Monday, September 27, 2010

Ain't Misbehavin': Colored Cups for Classroom Management

I cited The Mailbox in this week's Top Teaching Tips of the Week, and here's a classroom management idea from their site:



Place three cups on the tables or desks of groups of students working together.  Mimicking traffic signals, green cups are on top, followed by yellow, and red at the bottom.  Whenever groups or tables are talking quietly, they may have the green cup displayed.  If they begin to get too loud, walk over and place the green cup at the bottom and the yellow cup will signal that they have a warning for their noise level.  If they correct their behavior, they get their green cup back on top.  If, however, they do not correct their noise level, the red cup moves to the top.  Red signals that they go to silence.

What I like about this is that it's pretty cheap to construct and it's simple for students to understand.  Best of all, the teacher can simply walk by a group, silently move cups, and communicate exactly what students should be doing.  If groups are in centers or playing a game, this would be a useful management idea.


-Veronica

imagecredit:  The Mailbox

Top Teaching Tips of the Week (September 27-October 3)



  1. The Mailbox (one of my favorites!) is giving away a coupon for orders!  The offer ends TODAY, so use it quickly.
  2. Looking for a science game?  Print out the game board for Endangered!  Students can learn the instructions, play, and explore facts about endangered species.  This could be quite useful if you're looking for activities for science centers.  Be sure to laminate the game board for repeated use.  A good extension would be for students to research the animals featured (source: American Museum of Natural History).
  3. Fall is here, so it's a great time for classes to study weather changes.  Visit The Weather Channel Kids for classroom ideas and teacher resources.  Take a moment to register for free, click on the Weather Classroom page, and find all sorts of information and reproducible sheets.  They have lesson plans, experiments, weather puzzles, resources and tons of other helpful things.
  4. Your class can participate in the 4th Annual GovDocKids Group US Constitution Day Poster Design Contest.  Download the entry form, and then submit student designs of how they have benefitted from the freedoms granted by the Constitution.  Assign it this week because entries must be postmarked by this Friday  (source: constitutionfacts.com).
  5. Hispanic Heritage Month is nearly half over.  Have you taken the opportunity to shine a positive light on the culture?  See my list of ideas to get you started!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Top Teaching Tips of the Week (September 20-26)




  1. Browse through the first season of PBS’s great show, SciGirls, which promotes scientific discovery and analysis.  It's an excellent resource for teachers in the middle grades.  The show encourages the study of math and science as viewers join girls as they solve an interesting problem in each episode.  Technology, internet use and cartoon characters also help this show seem relatable to students, and real scientists also make appearances.  I highly recommend SciGirls!  Also, visit their activities and projects page to see ideas for science class.  The activities are also helpfully provided in Spanish!
  2. Here's a great use of classroom technology:  have students create their own short children's book using ArtisanCam, which allows them to write a story and "publish" it for everyone to read online.  The neat thing is that students can also select from images to illustrate their story, and they all actually look like children's drawings!  Peek through the gallery for some examples.  Students could practice using story elements, and you could also integrate science by having them include facts about animals (such as their habitats, for example) because the pictures use animals as characters.
  3. To practice basic math facts, young students could Save the Apples in this online game.  They can practice addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, and select their level of difficulty.
  4. Your class could practice visualization and summarization skills by designing a comic strip or short graphic novel based on a few pages of text.
  5. Use Bingo instead of a written history or geography quiz if you want students to remember details about different Native American groups, states, etc.  Make some Bingo cards (you could even use regular paper and have students draw a chart)  and have your class fill each box with a term from the unit's list.  Then, call out clues ("This Southern state is also known as 'the Peach State'") and have them mark their box if they have the word written down.  Because students have to know their facts in order to win the game, this is a good assessment tool, and it's motivating to students.  It has the benefit of a "Jeopardy" game with easier preparation for the teacher.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Hispanic Heritage Month Begins!



Each year, Hispanic Heritage Month gives us the opportunity to have a particular focus on diversity.  Here are a few lesson plan ideas on how to integrate this important month, and the appreciation of Hispanic culture, in your classroom:


  • Scholastic has a diverse list of 25 ways to celebrate Hispanic heritage in the classroom, as well as an activity portal dedicated to Hispanic heritage month.
  • Here is a great book list put together by PBSKids.  It contains a lot of books about Hispanic culture that would be great for read-alouds and book talks for elementary students.
  • Have students research the holidays of different Latin American countries, and then design a visual project that showcases the historical, political and cultural significance for each holiday.  This would make a great display of student work!
  • Create a beautiful Mexican metal tooling craft project.  A great example and instructions can be found here (via kinderart).
  • Students can work in groups to explore the flags of different Latin American countries.  Have them investigate the symbols, stories and values represented on each flag.  Compare them to our country's own, and end the project by having the class create a unique flag for your classroom.
  • Make a paper bag pinata (via PBSKids).
  • Teach your student some Spanish words, or a Spanish nursery rhyme.
  • Elementary students can practice Spanish words, identify the flags of Spanish-speaking countries, and learn about famous Hispanics in this online game (via PBSKids).
  • Spotlight Hispanic writers and poets for your class.
  • Read a Latin fairy tale or myth, and have students compare it to one more commonly known to them.  Have them create their own fairy tale or myth in groups, or perform a reader's theater version of the tale.
  • Create Mexican bark paintigs (via zilkerelementaryart).
  • Students can write a research paper or present a project based on notable Hispanic people (Gale compiled a list, or you can narrow a topic of interest for the class, such as Hispanic scientists, government figures, etc).
  • Discuss culture and family traditions while reading a story about a Mexican American family.  Culminate the lesson with a class potluck lunch with special family recipes.  The full lesson plan can be found here (via ReadWriteThink).
I hope these Hispanic Heritage Month lesson plan ideas are helpful to you. And remember:  you're not relegated to one month when it comes to exploring Hispanic heritage.  Keep a list of ideas that seem appealing and practical for you, and use them whenever you can find the time in your curriculum.


-Veronica



image: cleveland.com

Monday, September 13, 2010

Top 5 Teaching Tips of the Week (September 13-19)


  1. Learn how one math class used IPods to practice probability
  2. Your students can become explorers in Woogi World, a “safe, educational virtual world” where they can play games and learn character development.  The educator’s page shows you how the site promotes cyber safety to young students.
  3. Vocabulary games galore can be found at http://www.vocabulary.co.il.  Students can practice homophones, prefixes, suffixes, complete word searches, learn oxymorons, and tons of other activities.
  4. Looking for some science experiments for your class?  Choose from Yes Mag’s list of science projects, which range from growing crystals, creating water filters, and making mini-parachutes!
  5. Bostitch is having a sweepstakes for teachers.  Find out how you could earn $5000 in classroom supplies. 

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Classroom Management: "Star System Management"

Debra Young-Allen from OK has provided us all with an interesting classroom management technique.  Her “Star System Management” is appropriate for elementary and middle school students, and can be an effective means of management for substitutes, though the reward may need to be modified.  The Star System divides the class in half, rewards each side stars for good behavior, and also rewards the opposing team when students on the other side are misbehaving.  Peer pressure, ftw?

Monday, September 6, 2010

Made of Awesome: Sunny D Book Spree

Visit Sunny D's website to learn about their book spree, which donates books to schools!

The spree ends in November, so get those labels in!

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Top 5 Teaching Tips of the Week (September 6-12)




  1. Using Pringles to teach engineering skills?  That’s what Mr. Salsich’s elementary class did when they had to figure out a way to mail a single Pringle a long distance without breaking the chip.  The cool science experiment is documented on their Edublog archive.  Find a cooperating class in another city, state or country and then try it! 
  2. I also found a more complex version of this activity for older students.  Students are challenged to make their package have the smallest mass and volume, and still keep the single Pringle intact. 
  3. Book Adventure could help your students find reading material that reflects their interests.  The Kid Zone allows them to find books based on their own criteria, and the site also provides comprehension quizzes that students can use to earn points for prizes.  The site has a wide-range of recommended books and quizzes, from Charlotte’s Web to Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
  4. Teach your class about energy conservation using California-based Energy Quest.  There is even a cool online novel called Devoured by the Dark included on the site, offering the integration of science and reading.
  5. Looking for classroom craft ideas?  Visit TeacherPlace.org for their collection of craft projects suitable for various grade levels and subjects.  Decorate your room with the Recycled CD-mobile, or invite students to make an “All About Me” scrapbook.  My favorite?  The Turtle Maracas.




Friday, September 3, 2010

***LIFESAVER #1: Class Build-a-Story***













OK, I’m not sold on the name either, but I couldn’t think of a better one.  Fortunately, the activity itself is infinitely better than the name.  I got this idea from a gifted elementary class I once subbed.  The teacher assigned the nameless activity, and it was obviously something the class enjoyed doing regularly.  I liked it so much that I made a note about it in my idea-nabbing notebook.  It works well for the particular needs of substitutes needing a Lifesaver, but it can work well for regular teachers for most grade levels (I’d say 1st-6th, roughly).

How to Do It:
  • Go to the board, or ask a volunteer to write for you.  Divide the board into three sections.  First section:  “Character.”  Second section:  “Setting.”  Third section:  “Problem.”  Depending on the class’ ability, you may have to introduce or review what each of these things mean.
  •  For the first section, ask the class to brainstorm characters from anywhere.  Books, TV, film, fairy tales, comics.  They can even name people in the classroom.  Encourage them to be as creative and random as possible.  Call on volunteers sitting quietly with their hands raised, and write down their ideas.  Call on more until you have a good list generated (5-10 ideas would be good for each section).  You may have to get them going with a few examples.
  • Do the same with the “Setting” section.   Any place or time period, as random as possible.
  • Do the same with the “Problem” section.  Whether mundane or extraordinary, write down ideas for any type of problem.
  • Once the class’ list is complete, it will look like this:

Character
Wolverine
Hannah Montana
Willy Wonka
Greg Heffley
Tinkerbell

Setting
In Our Classroom
In a Haunted House
At a Pool Party
In a Forest
On Mars

Problem
                        A Rhinoceros Escapes from the Zoo
                        Someone Stole Something
                        Someone Broke Their Leg
                        Someone Gets Grounded
                        A Dragon Destroys a Town

  • Congratulate the class on a wonderful list.  The more random it is, the better.  Perform a random selection process to select one item in each category.  You could call on well-behaved students to choose their favorite for each one; if the list is short, you could ask a student to give you a number less than ten, and then erase an item off the entire list as you count and land on that number; or, choose the items yourself.  No matter how you do it, just pare the list down to one item in each category.
  • .     Now your list will look something like this:

                        Character
                        Wolverine
                        Hannah Montana
                        Willy Wonka
                        Greg Heffley
                        Tinkerbell

            Setting
In Our Classroom
In a Haunted House
At a Pool Party
In a Forest
On Mars

Problem
                        A Rhinoceros Escapes from the Zoo
                        Someone Stole Something
                        Someone Broke Their Leg
                        Someone Gets Grounded
                        A Dragon Destroys a Town

  • Tell the students to take out a sheet of paper.  They are now to write silently about a story that must involve three story elements remaining on the list.  Encourage them to use their imaginations and think of a way to have the chosen character be in the selected setting encountering that particular problem.  The implausible suddenly becomes an interesting challenge.  The only rules are that they must be silent as they write, the story must be school-appropriate and they have to include the three story elements.  I like to assign that they write to fill a page, but it’s your call.  Many students will want to create such outlandish stories, they won’t even finish within one page.
                       

Why This Works:
1. This fun assignment attracts even the students who don’t particularly enjoy writing.  Notice the beginning of the activity is done as a class, promoting active learning.  Students have a level of “ownership” over their stories because they are the ones who make suggestions about the story elements.   Their brainstorm list is based on their own interests, which means this assignment seems less “restrictive” than most writing prompts.  For instance, though most writing assignments fail with some of the more difficult boys in your class, writing about what happens when Wolverine is at a pool party and a dragon destroys a town is infinitely more inspiring to them.

2.  This activity is also substantive.  Even though the story can contain silly elements, students still get practice writing creatively.  You can also help students focus on using voice for their characters (“think about what Wolverine would say in this situation”), using character traits, describing setting, creating dialogue, etc.  Encourage them to use their imaginations and be as descriptive as possible.  Even though this is a “time-filler” activity, there is no reason why they can’t actually benefit from it.

3.  Writing a creative story requires concentration.  An active, noisy class that writes silently for fifteen or twenty minutes is a blessing for any sub.

4.  Writing assignments are always FTW when you have large chunks of time to fill.  Why?  Because they can almost always be extended!  Nearly any writing assignment affords the opportunity for kids to write silently and then either (1) share their work to the class in a read-aloud, or (2) divide into pairs, read a partner’s work and help them edit it.  Kids are usually pretty eager to share creative stories, especially fun ones, so you’ll probably have many volunteers to read.  Also, editing means you could assign a “final draft” revision.  Voila!  A twenty-minute writing activity could be doubled, or possibly tripled, in length.  (If you have no lesson plans that day, wisely use the time when students are working on their stories to see what you can pull together for their next assignment or activity.)

5.  This gives you the benefit of an interesting “journal prompt” exercise without having to find or keep up with them yourself, or make copies for students.  This is especially helpful if you sub for the same class again, or need this activity with the same group.  Each time you assign it, the stories will be different because their brainstorm list will change.  Their minds are the only limit to creating new stories.  Even if you subbed the same class several times in a year and assigned this each time, there are a million possibilities for their stories.

6.  As stated, this is also flexible for different grades and ability levels.  Remember:  flexibility is golden!  I’d use it for elementary and possibly even middle school, gifted or struggling students, etc.  As long as the students can write sentences on their own, they should be able to handle this activity.  For younger grades, I like to take a piece of construction paper or blank printer paper, fold it in half, and tell them to write on one side and illustrate on the other.  For older grades, they can just write one page.

On the Other Hand…:
1.  When you’re leading the brainstorming process with the class, they may be too noisy.  Be sure to facilitate firmly:  only call on quiet people with their hand raised; ignore everyone else yelling out their ideas.  Students will soon see that the quiet people are the only ones who get their ideas on the board.  Once your louder ones get the picture, call on one of them for their suggestions.  If students are still noisy, remind them that, unless their behavior changes, the fun activity will end and you will put a boring journal prompt to which they must silently respond.

2.  The class may have some ideas on the board that aren’t too familiar with some students.  Say you have a few who don’t know Wolverine, who happens to be the randomly chosen character for their stories.  Try to minimize this during the brainstorming process by making sure each idea is familiar to all students.  If students still aren’t comfortable with the character, encourage them to think about what they know about these unfamiliar characters, even if it’s just a little.  They can also have the assigned character have a minor presence, if they want, and include other characters more familiar to them.

3.  Related to this, a few students may have had their hearts set on a particular character or other element, and be resistant to writing about something else.  Tell them their story can include the other elements the class suggested, but it still must include the other assigned elements.  Maybe you have a stubborn boy in your class who’d rather write about Wolverine than Hannah Montana.  There’s no reason they can’t both make appearances in the story!  Let them know that the assigned elements are what make the activity a fun challenge.  If someone is being particularly bitter about it, just allow them to write their story about whatever they’d like.

4.  Some students may not like to write, even with this assignment.  Even great assignments can fall just below a 100% positive rating.  Just try the best you can to encourage the student to write as much as possible, and keep thinking of ideas.

5.  Some students are too talkative when they’re supposed to be writing silently.  I had this problem in the class that I originally saw this assignment done, even though they were generally a good group.  They were just too excited about their stories to not talk about them!  Again, be firm with the students.  Let them know that we want to hear their great stories after they’re complete and not have it spoiled for us by talking about them.  They only have a certain amount of time to write, and the more they talk, the less time they have to finish writing.

6.  Some students may complain about not having any ideas for their stories.  This happens inevitably when you assign a writing prompt. Certain students will stare at a blank page for hours, if you let them!  Try to give a few random ideas to jumpstart their thinking.  Ask a few questions like, “Now, why is Wolverine at this pool party in the first place?  Why would he be there?”  During brainstorming, a few classes may have trouble getting a list of suggestions on the board.  Again, start them off with a few examples to get them going in each category.  Stick to things you know they recognize and may find interesting so that they can get the hint that this is supposed to be a “fun” activity.


I hope some people find this helpful!  Subs:  this is made with you in mind.  Regular teachers:  it works for your classroom, too!  If I were a regular teacher, I’d copy and paste the instructions in an emergency lesson plan.  You never know when you may need an emergency activity.






There are probably a few ways to adapt this activity further if you put your mind to it (ie, creating a dialogue script in groups, perhaps, and perform them for the class).  If you ever use it in class, let me know how it works out!



-Veronica