Day 14- Dialing in

With the school year getting underway, it is now the time of the year when the sheen starts to wear off and the students tend to get a bit more comfortable.  This year, as in years past, we have asked teachers to spend the time up to this point focusing on: developing relationships, going over routines, and introducing students to our school expectations.  Up to this point, we have asked teachers to just make students feel comfortable.  That's it.  Just get kids used to being in our school and learning how to be a middle school kid.  But as I introduced at the beginning of the post, the year is changing and now we have to reinforce the work we have put in so far, teach content, and then review everything we did again and again.

So some ideas to help with this:

1) Focus on the lesson and continue to mix in the expectations.

2) Create lessons that serve a dual purpose: review your expectations and teaches content.

3) If you haven't yet, start making positive phone calls home.  It will pay off later in the year.

4) Take one day to have students reflect on what they have learned so far with a writing assignment or a discussion.

5) Create a lesson that challenges the students at a different level.  Maybe it allows more freedom, maybe it has more difficult work, or maybe you provide less direct instruction and have the kids read, follow directions, and work collaboratively.  Sounds silly but it does work.

So what ideas do you have to keep students focused on learning and engaged in school?

See you next time.