Teaching Tips

Teaching tips

Class Starters

Students who are physically active tend to have better: grades, attendance, memory and classroom behaviors. Use the exercises that you have learnt during *Friday Fitness* and do one at the start of every lesson. Remember this is a *one minute activity* with zero cost and multiple benefits for you and your class. Refer to the link below for easy in class exercises.

Teaching Tips

Class Endings

For students who finish their classwork early, keep photocopies of the *social and emotional learning resources* shared in this group and ask them to complete it. Remember to provide support and treat the activity with importance.



At least once a week, finish your lesson five minutes early and have students fill out an *exit ticket* or a *KWL* sheet. Use the information to modify your lesson plan for the following week.

Teaching Tips

Relationship Building

As we are about to start the new year *remember* to prioritize building a relationship with students. Below are two games you can play to learn student names:

1. *Catch the Ball*

You’ll need a ball that is easy to throw. Point to yourself and say your name while holding the ball, then throw the ball to a student and ask them to say their name. Ask the student to throw the ball to someone new so they can say their name. Do this until everyone has had a chance to hold the ball and say their name.

2. *Names and Details*

Ask your students to complete the following sentence: “My name is ______ and in my free time I like to ________.”

I want to emphasize the importance of learning names of your students.

Knowing and using a students’ name during and outside of class recognizes that a student exists and is important.

Ask yourself: “who is the one teacher in your entire life who made the biggest difference for you–who taught you so well that you still think about him or her as your best teacher. I bet that for almost all of us, that best teacher was someone who knew you by name”

1. Develop a sense of community in the classroom.
2. Develops a sense of trust.
3. Promotes interaction between students.
4. Boosts student motivation

Teaching Tips

Homework

When assigning homework follow these rules
  1. Total time spent on homework: Child’s class x 10 =
  2. HW should fulfill *at least* one function:
    1. a. Practice — Students have learned skills in class and practice using those skills on their own at home.
    2. b. Preparation — Students prepare to learn about a new concept in class the next day.
    3. c. Study — Students review content they have already learned for an assignment or test.
    4. d. Extend or Elaborate — Students have learned about a general concept in class, and complete individual work to expand their knowledge on the topic.
  3. The most effective homework fulfills the following conditions:
    1. a. Assignments promote curiosity, leading to “autonomous, self-directed learning.”
    2. b. Students have already “demonstrated competence in the skill, before being asked to do it independently.”
    3. c. Teachers consider some students do not have access to the internet, a quiet working space, or homework help from parents or a tutor. Therefore homework should not require assistance.
    4. d. Students understand the purpose of completing each homework assignment.
    5. e. Teachers provide feedback quickly, minimizing the chance for students to forget the assignment before they learn their scores.
Teachers keep in mind that middle school and high school students may be assigned homework from all of their classes, and the ten-minute homework guideline applies to the combined homework load.

Teaching Tips

Lesson Plan

Making a lesson plan calendar:

It is very useful to have a lesson plan for the day, week and term. Follow the steps below to make your own first term teaching calendar.

1. Make 3 columns.
2. Number the sessions you will teach
3. Write down all the dates in the middle column
4. Fill in the dates of the exams, tests, holidays
5. In the right most column fill in the topics.
6. Keep one lesson after every 6 weeks empty for revision and answering student questions.

Remember a calendar is subject to change so allow yourself that flexibility.

Teaching Tips

Teaching Activities

The Six types of activities you can use in your class:

1. Give a lecture supported by notes and pictures on the board OR by using a PowerPoint presentation.
2. Ask students to answer written questions. Correct the questions and give feedback.

1. Facilitated discussion: Students are given questions on a topic before the lesson. Students share responses with the class
2. Group projects/assignments/presentation: Students are divided in to groups of four and given the opportunity to share their work with the whole class.

Activities that provide students with opportunities to think about or use knowledge and information in new and different ways. Should be done after a content or interaction focused activity.
1. Use a KWL chart. (Search KWL on this chat and there will be a printable)
2. Having a debate in class

Asking students to produce something can be an effective way of assisting them to engage with ideas and concepts. It can be a way of facilitating ‘deep’ learning.
1. Ask students to orally summarize a topic or lesson in a given time for e.g. 1 minute
2. Ask students to write a summary for the topic or lesson within a given time for e.g. 3 minutes

Presenting students with a problem or challenge and asking them to solve it or find a solution to it using the content they have been taught in class.
1. Physical exercise
2. Crossword puzzle
3. Sudoku

An activity that supports the development of students’ meta-cognition, that is, their understanding of how they think, learn, and understand. The process of reflection starts with the student thinking about what they already know. This is followed by analysis of why the student thinks about the topic in the way they do, and what assumptions they have about the topic.
1. Before introducing a new topic ask students what they already know about the topic, based on past learnings.
2. After the topic, ask students to complete the following statements: My work quality for today’s lesson was __. To improve I can ___ .

An educational initiative that combines subject knowledge with life skills learning using innovative methods of teaching.

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