How to you increase fluency practice in your classroom?
Answer: Whisper Phones
Our math curriculum is using an inclusive definition of a trapezoid being a 2 dimensional shape with at least 1 pair of parallel sides. This means a square could be classified as a trapezoid. This might cause some issues with parents who have statements like, “that is not what I was taught.” What are some other possible academic stumbling blocks that you might have to discuss with parents?
What are some behavior management strategies you've found to be most effective with your students?
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What is the best way that you incorporate civic education in your classroom? What are some of the mandated standards that you have to address?
The new year is a great time to review classroom rules and procedures. What creative ways do you use to review the rules?
I am ready for a new classroom theme! Any suggestions for a theme that is calming and has more muted colors?
Behavior Management
Students enjoy classrooms with a good management plan. In fact, students desire interesting, engaging teachers who create an effective learning environment. Watch a veteran teacher who has strong management skills. Somehow, management becomes nearly invisible, and the teacher seems relaxed and confident while students appear to be engaged and learning. How do they do this? It doesn’t happen by accident. Experience helps, but one difference is a strong management plan that builds on a foundation of good teacher/student relationships, clear expectations with consequences, and thoughtful organization that empowers instruction. A strong, well-thought-out plan prevents management problems before they arise.
What intervention strategies do you use to handle student behaviors?
Have you found any good strategies that keep your absenteeism rates lower?
We introduced a school wide award that is awarded to the classroom in each grade level with the highest attendance rate each month. When our individual classes have attendance above 95% on a daily basis, we get a postcard with our mascot on it to display outside our classroom door (with the date earned). When our classroom earns 10 of them, we get a visit from the Woot-Woot wagon and each student gets to pick a treat!
How do you choose professional development opportunities that align with your teaching goals and the needs of your students?
How would you plan a lesson for a standard about comparing and contrasting key points from 2 different mediums for older students?
I have a water table in my kindergarten classroom and my students love to use it during literacy and math times for a variety of letter and number activities. I also let them use it during our play time so they can explore how water moves and changes in different containers of different shapes and sizes. What do you add to your water table to keep it fun and interesting for your students?
What are some of your first day “must have” lessons? How do you introduce your routines and procedures to your students?
What strategies could be used to support an upper elementary student with a learning disability and speech language impairment in constructing grammatically correct sentences. Often, for these students on my caseload, I find that they struggle to apply conventions when writing down their ideas. Run-on sentences (or even just seemingly jumbled words) are frequent!
How would you introduce students to plotting points on a coordinate plane for the first time?
Immerse them in the experience. Using painter's tape(much better than masking tape for removing it cleanly) create a coordinate plane on the floor. Then make a game out of it having them move from the x negative and positive to the negative and positive . Have them go back to their seat and provide them drawing paper and have them draw the plane they moved through. Give them a game piece, or using their fingers and have them do the same thing in 2 dimensions. The next day, have them use that same drawing to label their lines with positive and negative numbers and the x and y. (Using graph paper will help them keep the numbers even spaced. Now using colored pencils have them mark dots/points of coordinates within the plane paying particular attention the the 0,0 or 0,-5 point types.
We are trying out Delta Math this summer … do you have any experiences or insight to share for this resource?
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