【英文閱讀教學的啟示】

這篇文章提到如何讓閱讀變成深度思考! 對英語教學很有啟示! A must-read !!!

http://m.parenting.com.tw/…/5054197-%E5%8F%B0%E5%B8%AB%E5…/…

台師大教授鄭圓鈴：3歷程5策略，文字變養分
2013-11 親子天下專特刊 23期 作者：李佩芬

如何為青少年搭建「主動閱讀」的鷹架，進而具備「創造性閱讀」的思考力？跟著台師大國文系教授鄭圓鈴，走一趟閱讀理解的深度思考之旅……

台師大教授鄭圓鈴：3歷程5策略，文字變養分

學習或閱讀喜悅的來源，很重要的就是主動性。一篇文章究竟好在哪裡，應該讓讀者自己去發現，而不只是聽別人講述這篇文章有多好。就好比啃甘蔗，老師啃了甘蔗後，一直跟學生說這甘蔗有多麼甜、有多麼好吃，但如果都不讓學生親身去啃一下，那麼學生所感受到的好甜、好吃，都只是老師啃完之後吐出來的殘渣而已。

因此，老師很重要的任務是要誘導學生去吃那根甘蔗，要設計讓學生願意拿起甘蔗來吃，慢慢吃，慢慢體會甘蔗好吃，並自己發現到底好在哪裡。

十七世紀英國哲學家弗朗西斯．培根（Francis Bacon）所描述的「螞蟻式」、「蜘蛛式」、「蜜蜂式」的三種學習類型，可幫助我們了解，在培養閱讀能力的過程中，我們究竟遺漏了哪些非常重要的歷程。

所謂「螞蟻式」的閱讀與學習，是指閱讀的材料雖然多元，但學習時只會將作者所說的內容照單全收，不假思索的記憶下來，不曾主動的思考、組織與內化，這是一種「被動式」的學習。

目前台灣的學習環境，有很多像螞蟻一樣辛苦採擷知識、背誦知識的學生，也有很多辛苦指導學生背誦知識的老師。校園裡許多的閱讀活動，雖然辦得熱鬧非凡，但是多數卻仍停留在推廣「螞蟻式學習」的層次。

例如，比賽大量閱讀、抄寫美言佳句、抄寫讀後心得、背誦成語等，卻很少利用系統化的閱讀學習，幫助學生進行有價值的閱讀，所以學生自然無法從閱讀中釀造蜂蜜，提出創造性的個人見解或創作。然而，學生在學習過程中，並沒有辦法直接從螞蟻式躍升為蜜蜂式，老師必須為孩子搭建一個過渡的鷹架，這個協助孩子學習躍升的鷹架，就是「蜘蛛式」的學習。
了解3歷程，邁向創造性閱讀

「蜘蛛式」與「蜜蜂式」的閱讀，都屬於有效閱讀範疇。
所謂「蜘蛛式」閱讀，是指閱讀時訊息經過系統化網絡的過濾，擷取有用的訊息。

而「蜜蜂式」閱讀，則是擷取有用訊息後，經過消化吸收，變成有價值的訊息。這些訊息能提供養分，滋養生命，而某些養分經過較長時間的醞釀與發酵後，會轉化成全新的物質！
這些物質對應到閱讀後的產出，可以是形成看法、有所感悟；有時甚至可以觸發聯想，完成一幅畫、一首曲子或一場革命。
剛起步學習閱讀時，大量閱讀的確是需要的，它可以幫助我們認識這個世界，快速累積知識。所以，透過大量閱讀，也許可以培養出知識豐富的小孩，卻未必能成為一個有想法、有創造力的人。

莊子就曾提醒我們：「君之所讀者，古人之糟粕已夫！」他真正的意思其實是：讀書的價值在於建立一個思考的歷程，而不是擷取書中現成的概念或知識。所以，閱讀最困難的部分不是去讀，而是去「思考」。在思考的時候，不妨多用筆去畫、去寫，在畫一畫、寫一寫的歷程中，往往就能不斷澄清自己的理解與想法。

那麼該如何開始呢？閱讀思考的歷程，包括三個重要的階段：先是「檢索與擷取訊息」、次之為「統整與解釋」、最後則是「省思與評鑑」階段。

這三個階段必須依序進行，不可顛倒次序。也就是說，閱讀理解的過程，必須先有檢索與擷取，才能進一步做統整與解釋，最後才有可能形成省思與評鑑。

「蜘蛛式」閱讀，著重於檢索與擷取重要且有用的訊息；「蜜蜂式」閱讀，先透過統整與解釋，讓訊息變得更有價值，再藉由省思與評鑑，對訊息提出有用的看法。

這段閱讀思考歷程，尤其是「統整與解釋」階段，可以更細緻說明如下：
1 檢索與擷取：先瀏覽全文，找出文本重要的訊息。
2 統整：根據文本重要的訊息，統整說出主要概念。再找出主要概念的相關概念，利用概念圖或情節脈絡圖，組織主要與相關概念。
3 解釋：這可分兩層次來說明。對主要與相關概念，我們可進行「表層訊息的解釋」，如透過解釋因果、關係、觀點，排列順序，比較異同，詮釋詞句、圖文等閱讀技巧。至於「深層訊息的分析」，可善用分析寫作目的、技巧、效果、寓意等方式來解釋。這過程中，倘若訊息過於瑣碎，可透過表格進行梳理，先梳理表面訊息，再梳理較深入的訊息。
4 省思與評鑑：對全文的內容、形式，提出合理的看法，並提出支持看法的證據或理由。

這段從「檢索與擷取」有用訊息，到經由「統整與解釋」，讓訊息變得具有價值，以及藉由「省思與評鑑」，對訊息提出自己的看法與理由，這整個過程，就是有效閱讀的歷程。

掌握5策略，達到有效閱讀
那麼，在這段「檢索與擷取→統整與解釋→省思與評鑑」的閱讀歷程中，要如何達到有效閱讀的目標？上表便以這五大閱讀策略為軸心，嘗試將閱讀策略、閱讀歷程，以及閱讀策略常用的閱讀技巧與使用範圍略為整理。事實上，這五種閱讀策略，也是極佳的提問口訣，透過靈活選擇或組織適當的閱讀策略，讓我們在閱讀過程中朝「主動閱讀」更邁進一步：

1. 找一找：要達到「檢索與擷取」目標，最常用的閱讀策略是「找一找……」，也就是能尋找段落、句子的訊息。它常利用尋找重要、明確、特別訊息的閱讀技巧來進行。
2. 說出主要的：「統整」常用的閱讀策略是能「說出主要的……」，也就是能概覽全文，說出對訊息較正確的理解；常利用統整主要概念、趨勢、類別、背景、目的等閱讀技巧來進行。「統整」常用的第二種策略是「畫出概念圖」，也就是根據擷取的重要訊息，利用概念圖將它們組織起來。
3. 為什麼：「解釋」常用的閱讀策略是「為什麼……」，也就是能解釋段落的表層訊息。它利用比較異同、解釋因果（概念、關係）、排列順序，或詮釋觀點（詞句、圖文）等閱讀技巧來進行。
4. 想一想：「解釋」常用的第二種閱讀策略是「想一想……」，也就是能分析段落深層訊息。它常利用分析寫作的技巧、效果、目的及寓意等閱讀技巧來進行。
5. 你認為：「省思與評鑑」常用的閱讀策略是「你認為……」，也就是對全文訊息進行統整與解釋的梳理後，經過判斷與省思，對訊息的內容或形式提出自己的看法。它常利用尋找支持證據或說明理由的閱讀技巧來進行。

我建議所有的家長或老師，在自己進行閱讀時不妨思索：我是關心自己「讀到了什麼」，還是關心「想到了什麼」？在指導孩子閱讀時，是關心他們「讀到了什麼」，還是關心「想到了什麼」？任何一位渴望享受更深刻閱讀樂趣的讀者，都可以透過以上的步驟與方法，培養有效閱讀的能力。特別是老師，在帶領學生進行有效閱讀之前，自己一定要先懂得如何有效閱讀，並且在過程中，真正體會過閱讀的樂趣之後，才能很自然的將閱讀樂趣，傳達給學生。

【Visuwords: 幫助單字學習的特別工具】

您/ 您的學生有背單字的困難嗎？除了拼命抄寫或是把單字融入例句背誦，
還可以試試Visuwords (http://visuwords.com/)，這網站特別之處，
在於它可以將你想查的單字，變成像化學原子(or 分子？)，
緊密的和其他相關的單字/和詞性做連結，等於是用聯想的方式記憶單字，
同時還可能『順便』記憶其他相關單字
(滑鼠游標移到這些單字會跑出這些字的英文定義)！

步驟:

1.       進入首頁後點選紅色按鈕 Explore

2.       進入後於畫面左上方位置輸入想查詢的單字

3.       按右方的Menu 旁的按鈕，很科學式的圖案就會跑出來XD！！！
              可對照畫面左方的解釋來自學單字。以“happy”為例，跑出很多的橘色原子 
            (都是形容詞)，有的和happy 意思相近，見橘色和藍色虛線 (is similar to/ see)，
             有的則是相反(oppose)，例如unhappy (是紅色實線)！

如果背單字有困難，可嘗試這種方式！
或許圖像式記憶比較適合某些人
(理工科的可能更愛這種學習方式XD) ！

【提升學生學習動機20 招: 20 Strategies for Motivating Reluctant Learners】

20 Strategies for Motivating Reluctant Learners

http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/03/03/20-strategies-for-motivating-reluctant-learners/

Kathy Perez has decades of experience as a classroom educator, with training in special education and teaching English language learners. She also has a dynamic style. Sitting through her workshop presentation was like being a student in her classroom. She presents on how to make the classroom engaging and motivating to all students, even the most reluctant learners, while modeling for her audience exactly how she would do it. The experience is a bit jarring because it’s so different from the lectures that dominate big education conferences, but it’s also refreshing and way more fun.

Perez says when students are engaged, predicting answers, talking with one another and sharing with the class in ways that follow safe routines and practices, they not only achieve more but they also act out less. And everyone, including the teacher, has more fun.

“If we don’t have their attention, what’s the point?” Perez asked an audience at a Learning and the Brain conference on mindsets.

She’s a big proponent of brain breaks and getting kids moving around frequently during the day. She reminded educators that most kids’ attention spans are about as long in minutes as their age. So a third-grader can concentrate for about eight minutes before losing interest. It’s a teacher’s job to make sure there are lots of quick, effective brain breaks built into the lesson to give children a moment to recalibrate. Perez says teachers must be prepared for a diverse cross section of learners with a large toolkit of strategies for teaching in multiple modalities, with many entry points to participation and content.

PEREZ’ BRAIN-BASED STRATEGIES

1. Don’t Be Boring“In our engaging classrooms, we have to have a set of procedures and routines,” Perez said. But they don’t have to be boring. She often has students come in and look at a list of adjectives on the board, many of which stretch her students’ vocabularies. She asks them to greet two other students and use one of the adjectives to describe how they are feeling today. The activity gets them up, moving and ready to learn, plus they’ve used a new vocabulary word in relation to themselves, checking in with their community along the way.

2. Vote
Activate students’ brains with a quick round of voting. Perez often puts three learning goals for the day up on the board and asks students to vote for the one they think is most important. All three goals are good ones and there’s no wrong answer. “The reluctant learners get to look around the room and see who else thinks just like them,” Perez said. This quick activity helps create curiosity among students about what each of them is thinking.

3. Set Goals
Perez is also a proponent of both teacher and students setting personal learning goals every day that are achievable, believable and measurable. “Part of reaching that goal is publicizing that goal,” Perez said. Making goal-setting a regular and visible part of one’s teaching practice models it for students. But it’s very important to leave time for students to revisit the goal they set at the end of the day, Perez said. That opportunity to reflect will help them see and value what they did during the day, as well as where they may have fallen short of the goal.

4. Form Groups
Perez constantly asks her students (in this case a group of educators) to break off to share with one another, brainstorm or collaborate, and she always sets a time limit for the conversation, like 72 seconds. “In my classroom I use bizarre time limits and then they think I’m actually watching the clock and they get to it,” Perez said. She finds this promotes more time on task than a generic five-minute time limit, which students know is just as likely to stretch into eight minutes.

5. Quick Writes
Often Perez will throw out a question and ask students to quickly brainstorm on paper as many answers as they can. Then she’ll do a “popcorn share” where students stand up whenever they want and throw out an idea. This could be an alternative to something like “round-robin reading,” which can put reluctant learners in the hot seat. In this case, Perez sets her students up for success by giving them time to brainstorm first — the answers are right in front of them. This strategy has the added value of forcing students to listen closely to their peers, since they don’t know who will pop up next.

6. Focus on the ABCs: Acceptance, Belonging and Community“Without this set of ABCs, traditional ABCs will not be as successful,” Perez said. She’s aware of the rush to cover content in many schools and classrooms, but says teaching is not about what is covered today, it’s about what is uncovered in students. “Don’t be so standards-driven that you forget the needs of your students,” she said.

7. Continually change the “state” of the classroomThese are changes in who is providing the information, who is doing the talking. Perez likes to say for every 10 minutes of content, teachers need to give students two minutes of “chew time.”

8. Empathize
Keep in mind the students’ perspective and listen when they explain what they need to learn. Take Ned’s Great Eight to heart.

NED’s GREAT EIGHT

• I feel OK
• It matters
• It’s active
• It stretches me
• I have a coach
• I have to use it
• I think back on it
• I plan my next steps

9.  Do a BRAIN checklist

• Build a safe environment
• Recognize diversity in the classroom
• Assessment must be formative, authentic and ongoing
• Instructional strategies should be a palette of opportunities
• New models

“We’ve got to be growing and open to new ideas,” Perez said. “That’s why teaching is such an adventure. Each day you walk into the classroom, you never know what you’re going to get.”

10. Simplify
Perez suggests framing every lesson in a similar format, but executing it differently each time. First activate the learners by making them curious and developing a need-to-know. Then, let them dig into the content in an exploratory phase that takes them deeply into rich content. Last, help scaffold students’ broader understanding by helping them integrate it with what they already know. Some metacognitive questions that can get them thinking this way include: What part of the lesson did you like the best? What part was the most difficult for you? Why do you think that was? What do you think you can do today to help yourself stay focused?

“If we don’t give our kids time to reflect, to connect, to marinate on the information, they’re going to regurgitate what’s right there in front of them without even thinking,” Perez said. Reflection and rehearsal of what was learned is crucial to move information from working memory into long-term memory.

11. Chunk Information 
Make information more easily digestible for students. “We need to be more purposeful in our delivery of information,” Perez said. Too often teachers deliver an entire lesson without letting students move or discuss once. Kids will give up if they are overloaded with facts, and chunking provides a way to pause and let students think over what they’ve learned. Breaks to assimilate information are crucial for mastery.

“Lesson mastery means students have mastered the content when they do something substantive with the content beyond echoing it,” Perez said.

12. Props
Perez keeps a box of props for when she’s teaching. She often throws something to a child when it’s his turn to talk so he has something to focus on. She says this works particularly well for kids with attention problems, as well as for the tactile learners.

13. Breaks
Short video clips can be a great brain break. A great clip can be interpreted in multiple ways. “You’re fostering divergent thinking,” Perez said.

14. Post-Its
Post-It note discussions are a good way to get all students involved without making anyone uncomfortable by putting them on the spot. Ask an open-ended question. It could be an activator at the beginning, a marinator in the middle, or even a summarizer to test for understanding at the end of a lesson. Students jot down their answers to the prompt on Post-Its. English Language learners or special needs students could write just one word or draw something. Then students share in pairs. “Even the most reticent learner is OK sharing one-on-one.” Perez said. Post all the responses on a graffiti board and pull out some trends.

15. Make Snowballs
The Snowball brain break is one of Perez’ favorite ways to summarize learning at the end of a lesson (and should be done when students are on their way to recess or at the end of the day). Students write answers to a prompt on a piece of paper. On the count of three, they throw their “snowball” randomly up and away (but not at anyone). Then everyone grabs a snowball that landed near them.“It’s a way you can purposefully pause, have them reflect and make connections,” Perez said. She uses it in all subjects, sometimes asking students to write three new vocabulary words they learned, or three successes they had in that lesson, or three questions. “Students love it and it’s inclusionary because it’s anonymous,” Perez said. Students also get to see one another’s thinking in this activity.

16. Guessing Games
When slightly boring content must be covered, create a need-to-know in students by having them predict the answers. Students are more likely to be invested in the answers when they are revealed after students themselves have had a chance to debate and predict.*

This strategy among others is meant to get students to manipulate and think about the information themselves. “If the teacher does all the interacting with the material, the teacher’s brain, not the students’ brains, will grow,” Perez said. That’s why Perez advocates that teachers have a large toolkit of approaches to get students thinking, speaking, writing, touching, building, listening and, most importantly, doing something with the content.

17. Balanced Inquiry
Lectures do have a time and a place, but they are far more effective when they are interactive. Perez likes Harvey Silver’s guide for an effective lecture: connect new knowledge to existing knowledge, organize the materials into chunks, dual code the information so it’s stored in multiple places and exercise the brain.

“It’s a matter of balance to keep the engagement alive,” Perez said. She doesn’t advocate that teachers always have students teach one another just because it has a high retention and transfer rate; doing all of one thing is never effective. Instead, she says, it’s about a balanced use of all the inquiry approaches.

18. Mind-streaming
Mind-streaming is another fun brain break activity that also gives students a chance to recall what they’ve learned and teach one another. Have students randomly pair up and then each person teaches the other the most important things they’ve learned in that lesson. Each person will remember different things, and when there is overlap that will reinforce the concept. It’s simple, effective and doesn’t require any teacher preparation because students are teaching one another.

19. Be Interactive
Perez begs educators to always try to make tasks engaging and interactive by giving students enough knowledge, giving them the language to express it, giving them an authentic reason for the interaction they’re engaged in, prime them with interesting questions, establish a community of learners that support each other, and give students a clear understanding of the task. If these elements are part of every class, she says, all students can be successful.

20. HOPE
The last tip Perez offered educators is to have HOPE, an acronym she uses for Have Only Positive Expectations.

*A previous version of this story included information Kathy Perez shared in her conference presentation about the Learning Pyramid and rates of retention using various teaching methods which are in incorrect. We regret the error.

EXPLORE: TEACHING STRATEGIES, INQUIRY LEARNING, STUDENT ENGAGEMENT, STUDENT MOTIVATION

 
 
 
 
 

【用FB的features 來帶口說和教單字! 】

http://www.engames.eu/facebook-vocabulary/

Facebook vocabulary

Posted on Jun 10 2015 - 3:46am by Zdenda

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Facebook is the most popular social network in the world. Many of our students spend hours on it every day. But have you ever given them a chance to speak about Facebook in an English lesson?

In this post I would like to bridge this gap and give you a chance to teach some words connected with Facebook. Once the students know the words they will be able to talk about Facebook and what they do there. To teach the vocabulary, there is an infographic, a quiz and several speaking activities.

Facebook vocabulary – infographic

Go through the following infographic with your students and ask them to translate the words if you teach a monolingual group.

Facebook vocabulary – online quiz

In the following quiz your students can practise the vocabulary taught in the infographic. The quiz consists of two parts. It is in HTML5 and it will play on mobile devices and desktop computers.

Facebook vocabulary quiz

Facebook vocabulary – speaking

The following section contains several speaking activities to give your students a chance to practise the new words in a meaningful way.
The first activity works very well with students who are 15 or older. Hand out the following questions and ask your students to choose three questions they would like to ask you.

a) What was the last post you put on your timeline?
b) Do you share your photos on Facebook?
c) What was your last comment?
d) How often do you comment?
e) How often do you write a status on your timeline?
f) What was the last post you liked?
g) How many friends do you have on Facebook? Do you know your friends personally?
h) Do you ever message anyone? How often and why?
i) What is in your cover photo?
j) What was the last thing you shared on Facebook? How often do you share things?
k) Do you use news feed or any apps on Facebook?
l) Are you a member of any groups? Why?

Answer the questions as best as you can and demonstrate the way you would like your students to discuss the questions.

Then ask your students to choose 7 questions they would like to ask their partner. Ask them to work in pairs and discuss the questions.

ADVERT:

The second speaking activity is called ranking. The students should rank the following Facebook features from the most useful and interesting to the least.

GROUPS, BOOST POST, STATUS, MESSAGE, COVER PHOTO, LIKE, SHARE, PROFILE, COMMENT, EVENT

If you have never done a ranking activity with your students before, it is a good idea to teach the phrases first. Teach phrases like: “I think …. is the most useful…,” “I think …. is the least useful …,” etc. If your students are not able to use these phrases, their discussion will not be very interesting or long.

【班級經營和管理:Classroom Management】

http://www.coolcatteacher.com/10-ways-to-flip-a-kid-and-turn-their-day-around/

10 WAYS TO FLIP A KID AND TURN THEIR DAY AROUND

Teaching and Reaching Every Child

by Vicki Davis

n A Story of a Young Life Turned Around by Great Teachers, Kevin Honeycutt shared, “I believe you can flip a kid on any given day in one hour.” I’ve been thinking. Can you?

Well, when something horrific happens: death in the family or other trauma — maybe not. But on most days with most kids, I think this is true. I had an upset child just yesterday. We had a private talk as she was coming into the classroom (straggling behind everyone else). And yes, she was flipped. My words and our interaction FLIPPED HER and changed her day. When I saw that happen, I realized that it is true. We can flip kids (and perhaps each other) if we pay attention and notice.

Here are some ways you can flip a kid. Please share yours in the comments. Let’s get this kid flipping conversation going!

10 Ways to Flip a Kid in Your Classroom and Turn Their Day Around

I’ve been pondering, “how do you flip a kid, like you flip a house?” Reflecting over fourteen years, here’s how I’ve seen it done.

1. Rebelieve in a child.

Kevin Honeycutt talks about rebelieving on the show. Give the child another chance. Decide you’re going to rebelieve in them and show it with your actions. It can be hard, but it is necessary. (Sometimes we need to re-believe in colleagues too.)

2. Stand there and care as they enter the classroom

Stand at the door, look them in the eye and call them by name as the day begins. If you look at their eyes, you can tell if they’ve slept. You can see stress. You can figure out all kinds of things. Call them by name. Ask them how their weekend was or if they’re doing ok.

3. Notice kids who need extra attention and give it.

When you notice kids who are having a bad day (as they enter your room), ask them how they are. Connect with them on a personal level. Talk to them.

4. Be genuinely interested in your students.

Know what the student likes, ask them about their hobby or interest. If you can know about these ahead of time (see the 2 activities below), then you’re ready. Here are two classroom activities to uncover their interests:

Classroom activity 1. Adapted from Dave Burgess.

Step 1: Set the Stage. I call my Computer Lab the “Wonder Lab.” I talk to students about how this classroom is filled with wonder. But the most wonder-FULL thing is them. They are full of wonder. Talents they haven’t discovered yet. Strengths they don’t even know are there. So, I have play dough under these pirate bandanas (hat tip Teach Like a Pirate – oh yeah) and ask the students to uncover them.

Step 2: Model their Wonder. I ask them to model something out of the play dough that is one of their wonderful things. I play “What a Wonderful World” and they make their wonderful item. They take pictures and upload them to our private site. (They are also learning how to take pictures and upload them.)

Step 3: Share their Wonder-fullness with Parents. I take pictures with their face in the picture. They explain why this is something wonderfull about them. I share these pics with parents on Bloomz, giving them a quick reason to go ahead and join our parent-teacher communication system. Plus, the first pic parents see is of their child smiling in my classroom.

Classroom activity 2.

Great teachers unleash learning that feeds off student curiosity. Students write down “three things I wonder about in technology” on an index card. Now, as the teacher, I customize the classroom based upon their curiosities. It makes for a more engaging classroom.

5. Be positive.

If someone wrote down everything you say in a class period, would it be positive, negative, or neutral. Positive people promote growth and change.

Learn how to give compliments. “High five.” “Fist pump.” “Knuckle punch.” “Oh yeah!” Try one of the growth mindset statements I’ve shared.

Awesome teachers celebrate wins. When I’m 100, I pray to have lots of laugh lines and no frowny ones. How about you? Are you positive?

6. Talk privately with kids who act out.

When the student seems to be having a difficult time often, they’ll act out. Talk privately and ask how they are doing and if something is wrong. Don’t give kids who are acting out an audience. After taking a child aside, I often like to say,

“This is not like you. Today is not who you are. What is happening that is causing you to act this way?”

I learned this early on in my teaching career. A normally docile student suddenly lashed out at me and said something awful. At first, I thought I should send her to the principal. Instead, I took her outside my door and said five words,

“What on earth was that?”

She burst into tears. Her parents had told her they were getting a divorce. She hadn’t told anyone. Her profanity-laden outburst was a cry for help. There’s no excuse for profanity, but sometimes, you have to be the adult and know that they are still  young. Sometimes they just want your attention.

If you respond poorly to acting out, you can permanently destroy a relationship with a child. You can also lose the respect of the entire class. Remove the class or remove the student. Either way — get rid of the audience and handle this privately. Because when you have a confrontation with a student in front of the class isn’t isn’t just you and them but a powerful third party called peers who will make them act differently than if it were just a one on one chat.

When you finish having the discussion, always make sure you address the inappropriate behavior. I typically say something like:

“Now, if you look me in the eye and I know that we have an understanding that isn’t going to happen again, we can both move on.”

We talk about the behavior. Every single time, the child has apologized, we’ve made peace, and we have come out stronger. Every single time it has flipped their day (and often mine.) Teaching isn’t easy, it is worth it. Acting like the adult in hard situations always makes you feel like a pro when you’re a teacher.

7. Pull up a chair.

To interact with a child on an even level, pull up a chair. They are sitting, you’re sitting. Sometimes a conversation or a little extra attention lets them know how important they are.

I teach quite a few introverts who don’t like extra attention, so while projects are going on, I’ll roll around and spend time with everyone. I never stop first at the introverted child’s desk who I know needs time. Some students who are tremendously introverted will blush if I start with them.

So, as kids work on their projects, I’ll roll my chair and spend time with each student. We’ll talk about what they’re doing. If a child is tired, ask if they feel ok. Sometimes a quick question will open up a conversation.

8. Compliment them to their parents or someone important to them.

Genuine compliments are my favorite type of thing to communicate to parents. As Joe Sanfellipo and Amy Fadeji said in 10 Awesome Ways to Build Parent Partnerships, the first contact with a parent should be positive. Then, after that we need positives to keep flowing. You can do that several ways:

• Pictures of kids succeeding in the classroom (I post them just to the class in Bloomz as I don’t like these pics to be on the public web.)
• Genuine compliments of something a child is mastering quickly or excelling at doing. (I text them to parents via Bloomz.)
• A funny story of their child’s personality that also shows my appreciation of their individuality.
• Notes on report cards or progress reports about each child’s strengths.

Think about it.  When a child goes home, and someone says, “Mrs. Vicki says you are good at doing ___” or “Mr. Smith says you did a great job at ___ today.”  Your name has just been said in a positive way. That, my dear teacher friends, is a good thing. 

9. Use Grace in your Discipline.

Monday morning I was furious. I have a special chair that Kip bought for me that I sit in at my desk. It is expensive because I was having knee problems and I needed one with the right ergonomics for me. (See 5 Great Ways to Make Your Classroom a Healthier, Happier Place.)

So, I have one big rule — no one sits in my chair. Ever. The kids all know it. Several weeks ago, my own son and another boy broke the rule. My husband had to come in and fix the chair. I reminded my classes just last week.

Someone let three boys into the Wonder Lab last Friday. They sat in my chair. When I came in Monday, it was messed up. I was furious. I found out who they were, and I admit, I was angry. I communicated but I did not discipline them. I, literally, sat on it for a day. Instead, I went back to each of them on Tuesday and said this,

“I am sorry I was so angry yesterday. Mr. Kip had to come in last night and fix the chair. I know when you sit in the chair, you don’t feel like you’re messing it up, but it does. So, I have a rule that no one sits in my chair. My husband bought me that chair two years a go for my birthday so I wouldn’t come home with my back and knees hurting. Now, whether you agree with it or not, do you understand the rule that no one sits in my chair?”

Each boy said yes.

“Now, I was pondering what to do on this because you broke a rule in my class. My question is: Do you understand the rule or do I have to put you in break detention so you remember it?”

“Mrs. Vicki, I promise that I will not break the rule, and I understand it.” each boy said to a T.

“Well, here’s what I’m doing, then. I believe your word and that you’ll do as you say. If you don’t keep your word, you won’t just have one day, you’ll have three, but I don’t think it will come to that. Let’s move on with this understanding.”

We end with reinforcing the rule. Reinforcing that they are going to be men of their word and that I believe in them. I believe none of the three will break that rule again. You can call me naive but in 14 years of teaching, this discipline with grace always works. I’ve never had to go back and put them in detention for the three days.

Kids who are spoken to with respect like adults often act like functional adults. Also, note that I handled it privately and discussed it when I wasn’t furious. You will be respected when you behave respectably.

In the end, handling disciplinary issues with tact and wisdom improves things.

It also flips their day when you are one adult who believes in them and lets them work situations out like adults. Certainly there are times I might send a child to detention but I can count them on one hand for the past two years.

10. Do Something Extra.

Kids notice when you go over and above. Here are just a few ways to be a little extra noticing:

• Follow up. If you see a child early in the day, and they are having a hard time – try to find them in the hall or after school and check on them.
• Do Things Related to What They Love. If a child says they love something, and you have it in your power to give them that thing or something related, do it. (For example, I had a student who loved a certain old SNL character. I used the clip and mentioned their name in a lesson plan. I’m celebrating that child!)
• Talk About What They Love. I have a student who loves skeet shooting. No one else does this sport, but she loves it. Every time I see her, I ask her about the sport and what she’s doing next. Another student loves her horse. I ask about the horse! New siblings. Favorite sports. Big accomplishments. Let them tell the story they love to tell just one more time.
• Laugh with them. Make time for laughter.
   A funny story from yesterday.Yesterday in class I had some old dry cookies I was about to pitch. Some of my kids said – oh, could I have one. I said, “sure, they’re dry — you can eat it over the trash can.”
  Well, they put it in their mouth, and they were so dry that they’d have little crumbs fly into the air like steam out of your mouth on a cold day.
  So, two of them looked at each other, and one said to the other ‘let’s have a cookie-off’. The understood (somehow) and said, “let’s do this.”
  So, they squared off like the old-timey cowboys having a gunfight over my trashcan. Each looked at the other and put the whole cookie in their mouth. I laughed when I realized what they were doing. It was kind of like the cinnamon challenge – dry dry dry – but it was hilarious.
  Now, some of you will fuss at me for having sugar (gasp) in my classroom. But we laughed our fool heads off for the 2 minutes at the beginning of class, and they sat down to work for the next 50. 
  
  You can’t make this stuff up, and you can’t make laughter happen except not to be so stiff and rigid that no one cracks a smile in your classroom except when you trip on a pencil and almost fall.
• Plan Memorable Things. We to anticipate fun. Events. Activities. Trips. I want to be the one who has these things, but you can even have them with no notice. If the kids come in dragging, I’ll pull out my costume kit (see Drama in the Classroom: 2 Examples with Bellringers), and we’ll act out scenes. Memories and laughter can always turn the day around.
• Stop Everything when a Crisis Happens. I had a child in a wreck a little over a month ago. The kids had just found out and came into my room with blank faces. I didn’t know what happened, but I know my students enough to know something was up. I always ask where every student is and when I came to her chair — they told me. I stopped class and changed the lesson plan on the spot – We made get well cards on their computer for her. They needed to channel their skills into something constructive that would help them deal with their emotions. Believe it or not, this flipped the attitude of the whole class. While they were still upset, they smiled as they laughed about things that they could write to make her laugh. It changed the whole relationship for me with that class because they know I hurt when they hurt. I love them.

Be a Human Being Not Just a Human Doing.

I could teach like Einstein and preach like Martin Luther King Jr. but it would mean nothing without love. Love stops what it is doing when there is crisis.

Love looks people in the eye. Love believes in people. Love knows that relationships trump everything. Love — LOVES PEOPLE. And in the end, flipping a kid is the same as flipping any person — showing love.