Tag Archives: Prep

Active Learners for the Future

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I am a firm believer that students need to be actively engaged to learn.  The best teachers, and by far the most memorable lessons, incorporate active involvement in the classroom.  My favorite math teacher in high school taught us about locus points by taking us outside and rearranging us as locus points, situating us around stationary objects such as trees and sidewalks.  My second favorite math teacher taught us pre-calculus by encouraging us to explore various graphs to come up with rules for graphing them, and provided limited guidance in this process.  It was maddening, but I better learned how various types of graphs match up with their equations.

Nay-sayers to this method of teaching claim that teachers are being lazy, making the students do all the work.  I believe it’s quite the contrary.  Teachers have to take a lot of time and effort to plan a lesson that students will run themselves.  Teachers have to anticipate every direction that the lesson may go in.  Teachers have to remain astute to the conversations and actions around the classroom as an active lesson is being implemented, to make sure the students are staying focused to the task at hand.  People that oppose this method may also claim that with time constraints, material needs to be covered before state tests, and that active learning takes more time to implement.  While that may be true, wouldn’t it be better to have students learn the content better than try to race through content only touching on brief aspects?  Wouldn’t you get more out of your students with active learning because students would want to come to class and to stay attentive while there?

The alternative to active learning creates passive learners.  These are the types of learners that sit in class soaking up knowledge, just to squeeze it back onto an assessment and maybe, if they are lucky, to retain it.  These are the learners that never truly learn how to learn, or to do anything independently.  When they leave high school, they are lost in a sea of other passive learners, and do not know how to actively solve problems, or even how to find problems to solve.  When we create passive learners, we are setting them up for failure.

I believe that it is active learning that inspires students to continue learning.  I believe that it is active learning that causes students to continue to ask questions, and creates a spark for their passion of wanting to know more.  Active learners possess intrinsic motivation, the highest and most effective means of motivation, and the hardest for a teacher to cultivate.  However, once an active learner has been created, they are unstoppable, always looking for the answers to life’s questions, and always coming up with new questions to ask.  Why would we not want to have active learners in our society, in our future, and more importantly, in our classrooms?

Purpose of Preps

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To the untrained eye, prep periods may be seen as “free time” in the world of teaching.  Let me inform you of some of the uses of prep periods, keeping in mind that they are usually only 30-40 minutes in length, and it takes at least 5 minutes of travel time to and from your classroom to anywhere else in the building (office, bathroom, other teachers’ rooms, etc.).

  • going to the bathroom – important when trying to avoid UTI or other lady issues
  • making copies – because students (and others) tend to lose things
  • waiting for the copier – you’re not the only one with a prep and there are only 2 copiers in the building, if they’re working that day
  • Filling out paperwork – for the business office, or main office, or student referrals, etc.
  • grading papers, as well as calculating grades
  • connecting with other teachers (collaborating) – some issues are more pressing and cannot wait until the end of the day to discuss (i.e. “How did you want me to help Susie with her math when I see her next period?  What is she struggling with?”)
  • reading your e-mail – some issues are more pressing and cannot wait until the end of the day to discuss (i.e. “Susie and Sally want to fight today-watch out!”)
  • lesson planning – we all have lives outside of school (wait, that wasn’t a secret, was it?), and sometimes can’t stay until 5:30 preparing for the next day
  • calling home – Parents are just as much a factor in the equation of student success
  • exploring new ways to teach better – the internet is a wealth of knowledge, and like I said, we can’t always stay until 5:30 to get things done
  • running personal errands, like going to the bank, which on most days is not open by the time you would ordinarily leave school
  • peace of mind – let’s be honest, if we were with our students for every minute they were in school, we would all go crazy.  Even the best of teachers need a break from their students to recharge their minds, and to remind them why they love coming to work every day.  Give us a chance to miss our students!

Feel free to add your favorite prep time activity – something that you cannot live without during your 30-40 minutes of  “freedom”.

Homework in the Context of the New Family – Ch. 2

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This chapter focuses on the varying differences of parent values and teacher values.  Parents can range from the belief of “more homework is always better” to “there are better things than more homework.”  Teachers need to be aware of these varying views, and be respectful of the wishes of the parents.  At the same time, it is impossible to please everyone.

Gone are the days in which everyone in the community shared the same values, making things predictable.  Now, people need to fear the legal ramifications of holding students to a moral standard that may not align with how the students were raised.

One example of differing priorities that is present on pages 32 and 33 reminds me of several students in Franklinville.  They are responsible for helping out at home after school.  When a school district mandated after school time to improve student grades, something that is similar to what we do, one parent complained of having to pay for a babysitter.  As we continue to explore ways to help failing students, we need to keep in mind the parents’ values.

Since it is impossible for a school to demand homework on families, some teachers have found ways to be flexible: assigning work weekly or monthly, or even handing out a course syllabus (p. 34).

The variety of parents starts with parents who think helping their children with homework is not in their job description.  At the other end of the spectrum we have parents that do their child’s homework to ensure good grades.  As teachers, we need to be more aware of the level of difficulty for each student.  The ideal, obviously, would be work that students could do on their own, without relying on the help of their parents.

On page 38, we see that homework is one of the leading causes of drop-outs.  “The inability to keep up with homework was a critical factor in the decision of lower-class students to drop out of school.”  The reality in Franklinville is that the majority of the demographic is of lower-class.  There is little draw for a middle-class family to come to (and stay in) Franklinville.  I believe that homework is a major factor for a few of our students who have dropped out, or are at risk for dropping out, even this year.  I have been analyzing the Warning and Ineligible Lists for the year, and many of the names on there are people that have dropped out or that I am concerned for.

Parallel to the change in dictatorial parent relations, there was a change from dictatorial school relations.  Schools and teachers used to be accepted as the experts on education, and parents saw schools as an institution that needed their support – simply because the school demanded it.  Now, in a consumer-driven world, schools are viewed as a service that owes something to the parents, instead of the other way around.  Schools that are in a lower tax-base area, and therefore do not have the funds to support themselves, no longer have the support of the parents as well.

This lack of volunteer involvement can be seen in other aspects of society as well.  People no longer feel obligated ot help out at the local church, nursing home, library, or fire department.  Instead, they are looking for involvement that can benefit themselves or their families.  The only students involved in any kind of community service are either mandated by the court, or are seeking to bulk up their resume for college of National Honor Society.

On the other hand – in the minds of veteran teachers and administrators – supportive parents meant parents willing to do whatever a school said without question.  Certainly those days are over.  It may be perhaps that parents are more involved today than they used to be, simply because they are taking a stand as to what their child will or will not participate in during school.

So, how do we proceed?  How do we close the gap between parent expectations and school expectations regarding involvement, especially with homework?  The book gives a few suggestions on pages 46-54.

  1. Get real – We cannot control every aspect of the child’s life.
  2. Resist the temptation to judge – As we all know, whining will get you nowhere; accept what you’re given and welcome the support you do have.  It’s easier to call students (and possibly their parents) lazy than to analyze our own teaching models.
  3. Revise expectations of Parental Support – Schools shouldn’t expect all parents to be involved, yet subconsciously, we do.
  4. Suggest (not mandate) guidelines for the parents’ role in homework – We (as a school district) need to be in constant communication with parents – letting them know what we expect from them at various grade levels.  Parents need to be letting us know when an assignment is too difficult, or the students needed help with something.  This way, when it returns completed, we don’t assume that the child understands the content.  Wording these guidelines can be tricky, so some examples are given on p. 50 in Figure 2.1.
  5. Establish formal methods of parent-teacher communication – There are a few surveys that are available on pages 51-53 that can serve as a tool for parents to communicate to the schools about homework views.  The homework card (Figure 2.2) should be filled out for each individual student.  The Parent Survey (Figure 2.3) would be easy enough to include in beginning of the year paperwork, and be made available to the teachers, so that the parents only have to fill out one each year instead of per child, save for question #1.  There is also a Parent Feedback checklist (Figure 2.4) designed to go along with every assignment.  I would send these out the first week that homework goes out, and then as different styles of homework go out throughout the year.
  6. Set parents’ minds at ease about homework – Parents who have tried communicating with the school and feel that they are not being heard are weary of doing it again.  They see talking to teachers about homework the same as talking to a wall.  We need to collectively reassure them that their child will not be penalized for not completing homework that the students gave their best effort on.
  7. Endorse a set of inalienable homework rights – There is an example of one such Bill of Homework Rights in Figure 2.5 on pg. 55.

We need to work together as a school district and community to figure out how best to handle homework for our students.  It will require patience, respect, and effort from both sides.

ALC Revisited

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It is now nearing the end of November, and I believe I have made a small impact on the lives of a few students here in the Alternative Learning Center.

I’ve only had a few referrals sent to me for behavioral reconstruction: drug use, fighting, insubordination.  And with each of these cases, no matter why they come to me, the main focus is to keep them up-to-speed with their academic work so that when they get back into the classroom, it’s like they never left.

We also spend about a period or 2 a day talking about real-life discussions, usually based around why they might be in my room in the first place.  This is our Character Education time.  For example, with the students that made bad decisions regarding drugs, I found some (corny) videos about teen drug use on Discovery Streaming.  Corny as they may have been, it gave us great discussion points.  There was a part in the video that talked about parents who use drugs, and how it effects their children.  I told them as we started that section that I was not playing it because I thought badly of their parents.  I was playing it because with the teen pregnancy rate on the rise, odds are they’ll be parents before long, and need to consider it from the parent’s point of view, bringing in a whole new discussion topic.

There are also people that get referred to me for academic reasons.  I see several students for help in preparing for the January New York State Regents.  They’ve struck deals with the principal and the teacher for credit recovery (I failed a class, instead of taking it again, I’ll get a crash-course in what I need to pass the Regents, and move on to other things come Spring).  Those are students that I am scheduled to see on a regular basis.  Then there are the students who I get a head’s up about from their teachers, saying that they’re on the verge of failing, and maybe they just need some extra support.  I usually have to hunt those students down in their study halls, because 80% of the time, the students that need help don’t want to ask for it.  Our school also puts out a weekly list of who is failing what classes, and how many.  I have made it my goal to focus on students that are failing 3 or more subjects to help to shorten this list.  Of course, sometimes my schedule is a little full to put my full attention on this dire task.

In all of these situations in which I’m seeing students, first and foremost I try to show them that I care.  Many of the students that come to me have lost hope long ago.  They cannot see the light at the end of the high school tunnel.  Sometimes they need help realizing that the “real-world” will be here before you know it, and there’s at least one person in this world (this school?)  that cares how you enter it.  Sometimes, that can make all the difference.

A new look at Classroom Management

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Yesterday, my school had the opportunity to listen to Brian Mendler speak.  It was refreshing, to have a professional development speaker that moved around, and didn’t rely on his powerpoint, and didn’t read to us; that engaged us and made us feel valued, and motivated us.  Well, me at least.

Something that students appreciate from teachers is their honesty.  Brian Mendler showed us that yesterday.  He honestly told us about real situations, his real story.  He honestly told us about how teachers are perceived from students, and we all laughed – because it was true!  And you could tell the nerves he was hitting by the people how were uncomfortably laughing versus people who were out-rightly laughing.  He talked about teachers that were rigid and policies set in stone, and people who got caught in power struggles.  And then he talked about strategies to do instead of the rigid ones that we all learned from our own teachers.

He talked about empowering the students.  Students rarely get a chance to have power, but they will try to get it whether you give it to them or not.  They can either fight for it, or you can give it to them.  And it doesn’t have to be an “I give up” form of teaching (which I’ve also seen in classrooms).  It’s giving students power in a constructive way.  Let them omit a question on the test and replace it with one that they really know the answer to.  Let them ham it up in front of the class for 3 minutes to start the ball rolling (instead of them hamming it up during your lesson).  Talk with them individually – it doesn’t have to be a conversation, you could be giving them positive (or negative) feedback in their ear for only them to hear.  But, make sure you equally give positive feedback to cancel out the negative.

He talked about keeping the kids in the classroom as long as possible.  Now there are some veteran teachers that cringe at this.  But let me explain why it’s important.  Students know that if they bug you enough, you’ll kick them out of their class.  It’s not a punishment for them if you kick them out of math.  And when they inevitably come back, you’ve got an even bigger problem than you started with.  They have all the power and they got it the wrong way.  And you let them have it that way.  So how do you diffuse the situation?  Humor.  So they call you names.  You can take it, you’re the adult, remember?  What do you tell your kids to do in a fight situation?  Walk away.  Try it.  Let them have the last word.  They need it to save face to their friends, and they will have the last word if it’s the last thing they do in your class.

He talked about Multiple Intelligences learning, indirectly – using the gym for teaching graphing, singing songs to learn content in any area, working in groups to work on inter- and intrapersonal personalities.

We shared strategies with each other, and practiced some of the ones he discussed:  4-2-1, group work with roles (leader, writer, presenter, etc.), music stands, green-yellow-red cups, carpet squares – the list goes on forever.

It was refreshing to get back to an idea of teaching because we’re passionate about it, not just because we have to.  I don’t want to be the kind of teacher that counts down the days, months, and even years to retirement.  And I don’t want my kids to have those kinds of teachers either.

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!

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…

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!

Organization revisited

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Eventually, you may come to a point in the school year in which you are feeling burned out.  No worries, your collegues are right there with you. 

In our school, we have what is called Intervention time, which is basically an extra half hour of leveled reading time, focusing on students’ strengths and (mainly) their weaknesses in reading  – usually either fluency or comprehension. 

We also have leveled our math groups, so that those who need the extra help in math can receive it, and those who can power through problems faster than a speeding bullet have that opportunity as well.

As with any group of students, there are those that excell, and those that need more help.  Of course, those that need the most help are going to tire you out more because you have to put in more effort to come out with a comparable outcome to those students who excell.

Therefore, recently, my collegues and I have switched around Math groups and Intervention groups.  Here is where organization is key.  We needed to stay on the ball as to who was at what level, and the abilities of each person. 

My new math group is getting a folder for each student, so that I can better keep track of their work.  Also, because some of them are not from my classroom, I cannot simply ask them to put things in their desks, because they don’t belong to them.  We are also starting multiplication, so in each of their folders, they will be receiving multiplication fact flash cards as we move through the facts so that they can practice with any down time in the class.   

This will prove especially essential for multiplication, since most of that is drilling through facts.  This way every student will have a set of cards to drill through and practice during class time.  And (if well organized enough) they will have their OWN and know right where to find them!

The same holds true with my Intervention group.  Each student will have a folder containing any work they need to hand in, or still need to work on.  This way, it’s all in one central spot in the classroom.  I have a bin for Intervention, and a bin for Math so that any subs that might come in will also know where to find things.