Teaching Tips
-
Teaching Tip – Clothespins and Binder Rings
Clothespins and binder rings are quite handy to have around the classroom. They are relatively inexpensive and can be used throughout the entire school year without having to replace them. Here’s a way to assign your students to reading centres for the day. All you need to do is write the name of a student on…
-
The Book Whisperer – Get Your Students Reading!
The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Read in Every Child by Donalyn Miller is an amazing book. She writes . . . The only groups served by current trends to produce endless programs for teaching reading are the publishing companies who make billions of dollars from their programs and tests. I’ve know that for a…
-
OK Go (and) Show This Video to Your Class
OK Go are just as much visual artists as they are musical artists. Their videos are absolutely amazing. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they have created this educational video about the primary colours. It’s perfect to share with your class when introducing this concept and the colour wheel. And then you could show…
-
40 Teaching Blunders (Or Opportunities)
Image via Wikipedia The Ottawa Citizen ran a story entitled Another 40 Business Bloopers and the teacher in me saw immediate parallels to the classroom. Here are a few of my favourites from the article. 4. Not empowering subordinates to challenge and correct you. Teachers make mistakes. There is nothing to be ashamed of if…
-
Teaching Tip – Play and Learn With Lego
Lego has so many educational benefits. It really is an amazing resource to have on hand. I’ve talked before about How to Use Lego in a Science Program but I thought today I’d expand on the other ways I use Lego in the classroom. Lego Soccer It’s nice to have some board games in the…
-
Support the First Lady! Teach Your Students about the 5 Best Brain Foods for Learning
Image via Wikipedia On January 25, 2012, ABC News reported on a Los Angeles school district making huge strides toward improving the nutrition of their school lunches, just as First Lady Michelle Obama starts in on her new healthy eating initiative for American schools. The Los Angeles Unified School District has been acknowledged by the…
-
We Love Books Day (Not Valentine’s Day)
Happy Valentine’s Day… (Photo credit: Јerry) I’ve never liked celebrating Valentine’s Day in the classroom. I’m always happy to see when the day falls on a weekend so I can let it slip by relatively unnoticed. But even on those special years, the kids manage to bring in Valentine’s cards or treats to share. It’s…
-
Using a Deck of Cards in Math (Teaching Tip)
Here is a quick and easy math game you can have your students play. All you need is a deck of cards. You will need to remove the face cards so that you are only left with the numbers 2 to 9 and the aces. For the purposes of this game, an ace will count…
-
The Way You Speak Depends on the Situation (Teaching Tip)
Image by mp3waxx.com via Flickr I got the idea for today’s Teaching Tip as I read the memoir by rapper, actor, and songwriter, Common. His book is entitled “One Day It’ll All Make Sense” There are a few passages in the memoir that were written by his mother. When I read this one, I immediately thought…
-
Music and Movement (Teaching Tip)
This is brilliant! Bobby McFerrin takes an audience that was there to simply watch a panel discussion and he has them signing in unison with very little instruction. I can see how this sort of thing could be useful in the classroom or at a school assembly. He doesn’t have to explain what he is…