Author: TCR Staff

Behavior Management

Student Certificates

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Teachers are often too busy throughout the day to remember to hand out little rewards or certificates to those students who have done something worthy. Usually positive words are the sole way to reinforce positive behavior. However, it is nice for a student to receive something more concrete so they are able to present it to family members with pride. If the teacher cannot hand certificates out regularly, make a point to do so each quarter. On report card day before the teacher hands out the report cards, have a number of certificates to hand out. The teacher can have two or three standard certificates every quarter, but then add new ones and different ones each quarter, as well to keep the surprise. Don’t feel every student must get a certificate every quarter. If all students earn certificates, it eliminates the feeling of a reward.

Some ideas to use for certificates include the following:

  • students who have done the most extra credit
  • students who had no late work all quarter
  • students who had only one late assignment all quarter
  • students who reached their reading goals
  • students who performed their class job well and regularly
  • students with consistently clean desks
  • students who are the most improved in a certain area

Every class will most likely be different depending on the activities the teacher has set up in the classroom. Some of the certificates can be followed with an extra reward. For example, the students with no late assignments may get a “no homework” coupon with their certificate. Students with one late assignment will get just the certificate. The teacher can also include a bookmark with the reading goal certificate.

Tips: Do not announce to the students what efforts during the quarter will earn certificates. The teacher may want the reward to be given for honest effort and work, not simply to receive a certificate. That’s why changing the certificates each quarter, except for a select few, will promote honest efforts.

If the teacher wants to give certificates out more often than once per quarter, a neat trick is to have some generic ones ready. (See below to download award certificates.) Fill in the student’s name and your signature ahead of time. Put two in the plan book each week. This will remind the teacher to find something that student did particularly well that week. The certificate is then ready for the teacher anytime. He or she just needs to fill in what the certificate was for.

End-of-the-Year Certificates
In addition to the quarterly certificates, try doing end-of-the-year certificates in which every student receives one. These are fun, personal certificates that reflect something that student may be known for in the classroom. Some of these can be funny as well. Some examples include the following: the most artistic, the trivia guru, or the most improved in a certain area. (Note: These categories will change each year depending on the dynamics of the class. This is a fun, positive way to end the school year.)

Handy certificates to download and hand out:

Award Certificate
Grade Advancement Certificate
Farewell Certificate

In addition to handing out end-of-the-year certificates, download and hand out the form below to students so they can assess the year for themselves. Keep a copy for yourself — it will prove very enlightening for you!

What I Have Learned This Year

Classroom Management

Preparing for Next Year and Summer Storage Tips

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Preparing for Next Year
Although you will always spend time in the fall to prepare for the beginning of the year, it is important to get somewhat organized at the end of the year so that the transition is smooth.
1. Take some time to decide what areas you will begin teaching next year.
2. Pull the files, and take them home to begin planning lessons.
3. Have the first week of lessons planned, as well as the materials prepared, if you are certain what you will be covering that first week.
4. Familiarize yourself with the titles and contents of resource books that you will be using next fall.
5. Read books during the summer that you will be using in your lessons.
6. Organize and clean out your file at the end of the year when everything is still fresh and you remember what you needed and what you didn’t need.
7. Pack away students’ records so that you will have room for the upcoming class list of information.
8. Make up your new lesson plan book or obtain a new one.
9. Compile the Daily Task book and pull out the Beginning-of-the-Year List. Begin checking things off that you complete that are on both lists.
10. Look ahead at the Beginning-of-the-Year List and complete anything that you have time to complete now.

Summer Storage
Storage is important if you are moving from one classroom to another. If you remain in one classroom from year to year, storing your material is essential if others use your classroom during the summer or if you are concerned with the dust that might attach to your materials. Whatever your needs are, make sure you begin saving boxes at the beginning of the year so that by the end of the year you will have your boxes ready for storage. You may ask the custodian to help you gather and save boxes. Make sure to label the boxes clearly with your name, your room, and the contents of the box. Organize the items in the boxes logically—supplies in one box, books in another, etc. Resist the temptation to throw everything into one box—it will take much longer to sort through when you are unpacking.

Although the temptation is great at the end of the year to walk away from the loose ends, leave time and energy to wrap things up in an organized manner. Time spent packing, planning, cleaning, and looking ahead will save time in the future, and it will allow you the self-satisfaction (not to speak of the relief!) of knowing that you will be coming back to an organized classroom in the fall.

Classroom Management

Tips for Preparing for the End of the School Year

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End of the School Year
The end of the school year tends to sneak up on us. This is the time to make an effort towards origination and preparation so that the transition to next fall will happen smoothly.

Packing Things Away
Begin packing things away when you know you are finished using them. This process may begin as soon as the first few weeks of school have gone by. Think about each item you use each day. If you no longer have a use for it and can’t foresee using it during the remainder of the academic year, pack it. It will leave more room for more important items in your classroom.

Making lists
Make another list labeled “End of the Year” and create a file for it. Run copies of this list to use at the end of the school year. Place a check mark near each item that you complete. You may want to indicate the completion date next to it. Always save this list for reference. Store it in your “End of the Year” file. An example of the end-of-the-school year list follows, to be adapted to your needs.

End of the Year
 Hand out all papers.
 Finish record keeping.
 Complete report cards.
 Follow up on all parent communications.
 Pack away all posters.
 Pack away all supplies.
 Pack away all resources
 Wash boards.
 Clean out student desks.
 Plan lessons for the first week of school in the fall.
 Gather materials for the first week of school in the fall.
 Go through all mail and magazines.
 File all papers.
 Go through old files and clean them out.
 _____________________________
 _____________________________
 _____________________________

Teacher Resources

Sub Grab-Bag: What Every Substitute Teacher Should Have

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What might you need on the job when you don’t know anything about it? This happens every day when you are a substitute teacher. Here’s a list of things you should consider having with you on every assignment:

  • Paper clips
  • Marking pens
  • Name tags
  • Seating chart forms
  • Ream of duplicating paper
  • Literature selections
  • Emergency lesson plans (see Chapter 5 in the Substitute Teacher Handbook for these)
  • Whistle
  • Sun hat or sunscreen
  • Jogging shoes or flats for P.E. and recess duty
  • Assignment calendar
  • Time sheet
  • Small cooler or lunch box and thermos
  • Change of clothing (in case teaching assignment changes after your arrival)
  • Copies of instructional materials that you wish to use with the class
  • Stickers or ink stamp and pad (primary & elementary levels)
  • Index card of “sponge” activities for students to use after they finish their assignments (see previous post)
  • Copy of your own discipline plan (laminated and ready to post)
  • Special objects or items that you would like to use with the class that may motivate them during the day, such as stickers, award badges, certificates, and incentive charts
  • Teaching journal
  • Blank forms of a regular classroom teacher report (to be completed and left at the end of the day)

More substitute teacher resources.