Feb 28 2023

How to Make Writing Fun

How to Make Writing Fun (Part 2)

Most students feel challenged to complete their writing assignments. As an intervention elementary school teacher, I love to empower students with imaginative and engaging writing assignments. For example, my second-grade students wanted to learn more about rattlesnakes after hearing my personal story about being bitten by a rattlesnake. Here is an outline of questions they asked for our writing activity:

How did I get bitten by the rattlesnake?
Why do snakes bite people?
Where was I when it happened?
What did the bite feel like?
Did I catch the snake or did it get away?
What did I do after the bite?
Did I phone 911?
Did an ambulance transport me to the hospital?
What did I do while waiting for the ambulance?
What happened when I arrived at the hospital?
What type of medication did the doctors use to fight a venomous snake bite?
What does venomous, antivenom, and antidotes mean?
How is antivenom created?
What types of animals help create antivenom antidotes?
How long did it take to get better?
Do I still have problems with the bite?
What can a person do so they do not get a snake bite?

[Read more…]

Mary Ann Burke, Digital Education Expert

Mary Ann Burke, Ed.D., Digital Education Expert, is a substitute distance learning teacher for Oak Grove School District in San Jose, California and the author of STUDENT-ENGAGED ASSESSMENT: Strategies to Empower All Learners (Rowman & Littlefield: 2020). Dr. Burke creates digital language arts and substitute teaching K – 12 activities for teachers and parents. She is the Cofounder of the Genparenting.com blog. Burke is the former Director II of Categorical & Special Projects for the Santa Clara County Office of Education that supports 31 school districts serving 272,321 students in Santa Clara County. She is also a previous Director – State & Federal Compliance for Oakland Unified School District, the former Director – Grantwriter for the Compton Unified School District, and was the initial VISTA Director for the Community Partnership Coalition in southern California. Much of her work focuses on creating innovative digital trainings and partnership programs for teachers and families to support students’ learning. These programs were featured as a best practice at a National Title I Conference, California’s Title I Conferences, AERA Conferences, an ASCD Conference, the NASSP Conference, and statewide educator conferences.

Jan 31 2023

How to Get Kids Inspired to Write (Part 1)

Last October I was asked to teach how to write a scary story with second grade students. First, I read a scary story to the children. Then I provided them with writing prompts and strategies on how they might create and write their own scary stories. As a personal example, I dramatized a scary story about how I was bitten by a rattlesnake and was given antibodies from a horse to fight the poison in my body. The students were captivated by my story and suggested that I write a children’s book about my experience. They also were eager to learn more about rattlesnake bites. I promised I would return at a later date for students to learn more about this adventure. [Read more…]

Mary Ann Burke, Digital Education Expert

Oct 04 2022

How to Improve Your Children’s School Successes

As an elementary school principal, I provide guidance and resources to support our students’ social-emotional and academic successes. Our school also uses Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) to reinforce positive social behaviors and define consequences for problem behaviors. We focus on ensuring a predictable, consistent, positive, and a safe school environment for all students. By using a common language on school-wide expectations, less time is spent on discipline. More time is focused on instruction, building a positive school climate, and promoting positive interactions between staff, students, and families. [Read more…]

Rafael Zavala

Dr. Rafael Zavala became passionate about learning at an early age. As a child of farmworkers in the Salinas Valley, Rafael attended Santa Clara University for his undergraduate degree and completed Masters’ Degrees at Saint Louis University and Harvard. Most recently, Dr. Zavala completed his Ed.D. from San Jose State University.

Mr. Zavala started teaching in 2002 at Solidad Unified School District in California and later at Cambridge Public Schools and Malden Public Schools in Massachusetts. After returning to California in 2015, Dr. Zavala served in diverse administrative roles including Assistant Principal, Administrator of School Climate and Culture, and Administrator II of Personnel Services. Rafael became the Principal of Sakamoto Elementary School in San Jose, California in 2021.

A primary focus of his work is to ensure the equitable educational support services for all students by implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Mr. Zavala firmly believes that when district and school staff collaborate to create effective tiered behavioral support strategies, students will succeed at grade level and beyond.

www.GenParenting.com

May 31 2022

Purposeful Parenting and Ovecoming Challenges

Purposeful Parenting and Overcoming Challenges

Guest blogger Erik Youngman’s blogs on purposeful parenting and learning from challenges embrace the following ten practical approaches to parenting:

Through positive, patient, and purposeful problem-solving, parents can model effective limit setting for their children. This includes clearly defined boundaries and goals for daily living.
Parents incorporate play in project-based learning activities at home. These may include messy art projects, science explorations, performing arts, creative writing, and sports.
Children are encouraged to ponder and creatively reflect on their various learning activities for continuous improvement and growth.
Kids learn to pivot and respond resiliently to life’s great adventures and challenges.
Parents encourage their children to embrace and learn from mistakes and challenges.
Children effectively manage daily challenges through time management and understanding their family’s clearly defined boundaries.
Parents help their children overcome difficulties by modeling effective problem-solving skills and encouraging new skill development.
When students own their learning challenges, they identify how they can overcome learning and skill development difficulties and ask for help for added guidance.
Children are inspired to do their best through resourceful goal setting and self-self-assessments.
When parents collaborate with their children’s teachers, they can help their children ask deliberate questions, model through example, and encourage classmate support.

[Read more…]

Mary Ann Burke, Digital Education Expert

May 17 2022

Embrace and Learn from Mistakes and Challenges

by Erik Youngman, Guest Blogger

Regardless of your children’s age and where you live, there are daily opportunities to help children embrace and learn from mistakes and challenges. Teachers and parents have an important shared responsibility and opportunity to model and empower critical skills to children. Children make progress when teachers and parents model and empower learning from mistakes and challenges with a growth mindset. Progress and change are dependent upon specific skills that are required and improved while learning with a growth mindset and become even more important as expectations and rigor increase. [Read more…]

Mary Ann Burke, Digital Education Expert

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