Parents! I need your teen(s) and your POV! Am starting HS teaching job Tuesday!

[Whoa_Nelly]

Hi all!

A little long, but much appreciated if you'll read this post through :hi:

As many of you know, I was hired this past week to teach SpEd Math at the high school level, Learning disabled, other disabilities and Mildly Mentally handicapped, Sophomore-Senior age. (ratio of boys to girls overall is about 5:2)
I am very excited and happy about this! :D

I have had some previous time with these students while substituting for the district here.
I also observed in the classroom this past Friday.

These kids have had their previous teacher fired before Winter Break,
(don't know why, but the kids had not made any academic gains in his classroom)have had a substitute since coming back (and she has done a wonderful job!),
but the majority of these kids are not buying into their learning, and are somewhat out of control in terms of classroom behaviors.
The majority of them don't know their multiplication tables, order of operations, and more...all the basics necessary to bring them to the district and IEP goals of beginning level Algebra !.

Since this week is a three day week only for the kids
(Monday-MLK, Jr. Day and Friday is a teacher's Personal Development day)
am throwing the Math book out the window, so to speak, (for just this week), and am going to do Inventories to have hard copy of what these kids CAN do, and to get to know them better.

I want the kids to buy in to their learning, and have a ownership and personal responsibility.
The inventories are just part of what I have in my lesson plans for this next week, but I really think I can learn a lot very quickly coming into the classroom after the year they have had so far.

My question to you, and to your teens, if they want to input here, is this:
What type of questions, things should I look to find out about them as students.

Thanks for any and all input here! :hi: :loveya:


I'm not looking to be the "cool teacher", but am seeking a sudden change in the classroom for these kids to grab their attention, and give them a way to get on the path to be in charge of their learning


My inventories are going to include:

Control Issues
(learning how they perceive what they can and cannot control)

Personal Interests
(Will be using open-ended sentences, some yes/no/maybe questions, info, such as b-day, # people in family, etc., and student input in writing and/or drawing)

Learning Climate
(physical classroom and attitude...the room is a mess and very dull...I want them to tell me what they want up on the walls and what they would take down)

Math Ability
(Yes, no, some will be the choices, along with some actual problems to solve, some match-ups to order of operations, addition and multiplication properties, etc.)


Goal setting questions
For today, for the school year, outside of school, life, etc., and somewhat in same format as Personal Interest inventory)

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. wow!!

You go, girl!

:yourock:

[Whoa_Nelly]

5. Thanks!

I figure by being the new kid in town, better to something completely out of the norm to engage them right away.

[rosesaylavee]

2. How about asking what kind of learning environment

can they all agree to be part of? What type of behaviors will they support? For instance, will they speak to each other with respect? Will they let one person speak at a time and listen to that one person speaking? Will they allow people to say I just don't know the answer without being ridiculed?

You are a brave soul. Thank you for sharing your skill with the kids that need you the most.

[Whoa_Nelly]

3. Excellent!

Was planning on doing this at the end of the period as a processing time the first two days...maybe more if needed, and definitely as needed and/or weekly.
I will have 2-two 50 minute periods of two groups of students: group 1--4th and 5th period (125 min.) and group 2--6th and 7th period. (125 min.)

Am planing on using the basics of TRIBES,
http://www.tribes.com/
a peer communication, classroom community building program in which I have training.

Thank you for your input! Great starter questions for processing! :hi:

[XemaSab]

10. This is a good idea...

Maybe sort of a contract for each student to sign... with what's expected of them and what they can expect from you? :shrug:

[Whoa_Nelly]

14. Good idea!

Am starting out with the inventories as a way to begin actual student work portfolios.

I think contracts may be part of what will be needed for some, if not all students, once we're on the same page.
Am mostly trying to engage them as positively as possible during this first short week.

Am sure your idea is one that will be used. Thanks!
Have bookmarked my thread here

:hi:

And come on by when you're in town!!! Extra guest room and bath and free of charge ;)

[XemaSab]

16. I totally will stop by sometime

Might not be for a few months, but it's on the schedule... :D

[Breeze54]

4. Include them in the decoration of the room, for starters

Give them lots of praise for tiny accomplishments!!

I wouldn't go to heavy into "family composition" at all.

Demand they do their homework and give them some but go easy.

My son was in one of those classes and he did well after he learned

the basic rules of math and Algebra. What really helped him take charge

of his own education was when I butted out. I didn't 'harp' on him about

doing HW anymore! We all (him, me & the teachers) agreed that at 16/17 yrs old,

he had to be responsible for his own behavior and that meant taking the punishment

for not completing assignments along with the praise for doing his work and turning

it in on time. Get the parents to back you on that!

He had only one detention for goofing off and he was "assigned" to the HW Help Center,

3 days a week and if he didn't go, he caught hell from the teachers. He graduated on time! :D

He said he also "hated" math but he soon loved it when it was explained like the rules of a game.

Hope that helps some. Boy, am I glad those days are over!! :P

[Whoa_Nelly]

7. Thanks for your thoughts!

I agree re: learning the rules, and all you shared.

Have taught SpEd at the elementary level (K-6) for years, and always was willing to tear it all apart, do task analyses on the how and why, and set it up for each student to be able to understand things in their own terms, and at their own pace.
Knowing the rules, having experiences to gain ownership of learning does go a long way.

Thanks! :hi:

[greenbriar]

6. are you familiar with Kagan strategies?

you need to do some class building activities

and some team activities



do some round robin questioning and ask them to talk about their favorite things ect...


then ask them what they want to do in life and point out the math necessity to do that...

[Whoa_Nelly]

9. Yes...Cooperative Learning Strategies

And am planning on picking up some cooperative classroom materials for older kids to do just that.

As it stands now, these kids have been having ALL sit down time in a darkened room, being taught MAth by copying from the overhead, with some answer only input from them.
I want this to change. Active learners are those who will remember and use what they have learned.

They need reason to their learning. I believe that even at this age, they can learn this and succeed in gaining it.


Thanks! Have made note to check out more Kagan strategies and cooperative learning structures. :hi:

[greenbriar]

17. check out the kagan website and really learn the strategies

it is very structured with character education instilled in every structure


(I just completed day 4 of Kagan) but if you start out using the structures, it makes learning fun

[Kajsa]

8. You go, Nelly!

That's a challenging yet rewarding assignment.

I substitute teach at the secondary level,
English, ESL. humanities and Special Ed. classes.
My son( HS autism) has been in the MH special ed. classrooms
throughout his school years.

Set down some basic rules at first- take turns talking, etc.
and work from there.

You have a great framework to start out with!

Engaging the students as much as possible is a great idea.

Warning- the short week will throw them off a bit.

Good luck and let me know how it goes!

:D :pals:

[Whoa_Nelly]

12. Yup...some rules are set in stone

School has a rule of no cell phones or iPods/earbuds during class, and if not followed, results in loss of the item being placed in the school office, parent called, and other consquences.
Am sure they will try to push the envelope with me on that rule.

And, of course, I will have basic rules of respect and expectations as well.

I have a plan I've been working on for the last couple of days in getting compliance to the cell phone/iPod rules, and creating Math visuals tied to money, fraction, decimals, graphs with period, daily, weekly and monthly totals to a monetary class-set goal to purchase a class goal decision(computer games, pizza party, etc. Am sure they will have a lot of ideas!)
Starting out with $1 per class period, with every infraction creating a specific cash loss (for example: $0.25.) But, with total class cooperation, will keep the total amount for that period.

Thanks! :hi:

[Breeze54]

15. My sons teacher gave out "Class Bucks" for accomplishments.

They got to 'spend' the 'class bucks' on trinkets in the class store. ;)
Some of the 'stuff' was cool too! Some was just childish but they're
still kids and they secretly loved it! ;)

If the whole class had a perfect score for all doing their HW

for a month, they got a pizza party and/or a movie. They LOVED that!

They loved having a goal to work towards as individuals (competition) and as a group!

His school principle confiscated all IPod/Cellphones used in class and I was called. :(

He didn't want that to happen at all! ;)

As the Mom of a child with LD's & ADHD, I know they feel abused (put down) by the
'smarter' students and they really want to please the teacher, if they think the teacher
is on their side. A person they can trust and whose opinion they value, at that age.

Just be 'real' with them, not all bossy and unreasonable.

[Whoa_Nelly]

19. Absolutely agree!

They are never too old to want rewards.

I hope I can become that person they can trust, and whose opinion they value.


Thanks for your ideas! :hi:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

11. My dear Whoa_Nelly!

No suggestions at all...

But you have lots of them right here in this thread...

Just wanted to say congratulations!

I know you will do well...

You thrive on a challenge, and this certainly qualifies!

:party: :toast: :bounce: :bounce: :toast: :party:

[Whoa_Nelly]

13. You do know me well, dear Peggy!

Thank you! :hug: :hi: :loveya:

[femmocrat]

18. No suggestions, just lots of best wishes!

It looks to me like you have great planning and it will go very well. Keep us posted, OK?

Have a great semester, Nelly! :hug:

[Whoa_Nelly]

20. Thanks, femmocrat!

Am sure I'll have my moments of from school to share, to rant, or to just decompress here in the Lounge.

:hi: :pals: :loveya: :hug: