FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
SECOND DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
OBJECTIVES...SPEECH AND DRAMA
THIRD DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
FOURTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
FIFTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
SIXTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
SEVENTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
EIGHTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
NINTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
TENTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ELEVENTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
TWELFTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
THIRTEENTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
FOURTEENTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
FIFTEENTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
SIXTEENTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
SEVENTEENTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
NINETEENTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
TWENTIETH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
TWENTY-FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
TWENTY-SECOND DAY OF SCHOOL PICTURE DAY OBJECTIVES
TWENTY-THIRD DAY OF SCHOOL BOOK FAIR TAKING PLACE IN ENGLISH ROOM! OBJECTIVES
TWENTY-FOURTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECIVES
TWENTY-FIFTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
TWENTY-SIXTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
TWENTY-NINTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
THIRTIETH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
THIRTY-FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
THIRTY-SECOND DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
THIRTY-THIRD DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
THIRTY-FOURTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
THIRTY-FIFTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
THIRTY-SIXTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
THIRTY-SEVENTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
THIRTY-EIGHTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
THIRTY-NINTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
FORTIETH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
FORTY-FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
FORTY-THIRD DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
FORTY-FOURTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
FORTY-FIFTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
FORTY-SIXTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
FORTY-SEVENTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
FORTY-EIGHTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
FORTY-NINTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
FIFTIETH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
FIFTY-FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
FIFTY-SECOND DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
FIFTY-THIRD DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
FIFTY-FOURTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
FIFTY-FIFTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
FIFTY-SIXTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
FIFTY-SEVENTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
FIFTY-EIGHTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
FIFTY-NINTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
SIXTIETH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
SIXTY-FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
SIXTY-SECOND DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
SIXTY-THIRD DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
SIXTY-FOURTH OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
SIXTY-FIFTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
SIXTY-SIXTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
SIXTY-SEVENTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
SIXTY-EIGHT DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
SIXTY-NINTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
SEVENTIETH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
SEVENTY-THIRD DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
SEVENTY-FOURTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
SEVENTY-FIFTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
SEVENTY-SIXTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
SEVENTY-SEVENTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
SEVENTY-EIGHT DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
SEVENTY-NINTH DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
EIGHTIETH DAY OF CLASSES
EIGHTY-SECOND DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
EIGHTY-THIRD DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
EIGHTY-FOURTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
EIGHT-FIFTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
EIGHT-SIXTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
EIGHTY-SEVENTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
EIGHTY-EIGHTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
EIGHTY-NINTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
NINETY-FIRST DAY OF CLASSES LAST DAY OF THE FIRST SEMESTER OBJECTIVES
NINETY-SECOND DAY OF CLASSES FIRST DAY OF SECOND SEMESTER OBJECTIVES
NINETY-THIRD DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
NINETY-FOURTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
NINETY-FIFTH DAY OF CLASSES REPORT CARDS GO OUT SIXTH HOUR TODAY! OBJECTIVES
NINETY SIXTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
NINETY-SEVENTH DAY OF CLASS OBJECTIVES
NINETY- EIGHTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
NINETY NINTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDREDTH DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED AND FIRST DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED AND SECOND-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRD-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FOURTH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED NINTH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED TENTH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED TWENTIETH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED TWENTY SECOND-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED TWENTY THIRD-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED TWENTY FOURTH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED TWENTY FIFTH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED TWENTY NINTH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTIETH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTY FIRST-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTY SECOND-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTY THIRD-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTY FOURTH-DAY OF SCHOOL LAST DAY OF THIS QUARTER. OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTY FIFTH-DAY OF CLASSES FIRST DAY OF THE NEW QUARTER OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTY SIXTH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTY SEVENTH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTY EIGHTH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTY NINTH-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FORTIETH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FORTY FIRST-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FORTY SECOND-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FORTY THIRD-DAY OF SCHOOL OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FORTY FOURTH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FORTY FIFTH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FORTY SIXTH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FORTY SEVENTH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FORTY EIGHTH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES:
ONE HUNDRED FORTY NINTH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTIETH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTY FIRST-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTY SECOND-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTY THIRD-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTY FOURTH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTY FIFTH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTY SIXTH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTY SEVENTH-DAY OF CLASSES NO SCHOOL!!
ONE HUNDRED FIFTY EIGHTH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTY NINTH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTIETH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTY FIRST-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTY SECOND-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTY THIRD-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTY FOURTH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTY FIFTH-DAY OF CLASSES THROUGH
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTIETH-DAY OF CLASSES OBJECTIVES
Monday, June 27, 2011
Chapter II Classroom Management - Part 2
2. Classroom Management Techniques
1. OVERVIEW
More .......
Daily Activities
1. OVERVIEW
More .......
Daily Activities
My day is divided into seven class periods and here’s what I do every day.
Each morning as students come into class, they check the lunch menu and sign up for lunch at the door. By doing that simple thing, I am able to begin class at the bell and teach until the next bell rings. Wasted time in our schools, I believe, is the number one reason our students are behind so many other nations. I love to see kids sit and chat and relax at lunch time, ten-minute breaks, before and after school, but we need to “get down to business” in our classrooms! If all seven teachers did that every day, I sincerely feel the students would have very productive days. TYPICAL SCHOOL DAY, 1996
FIRST HOUR:
Reading class has 16 people in it. Each student has a reading long on which he/she records the beginning page, ending page, and total pages read each day. They also grade themselves. If they talk, leave the room, or write notes, their grade is lowered. To receive a hundred (which is “perfect”) a student would have to be “perfect”. I don’t believe in giving 100% to anyone who doesn’t work for 100% of the class time. If they’re leaving the room, talking, or writing notes, they obviously are not being on task 100% of the time. Many students are used to receiving 100’s regardless of daily grades, behavior, responsibility, meeting deadlines, and organizational skills, all of which are as important as head knowledge. Elevated grades are one of the reason we are behind other nations in many areas. We lead many of our students to believe they are 100% (perfect), when in reality, very, very few people are that caliber. If it’s earned in all areas...fantastic! If it isn’t, then we are really “cheating” the students by inflating their grades and making them think they are “perfect”. Perhaps we should be challenging them more, so they must study, have no chance to retake so the first time around is important, and because we can offer so much extra help and encouragement. Therefore, we must be much more strict or ”tough” in deadlines, quality of writing, spelling, knowledge of the subject matter, work ethic, etc.
I do not accept any late work. Therefore, students sometimes have to take off work, ask parents for more time at home, or come in early in the morning to meet deadlines. Unless there is an emergency such as hospitalization, a student receives a zero for late work, and must work harder to bring that grade up. We cannot continually allow students credit for not meeting their deadlines. Why would we set deadlines if we do not intend for them to meet those responsibilities?
I do not believe in test retakes because in colleges, it’s very rare that an instructor would invite a student to retake a test just because the grade was lower than the student wanted. I feel it is setting the students up for failure in college and in life. We do not always have a chance to retake anything....Therefore, we had better be ready the first time. Again, if we enable students to succeed by using retakes, I feel we are doing those very students an injustice (not to mention other instructors who do not give those retakes). Too many times, the comment is heard, “Why study the first time?”
During this same first hour, I have an English 7 class. Years ago, I began the “overhear” method, where I have an overhead on as the students enter the classroom, and on this overhead would be the journal topic, five vocabulary words per day, the objectives we hope to accomplish this day, and any reminders which are important (such as deadlines and assignments due today).
The English 7 class begins with a journal topic such as: ”My experience with dogs,” or “Traditions we observe around Christmas time.” They are responsible for writing a title, skipping a line after the title, writing a topic sentence and 3-4 sentences in the body, and completing the entry with a concluding sentence.
After the journal writing time, students have a dictionary in their desks so they look up the five vocabulary words per day. If they cannot understand the meanings, or need help with sentences, they must wait for the oral time in class where we all do the words, meanings, and sentences together. I sincerely believe students need to learn something new in my class every single day of the 180 days of class in a school year, and these five vocabulary words give them some new verbal skills for reading, writing, and speaking. I began with three words per day, increased that number to five words per day, and will increase the number to ten words per day this next year since our classes will be longer as we switch to the “block schedule.”
Upon completion of the “quiet time” where students wrote in their journals and looked up their vocabulary words, we begin the oral portion of the class period where we do the vocabulary orally, in order to ensure that each and every student understands the meanings of those words and could use them in a paragraph. Then we proceed to one or two objectives which we hope to accomplish this day. Those include working in our grammar books, taking notes from those chapters, reading a story in literature and taking a quiz over the story, brainstorming for a creative story and having them write a story, or working in numerous other texts and on various projects such as children’s books, Young Authors Contest, poetry, or reading.
After the objectives are copied in class, students may read in novels of their choice from the library or from home. I do not require particular novels unless they are part of the curriculum. Therefore, I ask students to bring composition notebooks, a novel, their textbooks, and a binder to class each day. When I return their assignments and tests, I want them in a binder to ensure I haven’t made a mistake on any grade, and to encourage responsibility for papers.
This seventh grade class has a speller so we do a spelling unit every week with a test on Thursday. That is usually something they do for homework but other than reading, there is very little homework in my classes, due to this farming community, and due to the fact that every student in involved in several activities after school, as well as holding down jobs and helping on the farm.
Sample Plan
A sample plan on an overhead of the seventh grade day is as follows:
English 7 Date:
Journal: “My Seven Best Friends and Why They Are My Best Friends.”
Vocabulary: famine, prior, faulty, opponent, drastic
Objectives:
Students will copy objectives in the objective section of notebook.
Students will look up vocabulary words and write sentences with them.
Students will complete Spelling Unit 31 by Thursday and take a test Thursday.
Students will put all papers and returned assignments in their binders which counts 1/3 of the final English grade.
Students will write a creative story, using 40 of their vocabulary words in a humorous manner.
Reminders:
Journals are due Monday and count as 1/3 of the final exam.
Binders must be neat and organized and complete. Fill out framed paragraphs for any novels you have read this week.
SECOND HOUR: ENGLISH III (JUNIORS)
Students will come into the classroom and follow a similar procedure by having quiet time to copy objectives, look up vocabulary words, work on assignments, and complete objectives. This is possibly the most difficult class I teach because English IV is not a requirement in our school district and I must make sure these students can go from English III into a college classroom, and be successful in reading, writing, and speaking.
Therefore, I have this class do more verbal skills, oral reports, writing and rewriting, reading and analogies, than the younger students in other classes.
Again, I must reiterate how wonderful it is to use the overhead, have it one when students walk into the classroom, and have them copy the objectives, vocabulary words, and reminders in their English composition notebooks. After thirty-one years of teaching, it is wonderful not to have to repeat the answer over and over to that infamous question, “What are we going to do today?” It also keeps students from asking for “free time” or feeling as if they can miss your class because nothing is happening anyway! By putting lesson plans on overheads, it is possible to have those available to absentees. It has also “saved my life” literally hundreds of times when a student who turns in late assignments says, “I didn’t know when these assignments were due.” We simply check the overheads (which are filed in a cabinet), and if I am wrong, I correct the error. If the student was mistaken, he/she can see it for himself/herself.
Organization on the part of my students is responsible for much of their grade and the overhead system helps them stay organized. It allows them to keep all deadlines, assignments, objectives, and vocabulary words in one place...their composition notebooks. I make these overheads daily during my prep hour and it only takes a few minutes per class.
This system has also been a “lifesaver” when I have been sick and a substitute has had to step in. The overheads are available for each class and, therefore, the classes run more smoothly when I cannot be in my classroom. I love the statement by J.E. Sparks, “My job is not to teach you to be creative; my job is to teach you organization...”
Since writing is usually taught the first semester of college English, I cover all nineteen types of writing during this English III class. We cover the following: process; profile; definition; creative; opinion; research paper; argumentative; expository; persuasive; descriptive; poetry; analyzing literature; summer vacation; Christmas vacation; letters to the president; narrative; Children’s Books; autobiography; and resume. My students may rewrite every essay for a higher grade.
This serves two purposes. It helps the students from their mistakes, and it encourages them to raise their grades. If I find common errors in essays, I have the students copy a chart called, “Ways To Get A’s in English.” This chart would include helpful tips such as use of the word “a lot” and putting a conclusion on every essay.
One of my favorite quotes is by Dr. Carol Santa of Project C.R.I.S.S., who states, “If there is something students must learn, have them write about it.” That’s why I use journals for short writings, essay-writing, poetry contests, and Young Author contests for creative writing. I even have my students write and illustrate a Children’s Book, and tell or read the story to an elementary class! When I retire, I would love to spend my time reading and writing.
Journals are important in so many ways that I order one for each student each year. We use them to respond to reading, respond to current event topics, or just to convey our feelings about a weekend or a problem we have. I only require a title and topic and concluding sentences. I do not count off for spelling, punctuation (conventions), because that is not my purpose in using journals. I count them as 1/5 of final grade and 1/5 of the final exam.
Binders are required in all my classes because this encourages organization skills and responsibility. I grade them periodically and require all papers, tests, grade sheets, etc. be contained in the binders to receive 100%. These, too, save my life if I make a mistake on a grade because the student has the paper/grade to show me the error. I count these as 1/5 of the final exam and 1/5 of the entire English final grade.
Several years ago, our district provided training in the 6 trait writing process and I use it as much as possible in my classes. In the appendix, you’ll find information concerning this process (which I love), and how to use it, but here are some basics about it. The steps in the writing process are planning, rough draft, read aloud, writing groups, revise, edit, final copy, and publish/share.
I use the portfolio for each student in my class. I keep these filed in a file cabinet from grades 9-12 and I give them to the seniors when they graduate. In these, I file all essays, stories, poetry, children’s books, or writings of nay type for all 4 years. This gives him/her a chance to see how he/she has improved in writing skills, and it gives the student a change to take writings which may have been lost or thrown away, to college with them. Some can be revised and used in college English classes! Portfolios are nice folders full of “nice” writings!
Speech Class is the next class I’d like to cover. In a rural school, a teacher often has to teach and coach in many areas. Speech (Public Communications) is one of my favorite subjects because we can do a great many “fun” activities. I use the same text as is used in may colleges so my students are familiar with the requirements for college speech. I begin the year with non-verbal speech pantomimes), and I invite my Speech II students to do an impromptu speech for the Speech I students. We do lots of “warm-up” activities for the first two weeks and after that, we do one speech every two weeks, beginning with informative. I require an audio-visual aid, 6 minutes of text, an attention-getter, an outstanding introduction and conclusion, use of a pointer, an overhead and one handout.
We use class time for research, preparation, and rehearsals. Types of public speaking we covered in 1996, include the following: pantomime, impromptu, improvisation, informative, demonstration, persuasive, argumentative (pro/con), debate, panel discussion, after-dinner speech, tribute, presentation of an award, acceptance of an award, introduction of a speaker, creative storytelling, valedictorian and salutatorian speeches, Student Council campaign speeches, choral reading, and parliamentary procedure. As you can see, we stay busy and have a great deal of fun.
My fourth class of the day is English IV for seniors so this is not a required class in our school district. For the students who choose to take it, I cover as much vocabulary as I can so their verbal skills will be higher on standardized and college entrance exams. I also have them read a great deal in novels of their choice, do a 5-page research paper, read “Pygmalion”, study ”Hamlet” by William Shakespeare and write an analysis of literature on this play. We also work on analogies as they are also covered on standardized tests, and we write essays which might be covered on college writing exams (caring for the elderly, latchkey kids, aspects of television, teenage pregnancy, and other expository topics). I am also allowed to give the college entrance exam for Western Wyoming Community College and these seniors take it as part of their final exam.
English I (freshmen), follow the same plan as my other English classes. We cover analogies, vocabulary, grammar, reading, writing, poetry, and literature. This is a very busy year.
Business English is the last class I have every day, and we have a great deal of fun in this class. This year (1996), I had nine students and we did one unit orally (guided instruction), each day. We highlighted the information we read orally, worked the checkpoints together and took a test over each unit? Every fourth day, we had a “catch-up” day because this is very difficult material, and those who were caught up, could read, grade, file, or work ahead! I have thoroughly enjoyed these none students because of their sense of humor, work ethic, and willingness to work hard and “go the extra mile” to get good grades.
Future Teachers of America
Fridays are special days in my classes because these are the days the members of the Future Teachers of America leave my classroom to do peer-tutoring activities throughout the school in grades K-12. They work with kids, do aiding activities for teachers, help in the office, and do a multitude of other activities for which they are graded.
In the appendix, you’ll find a copy of the evaluation from I use and the list of students and their Friday assignments. For the remaining students in classes, we have a reading day so there is no “direct instruction” on this day. Since many activities, games, etc., are held on Friday, students do not miss instruction. They just have to alert their F.T.A. supervisor that they will be gone on specific Fridays.
The Future Teachers of America association raises money through $5 dues which is collected and used in presenting two $100.00 scholarships to two deserving senior F.T.A. members. The criteria is included in the appendix.
Reading Club
A reading club was organized nearly 8 years ago to encourage students to read and share good books. There are no dues and we have door prizes (usually very good books), and refreshments at each meeting. We also host a read-a-thon, and a “used book” and bake sale to raise money for door prizes, refreshments, and a trip to visit a college library and go bowling. Since I believe so strongly that reading is the heart of education, this Reading Club helps promote that concept. Parents, teachers, and students of all ages, are invited to join! It was a valuable experience in 1996 for me and hopefully, for the thirty-eight members we had this year!
This concludes the chapter on classroom management techniques, activities, class descriptions, and purposes for F.T.A., Reading Club, and various classroom activities.
Each morning as students come into class, they check the lunch menu and sign up for lunch at the door. By doing that simple thing, I am able to begin class at the bell and teach until the next bell rings. Wasted time in our schools, I believe, is the number one reason our students are behind so many other nations. I love to see kids sit and chat and relax at lunch time, ten-minute breaks, before and after school, but we need to “get down to business” in our classrooms! If all seven teachers did that every day, I sincerely feel the students would have very productive days. TYPICAL SCHOOL DAY, 1996
FIRST HOUR:
Reading class has 16 people in it. Each student has a reading long on which he/she records the beginning page, ending page, and total pages read each day. They also grade themselves. If they talk, leave the room, or write notes, their grade is lowered. To receive a hundred (which is “perfect”) a student would have to be “perfect”. I don’t believe in giving 100% to anyone who doesn’t work for 100% of the class time. If they’re leaving the room, talking, or writing notes, they obviously are not being on task 100% of the time. Many students are used to receiving 100’s regardless of daily grades, behavior, responsibility, meeting deadlines, and organizational skills, all of which are as important as head knowledge. Elevated grades are one of the reason we are behind other nations in many areas. We lead many of our students to believe they are 100% (perfect), when in reality, very, very few people are that caliber. If it’s earned in all areas...fantastic! If it isn’t, then we are really “cheating” the students by inflating their grades and making them think they are “perfect”. Perhaps we should be challenging them more, so they must study, have no chance to retake so the first time around is important, and because we can offer so much extra help and encouragement. Therefore, we must be much more strict or ”tough” in deadlines, quality of writing, spelling, knowledge of the subject matter, work ethic, etc.
I do not accept any late work. Therefore, students sometimes have to take off work, ask parents for more time at home, or come in early in the morning to meet deadlines. Unless there is an emergency such as hospitalization, a student receives a zero for late work, and must work harder to bring that grade up. We cannot continually allow students credit for not meeting their deadlines. Why would we set deadlines if we do not intend for them to meet those responsibilities?
I do not believe in test retakes because in colleges, it’s very rare that an instructor would invite a student to retake a test just because the grade was lower than the student wanted. I feel it is setting the students up for failure in college and in life. We do not always have a chance to retake anything....Therefore, we had better be ready the first time. Again, if we enable students to succeed by using retakes, I feel we are doing those very students an injustice (not to mention other instructors who do not give those retakes). Too many times, the comment is heard, “Why study the first time?”
During this same first hour, I have an English 7 class. Years ago, I began the “overhear” method, where I have an overhead on as the students enter the classroom, and on this overhead would be the journal topic, five vocabulary words per day, the objectives we hope to accomplish this day, and any reminders which are important (such as deadlines and assignments due today).
The English 7 class begins with a journal topic such as: ”My experience with dogs,” or “Traditions we observe around Christmas time.” They are responsible for writing a title, skipping a line after the title, writing a topic sentence and 3-4 sentences in the body, and completing the entry with a concluding sentence.
After the journal writing time, students have a dictionary in their desks so they look up the five vocabulary words per day. If they cannot understand the meanings, or need help with sentences, they must wait for the oral time in class where we all do the words, meanings, and sentences together. I sincerely believe students need to learn something new in my class every single day of the 180 days of class in a school year, and these five vocabulary words give them some new verbal skills for reading, writing, and speaking. I began with three words per day, increased that number to five words per day, and will increase the number to ten words per day this next year since our classes will be longer as we switch to the “block schedule.”
Upon completion of the “quiet time” where students wrote in their journals and looked up their vocabulary words, we begin the oral portion of the class period where we do the vocabulary orally, in order to ensure that each and every student understands the meanings of those words and could use them in a paragraph. Then we proceed to one or two objectives which we hope to accomplish this day. Those include working in our grammar books, taking notes from those chapters, reading a story in literature and taking a quiz over the story, brainstorming for a creative story and having them write a story, or working in numerous other texts and on various projects such as children’s books, Young Authors Contest, poetry, or reading.
After the objectives are copied in class, students may read in novels of their choice from the library or from home. I do not require particular novels unless they are part of the curriculum. Therefore, I ask students to bring composition notebooks, a novel, their textbooks, and a binder to class each day. When I return their assignments and tests, I want them in a binder to ensure I haven’t made a mistake on any grade, and to encourage responsibility for papers.
This seventh grade class has a speller so we do a spelling unit every week with a test on Thursday. That is usually something they do for homework but other than reading, there is very little homework in my classes, due to this farming community, and due to the fact that every student in involved in several activities after school, as well as holding down jobs and helping on the farm.
Sample Plan
A sample plan on an overhead of the seventh grade day is as follows:
English 7 Date:
Journal: “My Seven Best Friends and Why They Are My Best Friends.”
Vocabulary: famine, prior, faulty, opponent, drastic
Objectives:
Students will copy objectives in the objective section of notebook.
Students will look up vocabulary words and write sentences with them.
Students will complete Spelling Unit 31 by Thursday and take a test Thursday.
Students will put all papers and returned assignments in their binders which counts 1/3 of the final English grade.
Students will write a creative story, using 40 of their vocabulary words in a humorous manner.
Reminders:
Journals are due Monday and count as 1/3 of the final exam.
Binders must be neat and organized and complete. Fill out framed paragraphs for any novels you have read this week.
SECOND HOUR: ENGLISH III (JUNIORS)
Students will come into the classroom and follow a similar procedure by having quiet time to copy objectives, look up vocabulary words, work on assignments, and complete objectives. This is possibly the most difficult class I teach because English IV is not a requirement in our school district and I must make sure these students can go from English III into a college classroom, and be successful in reading, writing, and speaking.
Therefore, I have this class do more verbal skills, oral reports, writing and rewriting, reading and analogies, than the younger students in other classes.
Again, I must reiterate how wonderful it is to use the overhead, have it one when students walk into the classroom, and have them copy the objectives, vocabulary words, and reminders in their English composition notebooks. After thirty-one years of teaching, it is wonderful not to have to repeat the answer over and over to that infamous question, “What are we going to do today?” It also keeps students from asking for “free time” or feeling as if they can miss your class because nothing is happening anyway! By putting lesson plans on overheads, it is possible to have those available to absentees. It has also “saved my life” literally hundreds of times when a student who turns in late assignments says, “I didn’t know when these assignments were due.” We simply check the overheads (which are filed in a cabinet), and if I am wrong, I correct the error. If the student was mistaken, he/she can see it for himself/herself.
Organization on the part of my students is responsible for much of their grade and the overhead system helps them stay organized. It allows them to keep all deadlines, assignments, objectives, and vocabulary words in one place...their composition notebooks. I make these overheads daily during my prep hour and it only takes a few minutes per class.
This system has also been a “lifesaver” when I have been sick and a substitute has had to step in. The overheads are available for each class and, therefore, the classes run more smoothly when I cannot be in my classroom. I love the statement by J.E. Sparks, “My job is not to teach you to be creative; my job is to teach you organization...”
Since writing is usually taught the first semester of college English, I cover all nineteen types of writing during this English III class. We cover the following: process; profile; definition; creative; opinion; research paper; argumentative; expository; persuasive; descriptive; poetry; analyzing literature; summer vacation; Christmas vacation; letters to the president; narrative; Children’s Books; autobiography; and resume. My students may rewrite every essay for a higher grade.
This serves two purposes. It helps the students from their mistakes, and it encourages them to raise their grades. If I find common errors in essays, I have the students copy a chart called, “Ways To Get A’s in English.” This chart would include helpful tips such as use of the word “a lot” and putting a conclusion on every essay.
One of my favorite quotes is by Dr. Carol Santa of Project C.R.I.S.S., who states, “If there is something students must learn, have them write about it.” That’s why I use journals for short writings, essay-writing, poetry contests, and Young Author contests for creative writing. I even have my students write and illustrate a Children’s Book, and tell or read the story to an elementary class! When I retire, I would love to spend my time reading and writing.
Journals are important in so many ways that I order one for each student each year. We use them to respond to reading, respond to current event topics, or just to convey our feelings about a weekend or a problem we have. I only require a title and topic and concluding sentences. I do not count off for spelling, punctuation (conventions), because that is not my purpose in using journals. I count them as 1/5 of final grade and 1/5 of the final exam.
Binders are required in all my classes because this encourages organization skills and responsibility. I grade them periodically and require all papers, tests, grade sheets, etc. be contained in the binders to receive 100%. These, too, save my life if I make a mistake on a grade because the student has the paper/grade to show me the error. I count these as 1/5 of the final exam and 1/5 of the entire English final grade.
Several years ago, our district provided training in the 6 trait writing process and I use it as much as possible in my classes. In the appendix, you’ll find information concerning this process (which I love), and how to use it, but here are some basics about it. The steps in the writing process are planning, rough draft, read aloud, writing groups, revise, edit, final copy, and publish/share.
I use the portfolio for each student in my class. I keep these filed in a file cabinet from grades 9-12 and I give them to the seniors when they graduate. In these, I file all essays, stories, poetry, children’s books, or writings of nay type for all 4 years. This gives him/her a chance to see how he/she has improved in writing skills, and it gives the student a change to take writings which may have been lost or thrown away, to college with them. Some can be revised and used in college English classes! Portfolios are nice folders full of “nice” writings!
Speech Class is the next class I’d like to cover. In a rural school, a teacher often has to teach and coach in many areas. Speech (Public Communications) is one of my favorite subjects because we can do a great many “fun” activities. I use the same text as is used in may colleges so my students are familiar with the requirements for college speech. I begin the year with non-verbal speech pantomimes), and I invite my Speech II students to do an impromptu speech for the Speech I students. We do lots of “warm-up” activities for the first two weeks and after that, we do one speech every two weeks, beginning with informative. I require an audio-visual aid, 6 minutes of text, an attention-getter, an outstanding introduction and conclusion, use of a pointer, an overhead and one handout.
We use class time for research, preparation, and rehearsals. Types of public speaking we covered in 1996, include the following: pantomime, impromptu, improvisation, informative, demonstration, persuasive, argumentative (pro/con), debate, panel discussion, after-dinner speech, tribute, presentation of an award, acceptance of an award, introduction of a speaker, creative storytelling, valedictorian and salutatorian speeches, Student Council campaign speeches, choral reading, and parliamentary procedure. As you can see, we stay busy and have a great deal of fun.
My fourth class of the day is English IV for seniors so this is not a required class in our school district. For the students who choose to take it, I cover as much vocabulary as I can so their verbal skills will be higher on standardized and college entrance exams. I also have them read a great deal in novels of their choice, do a 5-page research paper, read “Pygmalion”, study ”Hamlet” by William Shakespeare and write an analysis of literature on this play. We also work on analogies as they are also covered on standardized tests, and we write essays which might be covered on college writing exams (caring for the elderly, latchkey kids, aspects of television, teenage pregnancy, and other expository topics). I am also allowed to give the college entrance exam for Western Wyoming Community College and these seniors take it as part of their final exam.
English I (freshmen), follow the same plan as my other English classes. We cover analogies, vocabulary, grammar, reading, writing, poetry, and literature. This is a very busy year.
Business English is the last class I have every day, and we have a great deal of fun in this class. This year (1996), I had nine students and we did one unit orally (guided instruction), each day. We highlighted the information we read orally, worked the checkpoints together and took a test over each unit? Every fourth day, we had a “catch-up” day because this is very difficult material, and those who were caught up, could read, grade, file, or work ahead! I have thoroughly enjoyed these none students because of their sense of humor, work ethic, and willingness to work hard and “go the extra mile” to get good grades.
Future Teachers of America
Fridays are special days in my classes because these are the days the members of the Future Teachers of America leave my classroom to do peer-tutoring activities throughout the school in grades K-12. They work with kids, do aiding activities for teachers, help in the office, and do a multitude of other activities for which they are graded.
In the appendix, you’ll find a copy of the evaluation from I use and the list of students and their Friday assignments. For the remaining students in classes, we have a reading day so there is no “direct instruction” on this day. Since many activities, games, etc., are held on Friday, students do not miss instruction. They just have to alert their F.T.A. supervisor that they will be gone on specific Fridays.
The Future Teachers of America association raises money through $5 dues which is collected and used in presenting two $100.00 scholarships to two deserving senior F.T.A. members. The criteria is included in the appendix.
Reading Club
A reading club was organized nearly 8 years ago to encourage students to read and share good books. There are no dues and we have door prizes (usually very good books), and refreshments at each meeting. We also host a read-a-thon, and a “used book” and bake sale to raise money for door prizes, refreshments, and a trip to visit a college library and go bowling. Since I believe so strongly that reading is the heart of education, this Reading Club helps promote that concept. Parents, teachers, and students of all ages, are invited to join! It was a valuable experience in 1996 for me and hopefully, for the thirty-eight members we had this year!
This concludes the chapter on classroom management techniques, activities, class descriptions, and purposes for F.T.A., Reading Club, and various classroom activities.
Appendix C: Ways To Receive A+S In English
- Meet all deadlines.
- Be very, very, very organized.
- Do all extra credit work each week, not at the end of the quarter, when you are “snowed under.”
- Make a 10 point study guide every Tuesday night for Wednesday’s test.
- Be prepared.
- Ask intelligent questions.
- Study hard for every test.
- Turn Wordly Wise and/or Spelling (Vocabulit) in early.
- Listen well.
- Don’t be lazy!
- Smile a lot, and have a great attitude! Be willing to learn!
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