To Keep Busy

One of the more difficult tasks while subbing is keeping students quiet and in their seats, especially during homeroom. I love when students have a daily writing requirement in homeroom. This keeps them working and quiet(er). It is particularly effective when students are required to have their work checked; if they do not complete the assignment there is a consequence such as silent lunch. Writing assignments vary by teacher and grade level as well as the length required. Although the importance of learning to write and reflect on multiple topics is undeniable, for myself the best benefit is that a routine is provided which keeps students working and focused.

You can see examples in the image to the left.

Next Year

Teachers seem to love to say, "Next year, in ____ grade, you will be expected to know/be able to ________."

The students take this pretty seriously and this saying becomes a way to coerce students into learning something or acting more responsibly. It is a pretty effective technique, and students really respond. Many times they will start telling each other about other ominous things to expect "next year".

I find it a little humorous that students don't really realize that they hear this every year.

Lots of Fun

Yesterday and today were early release. So, we saw two classes each day for a longer amount of time than usual.

We took the students to the computer lab to use an internet site that the school uses, called Study Island. It asks the students questions about what they are studying. In this cases the geography of Africa. After they did a certain amount (decided by Mr. Dorray) they were able to play in game mode. This means that after they get a question right they get to play a short game. So, they are still studying, but get to have some fun.

Then we went back to the classroom and played a review game. We projected a map of Africa onto the white board and quizzed the students. I would give them the name of either a country or physical feature and the first person to raise their hand got to come up and draw it on the board. If they were right they got a piece of candy. I wanted everyone to get a turn, so once a student won they could only go again if no one knew the answer (this didn't keep them from raising their hand and trying to get picked).

They seemed to know the material, so hopefully they will do well on their test tomorrow.

The students enjoy Study Island, and they really seemed to enjoy the review game. (I will definitely use this in the future!) Some of the students even told me at the end of the day yesterday that they really liked the review game and wanted to do it again.

I had a great time because the kids were so enthusiastic. They had fun and made me laugh. Great two days!

Student-Led Conferences

Early release is on Wednesday and Thursday. I won't get done any earlier because I am only there half days anyways.

Sweetwater is having student-centered parent conferences. This way, more parents can come in and the teachers aren't as one-on-one. The students come in with their parents and explain everything. It is supposed to teach the students to be open about their grades and be able to explain to their parents why they have the grade they have.

The teachers who understand it seem to like it. There was a meeting about it where the teachers who were uncomfortable with it made up a lot of issues that might possibly maybe happen.

I like the idea, because it shows the parents that their students are accountable for what they are doing. It might give some of the parents (who really need to get it) the idea that they have to hold their child accountable and not just blame the teacher for everything.

If parents want a traditional conference they must make an appointment for another day.

BrainPop

One neat tool that I have been introduced to through my student teaching is BrainPop.com.

It is a pretty cool site. The have short cartoon movies for students to watch about different subjects. After watching the movies the students can do follow up activities like take quizzes, make charts, see timelines, see a list of FAQ about the topic, and access a whole bunch of other facts about that topic.

It's a great resource for students.

I signed up for free access to parts of the site. However, the rest of it costs money. I can see about 3 free movies per subject, get graphic organizers, and see some of the extras. If I wanted to sign up myself for classroom use it would be $195 (multiple computers can access) or say, a parent wants to sign up for it to use at home it would cost $99 (one computer use).

Here is a link to one of the movies about the Civil War. It should work for everyone.
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/freemovies/civilwar/