Heartfelt praise based on true accomplishment is powerful stuff. It feeds your students’ internal motivational engines. It spurs them to greater success. It reinforces the slow-to-grow belief that hard work matters, that it really is more than worth the sweat and toil. Certainly they … Read more
One of the most common errors teachers make when presenting lessons, providing directions, or otherwise addressing students is to string sentences together with very little gap between them. In other words, the teacher will move from one thought, idea, or bit of information to … Read more
So you’ve got this awesome science lesson planned. The materials are all laid out. Your lab coat is hanging on a hook behind your desk. Your fake horned-rims are dangling conspicuously from the breast pocket. Your students know they’re in for a cool learning … Read more
When individual students misbehave, it’s common practice for teachers to pull them aside and ask why they did what they did. But rarely is it a simple request—because the majority of students will be less than forthcoming in their response. They’ll deny and distract. … Read more
It’s a common complaint. You give a direction and . . . nothing happens. Your students just sit there—like they didn’t hear a word you said. A few begin moving, perhaps, but slowly, even grudgingly. Others look at each other like, “Oh, are we … Read more
There are students who have learned from an early age that if they misbehave enough, if they disrupt, interfere, and otherwise make life miserable for everyone around them, then they can get the adults in their life to give in and give them what … Read more
You can’t teach your students to respect you. Oh sure, you can try. Many teachers do. They harp on it, do read alouds about it, and even role-play it. But in the end, students can’t be persuaded or talked into respecting you. No, in … Read more
Maybe it’s the moment you find yourself talking over your students, raising your voice just to be heard above the din. Maybe it’s while in the midst of another lesson spiraling into disorder. Maybe it’s the flash of recognition upon locking eyes with a … Read more