Classroom Tips

Check Here Monthly for Tips, Hints, Observations and Thoughts on the
World of Teaching and Students.

For more ideas and products to help to provide your students with the highest-quality standards-based instruction click Here

May 2025

Try Context
Before starting a new topic, link it to something in students’ daily lives as a problem to be solved.  For example, when introducing the use of context  to predict the meaning of unfamiliar words, display a small passage (from science, social studies, literature, etc.) that includes unfamiliar terms - - bolded. Say “Suppose we saw this passage on an important test. There is no time to look up the bold words, but we need to try to define them to unlock the meaning of the text.”   

_____

Dignify the Error
Student egos are very fragile - - especially in front of their peers. Good teachers are just as concerned about student dignity as they are academic correctness. Instead of labeling incorrect answers as “wrong” or responding to Q and A prompts with the usual “no-o-o-o; who else?” try one or more of these:

a.     “How did you arrive at that answer?  Tell us what you were thinking.”
b.     “Not quite right just yet! - - But you’re getting so close.”
c.      “Back up just a step or two, and try again.” 
d.     “Tell us more.” 

_____

On the Level
As teachers, we typically ask all the questions. Occasionally, flip it around. Say to students,

“In your notebooks - - so you save them for reference - - write three questions about the demonstration I just showed you. [ or the lecture I just gave, or the story I just read, or the math problems I just worked with you. ] 

It’s easiest if you write these on a piece of Chart Paper or display them on the SmartBoard

“Question 1: Write a question whose answer is found in the texts [ in your notes, etc. ]

“Question 2: Write a question whose answer must be inferred . . . . where we must look between the lines or behind the text.” 

“Question 3: Write a question whose answer is hypothetical or ‘what if.’ 

Then collect the questions; mix them up, and redistribute among the students - - each getting a set of questions written by someone else. The act of writing and answering will force students back into the material [ the demo, the text, the math problems, etc. ] twice - - the perfect way to help them internalize the content.