Teaching Tip of the Week

Teaching Tip of the Week (117)

Saturday, 23 April 2011 17:45

Tip #32: Rock Your Students' World, Part 4: The Slouch Game

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"The Slouch Game" marks the conclusion of my 4-part "Rock Your Students' World" series of instructional videos.  I filmed these short videos with five of my former students recently one day after school.  Each Teaching Tip over this four week period features one of the videos.
"Place Value Hopscotch" is the third of my 4-part "Rock Your Students' World" series of instructional videos.  I filmed these short videos with five of my former students recently one day after school.  Each Teaching Tip over this four week period will feature one of the videos.

"The Synonym-Antonym Jumping Game" is the second of my 4-part "Rock Your Students' World" series of instructional videos.  I filmed these short videos with five of my former students recently one day after school.  Each Teaching Tip over this four week period will feature one of the videos.

"Moving Through The Coordinate Grid" is the first of my 4-part "Rock Your Students' World" series of instructional videos.  I filmed these short videos with five of my former students recently one day after school.  Each Teaching Tip over the next four weeks will feature one of the videos.

Saturday, 26 March 2011 17:45

Tip #28: Improving Your Writing Workshop (Part 4 of 4)

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The Teaching Tips will focus on the topic of Writing Workshop for the next four weeks.

Week 1: Peer Revising
Week 2: The Writing Workshop Warm-up
Week 3: Four-Color Editing
Week 4: Written Reflections

Written Reflections

During a typical school day we are often so busy trying to help our students learn knowledge and skills that it can be difficult to find the time to have everyone reflect on that learning.

Such metacognitive endeavors, however, are incredibly valuable, and I try to incorporate these activities into the curriculum as frequently as possible.  Sometimes I ask my students to reflect orally while other times I want them to reflect in writing.

Saturday, 19 March 2011 17:45

Tip #27: Improving Your Writing Workshop (Part 3 of 4)

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The Teaching Tips will focus on the topic of Writing Workshop for the next four weeks.

Week 1: Peer Revising
Week 2: The Writing Workshop Warm-up
Week 3: Four-Color Editing
Week 4: Written Reflections

Four-Color Editing

Editing is typically one of the most difficult stages of the writing process for students because it requires so much attention to detail.  For many children the task can be downright overwhelming simply because they are asked to look for so many different types of mistakes at the same time, i.e., capitalization, punctuation, paragraphing, dialogue, and spelling.

A few years ago I came up with a new approach that breaks down the complex task of editing into smaller, more manageable steps.  Since that time my students have become more willing, more enthusiastic, more successful editors of their own writing.  I call my approach “Four-Color Editing.”

Saturday, 12 March 2011 17:45

Tip #26: Improving Your Writing Workshop (Part 2 of 4)

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The Teaching Tips will focus on the topic of Writing Workshop for the next four weeks.

Week 1: Peer Revising
Week 2: The Writing Workshop Warm-up
Week 3: Four-Color Editing
Week 4: Written Reflections

The Writing Workshop Warm-up

Saturday, 05 March 2011 17:45

Tip #25: Improving Your Writing Workshop (Part 1 of 4)

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The Teaching Tips will focus on the topic of Writing Workshop for the next four weeks.

Week 1: Peer Revising
Week 2: The Writing Workshop Warm-up
Week 3: Four-Color Editing
Week 4: Written Reflections

Saturday, 26 February 2011 17:45

Tip #24: The Friday Circle

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Each school day is so packed with activity that there rarely seems time to stop, talk with our students about all the things that are happening in class, and reinforce the important priorities expressed in our class mission statement.  The Friday Circle is a weekly class meeting, conducted during the last hour of the school week, that facilitates this type of communication.

Saturday, 19 February 2011 17:45

Tip #23: “While You Were Absent” Sheets

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An important part of holding students accountable for their learning involves making sure they complete the projects and activities that occurred while they were absent.  Whenever my students miss a day (or more) of school, I write down all the work my students need to make up on a “While You Were Absent” sheet.  I place this sheet on their desks, along with the books, papers, and other materials they will need in order to complete everything described on the sheet.