Teacher Guides For Your Dream Classroom

Every teacher struggles with classroom management. Here are step-by-step guides on exactly what to prepare, say, and do, to help you feel calm and confident in your classroom.

7 Keys to a Great Lesson

     A lesson grows organically out of your kids’ needs and abilities. But with all the new buzzwords and protocols, it can sometimes seem like an impossible maze. 
    
Here are 7 timeless keys to a great lesson. I found that they help me organize my teaching, and I hope they help you, too.

1)                  Your learning target

     Your learning target is the starting point. It’s what you want your kids to master, and it should be front and center at all times. Make it SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-focused, and Time-bound. Keep your lesson short and lively, and then move into individual or small group work. Finally, through kid-watching, checklists, tasks, or exit activities, be sure that you’ve met your objectives.

2)                  Remember: the teacher is not the star

     Remember: the teacher is not the star, the children are. Students should be proactive and lead high-level discussions without always being prompted by the teacher. They should know how to use resources in the room—books, dictionaries, the internet, and anchor charts—and be free to access them. Even 5-year-olds can reflect on their own mastery of the learning target via rubrics, sharing with peers, and exit activities.

 

Substitute Teacher Top 10 Tips

Did you ever wonder how a great substitute teacher got to be that way?  

Whether you’re a sub, or a regular teacher setting up a sub binder, you want tips and lots of 'em!

Ready? Here are my top 10 tips for a sub, AKA your Crash Course for Great Subbing: 

1)  Be safe. That means good behavior management and routines. You'll want to give clear, specific instructions for every action, starting from the moment your kids enter the room. You'll describe and demo each routine, let one kid try it, then a few kids, and finally the whole class. 

Be sure to have a "stop" signal to bring the kids back to attention. You can say, "Give me five, four, three, two, one," with a hand raised and each finger lowered in turn; or say “Ready to Rock?” and have kids answer “And Roll!” Or you can briefly turn off the lights.

Safety goes double when you move through public spaces like the hall or cafeteria. Try walking backward at the head of the line. Trust me, it works. You don't want to be the sub with a cloud of wild children trailing you. 

2)  Make a personal connection. Tell a story about yourself, and ask kids to say something about themselves. Tell a joke. Don't think of yourself as a "sub!" You're "the teacher for the day," so try to make it enjoyable—even inspiring. 

Find the regular teacher’s Sub Tub. Yes, they'll call it that, or a Sub Folder or wall chart. Look for a behavior guide, seating chart, and lineup list; or make your own, and call the kids by name. Remind them that their regular teacher will get a full report, and will be happy to hear they were wonderful.

3)  Teach! Follow the regular teacher’s lesson plans, whenever possible. Give a mini-lesson and instructions for work, then circulate to help kids stay on-task. Want to keep your sanity? Feel free to differentiate. For instance, allow one child to focus on artwork and another to write more words.

4)  Pack a tote. Bring a few fun books, graphic organizers, and enough high-interest lessons to last a day, in case you need them. You can celebrate a holiday or season with a book, art, writing or simple craft. Also, pack sharp pencils, stickers, rewards, a 6" sponge ball for a quiet-pass game, baby wipes, a flash drive with PDF lesson files, music and educational videos, a laptop with speakers; water and a snack for you. Yep, better to be over-prepared.

5)  Be organized. Ask yourself, “What absolutely must get done?” Take attendance and collect notes for the teacher. Watch the clock; be on time for lunch, specialty classes, and dismissal. Leave plenty of time for transitions. If you find you have extra time, you can do a quick “bell ringer” activity, sing, chant lines from the lesson, or do callbacks.  

This relaxing Counting Song MP3 is Included 

In Your Sub Kit

6)  Be flexible. Extend or shorten a lesson, and take a brain break to calm—or energize—the class. Let kids dance to a pop song, or breathe deeply and massage their own faces.

7)  Be kind. Let the kids earn game-time, extra recess, or a quiet-ball pass, with good behavior. It's easy. Just keep adding dots to a paper game-board and the kids'll perk right up. Every 20 dots they can win a brain break, like jumping in place twenty times. One of the best “rewards” is to say, “Thank you for helping to make the day rock!”  

These Reward Tags are stylish, fun, easy, and effective behavior management tools that kids will love! 

8)  Ask for help. Ask the kids where to find things, or how the routines go. Ask an organized child, or ask the class. Say, “Raise your hand if you know…” Of course, ask another teacher if necessary.

9)  Don’t raid the shelves. Please...don't use up the class supplies, crafts, pre-printed worksheets, or specialty notebooks unless the teacher requests it. You may use plain copy paper if there’s plenty of it, or bring your own.

10)  We'll end with the Golden Rule: Respect the regular teacher’s room. It goes without saying, right? Leave it clean and tidy—and don’t leave open food containers, torn posters, or running electrical equipment. Give each child half a baby wipe to make the desktops gleam at the end of the day. Remember to leave a “While you were out” note, with a summary of the day and your contact info.

…And one for the road:

Substitute Teaching is a language that you can learn to speak fluently. You can master this—be prepared, firm, flexible, and kind all at once.  

Whether it's your first year subbing, or you simply want a step-by-step guide for taking control of a classroom, I can help show you the way.

NOT JUST FOR SUBS. Are you a regular teacher? This makes a great refresher course, or a sub binder for the days you're absent, with lessons that will last a full year.

I’m a New York City public school teacher with over twenty years’ experience. I’ve observed hundreds of subs and teachers in action, and was a sub myself for three years prior to teaching full time. Now it’s my pleasure to pass along all I’ve learned to you.

The Ultimate Guide for the Substitute Teacher includes hundreds of tips, teacher scripts, lessons, and printables that you can use all year.

  As always, I'm wishing you all the best! 

Behavior Management Ultimate Guide

 After many years of teaching, one thing brings me the most joy: observing teachers who are masters of behavior management and guidance in the classroom. 

The saddest thing is seeing a teacher who yells, screams, berates, nags, threatens, squints, mocks, pleads, frightens, embarrasses, mutters, grumbles, drones, shrugs, rants, curses...and later on, cries.

The fact is, very few teachers are natural-born masters of classroom management.  And there are no instant fixes.

Behavior management is like a language that you can learn to speak fluently.

Step-by-step, you learn a few words.  Simple words like...

• Please — as in, would you please show me your very best silly-face...and now please show me your I-love-to-learn-face?
• Thank you — Thank you for sharing your unique perspective!
• Beautiful — You're so focused; beautiful!
• Watch — Watch how I (or a child) stand in line, with my shoulders back, chest out, head straight, eyes ahead, arms down, no touching, legs together, ready to move.
• Why? — Why is it important to be respectful?  What would happen if we weren't kind and polite?

After that, you master the basic management routines, and — over time — you find personal tricks that work well for you.

If you want to take the trip toward mastery, and you really should — sooner rather than later — this creative and comprehensive guide will help you.  You’ll find hundreds of tools and tips for a calm and confident—and happy—classroom. 

The Ultimate Guide to Behavior Management includes School Rules, Bathroom Rules, Behavior Management with Humor, Behavior Modification Game Charts, Reward Tags, and Behavior Management Callbacks.

The centerpiece is Behavior Management with Humor:

Compiled by a long-term teacher, this resource will help you feel CALM and CONFIDENT — and ready to laugh — starting on your first day of school.

Behavior Management with Humor explores...

•  Behavior Management 101: Strategies that Work

•  How to Teach Rules so they "Stick“

•  How to Cultivate Respect and Rapport

•  How to Control your Class Firmly but Graciously

•  The All-Important “Stop Signal.”

•  Behavior Mod Charts

•  Behavior Management Clip Chart

•  How to Add Humor into Your Day

•  A Full Day of Humor and Good Behavior, Step-by-Step

•  Exactly what to Say and Do, from the Moment Kids Arrive till Dismissal, for the Best Behavior

•  Humor in Reading, Writing, Math, Music, and Dance

•  Make it Fun in the Lunchroom, Auditorium, School Yard, Parties, and More

•  Funny Things to Say All Day

•  Songs that Get Kids to Move, Smile, and Behave

•  Callbacks for Easy, Fun Management

•  Brain Breaks to Calm or Energize Kids

•  Printable Resources: Awards, Hats, Masks, Glasses, Bracelets, Brag Tags, Pointers, and More!

•  “Reboot Box” for Time-Out

•  Zen Zone for Calming

•  Behavior Management Posters

•  Student Activities and Printables for Bulletin Board Displays

•  Deal-Breakers – Behavior Management to Avoid

•  “Tips from the Trenches” for Behavior Management with Humor

Your Behavior Management Ultimate Guide includes this:  

•  BIG BONUS - Counting Backward Song MP3 

•  A soothing voice counts backward over relaxing music with a soft beat.  Perfect for calming down or taking a refreshing break--for kids AND teachers!

Here are some SUPER-COOL REWARD TAGS, awards, or prizes.  You can see them as the first brick, in an awesome tower of respect and rapport that you'll build in your classroom.

Enjoy your FREEBIE Reward Tags!

So, exactly how do you get kids to behave, calm down, clean up, transition, time out, or stand and stretch?  There's no short answer, but it’s all made easier with this Counting Song MP3—a soothing voice counting the numbers 1 – 20 over relaxing music with a soft beat.

This “magic timer” counts like a heartbeat, one beat per second. You can slow your heart rate by breathing deeply and matching your pulse to the beat of the song.  It’s a great behavior management tool to help kids calm their minds and focus on the task at hand.  If you want an extended countdown, you can play it again. 

Enjoy your FREEBIE Counting Song MP3!

It's amazing how a very small change in your approach to behavior management can have a huge impact on your classroom culture and your life.

The best gift you can give yourself, or another teacher, is the expertise to create great behavior management and guidance in the classroom.

As always, I'm wishing you all the best!