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!!

Annotation Nation: Using Annotations as Pre-Assessments

     I've got news for you, readers. Annotating's not just for English class anymore. 

     For those of you not already as nerdily familiar with annotation as me, it's basically just a fancy term for marking up the text, scribbling down notes, thoughts, ideas, and questions in the margins. In some ways, it's like having a conversation, a little chit chat if you will, with the text and the information you're reading about.

     But, just when I thought I knew all there was to know about annotation and how it can be used to assess student comprehension of text across content areas, Cris Tovani, author of So What Do They Really Know? Assessment That Informs Teaching and Learning, thrilled me with another way to assess via annotation -- using annotations as a pre-test or pre-assessment! (I know, I know, it blew my mind, too!!)

     Here's what Tovani suggests. Ask students to annotate their thinking at the beginning of a unit to assess "what they know and what skills and information they need" (2011, p. 88). Something really cool to think about is actually giving students the unit test the very day the class starts the unit. WHAT?!?!? Be totally upfront with students about exactly what they are supposed to learn by the end of the unit and about exactly what they'll be assessed on? Craziness! It might seem crazy at first, but, readers, think about it: This isn't cheating. This is being super clear and transparent; this is helping students set learning goals and targets. But I digress...

     So, give students the unit test on day one. Ask them to do their best, explaining that this is a pre-assessment and will not be used to penalize them. Students should answer or solve the questions or problems they can, and (here's my favorite part!!), on those they can't, students should record annotations including questions or confusions they have. What great insight this can provide for the teacher! As Tovani suggests, "these annotations help the teacher figure out what is causing difficulty for the student so he or she can better target what the student needs" (p. 89).

     Boom! Now, as the teacher, you know what concepts and/or skills the entire class needs, you know whether any pieces of the unit can be skipped because all your students already know it, and you know how you might need to differentiate your instruction based on any variety of readiness you come across on the pre-tests (who will need enrichment? who will need support?). 

     So exciting, right?

     If you're starting to think more and more about how to use assessment data to inform your instruction, or about how to differentiate based on this data, then (shameless plug alert!) check out my summer workshop on practical approaches to differentiation in the classroom. It's at the very end of June, and I believe you can still sign up. Contact me if you need more information!

Taking a Page from Cris Tovani's Book

     In the district where I am an instructional coach, I am consistently impressed by how many teachers directly inform their students of the objectives of the day’s lesson. Providing students with a road map like this is essential; what better way to begin a lesson than to know what it is you’ll be learning, what it is you’ll be able to do by the end of the lesson?

     Well, with this post, I’d like to take our thinking about sharing objectives with students one step further. I’ve been re-reading a favorite educational text of mine lately by Cris Tovani, So What Do They Really Know? Assessment That Informs Teaching and Learning (2011). In it, she shares what students see written on the whiteboard as they enter her ELA classroom. Here’s a sample from p. 48 of this great book:

Learning Targets	Assessments
I can show how I am thinking about a text in a variety of ways.	inner-voice sheets
Instead of saying, “I don’t get it,” I can ask a question of the text that might help me build background knowledge to answer my question.	sticky notes

     The first thing I’ll point out is the slight difference between what most of us know as lesson objectives (which usually sound much like standards) and learning targets, which Tovani employs. Posting learning targets basically has the same function as posting objectives – it lets students know what they should know or be able to do by the lesson’s end. I just happen to like how learning targets are student-friendly and are written from the perspective of the student him- or herself. 

     The second thing to take from Tovani’s chart is the real meat and potatoes, though (the difference between objectives and learning targets was just an appetizer, so I hope you’re hungry!). Tovani shares with her students how each learning target of the lesson will be assessed. I won’t go into huge detail explaining what inner-voice sheets or sticky notes are, but suffice it to say they are useful, if not “unfancy,” assessments Tovani uses on a regular basis with her students. The important thing here is that not only has Tovani planned out exactly how she will assess students on each of her lesson’s learning targets (and what tools she will use to conduct said assessments) – this is huge enough on its own, honestly! – but that she is also sharing this information with students. So, when her students begin filling out that inner-voice sheet or jotting down a question on a sticky note, they know why Tovani is asking them to do these things. They know what the tasks relate to in terms of their learning, and they know Tovani will use the data to determine how they are each doing in terms of that day’s learning targets (actually, for that matter, the students themselves can also self-assess whether or not they’ve met the learning targets based on how they felt they did with the assessments).

     If you’re a teacher who regularly posts daily objectives or learning targets, how hard would it be to take the extra step and also post the corresponding assessments? How much would this extra step help you and your students to be aware of the link between instruction and assessment?

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!

Let's Discuss Discussions

     Let it be known: I love me a good class discussion. Here's some ways to make the most of them:

Let the Students Lead

     I know this can feel difficult. It can be scary and unfamiliar sometimes for us educators to take ourselves out of the driver's seat. But turning the ownership of the discussion over to students can be empowering for them. And it can lead to a more authentic flow of ideas. 

     The pattern of a class discussion need not be student > teacher > student > back to teacher, etc. It can be student to student, with the teacher jumping in occasionally to address a misunderstanding or to ask a guiding question. 

     The one protocol of a class discussion I've used over and over again to help achieve this dynamic is simple. The last person to speak calls on the next person to speak. So, if Toby was the last one to speak, and three of his peers are raising their hands, he'll call on one of them to speak next. The teacher can raise his or her hand as well, and the student can choose to call on the teacher, or not. (More times than not, the students tend to call on the teacher fairly quickly.)

     But what if no one is raising their hands when Toby has finished making his point? I encourage students to go ahead and call on someone anyway, preferably someone who hasn't had a chance to speak yet, or a chance to speak too often. I coach students to really invite this person into the discussion, not by asking, "Hey Jill, you wanna say something?," but by asking, "Jill, do you agree with me? Why or why not?" or "What do you think about _____?" 

Be Proud, Knock Loud

     Sometimes students will raise their hand during a lovely student-led discussion, get called on by a peer, and say, "Yup. I agree." And that's it. Nothing further. They may think this "counts" as participating, but I set up the expectation with students that it does not. Of course you may agree with one another, but if you're going to share that fact, you need to explain why and you also need to extend the point.

     But, with that being said, sometimes we just want to let one another know we agree. So, I ask students to knock on their desks (or they could snap their fingers if they are not sitting at desks) when they are in agreement with something that's just been said. This can be nice for several reasons:

1. It eliminates the situation described above -- no more jumping into the discussion to only say those two words -- "I agree" -- and leaving it at that. If you want to say you agree, simply knock on your desk.
2. It can help boost the confidence of the speaker.
3. It can snap some students out of daydreams and wandering thoughts ("Whoops. Ten people just knocked on their desks. I probably just missed something important. I need to pay more attention...").
4. It can help the teacher (and the students, for that matter) take the pulse of everyone's understanding.

     I'm not advocating, though, for a discussion that's all about agreement. I also reinforce to students that, of course, they may disagree with one another, but that this must be done respectfully and I'll model this for them if need be.

Play Your Cards

     Good discussions are typically ones that have a sense of balance. There are not three or four people who are monopolizing the dialogue; there are not some voices that are never once heard.

     To combat these discussion-busters, I hand out cards to students (usually I just use index cards). If I give each student three cards, that means, at a minimum, I expect every student to contribute verbally to the discussion three times. If students are sitting in a circle (which I highly recommend), they toss a card into the center of the circle each time they contribute. 

     I explain to students that this can help them know who to call on next. If Toby's done speaking, and four of his peers are raising their hands, he can quickly look to see who has the most cards still in his or her possession, and call on that student. 

     Most of the time, I tell students that, of course, they can go over their card limit -- they can continue to contribute to the discussion after having tossed all their cards into the circle. But, sometimes, I have encountered students who honestly find it hard not to monopolize the conversation. These students need to learn how to sometimes take a back seat. And so, if the situation merits it, I'll ask students to stop contributing after they have tossed all of their cards. This can help monopolizers to be more economical about the points they choose to share with the group. 

     Using "play your cards" can also be helpful to the teacher participant in or monitor of the discussion. If we notice students who still have cards left towards the end of the time allotted for discussion, we can be sure to call on these students ourselves, or to ask them follow-up questions once the discussion has ended.

     In my current district and current role as instructional coach, I have used these methods with 5th graders, 6th graders, and 12th graders. It has been my experience that establishing just the right expectations and protocols for a student-led discussion enables us to sit back and listen to our students' ideas, to check for their understanding, and to often be wowed by their contributions.

     (If you teach in the same district as me, and want to give this a try, let me know. I'd love to help!)

Yet Another Academic Crush of Mine

     Please don't tell Lucy Calkins, but there's someone else I'm crushing on lately, academically speaking, of course. Mr. Rick Wormeli. The silver fox of differentiated instruction.

     And so, readers, my gift to you this week is the following link to a video that features none other than Rick (if I may be so bold to call him by his first name) discussing the virtues of formative assessment.

     Here it is: Rick Wormeli: Formative and Summative Assessment

     Go ahead and watch. I'll wait....

     Ok? Done watching? Sigh. Isn't he the best? (Plus, don't you just love that groovy beat that plays at the beginning of the video? I am jamming out right now...)

     If you're looking for ways to increase your use of formative assessment in your classroom (and if you teach in the same district as me), then let me know! If you're looking for ways to actually use the data you get from formative assessments to inform your instruction, then -- again -- you know where to find me! Looking for a range of informal and formal formative assessments you can use, without adding more heavy piles of grading to your workload? Hey, I'm your girl!

     I'll leave you with one last shameless plug -- if this stuff fascinates you (and it should!), sign up for my summer workshop, A Practical Approach to Differentiated Instruction in the Classroom. Come one, come all! I may even show you some more Rick Wormeli videos. And if that's not motivation, I don't know what is.

     Teacher readers, have a lovely and well-deserved April break! See you all in a couple of weeks!