Teaching Tuesday: Classroom Management

Today's Teaching Tuesday topic (whew, now that's some alliteration) comes from my teacher/blog friend Megan at M*Print.  After being assigned a particularly challenging group of students this year, Megan has called on the blog world to share their best tips for classroom/behavior management, co-teaching, and groups of diverse learners in her aptly named link-up "Better Together."

I'm thefurthestthing from an expert in this area; but, I'm up for the challenge...

But first, before I share some of the things that (mostly) work for me, I think it's important that you know a little bit about my situation/experience since it kind-of sets the scene for my philosophies and techniques:  

Currently, I teach in a speciality center with an advanced curriculum.  My students apply to the program and are accepted based on a number of criteria, and they have to meet certain academic and behavior standards in order to stay in the program.  In short, my students are "the cream of the crop."  Of course, it's not all rainbows and butterflies here - I still get attitudes, Chatty Cathys, and (plenty of) hormones - but, it is quite different from where I was three years ago... 

For the first four years of my career, I taught "regular" and "co-taught" English to ninth and tenth graders.  Granted, the school was/is one of the best in the area, BUT each year I had at least one or two classes full of students who saw school (and the teacher) as the enemy.  Most of these kids had been told over and over and over again that school "wasn't there thing," and many were just biding their time until they were old enough to either drop-out or get a GED.  

Despite my young/naive/ Dangerous Minds & Freedom Writer inspired hopes, I quickly learned that - in the real world -  these are not the teachers that get nominated for "teacher of the year" or recognized at the football game on Friday night.  My students had lost hope in education long ago... Their spark for learning had been replaced by frustration when it "didn't come as easily" for them as it did their peers, or by exhaustion when their "after school curricular activities" involved forty-hour a week jobs or raising their younger siblings.  I - their teacher - was just another thing in the way... Another talking head trying to get them to care about Romeo and Juliet or the-five-paragraph essay when they had MUCH bigger things to deal with.

Now, here's the part that you really need to understand... I DO NOT consider it "graduating" or "moving up" to get to teach advanced classes.  In fact, that is probably one of the biggest misconceptions of new teachers out there and a MAJOR problem in some education systems today.

  

It is an HONOR to teach the alternative-learning or collaborative classes.   I made the switch to my current position two years ago because I had a new baby at home, and the work hours/opportunity at this new school made more sense for my family.  But, while my students are wonderful right now, I LOVED my previous position too.  And, while I'm sometimes more "intellectually" challenged (and, almost always more challenged to get papers graded quicker) in the advanced classes, the other classes provided a different - and VERY FULFILLING kind of challenge.  My challenge with those students wasn't so much about getting them to pass the class, as it was about making lifelong readers, writers, and learners out of them.  And, when I did see great progress - when I saw a "lightbulb" moment over Lord of the Flies or had a student come back years later to tell me they were the best writer in their college class - those victories were even sweeter.  Really. 

Ok... So, now that I've (hopefully) established a little street-cred here and (one way or the other) shown you a little piece of my heart for the more "difficult" classes and students out there, I thought I'd offer three little tid-bits of advice for classroom management and collaborative teaching from my own experience.  I hope it will be helpful!

1. It is ALL about mutual respect. Often, by the time students get to high school, they have long-ago lost respect for their teachers.  (Be appalled if you want to, but it's the truth.)  Gaining their respect cannot be done by enforcing rules, dressing cool, or exerting power... It can only (very slowly at times) be earned.  Teenagers care SO much about being respected  (SO SO MUCH).  I promise you, the BEST thing you can do for your classroom management is to MODEL the respect you want for yourself.  I don't make harsh demands of students.  I don't yell.  I don't enforce (in my opinion) silly rules like "you may only go to the bathroom once a nine weeks."  I talk to my students like they are human beings with lives outside of school.  I get to know them - why were you up so late that you are sleeping through class now?  I believe them when they say they didn't get their syllabus signed because they haven't seen their parents in two weeks.   I give students the benefit of the doubt and, slowly, they begin to do the same for me.   They listen when I teach and do the assignments I ask of them because they trust that my intentions are good and that I really do want to help them.  They speak to me with respect, and they listen when I ask them not to do something.  They "have my back" against their peers.  It is ALL about mutual respect. 

2.  Practice Tough Love.  As much as I believe in the power of mutual respect, I still know that there are certain times I need to be the grown-up in the room; and, I have come to realize, that students really do WANT that from me.  At the end of the day, no matter how much I love and respect my students (and I strive to make that evident 99% of the time), I am still their teacher.  My job is to keep them safe, educate them, and prepare them for the real world.  And, like it or not, there rules and "un fun" things in the real world.  I don't have a lot of rules, but I do have a few that I consider detrimental and I enforce them consistently.  (Ok, I try to enforce them consistently... This is, honestly, a struggle for me.)  If you cheat on a test - you get a zero.  If you call me a b*^#@$, I'm giving you detention and calling home.  Every.time.  Period.  BUT, I'm not going to cause a scene about it, and I'm NOT going to hold a grudge.  The next morning, I will greet you with a smile.  When it's done, it's done.

3. Be a Team Player.  If you ever have the opportunity to teach as part of a collaborative team (i.e. a regular classroom teacher and a special education teacher), I urge you to TAKE IT.  I have worked with two co-teachers, and I have learned more from each of them than any college course or teaching book could ever teach me.  The key here?  You are a TEAM.  You are not the "main" teacher.  The special-ed teacher is not your "assistant."  You are BOTH professionals and you are both integral parts of the classroom.  Believe that, and practice it!  Make sure you both have a desk in the classroom.  Make sure both of your names are on the syllabus and the classroom door.  Whenever possible, try to do your planning together for the class and provide opportunities for both teachers to take the lead up front.  Think of your co-teaching experience the same way you think of raising kids with your spouse - you might both have different duties or roles in the house, but you are both necessary and beneficial.  You support each other.  You are a united front. *And, as a note, don't be too discouraged if you don't have a co-teacher.  Use whatever "team" is available to you... Meet with other members of your department to share ideas and get help, join an online forum, attend a conference... DO NOT try to do it alone!!

Ok... I'd originally planned to make this a five-item list, but my hands are getting tired and I imagine I'm losing interest by the second. ;)   If you read all this, THANK YOU!!

What's your best advice when it comes to co-teaching and/or classroom management?

Teaching Tuesday: Attendance, Make-up Work, and Papers to Grade

One of the marks of a good teacher, especially an English teacher, is the ability to organize and manage all the endless PAPERS that come with the job...  Luckily, in my previous life, organization was a strength of mine, and for the most part, it has remained intact over my last six years in the classroom.

I get requests for information about these things a lot, so I will attempt to be concise and helpful... As always, please feel free to email me if you have specific questions!

First up, attendance and make-up work:

I don't have any kind of genius plan for this... My paper attendance records are kept on a clipboard in the front of the room.  Every two weeks (or five class periods on the block) I print a new attendance sheet and fill in the dates that particular class will meet.  The sheet includes each student's name, a column for each day, and a large column to record "missed work."  The last column makes it easy for me to remember to tell Sally that she needs to make-up a quiz, or remind Alex about a paper we turned in Tuesday when he was out.  I also try to paper clip the Missing Work Logs for a particular class behind their attendance sheet so I know to harass remind those students to turn in work as well.

Click here for a printable/editable Word version of my weekly attendance sheets.

I keep these attendance sheets for a month at a time, and then use them to fill in a larger spread sheet in Excel that tracks my attendance for the nine weeks/semester/year. I know there are lots of other (and probably better) resources available for tracking attendance online, but this works well for me.

Access the printable/editable Excel version of my attendance totals spread sheet here.

Finally, I keep a binder for students to check for make-up work if/when they miss class.  Each grade (or block) has their own tab in the binder & folder for loose hand-outs.  If a student is absent, I just write their name on the test/quiz/whatever and stick it in the appropriate spot in the binder.  Students know to look there for anything they could not access via Blackboard upon their return to school.  For the most part, this works well.

And, a tiny bit about keeping up with papers to grade & to return:

I have always used some sort of system like this, but I just found this new accordian file at Target this weekend, and I love that it has a pouch where I can store my colored pens etc. (I'm forever getting home and realizing I don't have a good pen to grade with.)  Basically, I just make a two tabs for each of my classes - one for papers that need to be graded, and one for papers that need to be returned (i.e. have already been graded).  Then, as I collect papers, I simply alphabetize them and put them in the appropriate slot.  This little file folds up and easily goes back and forth to school with every day.

So... What are your systems for managing papers?  Please share!!

Teaching Tuesday: Favorite English Teacher Blogs

Hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend!  Things didn't go exactly as I had planned (as in, we hardly did any of the things I had on the "agenda"), but our little stay-cation was great -- We even ended up spending Saturday night at my parents' (they were out of town) so we could stay up late watching football on their nice TV and, truly, avoid any responsibilities of being at home.  It was full of good time as a family and relaxation - exactly the way a va(stay)cation should be! P.S. How about those Tigers!?!?!

I followed the "rules," and stayed away from school/house/blog work pretty much the entire weekend, so I'm playing catch up today with a simple Teaching Tuesday topic -- my favorite English teacher blogs!!  I'm a big fan of "not re-inventing the wheel" as long as the wheel is pretty darn awesome to begin with!  ;) Below are four pretty darn awesome English teacher blogs I have come to know and love (and gets lots of great ideas from).  I've mentioned many of these here before, but I thought it might be nice to have them all in one spot.  Hope you find one or two new ones to add to your teaching repertoire!

1. The Nerdy Teacher is Nicholas Provenzano, an English 10 Honors teacher and frequent EduBlog award winner.

Check out "The Epic Mock Trial of Mark Twain" and "20% Time in My Classroom."

2. Where the Classroom Ends is primarily geared towards the AP Language & Composition classroom and the study of rhetoric (where, trust me, I need all the help I can get). It is a little more "technical," but the two teachers that write it (Emily & Aubrey) are experienced, creative, and relate-able.  I love that many of their ideas involve incorporating pop culture and media into your lesson plans and are usually especially timely and relevant for teenagers today.

Check out "State of the Union Creative Assignment,""Superbowl 2012: Car Commercials," and "Documentaries: Oscar Nominees."

3. Eat, Write, Teach - Stephanie and I have been reading each other's blogs for a while now, and I am continually impressed by her professionalism and passion for teaching.  She shares great templates for organization that you can use in your classroom right away and her love for her students and career is evident in everything she writes.

Check out "A Letter to First Year Teachers" and her "The Well-Oiled Classroom Machine" series.

4. M*Print Blog - Another reader/friend, Megan is SO organized and so generous with her teaching ideas!  In fact, she totally emailed me the "Classroom Rules Meme" power point she did on the first day, and my kids LOVED it!  Her blog is JAM packed with practical things you can do to make your classroom run smoothly AND fantastic lesson ideas!

Check out "How Not to Lose Your Mind at Open House" (just in time for "Back to School Night" for many of us),  "Ten Technology Tips Every Teacher Should Know," and "Bulletin Board Design on a Dime."

Ok, this just barely scratches the surface of some of the great resources out there... I know there are SO many other great blogs for teachers of all subjects/grade-levels/etc. Let's spread the wealth!! PLEASE share a link to your favorite (or your own if it relates) education blog in the comments below!

See you tomorrow!

Teaching Tuesday: Decoration and Organization for the High School Classroom*

*That's fancy-talk for "Classroom Tour," by the way.

Today was the first day back with students.  I am tired and already feel overwhelmed; but, honestly, it's good to be back in my game. All of my new freshman were smiling and eager, and it was really nice to be starting the school year in a familiar place with two out of my three classes being the same kids as last year - almost like we were just returning from Winter break except with suntans (them, not me) and new school supplies (I'm shocked marketing merchandisers haven't caught on and started doing a big push for "re-stocking" school supplies in January.  Anyone else?).

Anyway, today I'm sharing some photos of my classroom in hopes of "inspiring" some of my fellow high school teachers that we don't have to leave all the cute decorations and Pinterest-worthy organization ideas to the primary grades. :)

Step right in...

My "information center" is home to a weekly calendar, a white board decal for each class' announcements, and important details about the school schedule, emergency plans, etc. I also have my Yellow Sheets for missing work, my make-up work binder, and extra pens (that look like flowers to prevent stealing) for the students.

My desk is big and takes up a lot of space in the room.  To try to best utilize that space, I make all kinds of office supplies - stapler, hole-punch, tape, paper clips, pencils, etc. - available to my students on it.  For the most part, they are respectful and mature enough to handle this "easy access."

Behind my desk, I have a large (ugly) filing cabinet with a drawer for each grade level to store their writing assignments all year long.  The white box on top is for class hand-outs that have been copied and papers that need to be returned to students.  (That idea is new this year, and I think I'm going to really like it.)

Completely opposite from my desk is another bright bulletin board (which I made from plastic tablecloths) waiting to be filled.

In the front of the room, I have a special bulletin board specifically for posting my lesson plans each week.  This helps cut down on the "whatarewedoingtoday" drone that will start in about two weeks  (P.S. Would you believe the fancy lesson plan template I made isn't going to work this year because we switched to a new Blackboard?  Ugg.  I hope some of you are using it!)

There are also labeled bins at the front of the room where students can store their journals...

And a large bookcase with all of our supplemental novels.  *New this school year, I've numbered every single book in my classroom.  I have also assigned every student a number that will be used to identify him/herself all year.  The numbers are done in alphabetical order, so they will help me quickly alphabetize assignments before putting them in the grade book AND keep track of who has lost or damaged a book.

And, finally, toward the back of the room, I have a two more plastic drawer sets.  I have numbered each drawer (one for each of the six groups in class) and stocked it with scissors, glue, fresh markers, highlighters, etc. etc.  I found this idea on Pinterest and love it!  The best part? Groups can take their entire drawer back to their desks and return it after class.

Alrighty then, that's all for today.  

Midweek Confessions will be back tomorrow.  Please come join in!

Teaching Tuesday: Classroom Organization Binder + Lesson Plan Template for Block Scheduling

Welcome back to the second installment of 'Teaching Tuesday.'  Thanks so much to all of you who commented and/or emailed about the Yellow Sheet in my last post.  I especially LOVED hearing that so many of you are using that idea and having success with it.  Seriously, I think collaborating and sharing ideas with each other is SO important in the teaching profession... I am happy to contribute any way I can!

On that note, this week, I'm talking about my Classroom Organization Binder and sharing the template I use for lesson planning.

You might recall that about a year ago Home Organization Binders were all the rage in the blog world.  And, I admit, I was quick to jump on that wagon.  (I've got a beautifully organized home organization notebook with very little actual home organization right now - ha!)  Anyway, when I ran across the idea for a similar binder to keep up with school-related information at Eat.Write.Teach last summer, I fell in LOVE.   It was an 'Aha!' moment in my teaching career! (Thanks Stephanie!)

I immediately made my own Classroom Organization Binder; and, unlike my home binder, this one I actually used every.single.day last school year. The concept is so simple, really - just put everything you use on a given day both at home and at school (related to work, that is) in one neat and tidy place.  Seriously, it is one of the best things I've done for my sanity as a teacher, and I will definitely make one every year from here on out - in fact, I'm finishing up this year's version today!

The initial set-up/organization takes about an hour (depending on how OCD you want to get)& will help you restore some peace and purpose to the mass of paperwork, etc. that (unfortunately) surrounds the classroom these days.  Plus, it totally gives you a great excuse to go "school supply" shopping! ;)

I'm a big proponent of NOT re-inventing the wheel, so this is when I'm going to kindly direct you back to Stephanie's blog where she wonderfully outlines exactly how she uses her notebook/ "Sanity Saver" AND provides FREE templates for everything right here.

But, just in case you are interested, here's how I set up mine (in a nutshell):

My binder has eight sections (which is nice because the tabs come in packs of 8) and each section has a different color divider/folder and a "cover sheet" if you will.  My sections are as follows:

1. Weekly To Do & Lesson Plans with my complete 'To Do' list, my checklist from administration, and copies of the week's plans for each of my three classes (see below for a lesson plan template)

2. Calendars & Schedules with the school calendar, a bell schedule, and a blank monthly calendar to keep track of 'A' and 'B' days, important deadlines, etc.  (Although, I'll be honest, I'm mostly just going to use my Plum Planner for all that this year.)

3. Rosters, Attendance, & Emergency for my class lists, attendance records, and fire-drill/safety plans etc.  (P.S. I've gotten a lot of questions about how I manage attendance and make-up work... Look for that topic on a Tuesday SOON.)

4. Missing Work Logs & Parent Contact where I keep used Yellow Sheets and a list of all parent communication.  NOTE: Some teachers may need to use a whole binder for this; but, generally, I don't have a ton of missing work.

5. Syllabi & Course Outlines for... you guessed it... syllabi & course outlines. ;)

6. Testing & Standards with printouts of the state standards for each grade (which I use when lesson planning), test blueprints, and prognosis results, and scores.

7. SPED for student IEPs and other special education resources.  (Generally, I don't have many of these anymore; but, in my old position, I always made an easy 'at a glance' checklist for each class so I didn't miss important accommodations etc. too.)

8. Other for everything else.

And that's it!  This goes home with me every evening and is a "one stop shop" for pretty much anything I might need when I am away from my classroom.  It keeps me from lugging home three big binders every day and helps me keep my head above water in the sea of constant paperwork.  *This would also be super helpful for a teacher who travels between schools and/or classrooms.

So, what do you think?  Do you have something like this?  Please share your ideas!

As a bonus, I thought I'd share my lesson plan template and technique today since I've gotten a couple of questions about that lately too -- 

I have always used a simple table/chart in a Word document to write up my plans each week.  Although sometimes the formatting gets a little wonky, for the most part, I find that it is easy to just copy and paste that table for each week into Blackboard where I post weekly plans for students and parents every Monday.

This year, I am doing something a little different and attempting to plan for two-week spans (that's five 90 min. class periods on a standard A/B block schedule) to help make life a little easier if there is a snow day or some other interruption that changes the course of things.  

Here's a look at my blank template (which will be customized every two weeks with specific dates, standards, activities, homework, and reminders)

and a sample lesson plan so you can see what it looks like "in action."

Download the blank Word document/template here.

*A quick note about size: I have tried to make this template a size that will easy tranfer (copy/paste) under Announcements on Blackboard; however, I think this is different on every computer etc.I recommend trying out the blank template on your BB and then adjusting the size to one that works best for you.

I am, by NO MEANS, an expert at this.  I've been changing up my form a little each year trying to find something that works well for my specific class needs... I'm really hoping this will be a good fit this year; but, if you have any suggestions or a link to a great lesson-plan template, please feel free to share below!

Hope this was helpful!

P.S. If you haven't already, be sure to enter my August Sponsor Giveaway here.  It ends tomorrow night and, so far, odds are only 25:1.

Introducing Teaching Tuesdays + An Updated Missing Work Log Printable

It's that time of year again... The teachers are out in full force on Pinterest (myself included)! I love it!  So, in the spirit of Back-to-School, today I'm introducing the newest E, Myself, and I series...

That's right friends, every Tuesday (or at least, most Tuesdays), I'll be "talking shop" with my teacher friends and - hopefully - sharing some creative ideas and inspiration for the high school classroom. (I feel like there is a real need for more high school resources out there; but, of course, many of these ideas etc. can be adapted for any grade level.)

If you aren't a teacher, you won't hurt my feelings if you skip Tuesdays - but just know we'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming come Wednesday (i.e. Midweek Confessions).  Everybody got it?  Ok, good. :)

To get us started, I felt obligated to do a little "Yellow Sheet"/ Missing Work Log update for y'all since that is still (by far) the topic I get the most blog traffic and emails about.  Some of you might have already read about this tenmilliontimes, so feel free to jump down to the new (and much easier to access) printable below.  Otherwise, here's a quick &  dirty description...

On the day an assignment is due, the rule in my classroom is that EVERYONE turns SOMETHING in.  If a student does not have his/her assignment, he/she must fill out one of these Missing Work Logs (which I affectionately call "The Yellow Sheet" because they are printed out bright yellow paper) and turn it in in place of said assignment.  These are kept in a stack at the front of my classroom, and my students know to grab one if they are missing an assignment on a due date. 

The log itself asks for basic information like the assignment title, due date, and student signature.  Once it has been filled out and turned in, I keep the Missing Work log in my stack of collected papers for the assignment.  

Then, the next day/week/month when the late assignment is turned in, I record the date it was turned in, the number of points deducted (based on school policy - ours is 10% per day late), and the final score.  **This version of the log also includes a spot to record contact with the student and parent about missing work too.  I obviously do not make personal contact for every missing assignment; but, it is nice to have a spot to record that information right there when I do.

The bottom portion of the sheet is detached when an assignment is turned in and stapled to the assignment, so the student (and parent) knows exactly why they got the score they did on an assignment.  The top portion gets filed and saved in my record.

 If the assignment never comes in, a zero is recorded in the grade book and the yellow sheet gets filed. These work GREAT on parent teacher conference day and help to keep me fair.

Now, here's a simple JPG image you can download and print to start using right away:

When you click on the image above it should open in full size so you can save it to your computer.  Then, you can just print out (it should be formatted to fill a standard sheet of printer paper) as many copies as you need.  (Again, I usually print mine on bright yellow paper so that they stand out among ALL the papers I usually have.)

Rather have it as a PDF?  Try clicking here.

Easy, right?!?  (I went ahead and updated all the links on the blog to reflect this new version and easier format, FYI.)

One last thing... I didn't include a watermark or copyright on the image itself (because, really, your students don't need to read my blog); BUT, if you PIN the image below and link back to my blog, I would REALLY appreciate it. 

For more information about the Missing Work Log and/or other classroom organization ideas, try these posts: Classroom Organization Tips (original) and Classroom Organization FAQs or follow my Pinterest boards Teaching Ideas & Inspiration and Classroom Decor & Organization.

*And a big thanks to The Fairy Blogmother for my cute new "pin-it" button and graphics!!!

Ok, I think that's enough teaching excitement for one day.  I hope this was helpful and you will tune in each week.  In the meantime, please share in the comments some topics that you would like to see covered as part of Teaching Tuesday!  Thanks!