Teacher Collaboration

Collaboration is a wonderful idea for teachers.  When teachers work together to set up procedures/routines/rules/curriculum maps/projects, there are one of two ways you can go.  First, your team can be a subject based team.  For example, this is most likely what you'll see in a high school or junior high setting. 

The first school I taught at, Landmark, I was a part of the Social Studies Department (or team).  At my second school, Mountain View, we were a Kindergarten-8th grade school, so things were set up a little differently.  We had only one teacher for each subject (with Resource teachers for math, language arts and reading, and an ELD specific reading/writing class called Read 180).  So the team I was on at Mountain View was the 7th grade team, and we would often collaborate/share ideas with our 8th grade team as well.  

Each type of department and team has it's benefits.  If you're team is grade level oriented, you can set up more common procedures, routines and rules.  This allows, in my opinion, more organized and well managed classrooms across the board (for the most part).  We did have teachers that did not follow these procedures, and while the Sevvies were great (behavior wise) in my class and a couple of my close friend's classes, they were like animals in the other classes.  Basically, they knew what they knew what classes they could get away with stuff in.

If your team is subject oriented, then you can set up more subject oriented events.  For example, with my classroom neighbor, George (also my mentor my first year teaching), helped me SO MUCH with setting up lessons and curriculum.  I really believe the only reason why I was still able to somewhat teach that year was because he was pulling me through by sharing what he was doing with his 7th grade history class as well.  On a subject oriented team, you can have common assessments, common curriculum maps, and common projects (we had a Social Studies fair at our Junior High). 

Both of these types of teams have their benefits, but I think it depends on the person.  More seasoned veterans are probably fine on either team.  They are okay with being a mentor for new teachers in regards to management (on a grade level team) or by helping with their wonderful curriculum ideas or projects (on a subject level team). 

My personal opinion on the matter:  Do what you have to.  Most of the teams are already set up in a specific way---when you go to a school, the type of team you're on isn't going to change.  But, you will need to learn and adapt.  Make the best of whatever type of team you're on and go with the flow.  If you're on a subject based team, but you're struggling with management (see MYSELF my first year teaching), then seek out the help of another teacher that is an excellent classroom manager.  Unfortunately my first year, I was too stubborn to ask for help before it was too late.  I had plenty of teachers that gave me advice that I have taken to heart from that first year teaching.  That advice helped me tremendously my next two years. 

The one thing I loved about the smaller, grade level team was that we all had the same students, and we could discuss their needs better.  And besides, on that smaller, grade level team, we had so many more meetings (at least once a week).  We really became close friends. 

I thought I'd finish this post by writing a list of ideas for making the best out of your team and future teacher collaboration:

1)  Have a good attitude---it can be so hard sometimes when it seems like you have heard the same thing OVER and OVER and OVER again!  If you need to do something to keep yourself from murmuring to your neighbor, then just zone out.  It's better to keep your opinions to yourself than to sow mutiny and discord amongst your fellow team.

2)  Go to your meetings and be active---This is so important.  You need to know what's going on.  And, if you have any say, suggest having the meetings as often as possible.  Okay, you might make enemies with different teachers, but becoming involved in the school and team is as important as staying in the classroom and teaching.  Take the intiative, take notes at meetings, and make suggestions.  If you don't participate in the conversation, then you have NO RIGHT TO COMPLAIN when things don't go your way. 

3)  Help your fellow teammates---Offer to help.  Be positive, not negative.  Be responsible and respectful to your teammates and be willing to work with people.  If you have the opportunity, arrange for a sub (professional development) and go see other classrooms of your subject area or grade level and watch them teach.  Each teacher has their own, unique way of doing things and can share something helpful and informative with someone else. 

Ten Best Harry Potter Characters

This is just a fun little post.  You can have your students do this when reading a short story.  Maybe only 3 or 5 characters.  Have them use examples from the text or direct quotes.  In honor of the last HP movie, I thought that I'd write out a list of my favorite Harry Potter characters.  This is in no particular order. 

Peeves the Poltergeist
A highly inappropriate, disobedient nutcase poltergeist that obligingly lives at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he is constantly causing chaos with his pranks.  My favorite scene with Peeves, although there are so many, is in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, when the Weasley twins direct Peeves to give Umbridge hell.  I love seeing the way that Peeves salutes the twins, and causes quite an uproar from Umbridge, while the rest of the student body and the professors ally themselves with the unruly poltergeist.  I've always been sad that he's never been included in the movies! 

Lord Voldemort
 Some people might think that I am weird having him on the list, but I just have to say that I admire how JK Rowling wrote Voldemort's character.  Voldemort is pure evil.  Seriously, he is.  At one time, when he was younger, he may have been not as evil, but that nastiness has always been there.  Most authors write their antagonists with having a little bit of heart and remorse left in them, so you can feel almost sympathy with the enemy.  Not with Lord Voldemort.  He is everything a human being shouldn't be, and some of my favorite chapters in the whole series are found in book 6 when Harry learns about Voldermort's past, and how he became the man/wizard/monster that terrorized the wizarding world.  I think it's incredible to see how Voldemort became corrupted by his lust for power.  Rowling does an excellent job of writing nasty, evil villains and this is somebody that even Harry, who is a kind, well-meaning kid for the most part, can kill.  If I had to choose a person to be second to Lord Voldemort in the evil contest, I would have to say that Bellatrix and Umbridge are tied.

Hermione Granger
Hermione is the best of the best.  She is your goody two shoes, who loves school and getting good grades.  Basically, she is a model student.  If Harry and Ron hadn't become friends with Hermione, there would be no Harry Potter series.  She is the glue that holds the trio together.  Honestly, the boys are so clueless without her, and without her knowledge and skill they wouldn't have survived all their years at Hogwarts. 


Draco Malfoy
Draco's transformation from spoiled, nasty little rich boy into a young man that is essentially bullied by Voldemort really shows his true nature.  By the time that you get to book 6, most people realize that Harry and Draco are arch enemies (at least in the school sense).  They jinx and curse each other, and pull pranks.  Harry is as guilty of this relationship as Draco is.  In book 6, you finally see Draco at his breaking point.  He is bullied into killing Dumbledore, an act that will most likely kill him in the process.  During books 6 and 7, you sympathize with Malfoy, and come to realize that as "evil" as he was in the previous books, he's nothing compared to Voldemort. 


Nymphadora Tonks
I'm all about girl power.  And Tonks is a pretty hip and skilled witch that can take on some serious tasks.  You don't learn very much about her in book 5.  She has the ability to change her appearance at will, she's an auror (that has to take some skill), she is notoriously clumsy, and she likes to ask annoying questions of Harry.  I wish that they had more of her in the books, but she is definitely a B plot character.  And, she's not so awesome in book 6. (Love sick? pssh)  And in book 7, you barely see enough of her before you see that she died.  I'd like to see a sequel to the Harry Potter books that deals with the adult perspective of Voldemort's rise to power (like during books 5 and 6 of the series).

Weasley Family
Okay, I kind of cheated.  I had to include ALL of the Weasleys.  This is the family that Harry wished that he had.  And Ron, his BFF, is a part of that family.  I love Harry's relationship with the entire family.  From Ron, Fred, and George that view Harry as a close friend (almost a brother), to Ginny's childish fan girl obsession that turns into romance;   Percy's disapproval of Harry and Ron's friendship; and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's almost parent like affection of Harry.  As Mr. Weasley says in book 6, "Half of our family does seem to owe you their lives, now I stop and think about it... Well all I can say is that it was a lucky day for the Weasleys when Ron decided to sit in your compartment on the Hogwarts Express".  On the flipside of this quote, where would Harry be without the Weasleys?  Without Ron? 

Professor McGonagall
This is a teaching blog, so I have to write a little blurb about my favorite teacher in the books.  She sure is strict, but I really think that her methods got results.  Okay, now to stop talking about her as a teacher.  Some of my favorite scenes from books 5 to 7 are with her in them.  I really liked in book 5 when she defends Harry while engaging in a yelling match with Umbridge (that's pretty unprofessional, at least she tells him to leave before it escalates).  I also like how stalwart she is---like when Harry mentions in book 5 after McGonagall is injured that he never imagined Hogwarts without her.  One of my favorite, absolute, favorite scenes is from book 7 when Harry is hiding under the invisibility cloak in the Ravenclaw dorm.  When McGonagall confronts the Carrows, they spit in her face.  Harry, in retaliation, removes his cloak and performs the cruciatus curse on them.  McGonagall, in response says, "Potter, I- that was very-very gallant of you." McGonagall, although a strict teacher, is very fair and well-liked and respected by the general student and staff population.  Maybe unknown to Harry, she is also an important mentor and guide for him while at Hogwarts. 

Severus Snape
Best written character in the story.  Snape's loyalty and devotion toward Lily Potter allowed him to protect Harry, who looks exactly like his most bitter rival (James Potter).  It's almost funny, the way that Snape bullied and punished Harry.  Especially in the 6th book, when Snape tells him that he will only be able to defeat Lord Voldemort if he can master his emotions and nonverbal magic.  One of my top 5 chapters in the entire book is when Harry sees Snape's memories after he dies.  Poor Snape, so misunderstood, but he eventually receives the respect he deserves, even if it is a little late. 

Albus Dumbledore
Harry's Gandalf.  Okay, maybe not so much.  But Dumbledore is a pretty conniving old man.  He knows what's expected of Harry, and tries to protect him as much as possible, even though he knows that Harry will have to be killed (eventually).  I like that book 7 shows a different side of Dumbledore.  Although he's always been Harry's hero, Harry realizes that not all heroes are perfect.  Do I really have to say anymore about Dumbledore? 

Harry Potter
Harry could quite possibly be my least favorite character in the series if I let all of his annoying habits (jumping to conclusions, playing hero, being a drama queen) get in the way.  But no matter how many faults he has (which show that he is human), he still has so much good left in him.  After all he's been through, he's not that bitter.  He's learned to deal with the crazy muggle Dursleys, and he's learned to deal with the backlash that comes from being famous.  Through most of the series, he's a reluctant hero.  He doesn't want to be famous and be the chosen one, but he will, because he knows what needs to be done.  I love how clueless he is with girls, I love how Harry fights and argues with his friends and I love how even though there was a part of Voldemort in him, he was still a genuinely good person. 

"The Red Pyramid" and "The Throne of Fire" by Rick Riordan

 I have a hard time writing separate book reviews for books that are in a series together.  So, I thought I'd give a quick review of the first two books in The Kane Chronicles trilogy, by Rick Riordan. 

When I first heard about Rick Riordan, it was in the Spring of 2008 (so LONG ago).  I was preparing a literature circles unit with my one Language Arts class that I had my first year of teaching.  The library at good old Landmark was huge.  It was so incredibly, nice, with a large section of books that teachers could check out for their classes to use.  One of the books that I thought looked interesting was a book called The Sea of Monsters by Riordan.  I tried to read all of the books that I had picked for the Literature Circles groups, and instead, after I finished reading The Sea of Monsters (which is actually book 2 in the series), I found books 1 and 3 and devoured them.

I am going to preface this review by saying that I have a lot of respect for Rick Riordan, not just as an author of great books, but as somebody that obviously has worked with middle school kids successfully, which is pretty rare.  I don't know of any other novelists that write with that middle school sense of humor as successfully and inventively as Riordan does. Okay, now on to the review.

Carter and Sadie Kane share narration in both of these novels.  They are brother and sister, but they don't know each other all that well since they have been separated since their mother's death when they were quite young.  Sadie, the younger of the siblings, has been stuck in boring old England with her grandparents.  She gets to see her Dad and brother on Christmas.

Carter has been living with his Dad, a prominent Archaeologist that specializes in studying Egypt and traveling the world with him.  When they pick up Sadie and head to the British Museum on Christmas to study the Rosetta Stone, they have no idea  that their lives will change so dramatically.  Carter and Sadie's father somehow releases the Egyptian God Set, and four other Egyptian Gods:  Nephythys, Osiris, Isis and Horus.

Carter and Sadie are then whisked off to Brooklyn with their Uncle Amos and told about their powerful heritage:  They have the blood of pharaohs from both their mother and their father and because of this, they start gaining interesting powers, such as the ability to fight monsters and to create portals. They have to use these new talents rather quickly, since Set has entombed their father, and it's up to them to save him and the world from Set's destruction.   They encounter several creepy Egyptian Gods and monsters while they try to defeat Set (and in the second book wake up the God Ra).  They are also hunted by the magician of the House of Life, who blame the siblings for awaking the Gods, a time-honored TABOO. 

Okay, whew.  That's a general synopsis of the entire series, and a little bit about the plot from the first book.  I don't want to spoil anymore than I already have.

Sadie and Carter take turns telling their story.  Usually Carter will take two chapters, then Sadie will write two, and they'll flip flop.  The narration in the story is what threw me off the first time I read The Red Pyramid.  I didn't like the narration, especially the contrast between the two characters.  Carter is a nerdy, well-behaved kid that was OBVIOUSLY home-schooled.  Sadie is a snarky, British girl with a punk attitude and enjoys defying orders.  The dual narration is different from the Percy books because those books are solely narrated by Percy, and I thought that Riordan was trying to hard to make them like Percy.

I am going to add in that I really like the way Riordan wrote most of the characters from this story, including: Khufu, the intelligent baboon that loves the Lakers and mercilessly beats Carter at basketball;  Uncle Amos who looks liked a mob boss with his fedora and Italian suits;  Bast, the cat God that wears a leopard print body suit and enjoys her Friskies; Anubis, the God of funerals and ceremonies for the dead, who appears as a jackal headed humanoid to most people, but whose appearance to Sadie changes into a hot, goth, human teenage boy; and last, but not least, Set, the antagonist in the first book that becomes a reluctant ally in the next book, described as wearing a red, silk disco suit.  I think part of Riordan's writing ingenuity is just the way he can adapt these Egyptian Gods to modern times. 

The second time I read The Red Pyramid, I liked it a lot better.  I embraced the differences and similarities between the two series.  Riordan's humor, will always be in his books targeted for children.  It's a part of his style, and you either love it or you hate it.  I really enjoyed the growth that Carter and Sadie's relationship had in the books.  They started out as almost strangers, and in the end, they become close friends and they learn to rely on each other.  They embrace each others differences, and in the end, they're still family, which is what matters the most.

Both characters show a lot of growth in their personalities as well, when they finally realize at the end of The Red Pyramid making the right choice, is not often the easy choice.  And I think that's a great lesson that middle school aged kids need to learn and will be able to relate to.  Their choices may not mean the end of the world as we know it, but those choices are important for the students. 

The Red Pyramid and The Throne of Fire are both fast-paced, action-comedy novels that showcase the importance of family, friendships, love, choices, and growing up.  I recommend these books starting with 5th grade and up.  The humor in them helps balance out the sad, serious issues that these characters face.  I think that most students will be able to relate to Sadie and Carter, one way or another, and I think they'll enjoy learning about each of the characters, monsters and Gods.  They're easy books to get into, especially for the more reluctant male readers that like action.  And, there's enough almost romance between Carter and Zia/ Sadie, Anubis, and Walt (2nd book) to make the girls interested as well.

I highly recommend this series to your middle school students!  Encourage them to read, read, read!

Nice to meet you. Let’s tell some lies.

1. My name is Kristin Roberts, a former colleague of Rachel, and an 8^th grade language arts (reading and writing) teacher in Phoenix, Arizona.
2. I am excited to embark on my 5^th year teaching middle school in a few short weeks, but I sure hope those weeks aren’t tooo short.
3. I’m eagerly planning to dive headfirst into my curriculum on the first day of school.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, this isn’t Rachel. I’m excited to be guest blogging here. If I can’t work with Rachel at school everyday any longer, this will have to get me through. The list above is an example of an ice-breaker activity I do with my students each year. It’s one of the Kagan cooperative learning structures called Find the Fiction. Each person states 3 pieces of information about herself, and her teammates must guess which statement is fiction. (I’m tempted to embark on a tangential discussion about the trouble with gender-specific singular pronouns here, which I actually have a lot to say about. I’m a girl, so I’ll say herself and her.) Back on point, in my example, the third statement is fiction. I highly value my instructional minutes and do my best to spend them seeped in curriculum, but I believe the first 1-3 days of the year in middle school are better spent on team building and setting up procedures for how those teams will work. Aside from letting students get to know each other, activities like this give them a great picture of what appropriate communication should look like in your classroom. They learn to take turns, use appropriate volumes, listen and respond respectfully, and in my room, we thank our teammates daily.

Let me digress for a moment. (For realz this time --- I teach middle school. I have to say for realz, and I have to use lots of parentheses and ellipses because regular punctuation bores me.) I’d like to take a moment to properly introduce myself in a much more grown-up fashion. My first and second statements above are accurate, but let me flesh out my background a bit more because I love to talk about myself, and I’m sure you’ll find it quite fascinating. Right? Right. My original career ambition was to become an attorney. I earned a bachelor’s degree in pre-law several years ago from Cedarville University (Cedarville, Ohio), but I quickly learned that my passion was not the law. I soon returned to school, this time at Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan) to earn my teaching credentials. I am certified to teach secondary English language arts and history. In 2007, I moved to Arizona and started my career in teaching middle school language arts. Perhaps one day I’ll share the dark days of substituting that I’m skipping over in my introduction. I’m very thankful for my baptism by fire into the world of teaching, but I’m glad I don’t need to repeat those days. Unlike the law, teaching is my passion. I truly love what I do and am extremely driven to improve my practice. I care deeply for my students and want the best for them. And of course, I live for the hilarious incidents that happen daily in a middle school. The stories I could (do) tell! I will be sharing some of my lessons and strategies with you here on occasion, and I hope you find them useful.

So, Find the Fiction. Use it! It’s a wonderful ice breaker, but it’s also a great activity to reinforce learning. Have students list statements about your curriculum, including one fictional statement, of course, that their teammates will have to find. Whether you’re using it for a team builder or curriculum, please remember to explicitly model it as well as listing clear step-by-step directions on the board. Include details explaining how long students will have to talk, who talks first, how teammates should respond, and what you expect them to be able to produce or share when the activity is over. I like to end the activity with some whole-class sharing of interesting factual and fictitious statements. It’s fun, let’s you learn about your students, and honestly, fictitious is just an enjoyable word to say out loud. I’ll leave you to find my fiction . . . the three statements I shared with my students in 2010 for this activity:

1. My first job was at Baskin Robbins ice cream.

2. My favorite television show is American Idol.

3. I tried to learn hip hop dancing by watching Soulja Boy tutorial videos on YouTube.

Can you find my fiction?

Greek Mythology

Greek Mythology--- kids love learning about Greek Myths.  While this isn't a huge curriculum bullet (there usually isn't too much of it covered on most state exams), it is something that will pique the interest of your students.  They especially like it because they can RELATE to it and have PRIOR KNOWLEDGE of most of the content we cover.

Students will draw parallels to:  Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus series, both by Rick Riordan; the God of War video game for PS3; the movie Clash of the Titans; and if you're lucky, they have actually learned a little bit about Greek Mythology from actual textbooks before!

I remember I learned about Greek mythology in 6th grade.  My wonderful, amazing Language Arts/ Social Studies teachers had our teams divided each into a different Greek Polis.  We had competitions against each other, culminating in a huge Olympics competition (I just remember the javelin toss was with pencils).  It was so much fun.

I usually saved Greek Mythology for the week before state exams and the week during.  I did this so students were actually enjoying themselves in class, not just cramming last minute for state exams (like that helps anyway).

I always started off with teaching about the titans (very briefly) and then we got into the myth of the Gods overthrowing Kronos.  And we took off from there.  I always started with a print out of notes for the students.  On each printout would have the names of each God/Goddess (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, etc), mythical heroes (Hercules, Orpheus, Achilles, Odysseus, etc), monsters (Medusa, Hydra, Minotaur, Sirens, Cerebrus) and general terms and places (Elysium, Hades, Olympus, Crete, etc).  Most of these terms tied to the myths that were from our text book.  Those myths were on:  Prometheus and how he came to give man fire;  Icarus and Daedalus and their metal wings;  Apollo and his son Phaeton, who was too proud to not fly his father's chariot; and Orpheus, who almost brought back his beloved from death by playing beautiful music.

We covered why the Gods and Goddesses were worshiped and I had to explain to students that this was the religion of the Greek people.  Most students were astonished at this news and thought that "Those fools were crazy."  (And that's a direct quote I got).  I told little stories about each God, Goddess, hero, monster, place, person, etc.  The kids saw that I loved the content/subject, and they caught on to that.   Can you guess what unit my students tested the highest on average for?  Yep, it was this unit.

We supplemented some stories.  I printed out stories about King Midas and his Golden touch, Perseus and Medusa,  Theseus and the minotaur, Jason and the Argonauts and a simplified, summarized version of the Odysssey.  The teams randomly picked their myth.  They read the myth together as a team, and then planned an even shorter skit of the myth.  They were graded on their enthusiasm, team work and how accurate their portrayal was.

I really wish that I could have taught more to the students.  Their eyes sparkled and they smiled so much when we learned about Greek Mythology.  And, don't we want our students to like learning?  I always encouraged students to keep reading the content.  I told them that if they hadn't already they needed to read Percy Jackson, not only for the content, but the wonderful middle school sense of humor that Riordan writes with.


There are Greek myths all over the place on the internet.  So, use those if you need a place to get started.  I also used the school library as a source, and had books pulled on Greek mythology.  When students were really interested in one aspect (like the myth of Theseus and the minotaur),  I would encourage them to try to read more about it on their own.

Most of all, when it comes to Greek Mythology, have FUN teaching your students.  They will love it if you do!  If you have no desire to do Greek Mythology, then try something else with your students.  Egyptian mythology, middles ages, or black plague.  Find something that you like to teach and that will engage the students and go.  Remember, that it is impossible to teach a supplemental unit like this all year long.  But it is there to break up the monotony, and give your students something to do that they'll really enjoy!

Best of luck!

Using Assigned Detentions to Your Advantage

Detention.  Nobody likes to stay after school, especially teachers.  However, if you want your kids to be managed and discipline, you staying after to school to babysit manage and help your students is a necessity.

Most teachers have heard of the disciplinary practice.  Just to clarify, detention is not a management skill, but a consequence. 

So many things to say about detentions...

Why are detentions given? Usually for misbehavior in the classroom of a sort.  Sometimes for missing school work and homework.  Sometimes for unexcused tardies.

Is it possible for detention to get too excessive?  And what about your veteran detainees?  Those kids who are ALWAYS in detention and they don't mind? 

I am going to write a few ideas for detentions.  I haven't been a HUGE fan with detentions myself.  My second year teaching, we could get up 30 7th graders in detention.  That's a huge number.  And about half of that number were some of our veterans.  So, while detention is a tool to use in enforcing rules, expectations and management, it is NOT the answer for everything. 


1)  What types of behavior do you assign detentions for? 

Personally, I believe that you need to sit yourself down and maybe some of same grade level teachers as yourself, and go ahead and set some parameters for giving detentions.  Some teachers, because of being what I like to say "frazzled" at times, will look for the easiest consequence possible for students, and will start assigning detentions for the tiniest infractions (chewing gum, not raising hand when answering questions, getting out of seat without permission).  Your students are going to resent you if you start doing that.  When your students start resenting you, they will disrespect you even more. 

Some reasons why you may assign detentions:
-After a certain number of tardies (I'd say 3 or 5)
-Excessive amount of homework or school work missing (start early with the missing assignments, 2-3)
-Repeat infractions---you'd have to keep a log of some sort for this.  But this is for students, that no matter how many times you tell them and ask them to stop, and they don't, then detentions are the next step.  Now, I said above that gum chewing, and shouting out in class, and getting out of their seat without permission were not detention worthy--- but that's when it's a one time offense.  You're not going to tell your student, "Hey, you're chewing gum.  Here's a detention slip."  Instead, you'd say "Hey, this is the 5th time I've caught you chewing gum in my class.  What happens next?  (Insert hand holding detention slip with students name in big letters with hearts surrounding it)" 
-Minor disrespect and defiance-- I am not talking about full blown defiance OR talking (yelling back). Those are offenses that require a more immediate disciplinary action (referral and parent conference) I'm talking about the quiet murmuring a student might have.  And when I meant disrespect, I mean disrespect toward you (teacher) and classmates.

Scenario:  A student gets an assignment that they don't like.  They proceed to whisper to their partner "This is so stupid.  I'm not doing it".  This type of talk will sow mutiny, and you, the teacher happen to hear it.  You head over to the student that started the murmuring.  The entire class is watching you, and wants to see how you respond.  If you ignore the student, the rest of the class will think it's OKAY not to do their assignment (except for the cute little over achievers that will do it anyway).  You say to the student, "I'm so sad you don't like the assignment.  But you still have to do it.  If I come back and you haven't finished (said amount that you decide based on assignment ), then I'm afraid you'll have to do it for me after school (detention)." 


2) Assigning the Detentions-  How do you assign them?

First thing---parents need to be informed of where their children are after school.  It's a good idea to call parents when you assign detentions anyway.  Parents need to understand that detention is NOT a good thing. And a lot of times with middle school aged kids, the detention slips that you may give them, surprisingly, find their way into the trash instead of the parent's hands.

Second---inform the office of the students that are in your classroom after school for detention.  This shouldn't be considered just a courtesy, but essential so that the office staff will know where those students are in case their parents come and look for them. 

Third---When you assign the detention, tell the parents AND the students that if the behavior escalates, there will have to be a next step (I like the idea of a parent/teacher conference). 

Fourth---Also tell your students and parents that there will be a consequence if the student is truant from (skips) detention.  In our school and grade level, if students missed one detention, they were assigned two more---1 for the day they missed and another for skipping that day.  This doesn't work with all students--- you need to figure out what will work best for you.  Have a detention cap (after 3-5 missed detentions) that will decide the next consequence, whether it's a referral or a parent conference. 

Fifth--- Don't sound resigned and unsurprised when you assign a student detention.  I think all teachers need to remember that we need to hold our students to high standards, and we should show genuine care, concern and disappointment when they don't fulfill those expectations.  After all, the first key to a well managed class is a good rapport with your students.

3) What should detention be like? 

So many people will argue with me on this one.  But, it's important that you decide what you want your students to be doing in detention.  I'd like to think of detention as something you can do as a logical consequence.  Whatever you do, you DON'T WANT YOUR STUDENTS TO ENJOY IT!  Seriously, I'd have students ASK me if they could come to detention (who does that?). 

If you babysit watch only students that you assigned detentions to, then you know why they're there.  So, try to make detention a LOGICAL CONSEQUENCE.  So, say you have all students that are there because of missing work, make it a logical consequence and tell them they have to do make up work while they're in detention.  If the all students present are your excessive gum chewers, make them clean up the room or even scrape gum.  For those students that are the excessive standers or hand raisers, make them do SOMETHING BESIDES STARE AT THE WALL.  Maybe clean up the room, maybe do homework.  Just make them do something.  Most students are totally okay with sitting and zoning out---they do it in school anyway. 

I personally hate the idea of detention just being a place where students just sit and stare at walls.  It doesn't benefit them in anyway at all.  If you can't think of a logical consequence, or there are too many different reasons for detention students there, have them all do work (independently) or clean.  Don't just let them sit and laugh quietly with their friends. 

If students are hard to control, or are refusing to work or do what you've asked them to, don't let them get away with it.  That is a way for detention to become a "cool hang out spot" and an ineffective consequence.  You need to come up with a time frame anyway to keep your kids, so point to the clock and start writing names when students start acting up.  Tell them, "If I write your name down, you have a few more minutes of fun time with me today.  You're so lucky".  (No lie, I would totally say it like that too.  Totally creeped the Sevvies out.  *evil laugh*) 

Call parents if you plan on doing that so they'll know that you're planning on and they'll be able to adjust their pick up time accordingly. 

4)  Do Not Assign Detentions for these Behaviors
Defiance--absolutely refusing to do something after you ask nicely.  Give them a warning, and if they are still defying you, then call somebody at the office to collect your prodigal student.  You don't have the time to deal with it, and you shouldn't have to. 
Disrespect--when disrespect escalates to verbal or physical abuse.  (A student cusses you out or tries hurting you).  If a student starts throwing things or gets violent toward you or anybody else, get the rest of your class our of the classroom and you need to call the office to come and get the student as soon as possible. 
Fighting---Students fighting, even play fighting, is not something that should be tolerated in the least, especially with only a detention. 
Ditching class---Doesn't matter to me whether the students ditch one class or all classes, and even at school when they're ditching, that should be something that the office deals with, not you. 

I didn't forget anything, did I?

***Remember that these are my personal opinions and they are here to help you.  You will need to adjust and adapt.  We teachers are excellent at that.  Do what will work best for you and more importantly, your students.