Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By Patti Connolly
1. Review your academic goals on a regular basis.
2. Plan each block at least one week before it begins with your academic goals clearly
stated. Include the progression of new concepts presented and which stories you will
tell in the block penciled in. The detail work is left for the weekends.
3. Work on singing and speech work. In your classroom, play the first note or phrase of a
song on a recorder or flute to help you and the class sing on key. In terms of speech,
begin working with the verses and prayers you recite in class first.
4. Foster a deep experience of storytelling by imbuing the story with more descriptive
images (i.e., instead of “she was given nice things”, describe the things…”she was
given a shimmering gold chain and a dress of the softest linen”) Give the class a few
moments at the end of the story for an out breath to soak up the story. Experience
that time of silence as a meditative practice for yourself as well.
6. Help the class learn to listen to you after a transition time by thinking up more creative
signals for letting them know that a transition is ending. Use a bell or glockenspiel for
examples. Play a game every now and then with them during which they get to
practice coming to quiet when you ring the bell, play the glockenspiel, etc. Let them
know that when a teacher is standing in front of the room that that is their cue as well
to be ready to listen. This is a big help to specialty teachers by the way. When they
begin to talk when you are talking, stop and patiently wait to talk again when they
come to quiet instead of talking over them. I often look down at my feet, which seems
to be a universal sign of “uh, oh, s/he’s waiting for us”.
7. Be always mindful to let the students do more of the work, be it spelling, cleaning up,
setting up, filing, reading, talking…it’s endless.
• Teachers who have higher rates of communication with parents are viewed as more
effective (Taylor, Pearson, & Walpole, 1999).
• Greater academic progress occurs when lessons begin with review (Kemp & Hall, 1992).
Effective teachers:
• Clearly articulate rules and include children in discussions about rules and procedures
(Kemp & Hall, 1992).
• Provide a variety of opportunities for students to apply and use knowledge and skills in
different learning situations (Kemp & Hall, 1992).
• Are able to pace the amount of information presented to the class, check student
progress continually by asking questions of all students, and relate new learning to
prior learning (Kemp & Hall, 1992).
• Use systematic feedback with students about their performance (Kemp & Hall, 1992).
• Run more orderly classrooms. Achievement has been higher in classrooms where the
climate is neither harsh nor overly lavish with praise (Kemp & Hall, 1992).