Ashland Middle School

If anyone is looking for information on classroom management techniques that work check out the book, Reluctant Disciplinarian by Gary Rubinstein. I picked up this book last summer, before I had this job, and never did get a chance to read it. Over the past few weeks I started reading and the book is full of good advice and methods. The book details the author’s first three to four years of teaching experience and talks about how his first year was awful in the area of classroom management, and now how he has very little trouble at all. The book is 143 pages and is a very easy read. This book is probably suited more for new teachers, but I will guarantee experienced teachers will connect with this in some way. The book goes through sections on what does not work and what does work. One of the techniques that work is making surprise phone calls to parents. I’ve tried this and it does seem to work! I can see some areas where I might need some improvement and am working to effectively start using them in my classroom. So, if you are looking for advice or stategies in this area, definitely take a look at this book.

I found the idea for this project on the bulletin board in the copy room. The idea came from a paper on Ideas for Practicing and Using Vocabulary Terms. One of the options was to create a restaurant menu using vocabulary words and writing their meanings as the description. I modified this idea to develop a project where the kids will create a menu over the whole Civil War. The sections for the menu include, people, terms, causes, battles, outcomes, and Reconstruction. While teaching this unit, this is exactly how I slipt it up. To complete this project, I gave the students two options. While creating their menus they were able to make just general menus, where instead of including food items in their menu they will be just putting in the terms, causes, etc., then providing a description of those, and assigning a price based on the importance of that item to the Civil War. For example, slavery was the main cause of the Civil War, so under causes slavery would be the top item, with a description, and then a higher price for that instead of other causes. The second option was to be creative and actually use food items, such as the Battle of Gettysburgers, and then provide a description.

When turning in their final project, the students will have a cover page including: the name of a fictional restaurant which has to go with the Civil War, (Civil War Cafe), a visual, and hours of operation. The inside of the menu will include all six sections, with the appropriate items under each section. Each section will then have a minimum of two pictures, descriptions, and prices for each item. The back of the menu will have the students’ name, and they will need to provide answers to the following two questions … Explain the effect that the Civil War had on the nation, and a reflection on the project as a whole.

The project is worth a total of 200 points. The completed project will be a great reference tool for the Civil War, which the students will start with in their High School U.S. History classes. They will also be able to use it on their Civil War tests.

Thanks to Jill Parson’s Portaportal website a couple of years ago, I have accumulated numerous sites for language arts…feel free to check them out at www.portaportal.com. Guest access is jugruber.

Here are some additional writing ideas for content areas from Rick Wormeli…

Coming to Know MATH Through Writing:
. A paragraph about what the world would be like without numbers.
. A report on the geometry of a basketball court.
. An autobiography of a right angle.
. Jump rope rhymes.
. A math autobiography (a student’s experiences with math over time).
. A math newspaper or magazine with the latest from the world of math and your classroom. If you choose a newspaper, students can write for different sections, incorporating facts into each. Imagine the sad letter to advice columnist Jane Scalene, the play-by-play sports column about last night’s slope and y-intercept game–was that rise-over-run a legal move?–not to mention the front page stories about the possible corruption of number theory by irrational numbers, or an editorial about the confusion over Celsius and Fahrenheit temperatures.

Coming to Know SCIENCE Through Writing:
. Write the life story of a scientist.
. Make a tongue twister.
. Write an origins myth.
. Examine a common science misconception, how it is perpetuated, and what can be done to correct it.
. Create a board game focusing on the basic steps of a science cycle or principle.
. Explain why another student obtained certain lab results.
. Write a science fiction story.
. Write instructions or a consumer’s guide.
. Research and write a report about a scientific discovery that changed the world.

Coming to Know SOCIAL STUDIES Through Writing
. A tall tale about a current event.
. A prediction.
. A conversation between two famous people, using vocabulary from the era.
. A comparison of two different forms of government.
. An analysis of a political cartoon.
. A biography of a famous person from history.
. Notes for a debate.
. A comic strip that retells a famous incident.
. A response to the question, If someone from the time period under review were around today, what would he or she say about such modern world issues as gun control, censorship, women’s rights, public education, or global warming?
. A pledge/anthem/symbol/flag/constitution for a new country.

Keep writing across the curriculum! Students’ thinking will become clearer and they will discover new information about the subjects you teach!

This site is produced by the company that owns Interwrite.  It provides lessons and classroom applications.

http://www.interwritelearning.com/resources/index.html

This website looks like it was put together for a training session or something.  It’s VERY basic.  It explains the various tools and modes of the Interwrite Board.

http://www.cheney268.com/training/Interwrite/interwrite.htm

PDF manual for your Interwrite Board.  Even if you have the one that came with your board, sometimes it’s nice to look at the on-line version.  For one thing, you can always find the on-line one.

http://prsrf.com/pdf/Interwrite%20Board%20Getting%20Started.pdf

This website is a PDF of a helpful user guide for your Mimio.  You can print this manual out or view it on your computer.  Viewing it on your computer can be helpful because it has hyperlinks in it that.

http://www.touchboards.com/mimio/pdf/mimioXi_WinGuide.pdf

Here’s a website that offers movie tutorials on many, many aspects of using your Mimio.

http://movies.atomiclearning.com/highed/mimio/

AU hosted Debbie Silver during our spring break to talk with a group about differentiated instruction and cooperative learning. Her ideas were amazing and she is a great public speaker. All of her workshops are available on her website, www.debbiesilver.com. In order to use her handouts you must enter the login: iamateacher. I’ve looked through some of her other workshop handouts and found more great ideas. If you have any questions or would like to know more details ask Carly, Crystal K., or Marcia.

Carly is so proud of the website she discoverd – and with good reason.  It offers templates for many games you can personalize for your teaching, as well as fun sounds and images to enhance your gaming experience.

http://www.murray.k12.ga.us/teacher/kara%20leonard/Mini%20T’s/March%20Mini%20T-Games/Games.htm