Teach Like a PIRATE Day Eve

I will be honest with you.  I have never seen this many kids excited for a day of school in May that was NOT the last day of school.  Kids received their guidebooks this afternoon to plan which experiences they will attend tomorrow.  I overheard some kids say "Wait, I can only pick seven of these?!"

I spoke with reporters from two different newspapers who are coming with photographers tomorrow. I actually had a Mystery Skype class call in today by accident, so I had the opportunity to talk to them for a few minutes today.  I will not reveal them yet, but they are a sneaky bunch and had some flags hanging on the wall that will certainly throw my kids for a loop!  Well played.

The only other nervous moment was for our science teacher, Mr. Prince, who was waiting on some science supplies to be delivered.  We can all rest easy as they were delivered this afternoon.

Our school day starts tomorrow at 8:30 AM eastern time.  I will tweet out pictures and updates with #tlapexperiment.  I will update the blog and eventually upload some videos to Youtube.

Thanks to everyone who has followed along so far.  The kids think it is pretty cool that people from so many states and even countries have taken an interest.

Finally, a big thanks to Dave Burgess for writing the book and being so supportive of this experiment.  Looking forward to sharing the results.

Teach Like a PIRATE Day Experiences

We are a few days away from our #tlapexperiment.  Below are the tentative experiences for our 7th and 8th grade students.

Teach Like  A PIRATE Day Experiences
5/22
Utica Junior High School
Utica, Ohio

Mr. Ballinger:  I will be doing an outdoor lawn games day to promote simple ways to get outside and become active.  Games will include corn hole, bocce ball, blongo(hillbilly golf), and kan jam.

Mrs. Baughman 1-3:  Stop motion animation without wearing an eye patch.

Ms. Blackstone:  "Scattergories" alliterations - individually, students will complete their game card with words to fit the categories provided - all will begin the same letter, determined by rolling the alphabet die. Once answers have been swapped, teams will create an alliteration with the words given. Teams, and Miss Blackstone will then vote on the best alliteration given.

"Apples to Apples" sentences - students will play Apples to Apples according the regular rules. The person who is the "picker" for the round will select the winning red card (noun) by using it in a sentence with the green card (adjective) selected.

20 maximum in the room for game purposes.

Mr. Dean Period 2:  Band

Mrs. Fireovid Periods 1, 2, 4, 7-9:  Be a part of Human Battleship.  Via Facetime between Mrs. Fireovid and Mrs Skinner's classrooms, groups will seek to locate their opponents' Pirate Ships, Protector Ships, and even a hidden treasure.  Groups will earn and lose points by finding ships or by having their ships destroyed.  Finding a hidden treasure could bring about an even greater reward.

Mr. Hill 1, 2, 4, 7-9:  Let's have a Pow-Wow... A study of Native American Culture... To understand and respect a culture is to actively participate so come join our pow-wow!!!

Mr. McLane Periods 1, 2, 3:  Come be the star of your own internet radio show.  Students will create and upload their shows to the internet.

Mr. McLane Periods 4, 7, 8:  Join us for Mystery Skype.  We will connect with another classroom somewhere in the world via Skype and by asking a series of Yes/No questions, we will have to figure out where they are, and they will figure out our location.  

Mr. Mitchell 1-3:  I will be doing an Engineering Problem solving activity: Straw Tower Competition.  Working in teams of two each team will design and construct the tallest Free Standing Tower using only the material given.  Candy Prizes to the winning teams.

Mr. Palmer Periods 1, 3, 4:  Do you get hungry in the afternoon?  You can use the sun's energy to heat up a tasty snack with a solar oven that you will make in the classroom.  See you there!

Mr. Palmer Periods 7-9:  I will give you a bag of materials and you will design and build a container that will prevent an uncooked egg from breaking when dropped from the high school balcony.  

Mr. Prince Periods 1-4:  Most kids know the legend of William Tell, who was known to be able to shoot an apple off of someone's head with a crossbow. During this class I will be using science to perform a modern day William Tell. If you come to my class I will be testing my marksmanship by shooting something off the top of your head... And that is only the beginning.

Mr. Prince Periods 7-9:  When I am finished using household items and scientific principles you have learned in class to perform demonstrations... You will be left asking for more.... And the best part is you will be able to recreate them at home to impress your family and friends.

Ms. Rodehaver:  We will be playing Jenga. There will be 5 different groups depending on the number of students. On each of the blocks there will be a math problem written in order for the students to re-stack their block they have to answer the problem correctly.

Mrs. Shomaker Periods 2, 3, 7-9: Do you love children’s books? How creative can you be? Stop by the computer lab and we shall see! Students will have an opportunity to show their creative side using children’s books and Microsoft Office. Students may bring their own children’s book or borrow from my daughter’s collection. Seating is limited to 26 creators per class period.

Mrs. Skinner Periods 1, 2, 4, 7-9:  Be a part of Human Battleship.  Via Facetime between Mrs. Fireovid and Mrs Skinner's classrooms, groups will seek to locate their opponents' Pirate Ships, Protector Ships, and even a hidden treasure.  Groups will earn and lose points by finding ships or by having their ships destroyed.  Finding a hidden treasure could bring about an even greater reward.

Mrs. Smith Periods 1, 2, 3, 4:  Based on the Book The Ultimate Gift...It is better to give than to receive. Design and Create a special gift for someone of your choice.

"Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful

people are always asking what's in it for me?"

Mrs. Smith Periods 8, 9:  Portray your own life story in an Enchanted Silhouette that you create yourself; using poetry, quotes, chalk drawings and decorate them to tell something about you!

"You are the HERO of your own story."                

Mrs. Sole Periods 1, 3, and 7:  Catchphrase.

Mrs. Sole Periods 2, 4, and 8:  Can you sell it? Persuade classmates to buy your product.

Mrs. M. Williams 1-4, 8-9:  Please come to Willy Wonka's Sweet Seasons Creatorium!  Attention candy designers, Willy Wonka's needs a new recipe for a chocolate bar, and they have asked you for your help. As part of your mission, you must come up with a name for your chocolate bar, the key ingredients, a tasty description, and finally, a prototype using the building materials at your station. It's going to be sweet!  We will be meeting in the "Sweet Seasons Creatorium" (Reading Room)

Seating is limited to no more than 20 candy designers per class period.

Mrs. N. Williams Periods 1, 3, and 7:  Can you sell it? Persuade classmates to buy your product.

Mrs. N. Williams Periods 2, 4, and 8:  Catchphrase.

Under a Week and Need Some Help

We are putting the finishing touches on the experiences on Teach Like a PIRATE Day and could use some assistance.  One of the experiences we are looking to create is Mystery Skype.  Our school consists of 270 students in grades 7-8.  If you are unfamiliar with our experiment, we are allowing the kids to pick the classes they attend that day.  The goal is for teachers to step up their game and for students to see that school can be exciting.  The day is Wednesday, May 22.

If you are interested, let me know.  Here are the time slots we need (Eastern Time Zone):

10:15 - 10:45 AM

12:45 - 1:15 PM

1:20 - 1:50 PM

1:55 - 2:20 PM

Ideally I would like to set-up something with four different schools, but I am willing to work with whoever is interested.

Send me a tweet @mclane_ryan if you are interested or leave a comment.

Thanks.

Under 2 Weeks Away

Teach Like a PIRATE Day at Utica Junior High will attempt to answer the question:

If your kids did not have to be in class, would you be teaching to an empty room?  

On May 22, 2013, we will have Teach Like a PIRATE Day to attempt to answer that question.  

Here are a few of my observations:

The kids are excited.  I am talking about kids that normally could not care less about coming to school.  They are more curious than anything.

The teaching staff is nervously excited.  Some have already come up with some creative experiences for that day.  Others are still figuring it out.  Sadly, a few have the attitude that it will be a free day for them if no kids show up.

The kids think it is pretty cool that the author of the book, Dave Burgess, has been communicating with me and is very interested in how this turns out.

Below is a short promo video to get everyone excited about the day, being dubbed on Twitter as the #tlapexperiment.

Teach Like A PIRATE Day

Dave Burgess is a Social Studies teacher in California and author of a book that every teacher should read, Teach Like A PIRATE. PIRATE stands for:

• Passion
• Immersion
• Rapport
• Ask and Analyze
• Transformation
• Enthusiasm

His book teaches you how to make your class more engaging.  He asks two key questions in his book.
1.  If your students didn't have to be there, would you be teaching to an empty room?
2.  Do you have any lessons you could sell tickets for?

So I posed those two questions to my staff today.  In three weeks (May 22) we will have Teach Like A PIRATE Day at Utica Junior High, a small rural Ohio school of about 270 students where approximately 45% are on free or reduced lunch.  We are working on the details, but the students will get to choose which classes to go to all day long.

I have a great staff.  I believe they are up for the challenge, and I believe it will be an eye opening experiene for all involved.

You can follow me on Twitter @mclane_ryan and our designated hashtag #tlapexperiment.

Transitioning to Standards Based Grading: Retakes and No K's.

I have had several teachers approach me over the past month asking about Standards Based Grading.  Now I am far from being the SBG guru, but I can share with you what I have seen first hand in my school.  Our school has not transitioned to "full blown" SBG, but many of our teachers are now using a hybrid system, that in my opinion, is better than no change at all.

We are still on the 100 point scale, and many of the teachers who have inquired about this are also on the traditional grading scale.  So here are three steps you can implement, which will benefit student learning:

1.  Allow students to retake an assessment (quiz/test).  A grade's true purpose is to communicate a student's level of mastery.  If you determine a student has only mastered 70%, then why not give him or her an opportunity to learn some more and then demonstrate his or her new level of understanding?  The whole purpose of teaching is to make sure students are learning.  When the student retakes the assessment on the same material, enter his or her new grade into the grade book.  If the student demonstrated 90% mastery on the second attempt, then put the 90% in the grade book.

2.  Separate behavior from grading.  If a student turns in an assignment or project late, there should be a consequence.  That consequence should NOT be the student's grade. If your building principal is pushing for SBG, then he or she has to be willing to help you on this part.  A possible consequence could be a lunch detention.  The consequence should NOT be half credit.  If you are on your own in this venture, meaning your change to SBG is teacher driven, then I will be honest, you will have to get creative here.  I believe if you communicate what you are doing with your building principal, he or she is going to assist you in this endeavor.

3.  Stop giving Ks.  This is a big one, and has more to do with making sure our grade books are an accurate reflection of what a student has mastered.  We have to be sure we are not altering students' grades with items that do not reflect their level of mastery (extra credit, participation points, completion points).  Most schools grade on a 100 point scale:  90-100 A; 80-89 B; 70-79 C; 60-69 D; and 0-59 is an F.  If we continued on that 10 point scale, a zero would be the equivalent to a K.  Now if I were to ask you how likely would it be for a student to go from a D to a B with three weeks left in the grading period, many of you would tell me it would be unlikely.  So how likely would it be for a student to go from a K to a D in the same time period?  That student would have to jump six letter grades just to get to a D.

Now this is the hard part, I had great difficulty doing this as a teacher, but it was never explained to me like I am going to try to explain it to you.  Instead of giving the student a zero, you give them a 50, which is an F.  It makes an F the same weight as any other grade we issue.  You are not giving them something for nothing, you are making sure that an F has the same weight as an A.  If you issue that student a zero, you are really giving them a K.  Some students may deserve an F, but no kid deserves a K.

If you are going to accomplish one thing, make sure your grades reflect what a student actually knows and not how hard they try.  It will make it easier for you as a teacher to identify who has not mastered the skills, so that you can do what you got into teaching for in the first place....to help kids.

What's More Important: The Deadline or the Skill?

I am the principal in a 7-8 building, perhaps the last venue where we try to give kids second and sometimes third chances.  This happens mostly with discipline, but also with academics.  This is really the last time where a kid's grades do not really matter.  I am unaware of any college or employer that has ever requested a transcript from a student's junior high school.

My teachers and I are currently having discussions about grading practices, Standards-Based Grading, and everything in between.  I do not know that we will ever adopt a truly standards-based grading system, but I believe we are on our way to making our grading system more meaningful.

I believe it is our responsibility to make sure every kid is learning the content and skills that are required of them.  I am a big believer in re-teaching and reassessing.  It is more important THAT the child learns the material than WHEN the child learns the material.  If a child takes an assessment (I dislike the word test) and fails, because he or she does not know the material, that child receives a low grade.  So far, that is fair.  However, simply putting that grade in the grade book and moving on is the exact reason why public schools are in the position they are today.  This process begins early on in a child's education, that child never learns the necessary skills, and then that child continues to fall further and further behind.  It would be my hope that the child receives some more instruction, is reassessed and then his or her grade is updated to reflect that knowledge. Here is where the debate begins, the debate of THAT vs. WHEN.

The number one response (unofficial survey) is that it is not fair to the kids who got it the first time to allow kids to be reassessed.  I missed the part in education school where they taught us that a grade's primary purpose was to compare and rank students.  It was my understanding that a grade is a tool that tells us about an individual's level of mastery. If that is the case, then it is unfair if we do not reassess that individual.

The number two response (again, unofficial survey), and gaining some momentum lately, is that we are not preparing the students for college because there will not be an opportunity for a redo when the child gets to college.  That is probably correct, but what is more important for us to teach our students: deadlines OR the actual skills the students will need in order to be successful? I contest it is the latter.  I understand deadlines and responsibility are important skills to learn, but not at the expense of learning the primary skill that was at the heart of the assignment, project, or assessment in the first place.

I have two daughters, and they both enjoy playing golf.  It would be nice if they made it to the LPGA Tour (I'm really not that dad, just trying to prove a point).  My rationale would be it is more important for them to learn the basic skills than it would be to learn those skills on the lightning quick greens of Augusta or Oakmont.  So I choose to take them out to the local public course.  My detractors would say, "Well the greens on the LPGA Tour are not that slow, you are not preparing them to be successful."  I think most people would look at that person and see their logic is flawed.

I wish more people saw it that way in education.