The Classroom Teacher's Survival Guide: Practical Strategies, Management Techniques and Reproducibles for New and Experienced Teachers, 3rd Edition

Foreword xiii
by Stephen G. Barkley

About the Author xv

Acknowledgments xvii

I The Basic Teacher Toolkit

1 Creating a Supportive Learning Environment from Day One 1

The First Day of School 2

Arranging Successful Classrooms 2

Students’ Desks 3

Seat Assignments 4

Keeping Desks Clean 5

The Teacher’s Desk 5

Basic Classroom Supplies 6

Seventeen Tips for Making Outstanding Bulletin Boards 6

Helping English Language Learners 8

The Room Environment 9

Noisy Classrooms Impede Learning 10

Greeting Your Students 11

Getting to Know Your Students 12

Welcoming New Students 13

The Importance of Relationship Building 14

Resources to Help in Relationship Building 16

Clarifying Expectations 16

Tasks to Accomplish 17

First-Day-of-School Checklist 18

Additional Suggestions 18

Creating an Inviting School Climate 19

2 Nurturing Positive Student Behavior 29

Proactive Classroom Management 30

Establishing Rules 30

Thirty Hot Tips for Managing Classroom Behavior 32

What Do You Want? 36

Positive Reinforcement of Good Behavior 36

The Reward Hierarchy 37

Tips on Using Positive Reinforcement in the Classroom 37

Potential Classroom Rewards 38

Tangible (Physical) Reinforcers 38

Activity Reinforcers 39

Help the Teacher 39

Rental Privileges as Potential Activity Reinforcers 40

Social Reinforcers 40

Recognition 40

Intrinsic (Internal) Reinforcers 41

Creative Self-Expression 41

Positive Referrals: Recognition That Works 41

Helpful Resources 42

Cell Phones and Text Messaging in Class 42

Corporal Punishment 44

The Case Against Corporal Punishment 45

Additional Information on Corporal Punishment 46

Time-outs 46

Dos of Using Time-outs 46

Don’ts of Using Time-outs 47

Bullying in Schools 48

Why Students Bully 48

Successful Interventions 48

“Fight, Fight!”: Intervention Strategies 49

Motivating the Unmotivated 50

The Teacher as a Skilled Helper 51

What Good Listening Is Not 52

Reflection of Feelings 53

Twenty-three More Tips for Becoming a Better Listener 54

3 Time Management and Organizational Strategies 73

The Erosion of School Time 74

The School Calendar 74

Instructional Time 75

Teacher Time-on-Task 76

The Pace of Instruction 77

Student Time-on-Task 77

Conclusion 79

References 79

Prisoners of Time 80

Block Scheduling 80

Advantages of Block Scheduling 81

Disadvantages of Block Scheduling 82

For More Information 83

Eleven Tips for Minimizing Classroom Interruptions 83

Teacher Time Robbers 84

Full-Time Teachers’ Workweek 85

Classroom Routines 85

Taking Attendance or Lunch Count 87

Distributing and Collecting Materials 88

Regaining Students’ Attention 89

Seeking Permission to Leave the Room 90

Seeking Help 91

Students’ Tools 92

Assignments and Homework 92

Storage Solutions 93

The Challenge of Paperwork 93

Causes of the Paper Deluge 94

Thirty-four Tips for Handling Paperwork 95

Communications 98

Teacher Time Log 99

To-Do List 100

Assessing Student Time-on-Task 101

Conquer Procrastination Now! 102

Procrastination Payoffs 104

Attacking Procrastination 106

Tips on Getting Organized 107

Know What You Want 107

Plan for Success 107

Discover Your Prime Time 107

Keep a Personal Calendar 108

Lead a Balanced Life 108

Finding Time for a Really Important Task 110

Been to a Good Meeting Lately? 110

Look for Alternatives to a Meeting 111

Have an Agenda 111

Begin on Time 111

Include Only Necessary People 112

Select a Conducive Environment 112

Keep the Meeting on Task 113

Record Progress 114

End on Time 114

Student Help 114

II Essentials for Effective Teaching and Learning

4 Creating Successful Lessons 133

Planning Effective Lessons 134

Beginning a Class 136

Action Verbs for Writing Instructional Objectives 138

Learner-Centered Lessons 140

For More Information 141

Planning Units of Instruction 141

For More Information 141

Thirty-eight Hot Tips for Maintaining Interest 142

Seven Cardinal Rules for Effective Visuals 147

Additional Tips for Using Overhead Transparencies 148

Storyboarding 148

For More Information 149

Internet Resources 149

Review Techniques 150

Mind Maps 150

For More Information 151

Mind Mapping Software 151

Nineteen Tips for Closing a Lesson 151

Differentiating Instruction 154

Multiple Intelligences 154

Emotional Intelligence 157

Preferred Learning Modalities 160

Teaching to Students’ Strengths: Homework That Helps 161

Interesting Homework 163

Making Assignments 165

The Internet and Homework 166

Collecting and Grading Homework 166

Handling Makeup Work 166

Putting More Pizzazz in Your Presentations 168

Voice 168

Nonverbal Communication 169

Improving Your Speaking Effectiveness 170

Humor in the Classroom 171

Tips on Using Humor in Your Classroom 171

For More Information 173

Seeking Student Feedback 174

Guidelines for Fair Use of Copyrighted Educational Materials 175

Public Domain 176

Seeking Permission to Use Copyrighted Material 176

Protecting Your Creative Works 177

5 Interactive Teaching and Learning Strategies 183

Question and Answer 184

Twenty-two Hot Tips for Asking Effective Questions 185

Inquiry Learning 187

For More Information 188

Brainstorming 188

Creativity Crunchers 190

Brainwriting 192

List Making 192

Class Discussions 193

Fishbowls 194

Artwork 195

Music 196

Guided Imagery 197

Journal Keeping 198

Field Trips 200

Ideas for Potential Field Trips 202

Field Trip Sypply List 203

Field Trip Follow-up Activities 204

Virtual Field Trips 204

Guest Speakers and Panels 205

Debates 208

For More Information 209

Videos and DVDs 209

Podcasts 211

For More Information 212

Internet Resources 212

Blogs 212

Interactive Technology in the Classroom 214

For More Information 214

Video Recording 214

For More Information 216

Designing Effective PowerPoint Presentations 217

Free PowerPoint Lessons 217

Sources for Free Images and Sounds 217

Dyadic Encounters 218

Demonstrations 219

Board Work and Whiteboards 219

Action Research 220

Interviews 221

Construction 222

Card Sorts 222

Surveys and Questionnaires 223

Oral Presentations 223

Role Playing 224

Dramatization 227

Games and Simulations 228

Helpful Resources 230

Cooperative Learning 231

For More Information 233

6 Assessment and Testing Tools 241

Assessing Student Performance 242

Formative versus Summative Assessment 242

Monitoring Student Progress 243

Variability in Assessment 244

Grading Student Performance 245

Twenty Tips for Making Grading as Painless as Possible 246

Tests and Quizzes 247

Grade Contracts 249

The Multiple-Option Grade Contract 249

Authentic Assessments 251

Portfolio Assessments 252

Performance Assessments 254

Self-Assessment 254

Designing Rubrics 255

Sample Generic Rubric 255

Thirty Alternative Assessments 256

For More Information 256

Interpreting Standardized Test Scores 257

High-Stakes Testing 258

Arguments for High-Stakes Testing 259

Arguments Against High-Stakes Testing 260

For More Information 260

III Striving for Excellence

7 Building a Learning Community 269

Twenty-four Hot Tips for Working with Other Teachers 270

Working with a Mentor 272

Telementoring 274

For More Information 274

Guidelines for Collaborative Teams 274

Suggestions for Effective Action Planning Teams 277

Helpful Resources 278

Working with Your Principal 278

Improving Parent-Teacher Relations 280

Parent or Guardian Conferences 282

The Successful Open House 285

Tips for Helping Substitute Teachers 286

Working with Support Staff 288

Working with Volunteers and Aides 289

8 Staying on Top of Your Game 297

Twenty-two Tips for Becoming an Effective Teacher 298

Suggested Reading on Effective Teaching 300

Teacher Expectations Revisited 301

For More Information 301

Are You an Effective Teacher? 302

Twenty-seven Mistakes Teachers Commonly Make 305

Thirty-two Strategies for Nurturing Peak Performance in Others 305

Effective Schools 307

For More Information 308

Indicators of Quality 308

National Teaching Standards 310

Professional Development 312

National Board Certification 316

Educational Research 317

The Scientific Method 318

Types of Research 318

Common Flaws in Research Articles 319

The Importance of Statistics 321

Basic Research and Statistics Glossary 321

For More Information 322

Learning What Works: Action Research 325

For More Information 326

Professional Organizations 326

Education Journals 330

General Education Periodicals 330

Research Journals 331

Subject Specialty Journals 331

Online Education Journals 332

Stress and Burnout in the Classroom 333

Stress Management in the Classroom 334

For More Information 336

Stress Busters and Sanity Savers 336

Famous Americans Who Also Taught School 341

Ten Inspirational Teacher Movies 342

9 Helpful Resources for Teachers 347

Scrounging for Supplies 348

Potential Sources for Teaching Supplies 349

Suppliers of Instructional Materials 350

Sources of Rubber Stamps 353

The Internet as a Learning Resource 353

E-mail 355

Electronic Discussion Groups 356

Some Popular Online Education Discussion Groups 357

Online Resources for Beginning Teachers 357

Online Lesson Plan Archives 358

Online Collaborative Learning Resources 360

Educational Search Engines 360

Useful Online Databases 361

Online Directories 363

Helpful Books on Using the Internet in the Classroom 363

Organizations Supporting Educational Use of the Internet 363

Computer Software for Improving Teacher Productivity 364