A place to share my experiences as a TTOC and Middle School Teacher. Resources, ideas and important issues in education.
Tuesday, 30 December 2014
Friday, 19 December 2014
Wednesday, 10 December 2014
Kids are so sweet
Feel Good Post - Notes from students... As a middle school teacher, I have been given some very kind notes, this year teaching elementary school I have some sweet drawings and letters... some teachers shared some of their lovely notes and these just make me smile...
Read More Here
Read More Here
Wednesday, 26 November 2014
Monday, 24 November 2014
Powerful Lesson on Privilege - buzzfeed
This resonated with me:
I once saw a high school teacher lead a simple, powerful exercise to teach his class about privilege and social mobility. He started by giving each student a scrap piece of paper and asked them to crumple it up.
Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com
He said, “The game is simple — you all represent the country’s population. And everyone in the country has a chance to become wealthy and move into the upper class.”
Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com
“To move into the upper class, all you must do is throw your wadded-up paper into the bin while sitting in your seat.”
Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com
The students in the back of the room immediately piped up, “This is unfair!” They could see the rows of students in front of them had a much better chance.
Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com
Everyone took their shots, and — as expected — most of the students in the front made it (but not all) and only a few students in the back of the room made it.
Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com
He concluded by saying, “The closer you were to the recycling bin, the better your odds. This is what privilege looks like. Did you notice how the only ones who complained about fairness were in the back of the room?”
Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com
“By contrast, people in the front of the room were less likely to be aware of the privilege they were born into. All they can see is 10 feet between them and their goal.”
Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com
“Your job — as students who are receiving an education — is to be aware of your privilege. And use this particular privilege called “education” to do your best to achieve great things, all the while advocating for those in the rows behind you.”
Source
Sunday, 23 November 2014
Thanksgiving Food Lab
American Thanksgiving is upon us and usually I celebrate with turkey dinner (my husband is American)
Here is a cool food lab from We Are Teachers
Corn Cob Lab
Popping - Students will be amazed when they create a cob of popcorn! Place a dried corn on the cob in a brown paper lunch bag. Fold over the bag two times to keep the kernels contained. Microwave for 2 1/2 minutes or until the popcorn has stopped popping. Eat it as a classroom treat or use it for a science experiment! Place the popped cob outside and watch as different animal species come by and eat off of the ear of corn. Have the students record the different types of animals in their science notebook and have a lesson on biodiversity. What animals live within your habitat? How are they all connected in your ecosystem? Sprouting - Each kernel on an ear of corn is a seed. By placing a whole ear of corn in water, you can grow a corn cob garden! Instructions: Place a husk free, colorful, dry ear of Indian Corn in a shallow container of water. The corn should only be covered a little more than halfway with water. Place your container in a sunny spot. When the water evaporates, add more and make sure the corn remains submerged in the water. After five days, change the water. Make sure that the side you had up remains up after you change the water. The wet side of the corn is the side you place back in the water and keep submerged. Watch it grow, after a week you will start to see small sprouts or shoots.
Butter ExplorationInvestigate the 3 states of matter by shaking up cream to create butter! Pour one cup of heavy whipping cream in a container with a lid. Once poured, the container should be no more than halfway full (half cream / half air). Shake your liquid and gas to make butter! As you shake, open up your container and check out each stage as your liquid and gas suddenly create a whipped solid: butter! When your butter is ready, refrigerate it. It will become a bit harder. Note: 1 cup of cream will create about 4 Tbsp. of butter). Add some salt to your butter to give it more flavor!
Whipped Test: Whipping Versus ShakingTop your Thanksgiving Food Lab off with a sweet ending! Using the same ingredients, heavy whipping cream and air, can you create a different substance? Using a hand mixer, whip 1 cup of cream until you get stiff peaks. Add a little sugar if you want sweet cream. Have the students compare and contrast the butter and whip cream they created. Compare the volume, texture and taste of each food item. Students can draw and label the states of matter for all of the ingredients they used and describe the process for each in writing.
Erin Bittman is a second/third-grade student teacher in a multi-grade classroom at a German Magnet School. She attends the University of Cincinnati. Check out her blog E is for Explore!
SOURCE: http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2014/11/13/thanksgiving-food-lab
Here is a cool food lab from We Are Teachers
Don't just eat your food, play with it! Below are six Thanksgiving food experiments that promote exploration and investigation in the classroom!
Bending Turkey BonesWash the bones left over from your Thanksgiving dinner. Can you bend or break the bones? No! Get two jars, fill one jar with vinegar and the other with water. Put bones in each jar and label the jars: water and vinegar. Let the turkey bones sit for at least one week. Then, rinse them off and see if the bones will bend! The bones that were in vinegar bend because the calcium carbonate in the bones reacted with the vinegar. This experiment shows how bones need calcium to stay strong so they don't break easily (or bend). We don't want bendy bones!
Sweet Potato InvestigationWatch a potato sprout right before your eyes, creating a sweet potato jungle! For your experiment, look for a sweet potato that has buds. Next, poke four toothpicks into the sides of the sweet potato (spaced out evenly). Put the sweet potato into a clean jar, resting the toothpicks on the jar's rim. Fill the jar with water. The bottom half of the potato should be submerged. Place the jar in a sunny spot, change the water once a week and watch your potato grow! To get your plant to grow bushier, trim stems to 12 inches long.
Cranberry ScienceCranberry Pockets - Do cranberries sink or float? Give each child a Styrofoam cup with water and a cranberry. Have them write their own hypothesis. What happened? Talk about cranberry bogs and harvesting (click here). Then, cut the cranberry in half, so kids can see the inside of it. Cranberries have four air pockets inside of them, which makes them float!
Dancing Dried Cranberries - Explore the three states of matter by making cranberries dance! Toss dried cranberries into a glass of Sprite and watch them bob up and down. The bubbles (carbon dioxide gas) in the soda stick to the rough edges of the dried cranberry. The bubbles bring them up to the top of the glass. Then they pop and release the CO2 into the air, making the dried cranberries fall back down. Spy Juice - Students become spies and write secret messages to one another using homemade cranberry juice! Visit the Kitchen Pantry Scientist to learn how to concoct the juice and unveil your top secret writing!
Bending Turkey BonesWash the bones left over from your Thanksgiving dinner. Can you bend or break the bones? No! Get two jars, fill one jar with vinegar and the other with water. Put bones in each jar and label the jars: water and vinegar. Let the turkey bones sit for at least one week. Then, rinse them off and see if the bones will bend! The bones that were in vinegar bend because the calcium carbonate in the bones reacted with the vinegar. This experiment shows how bones need calcium to stay strong so they don't break easily (or bend). We don't want bendy bones!
Sweet Potato InvestigationWatch a potato sprout right before your eyes, creating a sweet potato jungle! For your experiment, look for a sweet potato that has buds. Next, poke four toothpicks into the sides of the sweet potato (spaced out evenly). Put the sweet potato into a clean jar, resting the toothpicks on the jar's rim. Fill the jar with water. The bottom half of the potato should be submerged. Place the jar in a sunny spot, change the water once a week and watch your potato grow! To get your plant to grow bushier, trim stems to 12 inches long.
Cranberry ScienceCranberry Pockets - Do cranberries sink or float? Give each child a Styrofoam cup with water and a cranberry. Have them write their own hypothesis. What happened? Talk about cranberry bogs and harvesting (click here). Then, cut the cranberry in half, so kids can see the inside of it. Cranberries have four air pockets inside of them, which makes them float!
Dancing Dried Cranberries - Explore the three states of matter by making cranberries dance! Toss dried cranberries into a glass of Sprite and watch them bob up and down. The bubbles (carbon dioxide gas) in the soda stick to the rough edges of the dried cranberry. The bubbles bring them up to the top of the glass. Then they pop and release the CO2 into the air, making the dried cranberries fall back down. Spy Juice - Students become spies and write secret messages to one another using homemade cranberry juice! Visit the Kitchen Pantry Scientist to learn how to concoct the juice and unveil your top secret writing!
Corn Cob Lab
Popping - Students will be amazed when they create a cob of popcorn! Place a dried corn on the cob in a brown paper lunch bag. Fold over the bag two times to keep the kernels contained. Microwave for 2 1/2 minutes or until the popcorn has stopped popping. Eat it as a classroom treat or use it for a science experiment! Place the popped cob outside and watch as different animal species come by and eat off of the ear of corn. Have the students record the different types of animals in their science notebook and have a lesson on biodiversity. What animals live within your habitat? How are they all connected in your ecosystem? Sprouting - Each kernel on an ear of corn is a seed. By placing a whole ear of corn in water, you can grow a corn cob garden! Instructions: Place a husk free, colorful, dry ear of Indian Corn in a shallow container of water. The corn should only be covered a little more than halfway with water. Place your container in a sunny spot. When the water evaporates, add more and make sure the corn remains submerged in the water. After five days, change the water. Make sure that the side you had up remains up after you change the water. The wet side of the corn is the side you place back in the water and keep submerged. Watch it grow, after a week you will start to see small sprouts or shoots.
Butter ExplorationInvestigate the 3 states of matter by shaking up cream to create butter! Pour one cup of heavy whipping cream in a container with a lid. Once poured, the container should be no more than halfway full (half cream / half air). Shake your liquid and gas to make butter! As you shake, open up your container and check out each stage as your liquid and gas suddenly create a whipped solid: butter! When your butter is ready, refrigerate it. It will become a bit harder. Note: 1 cup of cream will create about 4 Tbsp. of butter). Add some salt to your butter to give it more flavor!
Whipped Test: Whipping Versus ShakingTop your Thanksgiving Food Lab off with a sweet ending! Using the same ingredients, heavy whipping cream and air, can you create a different substance? Using a hand mixer, whip 1 cup of cream until you get stiff peaks. Add a little sugar if you want sweet cream. Have the students compare and contrast the butter and whip cream they created. Compare the volume, texture and taste of each food item. Students can draw and label the states of matter for all of the ingredients they used and describe the process for each in writing.
Erin Bittman is a second/third-grade student teacher in a multi-grade classroom at a German Magnet School. She attends the University of Cincinnati. Check out her blog E is for Explore!
SOURCE: http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2014/11/13/thanksgiving-food-lab
Saturday, 22 November 2014
Close Reading Strategies
Here are five features of close reading instruction that make students want and love to read.
Text Selection
Passages don’t have to dense and dry to be worth a close read. Choosing novel excerpts, articles, poems, even images or movie clips that address big ideas, even if they’re from modern sources, accomplish the same instructional objectives as reading Twain or Bronte. A bonus, using contemporary YA material means your students will likely have loads of background knowledge to apply to a cold read.
Engaging Questions
Is our destiny malleable or fixed? Should government make decisions for us? Why do we need love? When questions invite students into discussions that have engaged humans for centuries, they captivate student interest and prompt rousing discussion.
Students Take ControlOne of the tenants of close reading, the purposeful rereading of text, allows students to take ownership. The more students read, the more they can take a leadership role in the discussion. As students read and reread, look for opportunities to step back and let students take the reigns.
Collaboration
Far from silent reading or quiet work time, close reading lessons should be peppered with lively discussion and Aha! moments. Collaborative discussion allows students to put text evidence into practice and to share and refine their ideas. Provide time for students to work together during readings, before writing, and in discussion to make close reading a shared experience.
Debate and Argument
Students—middle schoolers especially—love to debate. Draw the connection between crafting strong, logical arguments and winning debates and you’ll have them hooked.
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