11/15/2017 4 Comments Note Day Without All the GrumblingHow to fix the way your students take notes, the way they feel about note taking, and the way they remember the material
Sometimes students just need some teacher explanation in a lecture setting. Even with inquiry lessons, everyone still has to come together to sum it up, share the properties they discovered, and clear up any confusion. Kids need a written guide to reference later.
So, I have broken down the areas in which we need to improve note taking for you to take into consideration and make note day a day the students (and you) look forward to!
Make Note Taking More Effective
Note taking is so essential to your students’ educational success, especially when done in the most thoughtful, effective ways. There are some concepts you should think about incorporating in your lessons to make note taking the most efficient for student learning and retention! Visual Connections Visual connections make a huge impact in note taking and retention. The key to creating good visual notes is incorporating what I like to call “visual memory triggers.” These triggers are graphics or other images that contain or represent an analogy that helps the student understand and retain information. Click here to read a post all about How to Create Visual Memory Triggers.
Explicitly Teaching Note Organization
Note taking does not come easily to some students, so it’s necessary to teach some organizational skills in taking notes. Students should be able to understand what information they should write down, and what information is okay to skip. Secondly, it is helpful for them to be able to go back and easily find a certain piece of information. We want note taking to be helpful for learning during the lecture, but we also want them to be able to refer back to clear, cohesive notes. Teaching your students to take highly organized notes is so important, especially if they are planning on attending college!
Incorporate Color
Incorporating color in some way during your lectures is so beneficial for students! Different colors, their combinations, and their placement can have an effect on attention, memory, feelings, and behaviors of students. Check out one of my recent posts, How Color Affects Student Learning.
Notes by Hand
There is a lot of research out there that shows notes are so much better when taken by hand, rather than digitally. Scientific American tells us, that even though people generally type faster than write, more notes aren’t necessarily better. In three separate studies that compare students taking notes by hand vs. students taking notes by laptop, they found those who wrote out their notes had a stronger conceptual understanding and were more successful in applying and integrating the material.
Specific Strategies for Note Taking:
For example, if they use blue for all vocabulary words and definitions, they can better recall the words and definitions, or efficiently find it in their notes, later.
The perfect way to get started and decide if Doodle Notes is right for your class is downloading this FREE “Engage Your Brain” Doodle Notes! This page is a perfect way to introduce your class to a new strategy for taking effective notes and how their brain works! They can learn a little about the way the brain reacts when you integrate the left and the right hemispheres. You will quickly realize all of the benefits and your students will be begging for more Doodle Notes!
Cornell notes have been proven to be effective in student learning. This method involves recording notes during the lecture, asking questions after the lecture, reciting notes aloud, reflecting, and then reviewing.
Make Every Note Day a Great Day!
Make note-taking fun for the students and let them use any of their coloring utensils; this actually helps them remember better! As mentioned earlier, color helps students materialize the content. Another perfect, simple solution to livening up note day for you and your students is to implement Doodle Notes! When students use doodle notes, the two hemispheres of the brain collaborate to increase focus. They become excited, engaged, and attentive, so their retention is increased. Students interact with visual triggers that boost their memory for the lesson material. They become proud of their creative work on their page and suddenly begin pulling out their notes sheets consistently to review, show them off, and reference them as a study guide. Added bonuses include relaxation, coordination, and a boost in problem solving skills. Once students, try it they will be excited to try more! Doodle Notes Days will be days to look forward to. You can download a free handbook on Doodle Notes,here! Make it a goal of every note-taking day to engage student brains just as much as you do on an activity / practice day. Be sure that they make solid mental connections and then walk away with a clear, colorful graphic organizer that can become their reference guide to look back at later.
I hope you gained some valuable information from this post to help make note taking days as awesome as possible! Do you have any foolproof lecture or note day strategies? Please share in the comments below!
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4 Comments
9/22/2017 5 Comments Managing Make-Up Work
Turn-In Bin
Instead of allowing students to approach you at all times during the day with their make-up work, it is a good idea to have a turn-in bin in your classroom. It can be as simple as a paper tray the Dollar Store, or if you are feeling crafty and creative, you can add color and labels, or have separate turn-in bins for each class- instant organization! Assigning Absent Partners At the beginning of each grading period, assign or let the students choose absent partners. The student will go to his or her partner for make-up work and for getting the notes. The partner can also be responsible for getting any extra handouts. This strategy works very well for some classrooms, although there can be problems that arise, such as a student being continually absent or both partners missing on the same day. Comfortably Classic shares a great ‘What did I miss?’ bulletin board calendar idea. Planning Ahead with a Calendar As teachers, we all know the value of those few minutes between classes or before and after school trying to get work done, and as much as we love our students, frequent interruptions can be distracting! Keeping an up-to-date, accessible calendar is a good way to hold students responsible, while maintaining your own time. On a calendar in the back of the room, you can list lessons, work covered in class each day, and homework assignments. Another option is creating a digital calendar using, Google Calendar. A digital calendar is helpful, because you can update the calendar and students can access the calendar, regardless of where you are or what time it is! Absent Folders An option for holding students responsible for their own makeup work is to create a specific absent folder for each class. On any handouts, write absent students’ names on blank copies. The students should know to check their class’ absent folder when they return to class. Classroom Jobs Another option is to assign classroom jobs each week. One student’s job could be to collect all of the make-up work for all absent students for a whole week. They could be responsible for gathering handouts and work for the absent folders. You can have a standard homework recording sheet that they complete for each absent student, and then they can collect any handouts throughout the day, with each absent student’s name already written on it. This method is perfect if you have separate sub-folders in a binder for each student to take upon their return, then bring back when they have caught up on all the work. You can re-use the folders and add them back into the absent binder. Rescheduling Tests & Quizzes Instead of spending time emailing or chatting with each absent student in those few, precious minutes between classes or on your own personal time, you can set up a sign-up sheet to hang outside your classroom, or a digital sign-up that students can access online. On the sign-up sheet, you can list days and times before and/or after school that work for you and leave space for students to write their name to sign up. This can also be done digitally by creating and sharing a Google Sheet with your students. When passing out tests or quizzes, immediately write any absent students’ names on blank copies, clip them on a clipboard, and then place the clipboard with the name visible. Then when the absent students come in to take their quizzes, they can simply grab their clipboard. There are many other benefits to using clipboards in your classroom!
Make-Up Log
Meredith, at Bespoke ELA, shares a great idea for managing make-up work. She uses her classroom’s page on her school’s website as her “Make-up Work Log.” She uses it to write a “diary entry” of everything that went on in class, updating it every day. It only takes a couple of minutes each day, and is so advantageous! In addition to serving as a resource for make-up work, it can also serve as a resource for students that were in class, curious parents, your principal, and you for planning next year’s curriculum! As I am sure you have realized by now, sometimes planning ahead and doing a little extra work in the beginning can save you a lot of time and energy in the future, and help make your classroom smooth and efficient. When it comes to managing make-up work, it is important to establish the guidelines with your students beforehand; there should be firm and clear expectations on how long they have to make up their work, quizzes, or tests, and they should understand what steps need to be taken. I hope these ideas are helpful for you! Do you have any ideas or tips for managing makeup work? We’d love to hear more! Enter your email address to receive more resources, tips, and ideas for your classroom!
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Thankfully, no matter your class size or available furniture, you can still make a math classroom that works for teens.
Make use of what you’ve got! Decide what seating arrangement supports your teaching style Most math classrooms are interactive. Practicing math concepts is just as important as seeing them demonstrated at the front of the class. That’s why knowing what your main teaching style will be throughout the year will affect your classroom set up. Design specialist, Trudie Lawrence from Envoplan, states, “A successful classroom design needs to strike the balance between the teaching method and learning styles that take place in the class.” Plan ahead to make sure that you have:
Desk clusters are great to inspire more interaction between students for group work and peer assistance. Teenagers are peer driven and setting up desks into groups gives them a personal experience for interactions. Plus, students often benefit from helping one another practice and discuss questions they have about math concepts. Teamwork can be a great way to deepen learning and strengthen your students' grasp on the lesson. A grouped setup of desks works well for collaboration on relays, team sorting activities, and critical thinking tasks. As with all classroom setups, there are some drawbacks to clusters. They can create a loud environment and possibly be distracting for some students. Also, some students rely on the strongest student and only copy their work, turning into a social loafer of the group. However, these can often be avoided by moving students around as needed and making sure students also have to complete individual tasks and assessments. Be sure to separate them for tests and quizzes.
Unfortunately a lot classrooms don’t have an overabundance of space to work with, so you have to make the most of the space that you do have. You want to make sure everyone can see the board and hear instructions clearly. Plus, it’s best to have the classroom set up so that everyone can walk around easily with as little disturbance as possible. Find arrangements that will maximize your area while creating an inviting environment.
Try to have desks arranged so that possible distractions are not in students' direct line of sight. Don’t have seats that face windows, hallways, or even the pencil sharpener. All of these can easily distract a student from the lesson. Clutter can also be very distracting in a classroom setting. A few clever storage tricks can make classroom supplies easy to access and less of a mess.
Even if you have created the best syllabus ever and have a great idea for your setup, it doesn’t mean that the classroom should stay the same the whole year. Be flexible in the arrangement and re-arrange it as necessary. The classroom will change as you get to know your students' learning styles. It will also change as they grow and improve their knowledge in the subject. If you’ve noticed your classroom getting “stale,” include the students in helping re-create the environment. Teenagers thrive on being included in decisions that affect their everyday life. Allowing them to be a part of making the classroom new will give them a sense of community and empowerment. It is exciting, but also tiring to try to figure out how you want your classroom to look and run. But with a little thought and maybe some trial and error, you’ll find exactly what works best for you and your students. Try something, and be open to switching it up as you learn what does not work for your students (or you!) Not sure what classroom setup you want to use this fall? Check out this fun and useful Class Setup Tool from Scholastic. You can play around with desk layouts without all the heavy lifting with this interactive virtual tool.
I’m not one to over-clutter the walls. Some people like to decorate ceilings, desks, walls, and even floors! I believe that everything should have a purpose. Try using student-created posters as decoration that doubles as a reference. You can even blow up and post the kids’ favorite doodle notes in poster-sized format. For bulletin boards, try something that doubles as a math challenge or is purposeful. You can display something like:
We’d love to hear from you on this too! What is your favorite classroom setup tip for other middle and high school teachers? Let us know in the comments below. To Read Next: |
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