Tips!
Business Letter Review
From Judy Perlis, a Works4Me subscriber:
“My students write to me in business letter format telling me what grade they deserve and why, according to what they've learned. They are required to include all of the steps of the writing process. I post the assignment in the form of a business letter to them at the beginning of the year, so they have the whole year to think about it. Their grades are pretty close to my own, and I count the assignment heavily.”
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Browse Tips on: letter writing, grading
Class Funeral
From a fourth grade teacher:
“On the first day of school this year I held a funeral with my class. The children made a list of all the things they could not do. I collected the lists, and then grabbed a shovel and a pine tree seedling. I told the kids we were having a funeral. We all walked outside and dug a hole to bury the Can't Lists and to plant the new seedling in the same hole. The purpose was to learn to never say ‘can't’ again, and the new tree is a positive reminder of that. The children are ever so quick to let the others know that they are not allowed to say the word ‘can't.’ The local newspaper got hold of the story and wrote about us. What a successful lesson!”
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Browse Tips on: motivating students, planting trees
Business Letter Review
From Judy Perlis, a Works4Me subscriber:
“My students write to me in business letter format telling me what grade they deserve and why, according to what they've learned. They are required to include all of the steps of the writing process. I post the assignment in the form of a business letter to them at the beginning of the year, so they have the whole year to think about it. Their grades are pretty close to my own, and I count the assignment heavily.”
Comment on This Tip »
Rate This Tip »
Browse Tips on: letter writing, grading
Class Funeral
From a fourth grade teacher:
“On the first day of school this year I held a funeral with my class. The children made a list of all the things they could not do. I collected the lists, and then grabbed a shovel and a pine tree seedling. I told the kids we were having a funeral. We all walked outside and dug a hole to bury the Can't Lists and to plant the new seedling in the same hole. The purpose was to learn to never say ‘can't’ again, and the new tree is a positive reminder of that. The children are ever so quick to let the others know that they are not allowed to say the word ‘can't.’ The local newspaper got hold of the story and wrote about us. What a successful lesson!”
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Rate This Tip »
Browse Tips on: motivating students, planting trees
Question of the Week: Taming the Paperwork Tiger
"Do you have tips to offer about how to avoid, reduce, or just stay on top of paperwork? Share your best ideas and discover what other teachers are doing. Include personal anecdotes if possible – some of the best ideas may appear in our NEA Today magazine!"
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We’re looking for great ideas on other topics, too:
• Summer Reading
• Calling All Green Thumbs!
• Restroom Breaks
• Digging into Deeper Vocabulary
Featured Post
Green Erasers From Pam Shetler, an elementary school teacher in San Bernardino, CA:
“For erasers for individual white boards, I cut apart my husband's old, black socks. They don't show the marker stains. I also bring in old hand towels to be used instead of paper towels. I hang a trash bag for the dirty towels, which I take home to wash. We save thousands of paper towels each year.”
