Classroom Integration

Take it up a notch…just a notch! Easy lesson upgrades…

April 27, 2014 by Amber 1 Comment

How can you easily take an assignment you’ve already got in your lesson plans and kick it up notch? Here are some easy ideas for those who need a spark to kick it up a notch!

Pick three – five students to ask to create a lesson on what you’re learning about, instead of completing your assessment. Let them choose the grading scale, manner of delivery. Allow them then to pick three – five students to share it with, while you’re going over what you had planned to assess with the rest of the class.
Vocabulary Expert: Let students choose vocabulary words from the lesson you’re about to teach that they feel they know so well they could teach them. Match partners and allow them ten minutes to teach what they know. (What better way to start a lesson then with students feeling successful?)
Let Ss create their own assessment. One of our amazing teachers let her students do this as a cumulative activity and she was blown away with how well they did. She then let them exchange their assesments to keep the lesson going. Check out their question formats!
Take the five different activities you were going to do for the week and turn them into centers. Upper grades should be scaffolded this way as well! This is a GREAT way to make sure that differentiation occurs in your classroom. If students are broken up into “centers”, it will be more difficult for each student to know what others are doing. You can work remediation lessons into the students who need it, and allow your higher performing students to work on extension skills/concepts.
Turn whatever activity you’re working on into a classroom jigsaw activity. Give groups of students the different questions to answer separately and then come back together as a group to debrief.
Think flexible learning spaces and environments. How can you mix it up, even just for a class period? Let Ss move around, go into the hall, computer lab, library…an opportunity for your “rock stars” to get a change of (s)pace!
Recognize that lower level types of questions only have one answer, but higher level questions can have several “right” answers. Watch this video and evaluate the power of the “correct” answer.

Lesson upgradeN,

Amber

Vocab Rehab, an ASCD arias…& a give away!

April 5, 2014 by Amber 1 Comment

Last week we met with grade level teams to discuss our most recent benchmark data. Resoundingly, there was an understanding that while students may know the concept or skill, what was most lacking, in grades 3-5, science, reading, and math…was vocabulary. More specifically, lack of vocabulary mastery. Each grade level mentioned it, and some discussed specific vocabulary words that were embedded within the test that weren’t at all related to the content being taught. How as a teacher can you find time to teach “one more thing”?

Imagine my delight when I remembered I’d grabbed a recent ASCD arias, titled “Vocab Rehab”, by Marilee Sprenger. Knowing it would be a quick read (all arais’s are designed to be short & sweet!) I intentionally got to a restaurant 30 minutes before a dinner date to meet a friend. That was all it took to blow my mind!

Ms. Sprenger began the book with research to illustrate the importance of a vocabulary enriched classroom. She specifically mentions needing to “teach up”, not watering down academic vocabulary within instruction. Vocabulary acquisition is cumulative,meaning students with high vocabularies learn new words faster than students with more limited vocabularies (Referenced from a study by Hart & Risley, 2003).

She gives multiple 10 minute lessons that can help increase vocabulary instruction that can apply to any subject at any grade level. The list of ways “not” to teach vocabulary rang a bell…assignments like “use the word in a sentences, find and define, write and draw a picture”, all assignments given BEFORE a student truly understands a word. By using the integrated strategies Ms. Sprenger shares will ensure students KNOW the words, vs just being able to recognize a definition. The ability to read & understand a word within context require more than just a “look it up”!

My two favorite activities? Let’s say you have 10-15 words you want to teach. Give each student a lanyard with either a vocabulary word or a synonym for one of the new words. Have students line up by “like” terms, or antonyms throughout the week. Call by like meanings, or opposites.

I also like the idea of giving student a lanyard with a new vocabulary word, it’s definition, synonyms, and antonyms to wear each day. They can partner quiz at restroom breaks, in the lunch line, etc. Once a word is mastered or used successfully in class, they can switch lanyards. Easy!

There are so many gems of greatness is this book, I highly recommend it to anyone who recognizes how valuable vocabulary instruction should be. It focuses on easy ways to form strong connections in the brain over a short period of time…every teachers goal!

I happen to have an extra copy of the ASCD arias “Vocab Rehab”, if you’re interested! Enter to win by with your information below!

[gravityform id=”4″ name=”Win your own of Marilee Sprenger’s “Vocab Rehab”!”]

(This giveaway will end in one week, on April 12th!)

Vocab rehabbed,

Amber

5 ways to stay connected to the Olympics, in class!

January 30, 2014 by Amber 2 Comments

The winter games are upon us! These are such golden opportunities to teach your students using an event that is exciting, competitive, and GLOBAL. While it probably isn’t in your curriculum, I encourage you to have a conversation (at the least!) with your students about this current event.

Here are FIVE fun resources that I’ve come across to help keep you and your students engaged!

An Olympic “Opening Games” bingo game! What a way to “play” along at home!
Follow the official website of the Olympic movement to stay up to date on the latest news! Read news articles, watch videos, or view photos of latest events. Short articles offer information about Sochi such as information on the city and the sports venues, which is fascinating! You can also choose links at the bottom of the page to explore similar information for other Olympic host cities both past and future.
From working with teachers around the world, the Australian Olympic Committee has developed the Sochi 2014 Olympic Resource that features primary cross-curriculum lesson plans and student handouts themed around the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Now, while these may be the dreaded “W” word, I think you could easily turn them into an interactive bulletin board or a game. Cut’em up!
Printable Olymic medals! Have the spelling games, or math fact games…or any kinda games where you can win your own Olympic medal!

Olympic games story paper! I LOVE the create your own olympic story idea! Great for upper grades too. This one is my fave! A foldable story booklet…just imagine the creativity you could unleash here!And finally…what event would be complete without its very own infographic!

Gold medal earner, 😉

Amber

Make an intentional DIGITAL difference!

January 28, 2014 by Amber 2 Comments

Digital Learning Day is about giving every child the opportunity to learn in a robust digital environment everyday, with the goal of success in college and a career. On Wednesday, February 5, tens of thousands of teachers and millions of students across the country will participate in the third annual Digital Learning Day—a national celebration of innovative teaching and common-sense, effective applications of digital learning in America’s schools that support teachers, improve learning, and help students achieve at their highest potential. We here at Watson MST have a higher cause to celebrate this day, this is the style of learning we are leading our MST charge with. To make this day stand out, I am offering different ways that you can add some digital spice to your classroom. I’ve attached a digital challenge bucket list…if you can complete 5 of these activities through the month of February, I’ll either do a week of your duty or teach your class for three hours. Your choice! Now, 5 out of the list…that will require some extra effort on your part, but I think you can do it! Set a personal goal..can’t handle 5? Do one, do two…just make a digital difference, intentionally, this month! Day 1, I gave ya yesterday via email:

Virtual Valentines

The K-12 Virtual Valentines Project designed to teach students geographical awareness and cultural understanding while connecting classrooms all around the world for Valentine’s Day. Our goal is to circumnavigate the globe with virtual Valentines. Whether your students are in kindergarten or are seniors in high school, this project will help them learn something new. This project is being organized by the EdTech Chat ‘n Chew Podcast Team. Our mission is to help you empower your students through 21st Century learning. Throughout the year we’ll be sharing opportunities for your students to learn by connecting with others around the world. Feel free to use the twitter hashtag: #k12valentines Day 2: Have a conversation about DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP and what it means to be active learners in a world full of other people’s creativity. Start conversations about what it means to be a digital citizen from this poster, print it out, and hang it outside of your classroom.

Here is the bucket list….game on! Amber

A search engine that provides a digital conversation, happy grokking!

January 8, 2014 by Amber 1 Comment

I had the opportunity, the privilege really, of presenting with Eric Sheniger and Carrie Jackson at this years Learning Forward conference. The topic was “Being Connected: It’s No Longer an Option”.

This conversation is a blog post in itself. Eric shared a tool I hadn’t seen before. InstaGrok. InstaGrok is a way to conduct informal online research as a starting point for more in-depth learning. What a thought provoking way to introduce a concept for students. It create a concept map with connected websites, videos, and images, all related to the topic you are searching for.

instagrok1

instagrok2 instagrok3

Starting a search is easy. Type in a topic or concept that you want to research. If you are researching a person, type their first and last name. A concept map will appear. You can click on any bubble to go deeper into that area of the map.

To add a research fact to your map click on the pin next to the fact on the key fact section on the right hand side. To view the web sites that populate the facts, click on more next to websites on the right hand side. You can narrow down websites by concepts by clicking on the concepts on the right hand side. Once you find the website you want to use, click on the pin to add it to your map, and/or click on the link to go to the website. To view the web sites that relate to the facts, click on more next to videos on the right hand side. You can select the difficult level with the bar at the top of the page or by looking at the icons (chalk board means easy, cap means middle to high, and the Einstein means high). This works for web sites and facts too!

There are options to journal within the program and also to create a quiz. I think this would be a great starting place to jumpstart conversations within your classroom on a n concept you’re introducing to your students. It would also be an excellent opportunity to discuss the need to verify and ascertain informations’ credibility that can be found online.

Modeling finding and verifying accurate and credible resources is a skill that students of all ages need, and by using a fun, engaging tool, you can have that conversation without sounding “anti- internet”.

serachingly,

Amber