Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 6/29/18

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my 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!

Note: Each resource is labeled with a level and subject area to make it easier to use.

Levels:  E: Elementary; M: Middle; H: High; G: General, all levels; SN: Special Needs; T: Teachers

Subject Areas: LA: Language Arts, English, Reading, Writing; M: Math; S: Science; Health; SS: Social Studies, Current Events; FA: Fine Arts; Music, Art, Drama; FL: Foreign Language; PE: Physical Ed; C: Career; A: All

Weather 101 – A Tutorial on Cloud Types – a Youtube video; “This 5 minute tutorial covers some basic cloud types. Four core cloud categories are discussed, as well as some combinations or hybrids across these categories. Visual depictions of the varying cloud types are shown with an inclusion of time lapse photography to illustrate the formation and dissipation of the clouds.” (L:G; SA:S)

How the World’s First Metro System Was Built – a TEDEd lesson; “It was the dawn of 1863, and London's not-yet-opened subway system — the first of its kind in the world — had the city in an uproar. Most people thought the project, which cost more than 100 million dollars in today's money, would never work. So how did they do it? Christian Wolmar explains how the London Underground was built at a time when no one had built a railway under a city before.” (L:G; SA:SS)

Open Explorer – from National Geographic; “Open Explorer is a community powered by our digital field journal platform. It’s for everyone: university researchers to citizen scientists, students to professional explorers. If you have a story to tell or a place to explore anywhere in the world, you can do it here… Head to the Expedition Discover page to get inspired and start following expeditions that are happening right now. You can use our map feature to zero in on expeditions near you or in places you are interested in.” (L:H; SA:S)

Grasshopper – “Grasshopper is the best way to start your coding adventure with fun, quick games on your phone that teach you to write real JavaScript. Move through progressively challenging levels as you develop your abilities, then graduate with fundamental programming skills for your next step as a coder.” (L:G; SA:C)

Dig Into Mining – “Give students a deeper understanding of how STEM and analytical skills are used to solve real-world problems in today's mining industry, by using these unique and engaging digital explorations.”  (L:M, H; SA:S)

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Good Habits

In You Might Win On a Day But You Don’t Win In a Day from Cool Cat Teacher Blog by coolcatteacher@gmail.com, Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) asks,

“Are your daily habits leading you towards success?”

This past year I have started bullet journaling. At first, I just used a marble notebook but since, I’ve graduated to a dot matrix type of journal. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money if I didn’t think I would stick with it. Over the course of a year, I not only stuck with it, but I feel that I’ve been much more productive because of it.

Each month, I have an overall monthly spread that shows important events for the month and other appointments. I can glance at this and get an idea of what the month will look like for me. Then I have a weekly spread that lists things I need to do that week.

Every morning, I look at my journal and write down the things that I want to accomplish that day (my daily goals). I also have listed any appointments or events for that day. I glance at it several times during the day, so it keeps me on track with getting goals met. Before I go to bed, I can mark off everything that I finished for the day. Anything that didn’t get done will be migrated to the next day. I can also jot things down for the next day that I don’t want to forget.

I also keep a track of my steps, distance, and carbohydrate intake every day. This is helping me lose weight that I want to lose. When I don’t lose weight that week, I can look at these figures and know what is keeping me from my goal. By writing this information down, I’m more aware of my habits.

I also keep track of a cleaning schedule. By doing this, I’m not hating cleaning my house as much as I used to. Instead of spending a whole day trying to clean the house, I schedule a different room on different days. Once I finish that room, I’m free to do the other things I want or need to do. My house seems much more cleaner and organized rather than sporadically trying to fit in a whole day of cleaning.

I also have some daily reminders on my phone that help me remember to do things. I read my bible daily buy sometimes the busy-ness of the day can make me forget. The alert on my phone helps keep me on track.

Overall, I know that this bullet journal takes some time but it is well worth the effort. I’m really proud of all the things that I’m getting done each day.

What do you do to improve your daily habits? Please share.

Picture courtesy of Pixabay

The Growth Mindset

I recently read two books: The Growth Mindset Coach and The Growth Mindset Playbook by Annie Brock and Heather Hundley that were graciously sent to me by Ulysses Press to review. I am not being paid for this review.

I have to start off saying that both of these books were fabulous!!

The Growth Mindset Coach is a book for teachers that was broken down into chapters for each month from August to July. I like how each month has a specific mantra for teachers and students to focus on. Each month has objectives listed at the beginning. Then there is the lesson focusing on the mantra along with activities to do. I believe this is a great book for teachers and could even see it being used at faculty meetings once a month for professional development. It is appropriate for teachers of any subject and grade level. I think a person could also modify this for personal as well as professional growth also.

The Growth Mindset Playbook are strategies to improve your teaching practice and is a great follow up to the first book. This is a great way to put into practice what you have learned from the Growth Mindset Coach book. There are great activities that you can do with your students once they understand the Mindset concept. There are mini-lesson written in great lesson plan form for you to use with your students. At the end of each chapter is a wrap-up for the chapter. It didn’t seem like you had to use any lesson in particular order. This also could be used once a month in the classroom as part of the curriculum.

Needless to say, I highly recommend both of these books. They were exciting and easy to read. I can’t wait to give them a try!

Happy Anniversary to My Husband

Today we celebrate our 36^th wedding anniversary! I truly understand the saying “How time flies when you are having fun!” It is hard to believe that we have been together that long because it feels just like yesterday that we were married! Every year gets better and better and I’m so thankful that you are in my life! I love you!