Second Thoughts: Being a Difference Maker/Five for Friday

Happy Friday, all! I'm linking up for another Five for Friday with some tips I shared at our district Summer Learning Days...

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I was fortunate to attend the Second Annual North Knox Summer Learning Days Conference. One of the workshops I presented was called, "Being a Difference Maker." To prepare, I poured through books authored or co-authored by Todd Whitaker. He is AMAZING! You can check out his site and learn about his publications here. I am going to share five ideas from him that I presented in the session I led.

This seems like something that would go without saying, but it's great to be reminded now and then of how important little things are in the world of education. Smiles set a positive tone in our schools. When the atmosphere is positive, students can do their best. I know we don't always feel like smiling, but we've got to force ourselves to appear positive and cheerful when we are with our students. To paraphrase Whitaker..."Can you think of one student who will benefit from having another negative influence in his/her life?" Let's all remember to put on our happy faces this school year!

Again, this seems like common sense. But I like to have confirmation that I am on the right track. I spend LOADS of time at the beginning of the year teaching my students routines and procedures. When I do this, I am able to sail through the remainder of the year with a classroom that runs smoothly. Take time before school starts to think about time-suckers and disruptions that you would like to eliminate from your classroom. Begin planning now how you can create and teach a routine to your students that will help your classroom run smoothly. Students like structure and feel safe in a structured atmosphere. To many kiddos, structure and routine are new concepts. They are proud and happy when they know what is expected of them.

Here is a simple example of something I do to eliminate disruption in my room...I ask all of my students to bring in yellow #2 pencils. I put the pencils in a community stash. Everyone has an opportunity to sharpen two pencils each morning during our warm up time. The pencil sharpener is off-limits the rest of the day. Because the pencils are all the same, there is no arguing over lost or stolen pencils. There is never the disruption of a broken pencil that needs sharpened because sharpening is not an option. No one has the excuse to walk across the room to sharpen a pencil in the middle of a lesson. Pencils are a non-issue in my room. This seems so simple, but it makes a major difference in how smoothly my room operates. I encourage you all to reflect and select ways to let procedures help you eliminate disruptions from your classroom and teach, teach, teach them at the start of the year.

How many times do we interrupt our own lessons to correct someone? Are there things we can overlook to keep a good flow going during our lessons? Can we ignore a misbehavior so the student doesn't get the desired attention/reward? If the behavior can't be ignored, how about praising someone who is behaving the way we want instead of correcting the one who isn't?

Another way to do this is to correct in a positive manner. Instead of, "Don't run!" try ,"We walk in the halls." Instead of "No talking!" we can say, "Let's all lock our lips." Tell kids what TO DO instead of what not to do. If we minimize the criticize, our classroom environment will be more positive for all. Kids feel great when they are praised...kids who feel great are empowered to learn the most and do their best.

This is a favorite piece of advice I share with anyone who will listen...When talking to kids, try to replace the word but with and. Look at these two examples of feedback given to students:

A. "I like the ending of your story, but you forgot to put periods where you need them. Go back and do that."

B. "I like the ending of your story, and when you get the periods placed correctly your work will be even better."

Which student is left feeling positive? Which student will hurry back and improve his/her work? Which student will feel free to take risks in the future? Enough said. :)