Classroom Management Hacks (that may or may not work)

To the student who can not read an analog clock: “multiply the big hand by 5.” Even the 10 graders will boast about they can tell time now.

Designated seats are a great way to get to know a class quickly....Even in High School.

Also, having the students sign in on an attendance sheet is a great way to hold them accountable.

Blooket and Quizizz are worth the full price membership.

After an hour “Staph” Meeting, I spent another 1.5 hrs calling home about kids who can not seem to behave. At. All. Let’s see.

Make sub work worth points. Ask the sub to sign the turned in work as a receipt. Mark it in the grade book. Depending on the assignment you can make it extra credit, an all or none thing. It is wo… more

Set my alarm and put the coffee on the timer…

For seating charts try assigning alphabetically from the back left of the room. Label the desks with numbered stickers covered with mailing tape so the stickers aren’t so easily picked off. So easi… more

I am starting to think about thinking about going back to school.

Bliss alert: I have to think of what day it is.

Anyone have success with having students contact their parents as a consequence of disrupting class? Or any thoughts on the idea?

It really does take until the 4th of July to decompress. Or as a Russian friend says: “decompose.” Ha. Same difference.

Instead of being in 3rd Hr, I am laying on the couch.

Everyone got chromebooks? Exit Tickets non-negotiable for you? Google forms make for fun exit tickets. Play around with images and color, generate a spread sheet of responses, open and close it, che… more

Are you noticing all this yapping about empathy (empty) is largely a buzz word for enabling? True empathy is, well, empathy. The fake stuff is “It’s OK honey…” Are you seeing even fake empathy app… more

To help develop thinking skills, write very clear and simple directions. When questions pop up, ask the students to read the directions back to you to make sure you didn’t make a mistake. Fix the mi… more

Are Gallery Walks beneficial? They seem like controlled chaos to me.

For all the kids who try to push for an extra point of two to make the next term grade because “they’ve been really trying”

Try asking them if it would be okay to give a student with a 90 a 88 instead… more

If your students have laptops use Peardeck. Teacher-paced and the dashboard allows us to push further for more in-depth answers, send a message to individual students, keep everybody on task (mostly).… more

When students want answers on a silver platter, try framing it like this “This lesson is hard! This topic is helping us train our brains to figure out the frustrating.” At the end of class kids will… more

To avoid the inevitable rebuttal when late work is turned in:

1. When they turn in late work smile and say nothing more than Thank You”
2. Mark “Late” on the assignment.
3. In the grade book enter the grade as … more

If you have the means activities like Quizizz, Peardeck, EdPuzzle, and Quizlet make for great sub plans. The work is time stamped and no more “the sub lost my paper.” Of course excuses abound.

Try “Lock and Key” assignments. “Do this part first to unlock the second part.” The deadline keeps students (most) on task. Use a fun stamp to stamp the assignment that unlocks the next step. Pla… more

I had a parent tell me that their overstimulated, semi-aggressive child only behaves this way because his older brother (3 years older) has hated him since birth and has basically bullied this child h… more

If the trend is to give a student 50% for doing nothing then can we extrapolate that philosophy to teacher evaluations? Why should that ole 3/4 represent such a broad range?

Note to self: don’t plan a 9th grade lab activity during a full moon 🌕…not quite LUNatic but LOONEY for sure.
Am I alone?

What are your Late Work policies?

When feeling vehement and bitter, notice it. Pause. Label it. “Angry. Bitter.” That tiny space begins to diffuse the vitriol.

Start noticing all the idle threats we dish out…muster up the time and courage to follow through. Watch what starts happening. Prepare yourself for pushback. Especially when the talking-during-the-… more

What does your high school classroom management look like?

Try color coordinating classes according to the colors of the rainbow: Try red for 1st hr’s GC banner, red pens for grading, red binder clips for student work. Orange for 2nd hour. 3rd hr’s yellow … more

Email tips: During distance learning I tried out a number of new technologies. The aftermath was a larger number of emails from those companies and the companies they sold emails to. Write “unsubscri… more

To help encourage independence/trouble shooting/figuring it out, try this: make a short PPT or a small handout with clear directions in the form of a few steps. Tell the students they are flying so… more

Set boundaries. Answer emails during school hours and make REMIND one way. Of course there is the occasional exception for a judgment call.

Students (unconsciously?) respect preparation.

If the kids are expected to be off their phones, then I need to be off mine.

Posting objectives keeps me on track more than it helps the students.