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Creating a Culture of Joy

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

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Can we have joy in schools? How about on social media? With so many difficulties, it seems beyond impossible sometimes to find joy but it can be done. Today, Dean Shareski, the author of Embracing a Culture of Joy brings his perspective to the challenges of modern living and learning. While his message has been around for a while, it is perhaps even more important today.

In today’s show we’ll discuss:

How Dean brings joy and humor to Zoom meetings (and podcasts) including some cool hardware and software

The ambient irritability that seems to be prevalent today

Why we still need joy

How small kindnesses can make a big difference and some examples in schools

Keeping perspective as we face problems

How we can embrace multiple emotions at once

Having concern for the world’s problems and still finding joy in your day

The importance of reflection

How Vicki gets information from her students at the end of the school year to become a better teacher

Some interesting laughs along the way!

Advancement Courses for Your Summer PD

Last summer I took my professional development with Advancement Courses and I am so glad that I did! On my blog, I recently shared 10 Ways to Rejuvenate and Learn This Summer. All of the course ideas come from the advancement courses catalog.

Learn about some courses you might want to take and some things that you need to do this summer. Your current needs should impact your professional development. Advancement Courses makes it so easy to complete your PD with courses that are online and self-paced so you can take them anywhere any time with up to six months to complete. And right now you can use the code COOL15 to get 15% off your course today. So go to www.coolcatteacher.com/top10 and begin deciding what you want to learn this summer.

Click Here

Sponsor

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Episode #784 – The 10 Minute Teacher Podcast

Creating a Culture of Joy

Dean Shareski, Award-Winning Educator

Listen to the show on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

Subscribe to the Show

Resources Cited in this Podcast – Creating a Culture of Joy

10 Ways to Rejuvenate and Learn This Summer

Advancement Courses – sponsor

Dean Shareski’s Book – Embracing a Culture of Joy

Stream Deck – sound board Dean uses

OBS Studio – free software to let you do interesting things inside zoom with sound.

Dean Shareski – Bio As Submitted

Dean Shareski is a Senior Partnership Consultant for Advanced Learning Partnerships supporting districts and schools throughout North America in digital transformation. He taught grades 1-8 for 14 years and spent nine as a digital learning consultant for a Canadian school district. His blog consistently ranks among the top educational blogs. In 2010 he won the ISTE Award for Outstanding Leader of the Year. Dean has had the opportunity to speak to various education audiences both nationally and internationally. He has recently authored “Embracing a Culture of Joy” and co-authored “Different Schools for a Different World.” His passion remains to help teachers explore the affordances of technology for learning. Dean believes humor and humility go a long way in supporting and advocating transformational practices in teaching and learning.

Blog http://shareski.ca

Twitter @shareski

Instagram @dshareski

TRANSCRIPT: Creating a Culture of Joy – episode #784

This transcript has been edited for clarity and grammar but directly represents what is said in the podcast.

00;00;00;04 – 00;00;03;17

John Davis: (Announcer and Producer) This is the Ten Minute Teacher Podcast with your host, Vicki Davis.

Thank You Advancement Courses – This Show’s Sponsor

00;00;03;29 – 00;00;17;02

Vicki Davis: Today’s sponsor is Advancement Courses. Stay tuned at the show’s end to learn about ten top things to do and top topics to learn for teachers this summer. We need to learn, but can’t we have fun at the same time?

00;00;17;03 – 00;00;18;10

Vicki Davis

Now on to the show.

Introducing Dean Shareski

00;00;18;20 – 00;00;42;05

Vicki Davis

We’re talking to my longtime friend, Dean Shareski, a senior partnership consultant at Advanced Learning Partnerships, and he has a book, Embracing a Culture of Joy. Now, I want to give you a warning.

Sound Board In Use

Dean has this joyful something or another gadget in his office that I don’t know what it is, but he’s going to use it and see if it pulls in on the conversation.

00;00;45;20 – 00;00;47;09

Dean Shareski

Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll see.

A Message to Vicki’s Son John from his Mom

00;00;47;14 – 00;01;03;21

Vicki Davis

It depends on what you do to me. My son John, who edits all this, is going to go, “Mom. Seriously?”

Yeah. John, you get to edit this one, son. I’m paying you, and I’m your mom. There we go.

Now, please tell us what handy dandy machine you’ll be using.

Bringing Joy to Zoom Presentations with Cool Tools

00;01;03;29 – 00;01;46;24

Dean Shareski

Oh, okay. It’s. I’ll show you the machine. It’s called a Stream Deck.

When the pandemic hit, and we were doing everything via Zoom, I was just kind of tired of the traditional ways in which we engage in or share PowerPoint.

So I kind of up my game. I’m using something called OBS Studio, which is a free piece of software that allows you to do kind of some exciting things, but then also added this little deck to it so I can pipe my audio, not just through my mike but through my computer and play these sounds.

And, you know, it’s again, as I said, it’s not even just so much when I’m presenting, but I find in meetings like all of us were in 18 billion meetings a week. And, you know, just to sometimes spice it up, I’ll just, you know, I don’t, you know, try to use it judiciously.

00;01;46;27 – 00;01;50;12

Vicki Davis

Or, you can lose your job that way.

00;01;50;23 – 00;01;56;12

Dean Shareski

Yeah. No, like when somebody says something poignant, I might just play the.

00;01;56;12 – 00;01;58;25

John Davis (Producer and Editor)

King of the world line from Titanic, which we can’t include for copyright reasons.

00;01;58;25 – 00;02;06;02

Dean Shareski

Just things like that, anyway. It’s just. It’s silliness, but fun and important, maybe.

00;02;06;11 – 00;02;20;07

Vicki Davis

Well, yeah, because you talk about embracing a culture of joy because, you know, you and I are both in all the social spaces. We know what folks are saying right now. And I know that I have lived and breathed burnout for quite some time.

But how do we do that?

We Still Need Joy

00;02;20;08 – 00;04;16;22

Dean Shareski: Well, you know, interesting, when I the book is, I don’t know, five years old or whatever and, you know, it goes back so much farther than that in terms of how I kind of even came to this concept and my book kind of documents a bit of that history.

But, you know, when I first shared it, it was a reaction to what is continuing. But I felt like it was as it was more of teachers feeling heavy with, you know, whether it was standardized testing and just the difficulties of the profession itself and just sort of helping to reengage educators with like why they gotten up into the profession in the first place and why I still think that can be part of it.

Ambient Irritability: Is It a Problem?

I think there’s, you know, it’s this idea that that there’s sort of this ambient irritability that exists in the world today.

Like you go to the supermarket and, you know, you just are afraid somebody’s going to step in the wrong spot. And people like strangers are just getting mad at you for no reason. And we are getting angry at things for no reason.

I heard a fascinating commentary on that. On the recent debacle at the Oscars. It was it’s the kind of thing that people just want to be able to pick a side and be angry at something that they understand.

Right. And so when there’s something small that we can be irritable about and it gets sort of, it’s a way to release, and at some point maybe that’s good. But at the same time, we have to be super careful that that doesn’t overtake our lives.

And I think anybody who’s an introspective, reflective person has probably come to that point where they realize, okay, just, you know what, you’re being a grouch here.

Remember There Are Reasons to Have Joy

You forget so much of the great things we all have and experience, letting everything else take over.

So it’s a bit of a way to kind of like just reminding ourselves, like, “Hey, there’s, there’s so much there’s so much goodness and wonderfulness out there and joy” being, you know, not this fleeting idea of happiness, but something that’s really that that lives with us, that that’s this, you know, disposition that we carry with us, that we see it in so many things.

Perspective on Problems

00;04;16;27 – 00;04;58;13

Vicki Davis

As we record this, I’m on day 39 of not being able to walk after getting my broken foot fixed. And the other day, I told my husband I am so looking forward to doing laundry, washing dishes, cooking, and going to the grocery store to go into my classroom.

So many things that I thought were problems three months ago. Right now, it’s like, let me go and live life. You know the opportunity to get around people is a joy. And yeah, we’ve got a lot of difficulties, but we’ve gotten a lot back in the last year, along with the difficulties. So for me, my attitude adjustment has been this cast.

We Need to Find Joy in Small Things

00;04;58;28 – 00;06;40;02

Dean Shareski

I mean, yeah, I mean, health is, you know, anytime you get a health setback, I think most people are like, oh, I forgot how wonderful it is just to be able to walk and not to have pain or to breathe.

And that’s the part like you look at people who have like, you know, ongoing chronic pain or whatever and the fact that so many of them overcome those things and still see joy, it’s like, okay, if that person can figure it out, surely to goodness I can figure out a way to to see. I think to the point that out that I build on is like when you talk about doing laundry, you know, sometimes it is those little things and in education, you know, there’s so many little experiences that happen every day, you know, just the interactions you have with children and with other adults.

I often ask people to think of the insignificant things that other people might miss. But you notice like you notice that your colleague always comes in and makes sure the counters are clean in the staff room. Right? And that you see that, and you take delight in that.

Or that a kid -this was one of my favorite stories from the pandemic. As soon as this, you know, the pandemic hit in March of 2020, and everybody went online.

I talked to a high school teacher who always had this daily interaction with another student who would always say, “Hey, Mr. Hey, Mr. Jay, how are you?” It was just like it was kind of a nothing, just a routine thing.

He started texting him every day. Hey, it’s the same kind of exact cadence of, “Hey, Mr. Jay, how you doing?” Whatever it was. And he did it every day at the same time. Every day. And it was like that was like that’s a joyful thing that like, yes, I’m going to do that with you and I will keep doing it. And again, it wasn’t some grand gesture or anything like that. It was just like that’s the human connection that we desire and that we live off.

Small Kindnesses Make a Big Difference

00;06;40;02 -00;07;31;04

Vicki Davis

Students wrote notes to my doctor and the nurses when I went for surgery. I brought in this big massive stack of cards. So, we pray at my school. So a lot of them were prayer cards. And as I’m waiting, which was about a seven-hour wait actually, and not having eaten.

So that was I had a lot of time to talk. The nurses were weeping at just the kindness of the kids. And, you know, there’s just so many little things we do have that are beautiful—the beauty of human connection.

And I know it’s difficult, but having this reflective time, I’m reminded of what we do have. Yes, we have stress, but we have, you know, I missed out on junior-senior. I missed out on all those promposals, all the craziness.

I missed out on something called Sherwood Cup, which is kind of like a field day. Yeah, I know that those can annoy us, but we have a lot of fun when we do those things too, you know?

We Can Embrace Two Emotions at Once

00;07;31;04 – 00;10;26;16

Dean Shareski

And you know, the other thing, too, Vicki, that I try to embrace is, you know, sort of the, you know, the dissonance that happens to like, we don’t want to, but we have to be able to embrace two things at once, right, that you can like.

It’s hard to believe that people can actually be joyful and sad at the same time. Like, that’s possible. Like that’s a weird thing, and it’s not natural. We all are such sort of pleasure seekers, right?

Like we just always want good things. Like when, you know, kids will say, “Oh, I wish it was Christmas every day.”

And when you think about it, it’s like, “No, you don’t. You actually don’t want it to be Christmas every day.”

It’s great, but you need all those other times. And, you know, during this time too, you’re accepting the fact that, again, not everybody’s experiencing life the same way. I fully acknowledge the privilege that I have in my life like it is everywhere I look, and I’m grateful for it and recognize that not everybody has the same things I have. And many of those things aren’t anything that I’ve done to deserve. I have them, and I’m grateful for them. But at the same time, I can also be aware that that’s true and connected to anybody following me on Twitter like I’m there like I do try to inject a little bit of joy by sharing silliness and like just life. And sometimes, I connect with people, and I’ve made wonderful friendships because of that.

Howard Rheingold talks about idle chatter being the social glue that creates reciprocity and community, right? And so idle chatter, I’m a big fan of idle chatter.

We Can Be Concerned About Big World Problems and Still Have a Life

Anyways, I don’t even remember what I said. It was something about, you know, I think it was about waiting in front of Michael’s while my wife’s there. And it’s just the ongoing trope of, you know, me, the, the dopey husband and the wife was dragging me shopping, and I get it like it’s but, you know, it’s fun, right?

And somebody tweeted back and said something about, “well, that’s real first-world problems.” And then they had hashtags about the War in the Ukraine.

And it’s like, “I get that you’re probably in your moment in time. That’s the thing that’s top of your mind.”

But like the world is happening while all of these horrible things are happening. And to not say like, yeah, both can happen. You know, I can have fun talking about my relationship with my wife and marriage and also be concerned about what’s happening in Ukraine.

Like I can do both, and we have to do both. Right. And it was just kind of an idea, you know, I kind of had to say to her, I said, listen, I said, “I apologize, but I said, I’ve been pretty clear about what my Twitter accounts for. So I said, like, it’s easy to unfollow me, and you wouldn’t hurt my feelings at all if you did.”

And again, that’s people’s choice. I get that. And I think that’s the other thing is that we honor that everybody comes out with a different take.

Toxic Positivity vs. Genuine Joyfulness: There Is a Difference

I mean, we talk, you know, sort of the challenge of toxic positivity that that sometimes emerges. And, you know, I don’t ever want to be guilty of that because it’s not about whitewashing the bad. Like just because you celebrate the good and just because you feed your soul through joyful things, it doesn’t mean that you’re ignoring the fact that the bad things happen. Right?

And there are problems in the world and in our schools that need to be addressed. Absolutely not. But again, it’s that idea that both of these things can be going on at the same time while.

The Challenge of Being on Social Media

00;10;26;16 – 00;11;18;15

Vicki Davis

That ambient irritability, which in some ways, I’m not going to say that someone who stands with Ukraine is being irritable. However, that’s one of the issues that Twitter’s got to deal with right now. It is somewhat hard to share on Twitter right now because of just the angst or the anger or whatever it is.

I mean, I’m still there. I’m still sharing. And I saw somebody tweet the other day, “thank you to all the educators out there who were still encouraging people and sharing positive things on Twitter. We need more of you.”

And we do. We need to inundate it. Share those good things.

I think Twitter’s more efficient than Instagram and Tik Tok, although I’m looking at those accounts because I want to connect with educators.

What Can We Do to Bring More Joy to Campus?

So as we finish up, Dean, as folks are listening to this and thinking, okay, we’re nearing the end of the school year, what can I do to bring some joy to my campus? What would you tell them? What would be your pep talk for them?

00;11;18;17 – 00;13;11;08

Dean Shareski

As educators and as leaders, I think providing space and time for people to pause and reflect and sort of if you can slow it down a bit. You’ve been in, you know, doing virtual sessions. I’ve been fortunate to do a couple of face-to-face events lately, but being more cognizant of not just pushing through the agenda to get through, but to take time to have people think about, you know, that like the pausing to think about the good things. But also, you know, as I’m talking to teachers to reflect on people’s learning.

Reflection is Part of Joy

And I know that there are people who think, well, you know, kids haven’t learned and learning loss and all that other kind of business. But, you know, I think we’re always learning; everybody’s learning all the time like that never actually stops.

Whether you’re learning the things that somebody else wants you to learn or whatever, to challenge one another, to celebrate the fact that, okay, so what’s been going on in the last whatever it is, month, year and a half, or however, whatever time frame you choose, because we’re really poor as a species for doing that reflective stuff. You know, you and I have been blogging a long time, and I think we both got into that with the promise. And it still is a promise. I’m certainly not as diligent at it as it was, but this was a great practice of reflection, and we know how important that is in learning. And it’s just one that, like, we can’t do enough of it. Like there’s we cannot do enough reflection.

Students Need Opportunities to Reflect Too

And so and there are so many multiple ways of doing it, you know, and again, we know that kids need numerous opportunities to whether it’s to write, whether it’s to create a video, whether it’s to sketch something out or, you know, whatever way a form you like, and you want to explore. But, you know, once you’ve done that and crystallized your thoughts and said, okay, yeah, boy, that was good. I did kind of, you know, that’s what will encourage you to sort of keep going.

So I think I think pausing to reflect would be my tip for teachers.

End of Year Focus Groups and Surveys

00;13;11;19 – 00;13;26;22

Vicki Davis

Which is fantastic. You know, I always have focus groups and anonymous surveys and group forms to get feedback and, you know, not just, “Hey, what did I do right?”

I always ask, what is the absolute worst thing that we learned this year that you just hated?

And then my goal is that the next year it’ll be turned into the best because I feel like if I if, I’m a great teacher, I could turn that around and make it a great list.

Dean: Absolutely.

Vicki: And it’s happened before, and it’s always very fulfilling.

00;13;39;23 – 00;13;54;14

Vicki Davis

So Dean Shareski, @shareski on Twitter.

I don’t know how long you and I have been out there on Twitter. But it’s been a while, although we’re experimenting in new spaces and new places. But you know what? We never have to grow old, do we?

00;13;54;24 – 00;14;03;22

Vicki Davis

We can’t choose when we die, but we can choose if we’re going to be old or not. And I know for me, and it sounds like for you, we’re both going to be young and

Sound effects “applause.”

00;14;03;29 – 00;14;05;18

Dean: There we go.

Vicki: Keep on living in life. And it’s a lot of fun.

00;14;08;11 – 00;14;13;09

Dean Shareski: I got one more in. Thank you!

Laughter.

Thank You, Advancement Courses, for Sponsoring Today’s Show

00;14;13;09 – 00;15;13;28

Vicki Davis

Last summer, I took my professional development with Advancement Courses, and I am so glad that I did on my blog. I recently shared 10 Ways to Rejuvenate and Learn This Summer. All of the course ideas come from the advancement courses catalog to go to https://www.coolcatteacher.com/top10.

Learn about some courses you might want to take and things you need to do this summer. Your current needs should impact your professional development. Advancement Courses makes it so easy to complete your PD with courses that are online and self-paced so you can take them anywhere any time with up to six months to complete. And right now you can use the code cool. 15 to get 15% off your course today. So go to www.coolcatteacher.com/top10 and begin deciding what you want to learn this summer.

00;15;14;02 – 00;15;25;25

John Davis (Announcer and Producer)

You’ve been listening to the Ten Minute Teacher podcast. If you like this program, you can find more at www.coolcatteacher.com. If you wish to see more content by Vicki Davis, you can find her on Facebook and Twitter under @coolcatteacher.

Thank you for listening.

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The post Creating a Culture of Joy appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/creating-a-culture-of-joy/

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marco42james · 2 years

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NBA Finals 2022

The Celtics will meet the Warriors this year!

Teams are competing in the playoffs and the NBA Finals are right around the corner. Let’s do a little sports history and data analysis through the context of NBA Finals math! In this activity students consider scatter plots, circle graphs, bar graphs, Venn Diagrams and the concept of mean.

To start the activity check out the Infographic below. What do you notice? What does it make you think? What questions do you have? How does the average age of NBA champion teams compare to the league’s average team age? How can we use this information to help us predict future NBA champs?

Infographic created by Paul Van Slembrouck, @ptvan at paulvanslembrouck.com Original data compiled by Idris Raja.

Continue exploring NBA championship data in our handout by exploring the dominance of a select few teams in NBA history. Students work the data, data representations and statistics. For which kind of observations are circle graphs or bar graphs most useful? Who has won the most NBA titles NBA history? Lots of math!

The activity: 2022nba-finals.pdf

CCSS: 8.SP.1, 7.SP.4, 6.SP.3, 6.SP.5

For members we have an editable Word docx, an Excel sheet, and solutions.

2022nba-finals.docx NBA-Championships2022.xlsx 2022nba-finals-solutions.pdf

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Want more NBA math? Who had the greatest NBA season ever?

from Yummy Math https://www.yummymath.com/2022/nba-finals-2022/

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marco42james · 2 years

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Memorial Day 2022

This Monday, Americans will celebrate Memorial Day. Who are we honoring? How did the holiday come about? Isn’t Memorial Day always on May 30th?

Students learn a little about the history of the holiday, analyze the possibilities and patterns for when it is celebrated and make observations about the incredible numbers of deaths that have been caused by war. While trying to make observations about the numbers, they can’t help but appreciate the terrible cost of war and the gift that those that serve in the military have given to us and to our country.

The activity: memorial-day2022.pdf

For members we have an editable Word docx, our data with a pie chart, and solutions.

memorial-day2022.docx MemorialDayNumbers2022.xlsx

memorial-day2022-solution.pdf

CCSS: 5.OA, 6.RP, 7.RP, 7.SP

Flag Art – A little ratio art might be a fun way to get ready for the upcoming Memorial Day holiday. In this activity students measure; create whole number ratios for the official U.S. flag; decide how our artistic flags will be different from the official flag; make stars from regular pentagons, and finally create a flag design in honor of Memorial Day.

Memorial Day is also a day of sales

Which sale should you choose? – Students decide if these two sales are the same. If they are not the same, which is better? How would you explain this to someone? Which car should I buy – hybrid or electric? – Students create equations for finding the break-even points of these vehicles by mileage and years of ownership. They then work with systems of equations to find the number of years or number of miles where the cost of these cars are the same.

Taking two discounts off – Advertisers want your business. They often use repeated discounts to make you think you are getting stuff for free. Be aware!

from Yummy Math https://www.yummymath.com/2022/memorial-day-2022/

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marco42james · 2 years

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Taking two discounts off (2 activities)

Memorial Day is a time for sales. Advertisers want your business. They often use repeated discounts to make you think you are getting stuff for free. Be aware!

Double Discounts – Wow, check out this sale! I’m gonna be able to get this great hoodie so cheap! If I use the promo code what will be the total percent off?

Wow, everything must be free! – What happens when you take 50% off again after taking 50% off at first? Could everything be free?

from Yummy Math https://www.yummymath.com/2022/taking-two-discounts-off-2-activities/

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marco42james · 2 years

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12 Ideas from the End of School That Work All Year Long

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

The end of the school year can be so exciting and give us ideas for great teaching. Jillian DuBois talks about her end of the school year and from the conversation we have twelve inspiring ideas for classrooms everywhere including:

How to Use the element of surprise in learning

Word “Collection” Ideas

Watching bald eagles and raptor resource project

How Eagles Fly Higher on Turbulent Winds

How to know children even in a very large class

and more!

Advancement Courses for Your Summer PD

Click Here

Sponsor

Episode 783 – The 10 Minute Teacher Podcast

12 Ideas from the End of School That Work All Year Long

Jillian DuBois, 2nd Grade Teacher

Listen to the show on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

Subscribe to the Show

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

10 Ways to Rejuvenate and Learn This Summer

Jillian’s Book: Destiny’s Amazingly Different Dreams

Neuroscience of Surprise (episode 774)

The Word Collector, by Peter Reynolds

Explore.org – Raptor Resource Project

Guest Name – Bio as Submitted

Jillian is a repurposed elementary educator from Clearwater, FL, and currently serves as a Professional Learning Guide for Forward Edge/Edge•U in Ohio. Her passion is to infuse joy to those in educational leadership by focusing efforts on listening, serving, and growing. She uses her voice to foster hope by celebrating equity and empathy.

She is a children’s book author and illustrator of Liv’s Seashells, Road to Awesome: A Journey for Kids, and Look at YOU, Piper Lou!, and Destiny’s Amazingly Different Dreams. She is the founder + Chief Optimistic Originator of Imparted Joy, LLC, which provides services to help others ‘spark their stories’ with confidence.

Each day is a FRESH opportunity to listen, be slow to criticize, and be quick to empathize. Keep dancing and dreaming with JOY.

Twitter: @JillDuBois22

Instagram: jilliande

FB: jilliandee

TikTok: JillDuBois22

www.linkedin.com/in/jill-dubois

Web: www.impartedjoy.com

Transcript – 12 Ideas from the End of School That Work All Year Long

This transcript has been edited for clarity and grammar but is a direct representation of what is said in the podcast.

00;00;00;04 – 00;00;03;17

John Davis: This is the Ten Minute Teacher Podcast with your host, Vicki Davis.

00;00;03;29 – 00;00;26;14

12 Ideas from An Exciting End of Year in Jillian’s Classroom

Today, we’re talking with a 21-year educator, Jillian Dubois, from Clearwater, Florida.

00;00;26;15 – 00;00;43;23

Vicki Davis

She is a children’s book author and has an incredible new book, Destiny’s Amazingly Different Dreams. About Neurodiverse Children, which is an exciting topic. But Jill, we will talk today about what excites you in your classroom. So, what’s going on in your classroom right now?

Idea #1: How to view this time of year as exciting

00;00;43;24 – 00;01;29;17

Jill Dubios

Oh, my goodness. So much so. You know, we’re wrapping up the year. I mean, we’re at the fourth quarter. It’s almost like, you know, we got past halftime. We got past that third quarter. We are almost to that fourth-quarter ready for that celebration at the end.

And oh, my goodness, you know, sometimes we’re about to run out of steam. But I tell you, this is the most exciting time of the year for me. I tell you why because we have finished standardized testing. We finished everything that we needed to finish with our students.

And now we get to have fun. Right. I mean, we still learn. We still go by all the standards, and we do all of that. But it gets me excited when I know that we can start exhaling.

00;01;29;17 – 00;01;49;12

Vicki Davis

And that’s not slowing down. People always say, “well, how do you feel about the school year winding down?”

It’s like we don’t wind down. We just kind of crash into the wall and stop, kind of like a crash test dummy. So you were telling me before the show relating it to a recent episode on the podcast; tell us which podcast were you talking about and then what happened in your classroom to connect to that research?

Idea #2: How Jill is Using the Element of Surprise

00;01;49;21 – 00;05;08;09

Jill Dubios

Oh, my goodness. It was the Neuroscience of Surprise (episode 774). It was awesome. It was just talking about, you know, instead of being so hard on our kids, instead of being so, you know, because we do have behavioral issues, we do want our children to self regulate.

And all of those things have a great mindset when it comes to learning. But when we focus on the negative things, when we tell them “no, don’t do this, don’t do that,” but instead recognize the positive behaviors and the positive attributes.

And we say, “Hey, oh my goodness, do you see? You see what he’s doing? I appreciate how you have done exactly what I asked you to do.” Well, without a reminder, you can look at what every other student was like, “Well, what are they doing? Oh, well, I better be doing that, too,” you know, is that element of surprise. They don’t expect that to come out of your mouth.

Idea #3: How Her Class “Collects” Words on 3×5 Cards

And we were doing an activity where we were learning some new vocabulary.

And I have read this excellent book to my students called The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds.

And I use it every year because when we do novel studies, we get an envelope, write the novel’s name on the outside of the envelope, and start getting three by five cards.

And whenever we hear or see a word that interests us, we collect it. And each student has their own envelope. They’re collecting their own words. So I happened to make a copy of a page, and when they were at a special today, I went down to the copy room and made a copy of this page that we were going to be doing an activity with. And so, now, I teach second graders, so they’re seven, eight, or nine.

Idea #4: How An Accidental Mixup Created a Meaningful Moment of Learning

And somehow, a seventh-grade vocabulary quiz got mixed in with my copies. So when I was going to pass out the documents, one of my students said, “I don’t think I have the right paper.”

And I said, “Oh, no. I said, What do you have?”

And he said, “Well, it says seventh-grade vocabulary.”

“Mike Oh, well, let me see that.”

So I took that piece of paper, and I’m like, “Hey, yeah, you know what? Flip over the piece of paper you have because we’re not going to do second-grade vocabulary right now. Guess what? We’re going to do seventh-grade vocabulary right now.”

They all went, “what?”

And it was almost like that adrenaline, you know. And he was talking about the neuroscience of how that surprise works when they’re not expecting something.

Their little lights clicked on, and they were so interested in knowing what a seventh-grader is learning. I mean, they’re eight, right? And they’re so curious. I have such a curious and, oh, my gosh, just lovely class this year.

Sound like. All right, let’s look at these words. First of all, we start to read these words. So we took step by step, and they’re so good, you know, that’s what we do for second grade. We teach them how to, you know, how do you break apart words? How do you phonetically learn all the patterns and rules and exceptions to the rule?

And it was just a great, you know, real-world learning experience for them. And as a teacher, that gets me excited. As a teacher and as an educator, I love to see spontaneity. I love it when those things happen that you stumble upon in it, creating this vast opportunity to teach. Teach them. But for them to learn and share and watch their eyes light up. And we just had such a brilliant time together.

Idea #5: Teacherpreneurship in Action in the Classroom

00;05;08;17 – 00;05;48;19

Vicki Davis

Let me tell you what you did; I’ve been talking about this term for a long time, teacherpreneurship. So a teacherpreneur is like an entrepreneur. Now, a lot of people have used the word. You know, some people make money from teaching stuff like the TPT stuff.

The way I’ve always used it has been a person who has autonomy in the classroom and looks and finds learning opportunities and makes the most of them. And so, what you saw was a learning opportunity. It’s teaching at its best.

You’re able to reinforce all you’ve been teaching about breaking words down and understanding meaning, and it was a fantastic spontaneous experience. Aren’t those some of the best it was surprising for you to see? Weren’t you in teacher overdrive?

Idea #6: Looking for Things to Reinforce Learning from the Year

00;05;48;19 – 00;07;18;20

Jill Dubios

That’s what makes teaching so special is because we have that freedom to do that. And you know, especially now that fourth-quarter stretch where you’re looking for things to integrate into all of the curriculum you’ve already taught.

Idea #7: Watching Bald Eagles on the Raptor Resource Project

And, you know, yes, we still have some things to do, but it’s just one of my favorite things. This is an extraordinary time of year for me as an educator. For the past ten years, I have been following Explore.org

It’s the Raptor Resource Project, and they have a pair of bald eagles, a male and a female bald eagle, that come back to the same nest in Decorah, Iowa. So this nest is “ginormous.” It is about 8 to 9 feet in diameter.

It’s huge. It’s about five feet deep. And in February, they come back to the nest to lay their eggs. So we keep it on. Somebody is monitoring, and they got different camera angles. I mean, it’s down to a perfect science now, but it is just fascinating, as we always have in second grade.

We have an animal habitat project at the end of the year, but this time of year is when they get to see animals and nature in their natural habitats from start to finish. They get to see them nurturing and caring for their young.

I mean, the male and the female shifting the communication that has to happen, the different symbiotic relationships that have to happen because that nest is so deep, and there’s mice and other birds that build nests and are there to help keep the nest clean.

And I mean, it’s just it’s crazy. So we have so much that’s our science for the last quarter of the year.

Idea #8: Eagles Fly Higher in Turbulent Winds, and So Can We

00;07;19;05 – 00;08;23;29

Vicki Davis

So we are the Eagles at my school. And so let me tell you an Eagles story that I love. This is my favorite Eagles story. One time I went up to a lake fishing, and I saw these eagles up high, and I found this story.

I can’t remember what book I read it in, but what it said was, Of course, eagles can go pretty fast, but the fastest the Eagles have been clocked is when you have turbulent weather, (Vicki’s note: see this article, which isn’t my source but backs up this story) when you have the true wind in actual turbulence, that the Eagles can soar up on those turbulent winds. They have been clocked at over 100 miles an hour. And the point that I make to my students is if you learn to fly on the turbulence, some people see turbulence, and they fight it with it, but the eagles soar on it, and they can go faster than they could ever go any other way because there’s turbulence and that’s life. Right? We can learn to soar in turbulence. Sometimes you have to stop fighting it and go, “Hey, here we go.” You know, and that’s a lot of educators. A lot of educators have been soaring.

00;08;24;01 – 00;09;00;14

Jill Dubios

Oh, my, I’m going to share that with them tomorrow!

And it is super windy in Iowa, even though there were several inches of snow over the weekend.

And I asked them if they had watched it over the weekend. They’re like, “yeah, the babies got all wet.”

And I’m like, “Wow, did you see how quickly the mother or the father would nestle, you know, the babies underneath them in that snow? They’re protecting their young. That’s their job. You know, they don’t even think twice. That’s just their instinct. That’s just what they do.”

And I love that “going soaring through the turbulence.”

Idea #9: Pushing Baby Eagles “Out of the Nest” When They Are Ready

00;09;00;18 – 00;09;42;28

Vicki Davis

I think, as well as when it’s time, as you know, the Eagles will push those babies out of the nest when they know it’s time. And you know what an excellent metaphor for the end of the school year.

You’re ready to soar. It’s time to get out of this nest and move on to third grade. I love these stories. Jillian, this is awesome. I was talking with somebody today about how I feel like this whole negativity is, in some ways, killing social media because I know there’s a lot of stuff to be upset over. There are many things to be tired over; there are lots to be frustrated over. We could just all name it. However, there are a lot of excited educators out there who are still doing their job, pushing through the tough times.

Pep Talk for Educators at the End of the Year

And so what’s your pep talk? You’re excited; you’re overjoyed. What’s your pep talk to educators who are like, I wish I had 25% or even 5% of Jillian’s enthusiasm. I guess I’m not feeling it right now. What do you say?

Idea #10: Find Connection With Your Students

00;09;57;14 – 00;12;06;11

Jill Dubios

You know, the big thing for me is to. Find that connection, finding connection with a student, finding connection and helping them to make a connection, you know, even if it’s just as simple as, you know, one small, you know, self-connection or a world connection or world to self connect, you know, look for those things. And I always say, don’t TAKE the time to make the connection, MAKE the time to make the connection because there’s something very intentional about making time to do something when you feel like you have to do something.

I think I got to take the time to do this. Now, when you want to do something, you’re going to take the time to do it. And with our kids, I think we want to see that.

And not every educator feels that it’s this easy and it’s not easy. It’s just, again, it’s just intentional. We have to understand who our kids are. We have to be able to connect with them. We have to show them our vulnerability and not so much personal stuff, but to show them that we’re human and normal. “Yeah, I’ve got to ask Sarah because I don’t know the answer to your second-grade question,” or, you know. But make them feel respected and make them feel encompassed in your culture and the environment that you’ve created in your classroom.

Idea #11: Truly Knowing Your Students Even in a Large Class

So, you know, that’s so different for each of them. I’ve got 24 students this year, and it’s a large class, and it’s been a little more difficult than normal because there’s been so many of them. But it’s also been a great challenge, and it’s been great because I have if somebody asks me now, do you feel like, you know, all 24 students, I’m like, Yeah, I do. You know, I know what he needs, and I know when he is not feeling himself. I can see it in his face.

And I know when she drops something, and she puts her head down on her desk, I know what she needs.

And I know if you’re, you know, bickering with so-and-so, and you just intuitively have to tune in and know them and build those healthy relationships with them because you’re with them. You’re parenting them technically. You are more with them so many hours a day and communicate with the families, too.

Idea #12: We Partner with Parents

00;12;06;23 – 00;12;08;08

Vicki Davis

Because we’re partnering with parents.

00;12;08;11 – 00;12;09;21

Jill Dubios

Yeah, exactly.

00;12;10;01 – 00;12;43;22

Vicki Davis

We can do more together than we can’t. Just like that with mom and dad, we partner. We need to. We need to partner. Jillian Dubois, a children’s book author, has a lot of great stories she could tell.

But I’m so glad that you told the stories of your enthusiasm and excitement in the classroom. I’m ready to get back into my classroom. I’ve had to break because I had a break in my foot. And by the time this airs, I will be back in my classroom and so excited, and I’ll have all my stories to tell. So thanks, Jillian.

Thank you, Advancement Courses, for sponsoring this show.

00;12;43;25 – 00;13;39;14

Vicki Davis

00;13;39;17 – 00;13;51;10

John Davis

John Davis (Announcer and Producer)

Thank you for listening.

The post 12 Ideas from the End of School That Work All Year Long appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/end-of-year-teaching/

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marco42james · 2 years

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The odds of horse race betting

Rich Strike surprised everyone at the Kentucky Derby horse race in early May by moving from 18th place at the half-way mark (out of 20 horses) to winning the race. Churchill Downs, the track in Kentucky where the race took place, paid out $81 for every dollar that was bet for Rich Strike to win. How do they figure that?

The activity: RichStrikeOdds.pdf

For members we have an editable Word docx of the activity, an Excel sheet of all of the race data, and our solutions.

RichStrikeOdds.docx TotalBetKentuckyDerby.xlsx RichStrikeOdds-solution.pdf

CCSS: 6.SP, 6.RPA, 7.EE, 7.RPA, 7.SPC, 8.EE, HSA.REI, HSS.MD

from Yummy Math https://www.yummymath.com/2022/the-odds-of-horse-race-betting/

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marco42james · 2 years

Text

Awesome End of School and Influencer Ideas for Teachers

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Awesome teachers connect with their students. KeKe Powell teaches second grade and has lots of ideas for ending the year and also just connecting with kids. She also shares some of her story of deciding to share what she does with a wider audience as she is becoming an education influencer. If you’re considering if you want to share, or if you just want great teaching ideas, this is a great listen for you. Scroll down for the show notes and transcript.

Advancement Courses for Your Summer PD

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Sponsor

Episode #782 – The 10 Minute Teacher Podcast

Awesome End of School and Influencer Ideas

Keke Powell, Second Grade Teacher

Listen to the show on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

Subscribe to the Show

Resources Mentioned on Episode 782

The anchor chart Keke mentions in the show.

10 Ways to Rejuvenate and Learn This Summer

Advancement Courses – Sponsor

I was featured in my local San Antonio Magazine for “inspiring shared stories!”

https://voyagesanantonio.com/interview/life-work-with-keke-powell-of-boerne-texas/

I presented for Kahoot! last week! Check out my presentation here:

https://kahoot.com/schools/kahoot-edu-meetup-spring-edition-2022/

Keke Powell – Bio As Submitted

Just

Keke Powell spreading joy in her classroom.

a teacher learning and spreading my aloha with others! I relocated from Hawaii to the great state of Texas! I enjoy learning new things and exploring the outdoors.

Blog = www.mspowellteaches.com

Twitter = @mspowellteaches

Instagram = @mspowellteaches

TikTok = @mspowellteaches_

Linked in – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mspowellteaches/

I have created my platform to showcase ways I implement new things in my classroom. I have learned so many new things from other educators and I enjoy to continue to pay it forward! As educators, we are all doing great things inside our classroom and I believe we should highlight each others success!

TRANSCRIPT: Awesome End of School and Influencer Ideas – episode 782

00;00;00;04 – 00;00;03;16

John Davis

This is the 10 Minute Teacher Podcast with your host Vicki Davis.

Advancement Courses – Show Sponsor

00;00;03;21 – 00;00;16;25

Vicki Davis

Today’s sponsor is Advancement Courses. Stay tuned at the show’s end to learn about ten top things to do and top topics to learn for teachers this summer. We need to learn, but can’t we have fun simultaneously?

00;00;16;26 – 00;00;18;03

Vicki Davis

Now on to the show.

Introducing Kiki Powell

00;00;18;12 – 00;00;53;19

Vicki Davis

Today, we’re talking with second-grade teacher Kiki Powell. She’s been teaching for seven years. She’s in Texas now and spent quite a bit of time in Hawaii. But we’re going to talk about two sorts of things. We’re going to talk a little bit about her tips and ideas.

But also the reason we’re talking to her is. Kiki, you decided that you wanted to be an education influencer. You went to get out there and share. So take us back in time to the conversation in your head, what you said to yourself, to those around you and how you started on that journey.

How Kiki Decided She Wanted to Be an Education Influencer

00;00;54;19 – 00;03;51;18

Mrs. Powell

Okay. So it started in March 2020, and right before the pandemic hit, I just had that feeling in my gut that we weren’t coming back after spring break. And remember getting that message saying, you know what, we will go an extended spring break.

Everyone gets another week. And in my mind, I was thinking, this has never happened before. So what am I going to do to make my kids still feel that love and passion as if I was there? And what is everyone turning into right now? Social media and I have a couple of my favorite influencers that I liked, and I was thinking, Hey, you know, I do something very similar to that. So what if I put it out there for the world to see?

Get feedback. Because as teachers, we grow from hearing other people’s ideas and getting different perspectives. So I thought, “Oh, hey, you know, if this person can do it, why can’t I?” And so, I did a bunch of research.

I looked into it; I learned how to make my domain. So that’s how I created it this year. And I just felt so proud of myself that, as educators, what do we do? We tell our kids to figure it out for themselves, solve problems, and solve problems.

And that’s precisely what I did. And so, from there, I just started posting everything that I did in my class. I had my favorite TPT, and everyone has their favorite teacher, great teachers, or person they go to like mine is Tails of Teaching.

She has been helping me tremendously, and I love that. Now I get to work with the people who create the worksheets that are fantastic educators and help them with their businesses. It started skyrocketing when I ended up leaving Hawaii for Texas, and I joke because a lot of people don’t like to send things to Hawaii because it’s more expensive. So maybe when I came to Texas, that’s when it was skyrocketing, and now I have a plethora of things in my classroom. So a bunch of authors love to reach out to me and ask me if I can read their books.

And I personally love showcasing different authors of all genres because I think now that I’ve had so many virtual authors visit my classroom, my kids are inspired to write their own stories and have that freedom of expression and being creative and showing that some officers are author and illustrator.

They can do both. But if you’re a great writer and don’t feel that you’re so confident with your illustrations, you can have someone who can help you. And they see that there are a bunch of different avenues that these kids can take.

And I think that makes a difference because they’ll ask this how it’s Monday and you have all of these things in this classroom, what are you doing? And I joke with them and say, Oh, you know, I post things that we do in class because I think you’re all beautiful rockstars, and I think just building them up, then that allows them to continue to grow well.

Where Does KiKi Share?

00;03;51;26 – 00;04;02;25

Vicki Davis

Okay, so so talk about the places that you share. So you have your own domain; you have your own website. Where are the social media platforms that you like to share the most?

00;04;02;28 – 00;04;52;24

Mrs. Powell

My Instagram @mspowellteaches is where I post the most, and that’s usually where many people will send me messages to collaborate and want to work with me. And then I have Twitter. Twitter’s @mspowellteaches more of my where I post more of my students because I work in a district that loves to showcase student work and pictures with students and not having to worry about them being blurred out because they sign contracts saying that we can post photos with them, find more of my authentic student work would be on Twitter and then I have my website, my website, it’s more of my blog. http://www.mspowellteaches.com/

So it highlights the things that I’ve done with like media wise. I just had a magazine come out last week that I was in for an article for a teacher spotlight, and then I have my LinkedIn and that’s just like my professional work that you can see that I’ve done.

Ideas for Ending the School Year Well

00;04;52;25 – 00;05;11;01

Vicki Davis

Yeah. Awesome. Okay, so looking towards the end of the school year and what kind of things are you going to be looking to share in the end of April, May into June, to help teachers like what are the kind of things you look to share in that time for a cool tips or whatever?

Idea #1 Write a Letter to Their Future Teacher

00;05;11;07 – 00;06;20;02

Mrs. Powell

Some of my favorite things to do as I have the kids write a letter to their future teacher, so they’re all going into third grade and this works for multiple ways. One, you can showcase the students writing right when they come into the classroom, and then two, it gives them that personality.

I think volume speaks whenever you read a paper and you see what is important to them and they’ll let you know. I work well if I have a fidget in my hand, or it just gives them that expression that they need to be successful for third grade.

Idea #2: Giving Awards

Mrs. Powell

And then I love to give awards for anything, anything and everything. And I do that because I want them to feel confident and very secure that I went to second grade and I did a great job. And by doing that and giving them so many positive affirmations, I’m hitting their scale and making them feel loved.

And I actually just have finished all my words and they say different ones. Like, You were amazing in second grade because you grew from when we started, or you were outstanding because you decided that I’m going to speak it out in front of the classroom and I’m going to be brave.

So just having those positive reinforcement with them goes a long way.

00;06;20;09 – 00;06;33;03

Vicki Davis

So are those like certificates that I use of them that I got from Chris Lehman in Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia called the Paper Plate Awards. So we used just paper plates and the kids helped be creative and they’re just a lot of fun, but a lot of the kids will keep them.

See Finding Your Beautiful Moment The Last Week of School

00;06;33;03 – 00;06;36;09

Vicki Davis

It’s great idea. Do you make certificates or what do you do?

Idea #3: Give Ribbon Awards or Bracelets

00;06;36;21 – 00;07;06;23

Mrs. Powell

So I make certificates and then I get an actual ribbon award and I give a bracelet. So I have a bracelet and it says, like, I was a star student, the ribbons, it’s like a nice ribbon because I want them to hang it up and look at it all summer and think, Wow, you know, I got this ribbon to make me feel good. And then I take the certificate and then I laminate it. Whether you wear the all star speller in the class or you were the jokester in the class, I like to pick out like their favorite part about themselves and just really go with it.

00;07;06;23 – 00;07;21;17

Vicki Davis

So you’re careful to make sure it’s genuine and honest because we know that kids can smell it out if we’re not being truthful. Oh, okay. Can you tell us a story about why you started this and why you keeping doing it?

Do you have a story of a student and how it changed them?

Idea #4: Throughout the Year, Write Things Down About Each Student

00;07;21;18 – 00;08;40;00

Mrs. Powell

What really started is when I first started teaching and the kids are like, “Wow, you really care for me?”

Because I would remember I would have a cheat sheet. It had all the boxes, I had every kid’s name and anything they told me I would write it down. So that way I would not forget because I as a teacher, can very forgetful. And I am my kids will tell you I’ll forget a lot of things. And so because I started that, I remember things more quickly and then I can leave it with the sub.

Idea #5: Make a Personal Connection with Each Student

So if they want to make a connection with my students, then they had that as well. And I think they always say like, “I just want a hug, I just want to feel loved, I want to feel valued.”

And so every day I’m like, “I’m here. If you want a hug,” I’m open. I think just because I embrace them, it makes that special impact. Because I was pulled out of the classroom today, because I was helping out with testing for grades, and every time my kids saw me in the bathroom, they would run to me and give me a hug, even though I’m just out for a couple hours. And I think that is my why and why I’m teaching is because I’m making them feel like they are supposed to be here. They’re here thriving.

And I want them to whatever dream that they have, I honestly believe that they are going to achieve it. So I always push them for I try not to take them down because I just think, you know, it’s like if as teachers, we want people to tell us we’re doing a great job.

So it’s the same for the kids as well.

00;08;40;01 – 00;08;46;03

Vicki Davis

So as we finish up, what is something you’ve shared with teachers that has gotten the most shares and likes and engagement?

What do teachers like that you share?

00;08;46;03 – 00;09;23;20

Mrs. Powell

It’s anchor charts and posters. I did one. I’m looking at it right now. It says 20 Reasons Miss Powers Thinks You Did Well This Year and I wrote every kid’s name and I wrote one specific characteristic. So I put “I love Mia’s work ethic” or “I love Mackenzie’s persistence.”

It was very specific. And then I talked about it with the classic. This is why I chose that. And I think you’re great at this. And at the end of the day, they can leave the classroom saying, “Wow, my teacher thinks this of me.”

And then when they go to bed at night, they know like “I can go to school because it’s a place where I feel safe and it’s going to be exciting.”

00;09;23;26 – 00;09;45;16

Vicki Davis

Awesome. So, Miss Powell, Kiki Powell, second grade teacher and influencer, thank you for coming on the show. You’ve definitely got the enthusiasm and the attitude because here’s the deal. And I say this a lot. It’s not about playing King of the Hill.

It’s about making a bigger hill. There’s lots of room for educators to share and help one another, and we really need each other right now because this has not been an easy season. So thank you, Kiki.

Thank you Advancement Courses

00;09;45;16 – 00;10;44;01

Vicki Davis

Last summer I took my professional development with Advancement Courses and I am so glad that I did on my blog. I recently shared 10 Ways to Rejuvenate and Learn This Summer. All of the course ideas come from the advancement courses catalog to go to https://www.coolcatteacher.com/top10

Learn about some courses you might want to take and some things that you need to do this summer. Your current needs should impact your professional development. Advancement Courses makes it so easy to complete your PD with courses that are online and self-paced so you can take them anywhere any time with up to six months to complete. And right now you can use the code cool. 15 to get 15% off your course today. So go to www.coolcatteacher.com/top10 and begin deciding what you want to learn this summer.

00;10;44;04 – 00;10;54;22

John Davis (Announcer and Producer)

Thank you for listening.

The post Awesome End of School and Influencer Ideas for Teachers appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/awesome-end-of-school-and-influencer-ideas-for-teachers/

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marco42james · 2 years

Text

10 Ways to Rejuvenate and Learn This Summer

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

As you prepare for your summer, teachers, you know you need to rest to be your best. I hope you take time with your family and friends and find hobbies to replenish all that has depleted your energy.

For those teachers who need professional development and CEUs this summer, you want your PD to replenish you. This blog post will give some recommendations about what you need to do to feel rejuvenated and point to some courses that will help you do that. Let’s splash ahead!

Advancement Courses sponsored this blog post. All opinions are my own.

1. Get Some Rest

At the end of the school year, we teachers are depleted. Not just tired. We have given so much, and we do not have anything left to give to our careers; it is sometimes hard to care for ourselves. I have often found that it takes me three to four weeks to get into summer, and at some point, I feel myself healing so I can begin to have fun.

My best summers are those I jumpstart with a restful vacation away with the family where we eat out, sleep, and do nothing. I find that I’m rested and start enjoying my summer faster. Every summer since I’ve been teaching (20 years now), I don’t start feeling like myself until that first vacation. So, why not rest and do it early. Re-create yourself for a better tomorrow.

PD Connection. In the meantime, as you look forward and work to rest so you can be your best, here are some professional development topics with skills to help in this valuable area of self-care and battling burnout.

If I’ve learned anything from my broken foot, it is that there are things only I can do for myself. Teacher, you have to take care of yourself. Summer is the time to do that. Check out these courses to help you:

Becoming a Calm, Happy Teacher

Self Care Strategies for Teachers

Beyond Survival Mode: Maintaining Your Passion Throughout Your Teaching Career

From Burnout to Productivity: Maintaining a Path for Teacher Wellness

2. Pursue Fun Hobbies

One mistake I’ve seen many teachers make is “project” themselves into exhaustion in the summertime. While it is great to paint the house and build a “she shed” in the backyard, how can you recover if you go from hard work at school to hard work at home?

So, find time for some of your fun hobbies. If you genuinely enjoy gardening, pace yourself so it won’t feel like too much work, and it will rejuvenate you. And when you’re ready, consider how to bring your passions (and your students’) into the classroom with passion projects and student interest projects. If you love art, take a class or go to a new place to draw, write, or create.

PD Connection. As you do, consider how to bring these types of interests into your classroom. Personal interests engage students in learning. Learn how to bring those in for students.

Art Based Strategies for Literacy Instructions

The Learning Science of Music

Teaching Life Skills and Financial Literacy

Shaping Global Citizens through World Crisis Education

3. Play Games

Whether you play board games, breakout rooms, adventure activities, or a favorite video game, consider which types of games engage you with others. I recommend selecting the games that build deep relationships and promote conversations. Limit the time spent on games that further isolate you from others. I have a few games I like and set a timer on my Apple Watch when I sit down to play.

PD Connection. Classroom learning can use many games to teach. You can discover how to connect games to learning in the classroom.

Let’s Play: Creating a Playful Classroom

Game-Based Strategies for Language Instruction

Level Up! Student Achievement Through Gamification and Game-Based Learning

Sports and Games: Using Instructional Models in PE

4. Read a Book (or Two)

Reading is called one of the “best hobbies in the world.” Reading is linked to stress reduction and even a longer lifespan. The research is astounding and shows it can lower heart rates and blood pressure. But make sure you at least take some time to read for pleasure.

My friends who teach literature (and read hundreds of student papers a year) have often told me how hard it is to sit down and read for fun because they associate reading with work. However, reading for the joy of reading can improve your life.

If I want to push my reading, I sign up with my local library’s reading club, but other times I set a goal of a book or two a month in the summertime and make time to sit and read. At the beginning of the summer, I will go to the library, find the books I love to read and look around the shelves to see related content (this works best for nonfiction unless you’re looking for more works by your favorite author!).

PD Connection. As you consider reading for interest, think about how to help students find books they are interested in and how to sustain silent reading.

Active Reading versus Passive Reading: Teaching Students to Become Better Readers

Sustained Silent Reading

Read Out: Building Students’ LIteracy and Love of Reading Through Read Alouds

Using the Hunger Games to Teach Science Fiction

Reimagining Literature: Using Graphic Novels in the Classroom

5. Take a Social Media Sabbatical

Every summer, I take at least a week (sometimes two) to go completely offline. Sometimes we will find a place to go without the Internet (gasp!).

While social media can be helpful, it can also distract and keep us from deepening and focusing on relationships.

PD Connection. Helping students manage social media and attain media literacy skills is part of developing their wellness habits.

Teaching Media Literacy in a Post-Truth World

Respect, Educate, and Protect: Cultivating Digital Citizenship in 21st Century Learners

Developing 21st Century Skills in a Digital World (K-5 or 6-12)

6. Reestablish Connections with Family and Friends

Last summer, I made a list of those I wanted to know better and invited them to breakfast or lunch. I also included family members on this list. At the end of the summer, I had new relationships that sustained me through my recent broken foot. I’m so glad I deepened those relationships.

PD Connection. You have to relate to educate. Building good relationships with your students is vital. Becoming more skilled at relationship building can benefit every teacher.

Creating Meaningful Relationships and Setting Boundaries with Your Students

Partnering with Parents for Student Success

Communication Essentials for School Leaders

7. Journal

Journaling can be helpful for many reasons. You can process how you feel about events in your life and even the school year. I typically sit down and write about things during the school year. Then, at the end of the year, I’ll review what I wrote to find common patterns and determine the areas I need to work on over the summer. Journaling is a lifetime skill that has helped me become a better person. Purchase a cute summer notebook to use.

PD Connection. Consider how you help students journal and if you can use this to help teach writing in the classroom. Additionally, knowing how to help students bring personal experiences into their college essays is another way to apply this skill to make your school a better place.

Everyone Has a Story to Tell: Narrative Writing in the Classroom

Preparing Students for College: Teaching Writing Across the Content Areas

The Personal Essay: Knowledge Power and the Personal Essay

8. Take Time for Learning

Yes, we can take time to learn and improve. However, many of us must attain a certain number of hours in coursework.

PD Connection. So, when you do, make sure it is something you enjoy and is directly applicable to your classroom. I’ve included suggestions in this post; however, you can search for self-paced classes that fit your needs and schedule. (Click the search box in the top right corner of this page.)

9. Play with Technology

Summer is a great time to read blogs and attend conferences about educational technology. In addition, I take time to play with new tools to see what I will bring into my classroom and how I will reach students.

PD Connection. Take some courses with best practices that connect technology tools to pedagogical improvements in your classroom teaching.

Tech Tools for Teaching and Learning

Essential Classroom Technology for Teachers

Mission Possible: Organizing Your Digital Files, Forms, and Slides

Making Curriculum Driven Technology Decisions

Using Technology to Support Students with Special Needs

10. Find Adventurous Ways to Teach in New Ways

Engaging students can be challenging. Summer is the perfect time to consider classroom procedures and how to engage students in learning. In the fall (after you’ve rested), investments in your classroom will help you and your students.

PD Connection. Find courses that excite you and have methods you look forward to trying. This summer is not the time for dry, dull topics but to be engaged so you can engage others in the new school year.

Creating a Highly Engaging Lesson Plan

Enliven Your Lesson Plans: Escape Rooms and Web Quests

Fostering Student Interaction in Online Learning

Game On! Getting Kids Pumped in PE Class

Implementing Creative Projects in Literacy

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored blog post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The post 10 Ways to Rejuvenate and Learn This Summer appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/10-ways-to-rejuvenate-and-learn-this-summer/

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marco42james · 2 years

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Practical Ways to Develop School Leaders Now

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

School leadership is more challenging than ever. Assistant superintendent Chris Chappotin shares ideas for making yourself available, the importance of taking things off teachers’ plates (and not adding to them), and questions you can ask when encouraging leaders. Practical, encouraging ideas are shared throughout this show for principals, administrators, and anyone working to encourage school leaders.

Readlee – Show Sponsor

Readlee is an amazing literacy tool that enables teachers to go from collecting reading data a couple times a year to getting data each week (or day!) in just 5-10 minutes. Developed in collaboration with researchers at the Harvard School of Education, students read aloud and the tool collects data on fluency and accountability (think words correct per minute and total time read, among others) and a recording and transcript of their reading. You can provide feedback to your students on any text (print or digital) and they can hear you read as well.This is a perfect tool for summer school, reading tutors and anyone teaching reading. Go to Readlee.com today to set up your free account and get started.

Click Here to see Readlee

Sponsor

Episode 781 – The 10 Minute Teacher Podcast

Practical Ways to Develop School Leaders Now

Chris Chappotin, Assistant Superintendent

Listen to the show on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

Subscribe to the Show

Chris Chappotin – Bio As Submitted

Chris Chappotin has been serving as Assistant Superintendent for Boyd ISD in Boyd, TX since January 2020. Chris grew up in Farmington, IA, Irving & Keller, TX, and completed an undergraduate degree in Psychology at Abilene Christian University. After a 14-year career in student & worship ministry, public speaking, and starting churches, in 2011, Chris began working for Burleson ISD in Burleson, TX as a 4th and 5th Grade Math and Reading Special Education Teacher at J.W. Norwood Elementary School. Chris earned a Master of Education degree in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies from the University of Texas at Arlington, and was promoted into administration in Burleson ISD where he served as Academic Associate Principal at Centennial High School and Academic Associate Principal and Principal at STEAM Middle School. Currently, he is pursuing a Doctorate of Educational Leadership at Texas Tech University with an expected graduation date of May 2024. Chris is passionate about leading empowerment organizations, designing innovative instructional systems, and accomplishing both in the context of meaningful, team-oriented relationships. He has been featured on the Teach Better, Aspire Lead, Teachers On Fire, and Many Voices of Grit podcasts. Furthermore, he was the parody writer and voice of Burleson ISD’s school year launch videos from 2016 to 2019. Chris and his wife, Heidi, will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary on July 25, 2022. They have 5 children: Torie (21), Ryan (15), Hudson (12), Ava Grace (10), and Sam (7), and live in Boyd, TX with their 2 dogs, 2 cats, 2 snakes, and 1 goat.

Blog: https://linqapp.com/ChrisChappotin

Twitter: @Chris_Chappotin

Transcript – Episode 781 – Practical Ways to Develop School Leaders Now

781: Practical Ways to Develop School Leaders Now

00;00;00;04 – 00;00;03;17

John Davis (announcer and producer)

This is the Ten Minute Teacher Podcast with your host, Vicki Davis.

Readlee: An Amazing Literacy Tool – Show Sponsor

00;00;04;04 – 00;00;24;02

Vicki Davis

Today’s Sponsor is Readlee, an amazing literacy tool developed in collaboration with researchers at the Harvard School of Education. Stay tuned at the end of the show for how to get a free account for you and your students.

So today, we’re talking with Chris Chappotin, assistant to the superintendent for Boyd ISD in Boyd, Texas.

00;00;24;02 – 00;00;25;15

Vicki Davis

Thanks for coming on the show, Chris.

00;00;26;01 – 00;00;29;19

Chris Chappotin

No problem. Cool Cat Teacher, it is great to be with you today.

00;00;29;21 – 00;00;48;01

Vicki Davis

Yes. And today, we’re going to talk about leadership development. This is such a unique time, and teachers and administrators feel so overwhelmed. But don’t we need leadership more than ever? But it’s hard to ask anybody to do anything else.

So how do we develop leadership now?

Leadership Begins with Relationships

00;00;48;04 – 00;01;30;19

Chris Chappotin

Part of this is definitely rooted in relationships. As we already know. The power of those relationships has definitely been on display as we have needed high levels of trust to navigate the uncertain times, especially over the last two years.

And I would say that first and foremost, that occurs through availability. If I’m going to be a part of the leadership development of those in my organization, in my district, I have to be intentionally available by reserving time in my own schedule for conversations that need to occur.

Sometimes those conversations are proactive in nature. Sometimes those conversations are situational in nature. But I would take a learner’s posture with my people. Availability is really that that first step.

How Do You Make Yourself Available in Practical, Doable Ways?

00;01;30;20 – 00;01;39;04

Vicki Davis

I want to park on that for a second. So when you say make yourself available, obviously you’re probably not super close to where all your principals are right there in another building.

00;01;39;06 – 00;01;52;29

Chris Chappotin

Actually, in my case, I’m in a district that has just a little bit less than 1300 students. And I have three campuses within walking distance. But in a in a larger setting, yes, there would be more sites to navigate for sure.

00;01;53;07 – 00;02;07;17

Vicki Davis

So are there time blocks on your schedule where they know they’re available, or do you do that with some sort of calendar or make it easy? Or does your assistant say, “hey, if this person calls, they get immediate access?”

How do you make yourself available from a practical standpoint?

Standing Meetings on the Calendar

00;02;07;18 – 00;03;36;14

Chris Chappotin

So one way is standing meetings on the calendar in collaboration with a former colleague, developed a system of wildly important goal sessions, kind of based off of Franklin Covey in the Four Disciplines of Execution work. And so we have standing weekly meetings where we look at campus academic goals and we look at the principal’s weekly commitments towards accomplishing that goal and have a collaborative system of accountability there.

Use Voxer to Communicate

I would also say, though, that Voxer is part of that availability as well. So principals know that at any point, at any time, they can reach me on Voxer, and I’d do my best to be responsive.

I’ve got one principal who will reach out, and you know, the intro is typically, “hey, newer administrator question coming here,” which is completely fine. And so Voxer is a great way to keep that going.

Planned Classroom Visits Conducted Together

And then sometimes there are planned classroom visits where we walk through together in order to build capacity and to calibrate what we’re looking for in terms of classroom instruction.

Spontaneous Conversations with “Come Alongside You” Leadership

And then other times, there are spontaneous along the way conversations. You know, I’ve had mentors in my past who there were formal times of leadership development, but there were also call them organic times that happened along the way in a come alongside you type of leadership.

And so I look for those opportunities too, because that’s where those situational conversations can occur that are specific to the context or to the time or to the situation that are fun.

What About Keeping Your Distance to Prevent Administrators from Getting Ill?

00;03;36;18 – 00;03;50;13

Vicki Davis

And it’s tough because hasn’t the message to a lot of administrators been, don’t be available, don’t make contact, keep your distance so that you don’t get sick? I mean, isn’t that kind of in the back of a lot of administrators’ minds? “If I get sick, what’s going to happen?”

00;03;50;16 – 00;05;31;10

Chris Chappotin

Definitely. I think this year in particular, you know, what we’ve noticed is that teacher absences, student absences due to illness, whether COVID or otherwise, because we’ve had a resurgence, if you will, of the flu, especially in our younger grade levels.

This particular school year, those absences haven’t necessarily subsided, and in some cases, they’ve actually increased. We’ve had to close the district a couple of times this year due to the number of illness absences. And so, you know, I believe that those concerns exist and are prevalent in our experience this year just as much or maybe even more so than they were when the pandemic was first beginning. And we weren’t quite sure, you know, what was happening or the speed at which things were happening. And so with that in mind, the challenge unique to to my district has been that at our elementary and intermediate campuses in particular, we’re involved in school improvement work because we are attempting to improve academic performance away from improvement required type dynamics with our state agency.

So anyway, all of that kind of wrapped up together has made for a challenge in terms of availability. But I would say that our, our community has been super responsive and there was know we had our season of mask wearing, which was helpful. But as we’ve transitioned away from masks and back to face to face and and learning without masks, then about adaptability, it’s been about flexibility, been about doing our best for our students and our staff in order to see the improvement we need to see.

00;05;31;19 – 00;05;38;13

Vicki Davis

So you feel like you’ve had enough face time or you just feel like Voxer has kind of helped you in those times when you couldn’t go face to face?

The Challenges of the Times Will Either Bring Us Together or Drive Us Apart

00;05;38;22 – 00;05;49;03

Chris Chappotin

In our district? We have been primarily face-to-face since May of 2021. I’m not sure I’m getting that date right.

00;05;49;25 – 00;05;54;24

Vicki Davis

But, you know, after the pandemic, it all blurs together! Like sometimes, I don’t even know what year it is.

00;05;55;11 – 00;07;22;28

Chris Chappotin

I’m in a rural setting that did not wear masks, you know, terribly long when compared to larger metropolitan areas. So I get 20 and 21 blurred. It would have been 2021. We more we wore masks a majority of 2021.

It has been primarily a face to face learning, which has been a refreshing advantage for our smaller, more rural district. But bringing the conversation back more specifically to leadership development, we’ve also had to grow capacity of our leaders in terms of state accountability and academic performance.

And so in a smaller district with four schools, but I have two principals that have a little bit more experience in the role. And then I have two principals who are fairly new in the role. And so together we’ve been on this journey of learning the state accountability system, learning, teaching best practices, learning how to inspire and nurture the development of relationship with students through staff. And that’s been an exciting journey. And and we’ve seen even during the pandemic student performance increase, which has been super encouraging. And I think the challenges of the time, they’re either going to draw us together around a common mission, which is our kids or draw us apart.

And we’re going to, you know, lose traction in conversations of, you know, taking stances on certain issues or whatnot. You know, in my district, it’s been great. That allowed us to come together and we’re doing a lot of learning along the way, which is drawing us together.

Situational Conversations

00;07;23;14 – 00;07;25;23

Vicki Davis

That’s great. Okay, so what was your second thing?

00;07;26;04 – 00;09;46;13

Chris Chappotin

The second thing was going to be situational conversations. What I’m finding is as we navigate uncertain times, whether we’re in leadership or not, we are all learning along the way. And so, there are conversations that come up because they’re specific to a context or to a situation.

And as a leader, I can do my best with books and with preparatory experiences to prepare for those. But there’s another thing. When I’ve got somebody on the phone, I’ve got a report of something occurring on campus, or I find myself, you know, as we talked about with some of the academic challenges that we’re working through in my district. And so availability is key because I have to be present in order to have those conversations, in order to listen well and in order to provide guidance, which would lead me to a third piece.

Situations Are Different So Be Careful About Sharing When You Were In the Classroom

And that is I had a mentor in the past when I first became an assistant principal who would say with a smile, “Nobody cares what you did in your classroom as a teacher.So don’t go around telling stories about, ‘well, when I was in the classroom, I did so and so.’”

I’ve taken the same approach to the development of principals in the sense that you can’t tell teachers or even sometimes other administrators because the situations are different

The times are different, the people, the people are different in those situational conversations. I have to find a way to facilitate the growth and the thought process of the colleague that I’m working with.

Helpful Leadership Coaching Technique – “Have you Considered? You Should Consider. You must consider.”

Chris Chappotin

So something that’s been real helpful for me that I, I learned from a mentor in the past.

“Have you considered? You should consider. You must consider.”

I try to do a lot of questioning when I’m working with people in general, but in particular with leadership development. And so the entry level question of have you considered is purely to spark the limitless thinking of the person that I’m working with.

You should consider, though, is a step in a direction. There are certain aspects of this dynamic or this situation that you can’t not do something about or that you can’t necessarily ignore.

And then we get to you must consider, which is a kind of a have to we can’t let this particular part drop or, you know, we can’t forgo this particular communication. And so using that model has been helpful in my own development. And in turn, you know, I’m getting the opportunity daily to share that with the folks I work with.

The Worst Mistake Now: Adding to the Teacher’s Plate

00;09;46;24 – 00;09;54;25

Vicki Davis

So Chris, as you consider the current time, what is the worst mistake that you think administrators could make with leadership development right now.

00;09;54;26 – 0;10;33;27

Chris Chappotin

Are we adding to the plate? A good leadership friend of mine posted on Twitter probably at least once or twice a week, “How are we taking off the plate, especially for our teachers?”

“We’re asking you to teach, to be counselor, to be active in the community, to nurture kids socially, all in the midst of our own care and the state of the world today.

Help Teachers in Positive Ways or How Can We Remove Things From Their Plate?

And so how can we intentionally look for ways to either jump in and help in positive, presupposed ways that are supportive and that are responsive? Or how can we actually remove some things and be more strategic and intentional with our approaches to teaching and learning?

00;10;34;03 – 00;10;56;22

Vicki Davis

Our administrators said, “Hey, we’re going to take lunch for the year and allow you teachers to meet two times a week. You guys will eat together and you can get away, you can talk, you can have teamwork.”

And I’ll tell you, that was a big load off. It sounds small. It’s not small. It’s actually a big deal to get to eat lunch with colleagues and figure things out.

Districts Need to Earn the Trust of Their Employees

00;10;56;23 – 00;14;13;28

Chris Chappotin

Absolutely. I was in a city meeting at the Alliance Airport area here in the northwest DFW area, and it was a collaboration between District CT&C, college and career military readiness leaders and leaders in the business world.

So there was a representative from Facebook parent company there, Google, Amazon, Air Con Global and Charles Schwab, and it was this dialog about preparing students and the workforce. A couple of things stood out to me in terms of leadership development.

One is the trust of employees. So in these corporations, I was in a breakout with a East Regional Manager of Meta and a couple of other site leaders for their Fort Worth branch.

Management and Influence over Their Own Time

And they talked about having the opportunity to have some management and influence over their own time.

Educators. I think sometimes we feel like we’re doing something wrong if our day isn’t crammed, packed with something every moment of the day. And so they talked about an intentional time to do things like play ping pong, intentional times, and rhythms of rest throughout the day.

They talked about a chef and a cafeteria experience that was outstanding. I mean I’ve seen some of these play out visits to Apple and Google facilities. All of that may not be practical for a school setting.

Give Teachers Trust and Time

However, there are small wins, like you just mentioned, with administrators taking lunch where we can give trust, and we can give time to our teachers. I found in my career that if we can give those two gifts to our teachers, they come up with amazing ideas, and they bless and influence kids in ways that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. And so that was an amazing part of the experience with the city and corporate meeting.

Cultivate Integrity and Collaboration

The other part was the corporations were talking about how what they were looking for was honesty, integrity, collaboration and team players when it came to what are the skills in your workforce or in your company that you are looking for the most?

Those were the skills. Their approach was the technical aspects of the jobs. We can train people in that, but we can’t necessarily train you to operate with integrity or to have a team first disposition in regards to your job.

You know, as I was thinking about leadership development, whether that’s administrator development or teacher development, those are the skills that I’m looking forward to and those are the skills that I’m attempting to develop in the people that I work with.

If those are the primary skills, then there’s there’s a certain part in the leadership development where I need to back away and empower the person to live out their values and know that we have had the necessary conversations and foundational experiences and that I’m always going to be available in regards to anything that comes up.

But there is a gradual release nature to the leadership development process that if you’re operating with honesty and integrity, if you have a team first, a teacher first as a as a principal, because, you know, the teachers influencing the students at some point, I’ve got to empower you to fly.

And those are, of course, the most exciting parts of leadership development.

Busyness Can Keep Us From Doing the Essential Business of our Job

00;14;14;06 – 00;14;59;06

Vicki Davis

Well, one thing is I’m finishing up six weeks at home with due to a broken foot. That I have learned is that busyness has kept me from doing the business for me.

Innovate like a turtle has been my philosophy. So two times a week, 15 minutes, I experiment with things new. And as I’ve been subbing for other teachers and in all the busyness that’s happened since the pandemic started, my innovation time has just been what is sacrificed. And I’ve been doing some really cool innovation and playing with some new apps and doing some cool things with my students, maybe even cooler than if I had been face to face, because we need that time to innovate, to tinker, to play, to learn.

Pep Talk for Administrators

00;14;59;11 – 00;15;02;12

Vicki Davis

So, Chris, I want to finish up. Just give a motivational sentence or two to all. Administrators listening who need a pep talk right now.

00;15;02;12 – 00;15;09;15

Chris Chappotin

One day, one moment at a time. And love on your people. Find ways to intentionally and proactively love on your people.

00;15;09;20 – 00;16;00;20

Vicki Davis

Absolutely. Because love is definitely not a four letter word. Thank you for coming on the show. Chris.

Readlee: An Amazing Reading Fluency Tool from Harvard Researchers

Reilly is an amazing literacy tool that enables teachers to go from collecting reading data a couple of times a year to get data each week or each day in just 5 to 10 minutes.

00;16;01;01 – 00;16;10;21

John Davis

You’ve been listening to the Ten Minute Teacher podcast. If you like this program, you can find more and coolcatteacher dot com. If you wish to see more content by Vicki Davis, you can find her on Facebook and Twitter @coolcatteacher.

The post Practical Ways to Develop School Leaders Now appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/practical-ways-to-develop-school-leaders-now/

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marco42james · 2 years

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Lumio: Making Review and Practice Easy

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Lumio has become my go-to exam review tool. I can quickly add review materials, create quick practice problems and work, and give students a way to practice without me. In this blog post, I’ll share how Lumio is a great tool for classroom teachers everywhere, whether you’re reviewing for a tough exam like my Computer Science class or teaching a regular lesson. This tool will make teaching easier for you. Let’s dive in.

Sponsored Blog Post

This blog post is sponsored by Lumio. All opinions are my own.

First, let’s overview what Lumio does and how it works. You can upload anything you already have in your classroom, every pdf, every electronic document, or the materials you’ve purchased and add to Lumio. When you create the activity, you can make any of it interactive where every student can complete the answers and do the activities. It saves the activities so you can review their work later (goodbye paper worksheets for sure), and you can even add games and activities.

To make it even better, if a student misses class, you can click a button and assign the day’s Lumio for completion at home, including the classwork. Or, after class, if students need more practice (like with my exam), I can assign it with a click so they can practice ahead of time.

So, let’s get started with digging into Lumio.

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1. How to get to the site. Lum.io

First, you get to the site by going to Lum.io. You’ll see this is free for teachers. (The free version includes 50MB of lesson storage. The full version includes unlimited storage. In both plans, you get access to all of the features, so it is a perfect time to set up an account and try it out.) You’ll see when you login that you start off by being able to add activities, explore the resources they have, or get some training on how to use this collaborative learning tool

2. Add free manipulatives and lessons to your library first.

So, before you create everything, dig into the manipulatives and lessons already available for you to adapt. In particular, math teachers and elementary teachers will love the manipulatives that you can adapt for your own lessons.

When you find a manipulative, slide, or game that you want, it is as simple as adding it to your library. I recommend doing this first so that you can start off with easy-to-use activities without having to work. We have to save time as teachers, and their library of thousands of resources will help you do it.

What is included in the Lumio library?

Manipulatives

STEAM

Fractions

Reading and Writing

Multiplication

Sight Words and Phonics

ReadWorks

Art and Music

Graphic Organizers – the traditional graphic organizers but also sports courts and tools for coaches

Classroom motivators (you can add at the beginning of lessons)

Instructional Toolkits

And more! Including new resources being added regularly

So, the instructional toolkits are some of my favorites for adding to my library. As you can see in the graphic, you have quick exit tickets, self-assessments, speed up games, and more that you can add to your library to easily insert into your lessons.

So, definitely, build your library first so you have resources available.

3. Build Your Lessons in Lumio

Now, the fun begins. When you create a lesson, you’ll see that you can add PDFs, PowerPoints, Google Docs, Google Slides, YouTube videos, web links, instructional audio, or SMARTNotebook lessons (and more.)

In my example, I had my exam review notes in Google Docs. Because Lumio is integrated with Google, us Google users can import Slides and Docs easily.

You can quickly add resources from here, but I like having them in my library already.

I opened my lesson with a “shout it out” so students could ask the questions about the exam that they had after reviewing notes. Additionally, remember that every eight minutes or so to add a quick formative assessment to know where students are in the lesson.

You can also easily add other multimedia, including videos from YouTube (with safe search!), web links, images, and even instructional audio to support students and give them a variety of ways to learn and review information.

4. Student Participation and Practice All the Way

As the teachers reading this post will know, we need to ensure that students are learning as the teaching process proceeds. With Lumio we no longer need to wait until the end of the lesson to know what students know. Using formative response and self-grading game-based activities, we can quickly know now.

As you can see in my Semester 2 study guide document as we were reviewing Python Programming concepts, I added handouts that let students work problems on the pages as we went through the review guide. This way, I could look to see what each student did and if they knew how to write the code I wanted to see on the exam.

I also liked having students review vocabulary using “Flip Out” which is really just a flashcard review more than a game. After they reviewed, then we would play one of the games like Game Show. I liked that I could play Game Show as a class or students could play on their devices in smaller groups for review and practice. In a larger class, I would definitely have students split into 4 person groups.

5. Give more opportunities for practice after the class

When done with the live lesson, when you click the “Share” button, you can share it with other teachers or with students for more practice.

I recommend sharing the lesson with students who miss class and also for exam review, so students can practice more on their own. Think of it as a digital handout.

6. Review the Data

So, while I cannot show the student data from my exam review for privacy reasons, I like that I can go back into the lesson and on each interactive page, I can click “review results” to see what students did and how they performed on the activity. I also am glad that I can give students feedback in real-time or after class to help students learn.

Reviewing for a class exam helps students improve their grades. Reviewing course content requires that students reflect on the content.

El Bojairami and Driscoll (2019) found a positive effect on course content reflections of engineering students. Conrad and Donaldson (2011) observed the power of reflection in other content areas as well.

7. On the Fly Editing

So, this feature I LOVED that isn’t available in similar products. After the first day of review, after reviewing results, I found some things that needed to be added.

I was able to edit the lesson I was teaching and didn’t lose my student data. I was then able to open the lesson back up the next day and continue with it with the newly added data. Most tools require that you completely get rid of the live lesson in order to edit it. I didn’t have to do that. This is a fantastic feature.

Who will benefit from Lumio?

Every teacher would benefit, but particularly those who have students with devices of some kind. This tool lets you take all of your worksheets digital. However, if you stop there, you’d miss out on the real power and pedagogy of great teaching. Add interactivity, games, student-led work that shows on the board and all of the vast array of manipulatives and graphic organizers. Add in your formative assessment and you’re ready to go. And remember to make sure that you share the lessons with your students afterwards for more practice.

I think Lumio belongs in everyone’s toolkit. So, head to Lum.io to set up your free account today.

References

Conrad, R. M., & Donaldson, J. A. (2011). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction (Vol. 38). John Wiley & Sons.

El Bojairami, I., & Driscoll, M. (2019). Exam-Wrappers As a Tool To Enhance Students’ Metacognitive Skills in Machine Element Design Class.

The post Lumio: Making Review and Practice Easy appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/lumio-making-review-and-practice-easy/

0 notes

marco42james · 2 years

Text

When will they collide?

Show the video to your class. Give students time to complain and talk about seeing this commercial. Then take guesses from students about the actual time it would take to collide.

After students have worked for a while and you have traveled around and selected some students and their work to share, reveal our answer to this question.

CCSS: 8.EE.7, HSA.REI.B.3, HSA.CED.A.1

For members we have included a solution sheet and teaching suggestions.

WhenWillTheyCollide2022.pdf

Thanks to our friends Kim Lequire and Kyra Mercado for telling us about this video.

Check out all of our activities at our Bird’s Eye View Page

from Yummy Math https://www.yummymath.com/2022/when-will-they-collide/

0 notes

marco42james · 2 years

Text

Top Tech Tools for Equity and Accessibility

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Did you know you can use a live translator app in PTA meetings, parent teacher conferences, and presentations — that actually works? Did you know there is a tool that will translate your parent newsletters? How about one that parents can use to translate homework so they can help their children? Well, all of these exist! You’ll learn about these and more on a special extended episode of the podcast with Teresa Magpayo Castro and Ricardo Recinos. You’ll learn to empathize with students who struggle with English as a second language as Teresa and Ricardo tell their own stories. If you have students in your school who do not have English as their primary language, this is a must-listen-to episode. (Or read the transcript at the end of this post.) Help every student become included in learning and become empowered. We can do this!

Readlee – Show Sponsor

Click Here to see Readlee

Sponsor

10 Minute Teacher – Episode 780

Top Tech Tools for Equity and Inclusion

Teresa Magpayo Castro – Technology TOSA for the Unified School District of Hacienda La Puente USD Ricardo Recinos – Technology TOSA in Hacienda La Puente USD and a supervising instructor for John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth

Listen to the show on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

Subscribe to the Show

Resources Mentioned in the Show

Readlee, an amazing literacy tool developed in collaboration with researchers at the Harvard School of Education (Show Sponsor)

Stand and Deliver – movie about Ricardo’s teacher

PowerPoint subtitles

Google slides and use the caption component

PowerPoint Live

Microsoft Translator – web version and app version

Microsoft One Note Live Captions

Group Transcribe for Meetings

How to download the transcript after Meetings in Teams

Immersive Reader

Reading Progress

Bios as Submitted

Teresa Magpayo Castro

Teresa Magpayo Castro is a Technology TOSA for the Unified School District of Hacienda La Puente USD. Her tech team conducts professional development for teachers and admin levels Prek-12. She is also part of the Transformational Technology team who provides weekly PDs to educators all over the globe.

Blog: https://www.bit.ly/transformationaltech

Twitter: @CastroCorner

Note from Teresa: We conduct weekly PDs across 5 platforms, including our YouTube Channel https://www.bit.ly/transformationaltech on topics requested by our teachers! We also create tutorials on our District YouTube Channel https://www.bit.ly/hlpyoutube. Our Newsletter provides important info and highlights our teachers https://sites.google.com/hlpusd.k12.ca.us/tech/edtech-focus-newsletter?authuser=0 .

Ricardo Recinos

Ricardo Recinos is a proud Technology TOSA in Hacienda La Puente USD and a supervising instructor for John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. His role includes training teachers and administrators on all things related to technology and district initiatives. He is a part of the Transformational Tech team and a lead for Region 3 ILC for CTA. He is also a College Board ETS Table Leader and College Board Consultant.

Blog: https://sites.google.com/hlpusd.k12.ca.us/tech/edtech-focus-newsletter?authuser=0

Twitter: @TechTosas

Transcript – Episode 780 – Top Tech Tools for Equity and Accessbility

Top Tech Tools for Equity and Accessibility

00;00;00;04 – 00;00;07;19

John Davis

This is the Ten Minute Teacher Podcast with your host Vicki Davis. Extended Episode number 780 – Top Tech Tools for Equity and Accessibility.

Readlee: An Amazing Literacy Tool – Show Sponsor

00;00;08;05 – 00;00;24;00

Vicki Davis

Today’s Sponsor is Readlee, an amazing literacy tool developed in collaboration with researchers at the Harvard School of Education. Stay tuned at the end of the show to get a free account for you and your students.

00;00;24;00 – 00;01;00;11

Introduction to Top Tech Tools for Equity and Accessibility

Today, we’re talking about Top Tech Tools that every teacher needs to use for Equity and Accessibility.

And we have two people who travel the country and talk about this critical topic. They work together and talk about this a lot, and they each have a reason. They’re so passionate about this topic. So first, I need to introduce Teresa Magpayo Castro.

Your district. Teresa is near l.a, but not quite so. Tell us a bit about why you are so passionate about teachers using tools that help things be accessible for all students? Tell us a little of your story.

Teresa’s Story: Misunderstood

00;01;00;12 – 00;01;45;07

Teresa Magpayo Castro

Thank you for that introduction. We serve such a diverse population of students in our district close to Los Angeles, and we need these tools. But I think it hits home for me because I grew up as an ESL student, and I experienced firsthand the struggles of not being able to participate in my education, and my parents had that struggle as well. And I remember my first year in the education system; my teachers thought I was mute; they thought I couldn’t speak. And my mom was like, No, she talks a lot.

But it wasn’t because I couldn’t speak. It’s because I wasn’t confident enough to participate and understand. And I was quiet. So it’s very easy to overlook me. So and these are tools that I think would have made such a difference to me. I know they would make a big difference for our students today.

00;01;45;13 – 00;01;52;20

Vicki Davis

So how did that make you feel as a young student, Teresa? Do you mind sharing what grade you were in when you first experienced the struggle?

I Wasn’t Quiet; I Was Scared

00;01;52;25 – 00;02;17;01

Teresa Magpayo Castro

I was in kindergarten, so they thought I literally didn’t have a voice the whole year. I was afraid to speak because I was learning the words here and there. But I was worried I wouldn’t say it right. And I was afraid I didn’t understand correctly. And I think years beyond that, I still struggled with my confidence in school, and teachers very easily overlooked me. So I was just so quiet, you know, they thought I was just a shy kid, which wasn’t the case. I was just scared.

Introduction of Ricardo Recinos

00;02;17;02 – 00;02;33;03

Vicki Davis

That’s excellent that you have that passion because it makes you want to dig in and find tools to reach the kids. The other Teresas that are out there today. Okay. So and then, Teresa, you have been teaching for 19 years, and Ricardo Recinos is who we will talk to now, who also works with you.

00;02;33;27 – 00;02;45;17

Vicki Davis

Ricardo, you’ve been teaching for 22 years, is that right?

Ricardo:

Correct.

Vicki:

And working in coaching teachers is what you also do. So tell us a bit of your story and why you’re passionate about this topic.

Ricardo Recinos’ Story

00;02;45;19 – 00;04;10;19

Ricardo Recinos

Sure, first, thank you for having us here. I’m also a former ESL student. I honestly have to say that my passion is always trying to make all elements of education accessible to all students, regardless of the barrier. And in this case, for me, it was language.

I came from El Salvador when I was 15 years old, escaping the civil war in El Salvador. I remember my mom used to hide me and not go to school because you had the military coming to recruit kids out of our school to have them fight, you know, against the other side.

So I came to East Los Angeles and went to Garfield High School, and I still remember going on my first day and being given a placement test in English. I couldn’t understand anything. And I did horrible. And I remember my high school counselor going, “Pobre niño él no sabe nada.” you know, to this day, I remember “poor kid, he doesn’t know anything”. And I was placed in remedial classes.

Ricardo Was a Student of Jaime Alfonso Escalante Gutiérrez from “Stand and Deliver”

I was forgotten until there was this particular teacher and you might have heard of him. His name is Jaime Escalante. There was a famous movie made Stand and Deliver about him.

He came into my homeroom. He gave me a math test that I can just do it in my own language. And I was able to prove that just because I didn’t speak the language, it didn’t mean that I didn’t understand math.

And all of a sudden I’m taking Algebra 2, I’m taking Calculus. You know, I start doing well in classes and showing that I can. I’m lucky enough to go to USC on a full scholarship and then, you know, become a teacher.

And then I think, you know, just being in front of my teacher and my students nowadays, that is like the way that I can show that we can, you know, we can all do it.

00;04;11;14 – 00;04;14;07

Vicki Davis

Oh, Ricardo, you’re one of the his students!

00;04;14;07 – 00;04;15;23

Ricardo Recinos

I was one of his students!

00;04;16;01 – 00;04;30;07

Vicki Davis

So when you said that, I was like, “yes, I have. I have seen that.” And, oh, I feel like I’m talking to somebody famous. What a remarkable educator! And now you’re in education and you’re paying it forward in this way.

Relate to Educate

00;04;30;07 – 00;05;02;02

Vicki Davis

So let’s dig into the tools that every teacher needs to know. And I think the first thing we have to understand is we have to relate to educate. It’s about relationships that every child is a masterpiece, every child is important, every child is unique.

And we have to be really careful not to put labels on children in the way that you both experienced. And that’s why I do this show. It’s about the children and really reaching those kids. So, Teresa, let’s start with some of those tools you talked about that you wish were out when you were a child.

Top Tool #1: PowerPoint Subtitles

(Mentioned) Google slides with Captions

00;05;02;07 – 00;05;15;29

Teresa Magpayo Castro

Absolutely. And we have so many tools we wanted to share. But because of time limitations, you know, we chose few of our favorites and the best of the best tools out there. So we wanted to start with PowerPoint subtitles.

I believe Ricardo was going to start with that one.

00;05;15;29 – 00;05;56;08

Ricardo Recinos

Sure. So, you know, I’ve seen a lot of teachers use Google slides and use the caption component for students to be able to follow along in English. But then I was introduced to Microsoft PowerPoint subtitles where I can actually set it up, in which I’m talking in English.

And my students have seen the subtitle in real time in Spanish or in Mandarin or in whatever language I choose. And it’s real time. And what I love about it is that he uses artificial intelligence to read my PowerPoint deck, to understand the content, and to put it in context when I speak.

And it does that in the way in which he uses real life language. So as a Spanish teacher, I can tell you that that the translations, the subtitles are really, really well done.

00;05;56;10 – 00;06;04;22

Vicki Davis

That’s excellent to know and understand. You didn’t have a learning curve when you swapped over to PowerPoint slides in using that translate feature?

00;06;06;00 – 00;06;16;17

Ricardo Recinos

I did not. I was just taking my my slides, turning them into a PowerPoint, then pressing a button and selecting English as the language I was speaking and selecting Spanish or whatever language I wanted the subtitles to be on.

00;06;16;20 – 00;06;23;10

Vicki Davis

And if it’s accurate, you know, because, you know, as we know, some haven’t been very accurate. So, Teresa, are you next?

Top Tool #2: PowerPoint Live

00;06;23;11 – 00;07;17;01

Teresa Magpayo Castro

Yes, I am. And so I’m going to kind of piggyback off of what Ricardo was talking about. So PowerPoint subtitles, you’re able to follow along in one language. So just imagine your students be able to read along as you are giving your lecture or giving your lesson.

And think of also those parent nights where you have families coming in from different languages who are following along. So you would choose your primary language on there. Most of your parents understand, but what about those parents who are different languages now?

You have a room with maybe three or four or five even more different languages. How do you give them access to what information you’re trying to share? Now we move on to something called PowerPoint Live. So it takes what he did, but adds another layer to it.

So, yes, you could have the subtitles at the bottom of your presentation, but now the parent can follow along in their own device with a language of their choice. So now you’re giving an infinite number of languages in different parents.

I’m access to what you are trying to to give them. So PowerPoint Live is very powerful in that way where they can follow along in the language of their choice.

00;07;17;10 – 00;07;19;14

Vicki Davis

Wow, that’s excellent. What’s next?

Top Tool #3: Microsoft Translator – Web Version

00;07;20;04 – 00;07;50;20

Teresa Magpayo Castro

So with PowerPoint Live and PowerPoint subtitles, that’s more of us giving the information to the parents and the students receiving the information. But now we take it a step further. How about two way communication? We want to be able to understand them as well.

So here is where Microsoft Translator the web version actually comes in, where you can continue to provide the instruction that you need, but they can react to you as well. They can speak to you from their language and you could see it in your links.

So now here we are having a two way conversation with someone you wouldn’t have been able to communicate with at all without these tools.

Microsoft Translator Can Also Translate Text

00;07;50;20 – 00;08;28;21

Ricardo Recinos

Yeah, you know, I actually saw a principal using that, and it was amazing to see that we had a couple of parents that did not know how to read. I mean, we don’t think about that, right? So this Microsoft Translate Web version allows the parent to select their language and actually listen to it.

They can put their headphones on. And Teresa could be speaking in English. And when I’m picking this up, I actually hear a voice in my own language, able to understand what they’re saying. And I can come and actually ask the question in my language, and Teresa will get it and the language that she’s speaking.

And now we have the two-way communication in which a group of Mandarin parents over there are being part of the conversation. A group of people that are speaking Spanish only are part of the conversation. And now we have a whole conversation between all of us.

00;08;29;03 – 00;08;44;01

Vicki Davis

That is astounding. Like they use it the in or other places. I mean, that’s what it feels like that we can truly communicate and break down these barriers. What a gift it is. It sounds like a lot of folks went home during the pandemic and tried to fix some of our problems, doesn’t it?

Microsoft Translator on the Phone Takes PTA Meetings and Parent Teacher Meetings to the Next Level

00;08;44;02 – 00;09;48;00

Ricardo Recinos

PTA Meetings. Yes. Web based and completely free. It’s just such a great tool, but it costs a little bit more than just the web. You also have the ability to take it on your phone. If you have an iOS device or Android device and download the Microsoft Translator app, which takes it to a different level, you have the ability to do the same thing. The principal just put it on his pocket during the PTA meeting. He’s speaking in English and everybody else is following on the language of their choice.

Parent Teacher Conferences. But I’ve also seen it with the app during parent conference where the teacher can split the screen of the phone and he is speaking in English and the parent can hear it on their own language and the parent pressing the button. He’s speaking Spanish and the teacher is listening to in English, and now they’re going back and forward talking about how the student is doing in class using this app.

Homework Help for Parents. At the same time, I think about my mother and not being able to help me with homework when I was a student and bringing stuff in English that she didn’t understand. Right. This app allows you to just take any paper in any language, take a picture of it, and it will superimpose in the language of choice.

So you have something in English, you take a picture and all of a sudden everything you want to see, it’s in the language that you chose. So just such a great tool to have in your hands.

How a Parent Teacher Conference Works with Microsoft Translator App On Your Phone

00;09;48;21 – 00;10;08;01

Vicki Davis

You know, I had a parent teacher conference just a couple months ago and the mother could could understand English very well, was very uncomfortable expressing herself in English. So if I wanted to use that, I would get. The app, I would get it on my phone.

And then would we have to have some sort of headphone splitter or how can we each list and how does that work?

00;10;08;23 – 00;10;20;23

Ricardo Recinos

It’s amazing. It just splits the screen in two. I press the button and I say what I want to say pass. And the parent listens to it under language of choice of the spoke Spanish and they select the Spanish they listen to in Spanish, then they press.

00;10;20;23 – 00;10;21;28

Vicki Davis

So just on the speaker?

00;10;21;29 – 00;10;27;26

Ricardo Recinos

They press the button and now they ask a question in Spanish and the teacher listens to it in English. They keep going back and forth.

00;10;28;07 – 00;10;35;15

Vicki Davis

Mm hmm. What a gift! Like, I’m just sitting here thinking, oh, what that could have done for that conference. Okay, what’s next? I’m excited.

Top Tool #4: Microsoft One Note Live Captions

00;10;35;22 – 00;11;17;08

Ricardo Recinos

So along with that, we’ve seen that our students are using OneNote, also a Microsoft tool. And what they’re doing is that teacher is using, again, that Microsoft Translator on the web or on the or the app, basically. And the students can actually take that code that the teacher provides.

They put it on their OneNote notebook. And now there’s that transcription of whatever the teacher is saying. They have it right in front of them in their own language. They can pause it. The teacher continues to speak, they can presume, and they’ll be able to see everything that teacher was saying.

They can highlight. They can take notes. They can go back and look at it. And when they are done, when the teacher finishes the lecture, they can stop and have a whole transcription of what was being said and be able to go back and actually revisit what was being done.

00;11;17;09 – 00;11;19;18

Vicki Davis

Live turns your transcription into OneNote?

00;11;20;01 – 00;11;21;28

Ricardo Recinos

Into OneNote on the spot!

00;11;22;00 – 00;11;28;17

Vicki Davis

Oh my goodness. I’ve got some things just. I did not know that I am so. Wow. Okay.

Note: See Also Group Transcribe for Meetings. I was digging as a result of this podcast and there are many ways you can use the transcriptions.

TIP: Teach Students and Parents to Download the Transcript from Microsoft Translator

00;11;28;25 – 00;11;51;25

Teresa Magpayo Castro

And on top of that, we did mention Microsoft Translator on the Web and also the app. There’s also the option for them to download the transcript as well. So as soon as you end, the parents or the students are given the option, do you want a transcript of this conversation?

They can click it and now they have a transcript of the whole thing. If you’ve ever experienced going to a back-to-school night and what did you say? I don’t remember. So now you have a whole transcript of the conversation in your language of choice.

00;11;51;25 – 00;12;01;04

Vicki Davis

Wow. I love this. Okay. You’ve already blown my mind and just shared some things that we really need. Is there anything else that you want to share?

Top Tool #5 Microsoft Immersive Reader

00;12;01;07 – 00;12;54;23

Ricardo Recinos

Sure. I think we focus a lot on speaking. And I know when we talk about some of these apps, we know that it’s not a solution, but it’s a form of support. And we think about reading. I know if I pro has something called Immersive Reader when I was in school, it would have just been incredible.

Immersive Reader. It’s not a screen reader, but it’s a reading enhancement tool that allows me. And there’s also this research behind it with proven techniques or how you can help understand and read. So basically what it does, it takes all of distractions away.

I can choose to say I want to see the verbs and read the adjectives in green, the others in blue. I can make the words bigger. I can actually have a picture dictionary right in front of me. And the most important tool for me, I can actually click a button and now have the same text in English

in my own language, and I can compare as I’m learning the new language. I can have both of them right in front of me. I can have it read to me. I can have I can listen to it, I can slow it down.

Just a great tool that I would have been able to used when I was in school, I think. Immersive reader.

Equitable Access to Material

00;12;56;14 – 00;13;10;26

Teresa Magpayo Castro

Absolutely. And you know what I think Immersive reader and of course, I think for students who are struggling with language, but also our emergent readers, our struggling readers, it’s just such an amazing tool to provide that. Equitable access to all of our material for all of our students.

00;13;11;03 – 00;13;21;07

Teresa Magpayo Castro

And I’ve even seen teachers use it in the beginning to help translate their communication that they sent home. Because I know usually teachers, we run around looking for someone to help us translate something and sometimes we can’t always find somebody.

Top Tool #5: Reading Progress

00;13;21;08 – 00;14;27;08

Teresa Magpayo Castro

So these tools, all of the tools we mentioned help so much with that. But as we’re talking about reading and helping in that way, there’s also something called Reading Progress.

When I saw this, when Ricardo introduced it to me, it blew my mind. If you’ve never heard of Reading Progress, and I know Ricardo will share from his point of view being a Spanish teacher and being a high school teacher.

But from my point of view, being an elementary teacher, reading progress is amazing if you’ve never heard of it. If you remember sitting there one on one with your students, listening to them read and crossing off, if they got words right and wrong and trying to go back to that data and figure out how to help them

Reading Progress does that for you. All you have to do is provide them the passage online and they record your students reading and it goes through and checks off their mistakes. It tells you the rate it gives you is so much data and it took a matter of not even a minute.

You could have your whole class do it. At the same time they just put headsets on and the whole class will get it and then you’ll have your data instantaneously instead of taking a whole day to do that.

So now you can actually provide the feedback that they need right away.

00;14;27;20 – 00;14;29;05

Vicki Davis

Is that a website or an app?

00;14;29;05 – 00;15;08;01

Ricardo Recinos

Or it actually works through Microsoft teams and you can use it. And the Microsoft Team app, you can use it on the Web, you can use it in many different places. But what I love is what Teresa said.

That is support students and building fluency through independent practice. The teacher doesn’t have to do anything once you set it up. I know it’s a Spanish teacher. I actually have my students practice Spanish using reading progress and they can actually go in there and do it on their own.

In the past, it was impossible for me to have 40 students read and I can work on their fluency, on their own time and the data that it gives you, the insight that it gives you. And if you’ve been following and reading progress, there’s something to ask me now called Reading Coach that is going to go along with that. So yeah, that’s a whole different story, but just incredible.

Can you do these things in Google?

00;15;08;04 – 00;15;23;08

Vicki Davis

So all the schools that have been all in Google and it sounds like you’ve kind of pulled back a little bit just because of the translation capabilities of all of these different Microsoft apps. First of all, I hope that Google would will catch up somehow because we we want everybody to have access.

00;15;23;08 – 00;15;24;24

Vicki Davis

Was it hard to swap over?

00;15;25;01 – 00;15;38;21

Teresa Magpayo Castro

Well, we actually are a Google district and we use Microsoft as well. So our teachers use both depending on the purpose and what they’re using it for. Once, we showed them how easy it was to to move their things over. It wasn’t difficult at all. And we have teachers using both.

00;15;38;27 – 00;15;46;17

Vicki Davis

Yes! That’s what we do at our school. Is there anything else that we haven’t covered? Because these are very exciting game-changers that are going to help kids and parents.

You can have Office 365 A-1 for free

00;15;47;03 – 00;16;00;06

Ricardo Recinos

I was just going to add that there is a misconception. People think, Oh, I have to pay for some of these Office 365 tools, but if your district goes out there and talks to them and get the A-1 package actually free, most of these tools that we talked about are actually free that you can just bring into your district.

00;16;00;10 – 00;16;01;05

Teresa Magpayo Castro

Yeah, yes.

What is the Quality of the Translating Material Going Home to Parents?

00;16;01;05 – 00;16;13;07

Vicki Davis

Yes. That’s excellent. Now, let me ask one question. You said that you could use it and have it help you translate the material to go home. Do you recommend having someone read over it, though, before it goes home?

00;16;13;08 – 00;16;16;10

Vicki Davis

Is it that good that you can just translate and send it?

Recommendation: Disclose That You Used a Translator

00;16;16;10 – 00;16;28;17

Ricardo Recinos

I know from a Spanish teacher, I can tell you that it is very, very well done. I’ve also had people that speak Mandarin look at it too, and they say it’s close enough. But obviously, yes, you might want someone to look at it, honestly.

00;16;28;17 – 00;16;33;02

Vicki Davis

Yes. Or you could say at the bottom “translated using _____.”

00;16;33;10 – 00;16;33;24

Ricardo Recinos

Correct.

Encouragement for Teachers who Teach Students Who Speak Multiple Languages

00;16;33;24 – 00;16;46;03

Vicki Davis

And just disclose it because otherwise, you may set the impression that you speak a language, perhaps that you don’t. So as we finish, I would just like each of you just to give a pep talk to teachers about reaching every child.

00;16;46;05 – 00;17;24;14

Teresa Magpayo Castro

You know, these tools, of course, you know, we came from the point of view as trying to overcome the barrier of language. As you think of these tools, think of all of your students. A lot of reasons would benefit from this, not just those who struggle with language, but those who struggle with many other things.

And there’s many tools out there that we encourage you to use because every student deserves to have equitable access to your instruction and to to your class. So please don’t hesitate to try out these new, amazing tools that can help make a difference for that one or two children who might just be easily forgotten in the back. And you can make a world of difference and change their lives by just giving them access to these things.

00;17;24;18 – 00;17;53;23

Ricardo Recinos

Yeah, I completely agree. I think I started by saying that, you know, accessibility is my passion, but I think we focus on language right now. But yeah, there’s socioeconomic status barriers such as cultural barriers, special needs in all of these tools.

What they do for us is that they allow us to come in and be able to understand that diversity is a fact, right? Equity is a choice, but inclusion is an action. And the magic occurs when we take all of that and make sure belonging becomes the outcome for all of our students.

00;17;54;04 – 00;18;14;15

Vicki Davis

Okay. So we have Teresa Magpayo Castro and Ricardo Recinos. Check them out in the show notes as a great resource. Thank you both for your time.

Readlee: An Amazing Reading Fluency Tool from Harvard Researchers

00;18;14;15 – 00;18;50;02

00;18;50;13 – 00;19;01;04

John Davis

You’ve been listening to the Ten Minute Teacher podcast. If you like this program, you can find more and coolcatteacher.com. If you wish to see more content by Vicki Davis, you can find her on Facebook and Twitter under @coolcatteacher.

00;19;01;09 – 00;19;02;09

John Davis

Thank you for listening.

The post Top Tech Tools for Equity and Accessibility appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/top-tech-tools-for-equity-and-accessibility/

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marco42james · 2 years

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Happy Friday the 13th!

Don’t worry, 13 is a Happy number!

Students learn a new function and test whether a number is Happy or Sad.

The activity: Friday-the-13th.pdf

CCSS: 5.OA, 6.EE, 8.F, MP1, MP7, MP8

For members we have an editable Word docx and our solutions.

Friday-13th.docx Friday-13th-solution.pdf

youtube

from Yummy Math https://www.yummymath.com/2022/happy-friday-the-13th/

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marco42james · 2 years

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Shooting for Three

The NBA court has a 3-point line that separates how many points a player will earn for his team by making a basket from outside of that line. Teams have been shooting more and more three’s, but should they be and why?

Are all three point shots equal? Is the three point shot worth it? In this activity students read graphs, find distances using either scale or the distance formula, and work with probability and expected value. Students might also do some reasoning with arcs of circles. Please note – as students find the distance of the three point line from the rim, they should use the center of the rim.

Start your class off with this this video of some amazing 3-pointers: Great 3-pointers video

The activity: ForThree2021.pdf

CCSS: 7.G.1, 7.SP.5, 7.SP.8, 8.G, HSS.MD.A.2, HSS.MD.B.5, HSS.MD.B.7

For members we have the an editable Word docx, our data and chart in an Excel sheet, and solutions.

ForThree2021.docx Historical3-pointPercentagesNBA.xlsx ForThree-solution2021.pdf

from Yummy Math https://www.yummymath.com/2022/shooting-for-three-2/

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marco42james · 2 years

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Mother’s Day 2022 (14 ideas)

Mother’s Day is right around the corner and this means big business for the greeting card and floral industries. Let your students practice averages, percents, and large numbers while they analyze the statistics on Mother’s Day spending. You could even ask students to do their calculations in scientific notation to add an extra dimension to this activity. Enjoy!

mothers-day-numbers2021.pdf

For members we have an editable Word docx and solutions.

mothers-day-numbers2021.docx mothers-day-numbers2021-solution.pdf

CCSS: 6.RP, 6.SP, 7.RP, 7.SP

A gorgeous, glittery Mother’s Day card – Finding the area of a heart by finding upper and lower limits.

CCSS: 3.MD.C, 4.NBT.B, 5.NBT.B, 6.G.A, 7.G.A

How much do we spend on Mother’s Day – Use the Mother’s Day event to engage your students in approximating, reasoning, and investigating as students estimate how much is spent in the United States for Mother’s Day.

For what is money spent?

For whom is money spent?

What is a low guess?

What is a high guess?

What facts would you like to know?

Spend-forMother’sDay-2017.pdf

Helpful information for teachers: Useful-info-about Mother’s-Day2017.pdf

CCSS: 5.NBT.5 , 6.RP, 7.RP, 7.SP, HSS.IC , MP1 , MP2

For members we have an editable Word docx, our Excel data, and solutions.

Spend-forMother’sDay-2017.docx Mother’sDaySpending2017.xlsx Spend-forMother’sDay-solution2017.pdf

What time should I wake up? – I’m going to get up early to make my mom breakfast in bed. Of course I want the eggs and biscuits to be hot when I bring the tray to her but I also like to sleep as long as I can. 3.MD, 3.OA, 4.MD, 4.OA, MP5

Thank you mother and father for all of those diapers – Which is a better deal, cloth or disposable diapers? How much did you cost your parents in diapers? An investigation which develops and uses systems of equations.

diapers2016.pdf

diapers2016.docx diapers.xlsx diapers2016-solutions.pdf

CCSS: 6.EE.9, 7.EE.4, 8.F.2, 8.F.4, 8.EE.8, HS.F-IF.8.B, HS.F-LE.2, HS.F-LE.5, MP7, MP8

Or just concentrate on Chocolate …

Big Snickers bar – 3-act task; How much bigger than a regular Snickers bar is that?

World record Snickers Bar – Recently the Texas Mars factory workers created the World’s largest Snickers Bar. Students explore similarity, cross-sections and number of servings (equivalent number of mini-snickers bars).

Shrinking Toblerone – Two sizes of Toblerone bars are now configured differently. How much did they lop off? How much did the price per gram of chocolate change? Is the price per gram still the same, if not how might you adjust the price of the products to make it fair? How much could you buy for $1.00? Could you have designed it better?

Giant Chocolate bunnies – What can you deduce about the bunnies (pictured in this activity) from the descriptions given … solid? hollow? cost per pound? cost per height?

The size of chocolates – Students approximate the volume – Mean radius method and the counting squares.

Chocolate milk and mixture problems – changing percent mixtures through a fun class day that ends with a yummy treat.

Chocolate raspberry heart cake – Students calculate base area or volume of cakes made from 2 cake pan sizes and observe how the volume of the cake changes with the increased pan size. This is an activity intended to demonstrate that the volume increase is not linear. Volume expansion would be cubed if all dimensions of the cake were enlarged but in this case (since we didn’t increase cake depth) only two dimensions are enlarged.

Holiday candy sales – Translate a pie chart of information on candy sales to actual dollars spent. Ponder the amount of money that is spent on various holidays for candy.

Too early in the day for so many choices – Calculate the number of combinations possible in a story of buying a warm drink when you are still sleepy and there is too much to decide.

from Yummy Math https://www.yummymath.com/2022/mothers-day-2022-14-ideas/

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marco42james · 2 years

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9 Ideas for Ending the School Year Well

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Years ago when I discussed strategy with a Disney Cruise leader, they told me that people tend to remember how an experience starts and how it ends. Therefore, they designed events with intentionality, particularly on the first day and the last night. So, I adopted this approach in my own classroom and so has today’s guest fourth-grade teacher, Alana Stanton. Over the last seventeen years, Alana has created some traditions in her classroom and today she shares them. Get ready to end the school year in a memorable and fun way for your students (and you!)

Advancement Courses – Podcast Sponsor

Advancement Courses is my preferred professional development provider. Last year when I needed to take a college CEU course, I chose Advancement Courses and learned so much about teaching computer science in the classroom. I recently wrote about this on my blog called 7 Reasons Advancement Courses Has Excellent Teacher Professional Development. Go to Advancement Courses and use the code COOL15 to receive 15% off your Advancement Courses purchase.

Click Here to Look at Courses

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Episode 779 – 10 Minute Teacher Podcast

9 Ideas for Ending the School Year Well

Alana Stanton – Fourth Grade Teacher

Listen to the show on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

Subscribe to the Show

Resources Mentioned in This Show

Advancement Courses – today’s sponsor

Episode 623 Trust in Grace in the Classroom

How a Disney Cruise changed my views on education

Candyland Transformation Ideas

Kindergarten Candyland (with letter review)

Gumdrop Mountain ideas with solo cups and butcher paper

Candyland Theme on Pinterest

Classroom Campout Ideas

Camping in the Classroom from K’s Classroom Creations with ideas for reading, snacks and so much more.

9 Classroom Camping Ideas [Freebie} from Teaching with Nesi – STEM, Reading, and Fishing Activities, Science, and Math Ideas

31 Easy Fun Camping Ideas from Teach Junkie

Classroom Restaurant Transformation

Free Dramatic Play Restaurant Activities from Kindergarten Connection

Pizza Restaurant Center (if you don’t want to go whole-classroom)

Of course you could hold a “book tasting” event as part of this transformation

Joanne Miller @headoverheelsforteaching on Instagram has lots of book tasting ideas

Free Dramatic Play Restaurant Activities from Kindergarten Connection

Pizza Restaurant Center (if you don’t want to go whole-classroom)

Of course you could hold a “book tasting” event as part of this transformation

Joanne Miller @headoverheelsforteaching on Instagram has lots of book tasting ideas

Free Dramatic Play Restaurant Activities from Kindergarten Connection

Pizza Restaurant Center (if you don’t want to go whole-classroom)

Of course you could hold a “book tasting” event as part of this transformation

The Research on Life Changing Teaching on Edutopia

Larry Ferlazzo

21 Top Professional Development Topics for Teachers

Alana Stanton – Bio As submitted

Alana Stanton is a kindergarten teacher at Mulberry Elementary in Gwinnett County, Georgia. She has taught several grades over her 14-year career including K-3 literacy special, first grade, second grade, kindergarten, and technology special. Alana believes that relationships always come first in the classroom and the classroom should be a place where students thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. She currently writes for her blog, More Than A Lesson where she shares the stories of her classroom and her heart.

Blog: http://morethanalessonst.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @stantonalana

Transcript of 9 Ideas to End the School Year Well – Episode 779

00;00;00;06 – 00;00;07;12

John Davis (Announcer)

This is the 10 Minute Teacher Podcast with your host, Vicki Davis. This is episode 779, Ending the School Year Well.

Thank You Advancement Courses – Sponsor of Today’s Show

00;00;07;12 – 00;00;21;27

Vicki Davis

Thank you, Advancement Courses, for sponsoring today’s show. Stay tuned at the show’s end for a special discount to save 15% on engaging in meaningful online professional development and to hear some of the top PD topics for teachers right now.

Welcome Alana Stanton – Introduction

00;00;22;22 – 00;00;53;09

Vicki Davis

So today, we’re talking with Alana Stanton about making the end of the school year. Right now, she is a first-grade teacher in Oconee County. She’s been a teacher for 17 years, and she has also been on the show before episode 623, Trust in Grace in the Classroom.

But Alana, we are talking about how to end the school year. Well, what are some of those secrets you plan so that, especially this year, how are you going to end the school year well, this year?

Idea 1: Make the End of the Year Sweeter Than The Beginning

00;00;53;17 – 00;01;19;15

Alana Stanton

I’m thank you so much. Thank you for having me on the show. So one thing that I always try to think of for the end of the year is to make the end of the year sweeter than the beginning.

And I love the quote from Muhammad Ali, where he says, don’t count down the days, but make the days count. And so, as I’m ending the school year, I try to think of ways I can be present with my students and in the classroom.

00;01;19;19 – 00;01;36;17

Vicki Davis

And I want to point out that if you go, for example, on a Disney cruise or anything, Disney, one emphasis is that they say people remember how you start and how you finish. You want to make that beginning of school and the end of school sparkle in so many ways. (For more on this, read my 2006 Post About How a Disney Cruise changed my views on education.)

So how are you going to do that?

Idea #2 An End of the Year Class Transformation

00;01;36;21 – 00;02;07;05

Alana Stanton

So one thing that I always love to do each year, especially towards the end, is that I love to do class transformation. So I love to think of things that the kids would love to do and theme my day toward that transformation.

So, for example, in April, I’ll be doing a Candyland theme in my classroom, and so I will play Big Board of Candyland in the classroom, and the kids will be able to win. Candy And I’ll do different themes for that throughout the day.

Candyland Ideas – Editor’s Note

There are lots of Candyland Ideas; here are a few for you.

Kindergarten Candyland (with letter review)

Gumdrop Mountain ideas with solo cups and butcher paper

Candyland Theme on Pinterest

00;02;04;22 –

Alana Stanton

I also love to do campouts and…

00;02;07;06 – 00;02;10;16

Vicki Davis

Okay, wait. Tell us what a campout is because some people might not know.

Idea #3 Have a Class Campout and Tell Stories

00;02;11;05 – 00;02;52;09

Alana Stanton

So one thing I love to do is always do something called Camp Tell a Story. And so I’ll have the kids towards the end of the year, they’ll use their writing skills and write a story, and then they will share it with the class.

And by a campout, I mean, I’ll take a tent, put it in our classroom, and transform the classroom into a bit of a campground. Many of the times, I’ll have the kids help with that. The kids can help make animals and put them on the wall, and then we’ll get will make s’mores together, and we’ll sit around a campfire and read our stories together. And the kids always love it. It’s just such a fun time. They can relax and listen to the stories. We’ll theme some of the lessons towards camping out that day.

Campout Ideas – Editor’s Note

Here are some of the best camping ideas for each subject; these three blog posts will give you enough freebies and ideas to have an epic campout in your classroom!

Camping in the Classroom from K’s Classroom Creations with ideas for reading, snacks, etc.

9 Classroom Camping Ideas [Freebie} from Teaching with Nesi – STEM, Reading, and Fishing Activities, Science, and Math Ideas

31 Easy Fun Camping Ideas from Teach Junkie

Idea #4: Have a Class Restaurant

00;02;52;09 – 00;03;05;11

Alana Stanton

The class restaurant where the kids create a restaurant and a theme, and they use math and different activities to make a restaurant. And then they’ll be the servers to our students in our classroom. It’s a lot of fun.

Class Restaurant – Editor’s Note

Of course, restaurants include recipes, math, and science!

Free Dramatic Play Restaurant Activities from Kindergarten Connection

Pizza Restaurant Center (if you don’t want to go whole-classroom)

Of course you could hold a “book tasting” event as part of this transformation

Joanne Miller @headoverheelsforteaching on Instagram has lots of book tasting ideas

00;03;05;16 – 00;03;12;04

Alana Stanton

So I just really try to think of things that the students enjoy and try to bring that into the classroom with those class transformations.

00;03;12;20 – 00;03;20;28

Vicki Davis

Fun. So we’ve got things, we’ve got classroom transformations and we can go ahead and plan those and get ready for those. What else do you do?

Idea #5: Science Friday Best of the Best (Have Them Vote on their Favorite and Repeat Them!)

00;03;20;29 – 00;04;22;03

Alana Stanton

So another thing I do throughout the year is I do something called Science Friday. I’ve seen an educator on Twitter do Science Friday, and each Friday they either did a science demonstration, a science experiment, or a science an activity.

And I decided to pick that up. And at the end of the year, the last week or two, I have all the students vote on their very favorite Science Fridays, and then we repeat the Science Fridays, for example, they love the Skittles demonstration where you take Skittles, put them around a plate and take warm water and just pour it in onto the plate in the Skittles colors blend and they just love things like that. So they get to relive some of those fond memories. Again, they love doing like catapults and making rockets. And so often those are the ones that we repeat again.

And so I also just try to find things to do that they love and projects STEM activities with Legos or maybe making fidget or fidget spinners, things like that. So just trying to find their interest and doing some of the fun memories one more time, reliving it.

00;04;22;04 – 00;04;27;08

Vicki Davis

So describe the first time you realized how magical the end of the school year could be.

Idea #6: Reflect on the Magical Moments (And Share Them)

00;04;27;18 – 00;05;39;25

Alana Stanton

So I think for me, I always look at our students and at the end of the year we finally get to see all that soul pouring work that we did each day with our students. And it starts like pouring out of the students and you start to see it pouring into others.

I think for me, when I really start to see that magic, especially right now, just thinking of my class is at recess, just watching them interact and play. For example, the past few weeks, students have been creating baseball games together and finding ways to.

Make a baseball team or playing football and jackpot together and students who didn’t always get along. Now we’re helping each other. We have a student that has special needs at our school. He’s not in our classroom. And I had a student who had caught the ball today at Jackpot.

And instead of throwing it out to the other students, he came over and brought it to that child. Can not yet throw a football, but the students surround that child and help them. And so really just looking at the hearts of our students and just seeing all that work that we did have helped our students and now they’re pouring that out in others and that that’s just such a magical thing to see.

Idea #7: End on a High Note and Wait to Pack Up the Boxes

00;05;40;03 – 00;05;48;12

Vicki Davis

So, Alina, you’ve been teaching 17 years. If you could go back and talk to first year, Alina, about the end of the school year, what would you say to her?

00;05;48;28 – 00;07;05;10

Alana Stanton

The big thing that I would say to myself is that it is always our choice, how we end our school year. So to make sure to leave on a high note and to make it fun and memorable. And then the next thing I would say to myself is put down the boxes, stop packing my room, put down the list that, yes, needs time. And if I do need a pick of the list, put spend time with your students. And by that I mean enjoy your students when you get a chance, play with them, swing with them, eat lunch with them, and listen to what they’re going to do over the summer.

Draw with them when you get a chance. Just enjoy the moment with them. Give them extra hugs. Oftentimes at the end of the year, we’re going to have students. That misbehaviors might come out because honestly, the routine of school is so beautiful for our students.

And they they are very smart. They know when the end of the year is coming that that routine might be changed and that that champion they see every day, they’re not going to see them every day over the summer.

And so I try to remember that and just go day by day, but give them extra hugs, extra high fives, make up, make a class, have a handshake with them so they know that will forever be their teacher.

Idea #8: Create Memory Books

00;07;05;18 – 00;08;15;12

Alana Stanton

We just won’t be their teacher in the classroom every day. But just spend some time with your students and then something I love to do at the end of the year and I’ve been doing this for years, is I create a memory book with my students.

But the way I do it, I call it an exit interview, at least in my mind. I pull every student one by one and I ask them eight questions.

What was your favorite thing this year?

What did you enjoy the most?

Who is your friend and what memory do you have with them?

And I type each thing that they say down and then I press each thing for them. Each page is one of the questions and it has all their quotes and their names. And then I turn that into a memory book. But the special thing is, is as I’m sitting there and typing their answers, I get to hear what they enjoyed the most, which are always those times that we spent together.

You know, Science Friday’s all those magical moments as well. But it’s it’s a good way to close out the year and it kind of helps my heart start to let them go because right around now is the time that they’re really ready to fly.

And so it makes you know that you did a job well done, that they’re ready and they’ve done very well.

An Observation on Room Packing and Student Behavior

00;08;15;20 – 00;08;28;13

Vicki Davis

Well, you said two really super important things. One is do not pack up quickly. I mean, just don’t do it. You can actually feel it happen. Kids will all of a sudden start misbehaving. And I’m thinking, who started packing up their room?

Because whoever did it, all, the rest of the teachers feel it. So that’s just one point. But the other thing is, is and there’s a recent A.P. article I’ll linked to in the show notes that looked at a lot of the research about truly life-changing teachers, truly life-changing teachers survey their students.

Read: The Research on Life Changing Teaching on Edutopia

00;08;44;05 – 00;09;17;07

Vicki Davis

I do an anonymous survey in a focus group at the end of the year every year, and it makes me such a better teacher. Friends of mine like Larry Ferlazzo do focus groups all the time, get feedback all the time.

That’s just so very important. So as we finish up, think about all the teachers out there. This has been another unusual year. I don’t know what to say, just another one. But give everybody a pep talk about ending.

Well, because some teachers are like, how am I ever going to make it? And we just need that encouragement.

Idea #9: Do Something Memorable to End

00;09;17;07 – 00;10;21;02

Alana Stanton

So what I would say is, remember your purpose. Remember why you became a teacher. Think back through your life that those teachers who made the biggest difference that uplifted you, that encouraged you, they did not give up on you and remember to be that teacher. Often they’ll say be their favorite teacher, but really, I believe, be their champion. And don’t just be the champion for your students in your class. Look around in the hallways of students who need that extra champion.

And so enjoy every moment. And yes, it’s hard. And that’s that’s part of the reason we get those summers off to reflect and just refresh. Enjoy your kiddos and then something I just love at the. Very, very end.

If I always pull my class over for a little huddle, we sing our class song. And for us, that’s Count on Me by Bruno Mars. And we just kind of huddle around, sing it, and it’s just so sweet.

And then they run off and they either go play, or sometimes they get picked up by families. Do something just memorable at the end for you to just see those smiles of your kids before you leave.

00;10;21;04 – 00;11;03;06

Vicki Davis

Absolutely. Lots of great advice. Alana Stanton, and you’ve been doing this 17 years. You can tell having that end of the year can really be a fun time, a memorable time, and you don’t want it to be like a crash test dummy hitting a wall like you want to have memorable moments and also respect that some students may not be looking forward to the summer. Some kids may be very sad. So there’s a lot of different emotions. Some kids are talking about all their trips. So be aware, you know, don’t say, hey, everybody, where are you going?

Not everybody’s going somewhere. And some of those kids, their only campfire maybe to camp. Are you building your classroom? So making those memories is so important. Thank you, Alana.

Thank You Advancement Courses

00;11;03;16 – 00;11;58;03

Vicki Davis

Advancement Courses is who I choose for my professional development. I love their courses because they’re flexible with up to six months to complete. And you can receive graduate credit through CAEP and regionally accredited university partners or continuing education units that meet your state requirements.

Our recently shared 21 Top Professional Development Topics for Teachers at https://www.coolcatteacher.com/21 with over 280 courses to choose from. Advancement courses offers subjects in everything from educator wellness to social, emotional learning and more.

After you pick your PD. Use the code COOL15 to save 15% off when you sign up at Advancement Courses. I highly recommend Advancement Courses for your professional PD and remember to use the code COOL15 receive 15% off your purchase just for being a ten minute teacher show listener.

00;11;58;06 – 00;12;10;01

John Davis

You’ve been listening to the Ten Minute Teacher podcast. If you like this program, you can find more in www.coolcatteacher.com . If you wish to see more content by Vicki Davis, you can find her on Facebook and Twitter under @coolcatteacher Thank you for listening.

The post 9 Ideas for Ending the School Year Well appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher Blog https://www.coolcatteacher.com/9-ideas-for-ending-the-school-year-well/

0 notes