Math Teacher World

Are you having trouble getting students to do their homework?  Well, you are not alone.  In my district, all students are given an agenda or some may call it a planner.  I decided to have the students write down their homework Monday through Thursday in their agenda.  On Thursday night, the students get their parents to sign their agenda.  This lets the parent see what their child has for homework on a daily basis.  The interesting thing is that a lot of parents started signing it every night.  On Friday, when the students came to school, I did an agenda check.  A student received a 100 if they had written homework for Monday through Thursday and got their parents to sign it.  Each day and signature  counted as twenty points.  I was excited that this increased my daily homework for the students.  This was a simple idea that had a big return.

Pi Day is this Friday, March 14, 2008.  Check out the website www.teachpi.org for ideas.

How many times have you had students walk into the classroom and ask the following questions?  Are we doing anything today?  What are we doing today?  The students actually have no idea about what is going on in the class.  For years, I did not tell the students what we were doing until the class started.  I never wrote it down anywhere.  I just said it out loud.  One day it all changed.  I was at a school that did not meet its standards; therefore, we were required to do certain things.  One of them was to write the topic and objective of the day on the board.  Instantly, the students knew what they were doing and did not have to ask me anymore.  All they needed to do was read the board.  This was so an aha moment.  It was so simple and I wondered why I never thought about it before.  Since that day, I have not had any students ask what are we doing today.

Rewards for students!!

Have you ever wanted to reward your students for doing good in math class?
Well, now you have a list of ideas to use to reward your students.

1.  Homework Pass good for one night of no math homework

2.  A free 10 minutes at the end of class to use the computer to go to

   a math web site

3.  A coupon good for a prize at the end of the week (perhaps a pencil)

4.  A pass to be a the front of the line during lunch

5.  A math certificate

6.  To be a class helper
I hope that you try some of these out.  So many times a teacher’s time is
spent on disciplining the “bad” students that the good student’s are not
acknowledged.  If you try one, let me know how it goes or if you have
one not on the list, let me know so I can add it to the list.

Do You Have Good Classroom Management?

Classroom management has always been the number one
goal as to how your class will go for the year.  Sometimes
new teachers are not quite sure about what to do to get their
classroom under control.  Here is a list of things you can do to
make your classroom better:

1.  Know the name of each student
2.  Use close proximity to students to keep their talking to a minimum.
3.  Make the students who are talkative leaders in the room.  Give
    them a responsibility such as collecting calculators.
4.  Call parents at the beginning of the year with something
     positive.  This way when you call for something negative you
     will already have an established connection.
5.  Have classwork that is challenging.
6.  Always have something for the student to do when he/she finishes
    early.
7.  Address the little issues in class so they do not turn into bigger
    issues.
8.  Reach out to other teachers who have the same group of students
    for suggestions.
9.  Be fair to all students. 
10. Have rules and consequences.  Most importantly, follow them.

Here is a list of web sites to try out.  I have tried them and like them all.  Tell me what you like.  If you have tried other websites,  let me know.

 1. www.coolmath.com

2.  www.aaamath.com

3.  www.xpmath.com

4.  www.funbrain.com

5.  www.math.com

6.   www.aplusmath.com

Keep your classroom neat and organized.

Speak to every child as he/she walks through the classroom door.

Let every child participate by going to the chalkboard, white board, or overhead.

Grade classwork, quizzes, and tests in a timely manner.

Contacts parents via email if you cannot reach them on the phone.

Use cooperative learning groups whenever possible.

Dress appropriately.

Learn the names of all of the students.

Use technology as much as possible.

Use hands on materials.

Constantly review previously learned skills and concepts.

Work with other teachers and share resources.

Let the students know you are a person too.  Smile!