Drag and Drop Google Classroom activities were popular pre-Covid. However, thanks to the distance learning we were all thrust into, it’s truly taken off! Have you been trying to figure out how to create activities for Google Classroom? No worries! I created a Tech-Tip Thursday Video to help solve this problem!
This week’s video will focus on How to Create Drag & Drop Activities within Google Classroom! My students absolutely love these activities! If you’ve been wanting to know how to create them, make sure you check out the vide below!
I know that this will be so beneficial to you as we begin to prepare for the new year ahead. Not knowing what we may be faced with, it’s always a great time to start preparing over the summer!
Now that you have your classroom rules or goals established, it’s important to talk about 2 key classroom management factors that will play a vital role in the overall success of your classroom.
Factor #1 Follow Through
Factor #2 Building Strong Relationships with Students
My Aha Moment
About 15 years ago, when I first began this teacher journey, I worked as a trained instructional aide at a school in Jersey for emotionally and behaviorally disturbed children. Being a trained aide meant that if a student got out of control, because I’d gone through extensive restraint training, I could then restrain the student.
I remember one student in particular who I grew very fond of. This student would do something wrong and then would immediately apologize for what they did. In wanting to give this student another chance, and because he apologized, I often times would let it go. I would give this student a word of encouragement along with a warning, and we would. move on. It was my hope that they would follow the rules next time.
Well this behavior or doing something wrong, apologizing, giving words of encouragement, and moving along happened continually. As you can imagine, the student began to realize that when he did something wrong if he simply apologized, Ms. Cook was going to ultimately let it go. Well at some point I began to grow tired of the warnings, heart to hearts, and repeated apologies. This student was now what I like to call, a repeated offender haha..
As you can imagine, the consequence finally came and this student went into a total meltdown. When I say total meltdown, I mean they were crying, throwing things, cursing; at this point they really were having a total loss of control. After a long while, the student did calm down. And I walked away from that situation having learned a lesson myself.
My Invaluable Lesson
As teachers we want to give our students the best chance possible. But when it comes to rules, we have to make sure that we follow through. It’s ok to give a student a chance, and as you work with your students you’ll know how to gauge that. But giving chance after chance and never having students face the consequences or rewards of their actions is a dangerous place to be in especially when working towards your self-sufficient classroom.
Follow Through Is Key!
As you work with your kiddos just remember that in order to have your self-sufficient classroom you’ll need to have a strong follow through.
It will become easier for you to gauge your follow through when you’ve established your relationships with students! Come on back next week when we talk about building those genuine relationships.
It really doesn’t matter how great your rules are, how specific they are, or how you’ve chosen to implement them. If you don’t have genuine relationships established with your students, it will make it a lot harder to see your self-sufficient classroom through successfully.
It really doesn’t matter how great your rules are, how specific they are, or how you’ve chosen to implement them. If you don’t have genuine relationships established with your students, it will make your year a lot harder. Establishing genuine relationships with your students will be KEY to having a successful year!
Often times, the time we have each day with our students is spent teaching and making sure lessons get covered. It’s spent making sure that students needs are met, and parents are communicated with. I personally feel that a great part of students needs is building a relationship with them.
I remember when I first moved to South Carolina from New Jersey. My fifth graders would always ask me, “Ms. Cook, who do you like better, Clemson or Gamecocks?” In my head I’m thinking, “who cares.” But because I wanted to build those relationships, I would ask them, “well who do you like?” They would tell me what team they were cheering for, and I would always reply, “Well that’s who I’m pulling for!”
It’s funny because the more of an interested I took in them, the more of an interest they took in me and what I was teaching. They wanted to make sure they were making me proud. It was surprising to see that even 5th graders were interested in me as a person. Their interest came because I was genuinely interested in them as a person.
Show Up!
I can’t tell you how many basketball, baseball, football, gymnastic, and birthday parties I’ve gone to for my students. I remember one year my third grade student invited me to his church to hear him preach one Sunday. The look on his face when I came through the door was as if the Lord himself were holding my hand. Showing a genuine interest in what our students love and enjoy helps to build those vital relationships.
Even if a student doesn’t invite you to an event take time to figure out what they like. What are your students genuinely interested in and what they are good at? Once you’ve figured that out, talk to them about it; this builds that genuine relationship as well. This past year I had a student who was super shy. This student really didn’t talk in class and could always be found drawing. One day I walked by and saw what I deemed to be a true masterpiece. I remember giving her a pat on the back and telling her how amazing this piece of art work was. I also told her how talented she was and to never stop drawing! Now mind you, this was a conversation in passing but was truly coming from my heart.
Well towards the end of the school year, this student wrote me a letter telling me that I was her favorite teacher. She had never had a teacher compliment her drawing and really wanted to become an artist when she grew up. In her letter she used the actual words that I had used to encourage her creativity and artistry. Finding something to be able to connect with your students also builds that bond.
I Just Don’t Have Time
Do I attend all the games and recitals? NO. I’ll be honest. There are times in which I am just so busy with life that I don’t really have time. I don’t want to carve out that time. BUT, I do try to attend at least one event that a student has invited me to. I do this because I know that this is going to help our relationship.
9 Ways to Build Genuine Relationships With Your Students
These are some great ways to genuinely establish relationships with your students!
As you are creating your classroom rules, you’ll want to think of them as the foundation to your classroom. We could even say the foundation for your entire school year. We all know that without a solid foundation, our classroom and entire year will crumble. There are five steps when creating classroom rules that every teacher should follow. These five steps have been so beneficial to my self-sufficient classroom and i’d like to share them with you.
#1 Rules vs. Goals
Think of rules as the must do’s for students and goals as the aspirations of students. In other words, a rule is something that a student must follow, while a (procedural) goal is something that we want students to aim for. When establishing your foundation, whether you choose to create rules for your class or goals, make sure they are strong so that your foundation will also be strong.
#2 Be Clear
I always tell my students when they are writing that they need to be clear and specific. This is the same when it comes to creating classroom rules or goals. Don’t put too much within one rule or goal. Too much will only become too confusing. Be as specific and clear as possible
#3 K.I.S.S.
Keep it short and simple. Just as you want to keep your rules specific and clear, you want to also keep them short. If there is too much within one rule or goal, then it will become complicated. Keeping it simple helps in the overall understanding of what is expected. While you are keeping them simple, also remember that you don’t want an overload of rules. in my classroom I have between 4 and 5 rules or goals for my students.
#4 Keep Them Visible
Make sure your rules are visible to students. You don’t want them to take up too much space on your wall, but you also don’t want them to be “out of sight out of mind.” I always have my classroom rules out for my students to see. I definitely want them to know that they are an important part of our self-sufficient classroom. If I need to, I can easily have students refer back to them since they are hanging on the wall.
#5 Review Often
This is something that we do in my classroom on a weekly if not daily basis. I’ve found that reviewing the rules often reminds students of the expectations and adds to the flow of our self-sufficient classroom. When working with older grades, you don’t have to review as often, but should have your rules visible. I want students to feel like they can make decisions for themselves within our classroom, but with that comes the reward or consequence of their choices.
If you’re a first year teacher or you’ve been teaching for a while, check out my FREE Self-Sufficient Classroom Workbookwhich walks you through the process of creating your very own Self-Sufficient Classroom. This workbook will give you the essential tools you’ll need to get yours up and running in no time! Wouldn’t it be great to have one less thing on that teacher plate?!
Managing the ins and outs of your classroom can be a monumental task regardless of the amount of time you’ve been teaching. Learning the ins and outs of having your own self-sufficient classroom takes time and energy that you may feel you don’t have at times. Oh my friend you won’ t be alone on this journey though Join The Waitlist!
