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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Quite Captin

Today's great teaching idea comes from me! In the moments when a class has to wait in the hallway, say for a specialist teacher, I often have the students play "Quite Captain." Guest teachers - this is great because it is almost always a new game for kids and really grabs them. I tell my students I will pick my first quite captain. A quite captain is totally silent and not bothering their neighbors. That person stands before the class and has three seconds to pick the next quiet captain.

The name of the game is Quite Captain.

Before this week I had only used Quite Captain with younger students (k-1). Yesterday, I was subbing as STEM specialist and had a third grade class lined up, waiting for their classroom teacher. We gave it a shot - they loved it. This morning I am in a 4th grade classroom. They love it! This is a fun way to have the class calm and ready for the next lesson.

Image from: http://www.clker.com/clipart-quiet-outline.html

Monday, November 26, 2012

End of Day

Today I am guest teaching in a very nice 1st grade classroom. My students are with their STEM specialist and when they back from specialist it will be dismissal time. Being as I don't need to prepare anything (other than a note to their teacher, which I already wrote) I thought it would be the perfect time to write a new post.

The end of the day is often a chaotic time in any classroom. To help eliminate the chaos this teacher had a great idea: She uses read aloud or Tumble Books. Before they left for specialist, all students stacked their chairs, packed their back packs, and put them with their coats at their table spots. When the students return from specialist students will put on their coats, stand by their table spots and wait for buses to be called. While they wait they watch a Tumble Book.

Tumble Books are picture books online, that are read aloud to students. The words are posted with each page and are highlighted as they are read. Some of the pictures include small animations and they also include music in some parts of the books. Information is posted with most of the books telling the reading level and  how long they run for - typically just a few minutes, making them a great brain break or reward.

"Porcupining" is one of my favorite Tumble Books.
I've shown this story in many classes I guest teach in.
 
I strongly encourage schools that have smart boards or lap top projectors to get a subscription to Tumble Books. If you want to try them out, Dakota County Library has a subscription to Tumble Books. You can access it by first clicking on the "For Kids" link and then the "Building Literacy" link.

Note: You now have to have a Dakota County Library card number and pin to access Tumble Books through their web cite.    

Monday, November 19, 2012

Four Inch Photos

Hello all! Today I am back in my favorite kindergarten classroom (let's call them Ms. L's class). I have had the pleasure of working with this group about 5 or 6 times so far this year. The best way to describe Ms. L's class as a whole would be joyful. (School starts in about 15 minutes so we'll have to see if I feel the same way about them at the end of the day!)

Today's great idea for teaching is - you guessed it! - four inch photos. In this classroom Ms. L. included each child's name on the word wall and with each name a four inch head shot of the student. I think this is a great way for students to feel ownership of the classroom and as a guest teacher it has been very helpful in learning names quickly. I think that I would make this a separate bulletin board in older grades (not part of the word wall), perhaps part of a hopes and dreams bulletin board, but still post pictures and names prominently. 


Friday, November 16, 2012

Ketchup and Relish

As a guest teacher, I got the rare privilege of teaching in the same classroom two days in a row. Back in the 7th grade science class, our lunch period was switched with 6th grade's lunch and this was where I got today's great idea for teaching. The 6th grade needed more time in the morning for "Ketchup and Relish Day." It is two weeks before the end of the trimester. Students who had all there homework for the trimester complete got to "relish" the day by watching a movie and eating popcorn. Students who had outstanding homework had to "ketchup." While I've seen variations of this played out many times, this version wins the prize for best name for the reward day. What a great way to motivate students!

Ketchup Bottle Clip Art 
                   







Thursday, November 15, 2012

Seating Chart

Today's great idea for my classroom comes from a 7th grade science teacher. She has 27 to 37 students in each of her 5 classes (in on class there were 5 at a table). When I came into the classroom I found this teacher had a great way of  having multiple seating charts. Each students name was on the sticky part of a post-it note and each seating chart was inside a page protector. I think this would work great even for a general classroom teacher -  it seems potentially easier to rearrange a seating chart.
 


Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Guest Teacher

This fall I have been guest teaching. I have been trying to note things that I want to do in my next classroom and I am realizing that it will be beneficial to actually note them (not just think - wow, good idea - and move on). So today's note: The Sub-Folder.

Every teacher creates one. As a guest teacher, it seems that every time I am frustrated because the teacher did not leave the information I needed, it turns out that it actually was there. It (whatever it is) was buried in the sub folder. The key seems to be how that information is organized. 

When a sub folder is literally a flat folder it is difficult to find things quickly. When a student is having a melt down and needs to talk to the social worker, I want to be able to act. I do not want to spend time sifting through papers looking for the correct number.  

My favorite sub-folder has been a three ringed binder. All the pages were in page protectors and the sections were divided with clearly tabbed tabbed dividers. I want every classroom I substitute teach in to have a binder with the following sections: class list, a list of special needs, seating chart, important phone numbers, daily schedule, and extra activities. Teachers would get bonus points from me if their sub binder included small pictures of each student with the class list or seating chart. I also want the daily schedule to be very specific about morning routines and end of the day routines. 



This flip chart from http://thesilverlininginteaching.blogspot.com has very similar information in another easy to use format.