Technology in the Classroom

Digital cameras can really be a great addition in a classroom. I used them in math, writing, social studies…you name it. One activity I did with students in math was to have them take pictures with a partner of different shapes (octagons, squares, pentagons, etc.) then we printed them out as each group finished up. They used their pictures to write the properties of the shapes they found, and categorized them with other groups. There are tons of things that you can probably do with cameras and glogs too! (To learn about glogs, refer to: http://well0221.blogspot.com/2010/07/blogs-in-my-classroom.html)

What kind of person do I want to be?

Self-reflection is a skill, and it takes time and effort to obtain. I want to share a program that I used with my fifth-grade class, (and can be used throughout elementary school) to work on the question “What kind of person do I want to be?” was called PassageWorks. The program can be found here: http://passageworks.org/.

“PassageWorks provides educators and school leaders a practical, relationship-centered approach to transforming the culture of classrooms, schools and districts. For over two decades PassageWorks’ practices, principles, and tools have been used to foster student engagement, resilience, social and emotional intelligence and academic success. By supporting the inner lives of teachers and students, the PassageWorks model integrates cognitive and human development to create meaningful and effective classrooms.” ~The PassageWorks Institute