Classroom Leadership Positions - Job Descriptions

Last week, each student applied for a classroom job.  Today, each student will be given their job assignments and these will begin tomorrow, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19th and will last throughout the entire school year.  Each student will receive feedback on their performance through Class Dojo.  For those who may have forgotten, each job description is listed below.  

• Photographer:  Responsible for taking photographs of classroom activity on a daily basis, writing captions for these photos, and posting them to either the class blog, class Twitter page, class Instagram account, or all of the above, and providing an appropriate hashtag. Person needs to be dependable and responsible.
• ICYMI Manager: Responsible for note-taking and gathering materials for individuals who are absent, in ISS, and/or on homebound. Compiler will post assignments/materials on classroom calendar bulletin board in back of room.  Person should be trustworthy and diligent.
• Trash Collector: Responsible for maintaining the physical cleanliness of the room. at the end of each class, this person would ensure that things are off the floor, trash is placed in the garbage can, and recyclables are put into their proper bins. Person should be efficient and well organized.
• Birthday Monitor: Responsible for keeping track of classroom birthdays and taking appropriate measures to ensure that the birthday is mentioned via classroom social media and that they are honored on their special day within the classroom.  
• Paper Patrol: Responsible for handing out worksheets or graded papers as instructed by Mr. D. Person should be quick on their feet and know the names of their classmates.
• Host/ Hostess: Responsible for answering the door if a guest visits the room. You should be polite and greet the guests with a "Good morning!" or "Good afternoon!" Person needs to be positive and nice.
• Tweeter: Responsible for tweeting out each day's summarized lesson, important news and notes, and quotes/words of encouragement. This person will use appropriate language and harshtags. Person should be good with word choice, summarization, and dependable.
• Reminder: Responsible for sending out the @parenttext Remind101 updates every day. These updates will summarize the day's activity, important class news and notes, as well as information about upcoming events. Person should be good with word choice and summarization, as well as dependable.
• Participation Monitor: Responsible for keeping track of which students are participating in either the physical class setting, the online class components, or both. This person will also give me a weekly report of their observations.
• Behavior Monitor: Responsible for keeping track of which students are either operating at the highest level of classroom maturity or falling short of the mark. This person will also give me a weekly report of their observations.
• Attendance Taker: Responsible for taking attendance immediately after the tardy bell rings. The class roster will be on a clipboard near the door. Simply place an "A" next to the name of any student who is absent in the appropriate date box. Person should be quick and efficient.
• Class TECH-nician: Responsible for monitoring the use of classroom technology.  Any student who wishes to use an iPad, video equipment, or a classroom computer must first check-in and then check-out with the class technician.  Person must be trustworthy and diligent.  
• Class Librarian: Responsible for re-shelving books as your classmates turn them into you, as well as making sure the shelves are neat and organized. You will also keep a close eye on any overdue materials and communicate such to Mr. Davidson. Person should be detail-oriented and have communication skills to serve as a liaison between Mr. D and fellow classmates.

~Mr. D

Create Your Gmail Account OR Blog

Hey everyone,

If you do not have a GMail account, you will need one.

STEP ONE: Visit this link.
STEP TWO: Fill out the necessary information. 
STEP THREE: You are in.

If you do not have a blog setup, you will need one.

STEP ONE: Go HERE.
STEP TWO: Set that bad boy up.

~Mr. D

IdeaPaint

About a year ago, my wife and I had a piece of furniture painted by the owner of Designer Depot in the Key Twin Shopping Center.  On the interior, she painted the panels of the piece with chalkboard paint, virtually turning the inside into a writable/erasable surface.  I had heard of chalkboard paint before and thought the idea sounded pretty cool.

Except for this: who the heck uses chalk anymore?

I mean, the last time I saw a piece of chalk was back in 4th grade when I was assigned to be the kid who took the erasers outside and bang them into oblivion, huffing loads of chalk dust along the way.  (I am still waiting to be involved in some sort of class action lawsuit on that one: "Teacher Cashes In Big Over Chalk Dust."  I'm looking at you, Heavy Hitter.)

But what about whiteboard paint?  Especially if one could paint it on clear to cover a surface without there being any detection of shenanigans?

Well, look no more: IdeaPaint is the thing!

I am thinking of painting my classroom door and perhaps the tops of some of my desks with this stuff.  Thoughts?  Is there anywhere else this could be useful?  Furthermore, when might this be used in the classroom?

I look forward to your comments below.  Have a good one!

~Mr. D

Heroes

In ELA Level III (8th grade English/Language Arts), our opening unit revolves around HEROES.  One of our guiding questions is simply,

What defines a hero?

At the end of the unit, students will be asked to write an informational essay on their personal definition of heroism.  Throughout the unit, students will be asked to read, research, and discuss different aspects of HEROISM, including varying strategies on how to go about the sometimes complicated process of defining more abstract and complex concepts.  Those strategies include:

• definition by FUNCTION
• This strategy focuses on ADJECTIVES (i.e. courageous, self-sacrificial) which describe the characteristics of a heroic person, as well as VERBS (i.e. saves the day, leaps into action) which outline what heroes do.
• definition by EXAMPLE
• This strategy focuses on SPECIFIC PEOPLE and their stories that helps to bolster the author's definition of HEROISM.
• definition by NEGATION
• This strategy focuses on the OPPOSITE of what a hero is, stating what a hero is NOT (i.e. selfish, cowardly).

In an effort to help CROWD-STORM this topic, our classes of the past have taken to PADLET to post their thoughts.  Check out what we have so far: Heroism Padlet

In addition, here is a copy of Oliver Stone's article, "Where I Find My Heroes" that we read as a part of this unit: "Where I Find My Heroes"

Last but not least, here an ed-TED talk on the subject by Matthew Winkler: What Makes a Hero?

In the comments section, write out your brainstormed thoughts on the guiding question from above: WHAT DEFINES A HERO?

Can't wait to hear your thoughts.

~Mr. D

Ghost Teaching

One of my least favorite aspects of teaching is preparing for a substitute teacher.  Although I have been fortunate enough to only miss school days for school-related activities for the past few years, having a substitute is a sometimes necessary part of the job.

One of the things I do not like about the process is that students will absolutely LOSE THEIR EVER-LOVING MINDS when a sub walks into the room.

Don't you remember when you had a sub in school?

Right?

So, yeah.  I don't like it.

However, I came across the idea below from the website UNIVERSE AS TEXT.  It involves a 21st-century approach to sub preparation that may make the process as successful as it can be from my end.  Here's the post:

ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTE

This strategy addresses a question that every teacher has asked him or herself at some point: how do I get my students to be productive, respectful, and engaged when there’s a substitute teacher in charge? I often get frustrated with a couple scenarios that frequently play themselves out when I need to miss a day in my classroom because of a training or professional development day.

Scenario 1: The substitute teacher assigned to my classroom is an excellent educator who follows through by working with the scheduled lesson. Students generally behave, but still take advantage of an opportunity to put forth minimal effort and turn in shoddy work.

Scenario 2: The substitute teacher lacks the content knowledge and/or management skills to execute the lesson, or may not even be too concerned with what the kids are doing as long as mayhem isn’t occuring. Students leave the room discombobulated, do not bother to turn in work, and don’t even seem to know what the assignment was by the following day.

Too often, it seems that students–even the ones who are normally dynamic and just generally awesome–morph into apathetic, learning-resistant slobs when a sub is in charge. So what to do? While I certainly cannot claim to have solved this debacle completely, I can share a slightly offbeat strategy that I tried last year. I call it “ghost teaching.” It requires a sense of humor, a little prep work, and a good relationship with your students. And it works better than anything else I’ve attempted when it comes to getting students to pay attention and do great work, even in my absence.

My conceptual framework behind the ghost teaching strategy is that I want my students to feel as if I’m there in class with them, even if I’m not. Now, at this point in time you may be thinking, “Control freak alert!” But hear me out. I truly believe that the teacher sets the tone, creates the atmosphere, and defines the expectations for every day in class. Students become accustomed to the specific “auras” of their teachers, and respond to them. When this aura is done well, it can be a very positive, motivational force. The point of ghost teaching is to keep that atmosphere consistent, even when the teacher misses a day. If all goes well, it makes things easier and more enjoyable for the sub, too. Everybody wins!

FOUR STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL GHOST TEACHING

1. Let the sub know what you’re doing. Take the time to write out a full note for the sub, explaining the procedure for each class step by step. Have copies of handouts made and organized. Also make the sub aware of the main rules of your classroom so that the students are getting consistent messages about what’s ok and what’s not (these are probably posted in your room already). Once students see that the sub is wise to the normal ways of the classroom, they’re primed for good behavior.

2. Leave an extensive, personal note on the board, addressed to the students. Students will pay more attention to a handwritten note on the board than the most extensive word processed printout or blog post of instructions. I like to write in all caps, use arrows, make little drawings, and throw in classroom inside jokes to get the students to read what I’ve written. The purpose of the note is to provide a step by step agenda for the class so that they can follow along and also to have that extra reminder that I am the one asking for them to do these things today; the sub didn’t just find some random handouts lying around in a drawer. I also include reminders about what they should hand in/prepare for in the coming days. I always try incorporate a message about how much I appreciate them and expect from them as well. Even the most thorny adolescents secretly want to know they are valued by their teachers. Part of my board typically looks something like this:

3. Leave a short video in which you introduce the day’s activities. It may sound a little bit strange, but this is a key part of leaving your teaching ghost behind. Students will respond to the same face, voice, and (in my case) cheesy jokes that they are used to. Really, it’s not so strange. This day in age, people use Skype video calls to chat and YouTube videos to express their thoughts about the world. It’s also extremely quick and easy to do. If you have access to a webcam-equipped laptop or a digital camera, and you have the ability to press the “record” and “stop” buttons, you’re over halfway to a video teaching broadcast of your own. I save the file to a flash drive that I leave plugged in to the computer for the sub, but a video could also be saved on your desktop, posted on a class website, or emailed. All the sub has to do is turn on the LCD projector, open the video file and press “play.” If you don’t have a projector, the students can huddle around the computer monitor. This is where the “ghost teacher” can truly emerge, and where students know, indisputably, that it’s going to be business as usual.

In my first video, I sat down in front of my webcam and envisioned my classroom and the kids in it. It actually felt pretty natural, since I said all of the same things I would have said had they been physically sitting in front of me. The first part of the transcript went something like this: “Hello, my wonderful friends from English 12! I’m sorry that I can’t be with you today in person, but you guys are so lucky, because you are here to bear witness to my very first teaching video broadcast. I’m SO pumped about that… and you should be, too. So, at this point in time, you’ve already responded to your writing prompt which was “If you were stranded on a desert island with only the people sitting immediately next to you, what rescue plan would you make?” Now I’m sure this has generated some interesting, fascinating, potentially disruptive discussion. Hopefully nobody got voted off the island. No matter how that has turned out, I will ask you to turn in your prompts as it is Friday and therefore the last day of the week. Ok. At this point in time, I’d like to explain your main activity for the day, which is something that I really think you’ll enjoy and really get into a little bit…  In keeping with the Senior Skills Scavenger Hunt unit, this activity is designed around a real life communication skill that you will need whether you’re headed for college or the workforce, and that skill is the ability to work with a group in order to solve a complex problem. Ok, so here’s what you’re gonna do…. etc. etc.” And I went on to explain the procedure for the lesson as well as several reminders and the reasoning behind the lesson as a whole.

I was very curious to see the student reaction to the first video that I did. I knew it was a success as I came into school the next day. The seniors smiled at me and shook their heads a little. They were very humored by the fact that I actually recorded a video of myself to instruct them, but I soon discovered that they definitely listened to it! One girl quoted a particular direction nearly word-for-word, and the average reaction was, “Not gonna lie: that was pretty cool, Ms. H.” In fact, I think some of my students may pay more attention to my sub day videos than my real time spoken instructions!

4. Finally, require a presentation of any assigned work on the following day. Instead of just turning in a written copy of work (which is easy to just notdo, since there’s no immediate consequence), I hold my students accountable by requiring them to read aloud, explain, or otherwise present their work from the previous sub day. This allows me not only to give an immediate response with descriptive feedback, but also makes things uncomfortable for students who did not act responsibly. I’ve found that for most students, mindful of my on-the-spot assessment before an audience of their peers, do indeed deliver under these circumstances.

***

Ghost teaching takes preparation. Please note, it’s not for the sick days when you wake up feeling like the reaper is nigh. However, if you are like many involved teachers, you may have event coordinating, training, or professional development that takes you out of your classroom on days when you really need the students to stay productive and not lose progress. In these cases, if you can get a little time to prepare in advance, your ghost teacher will make sure that you, your students, and your substitute will all go home happy!