Actually it's been at my local Hobby Lobby since, like, September... but I digress...
When we think about "giving", how often do we consider the "gifts" we can give pre-service teachers, teacher interns, young teachers, struggling teachers, ANY teacher, really.
So in the spirit of giving, I'd like to make this post the place you can leave a "gift" for teachers. By gift, any resource- book, website, video, person to talk to, school to visit, etc.- where tips for not just surviving, but being a happy, fulfilled teacher can be found... as tempting as it may be, please avoid posting resources related to weekly sales at the liquor store or websites offering discounted prescription medication.
I'll get us started with a gift- this blog is hosted by Teacher Magazine and has posts related to a variety of "happenings" in the classroom. What caught my eye was his blog post regarding what to do when kids don't bring a pencil to class... been down that road (and a million versions of that road) countless times!
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/coach_gs_teaching_tips/
So share your "gifts" in the comments section... and PLEASE feel free to share these resources with the pre-service, intern, young, struggling and otherwise teachers in your life.
The work of teaching and learning is too difficult to tackle alone- as teacher leaders it is our moral obligation to be a model of professionalism, supporting other teachers with our thoughts, words and actions.
I like The Cornerstone For Teachers. I even bought her book. It's great for common sense stuff like setting up a classroom. Angela Powell-Watson was a teacher in Florida but now she's an educational consultant. Her website is fantastic and lots of great ideas, advice and links to other teacher websites. Check it out http://thecornerstoneforteachers.com
ReplyDeleteBetty Hollas' work on classroom differentiation is amazing! She has reproducibles and ideas for every grade/subject out there. Google her and prepare to be inspired...
ReplyDeleteWant to inspire yourself and other fellow teachers on why we should utilize more technology in the classroom? google: A Vision of K-12 Students Today (Can be found on TeacherTube and YouTube) Please take a moment to watch the video. It is VERY POWERFUL!!! I used the video in a presentation to my staff at school.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for plugging my blog. As for my gift, most of your readers probably know about Harry and Rosemary Wong's popular book, The First Days of School. But they also write a free, practical monthly column at Teachers.Net in which they feature effective teachers/schools, and their practices: http://teachers.net/wong/NOV10/
ReplyDeleteA web site that might help literacy teachers is www.tumblebooks.com. While the web site does require a subscription, it appears to be very cost-effective ($399 for unlimited home and school use- for teachers and students). The web site will provide differentiated (by grade level) books that are read aloud to students or may be used as an intervention tool for struggling readers.
ReplyDeleteAmanda thanks a lot! I promise you I will do better with technology. You have inspired me to go the extra mile and prepare for the 21st century children. Lois Johnson
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to get my first comment in on the blog. Thanks for the gift of get a flipchart
ReplyDeleteI want to thank Amanda and ALA for changing my life. The session today with Coach Shelly was awesome. Can you believe I am making a comment on a blog...and just yesterday I thought the term was: Tweeter look how far I've come in just two days!
ReplyDeleteI am a huge fan of shelfari.com. It is like facebook with books! It allows you to review and rate books you have read and share it with others. I have all my students create an account, do book reviews, and post responses to discussions about books. They love it and I do too!
ReplyDeleteI actually came across this on our break this afternoon while I was looking for videos that relate to my action research. It kind of ties in with "defoors" post - its called A Vision of 21st Century Teachers -
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4g5M06YyVw Some of the things are a little cheesy I think, but overall its pretty true. Also, thanks Coach G for the link to the Wongs - just the thought of Harry Wong takes me back to my MAT years!
I come across a plethora of SLE's that I have to teach that aren't covered in my curriculum, so I don't have a lesson to use. Most of my SLE's on my curriculum map have "use supplemental resources" in the "lesson" column.
ReplyDeleteMany of the resources I found were worksheets for skills but today I stumbled upon a website I was familiar with in college. It has actual LESSON PLANS as opposed to simple worksheets. It is categorized by subject and then into specific skill sets within that subject.
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/index.html
THIS IS A "DELICIOUS" WEBSITE
I found this website today while working on my action research. It is a list of neat websites for 21st Century Teachers to use:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.21stcenturyschoolteacher.com/cool-websites.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/johnny_lee_demos_wii_remote_hacks.html
ReplyDeleteHomemade $50 interactive whiteboard made with a Wii remote
So, I've used more technology in the past 3 days for myself than I have all year! It's amazing! I can't believe how many resources and support are out there for us. In the midst of one of my random searches, I found this great quote:
ReplyDelete"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why sometimes, I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." -Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Like the Queen, a growing number of educators are believing in and accomplishing the "impossible."
Thanks to Heather for sharing the site, iLearn Technology. I am addicted !! I have checked out so many technology goodies and am using several already. I keep refreshing the page to see more cool stuff, lol. I always loved technology, but wow, do I feel smart now - we teachers WILL be able to teach our students something about technology that they don't already know. Who would have ever thought? lol
ReplyDeleteIt is not necessarily a "new tool" or a "techie tool" but www.paperbackswap.com is an amazing site! It is a free site to trade used books of all types. The way it works is you list the books you want to get rid of. Then if another member requests it, you then mail it (yes you pay this part) to that person. They mark it received and you earn a credit which you can "buy" a book from someone else (that they pay to send to you). I have used this for about 2 years now to get rid of old or unread books both from home and from my classroom. I use my credits to get new books for my classroom, books I want to read, and have even found some of my curriculum textbooks to get!!!!
ReplyDeleteI just had to read about the "no pencil" policy and it made me laugh. When I worked at the high school level, this was one of the "big deal" issues no one ever told you about in teacher training. One clever solution: a large container of golf pencils available for the taking. Anyway, I now teach children with special needs and we don't have any pencil issues!
ReplyDeleteI've been reading eSchool News for the last several years, and would like to share this with you all. Here's the url: http://www.eschoolnews.com/
ReplyDeleteYou can read the articles online or get a free subscription to the magazine. Loads of great information; very easy to get caught up in what's going on.
I talked to two of my former students who are thinking about becoming teachers. We talked about the pros and cons of teaching, and I think they were surprised about my excitement about education after 24 years of teaching. We discussed some of the challenges such as testing, discipline, and differentiation. It is so awesome to see a new younger generation interested in the education field.
ReplyDeleteWe were out of school today, snow :) I spent the day trying to familiarize myself with the new common core we will be using next year. I did a webinar, and some more searching the site commoncore.org site. Today was the first time I notice, but you may have already, there are curriculum maps on the site now. There are maps for all grades.
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