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And so it begins!!!
Whether you are a brand new teacher entering your first classroom or a veteran teacher, there are always mistakes made, that if you aren’t careful, will have you wondering if you chose the right career!!! Read on…
I was recently asked what advice I would give a brand new teacher. Well, I’m not a new teacher but I felt like one when I moved to a new school last year. After my experiences last year, I would always suggest posting a daily schedule!! Who knew a classroom schedule could be a game changer and bring calm to a classroom of fifth graders?
Up until last year, I was a departmentalized 5th grade teacher with no control over my schedule. All that changed last year when I moved to another school. Suddenly, I had a lot of control over when and what I taught AND I was self contained… meaning I taught all subjects except specials and science to a fabulous group of 5th graders. Wahoo!!! There was just one problem….due to the specials, not one of my days’ schedule was the same!
Looking back, “Hello, Captain Obvious. a posted schedule is the answer!” Well, I never claimed to be the sharpest pencil in the box! It was a rough couple of beginning days….”What’s next?”, “What books do I need this morning?” “What specials do we have today?” I could go on, but it is just too embarrassing!!!
About the third day, after answering way too many questions about “What are we doing today” or “What books do I need to have?”, I had a moment of clarity after the students left!!! I literally walked over to the white board at the front of my room and wrote the next day’s schedule on the white board. My classes were listed in one color; specials and non-academic activities such as assemblies in a different colors.
Nirvana!!! No, not the grunge band…but perfection! No more, “I don’t have my math book!”, “I thought today was computers, not media!” No more clamoring from the students as to what the day would bring as students came in. Suddenly there was peace in the classroom!
graphic by http://www.mycutegraphics.com
Let me know what you think. Leave me a comment!
Here’s the dictionary dilemma, teachers! We want our students to increase their knowledge of vocabulary in all subjects, but too often our go-to assignment has students looking up the words in a dictionary and copy the meaning into a notebook. For myself, even I used to shudder at the idea of looking up unknown words in the dictionary!
Engage students are learning students and the best is when they don’t even realize they are learning!!! I was racking my brain for a new way to introduce the vocabulary in a novel I wanted the class to read. It came to me like a flash!!!! I find that most students get very competitive in a game situation and that is what led to, TA DAH!!! DICTIONARY DASH!! Even better, the game is free AND easy to implement!!!
Here’s how it works in my room. I have my students get themselves into groups of three. Each group gets a dictionary. Because my students are so competitive, I have the students put their hands on the closed dictionary BEFORE I write the word to be looked up on the board. On the board I have drawn a chart. Word/Part of Speech/Definition. After the word is written on the whiteboard, they can’t start their search until I say “Go!”
The first group to find the word yells “We got it!’ and they send one of the students to the board. The chosen student writes the part of speech and the definition on the whiteboard. I will check the student’s choice of definition to make sure it is the one needed for the day’s reading.
The other students are reading the meaning of the word as it is written on the board. After that, the groups put their hands on the closed dictionary and the game continues until all vocabulary words needed for that day have been defined.
That being said, let me add a few pointers about the game:
I have the students put the vocabulary words and meanings into their subject journal and glossary. We then jump into the lesson.
That’s it…that’s all it took to get my kids excited about using the dictionary!! What’s the worst? You lose a bit of time…What’s the best? A new game that takes little to no prep and excites students!
If you try the game, let me know how it worked. If you have some fun ideas for vocabulary, share those too!!!! Thanks!
It's all good, really! 