[Replicable Practices] Please Teacher Can We Watch A Video? Wingclips.com

Conversation Sparkler

Ask a student what they learned in school and almost all of the time their memory becomes foggy, hazy, blurred and even forgetful. Their replies are short, elusive and dodgy. A word stumbles out of their mouth..."nothing."

Ask the same student if they can describe their favorite movie or to recite their favorite movie quote and magically they are transformed into giving an accurate, detailed and succinct reply.

Whenever possible I try to incorporate video clips into my lessons. Very popular in lesson introductions but also useful to reinforce concepts or to be used as conversation sparklers.

WingClips.com

 WingClips.com is a website that I often refer to when I need "movie clips that illustrate and inspire." The website is subscription based (there is a free sign up with limitations). You can search the video clips library through a search box or you can select clips based on movie title, scripture (requires registration), category or theme.

[Replicable Practices] Hey You, Opportunity is Knocking so GetInvolved.ca

What do you need to graduate from an Ontario High School?

In addition to the 18 compulsory, students must complete the following: (PDF)

• 12 optional credits
• 40 hours of community involvement activities
• the provincial literacy requirement

Where can I find opportunities to complete the 40 hours of community involvement activities?
  
Getinvolved.ca is a companion website linked to a TVO television series. On TVO, Get Involved is 25 documentary shorts celebrating people from 7-70 who are making a difference in their schools, in their community and through their work. They are stories of inspiration. The website was created was created to transform that inspiration into action.

Hey You, Opportunity is Knocking so GetInvolved.ca

[Replicable Practices] The Costly Comma - Comma quirk irks Rogers

I really enjoy sharing this article with my students. I usually do so right before we begin a section on grammar or whenever students ask me if spelling or grammar mistakes count as deducted marks on their assignments.

 



Comma quirk irks Rogers

GRANT ROBERTSON
From Monday's Globe and Mail
Published Sunday, Aug. 06, 2006 11:30PM EDT
Last updated Monday, Apr. 06, 2009 10:26PM EDT

It could be the most costly piece of punctuation in Canada. A grammatical blunder may force Rogers Communications Inc. to pay an extra $2.13-million to use utility poles in the Maritimes after the placement of a comma in a contract permitted the deal's cancellation. [Full Article]

[Replicable Practices] EduGains.ca

EduGains.ca

UPDATE: This website will be retired on June 30, 2021and is no longer being updated. Edugains resources can continue to be found by signing into eCommunity Ontario and Curriculum and Resources website.

EduGains is another amazing source and collection of ideas to create and sustain Replicable Practices. I encourage all my readers to explore the Differentiated Instruction and Literacy sections.

Differentiated Instruction

Literacy

[Replicable Practices] YouTube: Test Taking Strategies

An expectation in the General Learning Strategies (GLE) class is to model test taking techniques. I have found the Paul Devoto's YouTube Channel that covers this topic.


A description Paul has wrote for his Test-Taking Strategy Videos:

This series shares the best strategies for improving your score on multiple-choice tests. The episodes are produced by Paul Devoto and hosted by math teachers at Jonas Salk High-Tech Academy middle school in Sacramento, CA

[Replicable Practices] Knowledge Ontario: Building the Digital Citizen

Knowledge Ontario is a premiere digital collection of resources. You must explore the digital collections and databases in order to appreciate the vastness and extent of the content that is found. In addition there are many links that I offer up to the students to extend lessons beyond the general and specific curriculum expectation.

Knowledge Ontario

Knowledge Ontario Mission Statements:
"To provide Ontarians with the digital tools and resources they need to build stronger, healthier communities and participate fully in the 21st century knowledge economy."

[Replicable Practices] Teacher Tube - Edutainment

TeacherTube

Finding resources that will help me Entertain/Educate (Edutainment) students has been difficult. Aside from trying to infuse interaction with technology in lessons or assignments I often rely on flashy/catchy informative YouTube clips to help me grab and sustain their attention. Based on the familiar YouTube site I discovered TeacherTube.