Everything I Learned About Teaching I Learned in Kindergarten

     Have you ever seen that poster that claims that everything you need to know in life you learned in Kindergarten? It lists examples like "share everything," "play fair," and "warm cookies & cold milk are good for you." Words to live by.

     Well, this week's post title is inspired by this concept, and here's why: I spent twelve years as a high school ELA teacher before becoming a K-12 instructional coach last year. Over this past year as an IC, I have spent way more time in elementary classrooms than I ever have before (except when I was an actual elementary school student myself). And it's been exciting to realize how much someone with a secondary background can learn from what goes on in an elementary classroom. (The opposite, I'm sure, is true as well. There's lots elementary teachers could learn by spending time in secondary classrooms, too. But, since that wasn't my experience, being a former high school teacher myself, that's not what I'm going to focus on here.)

     I've honestly been thinking that everything I've learned from my experiences in elementary classrooms as a former "secondary person" could be the fodder for a great book! Heck, I'd read that! But, for today, I'm just going to highlight one thing that's really been sticking out to me lately: the workshop. Now I know, I know that the workshop structure is used in secondary classrooms, too -- we only need look as far as Cris Tovani's shining example as proof -- but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that a lot of secondary teachers don't use the structure and aren't overly aware of it, whereas as many elementary teachers do and are. 

     Here's the structure (and some running commentary throughout since I can't help gushing about how wonderful workshops are!):

The Mini-lesson

     Workshop begins with a mini-lesson. The teacher gathers his or her students together -- in elementary school this is usually done on a carpet in a particular location of the classroom; secondary teachers might have to get a bit more creative with how to do this since most don't have sectioned-off areas of their classrooms. Or it can be done with students at their desks...the main point is that you do it! Mini-lessons should last anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the age and attention span of the students and depending on the task for that particular day.

     The topic covered during the mini-lesson should stem from what the teacher has noticed his or her students need. For example, if it's a Reading Workshop, the teacher might decide to conduct a mini-lesson on retelling because he or she has observed that most of his or her students are struggling with this and it is impacting their comprehension. 

     A vital part of the mini-lesson is that it should contain a guided release of responsibility (also popularly referred to as "I Do, We Do, You Do"). This means that first the teacher models the skill or strategy. Next (and this part is the most often skipped and possibly the most important!!) comes the "We Do." Here, the teacher guides the class as a whole in using the strategy. This can involve asking the students to Think, Pair, Share; asking students questions; adding to a whole-class anchor chart together; etc. Last but not least, it's time for "You Do," some independent practice. Typically, in a workshop structure, this independent practice occurs during work time (covered next). But sometimes, in order to even further check for understanding, the teacher may do a quick "You Do" while still all together for the mini-lesson.

     Are you still with me or have I lost you?? Luckily, I found a GREAT clip that shows all of this in action. Just click here and scroll down to Classroom Program 14, then click on the little box off to the right that says VoD (the link may bring you straight to a video; if it does, close out of that page and the page I'm talking about should pop up!). (Heads-up: the first five minutes of this video show a morning meeting in a 5th grade classroom; the mini-lesson -- and, thus, the workshop itself -- begins after this.) Take a look at what this skilled teacher does during her mini-lesson (you can stop at around minute 22:15 if you don't want to get ahead of yourself and see the rest of the workshop just yet!). Pay attention to how she uses a gradual release of responsibility to ensure her students are all with her. Good stuff!

Work Time

     Next up in the workshop structure is work time. This typically consists of independent work (the "You Do" I referred to in the previous section). It also provides the teacher a chance to work with a small group of students (this could be a group that needs some extension, or a group that needs some support, or just a group of heterogeneously-mixed students that the teacher wishes to assess), and/or to confer with individual students as they work. What's great about this is that teachers can work with students in what I call "real time," right as they are performing the skills and strategies you've taught them. So, teachers can formatively assess in real time as well. **It is vital that the teacher has established routines and expectations for students regarding how to behave during all steps of the workshop structure. Routines need to be practiced and reinforced consistently so that students are able to work independently and in small groups and so that they know how to transition into and out of each stage of the workshop.** Boushey and Moser, authors of The Daily 5 and CAFE books, have some great ideas for how to establish and practice such routines, and their ideas can certainly be translated to the secondary experience.

     Check out minutes 22:15 to 25:30 in the clip I shared above for a quick glimpse at what work time can look like (but keep in mind that work time can function in many different ways).

Sharing/Debriefing

     Finally, the workshop ends with time to share and debrief. It's important not to neglect this last stage of the workshop, because it can be a great opportunity to assess, check for understanding, and inform the next day's instruction. Sharing of students' work accomplished during the work time occurs, and the teacher guides this sharing, pointing out instances of and asking questions about how students used particular strategies, any stumbling blocks they experienced, and successes they had along the way. 

     From minute 25:30 until the end of the video I shared with you above, you can see how this teacher wraps up the workshop (NOTE: she does a lot of sharing of independent work at the end of her mini-lesson, since she included a little "You Do" at that portion of the workshop; had she not, the sharing time in the clip would most likely be a bit longer.)

     

So, there you have it. Let's not limit workshop structures to the elementary level. There is so much potential for these types of lessons at the secondary level as well. What kind of potential? Differentiation, formative assessment, checks for understanding, flexible grouping, independent work, sharing, modeling, scaffolding.........

Want to use this in your classroom but struggling a bit with the concept? If you work in the same district as me, then give me a holler! I'd LOVE to collaborate with you on this!!

How is Differentiating One's Instruction Like Being an Athletic Coach?

     Many of you have either been athletic coaches, been coached in athletics yourselves, or have children or nieces and nephews who are being coached athletically. Think about what the athletic coaching experience is all about...and check out this metaphor: Differentiating your instruction in the classroom is a lot like being an athletic coach out on the field.

     Picture this: 

     It's the end of the summer (I know, most of us do NOT want to picture that, but stay with me -- this is just a scenario!). A football coach is preparing for the first practice of the season. He knows that some of his team members worked out during the summer, staying in good shape, while others most likely did not. So, he plans a quick five minute drill that will allow him to know who's been working out and who hasn't. He also plans two or three different workouts to assign right then and there to his athletes, depending on who is in what kind of shape.

     Throughout the practice, this coach models for his players the skills and strategies they need to master. He gives feedback in real time so his athletes can improve. He pulls some kids aside based on what he observes, realizing he may need to model a technique for them again, or show them a new way of thinking about it. He knows he doesn't need to "grade" everything that occurs during practices, and that this real time feedback is what's really going to be helpful in preparing for the game (or the "test").

     This coach is a master of differentiation. He gave a pre-assessment at the start of practice, and then used the data he received from this pre-assessment to assign tiered tasks to his athletes based on their level of readiness, having proactively planned for this. He models for his players, gives real time feedback, and uses formative assessment to help inform his coaching and to help his players improve before the big game.

     I borrowed parts of this metaphor from Cris Tovani's (2011) So What Do They Really Know?: Assessment That Informs Teaching and Learning, in which she claims, "If you can do it for football players, you can do it for students" (p. 39). 

     What would our classes look like if we taught in this way? How might we use our classroom time? What would our assessments look like, and how would we use the data from them to inform our instruction? How and when would we model for students? How and when would we give feedback?

     (Shameless plug alert: If you want to explore questions like those above in relation to your own classroom -- and you teach in the same district as me -- check out my summer workshop, A Practical Approach to Differentiation in the Classroom. Let's come up with answers together!!)

I'm Flipping Out: Presentation Elation!

     Do you ever find yourself running out of time in your classes? Ever wonder how on earth you'll be able to disseminate useful and helpful information to your students, model strategies and approaches for them, AND find time during that 50 minute block to differentiate your instruction so that you can meet with small groups and individual students, conduct conferences, and engage in formative assessment?

     If you answered "yes" to these questions (and if you didn't, you are an anomaly/my personal hero), then this blog post is for you. Because I am about to share something pretty exciting with you that is starting to really gain momentum in education as we all work to find ways to differentiate. It's delightfully called The Flipped Classroom (hence why I am "flipping out").

     The concept of a flipped classroom is that the teacher flips what is normally done for homework (practice, reinforcement, extensions of learning) into what is done during class time, and flips what may be traditionally done during class (direct instruction, lectures, modeling) into homework time.

     Let me give you an example of what this might look like. Let's say I am noticing some issues with sentence structure in my students' writing, and I'd like to teach them about sentence combining. Instead of using class time to provide direct instruction on this plus some modeling, I create a presentation online (more on this a little later) that my students can watch for homework. (Here's the one major drawback to flipped classrooms; you need to be sure your students all have access to the Internet outside of school.) What's great about this is that students can now watch my instruction and my modeling at their own pace, they can pause to take notes or to try out a problem, they can rewind if they missed something. The next day, in class, I begin by giving my students a quick pre-assessment on sentence combining (this could also have been part of the homework the night before). I use this information to determine which of my students really "get it" and which don't yet. The students who "get it" will be assigned some work, either individually or in pairs or small groups, that extends their use of sentence combining, while the students who still need more support will work with me for more direct instruction, modeling, and gradual release of responsibility. 

     Voila! I've saved my class time for what I really need it for: I need to have the time to informally assess where each of my students is in terms of meeting the standard. And I need to have the time to see students working in real time, to be able to give them immediate feedback, and to be able to work with them, side-by-side via small groups or individual conferencing.

     Want a really cool idea for how to prepare a lecture or presentation for the homework of a flipped classroom? Why, I thought you'd never ask! Here's why, in addition to "flipping out" over flipped classrooms, I am in "presentation elation." If you go to https://present.me/, you can create -- for free! -- a powerpoint presentation that you can enhance by including a side-by-side video of yourself delivering the presentation, or an audio of you delivering the presentation. Of course, you can always go the more traditional powerpoint route and just have students click through the slides, etc. But this way is pretty nifty in that your students get a more rounded experience of the material; they're not just reading bullet points off of a slide, but they are listening to you (and maybe even watching you) deliver the full presentation.

     

     Interested in trying this out? Want some help? If you teach in the same district as me, then give me a holler! I'd love to play around with this with you! Also (shameless plug alert), I'll be trying out some of these strategies at my workshop this summer, A Practical Approach to Differentiation in the Classroom, so register if you want to see it in action!

Taking Down the "Vocabulary Time" Banner

     Ever assign some reading to your students only to realize later that they walked away with very little comprehension of it? If your answer is "no," then you and I need to meet. In person. As soon as possible. So I can learn all your secrets. But my guess is most of us would answer "yes" to this question. And this is really a dilemma, because reading needs to occur in basically every content area and in many, many walks of life. Numerous studies show us that a student's reading ability is directly related to academic success -- or failure.

     Know what else a student's reading ability is directly related to? A knowledge of academic vocabulary. The following is a sample reading from Fisher and Frey's Word Wise & Content Rich in which the authors substituted in nonsense words so that we could get a feel for what it's like to read a text when we don't know just 5 percent of the words:

"Caffeine is tasteless. A 'strong' sjdkjdkj is mostly the result of the amount of coffee in relation to the amount of water. The longer a bean is ksjdksjd, the less caffeine it has. 'Arabica' beans have less caffeine than 'Robusta' beans. 'Arabica' beans have more flavor that 'Robusta' beans, which are mostly used in high-volume coffees and instant coffees. Djkjkefje is the way the bean is sjfkjfee, not the bean itself.  You can use many different sjkjdkejds to produce sdjksjdk coffee. You can also use the ksdjksjds roasted coffee to make a larger cup of coffee. In the United States, skdjksj roasting results in a darker roast than kjdksjd roasting in Europe."

     You can probably still figure some things out about this text even without knowing 5 percent of the words. I'm sure you all gleaned that the text is about coffee. But, you might have a difficult time answering questions about the meaning of the passage, right? Many of you probably have a decent amount of background knowledge about the subject matter, so you could use that schema to help you fill in some blanks. But imagine if you had limited background knowledge about the topic and didn't know the words. Enter incomprehension.

     Here's some awesome news: as an educator, you can do something about this for your students. And I know, I know what some of you are thinking: "I do not have time to teach vocabulary. I have so many other things to cover in my content area! Please do not add this to my plate!" Never fear, readers. Fisher and Frey argue that we don't "need to hang up a banner that [says], 'Vocabulary Time.' Instead, [we can] incorporate vocabulary development seamlessly into [our] content teaching" (2008, p. 35). 

     (Now, unfortunately for you, readers, this post is a tad pre-mature. I just started reading the Fisher and Frey text this week, and am only about halfway through. So, my "how-to" examples will seem a bit scant. But they are great starting points, and I promise to share more later...Cross my heart...)

     Here's one way to weave vocabulary instruction right into content instruction: teacher modeling. I've said it before and I'll say it again -- you cannot beat effective modeling when it comes to good instruction. This example is no different. Fisher and Frey provide a sample of a teacher modeling via a think aloud while working through a mathematics problem:

"I see that the innermost parentheses can't be reduced further. x + 1 is in the innermost, the most inside parentheses, and I know that I can't add terms that aren't alike. So next I look to the outside and need to distribute the eight across the terms inside the parentheses. By distribute, I don't mean pass out papers, I mean apply it across the terms, so inside the brackets, I would get (8x + 8) + 2."

     Do you see how this teacher anticipated that students might get thrown off by the terms "innermost" and "distribute?" What's more, she didn't put a halt to the teaching of her content; she simply wove in a think aloud of the meanings of the terms.

     Here's something I think is even more helpful: modeling what to do if you come across a word you don't know. (Now, some of you probably have some pretty amazing vocabularies, so every now and then you may need to pretend not to know some words in front of your students in order to pull off this kind of modeling. It's for the greater good, trust me!)

     In reading a passage to his class, the teacher encounters a word he doesn't know and can model several ways he might go about solving this problem. He could model using the content clues of the surrounding words and sentences to guess at the meaning of the word, he could model breaking down the word into word parts like affixes to help him determine the meaning of the word. Or, he could model how to use resources to figure out the meaning of the word (like using a dictionary or asking a peer). The key is to allow your students to see these thought processes in action. And, again, the wonderful news is this can all be done in the midst of your content instruction. Vocabulary + content = the perfect pair!

     (There are lots more ways to incorporate vocabulary instruction with content instruction, I promise. Just let me keep reading and researching for a little while longer, and I'll hit you up with the info. in a later post!)