3 Simple Tricks to Make Your Teacher Life Easier
Sometimes the day to day in the classroom can get frustrating when we feel like we can’t get ahead or are repeating directions constantly. You know me, I’m all about organization and systems. So…here’s 3 tricks to make your teacher life a little bit easier.
Eliminate No Name Papers
Have highlighters (and pencils) next to you turn in bin. Train your students to highlight their name before they put their paper in the bin. this will eliminate 95% of no name papers. Sure a few will get through the cracks, but it will be the rare exception.
Help students learn to self-monitor their out of class time (bathroom trips).
Strategy: Allow student 1 free bathroom trip in the morning and one in the afternoon. In addition, students can go at recess and lunch as usual. Emergencies will happen, but there needs to be time made up for more trips unless there is a medical reason.
Tracking: Draw a line down horizontally across the middle of a sheet of paper. Write AM on the top half and PM on the bottom half. Write each students name twice on the paper, once on the top and once on the bottom section. Laminate. Post on the wall with a vis-a-vi marker attached with a string. Students cross off their name when they go to the bathroom. Once their trip is used up, they either have to wait to go at recess or lunch or they agree to “volunteer” time (equal to another bathroom trip) to do the work they are missing out on at recess or lunch.
At the end of each day, just erase and start fresh the next day!
Cut your weekend planning time down to Zero (or close to it).
Schedule your planning over the week. Each day of the week, commit to having a specific subject that you plan for the next week. For example, on Mondays you could plan Language Arts, Tuesdays plan Math… Fridays are free so you can finish up any planning that didn’t get completed the rest of the week (it happens sometimes).
Voila! Check planning off your weekend schedule.
