A teacher's greatest resource is planning time. There's never enough! The keys for me are to organize ahead of time, have time-fillers you can pop in whenever things go faster than you'd expected, and make sure to mix it up!
Organize your Plans
- Keep a record of your plans on a computer that you update frequently & compare from year-to-year.
- Post your agenda daily in class on the Promethean, SmartBoard or whiteboard.
- Reflect after each week & record in your plans what went well, what didn't, and any inspirations you had so you can improve next year.
- Get feedback! I always give students an anonymous survey at the end of each semester, to see what they did/didn't like, what they remembered/enjoyed most, and if they have any suggestions for me or my future students. I usually get really useful feedback!
- Use Quizlet to organize your vocabulary. Students can print off flashcards, review, test themselves, or play games with the terms. Once you've made your units, it's set for every year!
- At the end of the school year, instead of kicking over the traces, spend a day or two reflecting on the year & thinking of what new things you'd like to do next year. It may be odd, but I tend to get really excited & productive at this time. It's when I find the neatest activities & labs! Don't let those ideas get away - post them in your plans ASAP! Then your stockpile will be ready when you gear up to start the next school year.
- Use that end-of-year reflection time to make your own textbook. Use all your favorite worksheets, notes & activities. It'll save you so much time in August and throughout the school year when you won't be waiting in line at the copiers.
Prepare Time-Fillers
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Mix it Up!
- Try flipping your classroom.
- Include LOTS of visuals.
- Find songs on YouTube that relate to your current topic. Here's some on groundwater, for example. Mix them in as surprises, have students sing along when possible. You'll be amazed how well a song sparks their memory & interest! Just be sure to listen to them & get the exact link before playing them in class. DON'T search YouTube while projecting on the board. Something wildly school-inappropriate is far too likely to pop up in that situation. Beware of Murphy's Law!
- Debates don't need a major setup or formal procedure. All you need is a good question to get them thinking. Try a "should we..." question based on a recent topic or news article. For example, Bringing Back the Dead from the New York Times can get students talking about whether we should clone extinct species to bring them back.
- News sites: visit a news site & read out the headlines. Students can vote about which one they want to hear about. If you are in a science class, Science Daily or Discovery News are good options. Science News for Students even tells you the reading level and gives a glossary! No matter what your subject, you can find relevant news to show that the world exists beyond the classroom.
- Breaks every 15-20 minutes: change activities, have them walk around the room to different stations, or throw in a stretch break, think-pair-share, plicker question or fast quiz periodically to keep their attention