Posts by techsupport
Giving Written Directions
Here are some ideas to incorporate when providing written directions for assignments. Write directions as logical steps that students should follow to complete an assignment. Separate each step. Make your directions very specific. Be as brief as possible. Provide examples where appropriate. Go over the direction orally with your students. Have students restate the directions…
Read MoreTeaching Geometry Concepts
Helping students understand geometry concepts should begin well before geometry is studied as a subject. The following ideas for teaching geometry concepts can be used beginning with the upper elementary grades. Show students both correct and incorrect examples of a concept. Have students distinguish between correct and incorrect examples. Present a concept in different representations.…
Read MoreParts of Speech Review
Grammar is not fun for most students. Here is a way you can turn a review of parts of speech into a fun activity. Have your students identify the part of speech of the underlined word in each of the following book titles. The Cat in the Hat (preposition) Brave New World (noun) Pride and…
Read MoreOut-of-Control Student
At any time during the school day, it is possible that a student may become out of control and demonstrate irrational behavior. Such an occurrence represents a crisis which you cannot ignore. Your response to this crisis must be immediate. Here are some things you should do. The student is certainly not calm, but you…
Read MoreClass Meeting
When a baseball team is going through a rough stretch, the manager will often call a team meeting to address a problem. As the manager of your class, you can call a class meeting to address a problem. Here are some guidelines for a class meeting. Everyone can contribute their views. It is up to…
Read MorePresidential Campaign Activites
As the presidential election campaigns become more intense, you can use the following activities to heighten your students’ awareness of what is involved in the business of electing a president. Have students compare campaign slogans to identify the ways in which the candidates differ. Have students develop a checklist they can use to compare candidates’…
Read MoreUsing a Newspaper
A newspaper can be an inexpensive and valuable teaching tool. Here are some examples of how newspapers can be used across the curriculum. Language Arts. Have your students read an article and circle all singular nouns and pronouns in red and all plural nouns and pronouns in green. Social Studies. Have your students read an…
Read MoreHyperactive Students
Students who are hyperactive can be a disruptive factor in your classroom. Here are some ideas that can help you manage a student who is hyperactive. Assign the student a classroom responsibility that he or she enjoys doing (e.g., collecting students’ completed work). Positively reinforce the student for on-task behavior. Have a private signal you…
Read MoreEponyms
An eponym is word that is derived from the name of a person. The person can be real or fictional. Have your students take the quiz that follows. Each item provides a clue about the person and definition of the word. For each item, students must identify the eponym. The answers are given in parentheses.…
Read MoreInteresting Homework
There is no question that homework is important. Good homework assignments provide synthesis of skills and concepts learned in class as well as practice. Homework doesn’t have to be dull. Here are some ideas for interesting homework assignments. Write new endings to stories. Conduct experiments. Observe and record weather. Construct a web page. Collect specimens…
Read MoreEvaluating Oral Presentations
Here are criteria you can use when evaluating a student’s oral presentation. The extent to which the student demonstrates understanding of the topic. The extent to which the student is prepared and has appeared to rehearse the presentation. The extent to which the student speaks clearly and distinctly with no mispronunciations of words. The extent…
Read MoreScaffolding
Scaffolding is an instructional technique in which the teacher initially provides a relatively high degree of structure and then gradually withdraws the structure as the students become more proficient on their own. While initially applied to verbal learning, scaffolding can be applied to a variety of learning areas. Here are five criteria for effective scaffolding.…
Read MoreSpelling Review
You can help students master the spelling of recently learned words by using the following simple review activities. Present a set of newly learned words in which some of the words are misspelled. Have students circle the misspelled words. Present a set of newly learned words in which one or none of the words is…
Read MoreStudents Who Stutter
Stuttering is a fairly common problem. Approximately 3 million people in the United States stutter, with a ratio of 5 males to 1 female. Here are some things you can do to enhance the fluency of students who stutter. Ignore times when the student stutters while reinforcing times when the student speaks fluently. Try to…
Read MoreTask Directions
It is not unusual to find that the reason a student does not succeed on a task is because he or she did not understand the directions for the task. Be certain that the directions you give for a task are specific. The student must know exactly what he or she is expected to do.…
Read MoreMusic in the Classroom
Introducing music to your students has many benefits. Songs can be used to teach new concepts and vocabulary. Movement to music helps students develop motor coordination. Counting songs can be used to reinforce math concepts. Music provides students with the opportunity to express their feelings and relieve tension. Music stimulates creativity. Music helps students develop…
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