CHALLENGE: You only get five minutes with your students.
What do you teach them in that time?
June 2011
72 posts
Rich Home Environment Can Close Readiness Gap for Poor Children - Inside School Research - Education Week →
blogs.edweek.org
Something to go with our Summer Book Club reading. :-)
Teacher's Domain →
teachersdomain.org
Great website with tons of video and resources aligned by state and national US standards. Set up your userid and track the videos by putting them in your folders!
Citation: RT @wfryer: Great website for openly licensed video content:http://www.teachersdomain.org via @kfasimpaur #iste11
Shiny—thanks for sharing!
5 Children's Series to Love
David Books by David Shannon
David is an active young boy based on the author himself. It has been speculated (and I’m not sure whether or not it has been confirmed) that David has ADHD. Whether or not he does, David is a spirited child who doesn’t think his actions through. He is not purposely causing problems, however, he is constantly finding himself in a pickle. These simple books are ones that every child can relate to. The over-arching message of these books is an important one: no matter what trouble you find yourself in, you are loved. Some of the books in this series are:
No, David!, David Gets in Trouble, David Goes to School, and Oh, David!
Pigeon Series by Mo Williems
This series began with Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! in which the bus driver leaves the reader in charge. The only responsibility is to keep the Pigeon from driving the bus, but his antics and begging are both hilarious and persistent. The series is an excellent read aloud book in which the students are engaged as the tell the Pigeon no every time he asks. Also in this series are: Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!, The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog ,and Pigeon Wants a Puppy.
Farmer Brown’s Animals by Doreen Cronin
Farmer Brown has a problem. The animals on his farm are very demanding. The cows want electric blankets, the duck wants to be president, and their preparations for the county talent show are keeping him up at night. These animals are driven, and hilarious. Some of the books in the series are: Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type, Giggle, Giggle, Quack, Duck for President, Dooby Dooby Moo, and Thump Quack Moo: A Whacky Adventure.
Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold
Buzz looks for the perfect pet to bring to the Amazing Pet show, and he decides to bring the only pet he could find that says his name (Hi! Fly Guy). The judges aren’t sold though. You’ll have to read the book to find out what happens! Fly Guys has lots of adventures that you will find in the other books in the series: Super Fly Guy, Shoo, Fly Guy, Hooray for Fly Guy, Fly Guy Meets Fly Girl and more!
Bear Series by Karma Wilson
I absolutely love the pictures in this series. I use some of the books in the series to discuss situations with my class that they may face, such as making a new friend or feeling scared. Some of the books in the series are Bear’s New Friend, Bear Wants More, Bear Snores On, Bear Feels Scared, and Bear Feels Sick.
Originally, I had included Skippyjon Jones in the series. However, when I went to find links to Amazon I read some of the negative reviews which said that the books stereotype Mexicans. I’ve read the books, and they didn’t strike me that way — but that doesn’t mean that other people not see it more easily because of what they as readers bring to the table. I’d love to hear the community’s thoughts on this series if they have any either through reblogs or responses.
Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner
Skippyjon Jones is a Siamese cat that has an over active imagination. His imagines that he is a Chihuahua who saves his friends Los Chimichango from some scary situations. This is a series my students ask for time, and time again. The Spanish words provide an opportunity for ELL students to share the knowledge, and the Mexican styled lyrics that are sung in the book always produce giggles. Some of the books in the series are: Skippyjon Jones, Skippyjon Jones and the Big Bones, Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble, and Skippyjon Jones Lost in Spice.
So, what do you think?
Summer Book Club Question 6
The final chapter breaks down one teacher’s class period applying the research from this book. How much of it is applicable in your classroom? What have you read in this book that you will apply to your classroom in the future?
Response in comments to Summer Book Club question:
The question was:
“Schools that successfully educate low-ses students commonly incorporate a 360 degree wrap around support system.”
~Teaching with Poverty in Mind, by Eric Jensen, pg 70
This wrap around system is one that includes health services, tutoring, groceries, etc. Do you know of any schools that do this successfully? How is it set up? Where does the funding come from?
M.e. Selim responded:Sorry, I’m new to tumblr, I posted an answer before. I work at Tenderloin Community School (k-5). Its a very low-income school in San Francisco. The school was founded 12 years ago through the efforts of a non-profit, Bay Area Women’s and Children’s Center (www.facebook.com/bawcc ). The school offers groceries for families every Thursday morning, a free dental clinic for students, parenting classes, afterschool clubs, a Technology program (that’s mine!), library time, a garden/gardening classes, and more. All of these “surplus” items are funded by the non-profit, that works closely with the school. A lot of what goes on has nothing to do with the district, and the district even seems to put up roadblocks frequently. BAWCC gets the funding through grants, donations and a LOT of hard work!
Thanks for sharing! It certainly does sound like a lot of hard work!
Lessons from a 4th Grader: An interview with a parent of special needs kids. →
lessonsfroma4thgrader.tumblr.com
We sat at Subway for two hours just talking. We laughed. We shared ideas and thoughts. She answered my questions. And then she cried. The meeting was simply an assignment for a class, but it turned into two hours I will never forget.
I left feeling empowered. “I’ve got to make a difference.”…
An excellent post, that I hope you will all click through and read.
Summer Book Club Question #5
“Hopefullness must be pervasive and every single student should be able to feel it, see it, and hear it daily.” Teaching with Poverty in Mind, pg 113
How will you do this in your classroom this year (or in the future)?
Please create a new post to answer this question.
Dear Team Teachers,
I am a junior music education major and I am trying to compile a folder of resources to use for advocacy in the future. Courtesy of the career path I have chosen, it will no doubt be an issue that I will run into. Can you recommend any advocacy blogs or websites that I can add to my collection?
Go here: http://www.tumblr.com/spotlight/non-profits
Do you think tumblr is safe for kids 13 to 16? Facebook does not let people post nude photos. You can on Tumblr.
With this one, I would say no. One of the issues Tumblr has is with NSFW content. This isn’t so much an issue with the 18+ crowd. If they see nudity/profanity and don’t like it, they can move on, unfollow, or block. But you can only label your entire blog as NSFW (not safe for work), not individual posts. If you could label individual posts as NSFW, then in theory I would think Tumblr could set things up so those posts don’t display to those under the age of 18 (for example).
That doesn’t mean Tumblr couldn’t be used in teaching the course. An instructor could always create a second Tumblr blog off their main account, which would let them invite their students to be editors who can contribute on that blog. Assuming they don’t go to other pages, which you can’t guarantee, this could work quite well. Since it’s a secondary blog off your main account, you could also make it private and password protected. Or if you don’t want students in as editors because you don’t want them signing up for Tumblr, you could always set up Disqus comments and have them contribute in that way. It would be a private, password protected blog, so no one would see their contributions but the class.
But can I say comfortably that I’d want a 13-16 year-old on Tumblr as a regular user? Not really. There’s no way to develop barriers to adult content here, because it’s really meant for adults (18+). I know there will be those who think kids have to learn some day, but I don’t see a point in exposing them to excessive profanity or pornographic images. Tumblr can be an outstanding tool for these students in the right hands, and with the right setup. I don’t want anyone to think it can’t be a valuable teaching and learning platform. My issue, again, is that until there are some different NSFW content filters put in place, I can’t say I’d recommend it for children/young adults to be regular users.
40+ Grants for Teachers
#elemchat #spedchat
Looking for $$$ for your classroom? 40+ grant opportunities in my “Grants for Teachers” LiveBinder! Apply for some this summer.
Outstanding—thank you so much for sharing!
Let’s show some love to kbkonnected for this amazing resource :o)
High School Writing Prompts (Open Google Doc) →
docs.google.com
George Couros has created an open Google Doc for High School writing prompts. They’re broken down by discipline, and anyone can view and edit the document.
This is excellent, and worth a look.
Would any of you be interested in me extending this idea with Google Docs for other grade levels and topics here on Team Teachers? Drop me a line and let me know what you think would be valuable.
Should there be a global core curriculum that every student on earth learns, and if so, what would you have as the core?
Hi folks. I see questions like this on Linked In all the time. Wondering what your all take on the question is… just to give you an idea of my sort of thinking, I believe for humanity as a whole to be successful for all of us, and to live in peace, we need to become not just tolerant of each other, but actually know something about each culture, ideology, religion, and so on here on earth.
For instance, some ideas I have are:
goegraphy
comparative global religions
history of the world
negotiation and psychology for conflict resolution
and so on
I’d love to see your all ideas…. please pass on and contribute ! Thanks!
Global education standards? Deep stuff.
What are tumblrs’ thoughts? —GwaLP
TED Talks Demystified for Teachers →
historyteachersattic.com
The headline for this is a smidge misleading. This is actually an exceptional list of TED talks that have been broken down into disciplines. For example, there are categories such as World History, American History, Language Arts, Music, Biology, etc.
The list also includes the name of the presenter, the title of the session, the video length, and a link to the talk. An outstanding resource, and everything is all in one place. By my unofficial count there are over 70 videos on the list. More than enough for you to be able to find something useful.
Which one is your favorite? Why?
“Schools that successfully educate low-ses students commonly incorporate a 360 degree wrap around support system.”
~Teaching with Poverty in Mind, by Eric Jensen, pg 70
This wrap around system is one that includes health services, tutoring, groceries, etc. Do you know of any schools that do this successfully? How is it set up? Where does the funding come from?
Summer Book Club Reminder
We’re in the final week so Summer Book Club. I’ve been slower this week because I know a few people got their books late, have been busy, etc. Also, I just moved (hurray). I’m learning a bit about running the book club, so hopefully it will be easier for more people to participate next time.
I did want to make a post linking to the questions already posted for those who may have missed them.
Google Doc Discussion Questions
Personally, I am really interested in the responses to question number 4, and the questions on the google doc.
Some of the questions can be answered without reading the book — you are more than welcome to answer those even if you are not participating in the book club.
To Master or not to Master....
Is this true for any type of teacher? For example, I’m very close to getting my MAT but I will be endorsed to teach Math in middle school (in IL you have to be endorsed in the subject you want to teach for middle and high schools). As a female, all I hear is that there’s a high demand for female math teachers. I’m hoping that’s true and will still be the case this time next year.
No, PPT and I are not the hard, end-of-the-line experience and knowledge on teachers being hired with Master’s degrees. But we have been on the job for awhile, it’s just what we SEE.
It’s not the RULE that no one with a Masters will EVER be hired. At my school, we HAD to have someone with a journalism endorsement, and they hired someone with a BS in Journalism and a M.Ed. in English. She was what they needed and the best candidate.
What you need to do in your decision to get a Masters is figure out WHERE you want to work, and then ask the teachers in the area you wish to be employed, in addition to college professors, what the best course of action is.
Cheers,
GwaLP
Though I would propose a referendum to your last question/answer response, at least for a huge district like New York City, for public schools, you can't even get your foot in the door without a Masters, unless you're teaching with an alternative teaching license (offered to Teach for America and NYC Teaching Fellow candidates among others). I can't speak about other districts around though.
In that case, I would then suggest the 5-year program because, again, in some big districts like New York City, a public school will most likely not accept you unless you have at least a Masters.
It all depends on where you want to work.
In the case of PPT and I: In the Midwest, there is NO point in getting a Masters right away. My payscale tops at a Bachelors at 7 years; for a Masters it’s 20. I will complete my Masters at the end of my 6th year of teaching and be grandfathered into a clause that says I cannot make any less than my pay at 6 years with a Masters. (State Supt. Tony Bennett as sworn no one will take a pay cut. We just have to figure out how to make it work.)
Localities are still figuring out to to transfer the payscale into the new state-mandated code, but still; I can guarantee you even under the new 33% mandate, someone with a BA/BS and little experience will be hired over someone with a Masters and more experience because of the savings. Schools have lost money every year I’ve taught in my area.
