Skip to main content

ZAP: Zeros Aren't Permitted

Over the past few years I have been implementing a program in my classroom called ZAP: which stands for Zeros Aren’t Permitted. When a student has a missing or incomplete assignment, I assign them a Friday lunch ZAP session. To be clear, ZAP is not a punishment but a time and place for students to get work done with support from their teacher. Students come in with their lunch and get to work: I am there to answer any questions and help them as needed.

Last week my ZAP room was full with students; some students didn’t complete the assignment and a few others didn’t quite understand the content. By the end of the 30-minute ZAP session, each and every student had turned in a complete assignment demonstrating his or her understanding of the skill/concept. That means there wasn’t one missing assignment in my grade book at the end of that school week! I sometimes wonder what would my grade book look like without ZAP support.  Would all of my students still be demonstrating mastery of the skills and concepts on classwork and homework? How many missing or incomplete assignments would be in the grade book? Of course the goal of ZAP is not about my grade book; instead, the goal is focused on the students. I dedicate my time and energy to ZAP because I see the benefits ZAP has for my students. I will always offer the support my students need to be successful. Currently, there is a need and want for ZAP from my students.  Last week one student asked me if I could hold an additional ZAP session at lunch for him.  I of course agreed! If you would like more information on my ZAP program or want to implement a similar program in your classroom, please feel free to contact me!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Growth

My one word intention for 2015 is growth.  As an educator it is essential that I provide the best instruction and experiences for my students.  In order to achieve this, I know that I need to continually grow both professionally and personally.  Keeping my focus on the word “growth” will help me improve my lessons, progress on the SAMR model, and continue to meaningfully connect with my students on daily basis. When I reflect back on writing my teaching philosophy as a new teacher several years ago, I remember pondering growth and stagnation.  I knew that I never wanted to become complacent with my teaching style, curriculum, or role as an educator.  I made a promise to myself to always focus on moving forward and becoming a better educator throughout my journey.  I want to keep up that goal by consciously focusing on growth each day in my classroom as a teacher and outside of my classroom as a I prepare and create for my students.
4 comments
Read more

Happy to Be Back

A lot has changed since my last blog post: location, career, and family. Location Last time I posted, I was living in San Jose, California and now today I am living in Orange County, California.  I loved my time in San Jose, while I was able to meet great educators and make life-long friendships, but nothing beats living in your hometown with your family. Career You will notice that my previous blog posts were centered around my role as a classroom teacher, and these were some of the best experiences of my life.  Today, I am an administrator at the district office where I get to spend each day doing something different to make education better for kids. Family One of the biggest changes in the past two years is that my husband and I are now parents to an almost two year old little boy.  He is our everything, and I thought life was great without him...but I was wrong: life with him is better than I could ever imagine. Now that things have settled down in my wor...
Post a Comment
Read more

Learning in a 100 Words or a Little More

Photo Credit: Alan Levine One of my requirements for my students is that they bring their enthusiasm to learn each day.  I realize that I can't expect them to be enthusiastic about memorizing information and reiterating it later down the line. I think that meaningful learning occurs when students are engaged and immersed in an experience.  For example, when I teach  A Christmas Carol: Scrooge and Marley  my students create an original character to portray at a Victorian-inspired event where they share their research and learning as they portray their original Victorian character.  I still get letters from past students explaining how much fun they had and how much they learned during that unit. I know that it is essential for our students to know particular things and have certain skills, but I also know that I can help my students learn these things through collaborative experiences with some fun purposefully incorporated.  My goal is for my students...
Post a Comment
Read more