So I was shopping in Walmart the other day and it happened!
Yes, the holiday displays and the Christmas music heralded throughout the store. I gasped!
I mean we haven’t even cleared Veteran’s Day or Thanksgiving yet.
In any case, I realized that I should be pleasantly surprised instead of flustered because Christmas is my favorite time of year! No, it’s not just because teachers get 2 weeks off (I mean there is that), but people move differently; they act…well…with civility.
So back to Walmart. I’m walking through picking up regular non-holiday groceries when one of my favorite holidays songs came belting through the store. Yessir, Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas is You!” (Don’t judge me!)
So I’m pushing my cart and humming, every now and then nodding my head from side to side. I even had passers-by smiling, and sharing knowing nods, as this was their favorite too. Some of my aisle-mates’ kids looked embarrassed as their parents hummed and hawed through the store.
That’s when I realized that some students have no idea how to discuss and analyze music, much less, Christmas or holiday tunes. We have a generation of students who do not understand the Christmas songs they hear once a year because we never give them an opportunity to hash out and analyze these songs.
Especially this year, I would love for students to feel the same joy I feel during this season; they need an emotional picker upper.
If you think students need to get in the spirit of Christmas, like I do, check out this product I developed. It’ll allow students to breakdown songs they’ve heard before and now will be able to impress their nodding and humming parents. Hey, they might even add new songs to their repertoire.
And there are so many more! I TOLD YOU I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!
Until we talk again, have a wonderful holiday season! If you do or don’t celebrate it, know that you deserve some rest, festivities, and time to reflect!
Wherever you are around the world, Happy Holidays!
Diverse group of people taking pictures with christmas tree, celebrating festive season with holiday decorations in business office. Colleagues taking photos with seasonal xmas ornaments.
So I’m sure you all have had a classroom mixture of the talkers, the class clowns, the quiet ones (usually in the back), the shy ones, the ones who always have the correct answers, the ones who always answer but are rarely correct. 😁
Shocked panic teacher holding hands on head and screaming in despair and frustration.
I’ve had those problems all my 20+ years of teaching. That eclectic mix of students that teachers expect, but it drives us crazy! I’m not even talking about differentiation of content. Because even in the same class, with most students on the same academic level, you will have a unique mix of excitable, charismatic talkers, and still the ones who barely, if ever speak – on stuff THEY KNOW.
Class of attentive students who are content NOT speaking
So it is in this frame of mind that I had to developed a new…
So I’m sure you all have had a classroom mixture of the talkers, the class clowns, the quiet ones (usually in the back), the shy ones, the ones who always have the correct answers, the ones who always answer but are rarely correct. 😁
Shocked panic teacher holding hands on head and screaming in despair and frustration.
I’ve had those problems all my 20+ years of teaching. That eclectic mix of students that teachers expect, but it drives us crazy! I’m not even talking about differentiation of content. Because even in the same class, with most students on the same academic level, you will have a unique mix of excitable, charismatic talkers, and still the ones who barely, if ever speak – on stuff THEY KNOW.
Class of attentive students who are content NOT speaking
So it is in this frame of mind that I had to developed a new way to have students discuss content and texts in class. That was about 10+ years ago, that I developed this simple change to my class discussions.
Nevermore was this more needed for me to revisit and bring these back this year.
Teaching after Pandemic year slapped us all in the face.
Processing…
Success! You're on the list.
Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.
My 5th period Advanced Placement English Literature class was packed with wonderful, intellectual students; they were truly great individuals, but were cliquish and or staunch individuals. Getting them to discuss works as a group or class was distressing.
It was exhausting! T.C. would speak, Mariann was add her two cents, then crickets. Then, I’d have to play dentist and pull teeth to get others to speak. “Kevin, what did you think?” “Chloe, do you agree that the character was malicious?” It became daunting to expect these seniors to talk about our reading every class.
Some days, I would get to the car, open, sit down, and just not move. I was so tired from “playing dentist” to try to get anything out of these students. They knew the information, but just didn’t gel with each other or didn’t want to share it with me. 😁
Exhausted teacher rubs nose, takes off spectacles, suffers from eye strain and headache, has problems trying to get students to participate in classroom discussions.
So I revisited some of my past lessons and noticed I hadn’t tried my “Standing Discussion Parties” in a while. I’ve gotten so used to students talking when I put them in groups or in class discussions, I’ve forgotten that some of these eclectic mixes exist.
I was pumped! I will resume this cool activity that I hadn’t used in years.
Excited teacher having brilliant idea, finding inspiration or solution to problem
Fast forward, months after my epiphany, I have started to use this technique, which is literally just a variation on having classroom discussions, almost like going to a gallery or museum exhibit. Check out the video of how well it went with one of our readings.
One of my Standing Discussion Parties
So whenever you swing by my classroom or pick up one of my LESSON ACTIVITIES products on https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Angry-Teacher-Store when you see students moving around with their questions sheets or you see Standing Discussion Party” in one of my products that’s what’s going on. 😁
Processing…
Success! You're on the list.
Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.
She’s laughing. I’m laughing. Her dad’s laughing. We’re all laughing.
It’s summer and I go up to my brother and his family annually to release, relax, relate…and especially after this hectic school year, it is warranted.
My niece, Annie, reads everything. Since she was younger, we have instilled in her the habit of reading everything. I love about 276 miles away from her, so I’d have to be informed of her reading exploits in school. All the awards she would rack up and all the books she’s been reading.
(Yes, she’s been through the entire Harry Potter and Bluford Series).
Yes, yes, we played the obligatory License plate games, read street signs, read the ingredients on the back of products, and read the instructions to everything. Our family had created a reading monster.
Now, our little Annie is attending the University of Central Florida in…
She’s laughing. I’m laughing. Her dad’s laughing. We’re all laughing.
It’s summer and I go up to my brother and his family annually to release, relax, relate…and especially after this hectic school year, it is warranted.
My niece, Annie, reads everything. Since she was younger, we have instilled in her the habit of reading everything. I love about 276 miles away from her, so I’d have to be informed of her reading exploits in school. All the awards she would rack up and all the books she’s been reading.
(Yes, she’s been through the entire Harry Potter and Bluford Series).
Yes, yes, we played the obligatory License plate games, read street signs, read the ingredients on the back of products, and read the instructions to everything. Our family had created a reading monster.
Now, our little Annie is attending the University of Central Florida in August. She has her Associates of Arts degree right out of high school already, she’s receiving several scholarships, and she has graduated in the top of her class.
So why were we laughing? Well, Annie brought up a story of something she remembered as she was growing up. A story about mispronouncing words and our making fun of her ‘cute’ pronunciations like Wadah, instead of Water and Batah instead of Batter.
Short Passage with Interactive Questions for Home or School
[a product from my store] where she practiced her reading and I developed it for struggling and developing readers like our Annie was – our little reader.
10 really short passages for kids to practice during the summer, after school, at the beginning of class, if they are struggling readers, or after they’ve completed assignments early. It has some wonderful questions and the opportunities to answer questions and then discussion questions that we followed up on with her; fun times.
Now we were just having fun as a family that liked to learn, but Annie was digesting every minute. Even though she was spending time with her family and uncle, she was also learning to love reading.
She [and I] will always remember these moments; these summers with our little reader.
What do you do with your little reader to move them along through the summers or throughout the year in general? Whether it be from hanging at the pool chilling at a friends house, eating out, roughing it at summer camp, let’s find time to have our littles READ.
So I have to scream out loud that “It is FINALLY Summer Vacation!”
If you are a teacher, I’m sure you can understand the sentiment. I mean to say that we’ve had ups and downs this year would be an understatement. We’ve had school lockdowns, COVID flare-ups, mass fights and altercations, class roster changes, aggressive students and parents, ineffective administrators, and the list goes on, so forgive me if my excitement is a little loud.
With that said, I must focus on what I have planned for the summer because before we can say “Let’s Go To The Beach,” we’ll be back in school.
For my TpT (Teachers Pay Teachers) store – and for my own well-being – I will be focusing on 7 things this summer.
1ST THING: CLEAN & ORGANIZE SPACES
Wooden hangers in an empty open cabinet, hand taking a hanger. Clothing, fashion, shopping, new home, wardrobe organization is needed!
Like I don’t know if other teachers go through this, but by the last quarter I start to get lazy at home. I start throwing my bookbag, paperwork, articles of clothing wherever they land. I mean furniture needs to be dusted, items need to be organized, my cat needs to be pet; I’ve just let things go.
Therefore, my summers are for getting my clean swag back on. I need the time to clean and organize…clean and organize.
Put the music on or some tv in the background and just get to work. Let’s make our space feel like home again.
2nd THING: HANG OUT MORE
Group of friends having a coffee together. Talking, laughing and enjoying their time. Lifestyle and friendship
My friends (and sometimes family) are vexed with me annually. I never make enough time for them during the school year, but during the summer. I find them…or more so, they find me.
For example, literally the Friday after the last day of school (the Thursday before) a few friends hit me up to ask when we’ll be hanging out. I mean…seriously?
Give me a minute please…Sheesh!
However, I will be hanging out this summer because I need to reconnect. These are my people: the ones who know me, love me, and want to see me succeed; I gotta share my life with them.
So please Angry Teacher Family, remember to make time for your family and friends…even your pets. They are the ones in your corner; try not to neglect them.
3rd THING: Attend TpT Conference and Workshops
“EDUCATION IS KEY!”
Now, last year, smack dab in the middle of the Pandemic, I attended my first TpT Conference [TPT FORWARD] virtually. I loved it! Loved it! I learned invaluable content that I used in my store and have seen a difference in my income.
I will say that I believe education is important for educators; Moreso, for educators turned businesspeople. Needless to say, I also bought about 2 courses and learned through some of the most interesting and knowledgeable TpT Teacher-Authors out there.
It goes without saying, then, that I’ll do the same again this year. I constantly want to learn and make my business a better business.
I am also going to play around with the many marketing and social media platforms I am registered with. Can you imagine: I am paying for some of these and I am not using them to their best capacities; I need to do better.
One thing I didn’t sing up for though was any professional development that relates to, smells like, feels like my job! I need a break from kids and the like. Trust me; I’ve been asked…
Admin: ”Richard, will you be able to..”
Me: Nope
Admin: “Mr. Williams, are you going to..”
Me: Nope
Teacher Bestie: “Rich, remember to sign up for…”
Still Me: “Nope”
Not this year! This year, I’m focusing on me. Hey, teak care of your mental and physical health too. We need you next year.
4TH THING: WORK OUT AND EXERCISE
Get to the gym, walk, run, swim, move around. Exercise physically, mentally, and emotionally are essential to our health! Let’s Get it!
Yup! Yup! You know how I do! The Angry Teacher has to get his workout in! Every morning I hit the gym and try to get something accomplished.
Sometimes, while I’m there, I wonder “WHY am I here?”, but a couple of minutes in – I figure it out. I’m starting to see gains and feel different, so I will keep it up!
Consistency is key. Even my drinking of water, and attempting to eat better I have tried to maintain so far.
Like, everyone knows I hate LEG DAY; however, I killed it this Thursday! Went in there and just killed it! Will I pay for it later? Probably, but it felt good to not have to worry about running off to work. My mental health is already positively affecting my physical health. 😊
Always think of your mental, physical, emotional and your health in general. Go for a walk, do a push up, reach for the fruit, instead of the chips. To feel better, we must get to the place where we are doing better, even if it’s a little per day. Remember: Consistency is key!
5th THING: PLAN FOR NEXT SCHOOL YEAR
Smiling as I get some work done at MY OWN LEISURE!
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know I said I was going to try to ignore my job for the summer and focus on me. And, some teachers will scoff and say they’d never do anything work related during the summer…and I agree.
Processing…
Success! You're on the list.
Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.
However, to make my year better when I return, there are some fine tuning of syllabi, and other things I need to get done before entering the building next year because once the year begins, it’ll be students this, admin that, lesson this, sporting events that, so I’d prefer to work on those minor things when I have time.
It helps in that I can kind of coast or not stress as much when the year begins. I mean who wants to worry about lesson planning when you’re cheering on the Mighty Bulls at a Football game?
In any case, always do what’s best for you. I get rid of some of my anxiety because I have all my ducks in a row, lesson plans for the first weeks done, activities planned, processes planned, before even walking into the building.
Some teachers can buckle down and get it down, even with Mary and Susie are in front of them; I’m just not that guy.
6th THING: CREATE! CREATE! CREATE!
We’ve got to be thoughtful and create our to do list of goals, makes notes in personal organizer, return emails, creates blogs, CREATE CONTENT, and CREATE PRODUCTS!
This, I believe, is my favorite thing on the list. I love creating product for my store.
I love the creativity I have to channel and the focus it requires. I love when something moves from idea or concept to product, especially, if I wasn’t able to create it during the tumultuous, busy school year.
Now, I cam able to spend time reading, checking, and enjoying my creations!
Do you guys like the creation stage of being a Teacherpreneur?
And last, the 7th THING: REST!
I have gotten to the point where I’m just going and going and going, not so much like the Energizer Bunny; but, seemingly without end.
Now, this summer, for myself, my friends and family, my TpT store, my Youtube channel, social media accounts, AND my students for next year, I really need to REST.
It’s gotten so bad I have had to schedule rests in my day. I swear…😊
We all need to have our family days, our Netflix and chill days, our lay in the dark – not necessarily thinking of anything days, our shopping spree days, our standing around at the gym not talking about anything serious days.
We all need to realize that this summer we are worth the time off! We deserve the time off!
And, those are the 7 THINGS I plan to accomplish this summer. I will let you know just how successful I am.
The Angry Teacher Store on TeacherspayTeachers.com is having a TEACHER’S APPRECIATION WEEK SALE! Stock up on items you need for the end of the year, summer, and beyond! Get bargains now!
The Angry Teacher Store on TeacherspayTeachers.com is having a TEACHER’S APPRECIATION WEEK SALE! Stock up on items you need for the end of the year, summer, and beyond! Get bargains now!
That feeling when you had a good day!
#goodevening #teacherlife #teachersfollowteachers #teacherssupportteachers #teachervibes #teacherspayteachers #teacher #teachersofinstagram #educator #educationmatters #timeforbed
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cb81DyzBung/?utm_medium=share_sheet
I’m sure you’ve been there before: students attempting to go to sleep or go to the ‘restroom” for 45 minutes or more at a time. It’s crazy! Students don’t think we know when they require more from our lessons or from us in the classroom.
Don’t worry about it! I’ll help you figure out just how to keep students involved and get students to want to come to class and want to stay once they’re in there.
Here are 6 Powerful Instructional Strategies that you can use in your classrooms. Check ’em out!
Student thinking about what he already knows.
1. ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
This is not groundbreaking information, but it serves as a reminder that this strategy is vital to classroom success. Jog students prior knowledge. Whether you challenge their beliefs, question their stances, recount their past lessons or activities, or rehash their younger days – get students to go back!
Activating what students bring to this new lesson is key because it tells you just how much you need to frontload or how many misconceptions they may already have about the content.
Here’s a few ways to have students connect with their past: do Quick Writes, Do Nows, Brain Teasers, Post a topic for them to discuss with their peers or in pairs, post thought-provoking questions, Revisit home learning, Make a joke about a topic and start a discussion, show them a video, listen to music relating to the lesson, show them an experiement that they will be able to reproduce later that day, give a quiz (no more than 4 – 8 questions), etc. Keep them guessing throughout the year, as you use several of these types. Also, remind students that we’ll validate their thoughts by the end of the lesson. This should get them ‘staying tuned’ and keeping focused.
A teacher being crazy during his lecture.
2. Lecture Less/Limited Lecture
Yes, I know rihgt. This is where we start losing students – the dreaded lecture. They either fall asleep or ‘need to go to the restroom’…again…for 45 minutes…Wait, haven’t we all been there?
Now, as teachers this hurt. Teachers Talk A lot. lol…
However, sometimes we need to talk less. Anywhere from 15 – 20 minutes of a lecture, then students are required to do another part of the lesson.
Later, you can interrupt them to continue the content, if you need to. But, talking for an extremely long time will cause restless students, misbehaviors and more.
You can have your lectures: prerecorded and have them just listen to or watch – You. Use Youtube or Khan Academy videos to assist in the coverage of the content. Have students actively listen by annotating as you lecture. Ask questions about the topic while moving around the room, stand next to students as you give the needed notes, randomly give a compliment or make statements about students and life, as you share information they need from you in this lecture.
Hmmm. one way I add spice to my lectures, especially the longer ones, is to add jokes. Yes, we all aren’t comedians nor do we have to be, but adding a bit of humor or telling short anecdotes to prove a point won’t change you, the content, or the class dynamic. As a matter of fact, students may start huddling over their desks to hear more and are now showing interest.
Bathroom visits should lessen, and if they still have to go, they will hurry back.
I do believe, however, that sometimes we cannot get away from the longer lectures where the content is tricky, nebulous, or nuanced (ergo, high school/college content); students must be prepared for the college professors who prattle on and on or the long business meetings at work, so sometimes they may have to sit and focus for longer than 20 minutes. By the same token, though, there are ways to inject yourself, humor, sarcasm, voice changes (I do a killer British accent), anecdotes, thought-provoking questions, ideas from last or previous lessons into today’s lesson.
Wouldn’t it be a hoot to have your students do this?
3. Have Students Move Around
Who am I kidding? Having students breakout in a song and dance, depending on the period, day, season, time of academic year, and lesson, could be the worse thing ever. (Definitely NOT a day for administrative observations).
However, having students move around periodically is not a bad thing. Get students get out of their seats!
I get my students to move from group to group, several Gallery Walks, come to the board to write on the board, completing chart papers and projects, line up outside to answer a verbal quiz, go to get supplies, move from station to station.
However, some folks recommend movement every time you see the students IN EVERY CLASS FOR EVERY ACTIVITY. I have problem that because I believe in novelty. If students are always moving around, everything, including the movement becomes quotidian and trite and the fun in learning is lost.
Knowing that they have to move sometimes and not knowing just what type of movement is coming, adds interest to the lesson…your lesson; this piques their interest.
Ooh, while typing this, I thought of a reason for my students to get up and move: A Selfie Break! Students must take a selfie with teacher, another student, or group of students; I will try to include this this upcoming semester. (If you want to try this one, make certain you have classroom management because things can get hairy and scary).
Students working in groups answering challenging questions.
4. USE H.O.T.S [higher order thinking]
Yes, we’ve used these before, so it’s not mind-blowing, but there is so much value to this!
Getting students to move beyond the face-value questions of definitions and fact-based answers is needed to get students critically thinking.
So we need to get students from focusing on the Remember and Understanding levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, and moving up to Applying all the way up to Creating. Now, obviously, we have to see if they understand the basics, but we cannot let them live in that moment; growth and advancement (higher order thinking) is expected.
As you create lessons for your students, include questions to evaluate their comprehension, assign projects that allow them to analyze, create and synthesize things that reflect their comprehension.
Include question starters and verbs like: How, why, Prove, Disprove, Evaluate, etc. These move students to the next level. YESSSSS! It gets them thinking.
A Students figuring out a part of the lesson.
5. SUMMARIZING
Sometimes getting students to recount a part of the lesson or previous lessons will make their day; they feel they have accomplished a lot for the day.
Being able to summarize accomplishes a lot: (1) it proves they were paying attention (2) it proves (to you) that they were paying attention, (3) it allows others to see how ‘smart’ they are, (4) it gets those who would have problems with the H.O.T.S. questions to still be involved with the lesson and content, (5) it provides a means of class participation, (6) it gets students to be proud of themselves (I’m sure some run home to tell mom that they answered a question in class today).
With that said, allowing space for this banal, yet vital part of analysis in your classroom will do wonders. Yes, you may not even need to have asked for a summary, but you’ll get Little Suzy in the back to have something to contribute to the class discussion.
Here are a few ways to get students to summarize, if you don’t just want to ask them outright: ask them to draw a picture, complete a fill-in-the-blank exercise, reenactments, write instructions for a method or experiment, ask “so what did we do last class?” or “does anyone remember what Josiah did when we watched that video?”, tell your partner what last class’s lesson was about, revisit and share out your Exit Tickets. Then ask “is Henry correct, class?”, ask students to give parts of the summary to by saying, “and what else happened, Tony?”
Some of these ways get you to recalibrate and check for comprehension for the whole class. It also reminds you where you left off…(*I know it does for me). Kids love acting like they know more than we do. 😁
Serious determined student when given rigorous and challenging work
6. RIGOROUS AND CHALLENGING WORK
So this really sounds ironic and confusing since I put #5: “Summarize” right before giving #6: Giving Rigorous and Challenging Work, but hear me out. 😁
Assign work that gives students a level of difficulty. Make them think more and longer, make them ask new questions, let them disagree with each other, allot additional time, make them choose task cards [HIGH SCHOOL QUESTION STEM TASK CARD [MINI-BUNDLE#2] , make them work together, make them realize their theories were not correct and more investigation is needed…indeed, make them sweat.
Know, however, that the above things come with this caveat – some may not do the challenge work because it may be too hard, they’re intimidated, or both. So you must use your discretion, peer assistance, differentiated instruction, teacher one-on-ones, etc. It is important to note, though, that these students can get there, if pushed and supported.
Hey, Summarizing might be challenging for some, and this would be their rigorous, challenging work. You know your students – what they can and cannot handle.
Hey, check out and enjoy this video for more clarity.
Let’s go out and there and BE GREAT! Let’s just go out there and TEACH!
The Angry Teacher 