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| Didax "Class Ideas" Newsletter Archive |
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The summer is quickly passing by. In a few weeks, I'll be starting school shopping for my daughter...that means you must be getting ready to head back to your classrooms! While there's lots to look forward to and much excitement, there's also a lot of preparation to do.
It's been a while since the last Class Ideas, so I've had some extra time to work on this issue. It's packed with ideas for getting your school year off to a great start. From ice-breaking game ideas to an informational article about building your students' self-esteem and Internet links, I'm sure you'll find some useful ideas. There's also a review of the past year of Class Ideas that includes some hints at what's to come this year.
Hopefully this issue will help the adjustment of going back to school be a little easier for you. As always, if you have any comments or ideas for future newsletters, I'd love to hear from you!
Anna Mullen, Editor |
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| Educational Ice-Breaking Games |
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 Laughing and playing together are great ways for students to get to know each other at the start of school. School should be fun, and playing games with educational value are a super way to sneak some learning in while having a good time! Games are a fun way for you to reinforce cross-curricular concepts, as well as to help develop listening, observation, concentration, social skills and cooperation among class members.
There are also times when both children and teachers require a respite from more formal activities - before/after recess, at the end of the day, after a rainy lunchtime, etc. You can save these for later in the year, too, when you need a lift during a stressful day!
Here are a few ideas to assist in a busy classroom, with examples of individual, small-group and whole-class activities, as well as indoor and outdoor games. I've included many old favorites as well as a few new ones. (Some of the games will require instruction and practice before they can be used as five-minute fillers.)
Speaking and Listening
These are extremely valuable activities, helping to build on existing speaking and listening skills, as well as fostering class cooperation.
? Buzz - The students sit in a circle and you select a number, for example 3. Each player, in turn, calls out his or her number but when reaching a number divisible by the selected number, the student must say "buzz" instead. If a player forgets to say "buzz," he or she is out of the game.
? Telephone - The students sit in a circle. Ask a student to whisper a sentence to the student on his or her right. Have the second student whisper the sentence to the third student. Continue until the sentence reaches the student to the original student's left. Have that student repeat the sentence out loud.
? Continue the List - This can be played in groups or as a whole class. Give the students a sentence starter. The first student adds one item to the sentence starter. The next student repeats the sentence starter and the first student's item and adds an item of their own. Then the sentence moves on to the next student and the play continues. If a student misses an item, the others can offer to help. Some sentences starters are:
I went to store, I bought a ...
One the way to school, I saw a ...
At the beach, I found a ...
This game can be made more difficult by adding a rule that each item must begin with the same letter.
Outside Games
? Traffic Lights - Have students stand in a line about 20 feet away from you. Say a color and the students follow your instructions. If a student does the wrong action, he or she sits out. The game continues until only one student is left.
? Cross the River - Select a small number of students to be "crocodiles" in the "river" (middle of the game area). When you instruct the rest "Cross over," they must cross over to the other side of the game area without being caught and "eaten." When a student is caught, he or she sits in the middle of the river until the last child is left.
? Cat and Mouse - Select a number of children to be cats; the rest are mice and have a tail (ribbon, strip of paper, etc.). When the mice are caught by the cat and their tail removed, the sit out. A similar game is when half the class is given a square of fabric and put it in a pocket, belt, etc. and the others attempt to claim it.
? Hoops - Lay out a number of hoops and instruct the children to move around, for example, hop, skip, run, etc. while avoiding the loops. When you call a number, the children group themselves in a hoop. If they don't have the correct number, they sit out.
Card Games (played without face cards)
? Turn Over - Two players with two dice set out a 3x3 grid of 9 cards, face up. The first player rolls the dice and if the total appears on one of the cards, he or she turns it face down. The first player to turn over three cards in a line wins and gets a point. The game continues until one player has five points.
? Addition Snap - A dealer turns over the top two cards. The first player to add the two numbers wins both cards. The player with the most cards at the end wins and becomes the new dealer. This game can also be played with subtraction (smaller number from larger) and multiplication. |
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| Self-Esteem: Getting off to a Great Start |
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 Teachers know that most children don't learn simply because they love learning. Many other factors will influence whether or not a child will experience success. Individual, class and teacher self-esteem will affect learning. This article addresses the importance of creating positive self-esteem from the start to promote learning. The key to building a safe, happy classroom environment is promoting self-esteem, right from the first day of school.
Ever notice how students repeat things you have said when talking to their peers? Students model themselves on the way we react in a range of situations. It stands to reason that the way we demonstrate positive self-esteem provides a model for students to demonstrate self-esteem. Similarly, when students are demonstrating poor self-esteem, we need to work hard not to follow suit. In fact, it is our job to build their self-esteem so they can be effective learners.
Here are some classroom (and out of classroom) indicators for why we should demonstrate good self-esteem:
? it empowers us to act positively,
? we respect others,
? we admit mistakes,
? we keep trying to achieve goals despite failures.
Student self-esteem is boosted when:
? students feel the positive effects of being responsible,
? we listen to them and suspend our feelings until we understand the feelings of the student,
? students demonstrate the good self-esteem we have modeled,
? we believe in our students and that they can achieve exceptional goals.
We need to manage student behavior in an encouraging manner. Show respect for students while steering them towards taking responsibility for themselves and promoting the indicators for good self-esteem. When a class unit shares positive self-esteem, it will the begin to work as a team with its teacher.
Tips for Teachers
? Praise often - but only when you mean it. Children can usually pick a fake. Be spontaneous in the way you praise; unexpected praise is the most effective.
? Smile as often as you can - it is contagious. A big smile in the morning as the children enter the classroom will make grumpy faces disappear.
? A wink can say a thousand positive words and will make the quiet student feel he or she has not been forgotten.
? Remind the class of things they do well. This could be putting bags away neatly, packing up at the end of the day or sharing.
? Be conscious about the language you use with the children. Does it encourage or show defeat? Do you say, "This is the worst packing up I've seen this week" or "Show me the 'packing up stars' that you are"?
? If a child is not speaking, it is likely he or she feels that no one is listening. Speak to him or her privately or play class discussion games such as "I like you because..." or "Things I am good at..."
? Give students a feeling of being organized by preparing them for what is going to happen in the day.
? Show good work when students get started to give others a benchmark to work towards. Let them know the focus of the task. If a writing task has been set, let them know that today you are looking for capital letters and periods. When students know what is expected, they work twice as hard.
? Show disappointment in poor behavior, not anger. Encourage students who have behaved poorly at every opportunity following their incident.
? Set short-term goals on those days when students are disagreeable.
? When correcting work, always write one positive comment before you mention the things that need working on.
Questions and Answers
Problem: There is a class in my school that shows little pride in its classroom or work and seems to be very negative about school.
Solutions:
1. This class needs an identity! Organize an activity that will produce something to brighten the classroom. This could be a class sign or mural. The children and the teacher need to work together to do this. Having photographs of the children displayed around the classroom can also help to build a class identity.
2. Promote self-esteem! Choose a task and set a goal that the children can achieve in a week. This can be something simple such as putting bags away neatly or lining up. Help them to achieve it and PRAISE them when they do. They will want this praise again. Mention their success in an assembly or to the principal in front of the class.
3. Class discussions are a great way of building self-esteem. Set rules first, such as one person talking at a time and no negative comments. Talk about what they are good at, how they can make the classroom an enjoyable place to be and how individuals are feeling about the class. This will help issues to surface, which can be dealt with in a mature, controlled manner.
Problem: There is a child in class who won't answer questions in front of the others, shows very little pride in her work and cries if confronted about any of these issues.
Solutions:
1. This child needs positive self-esteem! Give her some responsibility. This could be a monitor job such as handing out books or cleaning the board.
2. If the child has managed the task well or completed a piece of work that is of a higher standard than normal, recognize this with praise. Tell or show another adult such as a classroom teacher, support staff or the principal.
3. Tell the parents that the child has progressed this week. Write a positive comment in her home-school book or journal.
Problem: There is a teacher at school who is very negative and uses defeatist language in the staffroom and with the children. He believes that he isn't doing a good job and that there is no support from management.
Solutions:
This teacher needs affirmation just like the children! We (as teachers) need to be told the things we are doing well. We need goals set for us that we can work towards and feel success in. We need support in the things we find difficult. And sometimes we just also need a big, friendly SMILE! |
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| Help us with our New Feature: Humorous Happenings |
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 Classroom teaching isn't always hard work. There are those occasional glimpses of spontaneous humor that help to keep us all going and motivated to start another day. Class Ideas is starting a new feature and would like you to share your humorous classroom moments with our other readers.
A story from T. Jefferies:
I was talking to my preschoolers about graphs and how we can use them. I asked if anyone had seen a graph before. One boy raised his hand and said, "Yes, at the zoo!"
And from D. Booth:
In my first grade class we were learning about animals. I asked if anyone could tell me what a mammal was. One student raised his hand and said, "A mammal is an animal with two humps." |
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| Class Ideas: Looking Back, Looking Forward |
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A new year of Class Ideas issues is beginning with this July/August issue. I thought I'd take the chance to review the 2003-2004 year of newsletters and give a sneak peek of what's coming for the 2004-2005 year.
The newsletter started small, with just a few hints and tips, some activity pages and Internet links. I hope those beginning issues were helpful to you, but we spent last year trying to grow and tackle some important and timely issues. From serious topics like Conflict Resolution and Problem Solving to lighter themes like Oceans and Back to School, Class Ideas has covered a lot of ground!
This year, we hope to continue to grow. We'll be adding some new features...one that starts with this issue, Humorous Happenings. By your relaying funny stories from the classroom to other readers, I hope to brighten everyone's day with a giggle or two. I need your help though, please send me your funny anecdotes! Another recurring feature is going to be Meet the Authors. This will introduce you to some of the authors behind the books you enjoy so much.
Next month brings an Early Childhood Character Education theme, a hot topic in today's schools. In the coming year, Class Ideas will also cover Math Assessment, Space (always fun!) and Phonics. The list continues, but I'm always open to your ideas. Please let me know if there is a particular theme that is popular with your students that you'd like to see covered or if there is an issue in your classroom that you'd like more information about.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the next year of Class Ideas. |
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| Internet Resources |
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 This month, I've collected websites that give some great, in-depth information about self-esteem. Hopefully, they will help you get your students off to a happy, healthy start to the school year. And to help even more, there are a few websites with great, practical tips on starting the year off with a bang! |
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| September Newsletter Theme: Early Childhood Character Education |
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 Character education can start with the very youngest students. Next month's Class Ideas will address this and give handy ideas for building character in your students. |
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