Likely a book could be written about this - you've got me thinking.
What if someone asked - give me five quick tips to actually use in
my daily teaching that would make the school day brighter and
better for everybody? Not philosophical guidelines but actual
things to do....

Hmm. I'd say - start each day off with something special. I try to
make my five minutes of homeroom special for them - a good start -
a bright and happy start- to the day. ( one day a student said as
he left homeroom (sighing) "well, homeroom's over and I don't have
her class today so the rest of the day is downhill from here."

A philosophical guideline would be to have a sense of humor, be
ready to laugh. Children are funny! They say funny things, they do
funny things. Let yourself laugh - it's good for you and it's good
for them. Science tells us now that laughter is healthy, even
healing and positively affects brain chemistry.

But we're talking about actual things to do - start the day with
something bright. Of course you have to do the pledge first and/ or
get attendance out of the way but then - a word of the day? or "new
thought for the day" and that could be anything. "I'm thinking
today is the middle of the month - we're halfway through. What a
great job you're doing! That's my thought today."

Preschoolers do circle time to start the day - some do brief 'class
meetings'. Some schools do 'affirmation time' - that's a powerful
work and a powerful concept. Maybe say "I need three people to
share something positive - always positive - of something good that
happened yesterday. Not that we got a new toy - let's not talk
about material things - but something that made life feel good."

Let three people share everyday - though choosing the three would
be hard but yet possible.

But that's only 1 of the 5 I promised you. 2 - always finish
Fridays on a fun note - set aside the last 20 minutes of Friday
afternoon for a fun learning game. End the week on such a note.
(never give homework on weekends if you give homework)

3. Is your computer connected to a projector in your ceiling? Such
a device is worth paying for yourself - I show my kids so Many
great things. We talk about Denmark - I call up Denmark up on my
computer attached to the ceiling projector and shine it on the
white board.

4. Or get a television with a DVD player - again worth paying for
yourself, trust me. Rent DVDs for free from the library and show
clips - not full length anything but just illustrative clips. Their
attention spans are short anyway but five minutes of watching
something Makes their day and it's valid learning too. Watch five
minutes of the penguins when studying flight in science - every
single day I have visuals to go along with what we're doing all
rented for free.

5. Break it up - movement is important. "we're restless, everybody
up. It's not Simon Says, It's Miss Smith says - Miss Smith says
hands up, etc. etc. Don't be afraid to throw five minutes of
physical exercise into the morning. If they have trouble settling
afterwards, point that out to them - we can only do these things if
you can get yourselves back in gear.
>>
6. Read aloud every day - science supports this. 10 minutes of read
aloud - if you're a good expressive reader (not every teacher is).

Music is great. Story telling is great- true stories, fairy
stories - the storyteller has an honored place in human history.

Develop a bag of tricks. Here's one. A 'round robin story'. Ask a
child to say a sentence. Any (appropriate) sentence. "I went to the
store." Write it on the board. Now tell them it's a round robin
story. Who's got the next sentence - that makes sense. Take a
sentence from every child who volunteers - kids Love it.

Whisper down the lane game - right before recess play a quick game
like that to 'warm up' for recess - they leave for recess already
having been transitioned to a happy feeling and they don't go wild
on the playground trying to transition themselves. They leave for
recess feeling like a community.

You've really got me thinking. We end our summer school day by
asking for jokes - (appropriate of course) Kids love to come up and
tell a joke for the class. It's good public speaking experience and
again it sets a positive tone. Sending kids off each day with a
shared experience - "Best thing that happened today in school" -
let three kids share. Or one kid.

I hope you'll post back and let us know how it goes and hope you'll
forgive the length of this post!
>> > -I do feel the same way. Here are my questions. What are some
> easier things to start with to learn more effectivly in second
> grade? What should I start doing right away? What are some
> little tricks I can use? I have used music. This seems to work
> well. What are some ways I can jazz up lessons until I become
> better at my trade? Besides telling stories, life experiences,
> etc...
>
>

Share This Post | Report This Post

Next Post >>

Posts on this thread, including this one