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A Look Back: Remembering “Breaking The Plane” Solved My Classroom Problems This WeekFor the next several months, each week I’ll be republishing posts from the past that I think readers might still find useful. This post first appeared in 2016.
On Monday and Tuesday of this week, my English Language Learner classes were going fine, but students in my Theory of Knowledge classes were restless and not very focused. I initially attributed it to a combination of nervousness over the implications of the Presidential election and eagerness for our week-long Thanksgiving break to begin on Friday. Then, this morning on the way to work, I realized, as I said in the last paragraph, that there didn’t appear to be any issues in my ELL classes and that the problems were taking place in my afternoon TOK classes. I then began reviewing in my mind if I was doing anything differently in the classes since, really, my instructional moves are generally similar — lots of small group work, movement, fast-pace. All of sudden, Doug Lemov’s phrase, “Breaking The Plane,” came to me. It’s the catchy term he uses to describe the age-old teacher move of not staying in front of the class and, instead, moving around the room(you can read his piece, What is ‘Breaking the Plane’?, which is on The Best Posts On Classroom Management list). I’ve been feeling tired this week (I guess I’m ready for the break, too!) and realized I had been lazy in my afternoon TOK classes and not been “breaking the plane” – I’d been hanging out on my stool in the front. This afternoon, I shook-off my tiredness in the afternoon and went back to “breaking the plane.” Everything went back to normal. Even though moving around the room is a common classroom management strategy (and one constantly encouraged Jim Peterson, our principal), I’m not sure if I would have identified the problem and the “fix” so quickly if it wasn’t for Doug’s easily remembered catchy phrase. Another example that words do matter!      “Instrument Playground” Would Be A Good Tool For Students Learn About Different Musical…Instruments
Instrument Playground is a Google Experiment that lets you choose from among 100 different musical instruments from around the world, create music with it on your device, learn more about the instrument itself, and then share your creation. Nothing beats what we would do in our ELL Newcomers class each year – bring students over the band class and have student musicians teach them to play some simple notes on each instrument. But, of course, I always did a few days of preliminary work prior to that visit – vocabulary, etc. A site like Instrument Playground would be a fun tool to use for that kind of preparatory time.  This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts & Articles On Ed Policy Issues
Here are some recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues (You might also be interested in seeing all my “Best” lists related to education policy here):
Trump aims to shrink the Education Department — while Washington tightens its grip on schools is from Chalkbeat.
 Can federal education research be “reimagined”? is by Matt Barunum.
I’m adding this post to The Best Resources For Learning About Community Schools :
 March 14th Is Pi Day – Here Are A Bunch Of Great Videos To Use In Class geralt / Pixabay March 14th is Pi Day. You might be interested in THE BEST VIDEOS FOR CELEBRATING PI DAY.  This Week’s Free & Useful Artificial Intelligence Tools For The Classroom geralt / Pixabay
At least, for now, I’m going to make this a weekly feature which will highlight additions to THE BEST NEW – & FREE – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOLS THAT COULD BE USED IN THE CLASSROOM. Here are the latest: LingoBuddy looks like a decent language-learning tool that has a small free plan. Coloring Book is another AI tool for creating…coloring pages. Coloring Store is another one. Zpeakr looks like an intriguing language learning tool, though it only has a minimal free option. AI Slides Translator says it will translate your Google Slides presentation and keep the formatting. It could come in handy if you’re teaching ELLs. iGrow lets you create online simulations, though it, too, has a minimal free plan. I’m adding it to The Best Online Learning Simulation Games & Interactives — Help Me Find More.
My AI-Aware Strategy for the Year Ahead is from Teaching In The Age of AI. I’m adding it to A Beginning List Of Different Types Of Guidance Educators Are Giving Students About AI Use In Their Classes.   More Recent Articles |
