This is the culminating activity of The Grid. It takes place over two to three days so students have the chance to work with other students than their BFF or the randomly assigned partner their evil teacher (me) stuck them with. As with every activity I run, I have the class agenda written out on a […]
Read more "The Grid Part IV: Build the World"In my last post I talked about how to introduce students with a team building game that exposes them to the overall shape and function of the grid. Students are exposed to vocabulary listed on index cards with terms such as: latitude, longitude, hemisphere, equator, coordinate, Cardinal Direction, et al. On day two my goals […]
Read more "The Grid Part III: Relative and Absolute Location"When I first wrote up my latitude and longitude activity for this blog, I thought it might be helpful to a few geography teachers and that was about it. I never expected that the post would become an example of modern teaching in practice. Never did I imagine that teachers would be asking me to post […]
Read more "The Grid Part II: The First Activity"Reflecting on reflections I know what you’re going to say. “Well, duh! Of course they should!”, you might snipe sarcastically in my direction. I would agree with you wholeheartedly, too. The one and only #mschat tackled the role, place and need for reflecting in teaching. It’s a subject near and dear to my heart and […]
Read more "Should teachers reflect on their practice?"The Undead Writing Edition. I went to a Zombies vs. Humans nerf battle back in October. I’m not proud of it…well, actually it was pretty darn amazing. It was my first one in truth and probably not my last. While alone in the woods contemplating my next move as one of the last surviving humans, […]
Read more "How to avoid writing like a zombie!"@nalang1 “The teacher should be the coach, model, supporter, encourager, expectation setter, and cheerleader.” When you start thinking about the way in which teachers are operating in the classroom these days, a number of interesting words seem to come up in the conversation. Teachers who are connected educators now see themselves more as facilitators, coaches, […]
Read more "What is the main role of a teacher in a PBL classroom?"Back in the swing of all things PBL. Feeling good after yesterday’s post so I’m writing on a sunday night to keep the creative juices flowing. The more I write, the more I’m convinced that students should have a blog portfolio as part of their graduation requirements. Starting in first grade and then following them […]
Read more "What needs to be modeled for students to begin a #PBL lesson?"The second question to #mschat this week had to do with essential elements of #PBL (project based learning for those of you keeping score at home). What does that mean? Well, the phase ‘essential elements’ to me simply means that any and all PBL classrooms should operate under a specific set of conditions and norms…I’m […]
Read more "What are the essential elements of #PBL?"After a wedding weekend/boys weekend away I find myself desperately wanting to write. I’ve been doing these blog posts in earnest since the beginning of November and have come to appreciate just how much they mean to me, both intellectually and emotionally. I have this self-realization when writing that I’m doing something worthwhile about my […]
Read more "What makes PBL different from doing projects?"Fun Friday Blog post time. Happy Friday everyone! This is question comes from #mschat moderator @blocht574 who caught me a little off guard with this one. I was expecting a slightly more serious question but I have to say I was delighted to see some of the responses from participants. It really does seem that […]
Read more "What song best describes your energy or re-energizes you when you need it?"
peter spiegel 