March: Play and Create
Creativity and play unlock inner resources for dealing with stress, solving problems, and enjoying life. When we are creative, we are resourceful, and we problem-solve in new and original ways, which fuels our courage. Our thinking expands, and our connections with ourselves and others deepen.
Spring break brings and opportunity to explore play and creativity so that you can integrate these activities into daily life. Resilience arises from creation.
What did you love to do when you were a child? What could you lose yourself in for hours? Can you remember that feeling? How would you describe it? When was the last time you did something that was enjoyable and all-consuming? Experts say that the key to getting the most out of play is to incorporate it into our lives and not just relegate it to vacations.
X-File
“X Files” is an engagement strategy from PEAK to support students in making connections to new content vocabulary words.
When to use it: Question requires students to analyze, evaluate, justify, or synthesize.
What: The object of this “game” is to ask a high rigor question, but then give students an “x-file” which contains a list of words or phrases they cannot use in their answer.
Why: This list of words will give hints and scaffolded support to students while also allowing them to make additional connections and think about the question in new ways.
Example: Describe the function of the mitochondria in the cell.
x-file list:
Powerhouse
Organelle
Eukaryotic cell
The Unfair Game
The Unfair Game is designed to be played with two teams. You can use as few or as many questions as you want, and teams try to answer the questions correctly in order to earn points for their team. What’s so unfair about that?
In the Unfair Game, each question is assigned a unique point value, and the point value can be positive OR negative. No one except for the teacher knows the value of the question until after the answer is given. The team must decide before seeing the value of the question whether they want to keep the points or give them to the other team. Then they have to just cross their fingers and hope that their choice worked out in their favor!
EL Communication Resources
ISTE Standard 2.2b
Advocate for equitable access to educational technology, digital content and learning opportunities to meet the diverse needs of all students.
If you have non-English speaking students (ML) who are LITERATE in their native language:
Launch one black slide in PowerPoint online.
Have your students join on their own devices.
Teach your whole group in English.
ML students see live captions on their own devices IN THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE.
Step-by-step explanation video here and linked on:
Meet Ms. Patterson!
Meet Ms. Anna Patterson, 2nd grade teacher at Iredell Charter Academy of Arts and Sciences! Here is what her coach Courtnie has to say about her.
Ms. Patterson is originally from Reidsville, North Carolina and has been living in Mooresville, NC for the past two years. Her route to becoming an educator was non-traditional. Ms Patterson had high hopes of becoming a Veterinarian, however, a pivotal point during her undergraduate work would shift her career trajectory. She struggled in a Math class in her early coursework and it was at this moment that her love for teaching blossomed. Ms. Patterson truly “turned her lemons into lemonade” and made the decision to pursue education. Her experiences during her teacher internship in Boone, NC solidified this decision as she recognized and honed her passion for working with children.
As Ms. Patterson’s coach, I have had the pleasure of working alongside her for the last two years. From the moment you enter the room, you can see, hear, and feel the love she has for teaching. Her classroom is one of community. She promotes collaboration, camaraderie and teamwork. Her students have fully embraced me. It is the best feeling to see them run to the door when I visit as well as beg me to stay when I have to leave. She truly lives by “I am always in your corner” when it comes to her students. She has a pulse on their academic needs as well as their social and emotional needs and will make in the moment decisions to address them. Ms. Patterson encourages student leadership, risk taking, and personal growth. Speaking of growth, over the past two years I have witnessed an increase in Ms. Patterson’s confidence in teaching. This is evident in her new leadership roles within her grade level and PLC. She is always willing to try new things. Ms. Patterson is eager to learn and shows her dedication through implementing PD strategies, self-initiated video reflection, and explicitly communicating to her students the “why” behind our partnership. It has been a pleasure working with Ms. Patterson as well as building relationships with her students!
Mr. Kavon is a 5th grade ELA teacher at Winding Springs Elementary in CMS. Here is what his coach, Maghan Kirschner, has to say about him:
From the moment I walked into Mr. Kavon’s classroom in August I felt a sense of ease. As most 1st year teachers were drowning in bulletin board paper, name tags and label makers, and hot glue Mr. Kavon was not. Of course he was nervous, excited, stressed, anxious–all of the things you typically feel as you are setting up your classroom for the first time, but you would have never known. That same ease and calmness permeates from his classroom every single day. He is simply a natural teacher who fell in love with education.
Mr. Kavon has genuine concern for the well-being and personal growth of all of his students. He goes above and beyond to understand each student's areas of strength and opportunities for growth and provides personalized support to ensure their success. I have witnessed Mr. Kavon inspire students to overcome obstacles and develop a strong sense of self-confidence. Mr. Kavon has made a lasting impact on his students, school community, and on me as a coach. I am blessed to be able to learn and grow alongside him.
Upon reflecting on his “why”, here is what Mr. Kavon has to say:
“With only 3 months to spare before my first year is under my belt, the reason why I initially wanted to be a teacher & the reason why I’m one now is completely different. Starting out, I thought I wanted to be a teacher because I had done everything else in education & it just seemed like the next step to take. Now I realize that I was meant to be a teacher & I am one to impact my students' lives as much as they impact mine.”
