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Indoor Recess Solutions

Jennifer Wagaman — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 17:26:12 +0000

Whenever the weather is bad, students are prevented from burning off excess energy outside during recess and are bound indoors for the dreaded “indoor recess”. While there will always be a handful of students who are fine with this and sit quietly reading or playing with puzzles, teachers often dread the rest of the day with those students who will be that much more difficult to handle due to excess energy.

While there is no perfect solution to the indoor recess dilemma, here are some ideas to make the most of the time with students.

Create a project for students to focus energy on. This can be as simple as a scavenger hunt or as complex as creating a commercial to record on video tape. Be creative and get your students to put their energy into something productive.
Play a group game that gets students moving around. Putting an animal name on each child’s back and having them ask questions to figure out who they are is one way to get students up in a semi-orderly manner.
Hold an arts and crafts recess with several art stations for students to choose from to make various craft items. Vary the items so that boys and girls will both be interested. One station for boys could be to make a volcano while girls might want to make bead necklaces.
Have students work in groups to create a skit either from scratch or from a book in the classroom library.
Have an indoor recess idea box with a variety of easy ideas and have students pull an idea from the box. This will keep indoor recess fresh and exciting as they never know what they’ll be doing!

Do you have more ideas? Please share with us!

When Students Lie to Teachers

Jennifer Wagaman — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:15:25 +0000

Lying is not a novel concept, a fact that parents will readily share with any who ask. Children will lie when it seems easier in the moment than telling the truth and dealing with the consequences of the truth.

Teachers will often deal with students who are telling lies for one reason or another – getting out of homework, not admitting what really goes on at home, not wanting to get into trouble, and sometimes simply not remembering. Understanding why a child is lying is important as this helps the teacher understand the best consequence for the lie.

If a child is trying to hide the truth about something, there could be good reason for the teacher to know what that truth is. Here are some common reasons why a child might lie: about homework:

Lies about homework -

The child may not have understood the homework
The child may be struggling with the concept being taught
The child may not have help at home (or the materials to complete an assignment)
The child may have forgotten to do the homework
The child may simply be trying to get out of extra work

Depending on the reason, the teacher should handle the resulting consequences differently. A child trying to get out of the work, for example, may be rewarded with extra work. A child without help at home or who is struggling to understand the work may need extra time with the teacher and modified homework for a time.

Three Things All Teachers Should Know

Jennifer Wagaman — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:41:10 +0000

Teachers enter the classroom with numerous bits of advice and countless tricks up their sleeves, but when it comes down to it, the advice and tricks will only take them so far. Here are the three things that all teachers need to know before setting foot in their classroom.

1. Lesson planning is important.

In fact, lesson planning is so important it will effect classroom management, student achievement and teacher effectiveness. Learn how to plan a lesson from start to finish: Lesson Planning Tips

2. Having a thorough classroom management plan is vital.

Many teacher preparation programs train new teachers to avoid discipline issues though proactive management – walking around the classroom, high interest lessons, caring about students and so on. The actuality of teaching, though, is not quite so idealistic. In fact, classroom management is often one of the top most difficulties that teachers face. Learning how to manage a classroom full of students starts with a well thought through classroom management plan. Learn all you need to know about classroom management: My Classroom Management

3. Love each student where he or she is.

A college professor once told me that the student who drives you the most nuts is the student who needs you the most. Indeed, in today’s society, parents are leaving more and more up to the teachers and this results in students who need love, attention, respect, boundaries and simply someone to care about who they really are – faults and all. Remember when students continue to act up that very often they are simply being children and while we need to teach them how to act and interact with others, we need to also love them as they are.

Inventory of Paraprofessional Skills

Jennifer Wagaman — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:56:26 +0000

When working with a paraprofessional it is important to have set tasks for her to complete to help the teacher accomplish her job. Here is a simple list to help start discussions on what tasks the paraprofessional should complete each day.

Instructional Support:

Reinforce skills already taught by the teacher
Read to students and listen to students read
Supervise student work
Modify materials as needed and as directed by teacher
Assist students
Accompany students to library and assist book choice

Diagnostic Support

Correct and grade assignments
observe and record academic and social behaviors
Administer informal assessments such as unit tests

Behavior Management Support

Provide positive feedback to students
Provide earned reinforcements and monitor progress on behavior plans
Supervise time out and assist student who are stressed

Classroom Organization Support

Make instructional games and learning centers as directed by teacher
Monitor students at learning centers
Create and put together bulletin board displays
Locate any necessary instructional materials

Paperwork Support

Duplicate any necessary materials
Take attendance
Record grades as directed

Team Meetings Increase Student Motivation

Jennifer Wagaman — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:28:16 +0000

Teachers often struggle with a lack of student motivation along with numerous classroom management or student discipline issues. Holding a classroom team meeting may help students take responsibility for their education as well as their behavior in the classroom.

Teachers need to team together as well and provide support and motivation for each other. Celebrating the small successes and providing ideas for handling the various problems that come up will become invaluable in preventing teacher burn-out.

Read more about how to implement team meetings within the classroom.

Zero-Tolerance Policy for Weapons

Jennifer Wagaman — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:01:41 +0000

Schools have implemented zero-tolerance policies for weapons and drugs as well as strict rule for handling those students who break the rules. So when a six year old is caught with a cub scout knife and was sentenced to 45 days in an alternative school for breaking this weapons rule, people question the logic behind such a strict rule.

In this child’s situation, the school district voted to change the policy for Kindergartners and First-graders to a 3-5 day suspension. But where do schools draw the line and how do they keep all students safe?

Schools should have strict policies for students who bring in any kind of weapon or threaten any type of violence. In fact, some schools have suspended Kindergartners for breaking the zero-tolerance rules, and for reasons less innocent than a child trying to eat lunch with a cub-scout knife.

Parents should back up the school and teach their children not to bring in weapons. While it may be an acceptable tool for use in the home, teachers must keep all students safe and what parent would want their child in danger while at school? While one student may not mean the tool as a weapon, another child with anger issues may take the weapon and use it maliciously.

While teachers must use judgment in keeping students and staff safe, the fact is that many teachers work in schools where violence is a serious issue and students as young as 5 years old attack teachers with flying fists. Violence is not an issue isolated to high-school students and schools should stand behind their zer0-tolerance policy.

The True Calling of a Teacher

Jennifer Wagaman — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:50:29 +0000

John Thompson discusses in Common Sense some of the difficulties of the blame game that schools, society and parents play with regard to student behavior problems. The issue at stake is the disciplining of students – with common sense “old school” methods as well as with new experimental reform methods.

He quotes Eric Carlton, the president of a group of alternative school in Chicago, as saying that the “social and emotional issues are hardly considered at their schools because the staff is so overwhelmed”. This needs to be addressed in every school across the nation and around the world. Who is at fault is not as important as who is stepping up to the plate to meet the needs of these students.

Somebody needs to meet the social and emotional needs of the children filling the schools. If those needs are not being met at home, then shame on parents and they will eventually pay the price. But if teachers are not stepping up to fill that void, then shame on them as well, and they will pay as well. While many teachers may claim that they are only there to teach basic education – reading, writing, math and science – there is so much more to a teacher’s job.

Every teacher needs to think of a way to reach out to each student in the classroom. Anita Voelker once said that her goal as a teacher was to make every individual student feel like he or she had a special connection with her as the teacher. Finding that special connection, meeting the needs of students on a deeper level than reading and writing, that is the calling of a teacher.

New Website for Classroom Management Tips

Jennifer Wagaman — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 16:17:48 +0000

Looking for a site devoted just to helping you improve your classroom management? The My Classroom Management website has free information and ideas for how to create that perfect classroom.

Find new ideas, ask questions and share things that worked in your classroom!

Visit: myclassroommanagement.com

Stop Bullying Now FREE resources

Jennifer Wagaman — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:32:14 +0000

The Stop Bullying Now website has free resources for educators and administrators to teach students about bullying. The resources include multimedia presentations designed to teach school staff, teachers and parents about bullying.

Find tip sheets, webisodes, books and more. All resources on the website are free.
Bullying is a serious problem and needs to be addressed in every school across the country. With these resources teachers will have the tools they need to learn how to stop bullying in their schools. Awareness of the problem is the biggest first step towards preventing and solving it.

Start a stop bullying now campaign in your school!

Teach Proper Vocabulary to Minimize Discipline Problems

Jennifer Wagaman — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:37:37 +0000

Everyone gets frustrated and upset. Students are no exception to that rule. How children are taught to handle their frustration and anger will make a huge difference in the classroom behavior and overall atmosphere for learning. Unfortunately many parents are not teaching their children how to handle their anger and the job is left to teachers. Here is an idea for helping students learn to manage themselves while keeping problems to a minimum in the classroom:

Teach Proper Vocabulary: Instead of simply chastising a student for swearing, encourage the class to learn the meaning of words and to find words that better describe their emotions. In addition to helping students talk about their emotions and thus working through those emotions, you will also help students expand their vocabulary and prevent fights and other behavior problems in the classroom.

Teaching proper vocabulary will also help students clearly communicate with you and others. If they are frustrated, they can explain their angry outburst with words that tell you and others what is frustrating them and why. While it may be awkward at first, with consistency, using proper vocabulary in the classroom will help to minimize discipline problems.