Helping You Become a Successful and Confident Classroom Teacher

Welcome!

I'm Dorit Sasson, freelance writer, ESL teacher, and creator of the New Teacher Resource Center, your online new teacher support site dedicated to helping you develop strategies for taking control in the classroom.

Here you'll find a wealth of information on lesson planning, classroom management, learning styles and teaching methods, and many other issues new teachers face. Take time to look around, and please leave a comment.

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Nov 30

Did You Know? 7 Ways To Spark Off A Reading/Vocabulary Lesson

Uncategorized, ebook: Tios and Tricks to Survive and Thrive in the Classroom, lesson beginnings, teaching tipsNo Comments


1187904_lensflare01Planning is such an important part of anyone’s career. Just like writers need to plan a story and have marketing plans to sell their work, teachers always must have different kinds of attention grabbing activities and especially in the case when a lesson beginning backfires.

The most important part of a lesson occurs during the first five minutes. If the activity engages students right away, you know there will be enough “sparks” to fly for the rest of the lesson and your job will be relatively easy. If the activity however is not challenging, repetitous, (”We’ve done this before!” Sound familiar?) there will be “lulls” that more often than not, result in discipline problems.

The key of course, is to keep the “sparks flying,” but it all really depends on how you can spark up your classroom right away. These tips are just meant as a guide: consider using those that speak to your teaching style and experiment with others later.

1.Aim for open ended activities that generate more student responses. Good types of open-ended activities are brainstorming and prediction which are perfect for mixed ability classes.

2.Start the first stage of vocabulary teaching by having students notice the words. Flashcards are ideal for introducing word families and for pointing out capital and small letters, consonants, and other sound blends.

3. Use a large number of photos or tangible and concrete objects like images, pictures and hand movements, and gestures to pre-teach images. Visual methods are important for supporting meaning and generating interest.

4.Elicit what students know about a topic before presenting them new information. Many teachers rush through the beginning of a lesson. When they reach the middle part of a lesson, students aren’t
engaged and discipline problems may have already taken over.

5.Personalize parts of a lesson. The best time to personalize an activity is during the first five minutes of a lesson. Students are more motivated and engaged that way.

6. Encourage students to think about the possibilities of a text. Do this by having them anticipate and predict the next paragraph or page of a read-aloud or story.

7.Use a K-W-L teaching technique to engage students from the beginning of a reading lesson by activating prior knowledge. The K-W-L technique also helps you keep students interested as students think about what they want to know and what they have learned. K = What do I know about subject x? W = What do I want to know about subject x? L = What did I learn about subject x?

Keeping students engaged for an entire lesson IS possible. This is what makes teachers sparkle and by getting into your students’ heads a little, you can help your students succeed.

Make Your Teaching Sparkle. Teach for Success. Make a difference in the classroom.

For more teaching tips, click here to download my new special eBook “Tips and Tricks to Survive and Thrive in the Classroom: Practical activities and tips for teachers made easy”

In this eBook, you’ll find tips on various areas of managing a classroom with mixed ability students, differentiation teaching tips, teaching ELLs, and much much more!

Nov 27

Please Check Out My First eBooklet Trailer!

UncategorizedNo Comments

I actually put this trailer together myself. It was so much fun. Please let me know what you think. Does it tell you what the eBooklet is about? Is there anything missing? Did you enjoy seeing it? Thanks so much for your help.

Nov 27

Easy Chanukah Crafts and Activities

Chanukah crafts and activitiesNo Comments


431091_hanukkahChanukah’s here! As you get ready to celebrate the miracle of this holiday, take a short trivia quiz. How much do you know about this festival of lights?

Chanukkah Trivia Game

1. What other name is traditionally known by? (Answer: the festival of lights)

2. What is the miracle of the eight nights and days of Hanukkah? (Answer: The oil in the temple burned for eight days)

3. The story of Chanukah is a time for Jews to celebrate what? (Answer: Religious freedom - the story of Chanukkah tells of the Jews who were persecuted for many years by the Greco-Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus forced them to worship Greek gods instead of practicing their own Judaism.)

4. What was the name of the small band of Jewish patriots who victoriously won over the mighty armies of the Syrian King? (Answer: The Maccabees)

5. What did the Maccabees find when they restored the Holy Temple in Jerusalem? (Answer: one jar of pure oil, enough to keep the menorah burning for just one day)

6. Name at least one thing you do on each night of the holiday? (Answer: You light one more candle, exchange gifts, play dreidel, and eat fried latkes and donuts to remember the victory for religious freedom and the miracle of the oil. You also play dreidel, a spinning top with four Hebrew letters - nun, gimmel, hey, shin)

7. What do the four hebrew letters on the dreidel stand for? (Answer: “Nes Gadol Hayah Sham - A Great Miracle Happened There.”)

8. What is the Hebrew word for dreidel? (Answer: “sevivon.”)

So now that you know a little bit more about the holiday of Chanukah, it’s time to make a few fun holiday crafts.

Craft #1: Chanukah Craft Notepad Holders

Materials – Here’s what you’ll need:

heavy cardboard
cheap notepads (this can be bought in bulk at a dollar store)
markers, scissors, paint

You can use this craft to make a fun “to do” list or homework pad.

Instructions – What You Need to Do

1. Use heavy cardboard to make the back of the notepad holder. You can either paint your decorations or cut them out.

2.Cut out driedel shapes or draw Judah the Maccabee or a picture of a menorah.

3. Paste a notepad and you’re ready to write yourhearts out!

Craft #2: Chanukah Craft Gelt Bag

Learn more about the tradition of Chanukah by making a Chanukah gelt gift bag.

Materials – What You’ll Need

plastic strawberry containers (these hold the best)
blue construction paper
stapler
glue
gold wrappers from chocolate Chanukah coins
glitter (preferably silver - optional)

Instructions – How to Make Your Chanukah Gelt Bag

1. Staple blue construction paper to the basket and glue gold coins. You can also glue glitter. Careful – this can get messy!

2.Cut strips for handles and staple to basket.

3. You can also choose to write your name in Hebrew.

Now you’re ready to collect your Chanukah gelt! You may also want to give some money to a charity or a person who may be in need.

Happy Chanukah!

Nov 27

How Teachers Can Reinforce Oral Language Skills in an ESL/ELL Class

eBooklet on teaching ELLs, oral instructionNo Comments


ell-cover-webMany teachers rely on oral instruction as a consistent method for teaching vocabulary and early reading skills. But as soon as teachers see evidence that ELLs can read, then the oral level of instruction mysteriously disappears.

But for struggling ELLs in a general education or ESL group, oral instruction is crucial for reinforcing sound elements in decoding, reinforcing vocabulary learning and later, vocabulary in context. Oral instruction bridges word and text based skills, which is the main obstacle for struggling ELLs.

How to Teach Words and Sentences Orally

This young group of English language learners needs extensive use of oral instruction to engage them in deeper areas of meaning and connecting ideas together. Nowadays, the push is for teachers to use a balanced reading and oral approach, which reinforces areas of vocabulary acquisition and early reading skills with bits of oral instruction that are introduced graduallly and at critical areas of development.

Here are some suggestions how general education and ESL teachers/specialists can reinforce oral instruction using the following four step approach:

Note: these steps are intended for ELLs who are at the stage of acquiring decoding or have early reading skills.

Four Step Oral Instruction Plan for Young Struggling ELLs

Stage 1 –Teachers use an appealing form of oral instruction (i.e.chants, songs, dialogues) to reinforce sound patterns and blends, then later dialogues. Chants are a fun and musically effective way of introduce chunks of language including sound repetition, blends, cognates and phrases. By hearing the sounds in a unique sound framework, struggling ELLs have a greater chance of remembering them.

Stages 2 – Teachers connect both oral and written forms of the words using sentence strips for examples.

Stage 3 – Teachers can cover part(s) of the word and or sentence and or provide just one syllable and/or sound as a trigger for students to produce the word/sound/sentence.

Students make a list of their favorite sentences and/or words (or both)

Stage 4 – ELLs then do a shared repeated reading where each student gets one list or words and/or sentences and the other students gets an entirely different list. In turns, each one says the words while the other numbers the words/sentence. They then have to relay the words/sentences in order while the other one checks for accuracy.

For more bite-sized tips at a bite-sized price, click here to purchase my eBooklet consisting of 97 classroom tested tips on teaching ELLs. In addition to tips on oral instruction, you’ll find tips on differentiated instruction, improving lessons, reading instruction, classroom management and others.

Nov 24

Celebrate Winter Holidays from Scholastic.com

celebrating winter holidays, scholastic.comNo Comments


915964_chanukkah_2
Embrace the winter season by celebrating one of these three holiday seasons with special resource material from scholastic.com.

Whether you want to teach a holiday theme unit, a full lesson or just 15 minutes of a lesson, you’ll be able to find plenty of printables and online resources at scholastic.com.

Teach your students the signficance of these three holidays and explore what makes these holidays unique in terms of their history and traditions.

Click here for Chnaukah teaching resources

Click here for Kwanzaa teaching resources

Click here for Christmas teaching resources

Nov 20

Managing Your Day and Managing Your Week Based on the Energy Requirements Shown in Your “Planner”

Meggin McIntosh, energy management, teacher plannerNo Comments


1220146_wavesAll of us have a “planner” where we choose to use it on a consistent basis or not. But what about your inner planner? We all know teaching is highly charged with energy and intense. Still is there any way we can have an easier time managing our energies in the classroom so we can still return home sane and calm? I say yes! There is a way of balancing our energies. Whatever your field or profession, you can make certain situations work for you. Just take a look at the article below and see what I mean.

Think about your energy over the last 24 hours and how it fluctuated. What caused it go up and down during that 24-hour period? Are there similar patterns on other days when you stop to consider this question?

After pondering the previous questions, next, I want you to think about your “projected energy” for the next 24 hours. If you have your planner close by (either digital or electronic), I want you to take a look at it. If you do not have your planner close by (which I would question, “Why?” but that’s another article) try to remember what you have on your docket for tomorrow and think about what kind of energy day it is going to be. Is it a day that is going to require high energy? Is it a day that will replenish your energy? Will there by some of both?

When you look further ahead, you probably see days where you know you have some appointments or projects that immediately bring to mind the thought, “Oh great. I love this!” or “I know this is going to be a good event/appointment/etc.” And, realistically, you may have a few items that are coming up that when you look at then, you think, “Oh brother,” (or maybe some stronger language, which wouldn’t be said in polite company). This may be because you have had experience with the person or the activity that is showing up on your calendar. So, you already know ahead of time what some of your energy requirements will be - both the good and not-so-good ones.

The smart person takes a good look at what is coming up and makes decisions based on that input. For example, you can question the wisdom of stacking up a whole day with one thing right after another.

Let’s say you’ve got five commitments tomorrow, all of which just drain the heck out of you in terms of negative energy. Was that very smart on your part to get all those in there? Or could there have been a way to balance it? Or do you prefer to get all the bad stuff out of the way all at once so you have other days that aren’t “messed up”? It’s your call, in most cases.

I’m not telling you what the right tactic is, but often when I’m talking to people about how to productively schedule their appointments, I suggest,

“If you have to make an appointment with somebody that you know just wears you out, then don’t put somebody else that also exhausts you as the very next appointment”.

You have to have some recovery space in there and it’s smart (and productive) to be paying attention to this as you do your planning.

For those of you who are able to and/or who are charging for your time (vs. being on a salary), take into considerations the “energy requirements” not just the time requirements when you determine your fees. For example, traveling from the West Coast to the East Coast takes a lot more energy than it does for me to travel from here (Reno) to somewhere that is an hour or 1 1/2 hours away. Likewise, pay attention to how working with certain clients affects you. There are some that you think, “Gosh, I would practically pay you to get to work with you because you’re so much fun.” And others, not so much.

So, given what you’re noticing, see if you can re-shuffle some of what is coming up on your calendar so that you can maintain a reasonably-stable level of energy. Keep in mind that,

“Living involved tearing up one rough draft after another.” - Anonymous

Life is all about getting smarter and making those changes that we need to make.

Article source: Meggin McIntosh

Nov 19

Listen to the Debate on Worksheets, Bad? Good? Well, It Depends…on BAM Radio, the Educator’s Channel

Bam Radio, Uncategorized, the Educator's ChannelNo Comments


logo

This is certainly a topic many of you will not want to miss - the ever popular issue of Worksheets!

Rae Picca, international acclaimed speaker and early childhood educator recently held a panel discussion on worksheets on how developmentally appropriate they really are for children. Worksheets are still broadly being used and distributed to teachers and parents.

Click here to listen to me and three other experts sort through this issue hosted by Rae Picca.

I’d love to hear what you think. Feel free to leave a comment. I’ll respond to it.

Nov 19

Mathematics Word Problems - What If You Asked the Question First?

teaching Mathematics problem-solvingNo Comments


MMMF%20Board%20Games

Are you a math teacher? Are you a parent of a child or teen who is taking a mathematics course? If yes to either question, then I’m sure you’ve seen students struggle with word problems. It’s so frustrating to watch and we want so badly to help them.

A perennial complaint of mathematics teachers is that students are unable to cope with word problems. This inability to deal with such problems often becomes a major stumbling block to success in mathematics courses (Nolan 1984). National trends in mathematics problem-solving, as measured by the 1986 National Assessment of Educational Progress, indicate that students, even 17-year-olds, have difficulty solving word problems (Dossey et al. 1988).

When asked, many students who have trouble with word problems say that

a) they cannot decide what is important in the problem and what is not,
b) they cannot determine which information in the problem will help them and which information is just put in there as a distractor, and/or
c) they cannot figure out how to compute the solution once they have figured out what the problem is.

As Kresse (1984, 598) cited: “Research using “students not solving (word) problems correctly” indicated 95% of the sixth graders tested could read all the words correctly, 98% knew the situation the problem was discussing, 92% knew what the problems was asking you to find, yet only 36% knew how to work the problem (Knifong and Holtron, 1977).”

There are many reasons why students have this difficulty, including semantic, syntactic, contextual, and structural characteristics (Silver and Thompson 1984). One possible approach to overcoming some of these difficulties is to “rewrite” the problems so that the question appears first, instead of last.

Teachers of reading often ask questions of students before having them read–so that the students will know what to look for, and thereby have better comprehension. It makes sense that this same strategy will also enhance mathematics students’ comprehension of word problems. Teachers in the mathematics classroom are not expected to be reading teachers, but it behooves us to draw on strategies that have been found beneficial by reading teachers in our quest to enable students to solve word problems correctly–and without the dread so many of them feel.

So…it is worth a try the next time you observe a young person who is mixed up about what to do next when confronted with a word problem in his/her mathematics classroom. Encourage the student to jump to the question first, then come back to the beginning of the problem and use that knowledge to determine what to do.

You’ll observe success - and will feel your own relief - and theirs!

References

Dossey, John A.; Mullis, Ina V. S.; Lindquist, Mary M.; & Chambers, Donald L. The mathematics report card: Are we measuring up? Trends and achievement based on the 1986 National Assessment. Princeton, N.J.: Educational Testing Service, 1988.
Kresse, Elaine Campbell. “Using Reading As a Thinking Process to Solve Math Story Problems,” Journal of Reading 27, (1984): 598-601.
Nolan, James F. “Reading in the Content Area of Mathematics.” In M. DuPuis (Ed.), Reading in the Content Areas: Research for Teachers (pp. 28-41). Newark, DE: International Reading Association, 1984.
Silver, Edward A. & Thompson, Alba G. “Research Perspectives on Problem Solving in Elementary School Mathematics.” The Elementary School Journal 84, (May 1984): 529-545.
Stiff, Leo V. “Understanding Word Problems.” Mathematics Teacher 79, (March 1986): 163-165, 215.

Article source: Meggin McIntosh

Nov 18

Teacher Discounts!

teacher discountsNo Comments

Thought I’d share with you some exciting new teacher-friendly discounts! This was passed unto me by another educator so you know you are getting timely and updated information. It’s always great to share a support chain and create a resourceful community of teachers!

Borders
Borders announced that it has increased its educator discount from 20% to 25%. Now educators receive 25% off the list price of all books, music CDs, toys and games for classroom use. The discount also includes 10% off DVDs for classroom use each time they present their Borders Classroom Discount Card, which is available for free at all Borders and Waldenbooks stores
nationwide. Pre-K through grade 12 teachers, home school educators and school librarians are all eligible to receive the special card.(³Borders,² Education Letter, September 30,
2009).

Borders offers 30% off during Teacher Appreciation Week
During Educator Appreciation Week, Sept. 29 through Oct. 7, Borders said it will honor current and retired teachers, librarians, licensed homeschoolers, school administrators and daycare facilitators with 30% off the list price of nearly everything in stores (³Borders,² Education Letter, September 30,
2009).

Barnes & Noble
B&N recently announced that is expanded its Enhanced Educator Discount Program online. All Pre-K-12 educators can now benefit from 20 percent off list price of books, toys and games for classroom use at bn.com/educator.

B&N also launched a new section called B&N@School that provides easy access to the best educational tools for parents, teachers and librarians at Barnes & Noble stores and online at Barnes & Noble.com (bn.com/school) (³Barnes & Noble Extends Programs, Products for Parents and Educators,² Wireless News, August 20, 2009).

Staples
Staples offers Teacher Bonus Season, new Copy & Print promotion. During back-to-school¹s Teacher Bonus Season, July 15 ­ Sept. 15, every $1 Staples Teacher Rewards members spend will count as $2 toward earning rewards. New this year, Staples is also offering teachers a special Copy & Print promotion throughout the back-to-school season of 5 cent black and white copies of classroom materials (³Staples Makes It Easy for New England-Area Educators on Teacher Appreciation Day,² Business Wire, August 20, 2009).

Amazon.com
Amazon.com launches ³Shop by Grade² Store. While not a discount, Amazon.com, has launched a new tool for teachers. The ³Shop by Grade² store at: www.amazon.com/schoolsupplies, features discounted school supplies sorted by grade for elementary, middle school, high school
and college students (³Go Back to School with Deals from Amazon.com,²
Business Wire, August 3, 2009).

Nov 18

Ebooklet: Yes! You Can Teach K-12 English Language Learners Successfully!

Uncategorized, eBooklet "Yes! You Can Teach K-12 ELLs Successfully, how to teach ELLs effectivelyNo Comments


ell-cover-web

When it comes to teaching English language learners successfully, teachers on my last survey expressed frustrations with classroom management, finding the right materials, differentiating lessons and time management for purposes of lesson planning and other administrative responsibilities.

As a teacher of ELLs, I know how challenging it is to keep the learning continuum at a high and discipline problems at a low. But still how is this all possible if students can’t read and understand the lesson? Or how is possible to meet each student’s needs when they are not catching up with their native English speaking peers? Just how is it possible to correctly assess students’ needs so that lessons match their learning styles and needs?

This work begins with the 97 tips which you’ll find in my electronic booklet or ebooklet, “Yes! You Can Teach K-12 English language learners Successfully” on how to teach ELLs more effectively. Here, you’ll find bite-sized tips for a bite-sized price on differentiated instruction, teaching vocabulary, improving reading comprehension and lessons and oral instruction among others.

This eBooklet is only available as downloadables, NOT AS HARD COPY. Contact me if you wish to purchase hard copies. The ebooklets you purchase are PDF files. Once you have purchased your booklet, you will receive a link to download the .pdf file both in your invoice and in a follow-up email. When you click the link, the .pdf will automatically open in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Save the file by clicking the icon in the upper left of the Adobe Acrobat Reader screen. You will then be asked where you want to save the file on your computer.

So what are you waiting for?

You can still engage your ELLs so they are constantly on-task even if they don’t know a lot of English. You can still do this without discipline problems and enjoy every lesson.

Click here for the downloadable link!

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