Still Putting It All Together

Perfect for Pre-K.  Definitely putting this in my bag of teaching ideas for next year.

This is a fun idea.  We are doing a snowman book in January, so I am just going to save this here in case I have the time.

• Think Before Reading: What’s the author’s purpose? What do you know? What do you want to know?
• Think While Reading: How is your reading speed? What do you already know that this content links to? Do you need to re-read to be sure of things? and
• Think After Reading: What is the main idea, What is a summary of the information? What have you learned?

Lately, I have heard stories (not sure whether they are true or not) about parents being told — well you’re child has ADHD so he/she is not able to ________.   I come from the approach that they can, it is just harder for them.  We need to use teaching strategies and guidance that are geared towards what they need.  This is a short article discussing what can be done — not only in English class, but in the content areas as well for high school students.  Also, it couldn’t hurt for students that don’t have ADHD.

Actress and arts advocate Kerry Washington will host the 2011 POL National Finals on Apr. 29 in Washington, DC. Judging the Finals are poets Valerie Martínez, Thomas Sayers Ellis, and Brian Turner, actress and author Amber Tamblyn, playwright/actress/director Aditi Brennan Kapil, and Michael Kahn, Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company. 

There is a live webcast of the finals tonight from 7-9.  I hope there is a way to show them later on.  Depending on the content, it could be very cool to share with some classes.

Practice It:  We do mock interviews, fake press conferences and rotating discussion zones in the first week of school.  Instead of spending time on ice breakers or excessive time on procedures, we spend time on learning to ask better questions.  

This is my favorite idea from the blog post.   I’m not so sure about the more blunt comments on blogs, as I come from a primary perspective — but I could see it working with the right class in older grades.   There are some excellent ideas here, and the post is worth checking out.

For those of us who do not have photoshop.

PicLits.com is a creative writing site that matches beautiful images with carefully selected keywords in order to inspire you. The object is to put the right words in the right place and the right order to capture the essence, story, and meaning of the picture.

My students recently had to make post cards from magazine clippings to demonstrate the themes they found in Walk Two Moons (not for me, for their L.A. teacher).  This would be an excellent technological alternative.   The ideas I can think to use this for are just rolling out of me right now.  How would you use it?

theteachersdesk:

On Tuesday, Skype launched Skype in the Classroom, a dedicated teacher network.

Using the platform, teachers can create profiles that describe their classes and teaching interests. They can then search a directory of teachers from all over the world by student age range, language and subject, finding classrooms that match theirs. This will allow teachers to connect with other classrooms around the globe, bring in guest speakers without asking them to travel, and take virtual field trips. 

What an easy and accessible way to create a global classroom!

(via theteachersdesk-deactivated2013)

This site is presented by the Screen Actor’s Guild Foundation.  It streams videos with SAG members reading children’s books.  Some of the stories include Harry the Dirty Dog, To Be a Dog, Thank You Mr. Faulker, Stellaluna, A Bad Case of Stripes, The Polar Express, and Enemy Pie (Others are featured).  Some of the SAG members are Al Gore, Haylie Duff, Betty White, and Amanda Bynes.  Heck — I just might need a bedtime story tonight!

revolutionizeed:

“If you could put a number of items into a box that described your life, what would you include? What do you think would be included if you were a Victorian Servant or Queen Elizabeth I. If you lived during the English Civil War, what items would you include to make a case for, or against, the parliamentarians? And what if you were an abolitionist and wanted to show that slavery was wrong and unnecessary, how would you create your evidence.

Museum Box provides the tools for you to do just this. It allows you to build up an argument or description of an event, person or historical period by placing items in a virtual box. You can display anything from a text file to a movie. You can also view the museum boxes submitted by other people and comment on the contents.”

(Source: revolutionizeed)

If your students and your school are looking for a way to help Japan, I think this is a great idea and way to learn a little about Japan’s culture.