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Effective Teaching...
by Harry and Rosemary Wong
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This article was printed from Teachers.Net Gazette,
located at http://teachers.net.
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October
2002
Effective
Practices Apply to All Teachers
"But it does not apply to me. I'm a high school teacher," is the criticism
that we sometimes hear of our book, The First Days of School,
either from people who write to us or occasionally by reviewers of the book
on Amazon.com. No suggestions, however, are given as to what a high school teacher
might be looking for. More often than not, these disparaging comments are made
to imply that our ideas are better suited for elementary teachers.
Permit us to set the record straight. Between the two of us we have over 50
years of "in the trenches" K-12 classroom experience and The First Days
of School is replete with specific high school examples such as
Jane Smith, principal, page 10
Richard Crewse, photography teacher, page 11
Pam Ware, drama teacher, page 12
Valley Central High School, teacher's handbook, page 22
Flowing Wells High School, Keys to Success, page 39
Luisa Valesco, secretary, page 58
Jim Heintz, English teacher, page 110
Merle Whaley, math teacher, page 139
Judie Gustafson, math teacher, page 172
Julie Joubert-Guillory, science teacher, page 181
Bob Wall, history/physical education teacher, page 192
The effective teacher is someone who can take an idea or technique, even if
it is not related to education, and transform it into something that will apply
to a personal situation. The effective teacher is a creative teacher---one
who can THINK, REFLECT and IMPLEMENT.
Procedures in a Foreign Language Class
Yes, even foreign language teachers need procedures! In a subject area that
requires much structure and rigor for student success, it would be only second
nature to have a classroom that was organized as such. We are most pleased to
share the work of five foreign language teachers, four of whom are secondary
teachers, and their supervisor from the Newport News Public Schools in Virginia.
They are
Chuck Walsh, German teacher, Denbigh High School
Christine Toni, French teacher, Menchville High School
Kathy Dupuy, Spanish teacher, Warwick High School
Charlene Lee, German teacher, Dozier Middle School
Marilyn Morris, Foreign Language Talented and Gifted Teacher, grades 3-5
Allison Foster, Supervisor
As you read the following, please know that their work was developed from
the classroom management techniques suggested in The First Days of School.
One of the major hallmarks of lifeling learning professionals is that they
continually learn and are able to apply what they learn to their own situation.
Simply stated, they are able to THINK and REFLECT on what others do, regardless
of their subject, grade level, or type of school, and then IMPLEMENT these ideas
and techniques into their own repetorie and classrooms.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM PROCEDURES/ACTIVITIES
PRE-CLASS PROCEDURES
- Teachers stand at the classroom door to greet students as they enter.
This eliminates the need for attention, which certain students exhibit at
the beginning of every class. This time can also be used to distribute any
handouts as students enter, such as color codings for groups or the warm-up
activity.
- Teachers put off dealing with non-emergency situations and needs
until students are working. Then the teacher is able to attend to those needs
without taking away from valuable learning time.
- Students who have something of a non-emergency nature that they
wish to tell the teacher can fill out a prepared form titled "Listening Ear"
with a line drawing of an ear and four blank lines for the student's message.
Students can use the target language, which is the language being taught,
to communicate in writing what they want the teacher to know. The teacher
reads and responds as necessary to the message later, when it is not disruptive
to classroom work.
BEGINNING OF CLASS PROCEDURES
- Personal contact with the teacher relieves students' need for attention
while allowing the class to proceed. In the elementary grades, the traveling
(visiting) foreign language teacher enters the classroom, makes eye contact,
and shakes hands with each student while all students take out their folders
and sing a motion song in the target language.
- High school and middle grade teachers have bellwork/warm-up/sponge activities
on the board or overhead projector so students get to work as soon as
they enter the classroom. It might be a cartoon for which the students must
compose a caption in the target language or a Power Point presentation with
something related to the day's lesson. For example, a rolling (scrolling or
looping) message in the target language naming articles of clothing prompting
the students to translate in preparation for the lesson that follows.
- Objectives for the day are displayed on the board or on a chart
where students can easily see them before the lesson begins.
- Attendance is taken without interrupting the students' work by consulting
the seating chart after all buses have arrived.
HOMEWORK PROCEDURES
- Homework is always gone over in class, however most teachers don't personally
check homework on a daily basis. Rather, homework spot checks are done
and homework tests are given periodically.
- In some classes, language workbooks are collected periodically and credit
is given, with assignments corrected by the students.
MAKE-UP WORK PROCEDURES
- A student "class secretary" maintains a "What Did I Miss?" folder
with a dated sheet listing those absent, the daily class objective, classwork
completed that day, and any homework assigned. The secretary takes any handouts,
writes names of missing students on them, and places them in the folder to
be accessed when the absent students return.
ORAL PARTICIPATION RECORD
- Teachers have a record of oral participation, maintained by a student
recorder. Each day a student "recorder" is determined from the alphabetical
list of students. The recorder's job is to mark participation points
on a class grid. The recorder is not expected to participate orally
that day.
GROUP ASSIGNMENTS AND BEHAVIOR
- Each teacher has a system of procedures for setting up small groups.
Some teachers assign groups by using a clock system. Students select partners
at the beginning of the year by having other students sign for each hour on
their clock. Then partners are assigned by saying, "Go to your 3 o'clock partner,"
etc. Others use animal groups or other extension vocabulary groups in the
target language for pairing students.
- Index cards are used for forming larger groups of 3, 4, or 5. Colored
cards with city names, different cultural symbols, animal sounds, etc., are
distributed as students enter the room. One teacher uses family groups and
German-speaking countries. Also used are cutouts of the country or its flag
or automobile stickers with the abbreviations for different countries, which
are handed out to the students as they enter. These procedures allow students
to move quickly and efficiently to their groups.
- Every member of each small group has a specific role or task. One
teacher requires students to learn military titles in the target language.
Each title or rank has a specific role in the group, such as group leader,
recorder, etc.
WATCHING VIDEOS
- Students are informed of and discuss the specific purpose/s before viewing
a video from the series which coordinates with the foreign language textbooks.
Videos sometimes serve as the springboard to a travel simulation where the
students use a passport to board an "airplane" for travel to the country whose
language is being studied. Realia from the destination city or country can
be incorporated.
MAINTAINING THE CLASSROOM
- Because many of the Foreign Language teachers move from room to room and
do simulations and other activities, a period of at least 5 minutes between
classes is set aside to allow for putting the room back in order before the
next class enters. This allows for an orderly, efficient start to the
next period.
PROCEDURES FOR ENDING THE CLASS
- An elementary teacher ends each class with a goodbye song in the target
language while students put their nametags in their folders and store
the folders in the designated area.
- To exit some classes, students must say a vocabulary word from the theme
being studied.
COMMUNICATIONS WITH PARENTS
- All conferences, phone calls and other contacts with parents are recorded
on a standardized "Parent Contact Log," recording date, person contacted,
type of contact, reason/purpose, and notes.
- Schools wired for email use email contact with parents. Some schools
use an Infolink system which allows parents to call a number every day
to find out what activities were done in class.
- Some teachers send home progress sheets and letters informing parents
whenever a new chapter or unit begins, outlining the objectives and providing
information about any cultural activities or projects associated with the
new unit.
DISPLAYING STUDENT WORK
- Student work is displayed in scrolling Power Point presentations
and corridor showcases. "Museums" have been created where students portray
famous people who speak the foreign language or famous Americans who came
from a different country (i.e. Albert Einstein). Other students are invited
to tour the museum, which encourages sign-ups for next year's course.
- Advanced students develop newspapers and newsletters in the target
language. These are shared with beginning and intermediate students.
- Some classes have fashion shows related to the clothing of the country whose
language is being studied. All students have specific roles and responsibilities
in the fashion shows (models, commentator, set design, etc.).
- One teacher has students make 3-D houses with all rooms and objects labeled
in the target language. Students write a house tour in the target language
and present the tour for an oral grade. Projects are entered each spring in
the Virginia Geographical Society contest.
Additional Tips for Traveling Teachers
Careful organization is a must for those teachers who must travel from room
to room or from school to school. Pack bags ahead of time for different lessons
and different schools.
Put magnetic strips on vocabulary lists, posters, objectives, homework charts,
Standards of Learning, and other materials for the board so that they can be
slapped up quickly at the start of class.
Let carts become your rolling classroom. At Newport News, Virginia, carts
are reserved ahead of time. They use carts called "The Traveling Teacher"TM
(877-722-4435), which allows for lessons to be placed in sequential order and
moved so that they can be easily taught.
Most importantly, develop a relationship with at least one supportive colleague
in each school, so that there is an emergency person to ask for help, such as
when quick coverage for a class is needed.
Think, Reflect, and Implement
Learn from your colleagues---all of them. They all have something to offer.
You just need to take the time and the thought to discover it. Fill your chest
(or rolling cart) this year with new ways to become even more effective.
Remember, the effective teacher is a creative teacher, one who can think,
reflect, and implement. If you are a 3rd grade teacher, were you
able to steal any of the foreign language procedures from the high school teachers
to use in your classroom? For instance, you can have a "Listening Ear" form
for your students to fill out any time during the day the students need to talk
to you about non-lesson, non-emergency "things." Require the students to write
in complete sentences. Respond to the slips in any manner you see fit. The point
is you can take an idea someone else uses at a different grade level and adapt
it to your classroom situation.
This is the art of a true professional and effective teacher, a learner who
learns along with the students.
Harry & Rosemary Wong products: http://harrywong.com/product
This printable version is provided for the convenience of individuals.
