On today’s show, Andrew and Natasha join up for the long awaited return of The Lounge Podcast.  It has been a while, but as many of you know, life as a teacher is hard work…and can be quite busy too!  This episode features conversations about life as a combination/split grade teacher.  Listen in to hear about tips, tricks, must-do activities, and more!  Read the show notes below and don’t forget to download & subscribe to the podcast on iTunes today!

Photo via: Sanya Khetani, articles.businessinsider.com

SHOW NOTES
Each episode features three segments:

1. Topic Discussion
2. Quick Tip for Tomorrow
3. The Rookie Resource Bank

Topic: Teaching a Combination Class

Quick Tip for Tomorrow:
Something you could do the next day in class with little or no prep and is applicable to most grade levels.

• Andrew: Inside/Outside Circles or Concentric Circles
• Natasha: Food Bin

The Rookie Resource Bank:
Any electronic, print, or event resource that we found helpful in our first few years of teaching.  Of course, these are all applicable to all teachers.

• Andrew: Ontario Curriculum Unit Planners (link)
• Natasha: Knowing What Counts Series (Anne Davies)

Quick Shout Outs

1. We want to take a moment and thank everyone for continuing to support our site – we have reached over 10,000 visitors. Thank you !
2. We hope you continue to watch for Natasha who is co-moderating the #ntchat with Lisa Dabbs – on Wednesday nights at 8:00pm EST
3. Please join us and 248 others on Facebook.com/TheRookieTeacher
4. We are also spending time gathering some great ideas for the classroom on Pinterest (http://bit.ly/rookiepins) – we are up to 2742 followers on our collab board – let us know if you’d like to contribute.
5. If you believe in what we’re doing & want to support our team, we have buttons available – send us a FB message, tweet, or email and we will get one out to you ASAP!
6. Watch for our Lounge Express Series – starting soon!

Like what you’ve heard? Have more questions? Contact us:

Andrew: I blog at TheRookieTeacher.ca, or email me Andrew@TheRookieTeacher.ca, I am currently focusing on pinterest as my social media project

Natasha: I blog at TheRookieTeacher.ca, follow me on twitter @yoMsDunn, or email me Natasha@TheRookieTeacher.ca

RookieTeacher Online
We are always looking for ideas, feedback, tips and tricks of the trade.  Find us on Twitter @RookieTeacherCA, Facebook.com /TheRookieTeacher.  If you are looking to get involved with our team, please contact us!

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We Wish You A Very Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from Scout & Lucy

We would like to take this time to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season.  For some this is known as ‘the most wonderful time of the year.’  Last week on #ntchat with Lisa Dabbs (@teachingwthsoul), we spoke about what it meant to be #grateful at this time of year (archives).  The Rookie Team would like to take this time to thank everyone for reading the blog, listening to The Lounge Podcast, joining the discussion on Twitter & Facebook, and Following our Pins on Pinterest.

Our readers have made 2012 a great year!

Thank you, we are humbled and grateful for your support.

We couldn’t leave you without some food for thought over the break…here are  3 Quick Tips for rookies and veteran teachers alike:

1. Rest up & Rejuvenate: you don’t have to pay big money to rest & relax…have a nap, find a good book, sleep in, spend time with family and friends, have another nap, catch up over a beverage or two, sleep, nap, sleep, and nap
2. Read a book for PD: as Rookies, it’s tough to catch a break, we are always so eager to continue learning and developing our strategies and classroom routines – if you must think about work over the break – grab an EDU, children’s, or young adult book (we recommend: Words That Start With B by Vikki VanSickle, Smile by Raina Telgemeier, Divergent Series by Veronica Roth, Teach Like Your Hair’s On Fire by Rafe Esquith, Tribes by Seth Godin, The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller, Guiding Readers: Making the Most of the 18-minutes Guided Reading Lesson by Lori Jamison Rog …)
3. Recharge: this may seem a lot like #1…but it is so critical for new teachers to keep up the energy we give off at school.  Sleep, rest, and gather new energy to make 2013 the best it can be!

On today’s show, Andrew and Natasha are up at their home away from home…Glen Mhor, their old #summercamp.  We were happy to have Chantal Jackson, one of the camp’s co-directors, join us today to speak about how she keeps her staff and her campers engaged during training, playing, and day-to-day life at camp.  These techniques can also be used in the classroom.  Listen in for some tips, tricks, and the value of multiple intelligences and differentiating instruction.

Many thanks to Chantal “Match” Jackson!  A true gem in summer camping.

Summer Camp By Hunter-Desportes, flickrcc.net

SHOW NOTES
Each episode features three segments:

1. Topic Discussion
2. Quick Tip for Tomorrow
3. The Rookie Resource Bank

Topic: Engage Students in the Classroom

Quick Tip for Tomorrow: Something you could do the next day in class with little or no prep and is applicable to most grade levels.

• Andrew: Milling to Music
• Natasha: Drink Water! 
• Chantal: Strategy – WIBYT (Write It Before You Talk) <Michael Brandwein>

Nalgene {flickrcc.net, by: By Chealion}

The Rookie Resource Bank: any electronic, print, or event resource that we found helpful in our first few years of teaching.  Of course, these are all applicable to all teachers.

• Andrew: n/a
• Natasha: Classroom Organizer (www & app)
• Chantal: Teamwork & Teamplay ($46.03) by Jim Cain (www)

Like what you’ve heard? Have more questions? Contact us:

• Chantal: Email match@ilovecamp.org or chantalcjackson@gmail.com
• Andrew: I blog at TheRookieTeacher.ca, or email me Andrew@TheRookieTeacher.ca, I am currently focusing on pinterest as my social media project
• Natasha: I blog at TheRookieTeacher.ca, follow me on twitter @yoMsDunn, or email me Natasha@TheRookieTeacher.ca

Rookie Teacher Online
We are always looking for ideas, feedback, tips and tricks of the trade.  Find us on Twitter @RookieTeacherCA, Facebook.com /TheRookieTeacher.  If you are looking to get involved with our team, please contact us!

Early apologies for the audio on this episode, it is not as clean as usual, we were working with a different mic.

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“Gumby Reader” photo by N.Dunn

On today’s show, Andrew and Natasha are joined by a talented teacher and wise educator, Lisa Harkness.  Lisa teaches grade 1 in SW Ontario, Canada.  She attended teachers college in Scotland and taught there for three years before returning home.  She has her Reading Specialist, and is passionate about literacy, providing her students with authentic learning experiences and differentiated instruction.  Her passion for literacy is just one of the many reasons we asked her to join us today on The Lounge.  Listen in to hear about what a solid literacy program looks like, tips to get started, and creative ways to integrate cross-curricular connections.

Oh yeah, and Lisa is an expert in Read Aloud books!  Tweet her if you’re looking for a great book (based on subject, interest, topic, or grade level).

Many thanks to our guest Lisa Harkness who took time out of a nice summer day to Skype in with us.  Your wisdom and openness to collaborate with new teachers is very much appreciated by The Rookie Team, our readers, and our listeners.  We wish you the very best in teaching.  Read On!

SHOW NOTES

Each episode features three segments:

1. Topic Discussion
2. Quick Tip for Tomorrow
3. The Rookie Resource Bank

Topic: Setting up a Solid Literacy Program

Quick Tip for Tomorrow: Something you could do the next day in class with little or no prep and is applicable to most grade levels.

• Andrew: Schedule wisely: plan ‘downtime’ for you & your students
• Natasha: Pencil bins>”sharp/dull” (similar to this pin) (*note* searching “sharp pencils” on Pinterest will find multiple creative ways to display your pencil bins)
• Lisa: Magnet clips to display student writing (also, see these ideas via Pinterest)

The Rookie Resource Bank: any electronic, print, or event resource that we found helpful in our first few years of teaching.  Of course, these are all applicable to all teachers.

• Andrew: www.TeachersPayTeachers.com & their monthly email
• Natasha: Tribes (Seth Godin) (buy it on amazon.ca)
• Lisa: Comprehension from the Ground Up (Sharon Taberski) (buy it on amazon.ca)

Quick Shout Outs

“Kookaburra on the line” photo by: aussiegall

1. Natasha has been asked to co-moderate the #ntchat with Lisa Dabbs - Wednesday nights at 8:00pm EST (watch the @RookieTeacherCA twitter feed or follow @teachingwthsoul & @yoMsDunn for more information)
2. Please join our discussions on Facebook.com/TheRookieTeacher
3. We are also spending time gathering some great ideas for the classroom on Pinterest (http://bit.ly/rookiepins) - we are up to 1688 followers on our collab board – let us know if you’d like to contribute.

Like what you’ve heard? Have more questions? Contact us:

• Lisa: I blog on my class website, follow me on twitter @MrsH203, or on Pinterest/LisaHarkness
• Andrew: I blog at TheRookieTeacher.ca, or email me Andrew@TheRookieTeacher.ca, I am currently focusing on pinterest as my social media project
• Natasha: I blog at TheRookieTeacher.ca, follow me on twitter @yoMsDunn, or email me Natasha@TheRookieTeacher.ca

Rookie Teacher Online

We are always looking for ideas, feedback, tips and tricks of the trade.  Find us on Twitter @RookieTeacherCA, Facebook.com /TheRookieTeacher.  If you are looking to get involved with our team, please contact us!

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We’re back with another great episode of The Lounge Podcast.  We were extremely lucky to have Lisa Dabbs from Edutopia.org and Edutopia’s New Teacher Connections Group Facilitator Skype in for the show.  She was able to enrich our conversation, give us lots of great tips and web 2.0 tools, and advise us where to start when it comes to Long Range Planning.

photo by: Your Secret Admiral

I think it’s safe to say that this topic is very important to think about at this time of year (and as the school year goes on…after all, we consider plans to be working documents).  We all agreed how valuable and powerful the act of collaborating with a grade/division team plays in the process of long range planning and how successful backwards design/mapping can be when creating strong plans.

Listen in to hear our conversations about long range plans, curriculum, split/combination classes, backwards design/mapping, web 2.0 tools, staying organized, Post-It Notes, Pinterest, Evernote, Twitter, Live Binder, and more!

Find Lisa on twitter, Wednesday nights at 8:00pm EST for the New Teacher Chat (#ntchat).

This is by far one of my personal favourite podcasts yet! Huge thank you again to Lisa Dabbs for joining us…it was a pleasure to have you on, and we hope you’ll come back to continue the discussion another time.  Andrew and I really appreciate all that you are doing for new teachers.

Each episode features three segments:

1. Topic Discussion
2. Quick Tip for Tomorrow
3. The Rookie Resource Bank

Topic: Long Range Planning

photo by: Pedro Vezini

Quick Tip for Tomorrow: Something you could do the next day in class with little or no prep and is applicable to most grade levels.

• Andrew: About Me heads
• Natasha: SMARTboard attendance
• Lisa: One Little Word (http://goo.gl/NbNHO)

We are always looking for ideas, feedback, tips and tricks of the trade.  Find us on Twitter @RookieTeacherCA, Facebook.com /TheRookieTeacher.  If you are looking to get involved with our team, please contact us!

Thanks for listening. Join us for our Summer Podcast Series. Topics included will be: More about AQs, Classroom set up, the first day of school, Applying for Jobs, Setting up your Day Book, Developing classroom routines for your first month of school.

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Welcome back to The Lounge – we know it’s been a while, but that is the price we pay for being rookies.  Now that the summer is here, it will be our goal to deliver more content, including blogs, podcasts, and interactions on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

For those of you who are reading or listening for the first time…The Lounge is a biweekly podcast brought to you by TheRookieTeacher[dot]ca.

Welcome to our Lounge Summer Series.  On this episode, two RookieTeachers discuss Summer Break and Pinterest.com. We wanted to take a moment to recognize the benefits or summer break and talk about the variety of things teachers (new and experienced) do over the summer months.  It was clear that many teachers rest, relax, rejuvenate, plan, organize, read, spend time with loved ones, take AQ courses, collaborate, and prepare for September.

This week we were happy to hear from our readers and followers of twitter.  We asked: “What do you do with your summer break?” Thank you to all of you who answered – listen in to hear what everyone had to say.

Each episode features three segments:

1. Topic Discussion
2. Quick Tip for Tomorrow
3. The Rookie Resource Bank

Topic: Summer Break & Pinterest.com

Quick Tip for Tomorrow: Something you could do the next day in class with little or no prep and is applicable to most grade levels.  This episode we are focusing on what we do for ourselves, how we prepare for back to school (yes, even in the second week of July).

• Andrew: Picture note frame (via Pinterest)
• Natasha: No Name Clips: non-verbal way to get names on those no-name papers (via Pinterest)

• Andrew: Pinterest.com (and find our Rookie Teacher Board – bit.ly/rookiepins)
• Natasha: A Person/Your Person - find them + cling on for dear life (could be your NTIP or another mentor/friend)

We are always looking for ideas, feedback, tips and tricks of the trade.  Find us on Twitter @RookieTeacherCA, Facebook.com /TheRookieTeacher.  If you are looking to get involved with our team, please contact us!

Thanks for listening. Join us for our Summer Podcast Series. Topics included will be: More about AQs, Classroom set up, the first day of school, Long Range/Annual Plans, Applying for Jobs, Setting up your Day Book, Developing classroom routines for your first month of school.

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The Lounge is a biweekly podcast brought to you by TheRookieTeacher[dot]ca.

Welcome to our Occasional Teacher Mini Series.  On this episode, two RookieTeachers discuss Life as Rotary (Planning/Prep Coverage) Teacher: When you only have 40 Minutes.  It’s no secret that as rookies, most of us will begin our careers as a supply teacher, 0.## contracts, planning, rotary, long term occasional teacher, etc. Chances are that you will begin your permanent (or LTO) in a part-time contract with prep coverage, even .18, is better than nothing!  Listen in to hear Andrew share his experiences as a French Teacher, including: his classroom management strategies, the routines he built, and how he manages assessment and evaluation for ~200 students.

Each episode features three segments:

1. Topic Discussion
2. Quick Tip for Tomorrow
3. The Rookie Resource Bank

Topic: Life as a Rotary (Planning/Prep Coverage) Teacher: When you only have 40 Minutes

photo: creativeorganizing.typepad.com

Quick Tip for Tomorrow: Something you could do the next day in class with little or no prep and is applicable to most grade levels.

• Andrew: Magazine Boxes (for yourself, for students who require accommodation, and to keep your students organized). As a bonus, you can have students decorate them (according to The Arts: Visual Arts curriculum). There are many DIY magazine box projects on Pinterest.com.
• Natasha: Permanent 4-corner sheets (put them in page protectors with butterfly clips for easy transportability)

• Andrew: Index Cards on a Ring (assessment/evaluation strategies, observation notes, handy to pass off to someone else). Option: colour code them!
• Natasha: CDs (or websites) that come with resource/text books – USE THEM!  Often contain lesson plans, printables, assessment/evaluation strategies

photo: Neon Mic by fensterbme

Rookie Teacher Online
We are always looking for ideas, feedback, tips and tricks of the trade.  Find us on Twitter @RookieTeacherCA, Facebook.com /TheRookieTeacher.  If you are looking to get involved with our team, please contact us!

Thanks for listening. Join us for our next episode when we discuss So, you’re the new one, eh?

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“That’s not a word!

Of course it’s a word.
And unless I’m very much mistaken, I think it’s going to prove a
rather useful one.”

If you’ve listened to The Lounge Podcast, then you’re familiar with our segment called “Quick Tip for Tomorrow.”  This segment is dedicated to building a list of quick, simple tasks that you can do in your classroom the next day with little to no prep AND is applicable to most grade levels.

I wanted to share my most recent post from my classroom blog where I touch on Breakfast for the Brain (problem of the day, morning challenge, etc):

Friday, February 10, 2012.

Each morning when students from 5-1 arrive in the class, we take 10/15 minutes to settle in, sing O Canada, listen to morning announcements, and work on a problem of the day, called “Breakfast for the Brain.”

Today, was Musical Friday!

Because I am a musical buff – I was excited to see where this challenge would take the students.

Recently, I saw the Broadway musical, Mary Poppins…and I just knew that this song would be a PERFECT activity for students.  I developed this Breakfast for the Brain activity with the idea of a word study in mind.  Students were required to use their knowledge of letter combinations and sounds to spell out:

S-U-P-E-R-C-A-L-I-F-R-A-G-I-L-I-S-T-I-C-E-X-P-I-A-L-I-D-O-C-I-O-U-S!

photo: N.Dunn

Why is communication important in mathematics?

Communication is an essential piece in the learning process – it provides students an opportunity to justify their reasoning or formulate a question, leading to gained insights about their thinking. In order to communicate their thinking to others, students must be given authentic tasks to reflect on. Through cooperative learning, students can learn from the perspectives and mathematical processes of others. Further, they can learn to evaluate the thinking of others, building on those ideas for their own assessment.

Check out this Scholastic webinar on “Connecting the Literacy and Math Challenge”.

Teaching Strategies for Mathematical Communication

1. Math Word Walls

The purpose of the Math Word Wall [MWW] is to identify mathematical language that students need to understand and use. If they are unfamiliar with this vocabulary, they will struggle to effectively apply strategies in the problem-solving process and will have difficulty communicating their thinking with others.

♦ Introduce math vocabulary using relevant objects, pictures and/or diagrams. Visuals are KEY!

♦ Clearly explain word meanings and make connections frequently

♦ Do not teach math vocabulary in isolation — use open-ended questions to helping students understand mathematical ideas and model how to use mathematical terms correctly.

Check out these MWW resources – ideas for math walls and mathematics word wall

2. Children’s Math Literature

Using literature in math can spark students’ imaginations, helping to dispel the myth that math is dull, inapplicable, and inaccessible. Reading about math can help reach at-risk students who struggle in the mathematical process, opening their minds to the ever-present phenomenon in their world that is math!

• Integrate the curriculum — teach mathematical concepts and skills through literacy
• Helps to motivate and engage students in problem-solving experiences connected with real world
• Addresses different learning styles and helps to promote an appreciation for both math and literature

Check out these resources for teaching mathematics through literature –

Math in Children’s Literature

Living Math Book List

Children’s Math Literature

Math Book List

Children’s Literature in Mathematics

 3. Writing in Math

When students are encouraged to write in math, they examine, express, and keep track of their thinking, which is especially useful for assessment and differentiation. To enhance and support their learning, students must first understand the reasoning behind writing in math. Further, they need to understand how to write in math – explain and model mathematical writing using details such as pictures, numbers, and words. Students’ writing can be used as springboards for classroom ‘math chats’, highlighting different approaches to problem-solving.

Be sure to provide writing prompts –

• What do you think? What idea do you have?
• What are you confused about?
• What did you learn?
• Describe what was easy and hard for you.
• What type of math concepts do you find interesting?  Why?
• When I hear this math word, I think….
• If I could ask for one thing in math, it would be…
• Tell me about your prediction.  Were you right or wrong?
• What strategies do you like to use the most? The least? Why?

Check out Writing to Learn Math to get started with journaling in your math class!

4. Math Talk

When students are given an opportunity to talk about math, they are better able to clarify their own thinking, ‘talk out’ misconceptions, and learn from others’ problem-solving strategies. It is the role of the teacher to facilitate these discussions by engaging students in sharing and listening, questioning and responding, and agreeing and disagreeing. During ‘math chats’, the teacher can further assess students’ understanding of concepts and redirect or differentiate instruction based on the students’ immediate learning needs.

However, the classroom must be a safe and inclusive learning environment so that students feel comfortable to share and make mistakes publically. Students need clear, highly set expectations on what ‘doing math’ looks like, sounds like, and feels like in the classroom. Once the ground rules for respect have been established, then authentic mathematical dialogue and collaboration can evolve…that’s when the real learning begins!

Math think-alouds can engage students and help them to make their way step-by-step through the problem-solving process. Best of all, they can be used quite effectively both in school and at home! For more on getting students to talk, check out these Math Teacher Tools!

Watch as these students from the Calgary Science School ‘talk math’ – thanks to Amy Park for sharing!

- – -

How do you [...or will you] encourage communication in math in your classroom?

Original post at The Learning Journey Blog

The Lounge is a biweekly podcast brought to you by TheRookieTeacher[dot]ca.

Welcome to our Occasional Teacher Mini Series.  On this episode, two RookieTeachers discuss The Supply Teacher. It’s no secret that as rookies, most of us will begin our careers as a supply teacher, long term occasional teacher, 0.## contracts, planning, rotary, etc. That’s why Natasha and Andrew discuss supply teaching tips, routines, and networking, we look into the classroom teacher’s perspective, and finish off with a bag ‘o tricks for the occasional teacher.

photo: zoomer, flickrcc.net

SHOW NOTES

Each episode features three segments:

1. Topic Discussion
2. Quick Tip for Tomorrow
3. The Rookie Resource Bank

Topic: Occasional Teacher Mini Series: The Supply Teacher

Quick Tip for Tomorrow: Something you could do the next day in class with little or no prep and is applicable to most grade levels.

• Andrew: Conferencing Notes (Supply): Create a sheet that works for you that shows the classroom teacher who you helped, gave advice to etc.
• Natasha: Mix up seating arrangements with colour strips

• Andrew: Centralized Digitized Media Services from your school board
• Natasha: iTunes playlist

photo: suneko, flickrcc.net

Quick Shout Outs

1. Any feedback you can give us for TheRookieTeacher.ca or The Lounge Podcast would be greatly appreciated > it’s as simple as commenting on the blog, sending us a tweet, posting to the FB page, or emailing us
2. #ntchat on Wednesdays at 8:00pm EST on twitter > Natasha recommends using twebevent.com/ntchat
3. Also check out our friends at CampHacker.org and the CampHacker podcast – camp directors are a lot like teachers

Rookie Teacher Online
We are always looking for ideas, feedback, tips and tricks of the trade.  Find us on Twitter @RookieTeacherCA, Facebook.com /TheRookieTeacher.  If you are looking to get involved with our team, please contact us!

Thanks for listening. Join us for our next episode when we discuss Life as Rotary (Planning) Teacher: When you only have 40 minutes…

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