Think Global, Teach Local
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Teaching stories: October 31

10/31/2018

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My 8th graders are participating in the Out of Eden Learn project as part of the Planetary Health Walking Party. Today, they were out and about on campus, observing natural and human-made factors that impact our own health and that of our environment. In teams of 2-3, students documented their observations through photography before heading back to the classroom to add text and context to their images.
I enjoyed being outside with the kids, out in the light rain, on a crisp, fall Halloween morning.

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Teaching stories: October 30

10/30/2018

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I’ve been reading about the digital divide in K - 12 education and how the pendulum has swung and how the very concept of that divide has been recalibrated.

Using technology in the classroom has never quite been straightforward, but I’m all about some vision and some version of balance. Everything in moderation, including moderation, yes?

2 years ago I wrote a grant for Chromebooks in my classroom and I think they’ve added a rich layer to our global studies and humanities work especially in connecting with people around the world.
Yesterday and today, kids were working on with Out of Eden Learn project as part of the Planetary Health Walking Party, collaborating with students from California, Spain, Argentina, and Indonesia.
I love these types of projects that help me to make the walls of my classroom permeable and accessible.

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Teaching stories: October 29

10/29/2018

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Dear Jen,

Several weeks ago, as you were perusing the candy aisle at Target to find little truffles  for a little gift for a little friend (well…he’s actually not that little…), you saw the little tag - 2 for $5 - on these chocolate bars.

And maybe, just maybe, you thought about Future Jen and how on a Monday, having had a rough morning and having forgotten her lunch bag with little snacks for comfort and energy, she would wish wish wish for something rich and delicious. Shaking her head, sure she’d only find index cards and dried out dry erase markers, she’d have low expectations as she pawed through her drawers.

But there they would be! Two beautiful, delicious, decadent, dark chocolate bars!
Two squares would offer some relief and reprieve, some solace and sustenance for the soul. And how now-comforted Jen, would wrap it all back up, and tuck it away for future Future Jen for when she’s needing a little bit of love.

Jen, you rock.

Love,
Former Future Jen
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Teaching stories: October 26

10/26/2018

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Teaching stories: I love introducing “All Summer in a Day” to my students because it invokes deep thinking and even deep feelings. Students have been writing a new ending to the story and then creating storyboards to share a graphic representation of narrative elements in the original story blended with their original ending. They’re coming along!
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Teaching stories

10/25/2018

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Advisory morning with our students included the honor roll assembly and field morning. It could not have been a more beautiful fall day in the Land of Enchantment - that perfect blue sky and crisp air. But I’ll admit this - I was grumpy in the morning. Tired and morose, to be more accurate. And I thought I’d just kind of make it through the day and be done with it. However….the kids. They’re fun and hilarious and they’re kind. I hadn’t seen them since Monday so it was good for us all to be together again. And then, there was 4-Square. Oh, I do love me a good game of 4-Square. At first, I jumped into a game with a short line, quickly to discover why it was a short line to play in this particular court. There was a teacher monitoring and had given rules to pass the ball gently from under the ball and not to spike the ball.

In 4-Square.

Yeah, I was out of there and moved to the game alllllll the way down at the end. Another teacher and I set up camp with some phenomenal kiddos and I had 40-minutes of bliss - laughing, moving, out in the sun, surprising the kids with my mad, mad 4-Square skills, and having fun together.

It’s been a long 2 weeks in my world after finding my aunt in her home after she’d fallen and had been down for 50 hours without food, water, or connection. A long two weeks during which I missed 6 days of school and that finds me in a new role as caretaker as my aunt has moved in with us for the foreseeable future. I’ve been overwhelmed, tired and sad.

But yesterday morning, by golly, there was 4-Square and with red cheeks, blood pumping, and the sound of laughter all around me I felt alive and joyful.

I felt better.
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Teaching stories: October 23

10/23/2018

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I’m out from school again, helping to get my aunt situated during the life-altering transition from hospital to my home. Today is discharge day, but due to a comedy of errors (please read complete incompetence) here at the rehabilitation center, we are still here hours after we should have been. Out of sheer boredom, I decided to check in with my kids during their afternoon Humanities class. Google classroom is amazing that way - I can be here and virtually stalk, I mean instruct them. Evidently, once I started commenting on their work, they became much more motivated. Imagine that.
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Teaching stories: October 22

10/22/2018

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I work with amazing, talented teachers who make our school a joyful, vibrant place
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Teaching stories: October 19

10/19/2018

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hot air balloons are part of my daily life here in Albuquerque, but it is still and always awesome when one flies over school.
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Teaching stories: October 18

10/18/2018

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Today was my first day back at school after 4 days off and 8 days of personal world chaos. I returned disoriented and exhausted and was grateful for the kids’ willingness to be calm while I grasped for my bearings.
I was definitely not the sharpest of teachers, but I was the most grateful

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Teaching stories: October 9

10/9/2018

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Today I had 11 student led conferences. All families showed up and on time. I had lovely conversations and got to observe rich interactions between kids and their parents. Long day, but good day. And I came home to the cake I baked last night. I baked my cake and ate it, too.
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Teaching stories: October 8

10/8/2018

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Today I had the privilege and oh-so-much-fun spending time with 3rd and 4th graders at two local elementary schools to share some stories from my expedition in the Arctic as a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow. I led students through a See-Think-Wonder thinking protocol as we looked at and discussed pictures of a polar bear + 2 walrus encounter I was lucky to observe and photograph in Svalbard. In both classrooms, I was blown away by students’ observations and thoughtful and creative questions. We also talked about ice and the diverse land and sea life in the Arctic. And, of course, we talked about what it means to be an explorer {the third graders are doing a year-long study of exploration and I was a “guest pilot” today in class!} I haven’t taught elementary school in 7+ years and I felt a little rusty. I’m sending huge kudos to Jeff Tuttle and Amanda Short for being awesome teachers and to their students who helped me out today and who were just about as excited about the Arctic as I am. Truly thrilling to be with young Explorers! And, as always and forever, a huge shout out to @natgeoeducation and @lindbladexp for the amazing opportunity to Explore.
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Teaching stories: October 6

10/6/2018

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PD today with educators I admire and who inspire me was exactly what I needed today. I came home happy and hopeful. I was especially blown away by this mural we began and will finish in April. Grateful for a day of creation, celebration, learning, and evolving as a teacher. @goldenapplenm
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Teaching stories: October 5

10/5/2018

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End of the quarter = grading, reporting, a little bit of crazy-making. The storm before the relative calm and reset into a new quarter. Although, I wish you could have heard my kiddos and me laughing throughout the day. Last day of the quarter demands some play and celebration so we were outside playing volleyball with the giant beach ball and laughing in the sun. Thankful for times of joy that balance the times of stress.

And, a sweet student brought me a sweet flower for my hair.

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Teaching stories: October 2

10/2/2018

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I’m loving talking all things polar with my reading group. Today we started an alpha-box graphic organizer with terms from our readings. And, I’ve started putting together my own E-books written at the 1-2 grade level about the Arctic based on my experiences in Svalbard. It’s exciting, relevant work, and I’m grateful for this opportunity to be creative and to relive those magical days in the Arctic. @natgeoeducation
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Teaching stories: October 1

10/1/2018

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Teacher stories: I’m teaching a reading intervention class four days a week. My sweet, sweet 6th grade students are curious, bright, and they work really hard. So it is a joy to create lessons about the polar regions. I am so inspired and grateful for the resources at https://beyondpenguins.ehe.osu.edu/, most especially the leveled texts. Today, we reviewed a reader’s theater script about polar animals. It felt essential and so much fun to have my Arctic animals with us.
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    Teaching Stories

    A year in the life of a middle school teacher

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  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
  • Think Global - Svalbard
    • The Polar Bear Express
  • Vamos Explorar!
    • Background and Inspiration
    • The Geo-Inquiry Process >
      • Student Blog Posts
    • Expeditions into New Mexico Wilderness Areas
    • Content and Curriculum Resources
  • Think Global - Finland
    • Introduction
    • Education in Finland
    • International Expressions of Global Education >
      • Global Education Concepts and Definitions
    • Case Study: Global Education in Finland >
      • Global Education Initiatives Timeline
      • Themes of Global Education in Finland
    • Curriculum Development >
      • Resources for Teachers
      • Finland Blog
    • Gratitude and Dedication
  • Think Global - Germany
    • Teach Global - Germany
  • Think Global - Colombia
    • Journal
    • Think Global Resource Guide >
      • Essential Question
      • Standards Based Global Education
      • Global Education Unit: American Indians and Indigenous Peoples of the World – Past, Present and Future
      • Digital Learning Environment Inventory
      • Local Resource Guide
      • Global Education Unit: Being American: An examination of the struggle for civil liberties for historically disenfranchised groups of Americans
      • Global Education Student Assessment Tools Inventory
      • International Project -Based Learning Opportunities
      • TGC Teacher Blogs
  • Teach Global
    • Think Global - Peru >
      • Virtual Field Trip to Peru >
        • Tasty Peru Tour
      • Peru Teacher Resources
    • Virtual Field Trip to Pakistan
    • Social Justice Heroes from Across the Americas
    • Global Leadership Odyssey Project: Introduction Videos to Students in Cartagena, Colombia
    • Colombia Lessons and Presentations
    • Schools Around the World
    • Ancient China
    • iEARN Global Learning Circle - Spring 2014
  • Chaco Canyon Trek 2018
  • Non-clickable Page