Show Off!

That’s right, take a little time show-off the great things happening in your classroom. Now is the perfect time of year to start a file of student work, great lesson plans and a few photos for your brag book. It’s something you can share with administrators and will certainly come in handy should you decide you may want to transfer schools next spring. Student work samples really give you good talking points and physical proof of your skills. Consider saving back a few tests over the course of the year to show student improvement as well. There are a million ways to organize your brag book/portfolio. I purchased a fancy report cover with tabs and a clip and sorted items into the following categories:

1. Teaching Philosophy


2. Classroom Procedures


3. Sample Unit Lesson Plan


4. Sample Unit Assessment


5. Student Work Samples


6. Student Assessment Samples

Professional Development Tip for September 4, 2008

Dots

One of my favorite review games for those days when some students are finished with assignments and others need a little catch-up time is “dots.” You’ve probably played the original game at some point. It’s simply a grid of dots that you take turns connecting; the object is to create squares. The game easily transfers to a vocabulary review by writing words inside the boxes. When a student makes a box around one of the vocabulary words, he or she must define the word to earn a point. I usually make boxes with words worth two points as well. You can get really crafty and require students to use the word in a sentence or act it out. It’s a really handy last-minute activity. The trick is to keep a few blank grids handy so you can fill in and copy at a moment’s notice. Even better, have students design their own game boards by providing the blank grid and having them add the words before playing. Click here for a blank template.

Classroom Engagement Tip for September 4, 2008

You Must Be Your Own Advisor

As I helped my sister register for classes this fall, I was again reminded of a lesson my high school biology teacher shared. “When you go to college, you must be your own advisor.” He shared that there are good college advisors out there, but in the end, the responsibility to look out for yourself is your own. Not looking out for yourself can easily cost you an extra semester (maybe even two) and big bucks.

Help pass the message onto your upperclassmen. Engage your school counselor in the process by asking him or her to bring in college catalogs. Ask students to choose a major and list the requirements needed. Have them note any prerequisites for each class. Send them to the college or university web-site of their choice to make a mock class schedule for the semester. Share extra tips with your students on registering early and how to ask permission to join a class listed as full.


Career Development Tip for September 4, 2008

Leadership Challenge Card: Communication Line Up

Here's a sample of one of our products from Relevant Classroom. The Leadership Challenge cards are a set of 40 activities. Thirty of the activities are 10-15 minutes in length and ten are a bit longer. All activities are very low material. The activities focus on leaderships skills ranging from time management and goal setting to decision making, morals and self respect. Click on the images below for a larger copy of the text.

Leadership Development Tip September 4, 2008