Time On Task

Beginning of the class

Students should walk into your class ready to work.  A good method of accomplishing this is to have students do a 5 -10 minute critical thinking activity.  It can be called a 5 minute warm-up.  Write a question on the board that relates their previous knowledge to the subject that you will be teaching that day. 

Examples:

            - List 10 elements

            - What is a lever?   What is an example of a lever you use at home?

Five minutes after the bell, pick up the activities.  If students are finished, they will receive 1 point.   If they did not do the activity or if they came to class late, they will not receive the 1 point.  There is no make-up for this activity.  The points could count on their test grade.  It is a easy way to provide incentive to do the activity and also have students think ahead toward their tests.

Students will not be allowed to talk during the warm-up activity.  If they try to talk, whisper that they need to wait until after the warm-up.  Direct students to their desks by pointing or walking them to the desk.  Do not yell or speak loudly.  It is important that students realize that this is a “thinking time”, not “talking time”.

End of class

The end of the class should be quiet and busy.   Students can be given a critical thinking activity at the end of the class that summarizes the lesson for that day.  You can choose to give 1 point for both warm-up and ending activity.   The answers do not have to be right to receive the point in either the warm-up or the ending activity.  You are trying to get the students to think of the lesson every minute.  

Collaborative Work

Group work can be a group from 2-4.  Do not have more than 4 in a group.      It is imperative that you always  group the students.  DO NOT allow students to pick their own partners.  Collaborative work should be productive.  When students select their own partners, they will rarely accomplish the objective of the lesson.