Yes, Good Grammar Is Important

We make lots of jokes about the importance of good grammar. Some of us are grammar Nazis who lurk on Facebook and other online forums ready to correct the "great unwashed masses" when they forget an apostrophe or misuse to, too, or two. Others are the type telling these seemingly obsessive protectors of the English language to "lighten up" because it's "just the internet after all" and "no one can expect everyone to be perfect all the time."  Whether you fall into one of these groups or somewhere in between, the simple truth is good grammar is important.

If you ask the average person on the street whether or not using good grammar is important, you may be surprised at the variety of responses you will receive. It seems the debate over the significance of prescriptive English grammar is alive, and sometimes slightly aggressive, in the court of public opinion. My personal belief is that the study and mastery of proper English grammar is not only necessary, but also imperative. Our students’ overall success beyond the academic world is dependent upon their ability to write and speak clearly and professionally – an impossible task without at least some degree of working knowledge involving grammar. My ideology regarding English grammar has developed not simply because I am a teacher of English, but also due to the fact that I have spent so much of my life performing a variety of jobs in the private sector including many years spent as a hiring manager for several different businesses.

In this digital age of texts, tweets, instant messages, and emails, some will argue the use of prescriptive grammar has become out-dated or even archaic; however, when it comes to the professional world nothing could be farther from the truth. Kyle Weins, CEO of iFixit and Dozuki, administers grammar tests to every applicant for every position in his companies. Weins’ justification for using this tool across the board is “grammar signifies more than just a person’s ability to remember high school English. I’ve found that people who make fewer mistakes on a grammar test also make fewer mistakes when they are doing something completely unrelated to writing — like stocking shelves or labeling parts” (2012). While Weins’ tactics may be slightly more militant than those employed by other companies, the simple fact is more companies today are including grammar and writing tasks in their application processes. These businesses are also turning more potential employees away due to their inability to successfully complete these activities.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter how intelligent, capable, or qualified applicants may be, if they are incapable of presenting themselves competently through their speech and writing. For better or worse, using poor grammar portrays a person as careless, lazy, or at worst ignorant. None of these qualities are highly sought after by any business owner. In this age of electronic applications, contact with potential employers can be limited to written artifacts like cover letters, resumes, and personal websites or social media profiles. Our written words represent our first, and sometimes only, impression. The ability to use proper grammar signifies not only credibility and professionalism, but also commands a degree of immediate respect from those reading and reviewing the materials presented. This in itself is more than enough reason to ensure our students learn and master grammar.

 Now that I've gotten that out of my system, I will leave you with a bit of fun. Weird Al's take on grammar is entertaining and timely - as we ready ourselves to return to school and decide exactly where grammar fits in our classrooms no matter what subjects or grade levels we teach.

Activity: Using Bloom's to Explore Visual and Traditional News Sources

Recently, I was given the task of creating an activity using Bloom's Taxonomy to guide students through the critical examination of multi-platform news sources. In considering this production, I couldn't help thinking of the old adage from Poor Richard himself:: "Believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see." I believe nothing, including the news, should be taken at face value. In my opinion, this is also key to the successful media education of students.

I designed this activity with the idea of cross-curricular integration in mind. While it can be used in the English

classroom, it can also be easily adapted for use with Social Studies/History, Science, FACS, Tech Ed, Media Literacy, Speech, Drama, ETC simply by choosing articles applicable to each particular class.

I thought I would share the results in the hope that other would find this type of activity helpful.

Remember –

1. What was the lead story (or front page story)?

OR

2. What story interested you the most?

Understand –

3. Summarize the details of this story. Be sure to include the five W’s of reporting – who, what, when, where, and why.

4. Explain why this news story interested you. (Be sure to consider the topic, the way the story was presented, any personal connection you had to the story, and past interest in other stories like this one.)

Apply –

5. Review the five W’s summarized above. Are there any questions unanswered or not completely or clearly answered? Why do you think this happened? Are there any questions you think should be explained further? Why? (What difference would a better explanation make to the story? Would it make a difference in your opinion of the story?)

Analyze –

6. Examine the story for source information. Did the story give information about the source? Who supplied the information or where was the information obtained? When were the facts of the story revealed? Why was the story released at this time? Does anyone benefit from this story being told at this time?

7. Find another source for the story (i.e. another station, another newspaper, a reliable online source). Are there major differences between the two reports? Using the five W’s, what differences can you identify between the two sources?

Evaluate –

8. Between the two sources, which story do you find to be more believable? Why? (Remember to consider where the story is coming from, who is telling the story, eyewitness reports, and differences in the presentation of the information.)

9. Using the original source, is there evidence of bias present? (Were you given all sides of the story? Is any part of the story speculation? Does anyone benefit either because this story is being told or because of the way this story is being told? Were different viewpoints used in reporting this story?)

Create –

10. Using the information from the previous questions create an alternate version of the story from a different perspective/point of view.

10 Resources for Integrating Art Across the Curriculum

Sadly, fine arts classes are continually being cut in public education today. These classes are seen as a frivolous waste of time and resources in a system ruled by standardized testing. If it is not on the test, then it has no real educational value, right? WRONG! The use of fine arts across the core curriculum (in both example and creation)  actually benefits students in a number of ways. Some of these include: 

1. Responding to art can be very stimulating and can lead onto a great variety of activities.

2. Using of art provides a useful change of pace.

3. Incorporating of art into the class or syllabus can take the students out of the classroom and encourage them to use their language skills in the real world.

4. Creating of art or even thinking about art can be very motivating. Especially for students who may struggle with read and respond activities. It can help put more emphasis on the ability to clearly express thoughts and ideas with skills other than writing or speaking.

5. Responding to and creating art has the potential to develop students’ creative and critical thinking skills.

6. Using of fine arts in the classroom offers students another level of connection to class materials (i.e. visual, auditory, kinesthetic).

Resources

Here are some of the many resources available to educators wishing to integrate art into their curriculum.

Crayola.com - Lesson plans for PK-12

Scholastic.com - Strategies for Arts Integration PK-12

The Walters Art Museum -  resources using visual arts to teach concepts of social studies, science, language arts and math curricula. Designed for middle school students but adaptable for elementary and high school, all content including the printable lessons and flash interactives align with the Maryland State Curriculum. Ideal for visual arts teachers who want to integrate the arts into other disciplines or for non-arts teachers who want to venture into the world of art. Activities can be assigned as homework or in-class assignments.
Note: These resources require both Adobe Flash and Reader.

Arts Every Day - Steps for creating an arts integration school. Extremely interesting site, if you are looking for ways to change curriculum.

Arts Partners - Based in Dallas, this organization offers not only resources, but professional development for arts integration as well.

Education Closet - Arts Integration Links and Resources

ARTSEDGE -  The National Arts and Education Network – supports the placement of the arts at the center of the curriculum and advocates creative use of technology to enhance the K-12 educational experience. ARTSEDGE empowers educators to teach in, through and about the arts by providing the tools to develop interdisciplinary curricula that fully integrate the arts with other academic subjects. ARTSEDGE offers free, standards-based teaching materials for use in and out of the classroom, as well as professional development resources, student materials, and guidelines for arts-based instruction and assessment. A program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Artswork at ASU - Integrated Arts Lesson Plans for Elementary and Middle School Students

Edutopia on Pinterest - Edutopia's Arts Integration Board on Pinterest - excellent resources on arts integration and why it is so important.

National Gallery of Art - Contains NGA Classroom: Online Resources for Teachers and Students;

NGA Loan Programs: Teaching Packets, DVDS, Videos, and Other Media; and NGA kids

Hopefully, these resources will assist you on your own journey to integrate the arts into your own classroom. If you are still not convinced, I would like you to consider this quote from Paul Ostergard the Vice President of Citicorp: "A broad education in the arts helps give children a better understanding of their world. . .We need students who are culturally literate as well as math and science literate." Well said sir, well said.

Practical Skills: What Should We Be Teaching Our Students Today?

Over the years, I have had many spirited discussions with a wide variety of professionals working in and around the field of education debating the purpose of the public education system. What are our ultimate goals of achievement for our students?

I believe the main objective of education is to help prepare students to survive and thrive in the world beyond academia. I support the integration of practical skills in secondary education over the continuation of solely academic pursuits.


Unfortunately, no matter how much we push, prod, and cajole, no matter how much we extol the virtues of seeking an education beyond high school,  approximately 7,000 students drop out of high school every day. Nationally, 75.5% do manage to graduate, but only about 68.3% of these students go on to enroll in college.

For those who see secondary education as a preparation period for students' continuing education, what exactly are we doing for the approximately 31.7% of our students who either do not graduate or do not go on to attend college, but enter the workforce instead?

In 2011, there were 15.9 million people, ages 16 to 24, who were not enrolled in school. They were out in the world working or looking for work.  Even those who attend college are going to have to seek employment. either during college (38.8% of full-time college students also work) or after.

The fact is that in our society today no one knows what the future is going to look like. As educators, we are currently trying to prepare our students for a world (and a job market) that does not yet exist. According to Meghan Casserly's article at Forbes, here are 10 jobs that didn't exist 10 years ago:

• App Developer
• Market Research Data Miner
• Educational/Admissions Consultant
• Millennial Generational Expert
• Social Media Manager
• Chief Listening Officer
• Elder Care
• Sustainability Expert
• User Experience Design
• Cloud Computing Services

According to the 2012 Job Outlook Report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, employers today are looking for:

1. Ability to work in a team - 79.8%
2. Leadership - 77.2%
3. Communication skills (written) - 75.6%
4. Problem-solving skill- 74.1%
5. Strong work ethic - 73.1%
6. Analytical/quantitative skills - 72.0%
7. Communication skills (verbal) - 67.4%
8. Initiative - 65.3%
9. Technical skills - 61.1%
10. Detail-oriented - 57.5%
11. Flexibility/adaptability- 56.0%
12. Computer skills - 55.4%
13. Interpersonal skills (relates well to others) - 54.9%
14. Organizational ability- 50.8%
15. Strategic planning skill- 29.0%
16. Friendly/outgoing personality - 29.0%
17. Creativity - 22.3%
18. Entrepreneurial skills/risk-taker - 21.8%
19. Tactfulness - 21.2%

This is a lot of information to consider, but it seems to me that a systematic and concentrated integration of practical skills education would be the place to begin educational reform.

 

Technology

 

First, when looking at both the list of new jobs and the skills employers are looking for, technology obviously plays a huge role. From what I've seen in the majority of high school technology programs, they need to be improved. Kids today know all about playing with technology, often better than the teacher - my students have taught me many tricks. However, if all we are allowing them to do is play with it in school, then they really aren't learning much. Students need to be given practical assignments to show off their skills, learn new ones, and realize that technology can be far more than play.

 

Not to say that there are not exceptional teachers in the field of technology or those that integrate technology in practical ways, but as a whole, technology applications need to be made more practical. Additionally, I strongly believe that all schools should require compulsory technology training as part of their Professional Development Plans every year for all teachers.

 

How can we possibly teach kids about technology, if we do not have the skills ourselves? Also, an added benefit would be teachers who actually use the technology available to them in their classrooms. I cannot count the number of classrooms I have been in that are equipped with SMART boards that are NEVER used - what a waste of money and resources!

 

Practical Work Opportunities

 

The majority of students who drop out do so because either they see no life value in what the are receiving from their educations or they believe they would be better off working or they have to work to help support themselves and/or their families. Why not take advantage of the government monies available for training (it is out there) and involve the larger community by partnering up and offering students the opportunity to apply for paid internships with local businesses?   

 

Additionally, students in high school should all be required to take a personal finance/life skills class, and it should be as realistic as possible. Students should be taught to manage a budget and balance a checkbook using information from the real world such as average pay, rental prices, gas prices, etc. from they area in which they actually live. They should be taught how to write resumes and fill out job applications. They should be exposed to tax forms and learn how to read them. They should be exposed to paycheck stubs and learn how to interpret them. These are all practical skills that everyone is going to use eventually. When they are tailored to a specific area and to a particular student, they can be invaluable and, best of all, applicable to his/her life.

 

Team Building and Teamwork

 

Notice the top two attributes employers today are searching for: ability to work in a team and leadership. Team building and group work should be used on a regular basis across the curriculum. In real life situations, your students are not going to be working all by themselves exclusively. Dealing with group dynamics (both the good and the bad aspects) is a skill that must be learned. How to work effectively in groups is a skill that must be learned. Helping facilitate this learning is the responsibility of each and every educator.

 

Schools and teachers should also always be looking for opportunities to generate leadership roles and spread them out among the school population. Working in groups and teams can help provide these roles. I also support the use of community service projects and volunteerism to foster leadership skills, teamwork skills, and a number of other skills which I will discuss further at another time. Participation in sports, clubs, and organizations also offer the chance to work on leadership and teamwork. I believe teachers, sponsors, and coaches should use these opportunities to allow members to take on responsibility for and leadership of various tasks to help the greatest number of students.

 

 

Overall, I strongly believe the integration of practical skills education has the potential to both encourage and retain disenfranchised students, while also offering all our students (college-bound or not) authentic abilities applicable to their worlds beyond academia. So, if we are going to discuss educational reform, this seems like the most logical place to begin.

 

 

Spotlight on Sir Ken Robinson



Photo from Robinson's TED Profile

While I think most people in the United States today believe the public education system as it now stands is 'broken,' there is a great disparity in developing a comprehensible definition of the problem and even more inconsistency and confusion in cultivating a plan to ‘fix’ the problem.

 

Sir Ken Robinson is is an English author, speaker, and international advisor on education in the arts to government, non-profits, education, and arts bodies. His theories on educational reform revolve around placing more importance on the arts, promoting student creativity, and solidly acknowledging and supporting multiple intelligences in instruction and learning.

 

According to Robinson, the model of the educational system today is utterly out-of-date. Our students are being groomed to be compliant factory workers in a society that no longer supports these types of occupations. As students’ creative minds are educated out of them, we are turning out a stunted workforce of citizens who are unable to think creatively or critically.


This video, from RSA Animate, details Robinson's thoughts on what is wrong with education today.
Changing the paradigm of education today is the first step in meaningful reform.

Robinson is unquestionably a wonderful motivational speaker in the world of education. In this video, recorded at the TED conference in 2010, he discusses moving away from standardized education and developing a personalized curriculum that supports the creation of an environment where children's natural talents can grow and flourish. He advocates, not reform, not evolution, but rather revolution in the world of education.

Ultimately, I find Sir Ken Robinson to be highly motivational and inspirational. He has a way with words and tells some of the greatest anecdotes related to children's education and learning that I have ever heard.

After listening to his speeches and reading many articles he has authored, I am moved to be a part of the solution rather than a part of the problem. I really don't know how anyone in the world of education who considers themselves a progressive thinker could not be influenced by the message this man is sending out.

My only criticism is this - while Robinson is absolutely fantastic at the conveyance of 'big ideas' for educational reformation, or transformation, he doesn't really offer any feasible ideas for making these types of changes a reality. Listening to him provokes a response in those who listen to him, but now what do we do? The wheels of change turn slowly in education. What can we do now to make a difference? What little changes can we make in our classrooms to promote creativity and allow our students to develop their personal talents?

I would like to think I do my part for the cause. I believe stressing cross-curricular integration (especially music and the arts), regularly using kinesthetic activities, and stressing the equal importance of the creative and critical mind to academic success in the classroom are all immediate actions that can be taken to support Robinson's 'big ideas.'

Knowing change is needed and taking steps to facilitate change are two very separate things. Ideas without actions are not worth the air it takes to say them or the time it takes to write them. So, if you believe in the kind of change being called for by Robinson, how exactly do we make that happen?

Anatomy of a Unit Plan: William Golding's Lord of the Flies

I love writing new unit plans! Researching for hours. Pulling together resources from far and wide. Figuring out ways to challenge and engage my students in new and interesting ways. Thinking "outside the box," I regularly pull history, sociology, psychology, technology, current events, pop culture, art, and music into my literature lessons. 

As an educator and a lover of literature, I want my students to engage with the text. I want them to not just read the words on the page, but think about them as well. I want them to not just know what happened in the story, but also to consider why it happened. What motivated the author to craft the story? What are the characters' motivations? Why is the conflict occurring? What if the character/setting/actions were different? What would happen then? How can we relate our own story to the one we are reading?

When our students write, we are constantly telling them to show us, not tell us. I think when we teach literature we should take our own advice. I believe too many English teachers spend too much time telling students about literature, explaining the symbols and themes and motifs, and molding the way students think about the stories they are reading by imposing too many of the teacher's own beliefs about and interpretations of the text. We should be figuring out ways to engage our students in the texts, to allow them to experience the stories themselves rather than vicariously through our own knowledge and experience.

The wonderful thing about literature is a story you read at 13 is probably not going to have the same meaning to you if you read it again in your 20s, and it most definitely is not going to be the same if you read it in your 30s. Our students deserve the opportunity to experience literature in a way that allows for interpretations coloured by their own backgrounds, beliefs, and life experiences.

 

The Choice is Made

As I browsed through the approved list of novels for my courses' teacher-choice units, I was ecstatic to see Golding's Lord of the Flies. Now, this book was part of the classes' summer reading lists; however, after quick survey of my students, only about half of them had even attempted to read it. Approximately one quarter actually made it to the end (or almost to the end), and only a handful of those students liked the story. Most of those who read it were quite vocal about their dislike (or more often hatred) of the story.

When I pushed them for reasons why they didn't like it, the majority said the story didn't make any sense to them. People wouldn't really behave that way. And as one of my most outspoken students so succinctly put it - "it's just a bunch of boys runnin' around half naked and killing each other for no reason."

After about 10 minutes of discussion, I decided to accept the challenge!

With the accompaniment of many moans and groans, I announced that we would in fact be taking on Lord of the Flies for our next unit beginning the following week with the promise that I would show them the story was far more than a bunch of half-naked boys killing each other in the jungle for no reason.

 

Now What?

Obviously, we did vocabulary and comprehension exercises combined with questions involving inference and interpretation because my students have to understand the story being told. We did discuss characters and symbols. (You can find a comprehensive study guide with vocabulary and reflections here.) But I wanted to give my kids more. I wanted them to have an experience with this book. We concentrated on the themes - how they apply to us and then how we can apply them to the boys in the story.

 

The Beginning

I like to begin at the beginning, so we started with Golding himself. After giving my students a brief biography of Golding's role in world War II, we discussed the war. (As a happy accident, my classes were studying WWII at the same time.) We talked as a group about the events of the war and the changes in the 'war machine' that took place during this time and how these evolutions (or devolutions, if you'd rather) changed people's perceptions about man's inhumanity to man and what behavior could be justified by war. Moving on, we discussed right and wrong, good and evil, and the capacity of an individual to cross these lines. While my students did a good job identifying events and changes that took place during the war and seemed to have a handle on why these things changed public opinion, most of them were still very 'black and white' in their views regarding the broad concepts of right or wrong - good or evil. This is just what I was expecting and what I had planned for, but more on that later.

Switching gears from broad themes back to the story itself, I posited the question, "What is the main goal for these boys?" A resounding, "Survive," issued forth from my students, and a conversation about surviving in the wilderness ensued. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised how many 15-16-year-olds watch Survivorman and know who Bear Grylls is. All in all, the majority of my kids felt pretty confident that they knew enough to survive. "It's not that big a deal," one boy answered, "it's all about common sense." OK! Let's put this to the test. Bring on the "Would You Survive?" Quiz!

(Regrettably, I can no longer find the link to the original quiz, so you can find it and the answer key with explanations here on my blog. If this is yours, please let me know and I will link the resource to you and remove it from my resources page.)

Lesson learned? Survival is not quite as easy as they thought it would be.

So, what's up next? If you are in a survival situation, how much would that change your beliefs or behavior? Would it be possible to justify decisions you probably wouldn't make in your everyday life? Here is the "Who Should Survive?" group activity to help you answer these very questions.

Splitting my students into 5 or 6 groups per class, they worked together through this activity. (Some of my more "delicate flowers" found this exercise mildly distressing, just so you are aware.) As the groups defended their choices about who to keep and who to leave behind, we also kept track of which characters were chosen and which were sacrificed on the board (overall there was a definite pattern which we also discussed).

Lesson learned? In a survival situation most of us are looking for people who we believe will benefit us the most. Although, some groups did exhibit a strong protective instinct for those smaller and weaker than themselves. Interesting.

Finally, we explored the difference between right and wrong beginning with a discussion and brainstorming session to figure out what behaviors we believe are fundamentally wrong either because of society or our own beliefs and phrased simply as 'do not.' Examples included: do not steal, do not kill people, do not lie, etc. I questioned my students extensively about the 'black and white' nature of these statements. All of them agreed that these are the rules we are supposed to live by, and the majority of them could not find exceptions that would persuade them these behaviors were not wrong. (Hahaha, my plan is coming together!)

Using an extended version of The Heinz Dilemma, we worked through the scenarios with the kids reading and responding to each vignette individually first, then discussing it as a group. As we systematically decided what was right or wrong (by majority vote), I marked through the list we had made on the board. In the end, the entire 'do not' list was toast.

Lesson learned? There is lots and lots of gray area between what is right and wrong. Sometimes what we can justify as appropriate behavior or response is completely dependent on the situation. Occasionally, we need to walk in someone else's shoes to understand their actions.

In the End

After completing these activities along the way, we finished up our novel by taking a deeper look at the three remaining main characters: Ralph, Jack, and Roger. First, as a group, we determined exactly what actions each boy had been responsible for on the island. Then, we discussed what crimes the boys could have been charged had they behaved this way in the real world.

The final writing assignment was this - choose a character, choose the charges you believe should be held against them, mount a defense for their actions (taking into account their decisions and actions were made in a survival situation; they did not believe they would be rescued; the oldest was only 12 years old; etc.), decide on an appropriate punishment (if any) and give reasons justifying your decision.

By the conclusion of this unit, my students not only understood that this story was more than they first believed, but I feel they also grew more socially and emotionally aware of themselves and one another as well as achieving academic success. Goals achieved!

**As a side-note, I am searching for an activity that I can use with Lord of the Flies that concretely demonstrates 'mob mentality' for the scene in the story where Simon is killed by the boys. If anyone has any ideas about this, I would be most grateful if you would share!

Just Say No to Textbooks: Alternatives to Feeding the Textbook Monopoly

I loathe textbooks. I detest and despise them. Textbooks are bland and boring, and they read like a set of stereo instructions. They suck the joy out of learning and teaching. When I look at a textbook, I can almost hear the monotone droning of a lecture that will without a doubt put me to sleep. Literature textbooks are the worst! Full of excerpts (blech!) and poetry/short stories that are either unknown or uninspiring or both. They are edited to within an inch of their existence. Quite frankly, they suck.

When I entered my first classroom and took inventory of the text choices I had inherited, I was less than enthusiastic. I found very few trade books (which I actually love), two sets of literature text books, and a set of grammar texts from the 1980’s. What could be worse, you might ask. Well, there were also not enough of any of these books for each student to have one. So even if I had wanted to use them, my students wouldn’t be able to reference them outside of the classroom because there was only one set to be shared between four classes.

The fact is, it is extremely difficult to build excitement in your students, if you are bored with and disengaged from your own class materials. So, I immediately made the decision to chuck the texts and create my own. Working in Word, I compiled materials, complete with illustrations, and put together my own texts. I also made enough copies that all my students had their own to use wherever and whenever they chose. 

Over the course of a few weeks, I worked at night and over weekends to put together a poetry anthology and a short story anthology for my sophomores and a series of mythology anthologies for my seniors, including Norse, Egyptian, Arthurian, and Modern Myth and Legend.


While the process is a little time-consuming, I assure you it is well worth the effort involved. The materials you create will be more interesting to both you and your students.

Although you can put these materials together with no more than MS Word and Internet access, there are lots of great options available that both teachers and students can use to create digital texts, if you know where to look. This is definitely a case of "I wish I knew then what I know now." So, please learn from my ignorance and check out some of these fantastic resources.

 

Resources for Creating, Curating, and Sharing Digital Textbooks

1. ePub in Classroom - The ePub format has become an industry standard for ebooks. You can easily create ePub books with your students or you can create units and entire textbooks for use with your courses. These resources will help you formulate your ePub format resources.

2. ck-12 - Books available through this site are customizable. You can rearrange the chapters or even add, remove and edit content. Add bite-sized lessons to FlexBooks or assign to students for independent learning. Videos and multimedia simulations bring learning to life. Enable students to track their progress with instant feedback. Get assessments, answer keys and ideas for differentiated instruction.

3. Project Gutenberg - Offers over 40,000 free ebooks: choose among free epub books, free kindle books, download them or read them online. Perfect resource for creating anthologies.

4. Apple iBook Author - Available free on the Mac App Store. Allows for the use of galleries, video, interactive diagrams, 3D objects, and more.

5. LiveBinders - Free service for collecting, organizing, and presenting all manner of resources, including web pages, pdf files, graphics, and videos. I wish I had known about this site when I built my units last year! If you are wondering just how you could use this tool, check out this example for an Edgar Allan Poe unit or this one for Web 2.0 for Secondary Teachers. You can discover a wealth of information looking through other's binders and then synthesize them into your own.

6.  Open Culture - 500 Free Online Courses from Top Universities, including some of the best free cultural and educational media available on the web.

7. Cybrary Man's Educational Websites - Created and curated by Jerry Blumengarten and including links for all grade levels and subject areas.

8. National Repository of Online Courses - Includes coursework for high school foundations, AP content, and college foundations.

9. moodle - Free web application that allows educators to create online learning sites, AKA Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs).

10. Pinterest - An excellent content sharing site in which members "pin" images and videos to boards they create themselves. This site is quickly becoming a very valuable collecting tool for educators. It also offers a quickly growing community of "pinners." Here are 16 Ways Educators Use Pinterest from Stephanie Buck, just to give you some ideas.

With all these great ideas, the wheels are definitely turning! I am currently working on two non-fiction anthologies, an American Folklore compilation, and two thematic short story collections. I believe these resources may be just the thing to update my previous collections and move my current projects to the next level.

So, if you are disenfranchised with the materials you have available, do yourself and your students a favor and check out some of these alternatives. I promise no one will be disappointed.

5 Resources for Integrating Music Across the Curriculum

Why Should I Use Music in My Classroom?

"We know an age more vividly through its music than through its historians."

~ Rosanne Ambrose-Brown

I have never met anyone whose life has not been influenced by music in some way. Music sets the stage for our lives; it has the ability to trigger memories and manipulate moods. Music can stimulate our creativity and increase the connections in our neural network.

Those of us who grew up with School House Rock can attest to the power of music to infiltrate the memory whether you want it to or not. I dare you not to finish this: “Conjunction Junction . . .” How about this one: “I’m just a Bill. . .”

If for some reason you have never heard of School House Rock or if you just want to take a trip down memory lane, here is a video for your viewing pleasure.

The truth is, using music in the classroom can impact student learning in a number of ways. Music can be used to:



• create a positive learning environment
• establish the necessary mood or atmosphere
• re-energize tedious learning activities (like review, vocabulary, and drills)
• focus attention and improve memory retention
• facilitate multi-sensory learning and address multiple intelligences
• provide inspiration, motivation, and creative fuel for imagination
•  build rapport between students and teachers and among the students themselves

When a child learns by experience that music forges direct links between self and world, self-expression becomes more fluent; the music helps interpret "who I am." - Growing up Complete, the report of the National Commision on Music Education, 1990

 

 

Five Resources for Music Integration

1. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - currently houses 52 lesson plans using rock and roll to teach History, English Language and Literature, Economics,Social Science, Psychology, and Government.
2. Science in School - "Using music in the science classroom" by Caroline Molyneux - extremely interesting article from science teacher Caroline Molyneux outlining her strategy of using music in her classroom to begin class and to facilitate memory retention in her students. 
3. Flocabulary - Educational Hip-Hop - subscription resource with videos covering English (both literature and vocabulary), math, science, social studies, and current events. Individual teacher rate is $5-7/month (depending on whether or not you want the current event videos each week) or $63/year (get 3 months free). They also offer free videos on their site and on YouTube as well, including this one for Macbeth that I used with my sophomores.

4.  "Interactive Music Strategies for the Academic Curriculum" by Michelle Lazar - Practical ideas for integrating music into the curriculum.

5. EdApps.ca - "14 Ways to Use GarageBand in the Classroom" - Uses include ways to increase technology in music classes, as well as physical education and across the humanities.