Papers and Portfolios

Works4Me presents weekly practical classroom tips from real experts -- your colleagues!

1. Paper Predictions

From Vicki Hamdorf, a high school math teacher from North Cedar High School in Stanwood, Iowa:

"I use Newspapers in Education in my math class. Recently, we looked up ages in the obituaries, found a class average, and compared this average to the average age of life expectancy in eastern Iowa. We also used the newspaper to find out which letters are most commonly used in the English language. Each student picked an article to read and share with the class. Then they predicted the 5 letters they thought were used the most. Next, they chose one paragraph out of the article and recorded the number of each letter in the paragraph. After the students finished, they compiled the total number of letters in their group of 5. At the end, we put the class results together. Students were very involved in the activity, and it was a great way to study statistics."
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2. Personalized Professional Portfolio

From Jennifer Lipson, an 8th grade Spanish and History teacher from Canton, Michigan:

"One of the things that I did to personalize my portfolio is include pictures and quotes that add to my professional vision of whom I want to be. I included pictures of me during my Study Abroad experience, before a game in my Marching Band uniform and helpful teaching components such as word walls and student projects from my internship. With the pictures from Marching Band and my study abroad experience, I included short explanations of what these experiences have meant to me. I also included some quotes that reflect my philosophy of teaching and inspirational teacher quotes. I still kept it professional with sample units that I would teach and projects that I would like to do."
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3. Question of the Week: Easing Test Stress

From the Works4Me Worker Bees:

"The end of the school year brings plenty of exams which can result in butterflies or full-on anxiety for students. What did you do to relieve the pressure and help your students do their best?"
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4. Adult Teamwork in a Classroom

Heard Last Week in the Works4Me Lounge from Kathy:

""I'm working with a first year teacher who is wonderful to the special needs children in our class. Our adult team consists of one teacher and two associates. Some of the children require a full time school day nurse so we do have additional adults in the room. The teacher tried the being nice routine but unfortunately a clique has formed between the one assoc. and the nurses which leaves the teacher and me on our own. She and I are working with the children to reach their goals; however, the other adults do not give much importance to these goals and do not work with us. Since we only have two weeks left whatever the teacher does now will not have much impact on the situation. What can she do differently in September?"
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