Teacher Becomes Student for a Day

Link to Full Article

 

First of all I hope every educator takes the time to read this article, better yet do what this teacher did and shadow a student for a day! The full text can be found at the link provided above, however these are the 3 takeaways the teacher describes:

• Students sit all day, and sitting is exhausting
• Students are sitting, and passively engaged for 90% of the day
• Students feel like a nuisance

In the full article this educator details how she will address these takeaways and offers tangible ideas for all teachers transferable across content areas. For the student perspective pick up Fires in the Middle School Bathroom, pictured below.

 

 

 

 



Trauma and the Teenage Brain

                         

                                                   

"As researchers work to solve one of the most persistent problems in public education – why kids in poor neighborhoods fail so much more often than their upper-income peers – more and more they're pointing the finger at what happens outside the classroom.
Shootings. Food insecurity. Sirens and fights in the night. Experts are finding that those stressors build up, creating emotional problems and changes in the brain that can undermine even the clearest lessons."

Link to Full Article
Ted Talk on Trauma and Health

Introducing New Vocabulary

After introducing new vocabulary have students spin the wheel to identify their action step, each option will promote retention and support a different learning style. Easily turned into a game for review prior to assessment.

Resource- Noise Meter

Help students become more objective about the noise level in the classroom with a noise metering app. The particular app shown below is $0.99 however there are many other free options, some with the ability to save measurements in order to evaluate progress over time... Is it noisy in here?

 

Blooms- Resources and Action Words

Curriculum Compacting: Gifted and Talented

What Is Curriculum Compacting?

Curriculum compacting, developed by Dr. Joseph Renzulli and Linda Smith in 1978, is a differentiation strategy that is extremely beneficial to many gifted and high ability students. It is a process by which students are pre-assessed to determine what parts of the curriculum they have already mastered. When those areas of knowledge and skills are identified, these students are not required to complete the grade-level work. Instead, they work on alternate activities. Curriculum compacting is a particularly important strategy for gifted and other high-ability students because they often come to school already knowing much of the grade level material. If these students are not challenged with new or different content, they waste time in school, do not learn important study skills, and do not grow as learners. How Does Curriculum Compacting Work? First Step- identify what the student has already mastered. This works well in subjects that are easily tested, like math, in which questions usually require one right answer. Prior to the pre-assessment, the teacher determines the requirement for mastery. For example, mastery might be 90% or higher on a pretest or no more than one mistake in a writing sample. Pre-assessment: pretest, classroom observation, a short discussion with the student, a checklist of what the student knows, or brainstorming session. Choose an alternate activity. This could be independent study.. 'Nuts and Bolts' of Compacting * The teacher meets with compacting students to decide with them on which alternate activity or activities they will work. * Some type of a time line is established, including when the students will meet with the teacher again and when the alternate activity is due. Compacting students can work independently or together, but it is important that they touch base with their teacher often. * The score that determines mastery is also the score that goes in the grade book. Students may receive extra points, if necessary, for compacting activities, but they should not be penalized with a lower grade if they work on a more challenging activity and do not get a high score. Gifted students are sometimes reluctant to work on alternate activities because they think a possible lower score will negatively affect their grades. * Each student should be responsible for keeping his/her own compactor folder with the work in it. This is a good way for disorganized gifted students to learn skills in organization, and it gives them practice in taking responsibility for their own work and their own learning. * Parents need to discuss and show interest in their child's compactor activities. However, parents should not pressure their child to compact out of the grade-level work every time. Even gifted students have some academic weaknesses. Most gifted children compact out some of the time and usually in a specific subject.

 

 

Brain Breaks

There is a significant amount of research pointing to the importance of using "brain breaks" in the classroom, a brain break provides an opportunity for students to take a mental break from an academic task. Brain breaks get blood circulating, and the right and left side of the brain talking to one another, providing renewed focus and mental clarity. A good rule of thumb- students can handle as many minutes of a given task equal to their age. In other words you will start to lose a middle school student age 13 after about 13 minutes of any classroom activity be it lecture, discussion, group work, silent reading/writing... etc. While a given asignment may require an entire class period, having students partcipate in a brain break every 10-15 minutes is reasonable, and as part of an established routine these breaks do not disrupt the flow of the lesson. Below are a list of brain breaks, as well as 4 links to additional resources including video examples.
 
Additional Resources for Brain Breaks

• Link: Resource 1 
• Link: Resource 2
• Link: Resource 3
• Link: Resource 4

Brain Breaks

Simon Says: It’s a classic and students love it!

Crab Walk around the Room: Put on a song and have students walk in the CRAB POSITION around the room. At some point, have students go in reverse.

Macarena: Teach students the hand movements for the old-school song! You can find the song for free on YouTube.

Cupid Shuffle: This dance isn’t just fun at weddings! You can find the song and dance on YouTube. It may take students a few tries to learn it, but you will inevitably have a natural dancer in the group that can help other students learn.

Doodle Time: Give students some blank paper and markers and let them DOODLE and talk for five minutes. It sounds simple but students love to draw and doodle.

Dance Party: Turn on the radio and let students DANCE until the song ends.

Tic-Tac-Toe: Give students some blank paper to play tic-tac-toe with a friend. It’s a simple game that won’t cause a mess or a distraction for your neighbors! J

50 Jumping Jacks: Get students’ heart rates up with this QUICK physical exercise.

Bingo: Depending on time…the song OR the game!

Heads Up, 7-Up: Another classic that is easy and exciting for students!

Cha-Cha Slide: Find the lyrics and dance moves on YouTube!

Stretching: Choose a student to come up and lead a minute of stretching. All of the kiddos know various stretches from gym class, and they will enjoy leading their peers!

Congo Line: Turn the radio on and form a Congo line to move around the room.

Push-Up/Sit-Up: Have students pick a partner and let them count out each other’s push-ups and sit-ups. Another great physical exercise for kids that will provide a break from learning and strengthen their muscles at the same time!

Pantomime: Choose a student to act out an activity WITHOUT talking. The class must mimic the leader and then guess what the activity is. (Swimming, flying, sleeping, laughing, jogging, singing, etc.)

Mirror-Mirror: Have students pair up and mirror the actions of their partner. Students will get a kick out of this activity!

Thumb Wrestling: Have students choose a partner and participate in some old-fashioned thumb wrestling. Be sure to establish your expectations before this little brain break.

Rock, Paper, Scissors: Let kiddos partner up for five rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors. The winners get a high five from their partner. :)

Ninja, Cowboy, Bear (Like rock, paper scissor- Ninja beats Cowboy, Cowboy beats Bear, and Bear beats Ninja. Pair students, and have them stand back to back, on the count of three the students turn. Example here: http://ninja-cowboy-bear.com/activities/games

Sky Writing: Have kiddos sky write their ABCs, sight words, spelling words, or a secret message to their friend.

Air Band: Choose an "air" instrument and "rock out!" Drums, guitar, and saxophone are my personal favorites.

Silent Yoga: Strike a yoga pose and see how long your students can hold that pose. Google "Kid Yoga" for some easy examples.