Which Kagan strategies do you find the most useful in your classroom? I like to use quiz-quiz-trade and talking chips. Both of these strategies help the students with their speaking and listening skills.
Ways to Quickly Check for Understanding
Edutopia, an online source that highlights best practices for educators, recently polled
teachers and asked them how they do quick checks for understanding. The attached file contains numerous ways that teachers have used in their classroom.
Do you have anything that you can add to the list? Have you tried any of these quick checks with your students?
April is poetry month, what are your favorite poets to share with elementary aged children and how do you encourage students to write their own poems?
Big win for the Thanksgiving celebration! All the families were represented and we had a great time! I highly recommend these events!
Resilience - The capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
Teaching requires more emotional resilience than most other professions. Lacking resilience is a common thread that creates burnout and leaving the profession. Resilience is not something we are taught in school, but there are things that we can do to strengthen our resilience.
Don’t isolate yourself in your classroom. Get to know other teachers in your building and your students’ parents. Building relationships with your co-workers and parents can strengthen your resilience. Take care of yourself. If you’re worn out and not feeling well, you are more likely to isolate and avoid others.
What is your resilience level?
We have our second progress monitoring next week. There are some strategies that I use to help the students prepare for the test. For example:
1. Arrange the seating beforehand so the students are not asking, "Why are the desks moved"
2. Give out 2 pencils everyday and collect them.
3. Have timed assignments. This helps pacing and focus.
4. Since we take the test on line, I email the students the link to the practice test so they can get used to navigating the program.
5. Lengthen a reading block so the students can build academic endurance of sustained reading.
6. Conference with the students to show them their first score and show a reasonable goal for the next test.
7. Use the dividers for the students during the weeks prior to the test.
8. Give test taking strategies for the students on how to "flag" and questions and go back to answer.
9. Email the parents with suggestions of foods, study habits and other tidbits to help them prepare their student.
10. Since my favorite animal is an elephant, I give the students a little elephant figuring to keep at their desk because they are part of my herd and they are special.
What are some strategies for adjusting my pacing when students need more time to grasp key concepts?
In intervention groups we have students do 1-2 mins each session of either vision tracking, vision memory/or sequencing, or RAN activities. How do you help your students work on visual skills to support decoding and other reading skills?
Michigan Department of Education shares several resources for family literacy and home to school connections. It is entitled: Family Engagement for Literacy. Here are a few of the documents included:
Supporting Families in the Essential Practice of Read Alouds; Sharing Why the Read Aloud Is an Essential Practice With Families
Does your state department of education share valuable resources you can use to collaborate and build understanding with families?
https://www.michigan.gov/mde/services/academic-standards/literacy/family-engagement-for-literacy
If you have never looked at sand under a 🔬 have your students bring samples from their trips. Make an index card slide by cutting a hole in the middle of the index card and placing a pice of packing tape over one side of the hole. Dip the sticky side into the sand sample and tape over it. Write on the index card where the sand came from. Your students will quickly observe how sand is formed from the erosion, weathering and deposition of the native rocks from that region. It is truly powerful!
What are you reading? As summer hits I have so much more time to kick back and do what I love, read! Share your favorite professional book as well as a good summer read for enjoyment!
I'm always looking for some good brain teasers for students for the transition into math intervention. I came across this link and thought I'd share!
https://www.weareteachers.com/math-brain-teasers-for-kids/
Any other great brain-teasers you use for your students?
Struggles in reading can impact a student's performance across multiple areas. Poor reading skills make it harder to grasp content in subjects like math, science, and social studies, where comprehension of text is crucial. This can also slow vocabulary growth and language development, affecting communication skills. Additionally, students who struggle with reading may experience lower confidence and motivation, making it harder to engage in learning. Since reading is tied to critical thinking, difficulties can limit the ability to analyze information, and even affect social skills by reducing exposure to texts that help develop empathy and social understanding. How do you consider other content area development when a student is known to be struggling with/in reading?
How would you plan a lesson for a standard about comparing and contrasting key points from 2 different mediums for older students?
