It seems like every day there is an endless stream of students reporting behaviors or incidents that happen in the classroom. On one hand, we want to help our students feel heard and validated so they know we are a safe person for them to talk to. On the other hand, we certainly don't want to feed into the tattle machine. It's a fine line to walk. So how do we handle tattling in our classrooms?
Get some helpful ideas on how to decorate your ESL classroom. Check out the top 5 classroom decoration ideas to work on with your students!
Farley is hosting her monthly Linky Party! Check out Currently February: As many of you know, I'm preggers (due in April). Therefore, my hubby and I are staying in a lot more than we usually do and watching lots of TV! We've watched Breaking Bad (all five seasons) and Homeland (just starting season two). We also watch lots of documentaries on Netflix. We found a great one the other night that I'd like to recommend. It's called "American Teacher" (2011), and it follows the lives and experiences of four teachers. It's only about 80 minutes long, so check it out if you have some free time! Matt Damon narrates the documentary so enjoy that! =) Photo courtesy of IMDb. On another note, did you hear about the Sunday Super Sale over at TpT!?! Everything in my store will be on sale for 28% off! Yippee!! I know I'll be shopping for lots of activities for the month of February, spring time writing activities, more clip art, and some center activities! Last but not least, I just added a great resource to my store called Sweet Sentences Mega Pack! It's only $4.00 and contains 56 pages of grammar and writing activities to help young writers grasp the concepts of complete vs. incomplete sentences. There are posters, activities for literacy stations and small groups, printables for independent practice, and whole group lessons. Check out a few examples below: {CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.1j and CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2.1f} Leave a comment below about writing instruction in your classroom (also include your e-mail), and I'll choose a few lucky winners to receive the Sweet Sentences Mega Pack for FREE! :)
This post contains affiliate links for your shopping ease. If you make a purchase using my link, Amazon credits me a very small percentage. But don't worry, it doesn't cost you any extra! One of my favorites books for teaching the difference between tattling and telling is A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue. I read this book at the beginning of each school year and throughout the year when my students need a gentle reminder. A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue is about a young boy named Josh who doesn't have many friends. In fact, everyone at school called him "Josh the Tattler." His mom grew tired of the tattling and warned him of getting tattle tongue. With the help of Tattle Prince, Josh learned the difference between tattling and telling! You can learn more about the author, Julia Cook, by clicking the book cover below. I love this book because it describes scenarios that happen in all of our classrooms each and every day. Sometimes it can be very hard for students to distinguish when they need to tell or when it is best to solve the problem on their own and the examples Julia included illustrate it very clearly. I really like the Tattle Prince's Tattle Rules--what a great way help our students become independent and proactive problem solvers! I've created a visual reminder that I display in my classroom. When I notice a student that is just dying to tell me something I remind them to look at the poster to make sure that they really need to tell me. Want to download the tattling poster? Grab this visual reminder by dropping your email address below. Click here! We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered By ConvertKit There are lots of great ideas to curb the tattling in classrooms. Some teachers have a stuffed animal that students can talk to, students can "tell the shell" and whisper into a conch shell, or create a tattle pledge that all students sign to remind them of their responsibility in contributing to the caring classroom. What are your tips and tricks for dealing with tattling in your classroom?
Everything you need to know about teaching 5th grade categorized and organized by topic for easy reference.
Good morning! :) One of the most important things to me is how you arrange your classroom. I always think about a few things when considering how to arrange my classroom... -Can my students all see the SMARTboard from their desks without having to turn around? -Can my students access all of our classroom materials without having to move something? -Can my students scoot out their chair without bumping into a desk or another chair? -Can I move around the classroom with ease? (Without having to squeeze through desks?) -Can I see ALL of my students from my desk? -Can I see ALL of my students from the meeting table? Sometimes I have to arrange the room, and then tweak it a little to make sure all of the above questions are answered YES. I've had my desks arranged in many different ways during the years. However, my favorite arrangement was when I had tables. I would take tables any day over desks! Tables facilitate cooperative group work and give the students so much more work space. However, tables are not always available to you. So, in that case, I would arrange my desks like tables. When I taught specials classes and had mostly small groups of kids at one time (between 6-10 kids most of the day), I had my classroom set up with my meeting table in the middle. I liked it being in the center of the class. It was more like the central meeting place instead of stuck in a corner. This is what my room looked like: If you want to see some examples of my classroom seating arrangement, you can see one of my previous posts about how to set up your classroom. Here is a screenshot from a PDF file I found about classroom seating arrangements from Effective Room Arrangement by Carolyn Evertson, Ph.D. & Inge Poole, Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University. http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/case_studies/ICS-001.pdf I love several of these arrangements... especially the one in the middle on the right. Except I would probably face my student's desks towards the SMARTboard and not my desk. I don't teach from my desk, therefore I wouldn't want their desks to be pointing toward mine :). Check out the link to the PDF above for lots of great information (and bigger pictures). I also found this awesome site: Classroom Desk Arrangement. You can choose your class size, then it has several different arrangements you can choose from. It looks pretty cool... here is a screen shot of the welcome page: This Pinterest Board has a lot of great classroom ideas! :) http://pinterest.com/luv2teach/classroom-layout-and-design/. Scholastic also has a pretty cool Classroom Set-Up tool. It allows you to create your classroom layout and has all of the shapes already made. You just "draw" it on the screen... pretty cool! The only thing I don't like is that you can't turn any of the desks at an angle. I kind of do my own version of this each year by drawing my classroom on a Microsoft Word document. This way I can save it, re-arrange it and re-use it all year long. The last website I will tell you about is Classroom Architect. It is a pretty neat website. It lets you choose your room's dimensions, and then lets you drop and drag all of the furniture into the classroom. It is pretty easy to use and looks nice when finished. Here is a screenshot of what it looks like: Below is a link to a basic classroom seating chart that I created on PowerPoint. If you don't have PowerPoint but have a Google Account and access to Google Docs, you should be able to manipulate it there as well. Save the file, then re-arrange the desks and furniture by just clicking and dragging! :) Grab the green dot at the top of each item. This will allow you to rotate the item you've chosen. Delete items not needed and save your new template! :) UPDATE: 9/13/17 I've created more versions of the seating chart below that are still fully editable, and have put them on my Teachers Pay Teachers Site. Please click the link below for the FREE download! Link: FREE Seating Chart Well, I hope that these websites and information has helped give you some ideas on how to arrange your classroom! Be inspired & have a wonderful day! :) That's all she wrote, ------------------------------------- P.S. Did you know that I started my own company, Camp Partridge? ⛺️ Camp Partridge offers online camps for children and teens ages 10-16 who want to be digital creators and authors! ⛺️ Camp Partridge offers online courses for parents struggling with remote learning. ⛺️ Camp Partridge offers resources for your classroom! I would be honored if you would share Camp Partridge with people you know who need or would enjoy our camps and courses! 🧡
Middle school veteran Jennifer Gonzalez identifies 10 ineffective habits new teachers often develop and proposes some better classroom management techniques.
A few years ago, our school implemented "voice levels" as a way to help at assemblies, in hallways, and within our classrooms. This has really helped with consistency across the grade levels and made the first few weeks of school even easier when introducing these concepts. In our school, if a teacher needs to get students' attention, he/she will hold up our hand in the shape of a zero. If kids are working in small groups and are getting a little noisy, I would hold up two fingers to remind them it was "Voice Level 2". When we create presentation rubrics, we always include "Voice Level 3" as an area to focus on. In the beginning of the year, when we are making our Daily 5 Anchor Charts around expectations, Voice Levels 0, 1, and 2 always make an appearance. I have loved thinking of Voice Level 1 (whisper) as "Spy Talk"! In the past, I have used the fingers-on-the-voicebox trick~ if it vibrates, it's not Voice Level 1~ but the idea of talking like a spy is soooooo much more fun! This year, I ask my Teacher's Assistant to help be my Voice Level Monitor. If they feel it is getting too noisy, they will assist me in showing the appropriate voice level with our finger(s). Here is the file for the poster (I recently changed over my font, so it looks slightly different). **UPDATE: If you like this idea, you will love my new Voice Levels Management Pack available on TpT! Be sure to download the Preview to see everything that's included and read my updated post HERE for more info! Enjoy!
FREE Call Backs and attention getters for the kindergarten classroom! Great classroom management tool!
It's more than what it seems.
Seven ways a smart phone can make a teacher’s life easier! Use your phone to record who did the homework. Don’t collect all that paper if you only have time to verify who completed the assignment. You can easily use the scan to spreadsheet solution- Got the Homework Blues? Randomly call on students or choose… Continue reading →
FREE Call Backs and attention getters for the kindergarten classroom! Great classroom management tool!
Thanks so much! Your free download is on it way to you. (If you don’t see the email, please check spam or Promotions folder.) Imagine having a done-for-you comprehensive classroom management plan that you can start implementing today! Are you struggling with managing your classroom and frustrated with trying countless techniques that just never quite […]
Need ideas for your French classroom? See my posters, decor, and setup for maximum French in the classroom and cool Francophone culture...
Quick strategies to get your kids talking about the RIGHT stuff at the RIGHT time!
Here's our latest high-quality poster that will look great on your Teacher's Room wall and will mativate you (and your fellow teachers) every working day! It's titled 'Classroom Management M
On A Peach for the Teach on Facebook, I invited people to ask their most challenging behavior questions. We got some great questions, each of which really tied together. Dona asked, I have a student that comes to me from second grade (I teach 1st) for my entire reading block, who likes to shout out talk back and just shuts down when you ask him to do something. He then treats his 2nd teacher with severe disrespect when he goes back to class. Rebecca asked, I have a class of 25 this year. 1 student is below K level (I teach 1st grade), 2 are identified as ADHD, we are working towards another student getting identified as ADHD, and I have 2 students who have really disrespectful attitudes. I have tried talking with parents, I have changed their seating, I have tried encouraging them and pointing out the positive......nothing seems to be working. Ideas? Lindsay asked, I need motivation tips for kids who can do the work but basically refuse to... These are such common issues that teachers face daily. I think they all tie together and have similar interventions, which led me to write this blog post-- How to Help Calling Out and "Class Clown" Behavior. "If you put a kid in the position of choosing between looking bad or looking dumb, he will choose to look bad." - Rick Lavoie, Motivation Breakthrough When a student is performing at a level lower than his peers, he is often aware of that. That could be part of the reason for the acting out. Maybe the child is embarrassed and would rather be seen as a class clown than struggling. It allows the child a sense of control over a situation where he would otherwise feel out of control. Try giving him some control in a positive way. To intervene, start with an informal play meeting. Meet with the student individually when he is calm, to play a preferred, non-academic game at the beginning or end of the day. He may be more likely to open up honestly in that type of setting through informal conversations (e.g., favorite TV shows, games, etc.). Casually ask what he likes and doesn't like about school, and "admit" to him that you always had a hard time with [insert his least preferred subject]. Try not to make it obvious that this is the whole point of your conversation. He might give you some insight into what's causing this. It's also great for establishing rapport, which will help you to get the student on your side. Give him some sort of task with which he can be successful, and give him positive attention for completing it. Avoid patronizing him or making it obviously at a level lower than the other students. Instead, try non-academic leadership positions, like a class helper, teacher's assistant, etc. Maybe give him the opportunity to call on students with questions. "Class, today we are going to try something new." Next, set limits. Start by telling the whole class that today we are going to try something new. Starting today, the teacher will no longer answer any calling out. Explain that we need to practice raising our hands and not calling out. Demonstrate, practice, and ask for volunteers to show you what hand raising looks like. Establish a non-verbal cue (e.g., a cue card with an image of a hand, or simply hold up your hand), and completely ignore calling out. Instruct the class to also ignore calling out. Have students practice calling out while you ignore it. Explain why you're doing this, so the student knows it's not just him being ignored. Ignore the behavior, not the child. You might want to give one verbal cue, such as, "I'd be happy to answer you when you raise your hand." This is your new procedure that will happen every single time a student calls out. You could still say it in a positive tone of voice, but it's all you will say. Give a Little, Get a Little Use positive language to elicit positive language. If a student is using disrespectful language, being threatening will teach the child to talk back with threatening language. Think about your reaction when somebody confronts you with doing something wrong. You initially feel a little attacked, so you want to react. Give the student the opportunity to save face. For example, instead of, "How dare you speak to me that way?" try a, "Whoops, that sounded disrespectful. I know you could ask me using nicer words," and only respond when he uses nicer words. If he doesn't, say, "I'll be over here when you're ready to use nice words to ask me." Dodge the Power Struggle To nip disrespect in the bud, we need to avoid power struggles-- even when a student questions what we're doing. That's the part that really tricks even the most skilled behavior interventionists. We want students to believe in, trust, and respect us. When they question what we're doing, we want to tell them. Please don't. You don't need to justify yourself in this moment. You may be skilled with planned ignoring, but when the child asks, "Why are you ignoring me?" it's too tempting to reply with an explanation, but resist the urge. If you planned and practiced this procedure previously, the child already knows why you're ignoring him. He may try to get you to give him anything other than the ignoring. Stick to the ignoring, and he will eventually try using nice words to get you to reply. It may also be helpful to teach a lesson on the words "disrespect" vs. "respect." Teach the meaning, and explain situations and words that are unacceptable. Teach this with empathy, and practice it. If the child uses negative language in class, prompt with a, "Please use your nice words if you need me to respond to you." Completely ignore anything else. I know that using a firm prompt followed by planned ignoring sometimes feels like you aren't doing anything to stop the behavior, but that's the best thing about it-- doing "nothing" stops the behavior. It completely eliminates the power struggle and argument. The child will be forced to use kind words to get any type of reaction out of you and to gain access to his wants/needs. This also works with whining. I told my little ones that my ears can no longer hear whining, and they all stopped whining. Now if only I could use planned ignoring on messes to make my kitchen clean itself! Words of Caution Sometimes when implementing planned ignoring, the child may initially test the limits and engage in more attention-seeking behavior. This is typical and should pass when he sees that he won't get a reaction. I got a comment on this post that really made me think and add another word of caution about this strategy-- exercise caution when using this for students with bonding and/or attachment needs. We certainly do not want to intensify feelings of abandonment, and we want to be sure that we are responding to their needs. It is vitally important to make sure that we are ignoring the behavior, not the child. Give the child plenty of positive attention for positive behavior. Make giving positive attention during appropriate behavior part of your behavior protocol for this child. When the negative behavior ends and the child begins acting positively, give positive attention. No need for a lecture at that moment. After the Procedure is Learned Once you are sure that the student understands how he will appropriately gain access to wants/needs, you can begin to address the calling out caused by impulsivity and habit. Make a T-chart, and write the positive behavior on the left and negative on the right (e.g., "Called Out" and "Raised My Hand"). Instruct the student to tally when he does each. This alone is often enough to curb the negative behavior. Other times with more severe behavior, it helps if tallies are tied to reinforcement. For example, the student can earn [something preferred] if he has more positive than negative tallies at the end of each block. You could also set goals based on baselines. For example, if the student reduces his calling out by ___% or does not exceed ___% incidents of calling out, he can earn [something preferred]. Class Dojo is another fun way to track this! The teacher can track the behaviors throughout the day, or the students can self-monitor behaviors on their T-Charts and plug them into the Dojo at the end of the day. Establish a procedure that students must earn more green (i.e., "positive") than red (i.e., "needs work"), or a certain percentage of green, in order to earn a reinforcer, positive note home, etc. Another helpful strategy is bonus free time. It's often harder for a student with ADHD and/or behavior needs to attend to instruction for a given length of time, so plan three breaks in the day. I call them "five minute free time" to play with something fun, and I end each of my subjects with it. It gives me five minutes to clean up or correct work, and it gives the students five minutes to regroup. If you're strapped for time, you could have students complete exit tickets, assessments, etc., and give the student with ADHD the special free time. It also gives him something to word toward, as he has to earn the free time. If a student engages in negative behavior or work refusal, I ask if he is earning his free time or if he is to make up his work during free time. Never underestimate the power of a question instead of a demand. A simple, "Are you earning your free time?" is often enough to set the behavior back on track. An additional motivational tool is a task chart where students rank their tasks by preference. They earn little reinforcement for easy/preferred tasks and high reinforcement for non-preferred tasks. You can download that chart for free here. What are some ideas you use in your classroom to help calling out and "class clown" behavior? Do you have any questions about behavior challenges? Please share in the comments below! A Peach for the Teach
Every Day is a new day. Important things to note January Jan. 9 - 31 F& P Benchmarking Jan. 16 No School - MLK, Jr. Holiday Jan. 17 2nd...
Using Emojis in the classroom is a fun way to tie recognizable visual elements into activities that all students will enjoy. I've rounded up 10 ways you can use Emojis in the classroom, including a free a Emoji character emotion reading anchor chart and writing activity, and free Emoji matching cards and more! Emojis are easy to use, and judging by the question, 'Can we use Emojis?' I get any time we do a project on the iPads, students love them! Set up Emojis on PC's, Chromebooks, iPads or Print & Use A quick note before trying out the ideas for
First grade anchor charts are great tools for reminding kids about concepts in math, writing, spelling, science, and more! Check out these great ideas.
Do you have a positive reward system in your classroom? I am a firm believer in having a positive reward system. Even as an adult, I love to hear positive things from my supervisors and colleagues. Kids are the exact same way. They want to be rewarded. I’m sure you have rules and consequences for […]
Banner to remind class of appropriate voice levels.
What the #@%$ did you just say?
Learn how to manage one of the biggest challenges of teaching: Six disrespectful students in the same class. Yikes!
Back to school time is a great time to get organized in your classroom. In this post, I collected all of my favorite organization and storage tips and trick ...
Outside Dimensions: 8 1/2" x 7 1/4" x 6 7/8" Interior Dimensions at bottom of drawer: 7 3/8" x 5 5/8" x 1 3/4" Units are stackable to create a multi-unit system Drawer stops prevent drawers from being removed accidentally Made in the USA
These teacher hacks are brilliant ideas for your classroom that'll make your life so much easier this year. Number nine will change your life!
Keep your classroom organized, your sanity intact, and your social media channels popping.
15 classroom organization hacks to make teaching easier that every preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, and elementary teacher should know. FREE theme box labels too!
For many students, sixth grade marks the beginning of middle school. Middle school students thrive on independence and responsibility. Effective teachers recognize this and create classrooms to accommodate these student needs. Therefore, we have developed an awesome list of 15 favorite classroom management strategies for you to implement in your classrooms.
Organize your teaching resources with the Binder System. Learn how to set up monthly binders and have everything ready at your fingertips!
1. This Storage Mobile Craft Cart with Dividers! Organize homework, folders, guided reading books, etc. The options are endless! 2. This White Craft Table The perfect table for your writing area or a word work station! Students have everything they need at their fingertips. Try putting supplies in clear bins! 3. Galvanized Bins for Leveled Books Level your classroom library and keep your classroom looking fantastic! 4. This AMAZING Rolling File Cart! I call this cart my "assessment cart". I keep student's file folders in the bottom, assessments that need to be graded on the top drawer and assessments that need to be files in the middle drawer. It's perfect because I can roll it around my room and use it anywhere. 5. These Over the Door Storage Organizers Get additional storage in your classroom closet, doors, or cabinets with these fabric storage compartments! 5. This 10-Slot White Dry Erase Marker and Eraser Holder Never search for a dry erase marker or eraser again with this versatile rack! It even comes in 3 colors! 6. This Kate Spade Wall Calendar Decal (Clear) 7. This Wall-Mounted Binder Rack I had such issues storing my students' writing portfolios because the binders would always slide and fall. I got 4 of these and not each student has their own slot! Perfect to use year after year! 8. This Wall Hanging Storage Bag Organizer 9. This 3-Drawer (Not Only for Make-Up) Organizer I love using make-up organizers around the room for my supplies. I label them, plus they are clear so students are able to see which materials are available. 10. This Echo-Friendly Staple-less Stapler 11. This Magnetic Modular Storage Starter Kit Use this to build a tranquil modular garden and add additional storage in your classroom! 12. This Bamboo Charging Station for your tablets, iPods, and more! * This post include affiliate links that help me bring you more content like this. By using my link, there is no additional charge to you!
This post shares 35 things you can throw away from your classroom to improve your classroom organization + a FREE decluttering checklist!
Shop 16 Cube Organizer - Brightroom™ and other curated products on LTK, the easiest way to shop everything from your favorite creators.
Discover new classroom ideas for classroom management, decor, organization, storage, desk layouts, fun ideas and more!
