Technology Accounts to Create for your Students at the Beginning of the School Year

You’ve picked out the perfect technology project for your students.  You’ve given them a planning sheet with all the steps, and you’ve even given them an advance copy of the rubric so that they know what you are looking for.  Everyone lines up and you set off for the computer lab OR you start your center rotation and they are working at computers in your room.  The kids get on the computer and ask you – What’s my username and password?  That’s when it hits you – you forgot to set up their accounts!!!!  Oh the horror of wasted technology time due to missing usernames and passwords!  The solution?  Take time NOW to create accounts (or have students create accounts) for programs you think you will use during the school year.

 

Setting up student accounts ahead of time gives you and your students some distinct advantages:

1.)  You’re ready for all kinds of projects – planned and unplanned (you know those great teachable moments!)

2.)  The kids can play with the programs outside of school, or when they have finished their work, allowing them to figure out the programs BEFORE they have a big project due with this program.

3.)  Students can show their parents the types of programs they will be using – helping parents to see that the technology they will use will not just be playing games, but will be using technology for educational purposes.

4.)  When assigning a project, you can give students a choice of ways to present their work, empowering students to take control of their own learning.  I started this with my Virtual Field Trip Project last year and the results were amazing!

 

Consider letting students create their own accounts, as long as they report their passwords to you.

1.)  Demonstrate HOW to create an account before you ask students to create their own account.

2.)  Have students use a password pattern so that they don’t forget their password.  Find more details on this at my blog post about 10 Tips to Make Technology Integration Easier.

3.)  Keep a record of each students’ usernames and passwords, in case students forget them or you need to get into their account for any reason. 

 

So, what accounts should you have set up in the beginning of the year?

Click on the names of each website to see how this program has worked in my classroom.

1.) Edmodo

2.) Storybird

3.) A Blogging Site, like Edublogs

4.)  Prezi

5.)  Powtoon

6.)  LiveBinders

 

5 Tips to Help ESL Students on the First Day of School

As a teacher at an International School, many of my students were English Language Learners. Even my native English speakers were living in a non-English speaking country. Due to my unique teaching position, I have had some readers ask for tips on teaching English Language Learners. Here is this week’s Tuesday TESOL Teaching Tip: 

A new school year is about to begin, and since there are 5 million English Language Learners enrolled in US public schools alone, not to mention the number enrolled in schools in Canada, the UK, Australia, South Africa, and the many International Schools around the world, there is a good probability that you will have at least one child in your class who has limited or no experience with English.  In fact, according to the US State Department, if you teach in a big city, you will likely have 10 – 15 % of your class enter with limited or no experience with English, and if you are teaching at an International School outside of an English speaking country, you can up that to 25 – 75%.  After three years of teaching at an International School in Morocco, I picture the first day of school to be one where 75% of my students only understand 10% of what I say.  Whether your class roster includes one English Language Learner or twenty, here are some tips for helping your ESL students get the most out of their first week of school.

1.)  Try to find out how much your students know.  If possible, send home an ESL Parent Questionnaire with parents during Meet the Teacher night or on the first day of school.  This will give you a chance to know exactly how much English exposure students have had.

2.)  Take time to teach the names of school supplies (pencil, backpack, notebook) and important people around the school (nurse, principal, lunch lady).  Use my Back to School Vocabulary packet, which has 4 differentiated levels – so that you can use the same type of packet for all of your students – ESL and native speaker.  You can download this packet for free from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

3.)  Repeat important directions 3 or 4 times, using models and speaking slowly.  ie.  Put your pencil (hold up pencil) into the cubby (point to cubby) with your name on it (point to name labels).

 

4.)  Have a variation of your getting to know you activities that will work for non-speakers.  One year, I planned these cute collage people, where students would create a picture of themselves with pictures from a magazine and then cut out words that described themselves to put around their picture. The 30% of my class who spoke NO ENGLISH couldn’t do words that described themselves, so they simply found pictures and spelled out their name on the outside - easy differentiation.

5.)  If you have enough native speakers, seat each ESL student next to a native speaker so that they will have someone to watch and model their actions after.  If you have any multilingual students, spread these students out so that non-English speakers will have someone to look to with questions.

 

What do you do to help your ESL students during the first week of school?

The Adventures Of Ai

Recently, I was asked to review the new children’s novel: The Adventures of Ai, which was written for children aged 9 - 11.  This wonderful story was written by Craig Bouchard, a Wall Street tycoon and the author of two adult books.  This is his first (but hopefully not last) children’s novel.  It embeds a story, inside a story, inside a story and tells a wonderful tale of adventure.  In addition to the book, there is also an iPad app where children can have adventures just in 1500’s Japan, just like Ai in the story.  Children can compete with children in other countries.  The country that leads competition wins 10% of total revenues for charities in their country.

I personally read an enjoyed this book, and I even have a novel study unit in the plans for this book.  However, when we received our free, advanced, copy I decided to share it with my 10 year old son.  He loved the book as well and wrote this review for you all:

The Adventures Of Ai is a story of a father telling a story to his three girls. The father told them a story of when he went to Japan in 1992. In Japan he had a great adventure, an adventure he would never forget. It started on a beautiful but chilly spring morning in Japan he was sitting on his patio, when a ball bounced over the wall. He found out it was a baseball, then somebody knocked on the door. This was the start of his adventures with the Hara family.  The grandfather of this family shared with him a special story, which is the third story – in a story – in a story of this story.

When the man was invited to the Hara’s home for dinner, he thought he would sit on a chair to eat, but they sat on the floor. This reminded of when I went to Morocco, and we would sit on the floor to eat when invited to our Aunt’s house. After everyone ate the grandfather told the man to meet him in his office. When the man got to the office, the man was flabbergasted to be told a story about a girl named Ai who had a  adventure with mythical creatures such as an Oni. An Oni is a mix match of a goat and a human.          

 I think that this book is good for pre-teens and above.This book would be wonderful for people who love nature, but also to people who love to be adventurous, like me! The author described the action to make you feel like you’re right inside the book. This author is great. I hope that he makes more spectacular books in the future.  

Find more book reviews and stories of my adventures at Traveling From a Kid’s Point of View.        

 

 

Would you like your own copy of The Adventures of Ai  for your Kindle?  Follow my newsletter and leave me a comment here with your name, e-mail and why you would like this book before August 1st.  On August 1st, I will choose two lucky followers to receive their own free copy of this amazing children’s novel set in current day USA, 1992 Japan and 1514 Japan. 

 

Stop and Look at the Flowers – Oh and Learn Along the Way

During the summer, most teachers I know spend at least some time planning for the next school year.  My favorite “planning” to do during the summer is field trip planning, because it means I get to tour cool places I’d like to take my students to – often with my own kids in tow.  Here are some of my favorite field trip locations, that can be found in most every community, as well as a list of content connections you can make for your students.  Often as teachers we only include field trips in our science and social studies, but there are lots of reading, writing and math connections that can be made in these locations as well.  I am going to share one type of field trip a week and ideas for making curriculum connections with each field trip.

Botanical Gardens:  Plants from all different habitats available in one place.  A chance to look at many parts of the life cycles.  Botanical Gardens provide so many different learning possibilities.

Reading:  There are great books out there about plants, including Diary of a Sunflower, the Great Kapok Tree and From Seed to Plant.  Reading the signs and placards at the botanical gardens is a highly overlooked skill – many kids walk right by without gaining that bit of extra information that they can get by looking at the posted signs.

Writing:  Write the life story of one of the plants – from the point of view of the plant.  Look at the scientific names for the plants – see what root words you can find in these names.  Write a letter to the editor about why we should (or shouldn’t) give more money to the Botanical Gardens.

Math:  Create a tally chart to track which types of plants you see – trees, flowers, shrubs, cactus etc.  Measure the height of different plants. 

Science:  Explore the life cycle of a plant.  Note down ways plants are specially adapted to their natural habitat.  Keep track of which plants flower and which plants don’t.  Learn about how plants help out humans.  Choose one plant you see and research further information about it.  Group related plants together and explain how they are similar and how they are different.

Social Studies:  Explore how people have used plants for their benefit – for food, for medicine, for decoration etc.  Explore laws protecting certain types of plants.  Bring world maps and have students label where each type of plant comes from.

To make field trips more educational, I often use graphic organizers and other activities to keep my students focused.  Read more about the specifics in this blog post: Field Trips Aren’t Just For Fun.  Be sure to stop by next week for another Field Trip Curriculum Connection.

What is your best field trip idea?

Making Recess Fun and Safe

It’s time for recess!!!!  Time for a break!  Time to let the kids be kids!  Time to breath for a minute, maybe even get a word of adult conversation with another teacher.  Until the tattling and accidents start.  We’ve all been there, and it happens in every classroom, but there are some things you can do at the beginning of the year to make recess safer, and more fun – for you and the kids!

 

1.)  One of the best tips is to start out the year with double the normal recess time.  This additional time will give the kids an adjustment period to get used to being back in school, while giving you more time to teach recess rules.  It’s a win win situation.  Start out by being very clear that for the first two weeks of school (or 3 or 6, or however long you think will be best for your class) there will be additional recess.  Give students a specific date of when this extra privilege will go away, maybe even mark it on the calendar, because otherwise they will be quite upset when the schedule changes.  Don’t expect to get a break during this time, this is the time to set the tone for recess, help students solve their own problems instead of tattling, make it clear what is and isn’t safe etc.  Be on your toes now so that you can have a breather the rest of the year.

2.)  Before recess each day, go over the specific expectations of the recess, keeping it as simple and sweet as possible.  Another teacher I worked with used to sum it up with:

Have the students recite the expectations every day, so that you know they are internalizing (or at least memorizing) the expectations.  This way, when you have to have a discussion with someone who is not following expectations, you can go back to these expectations that have been clearly stated every day.

 

3.)  As the days go by, you may want to take that moment in the beginning to reflect on what happened yesterday, and how recess could go better today.  ie. “Yesterday, I noticed that some students were kicking rocks and making dust that made it hard for others to play.  Let’s make sure that today we don’t kick rocks and make dust.”  Let kids talk about problems they saw or had – they often see things that we don’t.  And let them help come up with solutions to class problems, as they often they can come up with solutions that are just as good, if not better than ours.

 

4.)  Split recess in half, with structured play in the beginning and free play in the end (or have two recess – one with structured play and one with free play).  This gives kids who have a hard time selecting a game a chance to play in one that has been pre-selected.  Often those students will continue the game into free play, while those who had another idea will switch games as soon as free play is announced.

During structured play time, introduce kids to playground games that everyone can participate in, like Duck Duck Goose, Four Square, different variations of Tag, Hot Potato etc.  Often kids have never learned these games and so when it’s time to play, they struggle to come up with a game.  If you introduce new games and their rules to the kids in the beginning of the year, you will often see these games come back later in the year during free play.  Take time to pair up unlikely pairs during this time, so that kids get used to playing with everyone in the class.

 

During free play time, allow it to be FREE play.  Students can play anything, with anyone, as long as they are being safe and kind.  We all need a little time each day to just be us.  This is a true brain break that can allow students’ minds to work better when returning to the classroom.

 

5.)  Don’t be afraid to play yourself!  I have gotten my best work outs by playing tag or jump rope with my students.  It lets them see you in a different light, builds morale, models the importance of physical exercise and is great cardio-vascular work! 

 

6.)  Pair up with another class.  If possible, have recess at a time when another class also goes.  Do both structured and free play together, giving students a chance to work, play and socialize with a new set of kids.  This also helps to reduce the “sibling squabbles” that happen later on in the school year, as kids get to know each other as well as they do their own siblings.

7.)  Have a unique line up signal.  I had a cowbell.  You could hear that thing for miles, and the kids always knew when it was time to line up.  One friend of mine had a duck call and another a train whistle.  Anything that helps extract your students from the sea of students on the playground without having to call their names or waste your voice.

 

8.)  If possible, schedule recess BEFORE lunch.  I learned this when my school did a book study on The First Six Weeks of School.  What an amazing difference – they get all their energy out before lunch, making for quieter, calmer lunch periods – and happier lunch ladies.  Then, they return to your classroom full, calm, happy and ready for work.  After lunch, plan something quiet and productive like Writing Journals or Silent reading with Reading Response Journals, and watch the amazing work that can be done in the afternoon!

 

What is your best recess management tip?

   

Authors to Have in Your Classroom

Recently, I asked a group of teacher friends (okay I asked Facebook, lol) if you could have one book for your classroom, what would it be.  Of course, no one could choose just one and many simply said anything by “this author”.  So, I decided to make a list of authors that should be in EVERY classroom, and when I got to thinking of it, I remembered how powerful author studies were to my students in the past. 

To do an author study with your class, take the time to read at least 2 books aloud or in novel studies with your students.  Compare and contrast the books.  Then, look at the biography and bibliography of the author.  Finally, challenge students to read more books by this author, keeping track and continuing to compare and contrast the various books as they read.  Authors studies are great times to talk about a writer’s style and voice, as well as genre. 

Here are the authors my teacher friends thought were worth reading.  All of these authors have great books for read alouds.  Choosing one author and using their books to start out your Read Aloud Journal at the beginning of the school year is a great way to get kids focused on reading from Day 1.

1.)  Dr. Seuss (Yertle the Turtle, Oh the Places You’ll Go!, If I Ran the Zoo, And To Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street)

 

2.)  Shel Silverstein (The Giving Tree, A Light in the Attic, Runny Babbit, Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Giraffe and a Half)

 

3.)  Chris Van Alsburg  (Polar Express, The Stranger, Two Bad Ants, Jumanji, Queen of the Falls)

4.)  Eric Carle (The Very Hungry Caterpillar, A House for Hermit Crab, Pancakes, Pancakes, The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse)

5.)  Mary Pope Osborne (The Magic Tree House Series, American Tall Tales, One World, Many Religions)

6.)  David Weisner (Flotsam, Tuesday, Mr. Wuffles, Free Fall)

7.)   Julia Donaldson (The Gruffalo, The Snail and the Whale, A Squash and a Squeeze, A Gold Star for Zog)

8.)   Patricia Polacco (Thank You Mr. Falker, Thunder Cake, The Keeping Quilt, Babushka’s Doll, Chicken Sunday)

9.)   Judy Blume (Freckle Juice, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Superfudge, Iggie’s House)

10.)  Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar)

What authors would you add to the list?

Exploring Nature Field Trip

During the summer, most teachers I know spend at least some time planning for the next school year.  My favorite “planning” to do during the summer is field trip planning, because it means I get to tour cool places I’d like to take my students to – often with my own kids in tow.  Here are some of my favorite field trip locations, that can be found in most every community, as well as a list of content connections you can make for your students.  Often as teachers we only include field trips in our science and social studies, but there are lots of reading, writing and math connections that can be made in these locations as well.  I am going to share one type of field trip a week and ideas for making curriculum connections with each field trip.

 Nature Preserve:  Seeing natural animals in their natural habitat – outside of cages – can be highly beneficial for students.  Knowing how animals are helped to stay in their natural habitat can also be completely beneficial.  Plus, there are so many benefits from simple nature hikes.  Find a blog post I wrote about nature hikes here.    

Reading:  Any number of books about animals can be read before and after going to a nature preserve.  Non fiction books about the types of animals you will see.  Fiction stories about animals, like Winnie the Pooh, the Berenstain Bears or Make Way for Ducklings – Talk about the difference between fictional animals and real animals. Read news articles and opinion pieces about nature preserves vs. zoos.

Writing:  Write informational essays about the natural habitat of one of the plants or animals that can be found in the nature preserve.  Persuasive writing – which is better nature preserves or zoos?  Write a fiction story from the point of view of one of the animals.

Math:  Measure how wide the trees are; learn about tree rings and calculate the age of a tree stump.  Create a graph of the animals living at the preserve, or of a statistic (like survival rate or release rate).

Science:   Learn about animal habitats, animal life cycles and animal adaptations.  Learn about plant habitats, plant life cycles and plant adaptations.  Discover how to protect the earth.  Explore the interconnectivity of plants, animals and humans.  Look at leaves and try to identify the different types of trees.  Look for “proof” of animal activity – footprints, feathers, droppings.

Social Studies:  Learn about how native people used nature to live.  Research people like Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir, who worked to set aside national parks to preserve nature, and complete a biography projects with the information.  Explore the laws and current trends that affect ecology.  Discuss what happens when gold or oil is found in a place that is protected by law.

 

To make field trips more educational, I often use graphic organizers and other activities to keep my students focused.  Read more about the specifics in this blog post: Field Trips Aren’t Just For Fun.  Be sure to stop by next week for another Field Trip Curriculum Connection.

What is your best field trip idea?