Comic Books in History Classes? Yes!

A fun way to grab the attention of all students is to bring in comic books to supplement a lesson.  Yes, comic books such as Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Ironman etc. motivate even the most reluctant student to wake up and pay attention:) 

Some of the comics are tied to building patriotism in World War II.  America felt the need to rid the world of terrorism and restore peace world wide.  Superman helped nurture that belief that America was the world's defender.  He stood for "truth, justice, and the American way."  Granted some propaganda was involved here, but he helped America enter the war to stop evil dictators and correct the evils of the world.  Wonder Woman was more of the same.  She defended the downtrodden and improved the life of humanity.  Captain America still was another example.  He fought the Nazis and once again made Americans proud.  Students could research the authors of these comics and what their inspiration was in creating them.  They would then write a paper, do a presentation, create a group project, develop a "screen play," etc. 

Ironman also fights for justice, but what I find even more intriguing is his external super armor.  I think of him as a cyborg at times.  Students in robotics classes would probably find many tie-ins here.  In fact, some of this "super wear" is already being used in the military.  Students here could create on paper new features and then not only describe what they look like, but also go into detail on its purpose and use in the military.  Then, what about writing about WHY their adjustments would be needed. 

Using comic books in class has other benefits for ELLs also.  There are the visual layouts which provide context.  Though language is limited, there are still some very high level academic vocabulary words included (along with visual context).  Why not have students create comics as a class project in the content area you working in?  Your students will really appreciate it. 

Denise

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National Science Digital Library--Materials for STEM Grades K-12!

Common core embraces S.T.E.M (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics).  If students are to be fully prepared to compete equally on a global scale in a world increasingly dominated by technology, they will need to be actively engaged in exciting science projects at every grade level.  Within such a learning environment, teachers will be able to plant and nurture that innate curiosity even the youngest have when they enter school.  This desire to explore will now be built upon and expanded throughout those 12 years of school.  Not all will enter careers in science, but using this approach, all students will truly have an option to seriously consider it.

The National Science Digital Library NSDL has incredible resources which can easily be incorporated into any lesson in science or math.  To get started, take a look at the STRAND MAPS.  Here all the content is clearly laid out along with videos on HOW TO USE the literacy maps.  Further, if teacher prefer text versions in lieu of hyperlinks, they can take advantage of the text component.

Another great feature of the site is that its COLLECTIONS section provides teachers with an extensive list of every organization that has contributed to the collection.

Your students will be amazed at the contents:)

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

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COMMON CORE MATH STANDARDS APPLICATIONS IN THE REAL WORLD

For struggling students to grasp math in any form, they need a tie-in to the world around them.  Though this sounds simple enough, it really isn't addressed much in textbooks and teachers are overwhelmed trying to prep kids for high stakes tests.  There is a need to demonstrate with real world references students can relate to how algebra, geometry, and calculus do have out-of-class applications.

An example of this that I remember from my high school geometry class years ago was how knowing the rules for AREA would help me figure out how the cost in painting a wall in my bedroom.  I would figure out the area of a wall and then compute the area of the window in that wall.  I would then subtract the area of the window from the area of the one wall.  Then I would be able to figure how more accurately how much paint I would need to buy for that space.  This way I would not buy more paint than what I needed.  That was a real world application of LENGTH X WIDTH=AREA.  Take the abstract and tie it to the concrete topics and students will remember the material.  Fail to do that and they won't.  Let your students share the same enthusiasm about math that you have--that same zest that led you into becoming a math teacher:)

MATH IN THE REAL WORLD!

Notice in this video how the teacher ties parabolas to throwing a basketball into a hoop.  Kids are encouraged to guess the height of the parabola needed to make the basket.  Taking real world applications for things students are familiar with to use in math class leads to better comprehension of those complex topics AND kids are having fun!  Try some similar multi-media applications in your class and see student interest sky rocket.

If you have any other resources in this area, please share them.  Also, I have added GOOGLE+ to the blog as a way to open up a channel of communication among the educators on the site.  I also plan on uploading some videos in the next two months on my experiences in coaching math teachers.  Should be fun:)

Thanks.

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

EDMODO--THIS TOOL BRINGS SOCIAL NETWORKING FOR TEACHER AND STUDENT INTO THE CLASSROOM FOR FREE!

Do your students like facebook?  Do you?  If your answer is yes to either of these, you will want to bring EDMODO into your classroom. 

Joining is free.  Once the teacher establishes an account, s/he gives the students an enrollment key to join the teacher's class.  No one can enter the class without that enrollment key.  Teachers follow the same procedure for every class they have.  Again, the enrollment keys provided to the students are good for only ONE class.

Now, just like facebook, teachers can upload video, assignments, announcements, pictures, power points, articles, weblinks, etc.  There is also a GRADEBOOK!  What material is uploaded to the site?  That is left up to the teacher.  Parents will truly enjoy seeing class activities via this link.  In fact in many schools, teachers supply parents with sign-in information for their children.  What an incredible showcase of student achievement to impress parents with!  This link offers a far more detailed breakdown of what the site may be used for:  MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ADVANTAGES OF USING EDMODO

In this YOUTUBE video, a quick easy-to-follow overview is offered.  For teachers who are unsure about whether or not this program would work for them, they will find some reassurance here.  WHAT IS EDMODO? 

Here a teacher walks through the many features of the site.  The explanations are clear and support the information provided in the earlier links.  EDMODO TOUR AND MORE
How does a teacher become fully familiar with all the rich features of EDMODO?  Play with it:)  Talk to other teachers who tend to live on facebook.  Maybe your students can support you here!

Over 8,000,000 educators and their students are on EDMODO.  What are you waiting for? Enjoy:)

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

TWITTER, iPads in the Classroom? Why Not! GREAT WAY to Involve ELLs in Mainstream Classes:)

As the common core standards work their way into classrooms around the country, teachers will need a variety of tools to successfully implement them.  Technology will play a key role here.  As educators prepare their students for careers which do not exist, they must use 21st century tools to make that jump from the concepts in the text to real world application.  Teachers must encourage students to use all the tools at their disposal to prepare them for the future that lies ahead of them.  The more experience they have in solving real world problems using technology that may even be new to their teachers, the better their chances are of doing well beyond high school/college.

So what might a teacher's options consist of for starters?

50 WAYS TO USE TWITTER IN YOUR CLASSROOM 
Most students are quite familiar with it.  Many adults?  Not so much.  Adults know of its existence, but rarely use it.  Well, it is a teaching tool and one that would support ELLs since here content knowledge can be addressed by the ELL without getting bogged down in language (that is important, but not with twitter where abbreviations and symbols serve to illustrate understanding).  Imagine being in a history class studying world war 1.  The teacher puts up a picture of a soldier in the trenches with a question such as "What is going through the soldier's mind in your opinion?  Tweet your answer to @___________.  Since twitter limits a writer to 141 characters, lengthy responses are not needed.  Your ELL can easily respond without worrying about sentence complexity.  S/he can demonstrate understanding in only a few words.  A teacher can save all the tweets and print them out for students to use in essays or discussions later on in the lesson.  This site will offer other ways to use a program that most of the kids are already quite familiar with:)


TWITTER IN A COLLEGE CLASS
Here is a video of Twitter in a college class.  As in the example above, the students are more familiar with it than the instructor.  She shows her creativity in using a tool that she may not be as skilled with as her students, but she proceeds along confident in her ability to try it (and she does succeed).

TECHNOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY CLASSROOM
You may already be using technology in your classroom.  This video should just affirm that you are on the right track.  Quote from video ""Teachers will not be replaced by technology, but teachers who don't use technology will be replaced by those who do."  Nothing could be further from the truth.

IPADS IN 2ND GRADE
Seeing students this young embrace the iPad so naturally underscores the need to re-evaluate current teaching practices.  Students come to school already tech savvy so why aren't schools using this experience as a jump-off point to accelerate learning?

Denise


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Asus TF300T-B1-BL Tablet PC
Samsung 16GB Galaxy Tab 2 Wi-Fi Tablet - GT-P5113TSYXAR
Lenovo IdeaPad A1 Tablet 22282EU