A New School Year

Well, I'm a week back into the new school year.  Apart from major scheduling problems, things are going well.

Below is a video of a poem I played from my class on the first day of school.  The video might seem a bit elementary, but it worked well for a group of middle school aged advanced Language Arts students.  I think it was a nice departure from the usual first day rule reading that happens in most rooms.  Additionally, it served as a great discussion starter about student expectations, first day anxieties, teacher-student micommunication, and the need for wordplay in every Language Arts class.





"First Day at School" by Roger McGough

A millionbillionwillion miles from home
Waiting for the bell to go. (To go where?)
Why are they all so big, other children?
So noisy? So much at home they
Must have been born in uniform
Lived all their lives in playgrounds
Spent the years inventing games
That don't let me in. Games
That are rough, that swallow you up.

And the railings.
All around, the railings.
Are they to keep out wolves and monsters?
Things that carry off and eat children?
Things you don't take sweets from?
Perhaps they're to stop us getting out
Running away from the lessins. Lessin.
What does a lessin look like?
Sounds small and slimy.
They keep them in the glassrooms.
Whole rooms made out of glass. Imagine.

I wish I could remember my name
Mummy said it would come in useful.
Like wellies. When there's puddles.
Yellowwellies. I wish she was here.
I think my name is sewn on somewhere
Perhaps the teacher will read it for me.
Tea-cher. The one who makes the tea. 


-Welcome back!

The GACE English Test (Study Guide, Resources, & Suggestions)

During the spring, I took the GACE English test to add High School English to my teaching certification.  The English GACE test is like many state and national tests, it is a comprehension exam designed to test the individual on many English/Language Arts standards.  I was a little anxious going into the test, for many reasons.  One) The length, you have four hours to complete two tests, each containing 60 multiple choice questions and 2 short answer essays.  Two) The fee - I paid close to $200 to take this thing and I wanted to pass it the first time.  Three) The uncertainty surrounding the test.

I felt very comfortable with most of the grammar that might be on the test.  Additionally, I was very comfortable with the writing process, instructional strategies involving reading, writing, and any media literacy elements that might be on the test.  The only area I was really concerned with involved the literature. I read a lot, but I tend to read more obscure authors like Julio Cortazar or Harry Crews.  My reading does not fall within the traditional and well-studied ranges of English literature.  And even so, it seemed as if I'd have to know everything about literature, starting with Homer and ending with Amy Tan.  So, I was concerned and felt the need to study.  The problem I encountered was that there was very little information on the internet about the test.  The GACE website does a good job outlining the standards and element for the test, but that is it.  So, I decided after taking the test I would share the resources I spent countless hours gathering. I cannot tell you what was on the test but I can tell you what I used to study for the test.  Even though the test had some tough questions, I felt it was fairly easy and straight forward.  However, I feel the need to state that I felt very prepared for the test, probably because I spent a month or two studying. 

My best advice is to review the standards and focus on the areas you feel weak in. 

GACE English Test Resources
1. GACE Website.  Review the standards, elements, frameworks, and sample questions.  This is a great place to get started.
http://www.gace.nesinc.com/GA_PG_020021_opener.asp

2. XAM GACE English Study Guide.  I have read many bad reviews about this book but, honestly, it helped.  The sample tests were very helpful and identified some of my weaknesses.   The book isn't perfect (or cheap), so find it used or buy it new at Amazon (the cheapest place online).

3. This Guy's Study Guide.  This was the only place I found a short and sweet study guide from someone that took the test.  I often used this to review the concepts he had listed.  His blog also contains some good insight about the test.
http://gateacher.wordpress.com/2007/07/26/english-gace-test/ (blog entry)
(direct link to download study guide)

4a. Review the Georgia Performance Standards for English/Reading Grades 9-12.  You want to be a high school English teacher, right?  So, why not review what you'd have to teach?  In addition, the standards match up with the GACE test. There are a lot of great resources here: lists of terms, concepts, explanations, and tips.  There is a lot of information here, so make sure to focus on what you do not know.
https://www.georgiastandards.org/Standards/pages/BrowseStandards/ELAStandards9-12.aspx

4b. Review the Georgia Performance Frameworks.  Even more helpful than the GPS.
https://www.georgiastandards.org/Frameworks/pages/BrowseFrameworks/ela9-12.aspx

5. Georgia DOE Website.  Use the review resources for high school students.  Very helpful (and free).
A link to the content descriptions for high school English. 
http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/ci_testing.aspx?folderID=227&m=links&ft=Content%20Descriptions
A link to some online practice questions (for high school graduation), just follow the steps for a high school student. 
http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/ci_testing.aspx?PageReq=CI_TESTING_OAS

6. End of Course and High School Graduation Study Guides.  Again, the GADOE is here to help you.  These study guides are great and contain many practice questions.  In my opinion, many of the questions seemed a bit easier than the GACE, but it was the same subject matter and concepts. Also, it is great practice for reading passages and deciding on the best answer.
http://www.gadoe.org/ci_testing.aspx?folderID=14732&m=links&ft=EOCT%20Guides
http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/ci_testing.aspx?folderID=228&m=links&ft=Student%20Guides

7. Use the Internet.  Since literary movements were my greatest concern, I spent a lot of my time reviewing literary time periods and authors. Here are a few of them.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americannovel/timeline/
http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/rickard/Timeline.html
http://www.socsdteachers.org/tzenglish/literature_timeline.htm
http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/TABLE.HTML

8. Watch Movies.  Here is a great collection of PBS videos that review all of the major literary movements in America.  http://www.learner.org/resources/series164.html?pop=yes&pid=1747 Very well done and very interesting.  Also, I watched whatever movies I could find at the library (for example: the Harlem Renaissance and studying poetry).

9.  Read Some Classics.  I read (and listened to) books I hadn't thought about since high school like The Great Gatsby and Their Eyes Were Watching God (to name a couple).

10.  Take Notes and Apply Them in Some Way.  I made word clusters/maps.  I've scanned a few to show you.

By the end of my two month study window I felt very prepared for the English GACE and, in the end, I passed.  For the first time ever, I was not just trying to cram for a test, I was trying to self-educate.  I probably did not need to take every practice test twice, but I did. I surely did not need to read those handful of classics, but I did.  Regardless, everything I did helped shape my understanding of what I was studying and enriched my study sessions.  I hope my suggestions help future test takers out there, I would rather people spend more time studying than searching.

Motivation and Learning

Dan Pink shares some very interesting thoughts and research about motivation.  Even though he focuses his discussion on adult performance, there is plenty to think about in regards to teaching and working with children.

He disputes the idea that people are motivated through a system of rewards and punishments.  His research reveals that this approach does not work. He has found that the old system of rewarding to get more of the behavior you want and punishing to get less of it does not work.

After watching his speech (and cartoon), it made me reflect on how I motivate and manipulate my students.  Am I really getting the results I want?  I have seen children push themselves hard to receive a handful of Jolly Ranchers, but Dan Pink makes me wonder if these students were working to their full potential and gaining any long term learning or enduring understandings.

The animated speech by Dan Pink about motivation and drive (the hook, 10 minutes)



The complete speech by Dan Pink about motivation and drive (no animation, 41 minutes)



These videos tap into ideas about motivation, creativity, and the learning/working environment that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.  I’m working on a longer entry dealing with this topic (focusing on companies like Google and Pixar) - more on that later this summer.

Letting Go of Paper

aka Living Like There is No Tomorrow and Throwing Everything Away

Now that the 2009-2010 school is behind me, I have started to think and plan for next year.  For starters, I’ll be in a new room, actually a computer lab.  This is very exciting and a great opportunity to fully integrate technology into my teaching.  Regardless, the new location means I have to move out of the room I’d been working from for 5 years.  So, over the last week I took a stroll down memory lane as I went through cabinets and drawers overflowing with folders of work samples, outdated textbooks, various instructional books and resources (most of which I have never opened), and an endless collection of photocopied papers, assignments, rubrics, reading packets, enrichment activities, instructional strategies, test data, and so much more. 

Initially, my cleaning and packing involved separating everything into piles: garbage, “could be useful/might use some day”, useful, and very important stuff.  After a day of this method, I realized I have a lot of stuff to move.  So, I adjusted my approach, anything that did not make it in the “very important” pile was label trash/recycle.  Now, of course there were a few expectations to this rule, I kept many reading packets of various short stories (I do teach Language Arts after all) and a few random samples of student work.  Everything else, was sent to the trash or recycler (close to three car loads).  

The process was very freeing and allowed me to streamline my approach toward teaching and the utilization of my resources.  As I was cleaning, I found that over the years I’d tucked away many things with the idea that they might be helpful (if I ever taught that particular concept).  After close to 10 years of teaching, this collection of resources has became a lot of unused junk. I think when I started as a new teacher I was so eager to get whatever resources I could get my hands on.  My thinking was, the more “stuff” I acquired the easier teaching would become. Right?  Well, now a lot of those unused papers and posters have become outdated clutter.  

So, with my push for more meaningful inclusion of technology in my teaching, I figure the best place to start is with my own collection of resources.  If something is worth keeping, I should have a digital copy of it.  So, before throwing anything away, I made sure to scan a number of documents I either needed or thought would be helpful in the near future. 

I am not pushing for a paperless classroom.  I still have a fond spot for notebooks and work collected in portfolios or folders, as a way to track and showcase a student’s progress.  Also, I still have stacks of novels and such to lug over to my new room.  However, I feel in order to maximize the full potential of my resources, and to access them in an efficient manner, the filing cabinet needs to be abandoned and forgotten.  

As the world continues to shift toward a more digital dominant society, our classroom habits must keep up.  We no longer write letters, we send emails.  When on vocation, we do not send postcards, we send text messages.  We do not pay our “paperless” bills with checks, we pay them online.  We do not write down driving directions, we use our GPS units.  When was the last time you wrote someones phone number down in a phone book or wrote out a recipe?  As a society we are moving away from paper and have started storing all of these items on our digital devices.  I need to do the same with this my teaching resources.  It just makes everything easier.  When I have digital copies of everything, I can easily email parents, students, and other teachers whatever they might require.  I can post and share my ideas on blogs and our classroom wiki with ease.  Additionally, by maintaining a digital collection of my resources, I can access them anywhere.  I can teach from any location. I can easily update, modify, and improve any assignments very quickly.  I know, you get the idea.  All of these points are painfully obvious.  

Ultimately, my point is that by limiting the amount of things we hoard away in filing cabinets, folders, and binders the more efficiently we can access and take advantage of the resources we have collected over the years.  We must continually evaluate the thing we hang on to and implement a way to easily access this material.  So, one of my goals for the 2010-2011 year will be to hold on to a lot less and digitally store that which I choose to keep.  

Questions (and/or struggles) for the future: 1. How to deliver information and assignments to students and parents without using countless pieces of paper.  2. How to organize and manage my digital files so I do not clutter up my desktop.

Bloom's Taxonomy (For the Digital Age)

Below is an inspiring graphic I came across a few months ago. It is a great visual to get us thinking about how we can use the vast number of the Internet’s resources in our classrooms. Additionally, it reminds us of the limitations of some resources, as well as the need to employ many of the Internet’s various teaching/learning tools in our instruction. There are a lot of great resources included in this pyramid.  Now that I have started my summer break, I think I will make it a project of mine to update this wonderful pyramid and to make a high res version that would be great as a poster (wouldn’t this look good hanging on the wall of your classroom!).

image source: http://visualblooms.wikispaces.com/

In future posts I will be discussing some of these resources, but if you should start exploring now! The link below contains a table of 25 Internet tools for the classroom. The table includes links and a brief explanation of each resource.

Top 25 Tools of 2009
http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/25Tools/index.html

Free Stuff: History Channel's American History DVD Set

This is a great resource that should not be overlooked.  In late April the History Channel started running a new series, America The Story of US.  The series is really good and the episodes would make a great companion piece to any Social Studies class dealing with American history.

Currently, the History Channel is offering the DVD set free to all schools across the United States.  All that is required is for your principal to request the discs for your school.  Or you can do what I did and requested the DVDs yourself and then tell your principal you ordered some DVDs in her name.  The offer expires July 1st and the mailing of the discs will begin in August.

If you are a Social Studies teacher, you need to request these DVDs.  If you are not a Social Studies teacher, I know there is someone (or any entire content team) in your school that would appreciate the resource.

http://classroom.history.com/america-dvd/event/form

Can't wait for the discs to arrive or you want to preview the discs before mentioning it to your principal?  No problem.  The History Channel is also streaming select episodes of the series on their website.  Check it out!

Stream Episodes of America The Story of US at History.com
http://www.history.com/shows/america-the-story-of-us/videos/#america-the-story-of-us-cities 

Comics in the Classroom

About a week ago, a Social Studies teacher asked if I would help his students make a comic about an important event or person in history.  On the day of the assignment, a handful of students came tumbling into my room.  In hand, they each had blank sheets of paper, color pencils, markers, rulers, and various other arts-n-crafty supplies.

First, we sat around and discussed what historical event or person they wanted to focus on (this was an end of the year review project – thus the reason for such a wide open assignment).  After we had brainstormed some events and people from the year, we set out to make our comics.  It was then that we hit a road block.  Only one of the students in the class enjoyed drawing and the rest were not enthusiastic about making a comic.  One declared that she was going to draw stick figures and hoped she would not lose any points because of it.  I assured her that stick figures could be an artistic choice and that she could create a compelling comic using simple art.  I reminded her, and all the students, the ultimate goal of the assignment was to review the content, not learn how to make the best comics in the world.

However, this comment got the wheels turning in my head, “why not use the computer to make the creation of the comic easier and, maybe, more enjoyable?”  After a few minutes of research (while the students were storyboarding and outlining their stories) I found a number of free websites for comic creation. 

By including computers to help with the creation of our comics, I was able to enhance this assignment.   Students could still choose to draw the comics, but those that were more interesting in computers and digital art had a new option.  Additionally, because of the computer element students were exposed to many images and photographs relating to their topics.  Even though using the computer meant spending some time learning the program, many more students were engaged and interested in the project.  More importantly, students were also shown how to use the internet in a constrictive and creative way.  That night, every student finished their assignment for homework and a handful of kids continued to make comics of their own.

Here are some of the free, online comic generators I have found and/or used in my classroom: 

Comics Lab Extreme – Despite the association with Professor Garfield, this is the website we ended up using.  It is very kid friendly (and safe), has a great save feature, and so many options.  I recommend this site for free comic creation (but then again it is the one I've really messed around with).

Chogger – Very simple interface for creating a panel comic strip.  You can start making your comic without registering and can even upload your own images. 

Witty Comics! – This one does most of the work for you.  Pick your characters and backgrounds, just bring the conversation.

Make Beliefs Comix – Another simple comic generated that does a lot of the image creation for you and lets you focus on the dialogue.

And a few more to check out. 

• Pixton
• Strip Generator
• ToonDoo

Basically, I’d suggest checking out all of these sites and finding what works best for you and your students.   There are other options out there too, some are software based but those tend to cost money.  I like the free, online options because it guarantees your students can work on them wherever there is an internet connected computer.

It's time to start making some comics, digitally!

TED TV: Making Math More Meaningful

I am a junkie for TED Talks.  I have a number of TED Talks bookmarked and show them off to anyone willing to watch.  Currently, I am working on a piece for this blog that includes many of my favorite presentations, but until that is ready I have this more recently video to share.

In the following video, six year math teacher Dan Meyer gives an inspiring talk about the need to overhaul math instruction.  His main point centers on improving instruction in order to promote patient problem solving amongst students.  Even though his focus is on math, you could exchange it with any other content area and his point would be just as relevant.

Meyers recommends that teachers do the following to improve engagement:
    1.    Use multimedia
    2.    Encourage student intuition
    3.    Ask the shortest question you can
    4.    Let students build the problem
    5.    Be less helpful

I agree with all five suggestions.  Numbers 1 and 5 are areas that have been a strong focus of my instruction lately, while numbers 3 and 4 are still areas of weakness for me.
 

After watching Dan Meyer’s video and reading his blog, I know I can do a better job including multimedia and problem solving/developing in my lessons.

Book Review: When You Reach Me

What is it about?
(This review might contain minor spoilers)

When You Reach Me is a charming story about Miranda, a 6th grade girl living in New York City circa 1979. When she is not at home, Miranda spends most of her days hanging out with her best friend Sal. When she is at home, she busies herself with the usual and unusual 6th grader routines, like helping her mother prepare to be a contestant on the $20,000 Pyramid. Miranda seems to enjoy her life and never stops to think twice about it, until everything starts to change. Seemingly out of nowhere, Sal stops hanging out with her, she is forced to make new friends, and, most alarmingly, she begins receiving strange notes that appear to be coming from the future.

If I had to categorize this young adult book, I’d label it a sci-fi, coming-of-age mystery that tackles themes dealing with growing up, friendship, and family. Yet, it really isn’t a sci-fi novel and it’s barely a mystery. Yes, there are sci-fi elements but I use that term delicately since so much of the novel is grounded in reality. Throughout the book, Rebecca Stead carefully references A Wrinkle in Time and casual conversations about time travel to ease the reader into the possibility of jumping back and forth in the space-time continuum. Likewise, she takes her time laying out the mystery across the entire novel. The result is a very compelling read.

Rececca Stead is very cunning in her ability to draw you in. The book is divided up into very short chapters (most with titles that mirror the $20,000 Pyramid categories – i.e. “Things You Keep in a Box”) and each chapter reveals just enough details to keep the reader curious. Her writing is like a well crafted serialized television show, she does not end with frustrating cliff hangers; instead, she continually entices the reader with snippets of information. Over time, the mystery builds and before you know it, you have fallen down her rabbit hole and are fully devoted to solving Miranda’s puzzling predicament.

Who is this book for?

I feel what separates great YA fiction from mediocre/generic YA fiction is its ability to appeal to both adults and children. When You Read Me does a wonderful job catering to both audiences. By setting the novel in 1979, and repeatedly referencing A Wrinkle in Time and the $20,000 Pyramid, it easily gives a frame of reference for anyone over 25 that enjoyed Madeleine L’Engle’s book as a child and/or was a sucker for daytime game shows. More importantly, the book is well written and the characters are authentic representations of real people.

Most likely, this book will be primarily enjoyed by middle school age students. The short chapters make the book accessible to your average middle school reader and the discussions about time travel or the abundant use of foreshadowing supply plenty of enticing content to keep your advanced readers interested.

So, there you have it. I really grew attached to this book, even though it can be read in just one or two sittings. When You Reach Me is an enjoyable story about growing up and learning what love, family, and friendship is truly about. I recommend picking up a copy for yourself, your classroom library, or diving in a getting a class set (I’ve already added this book to my summer reading list for rising 7th graders).

Hello Internets!

Hi. Not so long ago I was sitting in a Language Arts staff development meeting for middle school teachers. It was your usual fare of inspiring conversations, gripe sessions, silly activities, meaningful information, and about 4 hours of wasted time. However, during one of the group discussions, the district’s Language Arts Coach said the following: (and I’m paraphrasing here) “Our students have a strong foundation in digital literacy; we teachers have a strong foundation in print literacy. It is our job to defend the printed word and keep it alive.” Her comment put a stark under me. However, it was probably not the spark she intended. It is true, our students are growing up in a digital dominant world, but what is tragic is the fact that too many schools are resisting this change instead of embracing it.

As time lapsed (i.e. the car ride home) her comment bothered me more and more. I felt that her comment and the validating head nods she received are the problem, not the kids that love cell phones. Our students have been born into a digital age. They are the children of the MP3, the DVR, the DVD, the cell phone, and video on-demand. Yet, most of our schools and lessons mirror technology that pre-dates the age of instant information and wireless communication. We are continuing to teach children through mediums and approaches that existed when I went to school and tend to villainize or discourage the use of technology in the classroom (I’m speaking more toward the inclusion of mobile devices, video games, Wikipedia, social networking, etc. and not computers or interactive white boards and such – it’s true teachers love their PowerPoint and MS Word). Additionally, we are doing very little to educate children about the digital tools they have at their fingertips. Instead, we lumber on as dinosaurs down the same worn road ignoring the digital asteroids that are hitting all around us.

Since that day, I’ve been tracking a handful of educational blogs that focus on the use of technology in the classroom and/or the sharing of new, inventive ideas. I have also been trying to focus my thoughts and theories about education in some form of meaningful writing. Lastly, I have been trying to do a better job with implementing technology in the classroom and educating students how to take advantage of the digital tools at their disposal.

So, I started this blog. I hope for it to be helpful. I hope to do all I say I will.

My hopes include: posting thoughts and reflections about education, various online/digital/print resources, book reviews, new technologies, and much more. My goal is to keep the ranting to a minimum and focus on methods to pull us out of the dark. My fingers are crossed.

But first, a little bit about me. I have been teaching for 8 years at a middle school in the southern United States. Currently, I work with the Language Arts teachers, advance content teachers, and gifted students for grades 6-8.

Till then, welcome and thanks for reading.