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Behavior, Education, Independent Study, K-12, Motivation, Teaching Tools, Videos

Differentiated Furniture!

Terri Eichholz

One of our 1st grade teachers, Mrs. Cunningham, is piloting an unusual classroom at Fox Run Elementary this year.  Much of the furniture is on wheels – including tables (instead of desks) and dry erase boards.  She has just posted an awesome video on her blog showing the amazing ways this has transformed her room.  From the beginning of the day – when the students walk in and immediately begin rolling the tables around to suit their morning routine – to their center activities, the students in Mrs. Cunningham’s video show the versatility such a classroom allows.  Two tables easily make a computer pod, a dry erase board becomes a station, students who have demonstrated responsibility roll their tables out into the hallway to work, and anyone who learns best by standing or sitting on the floor is welcome to abandon his or her chair.  You will also note that students who are commenting at the end of the video are using the microphones that go with her classroom amplification system – yet another powerful tool.

Our principal, John Hinds, saw a classroom similar to this at a university, and realized its potential.  Coupled with a teacher who works tirelessly to provide a differentiated learning environment for her students, this classroom is an ideal example of student-centered learning at its best.  Kudos for Mr. Hinds for having the vision (and providing the funding), and to Mrs. Cunningham and her students for being the trailblazers for our campus – and hopefully for many more elementary school classrooms in the near future!

If you are unable to view the embedded video below, please click here.  Also, I am sure Mrs. Cunningham’s class would love it if you visited their blog and left a comment here.

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QR Code Year-End Reflection

Terri Eichholz

I have created a Year-End Reflection Tic-Tac-Toe board for my students that I would like to share with you.  Each cell in the board, when scanned using a smart device with a free scanning app, will take the user to a web page with a thought-provoking question to help him or her to assess the learning that has been accomplished this year.  You can download this board for free.  If you are interested, I am selling a packet for $1 on Teachers Pay Teachers and on Teachers Notebook.  The $1 packet includes 4 different boards, ideas for using them, a blank tic-tac-toe template, and instructions for creating your own QR tic-tac-toe board using Weebly and Kaywa.

Click QR Code Reflection Tic-Tac-Toe to download your free PDF!

3-12, Art, Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking, Education, Language Arts, Math, Reading, Social Studies, Student Products

Graphing Characters

Terri Eichholz

Don’t let Ian’s slight misspelling in the title of his post mislead you.  This concept of creating visual representations for novel and movie characters – or even historical figures – is a fun one that is bound to lead to a lot of interesting discussions in your class.  There are so many ways to extend this in math, literature, history, and art, that Graphing Characters is a guaranteed way to engage your students!

3-6, Creative Thinking, Education, Language Arts, Parenting, Student Products, Writing

Summer Superheroes

Terri Eichholz

Summer Superheroes is a “Parent & After School Resource” on ReadWriteThink.  It offers an interesting twist to the concept of creating your own superhero by challenging the author to invent a superhero whose powers are somehow dependent on the warmest season of the year.  The detailed instructions for motivating the child and for helping him or her to develop the story include interactive resources on the ReadWriteThink site.  This would be a fun idea to share with parents, or to use in the last month of school – when everyone’s mind is on summer anyway!

3-12, Creative Thinking, Education, Games, Problem Solving, Teaching Tools, Videos

Caine’s Arcade

Terri Eichholz

Sometimes I feel like I live under a rock.  Two of my co-workers were talking about this video at lunch the other day, and I admitted that I had never heard of it.  Considering that the video has gotten over 2.5 million views, you would think that I might have come across it at some point.  Even after they discussed it, I still didn’t watch it until today when I saw it referenced in an on-line article.  “Oh, yeah, that did sound interesting,” I thought, and clicked on the link.  I am so glad I did!  It was definitely 11 minutes of my time not wasted.  Caine’s imaginative cardboard arcade will inspire you with its creativity, and his personality will endear him to you.

I read a book to my Gifted and Talented Kindergartners every year called Christina Katerina and the Box.  After we read the book, I dump a bunch of boxes I have saved onto a table along with random bits and pieces of things.  Then I let the kids create.  After seeing Caine’s Arcade, I realize that I need to do this more often – and with all of my classes.

You might want to show Caine’s Arcade to your students.  There is one part that I caught, when they were showing comments on social networks, that briefly flashes an inappropriate word.  If you are concerned about this, or you just want to show key parts of the video, I recommend TubeChop.

Learn more about the Global Cardboard Challenge inspired by Caine’s Arcade here.

Caine’s Arcade from Nirvan Mullick on Vimeo.

5-8, Books, Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking, Education, Problem Solving, Teaching Tools

Pink Bat

Terri Eichholz

Pink Bat, by Michael McMillan, is an inspirational book that I just shared with my 5th graders.  The book is “about turning problems into solutions”.  In a charming story about a plastic red baseball bat that fades with time, the author teaches about the importance of trying to look at problems through a different lens.  Included with the book is a DVD of the author explaining his message.  You can also find that video here.  We were able to connect the story to another video that was recently brought to my attention through e-mail.  Ask your students to brainstorm their own “pink bats”, and share a few of yours!