Crystal Marshall-KraussI was wandering around on Pinterest this weekend and rediscovered a simple strategy I haven't had the chance to use since leaving the classroom and just had to share it: Smile BreaksYou've probably heard of brain breaks. Short exercises to help students take a mini-break from thinking and gather themselves. Many teachers use these throughout the day or during transition times. But, a smile break aims to do something a little different, and the way I ended up using them became a little different still. What is a smile break supposed to do?
I don't have time for this silliness! I have things to teach!I know! I know that time is the most precious resource in any teacher's day. Taking time out for some emotional wellbeing can seem like one more thing to do. But hear me out because I know how much there is to do as a teacher. Smile breaks became such a useful part of my instruction becauseI used them to address a problem I had--my pacing.
What teacher hasn't heard from her students, "Slow down! You're going too fast." We have so much to cover and sometimes forget that this might be the first time students are hearing this information. I would often give my students a survey (feel free to steal and modify for your needs) asking for feedback about my teaching. And each time for a long time a big point for improvement was my pacing. I went too fast. They couldn't keep up, especially around language instruction.
Ok, I'm sold! Where can i find smile breaks?
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Carrie Trudden
Have you ever had someone say, "Wow! Where did you get that lesson?" or maybe "You always have such great ideas, what's your secret?" or maybe even you have said these same things to a fellow teacher with a silent twang of jealousy. Being a teacher, and being an exceptional one, takes a lot of time and intentional planning, but you don't always have to come up with those brilliant lesson plans on your own. Did you know there is a whole network of educators out there that you can get inspiration from, every day? And some of that inspiration is going to turn into the next amazing lesson in your own classroom!
So where can I get these great ideas and how do I get started?
Now you are probably like "That's a great little image, but it's not a lesson plan. I need more than a image to teach from." This image is merely the inspiration for you to craft the perfect lesson for your students with the resources that you have available for your students to access. When you start to see these images from Twitter as the inspiration and starting point, everything changes.
So how do we make this into a lesson?
Next up is to consider how students are going to get from Point A (where they are right here, right now) and Point B (this awesome and amazing final product). To do that we have to fully deconstruct this final product.
masters Finally, the fun can begin. It's time to let the magic happen. But as with all lessons that teacher embark upon we have to anticipate that:
TEACHING IS FAR FROM PERFECT. IT'S MESSY, AND IN THAT MESS IS WHERE YOU'LL CRAFT YOUR TEACHING AND TRULY ENJOY THE JOURNEY
-LISA DABBS Crystal Marshall-Krauss
I collaborate regularly with google when I'm inspiration gathering, brainstorming, finding out what's out there. You know what I found? Heart-shaped boxes full of meat (think salami, smoked sausages, etc) as a Valentine's gift. I asked my colleagues nearby how they'd feel about getting a box of meats. They gave mixed reviews. However, think about all the other food boxes out there--meals in a box, cookie bouquets, even the old school fruit of the month clubs. And all of the subscription boxes for other purposes--clothes, beauty products, fitness. With these subscriptions, you pick the topics you're interested in and someone else finds, curates, packages, and sends them right to your door. And getting a package is always fun!
"If you have an apple and i have an apple and we exchange these apples, then you and i will still each have one apple. but if you have an idea and i have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas." Charles F. Brannan |
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