Eight Tips for Classroom Efficiency: A Collaborative Blog Post
If there is one thing teachers can agree on, it’s that there is never enough time! There is not enough time for grading, planning, collaborating, eating lunch, etc. But also, never enough class time with students. Seeing my students for a few minutes each day (or every other day when I taught on block schedule) is really not enough to adequately teach, practice, and assess all the standards within a school year. My math friends and I have collected our favorite tips for classroom efficiency to help us all find a few ideas to maximize each minute we have with students.
How to Teach Your Math Students to Follow Directions
Amanda Nix, Free to Discover
Do you find yourself explaining an activity only to immediately be asked by a student what they should be working on? You’re not alone. Follow this 4-step method to give better directions and kick the “wait, what?” moments to the curb. Read more…
USING STICKER TEMPLATES IN MATH NOTES
Math Giraffe
I remember how excited I was when I finally splurged on the three-pack of coordinate plane stamps. You probably have a set or two of them in your classroom too — They make it easy to just stamp a coordinate plane on any page.
As I started using the stamp, I realized that it was not as efficient as I thought it would be. It was messy, and only stamped out a perfect graph template one out of every five times, and only when I did it myself. The kids could not really use them effectively. Plus, the mess from the stamp pad became frustrating, and I did not like how long it took to pass the three stamps down through the rows of students each time I wanted them to have a fresh coordinate plane in their notebook to plot something. Read more…
A Strategy for Learning Targets
Algebra and Beyond
Ever forget to post the learning target for the day? I know I was! So, I found a solution that is simple, saves me so much time, and is efficient. Plus, now my students walk into the classroom each day knowing what we’ve accomplished, what we are doing today, and what we will be doing the rest of the unit. Find out this efficiency tip in this blog post.
Using Timers in Google Slides
Jamie Miller Math
Using timers in Google Slides is a terrific way to maximize class time, helping students manage their time with an assignment/activity. My favorite way to use timers in Google Slides is with math workshop, signaling how much time students have at any given station/center. See post here.
Using Class Time Efficiently: Hall Passes
Kacie Travis, The Efficient Classroom
As a teacher who loves to maximize every minute of class time, I struggle with bathroom breaks. And as a teacher whose classroom is extremely far from the restrooms and even further from the nurse, I cringe at the amount of learning time lost by these trips. Here is a trick to keep students’ minds engaged, even when they are out of the classroom. Read more…
Math Templates
Scaffolded Math and Science
Math templates are a great way to start class every day. I LOVE math templates. It makes life so much easier to know my math warm-up is all set to go. In this post, I show and link all of the math templates I’ve made.
To-Do Lists and True Grit
Algebra and Beyond
We often talk about SMART goals with our students and make some for ourselves each year. The whole idea and process of organizing your goals and writing them down is fantastic! But then what? Find out more about To-Do Lists and True Grit in this blog post that includes a free template for your lists.
Strategies to Maximize Class Time
Kacie Travis, The Efficient Classroom
Have you ever been told that you should plan out your class time efficiently and that your students should be working “bell to bell,” either in your education classes or by an administrator? Me too. And I am sure we all agree that that idea is great in theory but hard in reality. Hard, but possible. Maximizing class time takes some strategic planning and effective procedures. The strategies listed in this blog post will help you with the planning and procedures, so you can maximize your class time.
