Model Schools 2017-(3/3) How my Career was Strengthened (Ideas you can use!)

Getting Stronger Everyday!

For those of you who are unfamiliar, the breakout sessions at Model Schools are delineated in many ways, but I found the "How-to's" to be the most informative.

In today's post, I plan to share some of the ideas I use and some of the many cool ideas with which I came away. This is a small sampling of ideas that I have broken up into three categories. Please comment with unique ideas that you use, I am definitely interested!

Building Culture-I market many of these as Life Skills with my students, others are just ways to build community and culture.

• Shock an Adult Shake a Hand- Teach your students how to shake a hand- right hand, eye contact, squeeze! Shake your students' hands as they arrive and force them to follow all of the steps. I was pleased when the parent of a former student...who is now graduating college...said that she felt confident going into interviews partly because she knew how to shake hands.
• Giving and Receiving- If someone hands you something with two hands, then receive it with two hands. If you are handed something with one hand, receive it with one (unless it's heavy or fragile!). This is something that I learned in Martial Arts, it's slight, but it shows attention and respect of the situation.
• Don't be that Guy/Gal- Put others before yourself, don't be that guy/gal who is only thinks of him or herself. Always think about how you can serve others or make their day. Yes, this needs to be taught.
• Birthdays- Use Social Media to your advantage. Take a birthday picture of the birthday boy/girl. Post it on your classroom's Twitter/Facebook/Instagram account.  It seems small, but...think about the parents sharing the tweet/post. They're marketing your brand. What an easy way to build culture.
• E.T. Phone Home- Challenge yourself (and your principal!) to make positive contact home on a regular basis, even one a week. And, in my opinion, these calls/notes should not be about grades! Call about soft skills- perseverance, sense of humor, kindness, etc.
• Publish the Good- Let the world know all the good that is taking place in your class. Use social media to your advantage to broaden your circle, and inevitably you will have a created a community that will want to back you up and assist you.
• I'm Thankful For You- Along the lines of E.T. Phone Home, create videos of teachers telling students why they are thankful for them. So often it's the other way around, but think about your students and why you are so happy that they are in your class. Have someone videotape them. Post on social media, create a montage for Open House, but share the good with others!!

Ideas for Lessons

• Ways to Sort Students- Each following allows for a double sort.
• Playing cards- Sort by number or and then by suit
• Colored note-card with sticker- Sort by note-card and then by sticker
• Hand clappers- Sort by outside color and by inside color
• Prior Knowledge- Create 3-4 Quadrant A/C questions. Allow students a short amount of time to answer. When time is up they have to stop mid-word and rotate. They can add to what was left or start new. After everyone has had a turn, have students read the page they started with, and write a short summary answer. Everyone's input must be included in the summary. Have groups share summaries within their groups. Teacher should observe summaries and determine accuracy. Have one person from each question share just so others with the question can fact check. Teacher should have slides/information ready with correct information, but only use it if necessary.
• Stand-Hand-Share- When it's time to share, students stand up and make eye contact with someone. Go and high five your partner, and share answers. Repeat with multiple shares on the same question or with a list of questions.
• (A twist on) Socratic Seminar- A smallish group of students circle up to have a discussion. The remaining students stand around the outside and observe and take notes. They can also score the students on the inside using a rubric, but the outside circle must be engaged! When organizing who will be on the inside, use homogeneously leveled groups. This will force your reluctant learners or lower level students to participate. Also, have them go first. Additionally, higher level students will be able to challenge each other.

Meeting Everyone's Needs

• Johnny and Joan will NOT participate!- Some students need external motivation to entice them in the beginning. Be sure to differentiate between what they like, and for what it is they will work!
• Motivators- Restrict them, so that they stay special! And...monitor and change them as needed.
•  Be a Woman/Man of your Word- When you suggest that something will be awesome, it really needs to be awesome, don't use words trivially otherwise your students won't trust what you say. For me this holds true for compliments too. I try not to over-compliment. Yeah! You put your your name on your paper. Nope, that's not me. 
• Technology- There is a great range of what kids know how to do and what they don't. Many don't know how to Google effectively. Teach them, or find your classroom experts. Either way, don't assume that kids know even the basics. While you might be wanting them to log into Google Classroom, they might be thinking, "Where's the power button on this thing anyway?"
• Virtual Reality- Many kids are not able to travel and experience the world. Use VR to your advantage. VR kits are mega-expensive, but Google Cardboards are relatively inexpensive. Right now I am working to have old phones donated to my classroom, so that I can run VR off of wi-fi. Also, many VR programs can be run on iPads (which I may need to borrow from kindergarten). In this case, I vote for scraping it together.

Good leaders prepare others to cross the finish line by themselves. - Chip Medders Troup High School- GA