For the next two weeks, Four O’Clock Faculty will be taken over by March Madness, Secret Sauce style! Eight strategies from The Secret Sauce: Essential Ingredients for Exceptional Teaching will go head to head until there is one March Madness Champion!
With each vote that you cast, you are put into a drawing to win one of five copies of the book! Vote in each round to increase your chances of winning!
Let’s get to our Round 1 Matchup in the Communication bracket:
Strategy #1: #GoodNewsPhoneCall (page 44, The Secret Sauce)
Make a good news phone call home to a student’s family when they do something noteworthy – perhaps an academic achievement or an act of kindness. Calling home for a good reason helps to establish a positive relationship between teacher and parent/guardian and can make a huge difference for the student and family! Share out a photo via social media to recognize the student and share their name on a #GoodNewsPhoneCall Wall of Fame. (Ours is in our Main Office!)
Strategy #2: Asking the Right Questions (page 61, The Secret Sauce)
When talking to students about their day, asking the wrong question (How was school? or What did you do in school?) can end up with a curt ‘Fine’ or ‘Nothing’. Help parents by providing a list of prompts or sharing out a classroom image on your class social media giving families a specific question: Ask students to describe our science experiment today or Have students explain the impact of the civil rights movement on later generations. Any guidance you can provide can help parents and caregivers connect with what is happening in their students’ daily lives.
Which strategy is your favorite? Click here to vote!
Check out #4OCF tomorrow to vote for the next matchup!
Click here to purchase your copy of The Secret Sauce: Essential Ingredients for Exceptional Teaching.