Saturday, July 26, 2014

MzTeachuh: Teaching Is Creating A Living Classroom

MzTeachuh: Teaching Is Creating A Living Classroom: Teaching Secrets: Arranging Optimal Classroom Seating   http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2012/07/31/tln_merz_sea...

MzTeachuh: Ed Tech and STEM Tweets of the Day 7/26/14

MzTeachuh: Ed Tech and STEM Tweets of the Day 7/26/14: STEM vs STEAM: A Look At Half-Brain Teaching http://www.edudemic.com/stem-vs-steam-graphic-need-sides-brain/   Digital vs. Print: Di...

MzTeachuh: No Boy Left Behind, Engaging Boys in the Classroom...

MzTeachuh: No Boy Left Behind, Engaging Boys in the Classroom...: 6 Strategies For Engaging Boys In The Classroom http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/6-strategies-engaging-boys-classroom/

MzTeachuh: Special Needs Tweets of the Day 7/26/14

MzTeachuh: Special Needs Tweets of the Day 7/26/14: Reading Challenges? When to Suspect Vision as a Culprit http://special-ism.com/reading-challenges-when-to-suspect-vision-as-a-culprit/?...

MzTeachuh: Getting Ready for School: Emergency Lesson Plans P...

MzTeachuh: Getting Ready for School: Emergency Lesson Plans P...: Teachers cannot predict to 100% accuracy when they will not be available to be in their classroom. Now is a great time to r...

MzTeachuh: Getting Ready for School: Emergency Lesson Plans P...

MzTeachuh: Getting Ready for School: Emergency Lesson Plans P...: Teachers cannot predict to 100% accuracy when they will not be available to be in their classroom. Now is a great time to r...

Getting Ready for School: Emergency Lesson Plans Packet






Teachers cannot predict to 100% accuracy when they will not be available to be in their classroom. Now is a great time to research and prepare a packet for times when you're not in the room. I used a small, portable hanging file labeled largely and obviously and a huge flashing police light on top like one on a police car. (Kidding about the flashing light. But having subbed myself, I know it takes a moment to get oriented as you walk in the assigned class and spot the lesson plans which you have seriously prayed are there somewhere. )

I won't berate negligent teachers who do not regularly leave nor update lesson plans for subs. We realize that is substandard teaching. Now is a good time to resolve any deficit. Update as soon as your class list or other emergency info changes . Of course, the sub doesn't have to teach an important lesson, but do leave substantial work. The kids will benefit from being anchored to the work, and there will be less mischief. Have the sub fill out a report page for you, with info in case you want her/him back.

Good principals (at least at middle school) require teachers to have plans on file with administrative assistants who give the sub packets to the substitute teachers as they sign in. This makes perfect sense for effectively insuring a safe and productive day for the students and teacher.

It is a great idea for the sub to bring her/his own emergency lesson plans, just in case. Sub Hub is a link below that may help

Here are some good ideas: 

SubHub Emergency Lesson Plans
http://subhubonline.blogspot.com/p/emergency-lesson-plans.html 

How to Pack The Perfect Substitute Teacher Bag 
http://voices.yahoo.com/how-pack-perfect-substitute-teaching-bag-without-219892.html?cat=25


Found on archeological dig: ye olde sub box
Emergency Lesson Plans
http://712educators.about.com/od/substituteteacher/qt/emergency_lp.htm

Substitute Folder
http://712educators.about.com/od/substituteteacher/qt/sub_folder.htm

Substitute Teacher Sites
http://712educators.about.com/od/substituteteacher/Substitute_Teacher_Sites.htm

Should I Use A Seating Chart in My Class?
http://712educators.about.com/od/discipline/f/Should-I-Use-A-Seating-Chart-In-My-Classroom.htm

Emergency Lesson Plans For Substitutes
https://subassistant.com/2011/08/emergency-lesson-plans-for-substitutes/

Creating A Substitute Teacher Packer
 http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/substitute.htm

 Emergency Lesson Plans
http://www.aaeteachers.org/index.php/blog/232-emergency-lesson-plans


Friday, July 25, 2014

MzTeachuh: Need A Dose Of Walt Whitman?

MzTeachuh: Need A Dose Of Walt Whitman?: There is something so appealing about Walt Whitman; the poet willing to publish his own radiating, pulsating poetry in the middle of...

MzTeachuh: Ed Tech and STEM Tweets of the Day 7/25/14

MzTeachuh: Ed Tech and STEM Tweets of the Day 7/25/14: 4 Technology Trends Changing Higher Education http://www.edudemic.com/four-technology-trends-changing-higher-education/   School libr...

Need A Dose Of Walt Whitman?


There is something so appealing about Walt Whitman; the poet willing to publish his own radiating, pulsating poetry in the middle of Victorianism.

 He chose to go into the Civil War hospitals, nursing the mutilated soldiers. Walt caught the essence of Christian-good-works America without the Puritan judgment and hostility.

Walt did not recognized class distinctions. He honored the folks who actually built America.

Breaking loose from the traditional shackles of poetic forms, he released poets permanently from unnecessary, phoney dignity. His "Leaves of Grass," was a huge "WHOOPEE!" compared to the sedate "I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud." from England (and New England.)
 

I like the whoopee; maybe because I'm from the West; marinated in creative California. Optimism lives. Amazement lives. Joy lives.

Song at Sunset

1819-1892



Splendor of ended day floating and filling me,
Hour prophetic, hour resuming the past,
Inflating my throat, you divine average,
You earth and life till the last ray gleams I sing.

Open mouth of my soul uttering gladness,
Eyes of my soul seeing perfection,
Natural life of me faithfully praising things,
Corroborating forever the triumph of things.

Sunset in Chicago
Illustrious every one!
Illustrious what we name space, sphere of unnumber'd spirits,
Illustrious the mystery of motion in all beings, even the tiniest insect,
Illustrious the attribute of speech, the senses, the body,
Illustrious the passing light--illustrious the pale reflection on
the new moon in the western sky,
Illustrious whatever I see or hear or touch, to the last.

Good in all,
In the satisfaction and aplomb of animals,
In the annual return of the seasons,
In the hilarity of youth,
In the strength and flush of manhood,
In the grandeur and exquisiteness of old age,
In the superb vistas of death.

Wonderful to depart!
Wonderful to be here!
The heart, to jet the all-alike and innocent blood!
To breathe the air, how delicious!
To speak--to walk--to seize something by the hand!
To prepare for sleep, for bed, to look on my rose-color'd flesh!
To be conscious of my body, so satisfied, so large!
To be this incredible God I am!
To have gone forth among other Gods, these men and women I love.

Wonderful how I celebrate you and myself
How my thoughts play subtly at the spectacles around!
How the clouds pass silently overhead!
How the earth darts on and on! and how the sun, moon, stars, dart on and on!
How the water sports and sings! (surely it is alive!)
How the trees rise and stand up, with strong trunks, with branches
and leaves!
(Surely there is something more in each of the trees, some living soul.)

O amazement of things--even the least particle!
O spirituality of things!
O strain musical flowing through ages and continents, now reaching
me and America!
I take your strong chords, intersperse them, and cheerfully pass
them forward.

I too carol the sun, usher'd or at noon, or as now, setting,
I too throb to the brain and beauty of the earth and of all the
growths of the earth,
I too have felt the resistless call of myself.

As I steam'd down the Mississippi,
As I wander'd over the prairies,
As I have lived, as I have look'd through my windows my eyes,
As I went forth in the morning, as I beheld the light breaking in the east,
As I bathed on the beach of the Eastern Sea, and again on the beach
of the Western Sea,
As I roam'd the streets of inland Chicago, whatever streets I have roam'd,
Or cities or silent woods, or even amid the sights of war,
Wherever I have been I have charged myself with contentment and triumph.

I sing to the last the equalities modern or old,
I sing the endless finales of things,
I say Nature continues, glory continues,
I praise with electric voice,
For I do not see one imperfection in the universe,
And I do not see one cause or result lamentable at last in the universe.

O setting sun! though the time has come,
I still warble under you, if none else does, unmitigated adoration.

MzTeachuh: Smooth, Chill Out

MzTeachuh: Smooth, Chill Out: Coasting into Lavendar, JAISON CIANELLI Kick your shoes off, relax, it's been a long day. Give your left brain time off....

Smooth, Chill Out

Coasting into Lavendar, JAISON CIANELLI


Kick your shoes off, relax, it's been a long day. Give your left brain time off.


This is a very smooth relaxing tune performed Azymuth.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbgZEhjT7k4&feature=related

MzTeachuh: Special Needs Tweets of the Day 7/25/14

MzTeachuh: Special Needs Tweets of the Day 7/25/14: Can strong parental bond protect infants down to their DNA? http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/072114_can_parental_bond_protect_infants_to_...

MzTeachuh: MzTeachuh's Top Posts of the Week 7/25/14

MzTeachuh: MzTeachuh's Top Posts of the Week 7/25/14: Does My Child Need Special Ed. Services?  http://mzteachuh.blogspot.com/2014/07/does-my-child-need-special-ed-services.html   Ed Tech...

Thursday, July 24, 2014

MzTeachuh: Summer Activity: The Sky Is Cheap Entertainment

MzTeachuh: Summer Activity: The Sky Is Cheap Entertainment: Perseid meteor shower. We lived in Hawaii at Hickam AFB for several years, and the list of advantages to that is along--but one that st...

MzTeachuh: Order Versus Creativity? Ellsworth Kelly

MzTeachuh: Order Versus Creativity? Ellsworth Kelly: Those lines are awfully straight. Like classroom rules. These colors vivid, bright. Like kids' ideas. Th...

Order Versus Creativity? Ellsworth Kelly






Those lines are awfully straight. Like classroom rules. These colors vivid, bright. Like kids' ideas. That arrangement is logical, but with surprises. Like a class discussion with student input. This medium is controlled by the artist. Like a teacher with a lesson plan.

Order and creativity.


Talk about the perfection of order and creativity: our friend, Mozart.  The artists are Aleksey Igudesman and Hyung-ki Joo. Their Show Igudesman & Joo includes various and hilarious music by Mozart, Rach­mani­nov, Bach, Vivaldi, Strauss, Beethoven and their own. 


 The two classical musicians kibitzing about the playing of this music is so great!

Turkish March - A La Turca 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=906_vLPziZY&feature=related 

Summer Activity: The Sky Is Cheap Entertainment

Perseid meteor shower.

We lived in Hawaii at Hickam AFB for several years, and the list of advantages to that is long--but one that stands out is the clarity of skyviewing.  The Honolulu newspaper had a wonderful weekly section on astronomy, and what to look for in the nightsky. I was hooked. Now we can check out earthsky.org

Everything you need to know: Perseid meteor shower

http://earthsky.org/ 

May 2015 guide to the five visible planets

http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury

Best photos of Apollo 11 and first footsteps on moon

http://earthsky.org/space/this-date-in-science-first-human-footsteps-on-the-moon 

 
Buzz Aldrin becomes the second man on the moon, July 20, 1969.

 

 

MzTeachuh: Special Needs Tweets of the Day 7/24/14

MzTeachuh: Special Needs Tweets of the Day 7/24/14: Apps to Help Students With Dysgraphia and Writing Difficulties  http://ncld.org/students-disabilities/assistive-technology-education...

MzTeachuh: Ed Tech and STEM Tweets of the Day 7/24/14

MzTeachuh: Ed Tech and STEM Tweets of the Day 7/24/14: ClassDojo Adds Support for Sharing Classes and Sharing Student Reports  http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2014/07/classdojo-adds-support...

Ed Tech and STEM Tweets of the Day 7/24/14

ClassDojo Adds Support for Sharing Classes and Sharing Student Reports 

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2014/07/classdojo-adds-support-for-sharing.html?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=freetech4teachers#.U9ETULFgh-w 

Which Universities Are Effectively Using Social Media?

http://www.edudemic.com/universities-social-media/ 

iPads videos

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2014/07/managing-ipad-videos-in-schools-visual.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+educatorstechnology%2FpDkK+%28Educational+Technology+and+Mobile+Learning%29 

Course Access Opens New Horizons for Students

http://educationnext.org/course-access-opens-new-horizons-students/ 

Three new developments in K-12 technology integration

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/07/23/technology-integration-findings-934/ 

Tool for Math Teachers

Front Row is an excellent teaching, learning and administative tool for math teachers and students - See more at: http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2014/01/10/front-row-is-an-excellent-teaching-learning-and-administative-tool-for-math-teachers-and-students/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TeachersAtRisk+%28Teachers+At+Risk%29#sthash.JpkII9w1.dpuf
Front Row is an excellent teaching, learning and administative tool for math teachers and students - See more at: http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2014/01/10/front-row-is-an-excellent-teaching-learning-and-administative-tool-for-math-teachers-and-students/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TeachersAtRisk+%28Teachers+At+Risk%29#sthash.JpkII9w1.dpuf
Front Row is an excellent teaching, learning and administative tool for math teachers and students - See more at: http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2014/01/10/front-row-is-an-excellent-teaching-learning-and-administative-tool-for-math-teachers-and-students/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TeachersAtRisk+%28Teachers+At+Risk%29#sthash.JpkII9w1.dpufhttp://www.teachersatrisk.com/2014/01/10/front-row-is-an-excellent-teaching-learning-and-administative-tool-for-math-teachers-and-students/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TeachersAtRisk+%28Teachers+At+Risk%29

 http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2014/01/10/front-row-is-an-excellent-teaching-learning-and-administative-tool-for-math-teachers-and-students/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TeachersAtRisk+%28Teachers+At+Risk%29

What's the 'Opportunity Cost' of Doubling Down on Math?

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/inside-school-research/2014/07/whats_the_opportunity_cost_of_.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+InsideSchoolResearch+%28Education+Week%3A+Inside+School+Research%29 

 

 

 

MzTeachuh: Speak Up! Tweets of the Day 7/24/14

MzTeachuh: Speak Up! Tweets of the Day 7/24/14: They Can Text & Tweet. Can They Speak? http://www.teachthought.com/social-media/teaching-oral-communication-skills/   Bored? Good...

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

MzTeachuh: Special Needs Tweets of the Day 7/23/14

MzTeachuh: Special Needs Tweets of the Day 7/23/14: Assistive Technology: 10 Tips to Help Your Child Work Around a Learning Disability  http://ncld.org/students-disabilities/assistive-tec...

Special Needs Tweets of the Day 7/23/14

Assistive Technology: 10 Tips to Help Your Child Work Around a Learning Disability 

http://ncld.org/students-disabilities/assistive-technology-education/assistive-technology-ten-tips-help-your-child-ld?utm_source=ldorg&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=social 

5 Essential Skills Needed for Reading Comprehension

http://www.ncld.org/types-learning-disabilities/dyslexia/essential-skills-needed-for-reading-comprehension?utm_source=ldorg&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=social 

Why Teens With Learning and Attention Issues Take More Risks 

http://www.ncld.org/parents-child-disabilities/teens/why-teens-with-learning-and-attention-issues-take-more-risks?utm_source=ldorg&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=social 

Four special-education innovations from ISTE

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/07/22/special-education-innovations-564/ 

Federal Support For Potent New Weedkiller Raises Fears About Children's Health

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/03/enlist-duo-children-health_n_5554828.html 

Types of Tests to Assess Learning Disabilities and Related Disorders 

http://www.ncld.org/parents-child-disabilities/ld-testing/types-learning-disabilities-tests?utm_source=ldorg&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=social 

What Being a Special Needs Mom Feels Like

http://www.autismspeaks.org/blog/2014/07/22/what-being-special-needs-learning disabmom-feels?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AutismSpeaksBlog+%28Autism+Speaks+|+Official+Blog%29 

MzTeachuh: Ed Tech and STEM Tweets of the Day 7/23/14

MzTeachuh: Ed Tech and STEM Tweets of the Day 7/23/14: Introduction to Google Classroom http://www.edudemic.com/introduction-google-classroom/   10 Self-Evaluation Tips for Technology I...

MzTeachuh: Making Solid Plans for Learning Tweets of the Day ...

MzTeachuh: Making Solid Plans for Learning Tweets of the Day ...: Unpacking the Science: How Playing Music Changes the Learning Brain http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/07/unpacking-the-science-how...

MzTeachuh: IEP Meeting? Do I Have To Go?

MzTeachuh: IEP Meeting? Do I Have To Go?: That confusing enough for you? Am I required to attend IEP meetings if I am not a Special Education teacher?   I've b...

IEP Meeting? Do I Have To Go?


That confusing enough for you?
Am I required to attend IEP meetings if I am not a Special Education teacher?
 
I've been asked that more than once as the Special Education teacher, and especially as a Resource Specialist, also known as Special Academic Instructor. The answer in our state is that at  least one general education teacher who has the student on his/her caseload needs attend any IEP (Individualized Education Program) whether it be qualifying (evaluating to see if the student will enter Special Education), annual (the once a year assessment), triennial (every third year the educational psychologist also assesses), or an addendum which is called for a unique reason at any time. However, the better school sites have the entire teaching team there. The teachers at my middle school were very dedicated (and wanted to keep their positions) and supported the Special Ed. kids very effectively with attendance.

What should I bring to the IEP as the General Education teacher?

1.  Bring a calm and caring attitude. Parents are always concerned about their kid. Even if you as the classroom instructor have concerns, even serious ones, about the child performance or behavior, a general education teacher must show a caring attitude and a calm demeanor. Even if you must fly out of the meeting at the speed of heat to finish your day's responsibilities--you are so very important to that parent and child that every bit of body language as well as spoken words means the world, and focusing on the positive will get things done better.

2. Bring your expertise and evidence of it.  All teachers have grade books (on-line or otherwise), lesson plans, records of phone calls and communication to the parent, and copies of referrals and time-outs. Just be ready with this information and how to explain the ebb and flow of your classroom. Please have some positive comments to show you know little Johnny and how well he demonstrates a skill, reveals a talent or interest, or did something right in class. If little Janie is lacking, the parent should already have communicated with you because you called, or sent information home. The Special Education teacher should already know, too, if this is a big deal (actually, even a little deal.) The team of teachers plus family can really make it happen for a kid, and communication with coordination is the key.

How Should I Interact At The Meeting?

3. Be ready to explain your testing and grading system, including homework. The child's future hinges on what you do, how you grade, and do you offer help. The parent needs to know how you grade. Is there make up work? A Special Education student usually is not an independent learner, even if they have the intelligence, because of a visual or auditory learning handicap. Do you offer homework help? Test retakes? Tutoring? When and where? The Math Department at my last school was remarkable in the regular, systematic help for all kids. And it got results.

I Don't Feel Prepared For This--What Should I Do?

4. Coordinate with the Special Education teacher. I cannot adequately explain how complex, detailed and mind-boggingly intense all this Special Ed. stuff is. But it is to your advantage as a general education teacher to share information with the RSP or SAI teacher. Most Special Ed. teachers are type B personalities (myself included) and won't bully or force anyone to do anything. But there is such expertise there, one suggestion may change a classroom situation for the better. And frequently there are Behavior Plans to implement for a rascal. The teaching team wants to keep this side of legalities, having i's dotted and t's crossed. Of course, first and foremost, we want to help the kids. A Special Education teacher has district personnel resources and knowledge that can really help.

MzTeachuh: Star Light, Star Bright

MzTeachuh: Star Light, Star Bright: Starry Night Over the Rhone, Van Gogh Star Light, Star Bright First star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, To hav...

Star Light, Star Bright


Starry Night Over the Rhone, Van Gogh

Star Light, Star Bright


First star I see tonight,
I wish I may,
I wish I might,
To have the wish I wish tonight.

Music for when your wish comes true.

Mozart " Eine kleine Nachtmusik" Allegro (A Little Bit of Night Mus 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPbxIT9W1AYic)

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

MzTeachuh: ePLNs for Teachers –Getting Connected

MzTeachuh: ePLNs for Teachers –Getting Connected: Teachers can find professional networking   online.   Educational sites afford convenience, privacy, and expertise in a variety...

MzTeachuh: Does My Child Need Special Ed. Services?

MzTeachuh: Does My Child Need Special Ed. Services?: Resource Specialist in General Ed. Class No need to panic! Kids develop on their own schedules. But it is a good idea to notice how...