Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 11/29/19

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

Typing Club – “TypingClub is the most effective way to learn how to type. It is web based, and highly effective. TypingClub is (and will always be) free for both individuals and schools.” (L:G;SA:A)

Tracing the Evolution of Phones – from Richard Byrnes, “In the following video I demonstrate how your students can use Google Scholar to trace product development through patent research.” (L:G;SA:A)

How do Ocean Currents Work – “In 1992, a cargo ship carrying bath toys got caught in a storm. Shipping containers washed overboard, and the waves swept 28,000 rubber ducks and other toys into the North Pacific. But they didn’t stick together -- the ducks have since washed up all over the world. How did this happen? Jennifer Verduin dives into the science of ocean currents.”  (L:G;SA:S)

Weather Lab – “Weather Lab is a tool to help visualize how North America’s weather is formed. This lab is designed to model the complex interactions between air masses and ocean currents, but like all models it represents probable outcomes. Each prediction you make is for possible outcomes during Spring.”  (L:M;SA:S)

Habitats – “Do you know where the red-eyed tree frog calls home? Play this game based on animal habitats to learn! Explore the desert, coral reef, jungle, and marsh to discover where many animals live by matching each animal to their correct habitat!”  (L:E,M;SA:S)

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the US. There will be parades and family gatherings all around the country. It is a great day to gather with family and share what you are thankful for. I’m so lucky to have a life filled with blessings. I try to remember to be thankful for all of my blessings every day and not just this one day of the year. They are so numerous that there isn’t enough paper to write them on. I hope that you have a safe and happy holiday!

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

The Art of Compromising

In “Get what you want without compromise” by Seth Godin's Blog by Seth Godin states,

“The real question might not be, “what do you want,” it might be, ‘what do you care enough to compromise for?’”

When I was growing up, I quickly learned that couldn’t always get what I wanted whenever I wanted. Life isn’t like that.

I have seen many students who had trouble with this concept. Some of my students may have been spoiled and their parents let them just get their way. Other students had a disability where they really didn’t understand this concept. It wasn’t that they were spoiled or mean, they just didn’t understand this because developmentally, they weren’t at the stage where this made sense.

Learning to compromise is a social skill that a student needs to learn in order to be successful in the classroom and in life. It means that a person must give up something or choose a lesser option in order to get as close that what is wanted as possible. This compromise makes both parties a winner instead of one winner/one loser result.

In order to teach my students how to make sense of this, we practiced different strategies.

Identify the choices and who it affects. If one choice is picked, how will it affect others? If the other choice is picked, how will it affect others? Can both choices be picked without affecting anybody?

If I act a certain way, will that get me what I want? Will that make me happy? How will it make others feel? Is this the result that I want?

What am I willing to do for someone else that makes them happy in order to get what I want? Will this action hurt others or put me in any harm?

If I can’t have my way, can I find another option that will be accepted by me and others?

Can I ask someone I trust to help me figure out a way to make a compromise when I’m not able to understand a way to make us all a winner?

Learning to compromise takes practice and sometimes a student needs to discuss and reflect why the compromise worked or didn’t work. It is through this discussion that understanding will take place.

Do you teach students the art of compromising? If so, please share.

Photo by Anna Samoylova on Unsplash