Teaching With Style: Teaching With Intention

Showing posts with label Teaching With Intention. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teaching With Intention. Show all posts
I'm back for my final installment of the Teaching with Intention by Debbie Miller book study! We will be discussing chapters 7 & 8 today.


To start at the beginning of this book study with me:
If you are interested in getting college credit from Concordia University for joining this book study, you can get all the details here. It costs $127 and you can join in just by following along and sharing your thoughts in the comments. At the end of the book study, you will have to complete a written assignment summarizing what you learned and how you will apply it.

Don't forget to make your Book Study Journal!

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Chapters 7 & 8


On page 99, I underlined and wrote "WOW!" next to this quote: 
"We don't attach grades to this kind of work [classroom activities, like the file folder sticky notes]; instead, we consider the implications for next steps.  The time for grading comes at the end of the teaching and learning process, not during it."
This reminds me of the Touch Points from the CAFE program by the Two Sisters.  When they meet and confer with students they assign a quick 1-4 rating for how well the student grasps the concept.  I like this type of informal, formative assessment, but I always thought that we should take these into consideration for grades.  We would look at student grades (or Touch Points) over the course of the grading period and see if the student improved or not.  If the Touch Points started out as 1's and 2's, but then gradually increased to 3's and 4's, the student would receive a Meets grade.  But if the Touch Points only showed a few 3's and the rest 2's, then the student would receive a Developing grade.  How does your grading work? Would you take these Touch Points into consideration for your grades or only summative assessments? 

 When I was first learning about the CAFE model for reading instruction, I tried to make a pensieve and flip through the pages in my binder to take notes for my students' learning.  I found the binder cumbersome and I was not good at using it.  Last year I made simple little sheets to keep track of what my guided reading groups were working on for planning purposes and also to keep notes on students, since I shared students with another teacher for reading, I wanted to be able to give her my notes for report cards.  I wanted it on one sheet so I wouldn't lose it.  In theory, I like Debbie's idea of notebooks for her students, but I feel that I would get overwhelmed with one more thing to keep track of and I'm afraid I wouldn't utilize them as much as I should.  I need to "Keep It Simple" (like Debbie says in chapter 8!).
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Right now, I'm more about "getting through the book."  I hate to say that outloud and to share it with all of you! My school is implementing a new curriculum, Wonders, and we have to teach it with fidelity.  We have to do all the mini lessons and close read 2 stories a week whole group.  There is just so much to get done! I feel like I can't breathe sometimes.  And I feel like I can't take the time to use strategies that I know help engage students in learning and reading.  I know once I get a hang of the curriculum it will get better, but right now it's just plain hard.  Please help me feel like I'm not the only one here! 

I am keeping it simple by using the one page reading groups planning sheet each week.  I am keeping it simple by doing Daily 5 centers where I don't have to change much each week.  I am keeping it simple by teaching buddy reading routines that we can use with our literature anthology stories each week.  We don't do a reading workshop structure, because I have so much to teach whole group from the basal, but I do want to add a sharing time to our schedule.  Research shows that kids learn best by teaching a concept to someone else.  I think it will be worth it to make time for this important activity.  

I currently teach a whole group lesson from my mandatory basal, then meet with 2 guided reading groups a day.  In the afternoon, we have Read to Self time while I meet with my intervention group.  If I cut my intervention group shorter by just 5 minutes, I should have time to do a quick conference with at least 2 students a day.

The Two Sisters call a simple conference a "Dip and Tip"  They "dip" in next to a student to listen to them read.  They compliment them on something they are doing well and then give them a "tip" for how to improve.  This goes along with what Debbie does, too, but she takes it a step further by having the student articulate the new learning, both for themselves and for others while they share.  Bringing in the sharing aspect of the reader's workshop is something that I don't currently do, but I want to add it into our day.  

Now it's your turn! What did you think about this chapter? Just chime in on the comments!




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I'm back from my week of professional development with the Hawaii Writing Project! Today we will be chatting about chapters of 5 and 6 of Teaching with Intention by Debbie Miller.


To start at the beginning of this book study with me:
If you are interested in getting college credit from Concordia University for joining this book study, you can get all the details here. It costs $127 and you can join in just by following along and sharing your thoughts in the comments. At the end of the book study, you will have to complete a written assignment summarizing what you learned and how you will apply it.

Don't forget to make your Book Study Journal!

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Chapters 5 & 6

My favorite quote of this chapter was on page 68.  Debbie tells us that the point of her telling us about the schema lesson isn't so we would duplicate it (which, of course, we are free to do).  But "the point is to know who you are and what you're about when you're teaching based on your beliefs, your students, and the environment you are creating."  That is so powerful.  That gives teachers the reassurance that we are doing good work in our classrooms.  It helps us know that if our hearts and heads are in the right place, we will make good decisions for our students. 

On page 69, Debbie quotes Frank Smith, a psycholinguist who was an important contributor in reading process research:
We can only learn from activities that are interesting and comprehensible to us; in other words, activities that are satisfying.  If this is not the case, only inefficient rote-learning, or memorization, is available to us and forgetting is inevitable.
I have had a lot of training in teaching ELLs.  I am GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Design) certified, took a college course on the SIOP model, and was trained in Susana Dutro's Focused Approach to ELD.  Even though I only had 4 ELL students last year, I still teach my lessons with ELL strategies in mind because I feel that they help make knowledge accessible and comprehensible for all students.  So, for example, I try to be very explicit in my thinking while I am reading aloud, no matter what the purpose of the book is.  I may be reading a book about the pumpkin life cycle, but I'll still think aloud about words that are tricky or new information that I think is interesting.  I also try to teach with a lot of visuals.  I am not an auditory learner, myself.  I would never expect my students to be.  I've blogged a lot about GLAD and ELD.

To make lessons interesting, I try to add in elements of fun, ala Mary Poppins ;)  I try to plan lessons where kids are out of their seats and working with partners or groups.  I also try to choose text that is interesting and fun for them to read.  Adding in technology is a great way to get student buy-in and automatically makes the lesson more fun.  My classroom is definitely not one where students are seated working silently.

The Shark File lesson is a great example of making learning fun and comprehensible.  Students had to get out of their seats to post their sticky note.  They got to work with a partner to read the book.  The teacher helped them think through their schema to help them notice similarities and misconceptions.

I made a printable version of the file folder for you to print, assemble, laminate, and hang in your classroom.  All you need is text and sticky notes!
Click to download for FREE!

I've noticed that with the basals I have taught, they focus on skills and not necessarily reading strategies.  This coming year, my school has purchased a new reading curriculum that I will be required to teach.  However, I'll be allowed to supplement based on student need.  I plan to do most of that supplementing in my small groups.  I feel that is a great way to deliver instruction that individual students really need and is a great time for strategy instruction.  Last year I made a set of the beanie baby reading posters and plan to use then with my firsties this year, too.  You can grab your set for free, here.

I also really love the series Comprehension Toolkit.  There are a lot of wonderful lessons around comprehension strategies that can be taught whole group or small group.  I plan to utilize these, as well.

When I was getting my reading endorsement, I made a list of picture books that help teach each strategy.  These titles would be great to add to your "picture book" tab in your Teaching With Intention journal, along with Debbie's awesome list of shark books on page 67.

1. Schema and Connections: What you know about what you are reading 
The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
Fireflies by Julie Brinkloe
My Great Aunt Arizona by Gloria Houston
Koala Lou by Mem Fox
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Hazel’s Amazing Mother by Rosemary Wells
Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Oliver Button is a Sissy by Tomie dePaola
Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran
The Two of Them by Aliki
Now One Foot, Now the Other by Tomie dePaola
2. Questioning: Expert readers ask questions before, during, and after they read
All I See by Cynthia Rylant
Amelia’s Road by Linda Jacobs Altman
An Angel for Soloman Singer by Cynthia Rylant
Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting
Grandfather Twilight by Barbara Berger
The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland
Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons
The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg
The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White
Why is the Sky Blue? By Sally Grindley
The Wise Woman and Her Secret by Eve Merriam
Yanni Rubbish by Shulamith Levey Oppenheim
3. Creating mental images: Make a picture in your mind.
Close Your Eyes by Jean Marzollo
Color Me a Rhyme by Jane Yolen
Creatures of Earth, Sea, and Sky by Georgia Heard
Footprints and Shadows by Anne Westcott Dodd
Goodnight to Annie by Eve Merriam
Greyling by Jane Yolen
I Am the Ocean by Suzanna Marshak
Mountain Streams (CD)
The Napping House by Audrey Wood
Night in the Country by Cynthia Rylant
Night Sounds, Morning Colors by Rosemary Wells
Putting the World to Sleep by Shelley Moore Thomas
Quiet, Please by Eve Merriam
The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer
Say Something by Mary Stoltz
What Does the Rain Play? By Nancy White Carlstrom
When I’m Sleepy by Jane R. Howard
Wild, Wild, Sunflower Child by Nancy White Carlstrom
The Zoo at Night by Martha Robinson
4. Inferring: Figure out things the author doesn't tell us (meaning of a word, author’s message, how a character feels, overall events of the story)
Creatures of Earth, Sea, and Sky by Georgia Heard
Fireflies by Julie Brinkloe
Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting
For the Good of the Earth and Sun by Georgia Heard
Grandfather Twilight by Barbara Berger
How Many Days to America? By Eve Bunting
If You Listen by Charlotte Zolotow
Miss Maggie by Cynthia Rylant
Mother Earth, Father Sky by Jane Yolen
Oliver Button is a Sissy by Tomie dePaola
The Royal Bee by Frances Park
Something Beautiful by Sharon Dennis Wyeth
Where Are You Going, Manyoni? By Catherine Stock
Winter Fox by Catherine Stock
5. Determining importance: Find out what are important details in the story you are reading
Dorling Kindersley Readers
I Can Read About…
First Discovery Books
Eyewitness Books
National Geographic for Kids
Time for Kids
Ranger Rick
Zoo Books
Kids Discover
6. Synthesizing: The way your thinking changes as you gather new information
The Alphabet Tree by Leo Lionni
Charlie Anderson by Barbara Abercrombie
Fables by Arnold Lobel
Fredrick’s Fables by Leo Lionni
Oliver Button is a Sissy by Tomie dePaola
The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills
See the Ocean by Estelle Condra
Smokey Night by Eve Bunting
The Story of Jumping Mouse by John Steptoe
The Table Where Rich People Sit by Byrd Baylor
Tea with Milk by Allen Say

I really loved the Lesson Design tool that Debbie shared on page 80.  I think that the questions really help us think about why we are teaching the lessons we are.  It helps us evaluate the lessons.  This is true for any basal we teach, too.  If we can't say why the lesson is important, which standards it covers, or why we are teaching it, then we need to skip it and supplement with something more meaningful.

I think that using this planning sheet for each lesson might be a bit cumbersome.  However, I can see myself using it for units and key lessons.  Hawaii just adopted a new educator evaluation system.  In it, we have to do things called SLOs - Student Learning Objectives.  It's basically a SMART goal with data to prove that our students made progress.  I think that if I used this lesson design tool in conjunction with my SMART goal, I will be able to write a very effective SLO.

By using these, I'll also have a really great outline of my best lessons to use in following years and to share with my colleagues.

I think I am good with the explanation part of the tool.  I like to show kids why we are learning something and how it affects their lives.  I am also good with the explanation/modeling aspect.  I am reminded of when I taught kindergarten in a high ELL school.  80% of my kids did not speak English at all, so I modeled, modeled, modeled! I love to use cooperative groups.  In fact, my students sit in groups at their tables and have an elbow buddy.  Then they sit in assigned spots on the carpet and have a carpet partner.  They also do math centers with a math partner.  They have multiple opportunities to work with a variety of other students throughout the day to help enhance their understanding of concepts.

Student feedback might be an area that I'll have trouble with.  Last year I implemented a 1-4 formative assessment strategy.  Students could give me a 1-4 hand signal to tell me their understanding.  I also used it to grade their papers.  I felt that since we were both using the same system, they would understand the grading much better.  This year, I want to get better at using the students feedback and recording it for my use: to make my lessons better and to provide necessary review opportunities.

Now it's your turn! What did you think about this chapter? Just chime in on the comments!



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Welcome back to the book study! Today we will be chatting about chapters of 3 and 4 of Teaching with Intention by Debbie Miller.


To start at the beginning of this book study with me:
If you are interested in getting college credit from Concordia University for joining this book study, you can get all the details here. It costs $127 and you can join in just by following along and sharing your thoughts in the comments. At the end of the book study, you will have to complete a written assignment summarizing what you learned and how you will apply it.

Don't forget to make your Book Study Journal! This will come in handy when you go to write your culminating summary!

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Chapters 3 & 4

Download these printables to add to your Book Study Journal


I think it is important to have a carpet area in my classroom.  At my previous school, my mother-in-law generously bought a carpet for my room.  I brought it to Hawaii with us when we moved and was so glad we did, as no classroom in my school had one! I couldn’t imagine teaching without it! In other classrooms, students would gather on the regularly carpeted floor, but it wasn’t the same as a colored, plush, and inviting rug.  As I move over to Maui, I was so lucky to review a rug from kidcarpet.com.  When I went to my new classroom to check it out, I noticed that there was an existing rug in the room, but it was solid burgundy color, old, with tattered edges.  Time for that one to go! If you are like me, in a room without a rug or with an old tattered one, go look at kidcarpet.com.  The rug I got was only $279 for a 7.5’x12’. They are made in the US and are really nice.  Almost $300 is a lot of money, but a quality rug is such a wonderful investment for the comfort of your classroom.

In my last classroom, I had 42 book baskets: a combination of the large ones from Really Good Stuff and locker bins from The Dollar Tree.  Having a lot of books is really important to me - and in a wide variety and level.  I probably have over 1000 books in my classroom library alone.  When I taught 3rd grade in Portland, I had 2 students who read at an ending kindergarten level and some who read at a middle school level.  I needed everything from high-interest phonics readers to age-appropriate novels!  
During my first year of teaching, I was like the new teacher in the book, Katy.  I didn’t have a lot of high-interest books for my students to read, so I worked really hard to fix that.  I used Scholastic bonus points to buy books and spent my own money each month to buy books.  Back then, you needed to have $20 of orders to get free shipping, so if only a few children ordered books, I would order enough to make $20.  My grandma was also an avid reader and usually gave away or donated books when she was done with them.  She started giving them to me and I made an arrangement with a local used bookstore where I would trade her novels straight across for children’s books.  The bookstore was happy to help a new teacher! I went to library sales where I would find books for 50 cents and I always accepted books from other teachers who were cleaning out their rooms.  I’m not a big garage-saler, so I didn’t usually find books that way, but I know lots of people who do.  Craigslist and eBay are also great sources for finding retired teachers who want to sell all of their books for a cheap price. 
I organize my books by genre, theme, and author.  I used to laminate my book basket tags, but then would sometimes have to wait until there was laminate at school or when I had something else to laminate with it if I ever wanted to add a new label.  A few years ago I started using clear, plastic ID covers instead.  They are way sturdier, and I can slip a new label in at any time.  I’ve always labeled my books with an address label that matched the bin label, as well.  I found this system is especially helpful for kindergarteners and first graders.  I always have a word and a picture that they can match the book to a bin.  I find this easier than a color dot system.  Sometimes I want to change the bin that a book goes in and it can be a pain to peel the sticker off, but it’s doable.  I usually just bring a stack of books home that I want to change and do it while I sit on the couch and watch TV.  I’ve even had responsible students help me do it!

When I taught kindergarten and first, I also had a separate lending library.  It had books for DRA levels A-20.  Students would bring one book home everyday to read and write on their reading log.  I stopped doing this when I moved up to 3rd because I didn’t have enough higher-level titles.  I’m excited to start it back up, though, as I move back down to first next year!

At my last school, we did not have a book room for guided reading books.  Each teacher had a set of leveled books in their classrooms that were for their grade level only.  Some teachers did borrow books from each other, but because there were not a lot of titles for each level, it was hard to do that. The reality was that in many classrooms students who read above grade level were reading books that were too easy and students who read below level were struggling through books that were too hard.  I ended up subscribing to Reading A-Z and making my own set of below level readers and used all my Scholastic bonus points to buy novel sets for my above readers.  At my ideal school, there would be a book room where all teachers took the responsibility to keep clean and organized in order to be able to share titles to teach the wide ranges of readers in our classrooms. 

For the purposes of  this chapter, I’ m going to talk about my old classroom, as I haven’t set up my new one yet and I’m not sure what is all there yet.  I like that I have a large carpet for gathering, tables in groups, materials organized so students can find what they need.  I have a second table that an assistant teacher uses during reading groups, but students can work at it during other parts of the day. 

Even though I gave up my big desk last year, I still feel that my “teacher stuff” takes up a large corner of the room.  I have a large filing cabinet, a small computer desk (I wish I could get rid of the teacher desktop computer, it’s so huge), a kidney table that is essential to teaching small groups, a shelf for my teaching materials, and two big bookshelves for my guided reading books.  In my ideal world, those would all go to a book room for teachers to share and check out.  I think freeing up this space would make my room less cluttered looking and would look more student centered.

  • With my large rug, I feel that shows that I value classroom community.  
  • Students can work either at the large carpet, at their table groups, on a small carpet, at a rectangle table, or even with pillows.  This shows that I provide options for students to work in large groups, small groups, partners, and alone. 
  • My student desks are in groups to promote collaboration.  Student supplies are in their desks.  There is also a tall shelf for book boxes and reading materials. 
  • There is a small writing center with stamps and different kinds of paper.  The math area is in a closet where the children have access to the math center supplies, extra dice and money pieces, and other manipulatives.  The science stuff is all put away and I bring it out as we are learning certain concepts.  I wish I had more room for it to be out, but I don’t. 
  • My books are in shelves along the large carpet area.  It made more sense for them to be in one spot so they would be easier to find. 
  • I have 2 classroom computers with math game CD-ROMs in them.  They do not hook up to the Internet.  I also have an iPad that small groups use. 
  • I got rid of my teacher desk last year and couldn’t be happier about the decision. 

  • I have painted bulletin boards in the past and I really loved it.  But in my old classroom, I used black sheets to cover my bulletin boards and I loved it even more!  Everything that I put up popped off the black background and the staples left no marks at all!  
  • I also painted my bookshelves black so that my colorful book bins and books would pop.  I didn’t want people to walk in and see color and patterns; I wanted them to see student work and tons of books!
  • To fix the trash cans, instead of replacing, I would spray paint them! As well as filing cabinets.  Spray paint is my best friend when it comes to the classroom.  It’s cheap and makes such an impact.  Make sure to look up some YouTube videos so you learn the proper technique. 
  • Whenever I got rid of furniture, I either sent out an email to the whole staff, or I put it outside my room with a note that said “FREE”.  Someone always picked it up!
  • I’m lucky that I didn’t have a harsh fire marshal when it came to rugs, pillows, and hanging from the ceiling. 
  • I made an Amazon list last year for the classroom and shared it with parents.  No one bought anything for the class, but we also didn’t have a PTA and parents were not very involved in the classrooms.  I hope that this would change as a new PTA-type group just started up. 

I don’t have students help organize books because of the sticker system I use and love.  I know I should just try it, but the system I have works and I don’t see a need to trying to fix it.  I could have kids help me organize math manipulatives, science materials, or even where to put the writing center.  That might be some fun first day activities! When I first moved to my old school, the room was a complete disaster: Math manipulatives were scattered everywhere, dirty dishes were left in the sink, and ripped books were in the corner.  I had the kids help me sort all of the math supplies and put them into buckets.  They did a great job and I really do feel that it helped them realize this was OUR classroom.  If I find my new room is a mess like that, I would definitely have the kids help me again. 

As Debbie was describing how she would think about other things she needed to do while she was teaching, I was reminded of myself! These are my ideas for how I can try to be less of a multi-tasker and more present in my teaching:
  • Be a better list maker
  • Use my planner more so I don’t have to worry about meetings, etc.
  • Get a desktop planner
I post math discussion stems around my calendar wall to help facilitate math discussions.  I got the set of questions from a math training I went to from The Math Learning Center years ago.  But after reading this chapter, I want to incorporate them in other areas of my classroom, too.  I’m not sure right now if a simple teacher cheat-sheet is going to work best, or having the questions posted around the room.  I made a little freebie if you want to use these more in your classroom, too!  Like Debbie said, the answers are already inside us, we just need to practice being present, thoughtful, reflective, and authentic.  Having a set of questions for us to practice with and to teach kids to use while discussing with each other seems like a great first step for making this type of questioning habit.

Get your copy of FREEBIE discussion starts here!

I know that I am not the most perfect and encouraging teacher at times.  I try, but I am human.  Something I say when students ask me silly questions that I know they can figure out themselves is "Use your brain."  It seems to work, but I often wonder if it's not the most positive thing to say.  Even though I'm conscious about it, it still slips out of my mouth almost everyday! I need to find a phrase to replace it with that would be more encouraging, like "Hmm, let's think this through and see if you can figure it out."  That doesn't have the same conciseness as "Use your brain", but it's a start.
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Welcome to the first day of the book study! Today we will be chatting about chapters of 1 and 2 of Teaching with Intention by Debbie Miller.


To start at the beginning of this book study with me:
If you are interested in getting college credit from Concordia University for joining this book study, you can get all the details here. It costs $127 and you can join in just by following along and sharing your thoughts in the comments. At the end of the book study, you will have to complete a written assignment summarizing what you learned and how you will apply it.  


Do not forget to make your Book Study Journal! This will come in handy when you go to write your culminating summary!

**********************************

Chapters 1 & 2

Download these printables to add to your Book Study Journal

In the introduction, Debbie gives us some insight into her life as she transitioned from a classroom teacher to a consultant. She talks about how her favorite part of the day was after school when she would turn down the lights, shut the doors (probably to ignore chatty co-workers!), and reflect on the day. That's my favorite part of the day, too! When my room is quiet and calm. I can think and make decisions. In the morning, my mind is still asleep. I have a hard time getting going in the morning. So after school is my time to plan, assess, clean, and just be. I can look around the room and reflect on the learning that took place that day. My classroom is my sanctuary.
"I'm convinced that success in the classroom depends less on which beliefs we hold and more on simply having a set of beliefs that guides us in our day-to-day work with children. Once we know who we are and what we believe in the classroom, we become intentional in our teaching, we do what we do on purpose, with good reason. Intentional teachers are thoughtful, reflective people who are conscious of the decisions they make and the actions they take, they live and teach by the principles and practices they believe in and value. " ~ Debbie Miller, page 4
So why read this book? Why do this book study? I've been teaching for 10 years now and I have systems and routines that work for me. When I really thought about my classroom philosophy, I realized I wrote that paper in grad school and my interview response is riddled with buzzwords. I had not actually sat down and written down my current beliefs and values.

"We're professionals, we need to make full use of our professional autonomy." In other words, by studying what the research says and pin-pointing our values ​​and forming opinions about what we believe as teachers, we can engage in academic conversations with colleagues and administration. Many times, we have to prove that we know what we are talking about in order to be taken seriously.

My state adopted a basal reading series program that all schools have to purchase and implement by school year 2015/2016. It's scripted. We all know that the best teaching does not come from the script. Teaching straight from the basal is certainly easier, but is it what all of our kids need? No. Some, yes. But all? Absolutely not. By explicitly exploring our beliefs and values ​​as educators, we can show those in charge that we are professionals and we can be trusted to make good curricular decisions for our students.

On to the discussion questions. Make sure to download the printables above for your journal so you can take notes as you read. I'm going to answer the questions for myself and share my thinking from my journal. Please tell me your thoughts and responses in the comments!



My ideal classroom has soft lighting. There are coordinated colors on baskets, bulletin boards, and other decor. It is organized with minimal clutter. You can tell that the spaces in the room are set-up for the students to use and have access to materials. The library is large and open with a wide range of books in different genres and levels. There is evidence of learning in terms of student writing, artwork, anchor charts, and poetry posted around the room.


I am a huge fan of children sitting at tables in heterogeneous groups and collaborating together. I also like using workshop models where students are working independently so that the teacher can meet one-on-one and with small groups to work on skills. My ideal room would facilitate this kind of small group work.


I want someone to feel calm and invited as the walk in my room. I want it to be obvious that kids are learning and working hard. I want them to see the rigor of the work, but also the fun and creativity of the students.



 I agree with all of Debbie's beliefs about education. 
  • Organized, purposeful, and authentic environment - check!
  •  Choose your words carefully as they affect the children - check!
  • Create engaging lessons - check!
  • Teach workshops with a model and foster independence - check!
  • Use assessment to guide your instruction - check!
  • Utilize student choice - check!
  •  The few I would add:
    • Make decisions based on what is best for children, not what is easiest for adults.
    • Every child deserves an exquisite education

  • What I already do:
    • Use a workshop model for Daily 5, Writing, and Math
    • Have an organized classroom
    • Plan engaging lessons
    • Create small groups in reading and math based on assessment results
    • Integrate student choice whenever possible
  • What I can do better:
    •  Research math workshop models on Pinterest and fine-tune my routines.  Search and read blogs who I know teach with a math workshop model, like Reagan Tunstall.
    • Add more student work and less teacher-store posters.  Or replace with student-made ones after we learn the concept.
    • Choose my words carefully and practice patience.
    •  Integrate tech for more student engagement and motivation.
    • Create a better system for recording formative assessment and teacher observations. Create a conferring notebook and actually use it.

Introduce with manipulatives, pictures, and/or technology.   Read primary source and teacher-written articles.  Have cooperative discussions (pair-share, teach-ok, group-share), practice with partners, and independent practice.

When I make decisions in my classroom, I always think, "Is this what's best for my kids?"  I am a big proponent of decision-making based on what's best for kids, not what's easiest for adults.   I feel that a lot of what's wrong in education is because the adults in charge do not always have the students' best interests in their forethought.   We are in business to educate children.   Our decisions should reflect that. 

Class discussions, evidence of application of concepts in their assignments, interactive notebooks, and assessments.

Pull small groups for re-teaching, whole-class practices in math - keep those centers out a bit longer independent, re-read articles or reviews interactive notebooks, students teach each other through the teach / ok.
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