JK Rowling has created hundreds of original names in the wizarding world. What's yours?

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Caption This 14 August 2021: Provide a creative caption for the picture. We will select 15+ of the best captions and publish as Wisepicks

The wonderful and weird corners of the internet brings you 31 revolutionary designs that take everyday items from zero to hero in a flash.

Creepy crawly spiders! Heights! The dark! These are some common top fears to name a few, and if you're anything like me, heck, you're not too fond of any of those three. But do you know what the number one fear is? The one that outweighs all others? Glossophobia. (Cue the eery music) Dun, da, dun! Now before we get all panicked and shriek in horror, what exactly is this dreadful phobia? In layman's terms--the fear of public speaking. Even if you don't personally suffer from glossophobia, you probably have experienced some type of symptoms like a racing heart, sweaty palms, dry mouth, or some type of mild anxiety before speaking in front of others. So how do we get better at communicating in a group setting, and how do we prepare our students, even at a young age, to do this? Like other academic skills, how to participate in a discussion is something that needs to be taught explicitly. When I was early in my teaching career, whole class discussion typically consisted of me asking the questions while my students provided the answers. Sure, the questions were good, and by good, I mean the kinds of questions that were open-ended and required critical thinking. But still, I was the one that was doing all the leading. I was doing all the asking. I was doing all the steering. I was the driver if you will. Now instead imagine a classroom where the students are the ones in the driver's seat. The students are the ones asking the questions AND providing the answers. The students are the ones steering the discussion. Over my years of teaching, I have learned (and am still learning!) to "release control," and recently, I envisioned a classroom where student-led discussion was the norm. Thus, began my quest of how to make this happen. If I wanted my students to truly lead the discussion in my classroom, then I would need to give them the skills and tools to be able to do this. This is where gradual release comes into play. Gradual release is the process in which you basically pass the baton slowly from teacher to student as students gain independence with a particular skill or concept. Here's how it works. 1) You teach the skill directly. This involves direct instruction and modeling. 2) You involve students in the process while you still support. This is often referred to as guided instruction. For example, for a math lesson involving the steps of solving a story problem, you now do a few story problems "together." 3) You give students independent practice time with the skill while you provide feedback, both affirming and adjusting (i.e. "I see you drew a picture to help you solve the problem, great job choosing a strategy. Let's double check your addition in the tens place...") . 4) You wrap up the lesson by clearing up misconceptions, going over answers from independent work, and perhaps informally assessing students through say an exit ticket or cold calling with popsicle sticks. In sum, you go from "me" to "we" to "you." So I thought, why couldn't this process be used for teaching student-led discussion? Using the idea of gradual release, I broke down teaching student-led discussion into the six steps below: The outline above involves starting in baby steps. First, introduce students to discussion stems. It is best to only start with a few at a time as well as to choose more concrete stems to begin with like, "I have a question..." or "I agree/disagree with..." first. These stems give students the language they need to jump into the discussion both in the format of asking a question as well as replying with a comment or relevant thought. I have designed 16 meaningful discussion stem posters for students to refer to. The posters come in three different sizes, one perfect for hanging up on your classroom walls, one perfect to put on a ring and use for a small group, and one perfect for students to use as their individual resource. Second, have students begin with less-academic, more fun topics vs. essential questions that require critical thinking. The goal here is that students can initially focus mostly on their communication skills vs. having to delve into deep thinking. Of course, once students have had ample practice learning the process of student-led discussion, then by all means dive head first into critical thinking guided by your academic units! For teaching student-led discussion with juicy yet "easy" topics that hook students' interest, I created 20 discussion starters to use. Third, give students time to write down their thinking and plan out what they are going to say about the topic rather than making them think and speak on the spot. I created some planning templates that can be used for any topic or essential question so that they can be used for meaty academic topics too. (P.S. They are editable so that I can type in my topic or essential question and make as many copies as I need!! Whoopee!!) Fourth, set clear expectations before you start the student-led discussion such as what respectful listening looks like. Teach, model, and have students model these expectations so that you are setting students up for success. Fifth, give students a goal as to how many times to speak and over time, increase it. For example, for the very first practice, you might say something like, "Today, everyone needs to speak at least one time. You may participate by asking a question, making a comment, or responding to someone else's comment. If you want to participate more than one time in the discussion, you may." Here's a rubric that can help students self-monitor and self-evaluate their communication skills. Sixth, the very first time students practice student-led discussion, participate as the teacher as needed, calling on students who may need some encouragement. Over time, you will participate less and less until not at all! I made some recording sheets as an assessment tool to give students feedback, celebrate sutdents' successes, and support students in making growth in their communication skills. They come in different forms where I can record specific discussion stems students used or just in general whether students asked a question or made a comment. I also made them different sizes--one for whole class, one for small group. (PPS These are editable too so that student names can be typed directly on the sheet!) The key to this whole process is baby steps. You want students to feel safe, encouraged, and confident, and the way to do this is to give students the tools they need up front and then release them slowly towards independence. To see this "How to Teach Meaningful Student-Led Discussion Pack" in detail, click on the image below! With the resources in this pack, your students certainly will not suffer from glossophobia as you create a safe and welcoming environment where students lead the discussion as your norm. Now as calming other fears like spiders... Good luck! :)

Perhaps you are fresh out of graduate school and have had a taste of agency life during field experiences or i

It's a blue PRINTABLE .JPG 'What's your Cowboy Name?' Party Poster. Perfect fun for a Birthday Party full of bowlegged gunslingers! ⇣⇣ CLICK (+) FOR MORE DETAILED INFO ⇣⇣ ✦♦︎✦ IMPORTANT PRODUCT INFO ✦♦︎✦ ✔ This item is a set of blue PRINTABLE .JPG 'What's your Cowboy Name?' posters. ✔ These INSTANT DOWNLOAD .JPEG files will be available on your Etsy account after purchase. ✔ Unlimited downloads ✘ Digital downloads are not compatible with the Etsy App. ✘ NO actual items are shipped by mail. ➥ Printed & Shipped Poster option available here: https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/1070303149 ✘ NO colour changes can be made. Colours may vary between different monitors and devices. ✔ You may print as many copies as you need for your own personal use. ✔ All files are in ENGLISH and cannot be typeset in another language. ➥ The Sassaby Party Co. is Located in AUSTRALIA. Any Messages or Emails will be answered between 6am - 8pm AEST {UTC/GMT +10 hours} ✦♦︎✦ YOU WILL RECEIVE... ✦♦︎✦ · 4 x digital .JPG Posters 16x20", 11x14", 8x10", 18x24" **ALL PRINTING IS DONE BY YOU ~ NO PHYSICAL ITEM WILL BE SHIPPED** ✦♦︎✦ HOW DOES IT WORK? ✦♦︎✦ 1. PURCHASE this item. 2. DOWNLOAD the digital .JPG files from your Etsy account. 3. PRINT at home, at your local professional printing shop, or upload to an online printing service. Files are NOT RECOMMENDED for use with mobile devices. ✦♦︎✦ YOU WILL NEED ✦♦︎✦ Printer PLAIN WHITE paper or cardstock To open & view the digital JPG files, simply double click on the file in it’s saved location, your computer will then choose the best default program on your machine to open & view the file. (For example: If you have a Mac Computer, and you double click on your saved JPG file in the Finder, it will open the file in Mac Preview, allowing you to View & Print). ✦♦︎✦ PRINTING ✦♦︎✦ PRINT at home, or SAVE to a USB FLASH DRIVE and print at your local Professional Printing Store, or UPLOAD to an Online Printing Service. We recommend PRINTING your items on PLAIN WHITE cardstock or paper in a satin or matte finish. ✦♦︎✦ COPYRIGHT INFO & PRODUCT USE ✦♦︎✦ You have the printing rights and can print as many copies as you want from home, at a local print shop, or by uploading the file to an online printing service. All Sassaby Party Co. designs are for personal use only. You may not forward, share, sell or re-distribute any of our digital files. All designs are sold for non-commercial use only. © Copyright The Sassaby Design Co. 2017. All Rights Reserved. DISCLAIMER: All IMAGES & GRAPHICS used by The Sassaby Party Co. are in the PUBLIC DOMAIN and are ROYALTY FREE to the best of our research and knowledge. The Sassaby Party Co. DOES NOT condone the practice of re-selling licensed images of any kind. We take no responsibility for professional printers who refuse to print our products. We have done our best to ensure our products are not infringing copyright, however cannot guarantee that all professional print stores will agree to print our digital files. We will not provide refunds or compensation for any issues that may arise in regards to printing or copyright issues. No physical item will be shipped. This purchase is NON-REFUNDABLE and all Sales are FINAL. ✦♦︎✦ MORE QUESTIONS? ✦♦︎✦ Send us an Etsy Conversation if we haven’t answered your questions here or email us with your queries: contact [at] sassaby.com.au ➥ PLEASE CHOOSE CAREFULLY all items are NON-REFUNDABLE and all sales are FINAL. By purchasing you are agreeing to our shop POLICIES (available to view at the tab above) and you are stating that you have read this product description FULLY. THANK YOU for Visiting!

This is the perfect board game to play as a time filler activity for your ESL class. Your students take turns rolling the die and naming three things around the topic on the board.

If you need a five-minute pickmeup as you finish up work before gliding into the weekend, take ten seconds to figure out your "animal name" with a few friends. Post it in the comments below! Hello…

Your last name could be a clue to a family link to the aristocracy of days past, according to a study by American and British researchers.

Seriously, guys… This is something I never thought I would say. I think 6 months ago I actually re-tweeted something from @shitnoonesays that said “I’ve got to organize my pintere…

Pronoun practice thats meaningful for kids. Create a pronoun patch bulletin board as a whole class anchor chart and play fun themed pronoun games.