Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Shut Up Sheet


8th grade math class. Which I was looking forward to with quite a bit of trepidation. Things have not been going so well with the 8th graders so far this year.

When the lesson plan hinted that the students should be working quietly, I scoffed. Never going to happen, I thought.

The class arrived. I passed out their work...

"Oh, this is a Shut Up Sheet."

A wha...?

And they did. They shut up and worked. (Okay, so they needed a bit of a push to get to silence. But... They did. Get to silence. Whoa!)

I admit, I laughed out loud when I heard "shut up sheet". But it fits. I've met this teacher. He would totally say something like that.

And hey, whatever works...

21 comments:

  1. I agree with Alex, that definitely needs to be patented :)

    betty

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    Replies
    1. The sheets he used were just regular math worksheets. The genius was in the branding. That is, what he told the students they were.

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  2. Ha, that sounds like something all substitutes need. It certainly worked well.

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  3. A shut up sheet. I need those for my nephews when they get out of hand and I need silence. Plus them learning would be a bonus.

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    Replies
    1. You could use anything, really. Depending on how old they are, it could be a coloring sheet. It's all in the execution.

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  4. I love the idea of a shut up sheet. I need some of those here sometimes!!

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    Replies
    1. The teacher has a great sense of humor. He's also been teaching a long time.

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  5. Have never heard of that one before! But then I taught younger grades. Teacher sounds like he has the pulse of the class.

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    Replies
    1. He knows how to deal with middle schoolers, that's for sure.

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  6. I call those assessment sheets. My lot are very good when doing tests but that's about it.

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    Replies
    1. Silent working is not something kids are required to do anymore. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

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  7. Replies
    1. A fairly good 8th grade class. It's almost like seeing a unicorn.

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  8. I like it! Too bad we can't all use some version of a shut up sheet at work.

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  9. That's a wise teacher. What a clever idea!

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  10. It's good that they know to shut up and do the work when they see that sheet. Whatever works, I'm with you. That teacher found a way to deal and it apparently works.

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