Most kids want to engage, many have been taught there is nothing to engage with. You need to be the teacher who re-awakens that natural wonder. It’s kind of like a dare: are you up for it? I triple dog dare you ;) Okay, now that the obvious elephant in the roomhas been identified, let’s get to those three techniques
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I’ve written about a countdown for the kids and their test quite a bit in the past. Since my current countdown is at “56 days to the test” I wanted to write on it again. It may be valuable to you in your major goals.
If you haven’t seen Morgan Freeman in “Lean on Me” you [...]
Teaching a kid something can sometimes be like banging your head against a brick wall. But there are tricks. One I have learned is to make the learning hands on. Instead of presenting the kid with “What is a synonym for something?” why not teach him/her something he /she loves, like electricity [...]
White dry-erase boards are an excellent way to check for understanding (CFU) during and after a lesson. They are also a great way to avoid wasting paper in your lesson plans. Instead of printing up a class set of the material I am covering in a lesson, I print up one for each class I [...]
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Here are 3 online search tips to empower your lesson planning:
Twitter – Okay, so you know about Twitter. You probably even have an account but are you using it to get dynamite lesson plan ideas? Let me share a feature of Twitter that is absolutely essential for me. It is called “hashtags.” These are short [...]
One example of a tip for new teachers: Remember to check for understanding all the time. Ask kids if they get what you are saying. The old “hear it and hold it” method is far outdated. Don’t get to the end of your lesson without bringing at least 80% of them with you.
Thinking of good questions, instead of answers, can make a teacher more effective
A memorable post written Aug 17, 2008.
Well, I start back teaching tomorrow. It’s been an incredible summer with a trip to Vegas, to Magic Mountain, and several other small awesome places that my wife and I adore. My kids were out by the pool all summer which was really gratifying to watch. [...]
Since I started teaching in 1997, I have had a love/hate relationship with copiers and printers. It can be so cool when you have a crisp, stapled presentation ready for 30 kids stacked flush on your desk ready to deliver. It’s even better when the print actually enhances the learning transaction and the standard [...]
I’ve modified curriculum and innovated strategies that utilize A/V and interactive tools (like white boards) to achieve more than paper ever did. EDI is a great method to use in a paperless lesson.
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