Master Classroom Management

Today I'm excited because I've got three whole days {without too much planned} that I can spend digesting the treasures in this book I've been reading.

From the publisher: Dr. Jerry Evanski’s approach stems from a simple and practical idea: that classroom management is based on teaching methods that keep your students interested and engaged, not on disciplining students when they misbehave. As he says, “Poor teaching strategies can trigger behavior problems. You can prevent problems before they occur.”

Based on significant review of educational research that is sprinkled throughout the book, Dr. Evanski has developed a program that offers one simple skill a day to build a repertoire of classroom management techniques. After eight weeks, teachers have mastered 40 new skills that cover the key teaching areas of:

-       Getting attention

-       Keeping attention

-       Engaging students

-       Teaching the lesson

-       Getting participation

-       Giving directions

-       Communicating

-       Transitioning

Here is a sample of some of the skills covered in the book:

-       Your Teaching Spot - Teach students to associate specific locations in your classroom with different messages—one spot for teaching, one spot for announcements, etc.

-       The Big Picture – Help students establish the context for what you’re teaching by showing them how it fits into what they are learning throughout the year.

-       Acknowledge the Effort – Encourage participation by teaching students how to enthusiastically acknowledge the effort of their classmates.

Why I'm loving this resource: The first thing that draws me to this book is that Dr. Evanski's ideas, many of which are backed by brain research, 

exude engagement, motivation and fun. I have a feeling that educators like me will learn and grow by leaps and bounds as they tailor these tips to fit the needs of the students in their classroom families. 

The second sticking point is how the book is set up, with an idea to test-drive every day of the week for eight weeks, to facilitate learning and implementation. 

The third-and-equally-important reason I'm endorsing Dr. Evanski's work is that it's a tool that supports my firm belief in disciplining through proactive modeling, teaching and practicing of skills rather than with a reactive punishing of skill deficits. Isn't that what our students deserve from us? And isn't that how we hope they'll lead when they're in charge? 

Check out this book; I predict it'll be a positive influence and support as you work with intention to create a culture of dignity, caring and respect in your 

character building.

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David & Goliath

Today I'm thinking about that little shepherd boy from the Bible named David and that giant he faced called Goliath and the metaphor that their story is ... for life.

It's probably because we went to San Antonio for the State-level Science Fair this weekend and what we saw, felt, and experienced just blew us away; 

project after project with words we couldn't pronounce, 

research that would never cross our mind to pursue, 

and experiments that we wouldn't know where to start to reproduce.

And then there was our Joshua David. 

His project, which came out of the Houston Science Fair a first-place winner in the Earth and Space Science category, really seemed small and somewhat insignificant at State in comparison with the others, the upper classmen with their professional-looking double-board posters and their equally impressive business dress. Some of the participants even did their projects in an Independent Study Mentorship (ISM) class. With a mentor. In some cases, as an extension of a summer internship. Joshua wasn't feeling very confident. At all. 

But he had taken pride in his work, his experiment was creative, and he enthusiastically explained it to anyone who wanted to learn. He wasn't sure that'd be enough, but it must have made an impact with the judges, because Impact Craters: What Your Angle? took second place against the giants. 

On our way home, we stopped at the same Freddy's where {this story} about custard kindness happened just last week.

So let's upack this metaphor with some reflections: 

What giants are you facing?

Who is there to support, help and encourage you?

How will they know what you want and need from them?

How will you know when you've done enough?

How will you celebrate your victory?

On another happy note, we got to see our billboard yesterday, 

beautifully-framed by the San Antonio skies.

Turns out, you don't have to be a giant to be a superhero.

I'm thankful to The Joy Team for our partnership

and hopeful that our inspirational message might 

equip, encourage and empower 

a present-day David (or two) to face those giants

with strength, purpose, and grace.

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sELF Respect & sELF Control

First, a holiday joke.
Why did the elf go to counseling?
To help boost his elf esteem.

Second, the bulletin board that I see when I leave my office
with the first-grade students' creative elf tales.

And in true elf fashion, I have a sneaking suspicion 
that there's a lot of truth to this claim:

Here are some posts to help you with sELF-control:

Self-Control

Emotion Regulation

6 Emotional Skills and Strategies

Have yourself a wonderful Wednesday!

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The Golden Plunger Award

Maybe this is exclusively a problem at my school, but a few semesters back, we had a huge issue with the cleanliness (or lack thereof) in our bathrooms. They were just awful! Toilet paper on the floor, toilets not flushed, water running, garbage on the ground. So we decided that if we wanted kids to take ownership, then we'd have to give them ownership. Brilliant, right? A Team First CAREacter Crew rep volunteered her first graders to be the inaugural members of The Bathroom Brigade. They would be trained as scouts and sent into the bathrooms at random times to assess the four trouble spots and see if the water faucets were off, toilets were flushed, toilet paper was in its proper place, and paper towels were disposed of in the trash. 

Click {here} to see and/or download our score sheet.

We made a bulletin board as a visual reminder.

We decided to challenge our students to a friendly competition. Who could keep their bathrooms cleaner each week, the boys or the girls? And the prize? The Golden Plunger Award would be given to the gender whose facilities got the better weekly score. So by now you might be laughing, but wait, there's more. After the announcement was made at our weekly school-wide gathering, a few representatives from the group that earned the Golden Plunger (yep, it was an old-fashioned plunger, spray painted in GOLD!) that week would lift the Golden Plunger high into the air like a torch and take it on a victory lap around the gym while the theme song of Chariots of Fire blared in the background. And while you might still be snickering, listen to this; our veteran coach told us that the bathrooms that semester were, indeed, the cleanest she'd seen them in all of her
 31 years at our school.  (Don't you love data?)

I'm told that custodians really appreciate this and the Golden Dustpan Award (up for grabs to the classroom that's the cleanest each afternoon), both equally effective in engaging students to take ownership of and show respect for school property.

What clever programs have you started to stop an issue? 

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Conscious Discipline Guest Post

Happy Friday! Today I'm excited because Barbara from Grade ONEderful was kind enough to accept an invitation to do a guest post for me. I've been following Barb's blog for a year now and I thoroughly enjoy her insight, enthusiasm, and passion for learning. It doesn't hurt that she's from Victoria, B.C., either, since I consider that part of the world God's Country. She's been a teacher for 22 years and when she's not in the classroom, you can find Barb out running, playing with her pups and creating super cute blog designs. 

I was super jazzed when she mentioned writing about Conscious Discipline, because guess what's on my night stand? I just finished the first chapter. Thanks, Barbara, for being here and sharing your 

reflections and connections with us.

Thanks for inviting me to share some ideas on your blog, Barbara!  Reading your daily posts has become a fixture in my morning routine:)

In case you don't already know ... I am hooked on Conscious Discipline by Dr. Becky Bailey. I bought the book last May and I'm halfway through it. There's a lot to digest!

Becky Bailey teaches you (parent or teacher) how to use the daily conflicts we inevitably encounter to teach character development, social skills, self-control and conflict resolution.

But what's really different about her approach, is her philosophy that real change won't happen until you look inward and begin the change there.  This isn't a new idea for many people, but the way Bailey describes how to do this step-by-step (as in chapter-by-chapter) makes it extremely clear and easy to follow.

As I make my way through this book, one of the biggies that has popped out for me is the realization that I'm generally operating (in the classroom) on a mostly (not always) passive level.  People who do this (me included) tend to quickly switch to aggression when they're frustrated, and then feel huge guilt. Does that sound familiar? 

There are so many areas/thoughts/quotes I could comment on, but I'm going to tell you what she recommends for assertively giving commands to the class as a whole. 

Bailey suggests teaching both an auditory and visual signal. I've always done an echo-pattern clap to a 4/4 beat which has worked really well. But I might switch over to a tambourine this year. The idea is that when the children hear the signal they are to stop, breathe deeply, look at you, and wait for directions. The children are to practice "stop, breathe, look and listen" over and over and over again (we all know how much practice and modelling is needed) until it's second nature.

A beautiful children's book that complements this thinking is:

This peaceful book focuses on
mindful breathing to help children
 experience calmness with their
friends and families.

Of course, not everyone hears the signal (you know how some kids are so deeply immersed in their play or work), so you also teach the class to raise their hand after the signal. This is explained as a way to help your classmates.

Bailey recommends practicing this new behaviour for 21 days in order to teach a new habit. It's also super important to frame the experience in a positive light. Eg., the children who heard the signal are helping their friends be successful by now raising their hands as an additional reminder.

For the teacher, it's important not to judge or manipulate the kids' behaviour. So all you do is describe what's been accomplished. Eg., "You stopped what you were doing, you took a deep breath and you looked at me."

As a reminder to stop, take a breath and relax, here's a STAR poster you can grab. Enjoy!

Have a great day, everyone, and thanks again, Barbara, for inviting me to stop and linger for a while at the Corner :)

Barb

Grade ONEderful

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