Copy on Demand

A teacher I worked with last year inherited a couple of filing cabinets from a previous teacher. They were stuffed full with tons of copies that were out of date or she didn't care to use. When I had time, I helped her go through these files. The amount of paper that we tossed was unbelievable. She keeps only one or two copies of a worksheet or activity. When she is ready to use it she copies only what she needs. She plans about a week or two in advance to give ample time to get things copied. This saves space, cuts down on clutter, makes it easier to find things, and is environmentally friendly.

Brandon's Logic

My cooperating teacher helped me develop some great phrases she thinks work. For example, "I let kids go outside when they follow directions." or "I will listen when students raise their hands". or "Kids that shout out move their clothespin."-negative or "Kids that raise their hands stay on green."-positive
Give a choice
"Either finish your work now or at recess."
And if they don't answer you choose for them. They still have to do it and be given a consequence.
I thought these were some good phrases I could use to manage my class effectively.

Loss of Privileges

My comment goes along with Holly's ESSAY technique. I taught music to the two other first grade classes at my school. I wrote the word MUSIC on the board. I told them if they had any letters erased I would have to talk to their teachers and if they had all of the letters erased they would miss their recess that was right after music. If they didn't have any letters erased they would get to do a wiggle song at the end of class and I would tell their teachers how well they did. They did great! No letters were erased! I did the same thing with my class today. I used the word RECESS and for each letter that was erased that was one minute off of recess time. If all the letters were erased that would be no recess. If there were no letters were erased they would go a few minutes early to recess. They were quiet all the way up to lining up for recess. We had to erase one letter, so they missed a minute of recess. I really like this technique! I would not want to take away recess time because I need that time to myself, but I think my class likes recess too much to get all the letters erased. I have learned to never think they can't do something though!!

Desk Space

This classroom is fairly new so it looks like it would be easy to have the appearance of a large classroom. The teacher does a great job organizing the desks and for me, I feel that sometimes is the hardest battle in organizing your classroom. To create space she grouped the desks in pods of four and left alot of room to walk around all of the desks. The room does not appear over crowded and has the appearance of a neat, organized, large classroom. To maximize space, play with the desks in your classroom to find the best option.

Jackie Julian

Creating Space

This teacher utilizes bookshelves to maximize the small space she has. I love that her books are neatly placed and secured with book ends. I also love how many containers she uses to store goods away. Each container is labeled neatly and it makes her space look organized and well put away. I think its important when having your own classroom to find different ways of utilizing the area you were given, even if it is not your dream classroom.

Jackie Julian

Assign Student Numbers

My cooperating teacher gives each student a number at the beginning of the year. The number is written on their name tags taped to their desks for the first part of the year so that students have plenty of time to get familiar with it. Her materials (art supplies, whiteboards, homework cubbies, etc.) are all located in an organized fashion at the back of the room with numbers on them that correspond to the students' numbers. When it is time for students to retrieve materials for an activity or to turn in/retrieve work, she calls the students by number. ("Students 1-4 please go get your whiteboards and markers.") This is just an alternate version of calling students by tables to go get materials, but she can use the numbers for a variety of other reasons as well (assessments, partner work, lining up, etc.) so it keeps the students used to the same system for many activities throughout the school year. Amanda Rose

"Material Caddies"

In one classroom that I worked in, the teacher had "material caddies" for each student to keep their supplies in (glue, crayons, whiteboards, etc.), They were hanging pockets that hung on the back of the student chairs. She would put whatever materials that they were going to need for the day in the pockets and whenever students needed to get something, they would just need to reach in their pockets (rather than getting up out of their seats and losing transition time) and pull it out by the time she counted to five. She had the students trained from the beginning of the year that the pockets were not to be touched unless they were instructed to do so, so they did not cause a distraction in class. Seemed like a great way to manage materials without losing transition time in between activities!

Organization is key to saving space in any classroom. This is my teachers alcove area. She has boxes, labeled for every month. And labels on her walls of what goes in each tray. Very smart idea!

This is the inside of my teachers manipulative cupboard. Look how well organized everything is, this saves space and time.

This is the supply cupboard, she can always find what she needs, and it is out of the way, saving space in the classroom for other things, such as 26 second graders :)

Use Your Walls!

The classroom that I am currently student teaching in has carpted walls. What a great idea! My teacher uses her walls for everything. She uses velcro, and can magically stick anything she wants/needs on her walls, including remotes! What a great space saver. She uses clothes pins with velcro on the back to hang art projects, graphs, charts, pictures etc! The ideas are endless. Take at look at her walls. . .

Follow Through.....Then watch their faces:)

So I have seen that students respond well if you "hit 'em fast and hard." Well not literally hit them....but give a consequence that is quick and to the point and....it hurts inside a little. For example:
1. Give class the rules and consequences for the behaviors that are not followed.
2. If disruptive behavior occurs give the entire class a warning.
3. If the disruptive behavior of the specific student continues, give an individual warning.
4. If the child is simply not getting it....FOLLOW THROUGH with the previously and clearly stated consequence. If you are too soft the kids will walk right over you and see that you really won't hold them accountable like you said you would and that gives them the idea that they'll never be punished.

For a more specific example....
There was a boy engaging in disruptive behavior. I reminded/warned the entire class that there would be a $50 fine if I saw anyone engaging in this behavior. The student continued so I gave him an individual warning. He continued a little while later and then quickly caught his behavior and quickly told him: "(Name of student), $50 in the bank." And then I went right back on to what I was doing. The look on his face was priceless. It hit him fast and hard and he didn't engage in that behavior....ever again. You have to let them know you are serious about following through with what you have established!

Routines

My teacher has established a really good routine for managing all of the materials that students use on a daily basis. When the students walk in the door, they show the teacher their backpack and turn anything in, they go put their chair down and, if there are any papers that need to be taken home, the teacher has already put one on each student's chair to put in their backpack right away. They keep their backpack on their chair and go get things from their cubby (name card, pencil, crayon, and calendar) and start right into the morning routine of coloring the day on the calendar (in a pattern, of course, there has to be a purpose for everything right?!). I've noticed that this routine cuts down on transition times (they don't have to walk back and forth from cubbies to backpacks to desks), and helps students develop the skills to manage their own materials so that the teacher has time to manage the bigger things.

Discovery Box

I really like how my Kindergarten teacher introduces new materials. She has a "discovery box" (small cardboard box with a lid) that she places something in (like a pencil, scissors, glue stick, etc.) and lets the kids guess what is in it. They have to listen as she shakes it and moves it around. She gives them clues if they need it. When they find out what is in the box, she discusses how to properly use that material. I think this really helps children, especially Kindergarteners, learn what is appropriate when using new materials. Even if they have used the material before, this provides an opportunity for the teacher to discuss how he or she wants it to be used in his or her classroom.

Are back packs considered materials??

My cooperating teacher has hooks for coats and back packs but when each student hangs a jacket and a back pack it takes up too much room. In order to manage this problem she has a large wooden bin that she has the students put their back packs in. This makes it nice because they can set them in the large bin in the morning and they are kept out of the way and out of sight until the end of the day. This helps the students from being distracted by having their back pack hang on their chair and also takes away the temptation of them wanting to grab items out of them throughout the day. This also leaves the hooks available for when the cold weather hits and students need to hang up their bulky winter coats.

"Mailbox" Management

My cooperating teacher has a great system to manage all of the notes, assignments, etc. that go home at the end of each day. Each student has a "mailbox" that is a cubby in a bookcase type shelf with their name on it. To save on time and space she will put the work she has corrected and is ready to go home in each student's mailbox. She will also put any notes that the PTA, principal, etc. need sent home. This makes it easy when she is handing things out because she can do it without distracting the students. At the end of the day the students clean out their mailbox and put the materials in their back packs. This keeps the papers from cluttering their desks and it doesn't pile up on her desk either.

Be Specific

I have a student in my class that LOVES to do anything that is distracting to his peers! My cooperating teacher gave me the idea to be very specific about his misbehavior. We tell him the behavior he is participating in is not desirable and it won't help him or his classmates in any way. We start statements off with I need you to... and I feel bad that you are choosing to...; I feel these specific corrections might help him understand that it is his choice, not the teacher's, to lose his privileges.

Classroom Environment Checks

I received these documents from a school that is actually using them this year.  I really liked the Wall Checklist and all the ideas it lists for us to consider when putting things on our classroom walls.  The second page is a check list the principal is using.  I just thought these ideas would be great for us to consider when we get our own classrooms.

Walk away 3 times

This is a paper given to me by a cooperating teacher in my same grade.  If as student is unwilling to comply with directions, here is one approach you can try.

1. Blake, please____________. (Walk away as if you expect him to do it.)
(Wait 10-20 seconds)
2. Blake, I need you to____________. (Walk away as if you expect him to do it.)
(Wait 10-20 seconds)
3. Blake, just now when I asked you to____________, you_____________.  When a teacher gives you a direction you need to
              a. Look at the person
              b. Say O.K.
              c. Do what you are told right away
 Blake,_____________. (Walk away as if you expect him to do it.)
(Wait 10-20 seconds)
4. Blake, just now when I asked you to_____________, you did not follow directions, you have chosen to be removed form class.  I'm sorry you chose to do this, we will miss you.

This approach gives the student the choice.  Then if he still chooses not to follow directions he knows that the consequences are his own choice.  I think it also helps teachers to have an approach in order to stay level headed when working with difficult behavior.

Creating "Space"

I am in a sixth grade classroom in which the text books alone will take up a students entire desk space, so my cooperating teacher had a set of cubbies made in which the students store all of their text books. This allows the students to keep their desks free of clutter (well mostly) and keep all of their textbooks organized in one central location.

Teaching "Bibles"

My cooperating teacher has an awesome system in which she organizes all of her lessons by subject in the order they are taught in a huge binder. They are all in page protectors and are accompanied by all of the necessary materials that go with that lesson. It makes it much easier to see what is being taught and what will be taught in one subject without searching through a million file folders! She has a "Bible" for each core subject.

Awesome Classroom!

I worked with a teacher at Gramercy Elementary who had an amazing classroom!  I took all sorts of pictures! So for one of my posts I would like to share some. I really liked how she used a blue, green, and orange theme.  She also had some floor lamps she had turned on that really helped make it seem more home like.  The only thing looks great.   :)

Teachers need managing too...

The teacher that I'm working with organizes her materials as well. On her desk it a file organizer that holds the important papers she needs to keep track of. She has included 5 red files along with her other files. Each of these is labeled with a day of the week. As she gets copied papers or activities that the students will be working on she slips them into the appropriate file. This has been a huge help for me as I've been teaching to be able to grab the right worksheets for the right day and subject. I've also been able to look ahead and see what the students will be working on for the rest of the week. I also think this would make it a lot easier on a teacher if they need to have a substitute come in, everything is all there at their finger tips.

Managing materials by boxing them up

The 2nd grade teacher I'm student teaching with has a huge pet peeve that probably most of us do-she dislikes messy desks. In her room her student's desks each have a box in them to organize their materials. It is big enough to fit the entire length of their desk and is wide enough to hold their spiral notebooks, pencil box, folders, and any other little trinkets they may collect. Even with the boxes in their desks they still have room for their reading and math books to be stacked outside of the box. This really has been a great help with keeping the mess down. The students simply pull our their box, get their notebooks and supplies and push their box back in; no searching through a messy desk.

Giving Choices!

In my second grade classroom this semester my cooperating teacher is big on turning the responsibility for things over to the students. One way she does this with disruptive behavior is to give the student(s) a choice. Little do these little wonderful children know that they choices they get to choose between are both win/win choices. The teacher gets what he/she wants out of the child with either decision the student makes.

For example: I had two little boys in my class that were always kicking each other under the table, or trying to steal each others shoes. So I had a chat with both of these boys and gave them these choices:

You may either follow our class rule of hands and feet to yourself and stay where you are sitting

OR

If you choose to not follow that rule, you may sit over at this seat by yourself.

As soon as these boys were talked to they stopped trying to kick each other. The key thing with giving choices is to live up to the consequences no matter which choice the student decides to make. Also, really relay to the students that it was because of the choice they made that the consequence happen. (i.e. Oh I am really sorry you decided to kick underneath the table again, will you please grab your stuff, I will help you, and come and sit in this seat right over here).

BIGGEST THING- stick to what you have told them you would do for each choice given to them, if they can get away with something once, they WILL try again!