Are student rewards or your treasure box making you go broke? Not anymore! Check out this list of 50 absolutely free student rewards!
Practice the concept of equal shares with this coloring activity. Directions: Color the shapes showing 1 whole BLUE. Color the shapes split into 2 equal shares, or halves RED. Color the shapes split into 4 equal shares, or fourths GREEN.
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Maybe we should move away from thinking about teaching with the whole child in mind and instead think about teaching with the whole child’s LIFE in mind. - Kristi Mraz
Are you engaging in workplace habits that make you look unprofessional? Check out this surprising list of the worst work behaviors.
Learn how to set yearlong plans, plan for a unit and daily topics, and create lessons plans.
Thousands of teachers have used these tried and true GUARANTEED tups to stop students from blurting out. Chatty Class? YOU NEED TO READ THIS!
After being asked to engage with my colleagues (and stop writing case notes on my iPhone) during meetings, I had to keep busy with pen and paper. A coworker then started talking about the most comp…
Anger Is My Friend: Rethinking Teen Anger Management The resources listed on this page accompany the book, Anger Is My Friend: Rethinking teen anger management, by Sam Ross. Watch the video to find out more and click here to read more about it. ANGER WORKBOOKS & WORKSHEETS Having a selection of worksheets
Observations have been a part of my teaching career since the beginning. In my district, you were observed a few times of year (some were announced, some unannounced) until you reached tenure on the first day of your fourth year. Then, I had a brief year or two of no observations before NJ changed the teacher evaluation model, which required ALL teachers, tenured or not, to be observed. So, aside from that short time, observations have always been part of my teaching life. Anyway, observations are so TRICKY. They fill me with angst and make me feel all hot and nauseous. It's not that I don't like administrators to come into my room. Quite the contrary. In fact, I'm always inviting people in to check out the goings on in my room. But there's just something so terrifying when someone's reason for coming into your room is to rate you on a whole bunch of little parts for the purpose of giving you a score that defines the whole of what you do. That provides a number that now allows you to figure out your "rank" among a group of peers - everyone from the cute, new teacher up the hall with no kids of her own, the Pinterest-perfect classroom, and 40k IG followers, to the guy down the hall who wears flip flops everyday (despite the dress code!) and has been "accidentally" absent for every faculty meeting over the last four years. Just how will you measure? Ugh! Angst!! I wish I didn't feel this way. I know how valuable a new set of eyes on your practice can be. Still, after 13 years, I get butterflies every.single.time. But, even though I still get nervous, I've learned a whole lot over the years about how to make the best of the stressful situation and impress your visitors. In this post, I want to share with you 6 tips to help you put your best foot forward. 1. Careful planning. Regardless of the evaluation model your district uses - Danielson, Marzano, etc. - you'll want to plan a lesson that showcases a variety of instruction models. I always try to include direct instruction, guided practice, and independent practice in my lesson because I want my observer to see how I can change my role from instructor to facilitator. Below, you will see a copy of the lesson plan from my Creating Dynamic Characters - Lessons that Create Writers #1. I will almost always use one of these lessons if I being observed during a writing period because it easily fits to any writing unit we are doing and showcases lots of different learning experiences. 2. Prepare for your pre- and post-conferences. Hopefully your district gives you the opportunity to have a pre- or post-conference, or ideally both! When going into these meetings, it's important to prepare a bit ahead of time. Pre-conference: Explain the lesson you are planning to teach and any background s/he should know about why you are doing that lesson. It's helpful to give a recap on what you did a few days before and what you plan to do a few days after this lesson to give some context. Discuss any behavior issues, management situations, IEP/504 modifications s/he should be aware of. Give your administrator something to look for in your practice that you'd like to work on. For example, last year I wanted my observer to look at how I created a culture of equity where each student felt like s/he had a valued voice in my room (sounds pretty fancy, right ;). I like to do this for two reasons: 1.) it shows your observer that you are reflective and always thinking about evolving your practice, and 2.) if you have a great observer, you can actually get some valuable feedback on what is important to you and your practice! Post-conference: Many times, I find that I over plan my lessons and don't always get to the end. If that's the case, explain how you opened your lesson the following day with the closure from the lesson s/he saw. If this happens to me, I like to email this as soon as a can the next day, long with some results of your closure, like pictures of a few exit tickets. Remember, there is ALWAYS something you can do better next time. Be honest with your observer and yourself :) If an administrator makes a recommendation for improvement, remember to get specific clarification of what they mean EXACTLY. We know as teachers that kids can rarely do much with vague feedback like "add more details," and the same goes for us. Don't leave until you are clear on what is expected of you next time. 3. Practice. If anyone ever watched me drive to school in the morning, they'd think I was bonkers. Many times, I am talking away to myself, practicing the lesson that I'm about to give that day. For me, practicing my words is a huge help in executing my lesson. It allows me to refine what I want to say and ensures that I don't forget any essential details. 4. Slow down. You can always tell when I'm nervous because my mouth goes a mile a minute and my breathing is loud and shallow - two qualities that don't go over well when delivering a lesson to middle schoolers! If this happens to you, take a few deep, deliberate breaths and SLOW DOWN. Wait time is so important anyway, but especially important when you are getting observed. Pose a question to students and then take one full breath before asking for answers. 5. Channel chatty students with a pair/share. When kids are little over-excited and I find that they are all trying to chat and call out the answers at once, say something like, "Wow! You all have a lot to say about this! Turn and talk to your table and agree to three ideas to share." This will give the kids time to get the chattiness out of the way without it looking like you've lost control. Just be sure that when it's time to come back together, you wait until there is complete silence in the room before beginning. 6. If possible, videotape the lesson. I've talked before about my love for the SWIVL. But even if you don't have a SWIVL, taping yourself (with permission, of course!) during an observation is AMAZING because it allows you and your observer to go back and critique together. This is such an empowering experience and allows for much better feedback. Okay, there you have it! Yes, getting observed is not easy, but it can be a lot less painful with these tips. Did I forget anything? Any tips to share? I'd love to hear from you!!
See how Power BI allows you to analyze more than 1 million rows of data with just a few mouse clicks! We have 61 Power BI examples for you to master!
Asking for a raise can seem difficult, but it doesn't have to be. These 8 tips have helped thousands of employees secure big, fat raises.
Some of our students need movement to help them learn! Speech therapy and in particular, minimal pairs, can become boring... so inject movement activities!
Plenty of people in the room have something to say; they just haven't been asked the right question.
Arguments are one those things that are both exciting and difficult to write. These are creative writing tips for making sure they have max impact.
He's Got the Whole World | Free Harp Sheet Music (Digital Print) - Visit MakingMusicFun.net for more free and premium Hymn and Bible song sheet music, music lesson plans, and great composer resources.
Following on from my previous post on introducing fractions, the next key experience covers the concept of the whole - moving from the concrete experience of the golden bead representing a whole to the red circle as seen in the fraction insets. The child should spend time labelling the fractions circles. They should extend this work by tracing and cutting (or colouring in) fraction pieces: Be sure to have the child also practice all these things with the square fraction insets as well. Once the child has had a good amount of practice with writing fractions, the concept of equivalence can be introduced. Once the child has been introduced to equivalence allow them to really explore the relationships. I have made these command cards (sheet one and sheet two) to complement the follow up work the children do with the fraction insets. These fraction cards are perfect follow up work that can either sit on the shelf or be used as an exercise to see how the child is progressing with this work. Simply print onto card stock and laminate. Enjoy! Linking to A Little Bird Told Me
See how Power BI allows you to analyze more than 1 million rows of data with just a few mouse clicks! We have 61 Power BI examples for you to master!
Don’t get me wrong — I love candy. And, a jolly rancher, a tootsie roll, or a starburst can work wonders in the classroom for student motivation and enthusiasm. So can pizza parties, and cupcake days, and brunch, and…I’ve had so many types of food parties I can’t even keep track! Recently, however, I’ve been […]
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Not sure of how to spend your time in between your college classes? Click to read of all the productive things you can do while you wait for your next college class to start. Stop wasting your time waiting for you next class to start.
How to change your life for the better: here are 7 secrets that have helped me change my whole life around after hitting rock bottom. :)
In this guide to using GIMP plugins, we'll walk you through where to get the best GIMP plugins and how to install them.
A couple of months ago, I put out a call on our Facebook page for new questions for the “Ask a Counselor” column, and I got a whole slew of TCK questions. To those questions, there is pretty much …
Curriculum Map for Preschool, Pre-K, and Kindergarten for the whole year! Year plan, month plans, and week plans by theme.
These easy Oatmeal Pancakes are made with whole grain oats, a touch of honey, and greek yogurt for extra protein. They come together in the blender and are perfect for meal prep!
These quirky date ideas in Melbourne will make your next day, afternoon or night out a success. Perfect options for a first date too!
I love to see my students work together! So I use a Whole Class Rewards system where students do that. This is a whole class rewards system that teachers...
Take your teaching of Shakespeare's Macbeth to the next level with these 3 ideas. Inspire and engage your students by studying the history of Macbeth!
If you’ve ever thought about going into project management, you’ve probably heard that you need to get a certification. And if you’re planning to become a project manager without experience, it can be hard to choose between all the training options available on the market. The acronyms alone can be dizzying: PRINCE2, SCRUM, CAPM, PMP,
