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Here is a fun, new graphic organizer: The Consequence Wheel/ Ripple Effect.
Use this to help students see consequences of events, understand cause and effect, … Try it and see if it works for you
When teaching writing in elementary and middle school, one of the challenges is how to keep moving forward with the different genre studies (narrative, expository and opinion … and don’t forget poetry!) while giving students the differentiated instruction that they need. At La Cosecha I learned of a way to do just that.
Using the units proposed by Lucy Calkins or the units created by your district (or by you) the first step is to begin each unit using a simple prompt that will let you complete a pre-assessment to find out what the students already know. You can assess their writing using the rubric to guide your instruction during the unit. My experience has been, though, that those first drafts show too many holes to be of much use; the students need instruction in many areas.
Then, after teaching the unit while referring often to the rubric and publishing a final draft, use the same prompt you used at the beginning of the unit. This time, it is important to use the rubric to deeply analyze the writing. The first thing you will most likely notice is a vast improvement over the initial use of the prompt. However, if you use the rubric and turn the information into numbers (see image to the right) you will see trends including areas that need specific attention.
This is where the differentiation can happen. Based on the needs you notice, you can form groups of students for differentiated instruction just as you would do during reader’s workshop. This small group work could happen during the first week of the next unit or you could schedule a week in between each unit for the differentiated instruction. Use the CCSS to decide which areas are of greatest need. You might also decide that a change in tier 1 instruction would be most appropriate (e.g. focus on punctuation during morning meeting). You can let this assessment guide you during the next unit of study.
One more idea that I loved: sketch the story then touch and tell. Oral rehearsal!
Resources: Lucy Calkins: Writing Pathways, WIDA Writing Rubric
I learned of two texts at La Cosecha 2014 that can help us teach for biliteracy. Biliteracy is one of the three goals of dual language education: students who are bilingual, biliterate and bicultural. I will add them to my wish list! Click on the image for more information.
I heard of a new (for me) resource while at La Cosecha 2104: Words in Motion.
“Words in Motion is a cognate-based curriculum that introduces academic vocabulary in meaningful contexts and promotes strategies for academic vocabulary acquisition.
“The full curriculum consists of seven units that include lesson plans, teacher materials, and student worksheets for each day. The materials are organized first by unit; within each unit they are organized by day; and within each day they are organized into lesson plans, student materials, and teacher materials. In many cases, there are separate materials for the monolingual and crosslinguistic versions of the curriculum, as well as Spanish translations of the crosslinguistic versions to support the delivery of the bilingual version. The VIAS team is pleased to provide these files for use by educators.” (from the CAL website: http://www.cal.org/vias/subproject4/wmc/index.html )
This could be used by classroom teachers and/ or ESL teachers to help students acquire academic vocabulary. Check it out!
We had a wonderful visit today to El Camino Real Academy in Santa Fe, NM as part of La Cosecha 2014. Here are some pictures of artifacts that I saw. The first 8 are from Kindergarten and 1st grade; the others are from 6th and 7th grade.
Algunas ideas para centros de aprendizaje:
(se puede añadir ideas, cambiar ideas, juntar ideas, …)
Es importante enseñar y practicar cada centro de aprendizaje antes de que los estudiantes lo hagan solitos.
Formando palabras
Usando las sílabas que han aprendido, estudiantes forman palabras juntando papelitos que tienen las sílabas escritas. Durante su tiempo en el grupo tienen que formar 10 palabras reales, escribir las en un papel o en su cuaderno y dibujar tres; pueden añadir 5 no-palabras (sílabas que han juntado que pueden decir pero que no son palabras reales: “me-pe”).
Escuchar y contar
Estudiantes escuchan/ leen un cuento. Después, tienen que contar el cuento usando las frases, “Al principio…, Después… y Al final… .” Pueden usar títeres si son disponibles.
¡PUF veloz!
Usando un cronómetro, estudiantes repasan las palabras de uso frecuente que han aprendido para ver si pueden decirlas cada vez más rápido. Uno compite contra uno mismo, no contra otros estudiantes. Pueden escribir su tiempo y/o las palabras que no sabían en una hoja o en su cuaderno.
Rimas
Estudiantes elijen una palabra de un montoncito y tiene que decir y escribir 5 palabras que riman; la meta es que 4 de los 5 sean palabras reales. Después tienen que marcar las palabra que no es una palabra real. Añade un cronómetro para otro desafío.
Leyendo con pareja
Estudiantes leen un libro juntos alternando:
Una página cada uno;
Una oración cada uno;
Una palabra cada uno.
Después cuentan el cuento o dibujan su parte favorita.
Los libros de la maestra
En este centro los estudiantes re-leen los textos que la maestra ha leído en lecciones de lectura compartida, rimas que han estudiado, canciones que han aprendido… cualquier texto que la maestra ha leído con el grupo (“Big books,” “charts,”…)
Many people do things that are illegal. Most people speed in their cars; many people drink before their 21st birthday. Some parents will even say that their children are only 11 when they are really 12 so they can pay less to watch a movie. I won’t mention the more serious crimes of which we are all aware.
The crime that people are guilty of when they are in the United States illegally is Entering Without Inspection. This is a misdemeanor crime. That means that it is a minor crime like underage drinking or petty theft. When people cross the border into the United States they are required to check in with Homeland Security.
When a person does not check in with the border patrol they do not become illegal anymore than an underage drinker becomes illegal. A person cannot be illegal. A person can do something illegal; a person can be in the country illegally. A person cannot be illegal.
We would do well to welcome the stranger, believe that all life is sacred and ask some questions. Why do people want to come into the United States? What responsibility do we, as citizens and residents of the United States, have for the conditions in their home country? What responsibility does our government have? Leaving home for a foreign land is never a decision taken lightly. An easy first step we can take in this matter is to treat all with dignity and never refer to a human being as illegal.
Comment posted on NYTimes.com
I have been volunteering at a wonderful school in Lima, Peru and am reminded of some universal basics in education:
When teaching I need to let the students do the work- talk, write, create, use the information- so they can show what they know and are able to do. I love the workshop model where I give some input for no more than 15 minutes and then have the students use the information. Then, I can provide more input. Build up scaffolding and then remove it when it is no longer necessary.
I also like to backwards plan my units where I decide what I want the students to know and be able to do by what date. Then, I backwards plan the lessons necessary to get them there. And of course, relationships are key.
¡Feliz día del maestro amigos peruanos! Happy Teacher’s Day to my Peruvian friends!
The new picture above is of the Biblioburro. Have you heard of it? Do a Google search and you will see/ hear/ read about this amazing project in Colombia. I believe in the power of books and literacy to change the world. Take a look at this YouTube video to get started on your learning about Biblioburro.
How will you change the world? Y tu, ¿cómo vas a cambiar el mundo?
S. T. Fleming 