Teacher Tips   -   2005-2006

As a seventh grade teacher, I see how difficult of a time new students have at the beginning of each year. At my school, we have very high expectations of students academically, and some students have a long adjustment time. To help with the transition from elementary school to junior high, at the end of the year, I have my current seventh graders write letters to my future students for the next year. I ask them to offer advice on how to be successful and how to stay out of trouble, as well as intriguing them with all of the fun things about junior high that they can look forward to. The students "peer edit" each other's letters, type them, and then turn them in for final editing by me. Once they have been approved, they may personalize them however they like. I then place the letters in a manilla envelope and distribute them randomly the third or fourth day of school to the new students. My current students love doing this, as it gives them a huge sense of self confidence b/c they are allowed to give this advice. The new students love getting words of wisdom from the "upper classmen."

Every year I teach my students how to easily tell if they are using whisper voices. I ask them to place their hands on their throats and say their names aloud. They can feel their throats vibrating- this is not a whisper. Next, with hands on throats, they whisper their names. There is no vibration- this is a whisper! This easy self-check leaves no question as to what a whisper voice is and makes quiet work time simple.

As an art teacher, I see 400+ children each week. An easy way for me to communicate art room behavior to the classroom teachers is via "Art Mail". I set up Excel spreadsheets for each classroom at the beginning of the year with student names in the far left column, and a column for each day that they come to art class. New students are added to the bottom throughout the year as they enroll. At the end of each art period, I color code each student's box according to a "traffic light" system - green for good behavior, yellow for some minor issues or difficulties, and red for problems that should be addressed in cooperation with the classroom teacher and/or parents. I can also make notes in each child's box in regard to their behavior and performance in art - for example, "class helper", "clean-up issues" or "great work today". This takes about 30 seconds to complete at the end of the period! I then e-mail the spreadsheet to the classroom teacher so that they have immediate feedback on their children's choices during art time, which reinforces their own classroom social contracts. I use the spreadsheets to calculate citizenship grades at the end of each 6 weeks, then I copy each teacher's spreadsheet to a 6-weeks folder. This way, I have a record for the whole year. The spreadsheets can then be cleared & used again the next 6 weeks. I can print out blank spreadsheets for substitutes to use when I am away, and then transfer & email the information to teachers when I return. Accountability is high, and behavior problems are low when students understand that all their teachers are in collaboration and communication with one another. More time is spent on art education and production, and discipline issues are minimal.

My friend teaches across the hall and has done so for many years. I cannot count the number of great ideas I have learned from her. One of which has to do with folders. I like the idea of the student having a place to compile his/her work in an orderly fashion; however, I have learned that most students will not do this unless it is going to be graded, and grading folders has always been an unpleasant task. However, this system makes it much easier not only for me to grade but for the student to assemble. I make a Table of Contents sheet. It has a place for the student’s name at the top, the course, the date, etc. Then I list exactly what items are to be included in the front pocket, in the brads, and in the back pocket, and the order in which they are to be placed. This makes getting the papers and assignments in the proper order much easier for the student, and grading is a snap. As I turn through the folder contents, if something is missing or in the wrong place, I simply circle it on the Table of Contents sheet and grade accordingly. I can keep the Table on my computer and add to it for each six weeks’ grading period. I can then hand back the folders and keep the contents sheet until I have recorded the grade.

In a two-day period (our high school is on and "A/B" schedule with four class periods per day) I'll see some 180-200 kids in my classes. To be perfectly honest, I don't always remember if "Sam" was in class on time, tardy, or absent when I'm asked a couple of days (or weeks or even months) later. When our district converted to an online attendance system last school year, teachers were left to their own ingenuity if they wished to keep a personal attendance record. I've opted to have a sign-in sheet for each class and I require students to sign the roster in their own signature each day as part of the "getting started" routine. Each student signs only for themselves. Signing someone else's name becomes a discipline infraction. The kids quickly learn to look for the fluorescent green clipboard and the roster if I haven't already set it out. The rosters are simple Word documents with the alphabetized student's name and a space for their signature. There's space at the top of the sheet for any announcements or special information I want everyone to see and extra lines towards the bottom for new students to add their names to my roster (also helpful with schedule changes when the students have moved into a different section). When the tardy bell rings, I swipe the blank signature spaces with a highlighter to show those students who signed in after the tardy bell. Twenty minutes after the tardy bell, I highlight the student's printed name in case they show up sometime during the block. Checking who's here and who's not becomes a quick visual matter! And, in case of an emergency, I have an easy-to-grab list of who's in class to take with me to the evacuation point. I make individual notes on the sheet and I staple all the late passes to the sheet before they're filed away. Substitutes appreciate the roster because it gives them a list of students who are in the class and a place to make notes about individual students or the class in general. This roster has been invaluable in providing proof that a student was present for a class and can provide some documentation that they were either absent or did not sign in as they are required to.

As a reading/literacy coach, I had the opportunity to attend a workshop on guided reading. I learned one of the best ways to teach complete sentences to children, so I changed it up a bit and tried it out on my students. They loved it and begged for more and when they were through, they were writing complete sentences and having fun at the same time. All I did was make a "who" and a "what" bag and filled them with various things. In the "who" bag I put names of teachers, the principal, animals, etc. In the "what" bag I put funny things they could be doing like climbing a tree and sing or sitting in the mud. Then the students drew a "who" card and read it and then drew a "what" card and read that. We were all laughing as they read them. I told them that every sentence has a "who" and a "what" and asked them to write some of their own sentences. They were writing all kinds of funny, but complete, sentences by the end of the class.

My third grade class is departmentalized. Many of my homeroom students go to another class first in order to meet their academic needs. Each morning it was crazy trying to figure out my attendance. In order to help with attendance, I placed each students name on an index card in a small pocket chart (one designed to hold calculators). One side of the card said 'In' the other side said 'Out'. Each morning my homeroom students come straight to my classroom and turn their card to 'In'. After that they go to their 1st class, attendance is a snap; I just glance at the chart and if a student's card is still turned to 'Out' I know they are absent. When a student is absent I place a brightly colored cut out star on top of their card that says "Remember to check the "I missed you folder," that contains the missed assignment for the student who is absent. At the end of the day, my homeroom students return to class to prepare for dismissal. One of my students turns all the cards to 'Out'.

To keep track of my parent contacts, I xerox my student's enrollment cards at the beginning of the year. I keep them in a three ring binder at my desk. When I need to call a parent, I have all their phone numbers (home, work and cell) at my fingertips. Then I can document the phone call at the bottom of the page (below the enrollment information). If I need to turn in documentation at the end of the year, it's all right there in my binder.

From the United Educators Association
Tuesday, January 10, 2006 Teacher Tip:

This weeks teaching tip comes from Cathy MacLeod, a teacher at Delaney Elementary School, Kennedale ISD. For her tip, Cathy wins $25. If you have a idea you would like to submit, please go to the following web address:
http://www.ueatexas.com/submit-teachertips/submit-teachertips.htm

Tip
Million Dollar Word Wall! Most teachers in elementary grades use "word walls" in their rooms. These are used to introduce new spelling and vocabulary words, and to give examples of ABC order...why not "jazz it up" a bit? We use our Million Dollar Word Wall every day! It's easy and doesn't cost very much! Simply buy some gold letters to spell out "Million Dollar Words." Then, write these VALUABLE words on blank cards--they can be anything you choose, but ours, in a second grade classroom, contains words the students are sure to see on their 3rd grade TAKS test! (Examples: antonym, base word, main idea, setting, author's purpose, etc.) Attach some plastic "gold coins" to the cards and the board, and then provide a Ziploc full of plastic coins and a "gold" basket or bucket! You're ready to go!! Rules: Whenever you hear your teacher say a "million dollar word," raise your hand! First student to identify the million-dollar word gets to come up to the front of the class, reach into the Ziploc bag, and pull out a "gold dollar." He/she then puts the "gold dollar" into the "gold basket." If another student can give the definition of the million-dollar word, then THAT student may also put a coin into the basket! As soon as all of the "gold dollars" are moved from the Ziploc to the basket, then have a MILLION DOLLAR WORD PARTY!!! The kids LOVE this idea--we had three M.D W. parties in my reading class last year! It's great review for TAKS, and REALLY encourages listening skills during your language arts time! Have Fun!! (Plastic gold coins are sold in most card and party stores!)

From the United Educators Association
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Teacher Tip:

This weeks teaching tip comes from Margarita Quintanar-Ainsworth, a teacher at Seminary Hills Elementary, Ft. Worth ISD. For her tip, Margarita wins $25. If you have a idea you would like to submit, please go to the following web address:
http://www.ueatexas.com/submit-teachertips/submit-teachertips.htm

TIP

My students have spelling tests every week. I had one student in particular who was just bombing the test every week. The student and parent insisted that there was studying going on in the home. One day the student made a comment on how my pronunciation of the word was different from his mother's. The parent did not speak English, so of course our pronunciation was going to be different, but it was so different that it confused the student on the day of the test. So, I decided to make a CD of myself dictating the words each week. I recorded it on my computer and copied it to a CD. The student gets the CD on Monday and returns it on Friday. The student has been making 100's every week since.

If you wish to be removed from the UEA email system, please do not just hit return.That will take your message back to an email machine.   Instead, please go the following web address:   http://www.ueatexas.com/removal/remove.htm  Email messages are removed once a week.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.ueatexas.com/submit-teachertips/submit-teachertips.htm

This weeks teaching tip comes from David Pittard, a teacher in Irving ISD.  For his tip, David wins $25.  If you have a idea you would like to submit, please go to the following web address: 

http://www.ueatexas.com/submit-teachertips/submit-teachertips.htm

This weeks teaching tip comes from Sherry Lupton, a teacher at Mockingbird Elementary in Coppell ISD.  For her tip, Sherry wins $25.  If you have a idea you would like to submit, please go to the following web address: 

http://www.ueatexas.com/submit-teachertips/submit-teachertips.htm

  - Maybe this is an old trick; but it seems I run across many teachers, mostly new but some old (in teaching years!) that don't know this. To mark your Master Copy, draw a line with a yellow highlighter down the middle. When you copy it on the copier, it does not pick up yellow highlighter marks. That way, I never give a child my Master copy of any sheet that I've copied and I recognize that sheet to be my master.

From the United Educators Association
Tuesday, October 11, 2005

This weeks Teaching Tip comes from Susan Phillips.  Susan teaches at the Visually Impaired/COMS  of the Fort Worth ISD.  Mrs. Phillips will receive $25 for her Teaching Tip for this week.

Susan's tip is as follows:

How often do you write a note and need a copy? I don't know about you, but I am never near a copy machine or have access to one. I purchased carbonless paper and made my own personalized notes. Now I can write a note, send home or hand over the top page and keep the second page as my copy.

I often check out materials to teachers for my students. I list the materials that I am leaving, have the person sign and they get copy for their records immediately. You can buy the carbonless paper by the ream and run it through the copier.

I enlarged my business card and copied it on the paper so that I don't have to keep writing down my office number, cell number, fax, and email address. There is a liquid that you can use to seal the end if you want to keep the 2 pages together. If you have the printing done for you at an office supply store it will run you about $50 per ream. Do it yourself for less than $15.

Note: I don't think that the paper is available at any of the mainstream office supply stores; you will probably need to make a few calls.

To submit a teacher tip, please go to following web address:

Submit a Teacher Tip

From the United Educators Association
Tuesday, September 20, 2005

This weeks Teaching Tip comes from Carolyn Patton. Carolyn teaches at Carroll Peak Elementary School in the Fort Worth ISD. Ms. Patton will receive $25 for her Teaching Tip for this week.

I teach PK. I ask staff and parents to save the plastic lids from milk jugs. I use a permanent marker to write one letter on each of the plastic lids to spell each students first name. I then write each students name on a ziploc bag and place the lids in the corresponding bag. The students may get their bag and practice spelling their name whenever they have a few spare minutes. Not only does this help with name recognition and letter manipulation, it also helps with fine motor skills. Also it is very cheap to make.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

This weeks Teaching Tip comes from Cheryl Murdock in Arlington Elem.  Cheryl will receive $25 for her Teaching Tip for this week.

“My class celebrates every Friday as 'Good Friday.'

From August to February, I observe 5 different students each week and at the end of the day on Friday (15 minutes before we go home), I read the Good Friday card with all of the special actions that I observed them doing.

Example:  'John Doe, I appreciate the way you enter the classroom each day prepared to learn.  You are a role model for others to follow.  Have a Good Friday!'

At the end of the year (March – May), I leave out an old tissue box where students can write something nice about 5 new students each week.  The class looks forward to this because it gives them an opportunity to work on their social skills of giving and accepting compliments.  Parents also love to hear the good news!”

Cheryl Murdock

4^th Grade, ESL

Thornton Elem / Arlington ISD

To submit a Teaching Tip, please e-mail to teachertips@ueatexas.com

From the United Educators Association
August 30, 2005

Subject: Teacher Tip:

UEA has again started our teacher tips for school year 2005-2006. Today's tip comes from Beth Sullivan, a teacher in the Denton ISD. For her tip, Beth wins $25. We appreciate her sharing her idea. Beth's tip is as follows:

When I collect assignments from my students, I count the number of students in the row and must have an assignment from each child. If someone doesn't have their assignment, they must write me a note and turn it in instead of the assignment. The note tells me what the assignment is and why they don't have it. The note helps me remember who was absent or who just didn't do the work. This is also really useful when parents wonder why their child is missing a grade and helps document failing grades if necessary.

You too can win $25 if UEA publishes your idea. Please see all teacher tips to teachertips@ueatexas.com

From the United Educators Association
Tuesday, August 023, 2005

Teacher Tips: Creating a classroom website...

Every Tuesday, we provide you with teacher tips. This is a repeat idea from last year. However, we thought it was so good that it needed to be repeated. This idea comes from Becky Bevill, a 7th grade ELA/SS and 8th grade math teacher at Applied Learning Academy in Fort Worth.

From the website given below, you can create a classroom website without much knowledge about website. We will be awarding Becky $25. If you have an idea that you would like to share with your colleagues, please email it to penney@ueatexas.com.

Please do not hit reply as it will be returned to an email machine.

Becky's tip is as follows:

I use the FREE www.scholastic.com template to create and maintain a class website. Anytime I put anything in the students’ hands, I upload a copy to the website. Any rubrics, due dates, and field trip information can be posted here, as well as permission slips, worksheets, newsletters, book lists, and links to research sites. I send home a note with the URL and the passwords, and tell the students that if their parents email me FROM THE SITE, I will give them a 100 daily grade. This lets parents know that I have a website, what’s on the site, my email address, and it gives me their email address.

The parents who participated last year thanked me over and over again for using the website to maintain communication. There was less confusion, and there were NO EXCUSES, because the information was readily available anytime.

Almost all parents have access to an Internet computer, either at home, at the library, or at work. For those who do not have one at home, I make a paper copy of the information with a tear-off form stating that they have read the information. The templates are easy to use, and the web pages can be maintained from any computer with an Internet connection.

This year, I plan to have students help me upload handouts, make necessary paper copies, and maintain the web pages.  To learn more about this free service, go to www.scholastic.com. Then go to the area in the green box marked “Teachers.” When this page opens, go to the area in the middle of the screen marked “Update your class homepage.”

Create a user name and a password and you are ready to go.

Also found on www.scholastic.com is other information for teachers, as well as for administrators and librarians.