Lavon, a first year teacher with three preps, asked for help with “Many of the teachers say that their classes have many routines that help make class run smoothly. My students know to expect to have bell work every day, but beyond that, I don’t think there is enough structure for them, as my classes sometimes feel chaotic”
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Lavon, welcome to the most rewarding profession imaginable. I am so glad you joined us because you have the quality that most great teachers have, namely, you are reflecting on what you can do to improve your teaching craft and create a teaching voice that will support smoother classes.
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First get a hold of a ‘clicker’ either a remote mouse or remote presentation device. This will help you to walk around the room and stand near students who are off task and yet still proceed with the lesson. Once you start using it, you will never look back!
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Second, make an outline for each class of the day’s activities and make one slide for each activity. If you use a book, show the page and the page number. If you are using movie talk, show an image from the clip, if you are doing embedded reading, show the completed sheet, if you must teach from a vocabulary list, show the list, etc. I call this a “Daily Tech Guide” and it can be created in any software that you choose. The software doesn’t matter, the visual support to your daily class activities does!
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Third, take charge of your transitions. Things fall apart with transitions. I have found that by using musical transitions in the target language, students can’t help singing along with these catchy tunes and slip into the next activity without the off-task behavior. See an example here for Spanish. French, Italian, German, Mandarin, English and Latin. I know you mentioned turning to TeacherspayTeachers to help you create lessons for your three preps. I love TpT because it helps new teachers to deliver lessons from veteran teachers and accelerates their learning curve while giving them time to have a life outside the classroom. I think you will find that these videos can be used every day unlike most activities.
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After a week of making these outlines, you will be able to quickly make your three a day for your three preps by starting with the ones you have created. It will be worth the initial time investment.
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As a 30 year veteran, I can share with you that I want to go back and apologize to my first year students and also thank them for making me a better teacher. Many of my former high school students are now in their 40s and one is even a grandmother. Being a part of their education has enriched my life tremendously. I feel that 30 years from know you will be saying the same. Welcome to the World’s Most Important Profession!
Here are the cuts from the Top 21 I use every week.
