1-2-3 Come Learn Some Hand Signals With Me and Take Control of Interruptions!

Ask any teacher what their students' most frequently asked question is and "Can I go to the bathroom?" will be in the top 3.  "Can I get a drink?" and "Can I sharpen my pencil?"  Will be right up there as well.

If their question was grammatically incorrect, as with the above use of "can", to help teach appropriate grammar, I'd often reply: "Yes you CAN, but NO, you MAY not."  I'd explain this from the beginning and pretty soon all of my students were learning the proper use of the word "may".

Young children, simply being kids, are often interrupting. An obvious remedy to this problem is enforcing the raising of hands. Because this is easily understood, I thought I'd take it a step farther.

If you want to go to the bathroom you make a fist and stick out your thumb. Displaying a specific number of fingers, to signal a need, has been around since I was a child, however, instead of putting up 1 finger, I found it especially helpful, to do the "fist and thumb" for a bathroom request, simply because my Y5's were often raising and waving their hands, but never with a fist. I could then see at a glance, who needed immediate attention.

This technique is so simple, yet really works. Start out by teaching the concept on the 1st day of school.  Choose one of the posters, print several copies, laminate, and hang up in several "sure to be seen" places in your room, and then practice a bit.

The hand signals are especially helpful when you are explaining something. No need for a child to raise their hand and state their need out loud.  They just put up a hand signal; you make eye contact with that student and nod yes or no.  This also avoids children getting out of their seats to ask you, and lessens "copy cats." Have you ever noticed how many kiddo's all of a sudden need to do something, just because one child got the ball rolling?

Some teachers add "Get a tissue" as another signal, but I feel if you need a Kleenex, because you just sneezed and snot is running down your face, no need to hesitate, just go get one and take care of business.  I let students know from day one, that they could get a tissue whenever the need arose, and then follow up with a squirt of hand sanitizer shortly after. In all of my years of teaching, no one ever abused the privilege.

Click on the link to view/download the Signal Me anchor chart-poster, and let the training begin! I've also designed a few more classroom posters for back-to-school week. To view the 2nd article I wrote for today, simply scroll down.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others might find useful.  My "Pin it" button is at the top.  If you'd like to see all of the cute educational ideas I PIN, click on the "Follow me" heart to the right.

"In the garden of my loneliness, trespassers will never be prosecuted." -Ashleigh Brilliant

1-2-3 Come Hang Up A Poster With Me!

The school year is coming to an end and many will be cleaning and sorting their classrooms.

I always made a list of new things that I wanted to look for, or things I wanted to make, during summer break. 

My husband found it amusing that even though I was finally on vacation, my teacher-mind never turned off.

Although I rested and enjoyed summer, I was always cutting, pasting, and "playing school" for a great part of "vacation."

Planning how I would decorate my classroom and acquiring those goodies, was one of my favorite things to do.

With that in mind, I decided to design some new classroom posters.

I used posters to not only decorate my room, but to inspire, challenge students to think, and remind them to make wise choices.

I turned many into anchor charts, that would help review a variety of concepts in a concise and interesting way.

I also used posters to ignite discussions, that would lead to interesting writing prompts, which my students of various ages, seemed excited to give their opinions about.

I've added 10 new posters this week.  I hope you find something that you're looking for.

To view/download the posters pictured, click on their links: Im Possible, I Choose, Wake Up, Don't, and Actions Speak.

To zip on over to the poster and anchor chart section, click on the link. There are over 100!

Simply scroll through and select whatever you like.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful.

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending." -Maria Robinson