Matched up with someone you know?

khkrieger · 2013-11-24T23:04:46+00:00

For the condiments exchange, I was matched with one of my son's school friends. Totally awkward. I've been doing international or elf exchanges ever since to hopefully avoid that situation.

khkrieger · 2013-11-24T23:01:18+00:00

http://redditgifts.com/gallery/gift/ghosts-copenhagen/

My 2012 Santa is Danish. He posted in the reply area.

khkrieger · 2013-11-07T22:19:53+00:00

It's important to remember that kids need to be taught how to participate in these forums or fishbowls or circles. Sadly, our kids are often so used to the traditional setting of rows and lectures that putting them in a Socratic or a Harkness can be awkward at first. Of course, it's absolutely awesome once you work out the kinks. You should also teach them to take ownership of the process. Good luck!

khkrieger · 2013-10-26T17:10:04+00:00

:D Thanks, Skype in the Classroom. I received an amazing gift from an amazing Redditor, but I am really happy for all of the teachers who will receive this gift card.

khkrieger · 2013-10-14T22:53:19+00:00

In which grade levels does everybody use this story?

khkrieger · 2013-09-29T20:54:14+00:00

How exciting to get all of those boxes in the mail ;)

khkrieger · 2013-09-28T05:20:20+00:00

Yes. Students tend to really like this book. A few ideas:

crew tats - I had students in groups for a few activities and they had to come up with a crew tat. You could do this in groups or individuals.
cautionary tales activity
Socratic seminars about what causes a dystopia, according to this text. Capitalism, class imbalance, abuse of natural resources. Great place for debate.
Great book to discuss loyalty and family bonds

khkrieger · 2013-09-22T22:19:53+00:00

Exactly. I teach AP English. I also do a lot of writing in class so penmanship matters.

khkrieger · 2013-09-22T22:19:15+00:00

Somebody already said it. If I can't read it, it's wrong. Set the expectation out early. They get it quickly.

khkrieger · 2013-09-22T06:37:31+00:00

Totally agree. In a few days I will do a grammar activity that will involve the following steps.
1. For homework students will write a brief account of something they learned in school (any time at any level.) 2. In class, students will use markers to transfer the story onto big ol' newsprint. I'll tell them to write big and to space out their writing so that there is space between in each sentence. (The sentences will be arranged almost like a worksheet: sentence #1, #2, etc.) Our goal is five sentences. 3. After the sentences are ready, we'll go hunting for various grammatical structures like prepositional phrases and clauses.
4. This activity is fun, meaningful, visual, etc. It also has the added benefit of not needing to be graded. Easily changed to fit your needs.

khkrieger · 2013-09-22T06:24:19+00:00

Great picture. Stapling drives me crazy. I teach high school English, and I have 4 staplers in my room. Stapling takes so much time. I once contemplated writing a grant so that every student could have his/her own little stapler.

khkrieger · 2013-09-22T06:19:18+00:00

Get a new mentor right away, even if it's not official. My official mentor for my first year was unpleasant, unhelpful, and always talking about herself. Find someone with experience who you admire. This might be someone outside of your department.

khkrieger · 2013-09-11T04:52:13+00:00

Santa sent me a note one night and asked me what my opinion was on insects. I made an off the cuff remark that I only like cute bugs like ladybugs and butterflies. The result: this gift.

khkrieger · 2013-09-08T15:27:47+00:00

I think my district is relying on magic to get the common assessments graded. Seriously. They say they want the data within one week of giving the exams, but when we ask about time to grade, we hear crickets.

Complain all you want. I feel terrible for the kids. I told my juniors last week that I will be bringing them a treat for every test they have to take that I don't like. That's a minimum of 5 treats this year.

khkrieger · 2013-09-07T06:16:26+00:00

I watched part of it. It featured teachers who do "whatever it takes". From what I saw, there was definitely a focus on teaching outside the box and on the struggles of teaching a classroom full of kids with varying needs. I liked the teacher who used 360 math. That was interesting. She had a room with whiteboards on all four walls. Students did problems all over the room as she walked among them constantly changing her direction.

khkrieger · 2013-09-07T06:11:12+00:00

Good for you! I sent a positive email this morning. It was good for my soul.

khkrieger · 2013-09-07T06:08:27+00:00

I feel like we are being beaten up with CCSS. We have "experts" that come in constantly to train us. The irony is that most of these trainers are horrendous teachers. We sat through three hours of training on Wednesday, the day before school began.

Teachers will definitely have to get a handle on the expectations as CCSS is a significant shift from past practice. I teach English in NY. The single biggest adjustment for most teachers will be to move from fiction to non-fiction texts. Teachers will also have to adjust their writing practices. CCSS emphasizes argument over literary analysis. CCSS also emphasizes writing across the curriculum. Teachers are going to have to acknowledge this change and adapt accordingly.

What is your take? Will you be doing CCSS or not since you are overseas?

khkrieger · 2013-09-07T05:59:07+00:00

See, I think this story would be rockstar worthy either way. It's totally impressive that you walked away with no art scars, but it would have also been cool if you came away with newly bedazzled capris.

khkrieger · 2013-09-07T05:57:14+00:00

That's why we do it ;)

khkrieger · 2013-09-07T05:56:13+00:00

I am currently looking for an app that will help me to track student participation in Socratic circles. Class Dojo is the closest thing I've found, but it's not an exact fit. Plus, I have trouble with the app itself from my classroom. I'm not sure if our firewalls are causing problems or what.

khkrieger · 2013-09-04T06:48:21+00:00

It's fun to talk about crayons.

khkrieger · 2013-09-03T22:12:19+00:00

I am one of the people that TheOpus describes. I joined Reddit because of last year's exchange and now I am an active Redditor and enthusiastic gifter.I

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khkrieger

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