I am so excited to have my first Edutopia article published! Click the link to view my article on how utilizing bulletin boards can be a great tool to promote social-emotional learning.
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This week I had the honor to meet Jane Elliott, a fellow UNI alumna most known for her “Blue Eyes-Brown Eyes'' exercise educating her students about racial prejudice. Following the day after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. she conducted the exercise in her third grade classroom where students with blue or green eyes were treated less than those with brown eyes. The footage of people young and old participating in the exercise is incredibly eye opening. It is astounding to see the clips of the exercise where adults and children find out what empathy is and how discrimination feels. The books and resources she has on her website are essential for everyone, not just educators. For several years I have followed Jane’s work on promoting anti racism, educating and being a diversity trainer. Her messages are always inspiring, informative, and I always learn something new from them. The bluntness of her approach forces learners to take a hard look at themselves and their thinking. By exposing ignorance and systemic racism around the world, she can open people's eyes and hearts to the injustices they witness. This experience is something I will never forget as an educator. Watching her advocate for anti-racism education and equity in education was an incredibly validating experience. I asked her to reflect about her experience being a public school teacher, her thoughts on the current state of libraries being told to ban books, along with other current issues in education. Below I will share resources she recommends everyone read along with a few clips from the interview. The experience of talking with her cannot be described in words. Her advocacy and ongoing education are an inspiration to everyone. Despite the scary legislative situation in education in the country at the moment, I am hopeful that we won't allow ignorance to win. See below for more. Books Jane Recommended: Nile Valley Contributions to Civilization by Anthony T. Browder When At Times the Mob Is Swayed by Burt Neuborne The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander It Could Happen Here by Jonathan Greenblatt As educators, we constantly hear about differentiation. Delivering lessons that can reach and challenge all students can be difficult, time-consuming, and vital. We've seen learning gaps grow as a result of the pandemic, making differentiation more crucial. Throughout this post I will be introducing a strategy that has helped save time with math lessons and has allowed me to be able to target all learners in small group instruction. If you have seen any of my posts on social media, you will know that my students are huge fans of Boddle Learning. The free digital platform allows students to combine rigorous math questions targeted to the standards with gamification. In addition to engaging students in higher order thinking, the data and reports can be easily interpreted. Analyzing the Data As an interventionist, analyzing data is my driving force. The results of the assignment can be seen simultaneously as students work on the questions within the platform. The image below is an example of how a progress report looks. When I view the data, I can see that students 3 and 5 performed the lowest, and students 1, 4, and 9 performed the highest. It also appears that skills 3.3C and 3.3A will need to be retaught. Differentiating After analyzing the data, my first small group would be students 3 and 5. I can do this by providing a few scaffolding questions below grade level then incorporating on grade level questions. My next small group would be students 1, 4, and 9. I would provide enrichment by adding a few above grade level questions on the similar skill while also giving on grade level questions. For the remaining students, I would continue this pattern and provide support based on the number of questions missed and by skill. The next image is an example of what the assignment creator looks like. If I am teaching a skill that requires more memorization, like math facts, I can adjust the number of questions to focus more on math fluency. In the case of a more rigorous skill, such as multi-step problems, I would provide fewer questions to reinforce effort. While the needs of students vary, the need for differentiation in lessons is non-negotiable. Having the ability to differentiate instruction and provide engaging acceleration opportunities can be challenging when your teacher to-do list is constantly growing. It is a pleasure to use a program that is reliable, intuitive, and can easily be adapted to different classrooms.
April is quickly approaching and with that comes my school's favorite celebration, the Month of the Military Child. There are more than 1.2 million kids around the world that have a parent that is active duty in the military. Growing up as a military child can be incredibly difficult. When my dad was deployed I had to rely on my teachers and friends within the community for support. I had crippling anxiety not knowing what to expect, or what was going on. With frequent moves, new schools, new friends, uncertainty, and oftentimes anxiety, being a military child is both a blessing and a challenge. With these challenges we want to celebrate the hardships many of these kids face, because they serve too. Created in 1986 the first Month of the Military Child was established by Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger. Since then it has become a time to celebrate these kids and their experiences. The selected color representing the Month of the Military Child is purple to represent all service branches. Below you will find strategies and ways to help celebrate these kids. Ways to support Military Kids
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