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In this video, Becky Ramirez from Odessa, Texas talks about a great idea she’s implemented in her classroom – student-built learning stations! Often we think of station teaching as a strategy for teaching elementary school students. I’ve always encouraged teachers to use stations for classes at every grade level, and Becky’s use of stations with her freshman English classes is a great example – with a “novel” twist.

Becky’s class is split into groups; as they work through a unit, each group puts together a station for their fellow students on an assigned portion of the material. One of the rules – and I think this is one of the most important things in implementing stations in the classroom – is that the Center must not be a worksheet. The point of station teaching is getting students involved with the material in unique ways, and worksheets just aren’t effective in engaging students.

Once the stations are ready, each group rotates to work on the activities at the other groups’ centers. Becky’s class had come up with some great ideas for stations; “I’ve had vocabulary quilts, I’ve had timed quizzes, we’ve had Twister with different things, Monopoly-based games on short stories.”

Like all group activities, grading can be a challenge. In Becky’s class, goals for each station are established from the beginning. Once students have finished their stations and visited each of the other stations, the class discusses each station’s activity, pointing out the things they really enjoyed and learned from and providing constructive ideas for how the stations could be more effective. Students grade each others’ work as well as their own, and the final grades take into account how well the students worked together in their groups. As new students come into the classroom, they see examples of previous students’ work so they know what’s expected of them when they create their own stations.

Many teachers don’t implement stations because they can take a considerable amount of time – and creativity – to put together. By allowing students to teach each other by constructing centers for their classmates, this burden is lifted and students become much more deeply engaged with the material as they think up ideas to teach their classmates. As Becky says, “Their ideas are much better than anything I could have come up with, and they love it because they’re ‘owning’ their products.”

Everyone gets angry. It’s human nature and anyone who never gets angry is probably a droid of some sort. That said, when our kids get angry in the classroom, it’s a really hard thing to deal with since we’re trying to control a classroom of sometimes as many as 40 children and an angry student threatens to disrupt a well planned lesson.

There is no one ‘right way’ to handle anger management and whatever your solutions are to the problem, I’d love to hear from you. However, I do have one suggestion a teacher in Ohio told me about which seems to work pretty well.

He explains to his students at the start of the school year that he understands that they will feel angry and frustrated at times. He tells them that they can have a voluntary time out with no penalty in order to calm down, however they must come and talk to him after class about what was bothering them so he can help resolve it. He tells them that the reason they need to talk to him is in order to make sure they’re not abusing the privilege.

The idea actually solves two problems at once, which is why I love it. Not only does he remove the potential problem from his classroom for the time it take for the child to cool down, but he has a built in mechanism for avoiding abuse and, more importantly, for getting kids, who are sometimes reticent to talk to their teachers, about whatever it was that was bothering them. Talk about brilliant!

In our November newsletter, we offered some examples of ways to motivate students by including them actively in the learning process. Some of my seminar participants have offered additional strategies for motivating students.

One thing teachers can do to keep students enthusiastic is to offer rewards. Ricki Miller uses a bubblegum machine filled with plastic containers. Each container has a slip of paper with a reward such as “sit with a friend for a day,” “homework pass,” etc. The students earn “coins” for chances at the gum machine.

Even the driest topic can be made fun by “acting out” the concepts being taught. For example, when Karen McKibbin of Niles High School in Michigan is teaching States of Matter, she arranges the desks in the shape of a beaker. Then all the students stand inside and behave as particles of a solid, liquid, or gas. The teacher provides the energy to change the particles to a different state.

The possibilities for turning real world situations and current events into a lesson are endless. A journalism teacher that didn’t give us their name teaches about interviewing by “acting out” a press conference. They play the part of the person being interviewed and the students practice being reporters. Then they write an article or press release based on the content of the press conference.

We all know one. Whether it’s in the classroom or the office, there’s always (at least) one person who can’t sit still and, when forced to stay in one place, taps a pen on any available surface. For some people, listening to this day in and day out can be the equivalent of torture. But there’s an easy solution, and you’ll find it at your local dollar store!

Susie Hanes from Odessa High School was struggling with a chronic pen tapper when she came to my seminar. I work with a lot of teachers who have students with AD(H)D, and I always encourage them to allow students to funnel their energy in productive ways. Whether it’s coloring a mandala or providing quiet “fidget tools,” there are several outlets you can provide your students.

But what about that pen tapper? I suggested a simple solution – sponge curlers. Wrapping the sponge curler around the offending pen stops the noise. Once her other students saw the sponge curler, they all wanted one, so Susie put a supply of them on her desk for students to pick up at the beginning of class and drop off as they left. As Susie says, “It sounds so small, but it made such a difference in my kid’s and in my environment. Made me happy, made other students happy, life was great. Simple but great.”

As Mr. Pettingill and Mr. Wymore discuss in the video, learning can go high-tech by using ELMOs, or completely “no-tech” with an activity as simple as doodling.

Since both gentlemen teach art classes, they find the use of ELMOs (Electronic Light-Modulated Overheads) helpful in allowing students to show their artwork to the class. By placing the artwork on a TV screen – removing it from the students’ hands and giving them a different perspective – it allows the “artist” to see his or her work more objectively, offering the opportunity for self analysis. The students have the opportunity to explain their work, while the class is invited to provide constructive criticism.

As I was talking about this with the teachers, I noticed that one teacher had drawn my portrait while I made my presentation. As a visual learner, doodling while I was speaking helped him link the content I was presenting with a visual reminder of the seminar. He could revisit this sketch at a later time, helping him recall the material we’d learned by linking the drawing with his “verbal memory” that came from listening.

As teachers, we often assume that doodling in class is “bad,” indicating that students aren’t listening to the material being taught. However, for visual learners, doodling can be that extra nudge that helps them in memorizing the material. Try this: let the doodlers in your class know that it’s OK to draw in their notebooks – but only if their doodles are related to the material being presented. After a period of time, do a “notebook check” – ask them what different drawings mean, or what was being taught when they created the doodle.

By taking what can be seen as a negative and turning it around into a positive, you can not only gain the trust of your students – but, by working with the students’ strengths, you can enhance learning and memory on multiple levels. Create a win-win situation!

One teacher explained that she taught her students the song, “What a Wonderful World,” by Louis Armstrong. One day, when everybody was wound up and excited, she started singing the song. The students stopped what they were doing and everyone joined in the singing. They loved the song, knew it well, and they were calmed.

An elementary aide taught her class “The Chicken Dance” during inside recess days. On a day when no one seemed to be listening during clean up time, she turned on “The Chicken Dance” and told the class they had until the end of the song to finish putting everything away. It worked so well that the dance became the song they played every time they had to clean up.

While the first idea supports my comments about the calming and focusing effects of appropriate music, the second strategy also illustrates the value of movement in the classroom. While the example comes from an elementary setting, giving students these little opportunities to move is essential to maintaining good order and discipline in the classroom.

Martin, a history teacher in Baltimore Maryland, explains that general praise like, “Good job!” has very little meaning for students of middle school age. Instead, teachers should offer praise that is meaningful to students. Specific praise such as, “You showed your work on number three perfectly!” and “Awesome work! You punctuated every sentence correctly.” offer students precise information and give value to the praise.

To read Shaun’s complete article, visit http://classroom-management-tips.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_praise_students_in_middle_school#ixzz0Ejt9hoNr&A.

Behavior Management Cue Card Approach!

Here’s a way to quietly cue students to choose positive behavior. Use a cue card! 

Behavior management cue card instructions:

     1.     Print out this card or your own version of the card.

2.     Choose your method:

a.     Tape a card on the upper right corner of each student desk.

  i.      Laminate the card

  ii.      Use clear shipping tape to secure it to the desk

b.     Hang it from a lanyard around your neck or keep it in your pocket

  i.      Laminate the card

  ii.      Punch a hole in the top of the card to hang from a lanyard

3.     Explain the card to the students:

a.     You might explain, “I want to use a system to help students stay on track without embarrassing students by saying something out loud. I also want a way to praise students and let them know that I’m pleased with good behavior and choices without causing embarrassment. So, I’m going to use this card to let you know my expectations or give kudos – quietly. Here is an example of the card and what the pictures mean.”

b.     Explain what each picture means.

c.      Explain that you do not expect students to say anything in response.

d.     Explain how you will use the card.

e.     When a student needs to be redirected, simply walk quietly up to the student.

 i.       Make eye contact – and preferably smile. The point is to minimize the possibility that a power struggle will ensue.

 ii.      After eye contact is made with the student, point to the picture that sends the message that you need to deliver.

iii.      Do not wait for a response.

iv.      Turn around and walk away.

v.      If a student chooses to say something in response to a redirection, they are inviting a power struggle.

vi.      Avoid taking the bait if at all possible. Turn and walk away and wait to see if the student complies.

f.       When a student earns praise, simply walk up to the student, make eye-contact, smile and point to the ‘praise’ picture.

i.      Do not wait for a response.

ii.      Turn around and walk away.

Be generous with your praise. Students should receive 5-7 positive statements from the teacher in ratio to each negative comment.

cool tip! Thanks!