Somebody Needs You

Daily Participation: One Key to Raising Achievement
Some teachers don't let students speak unless they raise their hands. To that news, many at-promise students will immediately think, "If the only time I have to speak in here is when I raise my hand, then you can stick a fork in me right now because I'm done."

Put Excitement in Your Lessons
I hear a lot of teachers say, "That child is unmotivated. She doesn't care." In my "Five Strategies to Reach the Most Uninspired Students" workshop, I offer five ideas that I've found to be successful in inspiring uninspired kids.

Teach Reading Strategies to Improve Student Test Performance
I have found that many of the best teachers have developed tools to help their students attack reading passages on standardized tests. Those tools help students organize and focus on long, dull reading passages and help improve students' test scores too.

Discipline With Love
Teachers have a tremendous ability to make a difference in the lives of their students But sometimes loving, caring teachers inadvertently alienate their students of color when it seems to those students that the teacher disciplines some students but punishes them.

Meet Larry Bell Larry Bell is an award-winning educator and in-demand speaker. His inspirational messages have keynoted numerous conferences, including the national conferences of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) and the National Association of Multicultural Education. Larry travels America and the world presenting his "Closing the Achievement Gap" and "The Power of a Teacher Through High Expectations" seminars, which focus on practical ideas for improving test scores and helping at-promise students achieve success. Check Larry Bell's Web page to see if one of those workshops is coming to a city near you, to learn about his book, 12 Powerful Words That Increase Test Scores and Help Close the Achievement Gap, or to directly contact him about coming to your school district.

A Simple Idea for Improving Math Achievement
Are math word problems killing your state test scores? Or maybe fractions are? Or basic math facts? Whatever it is, you need to take action to do something about it. I have a suggestion that I have seen work very effectively

Power Verbs Help Ensure Students' Test Success
I have found that when you put the same kinds of "Power Verbs" on regular teacher assessments as appear on most standardized tests, then you have given students a tool that will vastly improve their chances for test success.

Simulated Test Days Are Key
You never want to surprise at-promise kids when they have to take a standardized test. By planning simulated test days, you work out the kinks and kids know what to expect. When the actual test day comes around, they can relax and focus on the job at hand.

Creating a Classroom Culture of High Expectations for All Students
When I was in the classroom my goal was to make every child feel that he or she is the reason I teach. By doing that, I felt I could create a classroom culture that set high expectations for all students. To accomplish that goal, I employed a handful of tools

Prepare Students for Long, Dull Tests
If educators know that at the end of the year their students are going to need to sit for 3-hour blocks of testing, why on Earth would they give tests throughout the year that last 15, 20, or 25 minutes? By giving short tests, we are training our students to fail.

Somebody Needs You
The best way I know to get enthusiasm from somebody else is to model it -- whether you're always feeling it or not. That's your teachers' jobs in front of their students, and it's your job in front of your staff.