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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sfitzell
Offers Teaching Aids for Your ClassroomsTeachnology is an information packed site for those in search of technology tools and teaching aids for the classroom! Whether you are looking for lesson plan ideas, pre-made activities for your classes, or ready-to-use rubrics, this site offers a host of information designed to help make you more productive in your classrooms. -
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Moving beyond the success of his own life, Josh Waitzkin, eight-time national chess champion, world champion martial artist, and subject of the film Searching for Bobby Fischer, has written a book detailing his experiences on the road to mastery.Part autobiography, part self-help guide, The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance explains Waitzkin’s principles for improving performance in any field. In talking about the book, Waitzkin’s says, “If I have learned anything in a lifetime of world-class competition, it is that learners and (More …)
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sfitzell
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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sfitzell
Autism and Empathy and Mirror Neurons
These articles aren’t new to publication, however, I believe they still are worth reading.
@import “http://static.highbeam.com/css/docLink.css”;
From: Mirror cells’ fading spark: empathy-related neurons may turn off in autism. by Bower, B.
Source: Science News, 12/10/2005.
Via:
HighBeam™ Research
COPYRIGHT 2008 Science Service, Inc.@import “http://static.highbeam.com/css/docLink.css”;
From: WE FEEL YOUR PAIN. . . . . . AND YOUR HAPPINESS, TOO THE HUMAN BRAIN’S SOURCE OF EMPATHY MAY ALSO PLAY A ROLE IN AUTISM by Carey Goldberg, Globe Staff
Source: The Boston Globe (Boston, MA), 12/12/2005.
Via: HighBeam™ Research
Copyright 2009 The Boston Globe@import “http://static.highbeam.com/css/docLink.css”;
From: Is the future of autism research to be found in the mirror. by Kessler, Richard J.
Source: Pediatrics for Parents, 9/1/2008.
Via: HighBeam™ Research
COPYRIGHT 2008 Pediatrics for Parents, Inc. -
sfitzell
At the beginning of each class I use a warm up or “Quickstart”, that includes questions that refer to the lesson material from the day before. This method of review shows me if students understood what was taught the day before. If student’s don’t perform well on these Quickstart reviews, I know that I have to go back and make clarifications before moving on. (More …) -
sfitzell
Create Your Own Posters
Wonderful Displays
Designing your own posters is a great way to fill your classroom space with a personalized feel. Everywhere your students look, there could be hanging reminders of past lessons, or posters foreshadowing what’s to come, or simply to (More …)
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sfitzell
Individual White Board Erasers
Free Alternatives
Do you use individual white boards with your students as a participation activity? Each student has a personal sized white board to use to answer questions. Buying white boards and erasers for an entire class would be awfully expensive. There are inexpensive ways to get white boards. (More …) -
sfitzell
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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sfitzell
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!
