Best products from r/teaching

We found 60 comments on r/teaching discussing the most recommended products. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 175 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.

Top comments mentioning products on r/teaching:

u/_spaceman_spif_ · 1 pointr/teaching

If you have one hour total, then make sure to budget for the students' set up time as well as your own - we can do it ahead of time, but you'd be surprised at how long it takes a group of 30 teenagers to gather & assemble any lab materials, not to mention cleaning them up afterwards! Based on your description, I would budget for 5-15 minutes of time before & after your lab for students to get organized. (Obviously it depends on the complexity of the lab as well)

I would recommend that you take a good couple of labs at the beginning of your term to go over lab expectations/safety/equipment locations/clean up procedures so that you can save time during specific experiment introductions by being able to just focus on warnings applicable to the lab. I've done lab scavenger hunts before to help everyone familiarize themselves with where everything is located in the room.


For actual experiments, there are a number of great resources that I use.

Online:

Steve Spangler Science

> this guy is amazing, and you can find a video of almost every experiment he does on youtube. He also gives a list of required supplies and has other videos called "Sick Science" that are much more straightforward in their presentation

PBS Kids ZOOMScience

> these activities can sometimes be "young" for high school students, but there are a few really great ideas that are easy and quick to replicate in class.

Genome BC


> this is a site from British Columbia (my local curriculum) that has an awesome selection of genetics-related activities for grade 9-12. They are sorted by learning outcome & Grade, so I would try to find those outcomes that are most similar to what you're trying to get out of the experiments!

Let's Talk Science
> I haven't used this site too much, but it has a host of different hands-on activity links that you can download. They are categorized by topic and are available for multiple grade levels


Print:

Invitations to Science Inquiry by Tik Liem
> this is an AWESOME resource. There are more than 400 different activities for high school students compiled into one uber awesome book. It's hard to find, but I managed to find a .pdf online a while ago, so that might be your best bet if you can't find it in print.

Your department "library"
> many schools have collections of science books in their department office. If you don't have a department office, then ask the other teachers in your school if they've built up a library of their own - chances are, they'll have a couple of great print resources that they'll share with you.

Other:

Your colleagues.
> I cannot express the importance of this one! Ask every other science teacher you can and you'll be rewarded with a plethora of information, tips, and points about specific activities. Someone's experience is often a better resource than a text or website will ever be.

That's what I can come up with off the top of my head. It sounds like you might have the opportunity to do a couple of larger-scale labs split up over multiple classes as well - this can be a great tactic for tackling bigger ideas as it gives students a chance to synthesize some of the material in between classes.

Oh, and DEMO DEMO DEMO. If you're ever doing an experiment where a specific set-up or multiple steps are required, SHOW THEM HOW TO DO IT. I made this mistake when I first started teaching and the amount of time that was wasted because students couldn't get even get their labs started was ludicrous. I'll sometimes even have a demo up at the front for them to refer to depending on the scenario (e.x. constructing electrical circuits).

Hope that helps!

u/apeacefulworld · 4 pointsr/teaching

I have so much empathy for you because I have definitely been where you are. This is my sixth year teaching middle school, and it gets better. My first year was rough (I remember one student asking me, "Why don't you act like a real teacher?"). So, please don't get discouraged!

I think a lot of the advice you've been given is spot on. I really liked Fred Jones Tools for Teaching. It gives really clear, practical advice for setting the tone and structuring your class.

You'll take some time to settle into a tone and a style that works for you. I remember during my first year, I felt that I had to be really authoritative. I wore my hair in a bun, wore heels so I'd be taller than the student, and I tried to be rigid and not show too much of my personality. Huge mistake! Now I'm much more myself and I allow my students to know a little more about me (I talk about my cat, my travels, etc.). They like me (well most of them do!), and they want to impress me and don't want to disappoint me. Part of that came with them seeing me as a real person.

I also learn as much about them as possible. I love Google Forms. If you haven't done it already, a getting to know you type survey is great for starting to build that relationship and trust. Here's the one I gave this year. It's nice because then I can reference things from their survey when I'm talking with them one on one (e.g. "You like the Pacers? I don't know ... I'm more of a college basketball fan myself.") It means a LOT to kids that you care about getting to know them personally. I make flashcards for myself with their names and faces at the beginning of the year because I'm terrible with names. I also recognize birthdays with a homework pass and a note (that would be a lot harder with the number of kids you work with!)

The other thing I had to figure out by myself was the right and wrong way to confront a kid who is misbehaving. Instead of "Lift your head and pay attention!," I now come over, crouch down, and ask "Are you feeling okay?" Kid might be sick, tired, in a horrible mood ... better to assume the best then accuse them of the worst. Someone posted this video recently, which I wish I'd seen my first year of teaching!

Do you have any positive reward systems in your class? My kids love class raffles for individual positive behavior, and my sixth graders love earning bouncy balls for positive class behavior. Fill the jar, and the class gets a prize (homework passes / cookies / mini party). I started seeing a lot more positive peer pressure to behave! If you can group the in small collaborative groups, then reward good group behavior, that can lead to positive peer pressure as well.

Don't give up. You'll adapt and grow, and every day will get better and you'll feel more natural.

u/ktgator · 1 pointr/teaching

I think this is an older version, but Pre-Referral Intervention Guide. They made us get that book for my internship, but it has helped me incredibly as a classroom teacher with interventions for TIPS/RtI.

Also, Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire gave me the idea for my classroom economy which was incredibly successful my first year and super inspirational.

Finally, I just started reading Ron Clark's books, and I wish I had read them before. They're super motivational/inspirational. The Essential 55 and The End of Molasses Classes.

Protip: I know I looked these up on Amazon, but check out Better World Books for cheap, good quality (for the most part) books with mostly free shipping...and the company donates a book for each book you purchase! :)

u/chi_city_teach · 4 pointsr/teaching

I work on the west side of Chicago in a extremely violent neighborhood. Students at my school have seen some pretty crazy things, and that trauma brings some really challenging behaviors. The specials teachers I've seen be successful have a few things in common.

  1. Predictable Routines:
    Kids know exactly what is expected of them throughout the entire class. The teachers have students practice this and model this for their class, narrating their behavior for everyone.
  2. A strong community: The most successful ones circle up at the beginning of class and take the time to build strong relationships with kids, going over content slowly at first to build up that trust and make it a safe environment for kids. Music might not be an activity where all kids feel like they can be successful, so if there is no trust kids are going to act up or avoid work in some way.
  3. Logical Consequences: Consequences are certainly needed, but they need to be fair. Buy Love and Logic! It is so great! Its a really easy read and can be such a great help as you start your teaching career. It is really practical advice on how to make kids feel like consequences are something they have earned, rather than something being done to them. It lets consequences be the bad guy and not you. Seriously, it is such a great book!!

    (Also, a fair consequence to being disruptive is "You can learn the rules by playing the game or by watching. Either is okay with me.")

u/elizinthemorning · 16 pointsr/teaching

I also use a "backwards design" method. My process has been really influenced by Understanding by Design by Wiggins & McTighe. I really recommend that book, but here are the key points that I keep in mind:

  • The thing that comes first is figuring out the essential questions for the unit. These are the questions that students will seek to answer as they study. They may not be questions with "right" and "wrong" answers, and they are definitely not questions that can be answered briefly. For example, a unit about Egypt might involve the question "How does geography affect the way people live?" or one about electricity might include "What influences how brightly a bulb shines?"

  • Next step is to identify what understandings the students should have at the end of the unit, such as "Students will know Ohm's Law (voltage = current * resistance)" or "Students will understand how the ancient Egyptians depended on the Nile River for food and that the presence of the river allowed a large civilization to develop."

  • Next develop assessments, considering what will prove that students have gained the understandings above. Perhaps the student has to build several kinds of circuits and explain aloud why the bulbs in the different circuits appear more or less bright. Maybe the student writes a short story from the point of view of an Egyptian farmer thinking about why the river matters.

  • Then, as with your method, the activities come last, again thinking about the previous step - what will give students the experiences and knowledge they need to gain those understandings so they can express them in the assessment later? This keeps units from being a collection of fun but only somewhat-related activities.

    That was kind of a long explanation, but it's kind of an involved process! It works really well for me, though - it keeps me tied in to the "big picture" of my goals for the kids' learning even as I plan the day-to-day experiences. Hope it helps!
u/windolf7 · 2 pointsr/teaching

Elementary music teacher here. Do circle games. Kids that age love circle games. Farmer In The Dell, Little Sally Water, Sailor Sailor, etc. There's a million of them, and the lyrics tend to be very simple and repetitive, so they should be easy to translate. I highly recommend this book as a source for circle games. Also, do some movement to music activities. I use the songs and movements from this amazing resource, but I also create my own, and I'm sure you could, too. Especially if you have musical training and understand form. If you're feeling brave, teach them some folk dances from any of the Amidon books. I'm doing Kings and Queens from Sashay The Donut with my third graders right now and they LOVE IT. (Cute story: Last year when the royal wedding was happening, my tough inner city kids were BEGGING me to do the kings and queens dance so that they could pretend to be in the wedding! So cute!)

Good luck!

u/taybot · 2 pointsr/teaching

Hey friend! Don't stress about the content for the time-being, this kid will pick up on your enthusiasm for the subject and that's important.

What you need to do figure out what topics/events you are going to cover. I am new to teaching US history as well, but have designed my year using a text book (this one, specifically). I will be teaching from the early explorers to the 1960s. You might want to consider picking up a textbook or finding a pdf of one online- not even to have your student use - but for your own guidance.

Next create a chart of your sessions. What topics will you cover for those lessons? What activities would you like to do? Something similar to this (but not nearly as detailed, just a few bullet points for your own information) just to keep you on track. I'm not from the States so I am not familiar with your state's standards or the Common Core. If you can find out information from the student's mother or online just to ensure the student is meeting his standards.

Look up techniques for home-schooling. You are probably able to get a lot done with him because it's all one-on-one and you're not running around a classroom to make sure everyone else is on task. Take the first couple of sessions with him to figure our what he's capable of, what his pace of learning is, and what ways of learning he responds to most.

Best of luck!

u/Keeperofthesecrets · 2 pointsr/teaching

Not sure how useful this would be. This dictionary might be useful. This is a Japanese site for learning English. But I'm surprised she doesn't have an electronic dictionary (denki jisho - 電気辞書) that she can use.

Labeling things is great as well as preparing phrase cards for common classroom phrases -
Excuse, can I use the bathroom.
Can you help me?
Can I borrow a ...?
I don't understand...
Where is/are the ....
Picture dictionary with classroom items.

Pair her with a reliable student and keep her nearby you. She'll probably be pretty dependent at first. Encourage a student to engage her in play and keep talking even if she doesn't respond. I noticed that often they won't respond or may give a confused look at first response, but just keep trying.

Japanese children are incredibly group oriented and being left out can be traumatizing. Just by being part of the class it's often assumed they are part of the group. She may not be used to asking people to play and may need someone to take the lead.

There are some cultural differences that will be hard to overcome. They take their shoes off inside and for PE. Kids help clean the school. They eat lunch in the classroom and help serve food. They stand when answering a question. They often have mandatory club activities after class. She might be further along academically...though they learn math in a very different way. Give her chances to share things from her culture or read Japanese tales in English.

Momotaro- Peach boy Taro
Urashimataro- Urashima and the kingdom beneath the sea

This site has online bilingual books depending on her ability level.
Also consider easy children's audiobooks.

If she's older she might actually be able to read English better than she speaks. Often Japanese learn English from early elementary school. The focus is on reading and writing, not speaking, so they're often too shy to speak even if they understand. Many English words are used in Japanese but may have vowel sounds added to them. For example taxi is takushi in Japanese. She may know British versions of words depending on who she had English lessons with, like eraser is rubber so be careful there.


u/The_Gatemaster · 2 pointsr/teaching

Daily 5 is interesting, but it's a lot to take on as a 1st year elementary school teacher. My suggestion would be to start with two of those (Read to Self and Word work) and then add the others in if they're being successful. Read to self is easy to get going and word work is going to just happen.

As a male teacher, you're possibly the first male teacher some of these kids have had. There will be a "cool" factor. Be sure to be yourself but also be firm. That said, at 3rd grade, there's a lot of "babyish emotions" that he may see and he may have to get in touch with his emotional side.

I think that male teachers have it a bit easier to make connections with kids in elementary school because there just aren't very many of them. I play out at recess and at times sit with them at lunch and it's "cool". When the female teachers do it, it doesn't seem to have the same effect. Though, I'm a tad younger than most of them.

I wouldn't worry too much about handwriting. Just slow down (he'll ahve to do that anyway since he's teaching 3rd grade).

My best advice, Go Slow to Go Fast. I used this book religiously my first few years (http://www.amazon.com/First-Weeks-School-Strategies-Teachers/dp/1892989042). Other books to check out would be http://www.amazon.com/First-Days-School-Effective-Teacher/dp/0976423316/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377217374&sr=1-1&keywords=first+weeks+of+school+harry+wong and http://www.amazon.com/First-Day-Jitters-Julie-Danneberg/dp/158089061X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377217409&sr=1-1&keywords=first+day+jitters

u/eletzi · 1 pointr/teaching

A common mistake and misperception about teaching is the focus that new teachers (and sometimes whole districts) place on daily planning. What I mean to say is that rather than focusing your energy on what's on for the next sixty minutes, your plan should have a larger goal and direction. When I taught in NYC, district rules required that I was able to produce a plan for what I was doing at that very moment, but never that I had a detailed idea of where the class was heading. The most effective teachers have a unit plan, and often design those plans backwards from the goals they wish the class to achieve.

Check out Understanding by Design, a really powerful system of resources and thinking about curriculum design that's also something that keeps coming up in the ed community.

Lots of this material will be discussed during your education coursework, but if you try examining some of this now, you'll be miles ahead of others in your classes.

edit: another resource I find amazingly useful is Bridging English, a textbook I bought for a methods class during my masters degree. I'm still constantly turning back to it and its incredible appendices. I now work in New Zealand, and nobody on this side of the world seems to have heard of it, but my colleagues have all had a look and love it.

u/cbilyeu · 2 pointsr/teaching

Great books to help you out, written in an easy to read way: tools for teaching http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0965026329/ref=mp_s_a_1?pi=75x60&qid=1344739213&sr=8-1
And the first days of school
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0976423316/ref=mp_s_a_1?pi=75x61&qid=1344739284&sr=8-1

Essentially, imagine what you want to look like to your students. What teacher do you remember standing out to you? Can you model them? Managing your demeanor and classroom like them will help you a lot.

Write a parent letter home for the different grade levels.

Sketch out what you plan on teaching for big ideas each month. September is identifying and correctly saying the computer parts (monitor, keyboard, etc) and.... If you do that for each level, you'll have expectations of where you want to go.

u/[deleted] · 2 pointsr/teaching

I completed my student teaching in April. I taught 7th and 8th grade Social Studies. I don't have a real teaching job yet, but my related experiences my be helpful to you.

Students and administration may not care, but that doesn't mean that you should stop caring. Especially in regards to the students: they will know when you don't care, or stop caring, and it will be completely demoralizing to them and you will definitely lose them. The best thing you can do is start off with high expectations and continue with high expectations, for all students. I had one particularly difficult student, and I never faltered on my expectations of her behavior or academic work. She may not have ever met me halfway, but at least I can say I put in the effort. The best thing my student teaching advisor said to me was, "I can tell you have high expectations for them," in regards to my worst behaving, worst performing class. It was seriously the best compliment.

I also learned when to push and when to let go. I have a habit of wanting to control every little thing, but it's really not possible when you're working with human beings, which you must remember that you are. Don't yell for every little thing -- tapping a pencil, laying their heads down on their desk -- because the ones who are trying to derail the class will have won, and the ones who just need a minute with their head down will think you don't care about them. You must learn how to pick your battles if you want to be successful. Learn the art of non-verbal communication, it is ridiculously effective in curtailing undesirable behaviors. Eye contact, a stern look, placing yourself near disruptive students, a simple tap on the shoulder or desk... these are effective because it doesn't cause a disruption to the entire class and does not embarrass the student, but they know you are aware of what they are doing and they need to change their behavior.

Here is a quote I read in a book that I thought of every single day, especially before my rougher classes: "It takes one fool to backtalk, it takes two fools to have a conversation about it." Never engage a student who back-talks. Let them deflate. I used to think it was important to defend myself against back-talkers... but it's actually the worst thing to do. Keep it simple: tell them what they have to do, tell them the consequences if they don't, and walk away.

A lot of this (and much, much more) I learned from the book Fred Jones Tools for Teaching, which I highly recommend. It is a quick, easy read, not a textbook-style, heavy book full of jargon and useless information. I took what I read here and applied it every day while student teaching, and I can say that it was effective (when I did it right).

u/ipeeonelectricfences · 2 pointsr/teaching

Bio teacher in a low income, high poverty school with about 75% Hispanic students, quite a few are from Honduras.

As far as how my students grasp concepts here seems to be the trend with them

Hard concepts: Cell bio, prokaryote vs eukaryote, some organelles(cell wall vs cell membrane, lysosome, ERs), viruses and their life cycle, DNA replication, transcription/translation, mitosis vs meiosis, 6 kingdoms(Animalia/plantae are easy, protista, fungi/archaebacteria/eubacteria are hard), sex linked inheritance, DNA/genetics some parts


Easier concepts: Plant anatomy/structure/function, photosynthesis vs cellular respiration, ecology, human body systems, punnett squares, mendelian inheritence, some organelles(Chloroplast, nucelus, ribosome, cytoplasm, cytoskeleton)

Honestly though the content is only like 5% the battle. If you have never been in a classroom before I would observe all I could before I started.

I suggest reading

Harry Wong's "The First Day of School" - Helped me for the first day and having my shit together

Fred Jones' "Tools for Teachers" - Helped me in random areas of my teaching I had not totally thought of, like getting kids into higher levels of thinking

and finally Doug Lemov's "Teach Like a Champion" - THIS BOOK! I Love this book! Some of the ideas in it are fairly simple and some are even "no duh!" moments but they have helped me out tremendously. Ideas like no opt out, 100%, and other questioning techniques really helped me out.

Know what you are doing for the next 3-5 days at least otherwise you will end up being swamped and doing more work than necessary. Be tough, be consistent, have a clear set of rules and consequences when the rules are impeded, have high expectations even if they are the stupidest kids you've ever seen. On the high expectations note, it is amazing how even the worst underachiever starts to tread water on his/her own. But only when high/tough but reachable goals with rewards that matter to the individual are set before them.

Feel free to pm me if you have any questions that arise. Also I'd be willing to send you an extra copy of Fred Jones' "Tools for Teachers" if you want it, pm me your address if you do. I bought one before my first job to read over the summer with Harry Wong and then the school district provided me one for free.

u/_the_credible_hulk_ · 2 pointsr/teaching

One great resource is Bridging English. It's my college methods textbook, and it's pretty solid, chock full of good ideas. Get an older edition used.

u/web_supernumerary · 2 pointsr/teaching

Get this book: Teach Like a Champion. There are a thousand details that you have to get right for a classroom to work at all, and this book doesn't have all of them, but it has more than most.

Fred Jones is excellent as well.

Pace yourself - all of your biggest challenges are in the second half of the year.

u/ashraf2403 · 1 pointr/teaching

First Days of School

I took over for a teacher in January and being a first year teacher+taking over a challenging situation I buckled under the pressure and am having a difficult time. BUT my awesome mentor (seriously without her I would be lost) got me this book a few weeks ago. I wish I had years ago because it really does teach first year teachers a lot of the little stuff that goes into making it a spectacular year.

u/lizzyshoe · 2 pointsr/teaching

I have a couple of books to recommend--you should be able to find used copies on paperbackswap or amazon for very cheap:

Tools for Teaching by Fred Jones. Look for an older edition or ask your adviser if he/she has a copy you can borrow until yours arrives. I love this book because it's simple, direct, and very practical. You can't know what you need to know until you already needed to know it, but this is a good start.

The First Days of School by Harry Wong. This one is a little bit wordier but it really can help get you psyched up for what you need to do to prepare for the first days of school.

u/victwenty · 3 pointsr/teaching

Fred Jones Tools for Teaching: All first year teachers should get this book. Writing is engaging, realistic, practical and useful tips married with a solid pedagogy.

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Fred-Jones-Tools-Teaching-Instruction/dp/0965026329/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474497518&sr=8-1&keywords=tools+for+teaching

Video Overview (2.5hrs): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwb15NwjCl4

u/starraven · 0 pointsr/teaching

Good resource

Reading, Writing and Learning in ESL: A Resource Book for Teaching K-12 English Learners (7th Edition)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0134014545/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_-oKRCb4X3CK1C


Ahem, sometimes you can find textbooks for free using this website

u/houtsauss · 2 pointsr/teaching

Try to get a hold of a book like this to give you some idea of what you're dealing with https://www.amazon.com/Reading-Writing-Learning-ESL-Resource/dp/0134014545

There are a lot of them that summarize some of the same ideas, just see what you can get your hands on for cheap. But honestly you are in over your head. You won't learn much from a reddit post. Whatever situation you got yourself in isn't a good one for you

u/opie2 · 3 pointsr/teaching

The First Days Of School was a book I found helpful. In my very first teaching job I got invaluable advice from a 40-year veteran after she watched me get utterly train-wrecked by a group of 1st and 2nd graders: "Remember, they are basically a pack of small animals. You have to be the alpha animal. If you lead, they will follow you."

u/Matrinka · 1 pointr/teaching

Harry Wong's book was my bible my first few years of teaching. I highly recommend it to anyone about to step in the classroom for the first time.

http://www.amazon.com/First-Days-School-Effective-Teacher/dp/0976423316/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450627609&sr=8-1&keywords=harry+wong

u/emenenop · 9 pointsr/teaching

My first suggestion is that she get a copy of Harry Wong's First Days of School. Not everyone swears by this book, but it has uplifting messages and very sensible, practical advice for organizing a classroom (it is fine for middle school) and it's relatively inexpensive.

Is she teaching English? If so, I have some websites for her.

u/CunningAllusionment · 2 pointsr/teaching

Also a (sort of) first year teacher here. I highly, highly recommend reading Fred Jones' "Tools for Teaching". My dad sent me a copy when I was teaching abroad (hence the "sort of"), and the change in my class was literally immediate. I thought of it because the first thing I thought when I saw your classroom was "that desk layout is a disaster waiting to happen." One of the cool things about the book is that it's all really concrete (eg. what do you specifically do), and it's all labor saving right out of the gate instead of investing a bunch of time up front.

u/clairissabear · 1 pointr/teaching

This is more aimed at middle school and up but most of the ideas can be applied to elementary: http://www.amazon.com/Fred-Jones-Tools-Teaching-Instruction/dp/0965026329

u/mybrotherhasabbgun · -1 pointsr/teaching

Sorry man, if you let the kid get away with that, then you have brought it on yourself. Passing the buck onto the a Dean/Asst. Principal is a sure-fire way to show kids that you can't handle it. Unless it involves drugs, fighting, or other felonies, don't ever send kids to the office. Handle it yourself.

Do you have a posted list of consequences? Is it approved by your principal? Follow it. When you send a student to the office and you have a list of the things you have already done to address the behavior, then you get a whole lot more support from admin. If you continually send kids to the office for minor infractions, then you will get zero support.

I'm really not trying to jump down your throat, but I'm having flashbacks to a team member I taught with a decade ago. I was the department head and on my recommendation, the principal fired him at semester. Why? He couldn't teach and students couldn't learn because he didn't have control of his classroom.

Get this book: http://www.amazon.com/Fred-Jones-Tools-Teaching-Instruction/dp/0965026329/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450286630&sr=8-1&keywords=fred+jones

It will help.