Each day when the students come into class there is a activity or warm up displayed for the students to do. By starting out with a sponge activity students are switching gears mentally and are preparing for class. This eliminates distractions and sets the tone at the beginning. Students understand their expectations and this becomes a routine for the class. During the lesson when students are distracted my teacher simply says the students name or uses a pregnant pause. The pausing makes the student feel uncomfortable and draws unwanted attention. Usually, after one pause the student will stop the misbehavior. At the end of class the teacher reads the assignment on the board and passes the assignment to the students. Once students are given the assignment, they pack up for the bell. If there is time, the teacher ends with a math joke or a student volunteers to share a joke.
Common transitions in my class are warm ups, homework review, notes/activity. For the warm ups, they are displayed and ready for the students when they come into class. By the time the bell rings students should be started and some even finished. While students are working on the warm up the teacher passes back quizzes or takes attendance. To transition into homework review the teacher asks the students to put away the warm up and take out the homework to compare with a neighbor. While students are comparing she is constantly roaming around the room. To transition into the notes or activity she says “my voice” and then gives clear instruction to the students.
I like the closure activity of having a joke or student say a joke. This has students leaving the class with a positive attitude and gets them thinking about how the joke applies to math. From what I have observed, students enjoy the closure.
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