November 11, 2003Elementary Educators Blog Archives |
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The Learning LineHere's an easy tip that clearly designates your classroom as a serious place for learning: Put a piece of thick masking tape on the floor at your doorway. Using a permanent marker, write the words "Learning Line" across the tape in big letters, facing outside. Explain to your students that when they cross that learning line, it's time to leave frivolous things outside and be prepared to learn. My students take this concept so seriously that they take a large step over the Learning Line and I can see a definite change in attitude once they're on the other side. Give it a try and see how it changes the mood in your classroom! (I know I borrowed this idea from somewhere originally, but I just can't remember where! It may have been from the book Quantum Teaching. Many thanks to my master teacher Lynne for introducing me to it several years ago!)12:28 AM # Fun Brain Web SiteFunBrain.com is an incredibly useful site if you have a few online computers in your room and you want to give your students a choice of several educational activities to try. Simply choose the age that is appropriate for your group and your students can play Math Baseball, Spell-A-Roo, Number Cracker, and more! If it's too easy or hard for them, it's simple for them to adjust the difficulty level on whatever game they're on. Bookmark this site and offer it to your students for a cool online experience!12:24 AM # Do This NowHow many minutes do you think you lose every week getting your students settled from entering the room at the start of the day, recess, and lunch? You might be scared if you added up all of the lost time! Here's a quick suggestion that might help you cut the wasted minutes significantly: I have a little section on my whiteboard at the front of the room that says "Do Now." Underneath these words, I have instructions for what the children are to do as soon as they enter the room. For example, it might say "Go directly to the rug for story time." Students need to know what's expected of them and then you can hold them accountable. If they don't know exactly what to do, time will be wasted. Try this simple trick and hopefully it will work for you as well as it has worked for me!12:19 AM # |
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