Now I See The Moon

This school year 2014-15 I have been working with students with Autism.  I was given this book by an educational aide.  Now I See The Moon is written by Elaine Hall with Elizabeth Kaye.  On page 60, I found some very interesting information.  "The anxiety of children with autism is more than the typical anxiety that you or I might feel.  Their anxiety comes from their inability to predict or control what might irritate or overwhelm their nervous system...

Minecraft

Teaching full time for the San Diego Unified District plus tutoring a few students, I have found many addicted to playing Minecraft.  So I decided to take a course to learn more about it.  First I want to learn which version would be the best for me.  My fourth grade student loves to watch Minecraft videos on You Tube.  I felt needed something more that just watching.

I don't have a Play Station so I don't think I will go with that version.  To of my students do have that version. One boy only has one controller so it can only be played alone.  The other boy splits the screen so he and his brother can play side by side.  I think having a controller may make things easier or more intuitive when playing.

Building my own computer is not a real interest of mine, so I will pass on the RaspberyPI version.  If I had a class of students who wanted to build their own computer this would be a plus.  I understand this version have the connection between curriculum and Minecraft.  If my boys were young I think I would use this version so they could expand their knowledge of computers, gaming and how things work.

I thought I would check out about the PC version at work while eating lunch.  But I found all the pages blocked.  It appears that all the features are available on the PC version.  I use PC's for work but I have Macs at home.  With everything blocked here at work it eliminated this option.  I understand the PC version allows people to connect to servers for miltiplayer games but I want to use mine mainly one on one.

So I have decided to go with the Pocket Edition or Minecraft PE.  I think I will purchase it on my iPad.  I brought one of my personal iPads to work and use it as a reward after students work for me.  I can use it at home when I tutor individual students as well.  I also like that the recipes for various combinations are make visible in the PE version.  This makes it sound a bit easier to use, at least for me. I understand that it comes at a cost because it cannot make as many different items like the PC version.  This weekend I plan to download the version for my iPad.  I will contact my fourth grade friend to assist me.

Tough Teachers Get Results

This article was found in The Wall Street Journal Sept 28, 2013 and is written by Joanne Lipman.

This quote summarizes the article very well. "The latest research shows the wisdom of old-fashioned methods: Rote learning, plenty of failure and stingy praise encourage students to work harderand achieve  more."  It seems the teacher that pushed us the most, and was strict really helped us learn the most.

Here are her eight points.

1.  A little pain is good for you.  Practice makes perfect.  Sometimes you have to do things out of your comfort zone to learn and grow as a person.

2. Drill, baby, drill.  Now we have the common core where sometimes only one problem is discussed in a 45 minute math class.  But doing many problems over and over helps keep them in our memory.

3. Failure is an option.  Sometimes the problems need to be tough.  Showing that failure just means trying again.  It means working harder.  It means re writing the paper.

4. Strict is better than nice.  Joanne brings up a fourth-grader's quote to explain this. "When I was in first grade, and second grade and third grade, when I cried my teachers coddled me.  When I got to Mrs. T's room, she told me to suck it up and get to wrok.  I think she's right. I need to work harder."

5. Creativity can be learned. You really need to learn the material before you can be creative with it.

6. Grit trumps talent.  Grit is defined as passion and perseverance for long-term goals.  Grit is what can determine success.  They also noted that students who had teachers who were optimist had made great academic gains.

7. Praise makes you weak... If you tell a student, 'not bad, or 'you are a good worker' encourages a student to keep working hard.

8. ...while stress makes you strong.  Good teachers have at their core the belief, the faith really intheir student's   ability to do better.

Students reflected that great teachers taught them:

     discipline

     self-motivation

     resilience

     how to fail and how to pick yourself up again 

Clicks, Not Gold Stars

An article was published Monday, November 17, 2914 in the New York TImes, written by Natasha Singer.   Have you heard of ClassDojo?  This is a behavior-tracking app that lets teachers award points or subtract them based on a student's conduct.  I work in a school where a first grade teacher is using this system.  When a teacher awards or deducts points the program makes a sound.  The deductions make a sad sound that the entire class hears.  In addition to this, the parents can see their child's behavior in real time.

I was shocked to find according to this article that one out of three schools in the United States are using this application. Teachers say they like this software because it allows them to quickly record individual class behavior, whole class behavior, and communicate to the parents on how 'their student' is doing.

Teachers can use this two ways.  They can display all student's points or use the system in a private mode.  One teacher said he uses multiple points for good behavior and subtracts very few points for off task behavior.

Problems with this app is having all parents agree in writing to the use of it in the classroom.  One school is concerned about a student feeling publicly shamed.  Some principals do not want the data displayed publicly.

Overall from the use I have seen in the classroom, it is a positive 'sound' that makes the class strive to improve their behavior.  They clap to encourage a classmate.  They fix their behavior when off task and the sad sound is heard.

Please send your feedback if you have seen its use in class or monitor your child's progress in the classroom.

Developing brains switch maths strategies

I found this article on line:  http://www.nature.com/news/developing-brains-switch-maths wtirren by Helen Shen August 17, 2014.

I have been working with a sixth grader who has to process numbers that add to ten.  I have been wondering what could cause this?   This articles states 'that changes in the hippocampus-a brain area associated with memory formation-could help explain how children eventually pick up efficient startegies for mathematics."

Usually adults use memory based stratgies for finding sums and children use counting methods.

What they found using MRI to scan children's brains is that the coordination of signals in the hippocampus with the rest of the brain are the most importnat.  "Children with stronger connections between the hippocampus and neocortex were more likely than others to answer problems with memorized math facts."

So with my student, I plan to work on numbers at the first grade level wuing the common core.  I hope I can do enough work that it can be permaently in her memory and her brain can process sums to 10 in a faster way.

let me know if you have any ideas on this?  I would love to learn.

Exercise Helps!

In the article "A Brain Tonic for Children" by Gretchen Reynolds found in the New York Times on 10/14/14, a study was done that show physical activity helps brain function.  The University of Illinois did a study with 220 students that were 8 to 9 years old.  They divided the group in half.  The control group just did what they did every day after school while the others worked on physical activity.

What a shock to find, "The students who attended the most exercise sessions showed greater
 improvements in their cognitive scores."

The students that exercised were given heart monitors and pedometers.  They were guided through activities like tag how to dribble a soccer ball.  Over all they exerciser about 70 minutes and covered over two miles.

So if you are in a district where they are cutting back on PE classes and having shorter recesses, you can improve your student test scores by having them workout every day.  So start a run club for once or twice a week, start a walking group at lunch.  Take a break and do physical exercise while learning the times tables or just counting.

If students in your classroom are not exercising after school you really need to add  some in your teaching day.  Think about it, you both will benefit.

Students with ADHD in Your Classroom

Do you have trouble with those students who just can stay in their seat.  They seem to be jumping up and out of control most of the time.  Now there is research that shows, "Exercise Helps Children With ADHD."

This was found in the Wall Street Journal, Sept 8, 2014, in an article written by Sumathi Reddi, "Exercise Helps Children with ADHD in Study".  Listen to this, "half-hour sessions of aerobic activity before school helped you children with symptom of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder become more attentive and less moody."

Wow, do parents and teachers love this new development. When I had students who knew they were in trouble, feeling out of control, I opened my classroom door and told them run to the gate and back.  I would then ask, "how do you feel now?" Most were able to go back to their seat and start working on their classwork.

Many schools have cut back on time for PE, recess, lunch to fit in all the new common core standards.  This is trouble.  We need our students running.

So take short exercise breaks through out the day.  Have your class do 'jumping jacks', run in place, hop up and down (great way to do some counting in a k or 1 class), etc.  When ever I have a student who just can't sit still i have them move.  Usually they can relax and do class work after that.

Ask parents if their child could run for 1/2 before school each day.  Let me know if it works.