Search results matching tags 'teaching' and 'resources'

Resurrecting a Post: Advice to New Teachers

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:18:47 GMT

I have been incredibly busy the last couple of weeks, and between moving two hours away to a new city, transitioning to a new, very exciting and amazing job, and finishing projects at my current job, I’m a little swamped.

I found this post from August, 2011, that I just had to repost because I still mean every word I wrote. Best of luck to all of you teachers (new and experienced) as you start this school year!

Practical Advice for New Teachers

This will be my fifth year as an educator and, probably, the first year in which I feel confident, competent, and ready to branch out to new teaching strategies. All new teachers need to be told that teaching gets better with time. For me, years one and two flew by in a blur, year three was when I got the hang of classroom management, and year four was when I stopped sitting in front of my computer every night researching, researching, researching to prepare for the next day’s lessons. This year, I have some pretty lofty goals for myself and my classroom, but I have loftier goals for myself as an education and teacher advocate.

As a teacher advocate, I want to give some philosophical and practical advice to support new teachers. You, new teacher, need to know that it will get easier. Your first year will be the most difficult and draining, but it will get easier–just wait it out and don’t give up.

A mantra for new teachers: “Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath.” (Michael Caine) It is possible to be a nervous wreck without having to appear like a nervous wreck. (*I remind myself of this quote every time I willingly accept a new role, responsibility, or duty into my already full life!*)

Dealing with challenging kids: Know that kids are resilient, and you’ll screw up when dealing with them. When you make mistakes (say something you probably shouldn’t, accuse a kid of doing something they may not have been doing, etc.), apologize and move on. The next day is a brand new day.

Dealing with challenging parents (something I’m still struggling with!!): As a parent myself, I now know that feeling of protection parents harbor for their children. I do want to protect my daughter from everything and everyone. Unfortunately, for some parents, this sense of protecting manifests itself in attacking the teacher. In these conversations, remind yourself that it is the parent’s right and responsibility to stand up for his/her child, and no matter what form this takes against you, you need to be firm in your own beliefs. Always do what is educationally sound, always apologize when something you said or did was a mistake, and always support those parents who email you once a day to check in on their children–over-involved parents are better for a child than apathetic and/or absent parents.

Also…when a parent, administrator, fellow teacher, other stakeholder, etc. sends you an angry email, or an email that sounds angry, open a new email, don’t type anything in the “To:” line, type the response you’d really like to send–complete with expletives, angry words, perfunctory remarks, and accusations–fume as you’re typing, sit back and pretend to hit the send button…then don’t. Close/delete the email. Then, type your less impulsive reply to the parent, administrator, fellow teacher, other stakeholder, etc. and actually it send.

Dealing with the stress of teaching: Take care of yourself. Know your boundaries and limits as a professional, and conduct yourself in a way that is aligned with your boundaries. If you cannot take that voluntary duty your administrator has asked you to do, tell him/her no. Teaching is both your job and your life, but that doesn’t mean you need to bleed for your building.

And now, some practical tips I’ve learned:

When you create a multiple choice test (I know, I know, not a good way to assess, but if you do create them…) make your left margin .5″ and format such that your answer lines are left aligned. When you grade, you can line up an entire class period horizontally across your desk/table and grade a group of them at once.
Know that when you need the copier, it will be down. Make your copies in advance.
Along with copying, reduce the number of copies you need. Be innovative in finding ways to reduce your handouts, worksheets, etc. No kid is benefiting from the stack of 150, one-sided copies of crossword puzzles you are using to practice vocabulary.
Touch the paper in your staff mailbox only once. Put it where it needs to go when you get it and avoid the every-growing stack of useless papers, magazines, surveys, and trash that accumulates on teacher desks.
Use dropbox.com. Many times I have gotten all the way to school only to find I left my flashdrive at home on my office desk. Dropbox saves all your files online to be accessed from any computer. Try it out–there’s nothing worse than having to come up with a lesson on the fly!
Assign seats. So many teachers today let students choose where they sit, but I have had much more luck with assigned seats. I think this is helpful in creating a collaborative, cooperative, discussive classroom because it avoids the cliques in the class who end up controlling all of the discussion (and the tone of your room).
Teachers make it a habit of moving the “annoying” kids toward the back of the room; I make it a habit of moving them right next to my teacher’s desk. This is my way of saying “I care” to the child while challenging myself to make every day contact with him or her.
Always do what you believe is right at the time, and be willing to admit when you have made a mistake. You will have to defend your choices at some point, be able and ready to do so.
Organize!!! I have a stack of “in boxes” and a stack of “out boxes” by class period. When I take work, I immediately put it into the “in box”. That way, I’m not losing papers. If you have a tendency to lose papers, your students will pick up on that and use it to their advantage!
Find coworkers who are supportive to talk to. Don’t be a “closed door” teacher; it’s a lonely way to teach.
Write your agenda on the board every day. Your students like to know what’s coming next, and it will keep you on track as well.
When you start feeling negative about your job, the kids, your school, the district, your peers, etc., stay out of the teachers’ lounge for a few days!!! I hate to say it, but sometimes, lunch is the most depressing part of the day. If the Mr. Curmudgeons are bringing you down, stay away for a little while. Just don’t make a habit of it and become an outcast!
Finally, “Fake it till you make it.” I participated in theater productions in high school, and I think this was one of the best experiences to guide me through teaching. When you don’t know the answer, when you aren’t prepared, when something happens that pulls you out of your routine and into chaos, act like you know what you’re doing, and eventually, you’ll feel more comfortable in the unpredictable. Youdon’t know everything, so when Mr. Smartypants in the front and center of your class asks a question just to challenge you, admit that you don’t know and TEACH HIM how you go about finding the answer by hopping on the computer yourself!

Remember, you are a professional, so act like one.

Best of luck in your first year. Stick around for years 2, 3, and 4–they get so much better!

Two Great Sites

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:00:00 GMT

As I was searching the other day, I came across two great sites chock full of information from teachers near and far. There are many different games, activities, resources, and technology that comes from the classroom in these two blogs.

The first is http://www.greatmathsteachingideas.com/ which are teaching ideas for the math classroom. It goes over certain concepts and different uses of technology in the classroom. There are new and different study cards for students to practice.

The second is http://mrbartonmaths.com/ gives teachers, students, and parents tips on software, resources, and reviews of math products. This is a great site.

New Year, New Blog

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:01:00 GMT

The New Year is among us.

Math Techniques and Strategies will be reforming and used to help you!

Post anything you want covered in depth or anything new you want to hear about below.

This year Math Techniques and Strategies will make you the best teacher at your school with new resources, technology, and strategies to improve your students engagement and grades.

Physics Teaching 2.Uh-Oh

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 19:11:51 GMT

My first talk! Given at the STANYS 2011 Physics Breakfast on November 8th, 2011 in Rochester, New York

Links to resources mentioned in the talk:

Feynman’s blackboard at his death
Hake’s “Interactive-engagement versus traditional methods: A six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses“
Bowling Ball & Mallet exploration
Whiteboarding
Modeling Instruction
PhET Simulations
Angry Birds in the Physics Classroom
Instant feedback with orange pens
Doxie scanner - educator’s price
Worked Examples and Practice
Standards-based Grading
Active Grade and Blue Harvest online SBG gradebooks
Blogs –> Check the side bar!
Physics teachers on Twitter
Global Physics Department

A huge thank you to Gene Gordon for inviting me to speak at the breakfast. It was great to share my passions and meet my virtual colleagues face-to-face!

Tagged: 21st-century, angry birds, assessment, education, inquiry, Khan Academy, lab, lesson, modeling, physics, physics education research, problem solving, resources, standards-based grading, teaching, technology, whiteboarding

Stepping Stones Together Review

Anonymous — Mon, 02 May 2011 22:00:17 GMT

As a classroom teacher I feel just as much responsibility for my students learning during the summer months as I do during the school year. I want them to have a balanced summer filled with fun and learning support at home so they can begin the next school year right where they left off in my classroom. Unfortunately, research shows that children can experience significant learning loss during the summer months. Imagine if an athlete stopped training, he or she would see a significant decline in performance. The human brain is no different; it needs daily exercise to maintain learning.

In an attempt to prevent learning loss during the summer I provide parents with a calendar listing free or low-cost local activities such as library story times, public pool information, and discount days at the zoo or aquarium. I also send home a folder filled with educational activities for parents to do with their children. However, one skill that I am not able to fully support during the summer is reading. Many parents read to their children but when it comes to helping their children learn how to read parents want to help but often don’t know how.

I was recently introduced to Stepping Stones Together; an online program for parents who want to support their child’s reading abilities at home. I am not a fan of any pre-packaged curricula or “teach your baby to read” programs so you can be assured that Stepping Stones Together does not fall into either of these categories.

The philosophy of the Stepping Stones Together program is research based and focuses on fostering a love of reading in young children ages 3-7 while providing a positive bonding experience between parent and child. The program takes only 15-20 minutes per day so there is still pelnty of time for summer fun. This is not a program where the child sits in front of the computer while mom makes dinner; this is a fully interactive program that provides busy parents with the tools they need to take an active role in their child’s beginning reading skills.

Developed by Dr. Erika Burton, the Stepping Stones Together program provides simple, step-by-step directions that parents can easily follow. The program consists of the following components:

90 High-interest printable books on popular topics such as superheroes, princesses, sports, fairies and more
Printable incentive chart
Daily writing practice
Printable instructions explaining how to introduce the books
High-frequency word games
Printable certificates of completion for each level completed
Printable flash cards to introduce and review high frequency words in each book

While the program is designed with parents in mind, after careful review I believe it can be easily used by classroom teachers. Many teachers are required to teach their students to read but are not provided with all of the tools necessary to do so. Stepping Stones Together offers everything, including the books for a very affordable price. Classroom teachers can also send home the Stepping Stones URL in their summer educational packets for parents who are interested.

Here’s the good news, Stepping Stones Together is offering readers of Pre-K Pages a special one day only discount. This discount allows you to access to the complete program for one year for only $19.99, use discount the code Pre-K Pages If you missed the first day special you can still receive a 5% discount on the program using the same code.

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Don’t Let the Pigeon Play

Anonymous — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 21:31:39 GMT

There’s nothing a teacher dreads more than being absent and having to prepare for a substitute. In addition to the preparations you have to make in advance, often while you’re sick, there’s always the fear that your students will go bonkers in your absence. I’m sure this has never happened to you, when you’re absent your little cherubs sit still and blink their wide, innocent eyes at the substitute teacher while patiently awaiting your return. If you are in the minority like me and your students need a little reminder of how to behave in your absence I made a special PowerPoint just for you. I was inspired by my friend Karen of Prekinders; her recently released Pigeon packet hooked me on the popular Mo Willems books.

This is how it works, just click on the picture above to download the PowerPoint and insert your students’ pictures in the empty boxes. Click on the talk bubbles to change the text. I gave you just a few examples to get you started, but having the students actually come up with the ideas for the text will be more meaningful. Insert duplicate slides and change text and pictures to create as many pages of the book as you will need. You can show the PowerPoint to the class or you can print the slides, insert the pages in page protectors, and place them in a binder to create a book that you can include in your classroom library and leave for your substitute.

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Student Picture Games

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 11:00:41 GMT

If you are looking for an activity that will engage your students and keep them on task then look no further. The secret is to use pictures of the students; they love to look at pictures of themselves and their friends. This activity can be done several different ways to allow for differentiation.

In the picture above you can see the sight word version of this activity. To prepare the activity take pictures of your students holding letters to spell sight words. Print the pictures on cardstock, laminate, cut, and then place on binder rings. I use the Rainbow Words program; this particular activity focused on the six words we were learning at the time. The students turn the cards and spell the words on their cookie trays using magnetic letters. I added a thematic picture to the cookie tray to make it fit with our theme. This activity is one of the all-time favorites in my classroom!

Using student pictures you can create activities to meet your students’ needs all year long:

Student Names: Take pictures of the students spelling their names. Students can then make their names and their friend’s names on cookie sheets using magnetic letters.
Upper to Lowercase Match: Take pictures of the students holding upper and lowercase letters and turn the pictures into cards. Have students match the upper to lowercase letters.
Alphabet in Order: Take a picture of each student holding one letter. If you have fewer than 26 students (and I hope you do!) then give some students an extra turn. Turn each letter into a card and have students practice putting the cards in order from A-Z. You can do this for both upper and lowercase letters. You can also use an alphabet strip and have students match the pictures to the strip.
Numbers in Order: Same idea as above only take pictures of the students holding numbers. Place Velcro on the back of each number card, laminate sentence strips, place Velcro on the strips and have students attach the numbers to the strip in order.
Power Points: You can use any of the ideas above and create Power Point presentations to show your students- fun!

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Spring Break Giveaway Winner

Anonymous — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 12:11:25 GMT

The winner of Karen’s Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus packet is Karen B! The winner was selected using an on-line random number generator. Thank you to everybody who entered, we had 228 entries. Stay tuned for another contest that is going to knock your socks off!

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Increasing Engagement in Science

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 05:21:53 GMT

As part of a session on innovative practices in science at TeachMeet New Jersey 2011, I gave a presentation entitled “Tips, Tools, and Techniques for Increasing Engagement in Science”

I have posted that presentation, complete with speaker’s notes and plenty of links to further information, here: http://bit.ly/EngageSci

Any feedback you have would be greatly appreciated! (e.g., is there a bigger theme I am missing, etc.) Thanks!

Tagged: demonstration, engagement, inquiry, lab, lesson, modeling, physics, physics education research, problem solving, resources, teaching, whiteboarding

Magnetic Valentine Sight Words

Anonymous — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 11:00:31 GMT

This Valentine themed activity for practicing sight words is super simple yet still tons of fun for little ones. You will need one magnetic cookie tray or other magnetic surface per child, paper Valentine hearts, tape, sight word cards, and magnetic letters. You could also have the students match upper to lowercase letters on the trays. The cookie trays in the picture above are from the Dollar Tree and the hearts are pages from a notepad. First, tape the hearts to the cookie trays, I laminated mine first for durability. Next, make one individual sight word ring per child with the words they are learning, details can be found on the sight word page. Finally, place the letters that correspond to the words in a small Ziploc bag, one bag per child. Each child at the table gets one magnetic cookie tray, a ring of sight words, and a bag of magnetic letters. Students will spell the sight words from the rings on their cookie tray.

In case you are wondering how I can find so many magnetic letters without going crazy I’ve included a picture of my magnetic letter storage container for you above; it’s a nuts and bolts container from Wal-Mart. Each drawer is assigned a different letter; using this storage container I can find the letters I need quickly.

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