Ed Celeb Interview: NEA prez Dennis Van Roekel

How will you distinguish yourself from previous NEA presidents?

NEA’s mission—great public schools for every student—is bigger than any one individual’s intentions. It’s more about the students our 3.2 million members serve. My goal is to continue the work of the Association in creating great public schools for all children. Obviously, I am going to have projects and issues that are “near and dear” to my heart. However, make no mistake about it, I plan for this Association to stay the course of making sure that all children—regardless of their race, zip code, or economic status—have access to quality public schools.

Read the rest of TeachHUB's ultimate union-insider interview with NEA president Dennis van Roekel.

Have ideas for other Ed Celebs to interview? Post in the comments section OR email me at acondron@teachhub.com

TeachHUB 2.0

Since we launched the TeachHUB resource site for K-12 educators last April, we’ve made a lot of big changes to **hopefully** make TeachHUB as useful, fun and teacher-friendly as possible.

I wanted to let you know about theses changes and ask for your help and advice as we continue trying to make TeachHUB a valuable resource for you and your fellow teachers.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The revamped Teacher Recommendations page should make it a lot easier to find and share you favorite things.

You can now click through tons of the best Teacher sites with a brief description, recommendation from a teacher and a grade.

We’ve also added an on-site Amazon Teacher Store –

That way, you get Amazon’s low prices, but all front-page items are recommended by teachers and the categories will give you much smaller haystacks to find your needles!

• Grade-level specific
• Subject-specific
• Ed Tech
• Grade-level books
• Teacher Organization
• Coaching

Please check it out and send me your recommendations!

INSIDER DEALS

• Discounted Masters programs - we’ve arranged through universities around the country that meet one-night-a-week at local schools,
• Reduced Price on Pop Culture Lesson Plans – now only $9.95 from $29.95
• Members-Only Deals Coming Soon: we’re also working with other education companies, authors and websites to get members exclusive deals.

My question to you is: what are you looking for deals on? We’ll track down your favorites and get you a discount. Just ask!

ON-SITE PD

With school and district budgets tightening, teachers have told us they aren’t being allowed to pick their own professional development days, schools won’t pay for it and sometimes, they don’t even have the budget for a sub if you pay for your own workshop.

This means that most professional development is moving to in-school PD, which takes the choice out of your hands and into administrators.

To get your voice heard, recommend topics and speakers to us AND to your administration. We post the top teacher-recommended topics on the Professional Development page. We can also help your principal find the best teacher to tackle that topic.

OLD GOODIES

We’ve still got all the TeachHUB staples –

• daily featured article
• latest teacher blogs
• featured Pop Lesson Plans
• YouTube video writing prompts

But now you find the latest on the homepage.

Don’t forget to visit these fun, but sometimes forgotten features:

• Q of the Day
• Weekly polls
• Teacher Spotlight – You could be our next Teacher Spotlight, just email me at acondron@teachhub.com
• Teacher Tips
• Share classroom advice, stories or just chat on the Discussion Board

Contests & Giveaways

The new contests and giveaways should be rolled out next week. One hint: you may want to get out your pom-poms and spirit stick!

Please share any recommendations you have in the comments section! Thanks for visiting the site and for your help :)

Answering The Question of Common National Standards

While teachers and classrooms are doing everything they can to differentiate and personalize instruction for every student, policy-makers are focusing on creating uniform standards across the map. Are these seemingly divergent paths moving in the right direction?

As a trend or hot topic in education, common or "national" standards have always been one of those ideas that resurface every few years. This time, they seem to be gaining momentum.

Read more

Put 'em to Work with Classroom Jobs

Hopefully, at this point, your year is chugging along nicely. You and your friends have settled into your routine and you’re off! It’s time to learn!

So what happens when you’ve been so engrossed in your teaching that it’s suddenly five minutes before the end of the day, you have a million odds and ends to take care of and nobody has their backpack yet? (Hint: the answer is not “freak out.”) This is the time that you truly need to rely on your little friends to help you get it all done.

Now, most of you probably already have a few classroom jobs posted and in full swing. Bravo! My challenge to you is to create even more jobs. Yes, more jobs! Our little friends love to help – sometimes to the point where them asking how they can help actually becomes less than helpful. At one point, I had a system where every single child in my class had some sort of responsibility each week.

Let me tell you a quick story.

Read more

5 Minute Fillers & Bell Ringer Activities

Every teacher has those times when you need five minutes to take attendance, talk to a colleague, answer a call from the office or fill in when a lesson finishes earlier than expected.

Try these tips so your students aren't sitting around. Read more

Dabbleboard: Teacher Website of the Week

Dabbleboard is a free basic Web 2.0 tool - part of the read-write web, meaning that you can read the website and also add to it, or write on the page. This site is a combination of a mindmapping tool, a collaborative tool, and an easy-to-learn online whiteboard.

Here are some ideas to get you started using Dabbleboard in the classroom - both for instruction and for student projects.
read more

Mobius Response Model: A New Twist for Differentiated Learning & Gifted Education

Say goodbye to cookie-cutter curriculum and its predictable approach for all students.

Say hello to the Mobius Response Model that lets your students’ learning needs lead the way for differentiation and gifted education.

The Mobius Response Model (MRM) represents a creative structure for responding to individual students’ learning needs. It offers a user-friendly metaphor for effective gifted education by focusing on and connecting four critical foundational points for teaching and appropriately differentiated learning: (A) planning, (B) assessment, (C) programming, and (D) learning environment.

Read more

Top 12 Classroom Management Dos & Don'ts

Does this sound familiar?

You labored all night creating a thoughtful, engaging lesson. You were confident that your students would enjoy it, only to have your excitement—and theirs—dashed by the antics of a handful of students. You spent all your time writing names on the board, calling out troublemakers’ names, and “ssshh-ing” them. You’re exhausted, irritated—both with them and yourself—and dispirited because you didn’t get through everything you needed to. Crushed, you don’t even want to think about planning for the next day, let alone doing it all again in your next class.

Learning simply cannot occur alongside misbehavior, so instruction hinges upon classroom management. Effective teachers are effective classroom managers. It’s essential that you handle disruptions in a non-confrontational manner, reinforcing rather than undermining your authority.

Instead of pulling your hair out in frustration, give these Classroom Management “Dos” and “Don’ts” a try.

"Pants on the Ground" Video Writing Prompts

3-8: Pretend that you are an Idol judge. Choose the adjective that best describes Larry's performance for:
- singing voice
- dancing ability
- original song
- entertainment value

Provide a one-two sentence explaining why that adjective best describes Larry's performance.

Find "Pants on the Ground" prompts K-2 and 9-12, along with more YouTube writing prompts on the Teacher Tips page!

Blazing the Trail for Bilingual Ed

After nearly 40 years involved in education trying to improve and promote Spanish literacy instruction and biliteracy education, Dr. Jilly Kerpa Mora recently received the Two-way California Association for Bilingual Education 2009 Promoting Biliteracy Award.

Dr. Mora shares her experience fighting to get bilingual education accepted across the map, as someone who’s been with the struggle from the beginning.

Read more

New Student Blog Project

This semester, I’m trying out a new project for my writing class. I’m inviting my students to start a blog about anything they want (within reason) in an attempt to get them excited (or at least relaxed) about writing.

I’d love to get some feedback from anyone who’s tried out blogs in the classroom...

Read more

Pop Culture Lesson Plans

For a limited time, you can get full access to the archive of 500+ Printable Pop Culture Lesson Plans for the rest of the 09/10 school year for only $9.95.

After requests from teachers trying to connect content with student interests, the TeachHUB team created a Printable Pop Culture Lesson Plans. Pop Culture Lesson Plans are designed to enhance your existing curriculum while grabbing your students’ attention.

Pop Culture Lesson Plans are:

• Access 500+ lessons through June 15, 2010
• Available for K-12 grade levels and core subjects
• Inspired by pop culture and news headlines
• Aligned to national teaching standards
• Valued at $29.95 for a one-year subscription
• 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
• Ready to print, copy & assign in your classroom today!

You can preview Pop Culture Lesson Plans with these free samples.

Sign Up to get your Printable Pop Culture Lesson Plans today!

Student Athletes: How Much is Too Much?

For the 30 million student athletes in America, sports can be an excellent way for high school students to build relationships, stay in shape and learn valuable skills about teamwork. But high school sports aren’t always fun and games.

With scholarship hopes, parental pressures and an ultra-competitive atmosphere, some student athletes may begin to crumble under the pressure.

Read more

Turn Parents into Partners

A high school English teacher told me about a student who struggled with analytical writing and avoided it by skipping her homework assignments. The students’ parents constantly pressured the teacher to overlook the missed assignments.

A third grade teacher told me the mother of one of his students left twenty-minute messages on his voice mail every day and showed up in his classroom unannounced.

A middle school teacher who gave an exam the day after Halloween said she received an e-mail from a parent containing a four-paragraph poem titled, “The Grinch That Stole Halloween.”

Adversarial parents can create frustration and impede your progress with their child. To foster positive relationships with your students’ parents and encourage their cooperation and support, try the following three-part approach:

Read more

Book Talks Advertise Great Reads

What better place to find a spokesperson for reading than in your own classroom?

Once a month I invite students to choose a book they read and present a short, 2 to 3 minute book talk. From the start of the school year, it's helpful for you to model the book talking process by giving short talks on new additions to your classroom library or on favorite books, magazines, or graphic novels you want to spotlight.

When a students says that a book was the "best" or "I couldn't put it down" or "I thought about it all day," they become topnotch salespersons for a favorite book. Students' recommendations inspire their peers to check out an author, a topic, or a specific title. That's why book talks are great advertisements for reading; they can also serve as assessments.

Read more

Helping the Children of Haiti Writing Prompts

Helping the Children of Haiti

9-12: How is the aftermath from the Haitian earthquake different than other recent disasters (the Asian Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, etc)? Is a country's wealth and international relationships a cause of those differences? Why or why not?

Watch the video and see writing prompts for K-12 on the Teacher Tips page!

Elementary, My Dear Teacher: Teaching with Mysteries

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it can also peak the interest in your students and engage them in your lessons!

If you didn’t catch the Sherlock Holmes movie over the break, you probably saw the commercials. The world’s greatest fictional detective lives again for a new generation of movie-goers. Why does Hollywood keep recycling him every few years? Because mysteries are universally appealing.

Here are some ways to take advantage of that appeal to keep your students’ attention: read more

Need Teacher Giveaway Ideas

As we wrap up the Holiday Lesson Plan Giveaway, I want to thank everyone who spread the word and got so many new teachers involved in the TeachHUB community.

Now it's time for some new, fresh fun. We love giving back to teachers with things they need, want and enjoy.

So the question is: what should our next giveaway be?

We'll roll out a new giveaway and contest in the next few weeks and we need ideas. Please share what you desperately need a little extra funding for in your clasroom (or maybe even just to keep your sanity) AND what contests you think are worth being a part of (or the TeachHUB readers benefiting from the submissions).

Giveaways
Do you want ed tech for the classroom, like a digital camera, iPod, learning software or even calculators?
Do you need want books for your classroom library?
Do you want a spa trip to help unwind after a crazy semester with the kids?

Contests
Do you want to show off your school spirit with photos and videos?
Do you want to compete for the most creative lesson in the country?
Do you want a TeachHUB "Race to the Top" competition to show how innovative you're being in your classroom to earn a small grant?

Previous Contests

We want to make these giveaways as beneficial and fun as possible, so we need to hear directly from you. Please share any ideas you may have in the comments section!

21st Century Skills: Beyond the Buzzwords

Education is a field filled with buzzwords, from RTI to collaborative development to differentiated instruction to student-centered learning and beyond. The latest trend in this time of “change” is 21st century skills.

21st century skills encapsulate all that teachers have been begging for in the post-NCLB era: creativity, problem-solving and learning beyond fact recitation.

Like most ed buzz words, this one emanates from a genuine, intelligent approach to preparing kids for their future. This approach would free teachers from the stifling bonds of NCLB and it just makes sense. Read more

PBS Kids Island: Website of the Week

Getting stranded on a desert island just got educational, thanks to PBS Raising Readers' Kids Island.

Every few months, I search for the latest websites for young children. My own children loved Sesame Street and predictability of the show, so I started at the source. Read more

Go Green In Your Classroom

Nothing is a hotter topic right now than than global warming and our universal need to live green. In support of growing environmental concerns, the federal government and many states are funding green schools.

Many of these eco-friendly schools are experimenting with everything from solar and wind energy sources, recycled building materials, and natural lighting to using green products and pesticides, implementing energy efficient technology and incorporating environmental issues in curriculum.

While it would be ideal if all schools could be green schools, it is difficult to find the time and money to reconstruct and convert currently existing schools.

Even if your school can’t or won’t invest in eco-friendly changes, you can still do your part and have a positive impact on your students, your school, and your community.

Just because you don’t have a green school, does not mean you can’t have a green classroom.

The following is a list of easy & immediate ways to make your classroom eco-friendly:

Last Week to Get Pop Culture Lesson Plans

The holiday season may be behind us, but TeachHUB would like to extend a gift to all K-12 teachers for their hard work in 2009:

Through January 18, ALL TeachHUB MEMBERS will have access to an archived database of 500+ Printable Pop Culture Lesson Plans.

Use Pop Culture Lesson Plans to enhance your existing curriculum and spark student interest.

Pop Culture Lesson Plans are:
-Valued at $29.95 for a one-year subscription
-Aligned to national teaching standards
-Available for K-12 grade levels and core subjects
-Inspired by pop culture and news headlines
-Ready to print, copy & assign in your classroom today!

Sign Up as a TeachHUB member to get your FREE Printable Pop Culture Lesson Plans today!

To redeem your members-only gift, visit: http://www.teachhub.com/holiday-giveaway

TeachHUB appreciates all you do and wishes you a new year filled with raised hands, completed assignments and "I get it" looks on students' faces.

Top 12 Lesson Plan Websites

With the 2.0 teaching community getting bigger by the day, there are endless options to look for lessons.

You can gain the expertise of veteran teachers, the resources of major news agencies, ed tech capabilities that would make Bill Gates jealous or just the combined brainstorm of innumerable teachers around the world , all with the click of a mouse.

To save you the time of wading through the thousands of sites out there, we've compiled the Top 12 go-to websites when looking for lessons

Sharing Favorite Sites for Teachers

As a new feature on the site, we'd like to let teachers share their favorite websites for school, whether it be for

• lesson plan ideas
• learning games
• amazing blogs
• grant and donations sites
• online ed tech software
• any site you just love and think other teachers would love

A few of my favorites are:

TeacherLingo - This is an everyday stop for me to reaad the latest teacher blogs from across the net. You can upload your blog from other sites too, so get your blog on TeacherLingo and share in the fun!

Brainpop - Brainpop features animated videos on a range of topics, mostly K-8 but some higher up. There's also a teacher community with supplemental lessons and ideas on how to make the most of Animoto's videos.

They also have a ESL beta page worth checking out!

eSchoolNews - This ed news site focuses on ed tech, with the latest developments, trends and studies in learning styles.

Animoto - With a quick photo upload, you can have a slideshow video with titles and music in a few minutes. It's a great way to get students attention and appeal to visual learners with little effort.

“Animoto is a magically-easy way to grab attention... and create new visual contexts.”— Joyce Valenza Ph.D

Jeopardy Quiz Game - This one I haven't used yet, but my friends are all about it. It's quiz software online, so you can fill in review questions and make your jeopardy game. You can also search previously-made games that fit your unit.

Unlike the powerpoint versions, this has sound effects, scoring and is just really fun.

Please post your favorite websites in the comments sections!

The Curse of the Easy A

It's time to say goodbye to an A for effort, no matter what your subject.

Many current music educators grew up in a time when being in an ensemble was solely about playing the music for the next concert. I personally cannot recall ever doing a worksheet or any real music theory work while in high school.

It seemed that all I had to do to get an "A" was come to my lessons, play at the concerts, and otherwise stay out of trouble. Outside practice was expected but not enforced. I did not realize until many years later that this method of teaching had set me up for years of mediocrity and frustration.

Read more

Virtual Field Trips with Google Maps

I've always used Google maps for last minute directions, but I just recently discovered how to tap into its virtual field trip potential.

Turns out, you can literally get IN the map. It's a phenomenal way to explore with your students (or on your own!). Just pick a location you're learning about, scout it out before hand and let loose.

Here are a few different approaches you can take: Read more

Pump Up Your Resolution Resolve

As 2010 begins, I know that many of us are scrambling to keep (or come up with) our New Year’s Resolutions. I think the extra long lines for the treadmill at the gym and the empty shelves of bagged salad at the grocery store speak for themselves.

This year I realized that there are two obvious problems with my resolutions.
1. They are horribly general. They don’t really name any specific behavior or situations.
2. They lack a plan. (And you know I love a good color-coded plan!)

So in 2010, I have revolutionized by resolutions! Read more

Dos & Don'ts for Teaching to the Test

As the State Regents Exams draw close, it’s time to start teaching to the test if you haven’t already.

Those who don’t fall into the trap of test prep turn their noses up arguing that students should have learned the skills to pass an exam without ever having seen the likes of it before. The rest of us realize that with students entering 9th grade on a 5th grade reading level, two years is not enough time to get them ready to pass an 11th grade Literacy exam cold.

Read more