A little R & R...

Really wish the R & R referred to rest and relaxation because there is far too little of that in my life!

Today, R & R is for religion and research! I am (unofficially) not teaching this week! Thanks to my school's AMAZING librarian, I get to watch my kiddos in action! (1) I have an completely unreliable voice. Thank you sinus infection from Tartarus <insert sarcasm here>! Could not have timed this project any better! (2)She teaches the kids research strategies and I get to learn with them since this is a new project for me. Yay.

This week we're researching the following religions from around the world:
Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
Students are divided into groups and assigned a religion to research. Group members are assigned roles (historian, artist, geographer) and are to become experts on their assigned religion. They get to teach the class next week. Two hands in the air for two weeks of supervision! I really love seeing the kids learn in this manner and be responsible for their own learning....just saying.

This year I've been learning about a TON of Web 2.0 tools. For this project, we're using Glogster. Glogster is in it's simplest form an interactive poster where you can put text, pictures, videos, music and more! There's a lot of freedom to create a glog on any topic/ subject.
FYI: Glogster is free! There is an educator option that teachers can purchase. This option allows the teacher to create secure accounts for students. This allows for students to create accounts without using their e-mail address. I am using the free version for this project.

I'm attaching the example I made for my kids. It's ridiculous simple to use. We're going to introduce it to the kids tomorrow! I hope they love it. I'll post some of their completed projects next week. Just thought I'd give you a sneak peek!



My Glog 

Happy Tuesday!

New TGC Cycle!

I haven't posted much about this opportunity, BUT I figured I'd share the link if anyone out there is interested. If you like to learn and you don't mind traveling somewhere around the world to learn about the culture and education system, this program is for you!

 

I applied last year and after completing a tough and extremely informative online class on global education, I learned I'd be going to BRAZIL this summer!

There's MUCH more work to be done, but from the little that has already occurred, I'm a new teacher! I highly recommend you apply! It will be an experience you won't forget!

*No pressure :)

 

 

Teachers for Global Classrooms

is kicking off a new application cycle.

Applications are due March 4th!

All Linked UP!

 

Getting all linked up & such! Feeling like a true blogger. I must admit that I'm super surprised I've blogged as much as I have already! Haha!

Make sure you scoot on over to Farley's Blog to join the party!

 

 

I'm sure all of this business is self explanatory.

• I pretty much <3 Alex Clare. I'm sure you've heard "Too Close" from the Microsoft commerical, but you should check out his other stuff. Fabulous voice!
• I've been sippin' on diet Ginger Ale all day. Lovely drink. Too bad I feel like I've been hit by a truck in gut!
• Preparing for a BIG project my kiddos will start at the end of the month. Trying to put the finishing touches on how all of this is going to play out. Oh...and we're already behind so, yeah...yay projects?!?
• Pretty tired & the bed is calling my name, BUT I'd really love an oreo...okay TWO oreos right now. Might be over doing it for a girl who's had diet ginger ale, a banana, and saltines today. YOLO!
• As everyone else does, I'd love an extra 5 minutes or 5 hours for ME! The end of the grading period is next week so it's crunch time!
• My "OLW" is PEACE! Need to stay calm and get down to business. Have tons on my plate, but want to make sure  I take care of myself mind, body and soul!
   

Hope everyone is getting back into the swing of things!

Just think it....It's almost Hump Day! :)

Cheater, Cheater, Pumpkin Eater!

Just spent the last 2 days textmapping with my kiddos and I feel confident the adventure was a success. Hope I'm not honking the horn too early, but I guess I'll figure out Monday just how well it worked.

What is Textmapping?

You can click on the link above to search the website for information and tips, but here is a brief explanation from the source.

 

Textmapping is a graphic organizer technique that can be used to teach reading comprehension and writing skills, study skills, and course content. It is practiced on scrolls,  which are an alternative environment to books. Textmapping and scrolls can be used strategically, but they are not strategies. They are enabling technologies - simple, basic tools which can be used for reading and classroom instruction. The same strategies that can be taught in books can be taught more clearly and explicitly by using scrolls  and mapping.

 

Textmapping enables teachers to clearly and explicitly model reading comprehension, writing and study skills in the course of regular classroom instruction.

Textmapping shines a light on the pre-reading process. It focuses more attention on, and spends more time with, the text itself - lingering on the page, delaying abstraction, forcing readers to engage in a more careful in-context comprehension of both the big picture and the details, and enabling teachers to explicitly and systematically model comprehension processes.

It is low-tech, easy to learn, easy to teach, requires no special equipment, and can be adapted easily and inexpensively for use in the classroom. All you need is access to a copier, tape or glue-stick, and colored pencils, markers, or crayons.

 

This is how it all went down...



I referred to the process of textmapping as a way to cheat WITH my permission! Yes, my sixth graders that ate up! Instead of reading the 6 pages of text in our book on Hinduism, we were detectives and found most of the information the students needed to learn without reading every single word on the page. During the lesson, we marked the following text features:

• Section headings &Text chunk
• Sub-headings
• Questions
• Key words (bold, italics) and meaning
• Pictures
• Captions (The only part of the text we read in its entirety).

Using Yellow to mark key words and their meaning

Using the finished product to complete assessment

My Textmapping Tips:

• Be a super model! Before coding, we discussed the text feature we were looking for and its significance. Because it can be overwhelming to look at so much text at once, we always did the first two pages of the text as a group and then  I let the students analyze the remaining pages. With every other text feature, I continuously reviewed what we had previously "marked" and how it all tied together.
• Divide your students into small groups. I made sure to call on all group members and made sure that every student had a chance to mark the text. Make sure each group has their own set of highlighters, markers or crayons. Be sure to print enough copies to make your scrolls. *We used tape instead of glue.
• Key Make a key as you go along so students can easily remember what each color stands for.
• Challenge them! When searching for meaning, ask for an explanation. Show me? Where is it in the text? Why is this important? Look for cross-curricular connections. Did you find all (inset a number)?

At the request of the students, this technique will be included in the rotation. Hope your adventure goes as smoothly as mine!
Happy Mapping! :)

Mystery Student

I found this idea on a blog while looking at a different post.
To help keep the kids motivated in the new year, I'm going to have a Mystery Student each day. I will be on the look out for R.O.A.R. characteristics (Respectful, On Task, Always Safe, Responsible). We define what actions are acceptable and fit each aspect of R.O.A.R. at the beginning of the school year and practice throughout the year. Our PBIS committee gives us coupons the kids can earn by displaying great behavior. These coupons can be used for a variety of raffles, dance entry, drawings and as "money" to pay fines or purchase a new I.D.

For each class I teach, a student will be selected (the kids won't know) as the mystery student for that day. If the student does well, they will be identified as the mystery student of the day and  receive 5 R.O.A.R. coupons. If the student fails to meet expectations, the student won't be identified by name and we'll discuss what behaviors were noticed and ways to prevent them from happening again.
Free reward system so I don't have to spend my pennies on candy!
I plan on using a class roster to keep track of who I'm watching so students won't be chosen more than twice a month (based on class size).

Happy 2013!!!

I'm back! Sorta kinda....
I had to take a brief hiatus from blogging because I took an online class on global education to help prepare me for my TGC symposium in February and trip this summer. The class was demanding, but I was able to learn a lot and I'll be sharing some of that information on this blog and the website I'll be creating as a resource guide for teachers as a final project. I am thrilled for the class to be over and for life to resume it's "normal" course.
After completing the course, we found out our travel destinations for the summer program. I'm happy to announce I'm going to Brazil!!! I'm very excited and have started learning Portuguese. Reading and writing the language is easy peasy, but the whole speaking thing is throwing me for a loop! My natural inclination is to turn Portuguese into Spanish sooooo...yep....I'm working on it!
Today is the final day of Winter Break. I am terrified of what 6:00 a.m. is going to feel like tomorrow!
I'm planning on starting the day with review and an introduction into text mapping with the kiddos tomorrow. I am excited to see how the kids react. I'll post again at the end of the week to let you know how it goes, but here's a brief overview of what it is and how it works!

Textmapping overview

Happy Reading!