Classroom Timers - Fun Timers We've decided to put our new fun timers, and timers for classrooms into a nice sub-section. These are great timers for children, or maybe meetings, or anything really. They just add some extra fun to the usual countdown timers :-) Classic Classroom Timers: 8 ways teachers can talk less and get kids talking more If you do fewer teacher-directed activities, that means the kids will naturally do more talking, doesn’t it? Not necessarily. I have often found myself talking almost constantly during group work and student-directed projects because I’m trying to push kids’ thinking, provide feedback, and help them stay on task. Even when the learning has been turned over to the students, it’s still tempting to spend too much time giving directions, repeating important information, and telling students how they did instead of asking them to reflect on their work. Here are 8 ways teachers can talk less and get students talking more: 1.
50 fun call-and-response ideas to get students’ attention Call-and-response is a time-tested technique for getting attention, not just in classrooms but in the military, in churches, at sports events, and in traditional cultures in various parts of the world. Instead of repeating yourself, train students to respond to a fun or inspiring statement! Here are some tips for creating your own call-and-response: Clap or snap in patterns and have students repeat the patterns back. Modern Learning Environments – the underlying philosophy to success Modern Learning Environments (MLE) are all the talk in educational circles right now. Schools, around the world, are knocking out walls and creating bright stimulating classrooms with multi purpose furniture and giving students access to technology. On the surface it looks fantastic, however I am concerned that without a big pedagogy shift, students will be simply just learning the same way many teachers have been teaching – just in bigger classrooms with new furniture.
5 Powerful Questions Teachers Can Ask Students My first year teaching a literacy coach came to observe my classroom. After the students left, she commented on how I asked the whole class a question, would wait just a few seconds, and then answer it myself. "It's cute," she added. What's the difference between accuracy and precision? - Matt Anticole Scientists (and engineers) are used to taking measurements and working with numerical data. With numerical data, we can try to identify patterns hidden in nature. With those patterns, we can begin to understand, predict, and perhaps ultimately control the world that surrounds us. Because data is so important to scientists and engineers, sometimes they need to worry about more than just whether they are right or wrong. They have developed what seems like a secret language to help them describe their measurements in more detail. What is the difference between a Number and a Measurement?
Behavior Expectations and How to Teach Them Imagine that a student enters an English class to find that it's that most dreaded of days -- graded paper pass-back day. As he receives his paper, his teacher begins to criticize him for his mistakes saying, "You should have known better than to write your thesis that way." What if the teacher went on to add, "That's the third time this month. What am I going to do with you?" before sending him to the office for his mistake? The Educator with a Growth Mindset: A Staff Workshop I had the great privilege of facilitating a staff workshop on growth mindsets for the teachers and staff at Carlos Rosario International School and more recently at ISTE 2015. Participants were given access to the slide deck in order interact with the slides and resources during the workshop. What follows are the activities along with some of the resources used during the workshop.
To Teach Facts, Start with Feelings Recently, we heard from a teacher who decided to create a more dynamic approach to his history class . . . by teaching it backward, starting with the present day. "Here's the world around you and how it feels to live in it. What happened over the last 20 years to get where we are? What happened in the decade before that?" The Power of Twitter: Personalized PD At Your Fingertips Have you ever wanted to be in two places at the same time? Do you often feel as if you’re being pulled in three directions? In my roles as teacher, technology staff developer and father of four I frequently feel this way. Saturday was a good example of this as there were two education conferences in the NY Metropolitan area that I really wanted to attend, but family responsibilities prevented me from going to either of them. However, Twitter made it possible for me to “be” in three places at once!
Google Drive One account. All of Google. Sign in to continue to Google Drive Find my account Tools for Differentiation / FrontPage Image Source: Free Web Page Headers What is Differentiated Instruction? Adjusting the curriculum, teaching strategies, and classroom environment to better meet the needs of all students. In a differentiated classroom: Student differences shape the curriculumPre-assessment is typical and frequentMultiple options for students are offeredThere is variable pacingVaried grading criteria are usedIndividual efforts and growth are honored