Here's a great idea for practicing math facts that I found on the Math Models blog.
So....Does anyone have a mini trampoline laying around that I could borrow?
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Body Systems
Fifth graders in our district learn about the different body systems. One brilliant and innovative teacher I know has decided to use Dr. Kathie Nunley's Layered Curriculum concept to teach the unit.
Layered Curriculum is an effective differentiated teaching method that fosters complex and creative thinking while holding students accountable for their learning.
Students work through and demonstrate 3 levels of understanding. The acquisition of basic knowledge happens during the the first part of the unit or the "C" layer. Students then move on to the "B" layer and apply what they learned in a variety of ways. "A" level tasks require students to synthesize information and form and defend opinions.
One of the things I love about Layered Curriculum is choice. At each level there are a variety of assignment options. I've compiled a list of online activities that I think would work well in a layered unit plan for body systems.
Body Systems Podcast C level Basic Knowledge
In a nutshell: Students from Mr. Coley's 5th grade classroom share information about the different kinds of human body systems.
Build Arnold's Body C Level Basic Knowlege
In a nutshell: The object of the game is to get the right organs in the right system.
Fun With Mummies B Level Application
In a nutshell: This amazing interactive website guides you through the steps of preparing a mummy for burial. Students will be interested to learn to learn all that had to be done to each body.
Blood Drive A Level Critical Thinking and Analysis
In a nutshell: In this activity, students are in charge of a organizing a school blood drive.
In a nutshell: In this activity, students are in charge of a organizing a school blood drive.
They design a flyer that explains the process and importance of blood donation to the community.
Virtual Knee and Hip Replacement: A level Critical Thinking and Analysis
In a nutshell: Amazing site! Students take on the role of surgeon throughout a hip or knee replacement surgery.
A 15 minute video, "How Do I Begin Layered Curriculum?" is available on the Layered Curriculum site. There is also a collection of lesson plans that teachers may find helpful.
Reading Ideas
Today a teacher asked me if I knew of any good reading websites. She needed something to use as a center activity during her reading block. Thanks to Kelly from ilearntechnolgy for sharing these sites.
Big Universe
In a nutshell: Big Universe has hundreds of non-fiction and fiction books that students can read online. There is a monthly fee, but students can access the free book of the day.
Book Wink
In a nutshell: Through podcasting and video, Book Wink connects kids in Grades 3 through 8 with books that will make them excited about reading. After watching the booktalks, students could create a list of books that they would like to check out from the library.
Ology
In a nutshell: This little gem from the American Museum of Natural History invites students to investigate a variety of "ology" topics including zoology, archaeology, astronomy, and more. It is very user friendly and would be perfect for a reading center activity.
Big UniverseIn a nutshell: Big Universe has hundreds of non-fiction and fiction books that students can read online. There is a monthly fee, but students can access the free book of the day.
Book WinkIn a nutshell: Through podcasting and video, Book Wink connects kids in Grades 3 through 8 with books that will make them excited about reading. After watching the booktalks, students could create a list of books that they would like to check out from the library.
OlogyIn a nutshell: This little gem from the American Museum of Natural History invites students to investigate a variety of "ology" topics including zoology, archaeology, astronomy, and more. It is very user friendly and would be perfect for a reading center activity.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Organization Tips Kids Will Actually Use
The following information is provided by Susan Goodkin, Executive Director of the California Learning Strategies Center, http://www.learningstrategiescenter.com/. The Center helps parents meet the needs of gifted and advanced students from kindergarten through college planning.
Organization Tips that Work for Kids
When it comes to organizing young students, many parents and teachers try to fit all students into one box.
For example, students generally come home from their first day of middle school with new planner in hand and strict instructions to record all their assignments in it every day.
As many frustrated parents have learned, however, making every child use a planner as their primary organizational tool simply doesn't work in practice.
For many students - particularly young boys - writing down their assignments in tiny boxes, for up to six different classes, is torturous.
Additionally, for the planner to be effective, not only do students have to accurately record the assignments in the brief time between classes, but then they have to remember to review their scribbles. As one of my young clients earnestly informed me, "Oh, the planner works for me - I just forget to look at it."
If we want to improve our children's organization skills, we need to consider tools many kids are more comfortable with - and more likely to actually use - than planners.
Take cell phones, for example. When teachers write assignments on the board, a click of the cell phone camera will record the homework accurately and instantaneously.
Students can also text message the assignment to their mom or dad. (I know, to many adults it seems just as easy to write down the assignment as to text it, but texting seems easier to kids.)
If homework is assigned verbally, students can use their cell phones, and some Ipods, to record their teachers' instruction. You can also can channel your child's inner James Bond and get cool spyware gadgets such as a recording pen.
For an example, check out http://www.spy-tronix.com/mp3playerpenrecorder.html.
Of course, students need to get the teacher's permission before recording.
Parents must also understand that teachers already have their hands full policing the use of cell phones and Ipods. Students who don't limit their in-class use of these devices to recording assignments should lose the privilege of doing so - back to the planner.
However students initially record assignments, they still need to review them.
Rather than trying to get kids to haul out their planners to check their assignments every day, why not make use of a tool the vast majority of kids unfailingly look at without reminders: their computer. You can turn the computer into an organizational aid through the many free programs available on-line.
Using programs such as Airset (http://www.airset.com/) or zohoplanner (http://planner.zoho.com/) students can calendar homework assignments, record appointments, create to-do lists, and more.
Students can also program reminders to pop up before assignments are due, as well as e-mailing their entries to parents - thereby creating another source of reminders!
Finally, for those kids who are reluctant writers of to-do lists and the like, parents can check out voice recognition systems such as Dragon Naturally Speaking, http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking/.
This software will magically transform your child's spoken words into a written document. This is helpful for all kinds of tasks, as well as reducing the frustration of those kids who think faster than they can write.
Getting our children organized will be a lot easier if we adapt to their world. What are the odds that today's students will rely on low-tech devices such as planners when they're adults?
Let's help our kids by letting them use 21st century tools to organize their 21st century lives.
Organization Tips that Work for Kids
When it comes to organizing young students, many parents and teachers try to fit all students into one box.
For example, students generally come home from their first day of middle school with new planner in hand and strict instructions to record all their assignments in it every day.
As many frustrated parents have learned, however, making every child use a planner as their primary organizational tool simply doesn't work in practice.
For many students - particularly young boys - writing down their assignments in tiny boxes, for up to six different classes, is torturous.
Additionally, for the planner to be effective, not only do students have to accurately record the assignments in the brief time between classes, but then they have to remember to review their scribbles. As one of my young clients earnestly informed me, "Oh, the planner works for me - I just forget to look at it."
If we want to improve our children's organization skills, we need to consider tools many kids are more comfortable with - and more likely to actually use - than planners.
Take cell phones, for example. When teachers write assignments on the board, a click of the cell phone camera will record the homework accurately and instantaneously.
Students can also text message the assignment to their mom or dad. (I know, to many adults it seems just as easy to write down the assignment as to text it, but texting seems easier to kids.)
If homework is assigned verbally, students can use their cell phones, and some Ipods, to record their teachers' instruction. You can also can channel your child's inner James Bond and get cool spyware gadgets such as a recording pen.
For an example, check out http://www.spy-tronix.com/mp3playerpenrecorder.html.
Of course, students need to get the teacher's permission before recording.
Parents must also understand that teachers already have their hands full policing the use of cell phones and Ipods. Students who don't limit their in-class use of these devices to recording assignments should lose the privilege of doing so - back to the planner.
However students initially record assignments, they still need to review them.
Rather than trying to get kids to haul out their planners to check their assignments every day, why not make use of a tool the vast majority of kids unfailingly look at without reminders: their computer. You can turn the computer into an organizational aid through the many free programs available on-line.
Using programs such as Airset (http://www.airset.com/) or zohoplanner (http://planner.zoho.com/) students can calendar homework assignments, record appointments, create to-do lists, and more.
Students can also program reminders to pop up before assignments are due, as well as e-mailing their entries to parents - thereby creating another source of reminders!
Finally, for those kids who are reluctant writers of to-do lists and the like, parents can check out voice recognition systems such as Dragon Naturally Speaking, http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking/.
This software will magically transform your child's spoken words into a written document. This is helpful for all kinds of tasks, as well as reducing the frustration of those kids who think faster than they can write.
Getting our children organized will be a lot easier if we adapt to their world. What are the odds that today's students will rely on low-tech devices such as planners when they're adults?
Let's help our kids by letting them use 21st century tools to organize their 21st century lives.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
The Futures Channel
As part of our district's professional development this year, we are reading and discussing Intellectual Character by Ron Ritchhart. We have also been watching videos that in some way exemplify the culture of thinking that Mr. Ritchhart advocates.
The Futures Channel is a wonderful resource. There are several more video lessons by Kay Toliver, including the one on area, where students design their own apartment.
A couple of months ago, our principal showed us Good Morning, Miss Toliver. It was a reminder for me about how teaching and learning are supposed to be. I wondered if there were any more videos out there of her, and I found some of her work on The Futures Channel.
The Futures Channel is a wonderful resource. There are several more video lessons by Kay Toliver, including the one on area, where students design their own apartment.In addition to the lessons, this site also has engaging movies that demonstrate how STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skills are being used in the real-world.
Whether you are trying out one of Kay Toliver's thinking lessons, or if your students need a break from BrainPOP videos, The Futures Channel is a great site to bookmark.
Friday, December 18, 2009
No Pulling Hair!
Last week I received this email from a teacher:
"I am really struggling with writing. I want to pull out my hair!!!! We have been practicing writing prompts and they are really needing work on word choice. Do you have any lesson suggestions? I am so burnt out trying to find ideas I could cry."
Boy, do I feel her pain. As a classroom teacher, I, too, wanted to provide meaningful and engaging activites for my students, but there never seemed to be enough time to search for them!
Now as an instructional coach, it is my job to help teachers find books, websites, and other resources that create positive learning experiences for students, and I must say, I love the challenge!
I know Halloween is long gone, but really, do kids ever get tired of monsters? The Monster Exchange Project encourages the development of reading and writing skills while integrating technology. Here's how it works: Classrooms are paired together. The students in each class draw then write a description of a monster. The students then exchange their descriptions via e-mail. Using only the written description of the monster, the students must use their comprehension skills to try to redraw it as close to the original picture as possible. Both the new and original drawings are posted online to compare.
A couple of years ago, when I was looking for a lesson for Camp Write-A-Way I discovered Writing Fix. There is a wealth of information and lesson ideas on this site. I ended up doing Sausage Sentences,
"I am really struggling with writing. I want to pull out my hair!!!! We have been practicing writing prompts and they are really needing work on word choice. Do you have any lesson suggestions? I am so burnt out trying to find ideas I could cry."
Boy, do I feel her pain. As a classroom teacher, I, too, wanted to provide meaningful and engaging activites for my students, but there never seemed to be enough time to search for them!
Now as an instructional coach, it is my job to help teachers find books, websites, and other resources that create positive learning experiences for students, and I must say, I love the challenge!
I know Halloween is long gone, but really, do kids ever get tired of monsters? The Monster Exchange Project encourages the development of reading and writing skills while integrating technology. Here's how it works: Classrooms are paired together. The students in each class draw then write a description of a monster. The students then exchange their descriptions via e-mail. Using only the written description of the monster, the students must use their comprehension skills to try to redraw it as close to the original picture as possible. Both the new and original drawings are posted online to compare.
A couple of years ago, when I was looking for a lesson for Camp Write-A-Way I discovered Writing Fix. There is a wealth of information and lesson ideas on this site. I ended up doing Sausage Sentences,
which the students loved!
Story Starters from Scholastic is another great resource. What could be more fun that using a slot machine to help create a story? It is very similar to a RAFT. A teacher's guide to this resource can be found here.
ilearntechnolgy (winner of the 2009 Best Educational Tech and Support Blog...Yay!) has many ideas for integrating technology and writing. StoryBird is a recommended site that offers "collaborative storytelling for families and friends." I also like Telescopic Text. We always say to students, "Show, don't tell." When you click on the highlighted portions and the sentence expands with descriptive words, students will finally understand what we're talking about!
I also want to mention one of my all-time favorites, ReadWriteThink. There are hundreds of lesson plans, and the online student tools are fantastic. It's impossible to leave ReadWriteThink without a great idea.
I'm still on the hunt for more great ideas, but I hope these will keep the teacher from pulling out any hair (at least for a little while.)
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Art
As any of my former teaching partners and/or students will tell you, art is not my forte! I distinctly remember Mary, my first 4th grade teaching partner, coming into my room after one sketching lesson. She took one look at my work and burst out laughing. I really couldn't blame her. It was worse than awful!
I wish I would have known about these sites when I was in the classroom, but I'm excited to share them with teachers. I can imagine doing a whole Picasso unit using the site Mr. Picassohead.
Here are some other sites that lI've also had fun experimenting with lately:
Maybe if I would have had these online resources, I wouldn't have dreaded Art Fridays.
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