Favorites for back-to-school

It's that time of year again.  And for the record, that was an incredible summer.

Colorado (and North Carolina), I adore you.  I mean really.  Look at that scenery below.

I am refueled and ready to meet my new college students.  I have some fun keynotes to deliver over the next few weeks, too, plus I need to get my trip to Portland squared away.  In the meantime, these are my very favorite back-to-school activities and resources:

• Professor KP's textbook gems.  How awesome are those?
• I love easy tech tools. Recite this helps make quotes more engaging.
• My all time favorite tech tool, though, is still PicMonkey.  I used it to make the graphic above. (Tip:  If you follow PicMonkey on Instagram, you can see their cool effects in action)
• If you need new classroom props, I would purchase anything from the "other" Jennifer.  I still have a crush on her miniature metaphor kit.
• Speaking of props, have you bought Sue's Curiosity Cards?  She's been using them all over North America with her newest endeavor, 1Conversation.
• And, if you are like me and have cobwebs growing on your dreams, hire Sue!  She's doing a 100 conversations in 100 days challenge.  Which means, you literally pay her what you think the session is worth.  Contact her here (and remember, all the coaching is done by phone which makes it soooo easy to do).  You don't have to drive anywhere.

Off I go - Happy semester!

Jen

Favorite Start of the Semester Posts

If you are like me and are about to start a new semester, consider trying these favorite ideas.....

• This is my all-time favorite metaphor to use with students - Captain, Crew & Cargo.
• I love using Newsmap as students are entering the classroom.  Students are totally engaged in reading the headlines and those colors?!  Ahhhh.....
• Do you greet your students at the front door?  This study shows you really should.
• Dr. Gambone's Post-it Note activity is divine and so easy since we, educators, usually have Post-it Notes on hand.
• I actually teach my college students this communication strategy.  Do you think your students could benefit from it?
• You know I am completely obsessed with paint swatches.  This is literally the #1 reason why people find Upcycled Education.  Go see for yourself:  Paint Swatch Activities {for the classroom}.
• Feeling crafty and have an old textbook to spare?  This is the #2 reason why people find Upcycled Education - try Professor KP's Textbook Gems or Quotes.

Have a fantastic semester!  Professor AB, that mustache is for you!

My best,

Jen

Back-to-School: Do These Now!

Not that I'm trying to be pushy, but really.  Do. These. Now.  They are all appropriate for back-to-school.  They are all really easy to execute.

Trust me.

ROCK Rules - You need classroom rules after all.  You might as well make them cool and to-the-point.  Thanks again, Kim!

Textbook Quotes - Students love this activity.  Plus, this is one of the most sought after posts on Upcycled Education.  Who knew textbooks could be so sexy?

Textbook Gems - Speaking of textbooks, why not crack out your Mod Podge and make some textbook gems, yes?

SSLANT - Raise your hand if your students could hone their communication skills.  See, you need this one.

Captain, Crew, and Cargo - I use this metaphor with my students.  It works if you want participation and volunteerism.

Go get 'em and Happy Back-to-School,

Jen

Textbook Quote Activity - Guest Blogger/Guest Upcyclist Series

Please welcome back, guest blogger/guest Upcyclist, Professor KP.  You might remember her from her Duck Pond post here.

Take it away, Professor KP....

Here is an idea I stole modified from your blog post, The Other Jen. The Other Jen had a post explaining how she uses quotes as a warm-up activity for a group.

Good idea I thought.

To make it work for my purposes, I took quotes from the upcoming chapters in our textbook.  I tried to choose quotes that were interesting, open-ended or just good conversation starters. I also included the page number in case students wanted to go back and reference the actual quote.

I printed the quotes on card stock, cut them into strips, and spread them out on a table.  Students were told to choose a quote that was interesting to them and share with a partner. As a whole class, we then shared quotes, too.

We had lots of interesting conversation.

The real treat, however, was the activity ended up generating motivation for the chapters students were assigned  to read for the upcoming week.  In education lingo we call that “Setting a purpose for reading."  Yes, a purpose was established and students' interest was peeked!

Professor KP, I love this idea!  I might need to make a quote collection for my upcoming Educational Psychology students.  Our new class begins in two weeks.

Thank you so much,

Jen

Duck pond activity

I am fortunate.  I am surrounded by talented colleagues at my college.  Case in point, Professor KP.  I've been begging her - literally - to guest post on Upcycled Education as she has been an avid reader of our sweet blog since the inception.  Finally, eight months later, my begging has paid off.

Please welcome, a lovely, bright and creative colleague/educator, Prof. KP....

Hi Jen, loving Upcycled Education, as always. I wanted to share a spin off on one of your ideas.

Don’t we as teachers love to borrow ideas and make them our own? Anyway, having my own little helper at home, we tried your Mod Podge activity. We made the wooden cutouts with the reflection questions on back and I brought them to class one day. When they were spread out on the desk and students were looking them over and picking one, it suddenly reminded me of the duck pond game at carnivals. You remember that game where the kids pick a duck floating in the water and get a prize according to what is marked on the bottom? So I went home and Goggled images of the “Duck Pond Game," printed those out, put the questions on the back, laminated and cut them out. They turned out like the ones pictured above.

I took them to class and they were a big hit. One of my students suggested that wouldn’t it be fun to use the actual plastic ducks and float them in the water (we happen to have a sink in that classroom which would make this easy).  A quick search on Amazon shows them available for $0.59 apiece.

I do think having the plastic ducks would be fun, though I haven’t quite figured how to get waterproof questions on the bottom (probably a Sharpie marker).  While it is not quite my style, that just may float someone else’s boat (like the pun?). Would love to hear how that goes if a fellow teacher out there wants to give it a try. Happy educating ~KP

PS. Just like in the game, one of the ducks is a “winner”.  It is a “free pass” that says you do not need to answer a question today, just sit back and enjoy the responses of your classmates. 

Thanks so much, Prof. KP.  This does float my boat.  Ha!

Jen

M & M's Madness with guest blogger, Dr. Gambone

Join me in welcoming Upcycled Education’s new monthly guest blogger, a good friend and colleague, Dr. Gambone.  Yay, Dr. G!  Dr. G's specialities are critical thinking and student engagement.  For any college student or workshop attendee who has had the pleasure of being in one of Dr. G's classes or trainings, let’s just say, Dr. G’s style of teaching is a tremendous treat.  As Dr. G believes, “Anyone can know content, but having the tools to teach that content and make it meaningful & engaging is another story.” 

Take it away, Dr. G……

You can imagine my delight when Jen asked me to guest blog (about once a month) on Upcycled Education and share some old - and new - engaging strategies for your classroom (or future classroom).  Ready to begin?

Since it is the beginning of a new semester for most educators, let’s start with an oldie, but goodie (literally)…M & M's madness!

Let’s face it, humans love treats! If you work in a school that is “sugar/candy free” (or you dislike food in the classroom like Jen does) then you might use colored tiles (or paint swatches!) or something else like stickers, dice, playing cards, etc. On the first day, have students choose any two different colored M & M’s (or Starbursts, Skittles, etc.).  Once students have chosen their two different colored M & M’s, have question prompts ready for each color. Here are sample questions I like to use:

• Red:  What is the most unique thing about you?
• Blue:  What is the most adventurous thing you did this summer?
• Green:  Why are you taking this course?
• Brown:  What are you most excited to learn this semester?
• Yellow:  What will be your biggest challenge this semester?
• Orange:  What do you like most about this school?  Grade?  Subject area?

Next, have students share their responses to the questions with either the whole class or more likely in small groups (depending on size).  To bring closure to the activity, have the whole class discuss what “this group” brings to the table as a collective whole.

Why this tried and true (and tasty) activity?  It consistently engages many different age groups, allows students a structured opportunity to share something about themselves, and aids in building a classroom community chock full of connections with others.  Another bonus: For busy educators, the prep time for this activity is minimal.

Thank you, Dr. G, for planting the M & M's seed.  Come back, fabulous blog reader, in a few weeks for another activity from our new monthly, guest blogger, Dr. G.

I’m off to raid my pantry.  There's got to be some M & M's or Starbursts in there.  If not, you know I have paint swatches.  Remember this post?

Best,

Jen

Greeting students

Sometimes the best teaching strategies are the ones that take little effort.  Case in point, greetings students individually as they arrive to class.  Sounds simple enough, no?  You say, "Hello, Jane." and a positive statement or question such as, "It's great to see you today."  Or, you say "Hello, John. How was your track meet?"  Minimal effort, big payoff.

Don't believe me?  Read this study by R. Allday and K. Pakurar.  Greetings students individually increased students' on-task behaviors.  Another study by S. Patterson confirmed similar results (sorry, a free full-text article isn't available for this one on the web; check the e-databases at your school for the full-text article using this abstract).

Bottom line:  Greet students personably as they enter the classroom and see the difference in their on-task behavior.

Just wondering....Do you think this would work at my house?  How about at the gym?

Whole Foods?

Try it the first week of school - and all the other weeks thereafter.....

Jen

HALTED

Update: Here's another post to support this...the Feelings Wheel.

This one is seriously one of my favorite strategies to teach students of all ages (and adults).  It is a way to describe your emotional state when you are feeling less-than-perfect.  Since I am an adult, I use HALTED to dissect how I am feeling.  My husband will attest to the fact that I am not myself when I am feeling "H" - hungry.  I know I am not myself when I am feeling "T" - tired.  Since little O is young, I think of HALTED when she is acting out-of-sorts or experiencing a melt-down.  I run through the acronym in my mind to figure out what is driving her behavior and in doing so, I am able to better help her.

Ready to HALT yourself?

Are you feeling....

H - Hungry?
A - Angry?
L - Lonely?
T - Tired?
E - Embarrassed?
D - Disappointed?

Some days I think, HALTED-OS might also be helpful:

O - Overwhelmed?
S - Scared?

I would love to give credit to the student who taught me HALT a decade ago.  Since that time, my college students and I have added the ED and OS parts.

Do you have other tools that help humans express their emotions or at least recognize their emotional state?  Daniel Goleman has said the first part of emotional intelligence is self-awareness. 

With HALTED, we are on our way.

Jen

PS - I think little O might be ready to be formally taught the acronym.  The other morning she woke up incredibly cranky.  For at least five minutes she was giving me a hard time about nothing.  Then, I ran through the acronym in my mind and said, "Are you hungry?"  I didn't even need to get to the other letters because she agreed, she was hungry.  I ran to the kitchen, grabbed a string cheese, she devoured it and was a new person in minutes.  The rest of our morning was enjoyable.

PSS - Here's the link to the Feelings Wheel.

Twitter Exit Ticket

Are you on Twitter?  Are your students' parents and families?  Did you answer yes?  Very techy.  No?  Are you living under a rock?

...OK, that was mean.  But, this is the 21st century.

According to Twitter's blog, 140 million tweets are sent a day which adds up to a billion tweets every eight days.  Yes, I just quoted a billion.  What's everyone talking about?  Life, love, the pursuit of happiness, favorite coffee drinks from Starbucks, what's on the dollar menu, how much snow dumped on Colorado's ski resorts, education, why Trader Joe's is so cool, Pink's new song...wait, did I just say "education?"

Rewind.  Yes, people are tweeting about education.  One of my favorite educational tweets is from Edutopia (George Lucas created this foundation, so you know it is cool).  You can visit (or follow) their tweet here.

Why not tweet in your classroom?  Oh, I know what you are going to say, you don't have enough computers, iTouches or smart phones.  No problem, I made you a tweet exit ticket.  See?  You can go old-school with this download and print it on paper. 

Voila, a paper tweet.  To get yourself a full page of these tweet-a-licious reflection tools, click on the image below.

...I'm kind of sassy today, aren't I?

Tweetles,
Jen

PS - In case you liked yesterday's post on cloud computing and Common Craft, you might also like this video made by Lee and Sachi explaining Twitter.  I am helpful and sassy, yes?

Helping students from poverty

This is Part II of our discussion on poverty from last week.  If you didn't read that initial post, click here.  Today, we will arm ourselves with creativity and ideas from academia to help students from poverty succeed in our classrooms and beyond.


(From Leo Reynold's Flickr stream; Photo taken in Scotland)

Ideas to consider:

Roots and Wings - Help students feel deeply rooted in their communities (families and schools), yet have strong wings to attempt new adventures and opportunities.  The best way to grow strong roots is to embrace the "it takes a village..." philosophy.  When mom, dad, grandma, cousins, aunts, uncles and caregivers are involved in a student's schooling and school, roots naturally become strong.  To help students grow wings, look at enrichment opportunities in your area or in an interest.  For example, if you know a student has an interest in outer space, could you find a mentor in your area (or via email) to buddy-up with your student and share their space expertise with them?  Or could you help a student write an essay to secure a scholarship to "space camp" for the summer?  Roots and wings...foster them both.

Developmental Assets - Remember this post on the Search Institutes's developmental assets?  This is a great way to help students from poverty as it is not about finances, but about other supports to help students.  Remember the more assets a student has, the more likely the student will not engage in risky behaviors.  Consider going back to this original post and printing off the developmental asset sheet for your students' age range as a reminder of which assets should be fostered.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - Since poverty affects the foundation of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, brainstorm ways to help students get their "deficiency" needs met.  For example, if a student is homeless, can you have the address handy for a local homeless shelter and slip it privately to them?  If the student does not have a safe or quiet place to complete homework, could you open up your classroom 2-3 afternoons or early mornings a week for students to use the space as a study hall? 

Read Dr. Ruby Payne's book, A Framework for Understanding Poverty - This book should be mandatory for any educator who works with students from poverty.  A favorite section of mine is Dr. Payne's discussion of "resources" for students.  Of course, the obvious resource for a student from poverty would be money or strong finances, but let's face it, as a teacher, that resource is often times lacking even for us.  Dr. Payne states that being impoverished is not solely about money.  In fact,  in her book she lists seven other resources that can be just as valuable to students.  The top resources for students, in addition to having financial resources, would include:

1. Emotional - Having emotional intelligence and the ability to be resilient when failures or setbacks occur.  I feel a blog post on this topic coming on.....
2. Mental - Basic academic skills like reading, writing and mathematics; necessary for promotion in school and business.
3. Spiritual - Believing in a purpose greater than oneself.  (Very Daniel Pink, this one, isn't it?)
4. Physical - Having adequate physical health and wellness.
5. Support Systems - Knowing that a strong network of family and friends exist and can be supportive.
6. Relationships/Role Models - Having access to nurturing adults who model appropriate behaviors.
7. Knowledge of Hidden Rules - Knowing the unspoken rules of a group.  An example may include writing a thank you note after a person does something nice for you (a very middle-class rule).  My grandmother would be saddened to know I still have not written thank you cards for gifts received over the holidays - four months ago!  As a teacher, you need to explicitly teach the hidden rules to your students from poverty if they do not know them.
8. Financial - Having enough money to purchase goods and services.

According to Dr. Payne, three or fewer resources for a student is problematic.

Mirrors and Windows - Surround students with good people and growth experiences that allow them to see themselves in a clear light (and see others who are just like them), while providing windows to see beyond their immediate situation or neighborhood.  When I taught on the Navajo Nation, I comfortably provided many windows for students to see beyond their lives on the reservation, but since I am not Navajo (read: not a great mirror), I sought alternative ways to provide mirrors.  For example, how can students see themselves in a book character or a time period in history?  Which chemical element is most like them?  If you need help with mirrors, try what I did and connect mirrors to your subject area or content.

I believe this would be a fantastic post to hear from you in the comments section.  What other ideas do you have to help students from poverty?

Best,
Jen

Swotting at education

A year ago, I took my first business class in entrepreneurial studies.  The class title lured me because of these two words: creativity and innovation.  Those seemed useful to me as an educator.  The class was fantastic and my mind stretched.  I couldn't help but think all semester long, "How can educators use these ideas in their classrooms?"

Today is all about "swotting" a lesson.  Or in business jargon, doing a SWOT analysis.  The next time you teach a lesson (which always includes teacher reflection in the lesson cycle, right?) or the next time you are crafting a lesson, consider swotting it.

S

What are the strengths of this lesson?  What worked?  What were the greatest moments within the lesson?  What did students enjoy most?  What did you enjoy most?  How did the lesson meet your learning objectives for the day?

W

What are the weaknesses in this lesson?  What part(s) of the lesson seem less engaging?  Where did the lesson lose steam? 

O

What opportunities are available to improve this lesson?  What other resources could you include?  How can you provide extension activities for students who want to learn more?  How can parents and families get involved?  How can parents and families extend the learning at home?

T

What threatens the lesson?  How will you manage your resources and materials?  Time?  Budget?  Volunteers?  How will your lesson be impacted if  technology is unavailable that day?

Put on your business hats and see what other questions you can develop.  Could you teach students how to SWOT their own work?  Could you use the SWOT analysis with the committees you serve? Please post your ideas in the comments section below. 

Off to write a business plan, I mean, lesson plan.
Jen

PS - Did you enter our giveaway yet?  You have until March 4th, 2011 at midnight EST.  Click on the image below for more details.

Paint swatch activities

I don't know about you, but I am haunted by things that are free. Two of my biggest haunts - FedEx envelopes and paint swatches.  Paint swatches, in particularly, are like sirens calling my name at Home Depot and Lowe's.  I can barely walk by the paint section without caressing a colored swatch and dreaming how (or why?) I need a swatch collection.  Must be genetic, little O loves them, too.

Thankfully, teaching gives me an excuse.  Free swatches + gorgeously inspiring colors + students = An activity.  Here's what I've come up with so far....

Pick a color.....

Convenient way to group students (Thank you, Linda, Nathan and Jordyn)....

Choose a swatch.....

Colorful way to debrief a lesson with exit tickets.....

Pick up some of the multi-color paint swatches.....handy for mini-KWLs.....

And mini-KWLS....

Mickey friends, I bet you have a way to put these to teaching and learning use.....

Fabulous blog reader (or follower), what clever ideas do you have for paint swatches?  Are there free items that haunt you?  As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.  Please use the comments section below (no password required, so comment away - Yippee!).

UPDATE:  Here's another idea how to use paint swatches.

Best,

Jen

T-shirts and T-charts: Long live them both!

My favorite non-teaching book these days is Generation T:  108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt.  If you are into repurposing, or upcycling, using old t-shirts is a fantastic way to honor the art & craft.  Who doesn't have a stack of old tees laying around?   Plus, this blog (and the book) have so many clever ways to transform a tee into something fabulous.  Over the weekend, my nieces and I upcycled some old tees using Nicolay's ideas.  Funky, no, for a fourth grader?   All those 5K t-shirts are getting a new lease on life.

Thinking about old tees reminds me of a teaching strategy that has been around for a while...the T-chart.  It is an efficient strategy as it can be used with a variety of subjects, in a variety of ways AND students can be coached to create t-charts for themselves.  What you say?  Students can create their own t-charts without teacher-direction?!  Indeed.  Long live t-charts and self-directed-learning!  Let's begin.

First, a t-chart looks just like the name suggests, a "t."  Actually, a lowercase "t," to be exact.  You and/or your students fill in the descriptors, criteria, elements, etc. on the top line of the "t."  I used an old classic, "What does partner work look like and sound like?"  You may be smirking, but how many times have you expected your students to work successfully and diligently in pairs or small groups to soon find out they lack the necessary skills to do so effectively.  In comes your handy-dandy t-chart.

Then, either individually, in pairs, small groups or as a whole class fill out the t-chart.  I often times like to start with individual brainstorming first and then move to pairs and larger groups.  That way, each student individually has an opportunity to process their ideas and the t-chart at their own pace - this would be especially true for students with special needs or English language learners.  A finished t-chart might look like this.....

(By the way, the English teacher in me wants to add "s" to Looks like and Sounds like. I will refrain.)
I adore using t-charts to....

• Discuss pros and cons
• Explore what something "Looks like" or "Sounds like."  This would be super in a science lab setting.
• Good and evil in literature, politics, or life!
• Compare and contrast
• Opposites
• Cause and effect - If, then scenarios (This is especially helpful to discuss how a student might handle a situation.  "If Sandy tries to pick on you during lunch, then..."  "If you do not have Internet access at home, then.....)

Are you in love with t-charts yet?  What about t-shirts?

T-bars?  T-birds?  Model Ts?

How do you use t-charts?  What other ideas for t-charts do you have?  Please leave your brilliant comments and ideas below in the comments section (so adequately named). 

Off I go to t-chart the universe and upcycle a tee.   My sweet husband kindly cleaned out his t-shirt drawers last week for me.  Now, my cup runneth over with cycling tees from every road and mountain bike race in our region.

T-otally happy,
Jen