background preloader

Getting Organized

Getting Organized
Organization Tips from Mrs. McDavid I have had many teachers stop by my room to ask how I keep things so well organized. I have had other teachers to ask if I would consider teaching a staff development course at our school to help teachers become better organized. Truly it's the small details that make the biggest impact. Organizing the classroom takes time, dedication, and determination but once things are put together the classroom will run smoothly. Materials You Will Need ~ Back to the Top ~ Purge Unused Materials and Non Essential ItemsAs teachers we tend to hoard materials and supplies that we think might come in handy one day. Organizing the Teacher's DeskThe teacher's desk can become a dumping ground for paperwork, papers that need to be filed, correspondence from the main office, items that need to be read or evaluated, and papers that need to be held for future reference. The next step is designating an area to file your paperwork. I use two different To Do Lists.

Introducing the WOW Binder! It's WOW. I can't take credit for it, I didn't invent it, but whoever did is a genius. There are many variations of a take home folder/binder out there, but this is by far my favorite. Let me introduce you to...THE WOW BINDER! WOW= We Organize Work. Start with a 1.5'' white binder. When you open the WOW binder, the first thing you will see is the directions page. On the backside of the directions page, I have a nine weeks skills checklist. The front inside cover of the binder holds our weekly newsletter. After the directions page and skills checklist, there is a zippered pencil pouch (see through). Next is the parent communication notebook. This is a terrible picture, but next in the binder are 5 pocket dividers. Here is a reading log! To end our tour, the last item in the WOW binder is The Reading Briefcase. So, that's the WOW binder!

What makes an interactive whiteboard interactive? I was recently asked by a principal how he could tell during classroom visits if a teacher was using the Smartboard "effectively." A pretty good question. While popular (2007, 2010, interactive white boards (IWBs) are controversial even (or especially) among technology enthusiasts. The major complaint is that the use of these devices reinforces the "sage on the stage" teaching methodology. "The IWB is little more than a fancy overhead projector and its touch sensitive screen is only used to save the teacher a couple steps back to the computer to change a slide." seems to be sentiment in the constructivist camp of techno-pundits. But many advocates of this technology (myself included), see IWBs as genuine means of bringing more interactivity, more student-focus into classrooms of traditional teachers. What we don't want to forget is that someone who is coaching a teacher is not really looking for "good technology use" but for just good educational practices.

50 Of The Best Podcasts For High School Students - 50 Of The Best Podcasts For High School Students by Dennis Lee, StudyPug.com This post is the first part to a 3-part series entitled “250 things any high school student must learn”. High school is perhaps one of the biggest turning points of a person’s life. So while you’re all in the stage where you go wonder what you really want to be like in the years to come, why not try listening to Podcasts to give yourself some insights about life. So here’s a collection of 50 Podcasts that any high school student should listen to, categorized into the four general topics would help you focus on what you might choose to become in the years to come. Academic Related Podcasts Not everyone can be a History Buff, a Grammar Nazi, a Science Geek, or a Poetry enthusiast, but a person could try listening to one of these podcasts to have a bit more of new things learned from among every classes like Science, Math, English, History and Literature. General and Special Interest Podcasts Entrepreneurship

April 2010 A hectic week in the heat, an early morning flight, and the tail end of a tummy bug (and OK, I admit it, a dose of Infant Tylenol) resulted in the best case scenerio for us (and the bazillion and one other passengers on Southwest Flight 174)...sleeping babies. As in, out cold for 2.5 hours of a 2.75 hour flight. It was the traveling twin mama jackpot. While I was not able to enjoy a magazine or even an itty-bitty pouch of peanuts, I did enjoy some wonderful, quiet cuddle time. Given the alternative possibility of 2.75 hours of screaming babies, poopy diapers at 30,000 feet and/or angry seatmates, I was thrilled. I used that time to just sit and think. I started to think about school and the fact that the year would start winding down. I started to realize that there was only 8-9 weeks left until summer vacation. And then the realization hit. There is so much that needs to happen in those 8-9 weeks. So I thought today would be a good day to blog about pacing yourself. 1. 2. 3. 3. 4.

10 Ways to be a Terrible Teacher Teaching is a noble calling. That is why when a teacher doesn't behave nobly it breaks trust and we get upset. I have to admit that I've had days as a "TT" (Terrible Teacher.) If we're honest with ourselves, we all have. So, today, I'll share a few of the things I think make a teacher terrible. Stop and Be Excellent Some of you will be shocked that I've taken my positive tone out of this post. Sometimes knowing what to do means we also know what NOT to do. 10- The teacher is always on their cell phone. 9 - The teacher is always on the computer or not paying attention. I knew a teacher who used to sew on her sewing machine during class. 8- The teacher is always losing his/her temper or is predictably dramatic. The predictably dramatic could be when you get soooooooo mad you jump on your desk. 7- The Teacher shares private student information publicly NEVER call grades out loud - even for the top students. Let me tell you something. 2- The Teacher whose words mean nothing.

The British Burn Washington, 1814 The British Burn Washington, DC, 1814 August of 1814 was one of the hottest in the memory of the approximately 8,000 residents of America's new capital. The sweltering, humid heat turned the stagnate marshes surrounding the city into thriving hatcheries for disease-carrying mosquitoes. To make matters worse, the city found itself the target of an invading British army slowly making its way from the Chesapeake Bay. America had been at war with the British Empire since 1812, but the action so far had consisted of a series of indeterminate skirmishes along the Great Lakes region. As the British army of approximately 4,000 approached, the majority of Washington residents fled the city. That evening, the vanguard of the British army reached Capitol Hill and began its systematic destruction of all public buildings in the city. George Gleig was part of the British force that attacked and burned Washington. ...When the detachment sent out to destroy Mr.

CRCSD - Action Research PDSA - Overview Learn more about quality and continuous improvement... read the blog! Another component of the continuous improvement classroom is the utilization of the Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) cycle (also called Action Research). PDSA is a systematic, data driven 7 step process. -Define The System: What system do I want to improve? The PDSA cycle can be used to improve processes at the District, school, classroom and individual student level.

20 Ways to Create a Healthy Faculty Environment In honor of Edutopia's 20th anniversary, we're producing a series of Top 20 lists, from the practical to the sublime. When a classroom "works" it is a powerful place to be. While the students ultimately make these moments, talented educators need to set the stage for success. The same can be said of harmonious faculty and staff relations. A building full of talented people does not guarantee a comfortable place to grow as an educator. In honor of Edutopia's 20th anniversary, here are 20 ways to cultivate a healthy faculty environment: Faculty Meetings 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Faculty Lounge 6. 7. 8. Professional Respect 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Information Technology 14. 15. 16. Beyond Campus 17. 18. 19. 20. What tips do you have for creating a safe place to learn and teach?

Why people fall for dumb Internet hoaxes (Facebook) Last month brought a great deal of fanfare, and accompanying snarky outrage, about a new “Satire” tag on Facebook for content sources like The Onion. Yet fake “news” items — which run deeper than satire — continue to propagate rapidly across the site, as well as on other social media platforms, such as Twitter. In the past few days, huge numbers of Facebook users saw — and shared — a hoax about severe winter weather from Empire News, predicting “record-shattering snowfall coming soon.” Meanwhile, retweets of a “limited edition” Pumpkin Spice-flavored Durex condom image flooded Twitter timelines. Most media coverage has approached this kind of rapid viral proliferation of fake content as a problem of consumer intelligence, an account both inflammatory and ableist. 1. Both the Empire News winter forecast and the Durex Pumpkin Spice condom were easily falsifiable, but they benefited from a general tendency among social media users to share without reading, let alone verifying.

Twenty Tidbits for New Teachers In no way, do I want to add to the burden of the already-filled-to-the-brim, new teacher stress bucket. I do however, want to share just 20 tidbits which I hope will help ease new teachers into a fun, successful school year. Some of these will be in the form of social media tools, which I think are awesome, and wish I had had as a newbie. And each little tidbit is linked to a resource which I hope you will find supportive. 1. Seek Your Passion! As a new teacher this may be the farthest thing from your mind. 2. We all hear this term so often around the web... but what does it mean? 3. As you begin your first year, building relationships with grade-level buddies and others at your school site is critical to your success. 4. How you begin to communicate with your student's and families, is truly a reflection of your commitment to them as their teacher. 5. When I was a new teacher, I sadly taught in isolation. 6. I believe strongly in the power of mentoring. 7. 8. You know it all... right?

Building A Better Mousetrap: The Rubric Debate Building A Better Mousetrap: The Rubric Debate by Madeline Marcotte The origin of the term “rubric” (roo´ brik) gives us our first clue as to why educators often argue over the use of this assessment tool. Because the headings, titles, and sections of early books were often printed in red and, in prayer books, the directions for conducting religious services were also printed in red, “rubric,” which comes from the Latin for “red” or “reddish,” has evolved to mean “an established custom or rule of procedure.” (Online dictionary) The term was adopted by educators in the 1980s to refer to a set of standards and/or directions for assessing student outcomes and guiding student learning. Well known in elementary and secondary schools as crucial to state-mandated student performance assessment, rubrics are now used similarly by post-secondary educators in all disciplines to assess outcomes in learning situations that require critical thinking and are multidimensional. It’s the design Rubrics 101

Substitute Teaching: Tips, Tricks, Ideas, Suggestions, and Methods for Substitute Teachers Have a collection of tests/quizzes in your packet. Here are Internet addresses of some tests/quizzes, found by doing a search in the Internet for "test of knowledge" or "quiz": Challenge the class with a puzzler. Here are some examples, taken from Lateral Thinking Puzzlers by Paul Sloane, New York: Sterling Publishing Company, 1991. Don't give away the answer until the end of the day! Brain stretchers and mind benders can be found in books published by Critical Thinking Press and Software (800-458-4849 or ct@criticalthinking.com or and NL Associates (Stories With Holes - NL Associates, PO Box 1199, Hightstown, NJ 08520), as well. Prepare word search puzzles for use with one or more students. Another suggestion: "Something I do as a substitute teacher in the last few minutes of a class period when the class is getting restless is play "Do What I Say, Not What I Do." Still another suggestion: "A game that I use if we run out of work is called ABC. 1.

Related: