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Teacher Feature

Jennifer Atteberry-Pierpont
Grades 9-12
Early Childhood Education
Canyon Del Oro High School
Oro Valley, AZ

Give an example of a lesson you teach that incorporates visual learning?
A: My students plan lessons and activities for our on-site preschool and are highly encouraged to always use visuals in their teaching of those activities.

Who or what motivates and inspires you to be a teacher?
A: My students motivate and inspire me to teach them to the best of my abilities. Their excitement makes me want to plan a variety of learning experiences so that they have a good image of what the big picture is in Early Childhood Education as well as what the industry includes.

What teaching strategy do you find helps your students best grasp a lesson?
A:Classroom activities that are hands on, have the students involved in what they are learning, and give them ownership of their education, always seem to help students grasp the most.

Name the most important thing you hope students take away from your class.
A: I hope students take away the importance of building relationships with children and having the skills that they need to be able to interact with children and make an impact in those children's lives.

What’s your favorite quote or comment from a student?
A: "I don't think any other teacher has ever made as big of an impact as you have."

Events

Stop by the VariQuest booth at a conference near you!

April 27-30 – Spinitar, an authorized VariQuest dealer, will host booth #223 at the BOOST Conference (Best of Out-of-School Time) in Palm Springs, California.

May 4-6 – VariQuest will exhibit at the Massachusetts Elementary School Principals Association Spring Conference in Marlborough, Massachusetts.

May 12-14 – AVI-SPL, an authorized VariQuest dealer, will exhibit at the Maryland Association of Elementary School Principals' Annual Conference in Ocean City, Maryland.

June 26-29 – VariQuest will host booth #560 at ISTE 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

June 27-29 – VariQuest will exhibit at the Virginia Middle and High School Principal Conference in Roanoke, Virginia.

School Spotlight

Throughout the year we have had the opportunity to visit some amazing schools across the country to see firsthand hundreds of unique ways teachers and staff are using VariQuest Visual Learning Tools to create an engaging learning environment in their schools. Highlights from these visits include the 10 creative VariQuest applications seen in the following photos. We hope these ideas inspire you to maximize the use of the VariQuest tools in your school to help increase student success! Thanks to all of the schools that shared their excitement of the VariQuest tools with us this past academic year! Read more.

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In the Know

Visual Learning Webinar: Develop Student Thinking Skills with VariQuest and Inspiration

You're invited to attend a free live webinar co-hosted with Inspiration® Software, our visual learning partner, on April 28 to discover how to use the new Inspiration 9 with the VariQuest Poster Maker! You'll learn how to focus students' skill development in the areas of thinking, analyzing, integrating and refining ideas. Learn more about best practices for implementing the use of graphic organizers, such as webs, concept maps and idea maps into your classroom with Inspiration 9 and VariQuest! To register and learn more, visit www.variquest.com/webinars.

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Live VariQuest Product Training Webinars Now Available

Are you a new teacher who wants to learn how to use your school's VariQuest tools or simply want to freshen up your own skills? Attend free live training webinars hosted by VariQuest Certified Trainer Heidi Glasow! The interactive training webinars are available for the Poster Maker, Cutout Maker and Awards Maker, and provide an in-depth look at how to use these VariQuest tools. Register for the upcoming live training webinars at www.variquest.com/training.

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VariQuest Tip of the Month: Customizing Award Plaques and Importing Name Lists

As the 2010-2011 school year comes to a close, it's the perfect opportunity to recognize students and staff. With the VariQuest Software 2.0 and Awards Maker, you can customize awards to recognize graduates, parent volunteers, and student athletes for under $5.00 per award plaque. To get started, choose a template, then edit the text, font, and graphics – don't forget to add your school's mascot! When using the new VariQuest Software 2.0, you can also import name lists from a Microsoft® Excel file, to save time from manually entering each recipient's name. Save your name list file to a USB flash drive, then follow the three easy steps to upload to your Design Center or PC. Each name will appear on a separate award and the Awards Maker will consecutively print and shear between each one. Watch the VariQuest Awards Maker: Creating an Award video here for additional instructions. For all the supplies needed to get started, check out the Awards Maker Recognition Kit.

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Lesson Activities from Julia

Julia is a VariQuest content specialist and former teacher.

Using visuals in your classroom can provide visual learners with the support they need when learning new information. However, did you know that using visual learning methodologies can also help students develop critical thinking skills, retain information, comprehend complex ideas and organize their writing? Keep reading to learn about activities that involve using visual learning strategies with collaborative groups in your classroom.

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Grades K-5

Same but Different: Explore with students different stories that have a common theme or format. Use a graphic organizer to compare and contrast the different stories.

The following activity requires the use of two different graphic organizers: Story House (ORG030) and Venn Diagram (ORG032). Customize each of the Story House graphic organizers to show the name of the story or book that you will be reading and the author's name. Change the title: "Main Character" in the top right box to read: "Characters." Read more.

Grades 6-8

What's the Main Idea?: Have students read an expository text, then work together to organize and display information related to the topic or unit of study.

You will need to print multiple copies of the Main Idea (ORG021) graphic organizer, one poster for each group. You may also want to make 8 1/2" x 11" copies of the Main Idea organizer for each student to use for note taking while reading. Read more.

Grades 9-12

Here's the Problem - What's the Best Solution?: Pose a problem to students then allow them to investigate possible solutions, examine the advantages and disadvantages of each solution, and decide on the best solution based on the information provided

Prior to this activity, you will need to select a problem that has multiple possible solutions. You should also gather a set of resources, such as a list of websites, books or articles, for students to use while researching each proposed solution. Read more.