Classroom Strategies

Classroom strategies. Discipline and bilingual teaching. Diana Afanador. 2009-06-09 ART DEPARTMENT

1. The stoplight. The stoplight usually has 5 lights, the first one says stop, the second silence, the third one says whisper the fourth talking level and the last one says too laud. The level in which they should be at any given time in class, usually you start with arrows in stop and silence, and then you move them to whisper or talking level. It’s a good idea to move them from time to time so that the students are constantly aware of the volume level.

2. The Points Chart

Group

The point chart is used when the class is organized in groups. Each Group has a number and can get good points and bad points. Points are awarded for: 1. Being silent when the teacher is explaining. 2. Helping other groups. 3. Answering a question 4. Answering in English

3. Knocking on the board.

To get the students to be silent, and get good points on the chart, the teacher stands in front of the class, and knocks the board 3 times and says 1, then knocks, says two, then knocks and says 3. Then, the teacher points to the name on the chart of the first Group, and gives them a good point if they are in silence, or a bad point if they are not paying attention, same with the other groups, until the class is silent. This is a strategy that works when the teacher has divided the class, it usually doesn’t work very well if it’s used to handle to class as a whole.

4. Thinking space.

Thinking space is a place in the classroom that is selected for students who are misbehaving to go, sit down and think about their behavior for a limited amount of time.

5. Vocabulary of the day.

When students ask for the words they want to say or write, the teacher writes them on the board, and next to it the name of the student who asks. This helps student understand remember how the word looks and how it sounds. When another student asks the same word, the one that asked it first has to explain it to his classmate.

6. Pacman and the cookies.

This is a strategy used to get the whole class to be silent. The teacher uses the knocking on the board strategy, and then, pacman eats one part of the first cookie if the class is

not silent, and so on. If pacman eats all the cookies, then the children won’t have recess, or will have to pick garbage, or some other task. This is a good strategy if the teacher wants to work with the whole class at the same time, or if the group strategy isn’t working, it also helps to change the dynamics of the class.

7. English certificates.

To encourage speaking skills, especially in first graders, there are two types of certificates. English Expert, and English Monitor. The first one requires the kids to say hello and goodbye inside and outside of the class, and to try to talk in English during the class. (ask for things, permission to go to the bathroom or to drink a glass of water) The second one if for the kids that already speak in English, or that have a higher level than the rest of the class, they not only have to do what the experts do, but also to help others understand instructions.

8. Bathroom and Water passes.

MAY I GO

MAY I GO

TO THE

DRINK SOME WATER

BATHROO M PLEASE?

PLEASE?

This passes are made to encourage autonomy in the children. If the want to go to the bathroom they must use the pass, take it with them and bring them back. They can only go if they have the pass. This activity also helps the kids to know when they can go, but sometimes they end up doing lines, waiting for the pass. 9. Group captain.

Every class, each group may select one captain, who is in charge of getting the materials for the group, organizing them, and giving the work at the end of the class to the teacher. Also, if the group didn’t understand the instructions very well, the teacher may call the captains, then explain everything to them again, so that the group has someone to ask and that can clarify before asking the teacher.

10.

3 before me.

When a kid has a question, he has to ask 3 classmates before asking the teacher. This strategy encourages students to help each other and it helps them understand, since it’s easier to understand what a peer is saying than what the teacher is explaining.

11.

POPCORNPARTY.

This is a strategy used to teach them self-discipline. The word is divided into two letter groups, PO PC OR NP AR TY. They can acquire, or cross two letters each class, as long as they think that they deserve it according to their behavior in class. At the end of class everyone takes a vote and decides whether they deserve it or not. If they have crossed the whole phrase by the end of every two months, then they get the last class to see a

movie, they can also bring food or beverages for themselves.

12.

Role play

Each bimester has a different emphasis, that according to the school plan. To get the students to engage with the subject they must see, then role-play can be used. For example, if the kids have to learn about positive and negative space, visual rhythm and color contrast, then the teacher an tell them that they are graphic designers that must create a poster to encourage tourism in the country by showing of indigenous objects that must have all of these principles and elements of design.

13.

Explaining what your actions mean.

This strategy is used to help kids understand what teachers mean when they are someplace in the classroom, or the body language that they usually use in class. This information must be explicit and the teacher must explain the consequences of the actions that he or she takes during the class. For example, if the teacher is in front of the board, that means that the class should be silent in order to hear the information, or if the teacher walks to a particular part of the classroom, it means that he or she is getting annoyed because of the class’s behavior. If he or she crosses his arms, it means that he or she is really mad about the behavior and that the class will not continue unless they change their attitude.

14.

The whistle.

A whistle may be used in some classes, for example when there’s an outdoor activity, so that a certain order may be heard through the whistle and so the teacher doesn’t need to shout. Or in activities that are out of the routine, like exams, to tell the children that their time is up or that they have 5 more minutes to finish their task.

15.

Brain Gym.

This is a strategy that is used to help children concentrate or focus either at the beginning of the class or at any given time, if their tired or bored with what they are doing. According to a particular exercise the teacher can help them either concentrate, or relax or just to be quiet.