Twenty Strategies That Engage the Brain

I will remember the 20 brain-based strategies to promote student learning found in Marcia Tate’s, “Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites” using the technique to memorize twenty concepts as demonstrated by Rich Allan this year at Leander ISD’s Continuous Improvement Conference.

This is the format:

I will briefly describe the body movement as demonstrated by Rich Allan.  I will use that body movement to then memorize the 20 brain-based strategies.

-1 is the sun (make a circle with your arms in front of your body):  I will bounce my arms and imagine the circle being a brain (brainstorming and discussion).

-2 eyes (use two fingers to point to your eyes):  I will start out by pointing to my eyes but then I will begin drawing random things in the air in front of me with those two fingers (drawing and artwork).

-3 is a triangle (using both hands to outline the vertices of a triangle):  I will start with outlining the vertices of the triangle and then start “pointing at objects I am seeing at the museum” (field trips).

-4 burners on a stove (using one hand, press each burner on the stove):  I will move my pawn around the game board 4 times (games).

-5 fingers (wiggle fingers):  I will recall the graphic organizer that students can learn to memorize a summary on their fingers—somebody, wanted, but, so, then (graphic organizers, semantic maps, and word webs).

-6 pick-up sticks (using one hand, begin to “pick up sticks”):  I will think of the sticks and remember “slapstick” humor (humor).

-7-Up (pretend to drink a can of 7-Up):  I will begin to drink the can but then begin to “analyze the specimen” (manipulatives, experiments, labs, and models).

-8 tentacles (wiggle 8 fingers):  I will think, “The octopus’ tentacles are as long as fire hoses” (metaphors, analogies, similes).

-9 line (draw a line with your pinky):  I will pretend I am unzipping a really neat way to remember facts or information (mnemonic devices)

-10 chicken (flap arms like a chicken):  I will flap my arms like a chicken and move around the room (movement).

-11 pickets on a fence (drum your pointer fingers down a line of fencing):  I will drum with my fingers (music, rhythm, rhyme, and rap).

-12 dozen eggs (crack an egg):  I will crack the egg and see what “problem is inside” (project-based and problem-based instruction).

-13 unlucky cat (pet an unlucky cat):  I will pet the cat in hopes that it becomes cooperative (reciprocal teaching and cooperative learning).

-14 is a heart for Valentine’s (using both hands, make the shape of a heart in front of your body):  I will make the heart in front of my body, but do it dramatically (role plays, drama, pantomimes, and charades).

-15 minutes of fame (do the jazz hands and proclaim your 15 minutes of fame!):  I will pretend that I had 15 minutes of fame because of a really crazy story from my life (storytelling).

-16 legal age to drive (hold a steering wheel and pretend to drive):  Change the radio station as you are driving the car (technology).

-17 magazine (flip the pages of Seventeen):  Visualize the pictures in the magazine as you are flipping the pages (visualization and guided imagery).

-18 legal age to vote (make a checkmark with your hand):  Imagine you made a checkmark on a huge voting ballet (visuals).

-19 remote (turn on the TV with a remote):  Pretend that the remote needs repair and you are attempting to fix it (work study and apprenticeships).

-20-20 vision (hold binoculars and look around):  Start off holding binoculars and then use your right hand to start writing (writing and journals).

Mentor job

Exciting news came my way last Wednesday. I was contacted by Austin ISD and offered a position as an elementary Mentor for the 2012-2013 school year! Basically I will be helping 1st-3rd year teachers have the best school year they can have! Hopefully, I will also keep them motivated, excited, and passionate about teaching.

In preparation for this new journey I want to make sure I continue blogging. I want to finish, "You're Going to Love this Kid" by Paula Kluth. Also, I would like to read Rich Allan's, "Green Light Classroom", by the end of the school year.

I am exciting to meet the mentor team and to find out where I will be working. I am also excited to know who I will be mentoring!

"You're Going to Love This Kid" Chapter 8

Chapter 8 is on literacy and students with autism. 

The following thoughts are from my experiences only, and don't necessarily reflect what happens elsewhere.

I'd say we do a good job in elementary school including every student in literacy development.  We don't "count kids out" so quickly in the early years.  We push for literacy in all grades, k-5.  We get that being literate is more than just being able to sound out words and piece them together to form sentences and paragraphs. 

As a reading teacher, I push for increases in fluency.  I want my kids to be able to read with an ease that allows them to simply enjoy the exercise of reading.  However, many of my students struggle significantly with reading fluency.  Sometimes, we just need to take a break from the chore of reading and give our students the opportunity to enjoy a good story being told by a good storyteller.  A good read aloud models the joy of reading for students, without the struggles of reading fluency getting in the way.  It also helps us focus on the other aspect of reading- comprehension.  Reading comprehension can be refined and practiced during a read aloud when students are not expected to read themselves.  Practicing reading comprehension during a read aloud provides excellent opportunities for teachers to engage students in higher order thinking skills for texts that would otherwise be inaccessible.

Students on the Spectrum benefit from being read to because they are able to hear how voice inflections change as characters interact and respond to emotions.  This is powerful for these students as many struggle to understand social interactions and emotions.

Half way done with the paragraph...more to come.

Reflections of Action Plan 2011-2012

hmmm

Should I admit in an interview that I am nervous!? I think everyone is nervous. I am just mentioning the elephant in the room. But, it helps me realize it's okay to be nervous.

Let's hope for the best. My goal was to go in there and show them how passionate I am about this field and give them proof that it is backed up by a solid working knowledge of best practices. Now, we just have to wait a few weeks and see what happens.

We need to meet the kids where they are, and then push them forward. Meeting a student where she is does not grant us approval to maintain a status quo, it simply gives us a reasonable and realistic foundation on which to build.

interview

Interview in one hour and 10 minutes. I'm a little nervous, I'll be honest. It's for a mentor teaching job. It's, quite honestly, my dream job. It involves so many things I am passionate about. How exciting would it be to work with those first through third year teachers and guide them to become rockin' teachers and teachers who feel a sense of accomplishment when they see their students succeed. Talk about a job of supporting someone in their greatest time of need.

I am going to take my anxiety and do what Steven Tyler does. He is an adrenaline junkie. He lives for the rush of the stage. This interview will be my stage, and I will pretend that I live for that rush!