Mrs. McAlister and her Sunsational Sixth Graders
  • Mrs. McAlister's Blog
  • Mrs. McAlister's Blog
  Mrs. McAlister and her Sunsational Sixth Graders

Join us on our journey through sixth grade

#oneword . . . for365days

12/30/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
One word.  Just one word?  Sounds simple, right?That's the point!  As 2015 is drawing to an end, 2016 is on the horizon.  In the book One Word that will Change Your Life, authors Jon Gordon, Dan Britton, and Jimmy Page claim that 206 million people will create new goals and resolutions.  And that half of them will fail by the end of January and the others probably forgotten by summer.  The problem?  Goals and resolutions are about what we accomplish.  In their book, the authors guide readers in selecting one word that will define who we are.  What we desire to become.  Let's get started.  I'll introduce you to my one word.

#reflection
When I started thinking about the one word for me, I naturally looked back.  I have this friend, Mona.  I call her Peace.  She calls me Joy.  When we text each oth
er, that's what we call each other . . . Peace and Joy.  I love the word joy, but the challenge is to have a new word each year.  In my children's bathroom, there's a painted plate that says, "Let your light shine for Jesus."  Shine.  Now that's a great word.  It kept me focused for many years.  But I need a new word.  A personal motto of mine for the past couple of years has been, "I'm in charge of my own happiness."  Happiness.  If you know me, you'll know that I've got that covered.  A colleague once told me, "Not everyone can be happy like you all the time, Marilyn." Needless to say, it wasn't said as a compliment.  So what's my one word?

#myoneword
After contemplating for nearly two weeks, I woke up one morning with the word. Intentional.  It fit.  It felt good.  Yah, I can own that one word . . . for 365 days.

Picture

How will I do it?  How can I experience the word intentional in all aspects of my life?  Let's turn back to the "One Word" book for some guidance.  The authors introduce readers to six dimensions of life to focus on in order to bring about transformation. 
            #Six Dimensions of Life 

#1spiritual
For most of my life, I have been connected to God and a local church.  I love Him.  I believe in Him.  But I stopped going to church.  My "feelings" were hurt.  I know, that sounds really childish.  But I stopped going.  My family stopped going.  But last year, I found a new church.  Ironically, the church met on Saturday night at my very own school.  They were setting up one afternoon and I stopped to talk to them. The pastor invited me to come back that night.  I did.  He was surprised.  I cried.  Oh, how I missed my Lord.  It's time to be intentional about God, church, and ministering to my family.



#2physical
A couple of years ago, a parent in my class told me I should start running.  I laughed at him but he persisted.  I decided to give it a try.  Low and behold, in 13 months I went from mile 1 to mile 13.1.  I've completed 3 half marathons since then.  After my running spree, I did Crossfit for about 2 years.  I loved it.  I loved, as my husband calls it, "Lifting heavy ****."  But I had a hard time running and lifting at the same time.  This year, I've made a decision.  Rock and Roll Las Vegas is on my birthday next year.  I'm running.  My husband and I already have it logged into our Google calendars.  It's time to be intentional about running.


#3emotional
This will be a two-fold dimension for me.  One of the areas I've been working on this school year is being more empathetic.  I'm trying to put myself in my student's shoes and see things from their perspective.  I'm also attempting to teach my students ho
w to be more empathetic.  They're actually really good.  The other area may come as a surprise for those that know me.  So here goes . . . for all the happiness and joy I show and feel, come the bouts of gloominess.  They're not often, but when that ugly cloud comes over me, the tears flow.  My husband is a tremendous support.  We have strategies to get me out of my doldrums.  Time to be intentional about empathy and self-care.


#4relational
I love people.  That's all I have to say!  But seriously, I'm made it a commitment this year to build relationships.  Relationships with my students and relationships with colleagues.  It's gone really well.  I've been intentional.  My father-in-law, unfortunately, has been ill.  We've made more trips to Los Angeles than ever lately.  We don't want to live with regrets.  I know I have a few girlfriends that I've neglected.  I miss them.  Time to be intentional about family and friends.


#5mental
The example given in the book references our thought life.  How we see the world: positive or negative.  Again, I've got that positivity thing covered.  In class, we've implemented Google Classroom and delved into the Growth Mindset.  I'd like to dig deeper into our academics and think like scholars.  It's time to be intentional about crafting lessons that require mental processing.


#6financial

Two things here . . . one, I'm a tight-wad and two, talking about money could possibly be a phobia of mine.  With that being said, my husband does an excellent job with our finances.  He debriefs me regularly on our finances.  And he's ever-so-grateful that I don't spend a lot of money.  I'm in a three year math cohort that's bringing in a nice amount come summer.  The hoarder in me wants to save it all, but I'm thinking about an extra special vacation this summer.  With a daughter in college and a son about to graduate, our family time is diminishing.  It's time to be intentional about planning a family vacation.  (Notice that I said nothing about helping out with the finances.)

#liveit
My one word is intentional.  It's time to be conscious of it, nurture it, and most importantly . . . live it.  It's not a goal, it's not a resolution.  It's part of who I am, what I will become in 2016.  There will be ups and downs.  I understand that. But at the end of the day, or the year, it's about the journey.  And I'm oh so ready for it.

Will you take the ride with me?  What's your one word . . . for 365 days?

Intentionally,
Mrs. McAlister



0 Comments

#Google CS-First Coding Club

12/13/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture

​One of my goals this year is to integrate more technology into my classroom instruction.  With the inspiration of @EdCampNOC, @JustTechIt, and Google CS-First, my class and I started coding.  

It started when I accidentally stumbled into @Teachusingtech's session at @CSUF.  I thought I was going to learn about Google Hangouts, but left eager to code.  Once Pablo opened the session up for questions, Jessica suggested teachers new to coding try Google CS-First.  She claimed that it was a perfect launching-off point. And she was right!!! 

Once I got back to school, I logged onto http://www.cs-first.com/.  The process of signing up for our first module, Storytelling, was fast and easy.  Within three weeks, our kit arrived.  The plan was to implement the 8 lessons between the three weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas during our Science block.

The modules are designed to be used by after-school programs, summer sessions, or during traditional class time.  The teacher's guide provides a step-by-step list of instructions for implementation.  (Perfect for a novice like me.)  The kit also has passports for each student as well as badges for students to earn after each lesson is complete.  To complete an hour-long lesson, students watch short instructional videos, code for 15 to 30 minutes, and close with a survey.

Before our first session started, I announced to our 6th grade class that we would need some "gurus" to be our coding experts.  Five students wrote resumes stating why they were qualified to be a guru.  All were selected.  They were allowed to forge ahead and preview lessons before the rest of the class.  But their most important job was to assist fellow classmates that needed tech support.  

Well, it was time for our first session.  With chromebooks on their desks, ear buds and head sets at the ready, passports filled out, we were ready to start.  I invited our technology coordinator, @aromayorjr, to attend, just in case.  But you know what? I did pretty well on my own.  Phew!!!  The process of getting started included going to the website, signing up as a student, and punching in the unique access code given to the teacher.  Within minutes, students were in.  They watched an introductory video then started their first lesson.

The coding program used is Scratch.  It worked perfectly on the chromebooks.  Students learned to drag and drop with ease.  The storytelling unit included lessons on setting, characters, and dialogue.  Students coded their sprites to jump, roll, and even dance.  As the lessons evolved, students created story lines, character interactions with dialogue, and music and sound effects to enhance the scene.

The CS-First goals for the club are to "increase confidence, instill courage, grow perseverance, provide a sense of belonging, and demonstrate the impact that computer science has on careers and communities."  As a teacher invested in students, the CS-First Coding Club accomplished all of their goals and more.  I particularly admired how my students were eager to collaborate with each other.  You could hear suggestions being exchanged, compliments being made, and hearty laughs as students admired each other's work.

I have to say, it was a great learning experience for all us.  But don't just take it from me, let's take a look at some of the student survey comments.


* "If you are not very good, don't give up. Just get help from a guru and you will be all right. It is a very fun experience."
* "I learned how to code dialogue and learned some other       things too.  I solved them by testing things out, then at the     end, I solved most of my problems." 
* "I think computer science is not a way of making or fixing     problems but learning to dodge them and get so good you     almost never have problems in your code.  It's the beauty of  it!"
* "People should learn computer science because it's a fun     way to learn new things on a computer. It can also help         some people with their career choice, for an example,     maybe after doing this lesson you might want to be an engineer, or maybe a video game designer. Computer science is amazing and more people should try it."

As to be expected, we're ready for more.  Other modules available are Fashion and Design, Art, Friends, Social Media, Sports, Music and Sound, Game Design, and Animation.  During our next CS session, the class voted to work on either Music and Sound or Game Design.  I'm pretty sure we'll be able to monitor two different modules concurrently.

Getting more techie,
​Mrs. McAlister

Introductory Video
#GirlsCanCode
Sharing Session
0 Comments

    AuthoR

    Welcome to my blog.  I'm an 80's girl embracing being a 21st century tech-girl with the help of my amazing sixth graders.  Join us as we journey through sixth grade.

    Archives

    July 2021
    June 2021
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.