guangzhou worlda daily: 10 Ways to Survive the Winter Months in Your Classroom

10 Ways to Survive the Winter Months in Your Classroom


The winter months can be filled with cold, dreary days, impatient students, and some pesky germs. If you live on the East coast then you (as well as your students) live for the snow days just because it helps break up those long winter days. Besides cooped up, impatient children, and germs that you just can't seem to get out of your classroom, you notice your students are having that mid-year slump and are bored with your classroom lessons already. To help you get out of this funk, use this complied list of tips and suggestions to help you get through those cold winter months with your students.

1.  Beat Those Pesky Germs in the Classroom
According to research 1 in 3 students will get a cold about four times a year. It's no wonder you have all of those germs in your classroom! So, what can you do about it? A lot! This article will give you tips on what parents can do at home (so their kids won't bring germs into the classroom) as well as what you can do in the classroom

2.  Keeping Healthy in the Classroom
Practicing good hygiene in your classroom will help keep your students clean and healthy. Here are a few activities that you can do in your classroom to help students understand about maintaining good hygiene, as well as how to keep those germs out!

3.  Be Ready for an Unexpected Sick Day
Are you prepared for an unexpected sick day? The winter months are the time of year when you will see a lot of colds, and most likely get a few yourself. You must be ready for this! Here are a few tips to help you be prepared so that when you are home resting, you won't be filled with anxiety about what your substitute teacher is doing in your classroom.
4.  Combat Teacher Burnout Before It's Too Late
After Christmas break many teachers feel the wrath of the mid-year burnout. There is no denying that teaching is a stressful job, so being able to deal with your stress is extremely important in order to continue the school year.
5.  Take a Daily Brain Break
It's cold outside which means less time to take the students outdoors. It's important to give your students a daily "brain break" in five minute intervals throughout the school day. Here are a few suggestions on how to do that.
6.  Make Learning Fun
The winter months are the perfect time to make learning fun again! Create fun experiments, hands-on learning activities, and go on fun virtual field trips! Here are a few more ideas on how to make learning fun in your classroom.
7.  Mindful Meditation Exercises
Mindful meditation can improve your health and make you feel stress-free! The dark, dreary winter months can make anyone feel down in the dumps! Use these mindful mediation exercises daily to make you feel less anxious, and more focused for yourself as well as your students.
8.  Practicing Yoga in the Classroom
Classrooms all over the nation are reaping the benefits of classroom yoga. The winter months are the perfect time to introduce this wonderful practice into your daily curriculum. Not only will you find that your students feel better, but you will too! Here are a few ideas on how you can get started today.
9.  Celebrate the 100th Day of School
During mid January - February you should hit the 100th day of school mark. Celebrate this day with your students by partaking in a few fun activities that incorporate the number 100. Here are a few ideas.
10.  Partake in Fun Book Activities
Have you ever heard of the saying "I want to just curl up by the fire with a good book?" Winter time is the perfect time to get your students reading! Here are 20 book-related activities for you to try.

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Guangzhou Worlda teacher Tips for classroom

Tips For The Classroom ---John acton Brown
Often we can learn from trial and error, observing others, or good old fashioned teaching. There’s no right way or wrong way, we all develop our own style to learn, and also to teach. Sharing experiences and ideas can help you become a better person.
For the past year I have been teaching at Oxford Kingdom in Houjie. I hope by sharing my experiences and ideas I can help other teachers working in Dongguan.
Some things are essential when leaving the classroom; feeling not only like you did a good job but that you made a difference is key for me. You have to be a realist and know that best laid plans will come unstuck every now and then. To be prepared is to be ready, and ready for action you must be.
1.In full focus
Some days are hot, some days are stickier than a bun factory’s spillage of extra-gummy jam. Some days it don’t come easy, some days it doesn’t come at all. Meat Loaf lyrics aside, you need focus. You cannot walk into any class half-heartedly. Finding the on switch is relatively easy. A smile, a blast of some good music, a stroll around the school grounds; anything to clear you mind and feel fresh. In the domain of teaching, insufficient time is afforded to that best buddy of the educator; relaxation. Daydreaming and doodling have been linked with high intelligence levels and creativity. I like to think all my best ideas have stemmed from drawing fictitious maps and brainstorms resembling that of a biro-inscribed cyclone.
 2.Made from concentrate
I hate being ignored. I detest it when I lose one or two students to boredom, tiredness or the pressures of stacked homework that is laid before them. I despise concentration being sapped by distractions. That said, I can understand. Empathy and sympathy are your allies. Your movements and actions will deliver your crowd. Think slapstick or stand-up comedy over standing up straight.
3.Realistic goals
This goes for both students and teachers because why aim too high and totally miss your targets? The level of English in schools or even within one grade can differ drastically. You can’t leave behind any stragglers and similarly you cannot abandon the child geniuses. The fine balance between testing and arduous should sit just above competence and challenging. With experience you can find that titrated line. If 80% of the class is at a level higher than the balance, you can over one semester encourage the inexperienced students onwards with more one-on-one assistance and praise. Their confidence might just need your backing and reassurance.

4.Lesson planning
I love to do something. I hate to plan. That said, a great plan gives fantastic guidance and helps you avoid stumbling into a ravine without a paddle for the creek below. Finding a lesson plan is easy. Then it must be tailored. The end product needs to suit you and you alone. For my lesson plans I slice them into ten key components. 1) Do you have a clear and outlined method? 2) The lesson should be segmented into presentation, practice and production areas. 3) How big will activities be? Teamwork versus pair work or smaller groups of four? 4) Push for student talking time, over teacher talking time. 5) Plainly outline the target phraseology and vocabulary. Avoid clutter. 6) Handouts, activities and supporting materials need to be noted clearly. 7) Is an example of board work necessary? 8) Minimize non-essential skills such as reading or writing when pushing for oral English practice. 9) Ensure the students practice what you have taught them and define how you can check this. 10) Ensure the task pours, surges and flows as required by bringing the matter to life with a great review.
5.Reviews
Perhaps, the only way you’ll ever develop as a teacher is by assessing the level of response from students in a review. If the games or activities are dull then a poker-face laden class will stare emptily until the class bell. If the final undertaking is too difficult, confusion and ignorance will call by for a bite to eat and you’re on the menu! Engaging review games can catch attention. They will reveal how much has been learnt. Using characters from popular culture like those of Super Mario Brothers, the latest boy bands, or famous sport stars will engage your crowd. If it is obscure, you’ll lose the crowd. That said, a personal touch reflecting you and your life can fascinate the gazing eyes. Add life, add personality and add some spirit. I have a class that has nicknamed me Tofu. Since then an entire Powerpoint presentation was based around a dialogue revolving around the food, a fictional superhero called Fantastic Tofu and the new game Super Tofu Brothers. If a particular class embraces something, you can play off it. It may be tedious to you, but dive in with full passion and join me in a method I like to call Teaching with Tofu!

And with those words of wisdom, I end on a quote by The Hold Steady, “We gotta stay positive”.