From our newsletter •
Dan Pink: Motivating Students •
Stenhouse: Kelly Gallagher's
Write Like This •
Candy
Corn in Space •
New Teachers: After the Honeymoon •
Student Research Unbound •
Teaching Kids Self-discipline •
7 Golden Tech Rules •
Our new Quick Links (free subscription)
Rethinking Drive & Motivation
Scholastic’s Top Teaching blogger Stacey Burt recently discovered Daniel Pink’s book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. In two posts (part 1, part 2), she shares his ideas about motivating students: both the principles (autonomy, mastery, purpose) and some everyday how-to’s. You can also hear Pink talk about motivation to learn and how students respond to his ideas in a 2011 video interview. PLUS: If you're a visual learner, join the 6 million people who've viewed Cognitive Media’s lively animation of Pink’s core thesis.
From Stenhouse Publishers
Get your students to buy into writing as a valuable skill with Kelly Gallagher's Write Like This. You'll see how to model writing for a variety of real-world purposes: inform & explain, evaluate & judge, analyze & interpret, take a stand, and more. Includes mentor texts throughout and a chapter on revision & editing. Click here to order.
Science: Candy Corn in Space
If you're a science teacher, you've probably listened to Science Friday on NPR. But have you seen the geeky-yet-cool videos on the SciFri website? Here's a corny space experiment with a seasonal theme: Watch NASA astronaut Don Pettit's gravity-free explanation of how soap works, using a baseball-sized sphere of candy corn. Pettit also notes that at the right concentration, the candy ball becomes rigid, not unlike an arch. Speaking of arches, should you have need of some virtual manipulables for a Newtonian physics lesson, this interactive tool at PBS’s Nova site lets students play around with medieval arch-building, sometimes with thunderous results. (Hints are provided, but you'll need to supply your own dust & sound track).
New Teachers: After the Honeymoon
The school year is fully underway, writes middle grades teacher Cossondra George, and teachers and students "are settling into routines—which can be comforting but can also confront new teachers with the reality of how tiring a teacher's life can be. It's when you need to develop habits that will sustain you—and keep your excitement and enthusiasm flowing—throughout the school year." Take advantage of George's wise advice. ALSO: If you haven't yet discovered the teacher's superpower (eyes in the back of the head), 8th grade teacher Ariel Sacks tells all here.
Student Research Unbound
Most students will need to know how to assemble a research paper or book report. But what other formats may catch the attention of young researchers? School librarian and teaching innovator Joyce Valenza shares 50 ideas about ways students might report on what they're learning without resorting to traditional forms. Trip itineraries, mock trials, performance pieces, online surveys, even battle re-enactments may be just what you need for memorable E/LA, history or science study. Also note (in the comments) Valenza's invitation to contribute your ideas, including those in math and science. There's also a link to her TED-X talk on the future of librarians.
Teaching Self-Discipline
Here's a good Edutopia piece on teaching students to manage their own behavior. It includes both a video and a story about the "developmental discipline" approach being used in Louisville KY with students in the late elementary and early middle grades. "This strategy changes teachers from being punitive to really helping kids -- and adults too -- examine why something happened, and then consider what we can do to make it right and to make sure it doesn't happen again," says one principal. ALSO: New ASCD columnist and nationally respected educator Carol Ann Tomlinson writes about "the most powerful attribute a teacher can attain" — Respect for Students.
Tech in Schools: 7 Golden Rules
The MindShift blog ("How we will learn") recently featured 7 golden rules offered by edutech author Adam Bellow at last summer's ISTE conference. Many who read them have suggested they be laminated and nailed to the door of school board and principal offices. (Especially the one about professional development.) In a recent follow-up, fourth grade teacher Patti Grayson offered her take on the 7 rules, after serving for a year as a member of her school's teacher leadership team on digital learning. It's time to get past the fear factor, Grayson says. Digital tools and technologies are here to stay, and it's the job of schools to help students cope with the new reality, not hide from it.
MiddleWeb's Quick Links
Didn't find quite what you need? Here's a new feature we'll include in all future newsletters. 100 characters or less.• Artsonia is a huge student art gallery on the Web. It's a free space (created by teachers) and if parents choose to purchase 'custom keepsakes,' schools share.• Understanding Science is a teacher resource goldmine. We've been prospecting there; you should too!• ReadWriteThink's monthly literacy events calendar is awesome. October includes Black Poetry Day & Teen Read Week.• Math Problem-Solving Strategies? The Middle School Math Portal has plenty of teaching ideas.• Social Studies Chat - Looking for a collaborative community? Here's the doorway.
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