Teacher Lists

I just attended a Professional Development session in which the presenter emphasized that teachers should not focus on what activities they will do. It is not in line with prioritizing student learning. Instead, teachers should spend time articulating goals, purposes, and objectives. This led to the worst-regarded PD ever. Vague jargon such as "implement systematic intervention" constituted that torturous 7-hour workshop. There should be a balance of determining general, meaningful principles, but teachers also really need concrete ideas and activities to use in the classroom. So, I am compiling Essential Lists for Teachers. These lists are alternately general and specific, but hopefully are all USEFUL. They are organized into components of teaching, such as Classroom Management. Let me know what you think.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

Top 10 Most Effective Teacher Phrases

1. Pass your papers forward
2. Listen up/This is important
3. Pencils down and look up here
4. Attention!
5. You may begin
6. Start wrapping up
7. This is due at the end of the period
8. Asking any question and cold-calling
9. Cheating is not worth it. If you’re worried, prepare better next time.
10. We have a lot to do today.

Essential Classroom Rules

1. Listen to the speaker at all times and follow teacher instructions promptly.  

2. Respect yourself, others, and the school property.

3. Raise your hand for permission to speak or to leave your seat.

4. Be seated in your assigned seat with materials ready when the bell rings.

5. The teacher dismisses you, not the bell. No packing up until she gives you permission.

6. No gum and no cell phone use in class.

Top 10 Classroom Procedures to Teach

1. Tardy policy
2. Bathroom policy
3. Turning in Late Work
4. Speaking in class
5. Bellwork
6. Passing forward paper
7. Receiving behavioral consequences
8. Correcting homework
9. Test taking
10. Finishing work early
    
    
    Top 5 Most Effective Behavioral Corrections for Whole Class
    1. Wait time - wait silently and authoritatively for students to quiet down
    2. Keep talking and let students shush each other
    3. Narrating compliance: “I see Erin working quietly, I see Ron…”
    4. Approach students and ask smaller groups to pay attention until whole class gets the message
    5. Ask the students to be quiet, talking louder to be heard
    
    
    Top 5 Most Effective Behavioral Corrections for Individuals
    
    
    1. Asking the student: “What should you be doing?” Re-explain directions if necessary
    2. Announcing progress toward desired compliance: “I need 3 more eyes up here and mouths closed”
    3. Eye contact with student followed by a disapproving look
    4. Stand closer to the student
    5. Call out the student by name
    
    
    10 Disciplinary Measures in Increasing Seriousness
1. Verbal Warning (see above)
2. Lunch Detention in your classroom + phone call home
3. Move the student to another seat
4. Make student leave the classroom and have conversation with him/her after
5. After school detention
6. One period-suspension
7. Parent-teacher meeting
8. Parent-teacher-administrator meeting
9. Suspension
10. Expulsion

Top 10 Achievement-Gap Closers

1. Call parents
2. Meet with student after school
3. Learn about the student’s interests
4. Ask how student is doing/if he’s ok
5. Discipline student - relentlessly give consequences
6. Discover the reason behind absences and misbehavior
7. Write down thoughts
8. Positive peer relationships
9. Know the other people in his life
10. Encourage and praise him
    
    

SETTING UP LESSONS

Top 10 Things on Adolescents’ Minds

1. Friends/Social Media
2. Grades/School
3. Family
4. Money
5. Obtaining the latest technology/clothing
6. Music
7. Cars
8. Movies/TV
9. Books
10. Politics
    
    
    Top 10 Teaching Philosophies
    1. Learning is the sharing of minds
    2. Memory is the residue of thought
    3. We are a community of scholars
    4. Knowledge is power
    5. The pursuit of knowledge is the pursuit of happiness
    6. Kindness
    7. Respect yourself to gain respect
    8. Back up your view with evidence
    9. Consider the other side
    
    
    
    
    Top 5 Ways to Focus on Lesson Objectives

    1. Title your lesson
    2. Write down the objective on the board
    3. Verbally declare the objective before or after the lesson
    4. Weave it into all elements of your lesson
    5. Assess it at the end of class

    
    

    Top 10 Most Common Lesson Objectives (in Layman’s terms)

    1. Restate an author’s main points
    2. State arguments for a position and its opposition
    3. Explain a theory/concept
    4. Give/identify examples of a theory/concept
    5. Use vocabulary correctly
    6. Closely parse out the structure of a case study
    7. Come up with questions for further study
    8. Write a clear essay answering a question with evidence
    9. Quickly solve a problem in allotted time
    10. Make connections between a detail and a wider implication
        
        
        Top 5 Instructional (Demonstrational) Techniques
        1. Powerpoint
        2. Verbal lecture
        3. Board notes
        4. Video
        5. Textbook reading/notetaking
           
           
           
           
    ACTIVITIES FOR TEACHING SKILLS
    
    
    Top Academic Skills
    1. Metacognition
    2. Time Management
    3. Speaking
    4. Listening
    5. Reading
    6. Writing
    7. Composing emails
    8. Presentations
       
       
       
       
    Top Ways to Build Writing Skills
    1. Freewriting
    2. Peer editing
    3. Rewrites
    4. Teacher Demos
    5. Outlines/Graphic Organizers
    6. Reading good writing
    7. Identifying strategies of good writers

Top 10 Literary Discussion Activities

1. Reading groups with assigned roles
2. Fishbowl socratic
3. Debate
4. Four corners
5. Socratic
6. Discussion quiz
7. Reviewing Questions, free form discussion (see independent practice list)
8. Save the Last Word for Me
9. Quiz answers
10. Pair activities (see guided practice list)

Top 10 Guided Practice (Collaborative Learning) Activities

1. Think-Pair-Share
2. Group quiz
3. Save the Last Word for Me
4. Peer Editing
5. Literary Circles
6. Write around
7. Pair Squares
8. Group Presentations
9. Skit
10. Advertisement

Top 10 Vocabulary Activities

1. Vocabulary skits
2. Antonyms/synonyms
3. Use in a sentence
4. Draw a picture
5. Part of speech/etymology
6. Dictionary hunt
7. Acting out
8. Repeated use
9. Yes/No Questions
10. Replacements

List 13: Top 5 Gamification (Competition) Ideas

1. Jeopardy
2. Demotion
3. Whiteboard Race
4. Booklympics
5. Baseball
   
   
   Top 10 Projects (English)
1. Alternate ending
2. Acting it out
3. Change the genre: commercial, modern-day, social media, diary
4. Video project
5. Speech
6. Book report
7. 3D model
8. Rap/song
9. Book jacket/collage
10. Parody
    
    
    Top 10 Independent Practice Activities
    1. Dialectical Journal
    2. Outline
    3. Drawing with written explanation
    4. Write own questions
    5. Change the genre - Facebook, Twitter
    6. Close reading/Literary Devices
    7. Answering questions
    8. Diary entry
    9. Historical research
    10. Theme identification
    
    
    Top 10 Summarization Activities
1. Write a tweet
2. One-sentence summary
3. Title each chapter
4. Comic book/collage
5. Mind map

OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

Top 10 Ways to Respond to a Hard Day

1. Connect with friends/family
2. Connect with colleagues
3. Reflect on the day in a quiet space alone
4. Enjoy favorite movie/book/music
5. Exercise
6. Take a bath/massage after school
7. Play a movie
8. Silent work day
9. Take a day off
10. Draw/paint/write