September Teacher Talk

Posted by Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

It's September Teacher Talk Time.....Hopefully everyone is off to a great school year with the best classes ever.  We have so many great tips and ideas for you from awesome educators. Be sure to take a look at what everyone has to say.

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Remembering 9/11

By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

I remember September 11 as if it were yesterday. I woke up to a spectacular morning, not a cloud in the deep blue sky. The day was simply perfect.

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My Class Won't Stop Talking!

By Retta London of rainbow City Learning

A few tips on how to handle the chattiest class ever! 

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Creating Welcome Signs for Open House

By M. Moore of Moore Resources

It's Back to School time! Open house is coming soon, therefore, I wanted to share with you two 'Welcome Sign In' Signs I created this year. The purpose of my sign is for parents and guardians to see it, feel welcome, and as a reminder for them to please sign in on the sign in sheet I will lay out.

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Back to School Math Riddles

By Sara Snyder of Snyder Classroom

The beginning of the year can be hard for students as they adjust back into the routine an rigors of school. I am always trying to find ways to make math fun and approachable in my classroom. These math riddles are just the thing to help students practice the skills that they need to refresh, but also add a bit of fun to the computation too!

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In Defense of the "Lazy" Teacher

By Kerry Tracy of Kerry Tracy

Has any profession been so profoundly misunderstood as teaching? 

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How to Set Up Visual Supports for Whole Group Instruction

By Thia Triggs of Print Path

This tutorial will help you make your own visual supports for positive behaviors.

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The 12 Days of Back to School

By Shametria Routt of The Routty Math Teacher

“On the twelfth day of back to school, my principal gave to me twelve students learning, eleven cutters cutting, ten songs for singing, nine clocks ticking, eight kids-a-thinking, seven books for reading, six games for playing, five packs of pens, four bulletin boards, three supply bins, two oversized rugs, one cluttered classroom and a mixed-up set of TEs.” Celebrate the Back to School season with "The 12 Days of Back to School" blog series! Read about my tips, tricks, and strategies to get ready for the new school year.  

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Reducing Pencil Issues in the Classroom

By Marcy Howe of It's a Teacher Thing

Here's a great blog post and video tutorial to help you reduce wasted time in your classroom by eliminating pencil issues.

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Not Another Parent Night!

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Are you thinking, Oh No!!! Another parent night, what am I going to do? Do you stay up worrying the night before?, or feel butterflies in your stomach? Are you self conscious about getting up and speaking in front of parents? Well, if you answered yes to any of these questions, you’re not alone.

My teaching partner and I came up with a way to make parent night fun for everyone, including ourselves, since neither of us likes to get up in front of an audience, other than our classroom, lol!

 It happened one afternoon, after the kids had gone home.  We wanted to do something different for parent night.  Suddenly, the phrase, “Actions speak louder than words,” came into my head, and I had an Ah ha! moment. Why not show parents what our program is like instead of telling them.  That’s  how our Parent Night Video Program began.

We prepared for the  taping by making sure we got the go ahead from the principal as well as all the teachers who work with our students. Next we let our classes in on it, and they just loved the idea.

When the appointed day arrived, we were at the front door, camcorder in hand, to tape them as soon as they got off the bus. We were  greeted with waves and hellos as they entered the building and proceeded to their homerooms.

Mostly, we recorded  the kids, but we also wanted to show our teaching style so the parents could get to know us a little, We would go back and forth between rooms creating a short video of both. This can be tricky because the kids are alone for a few minutes just about every period. It’s amazing how much you learn about yourself and your charges when you watch yourself teach.We always made sure that we captured each child doing something, we never wanted anyone to feel left out.

When period one ended, which was either history or science, we’d escort them to Unified Arts, taping while walking. Some of them would be sewing, others would be doing woodwork, art, or metal shop. Again we would go back and forth between classes doing our filming. Parents loved to see them in action, we’d hear “oohs and ahs,” as they saw their little ones using power equipment, or sewing machines, and cleaning up after themselves. They were in amazed at the types of things the kids did, especially in metal/wood shop, without losing fingers or limbs. 

At the end Unified Arts, we would tape either English or Math classes continuing to make sure that everyone was included.

After a busy morning,  we would switch groups and get ready to go to lunch. which is a real trip. We filmed them going through the lunch line and showed the cafeteria staff serving their food. Watching their child eat, and what they threw away was eye opening for many parents.

Back to class to continue taping either math, English, world history or science classes.  As the day drew to a close, you could still see us taping the children while in homeroom study period. and as their buses were being announced over the loudspeaker.  Our ending statement says it all, “The last bus has been called, the room is empty, and quiet and sometimes we like it like that.” We always get chuckles from the parents because they can

 relate.

Our final step, before parent night, is to send notes home letting them know that they will be viewing a  presentation of A Day in the Life of their Child. Then we do some edits.

During the day of parent night, the class gets to see the final production. They are treated to popcorn or some type of snack and we all sit back to watch ourselves in action. 

Parent night finally arrives and our production is ready for viewing. We introduce it and tell them that the video will probably answer every question that they might have and it usually does. Jokingly we call ourselves Marin & Filipek DeMille after the Hollywood director Cecil B. DeMille and the parents chuckle over that. The ice has been broken and we’re ready to begin.

Of course, there are times when the unexpected happens, like the video player doesn’t work, or we can’t find the TV that we signed up for. We’re all human, and these things occur. We take it in our stride and the parents are understanding. Eventually, we get everything up and running and all are happy.

The best part is to watch the reactions of the parents as they watch their kiddos in action. They marvel at how busy they are and how much work is done throughout the day. They’ve never seen how their child behaves in school and they just love this. Better still, they realize what a difficult job we, as teachers have trying to tame these middle school children.

 

 At the end of the film, we have received standing ovations, as the parents are thrilled with what they’ve just seen. We’ve made a great impression and we can rest a bit easier knowing that we’ve completed a successful parent night.

Deann

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