Research

Sleepy teens are more likely to take risks

Facing a classroom of sleep-deprived students can make teaching a challenge. Here's another reason to encourage your students to get off the Internet and get some sleep. A new study finds that teens who get fewer than eight hours of sleep a night are more likely to engage in risky behaviors.

The study of more than 12,000 teens found that most said they generally slept fewer than eight hours on school nights. Those teens who didn't get enough sleep also said they were more likely to smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol. They were also less likely to get regular exercise. At school, those students were more likely to get into fights.

According to the study, the sleep-deprived teens weren't necessarily spending any more time watching TV than their peers who got enough sleep. However, they were more likely to spend extra hours on the Internet.

Encourage your students to try to go to bed early enough to get eight hours of sleep. Also urge them to keep media out of their bedrooms. Televisions, computers and even cell phones can all distract teens from getting to sleep.

Reprinted with permission from the February 2012 issue of Better Teaching® (Secondary Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2012 The Teacher Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: A.J. Curley, "Sleep Deprived Teens Take More Risks," CNN, http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/27/sleep-deprived-teens-take-more-risks/.

Effective Discipline

You can be strict and warm with your students

New teachers sometimes think warm and strict are opposites when it comes to discipline. Yet veterans have learned that the most effective discipline is often both warm and strict at the same time.

If a student comes in late, chats with a friend and disrupts the class, the warm and strict message should be, "Because I care about you, I will enforce the consequence for tardiness."

Here are some tips:

• Explain why. "We don't talk with our neighbor because it keeps other students from learning."
• Separate the student from the behavior. Instead of "You're disrespectful," say, "It doesn't demonstrate respect to come in late and interrupt the class."
• Show that consequences are temporary. When a student has served a consequence, give the student a big smile and say, "Great to have you back in your usual form." Don't hold grudges.
• Convey a tough message in a warm way. "I'm so sorry, but I know this isn't your best work. When you redo it, we'll both be happier."

Reprinted with permission from the February 2012 issue of Better Teaching® (Secondary Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2012 The Teacher Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: D. Lemov, Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques That Put Students on the Path to College, Wiley.

Classroom Management

When you want to curb your temper

No teacher wants to be "the mean teacher." Teachers who get that reputation among students are not thought of as strict or tough. They are often thought of as people who do not like kids--completely counter-intuitive to the integrity of the profession.

To curb your temper and avoid feeding this reputation:

• Perfect "the look." Come up with your personal "I mean business" look when you see inappropriate behavior. This is enough to get many students to fall in line.
• Stop everything. Go silent. Turn off the lights in the classroom. Close the door. This is usually enough to get the whole class to sit and look at you. When they do, say "I was talking. Please raise your hand if you have something to say. If I have to do this again, there will be consequences." Then resume.
• Back up your claims. If you have a student who persists after you use these methods, you will need to calmly take action according to the severity of the misconduct. For example: Have the student sit near you for the remainder of the class; call or email the parents; or call an administrator.

Reprinted with permission from the February 2012 issue of Better Teaching® (Elementary Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2012 The Teacher Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: R. Rosemblum-Lowden with F. Lowden Kimmel, You Have to Go to School: You're the Teacher! Corwin Press.

Keeping Classrooms Safe: Part One of a Three-Part Series

Make your classroom a safe haven for students

You want your classroom to be a safe place for all students. But, sadly, you know that the reality of life outside

the classroom walls may not always be as peaceful. Outside, students may feel they need to be tough, perhaps even physically, to survive. Yet you need students to learn appropriate behavior for your classroom--and for their success in later life.

Here are some ways to create a safe and supportive classroom, despite the atmosphere outside the school:

• Make it your professional responsibility to build a supportive relationship with each student in your class. Find out which subjects they like and dislike. Learn which classroom jobs or privileges they prefer.
• Teach students the behaviors they need for success in school. You can do this without denigrating their outside life. Say something like, "You probably don't talk to your grandmother the same way you talk to a friend. It's the same idea here. This is how we talk and act in Mrs. Smith's classroom."
• Let students be leaders. Give your students responsibility for as much as you can. The decisions can be small--which book to read aloud next. But let students make choices and live with them.
• Offer extra help. Students who feel successful in the classroom are less likely to act out in anger. Ask for volunteer tutors. Provide after-school help for struggling students.
• Teach students appropriate ways to express their feelings. Create a way for students to tell you what's going on anonymously. A suggestion box or "You should know" box will encourage students to open up.

Reprinted with permission from the February 2012 issue of Better Teaching® (Elementary Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2012 The Teacher Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: R.L. Curwin, Discipline with Dignity: New Challenges, New Solutions, ASCD Books.

 Resources

It's time to write report cards. And you're stumped for a way to be both accurate and encouraging--for 130 students. Teacher Vision (www.teachervision.fen.com/school/assessment/6964.html) has a useful set of resources to help you through the process. There are sample comments on everything from work habits to citizenship. There are also handouts to send home to parents with report cards. The site should save you lots of time when grades are due.

Ninety percent of teachers who took part in a professional learning network (PLN) say it improved their teaching. But finding a network and making it successful can be a challenge. Edutopia has collected resources to help you and the other members of your PLN work together effectively. (www.edutopia.org/resources-growing-professional-learning-network.)

The Astrophysics Science Project: Integrating Research and Education (ASPIRE) site (http://aspire.cosmic-ray.org/) offers innovative and interactive science labs online. Use a sundial. Determine your location by looking at the stars. Or learn about many other aspects of astrophysics. The online labs are engaging and hands-on. All content is developed by teachers, for teachers. Best of all, everything on the site is free.

Reprinted with permission from the February 2012 issue of Better Teaching® (Secondary Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2012 The Teacher Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc.

Using educational games in the classroom sounds like a great teaching strategy. Students have fun--and master content. Of course, it's not that simple. Edutopia has assembled a comprehensive resource guide on how to use video games for learning. Whether you want to use video to teach dance or explore how to use Angry Birds in math, you'll find suggestions here: www.edutopia.org/video-games-for-learning.

More classrooms are being equipped with interactive smart boards. Simple Classroom Strategies for Using Interactive Whiteboards to Engage Students (Stenhouse Publishing) shares the nuts and bolts teachers need. Authors Jennifer Harper and Brenda Stein Dzaldov show you how to enrich your teaching of reading and writing. There are sample lessons and lots of tips.

If you haven't tried it yet, look to Google for Educators www.google.com/educators/index.html for information about grants, webinars and unlimited ideas you can use in the classroom. It also includes posters you can print out and hang, and has connections for teachers to share tips. If you want to have a class website, there's a tool for creating one. The site also allows you to search materials by reading level, so you can find appropriate material for each of your students.

Reprinted with permission from the February 2012 issue of Better Teaching® (Elementary Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2012 The Teacher Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc.