Ten Teaching Tips
By Tracy Aki

1. Little plastic bears in a basket. I have a student's name on the bottom of each and randomly draw bears for special privileges. That way, there is no chance of favoritism.
2. Rotating class jobs.
   I have 16 students and 16 daily jobs. Students get paid with class money and receive a paycheck each week.
3. "Line up, 10 seconds."
   When students hear me start to count, they know to move to their assigned line order and get ready to move to another location. After 100 good transitions, they earn a period of free time for working together.
4. Attendance poster.
   Students flip their picture over -- smiling face up -- every morning so that I can quickly see who is absent.
5. Tally points.
   Students earn individual points for good behavior, initiative, positive attitude, participation, and helpfulness. The points are then redeemable for class money, which they use at the monthly class auction.
6. Student of the Month.
   This award has three main categories -- behavior, responsibility, and team effort. I counsel each student, and we discuss specific behaviors to improve. When students meet all of the criteria, they become students of the month.
7. HHH Day.
   On Fridays, students choose a hand-shake, high five, or hug to say goodbye as they leave for the weekend.
8. Marbles.
   I pass out marbles to students each time I catch them interacting respectfully or helpfully. When the class reaches 100 marbles, they earn a social reward of their choice.
9. Question bears.
   When I ask a question during a class discussion, I give the entire class time to think and then pull a bear from the basket so that one student can answer. That way, everyone has prepared an answer.
10. Class lists.
    I keep a ready supply of class lists for the many times during that day that I need to track what individual students did or did not do.

Most importantly, I try to remember how blessed I am to have a new group of children to teach and guide each year. Teachers touch the future by working with the future leaders of our world.

Tracy Aki is a 5/6 grade teacher at ASSETS School in Honolulu, HI.

April, 2006, Vol.37, No.7