Edudiary2.0

When I watch kids walk into the building on their first day of school, I think about what I want them to be like when they walk out on their last day. I also think about what I want them to be like on the day I bump into them in the supermarket 10 or 20 years later. Over the course of three decades watching kids walk into my schools, I have decided that I want them to

• be lifelong learners
• be passionate
• be ready to take risks
• be able to problem-solve and think critically
• be able to look at things differently
• be able to work independently and with others
• be creative

You can reduce the number of bored students with a virtual Reference Desk on your classroom computer or even a real basket. This extensive collection can includes encyclopedias, dictionaries, calculators, newspapers, weather reports, biographies, puzzles , games ,history references, homework help, worksheets and much more. Through trying the reference desk, you can modify the idea or even come up with a new one as you go along.Give it a try.

• Give students a sense of control.

  While guidance from a teacher is important to keeping kids on task and motivated, allowing students to have some choice and control over what happens in the classroom is actually one of the best ways to keep them engaged. For example, allowing students to choose the type of assignment they do or which problems to work on can give them a sense of control that may just motivate them to do more.
  

• Define the objectives.

  It can be very frustrating for students to complete an assignment or even to behave in class if there aren't clearly defined objectives. Students want and need to know what is expected of them in order to stay motivated to work. At the beginning of the year, lay out clear objectives, rules, and expectations of students so that there is no confusion and students have goals to work towards.
  

Author Nancy Paulu recommends these tips for teachers who give homework:

* Lay out homework expectations early in the school year.
* Create assignments with a purpose, and make sure students understand that purpose.
* Make assignments clear and focused

We all have had a student or two who were a handful in the classroom .I tried this trick more than once and it worked like a charm . I pick out a surprise activity, such as an extra free time , a small treat , no homework or quiz that week, then write "SURPRISE" on the board. Throughout the period, if the class gets noisy or students shout answers or get out of their seats without permission, I erase a letter starting at the end of the word. Add missing letters when everyone is behaving well. If the complete word is intact at the end of the period, the students get the surprise.

1-3 letter house . A great game to help children with cvc (consonant, vowel, consonant) words. Choose a word ending or a middle sound. Read the words and decide whether they are real words. (ICT Games)

2- Starfall  This is a brilliant site with lots of phonics games. Choose the sound and play a game, or choose an online book to read. When you are reading the book, you can click on any word to hear it being sounded out.