Happy 4th of July really late. I made this video and wrote this blog post on July 4, 2019. It won't be published until the last Sunday of July 2019.
Here are the 15 tips/Hacks they do not teach you in school. 1) Learn your students voices quickly right along with their name. 2) Whenever you feel like your classroom is full of negative energy, play the song “Walking on sunshine” by Katrina & the Waves. 3) Is your whiteboard not erasing? Use WD40. Spay a thin layer and wipe with an old wash cloth. It will erase. (I clean my board with this every Friday.) 4) When all the students leave for the day, prepare your room for the next day. Change the date on the board, write the new focus question or objective on the boards. Get your bell ringer questions ready to pass and all materials for the next day’s lesson. That way when you arrive the next day, you are ready to teach. 5) Want an easy way to identify your pencils? Take a knife and make a small slice right above the metal part. (If you have not watched the video yet, click the picture. I'll wait.) 6) Buy brightly colored pencils and hand every student one at the door. (Even kids that have a pencil). So you know you gave everyone a pencil. Now everyone needs to give you a colorful pencil when they leave. 7) Quick Grading Tip: Choose 3-5 questions per assignment you will grade and give feedback. Maybe use a :) for correct and an x for wrong. When you pass these out to the students the first time explain how you graded. This gives you and the students immediate feedback. 8) Are kids driving you nuts on St. Patrick’s day? Cut green construction paper in wrist bands. Staple to the child’s wrist that isn’t wearing green. 9) Parents not attending conferences? Offer the student an incentive if he or she can get their parents to come. 10) Your back is turned and someone throws paper at the board or does something inappropriate when you are t looking. Quickly scan all the faces of the kids in the room. 9 times out of 10, the child that did it will look guilty. Try it if you don’t believe me. 11) Invest in a cheerleader megaphone (cone). This way when talking to a loud class, it won’t sound like you are yelling. 12) Want to make that kid that never smiles laugh? Grab a piece of brown construction paper and cut out the letter e. Tell them you made them a brown e and walk away. A smirk will spread across their face. 13) Before you leave class to take your kids to lunch, establish who is going to wash your lunch room table. 14) Stay away from negative coworkers. 15) Are you dealing with a defiant student? Don’t stop teaching. If you sense the child will not back down, tell the child, “we will talk about this later” and continue teaching. Talk to the child later without an audience. Call the child’s parents as soon as you can.
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If you have not watched the video yet, go ahead. (I'll wait.) The word "expect" is defined as regard (something) as likely to happen and some synonyms for the word expect are anticipate and await. The word "expectation" is defined as a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future. According to edglossery.org, having high expectations "refers to any effort to set the same high educational standards for all students in a class, school, or education system." I have struggled with what it means to high expectations for students my entire career until I came across this video on YouTube titled, "The Pygmalion Effect" found on the Sprouts YouTube channel. This one video cleared it up for me and I immediately knew what I needed to do. Before I get into what I needed to do, let me tell you why I was so confused about this common educational phrase. Based on the definitions of expect and expectation, I always thought that what I expect is a natural reaction. So if I walk outside while it's raining, I will get wet, or if I walk on the beach without sunscreen, I will get burned. I always thought an expectation is not something withing my control. So when fellow teachers or administrators would tell me I have to have high expectations for my students, and they will rise, I was really confused. I thought I had it figured out on July 3, 2014. I even wrote a blog about it. See images below to read what I thought. You can read it if you'd like, but basically, I thought I must have high expectations in my self and my abilities if I wanted my students to be successful. (If you do not want to read it, just scroll down.) After watching the video mentioned earlier, I know know that even though I might have natural expectations for my students' abilities as I meet them or overhear teachers talking about them, I need to treat every single one of them like they are the smartest human being that ever crossed my path in the world. My thoughts are my own since I am only human, but I will treat every student like they can achieve greatness, and I believe to my core that they will. Hopefully I am right this time, but if not, maybe it won't take me another five years to have another epiphany. For your free gift, I am included the documents I originally included on this blog post which includes an IEP for all students and daily documentations. Hope you find it helpful!
In this video, I show you how I decorate my classroom door. Check the blog post below to get the free template if you decided to create your own. Thank you for visiting me here.
If you have never participated in a parent teacher conference, it can seem a little scary. This is why I created a video on how to conduct a successful conference. (Click the picture above to see the video. I'll wait.) Before the conference...
During the conference...
After the conference...
If the parent does not show up...
I hope you found this blog and video helpful. Off topic, what do you think of me new baby? This is Cookie. We adopted her from the Humane Society. She is purrrrfect.
I hope you found this video helpful. If you have not watched it, click on the picture, I'll wait. Click the file below to create your own iPhone door from the template. I included the apps that are found at the bottom of most iPhones, but you need to create the rest. If you do not want to create the rest, go to my TPT store and purchase it for a small fee. Have fun. ![]()
I return to my classroom the first time since school dismissed for summer. My daughter goes on a quest and gives an unofficial tour of my beautiful school in search for a Harry Potter book. She never finds the book, but I am happy to report that we went to our local library and go her the books. Get your gift below. It helps you know which students need your help without having so many hand raised. Love this resource and I hope you do too. ![]()
This was such a fun video for me since I spent all day with my daughter. We did each other's makeup while discussing teacher topics, beauty gurus, makeup, and much more. Click below to get your gift for visiting my website. It is for your substitute teacher binder. Enjoy! ![]()
This video documents my journey to the Dollar Tree in Long Beach, Mississippi. I challenged myself to only buy 15 items but I failed. If you haven't seen the video, click on the picture. I'll wait. Since you watched the video and came to my website, your gift is below. It is a classroom management tool I use when I have a student that tries to keep arguing when I am moving on with my lesson. I tell them, I really want to hear their perspective on this and if they would complete my "Attorney in Training" essay. This resource guides the student through an argumentative essay on whatever it is they were so passionate about. Usually the student says, "Never-mind." When a student does complete it, I really try to understand their perspective and we have a chat about it. So download. It's free. ![]()
This video will be live tomorrow morning (July 10, 2019). Just click the picture to watch. (I'll wait.) I hate it when I hear someone jokingly say, “Those that can’t do, teach.” If you are a teacher, this probably makes you mad too because we know it’s not true. The phrase “Those who can’t do, teach,” originated from the play, “Man and Superman” which was written by Bernard Shaw. Some form of this quote gets thrown around in some fashion especially in popular culture. I decided to tell the world what teachers do if they did not know already. So, this is my story as a middle school teacher. I clock into work at 7:15 am. I am required to be there at 7:20 am. When I get to my room, I pull up my flip chart for the day (presentation), my online grade book for attendance, and email. I stand at my door to greet students at 7:25. While they are entering I make casual conversation, make sure they use the restroom, etc. At 7:50 am, I start teaching. I rarely sit down. 4th period is my planning period. I was one of the lucky ones. At my school, this is the lunch period so I get an extra 30 minutes for planning which is amazing. Anyway, at 10:48, I tidy up my room, straighten desks, etc. Around 11, I go to the bathroom and get caffeine. Sometimes, I grab lunch. Sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I have students come to my class for lunch detention, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes, I have IEP meetings or professional development during this time, sometimes I don’t. On the days when my schedule is free, I work on lesson plans and presentations for the following week. Sometimes I have paperwork or miscellaneous tasks to do for administration during this time. Many times I am making copies and getting activities ready for the next week. Either way I don’t sit on my bottom and do nothing, I am working. This is essential to not taking so much work home. I also use this time to collaborate with my inclusion teacher. I also grade papers which are usually my exit tickets. I also use this time to call parents. I start teaching again at 12:08 and I continue until 3:00 pm. Students relax until their bus is called. I am running around the room like a mad woman. I am busy getting my room ready for the next day. I change the date on my board, change my focus question and standard being taught if it is different. I put bell ringer worksheets in their appropriate place, I lay out the activities for the next day. I tidy up my room, make sure pencils are sharp, and clean student desks if needed. I finish grading the remainder of my papers. (Most of my grading is done digitally except my exit tickets.) I make notes of students that did not understand my lesson today and those that did. I will target the ones that didn’t the following day. I am allowed to leave at 3:30 pm unless I have a parent teacher conference or IEP or TST meeting. I am usually done with my after school ritual by then. I turn off lights and go home. When I get home, for the most part I don’t have to work too much at home unless, there is something extra I want to create or my administrators need something done ASAP. It varies. Many times I will call parents when I get home if something is heavy on my mind. But this is a new thing for me. Up until this last year, I got on the computer and worked until bedtime. Then I decided to quit being so extra. So that’s a typical day. Now, for the week. Mondays and Fridays, there is nothing scheduled during my planning or after school. Tuesdays, we have a faculty meeting at 3:15 until whenever. Usually 4-4:30. Wednesdays I a Department meeting during my planning period and I have Drama Club after school until 5:00 pm and tutoring until 4 pm. Many times, my school will have after school programs, sporting events, or students extracurricular activities the kids participate in and many times I will make an appearance. So this is a typical week. It is nonstop. Let’s me share with you what teachers do while they are teaching: teach amazing children which includes breaking concepts down into smaller pieces so they can understand them, researching different strategies for numerous standards, accommodating different learning styles, grading papers, providing feedback, writing lesson plans that accommodate all learners, write assessments, create worksheets, create engaging activities, create PowerPoints, collaborate with other staff members, confiscate snacks, talk to parents, keep current records like documentation & grades, participate in a variety of professional development, attend a variety of meetings, analyze student data and plan accordingly, provide interventions... I could keep going. You get it, right? Here are some of the different roles teachers play: counselor, mentor, peacemaker, motivational speaker, maid, babysitter, developer, nurse, entertainer, detective, actress, social worker, cheerleader, and role model. So, now you have an idea what teachers do. Let’s ignore Bernard Shaw’s, “Those who can’t do, teach.” And replace it with Charles J. Mertz, “Those who teach show those who can’t how to.” I get chills thinking of it. Nice play on words, Mr. Mertz. If you are a teacher, leave a comment below what your favorite role as a teacher is. And if you are a brand new teacher, tell me which role you look forward to playing. I hope you found this post helpful. Below is your gift for watching and reading this post. It is a recording sheet for you to document daily the students that understand the lesson and those that do not. Customize how you'd like. Hope it helps. ![]()
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AuthorI am not an expert yet by any means. I felt inspired to create a YouTube channel and website so new teachers will have an easier journey than I had. Archives
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