Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 3/19/10

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!

Time for Time – Resource for teaching students how to tell time.

Puzzles – These puzzles can be played online or downloaded.

Zimmer Twins – “is a fun way to incorporate technology into the classroom. Watch your students expand their vocabulary, practice proper writing habits, and become junior movie producers all at the same time!” There are even lesson plans included.

NASA eclips – “NASA eClips™ are short, relevant educational video segments. These videos inspire and engage students, helping them see real world connections.”

Neat Chat – adfree chat room that can be used for a backchannel in the classroom.

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Why Reading Is Important

In Encountering the Other: How Literature Will Save the World from siobhan curious: classroom as microcosm by Siobhan Curious, she says,

“…I asked, ‘Why do we read?  What are books for?  If the novel goes the way of live theater – a medium appealing to only a small, relatively rarefied segment of the population – what, if anything, will be lost?  What can a novel do for us that other art forms can’t?’”

This also sparked a great conversation with my 5 year old great niece is just beginning her school career. When I asked her what subjects she liked, she mentioned art and music but when I mentioned reading, she said it was okay. For me, okay is not good enough. I want her to LOVE reading. I want her to want to read more and read better and read for the love of reading. She couldn’t understand my passion about this and asked why.

I tried to explain that reading lets me pretend I am other people and can do all sorts of things that I can’t do on my own. It opens my mind to imagination and makes the impossible possible. I can be a super hero with special powers or I can be in exotic places that I never thought I could be. I can also be an ordinary person doing ordinary things that I don’t have the courage to do at this time. Stories like this can help me get that courage to grow and try new things.

Reading can help me learn new things and gain information. There is so much information out there in the world and at my fingertips. Reading can help me get this information and apply it to my life.

Reading tells me about places I have never been before. I can learn about the people living there, their culture, their food, and their government as well as so much more. Sometimes reading about these places makes me want to visit there in the future.

Reading helps improve my writing. When I read different types of literature, I am also learning about different writing styles. Certain styles may appeal to me while others don’t. Without this exploration, I would not know the different options available.

Reading helps me make critical decisions. Reading can help me find information about certain topics so I can make informed decisions on my own rather than someone telling me what to do.

Reading can connect me with others. I might read blogs, twitter messages, text messages, or things like email messages that bring me closer to others. Without some knowledge of the written word, it would be hard to send my own messages for others to read because it wouldn’t make any sense.

Sometimes reading can just be plain fun. I like to read to escape. I might be under stress or overworked and find reading can help me relax. It lets me get away in my mind.

Yes, reading is important to me and I hope that you too feel it is important. I think reading is important in order to be successful in school as well as in life. So, come on and join me. Grab a book and start reading!

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

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

The Sky is Everywhere – A Book Review

(Disclaimer: I am reviewing this book for The Picnic Basket and I am not being paid for this review. Here is the review that I posted on The Picnic Basket.)

I just finished reading The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

On a scale of 1 to 5, I would give this book a 3.

This book is about a girl whose sister died and how she handles her grief. While dealing with her grief, she is also dealing with relationships with a new boy at school, her sister’s boyfriend, her best friend, and her grandmother. I too lost my older sister when I was in high school so I understood the strong feelings of loss in the book and could relate a lot to many of the situations. During this traumatic time, relationship lines get blurry and confusing. It was a very sad and moving story though and well worth reading.

The only problem I had about the story was the references to sex. Maybe because I live in the Bible belt and I can see many conservative parents objecting to this book in schools. References to premarital sex and teenage pregnancy were glossed over. I’m not sure these sexual references were necessary for the plot of the book. I could see readers enjoying this if they read it on their own but I do not see this being used as a classroom tool.

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Dating Skills and More

Are we ready to deal with our students and their dating habits?

In Kathy: Are WE ready for Our Students to Date?

from CEC Blog, Kathy states,

“As educators, we have to teach what dating behavior is appropriate in public. I think we often have to fill in the sex education gap that may exist in our students’ home life. This is a tough area that I have just begun to explore. “

This brings back memories of when 15 year old student, A. called me one evening around 11pm, crying on the phone. She had been on a date with her boyfriend and told her that if she loved him, she would have sex with him. She remembered things I had said in class and refused him, so he broke up with her. I tried to reassure her that if he loved her, he would not be giving her ultimatums like that. Of course my husband is now in the background having a “heart attack” because I’m talking about sex to one of my students! I encourage her to talk to her mom but she is afraid mom will never let her date again. Finally I convince her to let me talk with her mom, which I do the next day. We have a great talk and then both of us talk with my student so all ended up well.

Now I can hear some of you saying that this isn’t my job but if my students trust me and confide in me, I feel it is my job. Like Kathy says, I have to teach my students about dating behavior.

I don’t get in the nitty gritty about sex or birth control but I do have my class do a project to see how their lives will change with a baby. We do research and figure out the cost of giving birth, infant care, all the way up to graduating high school. Many of the figures are estimated but I think it gives a realistic picture about the costs.

I also have my class create a budget according to their dream lives. I have them figure out if they will be married or single, how many children they will have, what kind of car they will drive, and what kind of house they will live in. They figure out the yearly cost to live the way they like and then they job hunt in the classified to find a job that will pay for this way of life. Many of them get a huge reality check when this happens. They find out that they need to do better in school or change their expectations. One little girl looked up in shock and said that she would be living in a cardboard box if she didn’t do better!

We also talk about dating procedures from where to go on a date, asking a girl out on a date, accepting a date, logistics of a date, making reservations, what to wear, tipping, how to act, and even ending a date. Of course the more experienced students like to give their input and we get to discuss recent behaviors. Sometimes we even get to do some role playing which helps out the shy students.

As an adult, I think we take a lot of these situations for granted. With today’s economy and cost of things going up, it is really hard for teens to date. Brainstorming as a class would be a great way for discussion and ideas for those who are having trouble. If everyone talks about cost saving ideas, it won’t be so bad as if only one person thinks it.

I think lessons in dating behavior would not only be successful but also appreciated by the students in my class.

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original image: 'Dating for Domokuns'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10899777@N02/2522262234 by: Isaac Hsieh

School Lunch Memories

In 3/15 Fun Monday Signup -- School Lunch Memories from Summit Musings by Faye, she challenges,

“So your assignment for March 15 is to share your memories of school lunches. What kind of school did you attend--public, private, parochial? Did you bring lunch from home or buy in the school cafeteria? What did your lunch look like? Who prepared it? Who did you have lunch with? Was this a happy part of the school day? What did you do during lunch time other than eat your PB & J sandwich?”

Check out her post to see who else took this challenge.

I ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch every day of my twelve years in public school. I really disliked school food and standing in lines which was perfect because I loved PB & J sandwiches. As soon as I was old enough, I made my own sandwiches and my parents would just shake their heads at me. Of course, now that I look back, I think I was encouraged to bring my own lunch because we really couldn’t afford the school lunches. Of course when I got into high school, I would buy chips in the cafeteria to eat with my sandwiches but that was about it. I really think my PB & J sandwiches are what kept me so healthy and helped me have perfect attendance.

During my senior year of high school, we were allowed to leave campus during the hour lunch period as long as we had our lunch permit (which meant they had our parent’s permission on file in the office for us to leave campus) and we returned in time for our next class. Of course, as overprotected as I was, was never allowed by my parents to leave campus but that didn’t stop me from leaving with my best friend, Bunny. She had a purple VW bug and we would go to her house near the school to eat our lunch or go to the park and sit around the lake. The only problem we had was the one day it snowed while we were in her house eating lunch. When it was time to return to school, her car was snowed in and we had to dig it out and push it on the road to get it going. That definitely got my adrenaline going at the time, especially since I had never cut a class before and I hoped this was not going to be my first time! Those were wonderful lunches.

What school lunch memories do you have?

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original image: '11:12 AM-Lunchroom Cook and Server'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/83955435@N00/7323511 by: Judy Baxter