Teaching High School Students

Lesson 1

Understanding High School Students

What motivates high school students? How do their brains work? You'll delve into those questions by taking a look at adolescent psychology. Understanding why your students make the choices they do can help you guide them to make better, more responsible choices. Plus, knowing how your students' brains function will help you create engaging, effective lessons.

Classroom Organization and Management

You can have an orderly, smooth-running classroom! This lesson will show you several seating arrangements that you can use to match your teaching style. You'll find out about high-tech and low-tech aids that can enhance your instruction. You'll also receive a lesson plan that will help your students establish a classroom constitution. Everything you will learn in this lesson will help you teach smarter rather than teach harder.

Building Positive Relationships With Students

In this lesson, you'll explore the role that relationships play in creating a classroom atmosphere that fosters academic achievement and responsible behavior. You'll learn to connect with your students and provide a positive environment for them. The lesson will discuss one of the most powerful relationship-building tools available: the class meeting. Finally, you'll learn about using interest inventories to get to know your students and thereby help them succeed.

Recognition, Rewards, and Reinforcement

It's time to look at recognition and positive reinforcement at the high school level. First, you'll learn the difference between ineffective praise and effective encouragement. Then, the lesson will discuss how effective positive reinforcement differs from conditional praise. Finally, you'll explore the key components of an effective schoolwide reinforcement system.

Differentiation in High School

How can you use differentiated instructional strategies to meet your students' diverse needs? In this lesson, you'll find out how to determine your students' learning styles and how to use strategies such as flexible grouping to adapt your lessons to those styles. The lesson will also discuss using differentiated assessment strategies to allow your students to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.

Social-Emotional Learning

How does social-emotional learning relate to your students' success in school? In this lesson, you'll investigate why SEL should be an integral part of your instruction. The lesson will explain how to teach your students to identify emotions in themselves and others. Then, you'll learn how to teach your students to manage their emotions and disagree with others in a respectful manner.

Learner-Centered Instruction

How can you create lessons that have their basis in your students' current knowledge, that meet their needs, and that take advantage of their strengths and preferences? You'll explore this complex issue and more in this lesson.

Gaining Parental Support

How can you gain support from your students' parents? This lesson will discuss the barriers that can prevent you from gaining parental backing. It will then talk about how you can overcome those barriers and create a home-school partnership. The lesson will also go over how you can conduct parent conferences—both regularly scheduled conferences and ones related to solving a problem.

Varying Your Assessment Strategies

In this lesson, you'll examine the more traditional question-based assessment. You'll then explore two types of assessment that focus on evaluating how students use what they've learned: problem-based and performance-based assessment.

Dealing With Common Discipline Problems

Do you have students who use phones or other electronic devices without permission in your classroom? Do you have students who talk when they should be working? What about students who refuse to do their work or who cut class? You'll examine these common discipline problems and explore ways to deal with them effectively and efficiently.

Dealing With Serious Discipline Problems

How can you help students who are defiant and who resist your attempts to help them be more responsible? In this lesson, you'll look at preventive and remedial approaches to bullying and cyberbullying. You'll also examine what you should do when you face a violent or potentially violent situation.

Making Learning Fun

How can eyedroppers and M&M's enliven your curriculum? In this lesson, you'll look at how to use simulations, competitions, and games to make your instruction fun and effective. The lesson will include examples from different subject areas and different parts of the country.