Technology in the Classroom: Complete Class Organizer App Review

Complete Class Organizer helps your students keep their hectic student life on track in handy and useful ways.

For more great educational reviews targeted for both teachers and students, download your free issues of TeachHUB Magazine. 

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Teaching Strategies About Being Positive

Research has shown that positive thoughts can be conducive to brining about a positive outcome to many situations.So today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributing writer Janelle Cox, herself a seasoned educator in upstate New York, outlines some positive teaching strategies that educators can use to demonstrate positivity, and to steer kids away from the myriads of ways that negativity can permeate lives and mindsets.Janelle’s ideas (all of which are classroom activities) include:

• Turn the negative into a positive

• Write down the name of a person that has a good, positive attitude all the time. After they write a name down ask them what makes them think that and discuss further.

• What are a few things that you can do to help you keep a positive outlook on life? Have students name at least three things.

• And more!

In summation, Janelle says: “By offering students opportunities to practice positivity, you are helping them develop a positive attitude which can make a world of difference in their lives. Be reshaping their negative attitudes into positive ones, you are giving them the tools that will help contribute to their overall well-being.”

How do you encourage your students to be a positive person? Do you incorporate positivity into your classroom community?

Get our teaching strategies on encouraging positivity>>

How to Create a Curriculum Map

A curriculum map is a catch-all tool (really a process) that collects and records curriculum-related data that spotlights skills taught, content taught, and methodology and assessments used for each subject and grade.

Whew, that’s a mouthful for even the wonkiest of educational enthusiasts! But recently, frequent TeachHUB.com contributor Jacqui Murray, herself a technology teacher on the West Coast, took the time to explain what a curriculum map is, and how to design and use one effectively.

Jacqui noted that a curriculum map generally includes:

•    Specific skills

•    Assessments

•    Essential questions

•    Big ideas

•    Accommodations

•    Materials required

She also laid out the basics of how to create a curriculum map, guidelines which teachers of all ranges of expertise will find extremely helpful.

Jacqui summmed up her guide to curriculum maps thusly: “In a nutshell, curriculum mapping aligns and sequences skills within grade levels and from one grade level to the next. When you've finished your first year, you'll be amazed how much better you understand the part your teaching plays in the school's mission and the student's goal of becoming a lifelong learner.”

How do you create a curriculum map for your class?