Did you know that in just five years from now, it is estimated that more than 10 million students will be identified as English language learners? To help these students, we must create classrooms that are inclusive, dynamic and easy to customize to fit different students needs. Pearson is at the forefront of empowering English language learning teachers and is bringing their enthusiasm for the subject to WeAreTeachers by sponsoring the “English Language Learners” microgrant. Pearson and WeAreTeachers are teaming to cash and video camera in the hands of teachers like you, just for sharing your ideas and thoughts on teaching English language learners. Got a minute? Why not apply?

In honor of this microgrant, we want to shine a light on three tips on teaching English language learners from Pearson’s stable of education experts.

Tip One: Create a Customized Classroom
As MaryEllen Vogt, Ed.D. points out in her video on differentiated instruction, students crave classrooms that adapt to fit them. Take a moment to watch the video to see how Dr. Vogt recommends using differentiated instruction to reach ELL students.

Tip Two: Celebrate Diversity
In Dr. Jim Cummins’ video for Pearson, Acknowledging Student Identity, he speaks about why it’s important to make sure to reach out to students and get to know them personally. Dr. Cummins points out the frustrations and fears ELL students often fear due to not being able to communicate things about themselves to their peers and teachers.

Tip Three: Model Good Behavior (the SIOP model, that is.)
Dr. Jana Echevarria talks about the research that supports the SIOP model of teaching in her video. If you are not already using the SIOP model, take a minute to hear Dr. Echevarria’s compelling argument for why it’s essential to the ELL classroom.

We are so grateful to Pearson for sharing their experts with us-and we can’t wait to hear your expertise as well. Take a moment to share a thought, idea, project or special challenge  in ELL and you could win $200 and a Flip Video or iPod nano with video for your classroom. The deadline to apply is June 8, so don’t wait. Apply today!

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Did you know that in just five years from now it is estimated that more than 10 million students will be identified as English language learners? To help these students we must create classrooms that are inclusive, dynamic and easy to customize to fit different students needs. Pearson is at the forefront of empowering English language learning teachers and is bringing their enthusiasm for the subject to WeAreTeachers by sponsoring the “English Language Learners” microgrant. Pearson and WeAreTeachers are teaming up to put cash and video cameras in the hands of teachers like you. Got a minute? Why not apply?  Application takes just five minutes and is as easy as sharing your ideas on teaching English language learners.

In honor of this microgrant, we want to shine a light on three tips on teaching English language learners from Pearson’s stable of education experts.

Tip One: Create a Customized Classroom
As MaryEllen Vogt, Ed.D. points out in her video on differentiated instruction, students crave classrooms that adapt to fit them. Take a moment to watch the video to see how Dr. Vogt recommends using differentiated instruction to reach ELL students.

Tip Two: Celebrate Diversity
In Dr. Jim Cummins’ video for Pearson, Acknowledging Student Identity, he speaks about why it’s important to make sure to reach out to students and get to know them personally. Dr. Cummins points out the frustrations and fears ELL students often fear due to not being able to communicate things about themselves to their peers and teachers.

Tip Three: Model Good Behavior (the SIOP model, that is.)
Dr. Jana Echevarria talks about the research that supports the SIOP model of teaching in her video. If you are not already using the SIOP model, take a minute to hear Dr. Echevarria’s compelling argument for why it’s essential to the ELL classroom.

We are so grateful to Pearson for sharing their experts with us-and we can’t wait to hear your expertise as well. Take a moment to share a thought, idea, project or special challenge in ELL and you could win $200 and a Flip Video or iPod nano with video for your classroom. The deadline to apply is June 8, so don’t wait. Apply today!

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This month WeAreTeachers is teaming with Highscope for our “Making a Difference” early childhood education microgrant. We are asking teachers to give us their best ideas for making a difference, big or small, in the educational futures of their students. It takes less than five minutes to apply and the winners will take away $200 and a Flip Video camera or iPod nano with video to capture the implementation of their project. Interested? Apply here.

1. Talk to the class about spring changes they are noticing outdoors. Have each child take a magnifying glass outside to find signs of spring such as buds, ants crawling, bulb shoots, green leaves, and flower buds. Back in the classroom have the group create a list of the things they saw. Repeat the activity, this time having children take clipboards outside to “write about” or draw what they saw.

2. Start a ladybug habitat outside your school.

3. Go on a post-rain walk and look for puddles to jump over.

4. Go on a Creature and Critter Hunt! Give children spoons or small shovels to take outside and ask them to dig in the dirt and look for “creatures and critters.” Collect the creatures in clear plastic containers to observe later.

5.  Create chalk art. Take sidewalk chalk outside to draw on paved areas. Provide water to dip the chalk into, and encourage children to compare the differences in the colors when using chalk with or without water.

6.  Break out the bubbles! Take bubble solution outside in dish tubs and experiment with different types of bubble wands such as fly swatters, paper towel tubes, and pipe cleaners.

7. Watch the grass grow. Grow grass in your sensory table or in large planters. Because it grows fast, it’s fun to watch the changes. Children can use scissors to clip the grass or measure the growth with rulers or unconventional units.

8. Sing the “The Garden Song” by David Mallett (it starts, “Inch by inch, Row by row”). Sing it again, this time asking children to pretend to grow from a seed to a plant as they sing. Ask children for ideas about what kinds of plants they want to be, for example, tomatoes, corn, roses, tulips.

9. Go on a Natural Treasure Hunt. Give each person a paper lunch bag. Go outside and take a walk, with everyone collecting the interesting objects they find in their bag. Back indoors, everyone dumps out the contents of their bag, looks at and talk about the items, possibly sorting and comparing them with others. If children sort items into categories, have them count and graph the number in each category using a tally system.

10. Create a series of spring photos. Watch a tree as it changes from winter to spring. Document the changes with a digital camera. Make a numbered sequence chart of the pictures, illustrating the changes in the order they occurred. The same activity may be done with a flower bed, a flowering bush, melting snow banks, or any other changing item.

11. Grow a birdseed garden. 

12. Try fence weaving.  Take pieces of ribbon, yarn, crepe paper, or colored paper strips outdoors to weave on a chain length or slotted fence. Look for patterns.

13.  Explore seeds. Give children a variety of seeds with different characteristics and sizes (e.g., large bean seeds, small marigold seeds) and encourage children to notice and compare the differences. Plant the seeds in their own individual containers and see what grows from each kind of seed. Talk about what plants need to grow (water, sunlight, etc.).

14. Create an outdoor listening lab. Hang various wind chimes in the trees in different areas of the playground and have children listen for the different sounds they make.

15. Spring clean! Hold a bike or riding toy wash. Provide buckets of water or spray bottles, rags, and dishwashing soap.

16. Play “How many jumps does it take?” Choose a spot on the playground such as a tree stump or a play structure. Ask children to estimate how many jumps it will take to get there. Each child jumps, then counts to test his or her estimate.

17.  Get Winded. Make multicolored streamers and then take them outside on a windy day!

Do you have a great project that you would love to try, but lack the funding? Apply for a microgrant and you could win $200 and a FlipVideo camera or an iPod nano with video to make it happen! The deadline for this microgrant is May 25. Don’t wait-apply today!

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The first thing high school Speech and Debate teacher Brenda Stewart teaches her students when they begin debate class is that the phrase, “I read it on the Internet” is not a usable source in a debate. “You wouldn’t believe some of the facts these students were coming up with,” she said, laughing. “I’ve had to start out, right off the bat, by telling them to be leery of  internet sites as credible sources of information.”

This month at WeAreTeachers, we are teaming up with Encyclopedia Britannica to offer our “Quality Counts” microgrant. We want teachers to share their favorite research project they do with their students each year and their strategies for ensuring that  students are getting accurate, quality information when so much of what they read online may be misleading or false. Let us know and you could win $200 and a Flip Video camera to show how your favorite student project that supports connecting students with reliable resources for information.

In conjunction with this microgrant, we wanted to take a minute to explore misinformation on the internet and to offer a solution to screen for accurate information.

While some sites are obviously trustworthy, you might be surprised by what is being passed along as facts and are clearly fabrications.  Take a look at this video from YouTube of a kayaker being capsized by a killer whale and then emerging unscathed.

You might think that YouTube would surely offer quality information, so this video must be real. You would be wrong. Despite the fact that the description of the video reads, ” Some people out on the ocean enjoying a Kayak ride… When all of a sudden a whale capsizes one of the Kayaks! Lucky no one got hurt! Just very surprised,” a search on the urban legend debunking website Snopes reveals that the video is a fake.

“However, this clip…isn’t the real thing,” Snopes reports. “It’s part of a Korean language version of a commercial for Powerade…noted for producing commercials using a variety of tricky visual effects to depict athletes accomplishing impossible feats of strength and and skill.”

It’s easy to verify viral email forwards or urban legends thanks to sites like Snopes, but what about the information that your students are using? In a time when so much information is free, how can you make sure that your students aren’t getting what they pay for? That is to say, how can you be sure that the content they are using for reference and information is credible?

The solution lies in the acronym CARS (Credibility, Accuracy, Reasonability, Support). The CARS checklist is an excellent way to help students discern between quality information online and inaccuracies parading as the truth:

Credibility: Is the information from a site considered to be an authority? That is a great starting point, but as we saw with the YouTube clip, it does not stand alone as a way to determine  quality information.

Accuracy: Was the article written recently? Remember, there is no one in charge of sifting through the internet and deleting information that is no longer relevant. Check your dates. Is the language vague, or does it offer specific information?

Reasonability: Does it just sound too good to be true? Does it sound excessive? Does it make sense? If not, tread lightly-it’s probably not true.

Support: Lastly, are there footnotes? Links? Listed sources? Contact information? Collaborating evidence? Without any evidence to back up a claim, it’s difficult to know if it is true or not.

If your fact does not meet the CARS criteria, you should probably keep looking until you find information that does.

We are looking forward to hearing your solutions for keeping information pertinent and credible. Have you applied for our microgrant yet? Don’t wait-do it now and be well on your way to earning cash and a Flip Video camera! The deadline for applications is April 6, so don’t wait-apply now!

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In an age where the Kindle and iPad have  taken even the simple act of book reading to a new level, teaching out a textbook while keeping students confined to a desk just doesn’t always work anymore. It’s vital to keep up with the times by creating “living textbook” moments for your students-leading them out of the classroom and into the world outside. This month, we’ve designed a new microgrant for just that purpose.

Our “Learning Beyond the Walls of the Classroom” experiential learning microgrant, sponsored by Field Trip Factory, was created to help you implement your best ideas for getting students into hands-on learning experiences. Take a minute to apply, and get ready to get your students engaged by offering them lessons they will never forget!

If you haven’t thought about integrating experiential learning into your classroom, you are missing out! Consider these five reasons why your students need the kind of stimulation that they can only get through experience:

1. To Beat the Digital Blues. Your students are receiving data constantly via email, texts, tweets, Facebook, Foursquare, YouTube-you have so much competition for their concentration. Taking them out of the classroom and getting them involved in a hands-on project forced them to focus and learn. They have not choice but to be in the moment and you can capitalize on having their complete attention.

2. To Be the Teachers They Never Forget. By the time they graduate, student will have spent more than 3000 days at school. When they look back at those days, it’s the out-of-the-box lessons that will stand out, the day they took a field trip to the zoo or visited the local ice cream shop to see how ice cream was made

3. To Save Money. To teach students about art, you could go out and spend a small fortune on posters for the bulletin board, learning aids, extra supplies, etc. Or you could take them to the art museum and let the actual art do the teaching for you. And with a microgrant, you could do it for free

4. To Make Learning a Full Sensory Experience. Say you are studying frogs. Sure, students can dissect a frog-but are they really learning about frogs? They will probably remember the smell of formaldehyde and sterility of the lab more than the animal itself. But if you were to take them to the local pond, they would be immersed in the frog’s natural habitat-the sights, smells and feel of the frog’s life and walk away with a better understanding of ecology and of the frog itself.

5. To Show Your Students You “Get It.” It may shock your students to know that you actually do exist outside of the classroom. Taking them out into the world shows them that you are there to foster the best learning environment possible for them, that you care enough to go the extra mile to make sure they are getting the best lesson possible on any given topic. It creates a bonding experience as well and gives you credibility as a trust agent.

How do you use experiential learning in your classroom? Or if you haven’t yet, why? If you have a great idea for a hands-on learning experience that you’d love to give to your students, apply for a microgrant today and make it happen! Once you’ve applied, shoot out an email to your colleagues, friends and family to get them to vote for your submission. The deadline to apply is April 6, Don’t wait-apply now!

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Is there any better way to help students understand science than by having them get their hands dirty? We don’t think so.  That’s why WeAreTeachers is offering the “ Understanding Science  Through Hands-On Interaction” science microgrant this month, sponsored by Carolina Biological. Teachers are sharing their dream interactive science project for a chance to receive $200 and a Flip or iPod nano video camera to get the project rolling! The deadline to vote for your favorite project is April 15th.

To celebrate this exciting new microgrant, we are looking at three recent headlines and hands-on ways to bring the science behind them to your students. From the recent weather patterns to a worldwide event in sports, we know these projects will help your students understand the importance of science in everyday life.

1. Making Snowflakes to Follow the “Snowmageddon” Story: This March, record amounts of snowfall were recorded across the country. This is a great time to have your students explore how snowflakes form and what exactly they are made of.  Here is a project that demonstrates how snowflakes form using pipe cleaners and Borax.

2. Analyzing Flu Vaccinations in Light of the H1N1 Pandemic: A big story this year has been the H1N1 Pandemic Flu and the need for flu shots. If your high school students wonder why they need to get a different shot each year, and how the vaccinations work, this is a great project for you.

3. Understanding the Physics Behind Human Movement in Honor of the Winter Olympics:  The 2010 Winter Olympics just took place in Vancouver and many of your students were watching and wondering how the skiers, lugers and ice skaters were able to perform such amazing feats. This project explores the physics behind sports and is a super way to reach those sports-minded middle schoolers.

There are over 100 teacher created science projects that you can check out right now. While you are there vote for your favorite and check out other great resources from the sponsor, Carolina Biological.

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Any good archer will tell you that if you want to succeed in archery, the first rule is to find your target, and every teacher knows that if a student is to succeed at school he/she must first set goals. But it’s not always easy to get your students to focus. This month WeAreTeachers is teaming up with School Specialty Planning and Student Development to offer the “Little Steps Make Big Things Happen” microgrant. Until April 1, you can vote on over 150 teacher submitted strategies for keeping your students driven and goal-oriented and you could help a teacher win $200 and a Flip or iPod nano video camera to bring their idea to life.

In honor of this microgrant, we wanted to offer a few easy solutions for keeping students on course to achieve their goals. First, take a peek at this exclusive, research based white paper titled, “Why Plan?”.

1. Have a “Goal Getters” Day: Set a day to have students write out their goal, a date to achieve it by, and the steps they need to take to make it happen. Place each students goal somewhere that the can see it each day.

2. During class discussion, ask students to name some popular figures that they admire. Jot a few down and take a minute each week and pick one. Discuss the steps they took to get where they are now. For instance, how often LeBron James practiced or how Rachel Ray learned to cook.

3. Have students keep a goal journal where they can  list long term and short term goals, rewards that will come with reaching their goals and habits they want to form to reach their goals. Have them record the things they have done already to reach their goals.

4. Make “goal bracelets,” similar to Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong bracelets, to remind students to make choices that will keep them on their goal path.

5. Set a class goal, like to raise money to help a local homeless shelter. Make a visual aid to help students see their progress.

6. When the student reaches a goal, have the class take a moment to celebrate them. For instance, make a “high five” line to congratulate him/her.

7. Have students bring a piggy bank to school. Ask them what they would like to purchase, when they would like  how much they need to purchase it, and then break it down to how much they need to save per week.

8. Have students draw a picture of where they would like to be ten, twenty, and fifty years from now. Then have them  draw pictures of themselves doing what they need to do to get there.

9. Try some visualization techniques. Dim the lights, have students sit on the ground and close their eyes and visual themselves reaching their goals.

10.  Arrange for local successful business leaders to come in and speak to your students.

11.  During library time, suggest students to  find motivational books that best fit their goals.

12. Ask students to help you make a S.M.A.R.T. bulletin board.

13.  Have a contest to get students to come up with a  long term goals for the school, like to have a better recycling program.

14. Model goal setting for your students.

Take a minute to help a teacher win cash and a Flip or iPod nano video camera for thier classroom by voting for  “Little Steps Make Big Things Happen” microgrant. Don’t wait, a teacher thanks you for your vote plus you might get inspired with some new ideas.

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If you will be in Austin this weekend, we hope you will set aside time to join us for a TweetUp, sponsored by WeAreTeachers and Dell.  Come kick your weekend off with complimentary drinks, snacks and a chance to make new connections and meet your ” tweeps”  in real life amidst breathtaking panoramic views of beautiful Austin, TX.

When and Where?

Friday, March 12  from  2-4pm at Terrace59 at Speakeasy, Austin TX

What is a TweetUp?

A tweetup is a networking function that incorporates Twitter. It’s a way to meet people you have connected with on Twitter, and also a way to meet new friends that you can keep up with via social media like Twitter or the  WeAreTeachers community.

Who Will Be There?

Join your fellow teachers as well as these distinguished attendees from Dell and WeAreTeachers:

@lpt
@lionelatdell
@richardatdell
@kerryatdell
@fgasquet
@tallgamer
@weareteachers
@sandy5coat

What Do  I Wear?

Dress is “Austin appropriate,” think cool and casual. Jeans are fine.

How Can I Find Out More?

You can see more about the TweetUp, find our hashtags and reserve your spot at the Tweetvite.

Come kick off your weekend with your friends from WeAreTeachers and Dell. We promise a great time will be had by all as we announce some exciting news with Dell! See you there!

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Did you know that disorganization is ranked as one of the top reasons that students fail? Finding the best strategies to keep your students organized is a cornerstone in creating a successful learning environment. This month we are teaming up with School Specialty Planning & Student Development, the leading providers of student planners, to offer our “Little Steps Make Big Things Happen” microgrant to help you fund your best ideas for keeping your students organized and on track.

We have compiled a list of 27 ideas for reaching your disorganized students. We also thought you might be interested in this research-based white paper titled, “Why Plan?” We hope this gets your creative juices flowing and inspires you to take the five minutes to apply for the “Little Steps Make Big Things Happen” microgrant. Five teachers will be receiving $200 and a Flip video camera or iPod nano with video to put their plan into action. So, take a look at our list and then a take a minute to apply for the microgrant-you will be so glad you did!

1. Use social media to reach today’s digital learners-post calendars and due dates in an online blog or website.

2. Create a take home class calendar with all due dates filled in.

3. Do a monthly binder check, offer extra credit points for organized binders.

4. Have students create a “homework file” where all the assignments that need to be returned can go.

5. Send out email reminders to students.

6. Encourage students to exchange phone numbers and email addresses with their classmates, and to remind each other about up coming tests and papers.

7. Get parents involved! Ask them to follow you on Twitter and post reminders that assignments are due!

8. Use a color coding system.

9. Set aside time every month for students to clean out their binders and book bags during class.

10. Make sure they are getting enough rest at night.

11. Encourage parents to have a set place at home for students to do homework.

12. Teach students how to make an effective to-do list.

13. Create a “Organization Checklist” to give to students and parents with tips for things they can do at home to keep everyone on track.

14. Help students make the connect between being organized and reaching their goals by having them make a list of their long term goals and what they need to do to achieve them.

15. Emphasize time management by having students track what they do in a day and identify where they could better use their time.

16. Instead of fighting students’ reliance on their smart phones, encourage them to use the calendar or download a good calendar application and use it.

17. Have a list on your blackboard of what students are expected to bring to class with them tomorrow.

18. Have a “Cleanest Locker” contest and give the winner a special prize.

19. Have students fill out a monthly supply list to take home to parents so they don’t run out of paper, pencils, etc.

20. Use popular shows like “Hoarders” and “Clean House” to illustrate the importance of getting rid of clutter.

21. Have students write a “to-do list” at the end of each day to take home with them.

22. During brainstorming time, ask students to share their best organization tips.

23. Give out little treats when you see a student modeling good organization.

24. Have a “MTV Cribs” type video contest, asking students to put videos of their designated study areas at home on YouTube and then take a class vote to see who has the coolest place to study.

25. Have students brainstorm how your classroom could be better organized.

26. Encourage parents and students to have a place to set everything that they need to take to school the night before.

27. Get your students excited about your organization projects by rallying them and having their parents vote for your microgrant submission online. Voting begins March 9!

Of course, we know that you have your own ideas for how to get your students organized and we want to hear them! The deadline to apply is March 16, so don’t wait-apply now!

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Teachers, what do you think of when you hear the word “intervention?” For some, it means a guessing game of trial and error, loads of record keeping and paper work, uneasy meetings with parents, and trying to find the right method to approach a potential learning disability. But we are hearing from many of you that navigating the RTI and  intervention process can be easier-it just takes a little outside-the-box thinking. This month WeAreTeachers is teaming with Pearson for our “Measurable Improvement, Meaningful Progress” microgrant, and asking you to tell us your best intervention ideas to win cash and a Flip or iPod Nano video camera. To commemorate this exciting new microgrant, we have compiled the three best tips we have heard from you on how to run a successful intervention.

Tip One: Assess with the Best

Whether you are seeking to find the best way to reach a student with some behavioral issues or one that may have exceptional educational needs, the first step is to locate the best assessment resources.

“I had the best counselor at my school,” said Gretchen S, from Tyler TX. “She really helped me figure out why a student I had was struggling. ..I couldn’t have done it without her.”

Some schools or districts have a whole team devoted to RTI and intervention, while others prefer you work with the special education teacher or school psychologist. Your school has probably provided you with the detailed information to assess a student, but sometimes it can be reassuring to talk with someone who knows the ropes. Talking with another teacher or even outlining the general situation in an online forum can be helpful in giving you the support you need to press on in the intervention process. WeAreTeachers has devised a microcommunity, sponsored by Pearson, on intervention and Response to Intervention to help you communicate areas that you may be stuck in or for you to share your best practices with others.

Tip Two: Do Your Own Research

Don’t rely on anyone else to tell you what is going on with your student-go out and find the materials to help you understand. There is a wealth of RTI information on the internet and through published works. Taking time to find out as much as you can about the process will make it easier for everyone. Your student will feel like he/she has an advocate in you, you will be better able to communicate with everyone involved, and you can feel a sense of  ownership in helping your student get the resources he/she needs.

Tip Three: Get Creative!

Once your student has been assessed, it is time to deliver an intervention that is specific to his/her needs. Those helping you with the assessment may have already given you some ideas, but given that you know the student personally and have a feel for what he/she may best respond to, you might have some great ideas of your own.

“I didn’t care for the way our district handled approaching the parents for evaluation,” said Lauren G, of Oviedo FL. “It was so flat and there were so many confusing terms. RTI? How do I explain that to parents who are scared to death? So I created some aids to help and changed the dialogue to find words that they could relate to. It made the process so much easier.”

What do you love about your RTI process? Do you have a “best practice” for approaching parents to tell them you want to evaluate their child for a learning disability? Or do you have an idea you’d love to try to but you might need a little extra funding first? Why not apply for the “Measurable Improvement, Meaningful Progress” microgrant and share your idea?

Intervention can be difficult, be it can also be one of the most rewarding parts of teaching. Finding the best way to reach a struggling student can make a difference not only in your classroom, but in that student’s future as well. We want to help you make that impact with your students. Take a minute to apply for the microgrant, then shoot an email out to your colleagues, friends and family and tell them to vote for you! The ten ideas that garner the most votes will win $200 in cash and Flip Video camera.

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