Optical Illusions

My 7th graders made optical illusions this week, we looked at organic vs. geometric lines and warm vs. cool colors.  Everyone really enjoyed this little art activity.  Next time, I might add a value component where the edges are darker and a "light source" is hitting the top of the area to really make it pop!  A few days into the activity I had them switch with someone at their table and do a peer critique.  I made a template that I project on the smart board to facilitate this activity.  It looks like this:

_____________'s Feedback

I see_________________.

I think _________________.

I wonder____________________.

The peer write's their name at the top and then provides feedback based on what they see so far, what they think they can do to improve/finish, and then offer a suggestion for higher level.  I thought it was really interesting to find out that a lot of the students were extremely supportive and encouraging, but also continued to provide feedback even after the activity.  They even asked to work on writing complete sentences in art because they want to be confident when providing feedback to their peers.  WIN - WIN!!!  

YMCA Fall Festival 2013

My school had the honor for the second year in a row to plan, create and "perform" the YMCA Fall Festival here in Lexington.  Last year, our theme was "Mysteries of Ancient Egypt" and we scared the little pants off of some of the kiddos.  Granted, the little ones cried at first, but then they came rushing back through to do it again!  We made a scary haunted room which featured all the mysteries of Ancient Egypt.  It was pretty grand with the set design, costumes, props, etc.  

This year, we wanted it to be a little more kid and activity friendly.  So, we picked the theme "China" and created a room where there were art activities, costumes, coordination activities and a dress up photo booth (which one of our teachers loved!  she wouldn't stop trying on all the clothes!)  love you Mrs. Galla!

Our activities included calligraphy (both stencils and with brushes), zodiac calendars and puppets, tangrams, scrolls, a literacy table with featured books and student designed bookmarks, a Chopsticks Challenge, sky lantern riddles, Panda habitat games, costumes and masks about the 8 Immortals, Feng Shui design, and a photo booth with outfits and props.  I am so thankful to work with such amazing and creative teachers!

Many of our teachers and students "worked" the event..... I say "worked" loosely because it was so much fun!! 

Lots of laughs, lots of pictures and a very good time.  What I love most about times like this is getting to know my students even more.  One instant that will stay with me:  The YMCA provided some pizzas for me and my students while we were setting up the room during the day.  The pizzas were delivered and most of the students sat down and one student started passing out the plates, bottled waters, and offering pizza boxes.  In true Ashley Baker "I must get this done now before I forget" fashion, I grabbed a slice and kept working.  The student said "No, no Mrs. Baker, we are all going to sit as a family and eat."  

What can I say to that!  Other than "Yes, sir, thank you" and I sat, ate and enjoyed my company, my family.  

It's PGP time!!

It's that time again for those in the teaching profession for Professional Growth Plans! 

 I kinda enjoy these self-eval times and reflecting on what I am doing in the classroom and seeing ways I can improve.  This year, our school is a pilot school for the new PGES format.  It's very informative with relevant examples and specific ways to improve.  That was my weekend project, reading through the PGES and putting it into my own words for understanding.  I know, this takes up a TON of time, but let me tell you, it was worth it!  I feel confident in the material and creating my PGP on 2 topics/areas for growth was pretty easy.  

PGP Topic #1

PGP Topic #2

The Global Achievement Gap

In my Grad class right now, one of the books we are reading/studying is The Global Achievement Gap by Tony Wagner.  It is really interesting and scarily very true.  The first chapter discusses how the world and economy are "flattened" and our students need to be able to successfully practice and execute certain skills to be able to compete for survival.  These skills need to be promoted in the classroom.  

I made a table and did some more research on this.  I voiced to my professor that conceptually, we know what needs to be done, but how we implement this in the classroom is where the Professional Development needs to support our teachers.

Here's the table:

Skill	What to do
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving	Have students help you figure out real-life problems.  Everyday things, fix stuff, research topics, plan events.  Help them analyze the problem, don’t just give them the answer.  Product, problem, ARMS chunking, test, reflect.
Leading by Influence	Join a team or organization, learn to work in a group.  Let them practice what to say, but they need to say it.
Agility and Adaptability	be flexible, think on your feet.  This too shall pass, attitude.
Initiative and Entrepreneurialism	Follow student interests.  Encourage them to take that interest to the next level.
Effective Oral and Written Conversation	Discuss, interact.  Debate about topics.  Write thank you notes.  Read their work and give feedback.  Practice speaking, writing and giving presentations.
Accessing and Analyzing Data	When conducting research on a computer, talk about what you found.  Can you trust the source, is it reliable.
Curiosity and Imagination	Encourage questions, always.  Explore interests, let them lead.  Provide the opportunity: research, materials, encouragement and environment.

From:

http://www.education.com/magazine/article/global-achievement-gap/

Interest-A-Lyzer

Over the summer, I completed my first grad class at Georgetown College.  It was pretty intense for my first class, lots of papers and everything crammed into 7 weeks.  I was drinking coffee when my husband was just going to bed, but I survived.  The class was an "Intro to the Gifted and Talented Program".  During this class, I read a book by Joseph Renzulli from Renzulli Learning.  He talks a lot about focusing on students' interest and differentiating the lesson to match the interests.  He even has his own Interest-a-lyzer, which is where I got my powerpoint questions.  His is about 6 pages long, and I thought that was a little extreme to give to my new middle school students on day 2 of class, so I made a powerpoint of a few questions and we all answered them together.  

Getting their answers back is both humorous and beneficial!  I get to know each student a little more and I can also line them up with projects that might be of interest!  

Something else we like to do is pick a topic that we (myself and the students) want to learn about and teach, then we make a big exhibit out of it.  We each have different and equally important roles, but the roles are tailored to what we are interested in.  Props, acting, set design, writing, etc.  In the end, we all learn the content, we learn communication and group work skills and we are engaged and proud of our end product.  

The book I read was:


Renzulli, J., Reis, S., & Thompson, A. (2009). Light up your child’s mind.  Little, Brown and Company.

I found it at our local library, highly recommend it!!

Below is the Interest Powerpoint I made into a movie so you could see it.

Bullying and Suicide Rotation

Bullying and Suicide Rotation

At the beginning of the year, we divide students into groups and teach different topics on a Rotating Schedule.  This year, I got to teach about Bullying and Suicide.  (fortunately, I didn’t have anyone crying).  It is such a heavy topic, I get nervous talking about it, but our students are champs!  They are so open and honest about it and what they should do!  I wanted to post my Unit and Lesson that I did, in case anyone else finds it helpful.  I definitely recommend the activities, our rotation was about 45 minutes long.  We had NO down time, the kids were engaged for all 45 minutes and they contributed and taught me a few things!  So, here we go.  also, if you have suggestions, please leave a comment!  I would love to hear them!

Unit:  Bullying and Suicide

Opener:  Small discussion.  I share with the students the topics that we are getting ready to talk about.  I ask them if anyone has ever seen the “Wizard of Oz”.  (they raise their hands, and I thank them for 1. sharing and 2. raising their hands)  Then I ask “Do you remember what the Lion was looking for?”  They raise their hands again.  (Awesome!)  Courage!  Yes, Courage!  Courage is our word of the hour; because, sometimes it takes Courage to stand up to bullying or to do something about it.

Small Group Activity:  Students form 2-3 person groups and are provided a graphic organizer.  I have different scenarios and actions printed on little slips.  Each group receives a scenario.  They read the scenario and then decide if they agree/disagree/not sure with the action that is stated.  They have to write and tell me the why behind their decision.  

[This activity came from Tolerance.org, for links to the activity click here.  For the Scenarios, click here and the graphic organizer click here.]

I put a timer on the Smartboard and give them maybe 5 minutes.  Then we share with the class.  This usually gets a really good conversation going, other kids are adding to the scenarios and some are sharing “inappropriate” actions that they would do, but that allows for corrections and deeper understandings to be made.  This activity took up most of the 45 time slot.  

When conversations are wrapping up, I thank them for sharing and we turn in the graphic organizers and slips.  I want to give them credit for their work and participation in this activity, so I need to go back and give Tiger Ticket credit. (Positive Reinforcement award system specific to our school.)

The next activity is watching a sweet, sweet slideshow that someone put together of a young man who committed suicide.  It’s just a slideshow of pictures with a song that plays along in the background.  Not a super heavy message, but I think it really hit home because it was age-relevant and it looks like something our kids would create.

For the link to the slideshow, click here.

After the video, (about 5 minutes) I passed out some Suicide Brochures that I received from our counseling office.  I turned to one of the pages that describes the signs of suicide.  I lead a conversation with the students about who to tell or talk to if you sense this happening and we discussed the signs.  

After that, we cleaned up the room and I gave them instructions for the next rotation.

It's Almost Here!!

Another school year is about to start and I am kinda happy, kinda sad.  I am extremely excited to see everyone and meet our new students, AND I am so excited about our activities and things we are going to learn; however, this summer has FLOWN by!!  Between Grad Classes and YMCA Summer Camps and Family Events, it has been crazy!  

That being said, I know I am grateful for the opportunity to be a teacher and have the summers to spend with my family and all the "kid craziness"!  

So, in the great words of my late Grandpa Peck, think of it this way...."you don't HAVE to do something, you GET to do something".  Have fun doing it and be thankful that you are blessed with this chance.  

Along that note, there are a LOT of things I get to do this week to prep for my classes!  ;)
One of those is welcoming my students to TLC and to my Mentor Group.  I made this newsletter to introduce myself, provide some communication information and set the tone for Student Success and Support!  You are more than welcome to use the template if you like.....enjoy!