Research has recently shown that when students are exposed to the outdoors their writing can come to them more easily. It is very common for students to struggle to find a place to begin their writing, but with Write Out, this can change. Write Out is an event for all teachers and students that taps into the importance of nature to boost student learning and creativity.
From this blog, I learned the following:
Recent research supports the idea that spending time outside creates a list of benefits from boosting creativity to finding a safe place to write. This encourages teachers to focus on their student's emotional, social, and physical needs.
Write Out does not explicitly focus on English Language Arts, but is relevant for all subjects and across all ages.
Write Out is a perfect opportunity to network with other students and teachers across the web. This allows a sense of community for individuals where they feel comfortable sharing either their writings or struggles.
This blog allows me to plan for my future students so they can find a writing community outside of the classroom. I know that with Write Out or just by having a class outside for an hour, I can help inspire my students. Write Out is a perfect way to set up a system that I can use in my class; allowing students to use their own experiences in nature to go towards their assignments. This also allows assignments to be more engaging and fun for students.
Students need to be able to remember what academic texts they're required to read during class, and sometimes just reading isn't enough. There are many ways to remember texts such as highlighting, annotating, questioning, revisiting, and summarizing. Using these steps will allow students to go back to their notes without having to search for a specific point in the text.
From this podcast, I learned the following:
Highlighting texts the first time you're reading them isn't impactful. Reading it more than once helps readers truly understand which parts of the text are important. For highlights to have value, they need to be revisited.
Adding a note or annotation to every highlight, answering the questions: "What does this highlight mean? Why did I highlight it? How is the text that's highlighted useful?" can improve a student's recollection of a text or quote. Kindle also offers databases that help with highlighting and annotating.
Writing a three-sentence summary at the end of each chapter is a great way to trigger memories of that specific chapter, so students don't have to skim through the chapter.
This podcast has really shown me the importance of encouraging the process of remembering texts in class. Now I understand that annotating academic texts is a huge part of English Language Arts and should be heavily encouraged. I plan to tell my students why taking the steps to remember what they read is important. I know from personal experience that note-taking seems like a waste of time but with that, I can explain just how impactful it is.
In this EdWeb, speaker, Opal Dawson educates the audience on what steps they can take to apply empathy in the classroom. Empathy is the ability to understand someone else's feelings and needs. She goes over the Social and Emotional Learning Core Competencies, which is the process of becoming self-aware, learning how to benefit others, and then ultimately making responsible decisions.
From this EdWeb, I learned the following:
Showing empathy to all peoples help bring a sense of community and trust in the classroom.
Empathy not only benefits others, but it also benefits a person's personal growth whether it be cultural or educational.
To be empathetic towards others is a lesson that's useful in everyday life, so this is an important topic for teachers to go over in their classrooms. This should be taught at a young age so students can grow with empathetic tendencies.
After watching this EdWeb, I plan to teach my students the importance of empathy and how it is relevant in all classes. I want to be an example to my students of what empathy is and encourage my students to do the same. I now plan to mention in my syllabus the importance of empathy so that not only students but their parents will see how I will not tolerate anything but empathy for others. I think including a quick course on empathy for students is a great way to spread it as well. It is very important for teachers and students to show empathy in every situation.
With the rise of strong relationships being harder to make between teenagers and adults, the importance of making those authentic bonds is even greater than before. This article explains the huge impact that authentic relationships can have on a student since not only does it help with academic purposes, it helps with their social and emotional health.
From this blog, I learned the following:
I learned that researchers say that spending around 40-50 hours together, roughly three to four weeks, is the average time to establish a relationship.
Usually students are the ones saying "I need help" to the teacher, but if the teacher says it to the student this also opens a possibility of a friendship. The teacher needing help and asking a student for help shows vulnerability and trust.
A callback, a conversation discussing a past experience, is a perfect way to create authentic relationships with students. Telling students a personal story is a great way to bond because it opens a doorway for them to feel like they can share their personal stories.
After reading this article, it makes me even more excited to build authentic relationships with my future students. I will make sure that I show that I trust my students and that they can trust me. This blog allows me to plan the steps I can take to make sure that I can improve relationships in a classroom which will overall boost the positivity. Asking for help, telling stories, and being true to yourself are great tips for both teachers and students when trying to create an authentic relationship.
Twitter is used for all types of purposes; from politicians posting about government updates to teenagers posting memes. Conveniently it is a great platform for teachers to use in their classrooms. This helps students who are more quiet get more involved in class discussions. Teachers can use the platform for class discussions and questions in and out of the class. Students can reply to their own classmates when they visit the Twitter feed page with the class hashtag.
Using Twitter, I learned the following:
The use of hashtags makes it easier to spread messages and to find a specific topic.
I had no idea that teachers could create their own hashtags, but teachers can use their personal hashtags to check to see who has posted using them.
A student’s questions will show up on the Twitter feed whenever they tag their question with the class hashtag.
I think using Twitter is a great way to get all your students involved and interested in school topics, especially with social media becoming more accessible. Students can anonymously ask questions about the class or post about something they learned. I know that some students aren't comfortable speaking out in class, so I plan to add this to my lesson plans.
My personal Twitter post: https://twitter.com/mchance1424
Much like Instagram, Pinterest is an image-based app. Users are able to share images with each other and this can be used in a classroom. Teachers can create a Pinterest board adding pictures, charts, or even memes relevant to the topic of discussion. Both teachers and students can use it to engage with the lesson.
Using Pinterest, I learned the following:
Pinterest allows teachers to visually engage students.
Pinterest is a great resource for organizing visual aids, which is something Instagram lacks.
Pinterest has a wide variety of informational images, not just funny cat pictures.
I've never thought about using Pinterest in my classroom, but after reading the excerpt I realized that it would be a great tool to use for visual aids. I know students get sick of listening to their teachers talk for hours, so a visual aid or a relevant funny picture would be a great way to keep students attentive. I can also see myself assigning an assignment where students have to create their own Pinterest board with images tying back to a certain theme or chapter of a text.