classroom management Archives

15 Nov 2019

Top 10 Classroom Management Tips in 10 Minutes

Classroom management is probably one of the biggest struggles for teachers and a huge reason folks leave the profession. I thought it'd be helpful to share 10 of my classroom management tips that have helped form a positive classroom culture in my classes. https://youtu.be/u8kUwpO3ucw 📝To get the Hall Refocus Form emailed to you, CLICK HERE.🚪For ideas for greeting students creatively, CLICK HERE.🗣For tips for a talkative classroom, CLICK HERE.🏫For another classroom management video of mine, CLICK HERE. What's your top classroom management tip?

28 Oct 2019

Screaming at Kids, Comparing Students, and Creating a Self-Sustaining Classroom | Q&A Show

How do you handle the noise level in your classroom and get your students attention without screaming? What do you do about students who just refuse to study for tests? How do you create a self-sustaining classroom? We answer these and more in this first Q&A show! EPISODE NOTES In this Q&A show, we discuss (timestamps included): 0:51 - What are the top three books that guide you in building a self-sustaining classroom culture?8:37 - As a first year robotics teacher, do you compare one class with another as a way to motivate students? In Brazil, if one class is falling behind another, it's common to…

23 Oct 2019

5 Ways To Greet Your Students

Had the pleasure of being on Vicki Davis' '10 Minute Teacher Podcast' this week! I shared the 5 different ways I greet students depending on the day of the week! Monday - Merry Mini-Fist Bump MondayTuesday - Happy Two-Thumbs Up TuesdayWednesday - Happy Waving WednesdayThursday - Happy Thankful Thursday; what are you thankful for besides your friends & your family?Friday - Happy High-5 Friday If you've got 10 minutes, take a listen to the podcast here :) You can see Vicki's full blog post on the episode HERE.

30 Aug 2019

3 Reasons You Should Start A Classroom Economy

Financial literacy is a hot topic in education. A classroom economy is a way for your students to have experiential learning when it comes to financial literacy. I share what exactly a classroom economy is and three reasons you should consider starting one in your class. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL9FMGltRvI RESOURCES Vanguards 'My Classroom Economy' Resources - myclassroomeconomy.org Thom's 'Create & Manage A Classroom Economy' course - thomgibson.com/classroomec...

20 Jun 2019

Tips for New Teachers | CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

This is the third of a three part series called 'Tips for New Teachers.' Today, I share a few things to think through as you work through the challenges of classroom management and think through developing a system that works for your and your personality. https://youtu.be/K80Ca6rFIb0 1st video of the series - How To Stay Organized : https://youtu.be/oNJ6JkW3l3k 2nd video of the series - Stop Working : https://youtu.be/DHTLhgK2sy0 Resources Referenced: The 'First Days of School' book : https://amzn.to/2Xwlnvi 'The Classroom Management Book' : https://amzn.to/2IsTG03 CJ Reynolds classroom management tips video : https://youtu.be/W3fr4tm_mkE Stories from the Classroom podcast : http://storiesfromtheclassroom.simplecast.fm My…

09 Feb 2019

Dealing With STUDENT PUSHBACK | How To Debrief A Class

In this video, I share how I've dealt with student pushback in my classrooms. I'm looking at pushback as when students just aren't really digging what you're doing in the classroom. It's important to allow students to have a voice in your class, which I do through class debrief. I share how I conduct the debrief as well as times I've changed how I do things based on the feedback and times I stuck to the way I did things. Cliffs Notes version: 🍎Tell students why you're doing what you're doing 🍎Give them opportunities to give feedback 🍎Don't take the…

29 Dec 2018

What To Do When Students Won’t STOP Talking

Kids just won't stop talking in class? Here are a few things I've tried in different contexts and some of them have helped in controlling the talking in my classroom. 1. Relax 2. Assess your lesson plan 3. Build in time for them to talk 4. Have a call-and-response to get their attention 5. Don't continue to try and talk over them 6. Set clear expectations for noise level 7. Revise (or create) seating chart https://youtu.be/kdq7d4Vfjes

07 Dec 2018

5 INNOVATIVE Ways to Create POSITIVE Classroom Culture

A few years ago I wrote THIS blog and it did well on Edutopia. I decided to make a video version of it. I share 5 innovative ways that I've found to help create and foster a positive classroom culture both when I taught elementary school as well as now in middle school. 1. Ask different questions 2. Do mindful breathing exercises 3. High-5 Friday! 4. Start a class Instagram 5. Weekly check-in Mindfulness apps: Headspace - https://www.headspace.com/ Calm - https://www.calm.com/ My class Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/headwatersstem https://youtu.be/2h5kHU1qd1o

15 Sep 2017

Post 04 – Biggest Challenges & Best Things

I'm doing a reflection challenge with some of my colleagues where we have a different prompt to reflect on each week. Here's this weeks: What's the biggest challenge you've faced so far this new school year? And what's the best thing you've experienced so far? BIGGEST CHALLENGE I think my biggest challenge this year have been a couple of difficult students. One in particular who I've had in class in previous years. Let's call the student Maria. Maria doesn't fit the mold of difficult students I've had in the past; she's very sweet and greets me with enthusiasm each day…

04 Feb 2017

Entry 22 – Six of the Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make

This week's prompt: What do you think is the biggest mistake(s) teachers make? I think the best way to go about answering this would be to reflect on many of the mistakes that I've made in my own practice. 1. Feeling the need to be in control. I know in my first year of teaching, I made such a concentrated effort to make sure everyone was following the rules all the time and that they would definitely know if they fell out of line. If things got too loud, I felt I was losing control. If students starting goofing around,…