Thursday Thoughts March 26
Today I participated in a full day of principal training on Blended Learning. My goal was to remain fully engaged for the entire time and try not to get overwhelmed. I met one out of the two goals. The training was a part of my requirement as a Cohort 1 principal embarking on Personalized Learning. As I conversed with colleagues, I realized that we are doing some extraordinary work here at Medlock. It was wonderful to share how we are approaching our professional development in a differentiated way. I was excited to share how our students are participating in Genius Hour, using a variety of apps for presentation and even coding in grades as young as Kindergarten. The greatest common factor in all of the things that I shared today is.......YOU. You have embraced the idea that we have to teach differently and that students can and should take ownership of their learning. You have decided to take risks in the classroom and become more flexible in how you teach. You have encouraged students to "show what they know" in a variety of ways. You are the reason that our ordinary curriculum is being taught in extraordinary ways. You make the difference at Medlock.
Staff Spotlight
This week I would like to shine the spotlight on Ashley Mason. Ashley has become a "go to" person for classroom coverage. In fact, she has even offered to help us out in tough to cover classrooms or when we are in a bind. Ashley agrees to extra shifts in the cafeteria without complaint. Teachers have commented that they appreciate the way she follows the plans that are left and holds the students accountable. We know how hard it is to get pulled to cover a class at a moment's notice. Ashley thank you for your willingness to support our students and staff everyday.4C's: Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, Critical Thinking Skills
600 Other Ways To Say Common Things: Improving Student Vocabulary
Their diction is full of cliche and emaciated language that doesn’t reflect their inner voice, nor does it indicate their vocabulary level.
You want your students to use specific language that demonstrates intended meaning rather than the first word that popped into their head, but you want to do more than hand them a thesaurus and tell them to “figure it out.”
While the following graphics aren’t going to make that happen, they can certainly play a role if posted to your classroom blog, shared on a student-teacher pinterest page, hung on a classroom wall, or reformatted, printed, hole-punched, and stored in a student binder.
Technology Tidbits
http://resources.oswego.org/games/ - great math games for all grade levels
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