Secret Student and Bulletin Boards

Works4Me presents weekly practical classroom tips from real experts -- your colleagues!

1. Secret Student Behavior

From Irene Hughes:

"A trick I use to ensure good class behavior when walking in the halls, at assemblies, etc. is to tell the class beforehand that I will be watching a certain student without saying which student. If that student behaves well, the entire class receives a privilege. The reward might be an extra ten minutes of free computer or reading time. Since none of the students know who was being watched, everyone behaves so as to not let down the class."
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2. High School Bulletin Boards

Dr. Susan H. Smith, a teacher in Andover, Massachusetts:

"Here's a great tip for decorating your high school classroom: Have the students create bulletin boards for your room. Assign cooperative groups of students, making sure each group has a designated artist. Provide a theme connected to what they will be learning (i.e., Shakespeare). Have them do research around the theme, and have them post their work on the bulletin boards. Be certain to grade the bulletin boards, as you would any project. Create a rubric with your students so they know that their work is important. You will be connecting the arts to the content you are teaching. You will be amazed at how creative they are and how interesting your bulletin boards will be!"
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3. Question of the Week: Classroom Fairness

From the Works4Me Worker Bees:

"Although we all know that there are those one or two students in the class that you can always count on, how do you avoid the concept of Teacher's Pet? What are your creative methods for randomly selecting students and practicing fairness in your classroom?"
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4. Heard on the Message Board: Homework Management Strategies

Heard Last Week in the Works4Me Lounge:

"Can you share with me strategies you use for sixth grade middle school math homework? With over 100 students, checking every problem every day is impossible. My students do not have daily access to a computer, and most do not have computer access at home. (I had considered computer based assignments.) How can I hold students responsible for completing the practices, give them feedback, and assign a grade? I have been teaching sixth grade math for a while, but still haven't found something with which I am comfortable. How do you motivate students to carefully complete homework? How do you get them to at least attempt to solve word problems?"
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