Classroom Management Archives - Shelley Gray

Free 30-Minute Early Finisher Board Tips and Ideas Training to Make Your Board Unique

Shelley Gray — Sat, 09 Sep 2023 16:03:41 +0000

If you are currently using or considering using the Early Finisher Board or Math Choice Board, this 30-minute free training will be helpful for you. Throughout the video, I’ll explain exactly what the early finisher and math choice boards are and how they work in your classroom. I’ll also share tons of pictures I’ve received from teachers over the years that will inspire you to create your board in a way that works for your unique classroom. Whether you use a tri-fold board, a bin/tub system, a bulletin board, or even portable folders, there are many ways that you can make the materials work for your classroom.

Get instant access to the free training here.

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5 Minute Classroom Time Fillers: Fun Activities for Short Periods of Time

Shelley Gray — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 17:59:18 +0000

As a teacher, it’s essential to have some quick classroom time fillers on hand. Do you ever have an awkward few minutes of time in your classroom until the bell rings for recess? Or a few minutes at the end of the day that needs to be filled before chaos ensues? It’s not enough time to really get in to any deep learning or catch up on assignments, but you also want to keep this time productive. Having a “grab bag” of ideas that you can do in short periods of time will help you keep these transition times manageable and ensure that learning is still taking place.

The Um Game: Practice Public Speaking Skills

To play the Um Game, one students stands in front of the class (not all students will be comfortable with this, so make sure students are volunteering to come to the front). The teacher or another student gives students a topic. Keep the topics general, like pets, sports, or a trip to the zoo. The student tries to talk about the topic for one minute without saying “um” or any variation of it.

If the student says, “um,” their turn is over. Everyone applauds the student for their effort no matter how long they were able to speak. Some students may only last a few seconds, while others may be able to speak for the entire minute.

The Tens Game: Taking Turns and Listening Skills

Everyone stands in a circle shoulder-to-shoulder. Students count from 1-10, and the person who says 10 must sit down. Each student may choose to count one or two numbers on their turn.

Here’s how this might look in your classroom.

Student 1: “1”

Student 2: “2, 3”

Student 3: “4,5”

Student 4: “6”

Student 5: “7,8”

Student 6: “9”

Student 7: “10.”

Now student 7 must sit down, and student 8 begins the next round starting at 1.

Play continues until there is only one person left standing – the winner!

Going on a Picnic: Spelling and Grammar Skills

Before beginning, the teacher thinks of a secret spelling or grammar rule, for example, the long o sound. The teacher begins by announcing, “I’m going on a picnic! I will bring {coconuts]. Who would like to join me?”

Students raise hands to volunteer an answer. They respond with, “Can I come on the picnic? I’d like to bring _______________.” If the item matches the secret spelling or grammar rule, the student gets invited to the picnic. If the item doesn’t follow the rule, they cannot come.

For example, if a student asks to bring a fishing pole for this particular example, the teacher would say, “Yes you can come to my picnic!” because ‘pole’ has a long o sound. If the student asks to bring popcorn, the teacher would say, “I’m sorry – you cannot come,” because there is no long o in popcorn.

After several students have guessed items to bring that fit the rule, students may know the secret rule. The teacher can ask students to reveal it if they think they know it.

I Spy - Geometry Skills

You’ve likely played I Spy before, but how about putting a geometry spin on it? Instead of choosing a color to look for, spy shapes or angles in your classroom instead. For example, say, “I spy with my little eye, something circular.” Or “I spy with my little eye, something that has parallel lines.” Other ideas include 3-dimensional shapes such as cubes or spheres, acute/obtuse/right angles, or even lengths of objects.

High-Low: Place Value and General Number Sense

Create a table on the board. Write “too low” on one side and “too high” on the other.

Choose a number (without telling anyone what it is) and write it on a piece of paper so you don’t forget.

Have students raise their hands to guess a number. If the number is lower than the number you wrote down, write it on the “too low” side. If it is too high, write it on the “too high” side./

Students continue guessing numbers until the target number is guessed.

Here’s a blog post with even more details about this game.

ABC Adventure - Writing and Speaking Skills

Go on an imaginary adventure with your students as you work your way through the alphabet. Start with a location for your adventure, such as outer space, the beach, a day in the life of an ant, or whatever your students come up with.

Students take turns adding sentences to the story. The first word of the sentence must begin with the letter A. The next sentence must begin with the letter B, and so on. How far through the alphabet can your students get?

Snowman - Spelling and Vocabulary Skills

Play this alternative to traditional Hangman with your class using words from your spelling or vocabulary lists. Add one part of the snowman for each wrong guess. This is a great way to introduce new vocabulary words too, and works with any subject! Another alternative is Blast Off. Draw a part of a rocketship for each wrong guess.

Space Game - Movement and Body Awareness

Classroom time fillers can include physical activity too! Sometimes kids just need a break and can benefit from a few minutes to get up and move around. Allowing them to do this in a more structured way helps students with body awareness while recognizing and respecting others’ personal space.

The rules of this game are simple – feet stay on the ground, no noise, no touching anyone or anything. Once students are standing and chairs are tucked in, the rules go into effect. At first, students just walk around the room. If they accidentally bump into someone or something, they must freeze until the next round. If they talk or make noise, they freeze.

Round 2 is where things get interesting! In this round, you’ll give students different ways to walk around the room. Tell them to walk like a specific animal, walk without bending their knees, walk sideways, or anything else you can think of.

Students who have to freeze during one round can join in on the second round.

Guess Who? Build Classroom Community

Guess who cards are a fun way to build classroom community and learn about each other. Have students fill out fact cards about themselves (find a free download for these cards here).

When you have a few minutes left in class, choose a card and read one of the facts. Then give two or three students a chance to guess who the person is. If no one guesses, then read one more fact and continue in this way until the person is guessed. Not only is this a productive classroom time filler, but it also helps students feel special and important!

Use these Classroom Time Fillers for Other Purposes!

This list of 5-minute time fillers will come in handy for your day-to-day classroom routine. But they are useful for other situations as well! Here are a few ideas:

Leave a list for substitute teachers. Students will like doing something familiar when you are away, and your sub will appreciate a simple list of ideas.

Use them as motivation. Once you find a couple ideas that your students respond well to, use them as motivation to clean up or transition quickly. Let your students know that if they clean up quickly, you’ll have more time to play!

Use them as Brain Breaks. Sometimes a lesson doesn’t go as planned, or you notice students losing steam. Taking a quick break can help improve your students’ focus and stamina. Because these games reinforce curriculum-based skills, you won’t have to feel guilty for taking a break when your students need it!

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FREE Early Finisher Activities to Keep Your Students Engaged

Shelley Gray — Sun, 24 Jul 2022 13:00:55 +0000

Fast finishers are one of the most challenging aspects of classroom management. In a typical classroom of 20-30 students, how do you deal with those students who finish way ahead of the rest? How do you ensure that the early finishers are not simply doing busy work and are engaged in a task that is relevant and fun? How do you ensure that those fast finishers do not become a classroom management issue that distracts your other students?

When I was in the classroom full-time this was always an issue for me. I got tired of telling students to take out a book and read when they were finished their work. Of course, there is enormous value in reading, but it’s nice to be able to offer some variety for the students who finish quickly. I tried putting out folders of activities for the early finishers, but it proved to be hard to keep up with, and hard to keep finding relevant activities that really interested my students.

This is how the Early Finisher Board was born.

The Early Finisher Board is a choice board that includes a variety of relevant, interesting activities for your students who finish their work early. You can set it up on a tri-fold board, a bulletin board, or even an empty piece of wall space or the side of a cabinet. Some teachers even use folders to put the activities in.

This keeps your fast finisher students quietly engaged while the others take the time they need to finish their work. Additionally, it motivates the other students to finish their work more quickly than usual, because they want to do an activity from The Early Finisher Board too.

How exactly does The Early Finisher Board work?

There are seven sections: Read It, Write It, Solve It, Draw It, Make It, Do It, and Journal It. Each section contains a fun, curriculum-related activity to engage your fast finishers. The tasks are switched out every two weeks so that your students always have new tasks to choose from!

The most important aspect of The Early Finisher Board is that students get to choose which activities they do. Some of your students will always choose from the Make It, Do It, or Draw It sections. And that’s okay! Other students will want to try all the activities.

Students use an Early Finisher notebook to store all of their tasks. It is important to note that you do not need to mark all of these tasks! That would mean an increased work load for you, with very little benefit for the students – definitely NOT the objective of The Early Finisher Board! The tasks are meant solely as extra pracice – NOT assessment.

Would you like 2 weeks of FREE fast finisher activities?

If you’d like to get started with the Early Finisher Board completely FREE to see if it’s right for your classroom, there’s a way to do that! Just sign up here and I’ll send you:

the Getting Started Guide with ALL the labels you need to create your very own Early Finisher Board
2-weeks of activities so you can test it out in your classroom before deciding if you’d like the full 40-week package!

Or alternatively, here’s a 30-minute free training to walk you through how the early finisher board works, along with tons of ideas and inspiration for your very own board!

Here’s A Fun Multiplication Math Game Your Students Will Love

Once your students learn the multiplication facts, it’s important to continue to reinforce them. But this can be easier said than done when you have

Three Types of Tasks You Should Add to Your Math Routine, Tomorrow!

Why should you shake up your routine in the Math Lab? In a word: equity. It is more important than ever to provide engaging

Quick and Easy Place Value Activities (Try These to Boost Number Sense!)

Do you wish you had a way to easily spiral place value skills throughout the year – so your students continue to boost their understanding

The post FREE Early Finisher Activities to Keep Your Students Engaged appeared first on Shelley Gray.

Using Exit Slips in the Classroom

Shelley Gray — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 16:29:33 +0000

Exit slips are reflections that students write after a lesson or activity.

Exit slips are useful for several reasons. First, they allow students to reflect on new learning or understanding. Second, they are a useful formative assessment tool for teachers. By taking a few minutes to check students’ exit slips, teachers can gain valuable insight into whether a students understands the concept or is able to complete the task.

Useful Tips for Using Exit Slips

Give students a choice with the prompt that you want them to use. For example, you might have students decide between, “Something I am still wondering about,” “Something that I found interesting,” or “Something that surprised me.” This way students have a sense of power and control, which will help motivation.
Model the responses that you are looking for. For example, you might show students a few examples of exit slips and ask them which one they think is better. Model the use of describing words and specific detail.
Use exit slips as an assessment tool that will drive your future instruction. For example, if you notice that several students were confused with the same concept, this is a sign that you need to re-teach.

Easy Exit Slips

Sticky notes are one of the easiest, most inexpensive ways to use exit slips. Ask students to write their reflection on the sticky note and stick it to the board when finished.

Looking for something a bit more structured? I’ve posted a FREE package of very simple exit slips on TeachersPayTeachers. Find those HERE.

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How to Create a Fun Choice Board for your Fast Finishers

Shelley Gray — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 19:49:34 +0000

What do your students do when they finish their work? Do you have to answer the question, “I’m done! What can I do now?” over and over again throughout the day? Do your fast finishers become a classroom management problem? Are you constantly scrambling to find early finisher activities to keep your students engaged in productive learning?

Trying to keep your students engaged at all times is no easy task. As a teacher, I always found this even more difficult when some students were finishing their work way ahead of the others. Most of the time when students said, “I’m finished – now what can I do?” my response was, “Read a book or work on your homework.”

But I never felt good about this answer.

I noticed that only a minority of students would actually get engaged in their book or homework when they finished their assignment. Most of the time, they were either unproductive or became a distraction to the other students who were still working.

What Should the Fast Finishers Do When They Finish Their Work?

When students finish their work, we don’t want them to distract other students or sit at their seats unproductive. We also don’t want them doing busy work that has no educational value. Instead, we want our fast finishers to:

remain productive and engaged
practice essential, curriculum-related skills without it feeling like “extra work”

The Early Finisher Board is an ELA and Math choice board classroom management tool that solves this fast finisher problem once and for all.

The Early Finisher Board promotes:

freedom to choose based on personal preferences
differentiation based on learning styles and interests
success for a wide variety of ability levels within your diverse classroom
student engagement
pride and excitement

What Does the Early Finisher Board Include?

The Early Finisher Board includes seven different task sections: Read It, Write It, Make It, Do It, Solve It, Draw It, and Journal It. Each of these tasks contains an activity.

Students choose which activity they want to do based on interests and preference.

Most teachers switch the tasks for the choice board about every two weeks.

FREE TWO WEEK SAMPLE!

Get started with the Early Finisher Board for FREE to see if it's right for your classroom!

Yes, please!

Modifications and Adaptations

Although the Early Finisher Board was designed to be used with a tri-fold board (like the kind you use for a Science Fair project), there are many other options to make this work in your classroom. This board can be modified and adapted for any classroom space. You can use a bulletin board, the side of a cabinet, unused wall space, crates, bins, or even a binder. The options are endless!

This system can also be used for morning work, as a math/literacy station, or as a Friday Fun activity!

Over the years, many teachers have proudly sent me pictures of how they adapted The Early Finisher Board for their unique classroom and the space they had available. I’m excited to share those with you now!

If you are currently using or considering implementing The Early Finisher Board (or the Math Choice Board) into your classroom, get ready for some inspiration!

Fast Finishers Choice Board Using a Tri-Fold Board

I created the original Early Finisher Board with some bulletin board border, stencils and fun file folders. Personally I love lots of color, so I tried to design it to be bright and appealing!

Pros and Cons to Using a Tri-Fold Board

No matter what layout you choose to implement in your classroom, there are pros and cons. Here are some things to consider with the tri-fold board:

Pros:

portable
can be created at home on the weekend or during the summer and brought to school
a good option if you don’t have much wall space left in your classroom
all the fast finisher activities are easily visible

Cons:

Can sometimes fall down when students are getting the tasks (if they aren’t careful)
There may be extra wear and tear because of this.

If you are considering this option for your fast finishers, here are some inspirational pictures sent to me by other teachers using this set-up.

Using a Bulletin Board, Wall, or Side of a Cabinet For Fast Finishers Activities: Pros and Cons

Some teachers find that a bulletin board works best in their classroom. Here are some pros and cons to that option.

Pros:

makes a wonderful interactive bulletin board display
all early finisher activities are easily visible
sturdier than the tri-fold board option

Cons:

Will your students need a stool to be able to reach the activities?
takes up valuable bulletin board space

Using Folders, Crates, or Tubs For Your Fast Finisher Activities

Some teachers find that even bulletin board space is hard to come by, so they have to get really creative. The great thing about The Early Finisher Board is that it can be used in a wide variety of different ways and can be modified to suit your classroom!

The teachers who submitted these next few examples got really creative to make this system work for the fast finishers in their classrooms!

Pros and Cons of Bins, Tubs, or Crates

Pros:

very portable
easy organization
doesn’t take up much space

Cons:

Students can’t see all the options as well.
Will have to think about how you are going to post the activities for students to see, rather than having them pull them all out of folders to see what they are
May have to use your printer settings to shrink the activities to fit certain bins

Would you like to try the Early Finisher Board for FREE?

I hope all of these pictures and explanations have been helpful, and I’m sure your head is spinning with ideas for how you could make this choice board work in your classroom. I’d love to get you started for free so you can test it out, before deciding if you’d like the full 40 week package.

Get a FREE 2-Week Sample of the Early Finisher Board

multiple grade levels available

Yes, please!

Or, if you’re excited to solve the fast finisher problem once and for all and know you want the complete 40 week package, you can find the Early Finisher Boards here and the Math Choice Boards here.

The Best Way to Teach Multiplication Facts: 12 Steps to True Understanding

Teaching multiplication is no easy task! Encouraging students to memorize the facts only allows a small percentage of them to be successful. Even then, those

Effective Mental Math Addition Strategies to Master the Addition Facts

So you’re ready to implement mental math addition strategies this year, but aren’t sure where to start! All the different ways to teach addition facts

Salute: A Great Math Fact Card Game for Speed and Automaticity

I love integrating games into all subject areas, but especially math. The key is to find games that are rigorous, include tons of opportunity for

The post How to Create a Fun Choice Board for your Fast Finishers appeared first on Shelley Gray.

The Math Choice Board

Shelley Gray — Mon, 04 Sep 2017 11:49:21 +0000

Are you looking for a student-managed way to spiral your math curriculum and ensure that review happens all year long?

Would you like to implement an engaging, curriculum-related choice board as a math station in your classroom?

Do you need a way to motivate your students when they first arrive in the classroom, at the beginning of class, or when they finish their work early?

I am so excited to introduce you to the Math Choice Board!

Several years ago, I created The Early Finisher Board – a solution for the fast finishers in your classroom. Over the years, thousands of people have successfully used that resource to motivate and engage their students. However, I have literally received hundreds of requests for something similar that focuses on Math only.

This is where The Math Choice Board comes in! The Math Choice Board is similar to The Early Finisher Board in that it allows students to choose which activities they do, and when they do them. This board consists of seven sections: Facts, Numbers, Dice & Cards, Patterns & Data, Measurement & Geometry, and two Bonus Tasks.

Each section contains an engaging, curriculum-related activity to engage your students. The tasks are switched out regularly so that your students always have new tasks to choose from!

The Math Choice Board is designed to promote:

a method of spiraling the curriculum so that students receive continuous review of previously learned skills
organization and independence
freedom to choose based on personal preferences
differentiation based on interests
success for a wide variety of ability levels within your diverse classroom
student engagement
pride and excitement

Ways to Use Your Math Choice Board

There are many ways to use the Math Choice Board within your classroom. You might choose to use it as:

a Math Station or center. When students are at the Choice Board center, allow them to pick whichever activities they want from the board. This will create a sense of power and control for your students.
a Math Warm-Up before math class begins
a way of engaging your early finishers. Have your students choose tasks from the Math Choice Board when they finish their work, rather than simply reading or working on homework
morning work upon arriving at school. When your students arrive in the classroom in the morning, have them work on the Math Choice Board. This will enhance predictability, routine, and organization first thing in the morning.

Set-Up Options for your Math Choice Board

If you have previously used or seen The Early Finisher Board, you might be familiar with some effective layouts for this choice board. Here are a few way that teachers have set up their own boards:

Mixing and Matching with The Early Finisher Board

The Math Choice Board has been designed so that it can be mixed and matched with The Early Finisher Board. All of the activities will fit into either board. You may choose to include math activities from your Early Finisher Board on the Math Choice Board. Alternatively, choose activities from the Math Choice Board to include on your Early Finisher Board.

You might even create a board that has more than 7 pockets, based on the needs of your classroom! For example, you could use all of the pockets from the Early Finisher Board, and all of the pockets from the Math Choice Board to create an even larger Early Finisher Board in your classroom! The options are endless!

NEXT STEPS:

Would you like to get a free sample of The Math Choice Board to see if it will work in your classroom? Get it here.

Want to skip the free sample and go right to the full 40-week package? Find all Math Choice Board and Early Finisher Board packages HERE.

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How To Use the Cooperative Learning “Carousel” Strategy

Shelley Gray — Thu, 12 May 2016 21:34:19 +0000

Carousel is a cooperative learning strategy that involves movement, discussion, and reflection. This is similar to one of my favorite activities, the Gallery Walk, but is slightly different. In a Gallery Walk, students typically work on their own, moving around the room to complete a series of tasks. In a carousel, students work in small groups and move from station to station, discussing each task as they go. Carousel is a great way to incorporate kinesthetic learning into your teaching, and give students a much needed break from sitting in their chairs. It is also a great way to encourage group work, as students must discuss and reflect together to answer each question.

How can I use carousel in the classroom?

Carousel is a great cooperative learning activity for reinforcing knowledge and skills AFTER learning. It can also be used at the very beginning of a unit or lesson to activate prior knowledge. For example, if you are teaching a unit on Sound, you might want to see what students already know about Sound. Instead of using a KWL chart or something similar, Carousel is a great option.

How does carousel work?

Generally the teacher creates about 5-7 numbered “stations” around the classroom. Each station consists of a piece of chart paper with a question written on the top. For example, if you are doing this as an activation strategy before your Sound unit, some questions might be, “What do you know about how sound is made?” or “What are some different sounds that you hear every day?” The idea is to get students thinking about the subject matter that they are about to learn.

Students are divided into small groups. The number of students in each group may depend on the number of stations that you have. I like to limit groups to about 3-4 students.

Each group begins at a different station. The teacher sets a timer, and students stay at each station for that set period of time. I like to limit this to about 1-2 minutes at each station. I find that the brisk pace keeps students motivated. I would rather them not have enough time to put all of their thoughts down, rather than having too much time – that is when classroom management issues arise!

During the time that students are at each station, they read the question, skim over any previous answers by other groups, and then add their own ideas to the paper. When the timer goes off, they move to the next station.

When the groups have visited each station, there is a short discussion to de-brief. Try not to drag this out. With younger students you may want to choose a couple of points to highlight and discuss from each paper, rather than reading every single thing that was written.

What do I need to keep in mind before and during the carousel activity?

How many students will you have in each group? Sometimes too many students can cause issues, as there is not enough for each person to do. In my opinion, three people is always a nice number.
What is your purpose? Is your purpose to reinforce? Assess? Activate prior knowledge? This will affect the types of questions that you ask.
How will students know where to go next? Are the stations labelled? Do they travel in a predictable way around the classroom?
How much time do students need? If you notice that students are getting off-task, it probably means that you are giving them too much time at each station.
How will you decide who does the writing? Is there a designated student in each group? Will they carry the marker with them or will you leave a marker at each station?

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4 CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT TIPS FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR

Shelley Gray — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 12:59:45 +0000

The first week of school is your opportunity to set the stage for how your classroom will operate all year long!

Excellent classroom management can literally transform the way your classroom operates and the way that your students respond to your teaching. Even before the school year begins, it is important to think about how you are going to implement some basic classroom management routines. This will help students understand what to expect, and feel safe and comfortable in your classroom.

Below I’ve included four of my favorite ways to incorporate classroom management into your first week of school.

1. Give students some power.

This is SO important. Everyone (including your students) wants to feel like they have some control over their surroundings. There are a lot of ways that you can help your students feel empowered during the first week of school. One of my favorite ways is to have students help you set your classroom rules and consequences. You do not have to have this ready for the first day. In fact, the rules and consequences will be MORE meaningful if you let your students help you. Of course, you can use your “teacher skills” to “guide” the conversation towards the rules that you have in mind.

2. Let your students move around.

Believe it or not, allowing your students to get up and move around the room can actually HELP your classroom management by keeping everyone engaged and by appealing to your kinesthetic learners. One of my favorite ways to incorporate movement is through gallery walks, where students move around the room, completing specific, curriculum-related skills. Having your students complete a Back-to-School Gallery Walk can give you valuable insight into how they learn, as well as give them a sense of how your classroom is going to operate.

3. Model and practice.

Procedures and routines need to be modelled and practiced. Rather than talking about a procedure, actually do it. When you talk to your students about expectations for a transition, SHOW them what you mean. Model how it should be done. Then have your students practice. Even if it feels like you have a million things to do on the first day, it is well worth your time to practice procedures. It will pay off later on with a classroom that runs like clock-work.

4. Connect with Your Students.

Tell them about yourself, or better yet, show them some pictures of your family/pets/childhood to help your students get a sense of who you are outside the classroom. Tell them that they are safe in your classroom. Tell them that you are going to guarantee that they are going to all be successful this year. Tell them about some of the fun, exciting learning experiences that they are going to have this year. Smile. Make a conscious effort to connect (through conversation and eye contact) with every student every day.

Would you like to learn more about how I have used gallery walks to incorporate movement into my classrooms? This post will explain more.

Have a wonderful school year,

Shelley

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5 WAYS TO HELP YOUR KINESTHETIC LEARNERS

Shelley Gray — Sat, 17 Jan 2015 15:00:36 +0000

After just a few hours with your class, you can usually tell which students are the kinesthetic learners. These are usually the students who are fidgeting, tapping their pencils, and having trouble staying on task while doing pencil and paper activities or reading silently. So often, these students get a bad reputation for being “difficult.” But the truth is, that they simply learn differently than some of their peers. They NEED physical stimulation. They NEED to move in order to learn. The good news is that once you start teaching in a way that appeals to your kinesthetic learners, you will find that other students in your class are more engaged, even those who learn well verbally.

It does not have to be a lot of work to engage your kinesthetic learners. Every lesson does not have to include a carefully-executed kinesthetic learning strategy.

Sometimes it’s just the little things that you do in class that can make all the difference.

Below are five simple ideas for helping your kinesthetic learners be successful and stay engaged:

1. When you have a simple task that requires getting up and walking somewhere in the room, ask one of your kinesthetic learners to do it, rather than doing it yourself. This might include turning off the lights, closing the door, passing out papers, etc.

2. When doing paper and pencil tasks, try to think of ways to allow students to manipulate what they are working on. For example, if they are working on Spelling, have them write their Spelling words on small pieces of paper that they can move around for each activity. After they’ve moved the papers around to do the activity, they can write the answer in their notebooks.

3. Allow kinesthetic learners to move around while they read. I once had a student who could not, and I mean could NOT, sit still and stay focused while he read silently. So we made a deal. I’d let him walk up and down the hallway while he read, as long as he stayed reading the entire time. And guess what? It worked!

4. Provide manipulatives. Kinesthetic learners love to move things around. When solving math problems, provide some manipulatives (blocks, coins, etc) that the students can move around while solving the problem.

5. Implement project-based learning whenever possible. Rather than limiting your students to paper and pencil tasks, have them make posters, complete interactive projects, and do experiments.

As I mentioned earlier, getting up and moving around is not only good for those students who you consider mostly kinesthetic learners. Getting up and moving can help all of your students learn. I have typically found that the more movement I can incorporate into my classroom, the smoother it runs, and the more engaged students are. One of my favorite ways to get all students up and moving is using Gallery Walks. You can read all about how to use Gallery Walks HERE.

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Using Storyline Online in Your Classroom

Shelley Gray — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 14:00:13 +0000

Today I would like to share a really great, free website with you, called Storyline Online. This site is sponsored by the Screen Actors Guild, and features famous people reading children’s books. Actors and actresses such as Oprah Winfrey, Betty White, and Kevin Costner read popular children’s books in a way that is sure to mesmerize your students.

We know that reading aloud to our students and children is important. This is just one more way to ensure that students are being exposed to many forms of literacy. All students, even those in upper elementary grades, can benefit.

Chaos at the end of the day happens. But Storyline Online is a great solution. I love using this website, along with other “read aloud” websites at the end of the day. Just put on a story on your Smartboard and let the kids watch while you sign agendas and deal with other end of the day stuff. When parents come to pick up their child, he/she can just quietly slip away from the story.

If you don’t want to use this at the end of the day, there are so many more times during the day where it could be used to transition from one activity to the next. What about when students come in from recess or lunch? Or in the morning to get the day started on a great note?

View Storyline Online HERE.

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Three Steps to Increased Student Engagement

Shelley Gray — Sun, 02 Feb 2014 11:00:36 +0000

As teachers, we are always looking for that next great idea, which is why I am so excited about this “Bright Ideas Blog Hop!” Consider this your professional development for the next month, because you are going to get a TON of great ideas!

Today I’d like to share three tips for increasing student engagement in your classroom. As teachers, we have the power to engage students in any task. We can transform subject matter from boring to amazing by changing just a few things about how we teach.

Encourage Inquiry: Even if you do not implement full inquiry-based learning, how can you implement a bit of inquiry into your lessons? Let’s get away from telling students what they need to learn, and let them discover it on their own. A few simple changes can make a big difference. When I taught Grade 4, making musical instruments was a standard project for our Sound unit. At first I asked students to create an instrument that made a sound and had pitch. The next year I simply asked students to build an instrument. Later, I let them experiment with their instrument and make changes in order to give it pitch. I saw a huge increase in student engagement AND they understood the concept much better! Another example is an earthworm experiment that we do in Science. We took shoeboxes and filled them with dirt. I would tell students to add water to one side and leave the other side of the dirt dry. Then we would see which side the earthworm preferred after leaving in the box overnight. Another year I changed the assignment by simply telling students that we wanted to find out whether earthworms preferred wet or dry dirt. I provided them with the materials, and let them design the experiment themselves. Guess what? Students were discussing different options, working collaboratively, and highly engaged. Best of all, students were excited when they got to design the experiment on their own! To me, that is what learning is all about. What small changes can you make in your teaching to give students the opportunity to discover on their own?

Allow Students to Talk in Partners and Small Groups: Talking about learning is an effective way of processing new information. Although the thought of allowing students to work in partners during Math class may scare some people, there is nothing better than hearing your students discuss their learning and be totally engaged in what they are doing. I especially like to let students do problem-solving activities with a partner. When they discuss how to solve the problem you can clearly see the phases of learning that they are going through. They may also experience a sense of disequilibrium, which will ultimately lead to stronger understanding. What activities do you do on a daily basis, where you could implement partner and small group discussion?

Ensure a Sense of Power: Everyone likes to have power over their own choices. Take yourself, for instance. Do you like to be told exactly what to do, or do you like to have some creative freedom and power over your own work? Your students like to make choices and have power over what they create. How can you implement power and freedom into your everyday? It can be as simple as making students believe that they came up with an idea, when you were actually guiding them to that idea all along. It’s all in the presentation! As an example, at the beginning of every year, we discuss rules and consequences. My favorite part of this activity is when I ask students what the consequence should be for mis-using technology in the classroom. One year I had a boy suggest, “No technology for a month for that student!” I thought that was a bit harsh (I was thinking more like 2 days of no technology), but the rest of the class agreed with him rather than me. Guess what? No one mis-used our Smartboard or computers that year. Students had the power to make the decision, and they felt ownership of that decision. I am a huge believer that students need power and freedom over the majority of their decisions during the school day. In which areas can you give your students some power and freedom, while still achieving your desired outcome?

How can you increase the engagement in your classroom? If you have other ideas or comments, I would love to hear them in the comment section below.

And now, to continue today’s blog hop, I would love to introduce you to Blair Turner of One Lesson at a Time. Blair is sharing a great idea for Valentine’s Day decorating that you can use for a bulletin board or a classroom door! Just click the button below to be taken to her blog!

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