Class Intro Infographic: The Swag Way To Show & Tell

Show and Tell (according to Dictionary.com)

noun

1. an activity for young children, especially in school, in which each participant produces an object of unusual interest and tells something about it.

2. Facetious. any informative presentation or demonstration, as to introduce a new product or divulge and explain a special plan.

Show and Tell Infographic (according to Focus2Achieve)

TRUTH BOMB: Teachers Tend To Overwhelm Students On The First Day Of School.

Guilty. I have done it many times. I know many students are simply freaked out on day 1. It's a natural reaction to the shock of being thrown out of their summer routine, confined to a seat, and being talked at all day in classes they may perceive as dull, difficult, or both.

And hey, while I cannot change what other teachers in the building will do on September 6, I can change. So, I am changing how I approach day 1 and week 1. There! GETTING. IT. DONE.

Why The Infographic?

1. Brevity

I could spend the entire 55 minutes of class time talking at students. Wonder how soon most would "check out"... I could overload them with information they will not remember, that will increase their anxiety, and possibly lead them to hate the class and my guts before day 2, because they had 5 teachers just do the same exact thing.

Or, I could give them information in a one-shot visual way, and then have them create something, stand up, interact with each other. Hmm. Tough choice isn't it?

2. Show & Tell With Swag

Look, I still believe that students want to know what the class will be like. But, I've been teaching teens for the past 14 years and I know they do not need to listen to another speech. I am convinced that most politicians are despised (by me anyway), because they talk too damn much. Oh, and they lie too. But I digress...

I am transitioning to Blended Learning this year. Chromebooks, e-Devices, and lots of brainpower usage every day. More on that below.

Undoubtedly, you have seen the 4 Cs prominently figuring in the infographic above. Skill-building will be my emphasis this and every year beyond. I want the students to see what I value and what I want them to focus on to become awesome learners and later professionals. I will use the Steve Jobs quote above to explain how a large and diverse mind library leads to increased creativity and critical thinking and that is why individuals study science (and all the other subjects) even if they do not plan on becoming scientists.

Communication information and links (email, social media, blog etc.) are all given. I plan to have the district tech people put the infographic on my school district website (MORE SWAG) and thus the information will be available to students and the rest of the community at all times. Unless someone breaks the Internet...

3. Community Building Project

As their facilitator, I will ask my students to make digital posters (Google Apps) about themselves and fill them with information such as who they are, their faves (food, music, show, hobby etc.), their pet-peeves, and their strength. The idea is to have students reflect and realize that they are valuable members of our class community and start recognizing each other as valuable contributors to our mutual growth.

As their collaborator, I will make one for myself too. When done, we will upload all of the digital posters to the classroom blog I am setting up, and email the link to parents and staff as class intro. This way we'll engage the parents and other community members right from the start.

NOTE: I am creating a class blog site now and will add the link and the QR Code to the Infographic as soon as I'm done.

4. Novelty

C'mon. You know most teachers will either do a PowerPoint or talk. Maybe show a video. Hopefully a current one. Maybe they will have a 5 minute ice-breaker before they get down to business... Syllabus, Routines, Rules and Consequences!

Please make it stop!

I am ditching the book for good this year. I've always handed one out and rarely used it. Why bother? All of the curriculum is online anyway and students can interact with the multimedia at their own pace. Popcorn reading? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Let's face it. As sad as it is in this day and age, few teachers allow or know how to have students use their phones in class to create. BYOD? Selfies? And on day one? Forget about it!

I say: Let's do it! Day one is actually perfect for setting the stage for Blended Learning, because we are USING THE TECH TO CREATE. And that is how we will use it every day. I'm starting by having students take selfies of each other and add to their posters. Even in high school many students do not know how to use their smartphone to create. No phone? No problem - I got chromebooks and collaboration (Use your imagination or ask in the comments if you want to know more).

And, most people, students included, do not know what infographics are.

5. Extending Beyond

I will make 1 more Intro Infographic similar to the one above and the Personal Info one. This one will be the syllabus and i will also post it on my website and class blog. No paper, no fuss. I say the Internet was invented by Al Gore (really?) and is here to stay...

Thanks for looking and reading. I hope you can use a few or all of the ideas I ramble about here. If you'd like more or want to see the Personal Info (Teacher Intro) Infographic and the Syllabus Infographic SIGN UP for MY NEWSLETTER as I will feature them soon!

And Never Forget: YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD. USE IT OFTEN.

 

Cornell Notes on Steroids Notebook Bundle of 3

$9.00

The Cornell Notes on Steroids Notebook is a 8.5"x11" 120-page academic notebook that contains an organizational method that improves on the Cornell Note-Taking System. BUNDLE & SAVE.

Color:

Select Color Black Blue Purple Rainbow (All 3 colors)

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Cornell Notes on Steroids Notebook Bundle of 6

$18.00

The Cornell Notes on Steroids Notebookis a 8.5"x11" 120-page academic notebook that contains an organizational method that improves on the Cornell Note-Taking System. BUNDLE & SAVE.

Color:

Select Color 6 Black 6 Blue 6 Purple Rainbow (2 of each color) 3 Black/3 Blue 3 Black/3 Purple 3 Blue/3 Purple

Add to cart

Crush School Book by Oskar Cymerman

Metacognition: The Most Effective Learning Strategy (Teach And Develop It In Students)

Metacognition involves thinking about your thinking. Metacognition with self regulation and timely feedback are the 2 most powerful and effective learning strategies. Metacognition is the way to becoming a lifelong learner. Understanding how your mind processes and learns and leveraging this understanding to acquire new knowledge and skills turns average into awesome.

Be awesome!

Teach students to be awesome!

Teach and develop metacognition in students.

Here's the What, Why, and How:

Thanks for taking a peek at my blog! If you like what you see and the information I provide, SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER to receive more infographics such as the one above and other educational articles straight to your email inbox. You might want to consider buying my book "Crush School: Every Student's Guide To Killing It In The Classroom" available for Kindle on Amazon, which is designed to teach students metacognitive skills. The book explains how the human mind learns and provides many brain based strategies to learn more effectively.

"Crush School" helps students learn how to learn.

It contains tools teachers can use to teach students how to learn.

But the only person who can help your students learn best is themselves.

It's up to us give them the right tools so they can do that.

Because We Have The Power To Change The World. Let's Use It Often.

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"Crush School" eBook by Oskar Cymerman - $9.99 on Amazon

Teach Students Skills For Life

By Oskar Cymerman | @focus2achieve | BAM! Radio Network & Teaching Channel Blogger

Hi!

Thank you so much for checking out the Focus2Achieve Newsletter! I truly appreciate it. You are awesome!

Today, I want to talk New School Year and Teaching Students Skills.

The new school year has started in some parts of the US, is about to start in others, and will start as late as on that one Tuesday after the Labor Day Holiday in September.

In most of Europe, where I happen to hail from (Poland), students are to report in September. There is a greater variation in school year calendars in Asia and South America.

Check out what happens in New South Wales:

School Year 2016 Calendar for New South Wales, Australia

Personally, I like the idea of a 6-week+ winter vacation and four 2-week+ breaks between each term. Of course, the winter here is summer in Australia. Think about the flexibility and convenience of travel without having kids miss school for family vacations etc. Pretty cool!

Back to reality...

The summer has been great and it continues in the Northern hemisphere, but the school year is upon us. The new school year is the new beginning filled with new opportunities to grow as educators, learners, and leaders. It also allows for new opportunities to help students learn and grow. And, while it's important, I am not talking about learning subjects here. The growth I imply has to do with students becoming more effective, thoughtful, curious, and reflective learners and eventually professionals.

This is education as it should be. Equipping students with the skills and the brain power that will serve them their entire lives.

The best way to do that is to deliberately plan teaching students how to learn: Teach them effective strategies and give them tools that make learning last.

One such tool I use with my students is note taking. I'm a big believer in active learning, so I give my students the Cornell Notes on Steroids Template I created and I show them how to use it. We do it together. Review it. Reinforce it. Repeat it.

Check it out:

Cornell Notes On Steroids Template Page 1

Cornell Notes On Steroids Template Page 2

I created the template in the summer of 2015 and had my students use it during the past school year. I explained it, checked it, gave suggestions, reinforced it etc. Not every student loved it, but about 2/3 of the students (out of a total of about 130 students) surveyed anonymously ended up liking it and finding it effective, while others commented that it helped with organization, knowing what is important (Objectives), or found some other aspect of it useful.

I also improved the template based on student feedback. Needles to say, I will use the template again during the 2016-2017 school year. Click below if you'd like it for free.

And here's the free Table of Contents that is goes with it:

I talk about Cornell Notes on Steroids and many other effective learning strategies in my new book "Crush School: Every Student's Guide To Killing It In The Classroom" available for Kindle on Amazon. Written in conversational language and filled with stories students can relate to, "Crush School" is a unique and first of its kind tool to help students learn how to learn.

While anyone can download, print, and use the Cornell Notes on Steroids as filler sheets in a binder, some might prefer notebooks. With that in mind, I created the Cornell Notes on Steroids 120-Page Notebook. It is currently on sale. The regular price of $6.49 has been slashed to $4.99. You can save even more when you purchase bundles of 3, 6, or 12 notebooks. And, these are high quality notebooks - thicker and brighter eucalyptus paper, laminated cover, and the table of contents. But hurry, this 25% Back To School Sale will only last till September 1st.

But hey - you stuck around this long, so I'll make it worth your while! Use the PROMO CODE: Back2School2016 and I'll give you additional 10% off any notebook order.

And that's not all. My goal is to get the Crush School Book into the hands of as many students as possible, so use the PROMO CODE: CrushSchool2016 to get additional $5 off the PDF version, which allows you to print and make copies of the chapters you are interested in using with students. We are talking Copyrighted work and I am telling you to go ahead and use it as you please!

ALL DISCOUNTS WILL EXPIRE ON SEPTEMBER 1ST 2016.

So help me pay the rent and go to the Products Page. Don't forget to use the PROMO CODES.

Or don't - the choice is ALWAYS YOURS. Thanks for reading!

And Rememeber: You Have The Power To Change The World. Use It Often.

Cornell Notes on Steroids Notebook Bundle of 12

$36.00

The Cornell Notes on Steroids Notebook is a 8.5"x11" 120-page academic notebook that contains an organizational method that improves on the Cornell Note-Taking System.

Color:

Select Color Black Blue Purple Rainbow (4 blue, 4 purple, 4 black)

Add to cart

Cornell Notes on Steroids Notebook Bundle of 3

$9.00

The Cornell Notes on Steroids Notebook is a 8.5"x11" 120-page academic notebook that contains an organizational method that improves on the Cornell Note-Taking System. BUNDLE & SAVE.

Color:

Select Color Black Blue Purple Rainbow (All 3 colors)

Add to cart

Cornell Notes on Steroids Notebook Bundle of 6

$18.00

The Cornell Notes on Steroids Notebookis a 8.5"x11" 120-page academic notebook that contains an organizational method that improves on the Cornell Note-Taking System. BUNDLE & SAVE.

Color:

Select Color 6 Black 6 Blue 6 Purple Rainbow (2 of each color) 3 Black/3 Blue 3 Black/3 Purple 3 Blue/3 Purple

Add to cart