Let’s face it; noise is part of the classroom. Whether it’s kids working on a project or coming in from recess, excited students can sometimes raise a ruckus. If you’ve tried the three fingers “stop, look and listen” trick and are at your wits end trying to quell the noise, thanks to Edutopia here are some other techniques you can employ to hush the bedlam and return to a learning environment. We’ve broken them down by age groups.
Kindergarten and early elementary
Flick the light switch
Capture attention with a wind chime or rain stick
Pop pretend marshmallows into the mouth until they are full
Fill a spray bottle with water infused with essential oils and call it a “quiet spray”
Blow magical “hush-bubbles”
Late elementary and middle school
Employ the “silent 20” – each time students return to seats and are quiet within 20 seconds following an activity, a token is advanced on a game board. When the final square is reached (in about a month) the class gets a popcorn party
Engage students at the door before they enter the classroom to reinforce that learning is about to begin
Utilize minimally invasive hand gestures and other non-confrontational techniques as shown in the Teach Like a Champion video
Incorporate a content “word of the week” (such as integer, Freud, renaissance) to signal that it is time for silence
High school students
Write a note that reads: “If you wish to continue talking during my lesson, I will have to take time from you at the break. By the time I’ve written the title on the board you need to be sitting in silence; anyone still talking will be kept behind for five minutes.”
Play soothing classical music on low volume when students enter to create a professional tone.
Some instructors find that call and response sayings are useful, such as:
Holy…..macaroni
1,2,3, eyes on me…..1,2, eyes on you
I’m incredible…..like the Hulk (everyone gives a grrrrr and flexes their muscles)
Ayyyy…..macarena
I get knocked down…..but I get up again
For those who like high tech options, there are:
“Too Noisy,” an app that shows a colorful graph with a digital noise meter to alert you and your students when the class has exceeded acceptable noise levels
Traffic Light, that allows you to show when the levels are too loud and the remedy
ClassDojo, which rewards students for successes and keeps parents apprised on how their students are doing
We know we’ve barely scratched the surface of great classroom/teacher ideas and we’d love to hear about some that you use.
Here are two more resources from California Casualty that can help educators:
Let us help make setting up your classroom a little easier on your wallet with a $2,500 Academic Award at www.calcasacademicaward.com.
ReadWorks provides research-based units, lessons, and authentic, leveled non-fiction and literary passages directly to educators online, for free, to be shared broadly.
The ReadWorks curriculum is aligned to the Common Core State Standards and the standards of all 50 states. Most importantly, ReadWorks is faithful to the most effective research-proven instructional practices in reading comprehension. Science/Health
If you’re looking for information you can trust about kids and teens that’s free of “doctor speak,” you’ve come to the right place. KidsHealth is the most-visited site on the Web for information about health, behavior, and development from before birth through the teen years.
On a typical weekday, KidsHealth gets as many as a million visits. One of the things that make KidsHealth special is that it’s really four sites in one: with sections for parents, for kids, for teens, and for educators.
Science World connects current science news with essential biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics concepts. With dynamic digital learning features like videos, lesson plans, and games, Science World is your complete print & online science nonfiction program.
CNN Student News is a ten-minute, commercial-free, daily news program designed for middle and high school classes. It is produced by the journalists at CNN. This award-winning show and its companion website are available free of charge throughout the school year.
Create a free website with Wix.com. Customize with Wix’ free website builder, no coding skills needed. Choose a design, begin customizing and be online today!
Weebly is a San Francisco, California based company that was founded in 2006 with the mission to help people put their information online quickly and easily. We now enable 3 million people to easily create personal sites and blogs or establish web presences for businesses, weddings, classrooms, churches, artistic portfolios, and more.
Edmodo is an easy way to get your students connected so they can safely collaborate, get and stay organized, and access assignments, grades, and school information.
Khan Academy offers practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empower learners to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom. Subjects include math, science, computer programming, history, art history, economics, and more.
In classrooms, on mobile devices, and at home, BrainPOP engages students through animated movies, learning games, interactive quizzes, primary source activities, concept mapping, and more. Our award-winning resources include BrainPOP Jr. (K-3), BrainPOP,BrainPOP Español, and, for English language learners, BrainPOP ESL. They cover topics within Science, Math, Social Studies, English Language Arts, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Music, Health, Reading, and Writing. Content is carefully mapped to the Common Core, aligned to academic standards, and searchable with our online Standards Tool.
And, for educators looking for personal learning networks that offer great resources at NO Cost, check out these four recommendations from Graphite:
The Teaching Channel, teachingchannel.org – Chock full of video resources on classroom practices as well as ways to provide feedback
Digital Is, digitalis.nwp.org – Created by the National Writing Project to provide grassroots professional development for teachers
KQED Education, https://blogs.kqed.org/education/ – full of resources to help teachers share best practices for teaching and learning with public media resources and New Media Storytelling on line courses
California Casualty has been standing with teachers and educators for over 60 years. We understand the hard work you do and we want to be a resource you can count on. That’s why we created the $2,500 Academic Award, to help you pay for the classroom supplies and materials you need. Give your wallet a break and apply today at www.calcasacademicaward.com.
While you are at it, don’t miss the chance to have your school lounge turned into a soothing, desirable area with California Casualty’s $7,500 School Lounge Makeover® contest at www.schoolloungemakeover.com.
School may be out for summer, but it’s not necessarily vacation time for educators. Sure, who wouldn’t want three months to relax and catch a break? Unfortunately for many, that isn’t the case. The Gates Foundation finds that about a third of teachers across the U.S. will participate in training or professional development over the summer.
If teachers are not training, many others are working a second job. Most teachers are contracted and paid for the months that school is in session, so the summer means unemployment. U.S. News says that the average teacher’s earnings, including any money made during the summer, is still lower than other professionals.
Since educators are wrapping up classes and heading into summer, we have some ideas to help beat the summertime blues.
Eat Healthier: Don’t get sucked into comfort foods. Eat more fruits and veggies.
Exercise: Go for a walk. Do yoga. Take a class. Even if it is small, it will release endorphins and help clear your mind, ready for focus.
Do something for yourself every day: Enjoy playing an instrument? Or writing a blog? Either way, take a small time-out and do the thing that you love.
Connect with others: Join conversations on social media that spark your interest, find a book club and spend time with family and friends.
As a teacher, you have more than enough on your plate. It’s time to get excited about the next three months and focus on the bigger outcome.
They work long hours supporting and educating our children. How often have you taken the time to say thank you? Here are 25 simple ways to say thanks:
Give a sincere thank you in person
Slip a thank you card on their desk
Write a special note in your child’s homework folder
Send a kind email to thank them for something specific they did for your child
Have your child write a note or draw a picture for them
Stop in for a brief moment before or after school to say thanks
Tell the principal and other administrators how much you appreciate your child’s teacher
Send in supplies for the classroom
Volunteer in the classroom
Chaperone a field trip
Volunteer to help with something at home (cutting out lamination, organizing files, etc.)
Offer to come in and help make copies or work on a special project
Give a gift card for Teacher Appreciation Week
Donate an iTunes gift cards so the class can download new apps
Buy a book to donate to the class library
Bring in homemade treats
Deliver a cookie, or other tasty treat from a local bakery
Find out what their favorite snack is and bring it to them
Recognize them with some takeout for lunch
Make a bouquet of pencils or highlighters or other school supplies
Compliment them on Facebook
Bring in their favorite soft drink or tea
Give them flowers
Buy a gift certificate they can use at a bookstore
Help with stress; bring a relaxing gift – bath salts, soothing lotions or gift certificate for a pedicure
Here’s another way to show appreciation for a teacher that made a difference in you or your child’s life; join the National Teachers Hall of Fame’s (NTHF) “One In A Million – Teachers Who Make A Difference” campaign. Anyone in the U.S. can place a teacher’s name into the Hall of Fame archives with a $1 donation. Donations of $125 will also get the teacher’s name placed on a brick of the NTHF donor’s wall of fame. Learn more about honoring a teacher at https://www.nthf.org/honor-an-educator.
California Casualty appreciates educators. Our relationship spans 65 years. We thank them with numerous giving programs that make a real difference:
$2,500 Academic Award – for classroom supplies and learning materials (calcasacademicaward.com)
Thomas R. Brown Athletics Grants – to help high school sports programs affected by budget cuts (calcasathleticsgrant.com)
California Casualty auto and home insurance is also specifically tailored for educator’s lifestyle with exclusive benefits not available to the general public:
$500 personal property coverage for items stolen, damaged or destroyed in your vehicle
Reduced or zero deductible for vandalism or damage to your vehicle when it is parked at work
Rates guaranteed for a full year (not six months)
Free identity theft protection with each policy
Multiple payment options including EZ Pay and holiday or summer skips
Going green is not just a slogan for some Washington State schools. They are doing their part to teach our children life-long lessons about sustainability and stewardship of the environment.
“Kids are very creative and once we get them involved, they carry the concept even further than we imagined,” said Laurie James, coordinator of the Green Ribbon Schools project at Discovery Elementary School in Everett, Washington. Discovery Elementary is a 2015 National Green Ribbon Schools honoree.
The U.S. Department of Education urges schools and school districts across the nation to build sustainable programs using three key pillars:
Reduce environmental impacts and costs
Improve the health and wellness of schools, students and staff
Provide environmental education, which teaches many disciplines, especially in incorporating STEM, civic skills and green career pathways
Answering the challenge has resulted in schools that have reduced operating costs, which enabled administrators to dedicate more resources to instruction. It also promotes more student engagement and staff pride and productivity.
Discovery Elementary now has recycling and composting bins around the campus, a community garden and new fruit trees that produce a crop every year. The environmental message has been integrated into the curriculum, including health, science and math classes. Students create and build solar projects, set up bee hives, measure how much mulch and other organic material the garden will need, and learn about fresh foods and nutrition.
For Laurie James, it was more than just tackling a set of stated goals. “This has brought children from a variety of backgrounds together, building life-long lessons about sustainability and stewardship of the environment. The end result is not only children who have a new appreciation for how they can impact the future, but it also encourages family and community involvement.”
Another 2015 Washington Green Ribbon designee is Hillcrest Elementary School in Oak Harbor. Just like Discovery, the efforts at Hillcrest Elementary are student driven. There is a heavy emphasis on the garden; incorporating science, math and other curriculum. Students measure and design the best configuration for planting the gardens, and weigh, graph and calculate how much peat moss is needed to balance food scraps used in the compost bins. They also use real life marketing and accounting principles as they sell eggs from the chickens now raised at the school. Proceeds are donated to the local food bank.
Principal Paula Seaman said that being a Green Ribbon school has been a source of pride for the students and staff. “Other schools in our district are constantly visiting and working to set up a garden like ours,” she said. “We have been awarded more grants because of our designation…including $2,000 to enhance our garden. The award has united our community and students. They are committed to making Earth a better, safer and greener planet and know their contributions make a difference.”
While achieving Green Ribbon School status is a great honor, there is a missing piece to the process. Each year, schools and districts that meet the stringent criteria are honored in Washington, D.C., but can only attend if they have the funds to make the trip. For many Washington State honorees, that can be a challenge.
Attending a program honoring the hard work of students, staff and the community shouldn’t be a burden. Seeing the need, California Casualty stepped in as the 2016 local sponsor of the Washington Green Ribbon Schools program, providing some travel and lodging expenses. As a long-time partner with the NEA Member Benefits in Washington, California Casualty is committed and honored to serve educators.
“Having this financial support takes the sting out of the cost of being recognized,” said James. “It will relieve the stress of fundraising and is one less hurdle to overcome in this important process.”
California Casualty congratulates the 2016 Green Ribbon award winners announced this Earth Day: Bethel and Issaquah School Districts, Columbia Crest A-STEM Academy (Ashford), Gaiser Middle School (Vancouver) and Lakota Middle School (Federal Way). We are proud to help support a program that benefits the environment and future generations of students while highlighting the best in Washington State schools.
How do you start the first 10 minutes of your class? Roll call after the bell in the morning? Listing an agenda for what’s to come for the day, or recapping what happened the day before? What if you took an approach that was outside of the box? Imagine giving children positive feedback that might carry them through the day and help them treat others better.”
A Florida teacher is making headlines for shedding light on bullying, and teaching his students how they can make a change. During the first 10 minutes of every class, he compliments each student one-on-one as they come to the front of the class. He gives them affirming messages such as, “Everyone here loves you,” “I love having you in class,” or “You’re great at sports.”
Research show most bullying occurs in middle school (Grades 6, 7, and 8). This could leave kids with a lasting impression which might affect them later in life. Addressing the issue and involving the class in thinking positively can have a long-lasting impact
According to Education World, you need to be cautious on how to phrase positive compliments. Instead of saying “You’re excellent at…,” focus on how hard they are trying. A couple examples are: “I like watching you work so hard at learning. It means a lot to me that you don’t give up,” or “I appreciate how helpful you have been today.”
In other words, praise them for their effort, not for their expertise.
Next time your student does make a mistake, they will see your praise as being genuine, and not feel like they are not good enough. Experts say try and use compliments sparingly to reinforce activities, otherwise you may encourage a child that only works hard for praise, not for doing their best at a task.
