Let the countdown begin! There are mere hours left between us and April vacation.
I suspect that most teachers will use at least some portion of their vacation time getting some grading or lesson planning done. But my wish is that you all take some well-earned time to relax and reset. After all, once April vacation is over, we'll be in the "home stretch" -- filled with beautiful days, spring flowers (and showers, most likely), and lots more learning to do!
Here's a one-minute video to start your vacation off with a chuckle -- how do students think we teachers relax?
Enjoy!
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Friday, April 11, 2014
Flipping the Flipped Classroom
Lots of teachers are interested in the flipped classroom model, but are concerned about a few issues:
Since the word "flip" and its variations made too many appearances in that last sentence and I've now probably left you with more questions than answers, please take a look at this Edutopia blog post by Jennifer Gonzalez. While she admits there are pros and cons to her method as well as to the traditional flipped classroom method, she provides good food-for-thought in examining how to solve the above concerns.
Interested in flipping your classroom, either the traditional way or via Gonzalez's approach? Give me a holler -- I'd love to help you out!
- What happens if/when some of my students don't watch the online tutorial or lecture in preparation for class the next day?
- What about my students who may not have access to the Internet at home?
Since the word "flip" and its variations made too many appearances in that last sentence and I've now probably left you with more questions than answers, please take a look at this Edutopia blog post by Jennifer Gonzalez. While she admits there are pros and cons to her method as well as to the traditional flipped classroom method, she provides good food-for-thought in examining how to solve the above concerns.
Interested in flipping your classroom, either the traditional way or via Gonzalez's approach? Give me a holler -- I'd love to help you out!
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Scaffolding for Reading Comprehension
Let's face it: at times, we ask our students to read some pretty sophisticated stuff. Some of our students are advanced readers; they don't need our support. Others really struggle with reading challenging texts, and may need a framework designed to guide their comprehension. Eventually, this framework can be altered as students need it less and less -- the teacher can scaffold the support so that she gradually releases responsibility to the student.
What follows is a fiction example using Romeo & Juliet that I'm borrowing from Kelly Gallagher's (2004) Deeper Reading: Comprehending Challenging Texts, 4-12. But, I truly think this type of scaffolding could also be quite impactful for non-fiction texts as well, across the content areas.
The Romeo & Juliet example:
As they begin reading this challenging play, students are given outlines of the upcoming scene, but the outline has some gaps in it. For example, for Act I scene i, students might be given the following outline:
As students become more familiar with their study of Shakespeare's work, provide fewer bulleted details on the given outline, requiring students to provide more and more plot points. For example, for Act III scene i, students might be given the following outline:
Again, don't limit reading instruction to the ELA classroom. This same kind of outline scaffolding could easily work with a chapter from a challenging textbook for a social studies or science course.
What follows is a fiction example using Romeo & Juliet that I'm borrowing from Kelly Gallagher's (2004) Deeper Reading: Comprehending Challenging Texts, 4-12. But, I truly think this type of scaffolding could also be quite impactful for non-fiction texts as well, across the content areas.
The Romeo & Juliet example:
As they begin reading this challenging play, students are given outlines of the upcoming scene, but the outline has some gaps in it. For example, for Act I scene i, students might be given the following outline:
- Sampson and Gregory, two of Capulet's servants, fight with Abram and Baltazar, who are servants from the rival house of Montague.
- Tybalt, a quick-tempered Capulet, enters the fight.
- The Prince enters and, enraged, stops the fight.
- The Montagues express concern about their son, Romeo.
- Romeo confesses to Benvolio that he is in love with a girl who is indifferent to him.
As students become more familiar with their study of Shakespeare's work, provide fewer bulleted details on the given outline, requiring students to provide more and more plot points. For example, for Act III scene i, students might be given the following outline:
- Tybalt and other rivals arrive. Tybalt wants to find Romeo.
- Romeo arrives. Tybalt calls him a "villain."
- The Prince enters and, enraged, stops the fight.
- Romeo says he now "loves" Tybalt.
Again, don't limit reading instruction to the ELA classroom. This same kind of outline scaffolding could easily work with a chapter from a challenging textbook for a social studies or science course.
Friday, March 28, 2014
April is National Formative Assessment Month!
Okay, I lied. April is not officially National Formative Assessment Month. But you can't blame a girl for dreaming.
How about we make it happen anyway? If you'd like to focus more on formative assessment, make it your April goal (could help pass the time until school vacation, at any rate).
Want to increase how often you check for student understanding? Want to think about and try out some ways to quickly analyze some student data? How often do you find yourself using student data to inform your teaching, either that same day or for the next lesson? Want to increase how often you're able to do this?
Trust me -- there are ways to do this without adding an enormous amount of work to your already busy plates. It's amazing the information you can get from flipping through a stack of tickets-to-leave. Assessing a longer piece of student work? Try out an error analysis. Or you can use student self-assessments in formative ways. You could even try out on-the-spot formative assessment -- talk about quick and easy!!
Once you've done your pain-free analysis, you may or may not see the need for differentiated instruction. If you do, your options are many: you could split the class in half, you could decide on small groups, a tiered lesson, partner work, etc., etc., etc.
If you're interested, let me know. Let's make this National Formative Assessment Month thing happen -- maybe we'll be responsible for the start of a movement! :)
Happy Spring (again, a girl can dream)!
How about we make it happen anyway? If you'd like to focus more on formative assessment, make it your April goal (could help pass the time until school vacation, at any rate).
Want to increase how often you check for student understanding? Want to think about and try out some ways to quickly analyze some student data? How often do you find yourself using student data to inform your teaching, either that same day or for the next lesson? Want to increase how often you're able to do this?
Trust me -- there are ways to do this without adding an enormous amount of work to your already busy plates. It's amazing the information you can get from flipping through a stack of tickets-to-leave. Assessing a longer piece of student work? Try out an error analysis. Or you can use student self-assessments in formative ways. You could even try out on-the-spot formative assessment -- talk about quick and easy!!
Once you've done your pain-free analysis, you may or may not see the need for differentiated instruction. If you do, your options are many: you could split the class in half, you could decide on small groups, a tiered lesson, partner work, etc., etc., etc.
If you're interested, let me know. Let's make this National Formative Assessment Month thing happen -- maybe we'll be responsible for the start of a movement! :)
Happy Spring (again, a girl can dream)!
Friday, March 21, 2014
Think Pair Share
I know this is an oldie-but-a-goodie. Think Pair Share, also popularly known as Turn & Talk. But, do you ever find, like me, that, though this is a "tried and true" task, it works better in some classes than others? Here's why (at least according to me!):
There are some students who don't need a lot of structure to Turn & Talk. We ask them to do it, and they just swivel right around and start sharing ideas with a partner, while also listening to and remembering their partner's ideas. But there are other students who don't share much of anything with their partner, and tune out while their partner shares with them. We ask these students later to share with the class, and are met with blank stares. Have a class with a lot of students who fall under the latter category, and Turn & Talk is suddenly not so "tried and true" anymore. Want a solution?
Don't hate me for this, but consider ceasing with the Turn & Talk lingo. This implies that students can just immediately jump into a conversation about a topic or a question. Rather, I'd go with Think Pair Share. This task requires students to do some independent thinking before sharing with a partner and later with the whole class. Let's go one step further . . . I hate to add more photocopying and prep to your lives, but I really think students who struggle with Turn & Talk (or who simply do not participate in it) could benefit from having a template that scaffolds their work on this kind of task.
Below, I've included a template I have used in the past -- it's yielded great results from students who are reluctant or non-participatory with Turn & Talk. They are first required to independently jot down three ideas in response to a question or prompt of some sort you pose. Only then do they share with a partner. Then, they are asked to note which ideas of theirs were the same or similar to ideas shared by their partner AND they are also asked to jot down ideas their partner shared that were different than their own. This really scaffolds the partner work for students who may otherwise zone out during this task. Finally, students are asked to jot down some ideas from other classmates during the whole class share. This kind of structure provides students with some very clear expectations for what turning and talking should entail. Perhaps eventually this scaffold could even be removed once students have mastered it and are ready to participate without it.
There are some students who don't need a lot of structure to Turn & Talk. We ask them to do it, and they just swivel right around and start sharing ideas with a partner, while also listening to and remembering their partner's ideas. But there are other students who don't share much of anything with their partner, and tune out while their partner shares with them. We ask these students later to share with the class, and are met with blank stares. Have a class with a lot of students who fall under the latter category, and Turn & Talk is suddenly not so "tried and true" anymore. Want a solution?
Don't hate me for this, but consider ceasing with the Turn & Talk lingo. This implies that students can just immediately jump into a conversation about a topic or a question. Rather, I'd go with Think Pair Share. This task requires students to do some independent thinking before sharing with a partner and later with the whole class. Let's go one step further . . . I hate to add more photocopying and prep to your lives, but I really think students who struggle with Turn & Talk (or who simply do not participate in it) could benefit from having a template that scaffolds their work on this kind of task.
Below, I've included a template I have used in the past -- it's yielded great results from students who are reluctant or non-participatory with Turn & Talk. They are first required to independently jot down three ideas in response to a question or prompt of some sort you pose. Only then do they share with a partner. Then, they are asked to note which ideas of theirs were the same or similar to ideas shared by their partner AND they are also asked to jot down ideas their partner shared that were different than their own. This really scaffolds the partner work for students who may otherwise zone out during this task. Finally, students are asked to jot down some ideas from other classmates during the whole class share. This kind of structure provides students with some very clear expectations for what turning and talking should entail. Perhaps eventually this scaffold could even be removed once students have mastered it and are ready to participate without it.
If you'd like a copy of this template, just let me know -- I'm happy to share! (After I've thought and paired, naturally. Sorry -- couldn't resist!)
[I should mention this particular template comes from Thinkquiry Toolkit I: Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Development Across the Content Areas (2011), edited by Julie Meltzer and Dennis Jackson and published by Public Consulting Group. There are others like it out there, but this one has worked well for me!]
[I should mention this particular template comes from Thinkquiry Toolkit I: Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Development Across the Content Areas (2011), edited by Julie Meltzer and Dennis Jackson and published by Public Consulting Group. There are others like it out there, but this one has worked well for me!]
Friday, March 14, 2014
Rubrics: More Than Just a Post-Assessment Tool
When most of us think about rubrics, we automatically picture ourselves filling them out as we grade a summative assessment, circling and highlighting and jotting down notes. This is certainly a valid and effective use of rubrics -- they can help us provide important feedback for student growth. But they can do more, too . . .
Here's an idea from Quate and McDermott's Clock Watchers: Six Steps to Motivating and Engaging Disengaged Students Across Content Areas (2009). Consider using your rubrics as an opportunity for student self-assessment and for pre-assessment of skills. Give students the rubric nice and early -- well before the assignment is due. Ask students to read the skills listed on the rubric, and to think about whether or not they could teach someone how to do that skill (i.e., they feel they've mastered that skill). If so, students should highlight it in yellow. If they come across skills on the rubric they have no idea about and feel they cannot do at the moment, they should highlight those in a different color.
Once this fairly quick and easy self-assessment is complete, the student and the teacher have a lot of useful data. We now know what areas this student is going to need teacher support in in order to meet success and master skills. We can differentiate our instruction leading up to the final completion of the assignment, providing scaffolding for some students, meeting others in small groups. We may also learn that, for some students, the assignment really isn't offering much of a challenge. We may want to think about providing some sort of extension to these students.
You've already put all that time into creating that rubric -- might as well make as much use out of it as possible!!
Here's an idea from Quate and McDermott's Clock Watchers: Six Steps to Motivating and Engaging Disengaged Students Across Content Areas (2009). Consider using your rubrics as an opportunity for student self-assessment and for pre-assessment of skills. Give students the rubric nice and early -- well before the assignment is due. Ask students to read the skills listed on the rubric, and to think about whether or not they could teach someone how to do that skill (i.e., they feel they've mastered that skill). If so, students should highlight it in yellow. If they come across skills on the rubric they have no idea about and feel they cannot do at the moment, they should highlight those in a different color.
Once this fairly quick and easy self-assessment is complete, the student and the teacher have a lot of useful data. We now know what areas this student is going to need teacher support in in order to meet success and master skills. We can differentiate our instruction leading up to the final completion of the assignment, providing scaffolding for some students, meeting others in small groups. We may also learn that, for some students, the assignment really isn't offering much of a challenge. We may want to think about providing some sort of extension to these students.
You've already put all that time into creating that rubric -- might as well make as much use out of it as possible!!
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Differentiating for Readiness
Sometimes when we differentiate for readiness, we do so based on data analysis of tickets-to-leave, or quiz or test results. We bring this data home with us, conduct error analyses, and allow the data to inform our instruction.
That's great, and works well. But, you can mix it up, too. Sometimes you can differentiate for readiness based on a more "on-the-spot" assessment, or check-for-understanding. This will allow your instruction to be informed right then and there -- you don't have to wait until the next day (or, let's be honest, sometimes it can be a few days to a week before you've had a chance to grade those quizzes and analyze the data).
One way to do this is to give your students a task at the very beginning of class, one that will allow you to quickly assess whether the student "gets it" or not. If you're interested in this, you have got to check out this video!!! (It's only about 3-4 minutes long . . . go ahead -- check it out!)
Here's what I love so much about what this teacher does:
That's great, and works well. But, you can mix it up, too. Sometimes you can differentiate for readiness based on a more "on-the-spot" assessment, or check-for-understanding. This will allow your instruction to be informed right then and there -- you don't have to wait until the next day (or, let's be honest, sometimes it can be a few days to a week before you've had a chance to grade those quizzes and analyze the data).
One way to do this is to give your students a task at the very beginning of class, one that will allow you to quickly assess whether the student "gets it" or not. If you're interested in this, you have got to check out this video!!! (It's only about 3-4 minutes long . . . go ahead -- check it out!)
Here's what I love so much about what this teacher does:
- He quickly circulates as students complete the opening task, simply marking an E or an S on each student's paper. Simple, do-able.
- He uses some great language when getting ready to differentiate. If students have an E on their paper, then they are "ready for the extension." If students have an S, then they are "ready for support" or "ready for a session." Students are not told what they "need," which can sound sort of demeaning to those who "need help." Rather, they're informed about what they're "ready" for. Semantics can be so simple and powerful.
- There's some student self-assessment and choice built in. He marks some students' papers with an E/S, acknowledging that they are a bit "on the fence" with that task, and allows them to decide what they will do -- seek out the extension, or the support. Maybe they'll try out the extension and run with it. Or maybe they'll try it out and decide they'd like more support.
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