Rejuvenating Education One Day At A Time
Teaching in the last year has been like riding out a hurricane in a treehouse. As seasoned educators, we tried to come prepared. We knew our student’s emotional needs would be our top priority, we strived to make school feel “normal”, but from the beginning, it was clear that the 2020 - 2021 year would... Continue Reading →
Bringing Agile to education means developing and driving your course with intention. Lessons are not copied from internet sources, or thought up the morning of. There is a level of flow that must be achieved within the learning objectives that builds knowledge and skill acquisition throughout a unit and the year. Being intentional and mindful... Continue Reading →
In January I was plugging along. My students were using EduScrum quite seamlessly. Our Constitution unit had just launched and I was staring straight towards the bright light at the end of the year. Everything was flowing. I had reduced friction in my teaching. All of my students were interactive and collaborating. Everything was good. ... Continue Reading →
With so much curriculum to cover, all of US History and Government, the question is often posed as to why we spend so much time sketchnoting and working through the Constitution line by line. Other teachers find that using summaries, moving through the document with game-like lessons, or graphic organizers work well for their students.... Continue Reading →
As we round the circle at the end of our Constitution unit the room is buzzing with energy. Students are out of their seats, holding their laptops like busy waiters during dinner service while chatting away to their peers on zoom, and pulling through the junk drawer of creative supplies. The time to put all... Continue Reading →
In our U.S. Constitution unit the students are tasked with sketch noting each article as a way of diving deep into the meaning of each section and clause. The ideas have to bounce around their heads as they figure out how to make words written in 1787 into visuals. The sketch noting forces students to... Continue Reading →
Sitting in a meeting about authenticating assessment, my mind wanders to the overall state of education. Here we are almost 1 year into a pandemic. Our systems have been thrown against a wall and decimated. Pivoting in a weekend our normal flow of life came to a dead stop. Everything started spinning and it isn’t... Continue Reading →
When Middle School students are told they are going to engage with a primary source the feeling of the room shifts. The smiling faces disappear. The air becomes stagnant. All joy in the world has been stifled. Not even the worlds most famous break up letter brightens their faces. The Declaration of Independence is not... Continue Reading →
When this year started we all knew we were in for a once in a lifetime ride (hopefully). In South Florida our school year began with two weeks of virtual learning where everyone was home. Teachers and students worked from their homes struggling to get to know each other and breaking the expecations of what... Continue Reading →
The new unit on revolutions is content heavy. We are exploring the American road to revolution and the Revolutionary War. In the past students have created timelines that are a reference that will be used in the next unit when learning the U.S. Constitution. This year changed the project to involve a larger world view. ... Continue Reading →
