I just finished my first week back to school and this year has gotten off to a great start!

Why?

Simple…It’s all about procedures!

Procedures are the key to effective classroom management!

Do NOT underestimate the power of properly teaching your students the classroom procedures AND don’t make the mistake of thinking procedures and discipline are the same thing…they are not.

Here is an excerpt from a Harry Wong article entitled, “The Most Important Factor” (you can read the entire article here: http://teachers.net/wong/AUG05/)

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The Difference Between Discipline and Procedures

PROCEDURES: Concerns how things are DONE. A teacher who has a classroom management action plan will have an organized and structured classroom where both the teacher and students will know what to do.

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Remember, to properly teach classroom procedures you must first explain the procedure, then model the procedure, and then actually have the students practice the procedure. And, don’t be afraid to reteach the procedures whenever necessary.

Having students who follow the classroom procedures is the key to effective classroom management.

For more effective classroom management strategies make sure to sign up for my FREE Classroom Management e-Course @ www.Classroom-Management-Tips.com

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Towards the end of last school year I made several posts on the importance of allowing the students to evaluate you as a teacher.

Here are two of those posts:

1. End of the year teaching tips…

2. More on teacher evaluations

I even provided you with a sample evaluation form that you could use…

I hope you put it to good use because now is the time to put those evaluations to work.

With the new school year just about to start, NOW is the time to go back through your teacher evaluations and look for patterns in the answers and comments that your students made about your teaching. Which units did they like best and why? What didn’t they like and why? What common suggestions did your students make? How can you, as the teacher, take what your last year’s class said about you and use it to improve your teaching for this year.

Bottom Line: What is it you are going to do to be a better teacher this year than you were last year?

Good luck with the new school year!

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Are you looking for more teaching tips?

For effective teaching tips that you can start applying to your very next class make sure read 52 Teaching Tips @ www.52TeachingTips.com

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by Adam Waxler

Ok…it’s back to school time!
 
Whether you go back to school next week or in a few weeks, it’s time to start gearing up for the upcoming school year.
 
And, just like the beginning of every school year, your principal will hold a faculty meeting (or two…or three…or more) at which he/she will explain the importance of parent involvement on a child’s education.
 
There is no doubt that there is a strong positive correlation between parent involvement and student achievement.
 
So…what are you going to do to increase parent involvement in your classroom this year?
 
My suggestion…Start a blog!
 
There is no easier way to keep your parents up-to-date on what is going on in the classroom than with a blog.
 
I update my blog, www.MrWaxlersClass.com, each and every week during the school year.  The blog explains what we are studying that week, the homework for the week, as well as any other important dates. I also provide links to the district website, school website, school calendar, and to my class syllabus.
 
Of course, you can add anything you want to your blog… pictures, videos, audios etc.
 
Here’s the best part though…When parents visit the blog they will see a place where  they can “subscribe” to my blog posts.  By subscribing, parents are automatically sent updates directly to their email address whenever I make a new post.  Or, if they prefer, they can subscribe via their favorite newsreader such as My Yahoo, Google Reader, My AOL etc. 
 
Just think how much more involved your parents will be if they are updated every week in this manner.
 
Now here’s some more great news…not only is a  blog a great way to increase parent involvement, it is also VERY easy to set up.
 
Let me show you how…
 
First, you will need to buy and host a domain name (such as www.yoursite.com).  To register the domain name will cost you approximately $10/year and to host your blog with a reputable company will cost you roughly $7/month.  Not really a huge expense…especially when the benefits are so great.  And, you may even be able to get your school to pay for it.
 

While you do not have to register your domain through the same company that you host your blog with, if you are a beginner it may be easier to do so and you may save yourself the $10 registration fee as well.  The only hosting company I ever recommend is Bluehost.  I use Bluehost for all my websites and I now have over twenty different sites.  Not only do they have everything you need to quickly and easily set up you blog, but they also have 24/7 customer service that is second to none.
 
Once you have your Bluehost account set up you will login to your account and find the Wordpress icon towards the bottom of the page (it’s a W). Click on the icon and then follow the VERY simple directions to install your Wordpress blog.
 
Once your blog is installed you can change the theme of your blog, add whatever links you want etc.  It is very easy to operate and your students’ parents will thank you for it!  Not only will you get more parent involvement, but you will also see an increase in homework completion and, of course, an increase in academic achievement.
 
So what are you waiting for…go set up your classroom blog right now!

For more information visit www.Bluehost.com

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Are you ready?

Remember, the key to a successful school year is having effective classroom management skills.

Well…my friend and colleague, Rob Plevin in the UK, has an amazing resource that will give you ALL the tools and resources you could ever need for effective classroom management?

Rob has been classed as an “Outstanding Teacher” by The Office For Standards In Education (Ofsted) and has been running training courses and lectures on effective classroom management for the last 3 years.

His main philosophy is that many of the classroom management problems we encounter as teachers can be PREVENTED by adopting a specific approach he calls “needs-focused”. He has been delivering this course all over the UK and as far away as Singapore and is now making it available in a Home Study Format.

I’ve had a look at it and can only tell you that there is a STACK of material in there that will help you prevent and deal with classroom management problems and effectively support your more challenging students.

There are so many classroom management techniques in this course that I can’t get into all of them here, but some of my favorites have do with developing positive relationships with your most challenging students, how to de-escalate tough situations, and really easy ways to bring humor into your lessons…he even provides some simple scripts you can use (or edit and make your own) that will get your noisy classes to settle down a start working right away!

For more information…take a look a Rob’s site here:

Best Wishes,
Adam Waxler
Teaching Tips Machine, LLC

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