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Tech Tips For Teaching Languages

Thank YouBritish newspaper The Guardian has put together some terrific tips for using current technologies to teach languages. In an article by Emma Durry, teachers can see how everything from cutting edge tech like QR codes to antiquated tools like music videos can be used to help students master a foreign language.

While the tips and techniques outlined here are specific to language classes, many if not all of them, can easily be adapted for any classroom situation.

 

 

 

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Awesome Slideshows!

Hello~

I want to share this website for creating really nice slideshows in a short amount of time.

The site is www.animoto.com. It allows you to create up to 10 minute slideshows that include photos~ videos and music. It's easy for students to learn~ and best of all it's FREE!

When you pull up the site~ scroll down to the bottom of the page where it reads "education." Click on that and sign up for a free account. You...

Student-Led Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent-Teacher Conferences can be very frustrating for all involved. The parents may or may not have had a good previous experience in school and feel uncomfortable in the atmosphere. The teacher who has to prepare all the materials~ must give only a snapshot of the student because there is only so much time during the allotted night; usually only 15 minutes until another parent comes through the door. Lastly~ the students are nervous as they wait at home...

New Teaching Tips A-Z

Do you have any tips to add to my New Teaching A-Z List?

A-Always exhibit an interest in what you are teaching. If you think its important ~ your students will~ too. Have an assessment for how to grade your students.

B- Be prepared with your lesson. Have bell ringers to keep students on task when you are collecting papers~ etc. Its better to have MORE than not enough for each days lesson.

C-Try to make connections with other areas of study with cross curricular activities...

Thanksgiving resources to use with your...

Need a fun reading on the first Thanksgiving? I wrote a short story about a substitute teacher that takes her students back to witness the first Thanksgiving with purple adventure goggles. I also developed a webquest on the Mayflower and Pilgrims~ a short webquest on Turkeys and lots of links to other materials you might find of use during this month~ including a short read on "What Became of the Mayflower?...

Screenplay Project

I want to share a project that has helped my improve my students' writing ability as well as help foster creativity and develop a passion for writing itself. It involves students writing a full-blown screenplay. Using computers~ my students spend an afternoon or two aweek writing a screenplay. They are required to follow the exact format of a screenplay~ which I teach using a video from Discovery Education. Once they have the format down~ they come up with a genre and a...

Teach to Learn!

Greetings!

I want to share a technique that has really helped my students not only learn the required material but also practice public speaking skills and build confidence. It comes down to one word:

Teach.

That's right. I believe teaching is one of the best ways to learn anything. Think about a subject you had to learn in order to teach it. You probably flipped through the teacher's guide for math or science~ trying to understand the material. But it...

A Different Look at Classroom Management

 

Classroom management styles can greatly differ. Some rule with an iron hand; others are fairly lax. Most teachers are somewhere in between.

It wasn't until I met one of my early mentors~ Rafe Esquith~ the nationally recognized teacher based in Los Angeles~ that I began to look at my management styledifferently.

He told me that~ at the start of each school year~ he mentally divides his students into three categories. The "ones" are those students that totally get it...

Using School-Based Management to...

Editor's Note: Today's guest post comes from Dr. Matthew Lynch, an assistant professor of education.


School-based management is another means of increasing parental involvement in the educational process. Proponents of this approach believe it is better for schools to create a managerial group, which possesses most of the decision-making power to influence the learning process of students at schools, rather than this power residing...

Smile Your on Camera

Greetings~

I want to talk about what I think is one of the best ways to improve as an educator. It boils down to two words:

TAPE YOURSELF.

Or rather have someone videotape you teaching. Tape yourself in action for at least 10-20 minutes then sit down and watch it. You will be amazed at how much you learn! I have taped myself a few times this school year and~ though I think I have improved in some areas~ Ilearned things about myself I would have never seen without...

Writing on the Desks!

You have to try this idea!

Let your students write on their desks using dry erase markers. Yes~ that's right. Ditch the pencil and paper and let them write~ draw and create on their desks or tables. Don't worry it comes off.

I tried this a year ago and was amazed at how much more engaged my students became when I let them work math problems on their desks. I was tired of wasting time getting paper out and sharpening pencils so I said "just write on your tables using...

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