On this Valentine’s Day

Teach Your Students to Love Themselves

In a perfect world, we would all love and respect each other, and ourselves. Teaching would be easy, because a student who feels loved and respected will have intrinsic motivation to better themselves.

Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Here are some ideas that might help you light that fire for your students to love and respect themselves enough to put the work in to better themselves.

Words Matter

Rather than think of yourselves as separate units, think of yourselves as a team. If you use words like “we” and “us” it will become clear to the students that you are all working together toward a common goal. It is less scary for students to try new things when they have a whole team that will work with them.

Praise

We don’t often think of words as a reward. But students do. When you compliment a student’s work, you are showing them that you respect them. They will in turn, learn to respect themselves. Showcasing their work on the walls is a form of praise and reward as well. Praise is a wonderful positive motivator.

Know Your Students

Getting to know your students matters in many ways. It can seem overwhelming. But with some time and extra attention, it should pay off. Have a designated time when students can share something that matters to them. It doesn’t have to be an old-fashioned time in front of the class show-and-tell. It can be as little as going around in a circle and letting students each say a few sentences about what is impacting their lives at that time.

Use Your Knowledge to Help Tailor Material

Once you know your students, you can tailor material toward them. For example, for reading comprehension you could have a group that is reading about sports, a group reading about dinosaurs, and a group reading about pop culture. Students will try much harder to read material that they are interested in.

Keep it a Safe Space

When the focus is on expanding a knowledge base, rather than being perfect, students are given room to grow. If they feel safe enough to fail, they will be more motivated to try. Be sure to admit your mistakes as a way of showing them that everyone messes up sometimes and that it isn’t the end of the world. Showing them how you have grown by learning from your mistakes will inspire motivation and self-respect.

Give Students a Sense of Control

Have a special time when students get to choose what they want to learn. Remedia has products to help you give your students fun learning choices. Whether it is reading comprehension units about online shopping, sports legends, or amazing animals, we’ve got you covered!

  REM436 - Practical Practice Reading: Online Shopping

REM476 - Celebrity Readers: Famous Male Sports Stars

REM732 - High-Interest Reading: Fascinating Creatures

Making the Transition Back to In-class Learning

It is no secret how hard the last year or so has been. Teachers and students suffered and struggled. Everyone did their best in uncharted waters. The pandemic changed how we lived, taught, and learned. Now it is time to regain some sense of normalcy, which everyone is excited about. But how?

Researchers have figured out that holding students back a grade doesn’t solve any gaps in learning. Rather, it fosters apathy and boredom. Wrangling bored students to care about concepts they feel they have already learned is every teacher’s worst nightmare.

Assess Through Tasks

Use real world tasks to assess deep learning. For example, have them plan something that has a budget to see where they stand with basic math skills. You could have them work together in teams to see where their social skills need work. Reading parts in a play out loud is an easy way to see how their reading skills are progressing.

Refresh Before Test

Tests don’t always reflect what students know. They may have learned something, but need a refresher. Quickly go over what they should already know before testing them. Give them a chance to get in the swing of things before throwing a standardized test at them that may not reflect their actual knowledge.

Focus on Gains

Students may be behind in math and science this year. But what have they learned? Some students will be much better at time management and self-direction. Some learned better technology skills. When students had the ability to learn at their own pace, many were more self-motivated. The most beautiful gain? The majority of students said that they missed going to school. Socializing is such an important part of what is taught at school. Try to incorporate social aspects of learning to celebrate the fact that students are back together in the classroom.

Mind the Gaps

Try to identify the necessary prerequisite concepts that need to be taught before moving on. When there is disparity between levels, set up learning groups to reflect what they need to focus on. That way students can concentrate on learning the building blocks that they need to progress. Incorporate spiral learning into your teaching method, reintroducing important concepts throughout the school year.

Utilize Your Community

One teacher just can’t teach to the level of every child. Look into community programs that will help children before or after school. See if your school is willing to offer after school tutoring or summer school courses. Work with local colleges to help families find affordable tutors. Ask parents to volunteer their time to work with students during class time. Facilitate students getting extra credit to tutor students who need a little extra help.

It Takes a Village    

We all want to see our teachers and children succeed. Remember that you aren’t alone. Emotional and mental health of students has been in the forefront lately because we understand it is key for their ability to learn. Your health is necessary in your ability to teach. Reach out for help from fellow teachers, friends, family and therapists. Your community needs you and we have your back!

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https://www.rempub.com/easy-sentence-writing

https://www.rempub.com/high-interest-reading-3-book-set

https://www.rempub.com/skill-booster-series

https://www.rempub.com/the-funbook-of-math-word-problems

Seven Ways to Bring Fun Back Into Your Classroom

From Dull To Delightful:

7 Ways To Bring Fun Back Into Your Classroom

January 9, 2022

Neurologists have proven that everyone learns and retains more when they are having fun. One of the most difficult tasks teachers face is how to keep students engaged in learning throughout the day. Here are a few ideas to keep learning fun and exciting.

Healthy Debate

Encourage students to discuss issues they are passionate about. An easy way to do this is to switch up a daily lecture with a more conversational format. Or you could go even further and set up informal debate teams. Teach them how to voice their opinion and back it up with statements of fact. Show them how to speak and listen respectfully. Explain how everyone has a voice and deserves to be heard and listened to. Learning about other viewpoints and that there are no easy answers helps students grow.

Give Students Choices

If there is room in the lesson plan for some leeway between topics, let students choose the next activity. Giving them a small amount of control in subject matter helps encourage attention and interaction in the classroom.

Let the Student Be the Teacher

Students may be more interested in learning when they know they will get a turn to be the teacher. Make sure they take it seriously by helping them devise their own lesson plan. Give them a short amount of time to teach about a subject they are interested in.

Seek Out the Mysterious

Students find learning more fun when they are discovering along the way. Ask questions that even you might not know the answer to. Think of ways to investigate a mystery that will pull the students in as they learn along the way.

Directly Correlate Lessons With Life

Find out what your students are thinking about in their out-of-school hours. Incorporate their concerns into your lesson plans. If they are interested in earning money, change your math lesson to include ideas about work ethic and tips for saving.

Take It Outside

Go on small field trips. Just a walk in the field behind the school might bring plenty of scientific discoveries. From testing water and soil quality to identifying birds and insects, a trip outside is always a learning experience.

Use Technology

It’s no secret, it’s a technological world. Being able to use computers is part of the current education experience. Using Google Slides or Boom Cards will enhance computer literacy as well as the learning experience in your classroom. With topics ranging from recipes to “this day in history” slides, to math, reading comprehension and science, no subject is left out. Colorful slides and fun features like fill-in-the-blank and drag-and-drop keep students engaged. 

To find out more, check out the following suggestions:

Google Classroom Suggestions:

 

Avoiding Holiday Burnout in the Classroom

Avoiding Burnout: During the Holidays (And Every Day)

The holidays. People wishing others joy, peace, and love. Sometimes the wish seems far-fetched. Stress and chaos abound during the holiday season. Between last-minute shopping, bickering relatives, cooking, cleaning, parties you are too tired for, and endless to-do lists, it can be easy to lose perspective. Don’t let that stress weasel its way into your life and your classroom.

Nurture Yourself

Research finds that between one-third to one-half of teachers quit within their first five years. During the holidays we are taught to put others first. Teachers might feel compelled to always do so. This is a recipe for disaster. To serve others, you must first serve yourself. The oft-told advice of fresh air, exercise, down-time, meditation and bubble baths may be trite, but they hold true. Treat yourself. Whatever that means to you. Pretend like it’s your birthday and do what you want more than once a year. You deserve it.

Say “No”

If you are a people-pleaser this is going to be difficult for you. But dip your toe in and just try it. If someone asks you to go somewhere or do something and you don’t feel up to it, just say, “no”. You don’t have to give a reason or excuse. It is better to say “no” to a few things so you can do just one or two things well, rather than spreading yourself too thin. When you do too much, you become drained. When you become drained, you become resentful. Don’t fall into the trap!

Resentment Kills Passion

Teachers start with passion in their hearts to change the lives of students. They are thwarted by long hours, hard-to-please parents, students that need lessons in behavior, and exhaustion. It can be a slippery slope from passion to apathy. When you start to feel like a hamster on a wheel, gather your strength, hop off, and look for solutions. Ask for help. Your students and your community want you to be healthy and succeed.

Practice Positivity

Remind yourself why you do what you do. Try not to let the negative get under your skin. This, of course, is easier said than done. But meditation isn’t only about calm breathing and clearing your mind. Practice meditating on the positive within each moment. Really listen when a student laughs with delight. Thrill in the moment a student has that “lightbulb” moment and they fully grasp a difficult concept. Celebrate the positive that is all around you every day.

You ARE Making a Difference

If you change the life of just ONE child for the better, you have made a difference. That child doesn’t have to become the next Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey, although they are just two of the many who credit their success to their teachers. If one child you help just helps one other person, there will be a snowball effect. And that effect will bring more joy, peace, and love to the world. Which makes you a hero. Inspire your students by sharing the stories of other people who have shaped the world through their passion. 

For more ideas in finding inspiration and avoiding burnout, check out our Outstanding Americans book and have a Happy Holidays!

Students' enthusiasm will skyrocket with this series of articles about outstanding Americans and their accomplishments. This high-interest/low-readability book is a terrific way to build basic skills while enhancing students' appreciation of cultural diversity. Outstanding Americans at remedia.com.

Or get this book from our Digital website RemediaDigital.com

Outstanding Americans. 

Gratitude Beyond the Thanksgiving Table

Why Gratitude Matters Every Day and Ways to Encourage It

When we were kids, we were taught to say, “please and thank you,” if we wanted something. We were also taught to “be thankful,” around the Thanksgiving table. But there is so much more to the practice of gratitude.

Research shows that practicing gratitude has a multitude of positive effects. From feeling less stress to better physical health and a happier mindset, its effects are far-reaching. Students have even been shown to be more alert, compassionate, and positive when they are practicing gratitude.

Write It Down

We’ve all heard of expressing gratitude through keeping a gratitude journal. This can be a simple exercise every morning where students choose one or two things that they are grateful for. After they have run through their family members, friends, and pets, it becomes trickier. Encourage them to look for beauty in every-day life that they can feel thankful for. The crunch of fall leaves under a boot, a warm jacket, and a parent cooking dinner when they arrive home are just a few examples.

Share

Keep a grateful jar in the classroom. Encourage students to write thoughtful notes about reasons they are grateful to fellow classmates. Go through them at the end of the week to share out loud. Once they get the hang of it, they can express gratitude face-to-face and feel comfortable doing so.

Write Letters

Write a group gratitude letter to someone in your school, community, or even a public figure. Help the students be specific about their reasons of gratitude. The librarian, the school receptionist, the janitors, and cafeteria workers would surely all appreciate such a thoughtful gesture.

Help Students Look Deeper

It is easy to be grateful for a new pet, a new car, or expensive new clothes. But once the novelty wears off, sometimes so does the gratitude. Self-serving gratitude is a precursor to resentment and envy as others will always seemingly have more than us.

Encourage students to delve deeper. Rather than being grateful just to have something fancy and new, what are the feelings that are driving the gratitude? Help them find that more meaningful level of appreciation. Do they feel fortunate because their parents are generous? Are they proud because they worked hard to earn and save for something? Do they like the items because it improves their self-confidence? When they become grateful for feelings rather than things, they will have found a deeper level in their gratitude practice.

Model the Practice

Being grateful is a constant practice. When you find yourself feeling negative and ungrateful, recognize those feelings. Ask for help and ideas from the students with ways to look at things in a more positive light. They will appreciate the chance to brainstorm and get involved.

Gratitude is just one character trait that we can all improve upon. For more ideas in improving social skills and behavior, check out our Real-World Skills Series - Book 1 on Improving Behavior and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

For more social skills lessons, check out the Real-World Skills Series for lessons on honesty, generosity and kindness; Real-World Skills: Social Skill - Improving Behavior (book 1) at remedia.com.

Or get this book from our Digital website RemediaDigital.com

Real-World Skills: Social Skills - Improving Behavior - Book 1