Going out of Town? Try a Contest!

In celebration of the upcoming Memorial Day's long travel weekend, enjoy this post about keeping your students on track to graduate with contests!

My husband and I love to travel (30 countries and counting!). Since I teach in an Independent Studies environment, I don't get summer breaks like in a traditional school. So we do have to modify our time by taking advantage of my school's limited week-long winter, spring and summer breaks. Sometimes this means I'll be away, but my students will still be attending school.

You ever heard of the saying:

"When the cat is away, the mice will play"?

Sometimes that situation happens. I'm simply not around so students mistakenly think they don't have to come in or they take advantage of the situation.

This isn't a detriment for me, though. It's a detriment for students. They end up slowing down their pace towards graduation and time lost can really add up. 

If I know I'm going to be away, I conduct contests. You can do contests any time of the year. You can conduct contests if you:

• are going to be away for a long period of time.
• at the start of the new school year to set the tone of the class.
• when you know school attendance will be slow (April, January or October tend to be my slowest school periods).

I give students at least two weeks heads up by sending out flyers, email blasts and telling them in person. I give a definitive start and end date and requirements they need to meet, like completing 8 credits a learning period or attending all school appointments on time. 

One of my favorites is a contest competition against themselves: If my students can complete a minimum of 8 credits, they win automatically. 

While I'm out of town, I pick up some school-related souvenirs, like notebooks, erasers, pencil sharpeners, cool notepads. All of these souvenirs represent the country I visited.

Contests don't always have to be for when you're out of town. You can use it to instill some joy in your class any time!

What contests or other positive reinforcements can you do to get your students involved? Let me know in the comments section below!

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Structure your Students with Goal-Setting!

Remember how students desire structure? Perhaps they don't receive enough of it at home.

The fact is: students need structure to succeed. It's a very important life skill that--unfortunately--a majority of your Independent Studies students are missing. That's why they're attending your school in the first place: your students missed the very important life skill of structure.

However, you have a very rare opportunity to teach your students with goal-setting:

1. From your very first appointment with your student, explain to them that you regularly have them set goals.

• You can do this by setting weekly goals. Here are some examples:
• "I will turn in two credits by next week's appointment." 
• "I will complete one credit of algebra by next Monday."

2. You can set long-term goals at the beginning of every semester. The best way for this to hit home is to have semester parent-teacher conference meetings where you all plan a long-term goal together.

3. At least once per learning period (or calendar month depending on how your school runs), provide your students with an Academic Progress plan (see attached for samples!).

• Take this time to talk to them about their long-term goals of graduation/getting a job/going to college. And remember: always attempt to frame these talks positively. If there are setbacks, remember, they can always come back from this setback because half the battle is just showing up.

What other goals would you like your students to learn?

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Playing Nice

Earlier this year, I was challenged to inject a little joy in my classroom. As an Independent Studies teacher, I technically don't have a classroom. But, I do have a roster of students I supervise as they work towards graduation.

Most Independent Studies teachers don't have an actual classroom and that makes it difficult to build social-emotional learning and classroom bonding. After all, students are there to get their stuff done and go home.

However, there are a couple of things you can do if you want to build joy in your classroom. My favorite is called Say Something Nice. Here's how to play:

1. Create a list of at least ten questions increasing in intensity and thoughtfulness. For example, your first question can be: "what's your favorite food and why?" Your last question can be: "what is your end goal here at school?" or: "What is one thing you would want your teacher to know to help you succeed in school?"

2. Hand out flyers to your students and pick a time that is reasonable for them to all show up to school. Pump up your game and let them know it should be a lot of fun (see the link for a sample flyer and Say Something Nice instructions!).

3. On the day of your Say Something Nice game, have your students stand in two circles: one inner wheel and one outer wheel. Both wheels face each other and the outer wheel moves clockwise after every question. Remember that list of ten questions? Now, students have one minute to answer per question.

4. After the group has rotated around once, end the game and tell them to collect one sheet of paper with a safety pin already in it or some tape already attached. Instruct the students that they must try to find something nice to write on every person's paper. Yes, it may be hard, and yes, students may not know each other, but that's the point: being nice is about putting other peoples' feelings first, which is an amazing life skill for students to learn, while getting to know each other better (see the link for a sample of students saying something nice on my paper).

So, there you go, as an Independent Studies teacher, you can still instill joy in your classroom!

If you have any ideas on how to spread joy in your classroom and build the bonds between your students and yourself, share them in the comment section below! 

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5 Ways Mother's Day is a Reminder to Reach Out

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, including--but not limited to--doggy moms!

Let's take this Mother's Day to remind ourselves--as teachers--why it's important to reach out to our students' parents/guardians:

1. Parents love hearing the positives: From personal experience, parents hate hearing about the bad things their students do in the classroom. Unfortunately, as part of classroom management, the second best resource in your arsenal is a call home. And as a teacher, I would rather have a parent who hates hearing the bad things because at least they care enough to not be indifferent. But, did you know that parents also love hearing about the good things their students do? 

• You can call when a student's behavior has significantly improved.
• You can call when a student is very polite and helpful.
• You can call when a student creates exceptional work.

2. Parents need to know you care: Taking the time to call home shows you care about your student. You recognize them as an individual and it shows that teaching is your passion, not just a job.

3. Parents need to be updated: We're all busy. Parents are no exception. Keep them updated on events happening at your school. You don't always have to call, you can also email. Be sure to obtain emails from both your parents and students so that you can create an email contact list. Communication can include:

• weekly news blasts via email
• updates on standardized tests dates
• reminders of school appointments
• special events happening at school

4. Communicating is CYA: Saying something to a student in person is a surefire way for it to promptly be ignored. So, reach out to students' parents/guardians and your important message will get across.

5. Communications are mini Parent-Teacher conferences: Every time you reach out to your parents/guardians, you also conduct mini Parent-Teacher conferences. You can keep your student on task to graduate with constant, structured communication with parents and students. 

If your students are over 18 or not living at home, then do tread lightly when reaching out to a parent or guardian. However, if parents/guardians have shown moderate interest in their students, then reaching out is always an option. Remember to use your best judgement. 

Other ways to reach out are:

1. Google Voice
2. Remind App
3. Newsletters sent via mail
4. Posts/short letters home to promote the positive behavior your students have displayed in class.

How else can you communicate with your students? Share in the comments below!

Communication = Structure

Remember when you were younger and your parents enforced bed time? Or when you wanted to eat chocolate before dinner, they touted the ol' line: "You'll ruin your appetite." As a kid, it was pretty annoying, but today there's a lot of value in these boundaries:

They created structure.

Everyone needs structure. It could be small things, like setting your own bed time or big things, like enforcing willpower. But, you need it, and most likely you structure your life without even knowing it.

Your students also need structure.

In the Independent Studies environment, sometimes students are allowed to attend on their own time, sometimes just once a week. It's not like the traditional classroom environment where your students must show up daily promptly at 8:00 am.

Therefore, it's up to you to set up that structure for them. The key to this is communication.

• If you have the resources, provide your students with a planner. It could also be as simple as a monthly paper calendar that they must carry with them in their binder.
• Set up an email distribution list where they can receive weekly news blasts.
• If they claim not to have an email, make them set one up. Most students have a smartphone and have access to their email. It's a life-skill to know how to check your email.

• Call your students if you will be on vacation or if there are planned changes to your schedule. 

If you set up structure, your students will be more likely to come in an even feel like they belong.

What can you do to increase communication to your class?

More Ideas for New Student Intake

If you're looking for extra ways to get to know your brand new students, consider getting interactive!

• Show them an "About Me" Powerpoint presentation slide and have them make one of their own! 
• Have them discuss their "About Me" slide to you and during their speech, you can listen for their reading comprehension skills, background knowledge or any speech issues.
• They could even do a Piktochart
• Or a short movie
• Or an essay.

In all these interactive methods, you can further get to know their educational background and understanding, which will help you further personalize their education.

Check out this sample Interactive "About Me" slide and have students create one too!

What interactive method would you use?

Welcome Your New Students with a Welcome Letter!

In my teacher prep classes, there was one phrase that always stuck out to me:

Students perform for who they love.

If they love themselves, they will perform their best. If students love their parents, they will try to impress them. If they love their friends, teachers, tutors, pastors, etc., they will try to perform their best for those people.

Students crave performing their best for someone. It gives them purpose. So, what happens when a student doesn't love anyone? Not even themselves? That's the attitude you want to nip in the bud from the very beginning. Give your your students the structured environment that allows them to express themselves and get to know you while you get to know them. 

Provide them with a welcome letter on their very first day. This letter will set the tone for the rest of their time in independent studies. You can also provide pertinent information like:

• contact information
• a little bit about yourself and your life
• school rules
• their appointment time and hours.

See the attached link for a sample welcome letter!

What else can you add to your welcome letter?

Get to Know Your New Student

As an Independent Studies teacher, it's important to develop a individualized education environment with your student as soon as they start school with you. If you can personalize their experience, your student will be more likely to learn and develop the necessary skills to graduate. 

Get samples to start your Student / Parent questionnaire here! (link to Google drive)

What would you add to your questionnaire? Leave a comment below!

Ms. Ling.