This week's chapter in Becoming a Better Teacher is all about reflection. As teachers, we are told consistently to reflect, and we do. I know that personally, I reflect upon each lesson and each day after completion and consistently ask myself what went well and what could have been done better. It's how we improve… Continue reading KIAT Book Club: Becoming a Better Teacher Ch. 7
Category: Curriculum
KIAT Book Club: Becoming a Better Teacher Ch. 6
Chapter six in Becoming a Better Teacher is titled "Portfolios: A Window into Students' Thinking and Learning" and as soon as I read it, I was reminded of my seventh grade Language Arts teacher who had us work on portfolios throughout the year. To this day, I think it was my favourite year in English.… Continue reading KIAT Book Club: Becoming a Better Teacher Ch. 6
KIAT Book Club: Becoming a Better Teacher Ch. 5
This week in Becoming a Better Teacher, chapter five discussed scoring rubrics. Upon beginning a career in elementary, scoring rubrics were almost non-existent to me. When I went through university and did my practicums in High School English; my professors and mentor teachers both said the same thing to me: "you can just tell what… Continue reading KIAT Book Club: Becoming a Better Teacher Ch. 5
KIAT Book Club: Becoming a Better Teacher Ch. 4
In the last chapter of Becoming a Better Teacher, it discussed curriculum design and went through steps to help teachers implement a functional curriculum in their classrooms. This chapter is all about assessment. This is close to my heart as I have always been opposed to teachers teaching to end of year or unit exams rather… Continue reading KIAT Book Club: Becoming a Better Teacher Ch. 4
KIAT Book Club: Becoming a Better Teacher Ch. 3
We're on to chapter three in Becoming a Better Teacher! The chapter itself is titled "Standards-Based Curriculum and Assessment" and begins by asking some pretty important questions: how can teachers define learning in completely different ways and grade completely differently yet still be considered following standards. How is this something that can be controlled? Essentially,… Continue reading KIAT Book Club: Becoming a Better Teacher Ch. 3
KIAT Book Club: Becoming a Better Teacher Ch. 2
Hello again, and welcome to our discussion of Becoming a Better Teacher. Last chapter talked about incorporating essential questions into the classroom. This chapter is titled Curriculum Integration as a Tool for Coherence and discusses the need for teachers to rely less on textbooks and more on their own designed curriculum focused on student need.… Continue reading KIAT Book Club: Becoming a Better Teacher Ch. 2
Imagination Questions
I stumbled across these amazing cards one day when an education assistant found them in our school library. I can't stop singing their praises because I can see them being great for pretty much all age groups. One of my centres for English Language Arts is writing, in which I give the kids a prompt and… Continue reading Imagination Questions
Nine Types of Intelligence
As I talked about in my most recent book post, one thing which really struck me was the discussion of Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences. Teaching at a school for kids with Learning Disabilities, I like to begin the year by discussing these intelligences. Most of my students have come from schools where they've been bullied… Continue reading Nine Types of Intelligence
What is Palaeontology?
The best part about teaching fourth grade is getting to teach about fossils in Social Studies (Alberta's history). When I introduce the unit, I have the kids do a fun activity which allows them to get moving and access prior knowledge and lets me assess what they already know (and thus their learning at the end… Continue reading What is Palaeontology?
What Can Light Shine Through?
I teach in a specialized program at a school specifically for students with diagnosed Learning Disabilities. Accordingly, the majority of them are visual, hands-on learners. I am always trying to find ways in which they can get up and move, create, and see their own learning. In Science, the unit we're working through right now… Continue reading What Can Light Shine Through?
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