"We must be the change we wish to see in the world."
- Mohandas K. Gandhi
"The secret in education lies in respecting the student."
- -Ralph Waldo Emerson
"He who dares to teach must never cease to learn."
- Unknown
"You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself."
- Galileo Galilei
"I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think."
- Socrates
"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence."
- Robert Frost
"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge."
- Unknown
"He who dares to teach must never cease to learn."
- Unknown
for teachers
Hello, teacher friends! My principal puts a lot of trust in her staff: while we have basal readers, we are not required to use them, and while our district releases instructional planning guides, we are not mandated to follow them. I know this is not the case in every school in my district, and I thank my lucky stars that I work in a place where I am allowed to use my professional judgment to teach my students in the way that I think they will learn best. That said, I do not follow one particular instructional program. I pull from resources that have worked for me in the past and use new resources that match my teaching philosophy, which begins with the notion that learning should be engaging and interactive every single day.
I have found many great online resources that have enriched my teaching and more importantly, my students' learning. So it's time to share the wealth... below are some of the websites that I use the most. Lesson-specific links are to the right. Enjoy, pass them along, and please share anything I'm missing! I have also compiled a small collection of sites maintained by and for teachers. Some are friends, some are not, but I admire of all of them!
A to Z Teacher Stuff Forums: This is my teaching lifeline... I have gotten so many lesson and classroom management ideas from this site! You can share ideas with teachers from all walks of life, from all over the world. My favorite section is the grade specific forum.
Word Reference: Cat got your lengua? This is my number one resource for translating from English to Spanish or vice versa; it has all those academic terms that no dictionary ever contains!
Discovery Education Streaming: Oodles of excellent science and social studies videos (and accompanying worksheets and teacher guides!) for K-12.
Education World: There are lots of sites like this around, but this is the one that I've used most regularly. The lesson plans are solid, but what I really love are the puzzles and hunts! Great source for fun learning activities.
Teach Factory themes: Who doesn't like cute, colorful classroom themes? Maybe Viola Swamp, but for those who DO like aesthetically-pleasing happy rooms, visit this site and download like crazy!
Glogster: This site has an educational section that lets your students create and store interactive online posters with pictures, video and audio. Just plain cool.
Reading A to Z: This website has expanded a LOT since I first started teaching. Now there's a fantastic Science A to Z and a wonderful Vocabulary A to Z, plus sister sites on writing and tutoring. This is the one that started it all, though, and what I always loved about it was the wide variety of books at every reading level, which are very easy to print and send out as take-home readers.
Why & How I Teach with Historical Fiction: I am very passionate about using historical fiction in my classroom, and this Scholastic page describes why it's important and lists some great resources for a variety of grade levels. If you'd like instructional overviews for fifth grade units on World War II and immigration or a fourth grade unit on Texas Missions, email me.
I recently moved to another school, but I used to teach at a Title I (90% of students receiving free or reduced lunch) urban school in Texas. I have taught first, second, fourth and fifth grades, and had a brief stint in middle school before I received my teaching certificate. In each of these situations I have had challenging students who struggled academically, financially, and/or emotionally, factors which inevitably affected their performance in school. In the coming weeks I'll be adding more information about classroom management to help teachers who may teach a population similar to mine. If you need organizational tips, check out some great suggestions from Ms. Powell and Mrs. Levin.
Food for Thought
I recently completed a Masters degree in Bilingual/Bicultural education, but before I went back to school I definitely questioned a lot of what I saw around me in the educational system. Here are some things worth checking out just to look at what we do from a different perspective.
(the following video has strong language and is not suitable for children)