Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 1/22/16

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

Flippity – “Easily turn a Google™ Spreadsheet into a set of Online Flashcards.” (L:T; SA:A)

Apostrophes – a TED-ed lesson on when to use apostrophes (L:G; SA:A)

Thinking Blocks – “teaches students how to model and solve math word problems.” (L:E,M; SA:M)

Zoom In – “Zoom In is a free, Web-based platform that helps students build literacy and historical thinking skills through “deep dives” into primary and secondary sources. Zoom In’s online learning environment features 18 content-rich U.S. history units that supplement your regular instruction and help you use technology to support students’ mastery of both content and skills required by the new, higher standards: Reading documents closely and critically, Identifying author's point of view and purpose, Engaging in higher-order, text-based discussions, Writing explanatory and argumentative essays grounded in evidence.”   (L:G; SA:SS)

PrepFactory – preparing for the SAT or ACT (L: H; SA:A)

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Balancing My Life

In Seth Godin’s lesson about balance from Lucacept - intercepting the Web,  jennylu shares,

“Seth got me thinking about the things I don’t do that help me retain a semblance of balance in my life.”

This statement had me thinking about things that I don’t do in order to keep balance in my life.  It is harder to think about the things that I don’t do instead of the things I do. This would be a great exercise for students to do because it makes them aware of what is going on in their lives.

I don’t hang around people who are negative a majority of the time.

I don’t say yes to everyone who wants something knit for them.

I don’t say yes to everyone who wants me to do something.  I’ve always had a hard time saying o but it is getting easier.  

I don’t listen to the voice in my head that tries to stop me from exercising regularly.

I don’t reread a lot of books that I’ve already read before so I can push myself to read new books.

I don’t drop out of a couple of groups that I enjoy but I don’t have time for right now. I want to stay connected.

I don’t forget to keep lists of things that need to be done.

I don’t try to clean my whole house all at one time. This leads to failure, which makes me not want to do that anymore.

I don’t try to eat all the things I want to eat because I realize it isn’t always the best thing to do.

I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about things that I can’t control.

What do you not do in order to keep balance in your life? Please share.

The Words We Live By – Book Review

I recently read Words to Live By by Linda R. Monk. I got this book from Netgalley and I am not being paid for this review.

I really enjoyed this book, which explains the United States Constitution in ways that an every day person can understand. It is broken down into simple chunks and discussed.

This would be a great book to study in a US History class. Students of today don’t really understand what their rights are other than what they hear about on TV or in the news. This would give them first hand knowledge about what the Constitution really says and what it means.

I would highly recommend this book for the classroom and in the school library. It might be a good book for families to read together and discuss as a family.

Promoting Reading

In Simple Ideas to Promote Reading No Matter What You Teach from @DavidGeurin Blog , David Geurin asks,

What other ways do you promote reading to your students?

I like to leave interesting books out around my desk. Students get curious and are attracted by the cover or the title and will tend to look at them if I don’t say anything. Then they will ask questions and maybe be motivated to read it.

I do the same thing with magazines about a topic that may interest some of my stubborn readers.

Sometimes I ask students for suggestions of books to read. I might write all the titles on an index card and when I’m ready to read something new, I will have a student pick a card out of the hat to choose what I will read next. Students are excited when I read a book that they recommend.

Sometimes students have to read a novel for another class and I like to read along with them. They like this so if they have questions or don’t understand something, they can ask me and not feel awkward in their other class.

I also like to read books aloud to my class. No matter what age, they seem to enjoy it. I have read aloud to elementary, middle, and high school classes. I love to hear them groan when I stop at an exciting point and they can’t wait to come back to hear more!

So now I will ask my readers, what do you do to promote reading? Please share.

2015 Photo A Day Project

Last year I participated in the Photo A Day project that I do on every odd numbered year. If you would like to see my photos, you can go to my Flickr album and see them HERE. I really saw an improvement in my choices of subjects and how I framed them in the photo.

 I really enjoyed doing it but I really need a year off between so that taking photos every day doesn’t become a chore. I tend to get in a rut and then it gets boring so I make myself take a year off. I still take photos but I don’t commit myself to taking one every day. I’m always excited the first half of the year, and then my excitement slows down and by December I’m ready to end the project.

I think this is a great project to get students involved in. There are so many ways to use photos taken by students in the classroom! You can do every school day or every school week or just weekends. Their photos could be used for writing prompts or discussions.

I hope you enjoy my photos!