Teaching Tip Tuesday

    The search for quality questions, texts, tasks, etc. to use during instruction can often be a struggle. It isn't that there are not enough resources out there. There are plenty . But who has time to search the 1.6 million Google hits for the best resource to use in next week's lesson? I have found that having a brief list of go-to websites shortens my search and streamlines the planning process. Quality over quantity. I came across two sources that I wanted to share that would be helpful for math and English/Language Arts. Add these to your toolbox of resources.     The first one is exclusively math, but has a huge bank of challenging math problems for all grade levels and math domains. The site is called Open Middle , and it is a resource co-developed by Robert Kaplinksy. He also has his own website with a plethora of math resources. Open Middle has a very basic, user-friendly website; it is easy to navigate to the grade level and domain of your choice. The...

If you have worked in education for any length of time, you have probably realized that we are up to our ears in data. Seriously. I know WAY more about students now than I did in my first few years of teaching. Don't get me wrong - I think it is a good shift to ensure that we are making instructional decisions based on valid and reliable data. We are able to diagnose student needs more accurately with data. However, there sure is a LOT of it. Standardized state test data at the end of a grade level or course, norm-referenced data to see how students compare among their peers, unit assessment data based on a group of standards, quizzes based on individual standards, homework, quick checks for understanding, etc.     What do we do with all of this data? What are questions we should be asking ourselves about what we see in data reports to drive our next steps?     Anyone ever seen the movie, Moneyball  with Brad Pitt? It is a great movie for both math and basebal...

Anchor charts...classroom wallpaper or instructional tool? I don't think any teachers start out with the intention of letting anchor charts take over the walls, but they sure can multiply quickly! Let's explore these further and talk about some practical ways to use them in the classroom.     I really like this simple statement about anchor charts from an article by Lily Newman: "Anchor charts: Making Thinking Visible." They do just that - anchor charts briefly outline a strategy, skill, idea, or thought. Students use them as a reference tool as they apply the skill in a variety of contexts. These are especially effective in elementary skill as students are still developing note-taking skills. The teacher can model how to include only the most important information to summarize the skill.     Here are a few examples of quality anchor charts that I found from a Google search: 1) Example 1 - Here is an ELA anchor chart about proving your claim with evidence from a ...

What comes to mind when you think of rubrics? Happy thoughts? Or oh-my-gosh-how-much-work-is-this-going-to-be thoughts? We are seeing rubrics more and more these days, mostly due to the fact that the skills we are teaching students in 21st century classrooms can't easily be assessed with multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank questions. When we want to assess student performance such as oral communication, or creation of a product such as an essay, a rubric is a more thorough way to know if students "get it."     So what is a rubric? At its basic level, it is an outline of expectations for an assignment. That's it! Teachers can clearly communicate what they expect, and students can use it as a checklist for what to include in their work. If a rubric is specific and clearly aligned to the learning goal, teachers can give students a score objectively.     I know what you are thinking. Isn't it time-consuming to CREATE rubrics from scratch and SCORE each individual s...

Do you want your students to engage in more meaningful conversations during your lessons? Is "Turn and Talk" a staple in your classroom, but the excitement is waning? Let's talk about some effective discussion strategies. When students engage in authentic discussions with their peers, they are able to practice some valuable skills: Communicating ideas clearly Active listening Elaborating on an idea presented Disagreeing with an idea presented  There's no doubt that students love to talk, but we have to teach them how to converse with peers in a meaningful way that leads to deeper learning. Here are a few ideas to change up your class discussions. Thanks to Lindsay Ann Learning for some great suggestions!  1) Graffiti Wall I have used this in my classroom before and it is a great way to start the conversation with reluctant learners. Place a large sheet of butcher paper on tables, or post chart paper on the wall. Pose a question, write a quote, or inc...