Learning Students' Names (and more!) Activity

I am a big proponent of learning students' names early on, and several studies bear out the importance of this. In a recent small study of students in a large class, 85% said it was important to them that instructors know their name, but 80% of the students said it was "unlikely" that the instructors could name them. Not only did the students say they felt more valued when instructors knew their name, but they were also more likely to ask for help. I'm on board for that!

In the past, the most effective method I've used is taking their pictures in groups with each person holding a piece of paper with their name. (See my blog post about this here.)

I recently read about another method that sounds even better that I'm going to try this Fall, where each student glues a picture of him or herself to a notecard and gives their basic information. I'll modify this by making it a class activity at the end of the first week. I'll take group pictures the first day (many students don't have access to a color printer) and have them cut out their face and glue it to a half sheet of paper with questions on it. I'll include questions to help me also get insight into how I can be the most helpful in their learning process.

Here's an example of what they will look like:

I like the idea of memorizing not only their names, but a little about each student. The extra effort will pay off for everyone.

7 Ideas for Establishing Class Rules and Still be Nice

I had my first class with severe behavior issues this past semester. I've had individual behavior problems and small groups with attitudes and lack of motivation, but this was a classroom-wide issue, with just a few students who kept to themselves and away from the majority troublemakers.

I did a brave thing and asked a group of the troublemakers at the end of the semester what part of this was me. One student, in particular, was honest and said that I came off as "super nice" at the beginning, so they felt like they could run over me. When it turned out that I was actually strict about the rules, it was a surprise, and they pushed back. Everyone agreed. Another student piped in that most teachers come off as strict at the beginning, and then "turn nice," but I was the opposite. Although I was very glad that semester was over (it was so bad, I'd sit in the parking lot in my car beforehand and do breathing exercises), I was grateful that I got real feedback.

I've been teaching for eight years, so it's obviously not something that will happen with every class that views me as "super nice," but I never want to repeat last semester. So how do I temper "nice" with "strict" right from the beginning? Here's what I'm going to try:

1. Be consistent from day one with the rules. Always with a smile.

2. Involve the students more with class rule-making. This is something I always do, but I'll put a greater emphasis on it and even include a writing activity about it. Ownership in classroom management equals better behavior.

3. Talk personally with troublemakers right away and enlist their help.

4. Try not to joke about misbehaviors in class that are often humorous. This will be hard, but I'm committed. Sometimes the troublemakers are the cleverest humans.

5. Repeat the class policies and rules two weeks into the semester. Often students don't remember everything from the first day because of the amount of information they get from each class. I will also have students do a self-evaluation and quiz on the policies.

6. If a rule becomes an issue (cell phones, anyone?), post a countdown on the wall for motivation (5 days cell-phone free!) with a reward attached to a certain amount of days.

7. I learned long ago that students respect teachers who hold their ground. They also respect teachers who listen well. I am re-dedicated to letting students know they are heard, even if I don't deviate from policy. I will schedule more time for one-on-one instruction and conferencing.

I still want to be nice. I want to be perceived as nice. But I won't ever make the mistake of "super nice" again!

Composition Classroom Featured on Teachers Pay Teachers Blog

Teachers Pay Teachers has a great blog full of wonderful ideas for teachers. I'm flattered that they featured one of my blog posts from 2011. It's an old but a goody, all about teaching students to write concete detail. See it here, and check out all the other fun posts while you are at it!

Thesis Statement Activity

A solid thesis statement is critical to the success of any essay, but I often find my students disengaged while I try and teach them the fundamentals. Out of desperation, I tried this activity, and it was a resounding success. I saw improvement immediately on the practice thesis statements used for the activity. That improvement then translated into their next essays. Yes, there was a bribe involved, but whatever works, right?

Here's the activity, which should be used directly after instruction on how to write a thesis statement:

1. Give the class an interesting reading or show a short video about a topic that is ripe for varied opinions. I like to show this seven-minute clip about AutoTune from Nova:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OUgXFZ_WeY

2. Facilitate a short class discussion on the topic to get them thinking about the pros and cons. For the AutoTune example, we talk about whether an artist who uses AutoTune in a live concert or on a recording is deceiving the audience. We talk about the common use, the ethics, and whether the audience should be aware of its use.

3. Ask them to write a thesis statement about the topic (as if they were going to use it for an essay). Tell them not to write their names on the paper.

4. Collect all the papers, shuffle them, and redistribute. Ask students to carefully read the thesis on the paper they have.

5. Now ask all the students to stand up.

6. One by one, go through the points of a good thesis statement. For example, say, "Does it contain a clear opinion?" Have the students consider the thesis and sit down if it does not meet the criteria.

7. When you have only a few students left standing (or have gone through all the criteria), have the class vote on the best thesis still remaining.

8. The writer of the winning thesis gets a prize! (I like to give out colorful Sharpie pens.)

I've done this for several quarters now, and the students always show improvement, I think because they are so engaged in the process, whether in writing their own thesis or evaluating others' thesis statement.

If you need a lesson for writing a thesis statements, here's the one I use. It's a Power Point presentation, along with handouts and worksheets.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thesis-Statements-Writing-a-Great-Thesis-386472?utm_source=LT%20Blog&utm_campaign=LT%20Blog%20Thesis%20statement%20activity

Encouraging Participation in the Classroom

 “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.” - Chinese Proverb

Improving class participation can be a struggle. I've noticed over the years that every class has a different personality as a whole. This quarter, I've got the zombies. They look like live students, but they stare straight ahead and don't make a peep when I ask a question. Even in group work, they are reserved with each other and prefer individual work. 

However, one of the largest factors affecting class participation is the instructor, even with the zombies. Here is a list of some tips that will encourage more involvement from students in class: 

 Learn the names of your students so they feel recognized and are less likely to fall through the cracks the first or second day of class. Ask questions directed at students by name. Not only will they feel recognized, but the fear factor of getting caught unaware my encourage them to participate sooner, when they know an answer, before you call on them.  

Respond to student answers with respect, positivity, and encouragement through your body language as well as your words. If the students hasn't hit on the point I think is the best answer, I often say something like "In addition to Ashley's answer, consider....." or "Another point you want to think about is...." That way, you are not negating the student's answer, but still making your point. 

      Allow various forms of participation from students. Some may prefer writing questions and responses on notecards before sharing a response. Others would participate more in small group or paired discussions rather than with the whole class.

          Set the chairs in a semicircle or around a large table to encourage discussion.

           From day one, let students know that participation is expected and required (possibly for a grade). Structure your lessons around discussions.

      Lastly, don't be afraid of the awkward silence. With my quiet classes, I used to fill in the gaps by answering the questions rather than lingering in the awkwardness. Now, I just wait. Sometimes I will rephrase the question or call on someone by name, but usually, someone speaks up. Don't let the students get used to you always saving the moment, or they won't feel as motivated to participate.

More Great Back-to-School Resources for Secondary Teachers

The Musings of a History Gal has put together a great blog post, "Back to School Hack 2," featuring her 10 hand-picked favorite free resources for secondary teachers. She has a great selection, so check it out! Click here. I was honored to have my team-building activity "Spaghetti Towers" chosen!

Free Back-to-School Resources and Tips ELA Ebook

This ebook is jam-packed with tips and free resources from Teachers Pay Teachers teacher-authors. You can download it for free by clicking here.

Here's my page, which is just one of 45. Each page has a tip, a free download, and a featured product. Thanks to Tracee Orman for putting this together!

Back To School Bingo Ice Breaker

When I have a class where the students don't know each other already, I like to break the ice with this tried-and-true activity. It opens up conversations, helps students find others with similar interests, and helps them learn names.

Use a Bingo card template and write in activities or experiences your students might have engaged in over the summer in each space. You'll want to make several different cards, then photocopy them. I use about eight original cards for a class of 25 - 30.

Give each student a card, and ask them to find fellow students who fit the description in the square. They then write that person's name in the square. I make a rule that they can only use one person for two squares so they have to circulate.

When someone gets a Bingo, give them a small treat. I usually let them play until we've had five or so winners. Afterwards, we have a discussion about what they might have learned about each other.

You can find blank templates online, or if you don't want to make your own cards, I have some available here:

Writing Prompts for Research Papers

 

I like to let my students choose their research paper topics, unlike some of my colleagues who assign topics. I believe if students are interested in their topics, they will be more fully engaged and get more out of the whole process. With a topic they care about, they are less likely to view the assignment as hoop jumping, and invest more energy and time into it. 

That said, it has never worked well just to say, "Choose whatever you want to write about." Most students are like deer in the headlights - they have no idea where to go or where to start. I used to write a list of previous topics that worked well on the whiteboard, but that was ineffective.

What did finally work was when I gave some topic ideas, and then posed some questions to think about, along with ideas for research.

For example, most students were not excited about the topic of genetically modified foods, until I posed a few questions for thought: "Should genetically modified foods be labeled?"  "What should the government's role be in oversight, testing, and labeling?"  "Why would voters shoot down a proposition in California requiring labeling?"  Once we talked about these, then I asked for questions about the topic to research: "What measures have other countries taken against genetically modified foods?"  "What do studies show about safety?" By the end of the discussion, I had a few enthusiastic takers.

I got the idea to make a set of cards with topic ideas, questions to consider, and research ideas. This way, students can flip through them and see what speaks to them. The best thing is that most use the cards as a starting point, and end up with a unique spin on the topic.

 

I recommend doing this in your own classroom if you want students to choose their own topics, or you can limit the topics to a few of the cards you have made. Either way, it gets everyone off to a great start.

If you don't want to make your own, I've compiled 40 ideas that students have used successfully and put them on half-sheet cards. I've also added a full-color Power Point so you can use the ideas one at a time for discussion or response papers. Click here to see the product.

What's in the Sack? Group Brainstorming Activity

Whether your students are preparing for a big essay assignment or a quick in-class effort, coming up with a topic to write about can be the hard part. Here is a fun activity I've used with my classes with good results. It loosens up the thought process, and is a nice change of pace.

Divide the class in to groups. Give each group a bag with six everyday items in it, such as a rock, a deck of cards, a piece of fruit, a magazine, a quarter, etc....Set a timer for two minutes and have the group pull one item out of the bag. During the two minutes, the group should come up with as many topic ideas as possible related to the object. For example, if the group pulls out the quarter, some topic ideas might be money management, saving strategies, summer jobs, economic policy, reward motivation, allowances from parents, getting paid for good grades....Tell the students to list everything that comes to mind without editing. The more ideas, the better. After the activity, have each group share of few of their best ideas for each object with the whole class.

           

Figurative Language Posters

When teaching figurative language to students, I find a visual really helps them get the concept. I asked my artist daughter to help me make some posters that would be fun and memorable. Here they are for you to use in your classroom. This free set includes metaphor, simile, alliteration, oxymoron, and personification. Click here or on one of the images to download the posters.

If you like these and want more, I have a set for $4.50 that also includes hyperbole, allusion, onomatopoeia, metonymy, and euphemism. This set also includes the illustrations without the titles so you can use them for a quiz or review for your students. You can find the set of 20 posters here.

Common Core Organizing System

Where I teach, we have standards very similar to the common core standards. My system for keeping track of my materials was a bit haphazard, to say the least. What was especially unorganized were all my handouts and online files. I decided to get organized, and after developing this 3-ring binder system, I cut my prep time down significantly. I created a page for each standard, written out, that serves as a cover sheet in a binder. Next comes a planning sheet where I write down my lesson plans and the location of online files, powerpoints, videos etc...Then I list handouts and any reading from textbooks. Hard copies of handouts go behind the planning sheet.

 

This worked so well for me, I decided to create the same thing with 6 - 12 grade common core language arts standards. It was labor-intensive, but the results are well worth it! I've gotten great feedback so far from teachers who are implementing this system. So, if you want to get organized, save yourself the time -- I've done the work for you! Click on any of the covers below to get to the product page.

 

Free Valentine Limerick Activity

Have a little fun on Valentine's Day, while at the same time, reinforcing parts of speech, poetic form and syllables with this "Mad Libs" style activity. This activity seems like it would be best for kids, but I've used it successfully with teenagers and young adults as well. It's fun all the way around, and especially educational if you are involved in a poetry unit. Click here or on the photo to download.

Student Quiz Questions

At the end of the year, I have my students write their own quiz questions, and count these as part of their final test grade. I told my some of my colleagues about this, and their reaction was, "What a good idea to save time!" Actually, it's not a time-saver at all--just the opposite in fact, but it's well worth the effort.

By having students create their own questions, and providing an answer key, I can measure their understanding of the topics much better than a traditional multiple-choice test. It's also a terrific study tool, because writing quiz questions is not easy. The most common reaction from the students? "This is haaaard" (insert whiny voice). I just smile and think, welcome to my world!

We start by writing a list of topics we covered over the quarter on the board, then come up with guidelines (how many questions, must cover at least five topics etc...) and formatting choices (multiple choice, T/F, short answer, matching etc...). You can let them work in groups or individually. After everyone has their questions and answer keys, I copy all of them and pass them out to the students for review. Their task (in groups) is to go through all the questions and mark any that they think are unclear, unfair, or should not otherwise by included on the final quiz. Again, this serves as a great study tool.

When grading the questions, it's surprising how many students answer their own questions incorrectly, and it's interesting to see which topics they avoid and which they gravitate toward. All in all, it's a valuable learning experience for both the students and the teacher.

Getting Organized - Teachers on the Move

I don't have a classroom. I'm one of those teachers who is in a different classroom depending on which class I'm teaching and which day of the week it is. It's taken me almost two years to figure out a system for all the paperwork that is efficient and easy to manage.

My biggest fear (because it had happened) was losing papers, and my biggest inefficiency was wasting time handing out new papers and returning old ones. Toting around stuff for five classes and around 125 students was one big organizational nightmare, and my briefcase (aka "suitcase") was always in disarray despite my best efforts with file folders, labels, etc.

Here's the system I have landed on, and it works for me, so maybe it will for you, too. For each class, I have a file box with a colorful folder labeled "Turn In" at the front, and then regular green file folders with each student's name on it behind that.

Students are not allowed to hand me a paper when it's time to turn in work. They have to turn in all work to the "Turn In" folder. That way, I can't be responsible for misplacing it, everything stays in one place, and there's no chance of mixing it up with another class.

Then, when it's time for grading, I pull out the "Turn In" folder, record the grades, and place the papers to be returned immediately in each student's personal folder. I also put all handouts for the next class period (except quizzes) in their folders so I spend no time in class distributing papers.

At the beginning of each class period, students sign in, turn in work to the "Turn In" folder and retrieve their graded papers and the day's handouts. This system is organized, efficient, and I haven't lost a paper yet since I switched to this system. Knock on wood!

Memorizing Names

I have the WORST time trying to remember names. It's not just in the classroom--I struggle to remember names when I meet someone in social situations as well. I often tell my students to please not be offended if I forget their names at the beginning of the quarter. Details about the person are easy; sometimes I can even quote a line out of their most recent essays to them, but I'll blank on their names. Just because it's hard for me, though, doesn't mean I'm off the hook.

My school's policy is that by the second class period, we have to have our students' names down. It's not just the policy that matters. Students aren't going to feel like a teacher cares if he or she can't address them by name, so I had to figure out something. A fellow teacher suggested a seating chart, but that didn't work for me because I didn't want to be looking down at it during class, and I can't memorize their names under pressure.

So, here's what I came up with: On the first day of class, everyone writes their names on a piece of paper in big, black letters. Then I take their "mug shots" in groups or individually, however they are the most comfortable. This is also a great icebreaker. Some act shy about it, but really, they love it. I let them know that the pictures are for my eyes only, and just for a few days. Then, after the first day of school, I can memorize everyone's name without the pressure of doing it in the classroom. Sometimes I have a hundred students, so it's no easy task, but it's worth it. Every student deserves, and should expect, that a teacher knows his or her name.

Real Hunger, No Games

I had a student this quarter, a man in his mid-fifties, who was excited (and quite nervous) to be back in school after so many years. He took scrupulous notes, participated, arrived on time and, despite difficulty with the subject matter, was always enthusiastic.

One day, he wasn't his usual self. He sat quietly in his seat, with a blank expression through the whole four-hour block. He didn't take notes or engage with any of his classmates. After class, I asked him if perhaps he wasn't feeling well. After some hemming and hawing, he admitted that he hadn't eaten anything in two days. He is on food stamps, but something went wrong with his pin number, and he hadn't been able to navigate the bureaucracy yet to get it fixed. I tried to get him to go with me to student services, who maintain a food closet for our large population of needy students to get something to tide him over, but he refused, clearly because he was embarrassed.

I sat in the staff room later, mulling over how pointless it must seem to try and write a topic sentence when you haven't eaten, and how amazing these students are who try their best despite some glaring holes in their Maslow's needs. I also wondered if there was anything I could do to help students without putting them on the spot, besides working occasional treats into lesson plans.

A fellow teacher, who always has too much stuff to carry to her classroom without the aid of a wheeled cart, bustled into the room at that moment. I'd noticed before that she always had a big basket of red apples with her stuff, but didn't think much about it. Now it took on new relevance. I asked her what was up with the apples.

You can probably guess the answer. Hungry students. She keeps the basket by the door so when students go on breaks they can take an apple if they are hungry. It's always there, and no one has to ask. Simple and brilliant. It's one of those small kindnesses that can make a world of difference.