Classroom Management Series #1: When Students Call Out

Welcome to week six of Classroom Management Series rockstar teachers!  We are tackling one classroom management problem at a time. here  If you can think of any issues you want to address, post it below in the comment section. 

This week we are finding solutions to the issue of students calling out.  Calling out means: students do not wait to have permission to answer a question or ask for permission to do something. 

We have already addressed when students talking when they aren't supposed to but this post is about answering questions or asking permission.

Preventive Solutions

• Teach a specific routine for answering questions-raising their hand
• Teach a specific routine for getting your attention for help or permission to get out of their seat

• Instead of asking students to volunteer answers, call on them by pulling their name out of a jar or bag

Responsive Solutions

• Ignore the student
• Stop class and practice how to answer a question/get teacher’s attention
• Have students fill out the Behavior Notice paper 

  

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• Praise students who are doing what they are supposed 
• ex. “Good job Maria for raising your hand without saying anything to answer the question
• Call out students who are doing what they are supposed by name and thank them 
• ex. "Thank you Gerald for raising your hand to ask permission to get out of your desk"
• If you have a point system for rewards take points away from those that call out
• ex. 20 points at the end of the week gets that student 5 minutes of free time

Next week's question: What do you do when students come in late? Please leave your tips in the comment section below.

Holidays

Who doesn’t love the holidays?  Whether it is a well-known and cherished holiday or an obscure one, we tend to enjoy the celebrations.  And suppose we are living in a foreign country?  We would want to understand the various celebrations in that country as well as our own.  Being able to discuss and learn about different holiday allows us to integrate even further into our host country. 

Vocabulary

• Independence Day
• Easter
• Holy Week
• Lent
• New Year’s Eve/Day
• Christmas
• Thanksgiving
• Halloween
• St. Patrick’s Day
• Labor Day
• Mother’s Day
• Father’s Day
• Memorial Day

Grammar

• What is your favorite holiday?
• When is it celebrated?
• How is it celebrated?

Warm Up

Video Clip

• Procedure: watch a short video clip (ex. Ground Hog’s Day, Miracle on 34^th Street, National Lapoon’s Christmas Vacation) so students can hear some of the vocabulary surrounding specific holidays.

Picture Prompt

• Procedure:  Students draw a representation of their favorite holiday and how they celebrate it

Practice

What Holiday Am I? 

• Procedure: 
• Students stand in a circle while the teacher secretly tapes a piece of paper with a holiday written on it on their backs. 
• The students are allowed to ask yes or no questions to other students to try to guess what holiday is on their back (ex. Is food part of the celebration?) 
• Students can only ask three questions per classmate. 
• At the end of set time, students take turns guessing what holiday was on their back. 
  

Categories

• Procedure: 
• The teacher gives a topic (ex. Mother’s day) 
• Students take turns saying a word that corresponds to the topic (ex. Cards, flowers, moms, etc.) until someone either repeats a word already said or can’t think of something.  
• Then a new topic is said (ex. Independence day, holidays, etc.)

Password 

• Procedure: 
• Students are divided into two teams.  
• Each team selects the first representative.  
• The representatives sit with their back to the board or screen.  
• A secret word (ex. Christmas) is shown behind them.  
• Their teammates give them clues (ex. Gifts, Santa, December 25, etc.) so the representative guesses the secret word.  
• Once word is guessed a new representative is chosen. 
• Go to this website to download the PowerPoint

Production

Journal Prompt

• Procedure: Students write about their favorite holiday and how they celebrate it.

Movie Trailer

• Procedure: Students work in small groups to create a movie trailer (1 min. teaser about a movie) about a plot surrounding a holiday
• Modification: students make a trailer for a already existing holiday movie

Advertisement

• Procedure: Students pretend to work in a store that is trying to sell a food or decoration for a specific holiday.  Students can work individually or in pairs to create a poster to try to sell the food or decoration.   

Don't forget to check out the Classroom Management Series every Wednesday!  

Classroom Management Series #1: Eating in the Classroom

Welcome to the fifth week of the Classroom Management Series!  We have addressed many things including students using electronics in the classroom and students using profanity .  Don’t forget to check the Classroom Management tab above to see all the topics we have covered so far. 

Today we are going to talk about students eating in the classroom.  Kids are growing, and growing kids need food.  However, snacking on their chips and slurping their sodas is extremely distracting in a class.

Imagine the kids that come from a lower income family, they most likely can’t afford to run to the vending machine or soda to grab a snack.  So they are drooling over the rustling of a wrapper.  Or think of a child who struggles with an attention disorder, the wrapper or slurping is one more noise to distract them from their learning. 

Here are some suggestions for dealing with eating in the classroom. 

Prevention Solutions

• Stand at the door and make students finish/throw away their food and drink before entering the classroom
• Allow students to place unfinished food and drink on your desk during the lesson
• Allow students to finish food while doing the warm up
• Students can earn a snack day by doing what is expected of them for so many days

Responsive Solutions

• Have students put their snacks in their backpacks or on your desk if they start eating them in your class
• Have students throw them away when they start eating in class
• Have students pick up trash around the room once the lesson is done

I do want to note that you may have some students who come to school without breakfast and they are in your first few classes or even have to skip lunch for monetary reasons.  If you want to help them combat that hunger, you can have a few cheap snacks, like soda crackers or granola bars, in your desk to discreetly give them.    This can change their mood and improve their learning as well.  

Next week's question:What do you do when students call out without having permission (didn't raise their hand)? Please leave your tip in the comment section below.

Household Duties

We all have them.  We tend to hate them.  They are chores or family duties.  Chores are common conversation topic in any language.  We complain about them, we try to convince someone else to do them, or we have to stop our fun activities to do them. 

Vocabulary

• Sweep(ing)
• Mop(ping)
• Do(ing) the dishes
• Wash(ing) clothes
• Cook(ing)
• Sew(ing)
• Iron(ing) clothes
• Fold(ing) clothes
• Vacuum(ing)
• Clean(ing) the bathtub, toilet, shower, counter
• Clean(ing) my room

Grammar Structure

• I have to __________________.
• I am ______________.
• He/She is ___________________.

Warm Up

“Clean up” Song

• Procedure: teacher teaches the students the cleaning song
• “Clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere
  Clean up, clean up, everybody do your share
  Clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere
  Clean up, clean up, everybody do your share
  Clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere
  Clean up, clean up, everybody do your share
  Barney - Clean Up Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

Fly Swatter Review

• Procedure: 

1. Teacher tapes pictures of articles of clothing and parts of the house on the board.  
2. Students are divided into two teams.  
3. First representative from each team stands in front of the board with fly swatters in hand.  
4. The teacher says an article of clothing or part of the house.  
5. The two team members race to be the first one to “swat” (hit) the picture of the word.  The students only get one chance to hit the correct picture. 
6. If a student hits the correct picture that team gets a point. 
7. If neither team member hits the correct picture, neither get a point and the correct picture is identified. 
8. The next student from each team gets a chance.

Practice

Charades

• Procedure: Students can either be on two teams or work together to identify the family duty that a student is acting out without making any noise.
  
   

Pictionary

• Procedure: Students can either work two teams or together as a class to identify what family duty is being drawn. 

Production

Poster

• Procedure: Students can work in pairs or individually to create posters to hang in the room illustrates, describes, and explains why to do a specific family duty.

Story

• Procedure: Students write a short story (a paragraph or two) about doing a chore they hate. 
• Modification: Students can write a chain story about a chore they hate.  A chain story has students starting to write their story but after 1 minute the student give their story to the person on the right.  After 1 minute the students again pass the paper to the right.  Students do this a few more times until the story is written. 

Commercial

• Procedure: Students work in pairs or small groups to make a 30 second to 1 minute to sell products to make house hold duties easier (for example: swiffer wet jet for mopping) 

Classroom Management Series #1: Entering and Leaving the Classroom

Welcome to week four of the Classroom Management Series!  This week are diving into managing the chaos of entering and leaving the classroom.  This is not for when individual students leave to go to the bathroom or anything.  This is when the whole class comes into your room for the first and leaves for the last time that day. 

Ideally, the students will come in and IMMEDIATELY be prepared for the lesson.  However, students need to time to get their materials ready, brain started up, and bodies quieted.

Here are some tips for entering the classroom using our two types of solutions.

Preventive Solutions

• Greet students at the door or be standing when students enter the classroom
• Have students do the same routine every day 
• For example: 
• take out their notebook and pencil case
•  hang their bags on the back of their chair
• put extra assignment in specified spot
• look on the board for the warm up instructions
• Have a warm up on their desks or written on the board for them to start when they sit down
• Have assigned seats for students
• Have students practice coming in the room the way you expect them to
• Give specific instructions 
• For example: 
• sit in your chair facing the front 
• walk in to the room without talking

Responsive Solutions

• If students come running in or come in loudly ask them to re-enter the room and do it again correctly
• Have them fill out the “Behavior Notice” 

  

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Why worry about how students enter your class?

How students enter your class sets the tone for the rest of the day.  If it was chaotic with students doing what they want, then it will be harder to get the students to listen to you. 

Students are watching the clock and waiting for the opportunity to escape no matter how enticing your lesson is.  However, you still need to control how and when students exit.  This allows you to teach till the last minute (isn’t our goal to use as much time to teach?) and maintain control of the classroom.  Having a set routine for students ends the day on a positive note (no yelling or signs of frustration) that they will take home with them. 

Preventive Solutions

• Students are not dismissed until you have given them permission
• Stand at the door to tell students bye
• Ask students to complete an “Exit Ticket” to give to you at the end of the lesson/day

  

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• Do the same routine to leave 
• For example: 
• complete the exit ticket
•  put supplies back in their bag
• sit facing the front till their name is called
• Call students by name to leave
• Keep the classroom door closed until you are ready to dismiss the students

Responsive Solutions

• If students stops working and packing things away before the allotted time, go to that student and tell them to get their supplies back out to continue working
• Have student fill out the “Behavior Notice”
• Have students that pack up early be the last ones to leave and/or help clean the classroom

  Why stress the importance of exiting in an orderly manner?

Students are there to learn and teachers only have a limited time with them.  Students need to be taking advantage of all the time given to them to learn.  If there is a routine, this can be done in the last minute or two quickly and without the stressful yelling.  You want your students to exit your classroom feeling accomplished and good about themselves.  This will not happen if you are screaming at them, they are scrambling to find their supplies to leave as quickly as possible.  

Next week's question:What do you do when students eat in the classroom? Please leave your tip in the comment section below.

Classroom Management Series #1: When students use profanity

Welcome to our third week of the Classroom Management Series!  The past two weeks we have talked about students talking when not supposed to as well as students using their electronics in the classroom.  This week we are going to address profanity. 

Profanity: (noun) abusive, vulgar, or irrelevant language

   

Includes but not limited to: 

• cussing
• trash talking
• saying mean or sexual jokes (ex. Your momma is so fat…)
• any disrespectful talk that interrupts learning or makes others feel unsafe. 

Why do students use profanity?

• To get attention that they crave
• To impress their peers
• To portray an emotion (excitement, anger/hurt towards a fellow classmate, etc)

Students come from all types of backgrounds and to some of the students these words are normally used in their home.  But in the classroom there needs be different expectations to ensure a safe learning environment. 

Here are a few tips, using our two types of solutions:

Preventive Solutions

• Put in class (rules)-Be respectful, discuss what is and is not disrespectful
• Have a “Behavior Notice” handout available for students to fill out if they misbehave 

  

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Responsive Solutions

• Ask students to rephrase what they said
• Have students apologize for using profanity
• Talk to the offender privately about why they are saying what they are saying
• Have student complete the “Behavior Notice” to return the next day (simply place it on their desk for them to fill in)
• call parents 
• conduct a conference with student (and the other people if profanity was aimed at others)

Remember to make the solutions fit the behavior.  This is because students have a hard time connecting a consequence to an action if the consequence is delayed or unrelated to the misbehavior.  For example, if a student cusses in your class have them rephrase what was said and apologize immediately instead of having the student clean your classroom.  

Next week's question:What do you do when students arrive late or leave early? Please leave your tip in the comment section below.

Sports and Leisure Activities

Being able to carry on a conversation about your favorite leisure and sports activities and asking your friend’s about theirs will allow deeper bounding when in your second language.

Today’s objective: Students will be able to talk about sports and leisure activities

Vocabulary

Soccer

Equipment

referee

team

Ball

Goal

Uniform

Cleats

Basketball

Net

Tennis shoes

basket

Football

Touchdown

Baseball

Bat

Glove

Homerun

base

Swimming

pool

Skateboarding

Skateboard

ramp

Running

Race

Course

Reading books

Watching movies, television

listening to music

talking with friends

going to concerts

playing video games 

Grammar Structure

Do you like to ______________?

I like to ____________________?

Which sport do you like?

What kind of equipment do you need?

Where is ____________ played?

Warm Up

Watch highlights of the Olympics

Procedure: 

1. Download the most current highlight broad cast of your country’s Olympics (Spanish or English).  
2. Students list any words they know about the Olympics in English.

Draw their favorite sport/leisure activity

Procedure: 

1. Students draw their favorite sport or activity on a small piece of paper

Practice

Fly swatter

Procedure: 

1. Students are divided into two teams and pictures of the vocabulary words are taped on the board.  
2. Each team has a fly swatter.  
3. The teacher says a vocabulary word and the team members with the fly swatters run to the board to hit the picture that represents the word the teacher said.  
4. They only have one chance to hit the correct picture
5. Then the fly swatter is passed to the next team member in line.

Modification: Students stay at the desks instead of lining up. 

Photo credit goes to a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer

Charades

Procedure: 

1. Types of sports/leisure activities are written on small pieces of paper. 
2. Class is divided into two teams and facing opposite ends of the room. 
3.  A team member from each team secretly reads a slip of paper and acts out the activity (without saying anything) for their team to guess.  
4. Then the next team member does the same for a different activity.

Modification: Students take turn acting out the activity for the class instead of teams competing.

Secret Word

Procedure: 

1. One person from the class stands with their back to the board.  
2. The teacher secretly writes a sport or leisure activity on the board.  
3. The student with their back to the board tries to guess the secret word 
4. The class gives hints to them without saying the secret word (ex. Baseball: students can say: bat, ball, glove, homerun, etc.)

Production

Role Play

Procedure: Students work in pairs or small groups to role play a conversation that would happen during one of the sports or leisure activities

Letter

Procedure: Students write a letter to their favorite English speaking sports figure

Commercial

Procedure: Students work in small groups or pairs to make a 30 second to 1 minute role play to convince their classmates to come to their team’s next game