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One of the mottos of Discipline with Dignity workshop is “get back to teaching.” It has become a rally cry for me in the last few years in dealing with some of my more energetic students. The principle is fairly basic, but not always easy.

The theory is that from time to time teachers get frustrated with student behaviors and call them on it, which leads to a power struggle and eventually culminates in disciplinary action or a waste of class time. The principle of “Get Back to Teaching” centers on the idea that whenever possible, teachers need to simply re-direct attention back to the lesson, which means that sometimes they have to tune out that little last word that students like to throw in. With oppositional students, those “last words” are a fact of life. Most of the time, it is best to give a quick whispered re-direction to the student and a move on. In that moment when you walk away, you can anticipate a comment by the student. Ignore it, and get back to teaching. Nine times out of ten, the student will do what you ask in about 20 or 30 seconds, just long enough to “save face with the class” but not get in trouble.

Get back to teaching works most of the time. It requires a thick skin and a great deal of patience. It doesn’t mean that you forgive everything they say, it means that you don’t have to deal with every little snide comment right there on the spot– most of the time doing so escalates the situation and takes the focus away from the lesson.

In this model, problems are resolved individually, quietly, before or after class, when you have a chance to dialogue with the student, build and maintain a relationship, and express praise and frustration.

One of the most important functions of pre-reading is building background information. This is especially important for reluctant readers, special needs students who have had limited exposure to language and text, and ELL students who may not have prior experience with the topic. By building background knowledge, not only will students be more likely to understand the material, but they will also be more likely to read the material because they will be more likely to connect to the text. Once again, the amount of time teachers spend on pre-reading activities will effect the amount the student reads and the understanding of that text. Here is a list of specific pre-reading activities that will help build background knowledge.
• Previewing the text. This is a three part process read aloud to students. Part one, the teacher raises questions that get the student to think about the topic. Part two, the teacher summarizes the text. Part three, the teacher leaves the students with thoughts to guide them through their reading.
• Slideshows. This is especially effective with power point. Visuals of scenes, important objects or charts will help them visualize the text later on. Reading Picture Books. There are so many high quality picture books out there on content area topics. It is a quick and visual way for students to build background information on complicated topics.
• Think Alouds. Simply pick up the text, and spend five minutes walking the students through the reading, thinking aloud as you would if you were going to read it.