The Geography of Me – New Teacher / First Lesson Activity | Geography_Paul “The Geography of Me” is an activity I’ve done for a number of years as a great way to introduce myself to a new class whilst also gaining a better understanding of the students’ backgrounds. For a subject like Geography, it’s a real asset to understand where your students come from and the experiences they might have had so that these perspectives can be drawn upon in future lessons. The premise of the task is to choose 8 or 9 key locations from around the world which you feel “make” you, these might be where someone was born, where they lived for a while or more interestingly their favourite place to visit or a place close to their heart, ultimately it could be any place for any reason. I normally start the lesson by playing my tour and narrating the locations, students usually warm to this little bit of controlled knowledge about myself. Like this: Like Loading...
Special Education Sayings and Special Education Quotes | Wise Old Sayings Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old special education quotes, special education sayings, and special education proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources. We have a responsibility to ensure that every individual has the opportunity to receive a high-quality education, from prekindergarten to elementary and secondary, to special education, to technical and higher education and beyond. Jim Jeffords For those with learning disabilities, today's tools for differentiation no longer hold the stigma they used to nor highlight disabilities, but provide opportunities to find success in the classroom. Sharon LePage Plante In special education, there's too much emphasis placed on the deficit and not enough on the strength. Temple Grandin Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Calvin Coolidge The secret in education lies in respecting the student. Ralph Waldo Emerson Dianne Feinstein Ignacio Estrada Herbert Spencer Dr. Albert Einstein
Geographical Enquiry: Forget the 'outstanding' and remember the inspiration The biggest message that I came away from the GA Conference in Manchester was that to be an outstanding teacher you need to forget about the pressure of lesson observations and instead focus on inspiring and engaging students. Too often can we get bogged down with trying to reach the requirements to be judged as a good or outstanding teacher. This is only my 3rd year of teaching and my first year in my second school so I have found it difficult to escape observations and the hoop jumping that goes alongside them. The sessions that I attended at the conference gave me renewed inspiration to do what I want, not what I have been told to do (within boundaries, obviously). Professor Danny Dorling, in his keynote speech, used a number of maps from a project by Ben Hennig which totally engaged a room of Geography teachers - audible 'wow's could be heard in the lecture theatre. Have a look at the website link below and I guarantee that you will get lost in it for hours.
Highly Successful Parent Teacher Communication One of the most beneficial aspects of teaching is building positive relationships with parents. Effective parent-teacher communication is essential for a teacher to be successful. A good relationship between parents and a teacher is invaluable towards maximizing the time that the teacher has with that student. A student who knows that the teacher communicates on a regular basis with their parents and who knows that their parents trust the teacher will likely put more effort into school. Many teachers underestimate the value of building relationships with their students’ parents. Build Their Trust Building a parent’s trust is often a gradual process. The first step to building their trust is simply letting them know you on a more personal level. Don’t be afraid to go the extra mile to help a student. Finally, allow them to see you’re a terrific teacher with their child’s best interest in mind. Listen to Them There may be times that a parent has a question or concern about something.
Home 7 Practical Tips to Achieve a Positive Mindset The “power of positive thinking” is a popular concept, and sometimes it can feel a little cliché. But the physical and mental benefits of positive thinking have been demonstrated by multiple scientific studies. A positive mindset can give you more confidence, improve your mood, and even reduce the likelihood of developing conditions such as hypertension, depression and other stress-related disorders. All this sounds great, but what does the “power of positive thinking” really mean? You can define positive thinking as positive imagery, positive self-talk or general optimism, but these are all still general, ambiguous concepts. Related: 10 Clever Tricks to Trigger Positive Emotions Here are seven: 1. How you start the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. 2. Almost invariably, you’re going to encounter obstacles throughout the day—there’s no such thing as a perfect day. 3. Allow yourself to experience humor in even the darkest or most trying situations. 4. You aren’t perfect. 5. 6.
Working with Digimap - school examples You are here : Home | Resources | Ordnance Survey m... | Working with D... This page showcases examples of how teachers have used Digimap with their students, including sample lessons and classroom ideas. Getting started Rob Manger, geography teacher at English Martyrs School, has written two blog posts describing his journey into using GIS. Getting Started with GIS in the Geography Curriculum Incorporating GIS into the Geography Curriculum Leonie Stevenson, geography teacher at Blackpool Aspire Academy, has shared a presentation on how to use Digimap: How to use Digimap - Powerpoint (7.1M) note: this file requires Microsoft Powerpoint. Key stage 3 Hannah used Digimap in a variety of ways, including during a local urban studies fieldwork project with year 7. Submitted by Hannah Knox, geography teacher at Angmering School Year 7 settlement field trip booklet (731k) note: this file requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Year 7 settlement field trip write-up booklet (239k) Key stage 3-4 Key stage 4
Integrating Mindfulness in Your Classroom Curriculum Now more than ever, teaching mindfulness in the classroom is a necessity. Our children are stressed and anxious. Teachers and parents are stressed and anxious, too. Our lives are busy, and we often find our thoughts buzzing over the past or worrying about the future. We need mindfulness because it teaches us to live in the present moment, enjoying and experiencing what’s in front of us. Educators know that children learn best when they are comfortable, safe, and relaxed. Following are four ways to incorporate mindfulness into your curriculum and bring calm to your classroom. 1. When we are stressed or anxious, we often take shallow breaths into our chests. 2. Sensory experiences also help children focus and relax. 3. Guided imagery develops children's imaginations. 4. Humans are born to move. Try picking one mindfulness practice to start for yourself. In the comments below, please share how you practice mindfulness with your students.
Planning Workload: Ask A Teacher! If you wanted to help improve lesson planning and reduce teacher workload, who would you ask? In my last post, I said that ‘we live in a time, where teacher workload operates at a frenetic pace.’ Last week, Nicky Morgan announced the chairs and members of 3 new workload review groups. I will state again, that from each of the working groups, I am keen to see each committee go beyond case-studies and exemplar documents, and actually change policy. It was only last week I discussed this in our leadership team meeting. Lesson Planning Review Group: Take a look at this photo published by Schools Week on Friday 9th October. Image: Schools Week Nicky Morgan revealed; … the 41 people she has chosen to form three working groups to reduce teachers’ workload. Group Objectives: Each of the 3 working parties are due to report back to the Secretary of State in late spring 2016; publishing useful case studies, written by serving teachers, showing what’s working well in other schools. The group’s aims are:
Embracing the Whole Child Four Suggestions In embracing a more whole-child, humanizing approach to teaching and learning, Salazar proposes specific ways educators can express care and engage students in a more humanizing pedagogy. Among her suggestions, I’d like to explore the following four, offering suggestions for each, as I have found them particularly useful to establishing a harmonious community of learners in the classroom. 1. Here are a few helpful activities to help you learn more about your students and to spotlight their lives: 2. New teachers especially feel overwhelmed by this task, but it pays off. If there’s a child you’re worried about and you know something feels a bit off, inquire with the child in gentle ways, talk to the school counselor, or take a look at the student’s file in the office. Strive to routinely have five- or 10-minute conversations and check-ins at lunch or before or after school with the children you’re particularly concerned about. 3. 4. It Begins With Us