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.
Mar 06
As our 2nd trimester comes to an end and I prepare final grades I’m left wondering if grades and marks like grades help or hinder learning. I began to wonder about grades and homework after reading some articles written by Alfie Kohn. After reading, Changing the Homework Default I bought Kohn’s book, The Homework Myth …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2010/03/06/do-grades-help-or-hinder-learning/
Feb 21
When teachers use Twitter they form Professional Learning Networks or PLNs with hundreds and sometimes thousands of other teachers. What an incredible way to share resources and discuss current topics facing educators. A quick Google search defines a PLN as “a vibrant, ever-changing group of connections to which teachers go to both share and learn.” …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2010/02/21/plns-and-plcs/
Feb 15
Thanks to @web20classroom, @ShellTerrell, and @tomwhitby for hosting a great session this morning with Alfie Kohn, @alfiekohn (with backchanneling still going on at #kohnlive), where we got to ask questions about grades, homework, standardized testing, the state of education and reform, and teacher preparation. For those of you who are wondering what the @ symbols …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2010/02/15/how-to-motivate-students/
Feb 15
I took this from an email message I shared with teachers. I’ve been dealing with the opposite problem in my classroom as I learn about new web 2.0 tools and can’t use them because they are blocked by our filter. Our tech guy came to my room to help me have access just in my …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2010/02/15/to-block-or-not-to-block/
Feb 04
To view the show use the play arrow/triangle at the bottom of the Prezi. Advance from section to section at your speed until you reach the end. It’s pretty cool! Leave me a comment letting me know what you think about Prezi. Mr. G’s Classes on Prezi
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2010/02/04/my-prezi/
Jan 31
Why do I assign homework by having students blog? And what in the world is a glog? If you’ve asked yourself these questions maybe this blog post will help. I remember just a few years ago how parents and teachers started to worry when our children were using MySpace to create a presence on the …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2010/01/31/blogging-and-the-21st-century/
Jan 30
Monday, Feb 1, is our official midterm day. The half way point of our trimester and our entire year! This is a good time for reflection. As your teacher I am continually asking myself, “what can I do to make Science meaningful for my students?” And, “how can I communicate with my students and their …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2010/01/30/midterm-full-of-chances/
Jan 02
Welcome to twenty ten! I had to post today because today is a palindrome – 01-02-2010 or 0102 2010. Cool. Monday we’re all back at school and that means it’s time to get back into the groove of things. I will have progress reports for my 7th and 8th graders so they can catch up …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2010/01/02/2010/
Dec 04
Click here to see your child’s final Science grades before report cards come home in the mail. I will be updating Skyward today as well but Skyward only shows you the grade and not the assignments. By viewing my online progress report you can see how your child did on the assignments so that he …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2009/12/04/1st-trimester-final-grades-posted/
Nov 17
Greetings everyone. I have been updating grades almost every day as students have been turning in missing assignments non-stop. (Still updating as of Nov 24.) But today I uploaded a new update that includes 6th grade Freshwater Pollution Blogs and the 7/8 Biome Podcasts (click on each one to see what students did). Check those …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2009/11/17/recent-projects-graded/
I'm a Curipod Ambassador! :)
I've presented at NCCE
2016, 2017, 2019, 2022,
2023, 2024, and 2025!
I presented at WSTA 2015!
