The Classroom
Routines and Materials for Success
Our classroom inspiration is Einstein, probably one of the most famous English Language Learners. He stands watch over the board which shares student work.
Classroom Management Materials
Goal Setting Worksheet - helpful activity for the beginning of the year and periodically throughout.
Help Ticket - simple form for students to share questions or requests for help. I kept this in their composition journals for ease of access and so it was a document only seen by the students and me.
Passes - get some colorful card stock and use these templates to print passes. While it only takes a few seconds to write a pass, this will save many minutes over the school year.
First Four, Final Four = the most important tasks students should complete at the beginning of class and the end.
The Beginning of Class
Upon entering the room, my students check their Do Now boxes. If there is a green card, they take their journal and work folder to their table. If the card is red, they go to their tables to await instructions.
At the beginning of this school year, I typed, printed and cut out small slips of paper of paper with Do Now questions on them. Students answered right on the slip. But after weeks of these scraps flying all around the room and getting lost in my backpack, I decided to begin using journals. I also decided to write the prompts in each journal by hand instead of using a computer. Sure, writing the prompts everyday is time consuming but there are a great number of benefits:
At the beginning of this school year, I typed, printed and cut out small slips of paper of paper with Do Now questions on them. Students answered right on the slip. But after weeks of these scraps flying all around the room and getting lost in my backpack, I decided to begin using journals. I also decided to write the prompts in each journal by hand instead of using a computer. Sure, writing the prompts everyday is time consuming but there are a great number of benefits:
- The journals create an effective warm up at the beginning of class and sets the stage for learning. Most of the time, the Do Nows are related to the lesson of the day, but I will also give them prompts which offer me insights into who they are as people. They give me a chance to learn more about my students, their interests, likes/dislikes, families etc.
- They act as learning logs, showing how students progress over time with their responses and reflections.
- I can differentiate for each student with a customized prompt related to the content but appropriate for their language ability.
- Additionally, we use the journals for a learning reflection at the conclusion of class. See below.
Journals with work folders. Dollar store bins, paint swatches from the hardware store (free).
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Do Now boxes for each group, folders are color coded.
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In the front of the journal, there is a guide to writing a Do Now and a reflection.
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In the back of the journal, there is a communication ticket where students can leave me a note if they need support in another course.
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When students arrive at their table with journal and work folder, they sit down and read the day's prompt. When they are ready, they take a five minute sand timer, flip it over and begin writing. During this time, I check attendance, speak with students who have questions, conduct short conferences, hand out graded work and observe their writing. Sand timers were purchased from EAI Education. Previously I used adhesive putty to keep them upright in the wooden boxes. Recently, I decided to make custom timer holders with some inexpensive wood from the local lumber yard. Student tables also have bilingual and picture dictionaries for easy access.
When students finish the 5 minutes of writing, they can work in their folders. The folders contain a variety of word puzzles related to our lessons or a specific area that is pertinent to that student. For example: one of my Language Arts replacement classes was recently working on creating fictional characters. So I created a word search with vocabulary words related to physical descriptions to help them develop their characters. Discovery's Puzzlemaker is my preferred tool for this task.
When students finish the 5 minutes of writing, they can work in their folders. The folders contain a variety of word puzzles related to our lessons or a specific area that is pertinent to that student. For example: one of my Language Arts replacement classes was recently working on creating fictional characters. So I created a word search with vocabulary words related to physical descriptions to help them develop their characters. Discovery's Puzzlemaker is my preferred tool for this task.
I am always developing or tinkering with the systems. Just recently, I got some green dry erase markers and decided to alter the Objective board to make it easier to distinguish among the groups. As the procedures and routines evolve throughout the year, I give the students a quiz about them. Sometimes, I do an oral pop quiz or a written multiple choice.
When I notice everyone has finished their 5 minutes of writing, I set a one minute timer to allow the students to finish up whatever they are working on. Journals and folders stay on the tables. Each class a student reads the objective to the others. That person is also in charge of the Wheel of Review at the end of the period.
When I notice everyone has finished their 5 minutes of writing, I set a one minute timer to allow the students to finish up whatever they are working on. Journals and folders stay on the tables. Each class a student reads the objective to the others. That person is also in charge of the Wheel of Review at the end of the period.
Objectives, assignments, and the homework shark.
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Deliveries are the products that I want to see or collect at the end of the period. Missing HW lets students know if they have an not turned in an assignment. Obligatory zombie sign.
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During Class
The work flow board: This board outlines the steps for a project we are working on in class. In the picture you can see how one of my groups, is beginning a project reflection with a mind map which will help them complete an outline which will then be used for a rough draft. Home Depot sells these whiteboards for about $20. I ran sandpaper over the edges and then used painter tape on the outside as a border and guard.
Hint: As your whiteboards age and become difficult to erase you can do two things to make them last longer. 1) Clean the whiteboard and use car wax or WD40 to reseal the surface. It will be remarkably easier to clean. 2) Get a new eraser or wash out the old eraser.
Hint: As your whiteboards age and become difficult to erase you can do two things to make them last longer. 1) Clean the whiteboard and use car wax or WD40 to reseal the surface. It will be remarkably easier to clean. 2) Get a new eraser or wash out the old eraser.
The process board shows the students the stages that they need to complete with examples. The sketched people figures allow the students to know if they are working independently, with a partner, in a small group or with the whole class.
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The resources bin contains documents like rubrics, a list of the most common irregular verbs, a guide to the proofreading marks we use in class and other tools for classwork.
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The conversation station provides students with a variety of exercises to improve oral communication skills.
The deliveries box for assignments that must be handed in at the end of the period. Extra copies and writing supplies. My philosophy has always been: Unprepared, no pencil? Grab one, let's get to work.
At the End of Class
With about 6 minutes left in the period, an alarm sounds. After searching for a website or a watch that allowed multiple alarms, I discovered that iPads allow you to set numerous alarms and also use songs for the tones. I use classical songs that have a slow yet steady pace. This has relieved me of clock watching and worrying about running out of time. I no longer have to tell the students to begin cleaning up and getting ready for the reflection exercise.
The same student who read the objective now comes to the board to spin the Wheel of Review. (purchased from Amazon). He or she spins the wheel and the students complete one of the reflections outlined in the poster. These descriptions are also in their journals.
The same student who read the objective now comes to the board to spin the Wheel of Review. (purchased from Amazon). He or she spins the wheel and the students complete one of the reflections outlined in the poster. These descriptions are also in their journals.
The Wheel of Review, it looks small here but is about the size of a medium pizza. It is magnetic and easily sticks to a whiteboard. My only complaint is that the axle doesn't allow the wheel to spin very freely.
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Wheel of Review poster, the list of items is also in the student journals.
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