One of the first things teachers need to do every year is get all of their students’ names memorized.

It is important for a teacher to know each and every name as quickly as possible.

Knowing the students’ names will help in classroom management AND help foster that all-important student-teacher relationship. Don’t underestimate this!

Unfortunately, learning the names of the students is often a difficult task for many teachers to accomplish…especially middle school teachers and high school teachers. Let’s face it, if you are an elementary school teacher and have 20 students there is really no excuse for not knowing all their names by the end of the first day…in fact, you should actually know them before the first day.

However, it is a different story with secondary school teachers who may have as many as 140 students and may not get their class list until the morning of the first day of school.

Personally, I am terrible at remembering names. I’m the guy at the party who can’t remember a person’s name just seconds after being introduced.

However, somehow I am able to learn all 140 names by the second day of school…third the latest.

So how do I do this?

Here are some tips to help teachers remember students’ names:

1. On the first day of school I have each student simply take an index card, fold it in half “hot-dog” style, and write their name on one side. Students then place that index card with their name facing out towards the teacher.

Students are told to place these cards on their desk in the same manner for the first week, but I rarely need it past day 2 or 3.

2. Once the index cards are in place I make sure to use their name EVERY chance I get.

While I am discussing the classroom rules and procedures I make sure to use the students’ names. For example, “When Samantha walks into the room this is what she is going to do”… “This is how Sarah will start on the ‘do now’ assignment on the board”… “At the end of class Greg will write in his planner…”

When I call on students I make sure to use their name…

When I hand something out to the students and I’ll say “please pass these back Kailey.”

When a student says thank you I say “You’re welcome Trina.”

When giving positive feedback I say, “Great answer Jessica…”

When a student asks to use the bathroom, I say “Yes, Jesse…”

Bottom line: use their names at every chance you get. With their index cards out and facing the teacher it is easy to do.

3. Stand at the door when class begins and say “good morning John…good morning Sarah…good morning Liz…” as they enter the classroom.

4. Here is the biggest tip of all…if you really want to get to know the students’ names make sure to use last year’s yearbook.

If you are lucky enough to have your class list before school starts then simply spend a few minutes each day going through last year’s yearbook and study the faces and names.

This only takes a few minutes and helps so much…I usually have 75% of my class names down before they ever walk in the door for the first class. Then I use the yearbook during those first few days to refresh my memory.

By combining these tips every teacher should be able to learn all their students’ names within the first couple of days.

Again, this will have a huge impact on classroom management as well the student-teacher relationship…which will, in turn, lead to more success for both student and teacher.

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If you can’t manage your classroom you can’t teach!

Adam Waxler, a full-time social studies teacher and adjunct education professor, has developed a FREE 5-part

Classroom Management e-Course…

Learn simple classroom management strategies that will result in an immediate and definite decrease in classroom management problems

To sign up for this FREE course visit:
www.Classroom-Management-Tips.com

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School starts on Monday here in Manatee County and teachers here spent all this past week getting their rooms ready and, of course, going to meeting after meeting after meeting after meeting …

Many of the meetings were a complete waste of time, some were good, and one was excellent.

Let’s focus on the excellent one…

My principal had us read nine different descriptions of typical middle school students. We then had to decide which one description best fit us when we were in middle school. Once we made our choice we had to form new groups…each new group was made up of teachers who all picked the same description.

Next, we had to work in those groups to come up with teaching strategies we currently use or should use to help that type of middle school student succeed in school.

Once we finished, each group had to present their results.

What I found interesting was the underlying theme in each group’s response…

It did not matter whether you labeled yourself as a jock who went to school just for the sports, or a nerd who always tried to please the teacher, or the shy kid who tried to hide in the classroom, or kid who did the least amount of work he had to just to get by…

Each and every group came up with similar responses that almost all focused on the teacher-student relationship…

When a new school year starts teachers have a great deal of energy and enthusiasm, but that can quickly fade when teachers become overwhelmed with grading, lesson planning and, of course, meeting after meeting after meeting…

It is essential however, that teachers don’t lose sight of how important the teacher-student relationship truly is…

Do NOT underestimate the impact that this relationship has on student learning.

I know it can be difficult for teachers to foster this relationship…especially at the middle school and high school level with teachers having as many as 140 students (even more for elective teachers).

However, teachers need to try…just think about yourself when you were that age and what would have helped you succeed as a student. Well guess what? That is the same thing that will help many of your students succeed today in your own classroom.

The fact is…the teacher-student relationship truly is one of the most important factors governing student learning.

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A new school year is right around the corner…will you be ready?

To gain an arsenal of effective teaching strategies that will improve your relationship with your students, make sure to read…eTeach: A Teacher Resource for Learning the Strategies of Master Teachers @ www.TeachingTeacher.com

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Last week I discussed why it is so important to NOT touch a student as a means to stop minor classroom management problems.

Well, here is a simple classroom management strategy you can use (instead of actually touching a student) which is just as effective, but without the potential repercussions…

So here it is:

Combine your teacher’s “look” (mentioned in a previous post) with body posture and gestures…

For the student who is out of his seat, giving him the “look” and then simply pointing to the student’s desk may be more of a positive reminder of the appropriate behavior (and much less disruptive) than interrupting the whole class to tell one student to get back in his seat.

This works for many minor classroom disturbances…if a student puts her feet up on a neighbor’s desk simply give that student your “look” while at the same time pointing your finger to floor (where her feet should be).

By all means point, lean, even touch a student’s desk, but just don’t touch the student himself…it’s just not worth it…especially when the above classroom management strategy works just as well.

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A new school year is right around the corner…will you be ready?

To gain an arsenal of effective classroom management strategies that you can start applying to your very first class make sure read eTeach: A Teacher Resource for Learning the Strategies of Master Teachers @ www.TeachingTeacher.com

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As teachers around the country are getting ready to go back to school I thought it was important to mention a huge classroom management mistake that many teachers are still making…

I want to make sure you don’t make this classroom management mistake!

If you are effectively using the “law of least intervention” – (using eye contact effectively, pausing when necessary, moving to proximity of the classroom disturbance, giving an inappropriate student the look, etc.) and still the minor disruptive behavior continues…you may feel the need to put your hand on a student’s shoulder to stop the disruptive behavior. This may very well add to the sincerity of eye contact and may actually communicate much more than words.

This is precisely what teachers did when I was a student and it worked. All I can say is, “Don’t do it!”

I work with a lot of teachers who are career changers and I am always surprised at how many of them ask if it is alright to touch a student. I assume it is because this is what they remember from when they were in school.

The answer is “NO!”

Sure 99% of the time nothing will come of it and it may very well stop the inappropriate behavior without much, if any, disruption to the lesson. However, it just takes that 1% of the time…that one time a student misinterprets your intended meaning…that one student who is a little sensitive or overly dramatic…it just takes one time to ruin your teaching career.

In the end it is just not worth yet.

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It has never been easier to learn the proactive approach to
classroom management!

Adam Waxler, a full-time social studies teacher and adjunct education professor, has developed a FREE 5-part

Classroom Management e-Course…

Learn simple classroom management strategies that will result in an immediate and definite decrease in classroom management problems

To sign up for this FREE course visit:
www.Classroom-Management-Tips.com

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Here is a teaching tip for those first couple of back to school days…

As many experts in education stress…teachers must TEACH the procedures they want the students to follow…

So here’s my back to school tip…

Pick the 5 most important procedures you want your students to follow in order to make your class run smoothly.

For example, the five I picked for my classroom are
1. How they enter the room
2. How to do the “do now” activity
3. What to do when they hear the timer go off
4. What to do at the end of the class
5. How to fill out their planner

Obviously, the procedures you choose will depend greatly on your grade level and style of teaching.

I printed out an outline with my top 5 procedures and the steps involved with each one.

On the very first day of school, I will hand students the classroom procedures outline, we will read through it together, I will then demonstrate (model) the procedures for the students, and finally, I will have the students practice each of the 5 procedures.

If you really want students to follow your classroom procedures, you must follow these steps:
1. tell them the procedure
2. model the procedure for the students
3. have students practice the procedure
4. review and reinforce the procedure throughout the first weeks of school

So my back to school tip is to simply pick your five most important procedures and design a plan to teach your students to follow those procedures.

Trust me, this is not a waste of time…teaching procedures in this manner will make the rest of your school year run much smoother!

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A new school year is right around the corner…will you be ready?

To gain an arsenal of effective teaching tips that will help you increase class participation, increase academic achievement, and definitely decrease classroom management problems…make sure you read

52 Teaching Tips @ www.52TeachingTips.com

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