 Me with Mr. Smith on a band trip to Virginia Beach in April, 2000. |
Leaving things better than you find them is not always easy. Sometimes, you have to make a conscious effort to find a way to make a difference in your interactions at work, school, or home. A great teacher and band director of mine instilled in his 160 + marching band of teenagers (all of whom, by the way, were convinced that marching band was cool, simply because we got to know him) that even if you left a hotel room in the morning, you made the bed first, because that is one of the only ways you can leave something like a hotel room, better. We traveled from our hometown in Massillon, Ohio to myriad places, played great music and understood its significance, all while consistently seeking out ways to make him proud by "leaving things--leaving the world--better than we found it". The purpose of this blog is to show how--through my years as an educator, I am determined to instill the same ideas in the students I am privileged enough to be assigned to. Improving teaching and learning is a passion of mine which blends into many areas. Technology as a tool for improving teaching and learning has been a daily necessity in my professional development and in improving the skills of my students of all ages. I actively seek out opportunities to use my technology skills to communicate, interact, and teach a variety of content in meaningful ways. This blog will house examples of the ways I show my students connections between the world we live in and the work they need to complete in school. Because, ultimately when we take the time to connect, we make things better.
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3 Ways to Make Sure the Students are Loving Your Reading Block! Hey everyone! I am excited to share with you again, this time some of my most successful Reading Block structures and activities to engage kids and get them interacting with text in ways that make an impact. Keep reading if you want to make some easy to implement changes to your reading instruction that pack a punch of growth! 1. Teach in Their World with a Variety of Text Selection and Media Text choices that our students can be excited about are more available to us now than ever before. Be aware of what the most popular books are on reputable websites such scholastic book clubs, or in the kids book aisle at target. Make an effort to borrow those titles from your local library (oh yeah, ask the librarians too--they'll be able to tell you which titles are checked out most often by kids in each age group!) or create a wish list on amazon for people who want to donate things to your class and put those books at t...
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