Student learning is no accident!
“The ones that are doing the talking are doing the learning.” I know that. But, no matter how many times I say it, the impact on student learning in front of me is profound and somehow surprising. There is no example stronger than that of talking about fractions in math class. I’ve spent most of my career spending part of… Read More
If teaching fifth and sixth graders has taught me anything, it’s that fractions and decimals can be ABSTRACT and TRICKY… and that kids have to be developmentally ready to perform operations on them. The good news is- the standards aren’t encouraging us to get kids to add, subtract, multiply and divide 5/32 and 16/71! We make equivalent fractions as a… Read More
You know that buzz of collaboration and learning that you hope for everyday? It happens when we play this game. Every. Single. Time. If you like Boggle, you’ll love this game. Word Wrangle is a fun classroom word game inspired by my love of Boggle and also my love of quiet. Once upon a time, I bought SIX Boggle games… Read More
In my second grade classroom, I’ve recently identified a troubling gap in my students’ learning… Counting. I know how important counting is… and we have been counting all year. We count while we wait in line, we count backwards and forwards, by 2s, 3s, 5s, 10s and more. We start in the hundreds, we start in the teens… So, why… Read More
The view from down here. “It all falls on the classroom teacher, it always does” she reminded me. This was my mother. A retired elementary school teacher, who had made it the long haul. In the classroom for her entire career, advocating for kids, mentoring new teachers- reminding me when I express frustration in the system that, I shouldn’t be… Read More
What better way to develop an Environment of Respect and Rapport than by developing a 1:1 relationship with each student??Watch Rick connect with students about their reading during conferences. What does he do/ say that develops an environment of respect and rapport? What does Rick communicate to his students with his verbal and non-verbal language? I’ve seen similar successes with… Read More
Brilliant suggestion from my amazing friend at Teach Anyway:
To learn more about what it feels like to be a student with learning or attention difficulties, follow this link. You can select the criteria (grade and specific challenges) and you will be lead through a simulated experience and hear from students experiencing similar challenges. Powerful stuff!
www.understood.org/en/through-your-childs-eyes
Brilliant!!Before students show what they know, give them a chance to put their heads together, suggests educator Howie Hua:
🚨Genius Hack Alert!!!🚨
👀Hint cards!!! Have you tried this?? 🏆
Hint cards are my FAVORITE way to scaffold for a variety of learner needs in the same room.
🌈I use hint cards for all subjects. Here’s how I use them to differentiate in my math classroom, but keep an eye 👀out for my writing hint cards soon!✍🏻
#differentiation #mathintervention
