My first week of school is quickly wrapping up. I haven’t taught just middle school level students in a few years, and I am starting to remember the following:
- I will not get to sit down during the day. Not once.
- I need to invest in shoes with better support.
- If you want students to be quiet, just ask them to stop flirting. Magic!
- Saying something ten times is never enough...I am going to lose my voice.
- Exit slip post-it notes that read: “Mrs. K is awesome” make me smile!
1) Duck Dynasty Poster. This sits right over my computer in my desk/teacher area. I stopped counting how many times my students asked me about it and then proceeded to tell me how often they watch the show, who their favorite bearded man is, and Uncle Si cracks them up. It definitely is a winner in the classroom decor department and has been a great way to start non-school related conversations with my kids. Is Duck Dynasty just a favorite in rural areas?
Pep Talk Video Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-gQLqv9f4o
How can you not smile when you see this video? This led into a cooperative learning group activity:
How can we make our classroom more awesome?
The Kid President asked us, “What will YOU create to make the world more awesome?” Today, we are going to work in our cooperative learning groups to brainstorm how we can make our classroom more awesome!
Task: Come up with a list of 5 to 7 actions that describe what you (as students in social studies class) can each do every day to make our classroom an AWESOME place of hard work, learning, kindness, and fun! (Example: one person talks at a time while everyone else listens). Write your answers on the front and back of this paper.
My students came up with some great ideas that I am going to post in our class along with a picture of the Kid President. They cannot wait to watch another Kid President video next week!
How did you connect with your kids this week?
-Mrs. K
I also use the "Stop flirting!" technique. It did turn around and bite me once last year, though, when I said it to two girls (I never discriminate who gets that command... anyone talking is fair game) and one told her mom I called her gay in front of the whole class. That was a fun one to explain. haha!
ReplyDeleteSo effective! Too good not to use :)
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