1) Assignment Email
From Shelley Mitchell, a biology, anatomy, and microbiology teacher at Stillwater High School in Stillwater, Oklahoma:

"Every Friday, I email the next week's assignment and test schedule, as well as any major due dates coming up, to parents and students. I also include any notes on upcoming guest speakers or field trips, or notes on what we're studying in class, doing in the lab, etc. I teach high school, and very few students at that age share important school-related information with their parents. The parents are grateful to have the information, and it also gives them a way to contact me that is much more convenient than phone tag. The students like having the information available, in case they forget the assignment or miss a school day. It helps me out too, because parents are able to stay on top of the students at home, making sure they finish their homework and study for tests! Grades have improved several percentage points overall since I've started weekly emails to parents."

2) Tangled Strings
From Adrienne Ross, a fifth grade teacher in Demarest, New Jersey:

"A coworker of mine came up with a tip for keeping those mobile strings from tangling. Put the strings through straws (the same length as the string). The straws will stop the strings from tangling. For staggering the lengths, cut the straws to go with the shorter strings and combine straws for the longer strings. It really works!"

3) Questions from Colleagues:
Question: From Marina Rice, a fourth grade teacher at Cordova Middle School in Phoenix, Arizona:

"I am truly perplexed! My 4th grade students' median Grade level on SAT 9's is at least one grade level above in Reading and two grade levels above in Math. Our Language scores are inconsistent, however, falling a few months short every year. I am in a 91% low SES school; 48% Hispanic, many new English speakers (4 new monolingual Spanish in my class this year), but don't think that's the problem. We do a lot of writing and the improvement in five of the six traits is awesome, with conventions showing the least improvement, but getting the most daily attention. Our prewriting scores are above average, our editing score averages, but our composing scores are way low! Any tips for next year? I have tried the Shurley Method, and it has helped, but I need more!"

Answer: From Allison Ferguson, a 5th Grade ELA and Social Studies Teacher in Stafford, Texas:

"Our fourth grade teachers have implemented the Step up to Writing program. As a fifth grade teacher, I can truly tell the difference whenever I got a student who had been taught using this program. It is truly sensational! On our state standardized test, our fourth grades have a 100% passing rate. The program basically shows the students how to organize their thoughts and put them into a well written passage using outlining in a color-coded process. The students become aware of excellent topic sentences, transitions, and how to write good expository pieces - an area that is usually a weakness. I would suggest you looking into this program. Whereas the 6 traits goes more with revision - the Step up to Writing helps with the actual organization of ideas and composition of the paper. Hope this helps! If you have any questions - contact me, and I'll be glad to try to help you."

WORKS4ME RESOURCES

Works4Me publishes tips each week year round to subscribers. Recently published tips are available on www.OWL.org. NEA members: you'll find the tips in OWL's "My Profession" area. If you're not an NEA member, the tips will appear on your OWL.org home page. The Works4Me online library includes all the tips that we've sent out and tips we have not been able to send out yet. Here's where you'll find these tips: http://www.nea.org/helpfrom/growing/works4me/library.html.

OWL.org's Works4Me Discussion Board is your place to connect with colleagues. Ask questions of your peers and share your best teaching tips and classroom solutions. The Discussion Board is open to NEA members who have registered with OWL.org.

SUBMITTING A TIP

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