Management
A wise woman once said to me: If your students are driving you crazy, ask yourself, what are they doing, and did you tell them what you wanted them to do? (Thanks Sue!) sounds simple, but I've spent over 20 years bringing myself back to this statement over and over again.
It turns out that explicitly explaining each aspect of classroom procedures and routines is an ongoing process. Every part of class can be a "how to" and the time I spend in training students is earned back in a more efficient class for the whole year.
It turns out that explicitly explaining each aspect of classroom procedures and routines is an ongoing process. Every part of class can be a "how to" and the time I spend in training students is earned back in a more efficient class for the whole year.
Start of ClassStudents can raise to to any level we set the bar. My school has a 4 min passing period and my classroom is on the far edge of campus. My 7th graders routinely start a full minute before the tardy bell rings.
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MaterialsRoutines for sharpening pencils, borrowing pencils, refilling mechanical pencils can tame the monster of time wasting. Ditto for all other materials in class. It's worth the class time to train and even put participation scores on material checks to get all students motivated and supported and ready to go!
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HW routinesHW is not a quiz and teachers do not add to student learning by using great amounts of time to grade it. Class time can be saved for other things if the HW check can be done quickly. Giving an answer key with assignment makes students responsible for correct answers before they come to class the next day.
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TransitionsIf a class goes from warm up to HW check to a team activity to individual practice, way too many minutes can go in transitions. I make a game of transitions to tighten them up and to keep myself accountable for pre-plannig and making class transitions tight.
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Teamwork7th graders are capable of great team work but they need to be taught explicitly what to do. Team roles, rubric scoring for team participation and constant teacher encouragement can take it from a loud disorganized exercise in frustration to a loud, focused room full of optimal learning.
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