teaching tips

Essential Strategies for Aspiring Teachers

04/21/2024 by admin

This is a Guest Post by Susan Good, a 38-year veteran of the classroom! Be sure to check out her website at retiredteacher.org for inciteful blog posts about teaching and writing!

Image via Freepik

Teaching Tips: From Aspiring to Accomplished

Pursuing a teaching career is rewarding and challenging, requiring dedication and preparation. You’ll need a well-rounded plan to meet this fulfilling profession’s demands effectively. This article offers essential advice for aspiring teachers, guiding them through the steps to success. This article, courtesy of Kinney Brothers Publishing, discusses strategies ranging from acquiring the necessary qualifications to refining critical teaching skills that help educators excel.

Gain Your Credentials Through Online Learning

Consider enrolling in an online program to earn your teaching degree, which is a practical step toward obtaining your teaching license and qualifying for various educational roles. These courses are designed to provide you with the essential credentials required for certification.

The flexibility of online learning enables you to balance coursework with other life commitments, making it a viable option for those who need to manage their time efficiently. However, choosing reputable institutions that offer accredited programs recognized by educational authorities is crucial to ensure your qualifications are valued. By selecting the right program, you can advance your career with the confidence that your education meets the necessary standards.

Build Experience with Youth

Seek opportunities to work directly with young people to gain valuable hands-on experience that can enhance your teaching skills. Whether through volunteering at local schools or offering private tutoring, such experiences provide deep insights into classroom dynamics and the diverse needs of learners.

These interactions allow you to apply your theoretical knowledge in real-world settings, which is crucial for understanding how students learn and respond. Moreover, volunteering or tutoring helps build your confidence while refining your teaching techniques. This practical experience is invaluable in developing a responsive and effective teaching style that can positively impact your future classroom environment.

Enhance Your Job Hunting Techniques

Exploring a variety of avenues to secure a teaching position. Networking, attending job fairs, and searching through specialized online job boards can be particularly effective. Crafting an engaging cover letter sets you apart from other candidates; click here for more info on tailoring your cover letter to highlight your teaching philosophy and qualifications.

Such customization allows you to showcase how your unique skills and experiences align with the needs of the school you’re applying to. This approach demonstrates your commitment and significantly increases your chances of landing the job.

Keep Abreast of Educational Developments

To remain relevant in the field, stay informed about the latest educational practices and trends. Participating in workshops and continuous professional development courses is beneficial. Furthermore, subscribing to educational periodicals can connect you to new teaching methods and technological advancements. Networking with fellow educators is also a valuable source of information and support.

Master Classroom Management

Develop comprehensive classroom management skills to foster a conducive learning environment. Effective management starts with setting clear rules and routines that encourage student discipline and respect. Being proactive in handling classroom disturbances ensures that learning continues smoothly, making your classroom a model of stability and order. Clear expectations and consistent enforcement are key to successful classroom management.

Incorporate Technology in Teaching

Leverage the latest technological tools to enhance educational engagement. The use of multimedia resources, educational software, and interactive platforms can transform traditional lessons into engaging learning experiences. Adapting these tools to your teaching style can cater to varied learning preferences and help students grasp complex concepts more easily. Technology integration supports active learning and student involvement.

Adapt to Diverse Learning Needs

Be flexible and responsive to your students’ needs. Adjusting your teaching methods based on classroom interactions and individual student assessments can significantly impact learning outcomes. Continual adaptation helps you effectively meet diverse learner requirements, ensuring all students benefit from your instruction. Embracing flexibility in your teaching approach is crucial for addressing varied educational challenges.

Becoming a successful teacher requires dedication, preparation, and ongoing professional development. By following these tips, aspiring educators can build the skills and qualifications necessary to excel in teaching. From earning qualifications to refining teaching techniques, aspiring teachers can transform their passion for education into impactful classroom experiences.

If you enjoyed this article, you can find more educational content at KinneyBrothers.com!

Teaching Plurals

11/08/2019 by admin

In speaking exercises, I teach my ESL kids plurals early on, for the main reason that it can’t be avoided for very long when teaching even the simplest phrases, such as I like… or I have… Importantly, when I teach kids plural sounds, I’m also preparing them for future lessons using the same morphological rules governing third-person verbs and possessives. My goal is to start the exposure early, be intentional in its roll out, and use the vocabulary as much as possible in later lessons.

Looking at the rules above, it’s a LOT to take in. Even I can’t remember all the letter-to-sound associations! It’s like trying to remember the order of stacked adjectives! Ugh! It’s much easier to get students used to using the language rather than memorizing and then applying the rules.

The Roll Out

My youngest pre-school kids get their first exposure to plurals with picture books, songs, and chants that focus on counting. Then, when I begin formally teaching plurals, I remind them that they’ve already been using the language.

When teaching plurals to my kindergarten and early elementary school students, I don’t teach pronunciation as a set of rules, but instead, stress awareness of the sounds made when modifying nouns to make them plural; the three sounds being /s/, /z/, and /ɨz/. I break this down into a series of lessons that 1) introduce listening to the differences in singular and plural words grouped by final consonant sounds, 2) identifying the voiced and unvoiced sounds with simple interactive activities that include practice making the sounds, and 3) employing plurals in games and activities – all in that order.

I start with singular and plural flash card examples, saying each word and asking students if they can identify where the words are different and what that different sound is. Reading them again, I have students identify which word is being said, sometimes with eyes closed. Next we do the same activity using simple sentences students are already familiar with, e.g., I like cats or I have one cat. A simple Missing Word activity is perfect for getting students to use the words in the context of a game.

Plural Flash Cards Kinney Brothers Publishing

Soon after this, I introduce vocabulary with the -z sound and we compare the final sounds of the words from the previous lessons. How are they different? Can you make the two different sounds? Can you feel the difference in the voiced and unvoiced sounds when you touch your throat?

When the class is ready, I add –ez words. I ask students how the last sounds of cats, dogs, and foxes are different and we practice making the sounds. Once again, I get the kids using the vocabulary with simple flashcard activities such as a Circle Pass amongst students. Be sure to check out my 50+ Flash Card Activities if you’re looking for more game ideas.

Plural Flash Cards 2 Kinney Brothers Publishing

Importantly, leave the cards on a board or table accessible to students during the weeks you are teaching these lessons. This allows kids to experiment on their own without a teacher hovering over them.

Plural Vibes

The reason we use -s and -z sounds is a matter of language efficiency when speaking. You can teach kids to be aware of the vibration (voiced) or lack thereof (unvoiced) in the sound of the last consonant by having them touch their throats when saying the words. In words like cat, there is no vibration (unvoiced) in the last consonant, and the –s continues this non-vibrating sound into the plural. The final g in dog has a vibration (voiced) and, for efficiency in speaking, the –z sound of the plural continues this vibration as a plural. For native speakers, this is one of those “default” rules we employ without even realizing it, but will readily recognize if misspoken. For more on this, check out the video below from the Elemental English Youtube channel.

The effect of these lessons is to build a physical and aural language experience that students can draw from as in Jean Berko Gleason‘s Wug Test below. Keep in mind, this isn’t going to happen without extensive exposure and practice.

J.B. Gleason devised the Wug Test as part of her earliest research (1958), which used nonsense words to gauge children’s acquisition of morphological rules‍—‌for example, the “default” rule that most English plurals are formed by adding an /s/, /z/ or /ɨz/ sound depending on the final consonant, e.g., hat–hats, eye–eyes, witch–witches. A child is shown simple pictures of an imaginary creature or activity, with a nonsense name, and prompted to complete a statement about it: This is a WUG. Now there is another one. There are two of them. There are two________. The Wug Test also includes questions involving verb conjugations, possessives, and other common derivational morphemes.

Review, review review!

Once the lessons have been introduced, it’s time to find opportunities to use them! Review activities and additional vocabulary will keep the lessons fresh in students’ minds.

Monotonously flipping through flashcard decks isn’t the only way to review. Games are great for keeping your students’ skills up. As your kids get older, you can up-cycle the games you played when they were younger coupled with the new lessons. Vocabulary review activities like Bingo and I Have/Who Has are perfectly adaptable. Be sure to give students the opportunity to practice the language before playing the games.

Plural Games Kinney Brothers Publishing Donald's English Classroom

Charts are another capital way of keeping the vocabulary in front of your students. Include them in interactive notebooks or tack charts on a classroom board to provide students with references that can be used when speaking and writing.

Plural Charts Kinney Brothers Publishing Donald's English Classroom

Later on, my kids are reintroduced to plurals in their Phonics & Spelling books. Being already familiar with nouns as plurals, they’re prepared to create sentences with new vocabulary in context, like these are and those are.

Phonics Plural Lessons Kinney Brothers Publishing Donald's English Classroom

For older students and adults who already have vocabulary at their command, check out this plural set of readings and activities when reviewing or planning your next pronunciation boot camp lessons.

Pronunciation Bingo and I Have Who Has activity sets

Forward Teaching

Again, these early lessons are going to be helpful when you get ready to teach third-person verb conjugations and possessives, as the morphological rules that apply to the ending sounds of verbs are exactly the same as plurals. Remind your students of this simple pronunciation fact!

eat – eats
run – runs
dance – dances

it – its
her – hers
watch – watch’s

From their first exposure with counting books and plural pronunciation activities, your students’ lessons should build toward future fluency goals. Begin early and loop review activities into your lesson plans as students build their language skills. And don’t forget to have fun!

As always, best of luck in your classes!

Donald Kinney
Kinney Brothers Publishing

Nameplates

08/05/2019 by admin

Nameplates may seem like an inconsequential part of a student’s learning materials, but they can be quite useful and have genuine meaning to the individual student. As a teacher, you may have your nameplate on a desk or door. Imagine someone stealing or defacing it. You can’t help but feel personal about it. Nameplates for students are exactly the same.

Years ago, when I was still experimenting, I created laminated name cards for all my students. One student lost his card. He recreated the card at home and his mother carefully wrapped the card in cellophane. I was so touched by their efforts. This told me how important the card was to the student. Name plates quickly became a regular part of my classes.

Why take the trouble to create nameplates when students have name badges? Though a name badge pinned to a student’s chest is convenient for teachers and parents, they’re inconvenient for students. When a student looks at their badge, it’s not only awkward to see, it’s upside down! Nameplates, on the other hand, are for the students. I make sure they’re not only personalized but useful as well. If I had to make a choice between name badges or plates, nameplates would win — hands down.

Many teachers with full-time students will laminate name cards directly to a desk or table. I don’t have that luxury. My students change every hour going from three-year-olds in the early afternoon to fifth and sixth-grade students in the evening. I repeat this each day of the week in multiple classrooms across the city where I teach. Just like attendance stickers, nameplates are part of a class routine that benefits me (I have a hard time remembering names) and the students.

Click on any of the images of the name plates below to visit my store.

Name Plates Donald's English Classroom 1

The name plates I create will vary. Usually, they are simple paper ‘tents’ printed on heavy card stock. They fold out to stand on desks and flatten easily to tuck in a bag. I don’t laminate them unless it is a double-sided card. Whether card or tent, I look at the reverse side as educational real estate for charts. My kids get new name plates every few years depending on their age, with the reverse-side charts focusing on some aspect of their English studies; e.g., ABCs, numbers, colors, bugs, maps, etc. From third grade, I also include their names in cursive writing.

Activities

Of the three game modals — matching, ordering and discovery — there are activities you can use with your name plates that involve all three. Below are 13 activities to try out in class.

Note: I learned early on NOT to play games where students can lose their name card to another player. It can upset them! Make sure that when you use name plates they are not the object of trade between players during a game.

Name Plates Donald's English Classroom 3

1. Name Search When young students receive their name cards, for the first few weeks collect the name cards at the end of each class. At the beginning of the next class, arrange their name cards on a table. During roll call, each student must collect their card from the table. Keep a watch over this activity as mistakes will be made!

2. Seating Use the name cards to determine seating arrangements. Collect all the cards and redistribute them according to your intended activity or arrangement. Students must locate their new seats or desks. This works well to prepare for games, break up cliques, or get students working with different partners during activities.

3. Line Up #1 No doubt, lining kids up to play a game or go home is an important part of class routines. Using their nameplates, have kids line up in alphabetical order. With your littlest kids, point to the ABCs and ask them if their name begins with A, B, or C, etc. This kind of ordering is a preliminary exercise that aligns itself with phonics and dictionary work later on! If your cards have birthdays, have the kids line up in the order of the months. With practice, older kids learn to negotiate their place in line themselves.

4. Line Up #2 I call this fun activity “Roll Out” and it works great as a method for lining kids up. Think of a luggage conveyer belt in an airport. Have kids sit in a tight circle on the floor. Slowly begin streaming student name cards into the circle with students passing the cards around the circle left to right. When a student’s own name card lands in her hands, she rolls backwards out of the circle and gets in line. Keep the cards circulating until all the students identify their own card. Mistakes will be made so be ready to jump in when necessary. Sometimes it will take two or three passes for a student to recognize their card — and that’s OK.

5. Early Finishers If you have early finishers, have students write all their classmates’ names in alphabetical order.

6. Chants Line up all the names on a table and recite your favorite choosing chant. Do this regularly and you’ll be surprised how quickly students pick up and enjoy the language.

7. Choosing Teams To divide students into teams, collect all their cards, and randomly pull each name out of a box.

8. Who’s Turn? When playing a whole-class game where students take turns such as Bingo, put all the players’ names in a box or basket. After one student has taken their turn drawing a Bingo card, they then pull a name card out of the box to choose the next student’s turn.

9. Discovery! Try a quick discovery game using students’ names! Using a piece of paper with a large hole cut out of the center, move the piece of paper all around a name card so students can only see parts of the name. Do the same activity by covering the whole name with a sheet of paper, slowly revealing the name, end to front. Help students out by sounding out the visible letters until a student recognizes her name.

10. Spell it Out! Collect all the students’ name cards. Verbally spell out each name. When a student recognizes his name, return their card. Prep students for this activity by setting students up with the task of spelling out their names for you as they point to the letters on their card. ‘How do you spell…’ is an oft-heard question in my classroom.

11. Name Bingo Because names are already printed on their cards, no prep needed! If using game markers, students cover each letter as they are drawn at random. If the cards are laminated, use whiteboard markers. Keep this in your arsenal of games if, for any reason, you need to fill time, keep students busy, or have an unexpected change in the day’s lesson plan. It happens. It’s also a quick and fun game for students of all ages.

12. Memory Game As your students become better able to read their classmate’s names, try a memory game! Place three students’ cards on the board. Turn your back and have a student-helper turn over one card. Turn back around and guess the hidden name. Don’t forget to sound out and read the visible cards as well. Continue to add cards for each round. Remember, it’s fun for students to sometimes see the teacher struggle!

13. Matching When introducing cursive to your students, write all their names in cursive on the board. Collect all the students’ name cards and ask students to match the name cards to their cursive equivalent.

Over time, and with exposure, kids will gradually start reading and recognizing their classmates’ names. This is perfect as I expect my upper elementary kids to take attendance each week — an activity students love to do and sometimes use to spoof my language. It’s OK. I can take a roasting. They just don’t realize how proud I am they learned to read each other’s names. Nameplates undoubtedly help me get students to that level.

I hope these 13 activities spark some ideas for your own classes! Give them a try and let me know how it goes in the comments below! If you’re interested in any of the nameplate templates pictured above, be sure to visit my store to learn more!

Donald Kinney
Kinney Brothers Publishing