Motivating Students 3/27/17

One issue we all deal with as teachers is working with the unmotivated student. Not only is it frustrating for you as the teacher, it has to be miserable for the student as well. Jennifer Gonzalez wrote an excellent blog post about this topic and did research to try to find what the most current studies say about what motivates students. This is what she found:

1. Students are more motivated academically when they have a positive relationship with their teacher.
2. Choice is a powerful motivator in most educational contexts.
3. For complex tasks that require creativity and persistence, extrinsic rewards and consequences actually hamper motivation.
4. To stay motivated to persist at any task, students must believe they can improve in that task.
5. Students are motivated to learn things that have relevance to their lives.

Please take a moment to read her honest personal reflections on each of these points along with several suggestions on how we can do better. Making a small adjustment can make all the difference for one of your scholars.

Click here to read this great post!

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What legacy will you leave? Teacher-Student Relationships 3/20/17

As we come back from Spring Break rested and revived, take a few moments to reconnect with your students. Remember according to John Hattie, teacher-student relationships have a .72 effect size. It's all about relationships. One of my all time favorite TedTalks is "Every Kid Needs a Champion" by Rita Pierson. I am thankful for those teachers that took time to see something in me that I did not even see in myself!

Take a quick look at this Viemo video to hear from students. "Kids have an inside perspective" that we need to tap into so we can help them reach their full potential. You make a difference everyday!!! What legacy will you leave?

Tired Teachers/Positive Educators 3/6/17

Recently I saw a Tweet that caught my interest because of the title: Letter to a Tired Teacher. The months March and April are definitely that time of year when teachers can relate to this!

• You are kind to students when you see them... because you realize that may be the only kindness they experience all day.
• You teach... and then you reteach... and sometimes tutor individually... because you realize not everyone gets it the first time (or even the second time).
• You strive to be the kind of teacher that you would want your own kids to have.
• You learn new ideas from your colleagues... and sometimes from the internet... because you are committed to being a better teacher tomorrow than you were today.
• You try to connect with students who don't seem reachable... because you realize you may be their only lifeline.
• You provide encouragement and support to your colleagues when they're down.
• You have patience with the students who may be disruptive and annoying... because you know that those students still need you.
• You work to create a positive classroom environment... because you know that is the best kind of environment in which to learn.

In Danny Steele's letter he wrote, he closes it with these words- You're tired ... but you push on. And that makes you heroic. This resonates with my heart because you are an AMAZING staff who work tirelessly and creatively to provide something NEW and DIFFERENT for our scholars. I am proud of you and so excited for YOU to SHOWCASE your innovative work this next week for our parents! You can never be appreciated enough and I totally agree that YOU ARE HEROIC!!!

Units of Study & STEM 2/27/17

Units of Study & STEM

During our Personalized Learning Conference in GCISD Mini Conference this past August, I did a presentation on a book called "A Quick Guide to Reaching Struggling Writers K-5" by Colleen Cruz, who is a Senior Lead Staff Developer at Teachers College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP) in New York. Not only do I follow @TCRWP on Twitter, I also follow @colleen_cruz and look what I found this week! The Twitter chat schedule for TCRWP! Look at May 10th....YES...it is a Twitter chat about STEM & the WORKSHOP!!! How exciting is that?? Mark your calendars now!! 

I have already emailed Colleen asking questions trying to find who they have already been working with so cross your fingers that we connect with a school or some teachers that we can collaborate with!

Google Expedition 2/20/17

On Friday I had the opportunity to play around with Google Expeditions. It was amazing but I found out quickly that this activity is meant to be done sitting down! #turning50makesyoudizzy

For those of you that like to be adventurous and learn new things on your own, the expeditions are available for you to view on the Google Expeditions app. You will only be able to view it in the "leader format" but this will give you an idea of the amount of scenes in each expedition along with the leader notes. Once you download the app- you will see the word EXPLORER on the top menu bar. If you click on that, you can then click LEAD down on the screen. At this point you can view the expeditions. All of this is explained in the quick video shared below. Enjoy!!

Below you will find the directions on how to download the free app on your phone. 

For Android devices:

1. Go to the Expeditions app in the Google Play Store. Alternatively, you can search for Expeditions at http://play.google.com/store/.
2. Tap Install to add the app to the device.
3. Tap Open, or tap to find Expeditions in your list of apps.

For iOS devices:

1. Go to the Expeditions app in the iTunes Apps Store. Alternatively, you can search for Expeditions at https://itunes.apple.com.
2. Tap Get > Install to add the app to the device.
3. Tap Open, or tap to find Expeditions in your list of apps.

Next Steps with Learning Targets 2/13/17

"I can..." statements, also referred to as Learning Targets, help students know what they are going to learn in class. However, John Hattie speaks to "the next step" with these type statements in the classroom to be most effective in helping scholars reach their potential . Please take 1 minute and 45 seconds to learn how you can impact your students even more!

The Writing Strategies Book 2/6/17

They are here!!!

Yes, our copies of The Writing Strategies Book: Your Everything Guide to Developing Skilled Writers By Jennifer Serravallo ARE HERE!!! I will be placing them in every Humanities Teacher's box by the end of the day on Monday. I am excited as you are to explore this new resource. As you read through it, please make notes of connections to our curriculum and share those notes with your Humanities grade level representative. In the link embedded below, please watch the 3 minute video, as Jennifer Serravallo gives an overview on how to use her book.