Lasallian Educators are FAITHFUL and CREATIVE

I was given the following at a back to school retreat  last week. 

Lasallian Educators are both FAITHFUL and CREATIVE

FAITHFUL - Commited to the values, beliefs and attitudes that underly the ministry

CREATIVE - Versed in the methodologies employed to communicate tose values to TODAY's student.

As I begin this new year, I am reminded to look at my classroom as means of providing the students entrusted to my care with an avenue to understand and embrace those core principles that make us a Lasallian Community: Faith in the Presence of God, Quality Education, Inclusive Community, Respect for All Persons and Concern for the Poor and Social Justice.  I must gaurantee that these are not just a nice list of words and terms that the students can memorize but an actual method of living that the students can embrace.

I must look at the lessons I am creating and first determine, not only if I am providing a clear model of the core principles, but am I providing that message in a way that speaks to those students on a level that thaey can visualize and live out? I must step out side my own comfort zones at times to experience their world but also have the conviction to demand the most of each of them within our community.

  

Dry Erase Boards - A Classroom Must!!!

Do yourself a favor and head over to Home Depot and purchase a couple of 4'x8' sheet of dry erase panels.
Have them cut into eight 2'x2' squares, for a total of 16 white boards. (I have them cut at Home Depot and pay the minimal cutting fee.) Get a bucket of dry erase markers and a packet of cheap terry towels and  let your imagination go wild.

Dry erase boards are a great way to create students guided learning opportunities. Whether students are working in  partners to teach each other, Creating a brief presentation to share with a group or the whole class.  Dry erase boards create opportunities to maximize space and time, without wasting a great deal of resources. 

Dry Erase Boards...

• Math Problems
• Gathering Data
• Writing Out Instructions
• Editing
• Diagraming sentences
• Brainstorming
• Making Timelines
• Scorekeeping
• Presenting in Small Groups. (Jigsaw)
• Vocabulary Games
• Cloud Maps
• etc...etc...etc... 

The Best Teachers are Thieves

Let's face it!!!

The best teachers are thieves. 

The best teachers are those that can take ideas, lessons, methodologies from other teachers, workshops, inservice and incorporate them into their own classroom in such a way that they become their own.

I encourage all of you to become Great Thieves!!!

Visit colleagues

Visit other schools

Go to workshops

Attend conventions

Utilize inservice opportunities

Read journals, books, and blogs

Take in information

Take ideas

Put your own spin on them

Make them your own

Become a GREAT TEACHER!!!

The man who graduates today and stops learning tomorrow, is uneducated the next day.
                                           ~Newton Diehl Baker

Movie Sheet Data Base

Using video and Hollywood movies to introduce a topic, provide a visual refernece for a concept or intiate a discussion can be an effective part of any teacher's methodologies.  There are a myriad of great films and documentaries that can be incorporated into any classroom and all subjects.  The difference between this type of multimedia being viewed as an actual teaching tool as opposed to a simple time filler is how the educator incorporates the material into the lesson and provides opportunity for students to truly think critically about the subject matter.

To often students do not see value in viewing movies because they see them as simply time filler or something that is used when a substitute teacher is in the classroom.  Drawing students into the movie or documentary is the key to being able to utilize this tool effectively in the classroom as a learning tool.  One means of keeping students attention is to provide a viewing sheet to pinpoint students focus on the concepts and ideas that the hopes they will understand.  Movie viewing sheets provide an opportunity for both the student and the teacher to focus on the useful material in the film and provide value beyond simply seeing the film. 

There is a tremendous website available that provides viewing sheets for many of the videos, documentaries and Hollywood movies that are being used in classrooms all over the world.  MoviesSheets.com provides a data base of  these teacher developed viewing sheets, organized by subject matter, film name and grade level.  The sheets are available in multiple formats and easy to download and print.

I find anything that saves me time and makes it so I don't have to reinvent the wheel for everything I do, is of tremendous value.  Afterall, most good teachers are lesson thieves, they take ideas from other teachers, tweak it to fit their classroom and style, and make them their own.