Monday, February 26, 2018
Friday, February 23, 2018
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Simple Steps to Earn an A
Several years ago I decided to leave the country on business.
After making this decision, I told my students I wanted to go out with a bang.
I wanted them all to earn an A, and told them how to do so. That June, one
class had 80% A’s, 15% B’s and 5% C’s. There were no D’s or F’s. Why did this
happen in one class and not in the others? These students believed me and did
as I suggested. The others didn’t.
Here is what I told them:
1. Come to
class every day well rested and fed.
-If there’s a field trip in another class, and you know you’ll be
absent, ask for the work in advance. Do it before you go on the trip. If you
had trouble with the work, after you get home from the field trip, call a
friend from class and ask for help.
-Figure out what time you need to get up in the morning in order
to arrive at school on time. Count back nine hours and go to bed at that time
each night.
-Have a healthy breakfast each morning and a nutritious lunch at
school, (bring your own food or buy something at school).
-If you’re sick, stay home and get well.
2. Do
every assignment.
-Write down every homework assignment. They’re usually on the
board in front of the class. If your homework or class assignments are on the
class website, bookmark it on your computer.
-Pay attention and complete every class and homework assignment.
-They don’t have to be perfect, but they need to be complete.
3. If you’re
confused or don’t understand something, ask a question.
-Smart people get ahead by asking questions when they don’t
understand something. Raise your hand if there’s something you don’t get.
-Make sure you have the phone number of three students in each
class.
-At least one of them should be better than you are in the subject.
-Call one of them if you missed class or need help on an
assignment. (People are usually happy to help.)
Students
who believed me did these things. Those who did them well received an A. Those
who didn’t do them as well received a B, and those who messed up from time to
time, but otherwise stuck to the plan, received a C. Everyone knew too much to
get a D or F. Try this. What have you got to lose?
For more information, you'll want my new book, Free College. It shows how to avoid needing college loans; and is available soon to families of Pre-K through High School students.
For more information, you'll want my new book, Free College. It shows how to avoid needing college loans; and is available soon to families of Pre-K through High School students.
Photo Credit: Google Images
Monday, February 19, 2018
Friday, February 16, 2018
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
How to Stand Out When Applying for Scholarships
Only 20% of U.S. students are enrolled in foreign language classes
at the present time. In four states, California, Texas, Florida and New York,
more than 600K students are studying a second language. In just eight,
Washington, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina,
Massachusetts and Georgia, between 300K and 450K are enrolled. This is alarming
for many reasons.
For students who want to earn more scholarship money for college,
however, it’s good news. In order to rise above the other students applying for
college and/or college scholarships, applicants need to do more and become
more. The following information creates a simple way to make this happen.
The first year your school allows you to take a foreign language
class sign up. Pick a language that's not spoken in your home. This will show
college evaluators that you are not taking the “easy way”. Continue studying
this language through high school. In your sophomore year add another foreign
language to your class schedule. If you speak a second language at home, this
is a good time to make it official. You might even be able to test into a
higher level, rather than starting at first year.
The first foreign language you study should be one that could help
you in your future career. Do some research to find out which language offered
by your school is most likely to be required in college for someone with your
career goals. The second language (if not a home language) could be another
related to your area of interest or perhaps a hobby. If you love food, then add
French. If you enjoy science, study German. But remember to continue studying
both languages until you have completed at least three years (at the high
school level) in each.
Few students of the 66% of high school graduates who try for
college do this. Most take the minimum suggested. If you take a few required
classes in summer school, you’ll have plenty of room for extra language courses
in your class schedule each year. This is an easy way to get noticed by
scholarship committees and earn more free cash for college.
For more information, you'll want my new book, Free College, coming soon. It shows how to avoid needing college loans; and is available soon to families of Pre-K through High School students.
For more information, you'll want my new book, Free College, coming soon. It shows how to avoid needing college loans; and is available soon to families of Pre-K through High School students.
You are reading from the blog: http://www.roadtofreecollege.com
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Monday, February 12, 2018
Friday, February 9, 2018
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Valentine's Day Lesson Plan for Language Classes
The day before a holiday, Thanksgiving, Christmas Break, Easter
Break, even a pseudo-holiday like Valentine’s Day, is usually just this side of
insane. Students don’t want to work. There’s candy everywhere. Gifts are being
given. Focus is lost. Just keeping the lid on seems overwhelming; unless you
have an educationally sound, kid-approved lesson that keeps them interested,
occupied and engaged. Decades ago I created such a lesson. Kids loved it. I
loved it. It‘s easy, academic and fun! The bonus of this lesson, it helped with
student retention in foreign language classes.
The steps to follow:
1. Completely erase the entire white board. You'll want the space.
2. Number the entire board from 1 to 35. Place holiday appropriate
symbols, like hearts, around each number.
3. Put a large assortment of dry erase pens at the front of the
room. The more color variety the better.
4. After school, the day before a holiday, have each student in
your most advanced class go to the board and draw a culturally appropriate
picture next to a number. If your class is smaller than 35, they'll need to
draw more than one. Be sure to explain to the class the night before they need
to come up with three or four ideas for their drawings. Most students are
eager, although the shy need some encouragement. After this has become a
tradition in your classes, you'll overhear students commenting they
look forward to being in the class that gets to draw the pictures. Never
let an underclassman participate in putting the pictures on the board.
5. Check each picture as they finish drawing. A few may need a
little help so their drawings are clear, and some can be too obscure. You may
need to edit, as students can be a bit gross at time. One Thanksgiving students
drew a very vivid picture of a turkey being beheaded. I erased that one.
Remember, all day students are going to see these pictures. You want to
understand them, so you can give hints if necessary. My favorite was The
Twilight Zone Marathon. It became a tradition in my program which was passed
down each year from class to class.
6. Before the first class arrives the next morning, place a stack
of German (French, Spanish, Chinese)/English dictionaries on the first desk of
each row. I always had enough dictionaries so students could work in groups of
two. Three doesn't work and working alone is tough.
7. Students should look up what they see on the board, and write
the German (French, etc.) on their own papers. Don’t let them put two student
names on one paper. This never works. Trust me on this.
8. They must write the definite article and the noun. If there's
an adjective, like in a drawing of red roses, they must include the adjective
with the correct ending. This allows you to preview grammar not yet taught.
Students are very receptive to this, and ask for help. It’s a contest. They
want to win.
9. Buy a small bag of individually wrapped candy and give a
piece to each member of the first team finished. Be sure to check the work.
Sometimes they make errors, of course. Don’t be too picky. Perfection isn't the
goal.
10. After the first group finishes, and as each group
finishes, they'll help their classmates. You’ll find they don’t give them the
answers, but give them hints instead, especially in grammar.
11. Collect work as finished and the remainder at the end of the
period. Grading is subjective. First year classes typically have a few students
who finish by the end of the class period. Most, however, finish about half of
the pictures. Second year will complete more. The majority complete about
two-thirds of the pictures. Most third year students finish them all, as do
AP/IB/fourth year students.
12. There are several goals in this lesson. Students learn the
correct way to use the dictionary. They learn the symbols and abbreviations. It
removes the mind-numbing boredom of a typical dictionary lesson, and replaces
it with fun. Students learn vocabulary that’s both meaningful, and is usually
more advanced than where they are in the curriculum. This they do without
complaint. You're able to foreshadow grammar, so when it arrives later in the
school year, you’re able to point back to what they discovered at Halloween or
Thanksgiving. Finally, it keeps students focused, doing an academic lesson
without arguing at a time where students are going nuts in other classes. I had
four decades of happy “day before’s” while colleagues were losing their minds.
If you don't teach a foreign language class, adapt this lesson to
your subject matter. Remember to keep it relaxed and fun, but academic.
For more information, you’ll want my new book, Free College, coming soon. How to avoid needing college loans; available soon to families of Pre-K through High School students.
You are reading from the blog: http://www.roadtofreecollege.com
Photo credit: Google Images
Monday, February 5, 2018
Friday, February 2, 2018
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