Mini Books

Thanks to Ms. Hicks for this great idea!

 

http://library.thinkquest.org/J001156/makingbooks/minibook/index.htm

 

This is a link for directions to create a tiny book. Last semester, my student teacher, Rachel Draper, introduced this foldable to my classes and me. Almost everyone loved it. I used it for the first time a few days ago, and my students were genuinely engaged with creating and filling in the tiny book. We simply took notes inside it (from the textbook), but it was "new" and "different," and therefore it was EXCITING. I even had one student tell me she went home and made several tiny books to draw and write notes to her friends.

 

The tiny book only uses one sheet of paper and makes eight pages. With a few extra steps, several more pages can be added. I will be happy to help anyone make a tiny book if they are interested. The directions and diagrams on the site can be a little confusing.

 

Common Core Standards

FYI: There is an app for Common Core standards! Yes, there seems to literally be an app for EVERYTHING!

It's free and easy to navigate. Simply download the app and select the approriate subject area and grade levels with which you are working.

Voila! The standards are all there for easy access on the go.

Digital flashcards

Many of us have used flashcards in one way or another at least once in our teaching careers or as students. However, tangible flashcards can be time-consuming to make and can easily get lost. To save time, money, and stress, why not integrate a digital version into your classroom?

Flashcardlet is a free app that can be downloaded to your iOS device. I do not think it is available in Android format.

This app allows one to create sets of flashcards to meet his/her personal needs. He/she may edit the created decks if they want to add more terms later.

This app allows the user plenty of awesome study options. These include, but are not limited to the following:

• Users may view the cards in alphabetical order, random order, or created order.
• When studying, users have the option to mark cards with a check (indicating mastery) or an X (indicating non-mastery).
• Upon a return study session, users have the option to view only cards marked with an X or all at once. This helps students focus on terms they haven't remembered thus far.
• Users have the option to study the back of the card first or vice versa.
• Users can download pre-made sets of flashcards in a multitude of subjects from Quizlet. (I, myself, have downloaded a set for GRE words.) There are cards for the various subject areas and standardized tests. *Not all decks are created equal, but you have the option to preview them before adding to your flashcard library.
• Teachers can use Quizlet (a free website) to create flashcard sets. This is extremely helpful when you have struggling students who may not exert the effort to make their own cards but would download a set the teacher has available. Student would only need to know the teacher's creator name and search it.
• Decks can easily be deleted when they are no longer of use.

Several of my students have downloaded the weekly vocabulary flashcards, and they have indicated they like the ease of use and portability of these digital flashcards. They are easy to use and discreet, so even the students who seem "too cool" to study can look over their terms on their digital devices.

I foresee this as an excellent tool to study for exams.

If you have Reflector (see previous blog entry), you can easily demonstrate how to use this app in the classroom. This went over well, since I asked the kids to use their phones to find the app if they were interested.

See me if you would like a demo or have any questions!

Higher Order Participation Grades

If you are like me, you give students participation grades for attending class on time, bringing a pencil, and staying awake. This has worked well for me as a classroom management tool, but these alone do not guarantee that students are active participants in their learning. I want them to be more than well-behaved; I want my students to be actively involved in thinking, listening, speaking about the topic of the day. This rubric, submitted by Ms. Matthews, promotes active participation by requiring students not only to be prepared and awake but also to be speakers and listeners who demonstrate the skills outlined in Common Core Standards. These are Jordan's Comments:

Mrs. Hamlett and I have taken the rubric and given point values to the letter grade categories (A= 20-17, B=16-12, C/D= 11-5, F= 4-0).  Therefore, participation has become a part of the students' grade, just like any other assignment, test, etc. students are responsible for mastering.

 

The greatest initial impact I have seen has been in students arriving to class prepared, which shouldn't be a problem but always is, and in the use of electronic devices (#6 under the "You May Negatively Affect Your Participation Grade By:" section).  I no longer have to worry about taking up cell phones, and the student has to become responsible- not only for a device that was probably paid for by her parents- but for her grade being negatively affected if caught using this device.  I struggled with whether or not this was ethical, but decided since these devices DO keep students from actively participating- as laid out in the rubric- and students have been made aware of this rule, that it is fair.

 

As the semester proceeds I will have more feedback on how successful the other components are- group dynamics, discussion, etc. but I have already had to remind a few students that negative and offensive remarks WILL hurt the participation grade.

 

If anyone would like to know how I feel about this rubric and the grading at the end of the semester I will be happy to share!

 

The link to the rubric is below:

  

http://daviss.people.cofc.edu/people.cofc.edu_~daviss/EDEE610_files/Class%20Participation%20Rubric%20and%20Guide.pdf

Don't Just Summarize it; Tweet it!

An easy yet effective way to get students to summarize what they have read is to have them write tweets. In previous years, our students have written GISTs which have a word limit so students can focus on the big idea and use their own words. Tweeting is similar to writing a GIST. Responses are brief, and with guidance from the teacher, students can improve summarizing skills. Students do not actually post to Twitter; they write their responses on a sheet of paper using Twitter's format, which means using 140 characters or less and adding a hashtag (#) at the end to create a topic for the Tweet. Because many students are already familiar with Twitter, this strategy increases student engagement, and it works very well in conjunction with other strategies. Mrs. Townsend says this:

"I had the students read an article about friction.  They completed a 3-2-1 activity with it.  Then I had them summarize the article by writing a "tweet" about it.  Many of them included a hash tag with it.  It got them very focused on the real meat of the article!"

Mrs. Bruce adds some additional ways to use this strategy:

 "Using Twitter’s format, create micropoems, using hashtags like #poetweet or #micropoem.   Students write haikus or six word stories, a concept that began when Ernest Hemingway was challenged to write a story in six words.  

Using the Twitter format in a Spanish class, students can translate a short sentence after it has been 'make believed' tweeted.   They can exchange the tweets and see who can translate the fastest.

Using the Twitter format, have the students summarize or reflect on what they learned that day in class."

I used tweeting in English 9 while reading Romeo and Juilet. Students wrote a tweet to summarize each scene in Act I. I also gave them the option of writing an additional tweet from a character's point-of-view. The responses were both insightful (I could easily monitor student comprehension) and entertaining (some of the hashtags were hillarious).

This strategy is quick, requires no preparation, and allows students to practice the important reading skill of summarizing. Try it; I think you will like the result!

 

Golden Tickets

Gold Tickets

Classroom Management

 

Submitted by Deb Ezell

 

There is apparently an epidemic of shrinking kidney and bladder size that hits students when they enter my English 11 classroom.  The facial contortions and body gyrations that students employ when asking to go to the restroom would make a circus acrobat proud.

 

At the start of this semester, I instituted the GOLD TICKET PLAN.  I issued two gold bathroom passes per student.  I instructed them to write their names in ink on them.  When a students needs to go to the facilities, he or she is to raise his or her hand with a gold ticket.  I will take the ticket upon return from the restroom.

 

If a student uses the tickets and needs to go a third time,  he or she is to hold up the cell phone.  I will hold the phone until the student returns to class.

 

At the end of the nine weeks, the gold tickets are worth five points each on a low test grade.  I handed these out on Monday, January 7.  As of today (Tuesday, January 15 ), not a single person has gone to the restroom.  I have had two students ask before the tardy bell rang to go.  Very sweetly, I replied,  "Sure.  Be sure that you have your gold ticket."  Both times the young person looked at me and turned back into the classroom.

 

We'll see how long the streak continues.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall...

Are you working with a tablet or smart phone? Do you ever wish you could share with your students on a large and interactive scale? Well, have I got an app for you all! Don't waste your classroom funds on an Apple TV! A more cost effective alternative is an app called Reflector.

Unlike most apps, this one is purchased and dowloaded to your personal/work ocmputer. This app enables your computer to mirror your iPad/iPhone with a few clicks and swipes on your screens.

Don't have an interactive white board? No worries! This app only mirrors your personal smart device to your computer, which can then, in turn, be displayed on the wall via projector, and we all have those, right?! It will even stream from your personal device...not that we should, but it's a cool option. Although there is a delay at times, it keeps up with your actions.

So far, I have used it to introduce my students to a few helpful study apps and to show how I am using a management app to keep up with both good and bad behaviors, to take attendance, and to randomly select students for questions.

At $12.99, this app is a steal when compared to the alternative (approx. $90). We can use our classroom purchase card to buy it.

Not convinced? Download a free ten minute trial at www.reflectorapp.com .

To use, you must first download the app to the computer. When it has downloaded to your computer, you will run the app on the computer from the start menu, selecting the correct program. Next, using your personal tablet/phone, double touch the home button. This will bring a menu up on the bottom of the screen. Swipe over as far as you can to see the airplay menu. Select the button with an icon that looks like a rectangle with a triangle underneath. Next, select the device you want to mirror to (probably will begin with AHS), and then input your network password. Slide the mirror option to ON. Voila! You should now see your device's screen on your computer.

Like what you see? Purchase it on the same page, and enjoy being able to share educational apps with your students in class.

*To use this mirroring process, your device must be set to ACS Internal network.

If you need more info or tech help, feel free to send an email.

WELCOME!

For the past ten years, I have been a part of a fantastic faculty that works tirelessly toward student success in all areas; however, I have found it increasingly difficult to find time to collaborate with my colleagues and discover the great things that are happening in their classrooms. Instead I find myself confined to my corner of the building left to sort out what I can by myself or if I'm lucky with those nearest to me. Despite my inabilty to see it, great things are going on at Athens High School, and this blog is designed so that we all can collaborate even though we are often unable to see each other face to face. This is not my blog; this is OUR blog, a central location for bright ideas and effective teaching strategies, so together we can effectively teach Common Core Standards, and do what we have always done only better.

Happy New Semester!

It's January, a time of new beginnings, new goals, and better ways of doing things, and we receive a fresh set of students for the second semester. For many of us this means pre-assessments, or Performance Series testing, and progress monitoring.

One teacher noted that based on Performance Series testing at the beginning and end of fall semester, several of her students had regressed during the course of the semester.  It's not very likely that instruction led students to unlearn what they already knew; more likely, students simply did not take the test as seriously the second time around, but this began a conversation about how to encourage students to take ownership of their success both as learners and as test takers; after all, success is as much about the student's motivation as it is about teaching strategies.

As a result of this conversation, we developed a Progress Record Sheet to use during student conferences. This document provides spaces for data from the Performance Series test, but it also provides spaces for student commitment, action steps, completion dates, and responses.

This is the link to the Progress Record Sheet.
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B_st0L3yuiLIbFFaMUtFVHd6Y00

I hope that you find this document useful, and please post comments about how you tweeked the form to fit your needs and how well it worked for you.