No Failure to Communicate

Keep open the lines of communication.

Label It
Name and address labels save time, trouble.

Make and print 10 sets of adhesive name and address labels for each student. Use the labels when sending home behavior warnings, delinquent-work notices, compliments, motivational messages, and so on. Printing a specific number of address labels will help you keep track of how many notices have been sent to each family. Labels also can be used to label textbooks, journals, school supplies, coat hooks, cubbies, desks, work charts, and so on.

You're the Author
Document your day.

At the end of each day, jot down your thoughts and impressions about that day's events. Did a lesson go particularly well or particularly badly? Why? Did a difficult discipline problem arise? How did you handle it? What was the result? What successes did you experience? What compliments did you receive? As the year progresses, the diary will help you identify what works and what doesn't word. It also will document your growth as a teacher, something you might not recognize otherwise. Who knows? There could even be a book in it!

"I Didn't Do Nothing!"
Help students organize their thoughts.

Every Friday, have students write a summary of what they did in school that week. The summary will help students organize their thoughts, and provide an answer to the perennial parent question "What did you do in school this week?" At the end of the year, compile each student's writings into a book.

Article by Linda Starr
Education World®
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