In one of the most demanding school environments in memory, educators need resources in their toolbox to ensure students are reading at proficient levels. Audio technology provides the key to solving literacy challenges by helping struggling readers become independent, engaged, and confident learners. |
The website provided is an article which provides insight on activities that can be done in the classroom, which can promote anti-bullying. The article can be used for both teachers, and parents as it can help with incorporating inclusive activities into lesson planning, or at home. The article provides definitions of bullying and the impact it leaves on others. There are also a variety of suggestions on activities which highlight the importance of understanding how words leave an impact, and on how to be kind to others.
What stood out to me about this article was the amount of information that was provided. Beginning with the impact bullying has, how to tell if a child is bullying, and how to respond to bullying for the child, parents, or teachers. Many of the activities or tips that are shown in the article are beneficial and can be incorporated to fit the needs of the class. A tip that sparked my mind was role modeling. As teachers, one of the many roles we play is being a role model. Often children look up to the authority figures in their life. Understanding this role, can help reflect positive actions and words, which the children can follow. This also applies for parents, as the article provides tips on how the home environment has a big impact on the child, which then continues into the school environment.
One of the activities that I found to be great with younger children was the Compliment Flowers activity. This activity requires the students to create paper flowers and carry it throughout the day. The students are asked to have their peers write on the flower, positive comments about one another. At the end of the day students can read all the wonderful comments that were left by their peers. I found this to be a nice interactive activity, as it can promote acts of kindness, respect, and confidence.
Do you want to learn more about this? Click the link below and go to the website: https://www.merakilane.com/22-tips-and-anti-bullying-activities-to-teach-kids-kindness/
Best Regards: JuliaC@NU
During the school year, we are busy with our academic and personal responsibilities. Time management is crucial when we want to ensure there is time for everything we are required to get done. Although it is important to schedule time to get everything done, we must provide time for 'me' time. 'Me' time is about finding time to do something for yourself that does not relate to your responsibilities. It gives individuals an opportunity to relax and do something enjoyable in between their busy schedules.
When learning to time manage, it is important to:
Creating to-do lists allows us to know what needs to get done. This is beneficial because it allows individuals to add and cross out items as they complete them. A planner is useful because it provides dates of when things are due. We can visually see everything we need to be done, so we know what we should start and when to complete it. Even though we want to get everything done by a specific time, we need to be realistic about the time we give. Individuals should not force themselves to finish something earlier because they want it done; we want to hand in high-quality work, to do that, we need to set enough time to get through the work without rushing. A space for individuals to work that is quiet and not distracting is crucial. If you are in an environment where you are distracted by other things, it will make it difficult to get through the work that needs to be finished.
Overall, it is important to praise yourself for the hard work you do every day. To be successful with minimal to zero stress, we need to manage our academic and personal responsibilities while providing time to ourselves.
NicoleR@NU
61 Free Teaching Tools That Aid Classroom Learning
In the digital world we live in now, it is essential that teachers equip themselves with innovative educational technology tools. Technology is a trustworthy assistant that helps to make the teaching and learning processes more enjoyable and effective. - Helen Colman
[This site has] compiled an extensive list of free teaching tools that will take your classroom to the next level and transform passive learning into active exploration. For the sake of convenience, [the site] has grouped the tools carefully.
Check out this list and experiment with the tools to find out which ones work best in your local context.
Click the links below:
These are great and you'll love them (click the titles above).
Enjoy and most importantly, let your students have fun!
Brought to you by Friends@NU
The website includes many interactive games that will assist students who are learning the English language. It moves away from the traditional way of teaching a language and the games will provide the students with an opportunity to have fun while they become more familiar with English. There are many features that will be useful for teachers, including tabs for quizzes, videos, and even worksheets for the students to complete.
Two
years back, when COVID pandemic had begun, we all had to learn to live
differently. No socializing, no gatherings meant institutions like school had
to be closed for in-person learning. In September 2020, my daughter began her
Grade 1 in a virtual setting using Google classroom. I was a bit anxious as my
daughter had never used a computer before. She was not used to typing or using
the mouse, and of course the basic idea of how to open/close a window. However,
just like most of the kids at that age she learnt and mastered the basics very
quickly with the support of her teacher. She knew what to do when the teacher
said, "Join the meet", "Open the file", "Save the
file", "Make a copy of the presentation" etc.
Read&Write offers many applications especially for students who
may have reading challenges. With this tool, students can select a challenging
word on a page of a website or e-book and listen to the pronunciation. Settings
are adjustable to ensure that the speed of the spoken text and voice type are
comfortable for the child. It is compatible with Chrome, Windows, Android, and
Mac platforms. It offers features like Text to Speech, Voice notes, Talk&Type, Word Prediction, Highlighters and much
more. The digital highlighter feature can be used to encourage the child to
highlight particular words or passages based on a skill that they are working
on. Digital tools such as this can provide support and options for your
students to bridge the gap or challenge with their reading and writing.
Teachers can get a free premium subscription to Read&Write for Google Chrome. Check out this tool at https://www.texthelp.com/products/read-and-write-education/
To read about it's features, and benefits click here, https://barrsec.sd73.bc.ca/en/resourcesGeneral/Kris-Downloads/Features-and-Benefits-for-ReadWrite-for-Google-Chrome-Windows--Mac---10.2018.pdf
Brought to you by: ShwetaT@NU
As educators and stakeholders continue to fight back against poor mental health, it’s important to use all available tools available to help. As we get closer to the upcoming school year, it’s important to think about how to address student mental health. The pandemic has been difficult for everyone, but it has had an especially significant impact on our youth, who were already experiencing record high levels of poor mental health: The CDC reports that “More than one in three high school students had experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2019, a 40 percent increase since 2009.”  After having their lives upended by COVID-19, students are finally getting back into the routine of things, but their mental health should still be a major concern, as poor mental health can lead to trouble performing well in school, social isolation, and even self-harm or death. In 2019, the CDC also reported that one in six youths had made a suicide plan within the last year, showing just how important it is to address this problem. |
If you would like to read more, click on this link >>>>> MENTAL HEALTH IS IMPORTANT |
As we are headed into the fall season, there are many ways that educators can incorporate outdoor materials in their lesson plans. This will provide an opportunity for students to explore nature, tap into their creativity and learn in a new environment.
Here are examples of nature activities that can be used for math, science and art:
Math:
There are plenty of fun math activities that explore learning outside of the classroom and in nature. The outdoor math activities can include number and place value, arithmetic, measurement, shapes, data and angles. The photos below are examples of an activity called 'angle hunt', where students can make an angle out of outdoor materials and use it to find objects that are also right angles, obtuse and acute angles.
Teachers can set up a 'Nature Table' and incorporate activities such as the 'Classifying Nature' handout shown below. This activity will help students develop basic science skills such as observing, recording, and classifying. It can even support students with their fine motor skills!
Art:
Students can use their imagination and drawing skills to create a portrait of themselves. They can use outdoor materials such as leaves, twigs, rocks, acorns, and feathers. These outdoor materials come in a variety of colours, so students will be able to create a self-portrait that is a true representation of themselves.
https://www.momooze.com/play-activities-craft-october/
Brought to you by: OliviaB@NU
Prodigy is a website which aligns with the grade one to eight math curriculum. The curriculum is connected through an interactive and mystical game. It brings students on different journeys to varying places within the math game. How the game unfolds is the player, as a wizard, is traveling from one place to another, meeting other wizards with their own powerful "pets." To beat these creatures, you need to use quick math skills. Whenever a user desires to apply a certain power or spell, they must answer a math question. Additionally, you can play against other classmates, enhancing the need to respond quickly.
Viewing the picture above, this is what it would look like when a player is commencing a battle with another. This website is beneficial, firstly because it draws students into math, and makes them excited to learn. Secondly, teachers can watch the progression of students, and can either add or take away questions, depending on the child and where they stand academically. Thirdly, parents can aid students at home, and can view them navigating their educational journey. Being an educational assistant, and witnessing first hand the positive effects of this game on both children with and without exceptionalities has been inspiring. It supply's children the opportunity to critically think, use their working memory, as well as their own expertise. If children have a liking towards Pokemon, this is the perfect game for them! Students can carry over skills from one game to the next, enhancing their ability to recall information and utilize it adequately. Overall, Prodigy provides teachers with powerful opportunities/lessons, such as students actively learning, understanding the web and how to navigate it, and differentiated instruction.
In one of the most demanding school environments in memory, educators need resources in their toolbox to ensure students are reading at proficient levels. Audio technology provides the key to solving literacy challenges by helping struggling readers become independent, engaged, and confident learners.  Published July 26, 2022 |
Click here if you want to read more >>>>> READ MORE |
Growing up, I found math to be the most difficult and complex subject. Because of this, I struggled and lacked the ability to connect with the content. However, during my work experiences, I was presented with an easily accessible and exciting website. Coolmath4kids introduces to children online games which encourage them to use their math skills.
For example, in a game called Island Chase(shown above), students have to answer the subtraction questions as quickly as possible in order to win the game. They can choose the answer they believe to be correct below the questions. In addition, students can play with each other to create a competition, fueling the excitement to use math tools while testing their knowledge. Incorporating this site into lessons provides children with learning disabilities or those who cannot comprehend math through pencil and paper to grow a liking towards the subject. This website also produces lessons for addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and fractions. It provides online manipulatives and brain teasers, which can enhance a teacher's lessons. Overall, Coolmath4kids can supply rewarding experiences to those using it, and switches the view on math.
If you want to explore this site, click on this link >>>>> COOLMATH4KIDS
 While teachers know their students need help developing social emotional skills, they rarely have time or adequate training to focus on them in the classroom, according to a new survey from ReadTheory, an edtech company that helps students build reading comprehension skills. The survey of nearly 1,700 teachers offers insights into the challenges of implementing social emotional learning (SEL) programs in today’s tumultuous educational environment.   Want to read more? Click this link >>>>> Socio-emotional Learning is Critical |
Why the Prevalence of ACE's Explains the Cruciality of Trauma-Informed Practice
In Canada, before the age of fifteen, nine in ten children were victims of child abuse and maltreatment and did not report it to police or child protection services (Statistics Canada, 2017). This tells me that trust is a crucial component when empowering children to feel safe enough to voice their adversities. As an educator, it is pivotal that the autonomy of the children is being fostered in my care to encourage freedom – what many children who deal with ACE's are restrained from.
ACE's, also known as "Adverse Childhood Experiences", is the traumatic experiences and encounters that children witness or face first-hand. There are three types of ACE's: Abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction. Based on the previous mentioned statistics in Canada, it is very likely that most children have experienced at least one type of ACE. It may be hard to determine the signs and symptoms of each ACE because they are not always shown overtly. For this very reason, enabling a trauma-informed approach is effective, as it ensures safety. Without safety, how can a child even learn in their environment? They won't. A trauma-informed lens can remove potential triggers in the classroom, which ideally is where children spend most of their time day-to-day. With the environment being known as the "third teacher", we must pay attention to the structure of the environment and recognize if it is inviting for the child rather than anxiety-inducing.
Things such as loud noises, bright lights, unexpected noises, and unexpected transitions can all encourage a trigger response in children. The upside to this is that there are strategies that can reduce potential triggers in the space. They may look like this:
Lower/Diffuse lighting
Having fewer materials on the shelf
Soft space or "calm corner" to relax
Predictable events
Be clear and unambiguous in communication
Providing opportunity for choice
Help children express/label their emotions
Classroom décor that is culturally sensitive
Do you want to learn more ways on how to create a trauma-informed classroom?
Go ahead and click this link >>>>> SUPPORTING STUDENTS WITH ACE
Take an ACE quiz - Click the link >>>> What's it Mean & What doesn't it mean?
Courtesy of BrittanyC@NU
Statistics Canada. (2017). Section 1: profile of Canadian adults who experienced childhood maltreatment. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2017001/article/14698/01-eng.htm
