JCHS Instructional News
News & Celebrations- James Clemens High School Faculty
Issue #16 / March 9, 2014
Hello Jets!
There are LOTS of reasons to celebrate this week as the JETS are flying high as usual!
Raise your hand if you LOVED hearing from the World Languages Department each morning this week! ✋ It was also pretty spectacular to read about each of these fantastic educators in the brochure they created for Curriculum Night. Check it out here: JCHS World Languages Department
In case you have been far far away and haven't heard, there is a HUGE event happening at JC next week. :) Check out the picture below to see all of the classes participating in the Brain Health Expo-- WOW! Kudos to Mrs. McRae for an exceptional and ambitious Flight Plan that includes so many JC crew members! Our philosophy of collaboration is very evident in the length of the list! The Madison City 4th graders are in for a real treat as they visit JCHS this week! (More info can be found at the bottom of this newsletter with the event dates and details.)
In other exciting news, our very own Mrs. Lilavois has been selected as a "Champion Teacher" with ck-12.org. She will be working with them to provide training for other teachers, share blogs, etc. Way to go, Mrs. L--You're leading the way for educators on a national level!!
Last but not least, Congratulations to our ROTC team. Two of our JC ROTC students have been accepted at West Point. Colonel Taylor and Sargent Major McCray do amazing work with the ROTC students. The relationships, community building, and leadership opportunities we've spoken about lately are evident every day in ROTC. (Read the full article by clicking HERE to visit the Madison Record.)
I'm sure there is more that I am not aware of happening around campus! If you know of celebrations around JC, please don't keep them a secret!
Have a great week!
Alyson
Collaborating for the Brain Health Expo!
Congrats to Mrs. Lilavois
Congrats to West Point Bound Pat & Elijah!
Learning From Each Other: JCHS Flight School Learning Walks
Sharing Feedback With Fellow Pilots
AROUND JC THIS WEEK....
A Sneak Peek: JCHS Brain Health Expo...
Brain Expo Sneak Peeks!
Brain Expo Sneak Peeks!
Brain Expo Sneak Peeks!
Strategy Spotlight: BRAIN Breaks!
Physical Activity & Cognitive Performance
You are probably creating brain breaks for your students already but you may not be using the exact term. Just over the course of a week, I've seen these making a difference in classrooms around JC. For example, Mrs. Riddle asked her class to stand and stretch during a lesson transition, and Coach Groves asked his class to spend 90 seconds moving to a YouTube brain break video. I also heard there were some simulations of trench warfare and a few dance moves going on in Coach Smith's history classes!
The Academy classes have created stations to demonstrate how the brain functions during physical activity for our upcoming Brain Health Expo-- and I look forward to learning more about this idea from them this week! (Examples include a dance party station and hopscotch station that should provide tons of fun for all who visit!)
WHY should we provide brain breaks?
✓ The average attention span of a teenager is 15-20 minutes long
✓ The average middle-/high-school class period is 45-90 minutes long
✓ The challenge is to keep students engaged throughout the entire
lesson
WHAT exactly are brain breaks?
✓ A short mental break, taken at regular intervals during instruction, and
used to achieve optimal learning2.
✓ Brain breaks are best when they are physical
★ Blood and oxygen moves to the brain
✓ Brain breaks are limited to five minutes or less
✓ Brain breaks allow the brain to refocus on learning
WHEN should we use them?
✓ Brain break whenever you feel class engagement is lacking
✓ Plan for brain breaks between segments of your lesson
✓ At least every 20-30 minutes
(teachforjune.com)
Several JETS pilots tweeted the photo shown here a few weeks ago. The red area shows the brain "turning on" after physical activity. There is a great deal of research to support the effects of movement on learning. (Plus, it only takes a minute or two and can be just plain fun for students and teachers alike!)
:-D
To find some brain breaks that might work in your class, check out this great flyer: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4AMtpGa3mkLVVc4MFdPYUxOZ1U/edit?usp=sharing This site has some YouTube videos with examples as well: http://curriculum.austinisd.org/pe_health/resources/BrainBreaks/index.html
I have started a collection that will contain varied types of breaks. Some are silly, and some are simple-- many styles for different teacher and class personalities. I will add to the set as I run across more. Please share if you find any or let me know if you'd like to be added as a collaborator for this Pinterest board:
http://www.pinterest.com/alysoncarpenter/brain-breaks/
Happy Brain Health Week! :)
Black History Month at JCHS
JC students, teachers, and administrators come together in this moving presentation of Freedom Plow by Langston Hughes. Thanks to the following Pilots who along with our JETS students were part of making this video great and heartfelt: Mr. Ruffin, Mr. Whitt, Mrs. Nichols, Mr. Hodges, Sargent Major McRae, Colonel Taylor
What Educators are TWEETING about around James Clemens, Madison City, and Alabama
In-Flight Movie
This Week's Theme: Creating a Common Language
This video is funny and adorable. The confusion shown between the two kiddos here is funny because we all can relate and have experienced misconceptions when trying to get our point across to students--and even when communicating as adults! This video could be a conversations starter for us as we continue our pursuit of a "Common Language" at JCHS!
Enjoy~
Want to use video clips as Thinking Prompts with your lessons?
This resource from Dr. Jim Knight may be helpful: http://www.corwin.com/highimpactinstruction/chapters/Attributes_of_Effective_Thinking.pdf If you're interested in viewing more examples, visit this Pinterest board: http://www.pinterest.com/alysoncarpenter/videos-thinking-prompts/
Disclaimer: Pinned videos don't always signify endorsements. We often pin first and view later!
HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK, JETS!
Alyson Carpenter, Instructional Partner
Madison City Schools
Madison, AL
Go JETS! ✈️
Email: acarpenter@madisoncity.k12.al.us
Website: http://jchs.madisoncity.k12.al.us
Location: 11306 County Line Road, Madison, AL, United States
Phone: 256-216-5313
Twitter: @alysoncarp1