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Tag: lesson plans

  • Teaching the Last Lecture: 25 High School Lessons & Activities

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    The Last Lecture is a great book. (The speech also can be watched.) It teaches so many life lessons. I have been using this book for the last few years in a senior elective course. My students read independently in class for 20 – 30 minutes. I find this method to be most effective for my classes, you may choose to use the book as an outside reading.
    For the silent sustained reading, the students fill out a journal entry at the end of the reading session. (If any teacher would like a copy of my Silent Sustained Reading Chart, please email me, mark@mytowntutors.com.)
    For a more detailed Click on the link to see a more detailed account of the lesson. (I will be adding future posts for many of the activities.)

    Randy Pausch: The Last Lecture

    25 Activities


    1. Life list – 25 – 50 items that you hope to accomplish in your life. (Make it an IMPORTANT part of your life. Look at it regularly!)
    2. Family Stories – “All parents want to teach their children right from wrong, what we think is important, and how to deal with the challenges life will bring. We also want them to know some stories from our lives.” (page ix)
    3. “If I were a painter, I would have painted for them. If I were a musician, I would have composed music. But I am a lecturer. So I lectured.” – use your talents.
    4. “What makes me unique?” (page 9)
    5. ROLES – “I thought about how I defined myself: as a teacher, a computer scientist, a husband, a father, a son, a friend, a brother, a mentor to my students. Those are all the roles I value.” (page 10)
    6. “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” (page 17)
    7. Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams – Select a CURRENT dream of yours. Something you are very passionate and enthusiastic about. Write about what it is. Why it is important? How will you progress toward that dream?
    8. Parent Lottery – This is a great activity for students to reflect about their relationships with their parents. Awesome to complete around Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Graduation.
    9. POSTER “I want to paint things on my wall. Things that matter to me. Things I think will be cool.” (page 27)
    10. What is the “it” in your life? “It [football] helped make me who I am today.” (page 35)
    11. How have you EARNED self-esteem? “Giving kids self-esteem. It’s not something you can give. It’s something they have to build. .. He knew there was only one way to teach kids how to develop it: You give them something they can’t do, they work hard until they find they can do it, and you just keep repeating the process… He made me realize that if I work hard enough, there will be things I can do tomorrow that I can’t do today.” (page 37)
    12. “So that was my setback. But I kept my mantra in mind: The brick walls are there for a reason. They’re not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.” (page 51-52) Describe a brick wall you encountered and the steps you took to show how badly you wanted something.
    13. “Wow, this is the epitome of a person appreciating this day and this moment.” (page 64) Identify a person who you know who “appreciates” life the most.
    14. “Like many people, I had strengths that were also flaws.” (page 67) Do a little self-reflection and evaluate yourself analyzing a strength that also might be considered a weakness. This is a great question to answer well. A common interview question is what is your greatest weakness?
    15. “The number one goal of teachers should be to help students learn how to learn. I always saw value in that, sure. But in my mind, a better number one goal was this: I wanted to help students learn how to judge themselves… educators best serve students by helping them be more self-reflective.” (page 112) Reflect on yourself.
    16. “I’m a scientist who sees inspiration as that ultimate tool for doing good…. When you’re putting people on the moon, you’re inspiring all of us to achieve the maximum human potential, which is how the greatest problems will be solved.” (page 132-133) What inspires you? What is your inspiration?
    17. “Too many people go through life complaining about there problems…Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won’t make us happier.” (page 138-139) Evaluate your level of complaining. Do you complain often or do you look on the bright side? What do you complain about? Do you think if you complain less you would be happier?
    18. “If nobody ever worried about what was in other people’s heads, we’d all be 33 percent more effective in our lives and our jobs.” (page 141) Are you overly concerned with what others think?
    19. “Being able to work well in a group is a vital and necessary skill in both the work world and in families. As a way to teach this, I’d always put my students into teams to work on projects.” (page 142) How well do you work with others? Do you enjoy group work? Why or why not?
    20. “Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.” (page 149) Describe an experience where you gained experience. Be detailed in your narrative. What was the event and the lesson that was learned?
    21. “Because hand-written notes have gotten so rare, they will remember you… My advice was more about helping them recognize that there are respectful, considerate things that can be done in life that will be appreciated by the recipient, and that only good things can result.” (page 152) We have completed many of these types of activities so far. Describe the process and reaction.
    22. There is No Job Beneath You – “There is a growing sense of entitlement among young people today.”  (page 168) He is calling you out? Is he right?
    23. “There are a few key moments in anyone’s life.” (page 173) Select a few and describe the moment and the significance in your life.
    24. “All of us have a responsibility to the community…When we’re connected to others, we become better people.” (page 175 – 176) Comment on this quote and apply it to your personal experiences with community service.
    25. Create a Last Lecture to present to the class. A variation could be a slide show or a video production.
    I would love feedback from teachers if you try any of these activities. If you have any additional questions, please email mark@mytowntutors.com.
     

  • The State of K-12 Education

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    Disclaimer: I’ll apologize in advance to any educator or individual already familiar with the following: I know I’m preaching to the choir… And, I’m certainly no specialist.
    On September 29th, 2005, a hearing was held in front of the Committee on Education and the Workforce entitled “Closing the Achievement Gap in America’s Schools: The No Child Left Behind Act.”  John A. Boehner, then acting Chairman of the Committee, introduced then Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, with the following:
    “No Child Left Behind [NCLB] is not a rigid, one-size-fits-all approach to improving our schools. The law is grounded in flexibility and local control. No one has demonstrated that more effectively than Secretary Spellings.”
    During the ensuing seven years, 24 states have repealed many of the accountability-minded measures detailed in the NCLB via “waivers.”
    The results of these waivers, otherwise known as “ESEA Flexibility Requests,” have essentially released the respective states of the federal strings-attached approach indoctrinated by the very objective of the program.
    Of course, to apply and be awarded such a waiver, “…states must have teacher evaluation systems that include at least three performance levels and factor in student progress,” which are otherwise known as AMO’s (Annual Measurable Objectives) or also referred to by another vernacular, AYP (Adequately Yearly Progress).

    But why are states applying?

    Utah Governor Gary Herbert provided an interesting perspective regarding the relationship between federal and state educational assistance.  During the 104th Annual Meeting of the National Governors Association he stated the following:
    “What we have a hard time with is the [federal] one-size fits all approach… Those strings that are put with the money, gives us some frustration… Why not then, come up with a formula based on the [state] student population and just block grant the money to us?”
    The Federal response, as explained by acting Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, is the current system actually promotes the “dummying down” of standards:
    “Looking at history… under NCLB about 20 states actually dummied-down their standards, including the state I’m from, Illinois.  So they didn’t act in the best interests of their state or their young people or their economy; they acted in their political best interests, and this was Republicans and Democrats.”
    With federal educational funding now tied to state-specific waivers and grant programs, like Race to the Top, much of the responsibility falls on state governments to track, employ and catalyze educational progress.
    However, when addressing where the solution must come from in respects to the mounting urgency of US education, an insightful point was delivered by Gov. Herbert:
    “Is it better to come from Washington that tells me what to do?  Or is it better to come from the local people, the school districts, the parents and the people and a bottom-up approach that needs to be done, instead of this one size fits all.”
    A similar sentiment was shared by Sec. Duncan just a few weeks earlier:
    “…increased flexibility with federal funds and relief from NCLB’s mandates, [will allow the individual states] to develop locally tailored solutions to meet their unique educational challenges.”#
    But what does this all mean?  I think the crisis can be best understood in just one statistic:

    “We have a 25% dropout rate in this country.”#

    That’s a high school dropout once every nine seconds.  Relating this to education expenditures and the dollars add up quickly.  For instance, the cost per pupil per year in K-12 schools, averaged with inflation, has increased from $8,634 in 1988–89 to $12,643 in 2008–09, a 46 percent increase.#  And that’s just the annual cost of a K-12 education—let’s consider the dropout’s future implications:
    “The one million students who drop out of high school each year cost our nation more than $260 billion in lost wages, lost taxes, and lost productivity over their lifetimes.”#
    Simultaneously, here in California we’re witnessing schools close left and right—to the point that parents are protesting.  Paired with the recession, a $3.6 billion cut to the state’s education general fund has resulted in over 32,000 K-12 teacher layoffs since 2007-2008.#  Furthermore, how is an educator supposed to improve the schools when they are recognized for their efforts one day and out of a job the next?
    The budget woes in California means the buck just continues to be passed.  And passed.  And passed.
    According to EdSource.org’s Schools Under Stress, in addition to California’s loss of teachers, there are less instructional days, larger class sizes, fewer counselors, declining student enrollment, growing child poverty and high unemployment all gnawing away at a competitive education.#
    With so many factors undermining educational success, there seems to be a grave disconnect from any responsibility.  The real question, in addition to the already engaged educators fighting the honorable fight, is:

    Who else is going to step up and chip away at the problem?

    We believe there is an answer—it just might take some old-fashioned hard work paired with a fresh perspective.
    As former Sec. Spellings said during the Congressional hearing back in 2005:
    “High school reform is not just an education issue. It is an economic issue, a civic issue, a social issue, and a national security issue, and of course, it is all of our issue.  America’s report card has shown no progress for high school students in 30 years.”#
    She’s right: The education problem is everyone’s problem.  It relates to unemployment, the economy, social mobility and national security.
    Flash-forward several years to the Governor’s 104th meeting: current Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is sitting next to former Secretary Spellings and Duncan brings up the following assertion: “A generation ago we led the world in college graduation rates and today we’re 16th.  I’m convinced we have to educate our way to a better economy.”#

    But how do you educate “better?”

    At ClassConnect.com, we believe the answer is to innovate: Do something to change the status quo.  And be results-oriented. Isn’t that what is at the very root of the educational problem: How exactly does one gauge and assess the results of the instruction?  It seems like the testing model is failing, so maybe a different solution is required.
    Down the street from our start-up sits a plaque that says the following:
    “This garage is the birthplace of the world’s first high-technology region, ‘Silicon Valley.’  The idea for such a region originated with Dr. Frederick Terman, a Stanford University Professor who encouraged his students to start up their own electronics equipment companies in the area instead of joining established firms in the east.  The first two students to follow his advice were William R. Hewlett and David Packard, who in 1938 began developing their first product, an audio oscillator, in this garage.”
    With this kind of inspiration, ClassConnect.com is attempting to attack the problem from a new angle.  Perhaps best conveyed through a quote by Adam Bellow over the course of the ISTE 2012 San Diego conference, we think education reform must start from the bottom-up:

    “Teachers should use ‘?’ not ‘.’ to encourage learning.”

    With this philosophy in mind, #EdTech continues to gain traction in the US classroom.  Technology resources are now sprouting up nearly every corner of the country.
    I think one of the growing disconnects is literally the medium of education, with instruction being the primary model:
    “Among 27 member nations tracked by the OECD, U.S. primary-school educators spent 1,097 hours a year teaching despite only spending 36 weeks a year in the classroom— among the lowest among the countries tracked…”
    Who was the next closest country in hours utilizing a similar instruction model?
    “…NewZealand, in second place at 985 hours, despite students in that country going to school for 39 weeks. The OECD average is 786 hours.”#
    Perhaps a new model encouraging collaborative technological interaction is required; as Steven W. Anderson put it:

    “Learning is about collaboration. Learning is about being social.”

    Meanwhile, as evidenced by the Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) report, Getting Down to the Facts: Five Years Later: “California needs a comprehensive education data system to help guide long-term improvement in educational performance.”  We’re hoping our platform will help solve just that: the missing indicators and assessments that both Secretary Duncan and former Secretary Spellings seek.  And not just for California, but for everyone, everywhere.  After all, just a small tick up in school performance goes a long, long, way…

    Help us disrupt the problem: Sign-up for our Private Beta-Access.

    www.ClassConnect.com

    Scott is a 29-year-old working at the education technology start up, ClassConnect.com.  After graduating from UCLA in 2008, he eventually made his way back up to Palo Alto, where he met the “AOL squatter,” Eric Simons.  With an idealist hope to change the world, Scott, Eric and ClassConnect.com are hoping to disrupt education from the ground up.
     
     

  • 4 Great Websites to Test US & World Geography Knowledge

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    It is always a challenge to find useful resources on the internet for the classroom. This past year, I discovered four great activities that are engaging, interactive, and challenge a student’s knowledge of geography. The activities can be done individually or in small groups based on the number of students in your class, student ability levels, and the availability of technology.
    At the start of the class, I hand out a worksheet with the website links and a spot to record each score. (If teachers are interested, please email me for a copy of the worksheet – mark@mytowntutors.com). Each student hands in the worksheet at the end of the activity. This is an effort activity, so the scores are not nearly as important as the effort. You certainly can develop your own grading rubric for the activity.
    To add a little excitement and competition to the activity, I have created a “Hall of Fame” for the top scorers. If you continue using this activity over several years, the Hall of Fame should increase student interest, effort, and motivation.
    Seeing the names of neighbors, teammates, and even family members can ignite the competitive juices of certain students. Sibling rivalries can now exist in an academic setting. To create competition within and between classes, I also post the top 10 scores for each year. If you have a class website, this is a great opportunity to post your top scorers (first name and last initial).
    It is important to remind the students that the reporting of scores is based on the HONOR SYSTEM. I have not had any issues with honesty, however, you also could go around and visually check each top score to verify the authenticity.
    1. World Geography Quiz – This is a great activity to test knowledge of World Geography. Scores are based on accuracy (how close to the location) and speed (how quickly the location is selected).
    There are 12 different levels. Each level has a higher difficulty of questions. The majority of students finished below level 6. There are 3 categories (World Cities, Famous Places, World Capitals) with 4 different levels (Easy, Medium, Hard, Expert).
    The majority of students the grade 9 students finished below level 6. To advance to the next level, a minimum score must be achieved. This minimum score is located in the top right corner of the page.
    For each question their an an interesting fact listed at the bottom of the map.
    At the completion of the game, 3 scores will be recorded:
    Final Level: (maximum level 12)
    Final score:
    Traveller IQ:
    Class results (Grade 9)
    Final Level Range: (maximum level 12)  Levels 1 – 10
    Final score range:  9,995 – 257,345
    Traveller IQ 13 – 89
    2. Place the state on the map – This is a great activity for visual learners. The students are shown the shape of one state at the top of the page and are asked to place the state in the correct location on a map of the United States. The difficulty level decreases with each state that is placed. The activity works like a 50-piece puzzle. With each additional piece, the puzzle become a little easier until there is only one spot left.
    A person only gets one opportunity to correctly place the state. The program will keep track of the average miles of error for placing the states. After the activity is completed the students will be given 3 scores:
    Score (%)
    Average Error (in miles)
    Time (seconds)
    # perfect out of 50 turns
    Class score
    range (April 2012) 35% – 92%
    3. The USA Quiz – This is another great activity that tests a student’s ability to identify a state. There is a map on the left side of the page and on the right side is the question “Where is……..(name of a state)?” A student has 3 chances to select the correct location. A correct choice on the first answer is worth 3 points, the second answer is worth 2 points, and the third answer is worth 1 point. After 3 choices, the student must move on to the next questions.
    Maximum score 150 points.
    4. The World Quiz – This might be a great activity to finish to build self-esteem. It is a 12 question quiz that asks you to identify the continents and the oceans. Like the previous quiz, students are given three opportunities for a correct answer. With the same point totals for correct answers.
    Maximum Score 36. Several students were able to achieve the maximum point total.
    * A teacher may also want to introduce this activity for the students at the start of a unit. For homework, the students can practice on their own. At the end of the week you can assess the students in the form of a quiz. You can record the score right on the spot. No papers to take home!
    I would love feedback and suggestions for other great websites for US History. Email mark@mytowntutors.com,

  • The Pi Day Challenge is a Slice of Heaven for Math Teachers!

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    The Pi Day Challenge really is a slice of heaven for math teachers.
    March 14th (3.14) is the annual celebration of the number pi – 3.1415926. It is a day for math teachers to be creative and use 21st century resources to engage a new generation of math learners. (For more lesson ideas read our recent post 5 Amazing Websites to Prepare for the Pi Day Challenge) 
    The best interactive activity for math enthusiasts to celebrate Pi Day is the Pi Day Challenge! The opening page of the website explains:
    “The Pi Day Challenge is a series of puzzles that are logic-based. A team of logicians adapted or created these puzzles – some require research, some require mathematics, some require pure savvy.”
    There are 3 easy ways to accept the the Pi Day Challenge:

    1. Sign on with Facebook
    2. Enter an email address and password OR
    3. Register as a guest

    The Pi Day Challenge team wants students and adults around the world to be able to participate easily and hassle-free, that is why they created these very convenient and easy to use options.
    Teachers can use this 21st Century Learning activity in a variety of ways.
    Test your personal knowledge – These activities are very fun and challenging. The puzzles require you to think in a variety of ways. It may be that you judge the the Pi Day Challenge to be a great activity that is level appropriate for your students.
    No matter how a math teachers uses this activity, taking the challenge is an amazing opportunity to see how the Pi Day Challenge could be incorporated into your curriculum.
    Spend a class period in the computer room – If your school has the technology and availability, and your students have the skill and motivation, spend a class period working together or individually to solve the puzzles. Just step back and watch how students will creatively and cooperatively work to solve the problems.
    Solve the problems as a class – Although probably not the most ideal way to engage students, if you have access to a Smart Board / projector, you could complete some of the puzzles as a class. Using this method would work great with smaller class sizes. Perhaps you select a few of the puzzles that are most appropriate for your students’ abilities.
    Extra Credit – This is a final alternative if your school is technologically challenged. With this method you will engage your motivated students. You may not reach all your students, however the ones you do emgage will be completely passionate about finding the solutions.
    The Pi Day Challenge team uses a variety of ways to track the progress. The genius board is a listing of all the people who have completed the entire challenge.
    We have spoken with Matthew Plummer, the creator of the The Pi Day Challenge. We are hoping to have him provide a guest post in the future.
    As you can imagine, he and his team are extremely busy right now providing such an incredible resource for the entire mathematical community.
    If you enjoy this challenge, please consider making the small donation in celebration of Pi $3.14. He has invested years of his time developing this great challenge. He would love to be able to continue to provide The Pi Day Challenge in the future.