Archive for the ‘
teaching strategies ’ Category
The last time I shared with you dear readers, I was deeply immersed in reacquainting myself with high school culture. As I said before, the experience, both being new to teaching and rising early in the morning, was a shock to my system. Since, I have adjusted to my new early-morning schedule and have left what had become the familiar foundation of high school to the often warbling ways of the middle school.
I remember the first conversation I had with an inquiring person in reference to my teaching pursuit:
Person: “So, what do you want to teach?”
Me: “English and Social Studies.”
Person: “How nice… what grade level are you thinking?”
Me: “I think I would be a great fit in a middle school.”
Person: “Middle school?! I could never do that! No way.”
This is an exchange I have encountered many times since. So I have been left questioning myself: “Why does the mere mention of middle school carry such a stigmatized reaction?” (more…)
Category:
student achievement, teaching strategies |
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Tags: boring middle school, Middle school, teaching in middle school
Throughout my teacher training program, I had visions of beautiful, engaging work samples. I would teach my favorite novel using every technological trick in the book; I would use music in class every day; my classroom would float around on a magical cloud of academic fairy dust. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that my seventh graders barely knew how to use spell check, let alone write a topic sentence. Culture shock was quick to set in. I had assumed that I wouldn’t have to teach basic skills. After all, didn’t they take care of that in the seven-and-change years of school they had before I came on the scene?
Turns out, they did, but ever-changing young brains aren’t quick to retain organizational skills and linguistic conventions. My cooperating teacher reminded me that we will spend most of our careers re-teaching things that they have already learned, especially at the middle school level. My students are a great bunch, and they can remember everything about LeBron James and L’il Wayne, but trying to get them to hold onto what goes into an annotated bibliography is like trying to stuff a sock in someone’s mouth.
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Category:
teaching strategies |
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Tags: Kristie Stevens, teaching the basics
I recently went back to high school—this time as a teacher. While many of the strategies we use in other grade levels are still highly effective with this age group, here a few tips to take with you should your find yourself back in the belly of the (teenage) beast.
1. Dress to impress. When I was in high school, there was never any doubt as to who was a teacher and who was a student. The style (or lack thereof) of clothing of my high school teachers was a stark contrast to the styles of the students–and it’s not that they dressed professionally: they dressed “old.”
While leggings, mini dresses and lace-up boots (don’t get me started on UGG boots) might be both comfortable and attractive, they don’t do much to lend credit to you as an authority figure.
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Category:
teaching strategies |
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Tags: dressing for success, Emily Hensley, Feris Bueller's Day Off, professionalism in the classroom, The Goonies
In reflecting on my practicum experience at the high school level, the one thing that stuck with me above all else did not involve grading, lesson plans, or even classroom management. It was something that went beyond the curriculum and beyond the standards. It was something that even in my relatively brief teaching career will forever change my own perception of myself as an educator. It was a connection. A connection between a teacher and his students, which, in turn, fostered a similar connection between the teacher and his students’ parents—a mutual respect that blossomed through the desire to go above and beyond.
As I sat in the classroom, anxiously awaiting my opportunity to sit-in on my first parent-teacher conference, a myriad of thoughts swirled through my mind. What if they ask me how their son is doing in class? “Why is my daughter scoring so low on your quizzes, and what are you going to do about it?” or “my Johnny is not being challenged in your class.” Granted, I was only observing, but what if? In reality, this was most likely going to be a fairly dull two hours with discussions about absences, missing assignments, and low test scores. I was sure there would also be highlights about aced quizzes, perfect attendance, and “what a joy Lucy is to have in class.”
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Category:
parent involvement, student achievement, student success, teacher appreciation, teacher effectiveness, teaching strategies |
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Tags: Joshua Tabshy, parent teacher conferences
Emotional. Inspirational. Exhausting. Invigorating. And most of all, OHHH SO MUCH FUN! These are just a few adjectives that describe my first week as a substitute elementary school teacher.
Emotional: The week started off with heart-breaking news. One of our first grade students had fallen into the Clackamas River over the weekend while playing in the snow with her parents and siblings, and was missing. Search and Rescue teams were scouring the water and surrounding area searching for Vinesa with no avail. Teachers and staff were notified, and the district’s “Flight Team” was already stationed at the school to help students and staff cope with the devastating news. No words can describe the atmosphere at the school that week. Although I never had the opportunity to know Vinesa, I did have the privilege of working with her older brothers and sister, and mourned for the family’s loss. No teaching prep class or book can teach you how to deal with the death of a student and the ways in which it impacts the classroom dynamic. The teachers at Mill Park handled the situation with tremendous sensitivity and professionalism, and demonstrated the great necessity of having close, open and trusting relationships with students. Although the event was horrific and heart-breaking, it was important to maintain a sense of normalcy and security throughout the week for the students in the school. The school will continue to deal with the loss in a myriad of ways, and there will surely be waves of emotions to follow. (Side note: If you’re interested in knowing more about Vinesa and ways you may be able to help her family, please visit http://www.helpfindvinesa.com/)
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Category:
Early Learning, teaching strategies |
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Tags: Aika Krecek
As a teenager, there was nothing I hated more than icebreakers. I used to dread the first week of school; it was inevitable that we’d be slogging through some folksy getting-to-know-you activity in every one of our six periods. You know the ones—Two Truths and a Lie, toss a ball, learn a name. Couldn’t we all just sing that song from The King & I and call it good?
We use icebreakers on the first day of class because it’s tradition. We did it in school; teacher preparation textbooks encourage us to do it. Fortunately, the Southwest Washington high school didn’t know or care about my long history with those cutesy games. Without meaning to, they softened my longtime cynicism. They invited me to Challenge Day.
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Category:
professional development for educators, teaching strategies |
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Tags: acceptance, challenge day, icebreakers, professional development, safety, students
Sam Leach is a third grade teacher at James John Elementary School in St. Johns. He is an extremely passionate individual, who through empathetic listening and creativity, aims to equip his students with the ability to identify and develop their strengths as they uncover new and unique pathways to learning. Mr. Leach uses his classroom blog to chronicle the work of his students and also as a resource for families to stay up to date with classroom happenings. Take a peek at his blog and follow him on twitter.
Below is an interview highlighting Mr. Leach’s work with social media, blogging and technology in his classroom.
Chalkboard: When did you start actively using social media and blogging as a tool for elementary education? What is your specific goal? Do you use your blog and twitter to showcase student work, as a resource for parents, or as a way to keep track of your work as a teacher?
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Category:
teacher appreciation, teaching strategies |
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Tags: iPads in the classroom, James John, Sam Leach, technology in education
As the daughter of a teacher (and a closeted perfectionist), organization and preparation have always been at the heart of my professional success. If I am well prepared, I have no fear of failure. Scratch that, had no fear of failure.
Earlier this month, I began teaching a unit on relief printmaking with a seventh grade class I’ve been working with since September. I was fresh off a fantastic first lesson during which I presented a brief history of relief printing to the class. To my surprise, the students were fascinated with the history and focused their attention throughout the lesson.
So, when the students came to class the following day I felt confident that my well-planned lesson would be just as enjoyable for them. Boy was I wrong. But before I drudge up those painful memories for you, let’s take a look at the good intention that helped get me into this mess.
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Category:
teaching strategies |
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Tags: lesson plan, relief printmaking, teaching strategies, technology
Unfortunately, there are lessons to be learned as a teacher that can only be learned the hard way, and no amount of wonderful mentoring can truly prepare you for it. As a student-teacher at a high school in southwest Washington, I was recently given the reins to lead my first series of lessons in a History class. My assigned topic was to teach a comprehensive unit about FDR’s New Deal and the Great Depression. Interesting topic, lots of information to draw from, several creative angles to take, but, the planning of this unit really took on a life of its own over the winter break.
I spent afternoons and evenings planning and re-planning. I spun my wheels trying to create a unit that flowed logically and incorporated as many of the teaching methods I have learned in my MAT program as possible. My husband—an AP Biology teacher—looked over my shoulder with amusement, warning me to “not get too married to this lesson plan because things don’t always go the way you want them to, and you may need to make changes as you go.”
Category:
teaching strategies |
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Tags: FDR's New Deal, Great Depression, lesson plan
Maybe it was my own personal experiences in high school that jaded my opinion of the fascinating world of communism, socialism, and capitalism. I vaguely remember drone voices muttering things like, “private ownership of industry,” “classless society,” and “economic competition.” Although, when I was a freshman, those phrases only served to wake me from my third period nap.
I was less than a week into my full-time student teaching at my cooperating high school. I couldn’t afford to turn my freshman away so early in my teaching experience, especially if I expected it to be a successful month. As I scoured the internet, racked my brain, and flipped through my cooperating teacher’s lesson plans, searching for a way to teach my freshmen about Marx’s Theory of Communism; something caught my eye.
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Category:
teaching strategies |
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Tags: communism, history lesson plans, Joshua Tabshy, lesson plans, socialism, Vladimir Lenin
