Teacher Tips 2006-2007

To help my third grade students with telling time I have them remember a little phrase " The one before is the one we adore" We talk about how the hour hand is between two numbers and the one "before" is the time we choose. This has proven to be very helpful for them and I've even had former students come up to me and say how they still remember and use it.

When my team goes to recess, there are around 110 children on the playground.  It was very difficult to find a student if he/she was needed by the office, a parent, another teacher, etc.  Our team came up with a great solution.  When we blow a whistle one time, all students stop and drop one knee and have silent voices.  The entire playground comes to a halt and all the children can hear the announcement.  When we blow the whistle 2 times, the children go back to playing.  3 blows on the whistle means it is time to line up and go back in the building.  We have gotten so many compliments on this procedure from administration.  We wanted to pass on this good idea.

Telling Time: To help my third grade students with telling time I have them remember a little phrase " The one before is the one we adore" We talk about how the hour hand is between two numbers and the one "before" is the time we choose. This has proven to be very helpful for them and I've even had former students come up to me and say how they still remember and use it.

To help my students in third grade remember the difference between perimeter and area, I say Perimeter starts with a “P” (emphasizing the "P") which means you are going to measure from beginning point to ending point (point to point). Area starts with an “A” so we want to know "all" of it. The beginning letter is a good memory jogger for the younger ones.

To help my students remember the meaning of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments,(which are TAKS tested) we put the meanings in song, to the tune of Three Blind Mice.I have students tell me how this little song really helped them on their TAKS test! Here are the words to the tune of Three Blind Mice: Free, citizens ,vote 13th, 14th, 15th, Free, citizens, vote 13th, 14th, 15th, It all happened after the Civil War We never had these rules before, Free, citizens, vote 13th, 14th, 15th. I hope this trick will help your students as it has really helped mine.

I got this from my friend and fellow educator Mike Debolt. I have a wide diversity of high school students, and many of them have seen some hard times. At the first of the semester I take a dollar bill and wad it up, throw it on the floor, step on it and kick it around. I pick it up, tear it a little and tell the students it is dirty, stepped on, kicked around and torn up. I then ask if anyone still wants it and the hands fly up. I throw it to one of them and explain it still has its value. I tell my students that no matter what has happened to them, they still are valuable to me and that NO ONE can ever change that.

Can't remember whether to underline or put quotes around - a book, a poem, a short story? A simple rule will help most of the time. If the item is long (magazine, newspaper, book, movie, epic poem, movie, album, encyclopedia) underline. If it is short (magazine or newspaper article, short story, poem, song, tv show) put quotation marks around it.

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Susan ‘s tip is as follows:

A good way to catch the class' attention during a lesson on sentence structure is to copy down what the students say as they walk in your room onto transparency paper. When the class settles down or has finished their bell work, show the transparency on the overhead. This can lead into a discussion on subjects and predicates easily. Use another color pen to divide each sentence into subjects and predicates. Then go back and locate the simple subj. and simple pred. My Jr. High students got a kick out of seeing their own words up on the screen and were really into the lesson.

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Dee ‘s tip is as follows:

To help my students understand the relationships between the x, y, and z coordinates for Math, I demonstrate them in the classroom. I ask which way the "X" axis moves and then move back and forth across the front of the room from one side to another. To demonstrate the "Y", I stand up on tiptoes and then squat down as low as I can to the floor. For the "Z" axis I move closer to the group of students in the classroom and then turn and walk away from them in the opposite direction. My students are in 7th and 8th grade and they all understand movement along the three axes after this demonstration.

Teacher Tip

Today's Teacher Tip comes from Lani Mango, a teacher in Carrollton Farmers Branch ISD. For this tip, Lani wins $25. We appreciate all of you who share your great ideas.

Kids often mix up the words prefix and suffix, and can't remember which word come before and which comes after the base word. To help them remember, I have the kids look at the alphabet that is posted on the wall - specifically the letters PQRS. I take an index card and write a simple base word on it. I cover the letters QR with the index card. What is left is the P in front of the word and the S at the end of the word, just like a prefix is at the beginning of the word and the suffix is at the end. After showing them that trick kids never seem to forget that the prefix is in front of the base word and suffix is at the end.

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Tom ‘s tip is as follows:

To help kids learn how to take notes have them take notes over the 6:00 news. They cannot write down every word the anchorman/woman says but they can jot down the important facts. This drill not only helps them learn how to sort out important facts for class notes, but also keeps them informed about local/national news. If they have a class, which requires current events, they can get two objectives done at once.

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Sherry ‘s tip is as follows:

In my second grade classroom we have "time partners." This is a fair way for students to work with others and not always the same friend or classmate. In a notebook in their desk is glued an empty clock face. At the beginning of the year the students go around the room asking others to be their #1, 2, 3 or so on to 12 o'clock partner, if the friends space is also empty they put each others name on the line of that number and this remains their 1 o'clock partner for the year. Then when the teacher says to work with their "6 o'clock or any number from 1-12 partner the students look at their clock and know who to be partners with for that activity.

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Suzanne‘s tip is as follows:

To keep 5th graders on task during science lab, I created "Science Licenses." At the beginning of the school year, the students have to take a "Science Safety Quiz" and sign a contract. When they correctly answer all of the quesions, they are issued a "Science License." They must bring their license to all lab activities. If they decide to break a rule, they get a hole punch in their license. They get three punches before the license is revoked. They must then take the quiz over again to be re-issued a license. This ensures that the students take the lab time seriously and keeps them on task with the investigations.

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Cathy‘s tip is as follows:

At our school, we use large cans at lunch to monitor student behavior. Each class has a can that we take with us to lunch. We write the students' names on clothespins and clip them to the top of the can. The cafeteria monitors use these cans as a way to let teachers know which students had behavior problems at lunch. We also use these cans for AR drawings on Fridays. I have modified this procedure to better fit my needs. Instead of a can, I have a decorated pail with a handle. Rather than just using it at lunch, I try to take my pail with me every time we leave the room. Inside the can are passes for the nurse, a pen, a travel size pack of tissue, a few band-aids, and a notepad. I also keep yellow coupons that we use to reward good behavior. Now I'm prepared wherever we go!

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Alynda‘s tip is as follows:

Many of the students in my high school English classes grapple with basic grammar issues. When explaining fragment sentences to my kids, I stand in front of the class with a sheet of paper. When the entire class is watching, I hold the paper with both hands and tear off a section of it. I ask the students what the smaller section is called. They say that it is a piece of paper. At this point, I tell them that it is a fragment of paper. They seem to understand this tangible demonstration; a fragment is merely a piece of a sentence.

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Le-Anne’s tip is as follows:

I work with students who have low reading ability and don’t like to read. To make reading enjoyable for them, I would have them pick their own partners. Each time they read to a partner, they get to put their initials. After practicing in class, a student will be picked to read to the people in the office, cafeteria, or their teachers. When the student returns to my classroom, he or she will get a small prize.

Gay ’s tip is as follows:

For those pesky glue bottles that keep clogging up, take them home with you one weekend, remove the caps and boil them on med heat for 10-15 min.  This should unclog even the most stopped up glue bottle.  This will not harm the tip and keeps your kids glue running smoothly.  Repeat as needed throughout the year.

Today's Teacher Tip comes from Eskkellikka Gibson Smith, a teacher at SS Dillow Elementary, Fort Worth ISD. For her tip, Eskkellikka wins $25. We appreciate her sharing her idea.

If you would like to submit a Teacher Tip, please visit us at http://www.ueatexas.com/submit-teachertips/submit-teachertips.htm

Eskkellikka’s tip is as follows:

In an effort to combat behavior issues/concerns and to increase academic achievement, I decided to reflect back to when I was in the army and use what is called "the buddy system". Every student is assigned a buddy.  Buddies are assigned by pairing students with other students that can help them accomplish their goals as well as your goal.  For example, I paired a student with excellent citizenship but very shy with a person with behavior problems and very outspoken.  Each student is responsible for his/her buddy.  Students must first complete a "Get To Know Your Buddy" form so that their buddy can get to know them personally. Duties of their buddies range from phone calls to their buddies to check if they have completed homework or need homework help, give advice on how to change or adjust behavior, offer words of encouragement.... Each week students complete journal activity reflecting on the past week and what worked and what didn't work.  Also this gives the teacher something to use to offer pointers to the buddies.  At the end of each 6 weeks there will be an award for "Buddies of the Six Weeks," and at the end of the year there will be award for "Buddies of the Year."

From the United Educators Association
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Teacher Tip
Today's Teacher Tip comes from Julie Fisher, a teacher at Eastern Hills High School, Fort Worth ISD. For her tip, Julie wins $25. We appreciate her sharing her idea.

If you would like to submit a Teacher Tip, please visit us at http://www.ueatexas.com/submit-teachertips/submit-teachertips.htm .

Julie’s tip is as follows:

It is always difficult to get high school students' parents' telephone numbers. Although the school office has them and they may be in
a database, which teachers can access, the phone numbers, sometimes, are not working. So, on the first day of school and any new students I get after that, I have them write their name, parents name, a working phone number where I can reach the parent at that moment (during that class), and the student's hobbies and interests. I then do a drawing each day. I randomly pull 2b-3 note cards and call the parents during class and tell the parents they have an honest son/daughter and that it is a privilege to have him/her in class. The parents love to hear a positive remark about their child and end up giving me more phone numbers where they can be reached, the students love the compliment and good remark their parents hear about them, and the students love the "prizes" I give them which are usually pens/pencils/pencil sharpeners, just simple prizes... but the compliment in front of their classmates and to their parents is worth a lot to them!

From the United Educators Association
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Teacher Tip
UEA has again started our teacher tips for school year 2006-2007. Today's tip comes from Yvonne Harris, a teacher in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD. For her tip, Yvonne wins $25. We appreciate her sharing her idea.

If you would like to submit a Teacher Tip, please visit us at http://www.ueatexas.com/submit-teachertips/submit-teachertips.htm

Yvonne’s tip is as follows:

As a Sp. Ed. Resource teacher my students come and go during the day. It was always hard for them to remember to bring paper and pencils to class so I provided them. It soon became apparent that my pencils were leaving my room and never returning. After going through well over 6 dz. pencils I decided that something had to be done. I purchased a quart size freezer bag with the zipper type of seal for each of my students. I then inserted a pencil, and an extra eraser and wrote their name on the bag and placed them in a box where they could easily pick them up as they entered class and return them at the end of the class period. As the year progressed we added our multiplication chart, math dictionary, spelling words, and "witchy fingers" used to help us skip count on a hundreds chart and keep our place during reading. I did replace the pencils as needed and after the Winter Break everyone returned to find a new bag with all their belongings inside. Some students even began keeping special personal things in their bags. This was great help to those students who had trouble keeping up with their belongings. After a few days no one had to be reminded to pick up their bag and every one was prepared to begin class. I have found this to be a great organizational tool for my students and has saved me from having to purchase so many pencils.