QUICK MARK  When passing out a worksheet or assignment, do you sometimes forget to save a copy for your files? Meg Conroy, a reading teacher in Chicago, suggests marking your master copy with a highlighter in the upper-right-hand corner. It's an easy eye-catcher, and the mark doesn't show through when photocopying.
 

REMOTE CONTROL  Leah Floriano, a fifth-grade teacher in Pavilion, N.Y., has come up with an innovative classroom management tool. She uses a spare television remote control to "lower the volume" in her class and to "mute" the students as well. The students "laughed hysterically" the first time she used it, but now they comply every time.
 

WORD LINE  Students of fourth-grade teacher Christine Carilli of Brentwood, N.Y., line up at her classroom door each morning where each must successfully recite a "daily word" and its definition (taken from the classroom word wall) before entering the room. If incorrect, they go to the end of the line and keep trying. She also chooses a child from the line to be the "teacher" for that day. The children enjoy this exercise and rush to class in the morning, Carilli notes.