April is National Poetry Month, 30 days of celebrating the joy, expressiveness, and pure delight of poetry.
Launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, National Poetry Month reminds the public that poets have an integral role to play in our culture and that poetry matters. Over the years, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K–12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers, families, and, of course, poets, marking poetry's important place in our lives. In 2021, the Academy of American Poets looks forward to celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of this annual celebration! (Source)
From their youngest years, our children are innately curious. They explore the world around them through play, imagination, and discovery. They build meaning, they create understanding, and they unabashedly share their learning. It's in this process that they find joy in life and relevance in the world around them. Why, then, do some of our students become disconnected from their learning in school? Where does this natural curiosity go? And how, as educators, can we ensure all of our students experience a meaningful and wonder-filled journey through their education? It s these questions that Trevor MacKenzie, author of the critically acclaimed book Dive into Inquiry, answers in Inquiry Mindset. Co-written with kindergarten teacher Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt, Inquiry Mindset offers a highly accessible journey through inquiry in the younger years. You ll learn how to . . . Empower your learners, increase engagement, and accelerate achievement. Harness the wonderings and curiosities of your students and leverage them into powerful learning opportunities. Cultivate an inquiry mindset both as a teacher and in your students! Adopt an inquiry approach that results in the most authentic and inspiring learning you 've ever experienced!
What Makes Your School Special? If you’re a teacher, you want your students to love coming to class. If you’re a school leader, you want your teachers to love coming to work. So how do you make your school a place where students and teachers alike want to be—because it’s where they feel energized, inspired…special? In Making Your School Something Special, educator and international speaker Rushton Hurley explores the mindsets, activities, and technology that make for great learning. You’ll learn: *How to think about and create strong learning activities, *Why fostering and sharing successes benefits everyone, *How to strengthen individual confidence in both students and teachers, and *How to know, and help others know, what makes your school special. A great school is a place where everyone experiences meaningful learning, and this book is designed to help you and your colleagues make such learning happen at your campus.
Two things any great teacher would tell you if asked: there are all sorts of things that you probably didn't encounter during your professional preparation, and no matter how good you are, there is always room to improve. Making Your Teaching Something Special is a collection of 50 short chapters designed to fill gaps and build talent, with each chapter covering a piece of advice for those looking to raise their game as a teacher or trainer. Divided into five areas (rapport with students, assessments and assignments, delivery, collegiality and professionalism, and logistics), newbies and veterans alike will find plenty of ideas to try with their classes. Each area finishes with discussion questions for those using the book as part of a professional development effort. The author, Rushton Hurley, mixes stories and ideas to make this an easy read, whether spending the afternoon developing ideas or taking a few moments during lunch to be inspired.
"Understand it takes more than one conversation to influence change – an initial conversation is a great start, but the real change comes from the ongoing follow-up conversations. Make the time to make change happen 100 conversations at a time." Jimmy Casas
My challenge for April is to explore something new each day and share what I discover. I didn't let myself or anyone down. One post per day for 30 days! (April Challenge Update Calendar Doc)
My exploration has all about new resources and ideas, so I thought I would finish up the month with some resources connected to curiosity.
Refresh and renew. Spring is a great time to learn & explore something new!
April 5th, 2023
If you’ve followed my blog over the last several years, you might remember that I occasionally create challenges for myself to explore, learn, and share what I discover. Last December, I challenged myself to explore 24 Days of Teaching and Learning Resources.
My challenge for April is to explore something new each day and share what I discover. Hopefully, I won't let you or myself down!
Did you know that March is National Creativity Month? If you've followed me over the years you might also know that creativity is one of the essential skills we practice in my classrooms. Today I was exploring the Adobe Express Twitter feed and I discovered some awesome Adobe Creative Education Challenges for teachers and students.
If you’ve followed my blog over the last several years, you might remember that I occasionally create challenges for myself to explore, learn, and share what I discover. Last December, I challenged myself to explore 24 Days of Teaching and Learning Resources.
My challenge for April is to explore something new each day and share what I discover. Hopefully, I won't let you or myself down! (April Challenge Update Doc)
Today I signed up for a free course on the Ditch That Textbook, "Creating a Playful Classroom with Jed Dearybury!"
I am currently reading The Playful Life: The Power of Play in Our Every Day by Julie Jones and Jed Dearybury, so I am excited to shift my focus to learning more about "The Playful Classroom: The Power of Play for All Ages".
Signing up for this course started me thinking about additional learning opportunities. Today, I wanted to share some online PD courses for educators that are worth exploring this Spring and Summer.
Today I wanted to share my 11th tip connected to a feature in Google Calendar that has helped me quite a bit to wrap up 2021. Did you know you can set a "Focus time" in Google Calendar?
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