Sunday, August 25, 2013

Flipped Classroom

So Theresa Trevino is credited with giving me that push to join her in crediting flipped classroom lessons.
Here is the link to her Rummel Creek team blog: 2nd Rummel Creek Elementary



I love how she shared her behind the scenes preparations this summer.  Flip Take 2

I am consuming all the info out there about flipped learning.  I plan to join a MOOC to help me understand and design online lessons.  How to Teach Online by Greg Walker
I want to create those white board with black markers type videos.  That would eliminate my photos!  I wish I had been a teacher in the 1980s when I was a 20 something year old, but I guess the whole internet thing wasn't happening yet, anyway. 


Here is a great "How To" video on flipping the classroom: I Flip You Flip We All Flip
 Something he emphasized was having a green screen to aid in creating interesting backgrounds.  Last year I experimented with green screens made from butcher paper.  Perhaps it was too dark a green, or the iPad wasn't the greatest choice of cameras, but the backgrounds were all sketchy and blotchy.  I will experiment with better cameras.

So I'm trying to keep up with Theresa, which is impossible, but I might just be able to contribute in my own way.  I can see a pitfall in showing some of her videos to my class is that my school might not have the same manipulatives.  I noticed students are expected to have individual sets of  ten frame "dominoes".  We just have one class set, but I could combine sets for a small group activity, or I could make paper sets. I just need to be prepared.

I also could change subjects and create lessons for language arts.




Sunday, August 18, 2013

Thanks for the Back to School Help!

One more week until the little lovelies enter the classroom for a full day!  I have had help in preparing for them from some new sources for me:

http://whattheteacherwants.blogspot.com/ has great reading response sheets and a pretty goal sheet for the teacher.  She shared her personal goals and they sounded like mine!  I think I will be a better teacher if I manage to exercise more, become more organized up front, and teach more intentionally in language arts.

http://wiseowlteacher.blogspot.com/ has intrigued me with her pencil management system.  Each child receives a prepared, labeled bag with 8 pencils for the week.  At the end of the week, a student pencil manager picks up all the bags.  If the pencils are returned for sharpening, a surprise and "I am a friend of pencils" card is given.  Otherwise, an "oops" card is attached.  I shall try this!

http://stepintosecondgrade.blogspot.com/ shares often and is a bright, pick-me-up type connection.  I love seeing updates on her daughter who arrived 6 months ago from the Congo!  Mrs. Lemons has given me the modeling of including basic words in Spanish to be more inclusive of our population.  I don't know where I'll post them, but I like the idea.

I am thankful for these energetic bloggers.