Week 3 of Class: Create an information source for your students' self-improvement.

The first thing that came to mind was to create a Google Doc. My students use Google Docs to write their Japanese Pen Pals (JPP) each week. They are all familiar with Google Docs, which makes it simple and easy. They already have 20 minutes a week with their Chromebooks, so this is an ideal and realistic project.

I'm currently focusing on Steven Covey's 7 Habits. Each month, starting last, we are focusing on one habit. The students discus what they think the habit means and how it can make them more efficient and productive members of society. I do this with 7th-12th grade Japanese language students.

1. Audience- My students, divided by class
2. Format- Google Doc
     - Letter to students
     - Invitation for them to add to the Doc
3. Elements of focus- Ethics via Steven Covey's 7 Habit's
    - Next year my school district is going from grades 7-9 junior high & 10-12 high school to 6-8
       junior high & 9-12 high school. Therefore ALL of my students are in for a big change next
      year. My 7th graders are going from the bottom of the barrel to the top with not 1, but TWO
      grades of underclassman to look up to them. Our staff wants them to be fully committed to the
      school with full pride and personal drive, resulting in a great set of role models for the next under
      classman. The 9th graders are going to be 10th graders with their current 8th graders in a new
      school, new school system, new block schedule, etc. It's going to be a big change for a lot of
      students. The teachers are going to have a lot of change, themselves. Therefore, by setting my
      students up with as many of the 7 Habits as possible, the more likely they will be able to survive
      and thrive without too many upsets.
4. Plan- Present each habit each month.
     - First, have students do Pair-Share on what the latest habit might mean.
     - Use the habit to influence their weekly goal in their Japanese planner
     - Discuss and focus on the habit in class as it comes up, reflect on past habit(s), too.
     - By the last day of the month, all students will post how the monthly habit positively 
       influenced their life over the month. 
5. Resource- LeaderinMe website: http://www.theleaderinme.org/
                     Book: Coovey, Sean. The 7 habits of highly effective teens: the ultimate success guidebook for teens. Salt Lake City, UT: Franklin Covey Co., 2001. Print.
6. Document- Google Doc for class to fill out

I like the fact that I can have my students all contribute to the same document as they learn from each others experiences. I think this will further their bonds to each other as they work on self-improvement together. Originally, I was going to have this be a solo activity, but we already use Chromebooks 1/week for our JPPs. I can simply slip this in at the cost of 2-5 extra minutes/month. The benefits my students will gain from this tech-communication activity will be well worth those minutes.

What are you trying in your classroom to build communication and teach healthy life habits?

My teaching life in a nutshell.

ようこそ金曜日！！My name is Urushidani Sensei and I've been across the Pacific and back with the hopes to obtain my Master's in Teaching as I actually master the skill.

I moved to Japan for a quick 6 month internship back in '03....ELEVEN YEARS later, I returned to the states. Why you might ask? or perhaps you're wondering what the heck I was doing in Japan in the first place. Well my reader(s), I was studying Japanese and I needed and excuse to live there. What better reason that to teach your native language? I'm lucky, because in my case, that's English. My outstanding/amazing/supportive/fantastic professor created an opportunity of a lifetime for me and INTERNSHIP there I went.

I showed up in my rice field town and was handed a thin little red textbook as I was pushed into a classroom of a dozen 2nd graders and told, "You speak English, so teach!" (Well, not exactly...but basically.) Needless to say, the first year was rough. I had to manage my classroom behavior techniques before I ever got anywhere. As a shy gal with lower intermediate speaking skills, it was a challenge I had to take head on! Then I started to experiment, explore, and educate myself through endless hours of research. My addiction to teaching began. Two years later...our school classroom sizes were maxed out, I was traveling up to 2 hours away each week, my school had me working 6 day/7, and I was the teacher in demand. If you had a pin to prick my head, it would have popped! I thought I was "it." because everyone around me were huge fans. Suddenly, it wasn't enough.

I was seeing other teachers at other schools with better results, higher salary, in bigger cities, and less work hours. I found a new school that taught a new system Pacific Learning System (PLS) in a new town. My pedagogy skills went from a 3-10. Amazing as I thought I was an 8 or a 9 at the time!

Then life happened...marriage, kids, etc. I took a break. I taught mommy'n me classes with my friends and their kids. That re-sparked my need to teach. I opened my own school and became certified in teaching business English as well. I started teaching customer service English at local Japanese Inns, business English at international factories, community center communication classes, as well as my regular children's lessons. I then was offered a part time position at an esteemed junior high/high school. After two years of being surrounded by top notch teachers I saw my pedagogy rating as a 6! How was I missing the most important part of teaching after all these years?! Inspiring students to take what they're learning and use it to better the world.  

That takes me to today. I'm back in the US to get my masters as I learn to teach and inspire my students. I love teaching world languages, so I decided to focus on teaching Japanese in the US. It's been a struggle to get through the reverse-culture shock, but an exciting challenge. Since I've arrived, I have joined every Japanese teacher related group/ World Language (WL) group I can find. I've reached out an made connections with teachers of Japanese from around the country. I've gone to WL conferences and collaborations around the country. It's only been 1/2 a school year since I've had the opportunity to test out these new methods and techniques, and I admit that it's easy to fall back on previously used ones, but I see the tiny green sprouts of improvement popping up here and there each day. My students in the states have their own style of learning and experiencing life. I'm learning just as much from them as they are learning from me.

Up and coming, I'm working with an ESL group in China. I will get the opportunity to continue to develop my ESL teaching skills via the web. I'm excited to experience and learn more about it.

Confession: This blog is for a class. That being said, if you are a WL teacher and you happen to stumble across this, drop me a line. Tell me which method you're using and why. I hope to create a collab space for all (WL) teachers to come and chat and grow.

Best Regards,
MU