When To Outsource Your Problems???

New teachers in rough schools always get the advice to not write principal referrals. The advice is well-meaning but new teachers commonly misconstrue the advice. Many new teachers just elect to NEVER write referrals. Some teachers, even veterans, write too many. Principals don't want to tell when exactly to write them because they fear we will write even more! This post is my best attempt to tell you when it is appropriate to refer your students to the principal. This is based only on my experience with 2 schools in my school district.

Breaking the law: If a student skips your class or leaves your class, call the parent and on the second infraction write the referral. This also applies to verbal assault. If a student says %$@# you, then write it up. However, in this district, we tolerate %$#@ this, man! Obviously, if they threaten harm to you or fight then you need to write one.

Disrespect to school personnel: If a student is in defiance of your authority and you might want to write a referral, especially if it is ruining his/her education or that of the rest of the class. If a student refuses to do their work in your class, call the parent, tell his or her coach, have a hallway conference, tell his/her counselor, document ALL of that and THEN write a referral. No Child Left Behind means we cannot let a student sit there and fail. We have to make him/her do the work!

Good cop/Bad cop: Sometimes you get nasty in the room and you can't back down. Sometimes you need help; you need a principal or a counselor to talk to the student in a friendly, supporting demeanor that you simply don't have time to do during class. In cases like these, the principal will simply talk to them but not punish them in any way. Do not get mad at principals for doing this. You dealt with the problem and made an example of him. You won; move on!

When not to write a referral: Here are some quotes I've seen on referrals written over the years. Julio came in with a really bad attitude. She was disrespectful. He did not have a pencil or paper. She had an IPod in her pocket.

In summary, you write a referral to 1. make an example of someone with the intention of getting them in some kind of trouble. 2. to document an issue that could cause problems (like or refusal to do work).

Great jigsaw actiivty!!

If you teach a class where there are many vocabulary words to memorize, then consider this jigsaw activity I invented. I start by creating a chart with 4 columns and 17 rows. In the first and 3rd columns I ask a question like Who was T. Jefferson? and in columns 2 and 4 I answer the question. It starts off looking like one of those review sheets we give our students before a big exam.



Then you must trim the edges and cut it into 4 columns (2 question columns and 2 answer columns).

Now cut the 2 answer columns into "confetti." Place 2 (uncut) question strips into envelope. Gather cut up answers and place into same envelope. Label envelope something like Chapter 2 or whatever.

For my class sizes, 12 envelopes is a good number. For me, it allows some students to pair up and others to get in groups of 3. Do not allow groups of 4. Have students match the answers to the questions. Make sure no student is reading upside down. Make sure all 3 students can read all of the answer choices. Unless you have a better idea, walk around the room and check each group's work and make them fix the ones they got wrong. Have the students do it again once they are finished.

The beauty of the jigsaw is you can review many vocabulary terms in one class period.

Tips: 1.Remind the students to check their laps and the floor at the end of the exercise. 2.At the beginning, remind them to completely empty the envelope.
3.Before you cut the paper up with scissors, color the back of each paper with a map pencil. The reason for this is you will find a stray answer on the ground and you will want to know which envelope it belongs in.

I have done this for years. I have rarely been able to use a jigsaw for 2 consecutive years because answers always get lost.