ClassMan2011

Some interesting ideas - some that I'd want to use all year round! Learning centres, co-operative learning, literature circles, outside learning, team challenges. Some great ideas to keep kids motivated with learning!

How will YOU get organized? Visit this link to read up on tips for organizing your teacher's desk, materials you'll need to get started, setting up your files, and organizing weekly materials, among other tips. There are some pictures so that you get an idea of how these ideas are implemented in the classroom. If you click on the "Weekly To Do List" and the "Personal To Do List", you'll open up PDF files with templates for you to print and use. All of these tips come from an actual teacher, so these are things that work and make a difference in how smoothly your class runs.

Even though this is fake, it's still really funny and a good example of what NOT to do. It lists all the things that were wrong with what the teacher was doing, so if you didn't catch everything it's very helpful.

This article provides suggestions on classroom management techniques for children with ODD. It starts out with a description of the behaviour and best practice techniques. It also provides a variety of links to suggestion behaviour management techniques that are proven effective in the classroom. The article also provides links for having a proactive classroom and behaviour contracts.

When you think you need to do more to try and manage the class, slow down, read this article, and do less. Its all laid out for you. Relax.

For those who did not sign up for the ELL elective, this video is a little introduction to some effective ways of teaching ESL students. The video identifies some struggles students have through testimonials from actual ESL students and then shows some strategies to use in the classroom. It shows clips from classrooms using these strategies. The following games are previewed in the video: grammar races, "What is it?", mock newscasts, misordered sentences, "What am I?", simulating real world conversations, and sing-a-longs (with hand gestures). The video is only 7 minutes long and worth the watch.

There are a number of classroom management ideas presented at this site which is geared towards substitute teachers and therefore are not about how you want to set up your perfect classroom but more about how to gain and maintain control over a class of students that have never seen you before. Some really good suggestions here.

Since many of us may be venturing in to the substitute teaching role at the beginning of our careers, I thought this was a great site that organized classroom management strategies based on grade levels for substitute teachers. There is everything from effective tips to strategies for gaining attention. There are also great links in the left hand column for books that kids love, curriculum activities and games, discipline techniques as well as interview tips and questions.

The following video provides three classroom management strategies for new teachers. These strategies include: planning ahead, classroom organization and being consistent. These strategies are helpful and can prevent classroom management issues.

Have you experienced a classroom where the students are constantly asking a teacher what to do, where supplies are etc.? Part of classroom management is providing students with the tools to become independent. Along with teaching students classroom routines and procedures it is important to have an organized classroom so that students can find what they need without your assistance. This article gives several suggestions of how to set up stations and displays in your classroom that will do this.

This small collection of short videos gives examples of simple, yet effective classroom management techniques. Although they are shown in mostly younger grades, I think most of them can be used in the upper grades or modified to be suitable. I really like the sign language one!

A lot of my looking around has resulted in seeing the book, "Reluctant Disciplinarian: Advice on Classroom Management from a Softy Who Became (Eventually) A Successful Teacher" by Gary Rubinstein. I have not had a chance to read the book, but this is a good review that highlights some key points. There don't seem to be any grounbreaking information, but I feel like it is nice to get classroom management advice from people that are currently teaching and going through what we will soon be. I really like the part on developing a teacher persona, as I think you need to have an identity that students understand and can know to expect.

This website has different categories for stages in a teaching career. There are links for beginning teachers, substitute teachers, mentor teachers and students. They have teaching tips, articles, and blogs and you can also join an email discussion list. I like that you can connect to different aspects of education from one location.

In my last practicum, I was in a grade 5 classroom and students got a good amount of time during class for independent quiet reading. I always questioned how productive that was since it seemed to me that many kids were not really reading. This resource gives good ideas as to how to manage that time so that it is productive and how to make kids accountable for the time that is given to them for this activity.

Classroom management is a big part of fruitful group work. How groups are made and students' understanding of group work are two big factors in how much students get out of group activities. This website lists the many ways that groups can be made. Those new to me were knowledge/subject grouping, skill/strategy grouping and student choice grouping.

The article begins by defining the characteristics of students with Asperger's, which is on the autism spectrum. Students with Asperger's specifically struggle with transitioning between activities because they struggle when their daily routine is disrupted. One strategy is to use picture charts for each part of the day. Another strategy for older students is to use verbal cues that a transition is occuring. Ultimitely, teachers who provide emotinal support will help these students transition smoothly.

You cannot ignore bad behaviour or it will just get worse. Here are some basic rules to dealing with bad behaviour: 1-bad behavior, not bad person 2-act but do not react 3-analyze, then respond 4-be consistent and fair The article continues to discuss other issues like inattention, side conversations, heckling, threatening and fighting. In the extreme case of students fighting one another, you should never put yourself between the fighters unless you are certain you can end it with little harm to anyone. The article is from changingminds.org and contains many other great articles.

The article by Gary Maclean discusses the importance of management in the classroom. He defines management as "designed to bring students to their ultimate objective". Gary briefly outlines five elements of classroom management: organization, simplify, cleaning, standardize and sustain. Most of the article was fairly self explanatory, but the one element I found interesting and very useful that I had not thought of before was cleaning. A busy classroom gets messy, therefore cleaning should be a daily activity. This is not an occasional activity and should be done at the end of the school day. In conclusion, Gary presents us with a great article on classroom management and includes five important elements.

I wanted to find an article that gave a list of "best" strategies to use in managing students in the classroom. I came across this particular article by Kellie Hayden, a veteran teacher with 17 years of experience. She has taught subjects from mechanics to Shakespeare, middle to highschool, and students with ADHD to students with their own parole officers. Although this article represented one teachers view, she seems to have a great outlook and great classroom management. Here are her top 5: 5-keep the lesson moving 4-don't lecture for the whole period 3-talk to your students 2-stand near distruptive students 1-talk to extremely distruptive students in the hall (last resort is the office)

A collection of professional development resources to assist teachers with everyday issues that arise. Some of the resources include creating a discipline plan, classroom management tips and starting the school year off in a positive manner.

When you feel like you are loosing them, get them standing and doing a Brain Break. They take only a minute or two, need no real preparation or fancy supplies and they can contribute huge dividends to your classroom management by allowing students to re-engage after a mental shift. They can be done with students of any age, usually make you laugh and challenge your brain often by crossing your mid-line thus engaging both hemispheres. They have even been suggested for use during exams and standardized tests. They are backed up by some action research I found on http://abllab.com/ which even shows some cool brain scans illustrating the difference in mental activity when someone was active right before or not! Definite food for thought to do more than your DPA to keep them engage, learning and not creating mischief!