Eraser Slide

Eraser Slide is a review game which the students enjoy. Here's how it works:

Students form groups to answer questions. When they answer correctly, a person from the group gets to go up the the board and slide the eraser (see above). The mark which counts is the one in front of where the eraser stops. So, as pictured above, it would be the -100 points. Some require an activity, like the seat dance. All students in the group must do a little dance in their seats to get the points. Parts such as switch signs (from positive to negative or vice versa) or swap points keep it exciting.

The students have a lot of fun with it, and since it is drawn on the white board it can be adjusted every time.

Lots of Fun

Yesterday and today were early release. So, we saw two classes each day for a longer amount of time than usual.

We took the students to the computer lab to use an internet site that the school uses, called Study Island. It asks the students questions about what they are studying. In this cases the geography of Africa. After they did a certain amount (decided by Mr. Dorray) they were able to play in game mode. This means that after they get a question right they get to play a short game. So, they are still studying, but get to have some fun.

Then we went back to the classroom and played a review game. We projected a map of Africa onto the white board and quizzed the students. I would give them the name of either a country or physical feature and the first person to raise their hand got to come up and draw it on the board. If they were right they got a piece of candy. I wanted everyone to get a turn, so once a student won they could only go again if no one knew the answer (this didn't keep them from raising their hand and trying to get picked).

They seemed to know the material, so hopefully they will do well on their test tomorrow.

The students enjoy Study Island, and they really seemed to enjoy the review game. (I will definitely use this in the future!) Some of the students even told me at the end of the day yesterday that they really liked the review game and wanted to do it again.

I had a great time because the kids were so enthusiastic. They had fun and made me laugh. Great two days!

Last Week

I haven't been posting as much lately. It's been pretty busy. Last week went pretty well.

Monday was a furlough day, so I got a day off. Yay! And, since I do not get paid to be at Sweetwater anyways, I didn't mind like the faculty and staff do.

Wednesday the students had a test. Again, most of them did not study. They even got an extra day because the test was supposed to be Tuesday and we did a review instead.

Thursday was a sub, so I was mostly in charge and they did some book work. I had to yell at one of the classes and they had to be silent for the half of the class after lunch. Mrs. Harris (another teacher on the team) congratulated me the next day for officially being a "mean teacher". Maybe they will start to listen more to me - I'm crossing my fingers.

Friday they did an activity which worked pretty well and the students had some fun.

Friday and Saturday I worked and today I am trying to catch up with school work. So, pretty normal.

Mixed Signals

The biggest point that my adviser noted on my observation was room presence. He mentioned in a few places on my review that I should not stay at the front of the room while getting the class' attention, but stand in the middle.

The reason I was moving towards the front of the room was so that those students sitting in the front could see me. I thought this would be the best way to get everyone's attention. I would also start by saying something like, "It's time to move on, you need to stop talking," in a raised voice, but not yelling. When that did not work (it never does), I said firmly and loudly, "Stop Talking - Now." Again, not yelling but rasing my voice and being very firm. He did not like that technique much either. Here are his comments:

"When they are talking and your want to get the class going on an activity, 

please don’t just yell “Stop Talking,” or “Get Quiet.” Try standing in the 

middle of the room and say, “When everyone is ready, we’ll get going!” 

That often works better without antagonism which only disrupts the class 

activity. Also, please stand in the middle of the class when you demand their 

attention."

and

"ask for quiet in a more diplomatic way, i.e. when my hand goes up, I need 

your attention. There really are better ways to get their attention than shouting 

for quiet."

I believe he is making a valid point - for someone with more control over the classroom than I currently have. If I stood in the center of the room and quietly asked for their attention they would just ignore me. I could stand there all day, but these students do not respond well to requests. They respect teachers when they fear getting in trouble. I am sure not all students are this way, and many would become quiet with a signal such as the teacher raising their hand. However, my students aren't going to. I have tried it. It doesn't work. When I told Mr. Dorray and the other teachers on our team about those comments they just laughed. I have received advice from the teachers at Sweetwater, they all say be firm and be mean until you have their respect. When I have my own classroom, I can try to "train" my students to become quiet if I raise my hand, or flicker the lights. Until then, I will try to stay consistent with the style of my mentor teacher.

Mr. Dorray "grilled" his homeroom class at the end of the day yesterday
about why they do not behave for me.  
The consensus was that I was "too nice".

Word Carousel

To help them review for the test, the students participated in a word carousel review game today. In this activity the teacher uses Super Sticky Notes and places them around the room:

We put up seven and titled them with the topics they have been learning about: 

History of the Middle East

Geography of the Middle East

Social Issues in the Middle East

Middle Eastern Economics

Christianity

Islam

Judaism

The students were split into seven groups and got 30 seconds at each Super Sticky Note to put down any words or ideas that they could think of about each topic. 

Once they got back to their original Sticky they circled the best 7 words. Then they made a sentence out of those words to summarize that topic. The best sentence (chosen by myself and Mr. Dorray) won that team a prize (candy).

This was a pretty fun activity and it was very interesting to see how well each group did, and what topics the students had problems with.