One site I enjoy using is Discovery’s Puzzlemaker site. You can create crossword puzzles, word searches, double puzzles, and more.
My high school students love the puzzles I make for reviews and for introducing new vocabulary words. Sometimes I make puzzles for characters, locations, literary terms, vocabulary words, and even grammar.
Why not change it up a bit in class? A little fun never hurt.
A teacher in my department told me she gives a student a zero on assignments assigned when the student has an unexcused absence. Now, I have discussed my feelings on grading and late work before, so my response was “how does that help the student?” This created an interesting exchange between us. While we do not agree, we did have a great conversation.
My contention is that holding a student’s grade hostage is not an effective motivator. If a student is habitually absent, I’m willing to conjecture that grades are not foremost on the student’s mind. This also feels overly punitive to me since every psychology class I’ve ever taken details how reward is more effective than coercion for changing behavior. Continue reading
“Two Quarter Pounders with Cheese, a large fries, and a large Coke.”
“A 20 piece CHicken Nuggets, a large fries, and a Sprite.”
“Two Big Macs and a Big N Tasty meal.”
Yep. Three lineman and three massive orders. I can’t believe how much those boys can pack away! I guess that’s why they’re such big boys. 
I’m working late on some timed writes my students finished, so I will write again on Saturday. We have a three hour ride each way on the football bus Friday night. Looks like another 2 am return trip and a nice, long sleep.
Hope your Friday is a great one!
Have you ever had your students self-assess a project and watched them inflate their scores? Or, have you had the students assess one another and again seen the same inflation? Or, have you shown students examples of ‘A’ level work (while they look at their own ‘D’ level work) and watched the students unable to see why their own products need more editing? Maybe it’s not really their fault.
We may be frighteningly normal when we overestimate our abilities and the abilities of others according to a Salon article.
Although the article is focused on politics, I can easily see its relevance in the classroom. Continue reading
