Kistner's Kollection

Starting this August 2017-2018 school year and I want to share more.  So I have challenged myself to share what I learned this year. I learn a lot every day.  I am an expert at nothing.  I know I learn new things every day about every part of my life. I presented the following presentation for I3 in Everman ISD.  Teachers across the district came to learn new tools to use in the classroom. I learned to work faster.   I forgot like 3 slides, one whole tool.  But we all learn from our mistakes.  I was thinking I wish I could tell them all this. That thought is what made me build this blog.  I need to start sharing my learning with others. Here is my presentation if you want to learn more:  Top 10 Tech Tools to Use in Your Classroom

Toss the Testing Negativity This year let's make a challenge to our teacher friends and students.  We will toss any negative talk about the TEST.  Here is what I have learned recently about this issue.   Life has tests.  We are all worried if we are good enough or not. But there is no reason to let that pull us down. I believe confidence is what will help us more than anything.  Our students look up to us and if we believe in them, their confidence will grow. I heard a teacher speak last week at a Writing Conference about how she addressed this in her class. Think about this scenario, if you are on an airplane waiting to take off, and the stewardess comes by like 10 times to check that you have put on a seat belt, because, "OMG we might have to test it"  We might need that. Please put on your seatbelt, it is the hardest ever this year.  Holy Cow another seatbelt rule.  Just keep practicing because that Seatbelt is so important you must use it.   It is so scary

Well since first of year resolutions have been tossed and a more realistic idea is shaping up through Future Ready Librarians, I have decided hopefully this will help the blog grow more.  We have a schedule to blog each week for the next 9 weeks of school.  This is where we can share ideas, and learn more from each other. I do know for this Month many are doing March Madness, but with STAAR on our campus, it will be tough for me to do that.  So my BreakOUT your Reading Skills will continue in the library.  Students were asking all about it last week before spring break.  They love it.  It has become so popular that I have asked my office aides to make /read/write questions from non-fiction text to help us have more choices in BreakOUT codes.  They love this idea because they get to participate and try to trick their friends.   One teacher came to me after school last week, and said, "Wow Mrs. Kistner, you really started something when my student Aaron came back to class with h

I saw a Tweet today linked to a blog that gave a teacher 4 reasons how technology can help with classroom management. ( I'm trying to find it again to give credit). But I thought about how my students react to having the Chromebooks in their classrooms.  I have watched this happen in my own class, but when you hand a student a computer, iPad, or tech device, you send a message to this child. “You are worth it.” My campus is a title one district, some students deal with survival more than any student should.  But to some, by having their own device, it sends the message you believe in them. They know you want them to be successful, and you can help them learn needed skills for today's world.  It sends the message, you can be professional, you can learn, grow and we care. This is why students armed with technology are suddenly more engaged, they feel valued.  A valued child can then grow confident and safe making learning easier.  Less behavior problems happen when you have stud

 Break Out Your Reading Skills Challenge This challenge will ask our readers to READ a piece of non-fiction.  Then answer 5 questions to get a code.  If they get all 5 answers correct their code should unlock the snack box to BREAK out a snack for you and a friend.  If you get the first 4 answers correct you should have the code to BREAK out one snack for yourself.   So I have three cards of five questions each.  These questions are STAAR formatted to keep it familiar to students, and are based on 7th & 8th Grade reading TEKS. Each question tells you page numbers, so you really don't have to read the whole book but you can read parts of the articles or stories in it to answer the questions.  Like a short article, or quick story, no more than two or three pages each. Students try a story, to see if their code unlocks the lock.  I am using the following non-fiction books: The Queen's Shadow - A Story about How Animals See by Cybele Young Shark Life - by P

Blogging Goals A goal this year is to Blog twice a month at least.  So far, I have two written and will try to share more and more.   Recently met with my PLN and they were asking questions about how we are becoming so successful with the 20 min. Free choice reading in our classes.  This month is the sixth month mark for our campus.  Students read for 20 mins in every READING class each day.  So we have 940  -  7th and 8th graders who are reading 100 minutes a week.  Now you know you may have a few students not reading, but let me explain how I am seeing this change grow.   More reluctant readers are talking to me about their books, or asking for book suggestions than ever before.   Summaries about their books have more details suddenly. Teachers are reading also and talking more about books they have in their classroom or from the library. Teachers are asking for reviews, one 7th grade class has more than 400 books reviewed since September.   Students are t