Teacher Mentoring Program E-Newsletter
THE LOOKOUT
VOL. 1 • ISSUE 3 • NOVEMBER 2014
UPCOMING
DUE DATES AND
EVENTS...
Lassiter Early College High School
Due Dates
Classroom Management Nightmares and Easy Solutions
(Click on the links below to access)
BY LEILANI BARNETT
Novice Teacher Mentor E-Log 11/14/14
Novice Teacher Mentor E-Log 12/5/14
Novice Teacher Mid-Year Assessment 12/19/14
Learning Community Mentor E-Log 12/19/14
New and Novice Teacher
Mid-Year Feedback
12/19/14
After 20 years in education, I occasionally still have the nightmare. I’m in a classroom with too
many students, not enough desks, no lesson plans, and no control of the class. In actuality, things
were never as bad as the dream—not even on my worst days as a rookie teacher. Still, classroom
management remains an area of focus for all effective teachers, and the good news is there are
many quick, easy fixes for most classroom management issues!
For example, learn and use your students’ names! It’s just easier to ignore or defy a stranger
than it is to treat badly someone who called you by name when you entered the classroom. Using
names creates an atmosphere of mutual respect. The faster you can learn names, the faster you can
establish effective student-teacher relationships.
Likewise, the faster you can say to the student who is talking, “John, do you have a question?”
will let students know their misbehavior won’t go unnoticed.
Bobby Sullivan
Coordinator, Teacher Mentoring Program
James B. Bonham Elementary School
2617 N. Henderson Ave
Dallas, TX 75206
www.dallasisd.org/tmp
newteachers@dallasisd.org
972-749-5712
I borrowed an activity from Dr. Richard Fulkerson of Texas A&M University-Commerce years
ago and continue to use it when I want to learn names quickly. My first day activity includes his
map or web with a spot for the student’s picture and name in the center. Around the picture, I
have spaces for students to list the things they like, things they dislike, hobbies, fears, formative
events, family members, favorite places, etc. This sheet is on the student desks as the class walks
in and serves as my first bell ringer. As students are completing the form, I walk around the
room and take a “snapshot” of each student. This activity alone helps me begin to know students’
personalities as some pose happily, some are shy, and some clown around for the camera.
In years past, I used an instant camera and tape to create the pictures, but these days I use my
phone and then print the pictures on 8 ½ by 11 label paper to create stickers the student can place
on their map. Before I post their maps around the room, I take them home and study names and
faces.
Equally important, create routines that maintain organization. Establish an area for students
with everything they need to turn in their papers: a basket in which they put all papers to be
graded; a stapler; a whole puncher; and a container for pens and pencils they can borrow.
TAKE A PEEK AT
THESE RESOURCES!
(CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW TO ACCESS)
WEBPAGES
TEACHERS.NET GAZETTE
EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
DATABASE
BEST RESOURCES FOR NEW
TEACHERS
ARTICLES & BOOKS
THE IMPACT OF INDUCTION AND
MENTORING PROGRAMS FOR
BEGINNING TEACHERS: A CRITICAL
REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH
THE POWER OF HABIT: WHY WE
DO WHAT WE DO IN LIFE AND
BUSINESS
ASSERTIVE DISCIPLINE: POSITIVE
BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT FOR
TODAY’S CLASSROOM
Classroom Management Nightmares and Easy Solutions
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1)
In another area, you will want to have a space in which you keep and organize graded papers for
quick returns. The faster students know their work “counts,” the more importance they will place
on completing their assignments in and out of class. Make sure these grades are quickly recorded,
too, so students and parents see their progress.
Eliminate downtime. Teaching bell to bell is a Dallas ISD expectation, but it also decreases the
time for things to get out of control in a classroom. Use a bellringer, so students have something
to do as soon as they walk into the classroom. Make sure there is accountability for this work—a
grade, a stamp, or a sticker, so students know there is an incentive for completing the assignment
on time.
Create smooth transitions between activities. Consider how you pass out papers, distribute
supplies, or get the attention of the class. Some teachers use a bell or a call back signal, such as
“When I say, ‘Number,’ you say, ‘One.’” I use, “If you can hear the sound of my voice, stop talking
and raise your hand.” Whatever you do, use your signal consistently.
Make parent contact. Even during the first week of school, start making positive calls home to
parents. Calling to say “I just wanted to tell you how well behaved Sarah is in my English class!”
or “I really appreciated how hard Jonathan worked on his journals this week” will go a long way in
sending the message that parents are your partners and that you welcome communication from
parents. Students who know you contact parents tend to be better behaved in your classroom.
Consider a weekly newsletter, giving students extra points for having parents sign and return each
week. Create a website or other method for sharing due dates and homework assignments with
students and parents.
Whenever something goes wrong with classroom management, take a look at your lesson
plan. Were there activities that could have been made more student centered? What real-world
applications exist for this lesson? What student interests could be pulled into this lesson? Engaged
students produce fewer classroom management problems!
RESOURCES
BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT
TRACKER
BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT PLAN
TABLE MANAGEMENT MATS
WHAT CAN I DO WHEN STUDENTS
STRUGGLE?
CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR
MANAGEMENT: A DOZEN COMMON
MISTAKES AND WHAT TO DO
INSTEAD
THE KEY TO CLASSROOM
MANAGEMENT
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT: TEN
TEACHER-TESTED TIPS
USING TEACHER PRAISE AND
OPPORTUNITIES TO RESPOND TO
PROMOTE APPROPRIATE STUDENT
BEHAVIOR
•
Questions to Promote Great Mentoring
Discussions about Classroom Management
•
What kinds of things do you do before school starts to promote classroom management?
•
How do you handle a situation in which a student is being defiant or refusing to do his or her work?
•
How do you deal with collecting and passing back student work?
•
Can you tell me about a student who was particularly difficult to deal with and what you did to establish
a better student-teacher relationship with him or her?
•
I’m dealing with [this problem], what would you do in my shoes?
•
How do you decide how to organize your classroom?
E-Newsletter ideas? Feel free to reach out to newteachers@dallasisd.org with
topics or resources you would like to share through the monthly E-Newsletter.
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Visit our website at www.dallasisd.org/tmp