Science in the City

Nov 10, 2014

A Teacher's Unique and Unexpected Power

I would like to simply share a brief story that has caused me a lot of reflection lately.  My son is in kindergarten.  In gym class, his gym teacher told him he was a champ, or called him champ recently.  
He has literally talked for weeks about how his gym teacher thinks he's a champ.  He has taken this to mean that he is great at gym, and he thinks he has to work extra hard to not let the gym teacher down, since the gym teacher thinks he's a champ!

As a teacher we often are reminded about the power of our words, and the fact that we are working with impressionable young kids.  I think it is easy to lose track of this fact, in the day to day shuffle.   This has been a big reminder to me of the power of our words.

Remind your students that they are champs!  Don't be afraid to compliment them!  And be thoughtful about what you say, because you don't know the impression it will leave.  

Sep 30, 2014

A Useful Gift For You: Exit Tickets and Much More


I was lucky to be part of a cooperative effort spearheaded by Brain Waves Instruction, Literary Sherri, and Getting Nerdy with Mel and Gerdy. Each page gives a chance to 'meet' a secondary seller, and a printable, ready to teach freebie.  My page includes 4 immediately usable exit tickets.  These are part of a larger e-book with TONS of resources, across subject areas (see below for details).





They have compiled 3 FREE Meet and Teach e-books profiling SECONDARY teacher-authors and sharing print-and-teach resources from 25 TpT stores in each e-book.  The e-books center around ELA, Math & Science, and Humanities (Social Studies, Art, Foreign Language, and more ELA).  In them you'll find a 'meet' page completed by each seller that includes responses to 5 prompts.  You'll get to learn a bit about each seller like their favorite book or things that make them happy.  Then, each seller provided you with a 1-page resource that you can use in your classroom.  These e-books are filled with awesome teachers, little insights into each sellers' life, and resources that are easy to implement in your classroom.  They're pretty amazing.  Of course, you don't have to take my word for it, you can find them here:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Meet-and-Teach-eBook-ELA-Grades-6-12-Free-1468027

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Meet-and-Teach-eBook-Math-Science-Grades-6-12-Free-1466695

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Meet-and-Teach-eBook-Humanities-Grades-6-12-Free-1466589


Download each free e-book and you'll get a chance to meet and teach resources from these teacher-authors: 
Classroom Freebies Manic Monday

Sep 14, 2014

Learning Reflection Sheet Exclusive Free Gift


In secondary education I feel that we don’t spend enough time building relationships, and 
nurturing our students’ curiosity because we are bound by curriculum and pacing.   This sheet is something that I often use at the end of the class period in my own classroom.  We are only two weeks into school and I  and have already found that students are looking for my response each day, and are thinking about what to write during class (reflecting upon what they learned, or jotting down questions). 

This tool has become a great tool for formative assessment, and especially for 
differentiation. It is open-ended enough that the lower level students can simply 
state what they learned, or ask a question about the lesson, where higher level 
students can ask more in-depth questions, and I have an easy way built in to 
respond to them. 

I think it is critically important for students to reflect on their own learning, and, if needed, I can give a more specific prompt for the day. However, sometimes it is better open-ended.  On Friday I had one student write "I learned today that I need to come to this class ready to work, not fool around" .....If he learned that, I'm happy as well :)
Classroom freebies
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