Can you tell if you’re going to have a long behavior day within the first few minutes of the morning bell? Most teachers can. Dark clouds on the horizon will appear before your students even sit down. Maybe it’s in the way they enter … Read more
Are you able to relax and enjoy school assemblies, or do you sit nervously, hoping your students will behave? Does it drive you crazy when they chat with each other, act silly, or rise up and block the view of the students behind them? … Read more
Imagine if your students were able to perform every classroom routine and every transition perfectly without you having to say a word. Imagine only having to smile and say hello for the first ten minutes of every school day because they know exactly what … Read more
You’re going to love this classroom management strategy. So much so that you may end up using it every day—maybe several times a day. It’s called ‘the power of one.’ The power of one is a proactive strategy you can use whenever your students … Read more
No, it’s not corporal punishment. It’s not bribing with Snickers bars. It’s not free time. The forbidden strategy I’m referring to has gotten a bad rap, but is so effective it’s used to train nurses, police officers, professional athletes, and opera singers. What is … Read more
In part one of this two-part series on homework, we covered four strategies: 1. Assign what students already know. 2. Don’t involve parents. 3. Review before the end of the day. 4. Confront students who don’t have completed homework. This week, we’ll finish the … Read more
Dealing with homework can be the source of great stress for teachers; it’s a rare week that I don’t receive at least one email asking for advice. So for the next two weeks I’m going to outline a homework plan–four strategies this week, four … Read more
In their book, Made To Stick, authors Chip and Dan Heath describe the story of Jane Elliott. Jane was a third-grade teacher on April 4, 1968, the day Martin Luther King was assassinated. Struggling to explain the tragedy to her students, Jane decided to … Read more