My Spanish 2 class recently read the book The Circuit for our literacy unit.  I used the socrative website to better facilitate our class discussions.  I posted the discussion questions and had students respond in the socrative website.  Then I projected the responses for all to see.  The great thing was the students' names were blocked.  I found students were more open in their discussion and were more willing to share in this manner.  This was an easy way for me to check for comprehension as well.  There was no fear of getting the answer wrong and there was better participation in class discussions.

Exercise and thinking

“Every teacher is looking for ways to make their students better readers, thinkers, and problem solvers.”  This was the first line on a previous entry in our Curriculum and Instruction blog, and I agree with this even as a PE teacher.  One of the best strategies teachers can use to help make better thinkers is by promoting exercise.  There are many, many studies that prove that people who are exercising are better thinkers.  We teach this information to our PE students through our “Fitness Knowledge” lessons.  For example, here is a slide where we teach students what documented evidence there is for the effect of exercise on the brain:

Students learn that there is documented proof that exercise helps with greater attention, faster cognitive processing, and better performance on standardized test. 

Physical activity improves brain activity and capacity on three different levels:

1.        It improves alertness, attention, and motivation.

2.       It encourages nerve cells to bind together which is, essentially, how we are able to log new information.

3.       It encourages the development of new cells.

So, if you want your students to become better readers, thinkers, and problem solvers, you should promote and model exercise in your classes, as well.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a good way to generate ideas.  Some suggestions for effective brainstorming are:

• Set a clear time limit.  As teachers, we need to remember that brainstorming can be an exhausting process as creativity does not come naturally to everyone.  Although it is sometimes difficult to wait for students' creative juices to start flowing, it is always well worth it!

• Begin with a clear question.  The boundaries are set by the question being addressed.  Have you ever had students brainstorm and generate ideas that are too diffuse to be relevant?  Take time to present a clear question.

• Record every idea.  Whoever is leading the brainstorming session should record every idea. Recording every idea reinforces the notion that all ideas are welcome.

• Ask everyone for input.  Sometimes the most talkative or the loudest students take up time disproportionate to their actual creative contribution.  If a few students have not or are hesitant to contribute, written input can be used.  Asking for input from each member of the group is helpful in balancing out the voices.  

Recently, in my biology classroom, I asked groups of students to come up with ways to perform mitosis for their classmates.  Mitosis is a complicated process that often times confuses and baffles those that have to learn its steps.  Some groups were asked to perform mitosis without errors while other groups were tasked to perform mitosis gone awry. Group leaders collected everyone's ideas and placed them into a graphic organizer.  Afterwards, each group had to work together on the actual performance and, of course, perform!  Students understood the process better which enabled them to comprehend how cells are able to regenerate and how the heredity material is duplicated and passed on.  

Welcome Back!

It's a new school year, and now that the first nine weeks is coming to a close, the Curriculum and Instruction team is ready to share more of our favorite tips, tricks, and strategies with you! You can expect to see literacy strategies, writing tips, and technology finds that we are integrating into our lessons. Our plan is to have at least one entry each week, so please subscribe to our blog and be on the lookout for updates. Please, let us know if there are any topics you are interested in hearing more about. 

THINK-ALOUDS (pg 121 - 123)

Every teacher is looking for ways to make their students better readers, thinkers, and problem solvers. A think-aloud is categorized as a before reading activity, as a way to show your students an effective way to think though different reading and problems. The professional development book 50 Instructional Routines to Develop Content Literacy describes a productive reader as someone who asks themselves questions, monitor their own understanding, creates visuals, draws inferences, and makes connections to other things they have learned. Some students are able to do this on their own, others need this process modeled for them and explained. What a think-aloud does is makes your thinking process of different situations observable to the students. Which they can then model in their own way. 

Think-Aloud Process:

1. Read a short version, STOP

2. Step aside from the text

3. VERBALIZE to the students what you are doing

4. Repeat for other situations when you see fit

This process can show students that reading is not passive and that we are in control of what we understand. 

Other Subjects:

This is most easily used in English and Social Studies when given stories and short passages. But it can also be used in Math and Science classes. In my math classes I use think-alouds almost every day. I always state the process that I am doing out loud and stop when I see key items that will help students make decisions. I believe that a lot of teachers do this naturally, they just may not know that it is actually a literacy strategy!

Word Scavenger Hunts- p.136-138

The name says it all for this one.  There are a variety of ways for students to find examples, illustrations, or objects to show the definition of vocabulary words.  Here are the steps the book suggests.

Choose a list of words for your unit of study.  It should include about 5-10 words.
Have students define the words.  This could be done electronically or on index cards.
In teams, students gather objects or pictures to show the word's meaning.  This could be done using magazines for pictures, digital pictures put in a document, or actual physical objects.  Add more fun by making it a team competition with a prize.  We all know students can be bribed with food and bonus points!
Teams present their definitions and representations to the class.  The class votes on the best display.
Students can create a collage, power point, or display of items.

I have done a variation of this with my Economics class in the past.  Students have to find pictures online that are examples of vocabulary words.  I plan on fully implementing this strategy when Economics starts next nine weeks.  Students are putting the textbook definition into practice by finding, deciding, and finally choosing something to represent that vocabulary term.  Students have a much better understanding of concepts that may be completely foreign to them (like Economics) when they can visualize something tangible for that vocabulary term.

Vocabulary Cards

A better way to learn vocabulary...vocabulary note cards.  Duh!  See Instructional Routines to Develop Content Literacy for any variations to the vocabulary note card strategy.  There is more than one way to do this activity.  Feel free to modify.  The students need the following: vocabulary list, note cards, a dictionary, and a pencil.

1.  Write the vocabulary word in the middle of the index card.
2.  Write a simplified definition
3.  Write an example of the word and maybe a sentence with the word.
4.  Write a non example of the word or maybe an antonym.
5.  Draw a picture of the word.
6.  Study cards to ace the test!  Awesome!

Word Grids/Semantic Feature Analysis

Word grids allow teachers and students to construct charts to give a visual representation of characteristics of a given topic. A word grid allows students to actively participate as they organize a group of related information. It allows students to demonstrate prior knowledge and also leaves room to record the new information they learn.

For instance, in Geometry, the teacher could start a word grid for quadrilaterals. Of course, students are familiar with many four sided figures such as squares and rectangles. They could quickly identify characteristics of those - four right angles, opposite sides equal, opposite sides parallel, etc. As the chapter progresses, new quadrilaterals such as parallelogram, trapezoid and rhombus could be added to the word grid. By the end of the chapter, students have an excellent study guide with all of the related shapes and characteristics in one location.

Word grids or charts are useful in all subject areas. They can be used anytime during a unit - before, during or after. How do you use word grids in your class?

Jigsaw Groups (page 47 - 50)

Jigsaw is a reading activity that can be used across any content area and can be modified to fit almost any situation. This is great for when teachers want to cover multiple readings (4-5), but does not have the time to have each student read all of them. This is an activity where students are broken up into heterogeneous jigsaw groups of about four or five students, these are called HOME groups. Each person in the home group will choose which reading they will be responsible for. Then students will break into their EXPERT groups. An expert group is where students are all reading the same text (each expert group should have at least one member of each home group). When students return to their home groups they will be able to explain the text they read and discussed. Then every student has been informed on all of the readings you wanted without having to read every single one.

How to:

11. Break students into their HOME groups: in these groups students will determine which of the readings they will be responsible for.

22. Students go to their EXPERT groups: in these groups students will all be reading the same text and then will discuss the reading. Provide adequate time for all groups to read, discuss, and determine the key points each students needs to take back to their home groups.

33. Students return to their HOME groups: back in their home groups students will take turns explaining the reading that they discussed in their expert group. This step is vital because no students will have read all of the readings.

  Helpful Hint: Keep a time frame on the board to help you and the students stay on task.

Modifications:

1. Provide a picture that you want students to analyze

2. Word Problems in math and science

3. Different parts of the same story (so after discussions students have "read" the entire story)

4. Do not use Home and Expert Groups 

In my Algebra 1 class I like to do the Jigsaw activity with word problems. I break student into groups of 3 or 4 and provide them a word problem (you could also use homogeneous groups and provide material that would be at the level of the students in that group). Each group solves the word problem together and must check their answer with me when they are done. Sometimes I do not have students in home groups, instead I have each expert group come to the front of the classroom and become the teacher and then teach the class their word problem and have the others copy down the work and ask questions. 

You could modify this activity to fit into the way your classroom runs. You could also provide discussion question guidelines or specific questions that the students must answer when reading. Everything is up to you!

Socratic Discussion

Socratic discussions allow students to participate in a whole group discussion using predetermined rules and a teacher assigned text. 

Steps for a Socratic Discussion: 
1. Choose the text
The text must be appropriate for the level of the students and have enough depth to allow for adequate discussion. You may want to have a set of contrasting views, a text with layered or ambiguous meaning, or an article addressing an ongoing issue within the field of study. Recently, I had my AP Language students participate in Socratic discussion of their summer reading book Brave New World. They did the reading outside of class, so we had not had a chance to discuss the story together and there were many issues in the story that we will be referencing throughout the course. 

2. Prepare students
Preparing for a discussion is different from being able to answer basic questions. Students will need to refer back to the text, so it will be important for them to annotate or take notes on what they are reading. You may want to provide them with sticky notes or a note-taking sheet. My students annotated the entire text as part of their summer assignment. I returned the books to them for the purpose of refreshing their memories. For other discussions, I have had students use graphic organizers to take notes. 

3. Prepare the questions
Questions should be fairly open ended. Some questions should ask students to relate the topic to their own lives, to the real-world, to the subject, and to other readings or topics. Some research suggests that it is best to start and end the discussion with questions that relate to the student's life. I also like to give my students the questions the day before the discussion and their notes are their ticket to the circle. 

4. Establish expectations
This type of discussion is student-centered. They need to understand that they are the leaders, but they also have to understand how to communicate appropriately. The Socratic discussion is not a debate, but a way for all students to be able to hear and share thoughts and observations. The class needs a good climate, and the teacher may even want to have a class discussion to allow them to establish their discussion rules. You should also discuss how often they will need to speak and how they will be graded.  For the purposes of my class discussion, we discussed showing respect to others and I explained the signalling system that we would be using. I gave each student a card with a yellow side, meaning the comment was related to the previous comment, and a white side, meaning they were adding a new idea or interpretation. The student speaking chose the next speaker.  I had a checklist that I completed during the discussion and a rubric for each student that would determine their score to be completed after the discussion. 

5. Establish the teacher's role
The teacher's role can be as small as you think the students can handle. Some teachers depending on the maturity level of the students may need to act as the moderator to judge when to move on to the next topic and guide students back to the text or topic. It is best to try to remove yourself completely and rely on other students to help guide the conversation. The pre-written questions can serve as an outline for the discussion its self. For my AP class discussion, I was primarily a moderator. I stated the question, then sat back and listened. When the students seemed stuck, I would pose additional questions to get the ball rolling again. 

6. Assess effectiveness
At the end, it is a good practice to have the students reflect on what they have heard and said. The teacher should also give feedback. This reflective activity will help review and solidify any learning that took place during the discussion and allow students to process the information. My AP students journaled about the topics from their discussion and we did a "de-briefing" discussion about ideas to take away from the discussion. They also received their rubric with feedback. 


Take Away: 
Socratic discussion is one way to build the level of inquiry and student-centered learning in your classroom. There are a lot of steps that go into the discussion and it takes several class periods and activities to lead up to discussion day. It is worth all of the effort when students embrace the process and take charge of their own learning.  Socratic seminars stress the value of inquiry and foster social learning. If done correctly, it is a very student-centered activity.

Response Writing

I'd like to write about Response Writing. Have you ever thought about how writing helps students learn? It's true. 

"Writing is thinking. Writing, in fact, is the most disciplined form of thinking. It allows us to be precise, to stand back and examine what we have thought, to see what our words really mean, to see if they stand up to our own critical eye, make sense, will be understood by somebody else." Murray, D. Writing to Learn. 

Writing allows students time to think without interruptions and to consider new information on their own. Consider these suggestions to prompt students to scaffold their learning rather than evaluate it:

1. have students write about what was clear and/or confusing to them during the lesson
2. have students apply new info to a new time, place, or context
3. pose a controversial question related to new info and have students write their opinion

I used Response Writing in my Honors Geometry classes during the first two weeks of this semester. We did an activity in which students had to describe pictures using terms we had just learned without using their hands. Their partner had to draw the picture based solely on what was described. After the activity, students wrote reflections on the activity - what made the activity difficult? Did my partner use the correct vocabulary? Did I understand the terms my partner used? etc.  A few days later, we repeated the activity with different pictures. Again, students were asked to reflect on the experience. Their reflections showed the students built on their previous knowledge and were much more successful the second time around.

Let everyone know how you use Response Writing to help students increase their understanding in your content area.

Anticipation Guide- pages 12-14

Using an anticipation guide is a literacy strategy done before the material is presented.  It is very useful in getting the students interested in what they will be learning and accessing their prior knowledge.  Basically, you identify the key concepts you want students to learn.  The material could come from a book, primary document, lecture, video, or other sources.  Write short statements for each key concept, writing them in a true/false or agree/disagree format.  Present the statements to the students and have them decide they are true or false.  You can use a google form, kahoot, or socrative** to get a class percentage and/or number of students who answered correctly for each statement (this will be useful at end of the lesson too).  Students share their answers and reasoning with a partner or together as a class.  Present the information to the class and have the students go back and decide if they were correct and answer each statement again Students include a written explanation with their answers this time.   Discuss the misconceptions the class had and why.  This is a good time to take another count and compare the percentages again from the start of class.  This can create a meaningful class discussion.

I used this strategy in my Economics class with the topic of establishing credit and the material was presented in a lecture format with a presentation.  There are many misconceptions and little subject knowledge when it comes to this topic.  You can check out the one I made below.  There are also examples in the book on the pages 13 and 14.  This strategy helped to introduce the topic and also helped students to focus on what is most important.   I think this would be a great strategy to use for the groups you have a hard time keeping focused (you know what class I'm talking about).  I will definitely be using more of these anticipation guides.

**Credit must be given to Mrs. Rickwood who helped me with these resources to include!

Reader's Theater

When I chose Reader Theater for my blog I hadn't a clue what the book study would tell about this as a literacy strategy.  I know what Reader's Theater is for me in my classes, but no real idea of how they would make it relevant for other subjects.  If you are already getting visions of students writing plays where they are historical figures, becoming Mikey Molecule, and "acting out" info, yes, that is one way to go.   The authors of our book have provided a different approach.  An approach more in line with a group presentations not theater events.  The example of Reader's Theater they give takes solidly academic material more in line with what students might turn in as a paper and creates from it a script.  Consider these two examples:

PAPER

In order to value the importance and impact of lighting on a stage production you must understand the 5 functions of lighting.  They are general illumination, establishing mood, establishing environment, changing time, changing location, and directing audience focus.

SCRIPT

Speaker 1:  In order value the importance and impact of lighting on a stage production you must understand the 5 functions of lighting.

Speaker 2:  They are general illumination.

Speaker 3: Establishing mood and establishing environment.

Speaker 2:  Changing time and changing location.

Speaker 1: And directing focus.

It's still the same information, but now because the readers are carrying equal responsibilities  in the delivery and they are dealing with smaller "bites" of information the tone is more conversational. This benefits the speakers by allowing them time look at the paper while others are speaking, grab  the next lines, and then look up when it is their turn to talk.  Because the Reader's Theater format deals with sentences instead of paragraphs students are less likely to lose their place, forget what to say, and get flustered. Reader's theater has advantages for the audience too.  It helps them stay engaged by using changes of voice and energy on a continuous level without the boring predictability of one person talking for more 2 or 4 sentences.

That's really all there is to it_ no costumes, no props, no talking equations or plant cells.  Just providing students with a tool for doing presentations which only allows them to show us what they know, but with the added benefits of  practicing strong communication skills and gaining confidence.    

 CURTAIN