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.
Saturday, 16 April 2011 17:45
Tip #31: Rock Your Students' World, Part 3: Place Value Hopscotch
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"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.
Saturday, 09 April 2011 17:45
Tip #30: Rock Your Students' World, Part 2: The Synonym-Antonym Jumping Game
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"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.
Saturday, 02 April 2011 17:45
Tip #29: Rock Your Students' World, Part 1: Moving Through The Coordinate Grid
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"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.
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.
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.
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.â€
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
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
Week 1: Peer Revising
Week 2: The Writing Workshop Warm-up
Week 3: Four-Color Editing
Week 4: Written Reflections
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.
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.
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Elementary and middle schools typically schedule parent conferences in November, or roughly a third of the way into each new school year. I view these meetings as indispensable parts of the home-school connection, and I greatly value the quality time I can spend with each child and his or her family. During the conferences we work as a team to discuss areas of strength, address areas of need, solve problems, and set goals for the future. Because meeting individually with each family is so time-consuming for teachers, many schools do not schedule follow-up meetings later in the year to continue these conversations. Student-led Conferences offer teachers a wonderful way to extend and strengthen the home-school connection because when compared to traditional Parent Conferences, they require only a fraction of the work and the time and provide students with an incredible opportunity to take responsibility for their own learning.
The Teaching Tips will focus on the topic of Student-led Conferences for the next three weeks.
Week 1: Introducing Student-led Conferences
Week 2: Preparing for Student-led Conferences
Week 3: Using Student-led Conferences to Feature Specific Habits of Mind and Habits of Character
Using Student-led Conferences to Feature Specific Habits of Mind and Habits of Character
Elementary and middle schools typically schedule parent conferences in November, or roughly a third of the way into each new school year. I view these meetings as indispensable parts of the home-school connection, and I greatly value the quality time I can spend with each child and his or her family. During the conferences we work as a team to discuss areas of strength, address areas of need, solve problems, and set goals for the future. Because meeting individually with each family is so time-consuming for teachers, many schools do not schedule follow-up meetings later in the year to continue these conversations. Student-led Conferences offer teachers a wonderful way to extend and strengthen the home-school connection because when compared to traditional Parent Conferences, they require only a fraction of the work and the time and provide students with an incredible opportunity to take responsibility for their own learning.
The Teaching Tips will focus on the topic of Student-led Conferences for the next three weeks.
Week 1: Introducing Student-led Conferences
Week 2: Preparing for Student-led Conferences
Week 3: Using Student-led Conferences to Feature Specific Habits of Mind and Habits of Character
Preparing for Student-led Conferences
Elementary and middle schools typically schedule parent conferences in November, or roughly a third of the way into each new school year. I view these meetings as indispensable parts of the home-school connection, and I greatly value the quality time I can spend with each child and his or her family. During the conferences we work as a team to discuss areas of strength, address areas of need, solve problems, and set goals for the future. Because meeting individually with each family is so time-consuming for teachers, many schools do not schedule follow-up meetings later in the year to continue these conversations. Student-led Conferences offer teachers a wonderful way to extend and strengthen the home-school connection because when compared to traditional Parent Conferences, they require only a fraction of the work and the time and provide students with an incredible opportunity to take responsibility for their own learning.
The Teaching Tips will focus on the topic of Student-led Conferences for the next three weeks.
Week 1: Introducing Student-led Conferences
Week 2: Preparing for Student-led Conferences
Week 3: Using Student-led Conferences to Feature Specific Habits of Mind and Habits of Character
Teaching Tips 5-7 described the creation of a Class Mission Statement and explained how this founding document can be used throughout the year to establish a sense of purpose in our rooms. Later in the year, we can follow up this initial effort with the creation of personal mission statements. Participating in this powerful exercise promises to help students better understand the purposes of their learning, improve their behavior, work with greater motivation and enthusiasm, and find greater meaning in their work. I simply cannot imagine myself teaching without this tool.
The Teaching Tips will focus on the topic of personal mission statements for the next three weeks.
Week 1: Introducing the Personal Mission Statement
Week 2: A Step-by-Step Process for Creating a Personal Mission Statement
Week 3: Personal Mission Boxes