101 Teaching Tips

8/13/2019 101 Teaching Tips

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101 Teaching Tipsto Help You Reach Their Hearts and Challenge Their Minds

by Linda Kardamis


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Text Copyright 2013 Linda Kardamis

All Rights Reserved


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Contents

Classroom Management ............................................................................................................................... 5

Parent Communication ................................................................................................................................. 9

Reaching the Heart ....................................................................................................................................... 7

Kingdom Impact ............................................................................................................................................ 8

Teacher-Student Relationships ..................................................................................................................... 9

Academics ................................................................................................................................................... 12

Personal Growth, Encouragement, and Productivity ................................................................................. 16


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Classroom Management

1. Be strict and kind.Why do we have the idea you have to choose between being strict and kind? Thebest teachers are both. Have high expectations but always be kind and encouraging. I write more

about this in my postShould You Really Not Smile Until Christmas?

2. Be calm but firm in your discipline. Yelling at students only creates a funny story for them to telltheir friends. Instead, speak calmly but firmly. When you speak to them respectfully they are more

likely to listen to what you are saying.

3. Realize that if your class is out of control its your fault. That may sound really harsh, and I promiseIm not just trying to send you on a guilt trip. But if you want to fix your classroom you have to stop

blame-shifting and take responsibility. My first year I had a few classes that were a mess, and it was

because I had made some mistakes. I wasnt a horrible teacher, but I needed to learn from my

mistakes & correct them. If your classroom is out of control, start by owning it then getting help to

start getting it to where it needs to be.

4. Identify problems. What is the biggest problem in your classroom right now? Talk to anadministrator or fellow teacher about what you can do to correct it.

5. Be confident in your ability to discipline. If youre not, students will sense this and will push theboundaries even more. If youre not confident that you know how to handle discipline problems,

work with a veteran teacher to write out a list of how you will respond to various issues. Then,

practice these responses in front of a mirror.

6. If youre not sure the student should receive a punishment, dont give one. If the situation isunclear, err on the side of grace. But talk to the student and discuss with them what the appropriate

behavior should be. Hopefully you will not have the problem again. If you do, though, the student

has been previously warned so it should no longer be a confusing situation, and you can give the

punishment then.

7. When correcting students, dont interrupt the flow of class. Whenever possible, get students backon track quickly and without drawing attention to the misbehavior. A look, a students name, or a

quick comment can often redirect the student without disrupting your lesson.

8. Give grace when appropriate.Dont feel so bound to your rules that you cant give grace when youknow its needed. God gives grace to us and sometimes a little mercy is just what our students need.

Be sensitive to Gods Spirit and ask for wisdom to know when grace is appropriate.(If youre worried

that giving grace means youre not being fair, take a look at my postsGods Not FairandIf Gods Not

Fair, Should We Be?)

9. Dont give grace to avoid a confrontation.Sometimes we teachers claim we are giving a studentgrace when were actually just trying to avoid a confrontation. Maybe we dont have time to deal

with it today or maybe we dont know what to say. In this case, we are actually doing the student a

disservice. Plan the time, ask for help, or do whatever you need to do. But talk with the student and

hand out consequences if needed. Grace should be reserved for situations when you feel led by God

to give it.
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Reaching the Heart

18.Pray for your students. If you haventalready, develop the habit of praying for your students. Beintentional by printing off a roster and checking off each name as you pray.

19.Seek to reach the heart when disciplining. If you simply tell the student stop doing that and handout a detention, you may fix the problem in your class, but you arent really helping that student to

grow. Instead, try to reach their heart by listening to them and speaking Gods truth.

20.Ask questions when disciplining.When you need to have a discussion with a student, dont just givea lecture. Instead, ask questions. This not only engages them in the discussion but also allows you to

better understand the real issues behind the behavior.

21.Pray for wisdom.We desperately need wisdom as teachers, and God promises to give it if we ask infaith (James 1:5). Make this a constant prayer of your heart.

22.Realize that slow is fast and fast is slow. This is a principle I am definitely still learning, but its truthis profound. And it especially applies to our dealings with students. If we try to rush through a talk

with a student, it probably wont do much good and well end up having to repeat it again and again.

Fast is slow. But if we take the time needed to engage the student fully, we have a bigger impact

and end up actually helping the student now. Slow is fast.

23.Look for the whybehind the behavior problem. Its so easy to just try to correct the behavior itself,but so often theres a lurking problem behind the misbehavior. If a problem is persisting, try to

figure out what is causing the student to misbehave and get at the root issue.


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Kingdom Impact

24.Teach character. Whenever an opportunity arises, teach your students how to be young people ofcharacter and integrity. In a public school this may be a bigger challenge but is just as important.

25.Teach Biblical truth every chance you get. Weave Gods truths into your subjects every waypossible. Be creative. Even in a math class, you can incorporate Biblical principles into your word

problems. If you teach in a public school, dont let yourself off the hook: you can still incorporate

Gods truths without saying theyre from the Bible.

26.Teach your students about Americas true Christian heritage. You dont have to be a historyteacher to impress upon them the importance of our nations godly heritage. Incorporate patriotism

and love of country into your lessons. For more information, check outWallbuilders.comor read my

postAmericas Hope.

27.Affirm marriage and family. Marriage and the family are under attack in our society, and many ofour students are suffering the consequences of broken homes. We need to seize every opportunity

we can to teach our students about Gods plan for marriage and the home.

28.Teach your students that its a good thing life isnt fair. I heard lifes not fair a million timesgrowing up, but it always just seemed to be a not-so-helpful Band-Aid on an emotional wound.

Instead, lets teach our kids why life is not fair. Its because God is not fair. But thats a good thing

because He doesnt punish us as we deserve but instead gives us more blessings than we could ever

earn. Check out my postsGods Not FairandIf Gods Not Fair, Should We Be?

29.Teach your students how the Bible relates to your subject. Every subject provides opportunities toteach Biblical truth. As a math teacher, I find this a little challenging as theres not an obvious

Biblical application for taking the square root of 81. But even math reveals the majesty and order of

our Creator, and I can instill this wonder in my students.

30.Teach your students how to love God.I grew up in a Christian home, but I didnt start making aconcerted effort to love God until just recently. We need to remind our students that the greatest

commandment is to love God. Then, lets teach themhow to fall in love with Him.

31.Teach your students what a true prayer request is.My husband is great at explaining this tostudents. He says that you should only share a prayer request with the class if you yourself are also

praying for it on your own. So if you are genuinely praying that your basketball team will win the

game or that your hamster will get better, go ahead and share it. But if youre not praying for it on

your own, then dont. This, of course, puts the focus back where it should be: on students actually

bringing their requests before God.

32.Try different kinds of prayer with your students. Vary the ways you pray as a class. Of course youcan take volunteers but you can also try other methods. Have the students split up into groups of 2-

3 to share requests and pray. This helps the more timid students to get involved. Another method is

called pop corn prayer in which you start and then any student can start praying out loud when

you are finished. Dont be afraid to have long pauses during this kind of prayer. Teach the students

that if theres a pause, everyone should just pray silently. And that brings us to another option give

your students a minute or two to pray silently on their own.
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Parent Communication

33.Remember that parents are ultimately responsible for their children. When interacting withparents, keep in mind the Biblical principle that parents are responsible to God for their childrens

education. Sometimes our eagerness to help just makes it easier for parents to abdicate their God-

given responsibilities. Its okay (and good) to put the ball back in the parents court.

34.Email parents often. More communication is always better than less. Is your class struggling with atough chapter? Email the parents a week before the test to give them a heads up and specific

pointers about how they can help their students study.

35.Email parents encouragement. Intentionally notice when a student does something well and sendthe parent an email telling them about it. Do this for all your students but especially for those who

struggle.

36.Contact parents when giving discipline. Whenever you must give a larger punishment such as adetention, contact the parents to explain why. This gives you the opportunity to tell the real story

before the student tells a distorted version. I remember one time I had a student who was eatingcandy in class. I told her to stop but she continued eating. I probably shouldve given a detention

then but I gave her one more warning and she still kept eating. Obviously she received a detention

for disobedience. When I called her mom, she informed me that her daughter said the detention

was for eating candy. Im glad I was able to clarify.

37.Help parents think Biblically. Sometimes when you and a parent dont see eye-to-eye its due to apersonality conflict, misunderstanding, or confusion. Other times, however, the parent may not be

thinking Biblically. Instead of being defensive, humbly take the parent back to the Bible. Show him

Gods truth and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to his heart. For more tips about communicating with

parents, see my postHow to Communicate More Effectively With Parents.

38.Be humble. Dont go into conversations with your gloves up and ready for a fight. And dont thinkthat youre always right. Instead, listen carefully to the parents concerns then humbly address

them. Your attitude will make all the difference. Read more abouthow to deal with frustrating

parents.
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Teacher-Student Relationships

39.Show your students you care. I know you realize this is important, but its easy to forget in thebusyness of a school year. Are you making an intentional effort to show your students you care

about them? Compliment them, ask about their hobbies, try to attend their sporting events, and

remember their birthdays.

40.Think win-win. This principle espoused by Stephen Covey inThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective Peopleis extremely powerful and far-reaching. When disciplining your students or speaking with parents,

dont view it as a me versus them situation. Everyone has the same desire for the student to

excel. Start from there and help the student see what they need to do differently to help themselves

succeeda win-win.

41.Remember that growth takes time. Think back to the knuckle-headed things you did when youwere in schooland you turned out pretty good, right? But seriously, God is still working on each of

us, and He is also working in our students. It doesnt happen overnight for us, so we need to

remember that it will take time (maybe even years) for our students to grow and mature as well.

42.Dont give up on the student whos driving you crazy. Its okay to admit ittheres always at leastone student whos extra challenging. But dont give up on them. Instead, love them, pray for them,

and work on developing a meaningful relationship with them. For more ideas, see my postWhat to

Do With the Kid Whos Driving You Crazy.

43.Dont try to be your students friend. You are their teachertheir mentornot their friend. Yes,you should be invested in their lives, but you should not be trying to gain their favor. For more about

how to be professional without being distant,check out my post on that topic.

44.Dont have students as Facebook friends. You are your studentsteacher and mentor, not theirfriend. So dont have them as your Facebook friends. Youre not a professional teacher on Facebook,

and your students dont need to see your vacation pics, lols, and emoticons.

45.Sayplease and thank you.Make it a habit to saypleasebefore making a request or correction andthank youafterwards. Such as Sam, please sit up and pay attention. Thank you. Such courtesy and

kindness is never wasted and always appreciated. [Thanks toThe First Days of Schoolby Harry and

Rosemary Wong for this great piece of advice.]

46.Encourage students when they give wrong answers. Be careful not to make your students feelstupid when they answer incorrectly. Try something like, I can tell youre thinking, but actually..

or close, but you forgot.

47.Complement your students often. Complement anything you cantheir performance in sports,their new purse, or their singing ability. But especially complement them when they do well in class.

Notice little improvements and tell the student you appreciate them.

48.Pray with your students.If you teach at a Christian school, take every opportunity to pray with yourstudents. You can do this with the whole class and also individually as you have one-on-one

conversations.
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49.Have a spot for students to submit prayer requests. While its not necessarily a bad idea to takeprayer requests in class, this can quickly eat up a lot of time. An alternative is to have a place for

students to write down their prayer requests. Consider having a way for them to tell you whether or

not it is private. Then you can read them aloud to the class. (If you dont teach at a Christian school,

you may still be able to have some type of voluntary system where you privately pray for requests

your students bring. Check with your administration to see if such a system would be appropriate.)


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Academics

50.Have high expectations.Its so easy to get frustrated with a group of students that just doesntseem to be trying. But if we dont think our students will succeed,they certainly wont. We need to

believe in our students potential. Our students can tell whether or not we think they are capable of

success.

51.Have a start-of-class assignment. Start each class (or the school day for elementary) with anassignment. Display this assignment in the same place every day and train students to get started on

this without your having to tell them. This will give you time to take attendance and complete other

administrative tasks without wasting time.

52.Be strategic about when to spend extra time on a concept and when to move on. If the concept isfoundational to the rest of the course, its worth spending as much time on it as is needed. But if its

not as essential as other lessons, dont be afraid to move on, even if a few students are still

confused.

53.Go over tests at the end of the class period (or for elementary, before a hard break like lunch). Ifyou find yourself spending half the class going over a test when you thought it would only take five

minutes, this is the answer for you. Start going over the test at the end of class and youll limit how

much time you spend on it. If students have additional questions, they can ask them after class. This

will cut out the time-wasting questions and leave you with the genuine ones.

54.Use question marks when grading in class. When you have students grade each others papers,dont take questions. It wastes way too much time. Instead, train them to put a question mark next

to any answers about which they are unsure.

55.Read answers quickly when grading in class. You dont need to read the answers slowly so thatstudents can keep up. They will learn to pay attention if you read them more quickly. Not only will

this save time, but it will also keep students from being bored to tears by the slowness.

56.Recite quickly. Repetition is the key to learning, so its a great idea to recite out loud as a class. Butplease dont let it be slow and boring. When reciting as a class, speak loudly, quickly, and with

enthusiasm. The class will learn to keep up with the increased pace. Not only will you save time, but

your students will be more engaged when the recitation is lively and interesting.

57.Give back-to-back instructions. Dont sayTake out your history book, wait until everyone gets itout and then say Turn to page 38 (and wait again). Instead, give back-to-back instructions. Say

Clear your desk, get out your history book and turn to page 38. This saves time and helps the

students learn to listen and follow directions.

58.Have your students keep their desks clear. When students have a stack of books on their desks itspretty easy for them to hide a note theyre writing or an assignment theyre working on. But if you

ask them to put everything else away, you focus their attention on the task at hand.

59.Teach with a sense of urgency.When I was studying to be a teacher, this phrase was constantlyused. And Ive found it to be very appropriate. You want to feel a sense of urgency to teach as much

as possible in the time you have. That means you wont waste time or allow your students to waste


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the classs time either. Now, of course, this doesnt mean youll always accomplish everything you

have planned. But it should mean that your students can sense that you value what you are teaching

and expect everyone to work diligently to learn it.

60.Dont just lecture. Students learn much more when they are actually doing something. This doesntmean you have to plan elaborate projects. However, students do need to be engaged with

discussions, assignments, etc. The students should be the ones doing most of the work (as opposed

to you) because that is the best way for them to learn.

61. Incorporate writing in your class. When I was first approached with this idea, I was a little skeptical.Writing in a math class? Really? But as I learned more about it and started implement the strategies,

I was thrilled with the results. For more information, check out my posts onwhy I incorporated

writingand5 easy ways to start.

62.Use the dramatic pause.The pause is an incredibly effective method for gaining attention. Use itstrategically in your lessons to build and maintain interest.

63.Use eye contact.We all know eye contact is important, but sometimes we spend more time lookingat our notes, visuals, or presentations than we do at our students. Dont just look around the room.

Catch a students eye and talk right to him.

64.Connect the unknown to the known. When you introduce a new topic, try to connect it with aconcept the students already know and understand. This will provide continuity and aid your

explanation.

65.Use visuals.Dont just talk during your lessons. Use visuals to help gain and keep studentsattention.

66. Intersperse questions throughout your lesson.Not only will this help keep the students attentionbut it will also help you gauge how well they understand your teaching.

67.Call on all your students in each class. Make it a goal to call on each student each class period (orsubject). You wont always get there, but making the effort will help you connect with all your

studentsnot just the ones who always raise their hands.

68.Push for deeper understanding. Dont be afraid to push your students to think deeply and givemore complete answers. Ask questions such as, How do you know that? Why do you think thats

true? or What would happen if _______?

69. If a student doesnt know the answer to your question, come back to him. If a student answersincorrectly or simply doesnt know the answer, dont just move on. Yes, you may call on another

student to give the correct answer, but go back to the original student. You can say something like,Did you catch that, Nathaniel? The top of a fraction is called what?

70.Use the students name when complementing them. Adding a students name when you give acomplement just makes it a little more meaningful. This also works when writing a note on a

students paper. Great job, Makenzie! resonates a little more than a generic Great job!

71.Teach your students how to use pneumonic devices. Putting facts into songs or catchy phrases canreally help your students remember information. I can still tell you all about the glands of the body
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from a song I created in junior high. And Ill never forget to capitalize the name of the company not

what they make because my 7thgrade English teacher mustve said that phrase a million times.

72.Have a homework policy. If your school doesnt already have one, develop a homework policy foryour class. What will happen if a student doesnt turn in an assignment? Communicate your policy

clearly to the students and parents.

73.Make sure students write their homework down.With elementary and middle school students,take time the first few weeks of school to walk around and make sure the students are writing their

homework down.

74.Be aware of major school events. Be mindful of major events that in which your students areinvolved and adjust homework and test dates accordingly. For example, if a group of your students

is heading out of town for a weekend basketball tournament, try not to have a major test on

Monday.

75.Make sure your grading weighting system is reasonable.When determining your weighting system,be sure the numbers work out the way you intend them to. If youre not good with numbers, askthe

math teacher to take a look at your figures. Heres an example of a mistake in weighting: Quizzes

count as 20% and homework as 10% but you grade 20 quizzes per quarter and only 5 homework

assignments. Thus, each quiz counts as 1% of the final grade and each homework as 2%. You didnt

intend for each homework assignment to be worth more than each quiz, but it worked out that way.

(And if youre lost just looking at all those numbers I gave you, that means you probably need

someone to look over your weighting with you.)

76.Post a sample test and quiz. Getting to know the teaching style of a new teacher can be verystressful for students. Make the transition easier by posting a sample test and quiz. (This should

have sample questions; it should not be a real test or quiz.) This gives the students an idea of your

testing style and what types of questions they can expect.

77.Make your test questions clear. Unclear test questions cause unnecessary frustration and anxietyfor students and can even strain your relationship with them. If your question is even the least bit

confusing, clarity it or reword it. If youve noticed your students complaining about unclear

questions, ask a colleague to look over your tests and help you see whats causing the confusion.

78.Count spelling but let the students redeem their points.Whether or not to take points off forspelling is a tough question to answer, and its really up to you. When I first started teaching math, I

didnt take off for spelling because this was one of my pet peeves as a student. But I soon found the

students were consistently misspelling key terms. My solution was to take off point for each

misspelled word, but if the student wrote all the misspelled words 5 times, I would give them back

the missed points. This kept their grade from being penalized unnecessarily while also keeping me

from having to chase around students for their words. If they didnt write them, I left their grade as

is. This system worked well, and the students spelling dramatically improved.

79.Protect the integrity of your tests. Be careful about protecting your tests to prevent cheating. Dontleave a copy lying on your desk. Dont hand them back to the class if a student hasnt taken it yet. If

you plan to use the same test next year, dont let students keep the tests at all. I had a teacher in

high school that had us keep all our papers (including tests) in a binder. So what do you think


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happened when younger siblings took the same class with the same tests? Yeah, he was just begging

for them to cheat.

80.Grade quizzes and tests as soon as possible.Give yourself deadlines and do your best to meetthem. My goal is to have quizzes and tests graded within two school days.

81.Challenge your bright students.Itseasy to just ignore your best students. Instead, try to think ofways you can challenge them. I share how I did this in apost about challenging bright students.

82.At the start of the year, teach both procedures and material.If you dont teach procedures in thebeginning of the year, you will most certainly pay for it. But Ive been amazed to hear from teachers

who dont teach any of their lessons for the first week or two of school. That also breeds problems

because the students need to see from the first week that your subject is important to you and that

you will be diligently working to learn it. The key is to balance the two. Instead of teaching purely

procedures and then starting content, intersperse the two. Teach both procedures and content the

first week, even if you only have time for 5-10 minutes of actual learning in each subject. You should

find that you gradually need less time for procedures and can focus more of the period on content.

83.At the end of the year, have your students write letters to next years class.This is a fun activitythat can also be helpful for the next year. Ask your students to write a letter to the next class giving

tips or advice for how to succeed in your class. Of course youll need to screen them, but its pretty

neat to see what the students say.
http://teach4theheart.com/2013/07/10/yes-you-can-challenge-your-brightest-students/http://teach4theheart.com/2013/07/10/yes-you-can-challenge-your-brightest-students/http://teach4theheart.com/2013/07/10/yes-you-can-challenge-your-brightest-students/http://teach4theheart.com/2013/07/10/yes-you-can-challenge-your-brightest-students/


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95.Protect your family time. With so much to do and so little time, its easy to take home mounds ofgrading each night. While you may need to do some work at home, make sure you dont isolate

yourself with your stack of papers and neglect your family. Be intentional about putting aside work

for a time and enjoying your family.

96.Use social media to continually improve.Follow other educators on Twitter or Pinterest and jointeacher groups on Facebook or Linked-In. Youll be amazed how many new ideas youll find. If you

dont know how to use one of these social media platforms, ask a friend or teacher to show you. You

can start by following me onTwitteror joining ourChristian TeachersLoungeFacebook discussion

group.

97.Plan ahead. My goal is always to have everything ready for the whole week before Mondaymorning. Thus, I spend the current week preparing for the next week instead of planning for the

next class. Its not any extra work its just done ahead. The benefit? If something comes up (and

doesnt this happen all the time), Im not in a jam. Teaching is stressful enough as it is waiting till

the last minute definitely just adds to it.

98.Go to bed earlier and get up earlier.Full disclosure, I dont often take this advice myself as myhusband is a night owl. But Ive done it enough to know it works wonders. Not only do you feel more

rested, but youre able to get a whole lot more done with 30 extra minutes in the morning than you

can with 30 extra minutes at night.

99.Nap when you need it. When I was pregnant I resorted to napping in my walk-in closet during myfree hours. And before you start laughing too hard at me, you should know I later found out I wasnt

the only one to do this. I dont know if I recommend napping in your closet, but making time to nap

when youre exhausted is definitely worth it. I know it feels like you dont have time. But honestly,

youll be much more effective if you rest and refresh yourself for 20 minutes than if you try to keep

running on empty.

100. Remember how important your role is.When youre discouraged, frustrated, or just plainexhausted, remember how vital your role as a teacher is. You are training the next generation, and

how you train them will make a huge difference not only in their own lives but also in the future of

our society and the kingdom of God. You have an incredible calling. So dont give up, and leverage

your influence as much as possible to have the most positive influence you can.

101. Think Biblically.Its so easy to just do what has always been done or what comes naturally. Butas Christians we instead need to follow the Bible in all things. If what everyones doing (or what

youve always done) doesnt match up with Scripture, let the Bible be your guide.

If youve found these tips to be helpful, check out my e-bookCreate Your Dream Classroom.Designed

to help new teachers conquer the learning curve and to bring fresh ideas to veterans, its the perfect

resource for Christian teachers.
https://twitter.com/LindaKardamishttps://twitter.com/LindaKardamishttps://twitter.com/LindaKardamishttps://www.facebook.com/groups/ChristianTeachersTalk/https://www.facebook.com/groups/ChristianTeachersTalk/https://www.facebook.com/groups/ChristianTeachersTalk/https://www.facebook.com/groups/ChristianTeachersTalk/https://www.facebook.com/groups/ChristianTeachersTalk/http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EVSIV44http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EVSIV44http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EVSIV44http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EVSIV44https://www.facebook.com/groups/ChristianTeachersTalk/https://twitter.com/LindaKardamis

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101 Teaching Tips