Schools and families form an important partnership. What do parents/guardians want from schools? 1. Children are well cared for by the adults in the school. They are kept safe in and out of the building. Their educational needs are met whether through remedial assistance or fostering their gifted skills. They want the staff to demonstrate a strong love of… Read More »
K.I.S.S.- Keep It Simple for Students. When in doubt, simplify your expectations/rules and post them as a daily reminder to all: students, classroom assistants and even guests. These 5 cover the basics. 1. Come calmly to the group. 2. Listen. 3. Participate. 4. Strive for quality work. 5. Help with clean-up and closure before leaving… Read More »
That’s what it’s all about, independence. As parents, educators and classroom assistants, our goal is to develop independent students. How do we do that? 1. Provide basic skills in language, math, science and other academic subjects. 2. Model positive learning skills: reading directions, making a plan, rethinking ideas. 3. Compliment student steps toward independence. Increase… Read More »
No matter how well you plan, some students will finish early. It may happen because they skim through a task or because they ‘get on a roll’ and finished with time to spare. It is important to check their assigned work before you allow them to move on to another activity. Read over their work.… Read More »
The book, Home, School and Community Relations by Carol Gestwicki lists the following needs of children (p.65) . Food for thought: they are presented in no particular order, but families might want to create a hierarchy of their importance. 1. Feel loved 2. Feel important 3. Constructive discipline 4. Routines and rituals (predictable patterns) 5. … Read More »
Individual student practice in the past have used up trees worth of paper. As our ideas of ‘practice’ grow and change, a variety of substitutes formats are available. Here are the pros and cons of several alternatives. 1. Individual dry erase boards work well for practice and review. Students record their ideas, adjust with a… Read More »
New materials, manipulatives, books, globes and much more are fun to share with students. So, save yourself time and frustration and spend your first minutes with free exploration. Let the students investigate the materials on their own for several minutes before you try to use them. Why? Curiosity. Until student time for exploration is allowed,… Read More »
Providing a variety of ways that students can ‘show what they know’ makes projects more interesting and allows for more creativity. Label the first two Tic-Tac-Toe and BINGO. Tic-Tac-Toe A tic-tac-toe board sets out six components. Students select 3-in-a-row to complete one ‘win’ in this X’s and O’s game turned into a set of requirements.… Read More »
Students as well as teachers enjoy taking a fresh look at the world around them. One of my favorite activities is looking at common objects with a creative eye. You can purchase any number of creative thinking booklets from teaching supply sources or,you can look around and create your own. Give it a try. Here… Read More »
When I find a great resources it is important to share it with you who are out there, working to educate children. These two are worth your time checking out and possibly purchasing. The Cornerstone: Classroom Management that Makes Teaching More Effective, Efficient and Enjoyable by Angela Powell (Watson) (2009) is a nitty gritty uber-detailed… Read More »