TEACH LIKE A CHAMPION

Emily Kelley
Strategy: Right is Right- 2
Description:
Right is Right is a strategy that sets a high standard for your classroom. It
sets a standard of correctness. That high standard is an answer that is
100% correct. The strategy suggest that if you refer to many things as
"right", it will start to lose its meaning. It ricks the students not knowing
which answer is truly and completely correct. The book states bluntly,
"When you sign off and tell a student she is right, she must not be betrayed
into thinking she can do something that she cannot.
Observation/ Implementation:
This is not a strategy I excel at at all. I all top often like to sugar coat the
truth about a student's answer. I do not like to say something is not right,
but now I know this is needed in the classroom for high expectations and
clarity. My Birmingham city placement teacher certainly exceed at the
strategy. She was very straight forward about the answers students gave
her. If they were not correct, she would tell them and then move on until a
student was able to give her the exact answer she was looking for. Maybe
at first I would have viewed this as harsh, but I think it is necessary for a
classroom that knows exactly what "right" is.
Strategy: The Hook- 12
Description:
The Hook is a strategy where the teachers introduce the material in a way
that inspires learning and excites students to learn about the lesson. This
will help students now only feel like they have to learn the information, but
that they want to learn about it. This does not take a long time but is only a
short introductory moment. It can be something like a story, video, puzzle.
or picture that helps introduce a new concept. The book says there are
different categories of hooks: story, analogy, prop, media, status, or
challenge. All of these intriguing activities can be used to capture the
attention of a class.
Observation/ Implementation:
The Hook is a strategy that is implemented in every lesson that I teach-
except we call it "Engagement." In my mind, these two went hand-in-hand.
For every single lesson, I have been taught to provide an engagement for
the information about to be taught. I have used anything from a video, skit,
riddle, and pictures to help attract the students to my lesson. I have found
things like have appealed to the interest of my class while having
educational value in the lesson to come. It is easy to lose students by
immediately jumping into the information. That is why it is important to take
just a few minutes to find away to get your class's attention.
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Strategy: Check for Understanding- 18
Description:
Check for Understanding is a strategy that requires you to constantly seek
opportunities to assess what your kids can do while you're teaching. Then
you need to take what you learned from that assessment and figure out
how to address any needs. So this is a two step process. The checking for
understanding happens when you gather data. It requires you to think of
the answers to your questions as data. The teacher needs to know what
they want their students to understand, check and see if they do, and then
learn to alter the lesson to address those needs.
Observation/ Implementation:
I have implemented the Check for Understanding strategy in multiple ways.
They are often quick little strategies that help me see where my students
are at. I can ask the students to answer questions out loud. Often times,
while they are doing group table work, I walk around and listen in on
conversation. This can help clue me in on who is getting it and who is
having some troubles. I have also given the students white boards and ask
them to do a problem on their own and then show it to me. These are all
ways I "check for understanding" from my students. I take what I learn from
these texts and figure out who can be a peer tutor, who needs a one-on-
one lesson, do I need to re-teach it as a whole, and how do I need to
approach the information next time. It is a very useful strategy that helps
me figure out a lot about my students.
Strategy: Entry Routine- 28
Description:
One on to set up the classroom for success is to establish a routine. One of
the most important routines to set the tone for the day is the entry routine.
Threshold is the strategy used when the student immediately walks in the
room, but this strategy is about making habits out of what's efficient,
productive, and scholarly after greeting them and as their students take
their seats and class begins. This routine can begin as the students walk
through the door. It is something to start the day off right and to get their
minds going in the right direction. Students should know where to sit, what
to do with homework, and what school work to pick up.
Observation/ Implementation:
This was observed and implemented in my placement at Oxmoor. The
students had the same routine everyday. They all came in to their tables
quietly and waited on the teacher to call on their table to go get their books
from the locker. The students who had already gotten their books knew to
put their homework on a spot on the teacher's desk. They knew everything
that they had to do and how they were expected to do this. If they began to
act up, the teacher did not tolerate it and put all of their plans on hold until
the class became composed. I added to their routine by them coming in
and answering different questions for me. This allowed them to have a
routine and allowed me to get to know my students better.
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Strategy: No Warnings- 42
Description:
This strategy means that the teacher does not rely on personal charm,
emotion, or similar aspects of their relationship with the students to get
them to do what's expected. But the reality of it is, students are not
supposed to behave to please you. They are supposed to behave to better
themselves, be the best they can be, and get the most out of school. They
can not do this is the teacher is constantly giving warnings without
consequence. Giving warning is not taking action, it is threatening that you
might take an action and therefore is counterproductive. You don't have to
give a consequence overtime students fail expectations, but they need to
know those expectations.
Observation/ Implementation:
This strategy was a very hard one for me to adapt to. At my Trace
placement, my second graders pretty much listened to everything I had to
say and did it, just because I was someone new and someone older. But
then I went into my 5th grade Oxmoor placement, and it was a new
ballgame. They did not just listen to me. If I gave a warning to a student, it
didn't mean anything to them. I had to put my foot down and adopt the no
warning strategy. My teacher often left the classroom and left classroom
management up to me. They would try to get away with things that they
wouldn't try with their real teacher and initially I just warned them, but that
didn't stop most of the students. When I gave them no warning and showed
the students that actions will be taken for their misbehavior, a lot of the
misbehavior stopped.
Strategy: J-Factor- 46
Description:
The J-Factor helps encourage teachers to have energy, be passionate, and
to have fun in the classroom. This helps set the tone of the class to not be
such an intimidating, intense atmosphere. Bringing fun and energy to the
class can help encourage students to attend and look forward to learning.
You can use this method by suspense, which is letting them know you have
something planned but not telling them what it is exactly. This provides
something for students to look forward to. It can be a drama, song, or
dance. This is a good opportunity for students to be up and active in class
while engaging them in learning. Humor is another fun way to use this
strategy. Hitting their funny bone can help activate their brain. You can also
use games as a J-Factor. All of these methods can help encourage student
learning in a fun and active way.
Observation/ Implementation:
This is one of my absolute favorite strategies to use!! So many students,
especially the older ones, view school as a place to come in, do work
sheets, read some books, leave, then come back the next day and do it all
over again. This does not set the tone for a fun and active classroom that
makes students excited to learn. So I began to use different methods of the
J-Factor. I would start a lesson by a fun video that presents the information
in a funny and entertaining way. Then my students seemed instantly more
engaged to hear more about the subject. I have also used games. This also
used to help me in school because I'm so competitive. I would instantly be
more engaged in the lesson if I knew a game was coming because I had to
get the answers right so I could win, and this seemed to be the same with
my students I worked with.
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Strategy: Break It Down- 16
Description:
The Break It Down strategy is a reactive strategy. You have to see how the
students give an answer in order to apply this strategy. It is the teachers
response to a student error at the moment the incorrect answer happens.
Once the teacher hears the students answer and hears that it is incorrect,
they must think how they should break down the material. The teacher
must conceptualize the original material as a series of smaller, simpler
pieces. This strategy helps bridge information from something that was a
major concept that got confused by a student, and turning into smaller
pieces of information that eventually they can piece together to understand
the whole concept. This process includes decoding words. It is important to
break down information to help bridge the gap between the students level
of knowledge and the knowledge necessary for mastery.
Observation/ Implementation:
I have used this strategy when teaching a whole group lesson on math.
The teacher gave me the standard of adding and subtracting from 100.
This is a second grade standard and she said the students would be ready
for this, but when I began my lesson I quickly realized that they were not
ready. I started introducing the concept and saw confusion on the faces of
most of my students. I asked them to show me a thumbs up if the problem
made sense and I did not get very many thumbs up. So I took a minute to
reevaluate the my lesson and I backed up. I went from the main concept
and broke it down into the basics. From the basics, we continued to build
on to the methods until they were able to add and subject from 100 while
fully understanding how we did it. Taking the time to back up and break it
down can help a concept truly click with students.
Strategy: Everybody Writes- 26
Description:
This strategy gets the whole class involved with active thinking. The
teacher starts off this strategy by asking demanding and perceptive
questions. This question may often lead into silence because the students
brains are spinning their wheels. The teacher's questions pushes the
students beyond their understanding. In order to evaluate what each
student thinks about this and to give them time to process the information,
the Everybody Writes strategy is the way to go. Teachers give their
students a minute to think and write and jot down thoughts and wrestle
them into words. When given the time, students are able to turn there
thoughts into words. Students prepare for more ambitious thinking and
discussion by reflecting in writing for for a short interval of time.
Observation/ Implementation:
I have used Everybody Writes multiple times. I have asked a high level
question and gotten no response. Instead of simply moving on I stopped
and asked the students to get out a sheet of notebook paper. They have to
respond to the question. This gives every student the opportunity to come
up with their own answer instead of listening to one student give their
answer. I like the accountability this strategy has! This can also be used as
an assessment. I collected their papers to see where the students
comprehension levels were at. I also had some of the high level thinkers
read their answers.
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Strategy: Strong Voice- 38
Description:
Strong Voice is a strategy used to help with classroom management. There
are many different methods to using this strategy. The first is that fewer
words are stronger words. You don't need to use many words, just make
the words you say worth hearing. The next tip for this strategy is to wait
until there is no talking to say what you need to say. If what you have to say
is really important enough for them to hear it, they should have the respect
to stop and listen to you. The teacher should avoid engaging other topics
during discussions to help students stay focused. Strong Voice is not only
about your voice but also your body movements. If the teacher needs to be
serious, she should face them directly and get on their level. When giving
directions, the teacher should stop moving so they can stay focused. The
teacher should maintain a quiet power of his or her classroom. The teacher
should be in control while not talking loud or fast, but slower and quietly.
Observation/Implementation:
I used this strategy especially in my Jan Term placement because I learned
it from my cooperating teacher. If the students began talking while she
need to talk, she would talk quietly and it would force the students to be
quiet so they can hear the information they think is important. So I started
using this strategy and it's been a great help. The students know that I will
not raise my voice just because they are talking so they all quiet down to
hear what I have to say. Another part of this strategy I use is to just stop
talking all together until they are ready. Often times when I use this
strategy, there are a few students who notice and get the rest of the class
to quiet down without me having to raise my voice.
Strategy: Work the Clock
Description:
Work the Clock is a way to keep the class moving and on pace. This can be
done in different ways. The teacher can countdown until a task needs to be
done. The teacher will say, "3, 2, 1.." and by 1 the class should have
completed what the teacher has asked of them. Working the clock can also
include setting a time limit to do something. The teacher will say, "Take 3
minutes to complete.." whatever task the teacher has set for the students.
This gives the students a set time that they need to remain focused. It
encourages productive behavior and focus.
Observation/ Implementation:
I use this strategy often to keep my class on track. I often keep a
countdown of when a task should be finished by to keep students
accountable and able to see how long they have to focus for. I use the 3, 2,
1 countdown when I'm using it as management to countdown when there
should be no more talking or everyone should be back in their seats.