To make sure that it was fair, they even had to complete an application to take on the classroom job. They could even be fired from their job if they did not take it seriously. One of my jobs was a classroom greeter. This person stood at the doorway with me and greeted those entering. They even answered the door when someone came to the classroom while I was teaching. Another job was errand person. This is the person who took things to other classes/teachers or even the front office.

I actually started this because I taught The Giver, and the students had to decide what each person would do based on their personality and what they knew about them. This gave me the idea that some are qualified to do more. I felt that as a teacher, I should nurture these natural abilities.

No one had to take a job if they did not want it. I didn’t push it. I did have a rotation in place. Plus, it was nice not to have 20 hands shooting up in the air when I needed something done. That person had already been assigned. It was fair. I even had substitutes to fill in when someone was out sick. When Covid came into play, I stopped my classroom jobs and just never went back to them.

Some jobs to consider:

• Classroom Greeter
• Plant caretaker
• Errand Runner
• Paper/Supply Handler
• Technical Assistant
• Peer Tutor/Helper
• Clean up Crew

This is not an absolute list. Some years, depending on the activities that I had planned, things may be added or changed.

The post One thing I’d do again: Classroom Jobs appeared first on Teaching ELA in the Middle.

She does this daily. Students know what is expected. They know they are to be in a single file line, not talking, and facing forward. It may seem strict, but they do follow through for her. When we line up for lunch, it is without a doubt that our line is the quietest in the hallway, because from the beginning of the year, she set that expectation. Our hallway procedures is to have 6th grade and 7th grade honors line up on the left to go to 1st lunch, and 7th and 8th on the right to go to recess before 2nd lunch. Take a guess who is the loudest?

When these same students return, they are also the ones who are quieter and follow procedures better.

So why does this improve classroom management?

If your students are all over the place in the hall, they will be like that in the classroom. It goes back to expectations. What do you expect from your students? Have you practiced that from the beginning?

Wong talks about practicing your procedures daily for the first few weeks, but I believe there is something to be said about practicing it daily for the year. Expecting it daily. While most will not need that practice after the first month, you will still have some who are nonconformists (nicer way of saying their ADHD is out of control).

Even with exiting the classroom. The procedure should be something that is practiced on a daily basis to make sure that they are exiting just as orderly as they entered.

The post Class Management: Entrance and Exit Procedures appeared first on Teaching ELA in the Middle.

In the past, I have tried the colored baskets to turn in work, and it didn’t work effectively. Students failed to remember what color basket was their grade level. I have even tried the lovely mail sort shelves, but even that didn’t work.

This year I decided to have almost everything online, and those things that were not, would have their own space in the room. For example, each class would have their own bellwork folders that were color coded. Writing notebooks or folders would have a space of their own separate from the bellwork folders. Plus, the iReady sheets would have their own space in class labeled file boxes.

Throughout the year, what I found was that bellwork folders did not get returned to their space, or they were placed in another class (which was obvious since they were color coded). The writing folders were placed in the wrong spot, and this was problematic due to the fact that these were NOT color coded. And as for the iReady section? Don’t get me started about how students shoved their trash and unwanted food into the file boxes.

I would have had better luck if I had just kept everything online, but unfortunately I had a few that lost their computer privileges and had to have paper copies of everything.

Even the lovely supplies that I put out in their own individual containers were stolen from said containers. If someone finds a solution for organization that truly works in middle school, let me know. I’d love to see it.

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Survival mode during the holidays can mean many things for many people. For me, it is about trying to be patient and understanding. It is about trying not to stress out when things are chaotic. It’s about not letting that one student who is wanting to be ugly to me get the better of me. And yes, I had a student who was hateful to me on Friday, and my students whom I taught last year looked at her and said, “That just wasn’t right.” I fought the urge to write her up for the disrespect, but then I thought back and realized that this week was the first time she has been that way with me. I don’t know what is going on at home. I don’t know what she may be dealing with outside of my class. She may have just needed to let off some steam. Moments like this, I’m reminded of what my dad said to me when I was upset and hurt at my mom’s death: Give it to me because I’m big enough to handle it, and I have large shoulders to bear the burden for both of us.

That doesn’t give anyone permission to run me over or be nasty, but I can also pause and think about what is going on. Students don’t always do that.

My 6th graders are starting to become extra needy right now, too. They are starting to congregate around my desk if I dare sit down. It’s frustrating because I’m claustrophobic, yet at the same time, they are all trying to gain my attention.

Two more days, though. I just need to hang in there for two more days, and then it will be a nice break.

The post Story Time: Survival Mode appeared first on Teaching ELA in the Middle.

It’s one of the reasons that this year, I have decided to pull out my old Anti-bullying unit and dust it off. I have to adapt what I had adapted to my 8th graders back down to a 6th and 7th grade level with available resources. If you’re interested in using it, I’ll have it up in my TpT store by the end of next week. I didn’t realize how much I needed to change until I found some of my links were broken. I’m thankful that I had hard copies of most items. My goal is to implement it starting next week. Definitely by October. The sooner the better!

I’m not sure why we have a sudden uptick in bullying incidents this year. It’s unprecedented. In fact, some students, when pointed out that they were bullying they stated they didn’t know that was bullying. They have some other idea of what bullying looks like.

One morning, during duty, a teacher caught a bullying incident and brought the students involved over the side. He told them that they needed to put their name in the place of the other, and if they wouldn’t like it, then perhaps it was something that they shouldn’t be saying.

There bullying has been in the forms of harassing, teasing, name calling, throwing things at, pushing/shoving, taking things, gaslighting, humiliating, and tattling. The biggest one that gets me is the gaslighting. Hello, future narcissist. How are you?

Our “No Contact Order” list is growing exponentially due to the students lacking conflict resolution skills. What happens is that a conflict arises, and they run to get a No Contact Order placed against the student. Then they secretly torture them through multiple means to get them in trouble and violate their order. Or they get the No Contact Order and the other student has no clue what they did wrong. They don’t know how to correct it. Most of the time it is just a jealousy thing and the other person wanted them out of the picture in case they take their friends away.

Either way, this is becoming a huge problem.

The post Bullies Bullies Everywhere appeared first on Teaching ELA in the Middle.

It is awful when Spring Break feels like it is just too far away. We know that these kids need a break from one another, even though they probably see one another outside of the school. However, there is something about being cooped up inside a classroom with someone day-after-day. Little things – just like in a family – begin to grate on one another’s nerves until it escalates.

The constant arguing, bickering, name-calling, and disruptions amped up my anxiety. My fight or flight response kicked in and all I wanted to do was to escape. Unfortunately, you can’t escape if you are the teacher. And this didn’t just happen once, it happened twice during the week, in one class! Even with engaging lessons! Sometimes, it’s just chaos no matter how engaging the lesson or activity.

I’m hopeful for a better week. It will be a short one for the students and myself. I am going to be out on Wednesday to take my son for his MRI. Plus, I will be packing up the house on that day with the boxes I’ve managed to salvage. We have to be out by the 1st, and we still haven’t found a place, but I did get a great lead on a place. We know that we have about a month or more before my son’s lawyers will be able to reach a settlement from his accident. I think that once that happens, he will be buying a place and going back to work. I will probably stay at the rental I found until the house I want to purchase can be repaired. That’s a long story in itself, but despite the neighborhood that house is in, I fell in love with that house, although the rental that overlooks the Broad River is fantastic, too. It’ll be a tough decision.

The post Story Time Sunday: What a week! appeared first on Teaching ELA in the Middle.

In a class with multiple reading abilities, behavior abilities, and concentration abilities, plus handwriting abilities, I have to think about adaptations before, during, and after my instruction.

Before Instruction

Prior to teaching, when I am in the planning stages, this is the moment when I consider many of my accommodation needs. Some require lessons that do not involve writing (they cannot read their own handwriting), some require a lower Lexile, and others cannot be on the computer (they will not complete work on the computer). I have to plan out my instruction to meet all of these accommodations that are in their IEPs (Individualized Education Plans) to insure that students are given an opportunity for success in the classroom.

During Instruction

Depending upon the class, lessons must be chunked into smaller equivalents. Because attention spans vary, I keep instruction short, practice short, and have frequent short transitions. I keep an eye on my students to know when I can move on. Too much time practicing and behavior issues will crop up among those who are already struggling academically and looking for an escape. Too short, and the lesson is completely lost. Transitions are the same. They have to be kept short to avoid escapism behavior issues.

After Instruction

Reteaching is often a must with certain classes. I still need to pull students aside to work on various skills, but at the same time trying to do this with a classroom full of students who can’t sit still or concentrate is a difficult thing to do. While I can put them to working on something on their own, I can’t guarantee that they will remain focused. Working individually is not their strongest trait due to some students’ need to escape what they feel is difficult or where they don’t feel success. Finding ways to adapt instruction after the lesson often involves whole class reteaching, or pulling students from other activities. Pulling these students from recess or another needed class interrupts other needs (activity to help burn off stored energy or a much needed extra reading class).

When I have to reteach as a whole class, I try to find another way to teach the same lesson. Finding multiple ways for students to learn the skill that I need them grasp and learn can be difficult, but I’ve found that having a list to pull from eases the burden of creating new lessons on similar topics.

The post When do you adapt instruction to student needs? appeared first on Teaching ELA in the Middle.

Because of this knowledge, we as teachers become highly alert any time there seems to be a sudden loudness in the hallway. You begin to panic. Is there a fight? Is there an argument that could lead to one? Is joking about to go too far?

We’ve been fortunate; however, I had to start assigning lunch detentions to students this past week. The reason? I had to redirect more than usual. I’m usually a patient person. I understand my class of 23 with 15 IEPs and 20 ADHD children. I usually redirect often because they will forget 5 minutes later than you asked them to sit. This week, it was more than usual, and with the weather change… I didn’t want to risk the behavior chances that might take place. They are more active than usual. And it isn’t a full moon, yet. I’m dreading that week.

What types of behaviors are you seeing now that it is getting closer to Spring?

The post Story Time Sunday: Spring Has Sprung appeared first on Teaching ELA in the Middle.

My last class period has a student that most seem to target. He is a likable young man. Well-mannered, thoughtful, and polite. He just tries too hard to fit in with his classmates.

In return, they steal and hide his things, accuse him of any bodily noises or smells that appear in the classroom, and make disgruntled noises and loud complaints if he has to sit near them. As someone who was bullied, I take offense easily. I know I do, but how do you stop the targeting?

He has spoken to me several times. I know that he is just trying to find where he fits in and into which group he belongs, but due to the fact that many of them travel in the same group all day, there aren’t many opportunities to find the perfect friend. I know that by the time they get to high school, much of that will change. The high school is a combination of 2 middle schools (ours being much smaller), and many middle school friends will fall by the wayside as new friendships are forged.

Until then, it is constant punishments for those involved (which are many), and he usually lies and states that they didn’t do it, so they get away with it. While it is great to have a strict bullying policy, we often don’t equip our students with the safety to stand up and report the acts. They are fearful, and in this state, they will not “snitch.” In the above case, he doesn’t want to destroy any chance of making friends, even if it would be a toxic friendship. I don’t see him as capable of doing the same thing to others.

As a teacher, have you seen this happen in your classroom or school?

The post Challenges in the Classroom: Targeting appeared first on Teaching ELA in the Middle.

I’ve grown accustomed to redirecting, but this past week in middle school, I must have said sit down about 45,000 times. I had a student get under my counter. When I told him to get out and go back to his seat, he scooted closer to the wall like I couldn’t see him. Two other boys, when told to go to their seats, sprinted back with one cartwheeling over the top of his desk and the other sliding through his desk and hitting his head on the seat as he went under the desk.

This type of behavior seemed to be the norm. If helping a student, I may look up and see a student climbing on top of my cabinet in the back of the room. Or drinking hand sanitizer from a mini spray bottle (same student who ate bubble solution one day).

It was just a week for weird, in general.

How about you? How did you survive the full moon?

The post Story Time Sunday: What a Week! appeared first on Teaching ELA in the Middle.