Whiteboard Word Wall

Just an idea...

Word Wall, pref on a whiteboard but that large paper sheet would work too -- students add words, can add definitions, syn/ant, illustrations, draw arrows/bridges to connect to other words, list examples of use/quotes from text -- fic or nonfic. Can even add word/def in native lang for ELs.
When board/paper/space is full take a pic and add to a slide show (accessible thru Google docs?) for viewing/study/reference.

Hmmm... I think my sons need to work up an example of this. They love summer projects!

Reading for my GATE Cert. class sometimes leads to too many ideas/distractions, but I guess I'd rather be distracted by ideas than be bored and finish quickly.

Advertising on Students

Thought this was a great idea, passed along from SDUSD P.E. Dept.:

I featured this tip in October but thought it might be timely to revisit for folks who are ordering PE clothes this spring. I was reminded of what a great idea these shirts are when I was out at DePortola MS last week:-) What a great support for the Common Core Standards.

A teacher from Long Beach shared this idea with me. She works at a low-performing school where they instituted "Vocab T's" this year in physical education to try and increase students' academic vocabulary across the curriculum. The school logo is printed on the front of the shirt, on the back is printed one vocabulary word and its accompanying definition. The word bank is 100 words deep; after 100 shirts, the words repeat. So, if you have 1000 students, 10 shirts will have the same word. The next year you get a new set of 100 words, including any words the students did not master the year before. The company supplies a pre- and post-test complete with scantrons that you can administer in your class. Students and teachers can check their scores on-line. There are many schools in SD County that have implemented this program, DePortola is one from our district. There is also an optional incentive program available. Check it out - this is a fabulous concept! Think how much wasted space is on the back of a student's physical education shirt. Below is a sample of the word bank that includes character words, physical education vocabulary, CST words, etc. And it got me thinking...what about the glossary of terms in the back of the CA Framework?

2012-2013 Word List1.Aerobic Exercise – a kind of activity that requires oxygen 2.Anaerobic Exercise -- exercise that builds muscles through tension; bodybuilding3.Area of a rectangle = length x width 4.Cardiovascular – involving the heart and blood vessels 5.Cell – The basic unit of structure and function in living things. 6.Circumference‐ the distance around the edge of a circle7.collaborate- to work together8.Commitment – a promise to do something or behave in a particular way 9.Confidence – the feeling that you are able to do things well 10. Context – the situation, events, or information that are related to something

Our school uniforms could also do the Character Counts or AVID vocab.