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 | 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 | Apr 17, 2018 | Involving Families, Using Questioning/ Prompts and Discussion Techniques
Current Events. It’s been done to death. And I get that. What I’m going to share with you is not really about current events. The context just happens to be Current Events- but it could be anything… (so insert your own context!) It’s about academic discussions-...
by Alicia | Apr 17, 2018 | 21st Century Skills, Communicating with Students, Establishing a Culture for Learning, Involving Families, Using Questioning/ Prompts and Discussion Techniques
Using Sentence Stems and Explicit Instruction for Classroom Discussions Teaching discussion skills can be daunting! You know you want productive, positive discussions… but how do you get there? Here’s some of what works for me! Body Language &...
by Alicia | Mar 5, 2018 | 21st Century Skills, educoach, Engaging Students in Learning, Establishing a Culture for Learning, Using Questioning/ Prompts and Discussion Techniques
I used to cringe watching students stuff papers into their folders to be lost in the locker abyss… after I had spent so much time thoughtfully providing feedback on their work!! I spend so much time writing thoughtful questions about their math thinking and comments...
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,...
