Alfonso Gonzalez

I teach 5th and 6th grade STEM in the lovely Pacific Northwest in a small, rural town called Chimacum. My goal is to help students discover that all learning is life-long and that 21st century tools can be used for work as well as fun.

Most commented posts

  1. iPads in Science — 22 comments
  2. Awards, Grades and Competition — 18 comments
  3. My ClamCase Experience — 15 comments
  4. Innovative Schooling? — 10 comments
  5. What is On-Task? — 10 comments

Author's posts

6th Grade Blog Post about the Problem with Cows

Another post written by one of my 6th graders for our World Solutions Blog about The Problem with Cows. She did some great research and takes an environmental look at the impact of cows on our planet. Check out her post and leave her a comment if you get a chance!

Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2016/06/08/6th-grade-blog-post-about-the-problem-with-cows/

6th Post About the Chicken Industry

Here’s a blog post one of my 6th graders wrote for our World Solutions blog about the chicken industry. Warning: the video on this post, suggested by another one of my students who read her blog post, is very disturbing. Check it out and leave her a comment!

Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2016/06/07/6th-post-about-the-chicken-industry/

Sample Grant Proposals Reboot

I’m re-publishing this post here because I have some of my best grant examples for people to see linked below. And go here to see my advice on Getting Even More Money. I have learned the benefits of grant writing. In my 31 year career, I have gotten grants for 26 of those 31 years. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2016/06/06/sample-grant-proposals-reboot/

Building Knowledge

CCSS-ELA Shift 3 states that students need to be, “building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction.”  Is this shift making a case for an integrated approach to teaching?  It sure seems like it. I mean, in a Science or History classroom using content-rich nonfiction to have students learn Science and History makes sense. Using fiction in those …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2016/06/01/building-knowledge/

Perseverance AND Obsession

Two weeks ago I wrote about a failed grant opportunity. I had written and submitted a proposal to CenturyLink for their CenturyLink Teachers and Technology program back in January. We were supposed to find out if we got the grant by April. When April came and was quickly becoming May I started to panic. Was …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2016/05/23/perseverance-and-obsession/

Perseverance or Obsession

This is my 25th year teaching. In that time I’ve gotten 38 grants. I have been getting at least one grant a year for the last 17 years straight. I’m working on making that 18 years straight. Of those 38 grants, 17 were awarded for one project, my environmental stewardship project. I’ve learned that there …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2016/05/10/perseverance-or-obsession/

Backing up Claims

In my last post I shared learnings and takeaways from some Common Core ELA trainings I’ve attended around the CCSS-ELA Shift 2 (students need to engage in, “reading, writing and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational”). This post continues with more about Shift 2. Questioning!Now that you’ve selected the perfect complex …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2016/05/05/backing-up-claims/

PLC Work Takes Time

Our middle school’s second year participating in a WA STEM PD grant project is coming to an end. One thing I can see clearly is the time it takes to do PLC work right. Our plan has been to engage in professional development together in our teacher teams. PLC teams in schools are the best …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2016/05/04/plc-work-takes-time/

Salary versus Hourly Wages

I’ve heard this argument before. Teachers shouldn’t complain about having to work extra hours to get their work done. Other professionals get paid to get their job done whether they work a 60 hour week or a 100 hour week. Some of them work endless hours when getting a project done. So why do teachers …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2016/05/03/salary-versus-hourly-wages/

6th Grader’s Bullying Video

I have a 6th grader who wanted to post something different to our World Solutions blog. She wanted to tell a short story of bullying. She focused on kids who are bullied just for being who they are and how wrong that is. Head on over to our World Solutions Blog and watch her short …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2016/04/29/6th-graders-bullying-video/

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