The Winning Team: Build the tallest structure measured from the table top surface to the top of the marshmallow. That means the structure cannot be suspended from a higher structure, like a chair, ceiling or chandelier. The Entire Marshmallow Must be on Top: The entire marshmallow needs to be on the top of the structure. Cutting or eating part of the marshmallow disqualifies the team. Use as Much or as Little of the Kit: The team can use as many or as few of the 20 spaghetti sticks, as much or as little of the string or tape. The team cannot use the paper bag as part of their structure. Break up the Spaghetti, String or Tape: Teams are free to break the spaghetti, cut the string or tape to make the structure.
Students must see the value in what they are learning and how it applies to their lives, cultures and interests.
We can do this as educators by creating activities that help engage students on one or all of these levels.
Quick Write
Reflect on the Marshmallow Challenge. In what ways did your behavior during the challenge affect the outcome of your team? Were you a successful team? Why or why not? What would you do differently if allowed another chance to complete the challenge? In what ways could a challenge like this work in your classroom to engage your students and teach them cooperative learning skills?
Please see the below video for additional information regarding the Marshmallow Challenge.
Why shouldn't you give students the opportunity to write often and regularly? If not you, then who?
In this entry, we will discuss why all content areas should have a focus on writing regularly in the classroom.
The Difference Between Writing to Learn and Learning to Write
When you are a math teacher, the idea of teaching a student to write can be overwhelming. Non-language arts teachers often feel they do not have the skills necessary to teach writing. This prevents them from incorporating a great technique, like Writing to Learn, in their classrooms. There is a big difference in teaching writing and having students write to learn. The key to having students write to learn, is to find authentic purposes for writing in your classroom, model your expectations around writing, allow ample time for students to practice before being graded, and offering genuine feedback so students can grow.
Authentic Purposes for Writing
Students must understand why they are writing in math class or art class before they can truly engage with the effort it takes to write. Teachers must be transparent about the many ways students will utilize writing in their lives, regardless of their occupations. Students must be able to see how professionals in the different subject ares are using writing. Students are already communicating with each other linguistically for several hours during the day, texting, emailing, posting on Facebook or Twitter. Writing can be both formal or informal. Students must see the importance of representing themselves positively through their writing and also, finding meaning in what they are learning through their writing. The following websites offer many writing assignment ideas to help you begin to incorporate writing or incorporate writing on a larger scale in your classroom.
Writing Across the Curriculum - This is a complete guide on the why and how of incorporating writing into your classroom.
Modeling Writing Expectations
If teachers don't see themselves as writers, how will they teach students the importance of writing regularly? You must start with yourself. You must begin to reflect on your teaching practices, your personal experiences and your professional decisions before you can engage students in writing.
You should always know your expectations for your student writing before assigning writing. When you know your expectations, I want students to write quietly for 3 minutes summarizing the day's learning, you are able to model this expectation, monitor it and evaluate the progress which leads to feedback. You have to get comfortable with modeling writing. Be honest with the students when you know you have some insecurities around spelling or grammar, let them know that the most important part of their writing is that they are writing to learn the concepts. Grammar and spelling are things that can be worked on and are worked on the in the language arts classroom. Prepare what you plan to model prior to your class, but write with your students and in front of your students even though you already know what you are going to write. In the beginning, this takes some of the anxiety out of modeling. Once you are more comfortable with modeling, you can model right in front of them without having written out exactly what you plan to model.
Most importantly, see yourself as a writer so that your students can see themselves as writers. Start writing in your free time as a way to professionally develop this skill. Writing is just like playing a sport, it takes time and practice.
Allow Time for Practice
Students need to get comfortable with writing before they start receiving grades on their writing. This does not mean you can't give feedback. In fact, you should be giving as much feedback to students on their writing, as regularly as possible. It can be as informal as a brief one on one conversation at the student's desk, to a rubric you've filled out based on their writing assignment. Students need that feedback so that they can set goals for improvement. Once you've modeled expectations for your students around their writing, they then need ample time to practice while receiving constant informal and some formal feedback.
Giving Genuine Feedback
Do not become overwhelmed with trying to enhance your student's writing around grammar and conventions. Be more concerned with is the student demonstrating an understanding of the concepts you've presented. Comment on the student's thinking rather than their writing. Only give 1-3 ways the student can improve their writing for next time. You do not want to discourage the student from writing in the future. You want them to know that their writing can and will grow with practice. Show students your own growth with writing through allowing them to see different drafts of your writing developed over time for the more formal writing assignments you assign. Write with your students so that they can see, not even teachers have perfect writing the first time around. It takes practice and constructive feedback for someone to improve. Give them examples of good writing that consists of the areas you wish for that student to focus. There are two major ways to give feedback on writing, written or orally. Informal conferencing tends to lend itself to the greatest growth, because it is tailored to the student's needs and it is easier for a student to understand than a note left on their paper.
Read Write Think is another great resource for writing to learn in your classroom.
ANNOTATING TEXT
Annotating a text, can help students make meaningful connections to what they are required to read. Annotation is a great resource to use to help students get started writing after reading quicker. If they've already thought through responses to the text while they were reading, it is easier for them to get started writing immediately after reading. Annotating makes summarizing less difficult, because a larger text is broken down in to small chunks while reading. Like with your expectations of writing, you must model, model, model annotating. The below link is a helpful article regarding how to go about annotating with your students.
Respond to the quote below by relating it to your work ethic and your views on teaching.
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." Abe Lincoln
3 Person Groups
Each person is going to share their lesson plan. You are going to make meaningful comments and give constructive feedback to help your partners improve their lesson or make them aware of potential challenges.
After you finish discussing, you may take the rest of the time to ask questions and work on your lesson plan.
We've discussed connecting to students through authentic purposes for learning. We've discussed involving students by engaging them in a meaningful way in the lesson. As we continue to look at how teachers are taking these daunting tasks and accomplishing amazing things in their classrooms, we will continue to focus on how to make the observing of these teachers meaningful to us as classroom teachers. The below video is another example of a teacher that has connections with her students that enable a meaningful learning environment. Video #2 You are going to take detailed notes over her lesson in order to complete your Video Reflection #2 paper and have a discussion with your classmates about what you say in the video. Please be able to answer the below questions.
What was she doing to engage her students?
How did her lesson connect to the 3 Class Domains?
What are you taking away from this lesson that you can utilize in your own classroom?
After viewing the video, we will continue to discuss strategies that will increase student learning and engagement. Please see the below links to help you plan intentionally for increased engagement and rigor in your lesson planning. 4 Ways to Increase Engagement Bloom's Taxonomy Revised Bloom's Taxonomy Wheel With the Bloom's Taxonomy Wheel you were given, write for 15 minutes about your lesson and where it falls on the wheel. Determine if your lesson is a higher level, how you've scaffolded to ensure your students are successful. Or if your lesson is lower, how will you increase the rigor of your lesson later on in your school year to challenge your students. Finally, get with a partner and discuss your lesson planning process.
What steps have you taken to come up with your lesson?
How will you know if your students have taken away from your lesson what you wanted them to?
What checking for understanding techniques do you see yourself using most often in your classroom?
Represent visually your learning and understanding of the lesson planning process.
Read through the CLASS Domain information. "Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand." Write for 10 minutes about how this quote relates to the different CLASS Domains and lesson planning using the CLASS Domain documents.
3 ways to involve students in learning are Inquiry-Based Learning, Project-Based Learning and involving student choice by focusing on the Multiple Intelligences.
Summarize your learning of these 3 techniques, CLASS domains and how all of these together can inform your lesson planning. Be prepared to respond during a class discussion to the essential questions: "How has learning about CLASS informed your lesson planning?" "What are the challenges you anticipate encountering while lesson planning?" "What are the advantages of using IBL, MI and PBL?"
Student engagement can be achieved through intentional planning and consistent effort on the part of the teacher. We are going to read the article,"The 8 C's of Engagement."
Before reading, make a prediction about what you think the 8 C's of Engagement are. Write these down.
While reading, complete the 3-2-1 activity.
3 Phrases/Ideas that you plan to use in your classroom 2 Phrases/Ideas that were new to you 1 Question you still have
After reading the article, get with your group and visually represent your understanding of your group's assigned section. Your group will present over your section.
Group 1 - What Do We Mean By Engagement? Group 2 - The Value of Engagement Group 3 - Four Human Drives Group 4 - The 8 C's of Engagement Group 5 - Designing for Engagement (Blueprint for a lesson) Group 6 - Mr. Cogito's Lesson
Taking Standards and changing them into Objectives
Read the document about creating objectives. Then create your own objectives.
Example
Standard: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings.
Objective: Students will read a variety of poems in order to discuss and interpret the meaning of various forms of figurative language such as metaphors, similes, personification and hyperbole.
VIDEO ANALYSIS
Take notes over the three CLASS DOMAINS while watching the video in order to write your first Video Reflection.
Motivating students takes time and effort on the part of the teacher. Students who enjoy choice, receive meaningful feedback and feel empowered demonstrate intrinsic motivation. Setting up your classroom so that it elicits intrinsic motivation can be intentional when well planned. Read the article, "Motivating Students" in preparation to participate in the below Jigsaw Strategy. Sections of the article: 1. General Strategies 2. Incorporating Instructional Behaviors that Motivate Students 3. Structuring the Course to Motivate Students 4. De-emphasizing Grades 5. Motivating Students by Responding to Their Work and Motivating students to do the Reading.
Jigsaw Strategy II
1. Read the article 2. Write a short summary (5-7 sentences) about your assigned section of the article. 3. Get with your expert group to write a collaborative summary that incorporates the ideas of the entire group. 4. Post your summary on your poster board. 5. Participate in the gallery walk and read the other summaries of the other sections of the article.
3 Take-aways The world is ending and you can only take away 3 things from the text with you to the next planet to share your knowledge of "Helping Students to Construct Usable Knowledge." You can choose 3 things from your reading or your group's discussion. Write them down on your Exit Slip.
Writing a lesson is just like putting together the different pieces of a puzzle to obtain a finished product. There are many ways to go about planning a lesson. Today we will begin by finding out how to find our content objectives on the KSDE and the DESE websites. This is the first step in planning a lesson.
TEACHING SHOULD BE...
But first, I want you to respond to one of the following quotes from your textbook by telling me what you think it means. Choose the one you agree with most and tell me how you see this idea of teaching affecting your classroom and lesson planning. Then finally I want you to tell me if you believe it is possible to incorporate all 4 ideas about teaching in your classroom and tell me how you will do this.
"The first group believes that schools should equip students with knowledge that is lasting, important and fundamental to the human experience."
"The second group believes that the natural course of child development should be the basis for curriculum planning."
"The third group works backward from perceptions of society's needs, seeking to design schooling to prepare children to fulfill adult roles in the society."
"Finally the fourth group seeks to use schools to combat social injustice and promote social change."
AUTHENTIC ACTIVITIES
What are authentic activities? Why should the activities you include in your classroom be authentic?
After taking a look at the content standards/objectives, make a list of at least 5 activities you believe are meaningful and you wish to incorporate into your classroom.
For Example:
Students will make reflection notebooks that allow them to record insights about the different genres we are reading in order to relate the experiences in the classroom to their lives outside of school and current events.
Students will create a vocabulary journal to track their expanding vocabulary throughout the school year.
Students will participate in reading groups in order to discuss themes, concepts and ideas that we are reading with their peers.
LESSON PLANNING
Lets look at some sample lesson plans to answer the below questions.
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN A LESSON PLAN? WHAT ARE THE STEPS TO CREATING A LESSON PLAN?
Microteaching Instructions
You will present a 10 minute portion of your 90 minute lesson plan. Your lesson plan should incorporate the things we've discussed in class such as authentic learning activities, cooperative learning, high engagement activities. You will present either July 29th or July 31st. Please bring all materials necessary for the students in our class and myself to participate in your micro lesson.
Write briefly how you will deal with the following situations.
1. A student who is normally on task and participates actively, suddenly becomes withdrawn and sleeps in class.
2. A student never turns in homework. You've called home and can never reach anyone. The student is failing your course and other courses.
3. A group of students in your class often say inappropriate things under their breath and disrupt your learning environment by laughing loudly. The other students in the class begin to mimic these behaviors.
What will you do to enforce your rules? What will your consequences be for breaking rules?
How will you make your students understand the importance of the rules and get them to buy into the rules?
Beginning to develop your Classroom Management Plan. Cooperative Learning to Enhance Student Engagement Choose one of the cooperative learning strategies from "Looking in Classrooms" and describe how you could utilize this strategy in a lesson. Group Investigation Jigsaw Student Teams-Achievement Divisions Jigsaw II Think/Pair Share Numbered Heads Together Pens in the Middle Group Interview Write a procedure that details how students will participate in this cooperative learning strategy.
What are some other ways to increase engagement of students besides cooperative learning?
Rules establish the expectations of classroom behavior. Procedures describe how to complete daily tasks. Watch the scene from "Stand and Deliver" and determine what procedures this teacher has in place.
Classroom Rules and Procedures
Come up with 5 rules stated positively. Come up with 10 procedures from the list we created as a class.
Teacher Characteristics
Choose 5 characteristics from the list we created that you will focus on developing in your first year of teaching. Explain why each characteristic is important to you and you believe it to be essential to having a connection with students and an organized classroom.
1. Consider the grade you teach (or plan to teach) and identify the ten most important skills, attitudes, or behaviors a teacher must possess in order to instruct effectively at this level. Keep this list so you can compare it with your thoughts after you have read the entire book.
2. To what extent do you think it necessary or advisable to use extrinsic motivation approaches (rewards, competition)? If you intend to do so, how do you plan to minimize their undesirable side effects?
3. What does it mean to say that a student "is motivated" or "has no motivation"? What evidence would lead you to make such judgements?
Emotional Support is a CLASS Domain. This domain is particularly important when considering how to set the tone or environment in your classroom. Think of those teachers in school that you loved. Why did you love them? What experiences did you have because of them? In this video, a teacher discusses her classroom. You are going to write down 3 take-aways from this video for your own classroom.
1. Each person in the group needs to letter themselves A, B, C, D
2. Student A reads the passage they felt a connection to while reading the text.
3. Students B-D respond to the passage keeping their comments under 1 minute.
4. Student A has 2 minutes to explain the significance of the passage after everyone else in the group has commented.
Repeat with each student in the group.
Shared Reading Activity
Shared reading is a strategy that can enhance reading for students of all ages. It allows students to hear and practice speaking with emotion. It allows students to reread a text for more clarity and depth.
Read the following poem with a group and listen for the words that are repeated. When you are finished reading the poem through as a group 3 times, write what words or phrases you connect to and explain why.
In Good Hands
a classroom is a magical place In the hands of a gifted teacher There’s a smile on each child's face In the Hands of a Gifted Teacher Creative Energy is Everywhere In the Hands of a Gifted Teacher There’s a Catalyst who Genuinely Cares In the Hands of a Gifted Teacher Desire and Wonder is Awakened In the Hands of a Gifted Teacher The Educational Agenda is Shaken In the Hands of a Gifted Teacher Self-Management Skills are Modeled In the Hands of a Gifted Teacher The Best of Reality is Bottled In the Hands of a Gifted Teacher Gifts and Talents are Refined In the Hands of a Gifted Teacher The Willed Future is Designed
In the hands of a gifted teacher
Ultimate Cyan
Reflection Activity
Regie Routman discusses connecting to students in her book, "Reading Essentials." After reading this chapter, respond to the following questions in order to reflect on your learning.
Reflection on Learning – How does the poem
connect to Chapter 2 of Regie Routman’s book? How does what Regie Routman says
about connecting to students help you or confuse you? How do you plan to
connect to your most difficult students?
