I am interested in giving this workshop to teachers. It is a free workshop. The goal is to introduce teachers to the "visual and active" method ... which includes Facebook and email, if you want to customize your lessons. If you work at a school, please as the director of the school to invite me... See the series on www.YOUTUBE.com/visualandactive These notes are from the first presentation of "That's Edu-Tainment." SPECIAL NOTE TO THE PEOPLE WHO WERE NOT PRESENT AT THE EVENT: You can get the essence by reading this email message and by going to the videos posted on youtube.com/visualandactive The purpose of the talk: It's taken me five years to understand what it means to teach "one kid at a time." I rejected the idea of 30 lesson plans in the same classroom... PART 1: I present to you (in under 30 minutes) the readings that inspire me to create INDIVIDUAL LESSONS for each student. How can we GO BEYOND "Multiple Intelligences" ============== Here are the principal videos... A- 1  A- 2 A- 3 Part B-1 Part B-2 ============== PART 1 In the seminar, several participants made the following points "I like the Dinosaur quote because I want to start where the student is. I want to talk about what they know and make the new material relevant to what they know." (Quote by Richard Feynman, extraordinary teacher and co-creator of significant parts of the atom bomb) "I like the visual and audio quote. He is right == we are competing with TV and video games, so we need to be more visual and entertaining." (PAUL WAGNER quote, he was the president of Rollins College in 1950, he was quoted in Time Magazine) "I like the quote about teaching people what they need. There is no need for every student to know the same things about biology, trigonometry, algebra." (ROBERT REICH quote, former Secretary of Labor for the Clinton Administration, 1996) Howard Gardner told us that there are many ways of learning. He also said, "There must be many ways of ASSESSING the learning" (so it is not a good idea to ask EVERY student to write their answers, because some students speak better than they can write) He also said, "There must be many ways of presenting the EVALUATIONS ("narratives" instead of "transcripts" -- letters from the teacher, written about each student --- in BigPicture.org, the teacher writes a two-page letter every 9 weeks and sits with the student to evaluate the student and prepare the next 9 week program) 1. HOW CAN THESE POINTS IMPROVE YOUR TEACHING? Please write to me, call me, make a video and send the link to me. Invite me into your classroom. 2. WHEN CAN I COME TO OBSERVE YOUR TEACHING? I want to know how this seminar affected you and changed the way you are teaching. What will you do differently? What will you INCREASE? How will your lesson plans change? What new materials will you introduce? 3. "Steve, HOW DO YOU DO ______________ in YOUR classes?" a) How do you evaluate students? (with video, with check sheets, with pronunciation charts) b) How do you write a narrative? (I sometimes sit with a studnet and leave the camera on and I talk to the student about a composition... now the student has a short video AND I've marked his essay to correct the grammar) (About every 2 months, I write a form letter for the class, then I hav an individual section that I write. That page goes into a "PORTFOLIO" that each student creates. I can check the portfolio every 2 weeks and I want to prepare a portfolio, that each student carries, which is shown to the next teacher....Do you want to see one of my portfolios? Good. that comes in the next teaching session.) c) How do you test your students, with an essay test or with a video test? (Both -- and most of the writing instruction is by email.) ========================= MATERIALS (items that are distributed in the workshop) THE AUDIO CD: "What can we learn from a school in Rhode Island" is the interview with Dennis Littky. From the npr.org interview. See the page directly: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4618720 (and I urge you to subscribe to your local npr station) OR search "NPR Dennis Littky" and see what pops up. BRAIN DVD: fascinating. I believe this info should be given to EVERY parent. What do you think? DENNIS YUZENAS and 9 minutes: That's my mentor. If you want to go to the next level, contact him yuzenasdennis@bellsouth.net, www.WhatdoyaKnow.com He's in Palm Beach County 561 792 0740 A VISIT TO DENNIS LITTKY's SCHOOL -- My 10-minute documentary of the school visit in 2005. yes, I've been sitting on this good information for five years. now is the time to release the hounds and infect each of you with the Littky virus. This sort of individualized teaching is happening today in Rhode Island. When will the virus spread into YOUR classroom and into FLORIDA's SCHOOLS? METCENTER.ORG BIGPICTURE.ORG SCHOOLS OF THE FUTURE. www.Edreformer.com Tom vander Ark talks and talks. Fabulous visionary and creator of the word "edu-preneur" He can show you how to reform classrooms. 206 909 8251 Blog thestudentistheclass.com Abe Fischler wants to redesign schools. CONTACT HIM and get more information. he's in Fort Lauderdale. 954 262 LERN 954 262 5376 LLL audio CD Lenka, Little and Laura and Brandi and Joanna of Sweden (my student who sings "my Andy" on the CD) These songs are easy to use in the classroom, largely easy to understand. Doesn't every child deserve to have Julie Andrews sing to them at least once in their lives? Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. One of the participants recommends using a KAZOO to emphasize the BEAT of the song. Good idea. =============== You can improve your teaching by going to bigpicture.org, www.metcenter.org youtube.com/bigpicture and youtube.com/hthvideo and listen to every video you can. My teaching pieces are at youtube.com/visualandactive and you can see my pieces at youtube.com/freeenglishlessons and youtube.com/practicelistening also articles at freeenglishlessons.com and youtube.com/mistermath for my math seminars and free SAT courses (if you have a teenager or know a teen, tellthem about www.satvideos.com) IF YOU WANT TO USE Sites Google (you need a gmail account) go to my video 9 minutes to learn how to make a website. YOU NEVER NEED TO MAKE ANOTHER PHOTOCOPY (well, hardly ever): search youtube "free google web site" Make a Web Site using Google's Sites Software -- and it's Free! Start with a Gmail account What can one parent do? I have an ebook called "Fix Your School and Help Your Kid Get into a Great University"... Find it on www.scribd.com --------- COMMENTS Please send me your comments. I need to know what worked and what was boring. "That's EDUCATIONAL and ENTERTAINING" or That's Edu-Taining will go to Europe in 2011 and to a lot of schools this year. 1. I would like invitations to speak at schools 2. I would like to visit your classroom and observe you and I hope you will videotape yourself and send me the result. I want to see how these teachings have enhanced your professional lives. 3. Send me your comments. Describe how you will use this information in your next class next week. Help me improve the presentation. Was there enough time to allow you to look at the quotes? Should the quotes have been read to the group as well as placed on tables? Should you have walked away with the quotes? Is it better to give the quotes BEFORE the seminar and ask you to give your comments BEFORE you come to the training? WHAT FORMS DO YOU NEED TO SEE FROM ME? I have 7 forms that I use regularly. I could mail them to you... or I could hold onto them and give them to you after I visit your classroom. VISITS I can come to observe your classes... call me and ask when I will be available 954 646 8246 or VisualandActive@gmail.com TO FUTURE ATTENDEES: The seminar is an INVITATION to more exchange of learning. I will improve if you take time to sit with me and tell me what works for you and how the seminar has improved your life as a teacher and the lives of your students. How has the information about Littky and the EXPANDED information about "Dr. Multiple Intelligences" helped you? What new procedures and forms do you intend to implement? What questions do you have now? skype steveenglishteacher phone 954 646 8246 VisualAndActive@gmail.com ======== To dream the impossible dream To fight the unbeatable foe To bear with unbearable sorrow To run where the brave dare not go To right the unrightable wrong To love pure and chaste from afar To try when your arms are too weary To reach the unreachable star This is my quest To follow that star No matter how hopeless No matter how far To fight for the right Without question or pause To be willing to march into Hell For a heavenly cause And I know if I'll only be true To this glorious quest That my heart will lie peaceful and calm When I'm laid to my rest And the world will be better for this That one man, scorned and covered with scars Still strove with his last ounce of courage To reach the unreachable star Man of La Mancha Thank you for your time. Please pass on this information and spread the virus of "individualized learning" -- 30 students, 30 lesson plans. Hey Steve, I want you to come to MY school and give this talk. I want to become a virus carrier. How can you support the spread of the Littky Virus? Contact me visualandactive@gmail.com or call 1+ 954 646 8246 TO SEE THE VIDEOS PRODUCED AT THIS SEMINAR, GO TO THE VIDEO COURSE: part A-1 part A-2 part A-3 Part B-1 Part B-2 THE READINGS that are used in this course appear HERE |