Today I read about a fantastic idea for tracking students during the writing process. One of the exemplar posts from my Writing Part 1 course talked about this, and I think it's a fantastic idea. Here is an exerpt:
"I have a “pencil chart” that is shaped like a pencil and has different coloured boxes that
represent the different stages in the writing process (brainstorming, planner, free write,
revision, peer conference, revision, teacher conference, revision, publishing, complete)
and the kids each have a magnet with their name on it. They move their name onto the
box that represents the stage in the writing process they are at. Being on rotary, I find
this especially helpful so that I know where everyone in each class is at (each class has
it’s own pencil), who needs to meet with me, who is ready for the next step, and who is
falling behind."
I would love to create a pencil tracker and student magnets that would go with the pencil. Using a tracker like this would allow for more flexibility for students. Not everyone would have to be at the same point - students could move ahead, move back, etc. based on their needs. This visual representation would help the teacher to group students (if necessary) for mini-lessons, or simply to keep track of what everyone needs to do. It would also help students to determine their own next steps. For example, if students peer conference after completing their first revision, then they would be able to check the pencil chart and do this independently.
Thinking ahead, I checked Scholar's Choice's website to see if they had any large decorative pencils that could be adapted to show these steps. I couldn't find anything, but I did find a few decoratives that could be used to spruce up the classroom AND track students!
Busy Bees Bulletin Board Set
Big Tree Bulletin Board Set
Shooting Stars Bulletin Board Set
Thursday 23 February 2012
Tuesday 14 February 2012
Questioning Strategies: Open vs. closed questions
During a Network meeting today, we discussed how questioning strategies fit into inquiry-based learning.
Here are some thoughts from today's learning:
The Frayer Model
The Frayer Model is a really neat organizer that allows students to build on their understanding of a concept. Students individually, in groups, or as a class, could use this to capture the definition, elements, and examples of a concept they are learning about. They can also review, change, and expand their ideas of the concept as their understanding deepens over the course of a lesson, unit, etc.
Effective questions are important in inquiry-based learning because they enhance the thinking of the students in a classroom.
Food for thought:
When learning through student inquiry, are the open-ended questions always asked by the teacher? Or is the goal to have students begin to develop, ask, and answer these questions independently?
Here are some thoughts from today's learning:
The Frayer Model
Effective questions are important in inquiry-based learning because they enhance the thinking of the students in a classroom.
|
Definition
Effective questions are open-ended questions that
have a range of responses and inspire student engagement.
|
Essential
Characteristics
Open-ended
Allow for a range of
responses
Wait time for students
Foundation set up in the
classroom to give students an opportunity to think and talk about the question
(e.g., think/pair/share)
Engages students
Critical thinking
|
|
Yes Example
How many ways can we make 10?
|
No Example
What is 4 + 6?
|
Food for thought:
When learning through student inquiry, are the open-ended questions always asked by the teacher? Or is the goal to have students begin to develop, ask, and answer these questions independently?
Differentiating differentiated instruction
The assignment that I worked on tonight for my Writing Part 1 course featured a webcast called Differentiated Writing Instruction. This webcase may be short (just over 3 minutes!) but it has some amazing ideas. I have made some inferences to figure out exactly how the unit of study featured in this video worked, but here are my thoughts after watching this clip.
I love how the teacher in this classroom has designed a unit of study that begins with a reading focus. The students learned about biographies, analysed them to find the elements of a well-written biography, and learned about Terry Fox. They then moved into the written portion of the unit. When students began writing their biographies about Terry Fox, the teacher differentiated in a few different ways.
Differentiation in the video:
- students could add details to their biography from memory
- the teacher had created a quick fact sheet that students could refer to
- students used magazines in the classroom to add further detail to their biography
- students could broaden the vocabulary in their biography by using books in their classroom as resources
- the teacher circulated around the classroom as the students worked and pulled groups that needed the same feedback to work together at their guided reading table
The most interesting part of this webcast was how the teacher began by giving students the same topic and differentiated the resources that students could use to enhance their writing. She also differentiated the support they were receiving.
At the end of the video, they mentioned that the culminating task for the unit was going to involve choosing a person to research and write a biography about. This means that they have moved from differentiating the instruction and the scaffolding to differentiating the product. By allowing students to choose a person to write about based on interest, she will be improving the student engagement. Ideally, after moving through the balanced literacy model with students in regards to biographic texts, students will apply what they have learned when writing the Terry Fox biography to their final culminating task.
I love how the teacher in this classroom has designed a unit of study that begins with a reading focus. The students learned about biographies, analysed them to find the elements of a well-written biography, and learned about Terry Fox. They then moved into the written portion of the unit. When students began writing their biographies about Terry Fox, the teacher differentiated in a few different ways.
Differentiation in the video:
- students could add details to their biography from memory
- the teacher had created a quick fact sheet that students could refer to
- students used magazines in the classroom to add further detail to their biography
- students could broaden the vocabulary in their biography by using books in their classroom as resources
- the teacher circulated around the classroom as the students worked and pulled groups that needed the same feedback to work together at their guided reading table
The most interesting part of this webcast was how the teacher began by giving students the same topic and differentiated the resources that students could use to enhance their writing. She also differentiated the support they were receiving.
At the end of the video, they mentioned that the culminating task for the unit was going to involve choosing a person to research and write a biography about. This means that they have moved from differentiating the instruction and the scaffolding to differentiating the product. By allowing students to choose a person to write about based on interest, she will be improving the student engagement. Ideally, after moving through the balanced literacy model with students in regards to biographic texts, students will apply what they have learned when writing the Terry Fox biography to their final culminating task.
Friday 3 February 2012
Inquiry Based Learning
Inquiry based learning supports the strategic use of:
- inquiry skills
- curriculum (it's not always student-centered)
- learning skills and work habits
- critical thinking
- technology
- differentiated instruction
- assessment for, as and of learning
For inquiry-based learning to work, we need to create an inclusive classroom where learners feel safe to share ideas and thoughts. Students also need to have time to decide what they think about something (e.g., a public service announcement, a text) and then share their ideas through accountable talk with partners or small groups. Inquiry-based learning often delves into critical thinking by asking students MORE than just yes/no questions. It allows us to move student thinking, and student discussion, forward.
Thoughts for reflection:
WHY do we want our students to learn this information? Do they know why it is important?
WHAT questions will we ask our students to move the thinking/learning forward?
HOW will we structure our unit plans to include time for flexibility?
WHEN do we share the learning goals with our students?
- inquiry skills
- curriculum (it's not always student-centered)
- learning skills and work habits
- critical thinking
- technology
- differentiated instruction
- assessment for, as and of learning
For inquiry-based learning to work, we need to create an inclusive classroom where learners feel safe to share ideas and thoughts. Students also need to have time to decide what they think about something (e.g., a public service announcement, a text) and then share their ideas through accountable talk with partners or small groups. Inquiry-based learning often delves into critical thinking by asking students MORE than just yes/no questions. It allows us to move student thinking, and student discussion, forward.
Thoughts for reflection:
WHY do we want our students to learn this information? Do they know why it is important?
WHAT questions will we ask our students to move the thinking/learning forward?
HOW will we structure our unit plans to include time for flexibility?
WHEN do we share the learning goals with our students?
Friday 20 January 2012
Language is Power
The idea that language is power, and that it gives us power, is a fantastic one. Students love to share their ideas and thoughts, and it's important for each child's voice to be heard in a classroom. When students are able to communicate with each other they develop a deeper understanding of what they are learning, especially when they are engaged in meaningful, accountable talk.
One point that was brought up by a colleague in my Writing Part 1 course is the lack of power students who are English Language Learners (ELL) must feel. Students who do not have the vocabulary to express themselves, to contribute to class discussions, or to support their opinions with evidence must feel powerless. They need scaffolding to be able to feel powerful during these situations, and a few strategies were suggested.
- Pre-teach vocabulary and have it accessible during class discussions for reference
- Technology (when appropriate) that can help students to listen to, record, or review ideas
- "Talk buddies" that are grouped with ELL learners in mind
- Picture dictionaries
It's also important to give students additional wait-time to form thoughts and articulate their meaning. If a student pauses after being chosen to share ideas, do not just say, "We'll come back to you in a moment!" WAIT! Show each student that they are important and give them time to think!
One point that was brought up by a colleague in my Writing Part 1 course is the lack of power students who are English Language Learners (ELL) must feel. Students who do not have the vocabulary to express themselves, to contribute to class discussions, or to support their opinions with evidence must feel powerless. They need scaffolding to be able to feel powerful during these situations, and a few strategies were suggested.
- Pre-teach vocabulary and have it accessible during class discussions for reference
- Technology (when appropriate) that can help students to listen to, record, or review ideas
- "Talk buddies" that are grouped with ELL learners in mind
- Picture dictionaries
It's also important to give students additional wait-time to form thoughts and articulate their meaning. If a student pauses after being chosen to share ideas, do not just say, "We'll come back to you in a moment!" WAIT! Show each student that they are important and give them time to think!
Creating an inclusive writing environment
Webcasts for Educators has a ton of great (free!) webcasts about Literacy. I just finished watching Part 5: Using Texts of All Types: Student Engagement, and it was fantastic. Students were using a lot of the communication strategies that I've been reading about in books that focus on inquiry-based Math. It was interesting to see how engaging it is for students to be asked to agree or disagree with their peers ideas (in a positive, collaborative way), and how much more invested they are in their own learning when they need to have opinions and evidence to support their opinions.
Wednesday 18 January 2012
3 news ideas for my writing program!
Here are three things that I'm looking forward to adding into my writing program:
1. Take photos of things students have created or built (or even of toys they might be playing with) and create a story about the picture.
2. Create (and add to) an anchor chart with very specific ideas for writing, such as barbies, sharks, Legos, etc. We have a writing ideas chart, but the topics are more general, and I think my students would enjoy this more.
3. Get students to use "yummy" words. An ELL teacher referenced the "Picture Word Inductive Model", which gets students to brainstorm words to describe a picture, and then use the words to write a sentence. This made me think about how we could do something like this to build everyone's vocabulary. Perhaps each week or two we could look at some type of picture, and students could generate words about the picture. When students use one of the words from the "picture poster" then they could share their writing success with everyone!
For more information about the Picture Word Inductive Model, check out:
http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/strats/pwim/
1. Take photos of things students have created or built (or even of toys they might be playing with) and create a story about the picture.
2. Create (and add to) an anchor chart with very specific ideas for writing, such as barbies, sharks, Legos, etc. We have a writing ideas chart, but the topics are more general, and I think my students would enjoy this more.
3. Get students to use "yummy" words. An ELL teacher referenced the "Picture Word Inductive Model", which gets students to brainstorm words to describe a picture, and then use the words to write a sentence. This made me think about how we could do something like this to build everyone's vocabulary. Perhaps each week or two we could look at some type of picture, and students could generate words about the picture. When students use one of the words from the "picture poster" then they could share their writing success with everyone!
For more information about the Picture Word Inductive Model, check out:
http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/strats/pwim/
Accommodations and modifications: are they for students with special needs, or for everyone?
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) was inspired by work in architecture on the planning of
buildings with a view to accessibility for people with physical disabilities (Turnbull et al., 2002).
I read this quote in Education for All: The Report of the Expert Panel on Literacy and Numeracy Instruction for Students With Special Education Needs, Kindergarten to Grade 6.
It interests me because it talks about how improvements, assistance, or accommodations made for a specialized group of people actually benefited a larger group of people than originally anticipated. One of the examples given (p. 10) looks at how wheel chair ramps, designed for people with special needs, ended up helping parents with strollers, people with baggage trolleys, and a variety of others. This notion filtered down into education, because many teaching strategies used to help students with special needs succeed will help improve the achievement of EVERY student.
buildings with a view to accessibility for people with physical disabilities (Turnbull et al., 2002).
I read this quote in Education for All: The Report of the Expert Panel on Literacy and Numeracy Instruction for Students With Special Education Needs, Kindergarten to Grade 6.
It interests me because it talks about how improvements, assistance, or accommodations made for a specialized group of people actually benefited a larger group of people than originally anticipated. One of the examples given (p. 10) looks at how wheel chair ramps, designed for people with special needs, ended up helping parents with strollers, people with baggage trolleys, and a variety of others. This notion filtered down into education, because many teaching strategies used to help students with special needs succeed will help improve the achievement of EVERY student.
Tuesday 17 January 2012
Writing Part 1: First thoughts and ideas...
My Writing Part 1 course started this week, and one of the first assignments links to the Ministry of Education Document called A Guide to Effective Instruction in Writing, Kindergarten to Grade 3. We had to read section 1.9, and I loved how the document had a list of sample anchor charts you can create with your students. These are similar to the reading mini-lessons that would jump-start a Daily 5 program. I don't think it's ever too late to add something into your writing program, but these would be especially great mini-lessons to begin the year with!
Here are the sample anchor charts:
What Do Good Writers Do?
• Like to write
• Write about things they know about or are interested in
• Draw and “talk out” their story (rehearsal)
• Decide whom they are writing for and what their writing will look like
• Share their writing with a partner, a conference group, or the teacher
• Read their first draft and ask, “Does it look right? Does it sound right? Does it make sense?”
What Do Good Editors Do?
• Use capital letters
• Check their punctuation
• Check their spelling
• Use complete sentences
• Write legibly
• Use interesting words
• Let somebody else read their story
What Do Good Spellers Do?
• Read a lot
• Write a lot
• Look for patterns
• Know many high-frequency words
• Know if a word looks right
• Listen for sounds they hear
• Know where to look to find a hard word (e.g., word wall, dictionaries)
• Take a risk
Here are the sample anchor charts:
What Do Good Writers Do?
• Like to write
• Write about things they know about or are interested in
• Draw and “talk out” their story (rehearsal)
• Decide whom they are writing for and what their writing will look like
• Share their writing with a partner, a conference group, or the teacher
• Read their first draft and ask, “Does it look right? Does it sound right? Does it make sense?”
What Do Good Editors Do?
• Use capital letters
• Check their punctuation
• Check their spelling
• Use complete sentences
• Write legibly
• Use interesting words
• Let somebody else read their story
What Do Good Spellers Do?
• Read a lot
• Write a lot
• Look for patterns
• Know many high-frequency words
• Know if a word looks right
• Listen for sounds they hear
• Know where to look to find a hard word (e.g., word wall, dictionaries)
• Take a risk
Monday 16 January 2012
Learning Disabilities
If you were graded at singing, physical coordination, athletic ability, creativity, drawing ability, organization, spatial awareness, etc., how would you do on your report card?
Students who have learning disabilities often struggle with academic tasks. We need to build on their strengths so that they are successful at school.
When students are being tested for a learning disability, they are usually assessed based on the following 8 processing areas:
1. memory
2. processing speed
3. attention
4. executive functioning
5. phonological processing
6. language
7. visual-motor skills
8. visual-spatial/perceptual skills
If a child is having an issue with one (or more) of these processing skill areas, it may be a possible sign that the student has a learning disability.
Interesting facts:
- most students with learning disabilities have average or above average intelligence (many are also diagnosed as gifted)
- accommodations allow these students to be successful at the curriculum
- students with learning disabilities will be strong in some subjects and when completing some tasks, while having difficulty with others
Students who have learning disabilities often struggle with academic tasks. We need to build on their strengths so that they are successful at school.
When students are being tested for a learning disability, they are usually assessed based on the following 8 processing areas:
1. memory
2. processing speed
3. attention
4. executive functioning
5. phonological processing
6. language
7. visual-motor skills
8. visual-spatial/perceptual skills
If a child is having an issue with one (or more) of these processing skill areas, it may be a possible sign that the student has a learning disability.
Interesting facts:
- most students with learning disabilities have average or above average intelligence (many are also diagnosed as gifted)
- accommodations allow these students to be successful at the curriculum
- students with learning disabilities will be strong in some subjects and when completing some tasks, while having difficulty with others
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