Middle school teachers are always looking for classroom management tips to strengthen their classroom environment. Check out these classroom tips!
If you've ever wondered how to make geography more interactive, this list of 100 hands-on geography activities for middle school is perfect for you.
The transition from elementary school to middle school gives the phrase a whole new world a different type of feeling (anxiety, night sweats, and nausea...and that’s the parents).
Get your students thinking like a historian from the get-go with these tips and ideas for your first Social Studies lesson of the year.
In this post I'm sharing how I use different types of manipulatives to teach chemistry concepts in middle school science!
Manage your middle schoolers during speech therapy with my 10 best strategies for behavior management to encourage and motivate!
Maybe you’ve been asked to lead a grade level team. Maybe you’re on a grade level team that has no appointed leadership and you’re ready to take the reins. No matter how you arrived at this moment and this blog post, you’re probably wondering where to start and what exactly your role should be. As y
Guide to using Social Studies Simulations to step away from the lecture podium and engage your students with hands-on history activities.
Doable ideas to bring real-life civic involvement into your high school government classroom.
This post may contain affiliate links. That means that if you click the links and make a purchase I may receive compensation at no additional cost to you. I do not recommend any companies that I do not persoanlly use and love. Please read our disclaimer for more info. Teaching inclusion can be overwhelming for someone who is new to the job, or maybe you are just in a new co-teaching relationship. There are so many things to worry about, from the needs of your students, to your co-teaching relationship, to working with parents. Here are some tips for someone who is new to inclusion. Treat all of the students the same It is easy to go into the classroom and focus on only the students on your caseload. It is your job to help these students and ensure that they are receiving all of their necessary accommodations and modifications. But, you need to remember that for optimal co-teaching, you need to remember that as a co-teacher in the classroom, all of those students are yours. Treating all of the students as though they are yours, makes your special education students more comfortable asking you for help and working with you. The older students get, the less likely that they are to want to seem like they’re receiving extra attention. When I am circulating the room, I make sure to help all of the students so that my kids are not embarrassed when I am helping them. Also, treating all of the students as though they are yours makes classroom management easier. When students see you as the special education teacher or the helper teacher, they don’t always show you the same amount of respect as they show the general education teacher. If you and your co-teacher act in a way that demonstrates that you are both in charge, the students are not going to walk all over you. Keep open lines of communication Co-teaching is impossible without a lot of communication. You need to make sure that you’re always on the same page as your co-teacher. Make sure that you agree with them in how you are going to teach a concept. Make sure that you agree with them in how you are going to assess the students. Don’t leave your concerns unheard because you are nervous to upset or offend your co-teacher. You have a valuable perspective that maybe they just need to hear. Communication is also important for parent-teacher relationships. If you are keeping an open line of communication with parents/guardians, the parents are going to feel more apt to trust you when they are questioning something. How often are students running home and telling parents a different side of the story? If the parents have heard your side of the story first, they will be prepared to talk to their kids when they come home from school. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind Your school district hired you for a reason. Although, co-teaching can be difficult when there are disagreements. Sometimes, it can feel like it would be easier to just differ to the content area teacher because they are the expert in that subject. But, your opinion is valuable. You are the specialist in teaching strategies, and modifying the curriculum to meet the needs of your students. If you approach a disagreement from a place of respect, you can hopefully have a calm conversation and maybe agree to a compromise. Don’t go in expecting a fight, because if you do there is a greater chance that is what you are going to get. Don’t let the paperwork get ahead of you When people ask me what I do, sometimes I just answer with, “paperwork.” Sometimes it feels like I am drowning in papers. I am constantly surrounded by testing reports, IEPs, work samples, quizzes or tests I am grading, professional development handouts, you name it! Make sure that you take the time to develop a paperwork organization system, and that you stick with it. I try to carve out time every week where I file away everything that I have sitting around. If you go too long it is just going to get more and more overwhelming and you’ll want to put it off even more. If you have time scheduled into your week that you put paperwork away, it won’t get away from you. Also, check out: Guiding Paraprofessionals When Co-Teaching Gets Tough The Ultimate Guide to Co-Teaching eBook! Check it Out! We won’t send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered By ConvertKit FREE co-teaching checklist Subscribe to receive a free co-teaching checklist! Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription and download the checklist. There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again. First Name Email Address We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer. Get the Checklist! We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit
Drama games & activities in your classroom or drama club as warm-ups, ice breakers, or as fun activities to start any class!
This post covers tips to designing a successful middle school art curriculum. It's all about scaffolding, building confidence, and having fun
Need poems for middle school students? Here are 12 that are funny, quirky, interesting, and poignant. Perfect for teens and teaching poetry.
Give your students a taste of adventure with over 20 free digital escape rooms to try at home or at school. Doing distance learning? These are perfect!
Are your older students fully engaged in your speech and language lessons? Get them motivated with these 5 tips, tools and activities!
Ready to "cook up" a great first day of school? It's easy with this recipe for a successful start to the school year! PREP: ➤ Think about how you will set the tone for your classroom on the first day of school. ➤ Plan to keep students engaged and active. ➤ Prepare to build a positive rapport with students from the first instant that they become a part of the classroom community. INGREDIENTS: ➤ Warm-Up Activity ➤ Get-to-Know-You Activity ➤ Game that gets students out of their seats ➤ Get-to-Know-the-Teacher Activity ➤ Writing Prompt ➤ Extension Activity Once you've gathered your ingredients, you can get "cooking!" (CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE RECIPE!) PROCEDURE: STEP 1: Begin with a warm-up activity. Place an activity on students' desks that they can complete independently. You might try a simple survey or poster. An All About Me poster is a quick way to learn about students. You can even gather them together for an awesome classroom display. Or, a survey is a wonderful way to collect information about students. You might include questions about where students like to sit, their favorite way to learn, and activities that they enjoy so that you can start connecting with students. Another awesome warm-up activity is an "All About You" name tag. Students answer questions about themselves while coloring in a name tag based on their responses. Then, students can place the name tag on their desks to help you learn your students' names. This activity is particularly awesome if you have multiple sets of students. You can collect the name tags and re-distribute them each day during each class while you learn names. Oh, and as a bonus, you can gather them together and leave them with substitute teachers throughout the year! If you'd like to check out ready-made Back to School Warm-Ups, just click here for the poster, here for the survey, and here for the name tags. STEP 2: Mix in a get-to-know-you activity. Give students a chance to share about themselves and learn about their classmates with an engaging get-to-know-you activity. One of my favorites is a doodle-inspired mini-book. Students transform a single sheet of paper into a doodley mini-book all about themselves. After students make the mini-book it's fun to hang them on a clothesline. Then, as students finish their work during the first days of school, you can encourage fast-finishers to grab a classmate's mini-book and learn about him or her. Check out the doodle mini-book HERE. Or, you could have students create this 3-D About Me Activity. Students create an infographic-style book about themselves. After answering some simple questions, they do a little cutting and gluing to create a 3-D "About Me" display. These are especially fun because students can set them on their desks and then everyone can tour around the classroom and learn about their peers. (These are awesome for Open House too!) Learn more HERE. STEP 3: Scatter in an activity that gets students moving. Since students crave opportunities to get up and out of their seats, plan to get your class moving on the first day of school. You might have students complete a scavenger hunt or even play a learning game that requires students to move around. I'm a huge fan of this simple get-to-know-you activity that gets students moving (and you can download it for FREE here.) First, students make paper airplanes. They write their name and 3 interview questions on the wings. Then, students line up shoulder-to-shoulder and launch the planes. Next, they pick up a classmate's plane, find him or her, and ask the interview questions. You can repeat the airplane launch as often as you'd like! Find everything you need to do this activity in this FREEBIE. If you'd like to combine movement and learning on the first day of school, then you and your students will love this Back to School Doodle Infographic. First students fill in the infographic with facts about school. There are 21 facts and you can hide them around the room to get students moving. Then, they put together the infographic to make a fun and doodle-y poster! Check it out HERE. STEP 4: Sprinkle in a chance for students to get-to-know-you (their teacher). On the first day of school, students are very curious about you. They want to learn about you, so you'll want to be sure to share about yourself. You can give a simple biography of yourself, or you might try these easy and engaging activities: Create a teacher interview question along with 4 or 5 prize cards for each student in your class. Then, tape the questions and the prize cards under students' seats before class begins. During class, explain to students that they all have something under their chairs. It might be a question and it might be a prize. If they get a prize card, have students keep it quiet. Then, call on students. They can either read a question for you to answer or reveal that they won a prize. If they won, you might give them a pencil, piece of candy, or a homework pass. You can find all my favorite questions HERE. Or, you might have students complete a "Teacher Guess" about you. First, they predict the answers to questions about you. Then, as you reveal the answers, they earn points for every correct prediction. It's a fun activity that students truly enjoy! You can check it out HERE. STEP 5: Add a fun writing prompt to your back to school activities. A writing prompt is a great way to gather a baseline for students' writing on the first day of school. You might give students a simple prompt about their summer or goals for the new school year. However, I love to add a fun creative writing prompt into the mix. For example, with this writing prompt students select a setting, character, problem, and 3 random objects. Then, they need to work them all into a story. It's fun, engaging, and a great way to see where your students are starting the school year. Find this writing prompt HERE or check out this collection of 10 creative writing activities. STEP 6: Top it off with a review of tomorrow's warm-up. Set students up for success during your next day of school by quickly reviewing what they will need to do when they arrive to class. If you're planning to have students work through warm-ups like these This or That ELA warm-ups where students choose to do the "this" or the "that" activity, then you might quickly review what will be waiting on their desks when they arrive. Taking the time to preview tomorrow's warm-up is a great way to set expectations for students! If you're looking for some daily warm-ups, you might want to check out these This or That ELA warm-ups or these This or That Writing warm-ups! STEP 7: Don't forget to have an extension activity just in case your lesson ends early. I love playing games like "Move If You..." which you can find for FREE HERE. While you may never get to the extension activity, it's a lifesaver if you need it! TIPS: When you're following this recipe for a great first day of school, you might want to: ➤ Greet students at the door and answer these questions for students right away: ➨ Where do I sit? ➨ Am I in the right classroom? ➨ What should I be doing right now? ➤ Also, be prepared to manage students' behavior on the first day of school. Ensure that you have a positive classroom management system in place and ready to use if you need it! Well, there you have it, my recipe for a great first day of school. Be sure to download all the ideas with links AND the FREE airplane activity HERE! CHECK THIS OUT! I've put together a 100+ page guide for back to school for teachers. It includes tips, tools, and printables for classroom décor, classroom organization, lesson planning, community building, and planning the first day of school. It's absolutely FREE! Just click here to sign up. When you sign up, you'll get access to 6 mini-courses that cover everything Back to School including classroom design, organization, curriculum planning, and ways to build a positive classroom community. There's also a TON of exclusive freebies, bonuses, and videos! If you'd like to learn more and sign up, just click HERE. Thanks so much for stopping by, Mary Beth P.S. If you'd like MORE free resources for your classroom, be sure to join the Brain Waves Instruction club!
Effective classroom management strategies are essential for a positive and productive learning environment for middle and high school students.
Learn six ways to help reluctant readers gain confidence and improve their reading skills in upper elementary and middle school classrooms.
These simple tips will help you feel capable of making time and space for middle school vocabulary instruction in your classroom or at home.
The pencils are sharpened, your classroom is clean and the bell rings…gulp…here they come! My feelings on the first week of school are conflicted. On one hand, it’s one of the most important weeks. Explaining and practicing the class procedures and expectations sets the tone for the rest of the school year. Success is vital. On the other hand, I’m so excited to start teaching my historical content that waiting until all the expectations are explained requires a lot of patience! Every teacher has their own plan of action for that pivotal time. Here are 5 things I can’t live without during the first week of school: One: An Icebreaker. I aim to try and make kids feel comfortable in my classroom on day one. One of my favorite little activities is Fact or Fiction. Each student receives a small slip of paper and they’re instructed to write one fact and two fictions. Then each person (including myself!) introduces themselves and we all try to guess which statement is the fact! It’s a great way to quickly learn about each other. Two: Classroom Information and Expectations. This is every teacher’s staple, I know, but it had to go on the list because it’s a must-have! When you’re making your own, spell everything out – from the obvious grading procedures and late work policy to how to pass back papers and when to sharpen pencils and go to the bathroom. Trust me, leave no stone unturned. Your classroom will function much better if you set the tone from day one. (Oh, and don’t forget a seating chart!) Three: Fun and Games. On the second day of school, I love to start class with a little game. It’s a great way for the kids to start practicing our classroom procedures and expectations while getting familiar with their teacher and classmates. Here are some of my favorite games that I use during the first week of school: (P.S. Some of these activities can be found in my Back to School Activities resources! Click the grade level you’re teaching to check them out: Sixth, Seventh, Eighth) InstaFriend: This activity gets students moving around the room and interviewing fellow classmates! Their InstaFriend paper has a series of descriptions and characteristics. When they find a student who matches the description, they write their name in the box. Each name can only be used once! Right or Wrong: I love skits. LOVE THEM. I like to introduce students to the idea of skits during the first week by allowing them to create their own based on our class expectations. I first divide students into small groups of 2-3. Each group then randomly receives one of our class procedures or expectations. As a group, they have to work together to create two mini skits – one showing the RIGHT way to follow the expectation, the other showing the WRONG way. They get to be silly and I get to reinforce my class expectations. After each skit I happily point out all the positive behaviors as well as each time a class policy was violated. It’s a light-hearted way to grab their attention and create a positive atmosphere all while practicing the laws of the land. Classmate Bingo: I love to play this game at the end of the first week. I give each student a blank bingo board with a large selection of personal characteristics, hobbies, etc. at the bottom. The students choose 16 off the list and create their customized board. Then, I randomly select characteristics from the list. If a student has that characteristic on their board, they have to write down a student’s name that matches the characteristic – but no cheating! They have to use what they’ve learned about others during their first week of school to try and win the game. Four: A Pre Test. After a few days of class information and fun, it’s time to start getting down to business. Each year, I make a short pre-test on the information they’ll learn about that year. It gives me a chance to see what the kids already know and gives them a feel for what subject matter they’ll be learning about in the coming weeks. FYI: Your pre-test probably won’t take the whole class period. Make sure to have plans for other activities, too, on the day you give your pre-test! Five: A Writing Activity. True fact: when I tell kids they’re going to do a writing activity, they groan every time. It’s a signal that the “real work” is about to begin. Luckily, they’re always relieved when I assure them that this activity will require very little research because it’s about a subject they’re experts in – themselves! I have a few different activities to choose from each year. Here are some suggestions: Student Survey: What are your strengths? Weaknesses? What do you hope to learn in this class? These are just some of the questions I ask students in the survey. The more I know about my students, the better I can help them achieve success in my class. Write Away: A staple of many: write a letter to a future you! I ask students to write goals for the year, dreams they wish to see realized, and questions they want to ask their “End of the Year” self. I tuck these letters away and revisit them during the last week of school. I’m Ready: Like every middle school history class, we do a lot of writing and students always have to back up their reasons, statements, etc. with evidence to support their claim. In this writing activity, students have to identify which class rule or expectation they believe is most important and provide evidence to support their claim. This activity both reinforces my classroom policies and secretly gives me a preview of their writing proficiency. Have I left anything out? If you have any fun plans for the first week of school, share them in the comments. I’m always looking for new ideas for my classroom!
Utilizing classroom jobs save time! This applies to academics, character, and...helping you around your classroom!
Looking for strategies to help make math class more efficient and therefore have a more effective math class for your middle schoolers?
Middle school novel study favorites - top novel study picks for grade 5-9 to engage and encourage young readers.
My rule #1 in a series about bringing out the best behavior in middle school students, Helpful tips for managing adolescents effectively.
Teaching Geography is one of the best Social Studies gigs to get! There are so many amazing resources for teaching the course, and fun strategies for teaching Geography are also unlimited. Follow this Quick Tips for Teaching Geography Series to learn those strategies for your classroom! Quick Tips #1: Quick Start Ideas Starting class in […]
I never bought into the whole Clip Chart thing. As a parent, if I saw my child was on GREEN (or whatever the acceptable color is nowadays), I would still wonder if my kid made mistakes that needed a parent's guidance, or even worse, was a complete A$$ at school. I get that kids need a chance to redeem themselves, but kids are so smart that they will goof off all day and pull it together in the last hour. I've seen it happen. So with three words, I manage the expectations and behaviors in my class: "Here's your ticket." This is such an easy system to prep and implement. After you've laid out the expectations and have a solid strategy for gaining control of your class and poor behavior (see previous post about CHAMPS and 1,2,3 Magic), you can start holding your students accountable for their own choices. There are three types of consequence tickets, three types of reward tickets, and a weekly report for parents (or daily if you have an RTI student or young ones). Also included are editable posters and tracking sheets. PLUS, a 5 page document that walks you through how to get started. Here are some photos from my classroom. Download yours today and start holding your students accountable for the rest of the year!
Middle school novel study favorites - top novel study picks for grade 5-9 to engage and encourage young readers.
Learn how to change a child's inflexible thinking with this collection of tips, books, and activities to develop a growth mindset for kids!
Have you been wanting to try inquiry-based learning in your classroom? Genius Hour is an amazing project that will take yoru students to whole new level!
First impressions are powerful. Make your first statement to your students a positive one.
Here’s a few classroom procedures that have worked well for me – and a couple awesome ideas I’ve run across since I’ve stepped out of the classroom...
As your child enters middle school, they must start developing good study habits. Middle school is an important time in their academic career, and if they establish good study skills now, it will carry over into high school and beyond. Let's discuss why good study skills are important and 15 study skills for middle school success. By following these tips, your child can ace their classes and get the best education possible! Why It's Important to Develop Good Study Habits in Middle School There are many reasons why it's essential to develop good study habits in middle school. For one,
middle school chorus
Transition tips for children starting middle school are more important than many parents are aware of. Learn what these 12 transition tips for starting middle school are and get them ready for the school year.
If you have any variation of independent reading in your middle or high school English class, you've undoubtedly faced challenges at some point in the experience. Unlike the enthusiasm for reading in primary grades (think stickers, SSR, take-home bags, cute reading nooks, etc.), it's a huge accomplishment in secondary to get students to read anything, much less doing so with a stocked classroom library, fair assessments, and anything resembling enthusiasm. When many of our kids are over-committed, how do we make reading habits enjoyable, instead of just assigning tasks that just feel like more work? Though I won't pretend to have all the answers for every reader and every type of classroom, I *can* tell you 15+ solutions that helped me teach independent reading programs over the last six years, to four grade levels and two school settings (urban and suburban/private). Why Independent Reading, Though? This book is gold! (Link to Amazon) Before I share these tips, let me clarify that I'm a Kelly Gallagher fan and believe firmly that teens should read as much as possible, without "killing the book" by over-teaching and over-assigning it. On the other hand, if your students are reluctant or growing readers, then even finishing one book per month might be an accomplishment. It's all about getting them to read the same or more than they are now, right? My Story: Starting from Nothing During my master's program, I was studying motivation and reading for my thesis/portfolio, and I was hell-bent on bringing some level of independent reading to my inner-city classes of sophomores and seniors for student teaching. However, despite my amazing mentor teacher, there was no classroom library, the school library was under-funded, and the kids had NO buy-in. The regular-English class of sophomores were outwardly priding themselves on having NEVER FINISHED A WHOLE BOOK BEFORE, and my AP Lang seniors felt that they had too much homework to squeeze in any more reading. So, with the help of book drives, volunteers, and various kinds of coercing on my part... We built a classroom library. My "Book of the Month" system was born. We had guest speakers come talk about reading. We made time in class to read (and/or talk about) books. And, according to the letters that I got from students at the end of my time (which they were NOT required to write), many were "converted" to reading, before it was too late. Nowadays, I teach in a private middle school with a district that requires use of Accelerated Reader (which kids hate) and have a lot of over-committed students (who think they have no time for reading). My challenges have changed, but the solutions I used in both settings really haven't. So trust me, I know how hard it is to start (and enforce) independent reading. But the steps below have helped me a lot, and they can help you, too. Top 15 Tips for Your Program So here are a few solutions to think about before or during your choice reading requirements for your English class. 1. Start with a quantity within their ZPD. At the beginning of your program, ease into the length and/or quantity of books you require. Let them pick up shorter books at first, and don't be afraid of giving them plenty of time to finish the book (before assigning shorter deadlines later). When I helped teach sophomores and AP Lang, the one thing both classes had in common was my Book of the Month requirement, and it was a hit at both levels! 2. Teach students how to pace reading to meet a deadline. We teachers HAVE to stop passing out books, assigning a deadline, and just saying "go." The sink-or-swim approach does little to actually teach students to pace themselves, and it probably won't help them like the experience, either. I like using these pacing bookmarks to help my eighth graders calculate the number of pages they need to read per day to meet a deadline; it promotes more consistent reading instead of trying to fly through 150 pages the night before it's due. 3. Let some books end with just opinion or reflection. Yes, some texts will end with summative assessments, AR quizzes, or your own check for understanding. But not every book needs to end with work (and you don't need to grade everything, either.) 4. Use reverse psychology. One of the best ways to get a teen interested after all is to tell them they're not allowed to. Even if it's not September, try this banned books mini-unit to get students reading commonly challenged CHOICE books (that they negotiate with you and their parents). 5. Make them watch the movie version. Yes, this activity is fun, BUT more importantly, it's extremely important for weak readers who have a hard time visualizing the text. You don't have to play the movie in-class, either. Make students do the work of picking the book/movie combo (including getting parent permission based on film ratings), and then let them generate heated opinions of which version (book or movie) was better. Start here for more ideas. 6. Eliminate excuses for acquiring books. Don't have books at home? Get them from school. Don't have time for the school library? Get a cart of books from there. Don't have a classroom library? Do what I did and ask your local Half Price Books (or whoever) to work with you on a Book Drive for your classroom! Need more copies? If you qualify, set up a Donors Choose account. 7. Let books become gifts. I always make a big deal out of it when new books arrive in the mail or when I've been shopping. I bring it into the room in its shopping bag/box and "unwrap" it in front of them, turning it into a suspense-filled book talk. You can also literally gift them back and forth: let kids donate books to the classroom, and if you have the funds, buy a book for each kid at some point in the year. 8. Add a teacher book talk once a week. Just make a starting goal to hold up and discuss ONE book for five minutes or less, once per week. You need to model what enthusiastic chatter about books looks like, especially if no other adult does. Plus, it will help them branch out into different books (other than the popular ones already being circulated in teen word-of-mouth). 9. Make STUDENTS give the book talks. I have a Student-Led Book Talks Project that lets students recommend one book, a series, or a themed collection in a short (graded) presentation. Book talks that come directly from students always have WAY more cred than ones from a teacher (even if they trust your book judgment)! 10. Do a buddy read. If ever, they probably haven't been allowed to read a book with just one buddy since elementary school. Maybe one month is a required Partner Read month in your class, in which both have to agree on a book and do a culminating partner assignment together! 11. Allow one "re-read". Let just ONE of the books be a reread of a book from the past 2-5 years (assuming it's a reasonable choice, difficulty-wise). Let them feel the confidence-booster of being older and smarter, noticing more as they read it again. Ask them to reflect on what they got out of the text the second time! 12. Make decorative book reviews that last. I did this Quote Analysis and Artwork project as prep for an author visit last year, and it gave us cool Pinterest-style illustrated quotes to hang on lockers or walls! 13. Bring in (free) guest speakers. I know this may vary, but our local librarians do free school visits to recommend books to students, especially if it's at the end of the year (to promote their summer reading program). See if a library or bookstore is willing to talk to your class! During student teaching, I also had college students visit my sophomores and seniors to talk about their reading habits (both their required reading in college classes and what they read for fun). 14. Get a (free) author visit. Many authors do free (or cheap) Skype visits, or sometimes even in-person ones if they're local. Ask your school or local library for ideas, or check out websites like this one that provide lists. Not going to work out? TWEET AT THE AUTHOR and see if you get a reply! (I did this last year, and you can read about it in my TED posts.) 15. Give them TIME. I saved this for last because I know it's the hardest one - making time to give students in-class reading time. I've done this several ways in the past - doing it as my bell-ringer (while I take attendance), or doing a longer period of time once a week (so I can circulate the room and check reading logs/progress, etc.). Do whatever works for you, but once a week for 20 minutes is better than nothing, and it may give them a chance to RELAX in the middle of the school day! For More Info If you want help getting your program started, you can get my rubrics, logs, and other forms HERE in my Book of the Month programs for middle school and high school! And if you want to see my other lessons and tools for teaching literature, just click here. What advice would you add to this list? Tell me in the comments!
Looking for high school rewards or middle school rewards to motivate students? Tired of finding reward ideas that are more applicable to elementary kids than your 8th, 9th, or 10th graders? No need to look any further. As a language teacher, I'm always searching for high school incentives to get my trickier classes to speak