7 Up Sentences

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Here’s a sign I saw in a lower grade classroom that encourages the students to write sentences with 7 words or more. Just thought it was clever…

Times Tables… On Your Hands!

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Squarehead Teachers

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes forget all my “times tables.” I know, I know… I’m lame. But here’s a trick to teach your kids so they can do multiplication quickly on their hands! Click here to see Instructibles’ explanation of the 6, 7, 8 and 9 times tables tricks on your hands!

Reminding Students About Pull-Out Classes

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Squarehead Teachers

Every class has a few students who go to a special pull-out class like speech, the school psychologist, etc. One teacher taped this reminder to her students’ desks to remind them when to go:

Quiet Signals

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Squarehead Teachers

Here are some quiet signals I’ve heard over the years:

Practice Map Directions. Teacher: “Point North” (students point). “Point East” (students point)… in different orders so the students learn the directions needed for using maps.

Eyes On Me. Teacher: “1 2 3 eyes on me.” Students: “1 2 eyes on you”

Counting Down. Teacher starts counting backwards from 5, getting quieter and quieter with each number.

Do This. Teacher does simple actions such as touching nose, folding arms, etc. while quietly saying “do this” with each action. Soon students are looking around for the source of the directions their friends are following and it gives the kids something to do until everyone is ready.

Claps. Teacher claps out a rhythm and students must copy. Some students have a specific rhythm they use (teacher claps the first part and students finish the rhythm).

What signal do you use? Please share your ideas by commenting!