Life's Whirlwind Adventures

So I have been reading many educational blogs as of late and I have been trying out some of the ideas in my own classroom.  In my religion class I allowed the students to grade themselves.  I spoke with each student and I was able to gather a better understanding of some of the students in my class.  It's sometimes hard to connect with Middle school students, but I found taking that time in my class to talk with each of them independently opened new doors of communication between us.  It's working and I do believe that next I will be letting the students self-evaluate in a written form their mark in class. I want them to be honest with me and themselves, about what their level of effort and comprehension has been.  There are still some hiccups but I think it's working out.  I do not feel like I am an expert in assigning students a mark on their spiritual journey. In my science class I have given my students a project to research a system of the body, th...

I am trying to find a website that I can use in tandem with my students, to help engage the learning long before they reach the classroom and long after they leave the classroom.  I want the learning experience to be a memorable and at least parts o fit to be unforgetable.  There are so many websites out there and I guess depending on what you want to use the website for it will make a difference to which you will choose. I have choosen two different websites and I may end up with only one after a bit, but I want to give them both a chance.  The other consideration is to find out which websites your school will allow your students to access while on the internet.  Knowing that most schools block Facebook and the like, teachers need to have websites where they can interact with their students in live time and not just in emailing.  It could solve some problems with needing subs and the like if you can connect with your students via an internet link. So the tw...