Caddo Fed After Hours

Tuesday Teacher Tip #1

Since I had several problems with cell phones before, I now have a cell phone box.

I stand with it outside of my classroom as students come in. I told them the new policy and that there is no consequence for giving up the phone before class starts and they will get them back at the end of class. When the bell rings, I place the box at the front of the room so that everyone can see that no one is stealing their phones. This is what we did for the GEE testing last year.  I do this mainly for the students who have a problem with constantly checking their phones.

I told them my new policy in a positive manner, and when I explained it to each class, I also put my own phone in the box.  I think that helped them to be more willing to do it. My students don’t have any problem giving them up because there is no consequence and they know that they will get them back.

LESLIE DESPINO

NORTH CADDO HIGH

Tuesday Teacher Tip #2

As a 5th grade science teacher, I occasionally get some really challenging questions.  If I don’t recall the answer or it’s one of those questions we simply don’t know…. I assign a student to visit www.askjeeveskids.com.

It’s an approved website, and I leave my corner computer logged onto that site so a child can locate the response almost immediately to share with the class.  The students love it.  Lately, they’ve been coming up with tough science questions in order to explore….

Charlotte Hinson 

Eden Gardens Magnet School

Golden Lines

The BEST writing motivator I’ve ever used is called the “Golden Verse” wall.  I assign the journal topic, the students write and do a basic editing overview.  I collect the journals and highlight what I feel are “Golden Lines”…those really amazing statements a student writes.  For example, one journal topic was  “What does being an American mean to you?”  One student wrote, “Being an American means taking the pledge seriously.  It also means being grateful that we live in a country with so many freedoms and not taking that for granted.  I feel like a patriot because I want to serve in the Armed Forces and become a soldier who defends others.” (This was from my FIFTH grader!)  Obviously, this was worth of a “Golden Line” status.  I then write on a notecard their Golden Line that I highlighted.  I post it on a bulletin board with gold paper.  Every Monday, they anticipate which students received a Golden Line for the week and cannot WAIT to write.  It is incredibly effective and exciting too!

Charlotte Hinson

Eden Gardens Magnet School

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Submit all Teacher Tips to Sue Britnell at the CFT Office 424-4579 or email cftsp@cftsp.com or sbritnell@cftsp.com

If we use your Teacher Tip online we will pay you $25!!!

To see all the Tuesday Teacher Tips go to:  www.ungagoureducators.org

As a motivational tool and positive reinforcement, both with the students and parents, I give out “Eagle Notes” to my students.

Eagle Note (or whatever your school’s mascot is) is a half piece of paper recognizing what the student has done that is praise worthy on that particular day.  The students LOVE to get these for many reasons: (1) immediate praise and recognition, (2) they take them home and receive more praise from family, and (3) collection of FIVE notes equals TEN bonus points on classwork, a quiz or test OR is a homework pass.  Trust me, they are highly sought after and desired!

Parents are also a big fan of the Eagle Notes because it is positive communication, not just negative, from the school  They enjoy the refreshing break!  Below is an example for you to use; feel free to adjust to your needs and add your mascot.

I hope this is beneficial and works for you like it does in my classroom!

Julie Davis

ELA 7th grade

Keithville Elem/Middle School

      EXCEPTIONAL (enter mascot name)

              (picture of mascot)

Date ______

Your child, ______________, was Eagle Eyed being exceptional!!

__ Listening well  

__Class participation

__ Following instructions

__ Class discussion

__ Working immediately

__ Respecting others

__ Having materials

__ Showing initiative

I appreciate it!!  Collect five Exception Eagle notes and turn them in for ten bonus points on a test or classwork or as a homework pass.  Well done!!

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Submit all Teacher Tips to Sue Britnell at the CFT Office 424-4579 or email cftsp@cftsp.com or sbritnell@cftsp.com

If we use your Teacher Tip online we will pay you $25!!!

To see all the Tuesday Teacher Tips go to:  www.ungagoureducators.org

Tuesday Teacher Tip

I’m a freshman English teacher at Huntington High School. As a bellringerfor my students, I use journal topics that I write on the board. The students have to write between 3-5 complete sentences, without repeating themselves, using their best grammar and punctuation to get the full credit.

The kick is, with few exceptions, I use topics that I find in the news. The news topics/journals allow for (1) frequent practice with writing skills (and I do see improvement as the year goes on); (2) higher-order thinking practice - the kids have to think outside of school, outside of their own sphere of influence, in order to render their opinion on the topics;  and (3) awareness of what’s going on in the world at large that may affect them now or in the years to come. I stress to them that there are no right or wrong answers, allowing the kids to express themselves freely while developing much-needed skills.

JulieStackhaus                                                                                                                                            English Teacher                                                                                                                                    Huntington High School

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Submit all Teacher Tips to Sue Britnell at the CFT Office 424-4579 or email cftsp@cftsp.com or sbritnell@cftsp.com

If we use your Teacher Tip online we will pay you $25!!!

To see all the Tuesday Teacher Tips go to:     www.ungagoureducators.org

Tuesday Teacher Tip - Picture Vocabulary 

I am a 4th grade teacher at Northside Elementary. I have several students who are below level with limited vocabulary and therefore vocabulary is a struggle. One student loves to draw and instead of writing a definition for the word he drew a picture that reminded him of that word.

 Example: Vocabulary word is commenced- the student drew a picture of men getting ready to race to the finish line and the speech bubble read 1,2,3.

It was amazing that the next day in class he raised his hand for every single vocabulary question.

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 Submit all Teacher Tips to Sue Britnell at the CFT Office 424-4579 or email cftsp@cftsp.com or sbritnell@cftsp.com

If we use your Teacher Tip online we will pay you $25!!!

Send all Teacher Tips to the Caddo Federation at cftsp@cftsp.com or call Sue Britnell at 424-4579.

GLE Lesson Plans

 

In this high stakes testing environment teaching the state-mandated curriculum is critical to the success of our students. Each Grade-Level Expectation (GLE) deserves its day — and its own lesson plan. Read each GLE and design a lesson that addresses that GLE. The temptation to “gloss over” some GLEs is overcome by the discipline of individually addressing each GLE. Write a lesson plan module in a Word file that lists the GLE, objective, and activities. Save the file as something like   “gle01lessonplanmodule.doc” on your hard drive. Then make a lesson plan template with information such as your name, the date, school, etc. Each year you can copy and paste the lesson plan module into the lesson plan template and save time and effort. As you create lesson plans on your computer name the files consistently for easy searches. I use a format of “lessonplan20090504.doc” for the lesson plan for May 4, 2009.

Paul Blankenship
Caddo Parish Middle Magnet School
http://lastudies2009.blogspot.com
http://del.icio.us/LouisianaStudies
http://www.paulblankenship.com
kd5rui@mac.com

See all the TUESDAY TEACHER TIPS at www.ungagoureducators.org

We need your teacher tips! Please share your teacher tips! We  will pay you $25.00 if we use your Teacher Tip online! Send your “Tips” to Amy O’Pry - amyopry@cftsp.com

Decoding Fun

I found this tip on the web many years ago and have used it in the classroom when I had to fill time periods, sometimes with students who were not even my students. I modified it to include several subjects. Use the example or encode a message similar to the one that follows:

(Do the first one together as a class to teach the students how to decode using the clues.) First 3/10 of benevolent ________________ (ben). Water frozen solid (32 degrees F or 0 degrees C) is _________________ (ice). A two letter word that is a homonym of too __________________ (to). First or second half of yo-yo plus the letter u _________________ (you). A consonant that controls the sound made by a vowel ___________ (r). A beverage made by steeping the leaves of an Asian shrub, often consumed hot in the afternoons in England; noun _______ (tea). The first or last third of church ______________ (ch).  A spelling for the [ur] sound _______________ (er). Combine your answers and reveal a message: benicetoyourteacher - Be nice to your teacher.

Tape a note to the backside of the classroom clock.  “You have won a chocolate bar.” or “This is a homework pass.” Tell the students that the first one to decode the message will know where to look for a treasure. Tell students that the words may or may not be in order as in the first example.

The fourth and fifth 7th of brother _________________ (th). In the rule “i before e except after c,” which of the two should follow c (in many instances) __________________ (e). What is the first syllable of a two syllable synonym (verb) for onset ______________ (begin - be). One who hinders is a hindrance. I hope this clue does not hinder your efforts to decode this message. What is the first  2/3 of hinder? _____________ (hind). Onomatopoeia is the formation or use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to. What sound does a hen make? _______ (cluck). Insert the first and second 5th of the word in your answer. ___________ (cl). Many years ago, Glen Campbell made a hit song entitled “Sitting on the _________ of the Bay.” The missing four letter word can be a verb or noun. In this case it is a noun and means pier. Omit the first 4th of the word that goes in the blank and use the rest in your answer ___________ (ock). Combine all the final answers and decode the treasure hunt - thebehindclock - behind the clock. 

If time permits, challenge the students to encode their own messages for the class or their peers. This can be a good independent or group activity.

During down time of testing I used cryptoquotes, word  scrambles, crossword puzzles, seek-n-find etc. I assigned point values to each and assigned students to groups. The students worked the entire week of testing on these puzzles. I checked them as they were submitted and kept group scores posted. At the end of the week, they were awarded gold, silver, or bronze awards in the puzzle olymics. Everyone could be involved because of the different levels of difficulty. Those who created the best coded puzzles had their puzzles added to my puzzle pack with their names on them. They felt important knowing students in the future would see their names on the puzzles. Tip: Incorporate mascot names or familiar school events in puzzles you create.

Suzanne Flores

Caddo Literacy Coach

Ridgewood Middle School

Tuesday Teacher Tip

Sometimes, especially this time of year, it is hard to keep kids quiet, on task, and settled.  To combat this, we have “smart tickets.”  Each day as the kids come in, I have the room helper pass out “smart tickets.”  (These are just common raffle tickets purchased from Office Depot.)  If the student keeps his or her ticket, they add them to their weekly collection.  They can lose them for excessive talking, getting up without permission, or just breaking any of the rules.  They can also earn extra tickets for working harder than others, answering difficult questions, or being polite.  At the end of the week, they can cash in their tickets the last few minutes of class (or save them for the next week).  Prizes include some of the
following:  1 ticket-candy, 5 tickets-tootsie pop, 10 tickets- treasure chest item, 20 tickets- homework pass, 25 tickets- sit at my desk for a day (they really like this one).  By only rewarding them once a week, it doesn’t break my bank, and they also see the importance of saving for what you really want.  They also learn responsibility, because if they loose their tickets, they are not replaced.  This has really cut down on some of the problems, and has encouraged good behavior, and higher order thinking to earn more tickets.

Michelle Weddleton
4th grade Science and Social Studies
Herndon Elementary Middle Magnet

We need your teacher tips! Please share your teacher tips! We  will pay you $25.00 if we use your Teacher Tip online! Send your “Tips” to Amy O’Pry - amyopry@cftsp.com