There is nothing more effective at getting a group of students to misbehave than having nothing to do. I see it at home: If my older son doesn't have something to do, he will start picking at my younger son. I see it at Sunday School: If the students don't have anything to do when their parents drop them off, they start running through the building and chasing each other while screaming. And of course we all see it in our classrooms.
I always have some kind of on-going task, activity, assignment, SOMETHING, that the students can work on when they have spare time in class. When my lessons for that day call for something like that, my board will look something like this...
((insert image of board))
Homework: I assign homework on schoology every Monday morning and it is due by Friday at midnight. This way the students have all week to complete the assignment and can work on it at a time that is convenient for them.
Khan Academy: I use Khan Academy to create longer and larger assignments than the homework. I just did a smaller assignment as a test run, as I've never used Khan Academy with my classes before. My plan is to give the students their assignment at the beginning of the Marking Period, and they have until the end of that Marking Period to complete it. You can see a sneak peak of my teacher dashboard.
I always have some kind of on-going task, activity, assignment, SOMETHING, that the students can work on when they have spare time in class. When my lessons for that day call for something like that, my board will look something like this...
((insert image of board))
Homework: I assign homework on schoology every Monday morning and it is due by Friday at midnight. This way the students have all week to complete the assignment and can work on it at a time that is convenient for them.
Khan Academy: I use Khan Academy to create longer and larger assignments than the homework. I just did a smaller assignment as a test run, as I've never used Khan Academy with my classes before. My plan is to give the students their assignment at the beginning of the Marking Period, and they have until the end of that Marking Period to complete it. You can see a sneak peak of my teacher dashboard.
Old Stuff: I allow students to reassess twice on any test. They could use this time in class to prepare for retaking an exam or to actually take the exam (if there's enough time).
I have found that with these three options the students ALWAYS have something to do. And believe me, it has really cut down on the misbehavior in my classroom.
Hi There, thank you for your post. How do you keep the students motivated? If only my students would attend to all that. There is always something to be done in class. (Today was the first time, after a test, I handed a student a FoxTrot book.) They have classwork, the assignment, Tool kits to fill in, and still, they would rather me manage them. OY!
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