Sh!t Classrooms: How to Troubleshoot Them!

Games, games, games

Why use games? Games in the classroom have led to the sprouting of a whole new educational research field over the l...

Teaching Strategy #40 - Use technology to help drive engagement with spreadsheets!

Posted by anonymous on October 24, 2014 at 6:30 AM

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Can you remember the first time that you had a play around with Excel? I can’t really, but I do recall a time when I totally geeked out while playing with the formula functions in it. Well, I have a year 12 Science In Practice (SIP) class wh...

Teaching Strategy # 38 - How do I stop the kids' annoying fidgeting?

Posted by anonymous on August 20, 2014 at 3:05 AM

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Does continuous pen clicking/tapping drive you batty?

It was the last period of the day and I had a class of mainly boys. The fidgeting was at an all-time high, as the class were supposed to go through their field booklets and source the answers for any questions that were blank. Thankfully I was in the Scien...

Teaching Strategy #36 - What to do when your classroom is out of control

Posted by anonymous on May 14, 2014 at 4:05 AM

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A change is as good as a holiday!

Sometimes, you are faced with a whole classroom of students who have a mental block & as a result, struggle to focus & ...

Teaching Strategy # 35 - Code in the classroom

Posted by anonymous on May 7, 2014 at 9:00 AM

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Itchy? Get into Scratch!

If you have any tech savvy or particularly inquisitive students in your class, set them a homework challenge that is fun - Scratch.

Teaching Strategy # 31 - How to make your lesson fun

Posted by anonymous on April 8, 2014 at 4:20 AM

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Make it fun (and they inadvertently learn!)

Want to make sure everyone knows how to find their way around any textbook? Play I AM THE BEST! Ensure all students have the same textbook closed on the desk, with their hands on their heads. Tell them that they need to find one of the word...

Teaching Strategy #28 - How to improve your memory

Posted by anonymous on March 26, 2014 at 6:35 AM

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Make it memorable!

Build a memory palace - it links the knowledge to a physical act or place. We were learning about 2-way tables in Yr 8 maths today & I took my kids (with their pen and a book, through the rain!) to the underc...

Teaching Strategy #26 - How to warm up your brain

Posted by anonymous on March 20, 2014 at 12:15 AM

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Warm up their brains!

If you need students to be participating, giving feedback or working in groups, start with a brainstorm warm up. This gets the kids thinking in a fun way & they'll be pretty keen to share their answers. Once their brain is activated, you'll have mo...

Teaching Strategy #21 - The kid's brains have logged out?

Posted by anonymous on March 19, 2014 at 11:45 AM

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The kid's brains have logged out?

Get them moving! Take them outside & play a game. 'Bump' (click on the link) is one of my favourites.

Tip #19 - Sit quietly after the exam?

Posted by anonymous on March 19, 2014 at 11:40 AM

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How to get the students to sit quietly after they've finished the exam?

Give them something to do! Have a fun/interesting activity to do like completing a maze, doing a word find, even just colouring in (you'll be surprised - even the senior students dig this!). Have the ...

Tip #18 - Start with a brain challenge!

Posted by anonymous on March 19, 2014 at 10:40 AM

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Start with a brain challenge.

Kids love challenges! Rebus puzzles are word pictures that make a common saying. Start the lesson by showing a few of these & get the students to try to figure out what the saying is. You join in & try to work them out too and they'll ...

Teaching Strategy #10 - Start with a game, Maths in the Mud

Posted by anonymous on March 19, 2014 at 10:20 AM

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Start the lesson with a game

One of my favourite teaching strategies - games! How to win friends and influence students 101 - play 'Maths in the mud'. It's just a game of Stuck in the mud, but to become unstuck, you stand with your hands on your head & you have 3-...

Teaching Strategy #5 - Make it a game!

Posted by anonymous on March 19, 2014 at 9:50 AM

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Make it a game!

Whatever you are teaching, can it be made into a game? Try boardgame/pictionary/physical modelling. Make it fun & you will have much less behaviour to deal with!

Teaching Strategy #3 Writing notes is boring while sitting in one place!

Posted by anonymous on March 19, 2014 at 9:45 AM

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Writing notes is BORING while sitting in one place!

Test out this teaching strategy - Print out the notes, number the points & stick them around the room. Put them in interesting places to get them to find them all (like on the ceiling!) - make learning a treasure hunt! Who doesn't like treas...

Teaching Strategy #1- How do you get the kids to sit down long enough to actually teach them something?

Posted by anonymous on March 19, 2014 at 9:10 AM

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How do you get the kids to sit down long enough to actually teach them something?

Peel the kids off the walls and start with a game! Try starting the lesson with a competition like Left Vs Right. Let them play for 'free time' (time to pack their books in their bag & leave exactly on the bel...