Wednesday, December 25, 2013

What makes a good lesson plan? Suggestions for students to ask their teachers

Students, can you understand the lesson plan that your teacher left the substitute teacher?  If not, why not ask your teacher to look over these points:

There are at least three features that you will notice in a Unit of Study or Lesson Plan compiled under the guidelines of TransformTeaching.org

The principles come from the following people:
Tony Wagner “seven survival skills”: http://www.tonywagner.com/7-survival-skills
Reader's Digest “readability” rules
Learn more about these posters

  • The students are encouraged to make a poster to summarize what they learned (perhaps integrating several units of study into one poster). Even if the poster shows up only in a digital form, the poster will become a rule for that student. The end product will go on a Google Drive file, if possible.
  •  Multiple Colors are used whenever possible.
  • There's a quote somewhere in the Unit of Study (often the quote is related to the school work)
  • The work is connected to at least one of Tony Wagner's Seven Survival Skills
  • Learn more about these posters
    The text is in two columns whenever possible to make the page more readable. (This follows the Readers' Digest format).
  • At least one photo is on the page. At least one large “callout” or excerpted quote in 30 point grabs the reader's attention.


Thank you,
Learn more about these posters



Steve










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We can make handouts and "anything the students have to read" more visually interesting....

HEre are some links to expore based on these search terms:
how to make a handout more visually interesting

Search Results

  1. Presentation Handouts - Speaking about Presenting

    www.speakingaboutpresenting.com/delivery/presentation-handouts/
    Jul 23, 2010 - 13 best-practice tips for creating effective presentation handouts. ... And if they are visual slides (recommended) then they're also unlikely to make .... so that listening to me is much more interesting than reading the handout. 2.
  2. [PDF]

    GOOD HANDOUT DESIGN: HOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR ...

    https://www.pcc.edu/resources/tlc/cascade/.../PCCHandouts_handout.pdf
    This document introduces a simple workflow to create instructional handouts using ...Tufte is the author-designer of four books about the visual display of information, themost recent of which is Beautiful Evidence (Graphics Press, 2006). ... thick black boxes and arrows and lines around the “important stuff”- these types of.
  3. [PDF]

    Visual Design Basics: Creating Effective Handouts, Flyers and ...

    www.mscare.org/resource/resmgr/Articles/Article0019_VisualDesign.pdf
    by A Brown - ‎Cited by 2 - ‎Related articles
    Now, more often than not, we make many of our own print materials using a computer, a... particularly important considerations when creating print materials for  ...
  4. Creating Quality Handouts - Public Speaking Tips

    www.speaking-tips.com › Handouts
    Dec 29, 2003 - The answer is that presenters convey much more than words when they... Make sure your handouts are both visually pleasing and practical.
  5. Handouts - Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis

    www.unice.fr/crookall-cours/presentations/handouts.htm
    When they take notes in their own words it's more meaningful. Handouts need to bevisually interesting, but have lots of white space for writing. According to an  ...
  6. Edward Tufte forum: How to make presentations: techniques ...

    www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00001B
    For medical case presentations, see the display in Visual Explantions, pp. ... I was always taught as an instructor that if you have handouts you shouldn't .... The act of writing on the board requires that you focus on the most important items first.
  7. Visual Arts: Elements and Principles of Design

    www.incredibleart.org/files/elements2.htm
    When we say a painting has UNITY and DEPTH we are making a value ... with the principles of good composition will create a more interesting piece of art it will  ...
  8. NEDARC - Make It Visually Appealing

    www.nedarc.org/tutorials/utilizingData/.../makeItVisuallyAppealing.html
    Make It Visually Appealing - how to make your message/results of your ... This willmake your document look more interesting, and it will also help people jump  ...
  9. Mr. McLaughlin's Class: How to Make a Handout

    mclaughlinsclass.blogspot.com/2007/10/how-to-make-handout.html
    Oct 17, 2011 - Present information visually, which meets the needs of visual ... Use nomore than three fonts in a single handout. ... oho good dear !!!! very interesting blog and a good posting !!! you must maintain your blog, its interesting !

Ten videos from a sidewalk sage: A message to teenagers about the value of relaxing, quieting the mind and meditating (from Sam Iam)

I noticed this fellow who smiled at passersby.  I wondered, Why is he so happy?  He seems content.  I wonder what his story is...

Here is what he shared with me.

Video 1   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfxGcHcnkxE
a story about Alan Gompers

This fellow appears at peace with himself.  He tells a story about learning how to "get in touch with my heart"

Video 2   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgiaorBAVbg
keep the energy in the body
the meditationd technique
say "reee laaaax"

Video 3   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoyM8YNQ2sU
"A man had to go to prison for me to learn these lessons..."
enlightenment is "being in your heart"


Video 4  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2WDbI97S-g
before you are blue, green, irish, whatever,
you are a piece of the divine energy


Video  5  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4OvC3I1aWQ


Notes from Video 5:
We are the creators of our lives

we tend to move toward the things we think about

There's no one to blame.


"Look what my mother did..."   That's so easy.

you are what we eat

we are what we think

we are masters of our sjip

the definition of karma
what goes around comes around

102nd st and 1st avenue
The street version

every thought
every action comes back to us



Video 6  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dooRmTIcevs
Thank you for the opportunity to share my technique....

Video 7  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KANA1V-9fVw
A story about Mr. Daniels.  He was a teacher who taught Sam how to read better.
He made me want to learn to read better.  He opened up the door for me.

Video 8  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WdN2X8--rc
What is the difference between having Jesus and you in the same room?
Answer:  none.   They are all part of the same divine energy.


Video 9  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEC5wZrwvrs
He quotes some lyrics
i came from the ghetto
John Lennon said there are no problems, just

Give a little more than what you are looking for.

He likes the poetry of lyrics


Video 10  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mXclP4tnlk


If you want to learn how to make a digital portfolio, click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6QFwt-5QWU

-----------

From a Virtual Mentor (John in the ebook called How to Become a Virtual Mentor)


Here's one thing I learned in a freshman class in college.  When you are waiting in line at the supermarket or whenever you get really impatient and uncomfortable, do this:  Feel your feet in your shoes.  Focus on where each toe is, the position, where the toe touches the shoe's surface.  How much weight is each toe holding?  What percentage of your weight is on your heels and what percentage is on the balls of your feet?  This procedure calms me down immediately.


For more information, called (954) 733 7366  ask for Sam Iam

Teacher Training and Parent Awareness ... using Six Conversations with Enrique Gonzalez

Visit this article about the Academy
I recently toured East Side High School in Newark, NJ and I met an innovative principal (who has coordinated an academy inside the larger high school).  
I recommended the following training materials (based on videos made by Erik Friedl, a documentary filmmaker in Los Angeles).  

The key points:
a) the videos give tours of two schools (middle and high).
b) the principal, Enrique Gonzalez, gives his perspectives about how to personalize the experience of school.
c) viewers can use these videos to guide discussions about "where can we take our school." 

The 23 Megabyte download
How can a community (neighborhoods) be invited into a school?  Workshops provided input to make this interesting report (phase 1).

For more information, contact Enrique Gonzalez 

exg068@lausd.net    I recommend the documentary interviews that Enrique did with Erik Friedl ... located at the following links on Youtube



"Most young people don't believe that school belongs to them.
We want the community to join us. The classroom is the extension of their living room."

--- 


A tour with Nancy Chou in the D3 Lab: "Dream it, Design it, Do it."
Interview with Aaron Brest, a musician who graduated from Frida Kahlo High School.

---



"The students will put a smile on people's faces. They're preparing to visit a local convalescent home." 
The Night Hawk's Nest, made with discarded materials: "The children have taken ownership of this area."

--- 


"Kids learn about safety and they can apply the skills that they learn from other subjects. The kids are engaged here--we're preparing them to be citizens of the world."

"Around us there is poverty and hunger but the answer is in the schools where students can develop their thinking and analytical tools. Thanks to Elliot Washer, Nancy Chou and the staff at Nightingale middle School, who want us to become the best school in the nation. Let's be a model. Here's an alternative--please consider it."




Highland Park "Love of Learning"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A34AR57A1Eo
"Our principal is not a suit.  He is a man."  (student)
Phase One under way at Highland Park High School in Los Angeles, California. School principal Enrique Gonzalez offers an insider's look at a school-in-the-remaking and explores programs and innovation aimed at engaging and igniting the imagination of every student passing through Highland Park's portal. Emphasis is on the teachers' personal approach to understanding the needs, aptitude and aspirations of the individual student.

Enrique Gonzalez: exg0368@lausd.net or 323-254-3421

--- 




Highland Park "Remaking"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7htFyO57ljU

These interviews can support a discussion for teacher training and parent awareness of what is possible when a community invests in a school and when a school invites the community to come in.    Enrique has several insights about how to build connections with the local community.  His mobile phone contact is 909 456 9152


Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Yoga for Teenagers and Seniors: Suggestions for students who want to increase their movements and flexibility (from a yoga instructor in New Jersey)



Yoga video 2:  How to use the stairs




Yoga 3:  Flexibility in the hands

The Frog



Mindful Movements for Teenagers and Seniors

Students might be given a life skill

a) how do we 

b)  if your grandmother wants to get a little gentle exercise, what series of postures would be good for her health?   Check with a physician before using these techniques.

c)  What are the benefits of yoga and postures in general?  What do you know about the lymph system?




Yoga 1
walk in a straight line


Yoga 2
stairs stretching..  

Yoga 3
Medical uses of spheres to stretch the hand muscles and ligaments

Yoga 4

Yoga 5







  1. Mindful Movements: Ten Exercises for Well-Being: Thich Nhat Hanh ...

    www.amazon.com › ... › Alternative Medicine › Energy Healing
    Mindful Movements: Ten Exercises for Well-Being [Thich Nhat Hanh, Wietske Vriezen] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Initially designed ...
  2. Thich Nhat Hanh - Ten Mindful Movements - YouTube

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCUyf-IPP0Q
    Jun 20, 2012 - Uploaded by PlantsHarmonyGardens
    Thich Nhat Hanh - Ten Mindful Movements ... Oprah Winfrey talks with Thich Nhat Hanh Excerpt ...
  3. Thich Nhat Hanh- Mindful Movements - YouTube

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWerJwf3-3I
    Jun 20, 2008 - Uploaded by Sounds True
    Free Weekly Wisdom. Visit http://www.soundstrue.com/weeklywisdom/ Author: Thich NhatHanh When you ...
  4. A Week of Mindful Movements - Beliefnet.com

    www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/.../09/A-Week-of-Mindful-Movements.aspx
    Vietnamese Buddhist monk, author, and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has developed these exercises called Mindful Movements.