Author Archives: mcashing

Alternative Learning Center

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There has been much discussion (both with me and not) about my new position here in the high school, and the new program in which we are implementing this year.  Hopefully this blog will clear up some questions.  I have many questions myself at this point, but this is what I know so far:

The Alternative Learning Center (ALC) is NOT the same as In-School-Suspension (ISS).  In the past, ISS has been viewed as a dumping ground for students to serve a “sentence” as a result of breaking a rule.  While at ISS, students were unproductive, and almost unresponsive. 

The ALC will temporarily house students that have had behavioral issues in the school, but this center will be a working classroom.  Students will receive academic support for class assignments that need to be done.  In turn, teachers who recommend a student to attend the ALC will provide appropriate assignments for those students to work on while at the ALC.   Students will also receive behavioral support in the forms of Conflict Resolution and Character Education.  Hopefully, this will take a more proactive approach and help the students to own their learning experiences and academic future.

Teachers here in the high school are encouraged to sit on a committee that will develop and over-see some of the curriculum that will be introduced to these students.

Here are a few links to websites from other schools that have adopted this philosophy.

One week until the children get here…

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This year I’ll be working in the High School in a new position: Alternative Learning Center.  Lots of thoughts floating around my head, one of which being this new video talking about Praise and it’s negativity on children.  This is a bit difficult for us to hear, because (I don’t know about you) I was taught that stickers and tickets and other extrinsic things will work every time.  I was encouraged to try some intrinsic motivations, but never got too many examples of that.

While this is true, extrinsic motivators will work, we as teachers need to think about what they will work toward.  Are the motivators working to make our students better people, better thinkers, brighten their future?  Or are the motivators simply conditioning them into little zombies that know how we like things done in the classroom?  And, naturally, there will be some kids that don’t want to be little zombies and could care less about the stickers and prize-box items, etc.

This video gives a few examples from the HighScope curriculum.  It’s based on early childhood education, but I think it is very much applicable to the high school level as well.

Apples Video Magazine: “Stuck on Stickers? Stop!”

Some positive things about this video points out that asking kids questions and encouraging them gets them thinking, which is huge!

Birthdays

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I celebrated my birthday this past week.  I was in Kindergarten for 4 out of the 5 days, and they are the cutest when they know you have some huge life event going on!  Maybe it’s the snot dripping down their face as a huge, shy smile comes across their face when they say Happy Birthday.  Maybe it’s because they will get just as excited to say Happy Birthday to you the following day, when they’re only 364 days early for the next one.  Maybe it’s the rush to be the first to say it, which includes the rushing in the phrase happybirthday!!! (and of course, the louder they say it, the faster it counts for, for some reason).  Maybe it’s the contagious-ness of the fact that one person remembers, and then the rest all feel the need to say it individually all at once.

Whatever it is, they’re stinkin’ cute! (sometimes literally…)

Timers

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It is essential that teachers have timers that can count up, as well as count down.  Maybe not necessarily one that can do both, but this would make for an easier way of living.

I was in an unruly 5th grade class today (which really wasn’t too bad) when I noticed we were wasting a lot of time trying to get (and keep) everyone’s attention before giving directions, walking in the hallway, etc.  So at the beginning of the day, I found a timer on the teacher’s desk, and came up with my brilliant plan.  I announced to the kids (who had asked me this 10 times in the first 5 minutes of school) that we would be playing mum ball (or having free time) at the end of the day, HOWEVER…I would be keeping track of how much time it took for everyone to get and stay quiet.  Every time someone talked out of turn, I would start the timer, and keep it going, until they had stopped talking.  At the end of the day, that accumulated time would be taken away from their Free Time.

It worked for the most part.  I carried it around with me all day: in the hall, during class, etc.  Most of the time, all I had to do was hold it up and start it, and the few that were paying attention wasted their voices trying to get their classmates to be quiet.  I guess I was a little lenient with them, and definitely would start and stop it more often next time, because they only “earned” 2 minutes of quiet time.  During this time, we sat with the lights off, and our heads down.  Otherwise, it would be too much like free time to really count as a consequence.  And, it’s making up for all of the time when they should’ve been quiet and listening in the first place.

Highly recommend giving this one a shot.

The Quiet Game

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I’m pretty sure this will only work with smaller children.  They are less suspicious of vague “prize” promises.  Plus, I’ve tried this at camp before and know that the older kids see this as torture.  Although, it may be all in how you present it.

Yesterday, I was in First Grade, and we needed to be in the hallway for an extended period of time.  Feeling very outnumbered, I decided to implement the quiet game.  It helps to build up with an excited voice:  “Hey, have you guys ever played, the QUIET GAME??  Wanna play??”  Basically, they can’t talk, or whisper, or gesture too big for a certain amount of time.  I set it for the whole time we were in the hallway.  Then, whoever violates the rules doesn’t get a prize.  Of course, you don’t tell them what the prize is beforehand, just incase you get a few self-righteous students who “don’t LIKE that…”  I also decided not to tell them flat out who had not earned the prizes as I caught them talking, so they thought maybe I would give them a second chance and clean up their act.  Otherwise, once they know they’re out of it, they’re more likely to not care and just go nuts, slowly dissolving the whole game.

That was the quietest I’ve ever heard that group of students!  All 21 of them!  Of course, over use of the quiet game will also make it less effective, so be careful not to run to it too quickly.

Prizes can vary, but should be something super small so that you’re not making it too big a deal (a ticket, a sticker, a pencil eraser, etc.).  And prizes should be given rather quickly from the stopping point so that students can associate the prize with the behavior.

Vocabulary Reviews

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I just found out that on edhelper.com, you can save word lists and they will create various word puzzles from them.  This can practice spelling, as well as definitions, etc.  I’m definitely going to use this for my Spanish student, but I wish I had figured this out earlier!  I would’ve had a wealth of Spelling practice puzzles for my Homework Helpers group in 3rd grade.  *Sigh* oh well…

Why Questions

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Looking though some of my old files (they were on 3 1/2 inch floppies…that’s how old they were!), I found a project that I had to do for one of my math education classes in college.  It’s a document called “Why Questions” and it outlines some “Math Magic – that’s just the way it is” questions people have about math, and their mathematical answers.  I had focused on Fractions in my project, because I was an over-zealous sophomore that wanted the world to be able to understand mathematics and love it like I do.

If you are wondering the answers to any of the following questions, let me know and I’ll e-mail you the document.  It’s pretty interesting, with graphics and everything.  It must’ve taken me a while to make, I guess.

  • Why can’t you divide by zero?
  • Why can we invert and multiply when we divide fractions?
  • Why do we get common denominators when we add/subtract fractions, but not when we multiply/divide them?
  • Why is the product of a negative and a positive equal to a positive?
  • Why is the product of two negatives equal to a positive?
  • Why can we move the decimal point when we divide decimals?
  • Why do we count the number of decimal points in the numbers being multiplied to decide how many decimal points are in the product?

Behavior Management

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Being all around the school, I’ve also seen several different varieties of behavior management.  Here are what people are using in the classroom today.

Group Consequences

  • “Smellies” – as mentioned in a previous post, smellies are really chap-sticks that smell good, and instead of putting a sticker on their hand or shirt, you smear a bit of chap-stick on their hand.  The little kids love it.  Make sure you don’t mix this with your regular chap-stick though!  Oh the germs that must be on there!
  • Chips in the cup – each table group has a cup and when they are following directions, they receive a chip in their cup.  The group with the most (or has earned the “magic number”) of chips by the end of the day/session earns a prize (to be determined by teacher before hand).  This can also be adapted for individual use.
  • “Fuzzies” – Every time the group is on-task, following directions, a fuzzie is earned for the group.  If they can beat their record (to be recorded and kept on board) for highest number of Fuzzies earned in a session/class, they all receive a prize.  Keep in mind that Fuzzies can also be taken away if people are not following the rules. 
  • Tally marks – At the beginning of the day, set up a T-chart with T on one side (for teacher) and C on the other (for class).  If the class gets “caught” following directions, they earn a point.  If the teacher has to give out too many reminders on rules and directions, they earn a point.  By the end of the day, if the class has more points than the teacher, they earn free time.  If not, they have a quiet time (usually the smaller kids need to sit with their heads down).
  • Beans in a can – This one can take a while (or not, depending on how well behaved your class is!).  This follows the same principle as the Fuzzies one, in that every time the class as a whole is following directions and participating, a bean goes into the can (I would use a coffee can, or ask your cafeteria crew for an empty container for salad dressing).  When the container eventually fills up, the class is rewarded with lunch in the classroom or a classroom party.  However, keep in mind beans can also be taken out of the container if people refuse to follow the rules.

Individual Consequences

  • Strikes 1 – I’ve seen these done in 2 different ways.  In the first way, students who are misbehaving receive strikes, and they are recorded on a class chart for the week.  If they receive a strike throughout the day, they miss out on free time.  If they receive 5 in a week, they miss out on lunch in the classroom.  If they receive more than that in a week, the principal is consulted. 
  • Strikes 2 – In the second way, students receive pieces of paper that they must take home to have their parents sign and return to school.  If they have more than three strikes in a marking period, they miss out on the end-of-marking period party.  Usually, these are given out in the upper grades for not handing in homework, but can be given out for not following directions at the discression of the teacher.  A strike given in this manner can be expunged, if and only if the student brings in their homework for 5 days consecutively. 
  • Sticker Chart – of course, these can be used in a myriad of ways.  I’ve seen teachers use these as a daily reward for not getting any strikes.  I think the most common way that I’ve seen them used is some form of Daily reward.  Although, you must watch out for the high-gloss charts (or low-quality stickers) and the kids in your class that have figured out how to peel stickers off of other peoples charts to fortify their own and try to get to the prize box quicker.  True story.
  • Tickets – Similar to the sticker chart, but easier to give out more frequently than on a daily basis.  Tickets can be rewards for winning academic games, as well as just following the rules and participating in class.  Tickets can also be taken away for misbehavior as well.  The classes I’ve seen that have these usually have “shopping” days on Fridays, and have various levels of prizes (10 ticket, 25 ticket, and 50 ticket items, all of which can be purchased at the Dollar Store).  Take caution with these as well, because just like the sticker charts that can be peeled clean, tickets can be stolen from others, and has been known to happen on occasion.  To prevent this, it’s a good idea to have students write their initials or names on the back of each ticket, and once they are spent (or handed in for different reasons) they need to be thrown away.   
  • Smiley Face Charts – I’ve seen these especially for kids who have trouble staying on task throughout the day.  They have a Smiley chart which is broken down for every subject of the day, or in extreme cases, time intervals (usually of 15-20 minutes).  If the child reaches his simple goal (usually to follow directions the first time given, or participate in class, or something like that) within the given time frame, they can color in a smiley face.  If not, they have to color in a frown face.  Depending on the student, they may have a goal of getting 5/9 smiley faces in the day, or as high as 8/9 smileys, or so on.  This is very adaptable to any student, and not everyone needs to have one (because you would probably go nuts trying to keep track of 16-20 different ones in your classroom alone!).  These usually have a very specific prize also, like playing darts in the morning, or having an icecream at lunch – something you know they’ll like.

Several of these behavior management techniques are used across whole grade levels, which is nice to have something consistant, especially as students switch groups for Intervention times and intermingle with other students from other classes.

At one of our recent faculty meetings, we talked about a concept where you’re finding a consequence to meet the actions of the student.  For example, if they’re late to class, it doesn’t make sense for them to have to write 10 times over and over “I will not be late to class”.  That just gets them to hate writing.  They also steered away from the language of “punishment” because, in the real world, there are not always punishments for your actions, there are consequences, good or bad.  This just inspired me to think outside the box when dealing with students who already “know” everything anyway (or think they do).

Wish List Items

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Being all around the school, I get a sampling of all the cool teacher products that are out there now.  Here’s a small list of awesome things that are on MY wish-list, and that I think are essential to a fun/efficient learning environment:

  • Wipe-off dice:  I saw these in Kindergarten, so they’re a little bigger than normal dice, but that just means there’s enough room on each face for you to put whatever you want on any side: letters, numbers, roman numerals, vocabulary words, actions, jobs, student names, whatever!  Definitely adaptable to any grade level.
  • Magnetic Erasers:  Especially if your white-board is magnetic, this is a must have!  I don’t know about you, but I’m ALWAYS loosing the eraser, and this way it’s right there where you always need it!
  • Clipboards:  Not only for students who may be working on a carpet center, but having an individual clipboard for each of your small group plans (especially if you’re an AIS/Resource room teacher and see many different small groups throughout the week, and of course they’re all doing different things!)
  • Bins and Baskets:  Essential to organization!  Whether it’s keeping track of the work for all of those different small groups, or just keeping your student pencils all in one place (and a seperate, germ-free basket of teacher pencils!)
  • Class library:  A good selection of age/grade level appropriate books is always great, both challenging and “free-read” kinds.  It helps to have these leveled by ability
  • Book Order Account:  Ok, I’m going to sound like a spokesperson for Scholastic right now, but they’ve got it totally figured out!  Books for cheap, sometimes in nice package deals that beat out any bookstore competitors, and free shipping through your school.  Plus, incentives and deals throughout the year, newsletters to give you fresh teaching ideas, and if your students order online, free books for your class and you don’t have to deal with the money!  Can life get better!  I submit that it cannot!  Plus (new to me) Scholastic sells more than just books.  They have all kinds of teacher supplies (many of which are on this wish list!)  So if this isn’t on your wish list, the question is: why not??
  • “Smellies”:  Ok, I’ve learned this trick from the younger grades as a reward system.  “Smellies” are basically flavored chapsticks that you rub on their hands so that they can smell their reward.  It sounds strange, but the kids love it!
  • Organizational systems: filing cabinets, cubbies, clear pockets in binders, wire racks, colored paper and binder clips, post-its, etc.  All essential to teachers worth their salt!  (and very helpful to subs!)

Feel free to add your own wish-list items in the comment section!

Highs and Lows

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I found myself at the end of the day today needing a little time filler.  We had gone outside for play-time, and I brought them in about 5 minutes earlier than I really needed too.  I guess I’m just not used to this nice weather, that we don’t need to worry about getting boots on, and hats and scarves, and gloves.  Plus, they were kindergarteners, so because it wasn’t Friday (Friday folders) and wasn’t Monday (“homework” packets), extra things didn’t need to go home. 

So, sitting around on the carpet, we went around and everyone shared their favorite thing about the day.  It’s a great way for kids to learn to respect one another, and to learn more about one another.  There may be someone that liked the exact same thing you did that you wouldn’t have thought they would! 

Of course, you’re probably thinking “oh, I can’t do this with my high schoolers…you just did this with kindergarten, of course you could get away with something like that.”  But why not?  Are high schoolers any more likely to respect each other than kindergarteners?  Shouldn’t they be reminded on how respect is properly shown?  Now, I didn’t have time to do the “low” points of the day, but if we did, this would be a perfect way to resolve some issues, as well as find out a little more about each other.

We did “highs” and “lows” at the end of each day when I taught in China, during our teachers’ meeting.  It was a really great way for our group leader to know how to better serve us, as well as to get to know each other.  And we were college age!  So, this activity knows no bounds, and no time limit (although you might want to set one if you have a chatty group!).