Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 7/10/09

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my Personal Learning Network (PLN). As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Tube Chop – if Youtube is blocked in your district, try this. It “allows you to easily chop a funny or interesting section from any YouTube video and share it.”

Do2Learn – “games, songs, communication cards, print resources and information for special needs”

Whyzz – “whyzz is the place where parents with curious young children can find and contribute kid-ready information about how the world works!” Great for teachers too!

Download a Dinosaur – “Designs for easy-to-make paper dinosaurs that you can download from this site and print out on your printer. All that is needed is scissors and glue. Soon your office will be overrunning with raptors. How about triceratops with names on them as place settings at a kid's birthday party? Or a 30-minute crafts activity?”

Paper Models of Civil War Soldiers - Here are designs for easy-to-make paper Civil War soldiers that you can download from this site and print out on your printer. All that is needed is scissors, clear tape, a stapler and glue.

Original image: 'My Swiss Army Knife' http://www.flickr.com/photos/80516279@N00/2274372747 by: Brian Herzog

Math Strategies

Today I am going to share some of the strategies that I shared with my teachers. They are taking my class so that they can get a Master’s degree in Special Education and this course is a culmination of all that they have learned to this point. It is so exciting to see them teaching and interacting with the students.

In addition to the strategies listed, I have found some websites that also give great suggestions. They are About.com: Mathematics, Reading and Math Strategies, The Accent Center, and From Jim Wright: Intervention Ideas for Mathematics.

Here are the suggestions that I have given my teachers. If you have any other suggestions or links to great websites, I would love to see them. Please add them in your comments so I can share them with my teachers.

1. Use manipulatives to understand a concept.
2. Teach math vocabulary.
3. Use visuals and graphics to illustrate concepts to the students.
4. Have students make up their own word story problems.
5. Teach students how to use a calculator.
6. Teach money concepts using play money.
7. Teach time by using manipulative clocks.
8. Have students restate word problems in their own words.
9. Younger children can play sorting games.
10. Ask the student to tell the number that comes after (before, between) a designated number.
11. Give a pattern of numbers and ask students what comes next.
12. Use number lines.
13. Arrange by size and length.
14. Use flash cards, rolling dice, playing cards to teach computational facts.
15. Subtraction of 9s from teen numbers (16-9 = ?; 1+6 =7)
16. Puzzles cards with facts and answers on each piece

Original image: 'Little Professor Hand-held Calculator' http://www.flickr.com/photos/38565056@N00/15223525 by: jason toal

Reading and Writing Strategies

This month I am supervising the Learning Disabilities Practicum. I have five teachers and twenty children (ages 6-14) with disabilities in the program which meets for half a day for four weeks. The curriculum includes academics, social skills, and physical activities.

Some of the things we are discussing are some strategies for teaching reading and writing and I thought I would share them here. I also found some websites that give great suggestions such as Reading a-z.com, Mindtools, and Just Read Now. If you have any other suggestions or links to great websites, I would love to see them. Please add them in your comments so I can share them with my teachers.

1. Ask students to retell or summarize the story.
2. Create graphic organizers.
3. Put pictures of story events in order.
4. Have students write their own reactions to stories and factual material.
5. Repeated reading: passages of 50 to 200 words long and at a difficulty level that enables the student to recognize most of the words. The student then reads the selection orally three or four times before proceeding to a new passage.
6. Reading predictable books
7. Language experience method: students dictate stories to the teacher. The stories then become the basis of their reading instruction.
8. K-W-L technique: Students think of and state all the knowledge they have on a subject. Each student thinks of wand writes on a sheet of paper what he or she want to learn from the reading. Students read the lesson silently and write what they have learned from the reading.
9. Highlighting multiple word meanings
10. Exploring sources of vocabulary using newspapers and advertising. Keep a list of new words.
11. Play word games like categories (name types of cars, or dogs, or buildings, or clothes etc.)
12. Word webs – like a graphic organizer; giving more details like “What is it?” “What is it like?” and “What are some examples?”
13. Point out syllables in multisyllabic words.
14. Teach word families (ex. At, cat, bat, rat)
15. Write in journals.
16. Use materials without words like comic books without captions or books with photos. The students figure out the story content from the pictures.
17. Written conversations – instead of saying what they wish to communicate to the class, they write the message and give it to the teacher or other students. Then the teacher or students respond in writing.
18. Patterned writing – the students use a favorite predictable book with a patterned writing and then they write their own version. (ex. Brown Bear, Brown Bear)
19. Express their ideas in pictures.

Original image: 'I Want to Live' http://www.flickr.com/photos/86603835@N00/36362014 by: Jay Ryness

School Isn’t For Everyone

It is hard for me to believe this and feel like a good teacher at the same time, but I do. Of course, I did feel better after reading there are worse things than dropping out of school from siobhan curious: classroom as microcosm, Siobhan Curious states,

“I also think there needs to be a shift in social attitudes supported by a change in the system, so that it is easier and more acceptable for students to leave school if they are unhappy and not learning, spend some time in the work force, and return to school whenever they are ready.”

When I was dating my husband, I heard many stories from him and his mother about the difficult times he had in school. He ended up joining the navy and getting his GED. I have taught many students who feel like staying in school is a waste of time.

My students were in the Occupational Diploma Program which was a district program and not a state recognized program. My students were students with disabilities that kept them from passing the state exit exam in order to receive a state high school diploma. This means that they walked at graduation and got their occupational diploma but the state still considered them drop outs on the AYP report. What a slap in the face this was for my students! They followed a rigorous curriculum in order to receive this but they still weren’t counted as being successful.

The local Career and Technology Center was focusing on college bound students who could pass licensure tests so my students were not really encouraged to attend. There were no programs like brick masonry, or building construction, or auto mechanics offered for my students. Of course, I heard that it was hard to find instructors but I also heard that they didn’t really seek anyone out for these types of programs. I’m worried about the future. We will still need our cars worked on, and houses built so who is going to do this if we are not training our youth in these occupations. I had students who were willing to learn this but no one willing to teach them. Some of my students didn’t see the value of staying in school when they wanted and needed to learn a trade. I tried to encourage them to stay in so they could show future employers that they were willing to hang in there and not quit on their commitments but that is the only reason I could really see them staying in school.

I did find information about Job Corps for my students and invited a speaker to my class. I was amazed how great the program sounded. I have had few students go through the program and was thrilled to hear that they were successful with the program.

I believe I needed to find out what options my students had besides school. I also needed to think about the realistic consequences of choosing these options. My students depended on me to be honest and they trusted my opinion. I couldn’t just be single minded and force my hopes and dreams on to them but had to think about what was in their best interests. I also communicated a lot with their parents as we looked at options too. By this time their parents were so frustrated and concerned that they didn’t know which way to turn. Many times I laid out the options for everyone to see so they could go home and discuss these options. Since everyone’s goal was for the student to find success, we were able to help the student make the best decision at that time.

Sometimes school isn’t for everyone and all I hope to do is help my students become successful in finding their way towards independence.

Original image: 'One Room School' http://www.flickr.com/photos/57038667@N00/2822293763 by: Cindy Seigle

The E-Learner's Guide To Using The Kindle

(Today’s post is written by a guest writer, Thomas Rheinecker, who is a freelance author and writes about education topics, such as how to research online university reviews, accreditation, and more.)

There are many ways to use the Kindle. This modern marvel of engineering is particularly suited to educational uses. Beyond the basic presentation of text, it could be utilized in any learning environment to facilitate learning both on an individual and a group level. As a student, you could take advantage of this device to maximize your own learning if you only take the time to learn how to do just that.

The Future Of Textbooks

Of course, students can get textbooks on the Kindle and then study them that way. Ideally, this would be cheaper in the long run than always purchasing new books for each new class. Over time, the cost of the Kindle is bound to come down too making it even more of a smart financial move for students.

A learning institution could even have a set of Kindles for a class so that all students would have the same access to this teaching tool. Content could be sent directly to each Kindle for review by the student. The usage does not have to stop with the simple textbook content. Teachers could also take this opportunity to disperse other learning materials such as review notes or materials to help students prepare for upcoming classes.

Students And Faculty Working Together

On an individual basis, students can highlight the text in the Kindle and take notes as well. These notes are then stored for retrieval online later. If multiple Kindles are registered to an account then all of them will be able to access notes taken to that account.

In this way a teacher could post notes for the entire class to review along with reading material. This could be especially helpful when students are away from class and are facing challenging reading assignments. The notes could provide the necessary assistance to make these reading efforts fruitful even in the absence of the real life teacher to provide guidance.

In the same way that teachers could supply notes for students, students could work together in their note taking efforts. The applications could be useful for any subject and at a variety of different learning levels. It can even read the text aloud at a speed chosen by the reader and in a male or a female voice.

Who Needs A Dictionary?

On top of the potential for the teacher's notes to be included and for the test to be read aloud by the device, there is another feature that will prove helpful regardless of the text. The Kindle has a built-in dictionary. You have the option of highlighting a word so that it will appear towards the bottom of the screen along with its definition. This helps a reader to continue on with the text with a complete understanding without the need to go get a dictionary.

For those who enjoy learning using the Kindle, there are many different ways to take advantage of this device. Both students and faculty can use this device either as a personal tool or in conjunction with a class to facilitate the learning process. The full potential for this technology will reveal itself in time.

Original image: 'Kindle' http://www.flickr.com/photos/90288178@N00/2345074968 by: Steven Harris

Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 7/3/09

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my Personal Learning Network (PLN). As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Make Your Own Rain Stick - directions for making this

Bookshare – “Accessible Books and Periodicals for Readers with Print Disabilities, free for all U.S. students with qualifying disabilities.”

Scratch – “Scratch is a new programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and share your creations on the web. Scratch is designed to help young people (ages 8 and up) develop 21st century learning skills. As they create and share Scratch projects, young people learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.”

Cost of Living Calculator -compares how far a salary in one city will go in another

Playing History – “There are tons of free historical games, interactives and simulations on the web. Playing history aggregates info on these resources in a simple, searchable database making it easy to find, rate, and review historical games. There are currently 128 shared games.”

Original image: 'Veere: tools' http://www.flickr.com/photos/19907278@N00/36125185 by: Ard Hesselink

Last Day Reflections

Today is the last day of my class: Nature of Learning Disabilities which met for four days a week, three hours a day for four weeks. I truly loved teaching this class and really enjoyed my students. There were only three students but they all had a different background which led to lots of different points of view. One teacher taught in the public school, one taught at a private school and the other one was just an undergraduate with no teaching experience at all. We had wonderful discussions and everyone gave great input. Whenever questions arose, I felt I was able to take time to answer them and give help when needed. I learned a lot from them also. It is always a joy to teach students who are hard working and conscientious because it makes my life as a teacher so much easier!

I really enjoyed sharing my knowledge of special education with others because I feel it is so important for general ed and special ed teachers to know this information. I think (and hope) they have a better understanding about Learning Disabilities and the characteristics of a student with learning disabilities at different ages. I also think it was great to discuss different strategies that can be used to help these students. With such a small class, we were able to sit a semi circle and really have meaningful exchanges of ideas. I really enjoyed the Skype call we made to Lisa Parisi and Christine Southard to talk about their Inclusion class. I hope they can take the knowledge learned in my class and apply it to their classrooms or their lives.

By showing the class different technology tools, I was able to demonstrate how differentiated learning could help all students and not just the students with special needs. They willingly tried the new tools and became quite good at them too. Each student set up a blog (Check out our Class Blogs) and commented on other blogs which I think is a great way to reflect on teaching practices as well as keeping up with current trends in education. I really wish that I had more time with them to show them more tools. I didn’t get to show them all the things I wanted to because I was afraid of overwhelming them. If I showed them too many, I was worried that instead of trying some of them, they would avoid all of them. So I am pleased they learned to blog, use Skype, use Plurk and Twitter, use Google Reader, saw Voicethread and Delicious. I think we accomplished a lot in a month!

Overall, I feel this class was successful and we accomplished all that we set out to do. I just hope they keep up their blogging because I enjoyed reading them and would love to stay in touch.

Original image: 'Introduction to monstering' http://www.flickr.com/photos/76074333@N00/318034222