At this time of year it isn’t unusual for routines to become sloppy. Your students, after all, are growing tired of the grind. The pressures of testing weigh heavily. Morning songbirds remind them that summer is near. Despite faithfully following the do-it-again strategy, your … Read more
The easiest way to improve classroom behavior is one few teachers ever consider. It’s at once blatantly obvious and far off the grid. You won’t find it in modern professional books and are unlikely to hear about it at conferences. Yet, it’s as plain … Read more
Reflection forms have been around forever. And at first glance, they appear to be a good idea. Dig a little deeper, though, and they tell a different story. The way they work is that when a student is sent to time-out, they’re handed a … Read more
Are you having trouble getting your students engaged in quality discussions? You’re not alone. We frequently hear from teachers who struggle in this area. Given the growing emphasis on student talk, this is no small problem. Your students’ ability to communicate has suddenly become … Read more
So you have this student. Let’s call her Brittany. And Brittany frustrates you to no end. Because despite holding her accountable, she continues to break the same rule over and over. Oh, she may hold off for a few days, a week perhaps, but … Read more
For many teachers, effective classroom management brings to mind an image of a silent, somber environment. They hear the term and think . . . restricting, confining, constraining. They think it means to be a rigid disciplinarian who forces students to behave against their … Read more
You praise. You encourage. You pep-talk, demand, and implore. But nothing seems to change. Trying and failing to motivate unmotivated students is a common frustration among teachers. It’s a frustration with seemingly no real answers beyond the same old, same old. Until today. Because … Read more
So things went south toward the end of the day. Your students were antsy and talkative. There were disruptions. The noise level got out of hand. Perhaps you got behind and let things go a bit. You raised your voice a few times. Whatever … Read more