12 Amazing Ways to Teach During the Crazy Days of Christmas Some teachers are tempted to be babysitters during the holidays when, in fact, you can get some powerful teaching moments in your classroom. Take time to be creative and integrate holiday-themed teaching into your classroom. Please share what you like to do in the comments. 1 - Have a Social media activity relating to topics you're learning Two of my most tweeted things from last week were the Facebook template and Twitter template that you can download and use in Microsoft Word. This is a great alternative for those of you who cannot use the online Fakebook template from Classtools.net. Our AP Literature teacher has had students create a Facebook profile for their term paper author. These spark fun conversations and can be done offline or online. 2 - Make an Interactive Story This is a great time of year to teach students how to create interactive stories using PowerPoint. But you could take this further if you have older students. Share on your blog (like I've done here.) Teach!
Classroom Management Strategies | Classroom Management Strategies Classroom Management Strategies To Deal With Rude Comments & Personal Questions This is a big problem in tough classrooms – rude students making it their mission to offend or embarrass a teacher by asking personal, probing questions. One of the worst things you can do in response to such comments is show that you’re bothered. If you give them an emotional response of any kind you’ll… Continue Reading → Seven Ways to Get Students to Follow Your Instructions i) Make sure you have their full attention before giving instructions Make sure they are looking at you and not fiddling with a pencil, turning around, looking at a book, etc. Continue Reading → 25 classroom management strategies to get silence from a noisy group of students If you struggle to get your students’ attention during lessons I’ve put together a nifty collection of ideas which may help. Continue Reading → Novel ways to get silence from noisy students Wey Hey! Continue Reading → A few novel ways to get student attention
Vocabulary Instruction That Makes a Difference Vocabulary Instruction That Makes a Difference In this Education Week article, Sarah Sparks reports on research indicating that the 10,000-word vocabulary gap between lower-SES and upper-SES children entering school often widens as they move through the grades. Susan Neuman (University of Michigan/Ann Arbor) and Tanya Wright (University of Michigan/East Lansing) have found that lower-income students are less likely to be taught academically challenging words. “Vocabulary is the tip of the iceberg,” says Neuman. “Words reflect concepts and content that students need to know. Neuman and Wright studied kindergarten classrooms and found tremendous variation in the number of words explicitly taught – from two to 20 words a day. Earlier research suggests that students need to hear a new word an average of 28 times to remember it. “Essentially, what we found was a very haphazard approach to vocabulary instruction,” says Neuman. Feb. 6, 2013 (Vol. 32, #20, p. 1, 16), www.edweek.org
Integrating Edtech into lessons An example Classroom201X Ok... maybe not that kind of interview... There are loads of great examples of using new technological tools in the classroom, but I haven’t seen many detailed guides for including them in teaching, I thought that I’d like to share a lesson plan that I created for a lesson using Busbi/Flip cameras. This lesson was to prepare students for an interview for a course of study, but could easily be adapted to suit a job interview context. The Starting Point For this lesson, I took the DFES-produced Skills for Life ESOL materials as a starting point. The Lesson InterviewLessonPlan I’ve provided the plan here, in case you want to follow it (I’ve taken out the students’ names for obvious reasons). We listened to the second part of the recording to see how the questions compared to our predictions. Listening Notes Learners then worked in groups to create lists of Do’s and Dont’s for interviews on Flip Chart paper (again, to be used later). Questions prompts SelfAssessment The Technology The follow-up
Three Steps for Improving Teacher Questions According to Robert Marzano's book, Classroom Instruction that Works, 80 percent of what is considered instruction involves asking questions. It makes sense then, that if we want to improve our effectiveness at teaching, of course we would start by improving our questions. I have thought a lot about this topic and I would like to share three specific actions that we can take to improve our questions. To begin with, we need to get students talking rather than the teacher talking. Second, prepare the questions when you plan the lesson. And third, scaffold the questions. Step One The first action for improvement in reality is not an action, but a shift in thinking about our own concept of teaching. Step Two The next move is to prepare the questions you want to ask as an integral part of the lesson. Certainly students cannot answer questions or discuss something of which they know nothing. Step Three
<title>Classroom behavior management and behaviour management by Dr. Mac Buy Dr. 12 Things Kids Want from Their Teachers Whether we are a teacher, parent, relative, boss, or community member, each of us has a chance to make a positive and impactful difference in a child’s life. But in order to do this, we must carefully consider this question: What matters most to our children? For 20 years I have been posing this question to my students. The classroom would become immediately silent as the students wrote intensely for longer than they had ever written before. Surprisingly, many of the responses were the same. Here is a list of the 12 Most Important things that came out of these amazing conversations: 1. Wish me good morning, and send me off with a “see ya tomorrow.” 2. When you look at me, let me see happiness in your eyes. 3. Sit and talk with me privately; even if only for a second. 4. Help me dream of things I might be able to do; not just the things I need to do now. 5. Show me how to handle it. 6. Inquire about my weekend, the game I played, the places I go. Click the banner to order! 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
50 Excellent Open Courses on Teaching With Technology The information below is taken from a recent posting on www.onlinecollegesanduniversities.com. It is a listing of 50 free online courses that are offered on a wide variety of instructional technology topics. The courses are free, self-directed, and accessible over the internet. Using technology and creating unique learning environments are two big dreams that all types of teachers have, from elementary educators to distance education teachers to college professors. Technology and Learning Find out why technology is such a draw for educators and how we learn from non-human tools. Blogs, Wikis, New Media for Learning: This course will show you how blogs and other new media are optimal teaching tools. Online Education and Distance Learning If you want to create online learning environments and manage a distance ed course, look here. Creating Open Educational Resource: Learn how to write learning units that enhance self-directed learning. Younger Students Tech Tutorials
Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement A while back, I was asked, "What engages students?" Sure, I could respond, sharing anecdotes about what I believed to be engaging, but I thought it would be so much better to lob that question to my own eighth graders. The responses I received from all 220 of them seemed to fall under 10 categories, representing reoccuring themes that appeared again and again. 1. "Middle-school students are growing learners who require and want interaction with other people to fully attain their potential." "Teens find it most interesting and exciting when there is a little bit of talking involved. 2. "I believe that when students participate in "learning by doing" it helps them focus more. "We have entered a digital age of video, Facebook, Twitter, etc., and they [have] become more of a daily thing for teens and students. 3. "I believe that it all boils down to relationships. "If you relate the topic to the students' lives, then it makes the concept easier to grasp." 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Go on.
Goal 8: Rethink Student Behavior & Classroom Management #30Goals Posted by Shelly Terrell on Wednesday, February 9th 2011 Goal 8 of The 30 Goals Challenge 2011 Goal Short-term- Option A During at least one class period have your students discuss how they deal with stress and have them reflect on positive ways to react to the stresses that surround them. Option B Reflect on your classroom rules and the punishments outlined for breaking them. Option C When the student that usually breaks a rule does, handle the situation differently. Long-term- Make it a goal to get students to reflect on the rules, come up with the class rules, and think about appropriate consequences. Quote “I’ve come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. by Dr. Challenge: Get your students to think about positive ways to deal with negative behavior. Did you reflect on this goal?
Students Share Characteristics Of Their Favorite Teachers A few weeks ago I had a Twitter dialogue with Reed Gillespie ( @rggillespie ) an AP at Kettle Run High School in Nokesville, VA. and Angela Maiers ( @AngelaMaiers ) who coined the phrase #YouMatter and is an author, educator, and national speaker. Our conversation revolved around a post from Angela titled 12 Things Kids Want from Their Teachers . Twelve simple and free “things” students want and deserve . Don’t we all deserve these? Reed shared his post What Students Want From Their Teachers he wrote after visiting with students at his high school during lunch. Very similar list. This got me to thinking “What do Cherokee students want from their teachers?” The feedback provided by our very bright and amazing students wasn’t eye opening or earth shattering, but does provide their view of what they want and deserve. 1. 2. 3. 4. I enjoyed my conversations with our students.
30 Surprising (And Controversial) Ways Students Learn Have you checked your assumptions about student learning at the door? People in general, hold onto beliefs that are shaped by early experiences, the media, and faulty influences. The following list is a compilation of research that may surprise you. Video games, e-books, playtime, and music are all a part of an educator’s repertoire. Read on, and be prepared to put your traditional beliefs aside as science points to innovative methods that indicate future success. 1. Until recently, studies done with regards to children and video games usually centered on the negative impacts and consequences of prolonged use. She recognized several social motivations for playing video games including competition, a reason to hang out and casually converse with friends, and teaching peers how to play a game. In boys who struggle with stress, fear, and anger- negative emotions that can have violent consequences- video games acted as a safe alternative for the release of pent up emotion. 2. 3. 4. Patrick S.
Goal #3: Ask a Learner #30goals Posted by Shelly Terrell on Monday, January 30th 2012 Goal 3 of The 30 Goals Challenge 2012! Click the link to find out more about the new changes to this year’s 30 Goals Challenge for Educators! “Great teachers empathize with kids, respect them, and believe that each one has something special that can be built upon.” Goal Short-term- Ask a learner about his/her learning style and/or habits by conducting a video, audio, or written interview. Long-term- Continue to ask learners what they feel about various issues they face when learning. Two Student Interviews Here are 2 student interviews as examples. Resources These resources will help you accomplish this goal: 2012 Changes This year we are focusing on 1 to 2 goals a week in order to have time to really reflect on the tasks and respond to each other’s posts and enhance our support system for each other. Other Posts Check out my Pinterests for other posts with this goal or ask me to add yours! Challenge: