TEACHER'S CORNER: NELL HOLCOMB STUDENTS PLAY `SCHOOL RULESOPOLY'

Following the rules can be fun if you are a student in Jeannie Mishu's fourth-grade class at Nell Holcomb School.

Mishu created a game to help her students learn to follow classroom rules. The game, "School Rulesopoly," is similar to the "Monopoly" board game. Each child receives a game piece to move along the board.

"Each day they don't break any rules, they move one space forward, if they break a rule they move one space backward," Mishu explained. "The daily incentive is to land on the spaces with rewards. The kids are always anxious to see how far they are and want to keep up with the others so they want to behave."

Mishu enjoys recognizing good behavior and not bad behavior in her classroom. The winner of the game receives a free lunch from the teacher. But playing a game is just one way Mishu tries to keep learning exciting.

"One way I do this is by creating projects," she said.

One such project is a letter-writing assignment in social studies. Each child selects two or three states and writes a letter to the governor.

"The kids were so pleased with the amount of information they received and how each governor responded," Mishu said. "Along with writing the letter, the students research the state to create a `State in a Box,' and a travel brochure to encourage people to visit their state."

Another exciting tool Mishu uses is the outdoor classroom at Nell Holcomb.

"This is something very exciting for the kids," she said. "It is such a good instructional tool for all subject areas."

Her students use the classroom for science lessons and their "Adopt a Tree" program.

Groups of students select at tree and follow its growth throughout the year by completing leaf and bark rubbings and measuring it.

"We are very fortunate at Nell Holcomb because we have a great outdoor classroom," she said. "The kids are wanting to explore out there all the time. It's great because it's so fun, they don't realize they are learning."

Mishu is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She and her husband, Louay, coach a competitive soccer team. She is also the cheerleading sponsor at the school.