Author: Admin

Changes

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I am on my third, and final week, of Winter Break. Yes, I get 3 weeks off. I LOVE it! The time off has given me time to regroup, recharge, and realign my focus.

giphySo… Next week when I am back with my students I am ready to go! No, really I am. I have some exciting lessons, well, I think they’re exciting. And there are some big changes. One of the biggest changes coming up is that I will go back to teaching all the subjects. For the last year and a half, my partner teacher and I have done a partnership with our classes. However, due to forces outside our control this year, it just wasn’t working. Another change is my attitude towards classroom decorating. In the past, I have been lazy. I have had no desire to create that ‘cutesy’ type classroom. I filed it under, ‘just not my style’. What I really should have been saying is, ‘Ugh, that takes so much energy’. Apparently, I have found said energy. I plan to ‘cutesify’ my room. It will begin with a stool painting project. I then plan to paint other furniture in the room AND attempt to do something with the 1980’s metal blinds. Yup, my next few months of Genius Hour are packed!

Then there is the curriculum. There are some exciting learning opportunities happening there too. One such project will be A Tale Unfolds. Students will read, write, produce, video, and star in their own movie. This will start in a few weeks. I’ll keep you posted on this activity. Before that, we need to edit our NaNoWriMo Stories. My hope is to publish an anthology of their stories. I mean, how cool is it that they will be published authors at the age of 11?

So in short, I’m super excited to see what the rest of our year has in store for us! THIS has been an amazing break.

Google Sites: Add/Edit Sidebar Countdown

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On my classroom website, I like to have a countdown for events. These might include Days until:

  • Conferences
  • Minimum days
  • Vacations
  • Breakout EDU sessions

Other ideas include:

  • End of semester
  • Days until a project is due
  • Meetings

Doing this is easy! Log into your site. Locate the ‘Gear’ and navigate to ‘Edit Site Layout’.

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Once this option is selected, the top bar should show that you can now edit the Site layout. Next, locate ‘Sidebar’ and select the ‘+’ to insert a countdown.

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This will then bring up a pop-out window. There will be several options to choose from such as Navigation, Text, and Countdown. Once you select Countdown, you will be able to configure your countdown. Name your event and set the date. When finished select ‘Ok’.

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Now in the upper right corner, select ‘Close’ before exiting.

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Once your Countdown has expired, setting the next one requires you to ‘Edit Site Layout’. Simply navigate towards the ‘Gear’, go down to ‘Edit Site Layout’, locate your expired Countdown, and hover your mouse. Notice the tag ‘Edit sidebar item’.

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This will bring up the ‘Configure Countdown’ window. Identify your next Event and Event Date, select ‘ok’, then ‘Close’.

Happy counting!

Lesson Plans & Google Calendar

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I know this is not revolutionary, but while reflecting this break, I thought I’d try out using Google Calendar as a lesson planner. There are a few reasons why I chose to do so.

  • I’m terrible with lesson plans. I keep them in my head. Then when I need to share what I’m doing, I have to remember then write it all down.
  • This will help me stay on task and organized.
  • It’s really not that hard to set up.
  • Since it’s in a calendar, I can easily see what weeks are short, which days are minimum, and so on.
  • Since it’s in Google Calendar, I can easily share the calendar or event(s) with various people.
    • Now the Resource (Special Ed) teacher doesn’t have to hound me about what I’m doing. Bless her for putting up with my ‘organization’.
    • I can easily share, therefore making collaboration that much easier.
    • My partner teacher can add details and we can have a cohesive program.
    • If I’m out and forget to leave lesson plans, anyone with access can quickly see what I’m doing. Still debating if I should make it open or restrict it to people who could help in a situation like that.

So here’s what I did. First, I created a new calendar  and named it ‘Lessons’. Then I created an event for each section of my day and made sure it was created in the ‘Lessons’ calendar.

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Remembering to make sure each event was repeated 5 days a week until the end of the school year.

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Now you can share your ‘Event’ with someone. Select ‘Save’ to save the event.

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And this is what my January looks like:

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To add details to a subject/day, simply click the subject on the desired day and select ‘edit event’. Then add the details. So Monday, January 11 I will do the following in Math:

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One Word 2016

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My one word for 2016 is…

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I think my favorite definition of POSSIBILITIES is:

A thing that may be chosen or done out of several possible alternatives.

Every day several possibilities lie before us and we get to CHOOSE which ones we want! This is exciting (which was almost my #oneword). To me, this word is hopeful (another almost #oneword), inspiring, positive, and powerful.

I’m so excited about the possibilities before me – both known and unknown. And one possibility that I grabbed already was getting back into #youredustory – thank you, Jo-Ann Fox, for the inspiration!

I’ve Fallen Down the PBS Rabbit Hole

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Okay, specifically PBS LearningMedia California. I wrote about how excited I was that I could share directly from PBS LearningMedia to Google Classroom, but I seriously underestimated the awesomeness of this resource. There is so much, I will most definitely be writing more about how I’m using it.

First of all, sign up for it. No really, go now and do it! Now that you’ve signed up let me share some of its power.

  • I can search by standard (National or Common Core), subject/grade, or do a search using keyword(s).

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  • Since I know I will be dealing with fractions when I return from Winter Break, I’ll browse by Standard. Once I choose ‘Browse’, all the standards that deal with fractions appear below. Find the specific standard and click on it.

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  • This now takes me to all the resources – all 31 – that match the specific standard. I know, AMAZING! But wait, there’s more. I can further modify my search. On the left side, there are options for Subject, Resource Type, and Language to name a few.

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  • When I choose a Resource to view, I am taken to a new page. Here I can view the resource, information, support material(s) (if applicable), and other standards the resource covers.

There are so many other ways to use this site. I can ‘favorite’ resources, organize using folders, assign, share, build lessons, and create quizzes. Okay, back in the rabbit hole I go!

Social Studies Poetry Slam

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Earlier this month I wrote about setting my students up for success. We were studying Cortes and Montezuma. The idea was to give students the information so that they could synthesize, analyze, and collaboratively create a writing to be performed in a poetry slam style. Many of the students turned the assignment into a rap – which is fine with me. The idea, after all, was to understand the information. The outcome…Success! Here’s one example – viewpoint: Montezuma

Google Classroom: Calendar Notifications

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The integration of Google Calendar with Google Classroom has been helpful. Many schools require students to have a Planner [book]. This allows students to write assignments due dates, project deadlines, and tests. Google now assigns a Calendar with each Classroom you create. Then when you create an Assignment or Question, it automatically creates an event in the Calendar. However by default, there are no notifications reminding students of the Assignment or Question deadline. That can easily be changed. And by doing so, helping to create a digital Student Planner!

Navigate to your Google Calendar or Google Classroom – About Page.

The left side lists all the Calendars. Each Classroom has it’s own. By hovering over the Classroom Calendar, a small down arrow appears. Choose it to set the properties. Choose Edit notifications.

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This will send you to a new page. There are a few options on this page. Event notifications is the first choice. This allows you to send emails or pop-up notifications to all attendees (students). You can send several if you choose. Say an Assignment is due on Friday, you may want to send a notification to students 3 days before it’s due AND the day before.

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You can add as many Notifications as necessary. When you are done, remember to Save.

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Make It Ourselves!

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We have been working on division with and without decimals. To help my students gain experience with the computation, I found a game (Four in a Row) in Georgia Math. They enjoy the game, but you always have those few who get board because it’s too easy. And yes, I had some of those. However, these 3 boys didn’t complain. Instead, they asked if they could make their own.

 

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Credit: J-Jey, Julian, and Adan

The boys chose the numbers and did the division to fill in the boxes with the quotient. This week, the rest of the class was able to enjoy the fruits of their labor. It was a hit.

Now, this same group has decided to recreate another game. It was a multiplication board game, also found in Georgia Math. They are pretty excited.

Why was this so important? First of all, we talk about differentiation but aren’t alway great at it. This allowed my more proficient students to be challenged yet work on the same goals as the rest of the class. Secondly, and more importantly, my students took control over their learning and thought of a way to challenge themselves. What a powerful lesson for all.

 

Google Docs: Colored Background

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Recently I was giving a presentation using Google Classroom. As a part of the experience, I have participants experience it from the student perspective. One of the assignments had a colored background and caught the attention of a participant. Let’s face it, white backgrounds can be VERY boring!

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Changing the background color is super easy. In your Document, navigate to ‘File’ then ‘Page Setup’. A pop-out window appears. Choose ‘Page Color’. This will prompt color choices to appear. You can choose one of those or insert the color code of your choice using ‘Custom’.

Once you find a background color you like, press ‘OK’. To set as background, select ‘OK’ on the Page Setup window in the lower left corner.

You’re all set!

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Google Classroom: Invite A Teacher

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Working with our school’s RSP (Resource Specialist Provider) teacher has been great. She is an exceptional teacher who continues to help all her students. As a teacher who constantly uses Google Classroom and the Google suite of apps, I find it even easier to collaborate and work towards the same goal for my students with IEPs. Google Classroom allows me to share each classroom with other teachers. These co-teachers have the same abilities as I do within Classroom, with the exception of deleting the class.

Why would I want to share my class with another teacher? As a 5th grade teacher, some of my students receive extra services. By inviting the RSP teacher, we can better accommodate students’ needs. For example, my students are working on a collaborative project in Social Studies – Poetry Slam about Cortes and Montezuma. By allowing the RSP Teacher access, she can work, and review, her students’ writing and make modifications as needed because she has access to all the students’ work. In addition, there is never any question as to what we are doing in class. Thus, making her job that much easier. Each time a new assignment or announcement is posted, the RSP teacher receives an email. When a student submits a private comment to the teacher, we both receive it. The more teachers supporting our students the better!

To share your class with another teacher, log into Google Classroom. Navigate to the desired classroom you wish to share. Then, go to the ‘About’ page of that class. On the left side of the screen, there is an ‘Invite Teacher’ button.

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A pop-out window appears next. You can now look up the desired teacher within your domain.

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The final step is to ‘Invite’ the teacher. They will then receive an email notifying them that they have been invited to be a teacher for your class.

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Once they accept, their information will appear at the top of the classroom and on the side in the ‘About’ page.

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