Teaching Without Taking Up TimeHow To Provide Learning and Practice For Your Students With

Little Or No Effort On Your Part!

Teaching is an effortful job, we all know that. It requires thought, time, effort, reflection, and more time. And the students that struggle need even more time. This is critical to the art of teaching.

This document offers some ways to embed practice and learning opportunities into your daily routines that provide repetition and practice without extra teaching time. As teachers we need to teach smarter, not harder, and these tips help you do just that.

Please note that many of these ideas are designed to offer practice. They help students with things like recognition, but not always the deeper meaning. For example, they may suggest ways of helping students recognize and identify numbers or words, but not how to fully understand their depth of meaning, or what these symbols represent. The meaning piece is critical. We should be spending our time and effort investing in helping students achieve this deeper understanding. Use these ideas to help them get practice and repetition. That way you can use your teaching time for more artful lessons. I hope you find them to be inspiring and useful.

Our students spend quite a bit of time standing in line. This time is an opportunity. Last year I had a goal of improving my students’ ability to recognize numbers, particularly the “tricky teens” (13-19). In order to provide some daily recognition practice, I put two lines of tape on the floor to designate where students would stand when we lined up to leave the room. I then labeled each student’s spot with a number from 1-27 (the number of students I had in the class). I chose to put the numbers in a random order on the floor so that the kids could not use sequential order as a crutch to help them identify the numbers.

I then put a small velcro dot on each student’s name tag at their desk. Every morning I stuck a velcro number on their name tag. This number designated their “line up” spot for the day. My students would rush to their desks in the morning to check their numbers and see where they were standing for the day. And more than that, they would rush to their friends‘ desks as well. Not much is as important to a kindergartner as where their friends are and what they are doing, so before long the kids would not only know their own number for the day, but also where their friends were standing, who was first in line, and which numbers had no one on them for the day because someone was absent.

At the end of each day two students would collect the numbers for me so they would be ready to place out again for the next day. In this way, each child got a new number each day.

This strategy provided daily number recognition practice, and only cost me the time it took to put a velcro number on each desk once a day. The kids took care of the rest. Of course, some students needed a bit of help to recognize their number, but more often than not, their friends provided that scaffolding without my intervention. Here is a diagram of what my lines looked like:

1 35 79 1113 15 17 1921 23 25 27

8 242 16620 26 10 1214 22 4 18

Front of Lines

I chose to have two lines in my classroom because I like to be able to see all my kids as we are walking. I began the year using a boy and girl line. After I got to know my kids a bit, I assigned them to either a blue or red line (separating those that needed to be separated.) Finally, when I added this number system, I just color coded the numbers and put put a sticker on each kid’s desk to remind me whether they were on the red or blue line. Then when I passed out the numbers, I could easily grab a red or blue number depending on which line they were in. This separation may not be necessary for everyone, and you could have kids switch back and forth between red and blue lines. The important thing is to note that you would not start this system right away. This might be something you start a month or two into the year, once you are really working on numbers.

This strategy is very flexible. You don’t have to use numbers! You could put sight words on each spot and on velcro cards if that met your curricular goals, or even words in a foreign language! Regardless, with very little time each day, your kids will get daily, and varied, practice in number (or whatever) identification!

1. Lining up can be more than just standing on a spot on the floor.

Students, especially struggling students, need to hear things many times. So I thought about the things I tend to repeat over and over throughout the day. One thing that occurred to me was that I call tables many times each day.

“If you sit at table 1, line up.” or “Table 2 can get their lunch boxes.” Over and over and over again….

2. Table names can teach.

Then one day, while the kids are out of the room for a little while, I make a change. This year I wanted to work on recognizing 3-D shapes and being able to say their names. So I went on a hunt for some real world 3-D objects. Returning with an orange gym cone, a box of tissue, a soft ball, a container of table wipes, a model Egyptian pyramid, and a fuzzy dice, I had my new table signs. I did type out the words “cone,” “rectangular prism,” “sphere,” “cylinder,” “pyramid,” and “cube,” and with a bit of yarn and a few paper clips I suspended the objects and the signs from the ceiling above the tables. When the kids returned, they were awestruck.

So I decided to use this repetition to my advantage. I start the year using numbers for my tables, 1-6. I make sure that the numeral is clearly displayed on a sign hanging from the ceiling above the table, as well as pictures of objects representing that number. Students learn those numbers quickly. Whether it is their table or not, they need to know which is which. They often have jobs, need to find someone, want to know who is going first, etc, and they reference these signs to help them remember. I keep these original signs for a few months.

3

Now, rather than hearing “Table 1” twenty-five times a day, they were hearing “the cube table” twenty five times a day. The kids at that table knew what a cube looked like beyond a shadow of a doubt. I had kindergartners explaining to my principal that they sat at the “rectangular prism table,” and when someone was absent and I asked where they sat, twenty six kids looked at a 3-D object at the ceiling and said “the cone table!” They practiced the vocabulary, shape recognition, and connecting the shapes to real world objects with no more time on my part than I was already using.

This strategy is flexible. When working on tricky teens, you could have tables 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18. You could use sight words, colors, punctuation - the sky is the limit. Just remember to not change table names too often - not more than three sets of table names in a school year. The key here is repetition over time.

Better still, this strategy can be shared with older grade levels and extended to more complicated things. Whether it is animal classification groups, monarchs in Europe, continents, or planets, if you can find a picture or an object to pair with a word, you can have new table signs, and lots of easy practice with almost no effort.

ConeTable

SphereTable

CubeTable

CylinderTable

RectangularPrismTable

PyramidTable

I LOVE the day I introduce our secret password to my students. I gather them on the carpet, and tell them I have some super secret, classified information to share with them - information they must promise not to tell anyone. They cannot tell their friends in other classrooms, our bus safeties, and certainly not their older brothers and sisters. This is “spy-like” information only for the kids in our room.

I ask them to gather close to hear. And then, as if I just realized that I almost slipped, I remember that we better close the door so no one accidentally overhears. I scramble to the door, peek outside to be sure no one is passing by, and close it. After my kids promise to tell me if they notice anyone coming, I reveal the news. (Please imagine for a minute how absolutely rapt students are at this point - hanging on your every word.)

I then explain that from now on, our classroom has a secret password. It is a word that will appear outside of the door each day, and in order to enter our room, they must whisper the password into a little hole in the door, every time they cross the threshold. We then tiptoe out into the hall, looking both ways for spies or passersby, and I show them the password.

3. Your students can LOVE practicing sight words with a secret password.

Lily saidI show them how to read the word, whisper it into the door, and enter the room. I then have them all take a turn. I explain that the password will change every day to ensure that no one outside of our class can breach our security. And then I prep them for how to handle interrogation - others may ask them why the word is there, what it means, and why it changes. But they must be sure to carefully explain that it is a secret, known only to us.

In all reality, of course, anyone can enter the room without saying the password, but I explain that it is our team’s special code word for the day, which ensures they are part of our team.

From then on, all I have to do is change the password daily, and kids get word recognition practice every time they enter the room. I usually begin with student names, which increases the motivation even more. The kids are beyond delighted when their name is chosen to be the password, and they rush to the door each morning to see who it is. This helps children read their own name, and the names of all of their friends. I often see discussions near the password as kids try to figure out what the password says, and they help one another along. It is a great way to include everyone as well, because the struggling learners get easy practice multiple times a day without standing out.

This strategy can be modified over time. After a while I switch from names to sight words. You could use numbers, words in foreign languages, pictures of shapes or 3-D objects - whatever you are working on. The changes will keep your students interested. And of course, if they ever start to lose interest, just tell them there has been a breach of security, and that you need to take a walk around the school hunting for spies. They will be all yours once again within a heartbeat!

¡Hola! 29

It is standard practice in kindergarten classrooms for students to have jobs. It is important for them to share in the responsibility of the classroom, and to play a helpful and meaningful role in the classroom. After the initial teaching of these jobs, the kids generally take care of them on their own, and you only have to worry about changing the jobs once a week.

This system offers another great opportunity to embed some academic practice for students without taking up any of your time. All you have to do is create some jobs that require the students to think. Here are a few that I use.

4. Classroom jobs can be meaningful.

Classroom jobs must fit the needs and personality of your classroom, and so the jobs I suggest may not work for you. However, try to include some tasks for students that provide opportunities for practice that don’t cost you any time. The few seconds it takes you to double check the lunch count is no more time than you would have spent doing it on your own, and your student got the benefit of extra practice. And remember, as your children grow and learn more, you can change and create new jobs to provide new opportunities for practice.

Lunch Count Recorder

Folder Manager Cubby Checker

Locker Checker

Peanut Patrol

This student has to count and record the lunch orders for the day. They practice counting and number writing.

This student has to check the lockers at the end of the day to be sure nothing is left behind. They practice reading student names.

This student has to pass out daily folders before packing up. They practice reading student names.

This student has to check the cubbies at the end of the day to be sure nothing is left behind. They practice reading student names.

This student has to work with an adult to look for snacks that contain peanut products. They learn how to use a magnifying glass and begin to recognize new words.

Note: This job does require adult help, and is only applicable if you have a student with an allergy in your classroom.

The hallway can be difficult. It is often a place where kindergartners are loud, pushy, have their hands on everything and everyone, and you are stressed. So use this time instead.

1. Give your kids a challenge to find something as they walk. For example, tell them to point to the word “the” every time they see it in the hallway as they walk. Chances are it will be quite a few times. Better yet, have your kids count the number of times they see it. (They could look for anything - words, tricky teens, punctuation, etc)

2.Have your kids measure how many steps it takes to get to certain places in the school. They have to count their own steps from your classroom to the music room, library, lunchroom, or wherever you are going. You could even extend this to try and figure out the farthest and closest places in the building, and compare distances between your classroom and other rooms.

3.Have your kids practice balancing. You could hand each child a bean bag to balance on their heads, and see who can make it to your destination without dropping it. Balance, impulse control, and general control over their bodies is something kindergartners need to practice, especially in the hallway.

4.Give your kids a physical challenge. For example, have them cup their hands and link them, so that one hand is pulling against the other, and have them pull as they walk. Or have them put there hands together, palm to palm, and push. Not only could this extend to a science lesson on push and pull, but is offers proprioception and pressure to students. Many students are in need of this type of feedback, especially those that have sensory issues and trouble with body control.

5.Have your kids count silently in their heads, starting from the moment you leave your classroom door, and finishing when they get to their destination. Have them tell you how high they got as they enter the new room.

5. A walk down the hallway is a learning opportunity.

Not every one of these ideas will necessarily work for your kids, or for all of your kids. You will learn quickly what does or does not, and you will need to adapt. Come up with new ideas, or even specialize. For example, maybe only one or two of your students need to count their steps, and they do that every day. If they are occupied, your whole line may move more smoothly. Or perhaps you have three students doing arm pushes and pulls, four counting, and the rest just walking along. The idea is to use this time in valuable ways, while also improving your management in the hallway. For the time it takes you to say, “Count your steps to the music room and tell me what you get when you enter the door,” you can have children engaged and practicing without any further effort on your part.

The basic example of using your line to reinforce information has further potential. Once your students are comfortable with whole numbers and number identification, you could turn your lines into a ruler. This time put the numbers sequentially of course, but give some kids “1 inch” while others might have “3 1/2 inches” as their spots. You could be as in depth as you like, although with kindergarteners I would not go further than half inches. Again, give each child a velcro measurement on their desk each morning, and have them stand on that spot for the day. Then collect the labels and give them new spots the next day.

If I am being perfectly honest, I have never done the ruler in my classroom. That is because I think it is a bit advanced for kindergartners. However, I think it is an excellent extension to share with team members in upper grades. In my building we work hard on consistency across the grade levels. If children are used to a system where they line up on specific spots each day to practice something in kindergarten, it will be a simple thing to continue throughout their elementary years.

Whether it be a ruler, a ruler focusing on the metric system, or even math problems, the extensions are endless. Teachers could put a velcro label on the name tag that says “21-14” and students would have to figure out that they are standing on 7 for the day. Or they could put a desk label that says “reduce the fraction 8/16,” and the student would have to stand on ½ for the day. Or the label could say “the distance between 6 and 9 on the number line” and the student would stand on 3 for the day. As I said, endless.

Of course, these extensions are well beyond kindergartners, and would be inappropriate for our youngest learners. But our job as kindergarten teachers is to lay the foundation for continued learning. And who, as a teacher, doesn’t love going to a staff meeting full of great ideas to share with the school on how to improve all students’ learning?

BONUS! Take your line to the next level - extending to the upper grades (and impressing your principal!)

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7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 6½ 5½ 4½ 3½ 2½ 1½ ½

Front of Lines