Author: TCR Staff

Teaching Tips

Whole-Class Instruction vs. Homeschooling

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In education, there are as many ways to manage and teach a classroom as there are teachers. In the next few posts, you will find outlined a variety of popular methods of instruction that have proven effective with many educators. Try them out to see what works for you, but by all means, adapt them as needed to suit you. You’ll find that a particular method of instruction not only may suit your style of teaching better, but may also be more suitable to the demands and success of the lesson plan at hand.

Whole-Class Instruction

Many experts agree that teacher-directed lessons should be conducted for the whole class rather than in small groups. Dividing the class into groups decreases the teaching time to which each student is exposed. In addition, substantial amounts of seat work are necessary to keep students who are not meeting with the teacher busy and quiet (but not necessarily instructed). Whole-class instruction, however, assures that all students are exposed to the same curriculum. Students feel equal with one another because they are not separated into groups which are labeled by their abilities.

The teacher must be sure that all lessons and guided discussions have something for all students even though some parts of the lesson may be too easy or difficult for some students. The easy lesson portion gives children of all abilities a boost in self-esteem and a feeling of mastery over concepts, while portions of lessons that are difficult challenge more advanced students. Even students who do not respond at all during a lesson are usually thinking about the topic and learning from the responses of other students. Overall, whole-class instruction challenges students of all abilities and nurtures their higher-level thinking skills.

While whole-class instruction has its benefits and is considered standard in the education field, there may be drawbacks to using this method of instruction. Robert Jackson, in his article “Whole-Class Instruction: Is It Out of Date?” writes that

“Some parents, recognizing the enormous individual differences among students and seeing the harm done by unfavorable comparisons [brought forth by the grading system], have chosen to educate their children at home, where work can be given at students’ learning edge. They have made the decision that individualized instruction is more important than interaction with peers at school.”

Which brings up homeschooling another method of instruction. As we know, there are some parents who like to have control over what their child learns and have therefore chosen to adopt this form of education.

If you are a parent who has chosen to homeschool your child, what are some of your reasons for advocating homeschool? How and why did you decide to adopt homeschooling, and how can you tell if it’s right for you and your child?

Here are 10 things to consider if you are deciding whether homeschooling is right for you, courtesy of Beverly Hernandez, from Homeschooling.About.com:

Homeschool Decision 10 Things to Consider

Lesson Plans

Thanksgiving Activities

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First, a little Thanksgiving background for your students…

  • The Pilgrims sailed to the New World on a ship called the Mayflower.
  • The Mayflower was 113 feet long.
  • The Pilgrims set sail from Plymouth, England, on September 6, 1620.
  • There were 102 Pilgrims on the Mayflower.
  • The journey to the New World took 65 days.
  • An agreement called the Mayflower Compact was written to set rules for life in the new land.
  • The first home the Pilgrims built was called the common house.
  • All the Pilgrims lived together in the common house until individual homes were built.
  • Only 51 of the Pilgrims survived to celebrate the first Thanksgiving feast.
  • In 1863, Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving Day a national holiday.
Teacher Resources

20 Ways to Prevent Burnout for Teachers

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Although it may seem like the school year just started, it is always a good idea to learn about the different ways you can prevent burnout before it happens or how to combat it when it does. Here are 20 ways to help prevent teacher burnout:

  1. When you feel overwhelmed by the demands of school, use some of the excellent videos, films, and TV programs that will enrich your lesson plans and give you a momentary break.
  2. Make use of seasonal activity sheets to jazz up routine lessons. Keep them as simple as math facts written inside of hearts for Valentine’s Day or pumpkins for Halloween.
  3. Go to workshops. Perhaps your district will pay. But, even if you have to pay for them yourself, they are worth the money in terms of the new outlook and enthusiasm they engender.
  4. Take some classes that get you credit on your district’s salary schedule.
  5. Take some classes just for fun. Try some areas that have little or nothing to do with education or children. Exposure to almost anything will eventually pay off in the classroom, and you will have fun and meet new people.
  6. Attend art gallery showings and bookstore signings. You will see that there are adults in the real world and get rid of that trapped feeling one gets from being too long in a classroom with thirty young children. Besides, they are free.
  7. Incorporate more art in your lesson plans. It can be a real enrichment to your literature and social studies units, and besides, it gives everyone’s spirits a lift.
  8. Learn a lot of new classroom games and play them. Don’t save them for special times; intersperse them throughout the day.
  9. Have parties from time to time for no special reason other than to have fun.
  10. Try acting the way you would like to be feeling. There is a psychology school of thought that holds that we begin to feel the way we act. Go around smiling and looking happy and enthusiastic and see if you start to feel that way. It is certainly worth a try.
  11. Jump-start your helper system if it has started to fall apart on you. There are certain times of the year when parents get busy at home and begin to send regrets instead of coming in to help. Send home a note asking for assistance.
  12. Spend some time re-bonding with your class. Things sometimes start to go sour halfway through the year.
  13. Take a vacation. The next time there is a three-day weekend, go somewhere.
  14. Consider having someone come in and clean your house or complete a longstanding household project. Even if it is just for one time, it will give you a wonderful new start.
  15. Sit at a different table for lunch in your teachers’ room. Talk to someone new.
  16. Take on a volunteer position for some charity that appeals to you. Doing something for other people often lifts one’s spirits tremendously.
  17. Get a part-time job. Sometimes the change of pace (and the extra cash) is just what you need to prevent burnout.
  18. Work through your lunch break and meet a friend after school for a late lunch at a restaurant.
  19. Stop saying you are “going to school.” Say you are going to work. It’s a real job.
  20. Read and implement everything you can find about self-esteem techniques.

Got a great tip for preventing teacher burnout? Share how you get re-energized by posting to our comment roll!

Teacher Resources

20 Money-Saving Ideas for Teachers

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  1. Use the plastic “popcorn” from packages for art projects and math counters.
  2. Ask at your local newspaper for leftover newsprint for art projects and drawing paper.
  3. Scout out companies that use computer paper. They often discard the last few inches of a stack of paper rather than risk running out while printing.
  4. Swap and share with other teachers rather than buying duplicate supplies.
  5. Check magazines and newspapers for coupons and free offers.
  6. Invest in fade-proof paper to back your bulletin boards. It will last all year.
  7. Save all kinds of containers—margarine tubs, coffee cans, oatmeal cartons, and so on—for storing games and math manipulatives.
  8. Send home a monthly class newsletter and ask parents to save things for art and science projects.
  9. Buy or borrow a book such as “500 Free Things for Kids to Do and Send For.”
  10. Use macaroni or other pastas in different shapes for counters, art projects, and so on.
  11. Ask stores for used seasonal advertising displays—hearts, bunnies, Santas, and so on. Cut off or cover up the advertising and use them for dramatic bulletin board accents.
  12. If your district has a media lab, use it to create games, charts, and activities.
  13. Ask students to bring a favorite (or extra) game from home to use in the classroom on rainy days.
  14. Ask parents and students to go through their books. If they are no longer using them, they may want to donate them to your classroom library.
  15. Look for children’s books at garage sales and swap meets and add them to your classroom library.
  16. Stir up some salt and flour modeling dough. You can keep it for quite a while in airtight containers for reuse, or you can bake the results of the students’ projects for use as permanent ornaments, paperweights, etc.
  17. If you buy treats for your class, purchase them in large quantities at discount stores.
  18. Look through the advertising materials you get through the mail at work. They often contain posters, maps, or stickers.
  19. Keep leftover activity sheets. Use the backs for scratch paper.
  20. Remember that time and money are interchangeable. Spend time to save money.