is routine, routine, routine. Thank you, Harry Wong for laying it out so easily for us. If you teach the routines early on and then stick to them. It is easy just to say, "Excuse me that is not how we do things around here." Usually, a student just needed that little reminder. Sometimes though, it would be a great opportunity to review and practice the routine. I would many times find myself having to do that in January.

Empower students with a choice instead of telling them to do something. This is something that I have recently gotten a lot better at. If I am unsure that a student is aware of what he is supposed to be doing I will simply ask. If they don't know, then I will explain. If they are aware, I will simply say then you have a choice to make. I continue on with, "If you choose not to follow the directions, I am going to ......" Usually, this will correct the problem. Most often I just have to say, "What are you supposed to be doing right now?"

Don't take it personally! Sometimes a student is just out to see how you react. Deal with the situation in a calm manner. Often, a soft answer that is firm will turn the situation around.

Separate the behavior from the child. Sometimes there are very viable reasons that a child is behaving in the this manner. Other times there is no apparent reason whatsoever and it will be a waste of precious time if you try. Some students are very tender and get upset when they are given consequences. This is a good time to explain that I am not mad at them but the consequence is the result of a choice they made. I remind them why they were given a consequence. Often, the consequence follows an unheeded warning. I also let them know that even I make mistakes sometimes and I don't expect them to be perfect.

Document almost everything! I learned this as a PreK teacher. Anedoctal notes are your friend. This helps if the behavior becomes a pattern and has to be looked at more closely. It also helps if a parent has a question about it. It is good to have an easy system set up in advance and to get in the habit of using it. I have to think about what this looks like for an elementary classroom. I think it will look different depending on what level you teach. This will also assist in making good instructional decisions for your students.

Tomorrow is a new day! Remember we all have those days every once in awhile. This is a good time to go home and leave your work at school. (I recently read a blog that compared it to closing a book, putting it on the shelf, and going home for the day. I will try to find it and link it to here.)












Two books that have really helped me are: The First Days of School by Harry K. and Rosemary T. Wong and Teaching Outside of the Box: How to Grab Your Students by Their Brains by LouAnne Johnson. Harry and Rosemary's book was very good for setting up routines and getting your year started. LouAnne's was a very enjoyable read.


As far as not smiling, I don't think I could do it. It would be very unnatural and ingenuine of me. Students are very intuitive and can spot a fake from far away. I do agree in the thought behind that statement. It is necessary to be firm. Some days I will say it is easier to be positive and happy than others. On those days I decide to have a good day for myself and I attempt remember not to take things personally. After those days are over I remember tomorrow is a new day.

Prepping for A Substitute

I got to be in the classroom of a well-prepared teacher today. (If you refer to my Out of Body Exerience?, you will see that I didn't understand much of what was said in the classroom but that is another story.) Her sub folder included a pull-out schedule, a class list, a list of groups, an exit map, a schedule, a list of routines, and a set of emergency sub plans. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I had everything I needed and a few things I just might need.

The pull-out schedule is a very nice piece because I have been in classrooms where students come and go. I trust the students. However, I would just feel more comfortable knowing where they are and when to expect them back.

The list of routines was remarkable. The routines included: arrival, end of the day/dismissal, fire and tornado drills, going to and from lunch, Morning Meeting, how to get the student's attention, student responsibilities, and the bathroom/fountain routine. Knowing the classroom routines in a class I am subbing in immensely simplifies my day. I know I will not do everything the same as the teacher but I like to try and keep the day as similar as possible.

The Emergency Sub Plans were great too. They gave several suggestions for what to do for Language Arts and Math. There were several options which can be nice to have because the day doesn't always match the plan. The plan also included the specials schedule.

There is also some student information that would be helpful to be aware of. I know that it is important to be confidential about many things. I will just give you one example. I had a fourth grade student who got a bloody nose at recess. I discovered upon picking up the class up for lunch that she hadn't eaten yet. So I explained that she could stay in the lunch room and eat or bring her lunch back up to the room. As I was explaining this to her I was told that she is probably not understanding me which would explain why she was in tears. She had already been through having to change her clothes in the nurses office. It would have been helpful for me to know that she didn't speak much English. Although, perhaps that is something that is confidential. It is just one particular that would have been helpful to know that day.

Any other suggestions would be great!