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A couple of months ago, I solicited hallway walking tips on Facebook. Finally, here’s that blogpost! Thanks for being so patient, Teacher Geeks.
A few years ago, I ran into a parent in the hallway while my class was on its way to a special. My class was (mostly) walking in quiet, straight line. That person made a comment to the effect of “Geez, they’re like little soldiers,” and I don’t think that person meant it as a compliment. I just smiled and nodded and went about my business.
After that, I started questioning myself: Was I being too rigid with my hallway rules? Are they really like little soldiers? Am I taking the “fun” out of learning by having them be quiet in the hallway? OMG, AM I A HORRIBLE TEACHER???
Don’t you hate it when one minor comment can send you down an unnecessary Doom Spiral of Questioning?
A few days later, when that same class was taking a test, another class passed by in the hallway. They were so loud, it really distracted many of my students (and the door was closed!), and I pulled myself out of the Doom Spiral of Questioning when I realized that quiet, orderly hallway is NOT about having students be “little soldiers”. It’s about RESPECT.
- Respect for other students’ learning.
- Respect for other classes passing in the hallway.
- Respect for students’ work on the bulletin boards and walls.
- Respect for self-control.
- Respect for our school community.
These are definitely ninja feet.
Here are some ideas that I’ve gathered in the past few years. Not any one method will work all year long, so while January is a good time to review classroom procedures, it is also a good time to introduce new hallway-walking instructions, too. I strongly feel that the ideas listed below will be meaningless unless you have a serious conversation with your class about the respect issues above. If students understand why a rule exists, they are more likely to follow it. Make it a teachable moment. If a noisy class is passing by your room, start by asking, “How many of you found it hard to concentrate a few moments ago? Why?” Another great article on hallway walking is from Angela Watson’s Cornerstone Teaching Blog. She makes more good arguments for quiet and straight-line hallway walking. She’s got a great blog and reading it will make you happy.
So here’s my list. Feel free to add comments at the bottom.
The Do-Over: Stop the walking when it gets too loud. Make the whole class go back to the starting point (or a reasonable nearby point) and announce a “do-over”, and repeat your expectations. Walking starts again, hopefully better this time. Lather, rinse, repeat as often as necessary. If most of the class is complying and you’ve got one or two that are clearly not getting it, just have them do the do-over. I also have them apologize to the rest of the class for making us late. (Oooh! I’m so mean! Making students apologize!) The Do-Over is particularly effective when the students are on their way to something they really enjoy, like recess.
Mystery Walker: I pull out my trusty wooden craft sticks with each child’s name (often kept in my apron), I pull 1, 2, or 3 students’ sticks, but I don’t reveal the names. When we get to our destination, I reveal the names and if those students were good hallway walkers, they get praise (and sometimes a smelly sticker).
Walk Like Ghosts/Ninjas/You’re Invisible: Challenge students to walk as silently as possible. Sometimes I will stop just before an open door and challenge the students to walk so quietly that the other students in the classroom don’t even look up.
Marshmallow Toes: (Thank you, Jaclyn Bajzath, for posting this on my Facebook wall!) Tell students to walk like they’ve got marshmallows on their toes. Students who walk quietly receive a mini-marshmallow on their desks when they return.
Lips-and-Hips: Walk with one hand on your lips (in a “shh” position) and one hand on your hips. It’s a great visual reminder that I’ve seen lower grades use, but I’ve used it for 5th graders, too!
Sing a Song: Mrs. Cooley at the First Graders at Last Blog not only has a list of songs to sing before her class exits to walk the hallway, but she smartly put them on a ring to hang near the door to be able to remember them (now that’s a tip I can relate…uh, what was I saying?)
Other helpful hints:
- Assigned line spots. Children feel safe knowing who is next to them in line, and you can keep your eye on certain students easily.
- Walk behind the class. You will be able to see all that goes on, including things like sneaky shoves or good behavior.
What tips to you offer to have a safe, peaceful hallway walking experience? Please comment!
That's me today. I'm so retro.
Hello Teacher Geeks,
If you subscribe to my blog via the NetworkedBlogs syndication service for Facebook, I’m kindly asking you to resubscribe through a different route. I’ve not been happy with the feeds they’ve pulled for me onto Facebook. Many of the issues cannot be resolved without endless hours of troubleshooting, which I just don’t have. So BUH-BYE, NetworkedBlogs.
So I’ll be manually posting to Facebook for a bit, while I research a new syndication service.
What does that mean for you? If you get my feed through NetworkedBlogs currently, you’ll have to make sure you “LIKE” my page on Facebook in order to continue receiving new blog posts. Just click the Facebook icon in the top right corner of this page and you’ll be taken to The Teacher Geek Facebook page. You can also subscribe through RSS and/or Twitter through the appropriate buttons up there, too.
Thank you so much for reading my little ole’ blog!
-Nancy, The Teacher Geek
I’m bummed this week for two reasons.
One is that I have to do report cards. I want to do them thoughtfully and correctly, but I don’t care what anyone says, (you could be the Mary Poppins of teachers), report cards are not fun. Especially when they are a series of a ho-jillion pull-down menus. I once went into labor while writing report card comments. True story.
The other reason I’m bummed is that one of my students is moving away this week.
I want to give her a memorable, fun, proper send off. In the past, my favorite activities for the student’s last day is to make cards, sings songs, have that person get special privileges for the day (like line leader, teacher helper, etc.). But my favorite by far is The Wish Penny. Go grab a tissue now.
(Note: I got this off The Interwebs ages ago, from where, I have no idea. Sorry Wish Penny Idea Creator.) Procure one of those hinged boxes that ring jewelry comes in and put a shiny penny inside. Sometime during the day, morning meeting or closing circle are the best times, sit in a circle with the class. Tell the each of the students to think of one wish that they want to give to the student that’s leaving.
The Wish Penny goes in here!
Students pass around the box and say their wish to the penny. After all of the students have said wishes, close the box and give it to the moving student. That student now has a box full of wishes and there won’t be a dry eye in the room (well, at least an adult dry eye). Every time I’ve done it I’m blown away by the thoughtful and caring wishes the students make for their departing classmate.
But I’m curious…what sort of things do you do for a student that’s leaving? Please share in the comments.
May all of your wishes come true. And may you not go into labor whilst writing your report cards.
When you think of a college lecture hall, excitement and goosebumps are the not first things that come to mind.
I think that’s because I haven’t had the privilege of sitting in a lecture from Professor John Boyer at Virginia Tech.
On December 5, 2011, Professor Boyle and his 3000 World Regions class students SKYPED with Burmese democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Aung San Suu Kyi.
This is amazing on so many levels. From a content standpoint, the fact that Aung San Suu Kyi is free from house arrest and made the time to speak with the class, and the fact that a technology like Skype can deliver such powerful learning while only being as old as a 3rd grader. Oh, and it’s FREE.
A little bit of background of Professor Boyle’s class can be found here. More of his lecture videos are here.
Have you tried Skype in your classroom? Please comment – I’m very interested in exploring this topic more.
Happy Sunday, Geeks!
It’s Sunday night…do you know where your teacher bag is?
If you’re like me, you’re probably doing the split-personality dance of revving down from the weekend and revving up for the week. While this blog is mostly about Best Practices in the Classroom, every Sunday I’m going to try and bring you a Sunday Night Dose of Joy – something to inspire you and give you a mental pep rally for the coming week.
Tonight is a short (16 minutes) clip from a TEDx talk by Alan November. I’ve had the privledge of being in his audience twice now, and each time I walk away feeling uplifted and inspired. It helps that the guy is always smiling.
If you have the chance to go see him, DO IT.
In the meantime, here’s your Dose o’ Joy.
There are few things I remember from my own Kindergarten experience in the mid 70′s. I remember Mrs. Goff was very nice and smiley. I remember the Yellow Triangle Station where we listened to books on cassette with the humongous earphones. I remember cutting my bangs myself the day or two before school photos. And I remember The June Box.
The June Box was where toys went if you were caught playing with them at inappropriate times, the idea being that you’d get the toy back in June. You’d better believe that I never, ever brought toys to school for fear that I wouldn’t see them until June. When you’re 5, June is a very, very, very, very loooong time.
There is a part of me that always feels like such a scrooge when I catch kids with toys they aren’t supposed to have or at times they aren’t supposed to have them. But let’s face it, when you’re trying to teach and a kiddo is showing a Legoman to his buddy and then arguing over it, that’s a distraction for everyone. Unwelcome distractions = lost teaching time. I give plenty of opportunity for fun, engaging play-learning, so no toys means no toys.
This year, I recycled the idea of The June Box – with one twist.
It's labeled just like I remember it, except in a Brooks Running Shoe Box.
The twist is if your toy goes into the June Box and you want it back before June, you have to tell Mom or Dad to make an appointment with me before or after school, come in the classroom with them, and THEN AND ONLY THEN can you get the item back before June.
It works like a charm. I have had a grand total of ONE toy in the box this year, and it was retrieved by the owner and his parents, with apologies.
Thank you Mrs. Goff, for a memorable kindergarten year and The June Box!
Have you ever lost your flash drive?
Have you ever thought about what would happen if you lost it?
Fear, panic, mayhem, not necessarily in that order.
For the first few years of my teaching career, I lived in daily fear of losing my beloved USB flash drive. I did not have any way of accessing my network files from home (TEACHER GEEKS WORK FROM HOME? *GASP*!), so everything that I created and saved for school went on my flash drive. I made sure that every evening it went in the same pocket of my teacher bag, and guarded it with my life.
Then, last spring, my district got hit with a nasty computer virus that shut down the entire system for weeks. No computers, no printing, no network, nada. When it was finally limping up again, to prevent further infection, ALL USB DRIVES WERE LOCKED, and most were still locked when the school year started. There goes the flash drive.
Turns out my answer was in the “Clouds”.
If you haven’t yet heard of the concept of “Cloud Computing” you will. (If you have used Apple’s MobileMe service to keep all of your devices synced, then you have used cloud technology.) The concept is that you can access all of your work, software, and documents, from any computer or mobile device that has an Internet connection – no storage device required.
My preferred cloud device is Dropbox.
It works just like a folder that you would save to on your computer, except it doesn’t actually live on your computer. It’s “in the cloud”.
I have a Dropbox shortcut folder installed on both my computer at home and at school. (It’s free, by the way.) If I change a document at home and save it in the Dropbox folder, when I open it up at school, it’s all SYNCHED up and I’m accessing the latest version!
What else is so awesome about Dropbox?
- You can make folders and sub-folders within your Dropbox folder, just like you would on your computer.
- You can choose to make a specific folder public, so that you can give access to others (like if you want to share a Unit Plan with your colleagues). It becomes a “shared drive”. Send them the URL with the link to the specific file.
- You can upload any type of file, including photos.
- You can get Dropbox on your iPhone, iPad, Droid, or other mobile device that also syncs up with all of your other Dropbox folders.
Bottom line: If you work on multiple computers, this is the answer to your “For the love of Pete, don’t let me lose my flash drive.” prayers.
And may you never have to create one of these:
Until next time, Geeks!
Does anyone else get what I call “September Laryngitis’? HOLLA!!
Wait, cancel that. Just squeak.
When will my vocal chords ever get used to the sudden upswing of talking ALL DAY? My mother, a School Speech-Language Pathologist, once told me that teachers have the second-highest incidence of vocal chord damage, second only to professional singers. There are very few other professions in which one talks all day long.
I'm doing the same look right now, but I'm not wearing shoulder pads.
I try very hard not to abuse my voice. I try very hard to not ever be a “yeller.” But there are times when one must be loud. (Note: There is a difference between being loud and yelling.) Like when you spy 1st graders across the playground with large sticks in their hands, seconds away from playing Lightsaber Duel. Or on a field trip with 80 5th graders and chaperones in downtown Philadelphia and you need to harness their “OMG! We’re in a big city!” energy to give them final directions. And even when your class is having quiet reading time, you’re still conferring and talking with small groups. Talk. Talk. Talk. All. Day. Long.
But no matter how much I try, I still lose my voice within the first 6 weeks of school. This year, it’s not as bad as it’s been, I think because I’ve purposely been doing three things:
1. Drink tons of water. I bring a large bottle of water with me to school, and I try to have it gone by the time I leave the building.
2. I chew peppermint gum on my breaks. I have no idea if it really helps, but it feels soothing to my throat.
3. I switched to a gentle yoga chime this year as my main attention getter. Even “One, two, three…eyes on me” needs to be a little loud if the students are scattered around the room. So instead the chime is pleasant-sounding, and everyone can hear it no matter where in the classroom they are.
Let me know in the comments if you ever get this tricky malady in the fall, and what you do about it.
Squeak on, Geeks! (And don’t be a Yeller.)
Big thanks to those of you who had helpful advice for the student-name dilema. For those of you just tuning in, I had discovered, while looking over my class roster of 1st graders, that I have two students with the same first name and same last initial. I needed to be able to prep materials before school, but was wondering how I should label everything. So I have a “Connor Singh” and a “Connor Sawyer” (names have been changed here).
On the first day, I explained to the boys the situation and asked them what they thought. Over recess, they decided that they wanted to use their middle names. I do this when I am giving verbal instructions. So they became “Connor James” and “Connor Lee”. (Thank goodness they don’t have the same initial for their middle names.)
On name plates, and other official items, I use their full names – a substitute teacher would need to know those. On student work hanging on the wall, they tend to write their full names.
Once again, things that seem like small potatoes in a 1st grade classroom end up being giant, garden-dominating potatoes. But all is well, and now I can get on with the business of learning.
Thanks again, Teacher Geeks! I knew I could count on you.
I’m hoping you can help me out with this one, Teacher Geeks.
On the surface, it’s a small issue. But we know, most small issues in the classroom aren’t really small issues. They’re usually big issues to the students and the environment that you are trying to create. Here’s my problem:
I’m looking at this year’s roster, and I have two children with the same first name, AND SAME LAST INITIAL.
I’m changing the name for the purposes of this blog, but let’s say I have a “Connor Singh” and a “Connor Sawyer”. You get the idea.
I’m teaching 1st grade this year. Names are BIG deal for first graders. I need to find a way to solve this problem that feels respectful to the individuals, without causing confusion. When they walk in the room on the first day, there will be many, many things that have names on them. Everything from the Word Wall, to cubbies, to mailboxes, to supplies, to decor with have students’ names. I want the Connors to feel welcome, and part of the classroom community.
My first thought is to ask them, what do they prefer? Make it a teachable moment!
But some things just can’t wait until I speak with them – I’ve got to prep materials NOW.
So, do I go with Connor and Connor? Connor Si and Connor Sa? Full names for both?
Has this happened to you? How did you handle it? Do share!
Thank you, Geeks!
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