Week of March 24

                 Thursday Thoughts March 24

Tonight's blog is a huge milestone for me.  This is my 100th blog!  What started as a way to share information, feature best practices and spotlight staff members, has turned into a labor of love.  I don't take my job or the responsibility of  helping staff members grow, lightly.  Several people have told me that they look forward to the weekly blogs and some have even joked that they know to look for it around 10:00 pm each week.  I can't say how long I will continue to write a blog or if the content will change, but I will say that on at least 100 occasions over the past few years, I have been able to do what I love.  Through this blog, I have been able to recognize the hard work that you are doing, give you things that you can put in your teaching toolbox for future use and speak from my heart.  While we don't always have good days, I truly believe that there is at least one good thing that happens each day.  Thank you for giving me a reason to find something good in my day at least 100 times over the last couple of years.  I will be taking a break from the blog next week, but I will be rested and ready to share on April 14th.  

Staff Spotlight

This week I would like to shine the spotlight on Megan Barnes.  Taking over a class well after the school year begins is quite a challenge.  The expectations that students, parents, the grade level and administrators have can be overwhelming.  Megan stepped in and took the time to get to know her students and her team.  She keeps students engaged at high levels and works hard to provide them with new challenges.  She loves math and science and her passion shines through in the creative activities that she plans.  You will often see her students coding with their class robots Dash and Dot.  Students in her class are buzzing about and excited about learning. Megan, thank you for the work you are doing with students.

Personalized Learning

5 Ways To Help Students Ask Better Questions

Teach Thought

by Terry Heick  March 21 2016

There’s nothing I care more about than students, and there are few things I think can serve a student better than being able to ask the right question at the right time.

In “Why Questions Are More Important Than Answers,” I said that “Questioning is the art of learning. Learning to ask important questions is the best evidence of understanding there is, far surpassing the temporary endorphins of a correct “answer.” And while I sometimes disagree with things I say after hearing or reading them later, that still holds up.

Questions are causes and effects of learning.

I saw the above graphic a few months ago while I was researching question-formation strategies. That post is still about 2/3 finished but after that long, I thought it made sense to share this graphic to kind of frame that content whenever I finally get off my keister and get it together.

Warren Berger shared it last year on edutopia, so I thought I’d help build on it by adding some strategies for each of the ideas. Note: Berger is the author of A More Beautiful Question: The Power Of Inquiry To Spark Breakthrough Ideas (affiliate link), a worthwhile read for any educator or parent, if not grade 10+ student.

If you have any you’d like to add to the mix, take to the comments, or head on over to edutopia’s original post and contribute there.

5 Ways To Help Students Ask Better Questions

1. Make it safe.

Use write-arounds, exit slips, or backchannel discussions for sharing questions.

2. Make it cool.

Publish the best questions. Have a question hall-of-fame. (I used to take huge post-it notes and hang them all over the walls and write great questions I over-heard during class–called it “intellectual graffiti.” Students loved re-reading these–especially students from other classes who’d ask “Who asked this? Who said that?,” and were often floored at my responses.)

3. Make it fun.

Create a concept-map of the short and long-term effects of a great question. Write them on post-cards and have students #hashtag instagram or twitter posts holding said cards. (Here’s an old but still mostly useful post–1oo twitter tips for teachers–with related ideas.)

4. Make it rewarding.

Give actual points for good questions. Help them ask great questions about their own lives, and create “assignments” where they have to follow-through somehow on that inquiry.

5. Make it stick.

The more authentic and non-academic the great questions are, and the more often they’re revisited (naturally and authentically), the more they will stick.

Habitudes- (Growth Mindset)

Looking Ahead

Exciting things are happening with PBIS!  Check in with Andrea and Erin to learn about the blacktop project! 

Week of March 17

                 Thursday Thoughts March 17

This is the time of year that I refer to as March Madness.  No I am not talking about the political primaries or the NCAA Tournament (although I am sure you are working on your brackets). However, I am referring to this time period in school leading up to Spring Break.  Student misbehavior increases, parents are uncertain about testing and staff members are tired, thus a little less tolerant.  I get it.  We have two weeks until Spring Break and then approximately six weeks or so until the end of the year.  It's crunch time and the pressure is on.  As we embark on testing, school close out and of course the big summer renovation, let's be purposeful in making sure that we finish strong.  We will have to pack extra patience and positivity to make it.  But we WILL make it.  In the end, this school year will be a slam dunk (corny, I know). 

Staff Spotlight

This week I would like to shine the spotlight on Jennifer Birkmeyer.   This is just Jennifer's second year teaching and it is her first year teaching 1st grade.  She works hard to meet the needs of each of her students.  She seeks advice on how to help her struggling learners and is willing to try anything to help them succeed.   I have participated in SST meetings for her students and she always comes to the meetings with current data, "glows and grows" and work samples.  Parents have commented on how much they appreciate what she does to help their child improve.  And I would be remiss if I did not commend Jennifer on her attendance.  To date, Jennifer has only taken one sick day in her two years at Medlock.   If my memory serves me correctly, that was a day that she became ill at work and had to go home.  To say that Jennifer is committed to her students and our school is an understatement.    Jennifer, we thank you for the dedication and care that you take with each of your students. Now be sure to take a day off for yourself!

Personalized Learning

21 Cool Anchor Charts To Teach Close-Reading Skills

www.buzzfeed.com   September 2, 2014

Close reading is a hot topic that’s just getting hotter! Here are 21 anchor charts, bulletin board ideas and other resources that you can bring into your classroom to turn your readers into even closer readers.

Check It Off!

mshouser.com

This anchor chart captures the gist of close reading. Use the checklist format to create bookmarks or laminated cheat sheets that students can use as tools as they read.

2. Dig Deep for Meaning!

pinterest.com

This visual helps students conceptualize “digging deep” into text.

3. Stop and Think!

pinterest.com

Make this anchor chart a living document by switching out the sticky notes with examples from students’ reading and writing.

4. Annotation 101

anewdayoflearning.blogspot.com

These basic annotation marks are a good starting point for students who are learning to read with a pencil.

5. Read and Reread!

pinterest.com

Use this second-grade anchor chart to set a purpose for reading, rereading and rereading again.

6. Think-marks

lifeinfifthgrade.com

As they learn how to annotate, students can get into adding these think-marks alongside the words they’ve circled and key lines they’ve underlined.

7. How to Annotate Effectively

teachingthecore.com

Use models (like this one) to show students how to annotate and to avoid common pitfalls like the 100 percent highlighted page or the no-notes-in-the-margins annotators.

8. Annotation Helper

julieballew.com

During a first read, this anchor chart is helpful for students who need support in figuring out what to jot down. After they retell their summary (in their own words), they can write those notes in the margins.

9. Draw It!

littlebirdkindergarten.blogspot.com

This drawing annotation is a technique that could be incorporated into kindergarten, first grade or elementary special education classes to help students visualize important information as they read.

10. Step It Up!

ontheweb.rozlinder.com

This chart helps students identify exactly where they are in their close reading. At the end of each lesson, students can identify which step they’re on and what they have yet to do.

11. The Accountable Ant

scholastic.com

The Accountable Ant keeps students talking within the four corners of the text.

12. Close Reading Defined

freebie-licious.blogspot.com

Put this printable in your planning binder to remind you of the ultimate goal when you’re planning close-reading lessons.

13. Tell Me All About It

firstgradenest.com

This chart, updated with students’ sticky notes, can be used to reflect, first, how students are building their close-reading skills and then how they’re applying those skills in different lessons, contexts and texts.

14. Read Like a Detective

weareteachers.com

This poster will help you plan inventive close-reading lessons that have students zooming in on text through their reading behaviors and questions.

15. To Dos (and What Not To Dos)

pinterest.com

This teacher-focused chart will help you plan close-reading lessons with a reminder about what’s most important and what to avoid in close reading.

16. Close-Reading Spotlight

teachertothecore.blogspot.com

It can be difficult to show off student reading skills, but this bulletin board showcases how students are color coding text and finding proof in their reading.

17. Step by Step

educationtothecore.com

Students develop independence with this chart that outlines six effective close-reading steps.

18. Question Wheel

montanaheritageproject.org

Students can use the general questions in this wheel to develop their own text-dependent questions for each story or article they read.

19. TDQ on Display

pinterest.com

This bulletin board highlights the ways students create text-dependent questions, and showcases how students are applying those TDQs in their work.

20. Employing Evidence-Based Terms

elainthemiddle.wordpress.com

As students discuss and write about text, this anchor chart shows them how to use evidence-based transitions and sentence starters.

21. We’re Big on Evidence

tworeflectiveteachers.blogspot.com

This bulletin board display shows students how to cite evidence in big, bold ways.

Habitudes- (Growth Mindset)

Looking Ahead

Fulton County's Spring Teacher Fair will take place on next Friday, March 25th from 10:00am-1:00pm at the Georgia International Convention Center.  Please share this information with any friends or potential teaching candidates.