E.C.E.T.A.

Teaching Techniques

Strategies for Success

"I spend a lot of time connecting what we do in the classroom with the world of work. For example, students' supplies are their tools for their current job. If they are unprepared, I remind them that in the working world they would not be able to do their jobs if they forgot their tools. I talk to them about how school is their job and their effort and hard work reflect the success they will have when they enter the working world. Establishing good habits now will bring them rewards in the future. Their Pay Day is when I hand out progress reports or report cards. Their effort is directly reflected in the grades they earned. We discuss how far they can go in the world of work with the pay they earned. Discussions of the workplace are supported by a yearlong effort to teach my students strategies for success in all their classes such as test taking, note taking and listening skills as well as personal goal setting. By the end of the year most are taking responsibility for their performance, which reflects growth and maturity. In junior high this is sometimes a monumental achievement!"

Content

Spelling Review

"When I review for a spelling test I put the class in groups of four. I mix all levels together and give each group member a number (one to four). I have popcicle sticks in a can with those four numbers and draw one after having pronounced one of our spelling words. The students who have that number come to the board and write the word. The winner is the first one who correctly spells the word legibly on the board. I then give that team a point. This makes sure they help each other know the word because they don't know who is going to be called on next. The winning team gets a treat."

Getting Organized

Easy Ordering

"Here is a tip that will help every teacher at ordering time in the spring. I use the inside cover of my grade book to record the things I need to order for next year. For example, if I discover that I'm about to use the last box of staples in my cupboard, I immediately write it in my book. I see it frequently throughout the year so I know exactly what I need to order when the time comes."

Managing Your Classroom

Hall Passes

"In our school, our administration wants every child to have a hall pass when he or she leaves any classroom. However, I find that I could spend my entire period writing passes, so I have the kids do it themselves. Here's how: I have a clip board with a piece of paper that has columns labeled name, destination, time out and time back. When kids ask me, I give them permission at a good transition point and they fill everything out and take the pass to their destination. They're very good about completing the form because they know I check it."

Relationships

Pictures on Seating Charts

"Our school receives digital student pics (on CD) when we do our annual school pictures. It takes a little time, but I copy my students' pics as PICT files and insert them in my seating chart made up in a Draw program. Anyone can glance at the chart and identify the student."

Using Technology

E-Mail Extras

"I use the digital camera to take pictures of the students participating in class activities. Then I e-mail the pictures to the students in the class. They enjoy seeing their pictures and many times they show the pictures to their parents thus creating a school to home communication link."

CTA Member Benefit of the Week:

We have some exciting news for members about our CTA-endorsed California Casualty automobile insurance program.  An article and a flyer for your use in helping communicate this valuable information to your members are below.

Automobile Insurance Rates Reduced for CTA Members

CTA and California Casualty were able to achieve a reduction in rates for the CTA endorsed automobile insurance program averaging 11.7%! CTA Members who use this program will continue to receive the outstanding service that they have come to expect from California Casualty for over fifty years.

California Casualty Offers Other Benefits Exclusively for Educators

-          Zero-deductible coverage for collision or vandalism to vehicles parked on or within 500 feet of school property. This covers vehicles parked at school, school offices, education association offices, and off-campus during school authorized activities.

-          $500 personal property coverage if any belongings are stolen from your car, including school supplies.

-          Convenient payment plans including holiday and summer skip, and other payment options in the event of a layoff or CTA-sanctioned strike.

Please contact California Casualty for a quote, as well as encouraging other members to do so. Quotes can be obtained by phone at 1-866-680-5142 or online at www.calcas.com/cta.  For more information, contact the CTA Member Benefits Department at 1-650-552-5200, or visit the CTA website at www.cta.org.

Download the Flyer
 

NEA Member Benefit of the Week:

Greetings! There are many new ideas out there to help members. NEA has created a web-site called “Works-4-Me” which are tried and true teaching hints suggested by NEA members. Each week you will receive an e-mail with six helpful (and short) hints to help you in your professional life. They will fall under the following categories:

            Teaching Techniques

            Content

            Getting Organized

            Managing Your Classroom

            Relationships

            Using Technology

In addition, you will get information about your CTA and NEA member benefits that are available to you through your membership in the Association. Click on the link or visit www.cta.org and www.neamb.com.

Teaching Techniques

Groundhog/Shadow Day

"Turn Groundhog Day into Shadow Day: a day during which the parents take their children (and maybe a few friends) to work and let them be their shadow. The children get to experience a day at work and see firsthand how their schoolwork applies to the real world. We are making it a school wide event, hoping all will be able to participate."

Content

Greek Drama Masks

"My students staged a production of Antigone and made Greek masks from Plaster of Paris. We used Plastercraft and Plaster of Paris impregnated gauze cut into strips. We wet the strips and applied them to our faces where it hardened. We painted the dried masks with exaggerated facial expressions to convey the emotion depicted by the characters according to the conventions of Greek drama."

Getting Organized

Special Class Labels

"I make labels on the computer that say lunch, gym, music, library, etc. to stick in my plan book. This saves a lot of time and looks very impressive if done in different colors. I also typed up the names of special classes and printed them on brightly colored paper to hang on our time schedule. This way, I can change them daily and the young students can easily see what's on the agenda for the day."

Managing Your Classroom

Helping Other Teachers

"As a special education teacher who works with first grade, I am always looking for ways to promote goodwill between regular and specialists. One of the complaints voiced in our building is that regular teachers have all of the homeroom duties and specialists get assigned [only] door duty, etc. This year I decided to take my turn with homeroom duties. Each month I treat one of the regular teachers who welcomes me into their rooms. When the bell rings I collect their students from outside, get them settled and help with the roll call and cafeteria orders. I also take this same class downstairs when it is time for lunch. The homeroom teacher gets a few more minutes for preparation in the morning and a chance to sit down a little longer at lunch. This simple gesture has smoothed the way for a lot of cooperation in the classroom between us.

Relationships

Substitute Box

"I teach a hands-on program that is not always easy for a substitute, so I have a substitute box in my room. I include promotional copies of science magazines that publishers send out. I make up reading lessons with work sheets. These are items I would like students to read but do not otherwise have room for in an already-overcrowded schedule."

Using Technology

Dear Abby

"Once my keyboarding students begin composing, there is no stopping them! An activity which takes them out of the textbook involves writing a letter to Dear Abby regarding a question or problem they have. Instead of using their names, students sign the letter with appropriate nicknames like 'Upset and Unhappy' or 'Please Help' and their letters are given a number when they are handed in for grading, to protect their anonymity. After a week or so the letters are handed out for another composition session. This time students become Dear Abby and answer a letter written by one of their peers. If there is more than one keyboarding class, this works even better as students won't know who answered their letter. The number assigned will help in getting the letter back to its originator."

CTA Member Benefit of the Week:

CTA Member Benefits is highlighting the CTA Well-Baby Program which provides expert resources to eligible CTA members and their pregnant spouses or domestic partners.  This program offers The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy Book, access to the Ask Mayo Clinic 24-hour toll-free nurse line, and access to a Mayo Clinic Pregnancy Advisor nurse available by phone throughout the pregnancy and three months post-partum.  This benefit is available free to eligible CTA members enrolled in either the CTA-endorsed voluntary group Life or Disability plan with The Standard and to their spouses/domestic partners. Please note, enrollment in the CTA Well-Baby Program is only acceptable through the 20th week of pregnancy.  However, if you are a CTA member or the spouse/domestic partner of a CTA member who is past 20 weeks of pregnancy, a one-time late enrollment opportunity will be accepted as long as the CTA member is within the first 120 days of new employment.  For enrollment in the CTA Well-Baby Program, contact 800-906-1064. 

Friendly Enrollment Reminders from The Standard!

Do you have voluntary Disability or Life Insurance with another carrier?

From April 1 to May 31, 2010 you can switch your coverage to the CTA-endorsed plans offered by Standard Insurance Company without proof of good health. It’s easy. Simply provide proof of your existing coverage with your application and you can transfer coverage. Call The Standard’s dedicated CTA Customer Service Department at 800-522-0406, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with any questions.

Retiring this year?

As you prepare for retirement please don’t forget that you and your loved ones can continue a portion of your current, active CTA-endorsed Life Insurance if you maintain a CTA-NEA Retired Lifetime Membership and apply within 120 days of retirement. For more information contact The Standard’s dedicated CTA Customer Service Department at 800-522-0406.

Wedding or baby due soon?

Congratulations! Remember that within 31 days of a Family Status Change, you can add or increase Life Insurance coverage up to $200,000 and/or add Disability coverage, all without providing proof of good health. Family Status Change includes birth/adoption, marriage/domestic partnership and other qualifying events. For more information about this enrollment opportunity, or to file a maternity Disability claim, visit the Member Benefits section at www.cta.org and click through to The Standard.

Spring cleaning?

Make sure to call The Standard if you’re moving to a new address or needing to make changes to your beneficiary designation. It’s important to keep your records up-to-date, and it’s easy to do. Simply call The Standard’s dedicated CTA Customer Service Department at 800-522-0406.

Questions?

Call The Standard’s dedicated CTA Customer Service Department at 800.522.0406 (TTY), 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Or, email ctaservice@standard.com. And if you haven’t taken a look at CTA’s newly redesigned Web site, visit www.cta.org  and go to the Member Benefits section for more information.

NEA Member Benefit Article of the Week:

20 Ways to Upcycle Before You Recycle

Date published: Thursday, April 01, 2010

By Stephanie Rogers

Don’t toss that junk! Yesterday’s jelly jar and unwanted mail-order catalog could transform into Martha Stewart-caliber kitchen canisters or cute patterned gift bags with naught but some spray paint and glue. These easy upcycling ideas go far beyond classroom crafts—create elegant eco-friendly housewares, décor and more that barely costs a cent.

You’re probably wondering, “what’s upcycling?” Upcycling is often better than mere recycling, because it means you’re transforming a product into something that’s even more valuable without the energy-intensive processing required to recycle.

Glass jars

• Organization: Open your refrigerator door and you’ll likely see an array of glass jars in all sorts of shapes and sizes—perfect for organization. Pretty up the lids with scraps of patterned paper, or spray paint them to match your décor. Printing out your own customized labels is easy, too, with free downloadable labels in a range of styles and colors.
• Bath salts: You can also use those spiffed-up jars as pretty, natural, low-cost gifts by filling them with a scented salt blend that’s simple to create at home with some Epsom salts, baking soda and essential oils.
• Candles: Jar candles can cost a pretty penny at the store, but all it takes to make one yourself is a glass jar and a few candle nubs. A tutorial from Design Sponge Online uses a double boiler, essential oil for scented versions and even crayons to add subtle color.
• To-go cup: A mason jar filled with iced tea is a summertime staple in the South, and it’s easy to see why: Jars make ideal spill-proof to-go cups for cold drinks! They’re perfect for keeping the bugs out during a picnic.

Junk mail

• Envelopes: Hardly a day goes by without at least one piece of annoying, unsolicited junk mail crammed into our mailboxes. But did you ever notice the pretty images and patterns in those calendars and catalogs? All it takes is a few folds and some tape to turn those pages into sturdy envelopes and send them right back out into the mail.
• Gift bags: Download a pattern that fits perfectly on most junk mail pages and use it to transform them into personalized gift bags. Scissors, glue, string and a hole punch are the only tools required.
• Handmade paper and Easter basket grass: But what about those unattractive circulars covered in ads? Shred ‘em and either blend them up into pulp for handmade paper or use them as eco-friendly Easter or other gift basket grass—a great alternative to the plastic stuff. Shredded junk mail also makes great bedding for small animals, or mulch for the compost bin.

Egg cartons

• Seed starting: Give your garden a head start by sprouting seeds in the cups of a paper egg carton, which are perfectly sized and biodegradable, too. Transplanting is so easy—just cut out each cup and place it directly in the ground once the weather warms.
• Organization: Any egg carton, including the foam and plastic varieties, can be used to contain and organize small household items like jewelry, beads, buttons, screws, paper clips and push pins.
• Packing cushion: Got delicate holiday ornaments? If an egg carton can protect eggs, it can protect those heirloom glass globes just as well. They’re also great for containing any small, delicate knick-knacks during a move.
• Fire-starting kit: A cardboard egg carton filled with a mixture of sawdust and wax makes an extremely effective fire-starting kit that keeps for a long time and comes in handy for camping.

Plastic bags

• Doggy bags: Even the greenest of the green sometimes forget their reusable bags at the store and end up with some excess plastic bags. Use them to clean up after your dog while you’re out on walks, or donate them to your local dog park if you’re not a pet owner—many have receptacles to collect them.
• Painting protection: Plastic bags are especially handy for painting projects. When spray-painting small items, place them inside a plastic bag to contain the spray. Plastic bags can also be used as sleeves to slip over and line paint trays for quick and easy cleanup, or wrapped around wet paintbrushes to keep them from drying out in between painting sessions.
• Stuffing and packing: Plastic bags make a great alternative to fiberfill for throw pillows, and are perfect for stuffing holiday lawn décor like floating sheet ghosts. They also make great padding for shipping boxes in place of those pesky styrofoam peanuts.
• Crocheted crafts: Plastic purses? Why not! Strips of intertwined plastic bags can be quickly and easily turned into yarn and crocheted into a surprising array of items including handbags, hats and even clothing. 

Cardboard toilet paper rolls

• Cord organizer: You can wrangle those unsightly power cords with a toilet paper roll—and it will look a lot better than you think. This tutorial uses a leftover scrap of wrapping paper to satisfy the pickiest aesthetes.
• Seedling planter: Seedlings that will quickly outgrow egg carton planters can be moved up into roomier cardboard rolls. Just one toilet paper roll makes two compact, biodegradable planters with a few snips of your scissors.
• Crafts for kids: Dragons, lions, fairies and bears: The list of creatures that can be created with toilet paper rolls is practically endless. You could even use junk mail in place of construction paper, and add popsicle sticks to make puppets.
• Document storage: Keep important documents like diplomas and certificates from getting creased or damaged by simply rolling them up inside cardboard tubes and storing them all together in a shoebox.

Source: http://www.neamb.com/home/172_4669.htm

To be removed from this e-mail list, reply to this e-mail with REMOVE in the subject line.

Have a great week!

Teaching Techniques

Understanding Test Directions

"In a few weeks, the students in my county will be taking standardized tests. My students are reading well below grade level but are still expected to master fourth grade skills. To improve test scores, I am putting emphasis on reading and understanding test directions. Test directions are written on their 'Positive #2 Pencils' that are taped to their desks. Two to three times a week, students read the directions and then interpret what they mean. I give supporting examples on the board."

Getting Organized

Assignment Schedule

"I get a big desk calendar and hang it by the door of my classroom. I write what we did that day and the assignment on the calendar. This way, my students can get the assignments they missed and the dates that they're due. I don't need to keep going through my plan book to answer questions about when certain papers and projects are due because the students can see for themselves."

Managing Your Classroom

Hall Passes II

"As an Association leader, I attend a number of state meetings. I have found a use for all the name badges I have received. I re-use them in my classroom as hall passes! On the back of each pass I write the location (bathroom, office, library, locker, etc.). Students know to pick up the correct pass from the hook when they leave my room. If there are any questions in the hall or if the students leave the pass somewhere my name is printed on the other side."

Relationships

Lunch with New Teachers

"I ask new teachers to have lunch with me so we can share ideas and discuss any situations they are going through. The most important tip I can offer is to share ideas with new teachers when they ask for help. I have found new teachers to be quite creative and have ideas to share as well."

Using Technology

TV Generation

"With today's kids spending more time in front of the TV than ever before, I have decided, 'If I can't beat em', join em'.' Through the uses of technology I use my classroom computer to take notes with the students. As I type in the information, it is projected onto the TV screen. When I would traditionally turn to the chalkboard to write, I now turn to my computer. The kids love it. I can change font, size, bold print, or underline to emphasize important parts of the lesson, and I can change colors to add fun to the task of note taking. What is best of all is that I can print out these notes when we're done and give them to any students who are having trouble keeping up or any students that were absent and didn't get the notes. The kids are drawn to the TV. Why not use it as a tool for learning instead of just an "idiot box"?"

CTA Member Benefit of the Week:

Check out the brand-new CTA.org! It’s the same address—www.cta.org—but you’ll have a completely new experience. You will be able to upload photos to you very own profile area, comment live on various sections of the site, post and share lesson plans and more! We will still be providing members-only content and leadership contact information for members who log in.

Feel free to share with your members. Also, a 4-page user guide for the new website is included in the latest Educator magazine.

For the first two months (March and April) we will be giving away Staples gift certificates each week to randomly selected members who register or login using an existing account.

Also, if you haven’t done so lately, while looking at the new website, take a moment to verify whether you have listed a beneficiary for your automatic CTA Death and Dismemberment Plan and whether the beneficiary information we have listed for you is up to date.  Follow the directions below:

You will get information about your CTA and NEA Member Benefits that are available to you through your membership in the Association. Click on the link or visit www.cta.org and www.neamb.com.

Teaching Techniques

Student Control of Learning

"I design an activity that offers opportunity for personal expression and that will require students to use a small piece of information that they DON'T have, such as a vocabulary word or a verb tense. Once they realize they need to know that, they will want to learn it because it has become their decision to learn it, not mine. Things acquired in this way seem to stick much better."

Content

Reading in the Halls

"For Read Across America, we took time at the end of the day and every single student and teacher sat in the hallway and read for thirty minutes. It was awesome! Our principal feels that we should do this every week. I hope we can do that. It was wonderful!"

Getting Organized

Extra Copy Box

"I frequently have students absent, leaving my room for music lessons, calls to the office, nurse, etc. I have a box in my room labeled extra copies. After I pass out worksheets, I put 10 extra copies in the box for students to use. When a student comes back to my room and notices we are working on a sheet he/she doesn't have, they know to go to the extra copy box and get the sheet. I post all assignments on my backboard so they could check to see what they missed and do not have. I leave the assignments up for two weeks. This has eliminated them interrupting class to ask for a worksheet and makes them responsible for catching up on work they missed. Frequently students may ask to recopy a worksheet because it is sloppy and they want to do it over, I just tell them to go to the box and get another copy. This also instills pride in their work."

Managing Your Classroom

Group Work

"When choosing groups, I tell my students that when they are working they will not always be working with their best friend. I remind them that an important part of class is learning how to work in a group."

Stick Grouping

"I vary my classroom groups by greeting each student at the door with a craft stick. The tips of the sticks are color coded according to the area of the room they must go to or the activity they must work on first. This allows for a differentiation in grouping. The students really like this method and it's very simple to control."

Relationships

Reflections on the Quarter Past

"When report card time approaches, I ask my students, without submitting their names, to reflect and write short notes on what to change, delete and add to the class. Sometimes students have insight that teachers forget to consider. Their comments help me improve my lessons and teaching techniques as well as see myself through their eyes. This gives my students ownership and gives me some grounding."

Using Technology

Movie Night

"I add a blank tape to my list of supplies at the beginning of the year. The students and I use a digital camera to take pictures of classroom activities all year. We use Photo Studio software to download the pictures to videotape and can even put music to accompany these pictures. Our year ends with a class movie night. Parents and students come view our class memory tape. Everyone enjoys the tape tremendously. I make individual copies on the blank tapes students brought in at the beginning of the year so all students have their own copies. It is a wonderful way to capture and celebrate student accomplishments."

CTA Member Benefit of the Week:

CTA Travel, Entertainment and Purchasing Discounts

Are you tired of winter and starting to day dream about your summer vacation?  If so, you should be aware that your CTA membership provides travel services and entertainment discounts through TSA Special Member Services that can be of assistance.  For travel offerings, visit TSA Travel at www.tsaspecialservices.com/travel.htm or call (800) 570-7877.  For discount entertainment tickets to exciting California attractions such as Disneyland, San Diego Zoo, and California’s Great America, visit TSA Special Member Services at tsa@tsaspcialservices.com.  Order your tickets by calling TSA on (800) 537-8491.

NEA Member Benefit of the Week: