NFL Spirit

Yesterday the nation paused not only to recognize the 10 year anniversary of 9/11, but the return of Sunday football.  There is something special about the NFL spirit and the sense of collaboration that brings people of all races, cultures, genders, etc. together to support a common goal.  I cannot think of another fan base as supportive as NFL fans.

At times it feels that the urge to collaborate in the classroom is lacking.  Some educators shy away from cooperative learning due to classroom management factor.  It can be difficult to set six groups of five free to work and maintain the quiet that will please your neighbor.  Despite the noise, uh, organized chaos, there are many benefits to cooperative learning as opposed to students working alone.  They:

• can receive more peer input as they plan and carry out their work
• must be able to verbalize their thoughts and reasoning processes
• may need to worth through differences of opinion
• can learn how to take advantage of different group members’ strengths
• support each other in areas in which there are weaknesses
• bring different learning styles, prior knowledge, and abilities to bear on the task they share
• learn skills that have important real-world applications in many family and work situations

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Cooperative learning is a skill that will aid students in becoming leaders, supporters, innovators and yes, great sports fans.  As we delve into Content Collaboration week I urge you to go outside your realm of comfort and utilize one of the tools shared on TTWIT.  Today, we’ll start with Mindmeister.  Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: mindmeister,collaboration,mindmapping,brainstorming

Tapping into Creativity

There are six levels of Blooms Taxonomy.  Unfortunately due to the ‘T’ word it is not uncommon to find teachers moving beyond levels 1-3 in hopes of retaining formulas for end of grade test. Moving to levels 4-6 require illustration, supporting and creating.  Today we are going to tap into the higher levels by creating a Storybird.

Storybirds are art-inspired stories that impact everyone from Miss. Smartypants in the front seat to our reluctant readers in the back row.  Here’s how it works:

Storybird Quick Tour from Storybird on Vimeo.

In science have your students create a Storybird to illustrate the Scientific Method.  Social Studies students can retell the events leading to WWI.  The possibilities are endless for all content areas.

Empower your students to reach their highest high.  Sign up for your free Storybird acount today.

READER RESPONSE: How will you use Storybird in your class?

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