Like the song which echoes the phrase, ‘Finnegan Begin Again’, education begins again every day. I’m constantly in learning mode! As my website morphs into its new, broader existence, I want to reach out to more friends and supporters of education. That’s you. Every Tuesday, my education blog day, I’ll be turning back to update my earlier blogs… Read More »
Eye on Education posted a great article online* about maximizing lesson plans. Here are their suggestions for introducing lessons. 1. Create a novel approach to grab students attention. 2. Keep the lesson relevant to your students’ lives. 3. Use verbal AND written instructions to accommodate varied ways students take in information. 4. Model your thinking… Read More »
Students in groups need ‘clues’ about the expectations while they are in groups. No one likes to surge ahead blindly. So, what do group leaders need to share? Outline your expectations and judge your time constraints. It’s a challenge to make everything fit. Check out this example for a 35 minute group beginning a new… Read More »
It is important for students to know their own learning style needs. Even after you give students a learning style assessment, it is important for them to take responsibility for adjusting their habits so they can achieve greater success. I know my style and my tendencies. Can you find yours in this brief look? The… Read More »
On Sunday I had the opportunity to do an informal presentation to a group of GED instructors. It was heartening to be able to give them a couple of new tools and to encourage them to use higher level thinking skills even more than they currently do. Since education is a village effort, I appreciated… Read More »
As the CCSS become the basis for a stronger educational base, we need to incorporate skills across the space between school and home. One way to encourage more rigor is to use common reading materials such as magazines and newspapers. Most families have access to these materials or can gain access easily through subscription, library resources or… Read More »
The more I work in classrooms, the more I see how much teachers appreciate my time. The truest test is the moment I see the teacher. Invariably I am met with a smile and “I’m so glad you are here.” Whether the classroom has 20 or 30 students, teachers always find tasks I can assist… Read More »
School breaks offer a great chance to engage in family activities. Whether those activities are home baking, sharing books or movies, or visiting local sites or relatives, they give families a chance to spend quality time together around the adults work schedules. In winter those breaks might include special activities such as playing in the… Read More »
Details can sometimes foul up plans by the fact that we become so overwhelmed by what we are doing that we lose sight of our objective. Guilty. I decided to scan my blogs and found that in my hurry to share ideas, I created drafts instead of posts for over half of my weekly Word… Read More »
With all the news of educations trials and tribulations, the ‘thank you’ part is often overlooked: Thank you to teachers who spend their free time working for and thinking about school, students and what more can be done to make education more interesting and relevant. Thank you to classroom assistants and volunteers for their hours spent… Read More »