Spectrum Teaching Strategy

Are you looking for a fun strategy to get your students out of their seats? This activity is especially great for kinesthetic learners.  It will also help both the teacher and the students to "see" the opinions of others. This is a strategy to be used when asking for student opinions on a topic or question. 

Below are the steps to implement the "Spectrum" activity in your classroom;

Step 1: Place a line across the whiteboard or a piece of masking tape on the floor, from wall to wall in front of the room.

STEP 2: Label one end "Strongly Agree" and the other end "Strongly Disagree".

STEP 3: Students line up according to an opinion on a topic.

* other label ideas could be "Most Important/Least Important". "Greatest Effect/Least Effect"

STEP 4: Call on specific students or volunteers to explain the reason they are standing where they are on the spectrum. 

Below are some of my teaching resources you can use this strategy with:

Political Ideologies Spectrum

8th Amendment Punishment Debate

Big Five Personality Comparison

Prayer in School Debate

Constitution Influence on Political Systems

Democrats v Republican - What are the Differences?

Causes of the American Revolution EKG Timeline

Freedom of Religion - 1st Amendent Freedom

Happy Teaching!

FOUR CORNERS Teaching Strategy

Are you looking for fun and engaging ways to implement discussion in your classroom? One strategy that never fails is "Four Corners".

Below are the steps to teach the "Four Corners DISCUSSION" teaching  strategy:

STEP 1: The teacher posts questions, quotations, photos, etc. in each of the corners of the room.

STEP 2: The teacher assigns each student to a corner… or students choose.

STEP 3: Once in the corner, the students discuss the focus of the lesson in relation to the question, quote, etc…

 • At this time, students may report out or move to another corner and repeat the process…

STEP 4: After students have moved… as a writing assignment, they should be encouraged to reflect on changes in opinion or new learning.

Below are the steps to teach the "Four Corners OPINION" teaching  strategy:

STEP 1: Post opinions about a scenario in four corners of the classroom. Examples would include: Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree

STEP 2: Present the controversial scenario to your students.

STEP 3: Students express their opinion about the scenario by standing in front of one of four corners with students of the same opinion.

STEP 4: Call on student volunteers or ask random students to share their opinion. Tell students that if they choose, they may change their opinion at any time and move to another corner.

If you decide to try this strategy, I would love to find out how it goes!

Get over 70 teaching strategies for FREE by clicking HERE!

Happy Teaching!

Summer School Teaching Strategies

Are you teaching summer school this year? It's a great way to practice new teachings strategies and make a little money on the side. For the past 15 years, I've taught  10th grade World History summer school to students who failed the class during the regular school year. From my many years of teaching this fast-paced course, I have learned a few things. Keep reading to learn about some of my tried and true summer school teaching strategies:

1. On the first day of school be sure to explain to students that it is a VERY fast-paced class. In my school district, we teach 4 hours a day for six weeks. Being absent even one day may jeopardize their grade in the class. Believe it or not, I've had many students fail summer school because of their absences.

2. Review your state standards and determine the focus standards you want to teach. Because of the pace of the class, you will not have time to incorporate all of the content standards. Don't feel guilty! For example, during the regular school year when I teach about World War I, I explain the causes, effects, significant leaders, strategies, and battles, etc. However, during summer school I might only teach about the causes and effects, and incorporate the other standards if I have time.

3. Consider trying out new teaching strategies you've always wanted to try. Summer school is a great time to try new things. Ask your students to give you feedback and make revisions before using the strategy during the regular school year. Consider assigning a project where students can choose a topic they want to learn about. Giving students a choice is a great way to differentiate!

4. Since most students who take summer school most likely failed a class, begin with a "Growth Mindset" activity. On the first day of summer school, I always use this engaging activity.

5. Since most of your students may need extra support in reading and writing, focus on teaching essential strategies to give them more academic support. For example, spend more time teaching your students how to write a DBQ rather than teaching about every battle during World War II.

6. Remember, you want to enjoy your summer vacation too! So make it a policy to NEVER take work home with you. Create your daily plan to incorporate time to grade assignments. For example, if you assign a paragraph assessment, have your students work on a project or a student-centered activity. This will give you time to grade the assignments.

If you are teaching World History summer school this year, check out this FREE lesson plan and BUNDLE of resources to make your life a little easier!

Happy Teaching!

THINK-PAIR-SHARE Teaching Strategy

Research shows that the most effective teachers ask an average of 24 questions (at all levels) during a 50-minute period; the least effective asked an average of 8.6 questions.

Think-Pair-Share is a great strategy to incorporate questions into any lesson. Just follow the instructions below:

The teacher will ask a question to the entire class and give at least 3-5 seconds to have the students think about the answer. Then the students share their answers with a partner. The teacher will then randomly call on a few students to share their answers in front of the class. This can be done throughout a lesson to check for understanding. I usually make sure the my students answer in complete sentences using academic language. 

For every unit I post a "Word Wall" so my students have something to refer throughout the lesson. Get a FREE Word Wall HERE!

If you are looking for more engaging teaching strategies click on the HERE!

Happy Teaching!

Fun Games and Review Strategies for the Secondary Classroom

I don't know about you, but I love to play games! I love competition so much that I started a monthly game night in my neighborhood. My favorite day to teach is the day before the test - review day! Are you looking for some new and engaging review games for your secondary classroom? Here are some of my favorites!

1. Bingo: I put a twist on this old-time favorite. I don't  call out the term, but I define the term and the students will have to find the correct answer on their bingo sheet! On the back of the sheet is a list of definitions. Once the term is chosen, the students write the term next to the definition. They can then take the review sheet home to study.

2. The SNAKE Game: This is one of my favorite's! It's also a great way to find out who is prepared for the test and who is not. In a nutshell, the teacher asks a question and the students write their answer on a piece of paper. For those students who do not have the correct answer, they stay seated. If they do have the correct answer they move to the next available seat. The first to pass their seat is the winner! (You can see more detailed directions HERE)

3. Cold Potato: Just like "hot potato" but opposite! Students sit in a large circle. The teacher asks a question.  As the music plays the students rotate a potato, or a kleenex box, or a ball of tape (whatever works). When the teacher stops the music, the student who is holding the "potato" has a chance to answer the question. If they are correct, they get an extra credit point!

Check out more of my "Fun Games and Review Strategies" HERE!

 

Let the games begin!

Reciprocal Cooperative Reading Strategy

One of my favorite reading strategies I use in my secondary history class is Reciprocal Teaching. So what is Reciprocal Teaching you may ask? It is a multi-strategy approach to assist students in understanding the meaning of text. Students are asked to:

• make predictions about what is going on in the text
• generate questions about the text content
• seek clarification of points that are not well understood or confusing
• summerize what has been read

 The goal of RT is to have the student automatically use these strategies when reading.

Here is a great resource to teach reciprocal teaching in the classroom. Comes with everything you need to easily implement this strategy in your classroom!

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Teach with Movies - The Cold War

Are you looking for a way to keep your history students engaged  -  even when they are not in school? A great way to do this is to have your students watch films related to the current unit of study.  For each unit, I give my students a list of films my students could watch for extra credit. After they view the film they are required to complete a set of questions that will help them connect the movie to the current course of study. Get this FREE worksheet by clicking HERE! 

Below are a list of films I suggest when teaching the Cold War. 

Bridge of Spies
The Killing Fields
Inherit the Wind
Fail Safe
Argo
For Love of Country
A Gentleman's Agreement
Dr. Strangelove
Desert Bloom
The Crucible: 1957 version
Apollo 13 
Hiroshima Maiden
Force More Powerful
Seven Years in Tibet
War and Peace
Truman
Seven Days in May
Sayonara
The Russian's are Coming!
The Right Stuff
October Sky 
October Sky 
Quiz Show 
The Right Stuff 
Born on the Fourth of July 
Letters Home from Vietnam

Are there any films I am missing from this list? Let me know by commenting below! 

Happy Teaching! 

Instructional Teaching Strategies for ANY Classroom

As a master teacher for over 10 years, I make sure my student teachers practice as many instructional strategies as possible during their time with me. I want to make sure they have plenty of "tools" in their "toolbox" to take with them once they complete their student teaching experience. This year I decided to create a document that included a list of diverse and engaging teaching strategies my student teachers could refer to when creating their lesson plans. Recently I uploaded this product to TpT so other teachers (new and veteran) could make use of it too!

 

Instructional Strategies

This purchase includes 70 teaching strategies that could be used in ANY classroom or grade level. This is a must-have whether you are a new or experienced teacher. Free updates for life!

Instructional Strategies Include:
Gain Prior Knowledge Strategies
Debate- Discussion-Oral Language Practice
Check-For-Understanding
Reading Strategies
Writing Strategies
Activities-Projects
Review Strategies

Happy Teaching!

K – W – L Chart Instructional Strategy

One of my favorite instructional strategies is the K-W-L Chart. 

What I Know  –What I want to know – what I Learned

This strategy helps students organize, access, and reflect on learning which increases comprehension and engagement.

• To activate prior knowledge ask, “What do I know?”
• To set purpose ask, “What do I want to know?” 
• To reflect on a new learning ask, “What did I learn?”

I either create a chart for my students or I have my students create their own. Before I teach a unit or topic I will have my students complete the section, "What I Know". This helps me understand what my students already know about the topic. I then have my students complete the section, "What do I want to know?". I usually have my students share their answers with the class. After the unit is over I then have them return back to their chart to complete the section, "What did I learn?". This a great way for you to gain prior knowledge of what your students already know about a topic and also have your students reflect on their own learning. 

Check out 70 more instructional strategies HERE! 

This K-W-L Chart can be found in my product, FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS