Grouping by Chance

For your next session of group discussions of teamwork, try these fun methods for grouping your students by chance:

Deck of Cards
Randomly pass out playing cards or Uno cards and have students group according to number, colour, suit, or poker hand.

Photo Credit: ClipartMountain

Picture Puzzle Pieces
Cut photos or postcards into pieces and distribute. Students with the pieces from the same picture will form a group.

Appointment Book
Give students a page out of a daily planner/appointment book. Have students make and record “appointments” with their classmates. When you call out the times, students will “meet” the people for their appointment time.

Text Reconstruction
Take texts—stories, poems, diagrams, etc. and cut them into pieces before distributing them to students. Students who have pieces of the same text will form a group.

Cast of Characters
Write down the names of characters from well-known stories on individual cards and hand them out to students. Students with the same type of character (e.g. antagonist, protagonist, etc.) will group together.

Synonyms, Antonyms, Homonyms
Write down words on individual cards and hand them out to the class. Students will find a partner whose card is a synonym, antonym, or homonym, etc. of their word.

Grouping by Chance is taken from Surviving and Thinking: Making classroom management and organization work for you and your students by Maria Carty, published by Pembroke Publishers.

Four Steps to Helping Students Face Tough Social Situations

Step One: Observe

Photo Credit: Sandra Torrijos; Isis Clipart

It sounds simple, but observing is actually a complicated skill. This skill is so important that it will be used throughout all four steps.

Observe the child's behaviour before a social struggle occurs-listen to choice of words and tone of voice. This way, if something seems “off” it will be easy to see the difference between a student's normal way of speaking and the way they speak when they're distressed.

Observe if a child speaks directly to you without being asked. Notice how they speak and when they tell you what is wrong. There are times when a student will not come directly to you and you will have to take notice of changes in their behaviour.

Observing, knowing, and recognizing how a child acts if they're having a social problem will help you help them.

Step Two: Connect

Connect to the child by using active listening. Try and genuinely listen to their issue or problem, then essentially repeat back to them what they have said. But do not add judgment or guidance. Dig through the details of their story and simply repeat what you think they have said.

For example say something like, “That's a lot of information. Let me see if I understand. You are angry because your friend didn't save you a seat and you felt lonely because you sat by yourself. Is that right?”

If the child feels that you understand how they are feeling, but you are not judging them, they will be more likely to discuss their problem further and in turn, more likely to take your suggestions on ways to fix the situation.

Carry on the Kindness

There are times when we don't act quite as kindly as we intend to or would like to. We may experience a frustrating moment where we make a quick decision to be less kind than we could. Or, the weather is bad and we woke up late, and for the rest of the day we're a grumpier than usual.

This happens to the best of us. Snappy remarks and curt attitudes happen to students, teachers, peers, and colleagues. But, we have to keep in mind that we are always in control of our choices and we can easily choose to move forward with kindness.

To help students and teachers keep a kind frame of mind, think of three random acts of kindness to complete each day. These acts don't need public attentions. Just do them to spread good feelings and cheerfulness.

Ten Ways to Read a Poem Out Loud

1.    Introduce the Poem
Leader reads aloud without displaying the poem.
Leader reads as participants follow along with their eyes.

2.    Echo Reading
Leader reads one line: the group echoes what the leader says.

3.    Alternate-line Reading
Leader reads one line, the group reads the second line; they continue alternating lines. The activity is repeated by reversing parts.

4.    Cloze Technique
Leader reads each line, omitting the final word; group joins in to say the word and complete the line.
The activity can be repeated with the leader omitting additional words.

5.    Pitch
Read the poem in unison, starting in a whisper and gradually getting louder.
Read the poem in unison, starting in a loud voice and gradually getting softer to a whisper.

BCTC AquaVan

For teachers in British Columbia and parts of Alberta who cannot make it out to the local aquarium for a day’s field trip, try booking the BCTC AquaVan instead. The AquaVan, is a large truck carrying live aquatic creatures from the Vancouver Aquarium. The educators also on board, are ready to deliver aquatic programs, featuring live animals, props, and activities right to your school. Students will have the opportunity to touch a sea star, understand how a barnacle feeds, observe a hermit crab up close and discover the connections among animals, environments and ourselves.

Schedule for 2010-2011 School Year
September 7 – October 8: Northwestern BC, Prince Rupert to Prince George
October 25 – November 6: Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland
November 16 – December 17: Lower Mainland
January 10- February 11: Lower Mainland
February 25 - March 25: Vancouver Island
April 11 – May 6: Okanagan
May 23 – July 3: Northeastern BC and Northwestern Alberta

Taking Gender Differences into Account

A few differences have been noticed between the way boys and girls learn and develop certain skills.  It is important to understand the differences between their learning styles before being able to successfully engage and teach them.

Reading and comprehension is one subject in which girls excel at while boys take a little longer to learn and to grasp new concepts.

Boys, in general, take longer to learn something new, especially reading. This could be partly because boys tend to read less than girls and therefore don't get the same amount of practice.

Reading: Make it a Habit!

Cultivating a student who enjoys reading and writing can be tricky. The key is to find something that they enjoy reading and to make the act of reading more interesting and hands-on.

There are a few group and individual activities you can create to help engage students in a hands-on way.

For example, have students create a fantasy sports league. They can nominate players for a fictional team only after they have read about that athlete and can make a case for why that athlete should be included on the team.

Teaching the Language of Everyday Life

Most ESL students want to learn English for social as well as academic purposes. Starting with the basics is the best way for them to meet their goal. If they start by learning the essentials, the words and phrases that they would use in their community, at school, or while shopping, they will quickly learn the language of everyday life. By using a few simple techniques, you can help students reach their goals.

Keep the lessons simple. English-language learners can be from any age group, any grade, and any place. They're probably living in a new place, making new friends, and trying to make their way around a new society. Small amounts of information will be much easier for them to remember and much easier for them to practice.

First, teach them essential phrases that will actually help them, such as “My name is…” “I don't understand/speak English” and “Where is the bathroom?” At first, they may only understand these phrases as complete units, but soon they will understand the component words and recognize them in other sentences.

Get them Talking: The Value of Oral Language

When students have ample opportunity to speak and communicate in English, they easily develop listening and speaking skills. They are also more able to connect with their peers and develop self-confidence, which is actually a huge part of learning a language.

To help encourage them to speak, create a supportive and accepting environment. When assigning tasks and projects, keep in mind the student's level of proficiency. Assign groups and introduce people with common interests and activities so that they have things to talk about other than school work.

 Also, establish a classroom climate in which a student's errors are accepted as a normal part of the learning process. Make sure all other students in the class are welcoming and positive, offer their help, and communicate carefully with ESL students.

Seating in the Classroom

Photo Credit: Clipart Pal

There are a few different ways of setting up seating arrangements in your classroom. The physical spacing of a classroom impacts the way students learn, interact and focus.
Different desk arrangements encourage different types of interactions between teachers and students.

Start off the year wit desk arrangements that encourage individual or partner learning to help them gain focus and the ability to work by themselves.
A few weeks later, start placing the desks in small groups of three or four people, with the desks facing each other. Sitting in groups lets students develop working relationships with a few students. But, switch the groups of students every three to five weeks, so that no one gets frustrated.

For presentations or readings, make sure there is a designated seat, podium or space for the presenter. Having a designated space for presenters indicates that the presenter has the right to the class's attention and focus. Also, having a small library and reading area is a great way to encourage and interest students in independent reading.

This information about seating and set-up in the classroom is from a section of Maria Carty's text Surviving and Thriving: Making Classroom Management and Organization Work for You and Your Students, published by Pembroke Publishers.

Encouraging Early Writing

Getting small children and younger students interested in writing can be a little tricky, but, with the right activities, it can be fun.

During arts and crafts time, encourage students to experiment with pencils, pens, crayons and paper because children like to imitate adult work. They can draw flow charts, instructions or stories. Encourage them to fill in whatever words they do know under their images.

During playtime, encourage the kids to play games that involve pretend-writing, like grocery shopping lists, letters to friends and filling in applications.

You can also try having your students dictate a few sentences of a short story while you slowly write the words for them. This way, they can see the movement that your hand makes as you write the words. They can illustrate the story and, again, fill in the words they do know under their images.

Another good method for getting younger students to learn how to write letters and words is to copy out a word, lightly, in pencil. They can then trace the letters you've written and try mimicking the shapes themselves on another line.

Word searches are quiet, individual games that can be played in the classroom and also develop their word skills. They learn to find certain letters and words and can also start to learn how to pick out smaller words within larger ones.

Based on a portion of Ready to Learn by Anne Burke, published by Pembroke Publishers.

Routine in the Classroom

Establishing a regular routine right from the beginning of the school year is very important.
A routine starts the moment students walk into class, from distributing materials and creating discussions to dealing with late students and late work.

Always start the day the same way. Have regular activities that are done in the same order each day.

Walk students through your routine on the first day of class. Show them where to sit, which materials to take out and how to start the day. Most importantly, lead by example. Stick to your schedule firmly so students know that your routine is the way the classroom is run.

Photo Credit: Clipart ETC

Another important step is planning instruction and lessons. To get ideas, talk to other teachers and meet with school staff at the beginning to each school year to review plans.

Lessons should be planned carefully so that every part of your instruction has a purpose. Establishing a regular order of classes and topics helps the students be more prepared. When introducing a new topic, bring up what the students learned the week or day before so that they have something to build off of.

If students have tasks to complete during or after the lesson, post them on the board so everyone can easily keep track of what needs to be done. At the end of a lesson or activity, remember to always leave room for group or individual discussion of lingering questions.

Another great idea is to plan each lesson so there is an opportunity for students to get up and move around, shift their focus or take a brief break every 20 minutes of half-hour. Mini breaks help students stay focused while they're working or taking notes.

This information about establishing routine is from a section of Maria Carty's text Surviving and Thriving: Making Classroom Management and Organization Work for You and Your Students published by Pembroke Publishers.