Our Teacher Talking Time determines students’ motivation and interest to learn and progress. Here are 4 ways to reduce teacher talking time in the classroom.
"People think it's funny."
A middle school teacher's blog: English, History, PBL, GBL, mindfulness, and student engagement.
TED Talks are informative, engaging, and often leave me thinking. Here are some of my favorite TED Talks for students in middle and high school.
My students were invited to create a large piece of art for the front window of our local art store called The Artery. The Mona Lisa seemed appropriate, so we made her using the following steps. 1. I divided a 8x10" drawing of Mona Lisa into 24 rectangles and gave each student one of the small rectangles. 2. The students drew a 4x4 grid onto their small rectangle piece of the Mona Lisa drawing, and a 4x4 grid onto their white 9x12" construction paper. 3. By using the grid method, the students drew their piece of the Mona Lisa onto their 9x12" paper, then traced drawing with black marker, erased grid lines, and colored shaped with colored pencils. 4. For interest, students were told to make their drawings "mostly" warm or cool colors. Each student was given a small rectangle piece after the drawing below was cut into 24 rectangles. Then the student drew a small 4x4 grid on his/her piece. Then drew a 4x4 grid on 9x12" paper. Then enlarged their original piece by drawing on the grid. And colored. She looked like this before pieces were mounted on black background and hung in the window. Soon..........I'll go stand out in the rain and get a picture of the final installation, hopefully. (No idea why I didn't take a pic of it after we hung it up in the window?)
My dear sweet friend, Stacey, shared an amazing lesson during a staff meeting last week and I just HAVE TO pass it along. This is an impactful way to introduce mindfulness no matter where you are in your school year. It has proved to be especially powerful in her 3rd grade class as we start a new school year and she was kind enough to let me share it with you today. This post includes some affiliate links which means I get a small portion if you purchase through this link at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog! Stacey came across this book My Magic Breath by Nick Ortner. With mindfulness on her mind she knew it was a PERFECT back to school activity! The book discusses ways that children (and adults!) can discover peace through the magic of mindful breathing. The illustrations are FANTASTIC and show how we can calm our minds when we are mad, happy, excited, or sad through our magic breath. I felt calmer just after reading through the beautiful pages. She didn't stop there! Immediately she knew this was going to be a wonderful art opportunity to remind her students each day the power that they hold in their magic breath. A few quick photos on Friday afternoon in front of the white board and she was ready to read the book on Monday and do this art project. She asked students to pretend they were blowing out a candle (or a dandelion, whatever works for you) and snapped a picture. They didn't know what the project would be at this point! She had them printed out over the weekend as actual photographs but if you have access to a color printer regular printing would be just as great too! On Monday after reading the book and having SO MANY great discussions about feelings she presented each student with their own picture glued to a white piece of paper and some watercolors. Students then painted their own magic breath and the results were AMAZING! You can see each student used so many colors and different lines to represent their own magic breath. We have so many emotions inside of us everyday! Right now she has them hanging in their classroom to remind everyone that they have the POWER to calm their own minds with their magic breath. She even told me that students will stop during a lesson and remind her, "We need to take a magic breath." How powerful is that? Full disclosure, she couldn't remember if she saw this somewhere first but with a little digging I did find a similar project from Adventures in Kindergarten. It is a great blog to add to your read list if you teach the littles! She also mentioned that the author, Nick Ortner, has a Facebook post about his book and I loved watching it too! Here is a link to his Facebook live video that explains more about the book and gives us (the grown ups!) some great tips about bringing mindfulness into our lives. Of course now I am following his page because I am obsessed with his positivity! Would you like to save this post to share with your colleagues? Pin it here! Are you looking for more books on the power of mindfulness? Here are some suggestions for you too! My favorites are Sitting Still Like a Frog and I Can Handle It! Thank you for stopping in today. If you are feeling overwhelmed, take a breath, it can do wonders! P.S. Get a free ALPHABET ACTIVITY when you sign up for my newsletter HERE!
December is a wonderful time of year to get cozy by the tree with a great book. I love catching up on my reading during the holidays but I also love gifting books during the holidays. I’ve roundup up a great sectional for this fun filled month that range from mystery to a reader friendly […]
We started lesson 14, Isaac, the Son of Promise, by talking about the promises God had made to Abraham. (You can read about Lesson 13 here.) We then had a brief discussion about how sometimes we have to wait to receive the things promised to us. Perhaps we are promised a holiday or a special […]
Last updated on March 31st, 2020 at 08:45 amTake a break from watching the news or Netflix and invest in yourself! These are, in my opinion, the best TED talks that can change your life and the way you think. I’m definitely going through all the stages now. First, it was whining, now it’s looking […]
Are you searching for some mindfulness exercises for groups of friends? These 11 fun, creative mindfulness activities reduce stress and increase connection.
"Many people don’t realize they have it or that it has a name."
sometimes I wish I could just say things...oh well i do find my right face a little too close to the frame...oh well..
These cheap and unique hobbies are not part of working hours. They exist to let your mind go; it is no longer about being productive, just about feeling good.
Talking dirty can be intimidating, but it doesn't have to beMany people feel awkward or embarrassed at first, especially if they're not used to it or unsure how to do it. This discomfort can lead to anxiety in the bedroom when a partner asks for dirty talk, causing you to freeze up and worry about saying the wrong thing. But it doesn't have to be that wayI'm here to help you feel more confident and comfortable with dirty talk, so you can enhance your sexual experiences.
From STEM and history to simply inspirational.
I love to start the year building classroom community with Peter H. Reynold’s books like The Dot and Ish. They are great read aloud books to begin a growth mindset activity. Both books are great for teaching kids that it is okay to take risks and make mistakes. Those books also go very well […]
Positive self affirmations are encouraging statements that you repeat to yourself through out the day. Here is a list of 100 positive affirmations.
¿Quién tiene la razón? ¿Cómo es posible que los dos tengan razón? One of the most important tasks outside of language learning that world language teachers face is to make our students aware of the…
On a flight last week, I was doing a graphic note for a presentation I am giving soon. The person sitting next to me took a side-ways glance (ok, a couple), over my shoulder at what I was doing. After a minute or so, he asked - Excuse me, how are you drawing on that?
Abuse is not always straightforward and in-your-face, however, quiet verbal abuse can have the same impact on your psych nevertheless, maybe even more.
Master the art of effortless social interactions with our blog post '14 Tried and Tested Tips on How to Talk to New People with Ease.' Discover proven strategies to break the ice, maintain engaging conversations, and overcome shyness. Elevate your communication skills and unlock the keys to making meaningful connections effortlessly. Dive into our insightful guide and transform your ability to connect with others seamlessly.
Drama Triangle--The model describes three unconscious and habitual behavioral habits as “roles” which people often play in relationships.
Master the art of effortless social interactions with our blog post '14 Tried and Tested Tips on How to Talk to New People with Ease.' Discover proven strategies to break the ice, maintain engaging conversations, and overcome shyness. Elevate your communication skills and unlock the keys to making meaningful connections effortlessly. Dive into our insightful guide and transform your ability to connect with others seamlessly.
It's hard to talk to students without making it a lecture. Empower students while you teach them about respect using hands on activities
We all need to be inspired in order to reach our goals, and these Ted Talks created by females are for women to help add that extra motivation you may need!
As per a research small talk makes humans happy. So if as an introvert you suck at small talk perhaps you could use some of these tips here.
Therapy can be challenging, healing, and highly beneficial; however, it can also be awkward, and uncomfortable, especially in the beginning. In reality, there are no “wrong” things to talk about in therapy. Small things and big things are all OK to bring to your therapist. If it’s on your mind, it’s important. Note that while it
Classroom/behavior management is one of the most important things to master in your classroom. Having solid behavior management helps maintain a positive classroom environment, while enabling teachers and students to accomplish LEARNING! Here are TEN tips and tricks for behavior management I use in my classroom: Greeting Students at the Door The way you start
If you have ADHD, you’re probably intimately aware of the symptoms. You live them on a daily basis, right? We can’t get through the day without struggling with forgetfulness, impulsivity, fidgeting, zoning out (and back in. And back out), etc… But even if you’ve had ADHD (and known about it forever), there are probably some
Is your child struggling with backtalk and being disrespectful to your commands? Find out how to turn your child's backtalk into productive, teachable moments.
