Teaching Today
A blog following teacher Aaron Jura as he plans engaging, yet relevant English Language Arts content for High School students in New Orleans, LA.
The week before a trip I am usually a mess -- house is a disaster, running all around town picking up "necessities", etc. But, for some reason the stress of travel hasn't hit me yet. Maybe this is because I am traveling and getting paid to do it! As some of you know, I was made aware of summer teacher travel opportunities last year. In 2015 I went to NYC for an amazing seminar with Gilder Lehrman Institute at Columbia University on the Underground Railroad. This year, I have accepted two (back to back trips) one with the USS Midway Institute for teachers and the other with the National Endowment for the Humanities on Appalachian storytelling. From June 27th through July 8th I will be in the beautiful city of San Diego, CA aboard the USS Midway -- learning all about the Cold War and Vietnam war. From July 10th through the 30th I will be at Shepherd University in WV learning all about the unique regional literary voice of Appalachia. While these applications are competitive, many summer teacher institutes pay for travel and lodging and some even pay you a stipend. YES, that's right -- I am getting paid to learn and travel this summer. Sadly (or happily) from these two trips I will make about 20% of my annual salary in stipend payments. Anyway, before I left I wanted to share some resources -- in case you might be interested in traveling or looking into summer teacher travel. Here are a few links: EDUTOPIA - No-Cost Summer Travel for Educators TEACH TRAVELING - 24 Teacher Travel Opportunities GEEO - Global Exploration for Educators Organization I will be sure to update the site with resources from these trips and photos. I hope you are enjoying your time off and spending a bit of time enjoying life. - Aaron
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I must admit -- like most teachers, I get my best ideas by lifting them from other great educators. Check out my Pinterest feed below:
It's that time of year again -- when teachers go absolutely crazy over state, district, and end of year tests. I have decided to NOT go insane over this and instead will be working to inspire students to know that they CAN do this.
I know, from my semi-pro career in college, that when you are nervous and stressed you tend to under perform on a test or exam. That being said, I am working on focusing students on the positive. Here's how: 1) Focus on how well a student did on a particular test, standard, or question type. 2) Motivate students to perform better by focusing on how great they're already doing! 3) Inspire students to engage with the material -- think about a person like this character, etc. I'm hoping this pays off. So far the data shows it's working -- crossed fingers for next Monday and Tuesday! - Aaron It's that time of year when students and teachers alike have made it to the holiday break. For many, this is a time to chill out and relax with family and friends. Oh wait, that's the fantasy most non-teachers have of our profession. My break will be spent pre-reading for my next courses and planning unit maps and curriculum to use with the students.
Overall, the English III curriculum looks GREAT! I am very excited to get to work with this class. The World Geography class is also coming along. I have been receiving donations on our hands on world geography project on DonorsChoose. It looks like the project will fund with only $187 to go. This project will allow the students to really "get dirty" in their study of Geography. It will also afford me the opportunity to work in a more project based learning environment -- which I love. This week will consist of final exam prep and semester wrap up activities. I will miss my students this term, but it is time to focus on the next group!
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Mr. J is a high school teacher in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mr. J believes in the power of educators to help children and families achieve. Follow his blog for tips and techniques to keep engagement high and student achievement at the forefront. Archives
July 2017
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