Timing is Everything

It's fun to use games now and again in class, but that boring old timer on your Promethean or Smart board doesn't always cut it.

Why not try some of these great classroom timers from online-stopwatch.com?

Teaching You to Be Beautiful

Alright... This is not really education related, but I've entered Avon's Makeup Maven Contest.

Please view and like my video so I have a chance to win!

Paul Revere DID NOT say, "The British are coming!"

I know I probably just ruined a lot of your childhood images of Paul Revere on his brave steed proudly waving the American flag as he warns his fellow patriots, "The British are coming!"

The real truth is at the time of Paul Revere's famed 'Midnight Ride', American Colonists still considered themselves British.  Had Paul Revere really told people, "the British are coming," it would have been like saying, "we're coming."  Doesn't make much sense, does it?

It's more likely Revere would have said, "The Redcoats are coming" or (according to witness reports at the time) "The Regulars are coming out" to signify the difference between the British from England and the British from the American Colonies.

I'm not really sure when the phrase, "The British are coming," became associated with Paul Revere.  It's likely that it's a phrase that became popularly used during the War of 1812 at which time the United States, now populated by people who firmly thought of themselves as American, declared war against the British Empire.

YouTube

As teachers, YouTube can be the bane of many of our existences.  Students sneak on to watch videos that may be inappropriate or just a plain-old waste of time.  I've known teachers who outright ban YouTube from their classrooms and many districts block it on student accounts.
To that, I have one thing to say: really?
Alright.  I get it.  Letting students go on YouTube with no filtering or monitoring can lead to a whole slew of problems, but think about all that they'll be missing by leaving out this awesome tool!
"What about TeacherTube or other video hosting services," you ask?  Valid question.  They're fine, but they don't have the variety and scope of videos that you can find on YouTube and the search tools can often be awkward and frankly ineffective.
So what can you do to make YouTube a happier place for your students?
Here are three of my favorite suggestions:

Podcasting

Thinking about trying out podcasting?

A few years ago it seemed like this was going to be the future of education!  Podcasting is an excellent tool to support your curriculum.

For more information, please view the slideshow below and be sure to check out the links in the references for even more.

  

Why Blog?

Back in grad school, a classmate and I created this presentation on Blogging.

Now that I'm blogging, I figured what better time to share it?
Not only can you look at this to see what blogging is all about, you can also start to get an idea of how versatile Google Docs is.



Happy Blogging!

Flipped Classroom

Today I took a class on Flip Teaching.

The idea is to take what you'd normally do in the classroom and switch it with what you've been having your students do at home for homework.

Here's a website from the instructor so you can read more about it.

What do you think about a flipped classroom?

Grammar Goes on Vacation

Part Three - Bianca's Leafs

While driving to the beach this past year, I was aghast when I saw this billboard for Bianca's Tea Leafs.

Stay tuned to find out why...

Bruce Jenner - Not Just Kim's Stepfather

In the spirit of the Olympics, I thought I'd share a little secret with you:

Bruce Jenner was famous way before he married Kris Kardashian Jenner and became Kim, Kourtney, and Khloe's stepdad.


Shocking, I know.


Back at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada (when Kourtney was but a wee babe in arms and his nuptuals to Kris weren't even close to being on the radar), he won a gold medal in the decathlon and set a world record that stood for almost 5 years. 


After his win, he was handed an American Flag which he proudly waved as he ran a victory lap.  This iconic gesture has been repeated at every Olympic games since.  He was hailed as an American hero and even earned the title, "World's Greatest Athlete".  Jenner was featured on a Wheaties Box and became one of the company's first official spokespeople.  He has appeared on television shows, written books, was a successful race car driver, owns a company that sells aircraft supplies, and was the business development vice president for a staffing industry software application.  Jenner currently travels as a motivational speaker. 


He accomplished most of this well before famous stepdaughter Kim was even born. 


So next time you're watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians, head on over to Jenner's official website and check out the awesomeness 

Grammar Goes on Vacation

Part Two - Your and You're

This one's going to be quick and easy.

I was in a tacky little gift shop looking at all the kitsch when I came across this:

(Image from misspellt.com.  I took a picture on my phone but I live in the dark ages and have no way to upload it.)

Why was I upset?

The big red arrow probably gives it away.

Just in case you didn't get it, let's check out what's wrong with this bad boy.

Grammar Goes on Vacation

Part One - Plurals vs. Possessives 

I was recently on vacation with my husband's family.

While there, I found several cringe-worthy grammar mistakes.  Here's one of them.

I stopped at a restaurant which happens to have my husband's name in the title in order to pick up a t-shirt.  While there in the sale basket, I picked up a shirt for myself with a local from the adjoining sports bar.

The eternal optimist, I like to tell myself it was in the sale basket because of the mistake.

It said, "Just Georges."

Here's my illustration of that phrase:

(Bonus points if you know who all of these guys are.)

So what's the big deal?

"Why do I have to know this?"

It's a question that's often asked when studying history.  Here's a great quote from The Ear, the Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer:

Knowledge is a house that must be built from the ground up.  We know how to make the roof. The information is useless if we don't understand the foundations on which it is to be placed.

I've just started reading the book, so I can't tell you much else about it.  If you're interested in reading it, check it out here.

I also highly recommend her award winning novel The House of the Scorpion.  I'm not much of a sci-fi girl, but this is still one of my all-time favorites.

Pronouns

First things first: What is a pronoun?
A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun:

me

I

she

he

they

you

us

them

... and so on.

So then the trick that we need to learn is when to use which pronoun.