Waking the Brain with Morning Stretches You might remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about my take away from the Kagan training that I attended and how I was planning to Refocus Our Classroom. One of the big ideas that I touched on was waking up the brain through big muscle movement. So this month for the Bright Ideas link up I am sharing how it is going. The short version is that it is amazing! The long version isn't all that long, so I will share it with you. Each morning, after our class meeting, we do a series of stretches. To perform this stretch you simply start by reaching your right hand across the midline of your body as far left as you can while simultaneously stepping your right foot back. Then you repeat with the left side and say, "Cookies!" The first time we did this I chose milk and cookies, but now each time we name two items to say. I have found that by doing this each morning it helps all of us to wake up and be in a better mood to start our learning!
5 Tips for keeping kids active throughout the day | Teacher's Notebook Blog It doesn’t take many weeks into the school year before you start noticing a change in your students. Gone is the excitement generated at the beginning of the school year when learning is fresh. Now, students are struggling to stay on task. To boost engagement, give your learners ways to stay active throughout the day. According to the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, being more physically active offers many benefits to classroom children. Take brain breaks Every 30 minutes or so, aim for movement in your classroom. Ditch the chair The traditional classroom chair may be doing more harm than good for your students. Incorporate music and storytelling Add music to your classroom, and give kids permission to take “dance breaks” when certain songs play. Storytelling is another way to get kids moving. Active review games Are you reviewing concepts or math facts with your kids regularly? Consider “Pop Goes the Answer.” Send them outside About the author:
Energizing Brain Breaks: Toe Tapping Energizing Brain Break Toe Tapping 1. Stand Up.2. Face your partner.3. Both you and your partner put out your right leg and tap your right feet together 1 time and say "1" out loud.4. Tap your left feet together 3 times and say "3" out loud.5. WHAT ARE ENERGIZING BRAIN BREAKS?
20 Three-Minute Brain Breaks Wednesday's guest post about why kids need to move from pediatric occupational therapist Loren Shlaes was so popular that I decided to follow it up with a list of Brain Breaks you can use with your students. These are great to use anytime your students are feeling restless and are struggling to pay attention. Most of these will only take a few minutes, and then you can get back to the lesson with your students ready to focus on the lesson at hand.5-4-3-2-1. In this simple game, students stand up and the teacher (or leader) has them do five different movements in descending order. For example the teacher would say: "Do fivejumping jacks, spin around four times, hop on one foot threetimes, walk all the way around the classroom two times, give your neighbor one high-five (pausing in between each task for students to do it).Trading Places Have students stand behind their pushed-in chairs. Please note that I did not come up with all of these out of my own head.
Icebreakers that Rock We’re coming up fast on the beginning of another school year. That means a new batch of students to get to know, students who need to be made comfortable in your classroom, and who need to get to know each other. It’s essential to start building relationships with your students right from the start. And how to accomplish this? Icebreakers. I planned to create a nice big post with dozens of icebreaker ideas you could choose from. They require students to take massive social risks with people they barely know. So I have scrapped my plan to curate good icebreakers from the Internet. In my own classrooms, with middle school, high school, and college students, I have played all three of these games with great success. Each of these will likely sound familiar to you, although the names may not be exactly what you’ve known them as. Blobs and Lines Here are some sample prompts you can use for this game: Concentric Circles Do you play any sports? This or That Sample questions for This or That:
Open Space Technology: Decision by Inclusion The first time I heard of Open Space Technology was in 2013 at the initial meeting of the Teacher Resistance and Action Network, a group of teachers and education practitioners who had gathered under the guidance of Dr. Thomas Poetter of Miami University to discuss how to teach responsibly in the age of high-stakes testing. My friend and mentor, Kevin Lydy, had invited me to attend what was billed as a non-conference. It was a life-changing experience, not only because of the great conversations that I had with fellow educators, but also because I learned about a technique that I'd never heard of before: Open Space Technology. Some Edutopia readers may be familiar with Edcamps, which are, in fact, based on (and utilize) OST. This led him to ask the question: "Is it possible to combine the level of synergy and excitement present in a good coffee break with the substantive activity and results characteristic of a good meeting?" How OST Works Why Use OST?
What are your favorite teacher-hacks? : Teachers My Top 5 Organizational Hacks for Teaching High School I'm not a naturally organized person. In July before my first year of teaching, I remember being at the office supply store in the file/tray/organizer aisle, picking up a single black tray and thinking, "Hmm ... this should do it." Needless to say my first year was a mess both literally and figuratively. Like a lot of things in teaching, I learned how to be organized by trial and error. Lots and lots and lots of error. To save you some error, here are my top five organizational tricks! 1) The BGT The BGT in my class stands for Big Gray Thing because I don’t know what else to call this beautiful specimen. I teach three double-blocked class periods, so I have one “column” in the BGT for each class, with different tray labels for vocabulary, grammar, school forms/slips, absent/late work, tests, and then Assignments A through C for work that doesn’t fall under the other categories. I honestly don’t know how I survived without the BGT. Just keeping it real, y’all. 2) Black Binder I’m telling you.
10 of Our Favorite Classroom Organization Hacks for Teachers We’ve always believed that the way our classrooms look and feel is a reflection of our personalities and teaching styles. Unlike cluttered classrooms, cheerful, well-organized learning spaces inspire us, keep us focused and—we happen to think—make us better teachers. Sprucing up your classroom can be costly, but we’ve found 10 creative classroom organization hacks to help teachers save money, space, and time! 10 of Our Favorite Classroom Organization Hacks for Teachers Classroom organization idea from: Leslie Carter Classroom organization idea from: Play-Based Classroom Classroom organization idea: Amy Oelschlager Classroom organization idea: Lauren from Life in Middle School Classroom organization idea: Christina Classroom organization idea: Maureen Wong
Teacher HACKS: Innovative Teaching Tips And Strategies Teachers these days have a tough job (was it ever easy??). So we reached out to dozens of teachers and asked them for their favorite “hacks” that help make their lives easier and their jobs more manageable. So what’s a hack? A hack is an actionable tip or suggestion that doesn’t fit the norm for time and resource management skills. Behavior management Address the students who need more attention, and reward those who positively contribute. Stamps for behavior management: When the classroom gets too loud, go around to the students working quietly and give them a stamp. Attendance/time management Making sure time is on your side, around the clock. High school Spanish: Take attendance using a ball. Organization/grading Keeping your classwork, homework, and work-work on track and in the right place. Grading classwork: Require students to complete all work within a designated notebook, and grade it once every 2 weeks or so. Classroom tips User-provided hacks Share on Pinterest There are no images.
17 Insanely Clever Hacks For Teachers, By Teachers