Top Ten Teaching Tips for 2012

by Molly of Classroom Confections

1.   Prioritize what needs to get done.  Look at the whole picture, but also keep in mind what needs to get done TODAY!  It’s okay to put some things off until tomorrow.   
2.  Don’t let your grading get the best of you.  Grade a little each day and it won’t pile up.
3.  Make the day fun for you and your students. Get creative!  Search for fun lessons on the Internet by visiting websites like Teachers Pay Teachers.
4.    Collaborate with your coworkers.  The best ideas might be hiding out in the room next door. Participate in a ‘get one, give one’ lesson exchange.  You take a lesson and then you get a lesson in return.
5.   Make a student feel special. Pick a child each day and tell them something positive.   Put a smile on their face by leaving them an award on their desk or even just a sticker to display. Sometimes we get so caught up in the negative, we forget to focus on the positive.
6.   Don’t stay late every day!  Remember, you either have a family to get home to, or you need to have some ‘me’ time.  I used to be a stay-later and then I got my priorities straight.  I am a 100% teacher from 7:30-4:00 and then I have one stay-late day per week.  It can make you a better teacher if you leave!!  
7.  Don’t get caught up in what I call teacher-gripe!  Some things that we teachers want to gripe about will simply not change, no matter how much we dislike it and no matter how much time goes by.  
8.  Get that room clean. As the kids come back after the start of the New Year, have them clean their desks out.  I mean really clean them.  I have students take the Lysol wipes to the inside of the desk.  A clean desk can help clear the mind.  Kids will be ready to perform in 2012.
9. Change something up in the classroom for the second half of the year. Whether it’s your discipline program, your bulletin board, or something else.  It will add excitement to the remainder of the year.  My teaching neighbor and I are going to start doing a fun Friday the last Friday of the month for good behavior. 
10.  Teach!……oh yeah, that’s the number one tip, right?  Teach with your heart and everything else will fall in place.
    
    
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