tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20662551500885088322024-03-06T02:23:02.876-05:00Dava Smith English TeacherDavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-59323840215042277722022-04-23T10:57:00.004-04:002022-04-23T13:36:09.696-04:00Leading through Example and From Mistakes<p> I have been moving towards educational leadership in my career. Right now I consider myself a 'teacher leader,' and I am applying to administration jobs. </p><p>In this journey, I have realized that a lot of our work as leaders in buildings stems from us leading by example. I care deeply about students, and I had a situation last week that I learned from, so I want to share it with you. </p><p>I teach mostly 8th grade classes. I have a student who is perpetually tardy for my class period two. I have worked with him one-on-one to help him prioritize getting to class on-time. His period one class is only two doors down, so he is capable of making it! When quarter four started, I re-set my tardy log. And in the first week of the quarter he was tardy one time. Then we had spring break. Upon our return on Tuesday, he was late. Then he was late again on Wednesday, but only by about 10 seconds, which really is better than usual.</p><p>In all of this, I felt frustration. It is hard not to take things personally sometimes. People are emotional beings. Yet, my mom sometimes reminds me that we own our reactions. In the moment, I was not doing a good job of this. </p><p><u>My Mistake:</u></p><p>When he got to the door, it was already closed because the bell had rung. He knocked and I opened it, but only long enough to tell him that he was tardy and to go get a pass from the tardy table. He threw his backpack down outside the door and huffed-off. </p><p>About five minutes later he came back to class. But he was very frustrated. He asked to leave because he "couldn't work in this room." So I called the office to see if he could go sit there. The AP said she would come get him. But here's the thing...phone calls are not private. The phone is not anywhere near the door, so we can't even step out to make them more private. Meanwhile, the whole class was reading quietly. His business was a bit public, which was like putting salt on the wound. </p><p>So he left. He had enough and he walked out. </p><p>I called the office back and let them know, and continued with class. </p><p><u>My Learning and Next Steps</u></p><p>In the few minutes that he was gone, I was thinking to myself that I was being very immature. I was not acting like an adult who cared for my students, even though this is what I try to embody. Part of me might have been telling myself that I was holding him to high standards, yet the reality is that him being 10 seconds late today could have been met with grace. Grace from an adult who should be able to control emotional impulses. </p><p>In those few minutes, I made a decision. I would take steps to repair and restore. I am a proponent of restorative justice in education. I am in a book study for <i>The Little Book of Restorative Justice in Education </i>by Katherine Evans and Dorothy Vaandering. On page 32, the core values of restorative justice are defined. Respect is defined in the text as: "Respect (<i>re</i>: again; <i>spect</i>: to look) 'To look again' from the point of view of the other; to put one's self in the other's shoes and then respond" (Evans and Vaandering). In this quick self reflection, I was looking again, and offering respect to the student. </p><p>When the student returned, I started the conversation immediately with an apology. I explained to the student that I could have given grace today, and I was sorry that I did not show respect earlier. I validated his feelings. Then we had a brief heart to heart about him prioritizing getting to class on time. He said he would come straight to class. We shook hands, and he came back in ready to work. </p><p>It was such a major transformation from the beginning when he said he could not work in the room. He was welcomed, and he felt it. </p><p><u>Future Expectations</u></p><p>One of the things that we all need to remember is that students are a work in progress. They are not going to necessarily have the same priorities that the teachers have. And honestly, their priorities may change day-to-day. In this case, the student's desire to be with peers <i>generally</i> trumps being on time to class. But working to maintain the <span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>dignity</b></span> of students, <span style="color: #800180;"><b>respect</b></span> them, and show <b><span style="color: #38761d;">mutual concern</span></b> for each other will create a stronger more cohesive classroom (Restorative Justice Core Values p. 32). Perhaps it will be the classroom that students are working to get to on time, most of the time! </p><p>There may still be days that this student does not come directly to class. But, there is also an opportunity for me to be his champion. I can help by looking out for him while on hall duty, cheering for him to make it to class on time, and celebrating the victories. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc33ZM9sIwZw9YlbaeVNzTClh6pRHTpTUQ_Ho8Ml9HhSAgx91KdEf0fjMg9yB2vZZbmsxsjLn95pVsZGDHa9OFyMyNBsptB_OmcBI-AJP1lNY8ON-r0XHRQZBBMDgOI9qBnFc0Mr1HpxhYlkPArfIRi1xYzQvRENm4T-nmpsB0mgw3Z9-9vKRfxGK5/s960/Copy%20of%20Spring%20Cleaning!%20by%20Slidesgo%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc33ZM9sIwZw9YlbaeVNzTClh6pRHTpTUQ_Ho8Ml9HhSAgx91KdEf0fjMg9yB2vZZbmsxsjLn95pVsZGDHa9OFyMyNBsptB_OmcBI-AJP1lNY8ON-r0XHRQZBBMDgOI9qBnFc0Mr1HpxhYlkPArfIRi1xYzQvRENm4T-nmpsB0mgw3Z9-9vKRfxGK5/w407-h228/Copy%20of%20Spring%20Cleaning!%20by%20Slidesgo%20(2).jpg" width="407" /></a></div><br />DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-71824866820985719472020-05-03T22:04:00.000-04:002020-05-03T22:04:10.314-04:00Distance Learning- A Quick and Dirty ReviewDistance Learning has been underway for a couple of weeks. I have seen each of my classes twice on Google Meet. Here are my thoughts.<br />
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1. The students still crave being with their friends. They are eager to have side chats and bring back a sense of normalcy in any way they can. This mimics hallway and lunch room conversation. Our school is going to plan lunch bunches to create space for students to have regular social interactions with their peers.<br />
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2. The students generally are not interested in showing their faces or letting us hear their voices. About 10% of the students present in the class that show faces and share voices. This may become more natural as we get more into the virtual classroom. Based on the article I read about <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/covid-19-videoclassism-implicit-bias-videojudgment-why-jackson/" target="_blank">Videoclassism by Taharee Jackson</a>, I am being very aware of requests that I make of my students. I personally <i>want </i>to see their faces, but I want them to feel safe above all. <br />
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3. Students are willing to ask about their work! Yay! The work that I have been giving to students is supposed to take 1.5 to 2 hours. I usually have three or four activities. Last week, students asked about the assignment related to the essential questions. They needed clarification and we were able to work through the material together. I am so glad that they feel safe in this space. <br />
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I think that overall, given the circumstances, this is all going pretty well. I do want to see my students. I miss them so much. Currently, Maryland has only cancelled school until May 15th, but with 42/50 states being closed to the end of the year, it is likely that it's coming. <br />
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The next thing that we need to figure out is how we will honor our 8th graders. We are planning a slide show and maybe we'll show it during a virtual ceremony. <br />
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Until next time!<br />
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<br />DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-52270999640740207742020-04-18T18:10:00.001-04:002020-04-18T18:39:38.320-04:00Virtual Curriculum Planning- Romeo and Juliet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Our eighth-graders are about to begin the Love and Friendship unit, but they will do it at home. This unit is anchored around Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. A classic text that is also in the public domain...this is a no-brainer, right? Wrong.</div>
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This would have been my first time teaching Romeo and Juliet, and I was looking forward to it when it was going to be taught in a classroom with my students. Now that we are learning virtually, it feels very different. It feels overwhelming (sensing a theme in my recent posts?). It feels like I won't do the text justice (because there is no way I could). So does that mean we don't attempt it?<br /><br />My content partner and I have been on video planning sessions for the past few days, and we have been grappling with this decision. Here's where we landed- we will do the iconic balcony scene and a couple of sonnets. Let me tell you our thinking, and as always, you can share your thoughts!<br /><br />We are pushing work out to our students on a virtual platform on Mondays at 9 a.m. We can utilize a flipped model and provide videos and readings for instruction. Then we have one Google Meet session per class each week. The Google Meets are not mandatory. Students are to be given no more than 1.5 to 2 hours of work per class. In two hours a week of at-home, independent work, we think covering a scene and some sonnets is logical. I do NOT want my eighth-graders to leave middle school without experiencing Shakespeare. However, I also do NOT want to turn my students off by requiring that they tackle too much without in-person support. Shakespeare is intimidating, and we want to create a positive first experience. We know that they will get more exposure in high school, so we are seeing this as a way to generate some excitement.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />I am getting ready to plan the first lessons in a four (or five) week mini-unit. The idea is to give a bit of background information about Shakespeare, The Globe Theatre, and any other pertinent context to appreciate and understand the text and time-period. The good news is that there are lots of virtual tools available. My first exciting find is the <a href="https://www.shakespearesglobe.com/discover/about-us/virtual-tour/">virtual tour of The Globe.</a> And I'm sure that is just the beginning of a long list of resources that students can utilize.<br /><br />Remember, our students need to be <a href="http://davasmithenglishteacher.blogspot.com/2020/04/in-this-weird-world-lets-focus-on.html">engaged</a> now more than ever. A great way to engage is by offering choice. Create some parameters, but then let the students go down whatever rabbit hole they find most interesting. Let them become experts and come to the virtual sessions with information to share. It will be infectious and exciting. I hope it all works out the way it looks in my head, with rainbows and unicorns! Just kidding, I'm sure there will be bumps along the way, and I plan on updating you as I continue to experience them.</div>
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<br /><br />Stay well and comment below!<br /><br /><br /><br /></div>
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DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-78777804369855258782020-04-14T21:47:00.000-04:002020-04-14T21:47:09.286-04:00Virtual Learning Take OneToday we started virtual learning with our students. We posted assignments; they went onto Canvas and completed assignments. Our model has students receiving assignments at the beginning of the week and submitting them by 10 a.m. on Fridays. Today, within 12 hours, there were over sixty posts on multiple discussion boards. Next week is when we start Google Meet sessions. I will meet with each of my classes one time per week. I can't wait to see their faces, but for now, this will have to suffice. <br />
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Our county decided to put a hold on grading for the moment. We will close out the third quarter and give the students opportunities to improve upon their grades from previously submitted work, but this new stuff is currently <i>not</i> being graded. <br />
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<span style="color: magenta;"><b>The students are learning for the sake of learning. </b></span></div>
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My job right now is to create the assignments and provide feedback to enhance the learning, but not to provide grades. This sounds okay in theory, but I ran into a problem today. I did some math that I failed to do earlier. I have over 100 students. I created two discussion boards and two assignments, and that's over 400 assignment submissions. And my students are obviously eager for this situation, based on all the "hits" I had today to the website. I am happy that they are ready to learn and participate, but I need to make this more manageable pronto.<br />
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So, here's the new plan. Next week I will provide four activities, but I will only collect and review two of them. I don't need to check on their guided notes. I will give them the structure, but they can be responsible for completing notes on their own. The reality is that virtual school is NOT going to look the same as a brick and mortar school. In the school building, I would be walking around the room monitoring the students during guided notes. That is not feasible for a virtual setting. <br />
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<span style="color: magenta;"><b>Teachers, set yourselves up for success!</b></span></div>
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Right now we are in the trial and error period. We are all figuring out what is going to work. How will we manage the stacks of paperwork that are piling up in our inboxes? When we see something that isn't working, how are we going to attempt to fix it? Don't get discouraged by this unfamiliar situation. Channel <i>High School Musical: </i>"We're all in this together." Give yourself grace and learn from your mistakes. Figure out what works and what does not. Implement change. And of course, don't forget to maintain your connections and relationships with your students, because that really should be the focus!</div>
DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-49037758284059836582020-04-13T22:04:00.000-04:002020-04-13T22:04:08.431-04:00In This Weird World, Write it Down!I read an interesting <a href="https://news.virginia.edu/content/write-it-down-historian-suggests-keeping-record-life-during-pandemic?utm_source=DailyReport&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news&fbclid=IwAR0Rkwwd1Wa0uaBjWHM_qr74s-F8rrh4o5xCJUQvFMLDGxYU5xl9ar5P004" target="_blank">article</a> by Anne Bromley (UVA) back on March 20th about writing things down. In this weird world...during this pandemic...write down your thoughts, feelings, joys, and troubles. <br />
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<span style="color: magenta;"><b>It struck me as such an important idea and one that I have only halfheartedly followed. </b></span></div>
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So today I tried something, and I wanted to share it with all of you. I wrote a letter to my future self! I actually did this earlier this year as part of a leadership professional development. We wrote letters to ourselves in September and then read them and reflected on them in March. This is an extended version of that idea. You could do this for yourself by writing a letter and sealing it for a designated period of time, or you could utilize a website to help facilitate it. I used the website <a href="https://www.futureme.org/">https://www.futureme.org/</a>. On this site, you can write a letter and have it emailed to yourself in 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, or on a specific date of your choice. I love this activity because it allows you to write and reflect on your present life and then read it at some point in the future. I chose to send my letter to myself on June 13th of next year, which should be around when next school year ends. Who knows what the next year will bring in terms of how education "looks." We are about to start virtual learning, and it is possible that virtual learning will return in some way even into the fall of 2020. This pandemic is turning our world on its side. </div>
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I am also writing and reflecting by using an app to journal and write my thoughts. I like the iOS app Day One. It syncs between my devices and pulls in my Facebook posts, too. </div>
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">I want to remember this time. </span></b></div>
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This situation is slightly reminiscent of one of my favorite books- Anne Frank's <i>The Diary of a Young Girl.</i> She was a teenager experiencing something unique and scary. She had to hide while growing up and living in very close quarters with seven other people. I know that what we are experiencing is a cakewalk compared to what people all over this world have experienced, but it doesn't make our stories less important to tell. Write it down now so that in 100 years your grandchildren will have a record of it to share with their children. You are in charge today of the primary documents of the future. </div>
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So go write. Share your joys, frustrations, thoughts, feelings. Share what school looks like. Share how much TV you're watching or how you are getting your groceries. </div>
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">Your story matters! </span></b></div>
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DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-76095095302772995242020-04-08T21:33:00.001-04:002020-04-08T22:21:41.877-04:00In This Weird World, Let's Focus on Relationships and EngagementWe are living in a weird world right now. It is a world characterized by staying home and covering our faces when we have to go out for essential purposes. It is also a world that is transitioning to online learning experiences. My county is calling it the Continuity of Learning model. We are utilizing Google Meet in order to connect with our students. We are posting modules containing assignments and discussions on Canvas. There is so much that I don't understand about this world.<br />
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So what am I doing with all of that?<br />
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">I am supporting my teachers and loving on my students. </span></b></h3>
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I have been the Teacher Development Liaison since the beginning of this year. I absolutely LOVE this position because I get to support teachers. This position specifically works with new/non-tenured teachers, but I have a personal love of technology, so <i>the Covid-19 closure</i> is allowing me to work with ALL teachers! I have had one-on-one Google Meet sessions with teachers and walked them through their technology woes. I am helping to solve problems, and it is so much fun! The trick is how to do this at home while I am with my two littles (2 and 4 years old!).<br />
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<b>How are you all handling teaching with your littles? Give me your tips and tricks</b>. </div>
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I am also sending my students ALL THE LOVE! I miss them. I miss the smiles, the laughter, the tears. I miss the go, go, go of being in a middle school all day, every day. When will we return to normal? My father-in-law said something profound the other day. He said that this is not a "new normal." That is how I am getting through each day. We do not need to live with this reality forever. <u>This will never be normal</u>. I WILL get back to my students and my school, someday!<br />
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I have our first module ready- I am currently teaching 8th grade ELA- and we are going to focus on self-care for week-one. This idea stemmed from the fact that the students are also dealing with this crazy reality in this moment. They need an outlet to talk about what they are experiencing. They need a safe place to say, "Here's what I've been doing for the past three weeks, and these are the things that are working and not working about it." Self-reflection will help all of us...especially me! We are having them make their own memes and then brainstorm some positive "self-care" practices through collaborative discussion boards. I have high hopes for week-one. I know that the students are craving time together, and so am I.<br />
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Teachers, I implore you to remember this time needs to be about <span style="color: magenta;"><b>relationships and engagement</b></span>. Let's bring our students in as a family and give them an opportunity to re-connect in a safe space. Show them the LOVE.<br />
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Just for fun...here's the meme I created as an example for the assignment:<br />
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On another note, my professional life may change soon. I am interviewing to be an administrator! I will likely be an assistant principal at the middle school level. I am owning and believing that it will occur next year. I know that working from home and supporting teachers in these new ways will only make me a stronger administrator, when that day comes.<br />
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And until that day comes, I will continue to live in this WEIRD REALITY by supporting my teachers and loving on my students.DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-20837778668539379412017-07-30T22:27:00.000-04:002017-07-30T22:27:09.214-04:00Gearing up for a New School Year<br /><br />I am getting excited about planning for the new school year. I have had my baby (she's 10 days old and absolutely perfect!), and now I'm ready to get back to work. The way my maternity leave is going to work, I am taking off just six weeks from my daughter's DOB. This means that I am missing most of teacher work week, but I'll still be there for the first day of school. I am thankful about not losing any time with my "work kids" because this will help us build relationships and momentum. This also means that I am looking to take advantage of my evenings through August when both kids happen to be sleeping at the same time (like right now!).<br /> <br />The first thing that I want to plan out is week one. I love some of the things that I did last year, so I want to start getting those things organized and edited. Here's one of the things I did--<br /> <br />Since one of the main areas of English class is writing, I decided to do a writing activity to begin the year and get to know my students. This activity had multiple purposes: to show me their writing skills, to help me learn their names, to help them value each other and be culturally sensitive to unique names, and to teach them a little bit about me. I printed a front/back worksheet for a <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1sPgIr3zF1nuQ9DDxx_WpTMTnKYTs7LKGhn3s1MyXkd4/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">name tag</a>. This worksheet also doubled as a name tag tent. When it was folded, there was a front and a back of the name tag tent. The front had a spot for the student to write his or her name and draw three visual representations of his or her interests. The back (the part facing the student), allowed for students to write three things about themselves, two questions about the class, and one academic goal or concern. <br />
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1sPgIr3zF1nuQ9DDxx_WpTMTnKYTs7LKGhn3s1MyXkd4/edit?usp=sharing"><img border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="518" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzoDg2OFuetiH-JSgwPZ4CCtna-4HWGqHcy8zBJ1Imli1-_zv-ZIHL8QTZWEUUBTZjIymVUtZFJnFm7HGPkZ4NjqjqMeqdpRMihtoiBZzU0d4_wBB4-ImrWCr8aJ254rB8ffmkcKYVgPo/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-07-30+at+9.55.47+PM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1z8vEgbATlNY_quaQB4GkELymIjN-3sqBlpGJjp40QsA/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">back of the worksheet</a> was a space to write about their names.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlt0tTiu2DOZPapho8nfON_hZMrZirmO-BLfKTRgj1tKOAqqrPO2ajUKf_L8g-Gn40wDtQosJmU5DNLIojRu3DWQ7x-lHlYBIdZxBbUb-O2nbso4NYwv43XdvTqXEB5uc4CrkA6s1B6Bg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-07-30+at+9.57.01+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="700" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlt0tTiu2DOZPapho8nfON_hZMrZirmO-BLfKTRgj1tKOAqqrPO2ajUKf_L8g-Gn40wDtQosJmU5DNLIojRu3DWQ7x-lHlYBIdZxBbUb-O2nbso4NYwv43XdvTqXEB5uc4CrkA6s1B6Bg/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-07-30+at+9.57.01+PM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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On day one, they did the name tag part of the worksheet (front and back of the name tag tent). Then I read them a children’s book about a student who had a unique name and felt it made it difficult to fit in (Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVxy9Z2KbHiXJoYa9m5qwq1cuJJxWwDv0Uf5qp6CMNJkWdAEbjmcy59nr3kPLmzC5oS4QuCdpEs3D1bqkG1j0F_Or38HvPw5nUwmMMwgpt6HI1PDslmmMRcr9LBn1dEiC4t22WLYMS_Iw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-07-30+at+10.20.21+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="345" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVxy9Z2KbHiXJoYa9m5qwq1cuJJxWwDv0Uf5qp6CMNJkWdAEbjmcy59nr3kPLmzC5oS4QuCdpEs3D1bqkG1j0F_Or38HvPw5nUwmMMwgpt6HI1PDslmmMRcr9LBn1dEiC4t22WLYMS_Iw/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-07-30+at+10.20.21+PM.jpg" width="271" /></a></div>
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We used this to discuss the need to value one another. On day two, I modeled for students by writing my own “name” story. This helped them get to know me a little bit better. Then students wrote about their names. They got to choose to write about one of three things: 1) share why your parents picked your name 2) share history about your name or what it means or 3) write a fictional tale inspired by your name (like Chrysanthemum). This name tag tent activity, both the day one and day two parts, helped me to get to know student interests, writing capabilities, and cultural backgrounds. It opened up dialogue between students and with me and helped to build a positive class culture from the very beginning of the year. <br />
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Here's the <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GAkp-DyiQLy1nroeL1G7IdqTL7khsvqWnINgLlLX6xQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">PPT</a> that I used on day one to introduce this to students. <br />
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<br />DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-25265110856148589542017-04-28T21:56:00.000-04:002017-04-28T21:56:30.061-04:00Reading in the Middle GradesAs much as I love blogging, I have found over and over again that life happens and blogging is the first thing to go. I like to use blogging as a way to reflect on my teaching and make my teaching practices better. This is why I really <i>should</i> make blogging one of my priorities. <br />
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Since my last blog post, my life has changed dramatically. I got a new job at a public school, and I'm also expecting my second baby in July. It has been an unforgettable school-year, and with just over six weeks to go, I think I should get back to blogging!<br />
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So let's talk today about reading in the middle grades. My current position is as a sixth grade English teacher. This seems to be one of the hardest grades to find books for. The problem is that the students are still interested in the books that were popular in elementary school, but they are actually ready for some more advanced reading material, if they would just take a risk. When we take trips to the library, my students often gravitate towards graphic novels and books in the Wimpy Kid or Dork Diaries Series. I encourage them to (or force them to) pick chapter books, and most of the time these end of being forgotten in the classroom. When the students aren't invested, they just don't seem to read the books. For all these reasons, and more, if you can find a GREAT book for students in the middle grades, you take note. I want to have a long list of recommendations that students can draw from so that when they pick up a "chapter book," they keep on reading it. With that being said, check out a book review for a middle grades book that I recently read. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnbXsGyZ35z0FEmqBEDAoTxNuKNv-Q4MazcoBwD0kCJyT7mZeyUcTyy3a-N4MWgDBsK1bVGpmC9CB1u5__9Vvw5r6RS9TZa-hgCj6nskSjmxqvkUsqasAvs5p3O_IWy8hahRse-wenlw/s1600/kingdomofoceanapicture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnbXsGyZ35z0FEmqBEDAoTxNuKNv-Q4MazcoBwD0kCJyT7mZeyUcTyy3a-N4MWgDBsK1bVGpmC9CB1u5__9Vvw5r6RS9TZa-hgCj6nskSjmxqvkUsqasAvs5p3O_IWy8hahRse-wenlw/s320/kingdomofoceanapicture.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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I recently read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Kingdom of Oceana </i>by Mitchell Charles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>From the first pages it was clear that this book would be full of action
and adventure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a strong theme
of sibling rivalry which is evident through quests that the brothers take in
the historic Hawaiian setting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With such
a setting, it is no surprise that the reader is drawn into the story with magic,
spirit animals, and a mysterious (and cursed) tiki.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
lovers of Disney’s Moana, there are many similarities in Charles’s adventure
tale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thankfully, his tale is more
developed, with a wider range of conflicts and characters than the Disney movie
that shares a similar setting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Charles also
has a writing style that I appreciate as an English teacher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is fluid and descriptive and ultimately
enjoyable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I did feel that the
book was a bit of a slow read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The book
felt very authentic, which translated to a lot of unfamiliar vocabulary that
personally slowed me down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think this would
also be true for a reader who is in the middle grades. Due to the wide range of
characters, you should also be wary about putting the book down for any
extended period of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even over a
week or two, you may easily forget significant people that will come back in
the end of the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a plus for
the Kindle version, because you can easily search for a character’s name and
find out when and where you met that person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I feel that this book is well suited to a school-age reader, but due to
the complexities that I mentioned above, they may find it a frustrating
read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they stick with it, I think
your students will find that it is well worth the time and effort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an unforgettable story!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And stay tuned because it appears that
Charles is also writing a sequel!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Want
more information about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Kingdom of
Oceana</i>?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Check out Charles’s website-
<a href="http://kingdomofoceana.com/">http://kingdomofoceana.com/</a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">*Disclaimer- I received a
complementary copy of the book for my honest review.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-36758089340644862702016-08-03T20:28:00.000-04:002016-08-03T20:28:45.839-04:00The First Day is Coming---- more on procedures It is time to make some serious decisions regarding your classroom management plan. Start the year strong with tips from Michael Linsin. <br />
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The Best Articles on Classroom Management <a href="https://t.co/gArwRpKjtu">https://t.co/gArwRpKjtu</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/davestuartjr">@davestuartjr</a></div>
— Brynn Allison (@literarymaven) <a href="https://twitter.com/literarymaven/status/760415682680926208">August 2, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>After seeing this tweet from Brynn Allison @literarymaven, I went back to a great website that I discovered at the beginning of the summer: <a href="http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/">Smart Classroom Management.</a> I have spent hours reading Michael Linsin's ideas on this site. He has very clear ways to help you learn classroom management. <br />
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My discipline system for the past couple years has been to give one warning and then to give a consequence. Yet, through Linsin, I have gotten concrete tips for making that even better. Here are some key take aways---<br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b>1. Your classroom should be a fun, inviting place where students enjoy learning (and this is by far the most important point!).</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>2. Your rules should be clear and to the point.</b></span> He suggests--<br />
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I am not yet sure that these are going to be my rules, but this gives you an idea. Previously my rules were--<br />
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In choosing my rules this year, I want to make sure that I can clearly see if the rule has been broken. With that being said, rule number one may be the one that needs adjusting. If a student is blatantly not trying their best, that could fall under not respecting themselves. In many ways, I like Michael's rules better for that reason. They are very clear. Where I am not sure I agree is with the "Raise your hand before speaking." I see my classroom as one where a lot of collaboration occurs, so I don't know that I want to tell them they can't talk. Of course, the reality is that in <span style="background-color: #ffe599;">teaching procedures</span> to your class, you can teach them when talking is permitted (and even encouraged). Then at "all other times" they are expected to raise their hands to speak. </div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">3. Your consequences should be clear and to the point, too. </span></b> He suggests--<br />
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His site also goes into detail about how to do each of these steps, including samples. </div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-weight: bold;">4. You should be following your management plan like a referee refs a game. No lecturing, no negativity or anger. You are just delivering the facts. </span>This may be the hardest one, but it is also a VERY important point. Students need to be given the space to self-reflect, and it will be harder for them to do that if they are harboring resentment over something that you did or said. </div>
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<b style="color: orange;">5. Teach every procedure in a very detailed way. </b>This is another important one. Teach your students how to come into your classroom and begin their bell-ringer. Teach them how to get into groups or get supplies. Teach them what it will look like when they get a warning or a time-out. Nothing should be surprising when it comes to how your classroom runs. Then when you follow your classroom management plan, the students will be thankful that you are consistent and stuck to the procedures that you taught them at the beginning of the year. </div>
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<b>All of this and so much more can be found on Michael Linsin's website. If you are a new teacher (or any teacher, really), you should also spend hours on his site. I have only skimmed the surface of what he has to offer. </b></div>
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<b>Happy Planning!</b></div>
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DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-54562755337993288492016-08-01T21:34:00.001-04:002016-08-01T21:34:47.056-04:00Writing and RubricsToday I want to talk more about how I teach and assess writing. This past year, I worked on increasing the amount of writing by using a modified writers' workshop and having my students write in a writer's notebook. Basically, this just meant that we wrote more often and we did a lot more writing activities to prepare for major pieces. I found a lot of great ideas from this <a href="http://musingsfromthemiddleschool.blogspot.com/2015/08/teaching-writing-4-1-1-video-post.html">blog post by Jenna at Musings in the Middle</a>-<br />
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<a href="http://musingsfromthemiddleschool.blogspot.com/2015/08/teaching-writing-4-1-1-video-post.html" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoLB61wUVzCLbO9ENfK9FBZ17m5qojNVaN6HVRqTFHTRGd-9MdokbBFbvDCXbubOlfgvTnRGUpIGsrEIyPuO-92cE3l8AsHnw35kbfu_YyVbpipYxvJlP6fGjL5IuCAxYo2UvgVFx-TfI/s320/Screenshot+2016-07-30+16.51.26.png" width="274" /></a></div>
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This is an image from her blog that shows one page of a writer's notebook. It is also TOTALLY worth it to watch her video, which I inserted below. Please be clear that both of these resources, the image and video, are Jenna Smith's...not my own. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DyvJShPjeXc/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DyvJShPjeXc?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe><br />
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So, now that you have spent a little time with Jenna, let's get back to my classroom. This year with my sixth graders, I made a lot of the brainstorming pages for narrative writing, including the one shown above. This falls into the category of "list making" in the writer's notebook, and it is so helpful for the students. I then would say something like, "Turn to your heart map and pick one topic to write about today." We might write three different "quick-writes" from our heart maps, which we could later pull inspiration from for a longer narrative. In this way, students get practice developing a number of ideas for the different types of writing- narrative, expository, and argumentative. <br />
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Once it is time to develop one topic for a full length essay, I have students refer to their quick writes, but I also have them do more traditional planning. One example of this is to create an outline. Again, I teach this step by step with an example from my own writing. I go through the steps and then I have the students go through the steps. I do...you do. I model for each step of the writing process. Just like Jenna recommends, I write in front of the students. It is worth it to be vulnerable and show them the process. I also share rubrics with the students throughout the process. I teach and grade based on the six traits of writing. I often focus on a few of the traits in the rubric. <br />
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One of my favorite essays to teach is the literary analysis. I do this essay with my 8th graders after their summer reading book, <i>Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry </i>by Mildred Taylor. I have them compare literary elements between <i>Roll of Thunder</i> and a supplementary text (like "Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar or "The Man Who Was Almost a Man" by Richard Wright). Here is the rubric from that essay-<br />
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As you can see, this example of a rubric focuses more on the structure of the essay and lays out exactly what students should have in each paragraph. </div>
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In contrast, here is a rubric for a narrative essay. This one has three of the six traits highlighted- Ideas, Organization, and Word Choice. I also <i>almost always</i> grade for conventions. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMml1fihy34ooPwH4FudeNJVatjr9qYSFVXolDQg_L-AK702pK25n7lIkcTZMbMjh5V4GUp1y6yjKOxiou57ytxN2Y8VKRiYfMxQiQGq6mdQU_Nbv9Bl1Z5MfYZPs1UB6eXRoKeKKkaTw/s1600/Screenshot+2016-08-01+20.47.55.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMml1fihy34ooPwH4FudeNJVatjr9qYSFVXolDQg_L-AK702pK25n7lIkcTZMbMjh5V4GUp1y6yjKOxiou57ytxN2Y8VKRiYfMxQiQGq6mdQU_Nbv9Bl1Z5MfYZPs1UB6eXRoKeKKkaTw/s640/Screenshot+2016-08-01+20.47.55.png" width="502" /></a></div>
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I hope that this post helps to clarify how I teach and assess writing. I'm also continuing to dig into Lucy Calkins's <i><a href="http://www.heinemann.com/products/E05730.aspx">Writing Pathways</a></i> which I got last year. The rubrics are very specific and show multiple grade level expectations. Here is a glimpse of the rubric for a sixth grade information writing assignment from that book.<br />
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Keep the conversation going by commenting below. How do you use rubrics? What methods do you prefer for teaching writing? As always, happy planning!<br />
<br />DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-33804300533674506102016-07-24T22:02:00.000-04:002016-07-31T09:59:31.190-04:00Letters to New English Teachers Post #3-- Beginning of the Year-- Assessment<b><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>Today </b>we will be discussing how to assess your students at the beginning of the year. Letter number three, Beginning the Year, was split up into three sections. Please click the following links if you missed either of the previous two posts on <a href="http://davasmithenglishteacher.blogspot.com/2016/07/letters-to-new-english-teachers-post-3.html">procedures</a> or <a href="http://davasmithenglishteacher.blogspot.com/2016/07/letters-to-new-english-teachers-post-3_12.html">building relationships.</a></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">3. Assessing Students' Skills</span></b><br />
When you think about the first week(s) of school, much of what you plan is going to fall into the first two categories above. You will find that without spending time teaching the procedures and building relationships, more time later will be spent "putting out unnecessary fires." However, as an English teacher, I also feel the need to bring in literature and writing during the beginning of the year. This comes back to having balance within your class. Most teachers will have at least 45 minutes a day with their students. You should be able to infuse <b>literature and writing </b>into the previous two categories (procedures and building relationships) as a way of getting to know where your students are academically, without sacrificing anything.<br />
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One method of bringing in <b>literature</b> at the beginning of the year is to do read alouds. There is something special about bringing in children's books and reading them to your middle school students. If you have a document camera, you can easily show them the pages as you read. You can even fashion a document camera out of an iPhone, tripod, and the AirScanner app (which I did last year). One of my favorite read alouds is <i>The Giving Tree</i> by Shel Silverstein. I use this as a jumping off point for discussing literary devices and elements. It is also important to have vulnerable moments discussing the plot of stories, and <i>The Giving Tree</i> has a great plot for that, too. Talking about the characters and the choices that they make allows the students to connect their lives to the story and to each other. This helps them to feel more comfortable with the other students in the class, thus you are building relationships at the same time. <br />
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Another way to bring in literature during the beginning of the year is to have the students do a project with their summer reading book. Each school has different summer reading requirements, but hopefully your students have read at least one book for fun over the summer. The project that I did last year involved students working in groups to find similarities between the literary elements within their books. The end result was four sheets of construction paper put together with string. I wish I had taken a picture of the finished product because they turned out really great. Here is a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HvT8z4eneACChzFVzgNz6izRkGkUuWaKYUMAQwtSlyQ/edit?usp=sharing">link</a> to the project description and a view of the project from the assignment document. <br />
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It is also important to set the precedent for free choice <b>reading</b> at the beginning of the year. One way to do this is through reading time at the beginning of class. Students should be encouraged to bring the book they are reading for fun and then the first 10 minutes of class is designated for silent reading. If students don't have a book they are reading, you should have articles/short stories ready to provide to them. Then, conference with those students individually to help them find a meaningful book to start reading. I usually had one day a week set aside for bell ringer reading, but you could increase that. In fact, some teaching models designate as much as 15 minutes a day. I would definitely recommend reading <a href="https://bookwhisperer.com/"><i>The Book Whisperer </i>by Donalyn Miller</a>. She has great ideas for how to infuse a love of reading within your students through independent reading. <br />
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I also ensure that there is <b>writing</b> in my classroom on a daily basis. This could be something simple such as a paragraph reflection or exit ticket; however, the beginning of the year is also the time to see your students' skills on "meatier" writing assignments. One teacher author that has inspired me is Lucy Calkins. In her Units of Study program, I learned about the on-demand writing assignment. At the beginning of the year, have students write a multi-paragraph piece for each type of writing: informational, argumentative, and narrative. This will show you (and them) what they remember from past years. It is recommended that you do all three on-demands at the beginning of the year, but you might prefer to do each type directly prior to teaching that type of writing during the year. This year, I invested in the book <a href="http://readingandwritingproject.org/resources/assessments/writing-assessment"><i>Writing Pathways</i> by Calkins</a>, and it provided me with a wealth of rubrics and checklists to help students on their writing journeys. The day before the on-demand assessment, you should inform your students that they will be writing with a speech like this one-<br />
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"Think of a topic that you've studied or that you know a lot about. Tomorrow, you will have all of class to write an informational (or all-about) text that teaches others interesting and important information and ideas about that topic. Please keep in mind that you'll have only 40 minutes to complete this, so you'll need to plan, draft, revise, and edit in one sitting. Write in a way that shows all that you know about information writing."<br />
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Here is a glimpse of one of the checklists from <i>Writing Pathways. </i>When you purchase the book, you get the checklists within the book and you get them on a disk for your computer as well. This is ideal for convenience. <br />
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After students write the piece, they can start looking at the checklists to see where they think they fall on the spectrum-- not yet, starting to, or yes. Of course, <i>you</i> should also assess the pieces using the checklists. Then when teaching your writing units, you can refer back to the original on-demand piece to gauge progress. At the end of the writing units, students should do another on-demand piece to show their growth on that type of writing. <br />
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On another day, I will go into more depth about writing and rubrics to help Jamie out, as per a previous request. Any other questions or comments regarding beginning the school year, let me know with a comment. Happy planning!<br />
<br />DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-55655132631464138002016-07-12T15:18:00.001-04:002016-07-12T15:18:01.639-04:00Letters to New English Teachers Post #3-- Beginning of the Year Relationships <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: red;"><b>Today </b>we will be focusing on building relationships with your students. If you missed section one of letter 3 "PROCEDURES," you can find that post <a href="http://davasmithenglishteacher.blogspot.com/2016/07/letters-to-new-english-teachers-post-3.html">here</a>. </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">2. Building Relationships</span></b><br />
In addition to setting strong limits, teaching procedures, and having rules and consequences (see section <a href="http://davasmithenglishteacher.blogspot.com/2016/07/letters-to-new-english-teachers-post-3.html">one</a>), you need to build rapport with your students. Your classroom should be one that they are excited to come to, both because you have high standards for what they will be learning AND because you care about them. The beginning of the year is your first opportunity to get to know the students, and by investing some effort from the start, they will know that you care about them. <br />
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My first recommendation is to <span style="color: red;"><b>start by writing an introduction letter to your new students</b></span>. This can be a little bit more challenging depending on how many students you have, but ideally, you will mail this letter home to the student before the start of the school year. In this letter, tell the students a little bit about yourself and your plans for the school year. It doesn't hurt to show the students how excited you are to start the school year with them. Your excitement will start to build their excitement. <br />
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When the students arrive on the first day of school, you have a few important jobs. First, <b><span style="color: red;">make sure that you are on hall duty</span></b>. Every time there are students in the halls, you should be too. Say hello to the students, introduce yourself, shake hands or high five the students. You can already be getting to know your students during these informal times. Ask about their interests or what they did over the summer. Show them that you care! When students begin to enter your classroom, remember from post number <a href="http://davasmithenglishteacher.blogspot.com/2016/07/letters-to-new-english-teachers-post-3.html">one</a> that you should have clear work expectations. They need to be put to work immediately with "bell work." This is the trickiest part because you are juggling between getting the students who are in your room off to a productive start (while showing them that how they behave matters), and continuing to "work the hallway and build those relationships." [I would just like to note that being over planned for the first day will help you to have the confidence necessary to be in the hall and not in your classroom. And you can also straddle the doorway to help you "be" in both places.]<br />
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In considering <b><span style="color: red;">first day (and week) activities</span></b>, I personally put priority on teaching procedures and routines. With that being said, I think there are always opportunities for getting to know your students. This past year, the bell ringer on the first day of school was a drawing activity. It included the choice for the students to draw whatever they wanted and then they were tasked with writing a little blurb explaining what they drew. When the timer rang, we spent a little more time on the bell ringer by sharing our drawings. This showed the students that I cared about hearing from them. Plus, many of the drawings related to <i>who</i> the students are, so it was multifunctional. Here's what it looked like. <br />
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As the first week continues, I would recommend that you continue to do little activities that have multiple functions. Get to know the students (and help them to get to know one another) while also getting to know their skill levels and letting them have fun and express themselves. Another quick activity that I enjoy doing in the first week of school is the signature scavenger hunt. There are many versions of this online, but here is a small clip of my version. </div>
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In the next section of this letter I will be talking more specifically about getting to know your students academically and setting the stage for your high work expectations. However, if you work to get to know your students in the first days and weeks of the school year, your life (and theirs) will be much more enjoyable. <b><span style="color: red;"> I would also recommend that you continue to get to know the students and show them that you care about them all throughout the year. </span></b> This could involve bringing movement into the classroom with a scavenger hunt or a <b><span style="color: red;">four corners</span></b> multiple choice activity. In the four corners activity you put up signs in the four corners of the room, one for A, B, C, and D. During this activity I like to have the students answer the questions on paper first, that way they don't just follow their friends around the room. Then during review of the questions, you read each question and students physically go to the corner that stands for the letter choice of their answer. It gets them moving and having fun while still doing review. Or you could play the online game <a href="https://getkahoot.com/"><span style="color: red;"><b>Kahoot</b></span></a>. This game requires students to have a device (either one per person or one per team). There are many, many on the website that other teachers have already created. You can easily find and edit one of those OR you can make your own (which is super easy). This online game basically becomes an every student response system, and in my experience, works best with multiple choice questions as well. A final tip is to incorporate music into your classroom. This could be using music to help you teach lessons or playing classical music in the background. MSKCPotter talks about both of those things. She has great references in her TPT store for using video and music clips in the classroom. Check that out <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/193-Video-Clips-for-the-English-Classroom-678326">here</a>. She also recently wrote a blog post about playing classical versions of pop songs that you can read <a href="http://mskcpotter.blogspot.com/2016/06/music-for-middle-school-classroom.html">here</a>. I have also had great success with this technique of background music, and I usually use the Pandora station "Classical Music Medley" for my tunes. A final thought is that if you have a few extra minutes of class, you can play a fun song for the students. I like to take requests (clean songs only, of course). This is like a reward if they have worked really hard during the lesson, and we end up with a little bit of extra time, and it is a nice way to send them out. One note of warning, though, is to make sure that you have wrapped up your lesson. This should never replace part of your lesson. The learning objective most definitely comes first. </div>
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One last reference that I want to give you is on the blog Smart Classroom Management by Michael Linsin. He wrote a post all about building rapport on the first day of school. His main words of advice are to <span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">greet, smile, share, laugh, </span><span style="color: #666666; font-weight: bold;">and</span><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"> promise. </span>Read his original post <a href="http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2015/08/08/how-to-build-rapport-on-the-first-day-of-school/">here</a>. </div>
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This post has a lot of ideas for things that you can start doing right now, so happy planning, and as always shout out with any questions or comments! </div>
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<br />DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-60646094650189775322016-07-10T22:37:00.000-04:002016-07-10T22:37:06.283-04:00Letters to New English Teachers Post #3-- Beginning of the Year-- Procedures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello New English Teachers,<br />
Letter #3 in the series is a good one! What types of things do we need to consider for the beginning of the year?<br />
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There are so many things to consider when the school year is about to begin. You need to think about how you want to run your classroom. To have well behaved students, your classroom needs to have procedures in place. You need to think about how you are going to get to know your students and build a classroom community. You need to think about how you are going to get to know your students' abilities as learners of English. When I started to write this letter, I decided that it needed to be broken down into three segments. These segments will all be "letter 3," but since there is so much to say, they will be published separately. The segments will be: <b><span style="color: blue;">1. Procedures, </span></b><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">2. Building Relationships, </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #666666;">and</span></span><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"> </span><b><span style="color: orange;">3. Assessing Students' Skills</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">1. Procedures </span></b><br />
I would say that procedures fall into two categories. <b>Category 1 would be procedures that help the students learn to their maximum capacity and category 2 would be procedures that help teachers maintain their sanity (i.e. save you time!)</b>. There are so many experts that have helped me develop my classroom procedures (both in category 1 and 2). Let's look at two of those experts in the body of this post. <br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">One expert</span></b> that revolutionized my classroom is <b>Rick Morris</b>. In my garage, in one of many boxes, are my Rick Morris books. If it was easier to put my finger on them, I would totally be re-reading them right this second! That's just how good they are. But guess what...the website is also a gold mine. If you don't have the book, go to this <a href="http://www.newmanagement.com/">link</a> to read all about Morris's ideas. Rick Morris has so many great ideas to explore. <br />
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One of his ideas that I use consistently is student numbers. What I do is simply number my students in alphabetical order. Why? Mainly, student numbers allows for an organization of your students in order to save a lot of TIME (i.e. a category 2 procedure). Morris has multiple books, but the book that delves into numbering your students is the <i><a href="http://www.newmanagement.com/handbook/handbook.html">New Management Handbook</a></i>. As a secondary school teacher, I generally teach multiple classes within the same grade level. For example, from 2012-2014 I had two seventh and two eighth grade classes. In the 2015-2016 I taught one sixth grade class, one seventh grade class, and two eighth grade classes. In these circumstances, my choice is to make a three digit number starting with the grade-level. All the classes within the same grade-level would be numbered consecutively. <b><span style="color: blue;">Let's look at the numbers for my classes this past year, just so you have a better picture of what I am talking about.</span> </b><br />
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<b>6th </b>grade class= 21 students (two of whom were late entrants)<br />
numbers 601-621<br />
Since my main reason for using these numbers is to help me with alphabetizing paperwork, I really needed my students to be in alphabetical order. This is something that Morris does not necessarily agree with, but I find that to be the best way for the system to work for me*. The first late entrant has the last initial of K. For trimester 1 and 2, I had her number as 620, but at the start of trimester 3, I moved her to 612.5 (for alphabetization). The second of my late entrant's last name begins with an X and was alphabetically last...perfect. By trimester three, my stack of papers had 612, 612.5, and 613 in the middle and was just missing number 620, and thankfully back in alphabetical order! Yay!<br />
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The other three classes were pretty straight forward--<br />
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<b>7th</b> grade class= 19 students<br />
numbers 701-719<br />
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<b>8th </b>grade class #1= 14 students<br />
numbers 801-814<br />
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<b>8th</b> grade class #2= 11 students<br />
numbers 815-825<br />
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*I would like to note that I can't remember how Morris numbers his students and why he does not number them alphabetically. I plan on re-reading the specifics of his system (when I can find my books) and I recommend you do the same. Then you can make a decision about how you would like to use the numbers. I think that for the late entrants, my need for alphabetization is a slight annoyance. <br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Along with </span></b>the student numbers are Blackline Masters. These masters continue to help your organization, and they even go one step further by helping you easily see if students have missed an assignment. Let's take a look at those next. This is one example of a master that Morris provides. You cut it down so that you have three small sheets. The one shown below is designed for a class of 20 students. <br />
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This image came from Morris's website under the tab for <a href="http://www.newmanagement.com/downloads/blm30.html">download files</a>. Basically, once your papers are organized numerically, you cross off the number of each paper in your pile. Then you can see which number (i.e. student) doesn't have their paper turned in. There is a key at the bottom that shows how Morris uses this master, but I generally don't get that specific. I do cross out the number when the assignment has been turned in, and I circle the number for students that didn't turn it in. That's it. I also create my own masters at the beginning of the year, and for ease of use, <b>I write my students' names next to their numbers.</b> Then I always have a quick reference of student numbers. I also have student numbers next to students' names in my gradebook and on the "Read" charts in the front of the room. I highly recommend that you look in to all of Morris's ideas, but this one in particular has been a huge time saver for me, especially in keeping track of mountains of paperwork! </div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>Another master teacher</b></span> that I have learned a lot from is <a href="http://www.fredjones.com/">Fred Jones</a>. I went to a conference for his book <i>Tools for Teaching </i>a few years ago, and I so enjoyed learning from him. Much of what he says will help you with student behaviors, which I would put in category 1. When you are running your classroom efficiently, the students are on-task and learning. </div>
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One thing that I learned from Jones (and Morris also agrees with) is to have consistent bell work. When students enter the classroom, you should be greeting them at the door. Shake their hands, welcome them in, and show them that you are monitoring behavior. There should be a distinction between playful hallway behavior and the work environment within your room. Then there should be clear expectations for what to do when they enter. I have had the best results when the activity is predictable. If students have a packet that they complete a portion of everyday, then they know to get it out and do the section for the day. I have also experimented with putting up the daily warm-up on the board, but <b>when it is not in the same format each day, it is harder to get the students into the routine of completing it.</b> I use the acronym <b><span style="color: blue;">HAD</span></b> to stand for get out your <b><span style="color: blue;">HOMEWORK</span></b>, write tonight's homework in your <b><span style="color: blue;">AGENDA</span></b>, and complete your <b><span style="color: blue;">DRILL</span></b>. </div>
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Now students have entered your room peacefully, completed their Bell Work, and you are ready to begin class. As you can imagine, plenty of other procedures will need to be established to have a smooth running class. How do you want students to ask to use the bathroom or to sharpen their pencils? Do you want them to be out of their seats whenever they want? You need to decide what is important to you. Here is a good list of procedures from <a href="http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/30-classroom-procedures-head-behavior-problems">Scholastic</a>. This list will help you determine what to teach in the first couple weeks of the school year. Fred Jones really emphasizes the importance of TEACHING everything that you want your students to do. <a href="http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/jones/jones002.shtml">Here</a> is an article by Jones that goes more into that idea with an example of teaching your students to walk to the library silently. The key is that they have to practice until it is perfect! Don't accept less than perfection, or you won't get what you want for the rest of the year. </div>
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Along with the procedures that will help your classroom run efficiently are the rules that will keep the students accountable for their behavior. Rules and procedures go hand in hand. According to Jones, "Never make a rule that you are not willing to enforce every time. Consistency means every time." The students are checking you out from the first moment that they meet you. If you say something is a "rule," but then don't enforce it, students will push the envelope every day. You need to set limits. Speaking of limits...that's another book that is recommended-- <i>Setting Limits in the Classroom </i>by Robert Mackenzie and Lisa Stanzione. </div>
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Personally, I feel that classroom management is one of the most difficult things to teach because each person has a different set of limits. What bothers one teacher might not bother you at all. <b><span style="color: blue;">Therefore, the key is for you to figure out what matters to you and enforce consistently.</span></b> And read lots of management books along the way!!! </div>
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<br />DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-69922778332544425322016-07-04T07:29:00.000-04:002016-07-04T07:30:08.555-04:00Letters to New English Teachers Post #2- How to Teach<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello New English Teachers,<br />
Welcome to letter #2. Today I want to talk about the <i>how</i> of teaching. When you plan your lessons, it is very important to think about your lesson objective and how you are going to assess if the students met the objective. There are many methods of teaching. The classic "lecture" usually doesn't work in middle school. Generally students need more direct instruction to, say, write an effective paragraph about literature. The reality is that your daily lessons will usually include numerous methods of teaching. To keep the students engaged, you want to have some discussion, collaboration, inquiry, but you also need to make sure that they can meet the objective independently. <br />
So in this post, I'd like to talk primarily about direct instruction. This past year I taught 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, and I realized very quickly that if I did not follow the "I do, we do, you do" lesson format (especially with the sixth graders), the students did not produce quality work. This lesson format is pretty much exactly how it sounds. <br />
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<b>1. "I do"-------Model for the students-</b><br />
Typically this will involve a <span style="color: #b45f06;">think aloud</span> showing the students how you arrived at the end point (the objective). When you are modeling for the students, I would recommend going through the steps before hand, and even making a script to ensure you are well prepared. It seems that with most objectives, I want the students to write paragraphs to show they have mastered the skill. This works for so many English skills: making inferences, identifying and analyzing conflicts, determining theme or irony, etc. Students need to write out their ideas to show they understand the literature and the concept as it relates to the literature. So when I do a think aloud, I often have what I want to write in my paragraph already typed. Then, even though I will re-type or hand write it in front of the students, I have literally done the work already and there are no surprises. <br />
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<b>2. "We do"-------Provide the students with guided practice- </b><br />
During this step, you can either work through the lesson steps as a class or have the students work in small groups to reach the end goal. They should be practicing what they just saw you, the teacher, do. They are either being <i>guided</i> by you or their peers. If you choose to do small groups, then the students are helping each other grow in the lesson objective. In this step it is okay that they are still continuing to figure out how to determine conflict, theme, irony, etc. That is why they have support, and of course they are also able to look back at the exemplary example from the "I do" step of the lesson. <br />
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<b>3. "You do"------Provide the students with independent practice-</b><br />
This time, students should be able to show they can meet the objective alone. They have now watched the teacher do the lesson, practiced the same steps with their peers or as a class, and now they are responsible for the learning. They are still able to look back on the earlier steps of the lesson for support, but they should be coming up with something new to meet the objective. <br />
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<b>Let's look at an example...</b><br />
With my sixth graders this year we read <i>The Lightning Thief </i>by Rick Riordan. One of my lessons was for the students to show how Percy Jackson was on a hero's journey. I did a lot of scaffolding with the lesson, and it was a multi-day lesson as well. I started with quotations that would connect to Percy being on a hero's journey. I wrote a paragraph for them which included a topic sentence, proof from the text, and my own explanations to show how the quotes prove that Percy is on a hero's journey. Then students worked with a different chapter of the book and wrote a partner paragraph. The students had a rubric and step-by-step directions that would help them. They could look at my example from the previous day and use the support of their partner to write one paragraph together. After I graded the paragraph and provided feedback to the partnerships, they needed to do the process one more time independently. That was the one that would be a writing grade and would assess if they understood the main character in the novel <i>and </i>if they understood how to write a paragraph with text details and their own explanations. After all three steps, if students did not meet the objective effectively, then I went back to re-teach according to need. <br />
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<b>Final Thoughts</b><br />
1. When deciding how you are going to teach your lesson, include a lot of variety. You want to meet the needs of all of your learners. In the beginning of the year, I like to do a learning styles inventory quiz with my students. It is very informative for them and for me. Yet, even knowing where my learners fall on the inventory, I still usually choose to use audio, visual, and tactile methods in many of my lessons. <br />
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2. Make sure to use the data from "you do" lesson step and re-teach if necessary. It is easy to fall into this pattern of "I do, we do, you do," and assume that the students are "getting it." Sometimes these three steps aren't enough. Maybe some students will need the "we do" step of the lesson multiple times before being able to meet the objective independently. Remember to stay flexible for your students. <br />
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3. This final thought dawned on me when I started this post, although it really fits better in the first letter of "<a href="http://davasmithenglishteacher.blogspot.com/2016/06/letters-to-new-english-teachers-post-1.html">what you're teaching</a>." As I have mentioned, I am coming from a position with a lot of flexibility. Despite this <i>freedom</i>, I found it very helpful to refer to the <a href="http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/" target="_blank">Common Core Standards</a>. These standards were created with the purpose of students becoming college and career ready. It might be worth looking these objectives, even if your school also offers you a lot of flexibility. I think they are GREAT! <br />
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That's all for today. Seasoned teachers, what do you do to ensure how you're teaching is on point? New teachers, what questions do you have? Join the conversation by commenting below. <br />
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And...<span style="color: red;"><b>Happy July 4th!</b></span><br />
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<br />DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-46411272821822787092016-06-25T21:59:00.001-04:002016-06-25T21:59:32.351-04:00Letters to New English Teachers Post #1- What you're going to teach. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello New English Teachers,<br />
First let me offer my congratulations. This job is going to change your life. There are so many things about it that you are going to love. I am coming from a middle school background, so much of what I am going to be talking about lives in the middle school sector; however, I am confident that if you teach high school, you will find something of value, too.<br />
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In thinking about these letters, the first thing that I want to address is knowing what you are going to be teaching. Does your new school have a daily curriculum guide or a general list of exit learning objectives that all students need to meet by the end of the year? There is no way for me to know exactly what you will find for your curriculum, but whatever it is, now is the time to dig in and determine exactly what you will be teaching.<br />
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In my school, we have curriculum maps, which are broken down into what will be covered each month, and exit learning objectives, which are the general objectives for the whole year.<br />
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Maybe you will be blessed with having a lot of choice in your position. With the choice and flexibility I was given, I also had a lot of responsibility.<br />
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I was expected (and you probably will be to) to cover-<br />
<b><span style="color: magenta;">LITERATURE</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: purple;">WRITING</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: blue;">GRAMMAR</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: lime;">VOCABULARY</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">POETRY</span></b><br />
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One of the trickiest aspects of being an English teacher is finding the right balance of all of these elements. I am going to talk briefly about each one now.<br />
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">LITERATURE</span></b><br />
When it comes time to teach literature, I like to start with the novels. I have taught many novels over my 8 years as a teacher. Some of my favorites include <i>The Giver</i> by Lois Lowry, <i>To Kill a Mockingbird </i>by Harper Lee, <i>The Diary of a Young Girl</i> by Anne Frank<i>, </i>and <i>Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry</i> by Mildred Taylor. One way to enrich your novel units is to include short stories, poems, songs, non-fiction primary sources, etc. This helps the students to see varied perspectives on the subject that you are studying. It helps them to compare themes across different texts, and it helps them to stay ENGAGED in the unit of study.<br />
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Another aspect of teaching literature involves independent reading. Students should be reading a variety of texts independently throughout the year. I usually have them do book reports and journal entries to hold them accountable for this reading. There are many benefits to ensuring the students read, including improving their reading comprehension skills. I would definitely encourage you to include some type of independent reading in your curriculum. <br />
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Now for a brief example from my <i>Roll of Thunder </i>unit. In order to infuse a variety of texts, I like to teach the poem "Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar and the short story "The Man Who Was Almost a Man" by Richard Wright. Then I have the students do a literary analysis essay where they compare themes across <i>Roll of Thunder</i> and one of the supplementary texts. I have been teaching this unit at the beginning of the year, and this assignment gives me a great view of my students' current writing skill. This leads so nicely to the next skill on my list.<br />
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<b><span style="color: purple;">WRITING</span></b><br />
When I teach writing, I often teach it in conjunction with literature. I find that is the best way to balance these two major parts of English. When the students write about what they are reading, they are also preparing for literature classes in high school and college. Middle school is the time to learn how to read and analyze a text and then write a coherent essay proving a point about it. They need to be taught how to make a claim and then support it with proof from the text. It just makes sense to do essays that stem from books and stories.<br />
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The one area that sometimes strays from this general rule of thumb is creative writing and journal entry writing. Sometimes we do creative writing that is not related to literature "just for fun." Of course, the students are still learning important skills with this writing [like using figurative language and descriptive detail and how to write dialogue], but since they get to choose to write about "whatever they want," they have a lot of fun with it. Similarly, there is a lot of value in having the kids journal or blog about their lives. From writing about what inspires them to what they are reading for fun, students benefit from getting to write about their lives.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">GRAMMA</span></b><br />
Whether you love grammar or tolerate it, it can't be denied that students need grammar instruction in middle school. It is expected that they understand the basics of the English language when they get to high school, therefore it falls to us to teach it. This is one of the areas that I have grappled with every year, and I always end up going back to notes, drilling the concept with online interactives or worksheets, review games, and then tests. I don't know if this is the best way, but this has been the most reliable way to get results in my opinion. That and correcting students' writing for grammar errors diligently. <br />
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Last year I did an <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_EicUPmYPdKMjZRU21USGFXUk0/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">action research project</a> about grammar instruction, and I had some interesting results. Basically, if students are exposed to relevant grammar in conjunction with writing instruction, they are <i>sometimes</i> able to apply that knowledge to their writing. In order for this to be more successful, I need to do more research and planning. There are great books out there if you're interested in this method of grammar instruction. Personally, I would start with <i><a href="http://www.heinemann.com/products/E00688.aspx" target="_blank">The Power of Grammar</a> </i>by Mary Ehrenworth and Vicki Vinton. Despite my best efforts, this year I still found that the most reliable way of getting results was through direct instruction, yet I still hope to do more grammar in conjunction with writing in the future. <br />
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<b><span style="color: lime;">VOCABULARY</span></b><br />
Many schools have vocabulary programs that they use. My school uses the Wordly Wise 3000 system. I was very consistent with doing 3-4 Wordly Wise units a month in order to finish the 20 units within the school year. Students typically go through the exercises in the book for homework, and we check them in class the next day. We take multiple choice and spelling assessments for each unit, and after ten units, I do a cumulative assessment. In order to really get the words in the students' heads, I usually include some sentence writing during the week. When doing Wordly Wise sentences, I use the <a href="http://grammarpunk.com/" target="_blank">grammar punk program</a> (don't you love how everything is interconnected?!). In grammar punk, you roll dice and come up with stipulations for the sentences. You end up with a vowel, a consonant, a number, and a part of speech. Sometimes instead of rolling the part of speech die, I just have students write sentences with the grammar skill that we are currently working on. Then I always have the students include a Wordly Wise word in their sentence. This way students are practicing multiple skills. <br />
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Let's look at an example. Here are the stipulations for one set of sentences:<br />
<span id="docs-internal-guid-c5f05ec3-7091-00e2-fd1a-987af1de561f"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Write a </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">fantastic</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> sentence using 2 C,I words, a conjunction, a collective noun, and an abstract noun….and don’t forget a Wordly Wise unit 2 word. </span></span><br />
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The first step is usually to brainstorm a list of words with the vowel and consonant. Students love going around the room and sharing these. Having each student share their favorite word with the required vowel and consonant only takes a few minutes of class time and the pay off is great. Students get to share their unique idea and then everyone benefits from having a longer list of words with the vowel and consonant requirement. After that, students start writing and creativity continues to flow. I am always so impressed with what the students come up with.<br />
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Another method of vocabulary acquisition is through context vocabulary in the books and stories that you read. This is something that I always do in conjunction with any formal vocabulary program. The reason that I feel this is so important is because it is a skill to be able to define words in context, and students need to understand the words they read in order to understand what they read. Plus, it doesn't hurt that this is often a tested skill on standardized tests. <br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">POETRY</span></b><br />
Poetry can be taught in a couple of different ways.<br />
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One way is to do a stand alone poetry unit. This would allow you to teach famous poets, poetic devices, rhyme schemes, etc. Then you could have the students write poems featuring the things that they have learned and mimicking the style of the poets that they have learned about. This has not been my preference when teaching poetry. <br />
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Another way is to infuse poetry throughout your novel units. This happens to be my preference. I try to find relevant poems for all of my novels. As you can see, I like to keep everything connected. I bring in famous poets and relevant themes which will connect to the literature. Then I can still teach poetic devices, but the purpose of the poem extends beyond that. I also like to use the acronym TPCASTT to help the students analyze poems. I have a <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Poetry-Analysis-Method-TPCASTT-422031" target="_blank">free worksheet </a>that you're welcome to use, too. <br />
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At my school, we also value poetry recitation. We have students memorize poems throughout the year, and then students are chosen from each class to present these poems at monthly assemblies. By the time students leave 8th grade, they are very adept at public speaking and presentation skills, and they usually recognize that these skills have come from their many Declamation Days!<br />
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<b>FINAL THOUGHTS</b><br />
If you are in the position of not yet being hired, you can still get some planning done while you are waiting for "the call." Think about general objectives such as making inferences, summarizing, conflict, characterization, etc. One thought would be to plan a short story. Even if you end up not using what you plan right now, it will keep your creative juices flowing and help you to feel productive during the wait. Some other lessons would be beginning of the year writing activities. Even though you don't know the specifics of your class at the moment, you know that you will want to get to know the kids and their writing at the beginning of the year. While you might not be writing your syllabus until you have your final placement, you can create assignments that would help you get to know a group of students better. Another thing you could easily plan is grammar lessons. Let's assume that you're going to have a middle school position. You know that middle schoolers are going to need to work on grammar skills, so you could create lessons to teach then drill the comma rules, for example. I could go on and on, but you get the point.<br />
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Thank you for joining me on my first <i>very long</i> Letter to New English Teachers. I hope that you have found something of value. Please comment about any tips you have for new English teachers or any additional questions that you might have surrounding "what you're going to teach."<br />
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<br />DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-4009069602116228232016-06-15T21:15:00.003-04:002016-07-12T20:13:16.896-04:00Another Year in the BooksI have always loved end of the year reflection activities. They involve looking at the goals you set at the beginning of the year and thinking about your effectiveness as a teacher. This year, my Associate Head of School had a new activity for us. She had the teachers write report card comments for themselves. The purpose of the activity was to observe and comment on yourself as though you were an outsider, thus using third person. It allowed me to think about all aspects of my teaching. It also helped me to be more honest with the things that I need to improve upon, mostly because I was also giving myself credit for the things I do well. This activity is exactly what we want when planning meaningful lessons. We want to plan something that is creative and fun, yet gets the students thinking and reflecting. It was a very effective exercise, and I enjoyed creating mine very much. In fact, I think this is a worthwhile activity to do throughout the year as a means of checking your status. We do report card comments for the students multiple times a year, so why not for ourselves as well!<br />
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In this post I also want to tell you about an upcoming series on my blog. This year, I am leaving my job in hopes of finding one closer to home. In the position that I have held for the past four years, I have been the upper school English teacher at my school. And for three of those four years I have taught all the seventh and eighth graders. Many days, it felt like I was the English program. At times this was a lot of pressure, but it also made the victories that much sweeter. Now that I am packing up my room and saying my goodbyes, I have realized that I'm not quite ready to relinquish my classroom. In an effort to make my transition out more smooth, I am writing letters on my blog to new English teachers. One part of me thinks that these are for the person who replaces me, yet in reality, she probably won't be reading my blog. It is more of a reflective exercise, and one that I hope some new teacher somewhere will find value in. <br />
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So please stay tuned for Letters to New English Teachers coming soon. </div>
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DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-12451713880466479462016-01-19T21:21:00.001-05:002016-07-12T20:12:26.042-04:00Reflection-- Anne Frank Research One of my favorite things about teaching is the ability to reflect on my lessons. Figuring out what went wrong and implementing changes to enhance lessons brings such satisfaction. Sometimes, those changes aren't going to be used until the following year, but still, there is growth in the process. I also think that blogging is a fantastic way to reflect. It gives you the opportunity to get comments from others who may have struggled with the same things. Plus, there's the organizational factor. I often refer back to posts I have written in the past to help me remember successful lessons. <br />
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So with all that being said, today's post is another one of reflection. I recently did a pre-reading assignment with my eighth graders (read more about it in this <a href="http://davasmithenglishteacher.blogspot.com/2014/02/teaching-anne-frank.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>). Last year, the students wrote and delivered speeches. This year, I switched it up slightly and had the students write and present a newspaper article. Each student researched a topic and wrote their paper, but we didn't have a lot of time. Don't you hate the time factor?! This is where I ran into trouble. I really should have had each student do a visual to go along with their article. Instead, I had the students present their article by reading it--with NO visual. My ultimate goal was for students to learn from their peers' presentations. I had the audience taking notes, but since there was no visual, it was very difficult for them to follow along with the presentation. Students kept interrupting the presenter asking them to repeat things, "What was that date? How do you spell that name? What year again?" By the end of two days of presentations, I wasn't sure the students in the audience got anything out of it. Next year if I do this assignment, I will definitely require a visual that contains both pictures (to bring life to the topic) and bullet points (to help the audience follow along). That way, the audience can focus on listening, but still learn from the research their peers did! Lesson learned- sometimes forgoing parts of assignments "for the sake of time" actually ends up being more costly in the end.DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-50156493492842415182016-01-18T16:28:00.000-05:002016-01-18T16:29:26.593-05:00Martin Luther King, Jr. It is important that we share with our young people the reason for three day weekends. So often, we get swept up in the enjoyment of having a day off, that we fail to recognize the reason for the holiday. This blog post is primarily to share an infographic that was shared with me by <a href="http://www.waldorfhonda.com/" target="_blank">Waldorf Honda</a>. This succinct poster helps us all remember what a special man Martin Luther King, Jr. was. I hope that you enjoy the infographic and share it with your kiddos. Help them learn from this great man and appreciate the real reason for this holiday!<br />
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Thank you for sharing this with us, Waldorf Honda! </div>
<br />DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-55498146757141312972015-12-07T10:54:00.002-05:002015-12-07T10:54:41.547-05:00Maternity Leave Coming to an EndHi Everyone!<div>
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It has been about 10 months since my last blog post. In September I had a baby and now my maternity leave is coming to an end. Here is my sweet boy--</div>
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Sorry that it has been so long. I have had a wonderful time at home with my munchkin, and now it is time to get back to the work I love. I'll have a busy first week back, as it is also going to be the week before Christmas break. If you're looking for engaging lessons for that week, I have some good ideas on last year's <a href="http://davasmithenglishteacher.blogspot.com/2014/12/its-christmas-time.html" target="_blank">Christmas blog post. </a></div>
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Happy Holidays! </div>
DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-73507735229588244592015-02-19T16:41:00.001-05:002015-02-19T16:47:18.497-05:00Annotating Text in Middle School EnglishIn the past two weeks, annotating texts has come up a couple of times. It all started when I got an email from one of my past students. This particular student has been very thoughtful, as he not only visits his old stomping grounds, but he actually tries to improve what's going on here. I find it refreshing that as he is sitting in his high school English class, he is thinking, "Wow, Mrs. Smith could give the kids a jump on this concept." In a nutshell, the email said they were doing a lot of annotating, and maybe I should introduce it to the seventh and eighth graders. This got my wheels turning. Of course, "close reading" and "annotation" are words that are thrown around, but was I doing anything specific to prepare my students in these areas? <br />
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Then today, it came up again in a very real way. My seventh graders are reading <i>A Single Shard</i> by Linda Sue Park. They are around chapter 8, and they have gotten a lot of information about how Tree-ear and Crane-man live their lives. After reading the first two chapters of the book, I prepped the students for a paragraph which was "coming down the line." Today, I revisited that initial discussion and expected the kids to write the paragraph. For you to really get a picture, here is a little bit more information. <br />
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The paragraph was to be a response to the following question: <span style="background-color: yellow; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Explain what the quote means and how it relates to the situation of Tree-ear and Crane-man. Use numerous text details to support your answer. Pgs 44-45 might be a good reference. </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span id="docs-internal-guid-58a14412-a3ab-aa96-8c54-7e81addd0151"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Scholars read the great words of the world. But you and I must learn to read the world itself.” Pg 7</span></span><br />
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And our initial discussion after chapters 1-2 contained this note: <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Scholars study books and learn from what they read. Tree-ear and Crane-man must learn to read the world- meaning cultures. They learn things by reading behaviors. Not book smart, but smart with experiences. </span></div>
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With a little help, the kids came up with those notes, so I was feeling very confident that they would have no problem writing this paragraph, even if it was coming two weeks later. To my surprise, I heard, "I don't get it," and I saw confusion on faces all across the room. It was one of those teacher moments when you think...what? How do they not understand this. What I realized (with a little self-reflection) is that the students were not making a connection between everything they had read in chapters 1-8 and this paragraph prompt. It took them a long time to realize that Tree-ear "reads the world" in almost everything that he does (scavenging for food and getting a job being just two examples). What would have made my students' lives much easier is if they were annotating the text. If, after introducing the quote, I had said, "as you read, purposefully annotate the text with this prompt in mind," I would have gotten much better results. </div>
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So, it is with great excitement that I embark on the annotation journey with my middle school students. I read a very helpful blog post by Dave at Teaching the Core. He both makes a distinction between annotation and the buzz word "close reading" and give step-by-step tips on introducing it in your classroom. Here is his <a href="http://www.teachingthecore.com/purposeful-annotation-close-reading/" target="_blank">post</a> (read it...you will not be sorry). With Dave's assistance, I am going to introduce purposeful annotation with a folktale about foxes. I have determined that the purpose in reading this article is to get a visual of a "clever fox" to connect to <i>A Single Shard</i> (so reading for understanding) and our end result will be a class discussion about the ways the author uses "cleverness" to make the story interesting. In the story,"<a href="http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/06/the-too-clever-fox" target="_blank">The Too-Clever Fox" by Leigh Bardugo</a>, there are numerous examples of the fox being sly, but it becomes really interesting when there is a twist at the end which causes the fox to almost lose his life. Hopefully this will also lead to a discussion about the fox being cocky. Ultimately we will connect this back to Crane-man's experience with the fox. I want the students to see the flaw in the idea that foxes are clever and magical. In <i>A Single Shard</i> it says, "Foxes were dreaded animals. They were not large or fierce, like the bears and tigers that roamed the mountains, but they were known to be fiendishly clever. Some people even believed that foxes possessed evil magic" (Park 82). I think this activity allows the students to see the fox in a different light and then they will be able to imagine what would have happened if Crane-man had continued on his journey instead of turning back when he saw the dreaded fox. </div>
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Annotation is not really different from engaging with the text through, say, a dialectical journal, which is something I do with my 8th graders quite often, but there is something about having the writing directly on the text that is really appealing to me. As students enter higher level English classes, it may be the case that they own their books and can write in them freely. However, for middle school English, this is one area that will be a struggle. The 8th graders are about to start <i>To Kill a Mockingbird, </i>which for some students is a difficult book. I am going to need to think of a way to have them meaningfully annotate their borrowed books. Perhaps it will be with sticky notes, although I personally feel that is just not the same. </div>
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If you have any ways you use annotation, especially with books that the students cannot write in, let me know. I am all ears!</div>
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As always, thanks for sticking with me in this journey. </div>
DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-53159591377203661202014-12-15T19:52:00.001-05:002014-12-15T19:52:38.502-05:00It's Christmas TimeI have been thinking a lot about my lesson plans for this week...the week before Christmas. We have wonderful holiday traditions at St. John's which include the Christmas Concert on Thursday and a caroling assembly and faculty/8th grade luncheon on Friday. Lots of fun to be had by all for sure, but how can I keep my lessons engaging up until that last day? Here are some of my thoughts.<br />
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Today, I did a lesson on allusion in <i>The Giver.</i> I realized that teaching allusion with pop music might be just the thing to spruce up the lesson. I hopped onto YouTube and showed about the first minute of the following two videos:<br />
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/8xg3vE8Ie_E/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/8xg3vE8Ie_E&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/8xg3vE8Ie_E&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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Allusion to Shakespeare's <i>Romeo and Juliet</i><br />
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/Y1xs_xPb46M/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/Y1xs_xPb46M&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/Y1xs_xPb46M&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
Allusion to Kryptonite (Superman)<br />
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This was the hook for the lesson. I didn't tell them what we were doing just yet. I had them watch the first video and try and find some connection to a literary device. They had no idea, at first. We watched the first minute again, and with a little prodding, they got it. They didn't know the name of the literary device, but they knew what I wanted them to "get." Taylor Swift was referencing Shakespeare's <i>Romeo and Juliet</i>. In the second video, Kryptonite comes and goes very quickly, so they needed to actually see the lyric to "get it." This is the video I used for the lyrics:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/SlEjdrIRmaY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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At least with that class and that concept, I started the week off strong. One day down, four more to go. <br />
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Here are some things I am planning for the rest of my week--<br />
Comma Jeopardy- because who wouldn't want to review commas (and take a quiz) the week before Christmas.<br />
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Writing about gratitude-- This will actually be in connection to the literature that we are reading. The students will write about something that they are grateful for, and then they will think about the main character (or person) in the book(s) they are reading. The 8th graders are reading Anne Frank's Diary and the 7th graders are reading <i>The Giver</i>. So, is Jonas showing gratitude and in what way? Is Anne showing gratitude and in what way? For the part where the students write about their own gratitude, I was inspired by a post on <a href="http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2014/12/14/the-antidote-to-december-stress-teach-students-to-write-about-gratitude/" target="_blank">Two Writing Teachers</a>. I am going to make it into a worksheet for the students with one side being to write about themselves and one side for them to write/reflect upon the character/person in the book they are reading. <br />
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One other possibility for this week came from a post on I'm Lovin' Lit from 2013. She shows a Christmas movie, but not just for entertainment. She shows it to teach/emphasize literary concepts for the students. Things like theme, characterization, conflict! I love this idea. I haven't yet decided in what way I am going to use it because I think I will only need it for one class period on Friday. I will probably modify it a bit to fit my needs, but it is totally worth getting the freebie and checking out her post <a href="http://imlovinlit.blogspot.com/2013/12/fun-christmas-activity-finding-theme.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Thanks, Erin!<br />
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And with that, I hope it will be a Merry Christmas to all as we enjoy this final week before Christmas. DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-47653826507006153902014-10-25T20:29:00.001-04:002014-10-25T20:29:49.371-04:00Symbaloo After having my students bookmark another page for English last week, and hearing, "but I already have so many bookmarks," I decided to start a Symbaloo page for my classes. Have you heard of Symbaloo?<br />
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I am still a Symbaloo newbie, but here's my take--</h3>
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Symbaloo allows you to have a webpage that organizes all of your bookmarks. You can share your page with others and they will be able to see all of your bookmarks, but they can't add to your bookmarks. <br />
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Here is what my Symbaloo currently looks like:<br />
<a href="http://edu.symbaloo.com/mix/smithstjes">http://edu.symbaloo.com/mix/smithstjes</a><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="600px" name="_symFrame" noresize="noresize" src="https://edu.symbaloo.com/embed/smithstjes?" width="920px"></iframe><br />
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While it is true that my Symbaloo does look a little bare right now, it actually took me a bit of time because I was customizing it. I added pictures to some of my links to make them more interesting. Some of the links already came with their own icons that I liked (Actively Learn and ExitTix above), but others weren't great. You have two options for adding pictures. One is to upload your own image which I did for the St. John's link, the third link from the left on the top row. Or you can use one of the Symbaloo icons, such as the first two icons on the top left.<br />
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Here are some of the top reasons I like it--</h3>
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1. I can post both links that I want the kids to have long term access to and daily lesson plan links that I will remove more quickly. <br />
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2. It is easily organizable and visually appealing. <br />
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3. I can embed it on to my class website (as I did above).<br />
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4. It is a great way to find something (especially things you use often) without adding tons of things to your bookmark bar. <br />
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It reminds me a little bit of how I have started to use Pintrest. The main difference for me is that I like to "pin" things that I am not ready to use yet. It is nice to keep those resources in one place. Then if I am looking for something to jazz up a lesson, I can check Pintrest for some inspiration. Once I have found a link that I want to use over and over, then I will add it to Symbaloo. <br />
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Just a quick note about embedding. I initially had some difficulty embedding my Symbaloo page above. Here is the tip that eventually got it to work--switch to "HTML" at the top of the screen on blogger. That way when you embed the HTML code, the website can read it. So thankful to have figured this out to use it on other sites as well. <br />
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Have you used Symbaloo? How do you like it? </h3>
<br />DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-2652893899520976412014-10-03T17:33:00.000-04:002016-07-12T20:07:18.696-04:00Google Apps for Education (GAFE) Reading AppsI learned about various apps/extensions during the <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1il5QWoWrEzLd4sRRjC_GuJTN22HfvcKGSPi2z3oSIS4/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Google Apps for Education (GAFE) session</a> at Ed Camp Baltimore on September 27, 2014. Today's post will be about two of the reading apps that I learned about. These are for the Chrome web browser. If you don't use Chrome yet, I would suggest a switch in your default Internet browser...because it is amazing!<br />
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<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/readability/oknpjjbmpnndlpmnhmekjpocelpnlfdi" target="_blank">Readability</a> </h2>
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This is an extension that you can find by going to the Google Chrome Web Store. The icon is a red arm chair. </div>
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This extension is very useful if you have your students reading articles from websites. The purpose of the extension is to clean up the appearance of the website. Often times, news sites have excessive links all around the article. The look is very busy and it can be difficult to focus on the text you actually want to read. Once you have found the article you want to read, you just click the readability button and it gets cleaned up for you. </div>
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Let me show you an example. Here is the original <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-28203923" target="_blank">article</a> that I wanted to read from BBC News. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfhmNeQY7XqDI9_-u1QPRjs-DzVLJdCjcIfUaKQBFwUVyXin1kdAaHK4U772JyxPU1zGcYU4N1SXZA1SNdjwX6B0HB1KCdvF-lIONP0uxsRTM_WIxIrpZIuHbqBot7u_4LkPDkh3fqfWs/s1600/Screenshot+2014-09-28+16.11.52.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfhmNeQY7XqDI9_-u1QPRjs-DzVLJdCjcIfUaKQBFwUVyXin1kdAaHK4U772JyxPU1zGcYU4N1SXZA1SNdjwX6B0HB1KCdvF-lIONP0uxsRTM_WIxIrpZIuHbqBot7u_4LkPDkh3fqfWs/s1600/Screenshot+2014-09-28+16.11.52.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT337kJvcpMY_V-MZw6pvrtKpbqCMHVQTcTiTdBf52w3oFAyM7077LNQcBqNqiPr3ydow7vMGcA-1D-4pWEpZRFg5VEeECh29gckJKazrmPrAe_r2BzW_JXGHJknAOZt11ZWfDE6BmJPY/s1600/Screenshot+2014-09-28+16.29.10.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT337kJvcpMY_V-MZw6pvrtKpbqCMHVQTcTiTdBf52w3oFAyM7077LNQcBqNqiPr3ydow7vMGcA-1D-4pWEpZRFg5VEeECh29gckJKazrmPrAe_r2BzW_JXGHJknAOZt11ZWfDE6BmJPY/s1600/Screenshot+2014-09-28+16.29.10.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-fd78f063-bdd1-6d32-af96-ddae1071e268"><br /> I c</span>licked the Readability icon at the top of my web browser. <br />
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And in seconds my article looked like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNvzDtx20bUp2d6EglhKkagD1VnJjtFi7IZPIn6KbzE2IBxsdyQ4HvZvNTNEi2h1j7BhT_GYq667JGUNc81vyHPHmCJ8aLh_61bfp7J6oXE7wh_TV42JgAsDd80t59bhbe_pES4N5Cuek/s1600/Screenshot+2014-09-28+16.20.55.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNvzDtx20bUp2d6EglhKkagD1VnJjtFi7IZPIn6KbzE2IBxsdyQ4HvZvNTNEi2h1j7BhT_GYq667JGUNc81vyHPHmCJ8aLh_61bfp7J6oXE7wh_TV42JgAsDd80t59bhbe_pES4N5Cuek/s1600/Screenshot+2014-09-28+16.20.55.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Your article will still have the pictures that are specific to it, just not all the extra stuff from the website. It is much easier to read, but there are other features too. <br />
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Once your article is cleaned up, (I selected "read now"), you should have a row of buttons on the left hand side of the page. <br />
The first button is the Readability logo. This is for logging in to the Readability site, which doesn't seem necessary to me. <br />
The <span style="background-color: cyan;">second button</span> looks like this-<span style="background-color: cyan;"> Aa </span>- and it gives you access to some features that will personalize your reading experience. <span style="background-color: cyan;">You an change the color, font, size of text, and size of margins</span>. <br />
The third button (a megaphone) also asks you to log in to the app. <br />
The<span style="background-color: lime;"> fourth button</span> is a little<span style="background-color: lime;"> arrow</span> and it <span style="background-color: lime;">allows you to send this text to your kindle, email, Twitter, or Facebook</span> or you can <span style="background-color: lime;">print</span> it from here.<br />
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While I have not yet used this link with the students, I think it will be very useful. <br />
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<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tldr/giepilabiomhlcmlefmbfkgeoccfhhhc" target="_blank">TLDR</a></h2>
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TLDR stands for Too Long Didn't Read and it is another Chrome extension. This one does not seem to work with an article that has already gone through Readability, so it will have to be done on the original website. The purpose is to create simplified texts for English Language Learners or other students who could benefit from a summary or a shortened version. I think it would be especially helpful when trying to do research for a project. By reading a summary, you can decide if that article will fit your needs. If you determine that it might be a good one, then you can go on to read the original text. I can't speak to how well it shortens the text, but it does provide a short, medium, and long version of the article. </div>
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The icon for TLDR is those four letters in blue and green lowercase letters. Once you are on the article that you want to use it with, click the button and a dialogue box comes up in the middle of your screen. It then lets you click what you want to read- summary, short, medium, long, or original. At the bottom, there is a "find more like this" button, but it seems to me that that button is referring to more apps/extensions, not more articles. My primary purpose would be to use the summary feature to get an idea of the article, and then to read the original to see if you can use it. I do not believe it works on PDFs, just on websites.<br />
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The question will be, can students handle the power of an extension like this? Perhaps you want your students to read an entire article, but they have been armed with this extension. They might be able to "get away with" only reading some of the text. For now, I am not going to introduce this extension, but rather, I will use it myself to provide summaries. One example is for a mini-research project where I will be providing the links. I can now include a short summary with each corresponding link, so the students can pick the best articles to fit their needs. <br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>I am excited for what Google Apps and Extensions can do in our classrooms. These are just two examples of many useful resources. This is just scratching the surface. </b></span><br />
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<b style="color: purple;">What are your favorite GAFE that are related to reading?</b><br />
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<br />DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-74557093607885177082014-09-28T15:11:00.000-04:002014-09-28T15:27:58.374-04:00Ed Camp Baltimore-- September 27, 2014Yesterday, I went to Ed Camp Baltimore. This was my first officially Ed Camp experience, and I LOVED it! Have you heard of this type of professional development? It is an "unconference." You can read about it directly on the <a href="http://www.edcampbmore.org/what-is-an-unconference.html" target="_blank">Ed Camp Baltimore</a> website, but I'll also give you my version of the day's events. <br />
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Here's my take on the event-</h3>
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<b>Registration</b></div>
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The technology coordinator at my school informed the staff about the Ed Camp Baltimore conference. I knew that she had gone since its inception, and at her recommendation, I wanted to check it out. I was planning on registering a couple weeks prior to the event, but at that point, I wasn't ready to commit to attending. A few days ago, I decided I wanted to attend. The event was FREE, so unfortunately they were out of tickets. Luckily, I joined the waitlist and a spot opened up! </div>
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<b>The Schedule is Created</b><br />
When you arrive at an Ed Camp conference, all the participants are gathered in a common area and that is when the schedule is set for the day. I know that sounds weird, right. <span style="background-color: yellow;">The schedule is not set prior to the day of the event, nor are the presenters.</span> Anyone who has an idea can put a sign up with their idea, and it might become a session for the day. I put up a topic for discussing writing instruction and assessment with a connection to Google Docs. Initially, my session was combined with another session on discussing everything Google Apps for Education (GAFE), but some more shifting occurred, and I got to have my session too. Once the schedule was set, it was all compiled on a Google Doc. Here was our final <a href="http://www.edcampbmore.org/schedule-2014.html" target="_blank">schedule</a> for the day. Check out the <a href="http://www.edcampbmore.org/photo-gallery.html" target="_blank">photo gallery</a> from Ed Camp 2012 for a better idea of how this scheduling works. </div>
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<b>The Sessions Begin </b><br />
Everyone chooses a session that sounds good to them. You head to the room of your chosen session and the person that suggested the topic presents. Often times, the floor is opened so other teachers that have expertise on the subject can share their ideas. The GAFE session was the first session I attended. Then I led a discussion about writing during session 2. There was so much of value at the sessions that I attended that I am going to dedicate full blog posts to new apps and websites that will revolutionize your teaching. <br />
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<b>Smackdown</b><br />
After the first two sessions, everyone joined in the auditorium for a smackdown of resources that they find helpful. This was so informative! Anyone could go up to the front and share something with the group. A recorder was also taking notes for the group. I would definitely recommend you look at the list of resources from the <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1I4W7XFu0qxwxsPdRC2_UqK4NIPEUXDI7vBPazYWOBQw/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">smackdown</a>. <br />
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<b>Back for More</b><br />
After lunch on your own, it is back for two more afternoon sessions. This followed the same format as the sessions above. One thing that is stressed at an "unconference" is that you are free to switch sessions at any time. The motto goes something like this- If you aren't learning or contributing, use your two feet to take you somewhere else. This means that you can get the most out of your day. Another great aspect of this conference is that all the notes were online. There was a shared Google Doc for each session (again use the links on the <a href="http://www.edcampbmore.org/schedule-2014.html" target="_blank">schedule</a> page). That way, if there were multiple sessions you wanted to attend, you could easily benefit from them by looking at the notes later. <br />
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<b>Closing</b><br />
After all the sessions, we congregated in the auditorium for a raffle. The event had no advertisers, but there were sponsors who offered numerous prizes. <br />
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<b>Key Takeaways</b><br />
I think one of my main takeaways is that there is a rich community of educators that stay connected through technology. For example, there many who stay connected on Twitter, and I want to be part of that community of educators, both to learn from them and to add to the conversation. <br />
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I also want to blog more regularly. It is something that I have been doing more for myself, but I want my voice to be part of this online community of educators. Yesterday I read a really great post by Jenna Shaw, a member of this year's Ed Camp Baltimore Organizing Committee. She talked about this exact concept in her post <a href="http://edtechadventure.blogspot.com/2014/09/connected-responsibility.html" target="_blank">"Connected Responsibility."</a> She says, "If I am to truly be connected to others, it must be a consistent effort that rises above some of the individual difficulties I experience with inspiration, time, and effort, in order to ensure that the community I am helping to connect is able to share their voice." I wholeheartedly agree with this. Blogging, like so many other aspects of education, is time consuming. It is something that I want to schedule into my week just like I schedule in planning and grading. <br />
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<b>Looking Ahead</b><br />
<b>Are you looking for an Ed Camp experience?</b><br />
MSDE is hosting an Ed Camp in Baltimore on February 7. Not from Baltimore? Look up Ed Camps in your area. They are happening all over the world!DavaSmithEnglishTeacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01159444913387555643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066255150088508832.post-40438199426754212852014-06-17T07:47:00.000-04:002014-06-17T07:47:21.104-04:00Collaborize Classroom<br /><br /> Technology is a very important part of educating well rounded, 21st century learners. More and more, technology skills are becoming part of employment requirements. According to the Iowa Department of Education, “technological literacy supports preparation of students as global citizens capable of self-directed learning in preparation for an ever-changing world.” Using technology in the classroom has to extend beyond word processing skills to really be useful to the students. Technological literacy should also incorporate cooperative learning. Students will need to know how to interact with their peers in an online environment, be it through commenting on blogs or participating in a discussion board. <br /><br /> There is one website that I was recently exposed to that meets all of the requirements above: Collaborize Classroom. This free web tool allows teachers to create a website and then have online polling or class discussions. With chromebooks in the classroom, I can see the students engaging in class using this tool more readily and easily than hand raising allows. It also seems to be well designed for educators. When you register, Collaborize Classroom provides you with three discussions to get started. The first one is “Establishing Expectations for Behavior: Dos and Don’ts for Online Student Communication.” This is a great way to start an online discussion board. It rivals the class expectations discussion that many teachers have using chart paper at the beginning of the year. This topic shows me that Collaborize Classroom is designed with teachers in mind. They are just moving successful teaching practices to an online platform. The second step (as they call it on the website) is “Maintaining a Safe Space Online: Which Behaviors are Most Important.” These two online discussions are not only helping the students learn appropriate online behaviors, but they are also teaching the students how to use this website. As opposed to opening a new Google Doc and taking notes, we get to participate in polls and see the results. Using this tool for polling and class discussions would allow us to meet the same curricular goals in a 21st century way. <br /><br /> As I was playing around with this tool, I saw one potential drawback. I was hoping that I could create a different website for each class I teach, but it seems like that is not possible. Instead, they have an option to create groups. It is difficult to know if that will meet my needs until I try it. I do want some separation between my classes, though. When I receive my class lists in August, I will be able to actually create my “groups” and see how it works. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here is a screenshot of my newly created Collaborize website: <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge59i_Pwc6AkA_cfrCXDETyJOQ78kBi77JunO0qhCBsbmWnSQCozdhJF045E4B6b4kixmwIN2iBZ6XO00GEBIjIBewLYAVIn1h_4xnwm6rAzH5Vy_xmBgAmoimM2fvXV6TzBJd8mC_QpU/s1600/Screenshot+2014-06-17+07.37.18.png"><img border="0" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge59i_Pwc6AkA_cfrCXDETyJOQ78kBi77JunO0qhCBsbmWnSQCozdhJF045E4B6b4kixmwIN2iBZ6XO00GEBIjIBewLYAVIn1h_4xnwm6rAzH5Vy_xmBgAmoimM2fvXV6TzBJd8mC_QpU/s1600/Screenshot+2014-06-17+07.37.18.png" width="640" /></a><br /><br />I also recommend that you check it out yourself. This is not a sponsored post, just a website that I found recently that I think will be a useful classroom tool. I hope you find it to be useful as well. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.collaborizeclassroom.com/" target="_blank">http://www.collaborizeclassroom.com/ </a></span><br />
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