Maker Space Ideas

Check-out the ideas in this great Edutopia articke below. It reminded me of some of the maker-space areas I have used in classroom and at a teacher training. When I taught elementary I had a table where kiddos could tinker with old electronics. Think safety-first, then let them explore as far as their imaginations will allow. It's an especially easy "when finished" activity. I'd often cut the cords or pull off the back so they wouldn't electrocute or cut themselves. We'd review proper use of tools and they were required to wear goggles if they were going to disasseble or pull anything apart as they really loved finding the magnets inside machines. 

Once disassembled, materials can be sorted to be upcycled into new electronics, art creations, or students can even repackage items to sell to other classrooms as math manipulatives in order to fund the purchase of new tools. In your weekly email to parents ask for tools instead of Starbucks gift-cards as holiday, end-of the year or birthday present donation with the student's name on it for years to come. Ask for old home phones, old desktops, broken kitchen appliances with motors etc. You don't need storebought "kits". Unless a student designs something and wants to teach others with a how-to demo and a step-by-step how-to page, imaginations go much farther if you do not post pre-made instructions.

Makerspace is fun for teachers too...Remember the old "make-it-take-it" teachers worksops? They were super fun!! In an IB teacher librarian training we set up a fun artistic maker space with materials to design superhero capes out of old tshirts. Our participants had to present to teachers and administrators they didn't know so this gave our superhero participants a space where they could chat about their content and settle nerves before they went out to present to other sessions, and have some fun too.

A makerspace can also be an old school super simple idea like a place to make postcards out of index cards, rulers,  copies of class/student photos, markers, and stamps. Young students can practice writing, drawing portraits, landscapes etc and send to their own home or to companies requesting freebies through the mail. Another simple station is a bookmaking station...Put out paper, rulers, makers, large plastic needles, yarn and hole punch, glue and cereal boxes to make bound books with covers. Books can be put out into the class or school library. Students love finding books from older friends and family members in the library. Remind them to include dedications and copyright dates. Too fun. 

These are some low-tech ideas I think are easy, cheap and don't take up a lot of space and time to establish. This article can really help you get your designer-on too. 

https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Starting+a+School+Makerspace+from+Scratch+%7C+Edutopia&url=http%3A%2F%2Fedut.to%2F1Ld1IaN&related=

Unplugging for Summer

Here's to Renee, a wonderful English teacher from Michigan who is on vacation and working to unplug. 

You unplugged your mini-fridge and your printer, you are ready for summer, but are you able to unplug yourself? Just because the calendar says summer vacation, turning off the mental to-do lists and "undone" items on the to-do list can continue to keep us up at night. The first article points out that a teachers make up four decisions in one minute. Many teachers I know arrive early, leave late, and don't take time to sit down to even finish their lunch. Here's a little test to gauge work/life balance... From September to December has your extended family and friends all but stopped contacting you because you are so busy with your students? 

Teaching is like a play. Most are familiar with the performance but don't realize the countless resources, time and money that goes on before the curtains open and the audience (students) walk through the doors. So no wonder it's tough to slow things down and take the break that we need to rethink, reflect and reconnect with our support system of family and friends. http://www.teachingquality.org/content/blogs/tricia-ebner/downshifting

The second article disccusses why it's important to unplug and gives suggestions on how to unwind. 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201006/the-importance-vacations-our-physical-and-mental-health

Cheers to all you wonderful teachers. It takes a couple of weeks to wind down but it's really important to recharge and replenish. Changing lives and making a difference is amazingly rewarding and important work but so is leading a balanced life. I guess I'd better go then and enjoy our block full of kiddos laughing and playing outside on a beautifully balmy evening. Happy summer, happy balance. 

Trauma and Academic Success

Want to share this webinar helping educators to learn more about serving students and families living with trauma. Traumatic events can inhibit a child's ability to find and make social and academic connections and progress. Events such as an anniversary of the original trauma or small changes such as a substitute in the classroom or pending vacation can trigger old wounds. While we are not trained psychologists or counselors, these webinars are a way to start developing understanding of our role and responsibility in being part of the team that can support healing.

http://trainingvenue.com/articles/2015/06/272/

Sharon Draper

Her books focus on the universal concepts of identity and community and appeal to teens and beyond. Check out this interview with Sharon Draper in School Library Journal. http://www.slj.com/2015/06/interviews/tales-out-of-school-an-interview-with-2015-margaret-a-edwards-award-winner-sharon-draper/#comment-467620

Service Learning Ideas

Follow Cathryn Berger Kaye http://www.cbkassociates.com/resources/

(Many of you have her book in your library and probably just don’t know it. Kid’s Guide to Service Learning…one of the best!!!!!) 

It’s not current but the quality is there and can serve as a jumping off spot. There are short explanations on everything students need to start service and take action icluding forms to use for power surveys, interviewing, writing a grant, etc. She gives examples of students who have taken action and their projects, etc.

 

http://www.buildersclub.org/Home.aspx

There are a lot of resources on their page for service. OR…Set up a Builders Club working with your local Kiwanis and be part of a really fun collaborative kid-oriented service club. I have learned a lot being a Builders Club Advisor. Builders Club has a lot of ideas on their webpage for service that is more of a whole school focus. For schools new to IB Community Project or service learning start by providing a lot of structured opportunities and then put the kiddos in charge of running the events as their service. As they gain confidence they'll take on more responsibility and the culture of student initiated service will begin to take root. 

 

http://www.ysa.org/  (Awesome One Stop Shop) and http://www.gysd.org/

 

http://www.whatkidscando.org/

 

http://www.tigweb.org/about/our-programs/

 

When you are ready to get started make sure you start with the kiddos first. What are needs they see, hear, feel in their classrooms, school, and in their neighborhoods close to home/school?  A lot of these are one and done type events when you are starting, and the sustainability factor is lacking, but just jump and start somewhere then the project can be taken on by a younger child and become more sustainable as the years progress. 

 

Here are some examples of one-n-done kiddo service projects in our school:

 

-Campaign not to feed the seagulls on campus and design a brochure on ways to deter them from coming into school yards

 

-Caring for kittens at local shelter and spreading the word for need to spay and neuter pets

 

-Ongoing collection drive at local hotels for hygiene items for homeless

 

-Food drives, Trick or Treat for UNICEF, Read to Feed in collaboration with organizations that provide a lot of support and resources for the student coordinator

 

-Student organized beach or canyon clean ups and then use collected debris in art class and debris data in math and science class

 

Service Learning examples:

 

Here are some of the service learning events that my students led in my Spanish class: 

1) Investigate organizations that serve Spanish speakers and design events for their clients

2) Design and host a Quinceanera for teens in a teen shelter. 

3) Design and use Spanish to narrate a “surf/beach/summer fashion show” that collects new beach wear for homeless teens.

4) Host a Mother's Day fashion show for Spanish Speaking moms at the school.

5) A group of students who surf can plan a surf lesson and beach BBQ in Spanish for a group of kiddos who speak Spanish in the foster system, invited from a newcomers class at another school, or are delegates visiting from another country. 

 

Hope this helps. I LOVE service learning.  

IB Community Project Idea

Have a library monitor looking for a great idea for discarded books? What about a Little Free Library at school or at home? Check out these fun an inexpensive ideas. http://littlefreelibrary.org/little-free-libraries-shoestring-budget/. What are your ideas for designing a LFL in your community?

Mandarin

We've been working with Sally Fox at San Diego County Office of Education to learn more about supporting our students who are beginning and intermediate Mandarin Chinese second and/or third language learners. It can be a very tricky language for us native English speakers. Did you know...There are five different tones in Mandarin Chinese? You can get in a lot of trouble by simply saying the word "ma". Say it one way, and it means "mom", and say it with a different tone, and it could mean "horse".  Not only is it difficult for native English speakers to say words using the falling and rising tones, but it's really hard for us to hear and identify them. Sally Fox has come up with a great color-coding system to use when writing pinyin or characters. A certain color means the word needs a rising or falling tone. She also uses TPR as she teaches students move their right hand in the direction of the tone. Lift hand with a rising tone. Lower hand with a falling tone, etc. 

Another reason Mandarin Chinese can be so challenging is there is no transfer between the written alphabets. Many educators help learners by using pinyin. Pinyin is a phonetic system for transcribing Chinese characters into the Latin alphabet. They use letters with symbols to indicate the tones. 

What I am learning is second language educators teaching Chinese have to develop an extremely wide repetoire of second language learning strategies. It can take approximately five times as long for a native English speaker to learn Mandarin Chinese. To keep things fresh and engaging for beginning and early intermediate learners the teacher must design lessons using multiple strategies to provide comprehensible input in a variety of contexts in order to learn even the most basic vocabulary. It is believed that second language learners require up to 80 times hearing, speaking, viewing and/or interacting with or using a given word before acquisition takes place. 

It's been fascinating to begin to understand and appreciate how Mandarin Chinese learners begin to acquire the language and the need to support our second language teachers with extensive training on language acquisition strategies and pedagogy. 

Be sure to check out the support resources for world language on the San Diego County Office of Education website. Also visit WestEd to learn more about current research on second language acquisition.