Teaching Tip: First Day Back Stations

03/22/22 • 13 min

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10 Minute Teacher Podcast with Cool Cat Teacher

You can have the first day back to school activities any day of the year. We all need classroom management tips and first-day back stations are one of those you can use any time of the year. Right now, this is more important than ever as classrooms return from quarantine, teachers handoff substitute teachers, students come back to school from spring break, or a classroom may get off track and need a fresh start. First-day back stations are a teaching tactic to add to your tool belt so you can help reestablish the procedures that give the order that students need and crave.

See the full blog post, podcast, and transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e772

Sponsor: Voting is now open in Advancement Courses’ Tournament of Teachers bracket challenge. Would you rather teach Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter or Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Ferris Bueller or Bart Simpson? From now until March 30, you’ll have a chance to vote for which character you want to see advance through each round and see the winners announced on March 31. Go to www.coolcatteacher.com/tournament to get your votes in and start playing.

Angelina Murphy is a secondary English language arts teacher based in Los Angeles. She is a National Board Certified Teacher and has a master’s degree in education from UCLA, where her focus was on trauma-informed teaching, ethnic studies, and community-grounded praxis.

Twitter: @magicalmsmurphy

Instagram @magicalmsmurphy

Edutopia: https://www.edutopia.org/profile/angelina-murphy

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

See the full blog post, podcast, and transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e772

Twitter: @magicalmsmurphy

Instagram @magicalmsmurphy

Edutopia: https://www.edutopia.org/profile/angelina-murphy

Previous Episode

SEL Games: Learning Life Skills through Games

The harsh reality of classroom life is that students and teachers both report lower motivation and morale right now. We must reengage students! Games can help us! SEL games can help you teach social-emotional learning skills and life skills. Today’s expert, Dr. Matthew Farber, gives us an interesting twist on games by integrating them with SEL. He has practical ideas for understanding and using game-based learning in the classroom.

Games make a great addition to every teacher's toolkit. From board games, in-class games, or video games, students love them! So, let me encourage you to take some time to learn about SEL games today in this podcast.

8 Actions Teachers Can Take After Reading this Post and Listening to This Podcast

Understand that parents do not typically like the term social-emotional learning and prefer the term “life skills” but as you teach life skills, they want to partner with teachers in the process.
Understand games can be a powerful way to teach life skills
Find some games to try with students in class
Understand the concept of asymmetrical game design and how it can teach teamwork. Educators should look for games with asymmetrical design as they test games for the classroom.
Understand the concept of situational game design and how it can open up conversation in the classroom.
Understand that the Nintendo switch can be hooked to a projector and passed around the room to create conversations about situational games.
Check out 16 links for game-based learning resources.
Look at practical classroom resources to dig deeper into game-based learning and SEL

Resources Transcript and Show notes: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e771

Thank You Advancement Courses:

Thank you Advancement Courses for sponsoring today’s show. This month, Advancement Courses is kicking off their annual Tournament of Teachers bracket challenge where educators can win up to $2,000 in prizes. This year’s “Mischief-Makers Edition'' features some of the most incorrigible students from literature and film, including Draco Malfoy, Veruca Salt, Bart Simpson, and Ferris Bueller. From now until March 20, choose which mischief-maker you’d rather teach and submit your bracket in order to play. Then from March 21-30, you’ll have a chance to come back and vote for your favorites to advance. Enter now and you could win prizes like a $1,000 Amazon gift card and more. Visit www.coolcatteacher.com/tournament/ to learn more and submit your brackets!

Next Episode

What is classroom culture? How do I create classroom culture?

Classroom culture defines your classroom. You can feel a classroom culture, but what is a classroom culture? How do you build a positive classroom culture? In this show, Andrew Sharos, author of Finding Lifelifes: A Practical Tale about Teacher and Mentors, shares how to create a thriving classroom culture. He also talks about creating positive classroom habits. Furthermore, you'll learn how he measures the success of his classroom culture.

See transcript and additional resources in the show notes at https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e773

Sponsor: Advancement Courses Voting is now open in the Advancement Courses’ Tournament of Teachers bracket challenge. Would you rather teach Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter or Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Ferris Bueller or Bart Simpson? From now until March 30, you’ll have a chance to vote for which character you want to see advance through each round and see the winners announced on March 31. So, go to https://www.coolcatteacher.com/tournament to get your votes in and start playing.