Seven Surefire Ways to Relate Classroom Material to the Student’s World — Learning Disabitlities Association of Wash… http://shar.es/aIrcR
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Worked with some WONDERFUL teachers today at Odessa High; http://ping.fm/e5RF2 Time just flew by!
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Wordle.net
I’m always looking for ways to make learning motivating and fun. Vocabulary development and even spelling are a passion of mine that has been building for the past year. I constantly hear teachers lament that students don’t remember vocabulary. Reading deficiencies, many times exacerbated by poor vocabulary development are impacting test scores – both state and SAT and ACT. In addition to that, students are developing their own vocabulary and (More …)
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The Body of An Essay
Visual Demonstration
The Body of an essay…I use the human body as an analogy to explain the parts of an essay.1. The Brain – the intro: like the brain, the intro “controls” the body of the essay (especially point out ‘thesis’)
2. The Heart – body paragraph: at the “heart” of the essay are the body paragraphs.
3. The Feet – conclusion: like your feet, (More …)
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Your Own Wiki Pages
Isn’t the collective knowledge of the Internet demonstrated on sites like Wikipedia amazing? Imagine being able to create your own private pages, totally specific to your course material. Imagine your students being able to log on and participate in the creation and editing of these pages. Heather Baker of Plymouth H.S. turned me on to Wikispaces.com, where all this imagination (More …) -
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Apologies for my absence, I like to update weekly but I’ve been so busy. The fortunate side of this is I now have loads to share! Specifically, I have this book that was recommended to me by a teacher at a recent seminar.
“THE BIG FOUR”
Jane E. Pollock’s “Improving Student Learning: One Teacher at a Time” builds off of the old saying, “When reading, think like a writer. And when writing, think like a reader.” by applying it to the Teacher/Student relationship.Pollock offers a structure she calls “The Big Four” to build a learning program that is centered around student achievements.
1. Clearly articulated curriculum, benchmarks, and learning targets
2. Purposeful instructional planning and delivery
3. Purposeful and varied assessment, tied to learning targets
4. Record-keeping and reporting that allow for timely and meaningful feedback that is based on specific criteria
This user friendly book has lots to offer teachers working to differentiate curriculum based on research based best practice. I hope you enjoy the book and feel free to let me know what you think! -
sfitzell
Linda Schlyer, the Title 1 Math Specialist at Castle Rock Middle School says she uses wind chimes in her classroom to calm students.
Here are some other options for calming a classroom from the the Thinking Classroom out of the U.K.
What do you use? If you have some calming tips, please add them!
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sfitzell
Gilmanton School Works to Reach All Learners
Last Friday, I did my “Differentiated Instruction Strategy Blast” seminar at Gilmanton School. Not only was a treated to breathtaking foliage on the way to this New Hampshire town, I spent the day with a motivated, positive staff who truly care about helping their students succeed.
Here’s the first indicator: The front tables filled up first! When I saw that happen I knew that I was in for a great day! Ok, it’s true, we presenters are partial to people who are willing to brave the front row.
Teachers were also willing to share their best practices and resources with me. -
sfitzell
Rochelle Middle School Teachers Working Hard to Engage Students
Today, I worked with two groups of teachers at Rochelle Middle School who are interested in learning more strategies to differentiate instruction and meet their students needs. We discussed behavior management strategies for working with groups and Four Corners activites, and quietly cueing kids to get on task or to receive Kudos for doing the right thing! We also discussed four powerful teaching tips, adaptation strategies for students reading below grade level, and … (More …)
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Fearless Fractions
Fearless fractions: grades 4-9. Teaches teachers how to use color to introduce the addition and subtraction of fractions and mixed numbers. Each fraction has its own color as in Rainbow Fraction® Teaching System. Fractions cannot be added or subtracted until they become the same color (common denominators). Ratios, probability, percents, proportions, and making predictions (More …)
