HOW TO LINE UP YOUR STUDENTS and WALK in a LINE

Kids have motives when it comes to lining up. Either they are pushing to be first in line, dawdling to be last or they are wiggling their way to be near their friends. In many schools, teachers lead their lines to places where the children remain in “line order” (assemblies, a lunch line, dismissal, etc). Teachers also arrive to pick the class up at gym, music, recess, or art and are expected to walk them back to the classroom in a “hallway appropriate line.” These times can be challenging because the students are typically excited and are often clustered into groups in line with their best buddies.

STRATEGIES FOR QUICK CLASSROOM TRANSITIONS

With everything that needs to get done, most teachers would agree that there are not enough instructional hours in the school day. Since every second counts, it is important to not waste any time. Check out these fun and easy classroom management tips and strategies for quick classroom transitions!

Attention Grabbers & Improved Listening Strategies

When I graduated from college, I worked as a classroom aide for the first and second-grade level team. There was one first grade teacher who amazed me. Her room would be all aflutter with little people chatting and moving and everything else that comes with being 6 years old. And then this teacher would just start talking. She would simply say, "Boys and Girls...(insert whatever she needed to tell them)" and the entire class would freeze, look and listen. Just by talking in a normal tone at a conversation volume. WHAT? I still don't know what kind of voodoo spell she cast over them to make that magic happen, but I assure you, I have never seen it replicated anywhere or at any time.

I gave up trying to figure it out and instead worked on developing creative ways to get my students attention and fine-tuning the art of only teaching when the students are focused and on task. To master this you need to be consistent in your expectations and classroom management skills and invest time in making sure the items below become second nature to your students. 

HOW TO IMPROVE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT USING HAND SIGNALS

Teachers often face the problem of students yelling out during a read aloud or interrupting their small group lessons and reading conferences to ask to use the bathroom, get a drink of water, sharpen a pencil, or ask a question. These disruptions often cause other students to lose focus and become off task. The good news is there is a simple solution you can put into practice right away. Using a hand signal system in your classroom will quickly and dramatically improve student behavior and eliminate many of the disruptions that happen throughout a typical school day.

CONSTITUTION DAY ACTIVITIES, IDEAS, BOOKS and PRINTABLES

Did you know ALL public school teachers MUST teach a lesson about the Constitution on Constitution Day every September? It’s true. If you teach at a school that receives government funding you are required to teach your students about the Constitution on that day each year. This post will explain how you can fulfil your legal obligation as a teacher while staying true to your values of developmentally appropriate instruction.

Classroom Arrival and Dismissal Routines

The beginning of the day and end of the day can be the most hectic times of the school day. Without consistent routines and structure, these transition times can be noisy, unproductive, and chaotic. Start and end your day smoothly with the tips and strategies listed in these two blog posts.

HOW TO MANAGE STUDENT BATHROOM BREAKS at SCHOOL

By having consistent and predictable routines, your classroom will run itself… Right? Unfortunately, not everything is predictable. Like when a kid needs to use the bathroom. It’s going to come up all day everyday. While you can’t control the wee little bladders of kids who have sucked down too much Capri Sun at lunch, having a plan in place will prevent both disruptions to your class and accidents. Read below to snag some ideas about how to manage bathroom trips.

HOW TO IMPROVE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT with PROCEDURES and ROUTINES

I honestly feel strong classroom management is the most important thing teachers need to do in order to create the best, most-effective, learning environment that they possibly can. I love classroom organization. I adore classroom decor. But, if you don't have a solid plan for how you will consistently run your classroom the rest is moot. Read below to snag some ideas for your classroom!

Classroom Management Strategies

Effective classroom management skills are the key to success in the classroom. Developing a classroom management plan, fine tuning your classroom management strategies and strengthening your classroom management techniques will make you a more productive, efficient teacher. This will increase student learning, decrease your stress level and make your job even more enjoyable. This post will share five steps to improve your classroom management as well as classroom management tools that have helped other teachers.

Math Fact Fluency

There are so many common misconceptions about math fact fluency. It's an incredibly important piece of students' elementary math education - as it is one of the biggest indicators to a child's future success in math classes. Read below to clear up any misconceptions you may have and strengthen your math fact fluency understanding and instruction.

Math Centers, Games and Activities

Elementary math centers, games, and activities are great ways for students to practice and reinforce key math concepts and skills. Your students will be highly motivated and engaged during fun and collaborative learning experiences. It's a win-win!

Concept Sorts

Are you looking to learn more about concept sorts? If so, you found the right place! A concept sort can be used across content areas: Math, reading, science, social studies, and more. It is a powerful instructional tool that can be used as a way to introduce, reinforce, or assess a concept. It's incredibly versatile!

This blog post will...

• explain what a concept sort is and why it is beneficial to students
• identify the similarities and differences between open and closed sorts
• offer tips and ideas for using them

Elementary Math Word Problems

In order for students to become proficient in mathematics, they need to apply their learning to real life situations, which can be achieved through word problems.  During this application, it is essential for students to be exposed to different types of problems and situations. This helps them become flexible thinkers and strong mathematicians.

This experience should not be about following rote procedures and computing correct responses. When solving these types of problems, it is important for students to apply multiple strategies to make sense of the problem and solve it. These experiences should be grounded in strategy application and problem solving, rather than simply computation. Therefore, it is critical to fully equip students with anchor charts, tools, and manipulatives that will motivate and prepare them for these problem solving experiences.

Ideas and Strategies for Teaching Word Problems

Math word problems tend to be one of the most challenging tasks for elementary students. If you find that students in your classroom are struggling with word problems, read below to grab lots of strategies, tips, and ideas for teaching word problems.

OPEN-ENDED MATH PROBLEMS

Does your current math instruction involve only situations where there is one answer? Are students expected to solve problems following rigid procedures that do not require critical or creative thinking? Perhaps open-ended math problems is what your learners need to become true mathematicians who use diverse problem solving strategies to explore mathematical situations where there isn't necessarily one "right" answer.

Hands On Math Activities

Have you ever had a student be able to seamlessly recite their multiplication facts, but are unable to 1) explain how they solved it and 2) apply it to a real world problem?  This student lacks a conceptual understanding of multiplication.  Conceptual understanding has become an essential component of best practice teaching since the Common Core was adopted, as it expects students to do more than rote memorization.  Instead, it demands students be active participants in real-world learning and application to prepare them for college and careers in the twenty-first century.  Read to learn more about what conceptual understanding is, the difference between conceptual understanding and procedural fluency, why conceptual understanding is important, and what it looks like in an elementary classroom.

Real World Math Problems

Are your students lacking enthusiasm about math?  One way to increase engagement and get your students excited about math is by incorporating real world math.  Read below to learn about real world math, why it’s important, and how you can implement it in your classroom!

Ideas to Get Students Writing in Math

Integrating writing and math is critical in twenty-first century classrooms. Mathematical writing is an effective way to encourage students to make sense of concepts and skills, think critically, make connections, explain thinking, communicate ideas, practice literacy skills, self-assess, and reflect on learning. Read below to learn more about integrating writing into math instruction by examining why writing is important in math, ways to get students writing in math class, tips for supporting writers during math, what math journals are, how to write a good math journal prompt, and things to use math journals for besides writing.

Math Vocabulary Teaching Ideas

I’ve blogged in the past about how math instruction used to be a huge struggle in my classroom and how I solved that problem by using a guided math workshop approach to teaching. This allowed me to greatly increase student engagement, easily meet the diverse needs of every single student, and best of all, take my students’ understanding of math to a much higher level. 

I LOVED teaching math. 

My kids LOVED learning math. 

They were REALLY good at it.

But, still there was a problem. There were so many times that I was confident my students were proficient in a skill, but they would still get problems incorrect. This was especially problematic with standardized assessments (my least favorite thing in the world of education, btw) when I was not able to clarify anything or answer whatever questions they would’ve asked me in our normal math block.

I clearly remember walking around my room (for hours) proctoring “the big test” and seeing the looks of confusion, frustration, and anxiety on the faces of what was up until that point, my highest performing cohort of 3rd grade mathematicians. This was a group that required a lot of extensions and enrichment because they had demonstrated such strengths in math throughout the year. Yet...

Students who were fluent in division facts froze when asked to “compare the product of the expression on the left with the quotient of the expression on the right using the correct mathematical symbols.” Even simple equations such as “5 + 5” or “6-2” may cause students to second guess themselves when instead of being told to simply add or subtract, they are instead asked to “compute to find the sum” or “calculate the equation to identify the difference.” 

I realized it was not the actual math that was causing them issues. They were struggling because they were not fluent in the language of math. 

Math Literature Books for Elementary

Picture books are an effective tool to introduce, teach, and review math concepts, skills, and vocabulary in meaningful contexts.  They can be presented in the format of shared reading, a read aloud, or a center. Children benefit, especially those who struggle with math, from a different approach to math instruction.  Similarly, it’s a great way to represent a concept in a different way for students who have a different learning style.  For all learners, picture books bring math alive and depict how math is present in everyday situations.