Using these strategies regularly can help elementary school teachers ensure that their rooms are inviting and productive.
As students engage in learning tasks it is important that teachers provide both surface and deep learning. We begin with opportunities to build background and find out what students already know. Then students collaborate and work independently on tasks that require increasing complexity. One way to think of this complexity is with Webb’s Depth of Knowledge (DOK). In this post, I will focus on DOK especially in primary reading.
I’m reading Patricia Jennings’ book Mindfulness for Teachers: Simple Skills for Peace and Productivity in the Classroom. The content is important every day of the school year, but as we approach the last nine days at my school I find it even more meaningful. The only thing I can truly control is myself, and if I can show up for my students and colleagues in a way that shows I am 100% present, I truly believe this can be the best end of the year yet!
My latest Edutopia article was published today. Click on the image below to read the article:
I’m happy to share my 13th Edutopia article!
How Teachers Can Set and Maintain Reasonable Expectations for Themselves
Happy Reading All!
Another article on Edutopia! Enjoy….
Taping a podcast is definitely a bit out of my comfort zone, and sharing it feels even more out of my comfort zone. However I’m trying to model productive struggle and risk taking for my students, so here it goes:
I’m excited to share my second appearance on a podcast!
This episode is with two people I respect greatly:
I am honored to have been invited into this rich conversation. Thank you to Marcie Pfeifer-Soderbloom for facilitating!
In a learning institution such as a school, we face many changes as we learn more about teaching and learning, as we gain insight about the genius each of our students brings to our community, and as we collaborate to find adaptive solutions to our puzzles of practice. In this post, I want to describe a model we have used in my school district to reflect on change and strive to support teachers as we engage in change processes. This model, developed by Hendrik Knoster, is called the Knoster Model.
Small group instruction has the potential to accelerate learning for students if used with intention and flexibility. In this post, I will summarize small group considerations that were discussed in Heggerty’s Exploring the Power of Small Group Literacy Instruction webinar. The focus of the webinar is on foundational literacy instruction. Heggerty calls these “truths” and aims to dispel “myths” around small group instruction. I call them considerations because teaching is a science and teachers make decisions based on the students in front of them and their understanding of best practices in literacy.
Continue reading “Maximizing the Impact of Small Group Instruction”
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about discourse, oral language, and the amount of talk kids engage in throughout their days at school. Two resources that I share in this post support the importance of providing meaningful, plentiful opportunities for kids to talk for various purposes.