MIKE in the MIDDLE SCHOOLA place where teaching, technology and a passion for middle school meet.
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Looking for some extra funding in your classroom? I always am. DonorsChoose.org offers a CS first coding activity. Any students in grades 3 to 8 can complete this. Once complete, they will offer you a 100 dollar DonorsChoose.org gift card. Not a bad deal for less than an hours work.
Follow this link to learn more. https://help.donorschoose.org/hc/en-us/articles/360009486654-Classroom-Rewards-for-CS-First-Animate-a-Name-with-support-from-Google
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Google classroom provides a great way to share content with your classes. Using Google Forms makes an easy way to create quizzes and ask questions. In addition you can replace a variety of activities in your class with a Google Sort. From simple labeling activities to vocabulary concepts, these sorts provide a student activity that is easy and effective for classroom use. The following video details the steps in making a Google sort for your classroom. Example product links are at the bottom of the page.
One of the challenges of managing 1 to 1 or hybrid classrooms is keeping track of all the different computer assignments students complete. In my classroom alone, we use the following sites. . .
One of the simple tools I use in my classroom is digital make up slips. This is for any make up assignment that students do after the class has moved on. This gives me a physical reminder to go into a specific learning website and check their work. It also provides uniform documentation for parents. This can be sent home, emailed or texted to parents when they ask about make up work. Click the link below for a free copy of this resource.  Looking to liven up your middle school classroom? Battle bell ringer are the best solution. The basic idea is over the course of a week, change one bell ringer day to require students to compete against each other. Either through an academic challenge, physically building something from cheap materials or an electronic game format. As soon as your students see the words “Battle Bell Ringer” they get curious and excited. Here’s an example. Students learning about the solar system have been investigating various planets. For the start of class, I have students do a “Science Stacker” bell ringer. The group that comes in first gets a fabulous prize. Prizes can range from a free pass to the water fountain, a “gold card” redeemable for a prize or some other small treat (that meets school guidelines). This creates a win-win for you as a teacher, kids are excited to come to your class and students have fun while reviewing an academic concept.   Looking for great free resources for your classroom? This year's FIRST Lego League challenge “Into Orbit” is free and available for download. Every year students across the country participate in local events where teams create innovative projects and compete in project games. You have to register to receive the project game materials however, you can use the free project documents to inspire your students to create an innovative project related to exploring our solar system. Here are inks to check it out
Project documents FLL into orbit resource library. https://www.firstinspires.org/resource-library/fll/into-orbit-challenge-updates-and-resources FLL Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuGaG4GtEj82i3pByi_bM3A  Teachers have more instructional choices than ever before. Online lessons, classroom simulations, centers, discussion groups, videos to name a few. How do educators strike a balance meeting curriculum goals, state standards and keeping busy middle school students engaged? Mini lessons are key components to this goal. Every week they are built into science lessons and they help students connect topics and understand larger goals.
What is a mini lesson A small 15-minute direct instruction lesson where the teacher introduces, reinforces or challenges students to learn a topic. For example, when my student engages in the Bouncing ball lab, a classic science lab where students graph the relationship between drop height and rebound height. Prior to the start of this activity, we do a brief discussion on data types and analysis of data. This sets them up perfectly understand why they are studying data in science lab. Mini lessons depart from a traditional classroom lecture in the length of time, rather than a 40 minute teacher led session, these are broken down into smaller segments more suited for middle level students. What is a mini lesson made of? Bell Ringer (3 to 5 minutes) Students need to be engaged quickly at the start of class, bell ringers can be anything you can bend, twist or connect to the lesson. The other day I posted stats from students favorite NFL team and asked them if the stats indicated a win or a loss (drawing conclusions!). Or when doing a genetics problem to open class themed after sponge bob, while playing a Sponge Bob music track, kids loved it. On a side note, it was fun to watch 8th graders (who are too cool for about everything) sing Sponge Bob. Aside from getting kids on track at the start of class, these also serve as great classroom management tools (Busy hands are happy hands!) Core Lesson Next 10 Minutes This is the section where you get to talk, ask questions, probe and activate your learners on a subject. I specifically target these to our “objectives” which are classic learning goals. Speak with enthusiasm, teach like your hair is one fire. This is the most fun part of teaching. This is where kids connect to the person that is their teacher. Don’t be afraid to add kids to your discussion, I frequently throw kids into black holes (talking about scientific theories), push kids off the roofs (scientific laws) in these sessions. Kids laugh. The minute you speak a student’s name in this type of session you will be sure to get smiles. In addition, high quality visuals help connect students to the concepts being taught especially your visual learners. During this session notetaking skills are taught. Students need to be able record thoughts, ideas and concepts to review and reflect upon later. I like the Cornell note method because of the Summary section you find at the bottom of the page. The summary is perfect for a next day bell ringer or end of class closure session. It is essential to have kids reflect on what they learned in a few sentences within 24 hours, this goes a long way developing long term learning. I generally provide some sort of incomplete notes for kids. This ensures I am meeting my students IEP requirements. I would rather err on giving everyone help, then ignore kids who need it. Length of Mini Lessons Mini lessons need to be adjusted based on grade levels. Sixth grade would be closer to 10 minutes while Eighth graders could be stretched to 20 minutes. Each grade level in unique and you will find that pacing and on task behavior linked. Eight graders preparing for high school can handle longer sustained sessions, with deeper questions and a faster pace than sixth graders. What do I do afterwards? This is where classic middle school activities come into play. Lab activities, cooperative learning groups, individual practice follow the mini lesson. This allows kids to get up and move, apply what they learned and explore different concepts. Mini lessons connect the dots between lesson activities and major course concepts. Middle school kids move from one place to the next, its important to give them opportunity to reflect and grow. Additionally face to face group teaching provides that personal connection that students crave.  After our first full year of Chromebook implementation in our classrooms, we have had sometime to reflect on its impact on our students and how we respond as educators to ensure they get a quality education. Additionally, our school is fed by an elementary school that is 1 to 1, so our incoming 6th graders provide some insights into the impact of this technology on our students. We have identified some winners and losers in this process and some suggestions to improve learning outcomes.
Winners Ability to navigate multiple learning tools. Using Google Classroom, Canvas, Get More Math, Google Slides, Sheets, you name it, we use a wide variety of learning applications across our schools. Kids have a better understanding that computer apps are tools. Each tool has an optimal application and kids are starting to learn how to apply this. No different than physical tools, iPad, Chromebook and smart phones all have their niche. Digital communication: Its easier than ever to contact a student, teacher or parent. Kids will ask me for missing work via digital communication. I can quickly get back to them, so in a sense, there are no excuses. Students are more than willing to check grades and, in many cases, will message me as soon as they see something they need to improve. Losers This is my biggest concern: The ability to write by hand. I still do it as an adult, but most of my writing is digital. I believe there is value in being able to write by hand. Brainstorming, drawing and creating sketch ups require fine motor skills. There is a debate going on whether this is a problem. This is a topic I would like to study in more detail as the research comes out. Some of the initial thoughts indicate that learning the fine motor skills of handwriting activate different area of the brain than typing does. The ultimate question, how important is this skill? Here’s an article to look at, I am sure there will be more research in the future to examine this issue http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20171108-the-uncertain-future-of-handwriting A Draw Classroom management. On one hand, kids on computers get engrossed in their work. Classrooms are quieter than ever. On the other hand, there is a whole new world of pop up games, sites and workaround kids can use to avoid work. Our hardware deployment to our students moves much faster than our ability to manage their online behaviors. This requires the teacher to be vigilant and observe more closely during class. In tradition non one to one classrooms, it was obvious who was avoiding work, being off task or distracting others. In the digital era, these same behaviors are much more subdued. In most cases all students look like they are working, but the reality is that not all students are focused on the tasks at hand. An interesting observation In all my years teaching, kids always want to show me their test scores when they finish an online test. I never ask them too and this is never been part of the classroom expectation. I believe this is part of student’s basic human desire to connect with the adult in the room (good or bad). They want to show me how they did, even though the computer instantly tells them their score. This make me wonder what the limits to the one to one classroom will be. Is there a point that too much online interaction takes away from physical face to face connections we all seek out? Moving Forward I am looking for balance. That means using a variety of teaching strategies, both high tech and low tech. Students will hear me lecture and discuss. Students will create unique products in our maker space and interact in social media spaces. They will write, they will read a book. I hope to challenge them in a changing classroom that helps them all learn in their own unique way. I believe this is the new challenge to teachers, we have every tool in the world, we just need to use them in the right way.  I enjoy getting my room ready for the new school year. As a science teacher, it involves bringing life to my class. Filling aquariums with new fish, adding posters illustrating concepts and setting out materials that are perfectly organized (Take a picture, it won’t stay that way for long). After a professional development session on autism I began to think about what I could do to help students with autism in my classroom. Current rates of autism by the CDC are about 1 and 59 in schools(Source). I remember over a decade ago when this began to be a conversation in the classroom. Since then, I have worked with many autistic students.
Autism spectrum disorder causes a wide range of learning disables that are unique to each child. As the saying goes, “If you have seen one autistic child, you have seen one child.” They are all uniquely different. Legally we are required to use adaptations through the IEP process and Section 504 plans. To better autistic students experience in my classroom and also meet my legal obligations, here’s a list of things we can do in our physical space to help out. Create an organized classroom space: Autistic students prefer routines. That means materials in clearly marked spaces will reduce stress. Simply putting a notecard with the word “Paper” clearly marked above the space is helpful. This isn’t something I would normally do in a middle school classroom, but making my space easier to navigate will help everyone. Weekly and Daily Agendas: Providing a schedule of class assignments and daily activities is very helpful. I currently have a section of dry erase board dedicated to our daily schedule. This could be done on poster paper or even included in a classroom PowerPoint. Some students may even prefer a printed schedule. Along with this idea, giving students a heads up when major assignments are due. This helps them regulate time so they are not surprised when a big project is coming. Alternate Media: Kids on the spectrum can have difficulty with visual or auditory learning styles. Know yourself. If you love to tell stories as part of your lessons, look for visual materials to back up your work. Consider websites like screen castomatic to record lessons so kids can play them back. Quiet Spaces: Autistic students can easily become overwhelmed by noise and stimulation from the modern classroom. Have plans in place for a quiet space. Even a trip to the conference room is helpful. In my case the filters and bubblers on my classroom aquariums make a lot of background noise. Giving students space to decompress will go a long way in reducing stress. Reflecting on these small changes, you may notice that many are good for all students. The benefit to the educator is you are enhancing everyone’s experience while meeting your legal obligations to your students who are in most need.  With a new school year upon us, middle school teachers are often faced with the task of connecting to their advisory groups. Every year is different, from the kickball champions of the world to my Harry Potter groupies, advisory groups are as diverse as the personalities that make them up. With this understanding, here’s my favorite activity to get the year started right. My Grandma has a grocery story: A name game. Every year there are kids that don’t know each other. So rather than saying “hey you” all year long, we play a fun game that helps everyone (including me) learn their names. It runs like a spelling bee. All kids stand at their desk Student 1 says, “My grandma has a grocery store and she sells Apples.” (the product can be anything that starts with the letter A. Students 2 then repeats what student 1 says, however they have to address it as “Tim’s grandma has a grocery store and she sells apples.” Adding the previous students name and what their grandma sells. Then student 2 would say :My grandma has a grocery store and she sells bananas.” Or any product that starts with the letter B. This pattern continues, having each student name all the previous students and what their grandmas sell. Its great fun. You can be lenient the first time around to make sure everyone learns the previous students’ names. Additionally, students with learning challenges may need some additional support. After the students make it around one time, I often allow them to pick other items not in alphabetical order, this increases the complexity. At this point if a student can’t remember a name or product they sit down like a spelling bee. Although this game sounds simple, I am hard pressed to get through a group of 20 kids in 30 minutes, so keep good notes, this could be a multiday activity. Advisory Kickball Team Building   In this series I would like to reflect on the use of Chromebooks in a 1 to 1 setting for this past school year. Most references in this topic are from science class, but I believe they can be applied to any classroom.
As I look back, there are clearly some winners and losers in terms of education quality in my classroom. Overall the winners include
It was much easier to get materials out to students, less paper shuffling and a very efficient class set up. Watching video clips for instruction was a breeze. Simply plug in head phones and click a link and everyone was where you needed them. Possibly my favorite aspect was the ability to group and reteach struggling students. This was largely due to recording classroom instruction, posting all assignments in Google Classroom and having materials quickly available for students. This allowed me to accelerate those who mastered content by sending them to the next module. Reflecting on the low points there were also some losers. The two biggest I would suggest are. . .
Kids will be off task on a digital device, no matter how good they are. Adults will do the same. So one of the biggest issues I see is how easy it is to play a game, look up a YouTube video or generally not get your work done. In the pre-one to one days it was easy to visually monitor who was on and off task. You looked around the room and if a kid wasn’t working, your redirected them. But in a one to one classroom, its very difficult to notice. Every student is looking at a computer screen but not every student is working on task. There is a myriad of little pop up games that kids can use online, so its important to physically place students where you can easily monitor their work. The other major issue I see if the loss of physical writing skills. 1 to 1 classrooms make this too easy to gloss over. Everything is digital, kids frequently copy and paste and the ability to construct meaningful thoughts on paper is increasingly difficult. I don’t believe writing on a computer and composing on paper are the same skills, this would be a great education research topic. Moving Ahead As I look at the future and how I will manage my classroom this year, I will be creating structured time to write and think that don’t involve Chromebooks. This involves the use of simple exit tickets, that students write and reflect on their classroom experience. I will still maintain a physical notebook, I believe the idea to collect thoughts and create on paper is a fundamental skill that every student needs. I would like to experiment with instructional delivery with a 2 to 1 model. Having two kids to one computer. With the idea that they are using the device to learn and create together, reducing the one on one off task time. In closing, the idea that Chromebooks (laptops, iPad you name) are magical in an educational settings is not necessarily the case. They are an educational tool like anything else we use in the classroom. A thoughtful implementation is necessary. Additionally, kids need to understand that there are basic timelines and expectations to get work done. With this in mind I look forward to teaching these behaviors prior to the start of regular instruction. My lessons will look like this:
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AuthorWelcome to my Blog. This is my online home to share thoughts and life as a teacher, dad, coach, and instructional designer. 
Middle School Resources to Engage Kids
Love this one, simple but effective.
What if Jupiter was a star?
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