In this week's Voice of Experience essay, Max Fischer shares his experiences using moral dilemmas to bring classroom lessons to life. Discussions of dilemmas tied to his curriculum challenge students to think critically and teach many other skills. Included: Join the discussion -- share your favorite role-play or simulation activity.
The greatest moments in history are born from tough choices and difficult decisions. Using dilemma activities in teaching history or civics puts the students "in the moment" of history. The lesson can be altered to fit any age group and subject matter, and allows the class to learn appropriate tone in discussion/debate.
Literature is alive with iconic characters known around the world for their incredible exploits and heroic actions. James Bond and Sherlock Holmes are such characters. Less well known are the life stories of some of the authors of famous fiction. Many of these authors had real-life adventures that rivaled those of the fictional characters they created. Use the following discussion guide to explore with students how biographical information can influence fiction.
Grade Level: 9-12
Student learning objectives: Students will be able to see how real-life experiences help an author to shape a fictional character he or she is creating. These experiences often form the basis for many of the plots involving these characters.
Education World has links to news stories for teachers to share and discuss with students. News stories are based on their timelines and interest to students. I feel this would be a great website to implement in the classroom and use to teach students how to five the five w's (who, what, where, when, why) when reading a news article.
This is a great article of how schools are starting book clubs. They have a small group of teachers read a professional books and then have discussions about them. They also try new strategies in their classrooms and then discuss them with the rest of the members.
This lesson combines a hands-on activity (making a model of a Viking ship), internet skills (web searches), and cooperative learning/discussions to study the ancient Vikings. The boat building activity will also draw students in with the good-natured competition of sailing their models and rating how they did. Journal entries and guided discussions and research add to the involvement of the students with the subject.
Subjects Health Mental Health Our Bodies Grades Brief Description This lesson teaches about stress and how to cope with its effects. Objectives Students identify situations that cause feelings of stress. determine and discuss positive/healthy ways to cope with stressful situations.
Students at one Florida middle schools read and discuss young adult novels as part of the school's annual "Extreme Read." The experience gives students a chance to see those around them -- peers, parents, and even the math teacher -- as fellow readers.
Write a character sketch about somebody you know well. Objectives Students will use a graphic organizer to help them discuss a model character sketch and organize/write one of their own. write an interesting sketch that includes the proper elements of a character sketch.
Every year, I have 4th grade students compare handwriting speed to keyboarding speed. We run it like an experiment. we discuss the evidence-pros and cons we develop a hypothesis we test the hypothesis (with a series of four tests) we revise if necessary I wanted to test some of the reasons students come up with ...
The role of counselors in schools is expanding from just attending to individual students to leading discussions and activities for groups of students that can help improve school performance and behavior.
In this blog, I talk about educational technology, educational theory, educational pedagogy, and other topics related to these. I teach Physics and EMS classes, so some times I'll talk about those specific areas. I'll also discuss 21st Century Skills and Education. I explore free educational technology resources, ways to integrate technology into the classroom, professional development, project based learning, and tips and resources for new teachers.
Mentoring Minds is an educational publishing company that develops K-12 instructional materials to help students develop critical thinking and problem solving skills. Experienced educators create the materials based on research and cover topics such as critical thinking, differentiated learning, instructional strategies, classroom management and more.
Teachers often come from vastly different social and economic classes than their students, which can lead to culture clashes in the classroom. A book by Dr. Ruby K. Payne helps educators understand low-income students, and discusses ways to improve their learning. Included: Tips for making lessons relevant to students from all social classes.