Big Little Things: 40 Tools for Building a Better Classroom

Any teacher or administrator who has had a relatively long tenure in one school district has seen district-level initiatives come and then go. But there are no-budget, high-impact initiatives that can be undertaken every day at the classroom level, and the building of teacher-student and student-student relationships is a prime example.

Ron Nash has met and worked with many teachers over the years, but the best ones pay attention to the little things that make positive impacts on the culture of the classroom, or as he calls them, "big little things." Attending to these things on a regular basis can lift spirits, trigger a smile, and create a climate where students want to engage in their own learning. But monkey wrenches come in all sizes, and when they are in the wrong place at the wrong time, even little things that disrupt the classroom routine become "big little things" because of their negative impact on the learning process.

In this book, Nash doesn't deal with big-ticket or big-budget items, but rather with "big little things" that make a difference one way or another, by their use or by their absence. Every one of the concepts or ideas in these 40 chapters can be implemented and maintained at the classroom level. Each of them can be used and perfected by teachers to build better classrooms, regardless of grade level or subject area. Filled with testimonials from real teachers, animated life examples from Nash's own experience, and reflection questions for each strategy, this book will help every teacher identify and skillfully address those "big little things" for building a better classroom.