why rug time rocks
“Ok grade 2, once you’ve logged in, come and sit on the rug.” At first it took a while for me to explain that the front of the room near the white board was “the rug”, (come and sit on the carpet right here in front of the room- yep, over here), and explain the concept of “sit” on the “floor” but now all I have to say is “the rug”, meaning the imaginary rectangle of carpet in the front of the room. So now, I have all this little faces beaming up at me from the floor.
This is a fantastic method of class control. If you teach computers, you know that the shiny screen is much more interesting than listening to the teacher. “Hmm.. teacher’s helping someone else, I’ll just change the desktop background… and switch my ears off… while I wait.” Before long, you’ve lost a good portion of the class, and the kid you were helping log in is wanting to catch up on the fun stuff the other kids were doing.
Therefore- if you want them to listen, get them away from the machine!
Sitting up the front of the room, they can see the board, and tend to listen well. (Sitting on the floor is a skill that is taught from very early on, so they’re quite good at it.) You can have a discussion with the class as a whole, not just with individuals, small groups, or across the room. You also can see all the kids easily and remind them to behave if they’re getting out of line. Class control for the whole class is within your grasp! You can keep your voice down too, which is nice.
Some disadvantages of this method are; you are looking down at the kids, as you are standing. A white board at floor level is a solution that I’ve seen in other class rooms. This is also an age limited method- I don’t make my grade fives or sixes sit on the floor, but I have made some individuals sit on the floor if they can’t handle the responsibilities of sitting in their chair and listening. I also make them turn their chairs away from the computer, which helps focus issues. Another disadvantage to the floor method is that you have to have everything you need with you- as there is no way you can wade through the sea of kids to get something.
While having it’s limitations, rug time has proven to be my new favourite teacher method- it has made explaining things to the kids so much easier, which just makes the whole experience much more pleasant for everyone.
As an aside, if you’ve been following my twitter updates you’ll know I’ve been officially observed teaching! When I get my “results” I’ll post back! It’s exciting!
COMMENTS
time time time
The sands of time seem to be slipping through my fingers.
I have had a busy busy month, and it’s just going to get busier from here on in. I thought I’d blog because I haven’t blogged in a while, and I thought I’d do a bit of a “I’m still alive” post.
This is a post about priorities. In other words, what my time has (and hasn’t) been used for.
- Sleep. This is important, and I haven’t been skimping. As I work hard I get more tired and thus need an adequate amount of sleep.
- Teaching. I’m still teaching my six classes a week, and preparing for them. This takes a chunk of time.
- Video Projects. To help out my parents, I’m doing the grunt work on three videos- one of which is due this weekend. While footage is capturing and rendering, I’m squeezing in some of the other stuff.
- News and Other Websites I’m not checking up on the BBC or The Age much or reading articles in depth- it’s either skimming or title reading only. Ditto for other websites and blogs.
- Facebook is limited to skimming the news feed. No facebook apps for me!
- I am Twittering as it’s quick and easy to update and read updates. My user name is titanium_geek.
- Of course, there are the social events which are sort of obligatory- but it’s better to hang out with people than get sucked through the internet a few times.
So, if you are busy, you probably don’t have time to write insightful comments. However, if you can spare a moment, I’d love to know what you axe as time slips away faster and faster as deadlines approach.
COMMENTS
teacher tools
5 things a teacher should have, but perhaps haven’t thought of yet.
- A red pen. I didn’t think I’d need one- but kids can be sneaky little- well, kids. A red pen says Authority, Permanent and Pizazz.
- A kitchen timer. Boring, but necessary tasks (like typing practice) can have kids moping around, not trying hard as they feel that they will be doing that task for the rest of the lesson. (This is frustrating.) Give them 5 minutes, 10 minutes (etc) and have them stop when the buzzer goes! They will work much more diligently if they know the time to do it is finite. It also works for kids who misbehave- have them sit out for a few minutes (till the ding sounds.) You can move on to other kids without forgetting the trouble-maker! Punishment also is more effective when it’s finite.
- Beanbags! I’ve posted about these at length before- but in short, they help the kids get their wriggles out, calm down and build their motor skills. One each is enough, two is even more fun, and three is great for teaching juggling.
- Whiteboard markers/chalk. You may have your own classroom, that’s great. I teach in the computer lab, and there are lots of different classes and teachers that also use my space. I would write something on the board, only to be told “Miss, I can’t see it.” The ink was running out and not writing well. So, I got the four colours of whiteboard marker from the resource drawer, and keep them put away when I’m not there. Now I know that if I need to write on the board, it will work well.
- Spares of everything. You never know when a kid will forget their pencils, or lose a worksheet. Spares to lend to them (get them back at the end of the lesson) help the lesson flow without major interuptions.
These are the tools that I have found help a lot when it comes to surviving the classroom. How about you? What tools make your job so much easier? Teachers- have I got it wrong? What are your favourite teaching tools? As always, leave a comment to let us know what you think.