Teaching Ideas from Across America -- Page 4

Classroom Management

At the beginning of each year, I put my class list in alphabetical order and assign each student a number and a color. (I use red, blue, yellow, and green.) The coat rack is divided into these colors, and that makes it easy to locate belongings. The number and color dot are put on each student's nametag, coat hanger, hook, and mailbox, as well as spring clothespin. These are used on a chart by the door to show where students go when they leave the room.

Number and color are also on a paint stick, which students put between books when they remove a book from a bookcase. A quick glance tells me what books are being read and whether they were returned to the same spot.

I can have my students line up or group them by assigned color, odd or even number, and so forth. It's fast, easy class management.

Sandra Cobb, Second Grade Teacher, Brookside Elementary School, Worthington, OH

My third-graders asked to hear the original story of The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum after an informal discussion of the movie. They enjoyed the details of the story, and the sketches I put on the board helped them visualize the Land of Oz.

One day, they discussed the possibility of permanently keeping the sketches and decided to construct the Land of Oz. This presented me with the opportunity to introduce map skills. Five cooperative groups -- for each of the four compass points and the Emerald City -- were formed. Careful listening resulted in the development of a complete model with characters, buildings, and of course, a yellow brick road. Then, a more complex map of our own community was created.

Laura Hill, Third Grade Teacher, Pinehurst Elementary School, Pinehurst, ID

The end of the school day is a wonderful time for students to reflect on how their school day went. For several years now, I've used the last five minutes of the day, a time that used to be crazy and frantic in my classroom, to pull our classroom community together.

Each day before my class leaves, our helper of the week asks the class, "What went well today and what do we need to get better at?" Students are invited to share and reflect on the day. Then we brainstorm what we can do to make the next day even better.

This end-of-the-day routine has helped us to celebrate the good things and to work together to solve the problems.

Yukiko Shimosato Hill, Third/Fourth Grade Teacher, Irving B. Weber Elementary School, Iowa City, IA

A very popular activity with both my first-graders and their parents is Take-Home Theme Bags. It's a great way to extend the curriculum, provide enrichment, offer activities for multiple intelligences, and involve the family. In addition, theme bags are a lot of fun!

Each set of bags contains both fiction and nonfiction books to read and a choice of activities. For example, with the "Adventures in Space Bags," the kids make a model of the solar system, design their own space shuttle, or write a space poem. With the "Reading Around the World Bags," they "travel" to each continent and can make a French counting book, play an African game of strategy, or learn a Japanese song. I've also developed theme bags for "The World of Animals," "Underwater Adventures," and "Bears, Bears, Bears!"

It's a great way to involve families in their children's education.

Michael Hammer, First Grade Teacher, Prospect Elementary School, Lake Mills, WI

Working together is what the library is all about. Teachers, students, parents, community members, and educators of all kinds walk through our library doors to share, learn, and dream.

One popular Book Week project was writing reviews of our favorite books. Then, in art class we designed grocery bags (donated by a local supermarket) and wrote and glued our reviews on the bags. The "bag book reviews" adorned our library and then were used by grocery shoppers to take home their Thanksgiving supplies. Shoppers wrote to the local newspaper thanking all those who had made the project possible.

Sandy Meagher, School Librarian, Wayne Highlands School District, Honesdale, PA

Early in my life, I learned valuable lessons from my grandfather: "Stay in school, never stop learning and be the best you can be." As I began my professional career, I learned another lesson from my brother: "Get it right the first time." Though seemingly unrelated to teaching, these lessons have served as my personal signposts to the profession.

My teaching tips to my colleagues are: (1) become lifelong learners; (2) accept nothing less than excellence from yourself and your students; and (3) make the most of every moment you have with your students (you'll never have them long enough to do all you need to do). Your instruction should be challenging, achievable, meaningful, interesting, effective, and efficient. Remember ­what students know and are able to do is driven by what teachers know and are able to do.

Brenda L. Mitchell, Ed.D, Director, UTNO Health and Welfare Fund Center for Growth and Development, New Orleans, LA

Here are two activities that can come in handy when extra time is available for one or more first-, second-, or third-graders:

• Alphabetical Sort. Have students sort unit words alphabetically. Here are some topics: crayons, shapes, Native American nations, health, and plants.

• Compound Word Concentration. Have students form compound words by placing words together in a Concentration game. Your answer key may have variations of similar words.

Materials? Well, you'll need the topic envelope(s) with printed directions taped to the outside, an assortment of words individually laminated on thick paper, strips of lined paper on which to write the words, and the answer key in a separate envelope. The students check their written list with the answer key. For safekeeping, store the materials in a box.

Sarah Rutledge Hundgen, Substitute Teacher, NH School Administrative Unit #48, Plymouth, NH