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My humorous thoughts about life.

"My Humorous and Helpful Thoughts About Teaching / Educational Resources for Your Classroom / Music and Random Fun"
Showing posts with label #teachers #teacherspayteachers #education #iteach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #teachers #teacherspayteachers #education #iteach. Show all posts

Monday, March 23, 2020

Are you Stuck at Home?

COVID-19

This month, I've been blogging about classroom community, but ironically, many of you are not in the classroom due to concerns over the Coronavirus. Some used to say it was overhyped, but not anymore, do they? How else does the world stop the spread of a pandemic if not for social distancing? I believe the entire country needs to shut down, NOW, before this runs rampart in the midwest and other lightly hit areas. On another note, my husband and at least one of my kids is upset with me for giving two ghost tours, over a week ago, before our little adventure shut down for the month. My daughter reminded me that I'm over 55 years of age; however, I've been in great control of my Diabetes, recently by dropping almost twenty pounds and keeping my sugars at ideal levels.

Hand Washing

I thought I knew all about this topic as I sang "Got a fever of 103˚" in my head while washing, but there is a lot that I just learned. I never washed around my thumbs or between the fingers. This is really important, too. If you scrub every area of your hands front and back, it really does take a good twenty seconds. I had just been scrubbing the palms repeatedly rather than the entire area.

Health

One of my favorite things to do at home is to turn on YouTube and dance to Zumba tunes. I'll post my favorite Zumba dances in my Musical Monday Moves Me post, so you can join in. I'm also trying to eat healthy, via Noom. My 19 pound weight loss is due to enrolling in this program and becoming more focused on how I'm eating. My mind has been more at the table as I enjoy each bite and am better able to cue in to signs telling me that I'm full. If you want to join, I'll drop my referral code that gives you a free trial and 20% off. I think I get an Amazon card from it but am not sure.  Join Noom Here.


What to Do with Your Class


If you teach high school, you should take a look at this: High School Reading Passages Bundle. Find SIX highly engaging reading passages with questions to keep your kids learning!



If you're wondering what to do with your class while out on break, I have an idea. I wrote a book called, MRS. ZIMMERMAN'S DONUTS, which is a middle grade novel about bullying. You may purchase or read about it here.

#teacherspayteachers #TpT #iteachLA

I would love for you to read my book, and if you think it would be good for your kids, I'm working on a book study to go along with it! By buying the book study, that will contain the book, you will have permission to send it to your class. That's a phenomenal deal for a class set! If you are like me, you read books before assigning them. If you want to get just the book to do that, you can. If you decide to buy the study, TpT will refund you the cost of the book if you ask. 

Monday Music Moves Me

As promised, here are some of my favorite Zumba dances that I do from the comfort of my bedroom while in my pajamas. The dogs watch but tend to fall asleep rather than join me. 

First up, I love A. Sulu and dance to a lot of his tunes. He always seems to get me to sweat, too. Here he is dancing to Marvin Gaye.




I also love this one! I especially like the smiling lady to the left of the lead dancer. She looks like she's having a blast and as a result motivates me!


With this post, I could go on and on, since I dance to multiple songs on any given day, but I will stop with Mambo Number 5. I've danced to a couple of versions to Lou Bega's song, but this is my favorite! I also think of my sweet Erica who is by my side.


Sunday, January 26, 2020

The Middle of the Observation Lesson

The Observation Continues


If you missed the post on the beginning of the evaluation lesson, you can find it here: Starting Your Observation Lesson

Now, that we've looked at the start of our observation lesson, let's get to the meat of the matter, the actual teaching. Standard Release Teaching, TIMS, TEM, or Whatever - The name is constantly changing but the basic concept doesn't.


Ideally:
  • You must model what you are teaching. Call it "I do" or just say to the kids, "Watch this!" You may need to show them what to do once, twice, or even thrice depending upon your students.

Picture of a male model for teachers to model their lessons for kids.
This may not be the type of modeling I'm 
talking about, but I bet he got your attention.

  • Do the lesson with the whole group while having the kids help by talking you through it. Ask questions, such as, "What should I do next?"
  • I find this to be a good place to check for understanding and remind the kids of what they are learning . . . or better, yet, ask them to tell you. This can be something as basic as a thumbs up or fist or five. If the students are lost, they hold up a fist. If they understand the lesson well, five fingers indicates this. They could hold up 1, 2, 3, or 4 fingers, dependent on their level of understanding; however, be careful. I've had kids watch their classmates for what to hold up. Some kids might be embarrassed to publicly admit that they do not understand the lesson. For this reason, you may want the kids to shut their eyes.

The FB like symbol for teachers to check for understanding while teaching

  • The third main step of the lesson is to have kids work with a classmate to complete the skill. Pairing could be with the next door neighbor or placing a partner who understands with someone who is lost. Administrators love this peer interaction, so be sure to include it.

Tune in next week to read about closing the lesson.

Also, if you haven't entered the teacher giveaway, today (Sunday) is the last day so head on over to the rafflecopter! Good luck!

If you need more details, click here: About the Giveaways



PreK -K: 
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1-2:

 http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/54bb8f9824/
3-5:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/bbc5a9636/
Middle School: 

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/bbc5a9637/



Musical Monday Moves Me:

Did you like the male model above? If so, here is some more eye candy to the tune of Call Me Maybe. These hot hunks make the lyrics relevant! Hey, I may be married, but I'm not dead.


Since we discussed that students need to understand, here is a song by Shawn Mendes, Understand.