Category Archives: Teaching Tips

These are items that have helped me along the road of teaching. Perhaps they can help you too!

The Art of Planning a Teaching Week

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Every weekend, after the laundry and wrestling with the pool safety net, I am faced once again with the same professional challenge: making a weekly lesson plan schedule. The obvious reason for this is to have a backbone for the activities and learning that go on in my classroom all week. The other reason is to ensure to myself and others that I am not just “winging it” without a plan. Good teachers make weekly plans. I have been at this for 13 years and I won’t say I am a “good teacher” I will let others say that if they wish. I have found that making weekly plans yields the high score returns from my students. Finding the weaknesses of my students’ scores as well as the way I have taught up to this point is the goal of my weekend planning time. Here’s a very broad presentation of how I do it.

NOTE: In this field, while I seek only to help teachers from a peer-to-peer perspective, there are an abundance of snooty types who seek to criticize and devour ideas different from their own. I would like it known that this is a very personal sharing post and is certainly not meant to be perfect nor the “only” way one can prepare for a powerful week of teaching. For you to get something out of it, you may have to do a bit of “read between the lines.” having said that, I would not be as excited to share this with you were I not extremely excited about what I do and they way I do it in this particular situation. Thank you for having an open mind as you continue. Now for: “How to Make a Weekly Lesson Plan Schedule.”

I Start with a rolling cart. I put a minimum of books and TE’s I need into the rolling cart so I have the access I need at home on the weekend. You may not be sure what to bring. In that case, let me give you my choices as an example: a math TE, the district pacing guide, ELA curriculum (Mine is a PDF so is always at home with me), a Google Calendar printout from the week below (read about how I make the Google calendar printouts here), the state standards blueprint, the state standards released test questions, and finally a printout of my students’ most recent assessment scores.

I start with their assessment scores. 1) I identify the lowest standards and write them daily into the lessons. This is often called “backward mapping,” whatever they tested low in, teach again. 2) Then I find matching curriculum and write that into the Google Calendar lesson plan. The former is pretty simply since I have access to Oars.net. This is a great online program that aggregates assessment data for teachers. I can see in an instant what standards are high and need only be spiraled and I can also see the low stuff needing intervention. The way I go through my day teaching these lessons in in almost constant evolution. Having said that, watch for a post in the next week or two where I will share how the weekly lesson plan looks in a given teaching day. What do you think about my art of planning a teaching week? Have you anything to add? That would be great.

Teaching Your Students About Money Matters

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A guest post by Vanessa Lang

Teaching children about money is just as important as any other subject we cover in our classrooms. Whether these students are in kindergarten or their last semester of college, they should be given constant reminders about their personal finances, the importance of good credit, and many other financial topics. While this may be true, financial literacy seems to have taken a back burner in our education system. At a time when our economy is so poor, this should be just the opposite. We should be educating our students now more than ever about money if we want to prevent some of them from financial disaster in the future.

Start When They Are Young
The sooner children start to learn about proper money management, the more successful they will be with their finances. Normally, children learn their financial habits from their parents, but, as educators, we all know that parents don’t always set the best example. If a child sees their parents going into debt and making poor financial decisions, they will assume that it is the norm, and when it comes time to make their own financial decisions, they will follow their parents’ lead. We can stop this trend if we take the time to bring finance into our classrooms.

Get Their Attention
One of my favorite experiments done with children is the one where an adult places a marshmallow in front of a child and tells them that they can either eat it now or they can wait 15 minutes and have two marshmallows. It has been said that those children who are able to wait are going to be more successful in life. This can be said for a child’s knowledge of money and saving as well. If a child realizes that they can save their money to get something great later instead of buying something small now, they obviously know the value of a dollar and will probably be more financially successful.

One way you can get your students’ attention and teach them about money is through a point system. Give them fake money for whenever they make an accomplishment, like a good grade on a test or a good deed in the classroom, and let them save the money to buy items from a school store at the end of each month. Urge them to save for something big, but allow them to buy something small if they wish. Sometimes, the best lessons they can learn are through their own mistakes. If a student spends all of their money one month on small trinkets and then isn’t able to buy a stuffed animal at the end of the year, they may realize that saving their money is a better option.

More Advanced Topics
As students get older, they will need to be introduced to more advanced topics. Spending and saving wisely is great, but there is much more to financial success than that. In higher grades, students should start learning about loans, credit cards, and credit. If your students plan on going to college, they will probably have to take out a student loan. Far too many students don’t think about how they are going to pay off their student loans until it is too late. Students should understand that a deferred payment plan doesn’t mean that they will be able to put off those loan payments forever.

Credit cards are also an important subject, especially for teenagers. They watch movies and television shows where the characters use credit cards, and some may think that swiping that little plastic card means free money. This topic could also lead you into a discussion about credit ratings. Many students also don’t know what a bad credit rating can do to their future until it is too late. With your help, your students may never have to worry about being rejected for an apartment or a job because of their credit rating.

Vanessa Lang is an author who writes guest posts on the topics of business, marketing, credit cards, and personal finance. Additionally, she works for a website that focuses on educating readers about payday loans.

Preparing for Tests With Tests

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Whatever school or university you may teach at, there are benchmarks the school probably uses to measure academic progress.  In the state of California, there is a “standards test” that each child must take in April.  This tests provides valuable information to the state and local school systems, as well as the world, about how well our kids are progressing toward goals.  Because it is such a “high stakes” test, there is often a lot of anxiety shared by students and teachers about it.  I have found that using similar tests can help bring that anxiety down (you should have SOME anxiety as a teacher I think) and help familiarize the kids with the “giant” they will soon be facing.

I’ve been teaching since 1997 and I have seen many many test prep tools.  The best ones I have found in recent years are simply: other tests.  By modeling with the kids how to take tests you give them valuable skills you didn’t even know you had.  I recommend trying as a test prep tool in your next teaching day, a related test.  Get an overhead, document camera, or power point and project each question on the wall.  Go through all the processes you went through when taking your teaching exams.  The kids will love it and thank you later for sharing!  *Note: test prep will never replace extended vigorous teaching of a concept that include all the steps of a proven teaching-psychology based system like EDI. This post recommends its tip only after the normal teaching curriculum has been taught.  So, now … what do you think of preparing for tests with tests?

Financial Aid Options for Teachers

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Paying for schooling can be hard for aspiring teachers and teachers who are trying to continue their education. However, there are many different forms of aid available to help cover education costs. Here are some of the most commonly used financial aid options for teachers.

Student Loans

There are two fundamental types of student loans: those sponsored by the federal government and loans taken out through a private lending institution. There is a third alternative, peer-to-peer lending, which is becoming more popular each year. Before you decide on the type of loan that will work best for you it’s essential that you research the benefits and potential downside of each.

Federal Government Loans

Student loans taken out through the U.S. government are called Stafford loans or Perkins loans. The money comes directly from the United States Department of Education. If you qualify for a government loan, the money will come to you through a participating school. However, you must meet certain criteria before you’re considered eligible for a federal loan. The first thing that you need to do to qualify is to be enrolled in an accredited college or university. You can also qualify by enrolling in a trade, career, or technical school. As a general rule, Stafford loans don’t have to be paid back until after you graduate from college. However, if you leave school without earning a degree, it’s possibly that you could be required to start paying the loan back immediately. You will have to fill out an FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and go through a review process before being accepted. Another federal loan program, the Perkins loan program, is need-based, and carries a fixed 5% interest rate throughout the length of the loan term, which normally runs for 10 years.

TEACH, a Federal Program

TEACH (Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education) is aimed at those who would like to teach at a public or private school for low-income families. It is a grant program designed to help defray the cost of receiving your teaching degree. To qualify, you must be willing to teach four full academic years out of the next eight at a school that encourages enrollment by low-income family members. This money is in the form of a grant, so it won’t have to be paid back unless you don’t meet their criteria. If you back out of the agreement, that money will become an unsubsidized student loan and the funds will need to be paid back, with interest. Part of the criteria for TEACH is that you must be willing to instruct low-income children in high demand subjects such as mathematics, foreign languages, reading, science, and special education. To be considered eligible for a TEACH Grant, you have to fill out the FAFSA. However, there is no need to prove that you have a financial need in order to be eligible.

Private Loans

A private loan is the type of loan you would get from a private financial institution, such as a bank or credit union. Money from a private loan need not be designated specifically for your college education, it is merely money loaned to you with the expectation that it will be repaid, with interest, at agreed upon terms. While the terms of a federal loan are pretty standard, the terms of a loan through a private lender can vary quite a bit. A private loan is almost always determined based upon your credit rating. If you have a good credit score, your interest rates can be fairly low. If you don’t have good credit, your rates could be very high–you may even be asked to provide a cosigner. The terms for a private student loan are left entirely up to the financial institution you’re dealing with–you either take it or leave it.

Peer-to-Peer Lending

Peer-to-peer lending is fast becoming a popular method of securing a student loan. Essentially it is a financial agreement between two parties–a financial lending institution is not normally involved–whereby one person borrows money from another. Once the terms are agreed to, the borrower is expected to repay the loan within a predetermined time frame–with interest. A peer-to-peer loan is a formal agreement, usually requiring the borrower to sign a contract laying out the terms of repayment. Most people that take out a peer-to-peer loan instead of borrowing from a bank or the government have a poor credit rating or low grades that aren’t high enough to qualify for a government loan.

Guest post from Karen Schweitzer. Karen writes about online schools for BestOnlineColleges.com.

Links to Lesson Plans and Teaching Tips

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Are you looking for online free resources such as lesson plans and maybe a little inspiration? This is a set of K-12 education related entries that includes everything from creating reading lesson plans to making cake in a coffee cup!  Thank you to the amazing visionaries who submitted their posts to this edition! I know any lesson plans that are inspired from these posts will be highly inspired!

Alvaro Fernandez presents Learning about Learning: an Interview with Joshua Waitzkin posted at SharpBrains, saying, “Enjoy a human brain in full display.”

Christina presents Classroom Blogging posted at Early Childhood Teacher, saying, “This blog is about how classroom blogging helps communicate with parents.”

Margaret Garcia presents Top 50 Blogs For Studying Africa posted at Online University Reviews.

OnlineCollege presents Walden, and 99 other Free Online Books posted at Universities and Colleges.

Sarah Scrafford presents 100 Open Courses About Urban Studies, Planning, and Life posted at Learn-gasm.

Christina presents Half Day Kindergarten vs. Full Day Kindergarten posted at Early Childhood Teacher.

Catherine Eagleson presents Learning with fun. posted at Crosswords For Fun, saying, “Homeschooling can be a challenge, particularly when it comes to finding resources and activities that will stimulate your child’s mental activity. Puzzles can be a great educational asset but are sometimes overlooked by parents as they seek ?educational? materials. Puzzles have long been favorite playthings for children and for this reason they are seem as toys rather than objects of skill and learning development.”

Kate presents Secrets of the Trade posted at Advice on Love, Life, and Everything Between, saying, “An elementary teacher’s secrets for parents”

pennyryder presents Good Teachers – Primary School posted at Teaching Challenges.

Amy@LiteracyLaunchpad presents The Hat – Lesson Reflection posted at Literacy Launchpad, saying, “A fun predicting lesson using Jan Brett’s The Hat”

Scott Palat presents 5 Steps to Balance Discipline with School Work. How You Can Make Homework Part of a Calm Evening! | posted at Colleen Palat.

Christina presents Google Maps posted at Early Childhood Teacher, saying, “This blog is about using Google Maps/technology in an Early Childhood classroom.”

Catherine Eagleson presents Hangman – A Great Word Game For All Ages! posted at Crosswords For Fun, saying, “Hangman is a word game that is very effective in the classroom. Students will find it interactive and perhaps even competitive. They will be having so much fun, they probably won’t even realize they are learning!”

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Musical Accord (Spoof Contract) posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Michelle Sweeney presents Chocolate Cake In A Mug – Orble posted at Michelle.

I hope these links have given you some motivation and inspiration to write and deliver dynamite lesson plans.

Assess the Entire Class in an Instant

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White dry-erase boards are an excellent way to check for understanding (CFU) during and after a lesson. They are also a great way to avoid wasting paper in your lesson plans. Of course, they are also very useful when stating the learning objective. Instead of printing up a class set of the material I am covering in a lesson, I print up one for each class I teach and project it on the screen. The students interact with me through dry-erase markers and white boards and it makes for an almost sport of a lesson.

This can be used in any subject. I teach the concept, use CFU throughout the teaching, then I model the concept in guided practice, asking students to gradually join me. Eventually I “release” them to do questions on their own and once again I CFU through the use of the white boards. I use the term “1 … 2 … 3 … show it to me” and then I can instantly assess a class of 33 kids. I can see if 80% or more are getting it.  If they are, I usually move on. 100% mastery is always the true goal though it isn’t always achieved. As I share anecdotes about my teaching, my goal is to help my readers achieve that goal. If we can get closer through teacher tips like this, we will be more effective in the classroom.

There are challenges getting the kids to leave the caps on the markers and not “doodle” on the white boards. It needs to be stressed to them that they are not doing “art” but rather they are answering questions to show me they “get it.” They get a kick out of it when I say 80% accuracy or better yet 100% accuracy. Sometimes they even cheer. While exuberant, they are focused. This is what makes white boards a great tool for classroom management.

I’ve written here before about how I am moving away from the use of copies and paper in my classroom. I think these changes have only benefited my students. It might be true to say that too much paper improves the presentation but widens the disconnect between the teacher and learner. Then again, this is just my personal experience. I know not everyone is ready for what I am calling “The paperless classroom.” I encourage the use of white boards for CFU. They are simple, always on hand, and you can assess the entire class in an instant. And when we’re through (in my classroom) we play guitar easy songs, it breaks up the brain strain.

Classroom Expectations – Take Your Time, do it Right

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Classroom management and expectations are a teacher’s best friend or worst enemy.  It depends on how well a teacher conveys them to the kids. Research I’ve read shows that the beginning of the year is the best time to declare your classroom rules and expectations.  If you fail to get the point across at that time, you have exponentially less control in the classroom until year’s end. You might say it is the most crucial learning objective you’ll have.  Most teachers I talk to agree the beginning of the year is the time to establish authority, rules, and expectations.  What they don’t all agree on however is how to do it.

I knew one teacher who believed in passing out a handout with the rules and not going over them.  I knew another who would would take the entire first week of the school year modeling, explaining, and getting the kids to act out every scenario imaginable.  He actually used puppets and the kids would “ad-lib” scenarios with him such as: “Hey, imagine the puppet is a kid outside and he says: ‘Your momma is ugly.’” The kids would horse around and make the puppets fight.  Then, that teacher would take the teaching opportunity to talk about how silly it is to fight over words. What he’s really doing is setting the stage for child discipline. I feel the second teacher had a much better approach. I am not saying you should blindly anymore than you should buy an rv without an rv insurance quote.

I don’t focus solely on behavior management the whole first week, but I use most of it to set the curriculum aside and teach rules and expectations.  I had kids the first week holding up crossed fingers and I had no idea why.  I found out their teacher last year used that as a signal to go to the restroom.  This is an example of why teachers should take time establishing new “grooves” of activity in the classroom.  There is something called “affective filter” that hinders kids from feeling comfortable learning and taking risks in the classroom.  When the rules are unclear, an anxiety permeates the room.  This anxiety can keep kids from learning to their potential and cause all sorts of mayhem.

I don’t recommend an entire week of nothing but rules and expectations but I think at least half a week with time for followup is a must.

Last week I noticed on Thursday that my kids were still not quite sure how I check for understanding.  My method is different from many teachers as you may know if you’ve read my pieces on that.  To summarize it, I say the question, wait, and then call on a random non-volunteer.  This breaks with the traditional method of checking for understanding by forward questioning. I decided I would review and practice it until the kids were “awake” and answering when their number was called.  They eventually did get it and we are ready to start the year strong. When things like this work, I share them here as teacher tips.

Have you thought about your style of class management? Is there a way you could convey it more clearly at the beginning of the year?

Professional Learning Communities – Worth the Effort

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Professional learning communities are revolutionizing education. We are learning at my school how powerful it can be when teachers work together. Unfortunately, it does require a lot of patience and work to make happen. Some people see these as laminate flooring: something to make your work look and function better in a faster time frame than on ones own, or as some people call it, the lone ranger teacher.

In teaching, as with any professional job, there are times when you have to make professional conversations happen. This might be be over an issue of student motivation or just plain getting along issues. They can be awful to do and they make your stomach churn but they are hugely important and have to be done whether comfortable or not. It would be nice if we could just stay in our classrooms until dismissal and not bother anyone and not be bothered by anyone but that is a fantasy land. To keep kids “moving” up from one level to another or staying at the top level, it requires teachers engaging in professional conversations on a regular basis. It’s not about who’s cool or not or who likes who or not. It is simply a commitment to moving kids upward by all means available. When teachers agree to work this way … everybody benefits and at the end of the year, great progress is inevitable.

The dynamite teacher ensures and fosters professional learning communities.

10 Tips to Teach Kids with Repetition

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  1. Enunciate new vocabulary clearly and slowly and repeat it in the lesson
  2. Have them write concepts verbatim.
  3. Have them respond to you verbally their own synthesized answers.
  4. Have them do the same in writing.
  5. Have them share verbally in pairs.
  6. Have them share on white boards and hold up (an instant assessment tool)
  7. Give them a short written test.
  8. Pick a random non-volunteer.
  9. Do the similar lessons after complete after 24 hour period pass.

Result?  Proficent kids!

Dont Over Stuff Your Brain

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Whether you are learning or teaching, it’s important to not over stuff your brain. Studies have shown that the mind cannot absorb more than three things at a time. So, if you are writing, don’t make more than 3 main points or they will be wasted on over-fed minds. If you are looking to read and understand something, break it down into three or less main categories. Yellow pads are great for this. You’d do well to “space out” the time you have to study as well. The theory of time spaced learning got me through College Algebra at the junior college. I have always struggled with math and a teacher shared with the class about it. My life has been improved ever since!

The theory goes like this: instead of studying to absorb new material over the course of an hour, break up your time into 15 minute increments. The data shows that memory is strongest when you start and stop a study time. Therefore, instead of having strong memories only twice in an hour, you will have them at the start and stop of each mini session. This equals more knowledge retained! Now this was great news to me, because I loved taking breaks from math!

When it comes to our brains, less is more and quality is better than quantity. Slow down and take more breaks, you’ll be amazed how much more you retain for life!