Friday, December 19, 2014

Ergonomics in the Classroom



At first glance, many people would say that Aiden is sending a text, interacting in some sort of social media, or perhaps building something in Minecraft. Infact Aiden here is writing an expository paragraph on why crime doesn't pay!
     As a teacher I spend a lot of time on ergonomics in my classroom. We have exercise balls to sit on, rocking chairs and even a couch in front of the Smart Board.  Even after putting many hoursa oif thought into how to design my classroom so that it best fits my students' needs, sometimes, haqving a good lean is exactly what my students need. Try giving your students choice in where or how they are working. If a student does their best work standing up, why make them sit down and do work?

Monday, December 15, 2014

The Gift of Time

All of the students I teach have a learning disability. A HUGE misconception, sometimes even in the realm of education, is that people with learning disabilities are not as smart as a person without a learning disability. In actuality it means "A person's learning disability affects their ability to perceive or process verbal or non-verbal information" (Sagonaskaschool.blogspot.ca 12/12/14). Lately I have been giving my students more think time.
     Think time is exactly that, time for a student to think. I ask a question to students and then immediately start counting backwards from 5 on my hands without using my voice. This allows students to organize their thoughts prior to explaining.
     Through this process I have seen two huge successes. First, I've seen an increase in the fluency in which students verbally express their ideas. Second I've seen a great boost in student confidence. Some of the students I have, used to be, children who would "hide" in the back of the class and hope that they would just be passed over. Now my students have taken a lead role in their own education.

Friday, December 12, 2014

A Week in Review

Minecraft in the Classroom

As you all know Minecraft has become a lot of kids' favourite game. I borrowed the idea of using Minecraft in the classroom from Ms. Vader, a fellow teacher. Here is what we did.  Students had to illustrate their knowledge about the organelles in plant and animal cells using a Minecraft design then present their designs on the SMART Board. Student engagement was at its highest all year.


     Check out Aiden's Mincraft cell presentation and more importantly how much he knows about cells.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Global Settlement Patterns and Sustainability


After learning about different issues that affect global sustainability I asked the students to explain everything they new about what we had learned. In actuality, I asked  students 2 questions from each of the 3 big ideas in the curriculum. The students had to choose one question from each section to answer. They were then given the task of explaining their ideas using the app called "Explain Everything".