T is for Thriving in the High School Classroom

T is for Thriving in the High School Classroom, an E-book that provides practical suggestions, tips, and strategies for building a community of learners in the high school classroom. It’s researched and classroom based. Here’s what you will find.

• Chapter 1: Rest, Reflect, Renew
• Checklist for Last Week of School
• Checklist for Summer—Personal and Professional
• Checklist for New Teachers or Teachers with New Positions
• Checklist for Month and Week before School Starts
• Checklist for Home Visits
• Chapter 2: Family Engagement
• Sample Course Syllabus (Includes Letter to Parents and Students)
• Help Me Get to Know Your Child
• Parent Questionnaire
• Help Wanted Form
• Sample Newsletter
• Sample Unit Letter to Parents
• Chapter 3: Beyond the Classroom Walls
• PIN Handout
• Conference Note Taking Form
• Student Input for Conferences
• Student Portfolio Choices
• Teacher Conference Sheet for Individual Students
• PowerPoint Presentation for PIN
• Chapter 4: Engaging in School Culture
• Substitute Feedback Form
• Substitute Folder Checklist
• Movie Activity 1 & Activity 2
• Chapter 5: It’s About Time
• Unit Calendar
• Task List
• While You Were Absent
• Grouping Techniques
• Chapter 7: Building Relationships with Students
• Alphabet Squares
• Class Bill of Rights Lesson
• Classroom Bingo
• Student Assistant Application
• Game On
• If You’re Looking for…
• Inventories—Reading, Writing, and Math
• Not Just a Number
• Questions to Prompt Student Thinking
• Student Information Sheet
• Sign the Brick Wall
• Student Interview Activity/Collage Activity
• Student Search
• Team Statistics Group & Team Statistics Individual
• Team Building Activities
• Getting to Know Your Students PowerPoint Slides (Stand Like Me and Dragon
• Introducing Yourself to Students PowerPoint
• Chapter 8: Responding to Student Behavior
• Problem Solving Plan
• Teaching Tolerance Anti-Bullying Pledge
• Chapter 9: Professionalism and the High School Teacher
• What is Professionalism?
• What is Professional Behavior
• Chapter 10: Last Words, Next Steps
• Books that Inspire and Teach
• Movies that Inspire and Teach
• Quotes to Contemplate
• Questions to Ponder
• Renewal

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Thriving in the High School Classroom

Three Principles to Ponder Connected to Teaching and Learning

Paul Brock wants all of his daughters’ future teachers to abide by three principles:

First, to nurture and challenge my daughters’ intellectual and imaginative capacities way out to horizon unsullied by self-fulfilling minimalist expectations. Don’t patronize them with lowest-common-denominator blancmange masquerading as knowledge and learning; not crush their love for learning through boring pedagogy. Don’t bludgeon them with mindless ‘busy work’ and limit the exploration of the world of evolving knowledge merely to the tyranny of repetitively churned-out recycled worksheets. Ensure that there is legitimate progression of learning from one day, week, month, term and year to the next.

Second, to care for Sophie and Millie with humanity and sensitivity, as developing human beings worth of being taught with genuine respect, enlightened discipline and imaginative flair.

And, third, please strive to maximize their potential for later schooling, post0school education, training and employment and for the quality of life itself so that they can contribute to and enjoy the fruits of living within an Australian society that is fair, just, tolerant, honorable, knowledgeable, prosperous and happy (Brock, 2004, pp. 250-251).

School for many will be starting within the next few weeks. While teachers are busy preparing for the upcoming school year, it might be a good time to reflect upon Paul Brock’s three principles. This quote was included in the preface of a book by John Hattie, Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning. I have only read the preface and first chapter and I am intrigued.   Then I read the following quote and now I can’ wait to read the whole book.

“This development of critical evaluation skills requires educators to develop their students’ capacity to see the world from the viewpoint of others to understand human weaknesses and injustices, and to work towards developing cooperation and working with others. It requires educators to develop in their students a genuine concern for self and others, to teach the importance of evidence to counter stereotypes and closed thinking, to promote accountability of the person as responsible agent, and to vigorously promote critical thinking and the importance of dissenting voices” (Hattie, 2012,p. 4).

This quote provides a strong rationale for teachers to create community in their classrooms by getting to know their students and students getting to know each other as well as students getting to know their teachers. Building a community of learners who care for each other takes time, but it is time well-spent. Go slow to go fast.

There are many getting to know you activities in books, on the Internet, on Pinterest, etc. Check out our two books for more ideas about building trust in your classrooms: Thriving in the High School Classroom and From Surviving to Thriving: Mastering the Art of the Elementary Classroom.

 

Brock, P. (2004). A passion for life. Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning. New York: Routledge.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:surviving%20to%20thriving%20ljl

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thriving-in-the-High-School-Classroom-1326075

http://www.amazon.com/Visible-Learning-Teachers-Maximizing-Impact/dp/0415690153/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406818434&sr=8-1&keywords=John+Hattie

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/From-Surviving-to-Thriving-126820