Help Yourself: Build Consistency

The end of the third week is upon us, and I find myself reflecting on the beginning of my first year and this second year. I kept a journal throughout my first year (though I admit my submissions were intermittent), and I read through the first few weeks to compare and contrast to this year.

This year has been less frustrating for me and I think it's for this reason: Consistency. Students don't know it, and they won't admit it, but consistency of expectations is what they like and need. Consistency is also good for me. (Maybe I'm like Sheldon Cooper?) It helps provide organization, a sense of purpose, and saves time.

My first consistent behavior was to quit bringing school work home. This is not easy for me. Looking back on my journal entries, I was at school for ten hours and then working for another two at home. I'm still at school for ten hours, but at home is for me now. (Except on weekends when I finish my lesson plans.) A few things have helped me cut down those few hours that I was working at home.

• Consistent bellwork: Each day of the week has the same bellwork, so students know what to expect and it takes less prep time for me. I refer to this as our Word Study, and I have created a packet that has bellwork for the entire quarter. I collect it every couple of weeks to grade for daily work.

• Daily reading: I end each class period with 10-15 minutes of reading. Sometimes it's frustrating because I would like to complete what we're working on. But...remember that magic number of 20 minute activities? By breaking up the schedule, we actually accomplish more during our work time. This reading time also allows me to decompress before the next class by reading with my students or organize papers (both to grade or to hand out next hour). This means I don't have to do that during my prep.

• Lesson planning: Every Friday, before leaving school, I map out my lessons on my white board agenda for students. This forces me to have a plan for the next week to keep me from scrambling Monday morning. It also helps me plan a lesson with a realistic time. When writing my lessons on my laptop, I can fit so much on the chart with my typing! My weekly agenda that I share with students allows for realistic planning, and helps me to be more focused and concise with my formal lesson plans.

It took me a year, but I realize that by relaxing at home and taking care of my home life, I am actually a better teacher. It means when I walk in the classroom, I don't have to worry about my home life and I have a genuine positive attitude.

What didn't help my first year frustration was my uncertainty of how to teach junior high students to be organized. Why don't they teach this in college? I learned hundreds of before, during, and after reading strategies; hundreds of writing prompts and workshops; and learned of hundreds of resources. But how do you explain to 7th and 8th graders to be organized?

Junior high students lose a lot of their materials. I found myself creating handouts and printing off tens of extra copies. I would go through them all and make more. These would continue to disappear. How did I solve it? Honestly, I quit giving extra copies. I started requiring them to hand write a copy in their notebooks by looking at their neighbors. 

This year, I did some more research and decided to try interactive notebooks. My use of glue sticks and scissors is limited, but by having students keep a table of contents and write their notes on the same page, many of them are actually hanging on to their materials! 

If you're a new teacher, talk to your colleagues about the strategies that work for them. Sharing strategies helps provide consistency for students in other classes. It's also great collaboration and saves time. Perhaps they use two pocket folders with "graded" and "homework." 

As a few more weeks pass by, I hope to share with you how I created my Word Study packets and interactive notebooks. We'll see if they past the test of first quarter.