Teacher Tip Tuesday #9

First, I would like to thank all the wonderful teachers that contributed to this list. There are some wonderful ideas to follow.

---

Betsy from No Longer Just Some Girl
One of the best investments that I have made for my classroom is a Bingo game, complete with Bingo trap. I have found multiple uses for it- vocab review, test review, etc. I have made blank bingo boards where students put a vocab word in each space, I draw a number, and from the master vocab sheet, I then read the definition of the word that goes with that number.

When we take vocab quizzes, I do the same thing. Draw a random number, and they must think of the definition of that particular word.

I like how it really does ensure variety and randomness. I used to pull notecards from an ice cream bucket, but found that I consistently drew the same words. It got frustrating.

Time does not allow for it in my 8th grade classroom, but students could easily get involved and volunteers could draw the numbers.

Also, Pavlov's theory applies. When the kids are preparing to take one of the random quizzes and hear the rattle of the bingo trap, they immediately settle down and patiently wait for the first word.

And, of course, we play a little traditional bingo, too. Usually the day before Christmas break and during high stakes testing. My study hall kids play practically the entire last week of school because they have so little to do.

Best $10 I ever spent for my classroom.

---

From Confessions of an untenured teacher
1. As a teacher (especially a newer one), you could easily spend 24/7 in your classroom and still not feel finished with the endless work. Make it a rule to stop all work after a certain point in the afternoon/evening (whether or not you feel "done") and go home without bringing any more work with you. Balance between work and play is essential if you want to be a sane, healthy teacher!

2. Develop positive relationships with each one of your students and let them know you care about them as a person. As someone once said "If you have a child's heart, you have his head"

3. Keep your sense of humor!!!

---

From TeacherDee
My tip is to not grade everything. Plan to assess in order to inform your
instruction, not just to get a grade in the book. Sure, some things need to be
collected and graded carefully, but many assignments can be "spot checked"
while kids are working on them without the teacher ever having to pick the
paper up. If you plan beforehand how you'll assess, you might avoid sifting
through that gigantic pile of papers at the end of the week!

Oooh, can I share one more quick tip? I have my kids line up in alphabetical
order whenever we go anywhere. It keeps them from rushing to get in line first
and cuts out some of the talking. An added bonus is that it makes taking roll
during fire drills and field trips a piece of cake. It's probably not relevant
to you secondary teachers, but this has worked for me in sixth grade and second
grade.

---

From Teacherninja
Read David Allen's book Getting Things Done. There's a decent summary and some links on Wikipedia and it comes on audio, but you ought to just sit down and read it. The book is short and the advice is commonsensical. My partner teacher and I have both read it and the administrators think our department rocks. We credit GTD with helping us really tighten things up. The best thing about it is that it's open source, meaning you can pick and choose the things that work for you and he makes no recommendation as to tools. Some people use online tools, some just paper ones. I use a combination but you probably already have your favorite tools. GTD is just a method for using them most effectively. My friend Merlin Mann has some good stuff about it at 43folders.com. Read the book an become not just a teacher, but a teacher ninja.

---

Mrs. Bluebird had a wonderful story on how she has helped a very active student become an asset to her classroom. The best part? Well, you'll have to read it to see. Let me put it this way, it will definitely pull at your heart-strings!

---

Athena is going into her third year of teaching. She offers some very good advice for teachers who are just entering the profession. I especially liked her tip #1, #4, and #5.

---

Angela Maiers is very passionate about helping teachers grow and develop into become terrific teachers. (In fact, she has what is my dream job in the future.) She had a wonderful link to a very cool wikispace, Free Technology Toolkit for UDL in All Classrooms. I think I'll be using this a lot this year.