So much good, quality instruction is lost in the hour before dismissal. Energy supplies run low. Minds begin to wander. Misbehavior tempts. Despite your enthusiasm, rallying your students and pressing for new learning is a high-altitude climb compared to the sea cruise it was … Read more
Whether you’re teaching your students how to enter the classroom in the morning, turn in work, circle into groups, or even how to sit and attend during lessons, modeling is the most effective and efficient way to do it. Yet, it’s an area many … Read more
No, it’s not attention. For the most part difficult students are given far too much attention. Learning how to spend less time on difficult students will do both you and them an ocean of good. In fact, it’s among the critical first steps to … Read more
No, not every day, and not even every week. You need your lunch break to get away from teaching, if only for a few minutes. You need the time to take a breather, prep your classroom, or think ahead to the afternoon. You need … Read more
One of the great frustrations many teachers share is that they can’t seem to get their students to follow simple, procedural directions—at least not without considerable effort. In other words, they can’t just say what they want and step back and watch it happen. … Read more
If you were to break down what makes exceptional teachers so effective, you would find their ability to teach students to listen one of several key common traits. You would also discover that this one area of classroom management in particular is a near … Read more
The student stands wordlessly, eyes averted, still smarting from yet another backslide as the earnest teacher softens the blows of the student’s many transgressions. Listing positive attributes, offering reassurances, buoying spirits, the teacher seeks the slightest spark of understanding, the slightest recognition indicating that … Read more
Small, seemingly insignificant behaviors in September will in almost every circumstance multiply into major disruptions down the road. A single incident of hushed side-talking during a lesson, for example, may be hardly noticeable the first couple weeks of the school year, but by November … Read more