Blog Archives

Greetings and Good News

7/30/2018

Looking to build positive classroom culture from the first day of school? Here is one simple routine you can use to help strengthen connections and create a supportive class culture, starting on Day One.

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Introducing Students to a Maker Mindset

7/25/2018

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Maker Time Expectations
At the beginning of the year, as you develop essential agreements with students for procedures and activities, you'll want to try some high-success maker activities early on, both to establish a positive mentality about maker activities, and to set expectations for this kind of work. (For thoughts about getting comfortable with maker education, visit this blog post.)

My expectations for maker time are:

be open to others' ideas
be respectful of the space, materials, and people
try many different things
keep refining your solution

However, before I discuss or post these things with students, I do this activity with them. It is inevitably memorable and (mostly) a lot of fun for students, and I hope yours will benefit as well!

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No-Sew Classroom Curtains

7/23/2018

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When it comes to crafting, I frequently have stress about the gap between my original vision and the not-so-nailed-it final product. I have gorgeous windows in my classroom, and I wanted to soften the tops (and shade our screen from the afternoon glare) with some fabric valances.

If you Google "no-sew class curtains," you inevitably come up with solutions involving ironing and double-sided tape. If I put my mind to it, I know I could make it work. I also had a dear friend make a very kind offer to sew my curtains for me. But I came across a solution that took five minutes to assemble after I bought the materials, and I wanted to share it with my fellow no-iron/not-crafty teachers out there who still dream of happy curtains.

Materials
Here's what you'll need:

fabric (measure to see how wide you want the fabric to extend and how long you want it to be)
extendable / adjustable shower curtain rod - be sure the max length is long enough to jam into the wall space for your window(s)
large binder clips
binder rings (must be large enough go around the shower curtain rod)

Steps
1) Fold the top edge of the fabric over and safety pin it to the back. You can actually skip this step and just use the raw edge if you like. You can also fold the bottom edge and pin it if you don't want the cut edge to show.

2) Clip binder clips at 6 - 10 inch intervals along the top edge of the curtain (depending on how long and heavy the fabric is).

3) Loop the binder rings through the silver parts of the binder clips.

4) Line the curtain rod up next to the fabric, and fasten the binder rings to the curtain rod.

5) Place the curtain rod in your window frame, and love your new curtains!

My office supply solution may not be the most polished, but it was quick, manageable, and it would definitely work if I had any open cabinets I wanted to cover, too.

Hope you find it helpful!

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Maker Education for Teachers Who Just Don't Feel the Love

7/22/2018

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When you hear “maker movement,” do you have visions of children shrieking while swinging from the fluorescent chandeliers? Do you get hives thinking about the lack of structure? Do you fail to see what all the fuss is about? If the maker movement has you feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or doubtful, here are some considerations for you.

Rationale & Reality

Maker activities are designed to encourage communication, problem-solving, creativity, and teamwork among students, without having a specific step-by-step single route to one possible solution.
By design, these experiences are inefficient, because mistakes are a given during the process. This can lead to frustration and poor communication between students, and it can result in a failure to reach a solution in the time provided. That can be difficult for kids (and adults), so it might seem easier to avoid the whole thing.

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Confessions of a Classroom Border Hoarder

7/17/2018

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I spent forty-three dollars on two chairs today. That is the least I’ve ever spent on an initial shopping trip before a school year. The least, by a lot.

The thing is, I know better. I know empty bulletin boards are the right way to begin a school year, because that space is meant for students’ thinking. I know I don’t need a life-sized paper mache volcano that spews interlocking cubes for STEM learning on the hour (but that would be so cool). Somehow, against my best intentions, it all goes horribly wrong the second I enter that teacher supply store.

It starts innocently enough. A “red carpet” for your gathering area, with photos of students on stars for a Hollywood style introduction about who they are. You buy a class goldfish and name it Oscar. There’s a book walk of fame for students to take selfies with and post reviews. Your problem-solving centers and science labs are drawn from movie genres. You’ve got yourself a class theme, and it’s brilliant.

And then you look across the hall and the Duchess of Pinterest has built a rainforest canopy across her ceiling. The parrots living in it are teaching the children to speak Italian and don’t seem to mind the twinkle lights. She’s built a treehouse book nook out of recycled pencils and sprayed the whole thing with an iridescent organic beet mixture, so it’s cool with the fire marshal.

We can’t keep doing this to ourselves.

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<<Previous

Greetings and Good News

Introducing Students to a Maker Mindset

No-Sew Classroom Curtains

Maker Education for Teachers Who Just Don't Feel the Love

Rationale & Reality

Confessions of a Classroom Border Hoarder

Jamie Wright

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© 2017 - 2024 - Ideas for Learners by Jamie Wright

Greetings and Good News

Introducing Students to a Maker Mindset

No-Sew Classroom Curtains

Maker Education for Teachers Who Just Don't Feel the Love

Rationale & Reality

Confessions of a Classroom Border Hoarder

Jamie Wright

Categories

Archives

Alphabetical List of Book RecommendationsBook Recommendations by TopicBook Recommendations by Grade LevelPicture Books for LessonsMiddle School Book Talk VideosBlog Posts about Reading Instruction

© 2017 - 2024 - Ideas for Learners by Jamie Wright

Alphabetical List of Book Recommendations
Book Recommendations by Topic
Book Recommendations by Grade Level
Picture Books for Lessons
Middle School Book Talk Videos
Blog Posts about Reading Instruction