The surprising truth about what motivates us

Students interact with PowerPoint

Check this out. Students can use a mouse to interact with PowerPoint- answer questions from their desks.

The Fun Theory

Can you get people to do something more often if you make it fun?   The Piano Stairs demonstrated this.
Now check out these other demonstrations: Bottle Bank and The World's Deepest Bin.  Then check out the website.

The world needs "childish" thinking

"Child prodigy Adora Svitak says the world needs "childish" thinking: bold ideas, wild creativity and especially optimism. Kids' big dreams deserve high expectations, she says, starting with grownups' willingness to lealrn from children as much as to teach."

TED Talks. (2010, February). Adora svitak: What adults can learn from kids. http://www.ted.com/talks/adora_svitak.html

What the World Eats

This is an interesting photo essay that centers on what people around the world eat and spend on food for a week. I see many applications regarding social studies, ELA, math, etc. Here are several resources on this I've found:

Time photos: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

YouTube video

Educator's Guide

Hardcover Book for Kids

Video Writing Prompt

Musical Stairs

Still Just Searching? 20 Google Tools to Test Drive

One of the blogs I follow is Randy Rodgers The Moss-Free Stone. Randy is great about putting up links and describing web 2.0 tools. Check out this post:


Still Just Searching? 20 Google Tools to Test Drive

Pop Culture

With all the emphasis on relevance, it's sometimes hard to understand that what we consider relevant our students do not. Here are some links to help us out:

Pop Culture Lesson Plans - some for free, a subsciption available for unlimited access

Contemporary Issues and Biographies- Full color books available for sale. I've seen these in person. Includes hip hop and rock biographies, high interest.

math and science videos

This guy has created videos targeting math - from basic addition to trigonometry, science - from biology to physics, finance/business, and SAT prep.  They are free and on You Tube. Check here for a list of what's available.

Very visual.  Check it out!

Game show templates

These templates allow you to type in your own questions and answers.  Great for review. 

Game shows include: The Price is Right; $100,000 Pyramid; Hollywood Squares; Weakest Link, Who Wants to be a Millionaire; Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, Family Feud, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader; Deal or No Deal, Concentration, Survivor.

Check it out here.

The Science of the Winter Olympic Games

Free online videos from NBC:

Timelines

I had an assignment centered around Billy Joel's song We Didn't Start the Fire.   I would show the video and then give kids the lyrics, having them pick one to do research on.  I know several history teachers have used it too.  There are tons of videos on You Tube, but I don't like them because most of them either get the wrong picture or use a current picture for an older year.  This is the original I started with: Video  I thinks it's great for high school kids because it also has funny phrases throughout.  Another option is to give them a list while it's going and have them highlight what they know and then go from there.


Along the same lines, try this awesome website that allows students to make their own timelines with pop up pictures and information: Dipity

Literature Links

Check out a preview of this entire book online:  Igniting a Passion for Reading

On Shakespeare Searched, created by the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, you can search all of Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets for words, phrases, characters, topics, and themes (for example, love)

Wonder how many times certain words are used in a work?  Try this out: Wordle

Financial Football

This is a really cool, free, online football game that teaches finances for high school and college students:
Financial Football

Fun in Learning

People will choose to do something more difficult if fun's involved:

Piano Stairs

Possibilities I see:

using at professional development for teachers
using it with students as a writing prompt
using the statistics presented at the end for math lesson
discussing with students cultural differences - do they think it would happen here?

Testing

In the standardized testing debate, few argue that the companies who score the tests might not be reliable.  Here's one man's description of what life was like as a test scorer:

article

Food for thought....

What Really Matters

It's not about the teacher, it's about the student.  A shift in thinking:

Video 1

Video 2

Formative Assessment

Do you hate giving zeros?  Do you think a zero is an appropriate response to a student who refused to do work?  Do you think it's right to use every grade a student produced in a grading period to produce his or her final grade?  Do you use rubrics?  Do you rely on multiple choice or essay tests?  Do you give a grade without comments or do you always comment? Do you think giving a 50 as the lowest grade rewards students for doing nothing?

My thoughts on grading practices have been influenced by the following: 

Formative Assessment Video

Working Inside the Black Box

Doug Reeves

Contests

When I taught, I always tried to be on the lookout for contests my kids could enter.  I figured it gave some authenticy to their work, especially when it corresponded to my curriculum. Here are some I've come across lately.  If you know of some that aren't posted, please share!

Arbor Day National Poster Contest - for fifth graders, comes with curriculum, cash prizes

Alliance for Young Artists and Writers - for 7-12 grade, exhibition, scholarship, and publication

Scholastic Book Club Contests - continuing contests, aimed at elementary

Essay Contest - sponsored by Penguin books, yearly contest, 11th and 12th grade students read book and write essay, scholoarship money and classroom library

Oh, The Places You'll Go! - yearly essay contest for seniors, scholarship

http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/readandplay/ - monthly contest to win book sets

National History Day - yearly contest, historical focus, secondary students, cash prizes and medals

Invention Dimension - yearly contest; invent new game, toy, or sport equipement; ages 6-19; cash, prizes and trip

Videos

You may have seen some of these videos, but I'm hoping there are new ones. I find these motivational and great resources to use with colleagues during professional development.  If you've become jaded or uninspired, check one of these out:

I teach, therefore you learn... or do you?

A vision of students today

Information R/evolution

The Machine is Us/ing Us

Did You Know 4.0

Shift Happens

Schools Kill Creativity