Ideas to Inspire It's Not How Your Classroom Looks, It's About How It Feels Last week, before the arrival of Ida and Oskar, I was able to sneak in some work time in my new room. As I stood there trying to envision what the room would look like, I realized that it didn’t much matter for two reasons. One; what it looks like empty is vastly different from when it is filled with 20+ 5th graders. Two; more importantly the emphasis should not be on what it looks like but what it FEELS like. So some questions I pondered as I set it up: Which way does your desk face? What is on your bulletin boards? I used to be the master of fancy bulletin boards and I was very obsessive over my border and letter placement. How much space does your teacher stuff take up? Is every space yours or is it open for student use? What do people see from the hallway? When people walk by what do they see? What is the movement flow like? Can students move or will they constantly have to ask someone else to push their chair out of the way? Do they need permission?
This Year’s 10 Best TED Talks To Share With Students In honor of the recent TED Live announcement , I thought it’d be a good idea to remind you why TED rocks. Below is just a small fraction of the amazing presentations put on by the folks over at TED. Each one of the presentations embedded below is perfect for sharing with students and showing in class*. Heck, assigning the viewing of these TED talks as homework isn’t a bad idea. Do you use TED in the classroom? *There are of course many more presentations but I picked these because I thought they resonated with me and would do the same with students. Philip Zimbardo: The Demise of Guys? Philip Zimbardo was the leader of the notorious 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment — and an expert witness at Abu Ghraib. Pavan Sukhdev: Put A Value On Nature! A banker by training, Pavan Sukhdev runs the numbers on greening up — showing that green economies are an effective engine for creating jobs and creating wealth. Annie Murphy Paul: What We Learn Before We’re Born Pop quiz: When does learning begin?
Sheppard Software: Fun free online learning games and activities Food Safety Lessons for Middle School Students — Food Safety These lessons were designed to complement the Newspapers in Education (NIE) Supplement called Food Safety: From Farm to Table. Supplement is also incuded as PDF file. The lessons are suitable for middle school students enrolled in family consumer science classes. The 19 lessons are arranged in groups that mirror the sections in the NIE supplement as follows. Each lesson contains -- PA Proposed Academic Standards for Family & Consumer Sciences (PA PAS FCS) met by this lessonNational Education Standards (NES) met by this lessonLesson summaryLesson plan – broken out by class periods Overheads, worksheets, handouts and teacher information sheetsLesson quiz and quiz key
Doing Internet Research at the Elementary Level One of the hardest things to teach, in my opinion, is research. I have been teaching in a computer lab for going on five years and I have never taught research the same way twice. This is partially because I never teach anything the same way twice, but it's also because each year I learn something new. Sometimes I learn the hard way when things don't pan out the way I planned in the classroom, sometimes I learn because something I didn't plan arose and worked out well, and sometimes its due to my own self-education as I prepare to teach my annual research unit. I begin teaching research skills in third grade -- just at the time where my students' reading skills are such that they can feel successful and just at the time when they have mounds and mounds of natural curiosity. This approach was informed by my own experiences, my own research, and a deliberate attempt to really break down the individual skills that my kids will need to be successful researchers. Taking Notes Whew!
Bloom's and ICT tools Many teachers use Bloom's Taxonomy and Bloom's Revised Taxonomy in developing and structuring their teaching & learning experiences. Bloom's Digital taxonomy is an attempt to marry Bloom's revised taxonomy and the key verbs to digital approaches and tools. This is not a replacements to the verbs in the revised taxonomy, rather it suppliments and supports these by including recent developments, processes and tools. Files Web 2.0 Tutorials Without a doubt one of the best resources on the web for web2.0 Technologies is the commoncraft show.
Teacher Resources Links to all resources attributed to ENC-Teacher Exchange video stories "Breakfast in Dallas Classrooms:" Dallas Independent School District Click here to download Dallas ISD instruction booklet Click here to download Dallas ISD Hallway Checklist Click here to download Dallas ISD "Deliverables" Checklist Click here to download Dallas ISD Serving Model Procedures Click here to download Dallas ISD Frequently Asked Questions "Go Slow Whoa:" Laredo Elementary in Aurora, Colorado Click here to view "Go Slow Whoa" foods (you can feed to your family) Click here to download "Go Slow Whoa" handout Click here to download "Go Slow Whoa" Food Chart Click here to visit CatchUSA.org (Coordinated Approach to Child Health) "Snacking on Technology:" Laurel Park Elementary in Apex, NC Click here to download "Well did ya?" "Fitness-Nutrition" program at Andrew High School in Tinley Park, IL
Twelve Ideas for Teaching with QR Codes Updated 01/2014 As mobile learning becomes more and more prevalent, we must find effective ways to leverage mobile tools in the classroom. As always, the tool must fit the need. A Quick Tutorial QR stands for Quick Response. 1. Have students use QR to create resumes that link to other content such as their professional website or portfolio. 2. You can create QR for linking students to examples of quality work, whether it's PowerPoint or slideshare for a class presentation, or people speaking a foreign language specific to your current lesson. 3. Integrate QR with a PBL or Service Learning project where students can create the codes that will link to the content they create. 4. Save a few trees! 5. Award prizes by having students scan a code leading to an animation or badge. 6. Put codes in different areas of the room that will take students to different online activities, videos or content. 7. Have students check their answers by scanning the QR code after completing a test or assignment.
Intervention Central | Home Oregon Nutrition Education Program Through NEP thousands of Oregonians in all Oregon counties and on Warm Springs, Grande Ronde and Umatilla Tribal Lands have learned how to make better food choices, handle food safely, and manage their resources so they do not run out of food before the end of the month. Information is shared through nutrition education classes, and through indirect means such as displays, newsletters and direct mail. Key Elements of NEP: Nutrition education is research-based Educational topics are chosen in response to local needs Programming is the result of local and state partnerships What’s New: