Another week, another blog challenge topic.
This week's topic or idea which I consider a favorite this week would be to use part of my flexible service/plan time to go into student classes to do a planner check and write a priority list at the bottom of their planner page. I draw a small box and then list the class and the assignment to do that evening. I also write reminders for upcoming assignments. For example, if there is a test next Tuesday, I will write at the bottom of the page on Friday noting there is a test Tuesday. I also add information for social events and spirit days. I would hate to have a student feel left out if they forgot to tell their family what was needed for participation.
I have had positive feedback from students after implementing this because then when they come to me after school for checkout, their planners are pretty much filled out. Having their academic connections (a.k.a. specials, exploratories, enrichment, etc.) 6th period helps because it is less likely to have homework in those classes. And for the 7th period classes, I most likely know the assignment already and am prepared to fix/fill out if not complete. Students are not too excited to be checked out; and speeding this up most certainly helps.
Parents have commented that the communication supports the home and school connection. Between checkout and my webpage, they are well informed!
I will continue to use this!
Professional Reading
I sink my head down and admit. I am not an avid reader. I so want to be. But I am not.
I am more of a blog reader. This is still reading. And yes, the blogs I subscribe to are mostly educational. But I can't say I often sit down and read a full book. But there is one book in particular that I refer to often.
Notice and Note by Beers and Probst. I read this in preparation for this school term. The gist of the book is that we need to read more closely. In this strategy, students follow 6 signposts.
The authors describe their strategy as follows:
"Just as rigor does not reside in the barbell but in the act of lifting it, rigor in reading is not an attribute of a text but rather of a reader’s behavior—engaged, observant, responsive, questioning, analytical. The close reading strategies in Notice and Note will help you cultivate those critical reading habits that will make your students more attentive, thoughtful, independent readers."—Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst
As much I hate to admit it when I was told this would be a part of my professional development requirements. I like it! Yes, I do!
Students are able to stop and reflect on what they read. In the past, I would not see this. Students would just read to get finished. To help the students do this I made paper street signs with each benchmark or "signpost". They are labeled as follows:
1. Contrasts and Contradictions
2. The Aha Moment
3. Tough Questions
4. Words of the Wiser
5. Again and Again
6. Memory Moment
Here is my wall!
I am more of a blog reader. This is still reading. And yes, the blogs I subscribe to are mostly educational. But I can't say I often sit down and read a full book. But there is one book in particular that I refer to often.
Notice and Note by Beers and Probst. I read this in preparation for this school term. The gist of the book is that we need to read more closely. In this strategy, students follow 6 signposts.
The authors describe their strategy as follows:
"Just as rigor does not reside in the barbell but in the act of lifting it, rigor in reading is not an attribute of a text but rather of a reader’s behavior—engaged, observant, responsive, questioning, analytical. The close reading strategies in Notice and Note will help you cultivate those critical reading habits that will make your students more attentive, thoughtful, independent readers."—Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst
As much I hate to admit it when I was told this would be a part of my professional development requirements. I like it! Yes, I do!
Students are able to stop and reflect on what they read. In the past, I would not see this. Students would just read to get finished. To help the students do this I made paper street signs with each benchmark or "signpost". They are labeled as follows:
1. Contrasts and Contradictions
2. The Aha Moment
3. Tough Questions
4. Words of the Wiser
5. Again and Again
6. Memory Moment
Here is my wall!
To my thrill, some students have referred to signposts in which we have had very little discussion. We were actually told during implementation to introduce only one (maybe 2) signposts per year. I am sure not going to inhibit a student who is trying to connect to one which we have not featured!
Cooperative Learning
One of my favorite classroom management tools would be to get students up and moving.
I know I cannot sit and focus for more than 30 minutes; how could I expect students to do the same?
Cooperative Learning such as Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures are my favorite.
Aside from increasing student (and teacher) engagement, the structures often involve movement.
One structure that is a personal favorite would be "Scavenger Hunt". this involves taping questions around the room. Each paper has a question on the top, and an answer to a different problem on the bottom. the concept is that students start at one paper and work/solve the question. When they have the answer they look around the room for a different piece of paper which has their answer. When found, they now work the problem on that page. It is important to have a recording page for the students, and of course, an answer key. I would imagine this could be done on tabletops as well.
I have enjoyed the cooperative learning structures so much, I chose them to be a part of my appraisal goals for this year. My artifacts will include student feedback on exit tickets as well as the created materials.
I know I cannot sit and focus for more than 30 minutes; how could I expect students to do the same?
Cooperative Learning such as Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures are my favorite.
Aside from increasing student (and teacher) engagement, the structures often involve movement.
One structure that is a personal favorite would be "Scavenger Hunt". this involves taping questions around the room. Each paper has a question on the top, and an answer to a different problem on the bottom. the concept is that students start at one paper and work/solve the question. When they have the answer they look around the room for a different piece of paper which has their answer. When found, they now work the problem on that page. It is important to have a recording page for the students, and of course, an answer key. I would imagine this could be done on tabletops as well.
I have enjoyed the cooperative learning structures so much, I chose them to be a part of my appraisal goals for this year. My artifacts will include student feedback on exit tickets as well as the created materials.
Can I Do a Better Job? Seriously?
Today's blog challenge topic is one thing I wish I were better at. ONLY ONE?
One thing that I wish I were better at would be to know more about how to write computer programs. By this I mean how to write code to create my own apps, games, webpages.
I have described myself as a fairly accomplished end-user of technology. I like to dig into websites, apps, etc. to see what else is there. But, I do not know how to make them.
To do this I will need to learn a new language. I would like to learn Java Script first. Then, who knows.
Unfortunately learning new languages is not easy for me. No, it is almost impossible. I am not kidding. I think the only term I learned in German class was "Keine Ahnung" which basically means "I have no idea"! Yep. That sums it up.
To fight this mentality, I have been taking baby steps. This past month I have been following some of the links for a program called "Hour of Code". Via game playing and brain games I have taken the first steps toward understanding the computational thinking involved in programming.
Who knows…by the time next year rolls around, I may be publishing a link to a program I have written!
One thing that I wish I were better at would be to know more about how to write computer programs. By this I mean how to write code to create my own apps, games, webpages.
I have described myself as a fairly accomplished end-user of technology. I like to dig into websites, apps, etc. to see what else is there. But, I do not know how to make them.
To do this I will need to learn a new language. I would like to learn Java Script first. Then, who knows.
Unfortunately learning new languages is not easy for me. No, it is almost impossible. I am not kidding. I think the only term I learned in German class was "Keine Ahnung" which basically means "I have no idea"! Yep. That sums it up.
To fight this mentality, I have been taking baby steps. This past month I have been following some of the links for a program called "Hour of Code". Via game playing and brain games I have taken the first steps toward understanding the computational thinking involved in programming.
Who knows…by the time next year rolls around, I may be publishing a link to a program I have written!
Assessment. Not Quite Four Letters...
Yep, you read that correctly!
There are times I think that assessment is like a four-letter word. In fact, I still get a giggle every time I begin to write the word itself and realize it is hard to abbreviate.
Asses…Get it? Yep, I am so "middle school"!
Now back to the topic: My assessment tip.
Hmmmm. That is kinda hard. Why? Because I/we are required to be a part of so many assessments, school isn't quite as amazing as I remember when I was growing up.
We give chapter tests, cumulative assessments, district tests, state tests, high stakes tests, yada yada yada. Tips? How could there be tips?
My tip would be in the mode of preparation. I am a big fan of Quizlet. Quizlet is an online flashcard site in which you can create your own "sets" of cards and definitions as well as images. An example of one of my sets was used to prepare for a vocabulary test for a book unit.
I load these sets onto my school web page as well as my co-teachers pages. To push the effort a bit further, I send the link to my webpage when I have completed updates.
When it is time to test, I can have the students click the test link and complete their assessment online. Students receive instant feedback and possibly print (gasp!) for data gathering if needed.
Will I ever be able to avoid assessments? NOPE.
Will I continue to strive to find a new way to do them? You bet your "asses"
Heh, heh!
There are times I think that assessment is like a four-letter word. In fact, I still get a giggle every time I begin to write the word itself and realize it is hard to abbreviate.
Asses…Get it? Yep, I am so "middle school"!
Now back to the topic: My assessment tip.
Hmmmm. That is kinda hard. Why? Because I/we are required to be a part of so many assessments, school isn't quite as amazing as I remember when I was growing up.
We give chapter tests, cumulative assessments, district tests, state tests, high stakes tests, yada yada yada. Tips? How could there be tips?
My tip would be in the mode of preparation. I am a big fan of Quizlet. Quizlet is an online flashcard site in which you can create your own "sets" of cards and definitions as well as images. An example of one of my sets was used to prepare for a vocabulary test for a book unit.
I load these sets onto my school web page as well as my co-teachers pages. To push the effort a bit further, I send the link to my webpage when I have completed updates.
When it is time to test, I can have the students click the test link and complete their assessment online. Students receive instant feedback and possibly print (gasp!) for data gathering if needed.
Will I ever be able to avoid assessments? NOPE.
Will I continue to strive to find a new way to do them? You bet your "asses"
Heh, heh!
Idea Of The Week…Or at Lease a Passing Thought!
Day 4 Blogging Challenge: One topic or idea for using with students this week.
One thing I put in to my plans this week was to re-think how I interact with students who are having difficulties. It is soooooo easy to get into a power struggle. Who hasn't been pulled in to one? Even when you are well read, trained, etc. there are days in which it is almost impossible to 100% avoid them.
The strategy that I am using with students this week to avoid the pratfalls of student confrontations is actually quite simple:
"I heard you, and I responded."
This motto was the result of a Facebook post I read that had a link to an article on parenting. In the article titled Child Nagging and Negotiating the statement was:
"Asked and Answered". I put my spin on this to step back and think before I respond with too much dialogue.
I tend to do this better with autistic kids…those who need to be around less talking to be successful. Why haven't I done this in the past??? Oy, is this a lightbulb moment or what?
Now, I will try to take my own advice and say less when I know that doing otherwise will most certainly have negative effects.
My Favorite Website For Which I Cannot Live Without (At least this week!)
Today's blogging challenge asks me to tell about my favorite website and how I use it for teaching and learning. Well…I have to say if you look into the history on my browser, you will see that I use TeachersPayTeachers often. Come to think of it, I mentioned this site in my last post.
This site is so amazing once you dig into it. Teachers upload materials for sale (or free) for others to discover. There are so many amazing lesson plan, ideas, projects, etc. for direct download. Each seller provides at least one free download of a product. There are also sales. Who doesn't like a good sale?
Another feature that I like is if I find a seller that I like, I can follow him or her and receive updates when they add new products.
There are resources from Pre-K up to Higher and Adult Education. Also available is homeschool and staff materials. As a resource teacher I am constantly looking for support materials for co-teaching and or small group teach/reteach. Many of the things I find are free or at very low cost. To me, if it meets my specific needs, I will gladly pay a fellow teacher.
Recently I have posted a few products and have earned a couple dollars. Will this replace my teaching job? No…Maybe pay for a few cans of Diet Pepsi! If you are interested in signing up to be a seller, here is a link to get you started: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Signup/referral:lfeld52
I would love to know how many of you use this site. Let me know!
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