Have you ever heard of a classroom quiet zone? Want to learn more? Read on…
We’ve outlined some important elements about using quiet zones in the classroom.
What is a Quiet Zone?
This is an area in the classroom dedicated to providing a calming, quiet, distraction-free zone. Students can use the quiet zone to work, read, or think. It can be a place for students to get caught up on work, take a test, draw, calm down, manage emotions, or just to be alone. Ultimately, the idea is to provide an area where students can get their emotions in check and return to the classroom ready to work.
What Does a Classroom Quiet Zone Look Like?
The quiet zone space should be well-defined. Use study carrels, curtains, tent, or shelves to keep visual distractions to a minimum. Provide a table or desk with a chair. Or, make it a more comfortable and inviting space with a small couch or large pillows. A rug completes the area and provides a clear outline for the space.
What Else Should Be In The Quiet Zone?
You can provide basic supplies, like books, pencils, paper, coloring utensils, clipboard, etc. Stress-relieving tools like squishy balls, fidget toys, stuffed animals. Additionally, to block out noise distraction, offer headphones, or noise-canceling headphones.
What Rules Should The Quiet Zone Have?
Only one student at a time in the quiet zone. A time limit should be implemented; 5 minutes is the suggested time for a student taking a mental health break. Keep a timer in the quiet zone and teach students to operate it. When time is up, students should rejoin the class. If more time is needed, it may be a good idea to process with the student after their stay as there might be a deeper issue that needs to be addressed. A quiet zone is not a punishment and should not be treated as such. The quiet zone should not be a place for students to avoid work.
When Should A Student Go To The Quiet Zone?
When a student: feels overwhelmed, seems distracted, has trouble with a classmate, feels upset, or just needs a quick break from work. The reasons are truly endless. Don’t we all need a short break from time to time?
What Are The Benefits To Having A Quiet Zone in the Classroom?
The most obvious benefit of having a quiet zone is helping students learn to manage emotions. When students recognize something isn’t right, they can comfort themselves using the quiet zone. Also, a quiet zone helps students control their behavior and emotions rather than acting out during class.
Check out some of these calming, classroom quiet zones:
Our Education Blogger is a public school teacher with over a decade of experience. She’s an active NEA member and enjoys writing about her experiences in the classroom.
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This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
February is the month of love. If you choose to show your love with an expensive piece of jewelry, you’ll want to protect that enduring representation of your love.
One of the best ways is to purchase scheduled personal property (SPP) insurance, sometimes called a floater.
Here’s why: While your renters or homeowners insurance policy covers jewelry for theft or being destroyed in a fire, that coverage is limited. The average Valentine’s Day ring or necklace purchase is about $1,500, the average spend for an engagement ring is $6,000.
Scheduled personal property insurance provides higher coverage for your precious items, like high priced jewelry with coverage above and beyond what home insurance provides.
And, here’s the best part, SPP pays even if that prized piece was accidentally lost or damaged – such as losing a diamond down the sink or toilet. There is no deducible and SPP provides a replacement at the full insured amount. SPP usually costs about one to two percent of the item’s value.
Scheduled personal property isn’t just for jewelry; you might need the endorsement if you have:
Fine art
Furs
Rare coins or money collections
Expensive cameras
Firearms
Fine silverware
Stamp collections
And even if you already have gold and jewelry or a rare watch covered with scheduled personal property coverage, you may need a review. Gold and diamond prices have climbed the past few years and you may not have enough protection for their new value.
Don’t wait until your precious items are lost, stolen or damaged to find out if you have enough coverage to replace them; contact a representative today.
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
Looking for free and easy Valentine’s Day Lesson ideas for your classroom? Check out some of these ideas for all grade levels!
Elementary (K-5)
Candy Heart Connections (TeachHub.com) If you’re teaching colors, have students sort hearts by color. If you’ve got early readers, have students match pictures related to the messages. You could have small bins with photos of kissing lips (Kiss Me), a phone (Call me), a puppy (Puppy Love), a bride and groom (Marry Me), an angel (Angel), a ladybug (Love Bug). Kids can take turns putting their candies in the proper bins.
There are really endless possibilities. Heart messages can jump-start synonym or antonym brainstorming, act as sentence starters. You could have a worksheet with columns for nouns, verbs, etc.
If you don’t want to use the actual candy hearts, you can start by having students make them. Older students can amp up the vocab by using SAT words to create their conversation hearts.
Flower Math (TeachHub.com) What better time to cover the increments of 12 by calculating flowers by the dozen?
Depending on your current curriculum, adapt word problems that calculate cost per flower, calculate average pedal per flower or per bouquet, etc. You can even use real ads to find the best Valentine’s flower deal. Remind students to factor in tax (practicing percentage calculations) and delivery charge for multi-step word problems.
Younger students can just count, add, subject, multiply, divide the flowers, petals, etc.
Friendship From the Heart (Scholastic.com)
This activity should be completed after you have discussed the characteristics of a friend. Give each of your students a small heart with the name of a classmate on it. Have each student write one adjective that describes that classmate on the heart. Glue each student’s small heart to a large heart in the classroom. Hang it in the classroom so students can remember the qualities of a good friend.
Leaning Tower of Hearts (Scholastic.com) This Valentine’s edition asks students to try and stack as many candy hearts as they can, one on top of the other, in just one minute. Put a countdown timer on the projector and watch your students get to work. Because candy hearts are not perfectly flat, the game is much more difficult than it seems. Your students will love this game and probably beg to play more than one round as they try and engineer the perfect stacking strategy.
Budgeting for Your Date (TeachHub.com) You are in charge of planning your date for Valentine’s Day. You need to take a special someone for an evening out.
First, set your budget. $25 date, $50 date, $100 date and a $500 date
Then, identify the expenses required for the evening. Where will you go? How will you get there? What are some potential unintended costs? Will you bring a gift?
Once you’ve figured this all out, write each item in a list and specify the cost of each item.
(You can either let students do online research to find prices for restaurants/activities OR provide a selection with menus and brochures that provide pricing.)
The Business of Valentine’s Day (TeachHub.com) Have your students create a business plan for a Valentine’s Day product or service.
Step 1: Brainstorm their product or service. Answer the question:
How does this stand out from other Valentine’s Day pack?
Who are my potential customers?
Step 2: Budget for supplies, labor and/or other production costs.
Your produce can be as simple as pre-made valentines, but you need to consider the cost of the paper, scissors, markers or computer products needed to create the cards.
Allot part of your budget for advertising. Even if this just means posters around the school, list the cost of those posts, tape, etc.
Step 3: Set pricing, sales goals and projected profits for your business
Step 4: Compile all of this information into a presentation for the class.
BONUS: Create a prototype, demonstration or drawing of your product to really SELL the idea to potential business investors.
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Stress is something every person has to deal with. Some professions and fields entail greater levels of tension anxiety than others, however.
Nurses, in particular, are prone to high levels of stress and some of them aren’t skilled or conscientious about managing their symptoms. Whether it’s the long hours, staffing shortages, or having to deal with difficult patients, there’s rarely an easy day for an on-call nurse.
As a result, if you’re a nurse, you need to know how to cope with stress while you’re on the job.
Identifying the sources of stress
Can you accurately name the cause or causes of your stress? As a nurse, there are any number of possibilities, and it’s vital for you to recognize what sets you off.
Common causes of stress in a medical setting include long shifts, emotional encounters, exposure to physical trauma, and the fast-paced nature of the job. Properly handling your stress is key to both your own personal health and the health of the patients under your care.
According to a study on stress in the health-care professions, “225 physicians reported 76 incidents in which they believe patient care was adversely affected by their stress.” In other words, that means that on average, one out of every three physicians can name a time when his or her own level of stress affected the care of a patient.
That’s a striking statistic and cause for alarm if it’s not taken care of.
Strategies for coping with stress
Do you know what the fifth tenet of the American Nurses’ Association Code of Ethics says? It requires nurses to attend to their own needs and to “preserve integrity and safety, to maintain competence, and to continue personal and professional growth.”
Therefore, in order to abide by the code, you must learn how to reduce and relieve your stress. Here are a few tips on ways to do that:
Get enough sleep. As a nurse, you probably spend your time telling patients to rest up and get some sleep, but are you following your own advice? You should aim for seven to eight hours of sleep between each shift. As you well know, your body uses this time to recover, and sufficient sleep will give you the energy you need to tackle issues and challenges with greater stamina and clarity.
Learn to say no. One powerful word — no — could change your life. When you’re stressed out and anxious, having learned to say no can be a lifesaver. Whether you’re responding to a friend asking you to enjoy a night out just before a shift, or a boss asking you to extend yourself further than you’re comfortable, it’s important to acknowledge you can’t do everything and make choices accordingly.
Maintain social relationships. Eight- and 12-hour shifts can leave you wanting to curl up in your room by yourself, but it’s important to maintain social relationships and enjoy your life outside of work. Use this time to talk about things other than your job, and focus on separating yourself from your responsibilities.
Take a step back. When you feel stress building up inside of you, don’t be afraid to take a step back and breathe. Simply walking outside for a few minutes can give you a little time to recharge and avoid making poor decisions.
Eat a balanced diet. Finally, a well-balanced diet is critical to diminishing stress. Try reducing processed foods and incorporating more fresh fruits and vegetables into your diet. If possible, bring your own meals to work and avoid the temptation to eat vending machine selections and fast food.
Auto insurance for nurses
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This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
The plumbing in your home could be in danger when temperatures dip below zero, and the last thing you want to deal with when it thaws is a burst pipe, which can lead to substantial damage in your home.
All that water can eat through drywall, destroy carpets and fry electronics. The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates that just two inches of water can cause more than $10,000 in repairs and replacement of flooded items. Six inches of water can add up to more than $30,000!
Before the thermometer plunges, here are things you can do to prevent pipes from freezing:
Disconnect outside hoses from faucets
Insulate water pipes, especially along exterior walls and unheated areas
Add insulation to walls and attics where pipes may run
Know where the shutoff valve is to your home
Once the sub-zero weather hits you should:
Let faucets drip to prevent freezing
Keep the thermostat above 55 degrees
Make sure garage doors are closed
Open kitchen and bathroom cabinets to allow warm air to circulate around the plumbing
So you’ve prepared and kept as much heat as possible going to cold areas, but the cold air still froze a pipe; what now? Stay calm but act as quickly as possible to:
Locate where the pipe is frozen
Open the nearest faucet to relieve pressure when the ice thaws
Slowly warm the pipe with a heating pad, hairdryer, space heater or wrapping it with hot towels – never use a blow torch or open flame
If the pipe has cracked or broken, immediately turn off water at the main water valve and call a plumber. Shutting off the water will prevent further damage.
Contact your insurance company as soon as possible
Take photos or video of the damage
Don’t make permanent repairs until the insurance company adjuster inspects the damage
Keep all of your receipts for emergency repair work or temporary housing if you are forced out of your home or apartment
Once a pipe freezes, odds are it will happen again. Here are some tips to prevent it in the future:
Hire a plumber to relocate to a warmer area
Add more insulation in walls, attics and crawl spaces
Wrap the pipe with electric heat tape, when temperatures drop, plug it in
Remember, if a burst pipe sends water into your home, contact a California Casualty Claims advisor as soon as possible; we can help get you started on the clean-up.
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This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
