Kids+These+Days

=Kids These Days!= 3. In my classes we also have students who crave attention (both positive and negative). They tend not to do their work and will sit and doodle. When you stand in close proximity to them they seem to enjoy the attention, but still refuse to work. So what can you do? You don't want to ignore them, because they won't learn anything if you do that, but you also don't want to reward them by giving them negative attention. This is called positive reinforcement since you are giving them attention following their unwillingness to work. To read about [|Positive/Negative Reinforcement]and how to change this unwanted behavior you may just click on the above link.
 * 1) Kids these days are a lot like children when I was growing up, but they seem to get bored easier and get distracted more frequently. (Probably due to all the electronics and entertainment we have). Many children that I have seen are unmotivated to learn or do school work and need to be reminded daily for common procedures and expectations. Many students don't see how the materials covered in class will benefit them in their lives and think that we are just wasting time. Unmotivated children are not receiving the education they deserve if the teacher cannot think of ways to inspire them. The folowing link gives some ideas on how to help [|motivate students.]
 * For Example: I am in a 7th grade classroom at glover middle school; the class begins as usual with an entry task on the board for the students. The students are expected to come into the classroom, sit down and begin on the entry task. Nearly all the students come in and start talking and don't bother even taking out a piece of paper. The teacher immediate reminds the whole class to " Get out a piece of paper and begin the entry task". Almost all students take out a piece of paper, but only about half are working on the task. So the teacher and I must then state a couple more reminders to the whole class and to specific individuals. The students seem to geniunely like their teacher and enjoy coming up to the board to show and explain their work, but many of the students like to just wait for the answers to be given to them.
 * From the classes I have observed the importance of routines and consistency. One of the first things students will test is if their teacher is consistent (If they mean what they say). If you aren't consistent, students won't know what to expect from you and won't know what you expect from them and misbehavior will develop. It is amazing how a simple rule like not letting your students use the restroom or getting a drink of water cuts down on misbehavior and unnecessary interruptions. I have been in classes that allowed this and you spent the whole period policing who comes and goes and learning time is lost. The first time I taught at Glover about 5 students asked if they coud leave for a drink of water or to use the restroom when they knew it wasn't allowed. (They were just testing me to see what they could get away with)!!
 * 1) My 7th grade students are in accelerated classes (that is they are learning 8th grade material), but there are many special needs students. In my fourth period there are at least 3 ELL students (one of which as only been in the United States for 1 month) who require one on one attention especially with story problems (which are used daily) and instructions. With these students I try and annunciate well and draw pictures for them. We also have maniplutives that we may use. Some effective communication strategies for teaching ELL students are the following which I found from the following website on [|Helping English Language Learners in the Math Classroom.] This website also gives other strategies for specifically teaching ELL students mathematics.
 * ** Effective Communication Strategies for Teaching ELL Students ** ||
 * * Pause frequently
 * Paraphrase often
 * Emphasize key ideas and vocabulary through intonation
 * Write key terms and concepts on the board
 * Use pronouns clearly
 * Shorten sentences
 * Increase wait time for students to answer and process information ||