Penny Kittle Visits GCISD!

GCISD Humanities Team & Penny Kittle:  Kim Amyett, Brandi Carey, Kari Davis, Penny Kittle,
Phillip Lentz, Dr. Suzanne Newell, and Evan Payne

Over 100 educators in GCISD had the privilege of a visit from Penny Kittle, author of Book Love and Write Beside Them.  It was an incredible day of learning and inspiration.  The possibilities of creating a deeper love for reading and writing with the students in our district was the driving force behind this inspiration.  Teachers walked away with many ideas on how to do this in their classroom and how to be a model for reading and writing with our students.  Truly a great day in GCISD!

Notes from Evan Payne

Math in Motion - or ??? in Motion

I know it seems odd for me to be making a post about math, but it is true, this is a "math" resource.  I received this website from Steve Borney one night after a twitter chat.  He reached out to me and asked me to check out this link.  I visited the website with the intention of just seeing what it was about.  When I arrived at the site - I noticed there was a 5-minute video about his Math in Motion.  I started to watch it.  After about two minutes in - I was hooked!  I bought into the idea completely - and my Humanities brain started to think about how this strategy could be used in ELA, Reading, and Social Studies.  I realized it wasn't just a math strategy!

Take a minute to watch this video.  It is a great way to possibly take a traditional teaching method and making it a more interactive and a fun way for your students to learn. 

http://www.stevewyborney.com/?p=218

Questions I am thinking:

1. How could a teacher use this strategy to reinforce figurative language?
2. How could an exploration of poetry be used through this process?
3. Could a timeline review of social studies concepts be used through a structure like this?
4. Would a concept like this help with a test review?

As a coach who works with teachers to try out new instructional methods, I would jump at the chance to help a teacher design a lesson using this as a model!