How Do I Teach...and Keep My Sanity?

This timely book will show teachers how to create a learning environment that meets the needs of students, parents and teachers. Presented as simple lists of classroom-tested ideas, teachers will find instant solutions for specific challenges that are part of the "real" classroom. Novel ways to make learning more fun for students are featured along with tips to help teachers keep up with their planning, marking, and record-keeping. This comprehensive book looks at all aspects of running effective classrooms: Promoting efficient classroom practices that range from seating plans to finding time for all the marking; Communicating and finding time to meet the needs of all students, especially when some seem to demand so much more; Grabbing the attention of students at the beginning of a lesson and using games to teach the same old stuff in a different more meaningful way; Coping with and avoiding behavior problems by getting students more involved through projects like a Classroom Bill of Rights; Making students more accountable, dependable and enthusiastic about their work. Easy for teachers to use, the book includes ready-to-copy tip sheets to share with students on topics as diverse as good study habits, homework and taking tests. Reproducible pages to involve parents in the classroom range from tutoring tips to a parent interest questionnaire.