1. Change up your classroom by providing a new activity at least every 15-20 minutes. Lecturing for an hour is a very ineffective way to teach. Students need different stimuli during a subject or class period. Teachers most often lose students’ attention after 15-20 minutes. Do yourself and your students a favor by shifting activities several times during an hour.
2. Move! Too often teachers get “stuck” in one area in their classroom. This is usually in the front near the board. By moving throughout your room at various times, you will be able to accomplish several things:
Teachers have a great amount of things to keep track of and manage in the classroom. However, knowing who your special education students are, knowing their goals and accommodations, knowing how to modify work if necessary, and making sure they are progressing in your class are all necessary, and quite frankly, they are required by law.
I can say one of the best things you can do is create a relationship with your special education staff. Have them help you with questions you have about your students, and keep them apprised of how the kids are doing in your class. The special education staff are the best prepared people to assist you with what you need to be doing with their, and your, students. The special education staff is there to help you, and you are there to help them.
Approach your work in teaching special education students as a team with the special education staff, and your work will be good and fulfilling.
- Change activities in your classrooms at least every 20 minutes. This will keep students on task and focused on learning. Although some activities must take longer, these should be the exception to the rule as many minds tend to wander during long spans of doing the same thing.
- Change teaching styles to help all students with their learning. If you are not teaching to all of your students, those who are engaged may start having behavior problems.
- Plan! Keep students on task for your entire class period. It is so much better to over plan rather than not plan enough. When students feel they have free time, they often tend to become disruptive.
- Incorporate rigor into your classroom. Challenged students are never bored! Always thing of higher order thinking and learning activities. When students think more deeply, greater learning occurs. Keeping students challenged and active will prevent classroom behavior problems.
- Keep transition time from one activity to the next to an absolute minimum. When there is too much time during activities, students can tend to lose focus and exhibit unwanted behaviors.
Are you exhausted at the end of the day? Do you dread one or more of your classes? Here are 10 things you can do in order to have a more smoothly run classroom!
- Have something for your classes to do at the beginning of each period such as a warm up exercise or bell ringer. This will get your students settled down and into the mode for learning while you take roll, pass out papers, etc.
- Have a seating chart. This will allow for roll to be taken quickly and easily. It also creates order for your students and is an immense help to substitute teachers.
- Teach procedures so your students know exactly how to do various recurring tasks such as handing in papers, moving into groups, working on projects, leaving your room, answering questions, etc. Procedures can prevent a great deal of chaos! Smooth transitions are a sign of good classroom management.
- Thoroughly explain assignments prior to letting students begin their new tasks. Use examples when possible, and check for understanding. This will prevent many questions after students begin.
- Use proximity to control side conversations and redirect distracted students. Allowing yourself to move throughout your classroom tells students you care about their learning.
- Greet students individually when they are in your class. Get to know your students on more than your classroom level. You care greatly about your subject, whether it be math, English, or something in between; however, your students don’t necessarily think your subject is their number one priority! Kids like their teachers to know how they did in their basketball game the night before or how the concert they recently attended was. Making connections with your students can make a huge difference to them and the relationship you have with them in the classroom. Kids respond better to teachers who they feel know and care about them. The majority of high school dropouts do so because they have no connection or relationship with anyone in the school.
- Create procedures for your classroom and teach them to your students early. Teach the procedures that will be regular procedures they will follow during your semester or year. Procedures create order, decrease transition times, and offer students comfort in knowing how to do or prepare for something. Procedures can include many, many things, but foremost should be procedures you want students to do during the following: Read more »
Most schools schedule parent/teacher conferences at least two times during the school year. In these cases, conferences are conducted during 5-15 minute blocks of time. Therefore, teachers need to make the most of the short time allowed—giving “the most bang for the buck” so to speak. So, what are the most important things to share?
Parents want to know exactly how their children are doing in your class. They want to know their children’s academic status, their strengths, their weaknesses, their behavior, and how you and the parents can help further their progress.