Teaching vocabulary

What are some techniques that you use to teach vocabulary to your students?

Edutopia article on Vocab Instruction

Psychologists are we

Do you think it is beneficial to have an understanding of the developmental psychology of the American human adolescent?
I believe that by having a basic understanding of the dynamics of the human mind we as educators will be better able to meet their academic, social and emotional professional needs.

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/plast.html

Inapproporiate behavior on school grounds before and after school

You know what inappropriate behavior looks like - what are some examples from your experiences?
Here's is the solution to the situation:
1) Have rules posted throughout the school
2) If at all possible separate the student from peers during school
3) Make sure that the student does not have any down time while on school - encourage participation in school activities to decrease the likely hook of free time - which usually equals trouble causing.
4) Give the student a responsibility in the building
5) Teach the kid to "think" before acting.

Going the extra mile

Hey all – sorry it’s been 2 weeks since my last post – spring break then a week of getting back into the grove

So, our jobs are crazy! We as educators do not have a “normal” gig. In reality we have about 1 – 2 hours in our days to complete work that other professions take 5-6 hours to complete. Teachers are amazing professionals – we work all day long as mentors, lawyers, leaders, managers, writers, reflectors, philosophers, communicators, economists, psychologists…name it we do it! (except for maybe surgeons...) Where do we then find avenues and time to go beyond our contracted obligations – truly teachers are without a doubt within the top 3 of the greatest time managers in the professional world.

What are some things that you do around your school to go beyond your role as teacher?