July Currently, Teach Like a Pirate, and a Giveaway!!

July Currently
Woop Woop!  It's that time again...it's Farley's July (I can't believe I'm saying that!) Currently! Part of the reason I hate saying it is that I go back to school on July 15th!  Ahh!

My tip, trick, or hint is just to be you.  In whatever you are doing, blogging, creating, teaching, or hanging with friends, just remember who YOU are!  You are what make YOU special!!

Don't forget to link up with Farley, and all of her awesomeness, this month!  Never done her Currently? Just dig in and try it...it's super fun and you "meet" lots of super cool people.  Oh, and she's super cool, and will post her Currently to dropbox a bit early so you can be preparing.


Teach Like a PIRATE

Okay, so last week I posted here about how excited I was about my new book purchases, one of which was Teach Like a Pirate.  Well, my order came in, and I've finished the book!  Let me just say, it was very fast read, and I loved every minute of it.  What I love about Dave Burgess, the author, is that he connects all of his theories and topics to real world examples that we have all experienced.  It makes it easy to read, but also easy to connect to.

I have to admit, I also had a rockin' place to read about half of the book (although the back of my legs are not appreciating the lack of reapplying sun screen!).

One of the pieces he writes about are all of the different types of hooks you can use to engage your students.  As I was reading, the one that particularly struck me was the Costume Hook.  Dressing up like a character or a person from history, or making up a character that would fit your content.  I've been cooking up a list of "characters" I might be able to be this school year!  I think this could be fun!

Burgess also has really good quotes in his book...one liners that make you say, huh? or Wow! or Why didn't I think of that?!

A couple of them are:

1.  "I'm suggesting that when delivering first instruction, especially to struggling learners, you need to leave the comfort of the lounge chair or lifeguard tower and jump into the water with your students."
    * This quote came from the Immersion chapter where Burgess talks about being fully present, even    when watching videos in the classroom.

2. "However, one of the big secrets and shortcuts to engagemetn is to spend less time trying to get students interested in what you are presenting and more time making connections between what you are presenting and what they are already interested in."
  * This piece came from the chapter on Rapport.  I love that Burgess explains how to get to know your students and how to build rapport with your students.  He doesn't just say to do it.

This is an EXTREMELY short list of "ah-ha" moments for me in this book, but I thought I'd share just a little bit with you.  If you have the book, pick it up and read it.  Now!  If you don't, order it.  Now!

Bloglovin' Giveaway Reminder!
Just a reminder to join my giveaway and join me on Bloglovin'!  It's pretty easy, and you get 5 of my TPT products!  Woohoo!  My giveaway ends tomorrow night, so hop on over!

Alrighty, gotta run!  Stay tuned for my 4th of July 4.5 mile run with my sister!  We're getting patriotic and decked out for a fun run in our town!