Get Your Mind On

"Those are the best years of your life!" is typically how people describe high school, and I can agree high school was a wonderful time in my life. I want to focus on the beginning of the high school experience, the notorious freshman year. If you think back, I'm sure you can recall the feelings you had about the transition from middle school to high school. I can remember feeling so nervous because of the unknown. How would I find all my classes in such a big building? How would the older students treat me? Would my teachers be nice? However, I was also excited to get to finally experience all of the fun "high school" things like Friday night football/basketball games in the student section, getting to have more control of my schedule, and the freedom. Of course, I quickly found out that with that freedom came more responsibly and accountability, but it was so worth it!  I have taught high school Biology to freshman and sophomores, so I have seen their...

What is Pear Deck for Google Slides? Pear Deck for Google Slides is an Add-on feature that allows educators to add interactive questions and formative assessments to their presentations.  If you are unfamiliar with Pear Deck for Googles Slides, here is a link to the website that explains how to use it and all of the available features. https://www.peardeck.com/googleslides   How do I use Pear Deck for Google Slides?  I use Pear Deck about 2-3 times a week. It has transformed my original PowerPoint presentations into interactive learning assessments that allow me to provide immediate feedback and keep students engaged. I'm able to clip pieces of information from worksheets or create my own questions. I can choose how I want my students to respond such as, type an answer, multiple-choice, drag an object to an indicated area, draw, etc.  I love it because it is user-friendly and it motivates my students to contribute to their own learni...

Education is very different right now because of the COVID-19 situation. With schools transitioning to online learning, educators, parents, and students are exploring uncharted territory. Expectations are being discussed through email, phone calls, and video chats which can be a bit overwhelming and sometimes confusing for all involved. I want to focus on how parents and students should manage their time with online learning.  As an educator, I know that the normal, seven hour school day consists of so much more than just constant studying. There are normal core subjects, but also related arts classes, lunch time, transitional times, etc. Our students are children. They have shorter attention spans, they love to have fun, and they need to have a break.  There are four core subjects required of each grade which include: English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. Here is the breakdown of how long students should spend on each core subject a day d...