Minimize transition times; maximize instruction.  Honestly, prior to using an ActivBoard, I struggled with minimizing transition times.  It wasn’t because I was unprepared or unorganized or couldn’t anticipate the next activity; I would bring in a variety of resources, have activities planned, be prepared and still I realized I was more active than the students I was trying to teach.  In fact, some days I felt like I was spinning plates in the circus while trying to keep daily lessons running smoothly.   I was so busy fumbling around to start a video clip, turning to the correct page in my textbook or wiping off the overhead transparency that I lost precious instructional time as well as my students’ attention.

Research supports that an ineffective teacher will spend anywhere from 4 to 9 minutes transitioning between activities, while an effective teacher will spend as little as 30 seconds moving from one activity to the next.  In B.F. Steere’s study, he calculated that, based upon nine transitions during a six-hour instructional day, for 170 school days, an effective teacher spending only 30 seconds per transition, will spend a total of 12 hours and 45 minutes per year on transitions resulting in a loss of approximately 2 1/8 days of instructional time. Given the same time frame, an ineffective teacher spending an average  of 5 minutes per transition, will spend 127 ½ hours on transitions each year resulting in a loss of approximately 21 ¼ days of instructional time.

The ActivBoard helps regain valuable instructional time, because every part of a pre-planned lesson is just a click away.  Using the ActivBoard frees me up to focus on my students instead of focusing on management tasks.  Now, lesson resources (videos, maps, excerpts, photos, games, and examples) are included in my flipcharts, even the answers to the “First Five Minute” activity! 

Day 12: Reveal Answers Using the Fill Tool

Works well in matching games, fill in the blank questions, labeling parts of speech or diagrams, and short answer questions.

Step1: Type the “First Five Minute” Activity questions in *blue.     *Note: Can use any color.  

Step 2:  Type the “First Five Minute” Activity answers in *yellow.    *Note: Can use any color other than the color selected for the questions.  

Step 3:  Use the Fill Tool to change the background to *yellow.  *Note: The background should match the color selected for the “First Five Minute” Activity answers.

Step 4:  To show the answers, use the Fill Tool to select a different background color.

Steere, B.F. (1998). Becoming an effective classroom manager. A resource for teachers. Albany: State of University of New York Press.