Classroom Management Before Break? No Problem! Use Incentives!

The time between Halloween and Winter Break can be so difficult!  Build in positive reinforcement incentives to keep lessons moving forward and classroom management under control.

What's the problem?

You don't really need me to answer that do you?!  There might not be a more frustrating period of time to teach content than November and December.  Students are distracted by school programs, secret Santas, decorations, countdown to break, social events, more school programs, time off for Thanksgiving.... Okay, we know what the problem is!

What's a teacher to do?

Build incentives into your teaching that will motivate students to stay on track and work for you.  Incentives also provide students with a positive reward that will help improve your classroom management.

1.  Find what they like

By this time of year, you know your students.  You know what activities they've delighted in and have begged for more of.  Maybe you had a cool art project that went with a novel study.  Maybe your students loved the "pass back" story activity or had a blast with your bingo vocab game.

Choose an activity you think your class will work for.  It can be a bit of a trial and error process, but that's the great thing -- you can do something different every time.

2.  How can you incentivize it?

Take you idea to your students.  I wanted to have a "game day" every other Friday.  I proposed the idea to my students.  What if we had a "game day" if we finished all of our scheduled work?  My students loved that idea.

3.  Get organized

My students formed groups and chose what game they wanted to play.  I discovered that many of my students had board games at home that they have never played!    I made sure I had information from each group:  who was in the group (making sure it was a reasonable number for the game and that everyone was in a group), what game they were playing, who was bringing in the game, and if they knew how to play the game or not.

4.  Working toward a goal

I let my students know what we needed to complete before we were eligible for the game day.  For ELA, it included writing goals that I posted on my board each week and broke down for each day.  

The daily goals for the class helped reduce student talking and off-task behavior that wasted class time -- students used peer pressure to work for their goal.

While I originally wanted to stretch out the goal for two weeks, the first time we tried this, I had the game day at the end of the week.  This gave students a taste of what game day looked like and why they wanted to earn it.

5.  Keeping it fresh

Having a game day every Friday would quickly lose its novelty for middle schoolers -- no matter how much they try to convince you it wouldn't!  

After the first week, I stretched the reward out two weeks.  I also asked students to change games and groups.  

I also kept a few games in my closet.  Students would forget to bring in a game, or they became bored with the one they brought.  You could also have a whole-class game day to play that Bingo game you have stashed in your cabinet.

6.  Kicking it up a notch

My original game day evolved into an annual Scrabble Tournament.  Even my principal was impressed!  Words!  What could possibly go wrong?!!

If you're interested in hosting a Scrabble Tournament, here's how I did it Scrabble Tournament.

Give it a try!  Lots of fun!

What do you think?

What incentives would work for your students?  Share your ideas in the comments below!  

Happiness always!

How I Get My Ducks In A Row With Classroom Routines!

Ok, I'll admit it.  I love routines.  Why?  I think it's because they create stability and order.  And when you teach Middle School, that can be hard to come by.  After all, many of the students are characterized as "hormones with feet" and with their changing bodies and changing perceptions, their sense of security is definitely diminished.

So here is an opportunity for me to create a space where calm amidst the chaos can prevail.  Take, for example, my specific entering routine:

1.  I greet students at the door.

2.  Students pick up their materials.

3.  The bell rings and I play an inspiring song in the background.

4.  Students write in their planners and then begin the bell work.  (I take attendance.)

5.  I come around and initial planners and answer questions.

6.  The song ends and I announce that there are X number of minutes to complete the bell work.

7.  I come to the front of the room and welcome everyone.  Then we review the learning target and homework due date.

8.  Now we go over the bell ringer.

Believe it or not, this entire procedure takes only about 8 - 10 minutes once we get into the routine.  But you can see that for me, bell ringers are a necessary part of getting everyone in and settled.

I generally use bell ringers as an opportunity to review and practice.  If you use bell work for this too, then you might be interested in these Middle School Mentor Sentences that are all ready to go and focused on perseverance using an original text about Walt Disney.

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It takes several days to completely teach a routine like this, but I think Bell Ringers are essential to creating a classroom community.  Why?  They become part of a routine that satisfies a need for safety that comes from order.  

So, how do I do this?

A little bit at a time.

Last week, I modeled coming into the room with my own book bag and materials.  I actually pretended to be a student and even sat at a student desk.  The kids chuckled, but instead of me just explaining it, I showed it to them.  Then, the students practiced.  

They practiced the routine, you ask?  Yes!  This is how we all learn, right?  This applies to routines too!  After we have the coming in part down, then we add in planners.  Once the students can come in and write in their planners, then we add in the bell work.  One step at a time - I think I can, I think I can.  :)

Now here's my full disclosure:  I've been doing this for 22 years.  So I know how this will turn out.  Entering the class using this routine will become a habit.  So much so that when there is a new student, they confidently show it to that student - or an administrator - or anyone who asks.  They are confident because they know they can depend on it.  And in a world where change is the norm, it's nice to have a little bit of predictability in one's life.

Do you have routines in your classroom?  Join in the conversation in the comments below!

Setting High Expectations in the Middle School Classroom

Starting the school year can be a chaotic time, but one of the most important things we can do for our students is clearly set our high expectations. This simple move is vital, not only for maintaining the ideal classroom climate, but also for reaching those year-end levels of achievement and academic goals.

Despite the incredible need for setting high expectations, we are now in a world where instant satisfaction and unwarranted praise are the norm.  This makes creating the true high expectations classroom even more of a challenge.  Add the state-mandated focus on end results (testing) over true academic impact, and it's easy to lose focus or to let go of what's truly important for our students to learn!

So, what does it look like?

• A high expectations classroom is one where the students are responsible for their own learning.  This does not relinquish the teacher of his/her responsibility to teach, but the students are the ones who must put for the effort for their own success.  Allowing a student to fail is an incredible challenge for a teacher, but it can be the greatest lesson a student may learn in their lifetime.  
• A high expectations classroom provides grade-appropriate AND advanced curriculum.  This does not mean you are leaving anyone behind.  It means that you are encouraging students to work beyond the norm.  You are introducing them to what may come ahead, and in fact, creating a smoother path for them to follow.
• A high expectations classroom does not accept excuses.  Ruby Payne's A Framework for Understanding Poverty is a masterful examination of the impact teachers have on those in poverty.  While providing outstanding tools for addressing poverty in the classroom, she is also quick to explain that excuses only breed excuses.  Stop giving children the option to not do!  Instead, offer them options for completing the tasks in front of them. 
• A high expectations classroom is filled with structure.  Also discussed in A Framework is the simple fact that all students need (and crave) structure.  Rules are set to help students know the boundaries.  Without rules, chaos and a lack of focus are easy traps.  
• A high expectations classroom is filled with attainable goals.  We all set goals when we hope to find success. We may not state them out load, and we may not claim to have them, but we do.  Sometimes they are very simple (A daily to-do list), while other times they are more complex (Earning a degree).  Still, they give us guidance and a clearer path to a desired end result.  Encourage these for your students.  Even the smaller goals will make a huge difference.
• A high expectations classroom is a place for dreams!  Sadly, too many of our students do not have positive role models with great dreams and the desire to live an adventurous life; they are content with status quo.  Dreams, whether created through experiences with role models, by reading a good book, or through the encouragement of a great teacher, are so important!  If we never dream, we will never go!

How do you create a high expectations classroom?

1. Start on Day 1.  Establish the classroom rules.  Be clear about what they mean and thoroughly examine the consequences. Include rules for assignment completion, including grade-appropriate homework.  Being a student is their job, and learning that responsibility is one of the most valuable lessons they can learn.
2. Be consistent.  Follow through and consistency are so important.  If you are seen as inconsistent, they will never trust you to teach them the correct path for behavior, much less learning.
3. Be fair!  This is often a challenging step since fair is not always equal.  And this is a lesson worth sharing with your students.  
4. Don't accept excuses.  There is a huge difference between accepting excuses and providing appropriate, situation-based options.  Know this difference and be prepared with those options in your classroom.
5. Reward excellence, NOT everyday behavior. This is the most tricky tactic at all.  But we all have to take a look around and accept that our Give Every Kid A Trophy society is not working.  Instead of creating strong, competitive, hard-working adults, we have created a generation of entitled, demanding, dependents.

While some of these tactics may seem harsh and uncaring, they are truly the most loving you can be for your students.  Teaching them responsibility, character, and dedication can lead them much further in life than providing them an easy out.  More importantly, teaching with high expectations will also create a respect in your classroom that will not only benefit you, but also each and every student that walks in your door.

Where do you want to see your students go? Dream BIG and they will, too!

 

Day One: Engagement Station

Tori here, from Tori Gorosave: An English Teacher's Journey. Back to School is literally right around the corner for me and to be honest, I am super excited! I miss my classroom and it the last year my youngest one will be on campus with me before he heads off to high school. Sigh. Anyway, I want to spend a few minutes and share my favorite tips and tricks for the first day of school. 

Nothing is more deadly to student and teacher morale than bored and disengaged students on the first day of school. The first day of school sets the tone for the rest of the year, so start your year off showing students your class will be a year full of engagement, activity, and involvement by creating stations to introduce your classroom rules, procedures, expectations, and summer reflections. 

Now, I can stand in front of my 8th graders and captivate them for an entire period, but frankly I don't always like being the center of attention and holding students' attention for that long is hard! I want my students working just as hard, if not harder, than me, and if all they are doing the first day is listening to me talk or watching my presentation, then we have a problem.

Here's a preview of how I conduct my first day of class. I assign five mini assignments via stations to my students.  The stations can be completed in small groups, individually, or even presented by the teacher in eight minute segments. I have classes that range from 32-40 students, so I set up two table groups per station so I don't have groups larger than four students. I create a placard title for each station, place a task card or direction sheet next to the placard, plenty of paper or assignment sheets (depending on the task), and a completed sample which is all about me. I let my kids choose their groups of four and sit at a station (it doesn't matter what order they complete the stations in). I set my timer for eight minutes and display it under my ELMO so the class can see how much time they have. Once my timer goes off, students have thirty seconds to get up and rotate to the next station. I usually set my stations up clockwise since I give them such a limited amount of time to rotate. I then repeat the process until all groups have hit all five stations (about 45 minutes). Time flies! It is amazing to have students suffering from shock and awe on the first day once the timer goes off for the last station and students have to start collecting their work and prepare to head on to their next class!

Here is a breakdown of the five stations I use on the first day of school:

Station 1 is a syllabus scavenger hunt. I designed my syllabus to only including content I thought was imperative. I formatted my syllabus like an infographic to make it more visually appealing and capture student and parent attention right off the bat. 

For the syllabus scavenger hunt, I create questions focusing on specific areas of my syllabus. Students need to use the syllabus to answer the questions on a task sheet. 

To get students thinking ahead, Station 2 is a "Twitter Goals" activity. Students are asked to create one goal for my class for the present year, one overall education goal for the year, and one personal / family goal for the year. They explain these goals in 140 characters or less and complete them on a assignment sheet by filling out Twitter message bubbles.  

Reflecting upon and sharing highlights of their summer is one of my students favorite activities. Station 3, "My Summer in Pictures" requires students to choose three pictures to showcase their summer. The pictures can be snapshots from their phone or computer, or generic symbols that represent a person, place, thing, or idea. Underneath each picture, I have students write a caption explaining the significance of the picture.  My students love to complete Station 3 digitally, but many students also create beautiful scrapbook pages. I have students brainstorm their ideas during class station time, but they create the final product at home.

Again because I wanted to have students introduce themselves to me right away, at Station 4 students describe themselves as an emoji. I have a few lists of emojis laid out on the table, but most students are so familiar with emojis that they rarely reference the lists. To complete this station, students choose their emoji and draw it (or if you are digital they can just copy and paste the emoji onto a slide), underneath the emoji they have to demonstrate rockin' vocabulary and choose an adjective that best describes them (it should coincide with the emoji), lastly I have my students write a paragraph explaining how the emoji and adjective describe them. This is such a neat way to get to know a student from their personal perspective.

The final station, Station 5, consists of a "Student Resume." I have a stack of resume task sheets laid out on the table, and students grab one and complete the sections. This resume provides me with parent contact information (it is amazing how often the info on here provides me with working contact numbers where as the office emergency cards don't), student expectations of me, the grades students earned the previous year, a list of my students favorite things, etc. 

That sums up how I use stations to run my first day of school. If you want to use these stations ideas in your class, head on over to my TpT store and grab a set of Back to School Task Cards for yourself.

Have an amazing school year!

Revamping TPCASTT

Hey there, everyone! So, because it's National Poetry Month, I thought it would be a great time to talk about how I use the TPCASTT strategy in my classroom and how that has evolved. Now, for those of you who are unfamiliar with this strategy, TPCASTT is an organized and structured way to help students analyze any kind of poetry. It has been my experience that asking students to analyze poetry without structure leads to confusion, frustration, and eventually a dislike for the activity in general. The TPCASTT strategy is the best way I have found to help students analyze poetry.

When I was in junior high and high school (and even a little in college), I was assigned poetry analysis assignments with a TPCASTT all the time. However, without directions, practice, guidance, and feedback I found myself scratching only the surface of the poems I was asked to analyze. When I became a teacher and saw that the same strategy was in my curriculum, I decided there had to be a better way to have students utilize it. I decided to give the old strategy a face lift.

Instead of just listing what each letter stands for and giving students a blank box, I decided to give more guidance and directions. As we all know, middle school students really rely on structure and very precise directions and so I kept that in mind as I tweaked this famous and frequently utilized graphic organizer. The biggest thing I decided to do was to add questions and comments that would guide students in their analysis. I also made more room for paraphrasing and broke the "Connotation" box into six smaller boxes to help students visualize the importance  and amount of literary elements in poetry.

I have found that, since doing this, my students comprehension of poetic texts have improved. I've also found that their willingness to participate in activities and assignments that come after the analysis of a poetic text because they are confident in their actual analysis. All in all, I really like this strategy for analyzing poetry in the classroom. I just think that, in the context of a middle school classroom, it needs a little extra structure and organization!

Below is a graphic I made for my classroom to help students remember what goes in each box of a TPCASTT! It's a quick reference guide that can be used by anyone! And if you're looking to use a ready-made TPCASTT organizer, instead of creating your own, head over to my TpT store! I have the above template available there!

I'll see you next month! Happy teaching!

What To Do After Testing

It is so hard to believe that testing season is officially here. In Texas, 8th grade is considered and SSI year. What is SSI? It means Student Success Initiative and translate into crazy amounts of testing. The 8th graders, if they failed their state assessment, get to have mandatory remedial tutoring and retake the test again in May. If they fail again, they go to summer school and take the test again in June. This all occurs because they must pass the test in order to advance to high school.

So, yeah. Here we are in March and my 8th graders just took their math state assessment on Tuesday. Buuuutttt...what do I do with the other 11 weeks of school???

Since I am not only math but also special education, I fill in this time with a combination of things:

1. I focus on personal financial literacy for my students. Not only are they state standards, but I will do a lot of real-world practice such as learning to budget for an apartment or food. This is an area that ANY student needs to know before they graduate high school, and sadly, many of my students are definitely not being taught good skills at home.
2. I will reteach areas that have been a weakness for my students this school year. As optimistic as I am, there is a good chance that at least a few of my students will not pass their state assessment and will have to take it again in May. By reteaching math skills, my students will not have a chance to forget everything they have learned this year and will get to have extra practice at mastering those skills before retaking their state assessment.
3. I will teach some new skills that will prepare my students for Algebra I in high school. By pre-teaching some of the skills, my students will (hopefully) have a leg-up when high school comes around because they have seen some of the beginning Algebra I skills before. This will make the transition at the beginning of the school year easier for the teachers that will receive my students next year.

By doing a combination of all 3 of these, I am hoping I give my students the best possible advantage in all areas the last 11 weeks they are with me. However, I am always open to learn from the seasoned pros about better ways to utilize the time after state assessments.

If you have any ideas on how to best use time after state assessments, please leave a comment below so that other people can share in your knowledge.

BINGO Project Menu Boards

Hey all,

Tori here from An English Teacher's Journey Through the Middle, and I am going to discuss my favorite way to handle that dead period after testing.

Once state testing is over, the happy dance begins, but the looming question arises, “What do I do now?” Have no fear, project time is here. I don't mean projects just for the sake of keeping students busy and out of your hair (although that is an added bonus), but projects that provide student choice, that develop research and presentation skills, that blend creativity and productivity, and that fill those last few weeks with fun and learning.

I LOVE this time of year! Testing wraps up and I can finally start enjoying my students again. As an eighth grade teacher, this becomes a very special time because my lovelies will be heading off to high school in a few short weeks, and I want to ensure our last days together leave them with a plethora of fun memories. After dealing with the dead time after testing for 16 years, and many sets of projects that when remembered are tear-inducing recollections of stress, I have found Project Menu Boards to be the best way to fill in the after testing time.

I set up Project Menu Boards in the form of a BINGO card. The BINGO card allows for a tremendous amount of student choice, and therefore hooks students immediately. Students can complete a traditional BINGO row or column, make it simple and finish a row or column in a group, become super overachievers and bust out a project a day for the last four to six weeks, etc., the possibilities are endless.  The projects can be completed digitally or as a physical product. I also have students present at least one of their project choices to the class. This is a wonderful way to hold students accountable for completing a well-done project, exposes the rest of the class to some great information, and allows students to show off their creativity and hard work.

Hare are some pics of different BINGO Cards I have assigned to my students as well as a few completed projects:

         

Quotes and Explanation

Digital Timeline

Digital Memory Game

Head on over to my TpT store for a FREE BINGO card template that you can customize to suit the needs of your class! Enjoy your after testing time and please share some of your students’ amazing BINGO card projects!

Until next time,

Tackle the Test, and the Text, with Authors' Craft: Looking Beyond the PIE

Ok, so let’s face it, pie is good. Sweet, delicious, cover-me-in-ice-cream pie, is really good. Unfortunately, over the past couple of years, I have found one pie that isn’t so good: the ‘pie’ representing author’s purpose. Beyond persuading, informing, and entertaining, an author writes with deeper meaning and we need our students to understand this.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great place to start. When I taught elementary I used P.I.E. to teach author’s purpose all the time. I wanted my students to identify if an author was writing to persuade, inform, or entertain. We need to acknowledge, however, as students grow as readers, they need to start looking beyond the surface of the text. There is a reason an author writes a certain way and there are clues in the text to help us understand why. We have to help our students unwrap the author’s purpose by examining the author’s craft.

At the beginning of every year, I review specific skills such as theme, point of view, and characterization. My students are able to pinpoint these skills within a text. As the year progresses, I push them to dive deeper into the text. Why is the author using a specific point of view? How does this point of view affect the plot? How did the author use characterization to build the main character? How do you know? In order to truly understand a text, a good reader needs read for deeper meaning by examining the author’s craft. We can no longer ask our students to simply ‘identify’ story elements. We can no longer have our students ‘identify’ the theme of a passage. We can no longer settle with being able to identify P.I.E. We need our readers to dig deeper. What is the text saying? What is the author doing? How do you know? What do you take away from this?

Here are some of the cards I use to encourage my students to dig deeper.

To help me do this regularly, I created generic task cards focused on author’s craft. I can pull from these whenever we read any type of text in order to encourage my students to read for deeper meaning. This doesn’t have to be difficult.

I tell my kiddos, authors are sneaky. They have the ability to make you love or hate a character. They have the ability to create a setting that makes you relate to a story. The author can take you worlds away or make you examine where you are standing. While I encourage and support reading for pleasure in my class (a lot actually), I want my students to have the ability to dissect difficult texts.  Authors speak a secret language within a text and as middle school readers it remains our job to crack the code. Authors truly write beyond the ‘P.I.E.’ 

Creativity in Action: Test Prep without the Boredom

It's me, Michele from A Lesson Plan for Teachers, and I'm here to make a few suggestions that are near and dear to my heart for test prep season! 

In my classroom, creativity has always been welcome, encouraged, and appreciated.  Based on the research I studied on gender gaps in the classroom back in the 90s, all students and especially females retain content more successfully when given the opportunity to process that content creatively.  So why, when it comes time to prep for the inevitable testing window, do teachers often step back from allowing creative expression and resort to lecture or paper-based reviews?  Don't do it!

So, here are a few suggestions to make your classroom more creative while still tackling the testing prep that is mandated in our classrooms now!

1. Assign students topics from your course.  Allow them to choose a method of presentation, whether it be written, drawn, sculpted, or performed.  Hold a Class Presentation Show to cover all of the topics without the boredom!
2. Create an Illustrated Timeline Wall covering all of the content you need to review.  Let your students shine with their individual talents, with some organizing the dates, others writing the concise descriptions, some illustrating the main points, and others adding creative elements to draw attention to significant themes.
3. Graffiti a Wall with illustrations and bubble letters on all the key topics covered in class.  Have students discuss the topics as they create the wall, reviewing the key points.
4. Turn your classrooms into a Living Museum with students dressed in characters from your content (Historic figures, book characters, important scientists or mathematicians).  Hold a meet and greet for interaction and discussion of themes or significant events.
5. Step back in time or into a book where students Build the Scene and models of significant role-players to recreate the past or the story.  Wrap-up with topic reviews or a graphically organized overview.
6. Play Games! Charades, Pictionary, and student created games can allow students to review the content while creating the game and while playing!

And there are so many other options that get students up out of their desks and active in their learning and review.  What ideas do you have for making your test prep fun, engaging, and CREATIVE?

Happy Review!

Building Leadership Skills in the Middle School Classroom

Hi everyone, Shyra here from Junior High Core Values.  One of my passions is encouraging student leadership in middle school students. They are right at that age where they want responsibility and want to have some input in their lives. Providing ample opportunity for positive leadership is important to keep students motivated and engaged.  There are many benefits to encouraging student voice in the classroom. Throughout the years, I've found that the more invested the students are, not only is academic achievement increased, but there are fewer behavior problems. 

There are four key leadership qualities that I like to help my students, and our student council, develop. At the beginning of the school year, we learn about each quality. Throughout the year, students look for opportunities to demonstrate their leadership ability and continue working on these skills.

Class Meetings/Class Council  In my classroom, we use a class economy. Each of the sixth graders has a job for which they receive a salary, pay rent, can earn bonuses, and pay fines (for talking, being out of uniform, missing assignments, etc) Every week we have a Town Hall meeting where the class mayor leads our citizens in a discussion about topics related to school. It is AMAZING to watch them discuss the things they think are important and make decisions.

Student Advocacy  My 8^th grade social studies students are learning how to advocate for issues they think would make school a better place. When we studied the Constitution, each of them wrote a bill about an issue they would like addressed. We then debated each bill, sent some back for revision, debated some more and voted.  The students needed to consider what would have the best impact on school, any costs to their projects, how the project would be received by administration, and what the parish/broader community would think. Our winning bill, a proposal to finish a mural on the side of the school building, has now gone on to our principal and school board.

I encourage you to always provide student choice and solicit student input in order to build positive leadership qualities in your own students.

  

Five Tips for Promoting Good Manners in Middle School

What was the reaction you received the last time you told someone that you taught middle school?

Most people will look at you with a mixture of awe and horror…then shake their heads and say, “I could never do that.”

There is no doubt about it.  Middle school is a tough place.  Middle schoolers are known for their acerbic tongues, rolling eyes, and zero tolerance for anything different.  So is it impossible to teach them manners?

Knowing that a middle school teacher will never shy away from a challenge…here are five tips for infusing manners into your middle school environment.

Cotillion

We call it Cotillion…perhaps you call it something else at your school – but it’s a series of dance classes that teach basic dance steps.  The lovely thing about Cotillion is that it also teaches niceties such as how to ask someone to dance, how to walk someone to her car, and how to accept a dance.

You can also have a formal etiquette class.  Middle school students, although they may act tough, can certainly see why it’s important to know how to introduce people and use proper table manners.

Role Playing

Never underestimate the impact of role playing.  Middle school students love it!

As a warm up activity to monthly book talks, we practiced how a respectful audience looks.  What do YOU want to see when you look out at your classmates?  What do you NOT want to see?  Students practiced both behaviors (with much laughing and hamming it up).  This made it easier to establish what I expected from the class when they were listening to their peers.

Absolutes

I love RonClark.  (You have read his books, haven’t you?)  He establishes “essentials” in his classroom.  While you don’t need to adopt all of his essentials, you can adopt one.  By creating an essential manner, your students will know what is and isn’t acceptable behavior.

One of my fellow teachers would say, “Respect the speaker.”  That was all it took to settle her class and remind them that someone was addressing the class.  Of course, she had spent time discussing and practicing what that looked like, but having a key phrase can call back prior lessons on manners.

Netiquette

As our students are more and more involved in online communities and communication, we have to address this. 

A way to foray into the world of “netiquette” is to host a class blog.  Student writing is open to a global audience.  Students can see the advantages of proper online behavior (as well as spelling and grammar).

Set the Tone for Your Class

Be sure you are modeling your own manners...

• What is your school or classroom policy on cell phones?  Do you follow it as well?

• Do you want your students to look you in the eye when they talk to you?  Do you focus on them when they have a question or want to tell you something?

• Do you greet your students at the door each morning and expect a response in return.  Do you greet your incoming students at the door and stand by the door as they leave?

• Do you show respect to your fellow teachers and not refer to them by their first name in front of students?

Choose some important manners that you can model for your students.  They will learn more from your example than any list or rule book.

And...don't be afraid of insisting on "please" and "thank you."  

Everyone can practice good manners...even those who excel at eye rolling!

Happiness always,