by Alicia | Jul 31, 2018 | 21st Century Skills, Differentiating Instruction, Engaging Students in Learning, Instructional Strategies, Thinking Math
“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...
by Alicia | Jun 19, 2018 | Differentiating Instruction, Instructional Strategies, math, Using Questioning/ Prompts and Discussion Techniques
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...
by Alicia | Jun 5, 2018 | 21st Century Skills, Differentiating Instruction, Instructional Strategies, Issues Beginning Teachers Face, Literacy
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...
by Alicia | Apr 17, 2018 | 21st Century Skills, Instructional Strategies, Uncategorized, Using Questioning/ Prompts and Discussion Techniques
Class Discussion Norms (In my class, these become our Community Norms and replace any “rules”) Equity of Voice: Monitor your airtime. As a group member you are responsible to be a speaker AND a listener. You are also responsible to invite others to speak. Equal(ish)...
by Alicia | May 17, 2015 | Instructional Strategies, math, Thinking Math, Using Questioning/ Prompts and Discussion Techniques
We have moved on to subtraction with renaming (2.NBT.7). You might call this regrouping… but really- if we think literally about what’s happening- we’re also giving the values new names! 50+10 is a different name for 60. So, renaming,...
by Alicia | Apr 28, 2015 | Differentiating Instruction, Engaging Students in Learning, Instructional Strategies, math
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...
