Tips on Using Blackboards & Whiteboards
Face the Class
Don’t stand with your back to the class!
Doing this is an opportunity for students to tune out and start talking.
While you are writing on the board, stand at an angle so that the class
will see your face while you talk and write. It’s less convenient than
standing with your back to the class but it’ll allow you to talk and write
at the same time, ensuring your students see you while you write; and
of course it also means that you can see them.
If you are right-handed, stand so that your right hand can reach the
board without crossing your body. If you are left-handed, stand so your
left hand can reach the board without crossing your body. Move along
the board as you write, taking steps as you go along.
If you have something very important to say, stop writing and face them
full face forward. Otherwise, while you write, make sure they see you.
Clean the Board
There are three very good reasons for this.
1. When you want the students to be able to focus on what you write,
a clean board enables just that. If the board is clean, the students
can easily see what the focus of the lesson is.
2. It’s courteous to the next teacher who comes into the classroom to
use the board.
3. It means that if you’ve made a mistake on the board (spelling or
otherwise) then the next teacher who comes into the classroom
won’t see it!
Quick Cleaning Tip 1: for a blackboard you can use a damp cloth. If you
find ‘ghost’ marks on a whiteboard sometimes a damp cloth will be fine
but a little white vinegar (mixed with water) will help. In fact, almost
any solvent or household cleaner is fine followed by a wipe down with
some dry newspaper. By the way, don’t use your hands to wipe the board;
it doesn’t look good and will end up getting your clothes and hands
dirty.
Quick Cleaning Tip 2: if someone has used a permanent marker on the
board which won’t come off, just use a normal board marker on top of
the permanent marks and then the normal board eraser will remove
them all.
Writing Style
There’s nothing worse than tiny writing on the board which the
students at the back can’t see. Make sure that you write in large, clear
letters. When you have a few moments in an empty classroom write a
few sentences and then go to the back and see if what you’ve put up is
legible and visible.
You may need to work on making your writing straight as well. It
doesn’t look good when it starts to climb up or down the board as you
write.
Organizing Your Board
The board is an excellent tool but you have to use it correctly.
Make sure whatever you put on the board is clearly placed and
organized. It can’t be scattered around the board because the students
won’t be able to make heads or tails of it.
Once you finish working on something, unless you need it for
something, clean it off so that it’s not a distraction any more.
Also, remember that many of your students’ first language may not use
a Latin alphabet and many languages don’t read from left to right.
Directionality is a huge issue for students whose language reads in a
direction different to English and the board is an excellent opportunity
to help with this.
Always start your lesson on the left hand side of the board and
work your way to the right.
Always write your letters correctly on the board, from top to
bottom and left to write.
Always make sure your activities are organized from left to right
on the board, even if you are placing flashcards on the board, do so
from left to right.
For Interactive Whiteboards
1. Get to know your software. You don’t want to be trying to learn
how to do something while you are standing in front of an
expectant class so make sure you have a good practice session
beforehand!
2. Don’t get carried away by visuals. Make them pertinent and
useful, not merely decorative.
3. Keep it Simple. Don’t reveal huge swathes of text or visuals but
keep things simple and show key information slowly. In other
words, don’t put up distractions.
