Video. Kids love clips. They can be a great way to hook students when starting a lesson. They are great for reinforcing lessons after you have taught it. They are all over YouTube and the internet. But…
Tennis Debate: Civilized Debate Without the Yelling
We had the opportunity to go spend a day at the Ron Clark Academy. One of the teachers we got to see was Mr. Wade King. We were looking forward to seeing the staff of the school in action, as we do things in much the same way… well, we thought we did. I guess we still do, just not to the same level, we have to be concerned about neighbors and noise.
One of the techniques we saw in action was what Wade called Tennis Debate. I taught this to my kids last week and it went extremely well. Continue reading
Google Keep for the Classroom
I recently decided to give using Google Keep in my classroom a try. Typically, most teachers that I have talked to about using a digital note taking platform espouse the greatness of Evernote. I’ve used Evernote, and it’s a decent enough tool, but I wanted to try something different. Something that the kids might enjoy as well. Continue reading
The Ron Clark Academy- Does it live up to the hype?
Ron Clark. Let’s face it, his is a name that many have heard. We have heard him keynote on two occasions, the first dating back to roughly 2004ish. After hearing him speak, people typically fall into two camps.
Kahoot! Your Classroom! A Great Way to Engage Your Students
Get Kahoot! It’s a game… no, wait, it’s a learning tool… yep, it’s both! We were introduced to the greatness of Kahoot! at the Mississippi Educational Computer Association (MECA) conference last year. Instantly, we saw the benefits. It has completely changed the way we review topics in class.
Random Name Selector, a Great Way to Include Everyone
Every now and then, we need a way to ensure that a student may randomly be selected for something. It doesn’t always have to be reading, or answering a question. These are often a “gotcha” thing. You can use it for positives as well. Continue reading
Vocabulary… Teaching versus Giving
Vocabulary lists. These are the things that students often hate more than anything else, and perhaps there is some justification for that. We have all been guilty of giving the dreaded list at some point in our careers. In fact, I still give a list, I just treat it differently than I did before.
@Newsela and @InsertLearning, a Powerful Combination
PLEASE NOTE: DOCENTEDU IS NOW CALLED INSERT LEARNING. Look for an updated post soon on how to make use of this powerful tool.
In the past, I have written about both, Newsela and DocentEDU. At the time, I suppose one could say my vision was still developing regarding how to best utilize each tool. I have spent some time tinkering, playing, and trying to break them. I am happy to say, that not only have I found the perfect combination of each, I have utterly failed to break either… and I’m pretty good at breaking stuff.
More Google Classroom Greatness
Google Classroom has added some great new features to make using it even more convenient. With Google Classroom, you now have the ability to do a few things to make life easier.
Google Newspaper Archive, a Primary Source Paradise
Have you ever struggled with finding good primary source material for students? As an English teacher, I teach a lot of literature. I have always taught a good bit of non-fiction as well, but the reality is, there are times I wish I could teach more of it.
With the advent of Common Core, or College Career Readiness Standards, or whatever catchy name your state has given them, non-fiction text has probably become a much larger part of the expectations. History teachers are expected to pick up a significant share of that load, through the reading of primary source materials.