First . . . here’s the link to what I think is a really cool video, “Hey Science Teachers — Make it FUN!”:
New teacher, Tyler DeWitt, uses a great narrative style to describe how he finally got his high school Biology class to the unit on Virology (his favorite Bio subject and mine, too!) and was so looking forward to discussing this topic with his students. The kids were unable to get anything from the reading — even his “best student” looked him in the eye and said, “The reading sucked!” So Tyler was able to think quickly and put together some last-minute props so the students would be able to relate to the size differentials between bacteria and viruses, as well as how they interact (yes, they do — to the detriment of bacteria!). His presentation is in this video and it’s really great to watch — I’ve taken away several ideas on how to make science more accessible to my students. And students who aren’t bored or lost or frustrated don’t pose a challenge to classroom management — it’s a win-win for everybody! Plus, when a little bit of fun is interjected, it makes us more real, more human to our students, thereby fostering trust.
Next up . . . blog:
https://cheneylearwood.blogspot.com/
Welcome to Mrs. Cheney’s 8th grade science class! I truly appreciate Erin Cheney’s goals for this class, which she states: . . . is to inspire my students to expand their understanding of the world, challenge their assumptions, and discover their passion.
Who can argue with that? I really enjoy Erin’s 8th grade science blog. Right now the class is working on a unit in Earth Science, so the blog page has some beautiful graphics focused on the earth. In addition to listing learning goals by week, resources for the unit the class is working on, and providing both students AND their parents with a means for keeping current with homework, Erin also posts field trip plans on her blog and ties them into the unit the students study in class. Check it out — I learned a lot from this blog: I plan on having a similar blog in place for my class as it keeps parents informed, kids on track, makes learning engaging and fun and contributes immeasurably to effective classroom management.
And last but not least . . . the website:
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/classroom-management-tips-novice-teachers-rebecca-alber
I found this little gem, “Five Quick Classroom Management Tips For Novice Teachers” on Edutopia and appreciate its practical approach. Even better, it speaks directly to body language, gestures, cues, voice modulation, addressing behaviors when they occur . . . a nice compendium of what we covered in Building Student-Teacher Relationships and with a couple of additional nice hints as well.
Enjoy!
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