Kathie Nunley's Educator's Newsletter
Friday, August 01, 2008
Dr Kathie Nunley's Educator's Newsletter
---August '08 Edition--- (current subscribers: 20,776)
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News and updates to http://brains.org and Kathie Nunley's
Layered Curriculum(R) Site for Educators: http://help4teachers.com
~~The NO-MEMBERSHIP-REQUIRED website which blends current
psychology research with education.
You can subscribe to this newsletter at: http://help4teachers.com/newsletter.htm
Unsubscribe & EMAIL CHANGE information link at the bottom of this newsletter
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--------SECTION ONE: TEACHING TIPS ------
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Teacher Tip # 1: I've reframed my thinking about helping children who
need to calm down. Often a student needs to move to a preferred
activity before they will do a non-preferred activity. You are not "rewarding"
bad behavior, but shifting the thinking. It works! "Don't be 'right', be
effective". Jane Bartlett, Parkers Praire Elementary.
Teacher Tip #2: Post examples of work in the classroom for things
such as APA style, Formal Letter, Essay, etc.
Wendy Jo Hanninen, RH King Academy.
Teacher Tip # 3: The first step in developing any positive relationship is
learning and remembering a person's name. I make it a start of the year
priority. Matt Sheehan, Sir John A McDonald CI, Toronto.
Send your favorite teaching tip to me at Kathie@brains.org
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------SECTION TWO: HOT TOPICS------
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HOT TOPIC # 1: Teachers have always been told to be careful in
using sarcasm with their students. Researchers are looking at the brain
regions involved with sarcasm. Understanding and interpreting sarcasm
is a complex cognitive skill involving primarily regions of the prefrontal
cortex. It uses brain areas that are also involved in pragmatic language
and various social cognition skills. This explains why young children
and older children with prefrontal cortex challenges are particularly
prone to misinterpret sarcasm. Shamay-Tsoory, S & Tomer, R.
(2005) Neropsychology,Vol 19(3), 288-300.
HOT TOPIC #2: Children who struggle academically in the first grade
are significantly more prone to depression and other mental health
problems during middle school years. This according to researchers
who tested 1st graders for basic academic skills and then tracked
them through junior high. The effect was greatest for black female
students. Mental health problems can be lessened however by
teaching young children how to deal with the stress and anxiety
associated with their academic struggles. Herman, K. et al (2008).
Journal of Counseling Psychology, Vol 55(3), 400 - 410.
More Hot Topics at the websites!
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------SECTION THREE: WEBSITE UPDATES------
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From HELP4TEACHERS.COM and BRAINS.ORG
LAYERED CURRICULUM® UNITS:
**No new units posted this month.
has begun, please design and share!! Email them to me along
with your name, school, teaching grade and city.
**Read the sample LC units that your colleagues have shared at:
http://help4teachers.com/samples.htm
**Need help just knowing where to start with Layered Curriculum®?
Watch the tutorial on the homepage, http://help4teachers.com
**BRAND NEW: Just released over the summer - A Facilitator's Guide and
book study kit is now available for "Differentiating the High School Classroom".
The guide and books come with a special narrated PowerPoint exclusively
from Help4Teachers and Brains.org. You can find book-study kits at:
http://help4teachers.com/video.htm
The Brains.org bookshop is always open and carries a wide range of
recommended reading as well as teaching aids. All orders are processed
and handled by a real human and we accept institutional purchase orders.
We appreciate your business. http://brains.org/store/index.htm
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------SECTION FOUR: KATHIE'S EMAIL------
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Kathie,
I just read your mid-summer newsletter and I totally enjoyed the email sent
by Brenda about her students "cheating." One of my favorite things about
leaving the answer keys out for the students to use (besides less work
for me) is the looks on their faces when they THINK they are getting away
with cheating until I explain to them that I WANT them to use the answer
keys as a guide. Sometimes they even tattle on each other for copying
answers, and are completely surprised when I say, "That's okay!" I do
often have to remind them that the focus is on the LEARNING not the
COMPLETING of the assignment. With a few students, I occasionally
warn them that they won't be able to use the answer keys next unit if I
don't feel they are grasping the concepts or not performing as good as
they are capable of on assessments--just to give them extra persuasion
to pay attention to the point of the assignment.
In my personal experience with LC I have found that the key is setting
clear expectations at the beginning and as you go to make sure the students
understand that it is THEIR RESPONSIBILITY to learn the material.
Anyway, I just wanted to pass this on to you in case Brenda needed
some extra encouragement that leaving the answer keys out really
can be a beautiful thing! - Kylie Penke, Nebraska.
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Thanks Kylie for sharing your experience and support!
- Kathie
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------SECTION FIVE: WORKSHOPS / SCHEDULE / MISC------
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The first Monday in August marks the official "BACK TO SCHOOL SEASON".
Most of us are either back in school, getting ready to go back to school,
or at least letting ourselves think about back to school! I find the very best
part of teaching is the chance to make a new and exciting start every year.
The first of my "back-to-school" workshops starts next week with a trip out
west. I'll be at the Renaissance Academy in Utah and the Kuna School
District in Idaho for Layered Curriculum workshops.
Following those, I'll be attending the annual APA convention and look forward to
sharing what I learn there with all of you over the next few months. There
is a lot of new neuro and educational psychology research going on and I look
forward to having a first peak at it.
If you are looking to join us at a workshop, please visit my calendar page
to see when I'll be in your area. Registration information and links are
available at: http://help4teachers.com/calendar.htm
If you are looking to schedule a workshop for your school or district, just
send me an email. My spring / fall 2009 calendar is now open.
As always, my best to you and yours,
Kathie
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Workshop information is available at the website
http://help4teachers.com/workshops.htm
or
call: 603-249-9521
email: kathie@brains.org
Brains.org and Help4Teachers is located at:
54 Ponemah Road
Amherst, NH 03031
Layered Curriculum® is a trademark developed by and registered
to Dr. Kathie F Nunley. Usage information available at:
http://help4teachers.com/usage.htm
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Dr Kathie F Nunley
Layered Curriculum(R) . . . because every child deserves a special education (tm)
