Student Work - Magazine Covers

Hello again! I just wanted to share with you what happens when you let students use their creativity and think outside the box. This is a magazine cover activity that I did with my kids over German unification (Otto Von Bismarck, Kaiser Wilhelm, 2nd Reich). You can find the instructions to this activity HERE

Nationalism in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire

Here is what we are doing today! Check it out... Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottomans.


Nationalism Threatens Old Empires - Prezi

Changing Attitudes and Values

Here is what we are doing today! Enjoy!

If you want the full lesson please go to http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Alex-Reinecke

Top 10 ways to teach a difficult subject

As many of you in the education field know, teaching a difficult subject can be challenging from many angles. Here is a list of general ideas that might help any teacher struggling to find that "It" factor within a lesson.

Number Ten - Be patient. Students tend to process difficult subjects slower than normal. It takes time.
Number Nine - Use visual aids. If you can present a topic or information to students with some kind of graphic organizer, it decreases the amount of time for information retention in half. An example of that could be a word web or thought organizer. It organizes the information in their brain and allows them to access the information in a certain pattern or with separators, kind of like a file cabinet.

Number Eight - Use voice inflection. The tone with which you use your voice can go a long way when talking about catching a student's attention. Make sure you are speaking loud with fluctuations in your voice pattern so as to minimize students catching a snooze.
Number Seven - Increase the amount of resources available to students. In the age of technology there is a WEALTH of knowledge available to anyone. Use the internet, use blogs, use primary resources from sites such as the Library of Congress to give students a first hand look at what happened at the time of the event. If you want a more general resource website, check this  out. http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/
Number Six - Allow time for digestion. Students who are studying a difficult subject need time to digest difficult information. Make sure you are using the 10:2 method (ten minutes of teaching to two minutes of reflection). This is good for activities that utilize think-pair-share or other cooperative learning review activities. Allow proper wait time while divulging information at the front of the classroom.
Number Five - Create a plan. Teachers often get stumped by questions their students ask. Make a list of possible questions students may ask and write down answers. This will give you legitimacy and make the intricacies of a hard subject a little less confusing.
Number Four - Diversify.  Don't let your students just sit about in the classroom taking notes all day. Allow them to get up and move around. Set up stations describing different aspects of the topic for the day. Allow them to teach the material they learn at the stations to each other. Cooperative learning is key.
Number Three - Group-work. When working in groups make sure students are paired based on ability and gender. Students with high AND low order skills should be working in the same group. It is wise to split up groups between genders as well because homogenous groups tend to not focus as well.
Number Two - Modification and adaptation. Each student learns differently. It is extremely important that you cater to each individual student's needs. If you do not know how each of your students learns, make a tally of how many students you have in each of the different learning categories. If you do not know, here is a link to a test that will determine each student's learning needs. http://teachertools.londongt.org/?page=VAK
Number One - Inquiry learning. Let students learn the material by seeking out the answer themselves. True learning involves failure. The students will fail using this method, but it is your job as a professional educator to guide them on the correct path to succeed. Here is a website that will help you with inquiry learning for ANY discipline. http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/index.html

I hope this helps anyone that is struggling to teach a difficult subject. Always remember to reflect on your lessons to see what you can change yourself to benefit your students. If you found this post helpful please share with your friends!

Teachers Pay Teachers

Hello! I just wanted to let everyone know that I my teachers pay teachers site up and running and you all should take a look. Tell me what you think!
Make a great day...

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Alex-Reinecke

Industrial Revolution in 314

So I didn't write a blog first semester over my initial teaching experience but I have decided to keep track of my experiences for this semester. I feel like being able to look back on my experiences and reflect on them will make me a better educator and help the rest of my kids in the years to come.

This last week here in room 314 have been going over the Industrial Revolution. They have been learning all about the inventions and ideas created during that time period and have done some cool activities over tall the information we have learned. They created detailed comic strip panels that are now posted on the board in my room! They really seemed to enjoy that activity and it was nice to see the creativity they have at that age. It really is incredible to watch students who are allowed to think outside the box be creative. The things they come up with are very original and can be extremely hilarious.

Thursday is their test this week over chapters 7 and 9. We've covered a lot of material but I'm confident they will do well on this test. I have decided to let them use a notecard on the test for the first time this year, hopefully that doesn't backfire on me!

If anyone has any good ideas about teaching the rise of nationalism, let me know!

Welcome!

Welcome to my brand new blog! I'm still getting the hang of it, so please bare with me here. I will be posting links and updating everyone on activities in my classroom. Thanks for checking it out!