Posted on

Teacher Tip: 8/20/2014

Save the World and Money at the Same Time

 
Facilitate a student-led discussion early in the year about ways to help the environment by changing a few daily things at school. Encourage students to honor their list all year long. Delegate each student to be responsible for one of the ideas.Use both sides of paper. If you have to print something, use the double-sided option on your printer and photocopier.  You will save half of the amount of paper you would have normally used. Encourage your students to also write on both sides of their papers, and bring it to the recycle bin when they are finished.

Turn off computers at night; don’t just put your computers to sleep.  One computer will save an average of 4 cents a day which adds up to $14.60 a year. That’s almost $1500.00 if there are 100 computers in your school!

Take an inventory of items that go unused in your classroom, and give them away.Others in your school may have the perfect use for these items. If there is still not a need, drop them off to a school with limited resources in your area, or a second-hand store.

Educate your students about mathematics and the environment at the same time.Incorporate lessons and projects that challenge students to consider the Earth while connecting skills. Check out math lesson plans funded by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Waste Management and Research Center.

Set up your classroom reusing materials that may have otherwise been discarded. For example, cereal boxes can be decorated to take the place of plastic bins where homework is turned in. Also, household items can replace manipulative sets.  For example, use cans and other empty containers for explorations in volume and surface area instead of purchasing a set of geometric solids.

Encourage students to minimize waste during lunchtime and other breaks.  Have a competition and measure and graph the food wasted for each classroom. It is also fun to challenge students to pack waste-free snacks and lunches, meaning that they packeverything in reusable containers.

What is the temperature?  Keep the blinds closed in the summer months, and open them up in the winter.  These simple steps can save lots of money and energy on heating and cooling.

Consider reducing the heat by just one degree in the cold months and increasing the air conditioning setting by one degree to find the balance of comfort and value. Remind students to dress appropriately so that you can keep the temperature at a conservative level.  In a single family home, decreasing the heat by one degree will save $367.36 per year.  Decreasing it by 3 degrees will save more than $1100.00 in just a few months! Imagine how much your school could save!

Use technology to “be green and keep it on the screen.” Organize your inbox and set reminders instead of printing emails.  Subscribe to the daily news online instead of receiving a printed copy; it might even be free!

Send parents newsletters by email, instead of mailing them home.  This will actually promote more interaction with parents who are comfortable with the computer because it is faster and easier for them than calling or stopping in to see you.  Also, consider starting a website to post grades or a blog to keep both parents and students informed of assignments, handouts, and more.

Grow plants and vegetables in your classroom.  Use rainwater to water the plants.  Have a conversation about the amount of energy saved by growing your own vegetables or at least buying locally instead of buying commercially. Encourage students to split up the plants and take them home for the summer.

Organize a recycling competition.  Make it fun for your students to see who can collect the most recyclables.  Offer an eco-friendly prize, such as a fun-colored reusable water bottle.

Recycle old technology. Electronics often contain materials that do not break down and some toxic chemicals that can hurt landfills.  Do your part to pass on old electronics to someone that can use them, or recycle them free through the Reconnect Programsponsored by Dell and Goodwill.

Make good decisions about school supplies. Keep water-based paints, recycled tissues, scientific pencils with extra lead, and rechargeable batteries in your classroom.  Talk to your school about using these, if they don’t supply you with these environmentally friendly options.

Make sure the lights are off at the end of the day. Lighting accounts and expenses on electrician assistance comprise up to 7 percent of a home’s electric bill each year (the work itself as well as professional equipment inside that best tool backpack for an electrician cost quite a lot). If you turn off just a few unneeded bulbs for a few hours each day, the savings add up. Also, consider energy-saving bulbs. They last longer too!

~Staff Submission

Posted on

Teacher Tip- 8/15/2014

This Week’s Teacher Tip – 8/15/2014 

 

 

This week’s teacher tip comes from Deborah Tonguis:

 

Always keep a framed picture of yourself at the same age as the students you teach in your classroom. Every morning when I walk into my classroom, I look at myself as a high school freshman and remember what it felt like. That single act prepares me to teach with compassion. Plus my students get to see me at the same age they are!

 

Posted on

Past Teacher Tips!

Past Teacher Tips 

 

 

View Teacher Tip of the Week HERE! 

 

Have a button or nametag that says “Ask Me!” on it.

Then, when students finish early and their work is correct, give them the button or nametag and let them help others!

– Carrie Culpepper, Bellaire Elementary 

Build your bulletin board to last.

Every school has its own requirements for bulletin boards. Some principals want them changed every month, some bimonthly, and a few, it seems, want them reworked every week to resemble an exhibit at the Louvre. Whichever it is, you’ll likely need to adhere a background to the bulletin board before you post your students’ work. Instead of using paper as the background, which you’ll have to replace every two to three weeks, find a large piece of fabric. Not only will the fabric look better than paper, it will last for several months, saving you the time and energy you would’ve spent redoing it every few weeks.

~Staff Submission

 

It’s easy for inclusion students to get ignored in the classroom. Let your inclusion students know up front, before class starts, that they will be answering questions that day, and give the cooperating teacher non-verbal clues when you are getting ready to ask the student a question.

~Josh Lansdale, Inclusion Teacher

 

As ALL kids…especially the little ones, they get very “antsy” after having to sat still for a specified amount of time. In my classroom we do what is called Brain Breaks. These breaks give students the opportunity to release that “extra” energy. When I want my students to come back and re-group….we do yoga poses, when I want them to really release that extra energy, I’ll go to YouTube and have them do one of the Kids Dance 2 videos. Their favorite is Despicable Me! I even join in with them…they love seeing their teacher get down too! !

– Natasha Whitehorn, Barret Paideia Academy

 

 

 

As the school year is about to end, I make sure my students are still actively engaged in the lessons. As they easily get bored, I make sure I give them multiple opportunities to be successful. From answering worksheets, to small group rotations to computer hands on activities, and recess in the playground, there are a lot of reasons for kids to enjoy the remaining days of the school year.

– Marlyn Pangatungan, Oak Park Microsociety Elementary School

 

 

Secretly have parents or teachers write notes of encouragement for the first day (or each day) of testing. Have it on their desk when they walk in. We’ve been doing it for years and our kids’ faces just light up! It’s a great way to start their day!

 -Carrie Culpepper, Bellaire Elementary

 

 

There are several components under the Managing Classroom procedures listed.

One of the  ways I accomplish this is to have two student helpers each week. At the tardy bell, a student helper begins counting 1-60. Students must have their notebooks and are writing bell ringer’s before 60 is reached or their name goes on the board. The student helper then reads the Bell Ringer question and calls on other students for answers. This can lead to student to student discussion ( a 4 in  questioning and techniques) At the end of class, the other student helper makes sure tables are quiet, cleaned and this person releases students from class. (a 3 in  Managing classroom)
After two weeks of this, it becomes routine and students beg to sign up to be the class starter or releaser. By the time, observation comes around, students know exactly how this works and it is an established procedure.
– Cristi Cantor, Broadmoor Middle School 
Before ILeap testing each day, I give my students a “smart pill”.  I tell them the “S” on the Skittles stands for “smart”.  They love it, and it’s a good ice breaker/motivator.One of the components for a 4 rating on the Danielson model is to have a student led classroom.}

-Sherry Cordero, Shreve Island Elementary

 

 

It is getting very close to testing time. Here is a tip for you. Im certain that you all have been given practice test booklets. It might be beneficial to go through the book and visit with the way the questions are worded. To help my 8th grade students, I took both questions from the old Leap and the Common Core Leap practice bookls, placed the questions on one sheet and  we reviewed them when necessary. It is important that students clearly understand the jagon of the test and the way that test wirters write. With each question, have students tell YOU what the questios mean to them on their level, Also, have them to circle or underline important vocabulary words that might show on the LEAP from year to year. Later, administer a mock Leap test using the same jargon and vocabulary you pulled from the practice test and see the differnce in their answers and resposes. The mroe they are in tune to the writers of the test, the better they will do. Good Luck.
– Greg Carter, Walnut Hill Elementary/Middle

 

P.S. mla annotated bibliography maker.

Posted on

Teacher Tip Of the Week!

This Week’s Teacher Tip

 

 

 

 

Use “seconds” as a way of getting students to clean up. At the end of the period tell the students that each item left on the floor counts as 30 seconds off their recess. After the first day of 3 minutes off recess we rarely have to stay in more than 30 seconds anymore. They really enjoy picking up their “seconds”.

– Staff Submission 

View past teacher tips HERE.          Submit a teacher tip HERE.