motivation Archives - Page 12 of 16 - Inspired Together Teachers

Which of These 6 Types of Teacher Are You?

June 21, 2017 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

There are six types of teachers, at least according to a sixth grader named Topher. Topher is one of the narrators in John David Anderson’s, funny, wise and heart wrenching middle grade novel Ms. Bixby’s Last Day.

Here are the six types of teachers. Which one are you?

The Zombies

These are the ones who have been teaching since Roosevelt was president- the first Roosevelt. The one with the broomy mustache. Zombies speak in a monotone and come armed with lots of worksheets. They suck the fun out of the learning process. Zombies don’t technically eat student’s brains, but they don’t do anything to nurture them either.

The Caff-Adds

You can spot these teachers by their jittery hands, bloodshot eyes and the NPR travel mugs they carry around with them. Caff-Adds are like little bouncy balls and they talk really fast. Listening to them is like sticking your head in a beehive…ZZZZZZZZZZZ.

The Dungeon Masters

These teachers are hall pass wielding ogres who wish paddling was still allowed in schools. They allow no talking- ever. You are expected to sit still, be quiet and do your work alone. They will capture your I-phone and feed it to their goblins.

The Spielbergs

These teachers aren’t as cool as Steven Spielberg, but like him they show movies all the time. With Spielbergs, you often get a chance to snooze or doodle or text your friends. A sub category is Zombie Spielbergs- old guys who show movies, often ones that are unrelated to class, constantly.

The Noobs

Noobs are “fresh picked from the teacher farm.” Noobs, with their bright eyes colorful catalog posters are overachievers. Students like Noobs, but sadly, they don’t stay Noobs for very long. They get burned out in a year or two. Topher blames the system, not the students, for causing this form of teacher burnout.

The Good Ones

These are the teachers we hope to get. They make school bearable. You actually pay attention in their class. You work hard in their class because you don’t want to disappoint them. These are the ones you will go back and say hi to next year.

We asked, “Which of These Six Types of Teacher Are You?”

Actually, we already know the answer. It’s summer, and you are reading this. You are doing a little self-imposed professional development.

Gotcha. Caught in the act. Now we know. And you know too. You’re our kind of teacher.

One of The Good Ones.

Congratulations,

Paula and Michele

P.S. It’s summer, and we plan to read a lot. If you are looking for some good books, we’ve got you covered. Fill in your name and email below to get our free guide, 25 Amazing Books About Teachers that Every Teacher Should Read.

P.P.S. Number one is Ms. Bixby’s Last Day, by John David Anderson, 2016, Walden Pond Press. Read this one first. And make sure you have a box of tissues handy. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Our Favorite Read Aloud Novels for Grades K-6

April 5, 2017 by Inspired Together Teachers 3 Comments

Most children love to be read to, and through listening, learn to love books. Children who love books will read more and the bottom line of reading research is that the more you read the better you read. If you want your children to be good readers, read to them daily.

Reading to children helps to build classroom community and offers a common experience to use when discussing reading strategies. Reading to children improves their vocabulary and models fluency. It builds their attention span in a way that time on the iPad or a video game doesn’t. It improves listening skills in an age when teachers often complain that their children aren’t good listeners.

Reading just 15 minutes a day offers many benefits in a short amount of time.

Here are ten of our favorite, tried and true books to read aloud to your students.

1. The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

You probably remember this from your own childhood. Four orphaned children build a home in an old boxcar. It is a sweet, satisfying and heart- filled story. Although it is old -fashioned, it still works for children today. Grades K-3

2. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lingren

Children love Pippi, perhaps because she lives on her own without the influence of adults, or perhaps because of her silly adventures. Michele still remembers her daughter’s giggles at Pippi carrying a horse and her crazy adventures with the police. Grades K-4

3. The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary

All of Beverly Cleary’s books make good read alouds. The Ramona books are great choices. The Mouse and The Motorcycle, and it’s sequels are especially good choices for active little boys. Who doesn’t love a mouse riding around on a motorcycle? There is lots of action and good fuel for the imagination here. Grades K-3

4. Somebody Loves You Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli

This one is technically a picture book, though a longer one. Mr. Hatch is a lonely old man with no friends. His whole life changes when he gets a box of Valentine’s Day chocolates in the mail- by mistake. This is a great story to build empathy and an understanding of what it means to be a friend. Grades 1-4

5. Thank You, Jackie Robinson by Barbara Cohen

A lonely young boy befriends the elderly cook in his mother’s inn. They bond over a love of baseball, and especially the new Brooklyn Dodger, Jackie Robinson. Racism rears its ugly head, and leads to great discussions of what it means to be racist. Ultimately this is a great story of friendship, and a message very meaningful for today. Grades 3-5

6. Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

A young girl named Opal finds and keeps a stray dog. Along with collecting a dog, she collects a unique cast of characters, each with a story to share. This is another story with heart. Grades 2-5

7. The One and Only Ivan by Kathleen Applegate

This story is told through the eyes of Ivan, a gorilla who lives in a shopping mall tourist attraction. Ivan has a great story to tell about friendship and the power of art. This book easily kept children’s attention in a summer school program, which is a good sign. Grades 2-5

8. Old Yeller by Fred Gipson

A classic story of a boy and his dog on a ranch in the Texas frontier. There is a lot of adventure and plenty of escapades from the rangy old mutt. In the same vein, try Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor and Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. Dogs are like magnets to kids, and together, this is a powerful trio of dog stories. Grades 2-6

9. Mississippi Bridge by Mildred Taylor

This book works for third through eighth graders. This story of four young black children who witness discrimination and then tragedy in 1930’s Mississippi never fails to ignite lots of insight and powerful discussion. Grades 3-6

10. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

If your children are a little older and ready for a scary story, this is a good one. It is about a young boy who is raised by ghosts and wanted by a murderer. It is clever, imaginative and sometimes frightening. Gaiman knows how to draw you in and keep you there. Grades 4-7

We would love for you to share YOUR favorite read alouds or the ones you fondly remember your teachers reading to YOU.

What is the Most Important Question You Can Ask?

January 24, 2017 by Inspired Together Teachers 2 Comments

What is the most important question you can ask?

Why is this important?

Why do I need to learn this?

Why do I have to do this?

Why is this working..or not?

We all know the major questions: who, what, where, when, why and how.

Questions that start with who, what, where, and when, are all questions that can be answered with concrete, low level answers. They are questions that ask for recall and comprehension. They have a right answer and a wrong answer. You can ask them with a multiple choice question. In Bloom’s taxonomy, these are the questions that ask us to remember and understand.

How is the question that gets at the process of something. How do we do this ? How do we implement the steps? How do we apply the formula? In the realm of Bloom’s taxonomy, how is at the application level. How will you solve, execute, implement, or demonstrate something?

Why is the question that gets at higher levels of thinking.

Why asks us to judge, select, value and weigh benefits. Asking why leads us to analyze, to investigate and evaluate, and to formulate new ideas. These skills are at the top of Bloom’s Taxonomy, and are the skills we need in order to take information and knowledge that is readily available to us and use it in new and beneficial ways.

Asking why also gets at purpose.

One of the best ways to increase motivation, whether for adults or for students, is to help people understand the purpose of something. When people don’t understand the purpose for a task, they often need some kind of manipulation to entice them. Rather than coming from within, their motivation is external. In a job situation, this might show up in the form of more money or extra time off. In an educational situation, you will see it show up as a sticker, a good grade or some sort of prize.

When you understand your purpose, everything changes.

As Daniel Pink states in the book Drive,

“We know— if we’ve spent time with children or remember ourselves at our best—-that we are not destined to be passive and compliant. We’re designed to be active and engaged. And we know that the richest experiences in our lives aren’t when we are clamoring for validation from others, but when we are listening to our own voice- doing something that matters, doing it well, and doing it in the service of a cause larger than ourselves.”

We are at our best when we know our why.

That’s why the most important question you can ask is…why.

Here’s to asking good questions,

Are You Killing the Love of Reading?

January 4, 2017 by Inspired Together Teachers 6 Comments

There are many reasons to develop a love of reading. Reading, like playing tennis or a musical instrument, is a skill. When we read, we are practicing a skill, and as with any skill, the more you practice the better you will get. If you enjoy reading, you will be more likely to read, and more reading makes you a better reader.

Reading also helps us to bridge cultures, to learn about other people and places that we may not have had the chance to experience first hand. Reading is a source of unending information about almost any subject imaginable. It is a key to success in school and in life.

No parent or teacher would intentionally try to lessen a child’s success by killing the love of reading, but it happens every day.

Here are some ways adults unintentionally kill the love of reading:

Using long sessions of round robin reading.

You remember this from childhood. Going around in a circle, or up and down a row, each person reads a paragraph followed by the next person. Good readers are bored and read ahead. Poor readers count the paragraphs before their turn so they can silently practice it so they won’t look foolish. No one is actually paying much attention to the student who is actually reading. The lesson? Reading is boring.

Asking students to read as a punishment.

When reading is assigned as a punishment for some infraction, the message is that reading is a punishment. Enough said.

Never allowing students to choose their own reading material.

Our knowledge, abilities, and interests vary widely. We are more interested in reading when we have a choice in our reading material.

Allowing students to read only when all of their work is done.

In school, this often means that the students who most need to practice reading don’t get any time to read. Reading is seen as an “extra” and not as something important.

You don’t model a love of reading.

Children imitate adults. If they never see an adult read, they are not likely to understand the value of reading. If adults don’t think it is important, why should children?

You don’t allow students to reread a beloved book.

Good readers often reread favorite books. There is comfort and joy in rereading. It also helps beginning readers to develop fluency. Rereading is a sign of a good reader.

We hope that you are not committing readacide with your students.

.Do you want to help students to develop a love of reading? Here are some things you can do:

Read aloud to children every day.

Share your favorite books.

Encourage daily reading.

Take children to the library.

Buy children books.

Let children see you read.

Talk about what you are reading.

Building a love of reading isn’t rocket science. It is possible to promote reading and good reading habits. We hope you are doing all things in your power to help students to develop a love of reading and ultimately, to be good readers.

Happy reading,

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