Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 11/7/14

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

How Things Fly – “What makes an airplane fly? How does a spacecraft stay in orbit? Why does a balloon float in the air?What are you waiting for? Come and find out!” (L:G; SA:S)

Your Life on Earth – “Explore BBC Earth's unique interactive, personalised just to you.Find out how, since the date of your birth, your life has progressed; including how many times your heart has beaten, and how far you have travelled through space.Investigate how the world around you has changed since you've been alive; from the amount the sea has risen, and the tectonic plates have moved, to the number of earthquakes and volcanoes that have erupted.Grasp the impact we've had on the planet in your lifetime; from how much fuel and food we've used to the species we've discovered and endangered. (L:G; SA:A)

Comprehension Units – “These research-based units facilitate close reading, precise questioning based on evidence in the text, and focused discussion to enable comprehension of the entire text. Read-aloud and paired text lessons embody the most effective research-proven instructional practices to support student comprehension. Units are based on superb, carefully selected leveled books, with authentic paired passages. The easy-to-use alignment tool allows you to see how each lesson aligns with Common Core and state standards.” (L:E; SA:LA)

Nature Sound Map – “A group of professional nature recordists from around the globe have collaborated to develop Nature Soundmap, an enjoyable and interactive way of exploring the natural sounds of our planet. Combining high-quality field recordings with the latest satellite imagery, the project brings together some of nature’s most beautiful, interesting and inspiring sounds.” (L:G; SA:A)

PhotoMath – a windows and iphone app (android app is coming out in 2015); “PhotoMath reads and solves mathematical expressions by using the camera of your mobile device in real time. It makes math easy and simple by educating users how to solve math problems.” (L:G; SA:M)

Original Image: Tools by Pat Hensley

Acting Crazy

In The End of Freedom from Sioux's Page, Sioux asks,

“What is the craziest thing you ever did as a kid?”

I remember playing outside in the neighborhood when I was a child. When it was time for dinner, mothers would stand on their front steps and call their children by name. Sometimes you waited and let them call you twice but if your middle name was ever used along with your first name, you went running…or else. You never wanted to find out what the “else” was! In the summer, after dinner, we were allowed to play in the neighborhood but you were told to come home by dark.

We used to take big refrigerator boxes and make towns out of them. We would draw on them and paint them and cut holes for windows and doors in them. The imagination made the possibilities endless.

I was a quiet kid who followed the rules. I really never did anything crazy that I can recall. I was the youngest of three girls and my sisters were ten and twelve years older than me. I never really had a chance to do anything rebellious or crazy. I felt like I had three mothers watching me every minute and I couldn’t wait to go away to college.

I think the craziest thing I did was when I applied for college. I was underage and knew my parents would never let me go far away to college because we couldn’t afford it. I applied to the one university and forged their permission on the application. I never thought of the consequences I would face if I was accepted. I never thought about the financial implications of being accepted either. I just had faith that I would be accepted and that I would find a way to pay for it. This faith helped me get through the tough times over the four years I attended the university of my dreams.

I like to share this craziness with my students (not the part about the forging my parent’s names) but about doing what was necessary to go after my dreams. I believed in myself and knew that I had it in me to do what I needed to do to achieve my goals.

What is the craziest thing you ever did as a child? How has it helped you later in life. Please share.

Image: 'FULL OF ENERGY!'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44345361@N06/4472813704
Found on flickrcc.net

If My House Was On Fire

In If your house were on fire... from Blue Skunk Blog, Doug Johnson.

"If your house were on fire, what would you grab on the way out?"

When I first started teaching, it was drilled in our heads that if we lost our grade books, we would lose our jobs. Any time I left my classroom, I took my gradebook. It went everywhere with me, even the restroom!

Years ago, our house caught on fire in the middle of the night. While my husband ran around cutting off the breakers, I collected important things and left the house. The oil furnace caught on fire and the fire department put out the fire quickly. When they left, we stood in the driveway looking at each other, thankful that we just had smoke damage in the house. My husband asked me what I grabbed on the way out and the only things I had were my dog and my gradebook! For many years, that has been a standing joke.

Now that we are Red Cross volunteers, we have helped needy families and know what documentation is needed to get help.

Now I know that if we had a house fire, here are the things I would grab:

My purse which holds my driver’s license (which is proof of address), credit card, and check book.

My laptop.

My husband’s medicine bag.

As long as I have these three things, all other things in the house are sentimental. I would hope that we don’t lose them in a fire, but I could live easily without them.

I know that I have too many “things” that I think I value but when it comes right down to it, I value them because they make my life fun or comfortable. Yet many of the things I own are not necessary. They are true luxuries.

By thinking about these things, I really appreciate what I have more.

This would be a great lesson for our students to do. It would be interesting to see what things our students value most. I would have them list the things they would grab and give an explanation why these things are important to them.

What would you grab if your house was on fire and why?

Image: 'Neighbor's House on Fire'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47346767@N00/3030450667
Found on flickrcc.net

Letter To Verizon Wireless

(Yesterday I had crummy service at a local Verizon store which is unusual because I normally have good service there. When I tried to email a complaint to the company I found it impossible. You can contact support about anything except a problem with customer service. I called and was told that I could mail a letter or fax a letter but that was the only way. In today’s world and with Verizon wanting to show that they are technologically advanced, this is not the way to show it. They sell data plans but they don’t want people to have a way to email the company if there is a problem. I felt like they were making this as difficult as possible as a way of hoping that I would go away. Instead, I’m posting my letter on line and would be interested in seeing if I get any response. )

To Whom It May Concern,

I was very disappointed in the customer service I received today (11/3/14 at 11:45am) at the Verizon store at 365 Harrison Bridge Road in Simpsonville, SC. I have been a loyal customer for many years and if you look at my record, you will see that I have purchased numerous items from this store. Over time, I have recommended Verizon to many family and friends. I usually rave about how great Verizon is and the great customer service that I normally get but today was not that kind of day.

I went into the store because I wanted to know what plan was available to add on to my phone because we are going on a cruise to the Caribbean and Mexico. I know I could have called but I wanted to have a live human help me. A couple of months ago I did the same thing when I asked about adding Canada on my plan and the customer service rep immediately helped me get this information. I had hoped to do the same thing today.

I also wanted to know if you could see when I bought this LG Bluetooth mono headset (HBM – 260) and see if it was still under warranty. It has broken in two places: the hook that holds it on my ear and the cushion on the sound piece. If it was not under warranty, I planned on buying a new headset.

I was helped by a tall man wearing a gray sweater with a distinct accent but I didn’t notice any name tag. I asked him for help about the available plans and he told me that I needed to call to get that information or he could call there and put me on the phone but it was going to take a long time. If I wanted to do that, I could have done that at home.

When I asked about my headset, he immediately had a rude attitude and did not look up the information I asked for. He told me that it wasn’t under warranty and that Verizon would go broke if they replaced things like this. This is not how I feel that I should have been treated. When he kept making me feel like I was trying to get something for nothing and that I was not a valued customer, I walked out without even considering buying a new headset.

Please let me know if this is the trend for how Verizon plans on treating their customers. I would like to know this so that I can consider looking at other options for meeting my mobile needs. Thank you.

Image: 'Deepak Chopra No matter what the situation,+remind+yourself+I+have+a+choice'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85608594@N00/12024129713
Found on flickrcc.net

Monthly Review of Goals from October

October was a tough month because we were on the road most of the month in Canada, New England, and New York. Since we were in the car most of the time, we didn’t exercise much. All of my goals can be found here.

Yearly goals:

1. Try at least 12 new recipes (one per month).
1. January – Quinoa Meatballs
2. February – Mushroom Lasagna
3. March – Chicken Quesadilla
4. April – Grilled Asian Chicken
5. May – Simple Green Smoothie
6. June - Barbecue Ribs with my father’s secret barbecue sauce. This is the first time I’ve made ribs.
7. July – The plant engineer at the school gave me loads of squash, zucchini, and cucumbers. So, I diced up some chicken and sautéed it with the diced up squash, zucchini, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, and garlic. I added oyster sauce and soy sauce too. It came out really tasty.
8. August – Fantastic Meatloaf from the Trim Healthy Mama book. I tried several new recipes from this book. Some were good and others were just okay.
9. September – I didn’t cook at all because we were traveling all month.
10. October – I didn’t cook anything new since we weren’t home much.
2. Reach my target weight by the end of the year. – I gained more weight this month due to eating everything and little exercise.
3. Knit a Fair Isle vest. – I finally started it! I finished my gauge swatch and started on the ribbing.
4. Learn to chain ply some handspun yarn. (I finished this in July and I’m glad I tried it. I think I overplied the final yarn though. I need to learn to treadle slower so it doesn’t twist so tightly and kink up on itself.) – Started a new Loop batt and will try this again.
5. Dye yarn and fiber. (not started yet)
6. Spin my camel, yak, and cashmere fiber. Amended to add: or try different techniques
1. January - spun camel/merino/silk blend fiber in
2. March – tried drafting back when spinning instead of my usual short forward draft. This made my yarn turn out much loftier.
3. April – Spun my yak/merino fiber

Daily/Weekly/Monthly goals:

1. Daily - Read the bible and keep a log so I can tell how I am doing. – I’ve read it every day in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September and October
2. Daily - Do strength exercises for 30 minutes each day. – I have done this very well for October.
3. Weekly - Walk at least 10,000 steps for 4 days every week. (4.3 miles per day for 4 days/120.4 miles per month)
1. a. January – 159.01 miles (avg. 5.1 miles per day)
2. February – 130.27 miles (avg. 4.7 miles per day)
3. March – 161.13 miles (avg.5.2 miles per day)
4. April – 166.86 (avg. 5.5 miles per day)
5. May - 144.34 miles (avg. 4.7 miles per day)
6. June - 139.99 miles (avg. 4.67 miles per day)
7. July - 117.02 miles (avg. 3.77 miles per day)
8. August – 139.24 miles (avg. 4.5 miles per day)
9. September – 148.8 miles (avg. 5 miles per day)
10. October - 108.2 miles (3.5 avg. miles per day) – this has been my lowest mileage all year so far
4. Weekly - Keep a journal and write down 5 things that I’m thankful for – I need to do better with this and haven’t done it much in October.
5. Monthly - Read one non-fiction book every month.
1. January - Life in Stitches by Rachel Herron.
2. February – The Spinners Book of Yarn Design by Sarah Anderson
3. March – To Sell is Human by Daniel Pink
4. April – David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell
5. May – The Biography of Shirley Jones
6. June – Spartan Up by Joe De Sena
7. July – Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
8. August – The Little Book Shop of Stone Gap by Wendy Welch
9. September – Wild by Cheryl Strayed
10. October – Life Below Stairs: True Lives of Edwardian Servants by Alison Maloney

My mileage was really low this month. I need to do better with this, eating, and keeping my journal. I was excited about starting my fair isle vest!

Image: 'Goals' 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68131855@N00/739519564
Found on flickrcc.net