Addressing the Behavior and Not the Student

During our inservice meetings before school, we had a great speaker who was not only humorous, but was full of helpful advice that could be applied to any classroom.  One of the things I took away from her presentation was a discipline technique that is simple and effective with any age of student.

Over the years, I've learned it is best to avoid direct confrontation with teenagers and to not put them in a position where they have to defend themselves in front of their peers.  Although I do my best to avoid this type of nasty situation, there are times when for one reason or another, I find myself having to confront unwanted behavior in my classroom.

The technique the speaker presented is simply to avoid conflict by addressing the behavior and not the student.  She demonstrated several situations and did a great job by using dramatic pauses as she addressed the evil deed doer.

So this week when I saw headphones in Johnny's ears, I didn't say a word to Johnny.  I simply gazed out into the classroom and said, without looking at anyone in particular, "If you (dramatic pause) currently have earbuds in your ears, I am going to need you to take them out at this time".  The entire class looked around trying to figure out who had the earphones and the guilty person sheepishly took them out while I continued teaching.

When charming little Ashley had her cell phone underneath her back pack and was busy texting, I stopped my lesson and calmly said, "If you (dramatic pause) currently have your cell phone out, I am going to need you to put that away".  Again, instant compliance and I don't think anyone other than the offender had a clue who it was that had their cell phone out.

In one class after lunch, I looked out and saw several heads on the desk, so you guessed it, I simply said "If you currently have your head down on your desk, I'm going to need you to lift it up right now."  Every single person complied without a single argument.

I literally used this technique every day  last week without a single problem.  The flow of the lesson was not interrupted by someone trying to defend themselves by saying "I'm just checking my phone to see what time it is or "my earbuds are in, but my music is off".  There was no need to defend themselves because I never pointed them out in front of the class. 

I can't believe I've been teaching fifteen years and no one has ever shared this technique with me before.  It is so simple that I can't believe I didn't think of it myself.  What kind of techniques do you use to put a stop to unwanted behavior?

Make a Check List in Word 2007

It looks like the rest of my summer is going to be a mad dash to the first day of school.  I just finished my graduate classes, and after 8 months of constant neck, shoulder, and foot pain. . . all on my right side, the doctor is telling me that I MUST have surgery on my foot before I go back to work.  I've tried every cure I could think of from doctors, chiropractors, and massage therapists all to no avail. The consensus is that my back and neck will not be getting any better until the problems in my right foot are fixed.

All of that would be well and good except that my husband and I have a cruise booked for August 4 -9. Which means I will return from the Western Carribean on Thursday morning, and on Friday morning, I will be under the knife.  After surgery I can expect to be off work anywhere from 2-3 weeks which means I will miss all my inservice days and possibly even the first week of school. 

So now, I am in a mad dash to prepare for my first ever cruise, get my lesson plans for the first month of school set in stone, and set up my classroom.  In reality, I have about 8 days to do this  because some of my days in the next two weeks will be taken up with pre-op appointments.

So what I am I doing wasting my time with a blog entry??  Well I just learned how to do something I think is cool.  I learned how to make a check-list on Word 2007.  All of you computer geeks out there probably already know how to do this, but I thought I'd share it in case in of you are like me. . . sometimes a little bit technologically challenged.

How to make a check list in Word 2007

1.  Open a Word 2007 Document
2.  Click the Arrow on the right side of the Bullets button
3.  At the bottom, click Define New Bullet
4.  Click Symbol
5.  Select Windings
6.  Look through the selections and pick any kind of box you like.
7.  Click Ok
8.  Make your To-Do List!

Last year, before school, I made a detailed list of every single thing I did in the two weeks leading up to the beginning of school.  I saved that list and made this year's to-do list from it.  If you'd like to just download mine, you can edit it to fit your needs.


I also used this feature to make Student Supply lists to hand out during Orientation.

Back-To-School To Do List

Make Classroom Posters with Microsoft Excel

Maybe you all already knew this, but I just learned that you can use Excel to make Clasroom Posters. I love to make teaching posters to emphasize whatever topic we are learning. I will put the posters up as we learn the topics and they stay up all year until it is time for state testing. During tests, I will see the kids searching the walls for the information they need or just a reminder that they are on the right track.

Anyway, here is a four minute video explaining the process. The teacher in the video does a great job of explaining a process. I can't wait to get started!


Make Classroom Posters with Microsoft Excel

Classroom Arrangement

This summer I was privileged to hear one of my readers, Jen from Lil Mop Top speak at CAMT (Conference for the Advancement of Mathematics Teaching). She had so many great ideas, but one of the things I learned from her was how to arrange your desks so that students are in rows and facing forward, but are able to pair up or get into groups of four very quickly and then back to rows just as easily

I arranged my desks like she said. Here is a pic of my classroom (before I'd done any decorating)with my desks arranged in what I call pods. The students sit close to a partner, but are able to turn their desks quickly to group up with the pair of students directly behind them to form a group of four. I call this group of four a pod. There is a good bit of space between the pods.

We have been doing activities this week that are designed to help them get to know their partners and their pod mates. I have been having them get together with their partner and with their pod at various times during the lessons. I have them go back to rows when I lecture so they can focus on me and the lesson.

I love this new seating arrangement. It is really the best of both worlds. Rows for direct instructions, partners and groups for activities.

Effectively Managing Seating Charts

I'm still getting a lot of hits on my blog from people who are looking for classroom management ideas so I though I'd throw out another tip for managing your math classroom.

Here is the best method I have found for managing seating charts. Get a piece of card stock,some small sticky notes, and a plastic sheet protector like the ones shown above. Cut the little sticky notes in half and place them however your desks are arranged. I usually have 20-24 students per class, but I put 30 little stickers on the seating chart for the new students who will move into the class throughout the year.

Write your students names on the little sticky notes in the order you want them to sit. As you change your seating chart up throughout the year, you can move the sticky notes all over the place. I am able to use the same sticky notes for the entire year. If the student changes classes, no big deal, just move them to the appropriate sheet. As long as you keep your seating chart in a plastic sheet protector, it should last the entire school year.


When making your seating charts for the school year, consider numbering your desks instead of putting names on the desks. It is much less time consuming and easier for the students to find their seats especially when you have several students with the same name.

I number the students on my roster in alpha order. As they walk in, I give them their number and have them find their desk. This number also becomes their graphing calculator number. If I move them to a new seat later, they will also change calculator numbers to match their new seat.

I keep my students alpha order for about 3-6 weeks for three reasons. Number one, I pass out so many things that need to be signed and returned that my life is a whole lot easier if they are already in alpha order when I pick them up. Secondly, having the students in alpha order helps me learn their names faster. And lastly, returning graded work to students is so much easier when they are in alpha order.

Effectively Managing Make Up Tests or How Not To Lose Your Frickin' Mind

I am in the zone! The list making, organizing, idea generating zone, get ready for school zone.

As I think about how I want to manage my math classes this year, I can't help but think of one problem I have every single year. See if this sounds familiar.

You give a test. On test day, say you have 10 people absent. Do they come in and make up the test right away? Uhhh, not in my classes! Some serious reminding, brow beating, and sometimes even phone calls to parents have to happen before I can get my darlings to come make up a test.

Here is how the conversation will go when they finally make it in to take their test.

Student: "Mrs. H, I'm here to take the test I owe you."

Mrs H: "Which test are you wanting to take?" (we've taken 3 tests since the one they missed)

Student: "I don't know what it's about. It's the one you gave me a zero for in the gradebook."

Mrs. H: After discerning which test it is that this student owes me, I begin to look everywhere for the test. It's here somewhere I know! Can it be under one of the piles on my desk? Did I file it? Oh Sweet Baby Jesus, where did I put that
&$%# test??????

After searching frantically for the test for a good 5 minutes or so, I give up and say, "Why don't I just print you out another one. Go sit down and I'll be right with you."

Student finally takes the test and then it is time to find the #&%$ answer key. Same frustrating scenario unfolds as Mrs. H scrambles to find the answer key.

Not this year my friends! I have an idea! Now, I'm sure all of you already have a great system for situations such as this and if you do, then why haven't you shared it with me yet?? I've been dealing with this issue every single year! So here's my idea.

I bought a 1.5" binder like this













Then I put all my answer keys to my quizzes and tests into sheet protectors like this.



















Then I bought some dividers which have pockets like this. I put one after each test.


















So now, when a student is absent on test day, I am going to put a blank copy of the test they missed with their name on it in the divider. It will be right there along with the answer key!!!! Brilliant!!!! I'm so excited about my idea. Now if I can just manage to not lose the %$#@ notebook!