Kagan strategies are nothing new - if you haven't been to a conference then surely you know a teacher who has. I was one of those teachers that absorbed all the information teachers could give me about Kagan Learning since I was never lucky enough to attend. While I pushed cooperative learning and being interactive, there is one strategy I loved the most and that is the Kagan table numbers. I blogged about this ages ago but I think it is completely worth revisiting. Benefits of Kagan Table Numbers -They can take place of your job chart (my FAVORITE thing about them!) -Leaders are formed -No more looking for volunteers to solve a problem -A solid … [Read more...] about Kagan strategies that help
Organization-home
Using Behavior Calendars In Your Classroom
Now, we have discussed behavior charts... do you use them in your classroom? Like I mentioned before, I am a bit impartial to them. I don't think you HAVE to have them, nor do I think you HAVE to take them down. I think you need to do what is best for your students. For the past five years, whether my behavior chart was up or down, I have always used Behavior Calendars. What are behavior calendars? They are something I created to get rid of the charts I was filling out daily. When I started teaching, my principal at the time had us send home daily updates on behavior to the parents because our district was BIG on parent … [Read more...] about Using Behavior Calendars In Your Classroom
Tips for Winding Down the School Year
When the school year starts winding down, we start having less and less time for core content. So let's talk about how you can still use that time wisely. Our days are filled with end of the year assemblies, field days, class parties, you name it. I might be the only teacher that actually enjoys this hectic last minute planning and fun at the end of the year. While it is stressful more most, I try to take it as my last few chances to have fun with my students and enjoy THEM. Here are some tips for winding down your school year: Take the time to appreciate how far they've come Even though we may be giving tests that will show us the data … [Read more...] about Tips for Winding Down the School Year
PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention & Support) – What it is it and how can it help?
Happy Monday friends! For today's classroom management Monday I am going to be talking a little bit about PBIS. It is something that I think every school should have and implement because when done well, it can really do great things for your school. So, what is it? PBIS stands for Positive Behavior Interventions and Support. It is a school-wide adoption that is supposed to give support to teachers and students when needed. It is also there so that everyone is on the same level when it comes to dealing with behavior. Ideally, students will know the exact consequences to actions no matter where they are … [Read more...] about PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention & Support) – What it is it and how can it help?
Managing Fire and Lock Down Drills- Classroom Management Monday #7
We live in a day and age where it is a sad & disgusting truth that lock downs are becoming a common occurrence. I feel like once we get back into the swing of things, something terrible like what just happened in San Bernadino happens and we are put on high alert again. That's why today's blog post is going to focus on fire drills - but even more specifically on lock down drills. Surely all schools then go into crisis mode and practice these alarms just to make sure they are on top of things. The sad thing is that it usually scares the kids OR makes them super anxious/hyper/not themselves. It is easy to let this behavior slide because we are so … [Read more...] about Managing Fire and Lock Down Drills- Classroom Management Monday #7
Eliminate classroom job charts but keep the jobs! FREEBIE!
Confession: I hated my classroom job chart. Every day I would hear someone that caught my mistake of not changing the names. "Mrs. Wriiiiiiiight..... Jacob was the cubby person yesterdayyyy!!!" I always forgot to change those darn things. Then Kagan ideas came along and all of that changed. Kagan strategies are so popular in classrooms and I think they offer strategies every teacher should look into. Unfortunately I was never one of the lucky ones that got picked from our school to go to a conference. Fortunately for me though, I worked with some amazing teachers that came back and shared and taught us everything they … [Read more...] about Eliminate classroom job charts but keep the jobs! FREEBIE!
