Blog Posts

My Teacher Look: Getting Students Back on Track

10/17/2013

TeachingChannel

Think About It: Sometimes I "go for a Google" to check out sites that might help me identify new trends or rework parameters for projects under construction that aren't flowing quiet as smoothly as I had planned. More often than not the TeachingChannel pops up in the first 10 search suggestions.The TeachingChannel is a perfect site to check out great teaching and inspiring ideas in education. I especially liked what I found today regarding redirecting students with "the look."

I've Never "Motivated" A Student

In The Classroom: Today I had the pleasure of watching my grade 8 students collaborate during a creative writing assignment. The students are far enough into the school year to understand expectations. Content for the creative stories quickly digressed into playful teasing of friends in the description of main characters. My first response was to go silent and put on "that face." For the most part, I would say the students recovered appropriate behavior quickly and moved forward with the assignment. But reflectively, I just didn't like the the feeling that replaced the cooperative peer to peer support that had developed in the beginning of the assignment. Larry Ferlazzo writes a great piece about motivating winning behavior.

To My Surprise: Watching the TeachingChannel video My Teacher Look: Getting Students Back on Track was helpful in creating an opportunity to identify what was bothering me. Observing another professional give "the look" made me wonder how my students internalized my teacher look. In the video the look appeared to say, " I see you, I don't like what you are doing, others are watching, now back down." Of course, that is simply my interpretation. Prior experience with middle school and high school students makes me believe that there are definitely better ways to communicate a request for redirection. I discovered some great insight in the comments posted below the TC video. A very good resource for professional growth.

The Story and The Child

10/15/2013

THE CREATURES By: Caleb

STORYBIRD

Great tool for Vocab List

Think About It: "In just a moment I will tell you a story that may change your life forever..." These timeless words are magical to every age. They represent a creative effort to educate, illustrate for effect, entertain, pass on knowledge, or to get out of an
uncomfortable situation. Effective story telling is a skill learned best in the elementary years when imagination is a safe place to explore all things possible. Creative writing, whimsical poems, and play writing, allow students to share all the colors of their thoughts.

In The Classroom: When we grow up, we begin to believe that we 'know' a lot and hence have a good idea of what is possible and what is not. This kind of a mindset makes us 'presumptive' rather than 'imaginative'. Imagination takes a back seat to reality. We begin to create stories that support good grades. Creating a good story becomes a tedious lesson of grammar, fluency, word count and keen awareness of the value of authoritarian writing over a voice that speaks outside the box. Story Bird is a great tool to bridge the distance presumptive and imaginative . I can't help but think about the Rorschach ink blob when I look at the artwork.

To My Surprise: My student's loved the humor in the story The Creatures written by Caleb (Grade 3). I shared Caleb's work with most of the K-8 classes I taught during the week. In each class students applauded the way his final frame was written. This interactive activity was a great launching point for a more detailed story line. The artwork found on Story Bird proves that a good picture is worth a thousand words. Brainstorming and inspiration was a snap while using this interactive writing tool. I highly recommend Story Bird for grades K-12
Rating: 5/5

Creating A Website For The Classroom

10/14/2013

Mrs. Wilkinson Grade 2

Write as globally as you can.
Websites are global. Great websites acknowledge that. You should make sure that your objective and purpose for building your website is clear so that all your readers will know exactly what you mean. Mrs. Wilkinson's website is a great example of writing for a global audience. Parents, peers, students and visitors to her site can easily relate to the references she makes regarding grade level curriculum and expectations. Her layout, choice of colors and pictures paint a vivid image of her classroom culture and feeling tone.

Mr. Phelps Jr High

Keep your pages short, but not too short.
Writing for the web is different from writing for print. People skim online, especially when they first get to a page. You want the contents of your page to give them what they want quickly, but provide enough detail for those who want expansion on the basics. Mr. Phelps does an excellent job streamlining events and description of assignments due. Providing students archived posts of past assignments and the opportunity to turn in papers online via his website creates a fluent exchange of information for students, parents, and teacher.

Mrs. Dietz - Physical Education

Keep links current. Make your site more valuable.
No matter how great a website you build, you can never be all things to all people, nor contain all the relevant information & value a user might be seeking on your given topic. As such, it makes great sense to leverage the power of the web - the power of links - to create an easy, scalable path to making your site's experience better and more rewarding for those who visit. Check out the amazing use of multi media links on Mrs.Dietz's website for physical education!

Creating a Professional Learning Community (PLC)

10/13/2013

Mrs. Urig's Math Drills

Accomplishing something that has never been done (learning for all), means that we need to aggressively break down the culture of teacher isolationism. Professional Learning Communities realize that they can never accomplish their goals if they leave teachers behind. They understand that to establish a culture that continually improves teacher practice, they must find ways to support all teachers regardless of experience or expertise. Professional Learning Communities think differently, they move past identifying the problem to relentlessly pursuing the solution. They are action oriented and eliminate outside factors as a reason for not changing behavior.
This year Paradise Valley Christian Preparatory is piloting 5 new PLC"s across grade level and curriculum. Teachers are being encouraged to explore and record new growth opportunities in Technology, Essential Elements of Instruction, Science Inquiry, Socratic Methods and Student Engagement.. Grand Canyon University (GCU) is promoting Partners in Learning, Leading and Serving (PPLS). GCU created PLLS to offer services and opportunities focused on attracting, retaining and maintaining quality professionals in education and educational leadership.

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Written by:
Alicia Roberts

I am blessed to be a mom of four amazing children, and an owner of a beautiful rescue puppy. I have taught for 20 years and am passionate about my calling as Principal at Bella Vista College Preparatory. I speak nationally about STEM as a Today's Learn Specialist for Grand Canyon University. Please feel free to contact me to inquire about STEM+ Workshops or Curriculum Design.
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