Quiz, Quiz, Trade by Maite McCraney

Quiz Quiz Trade!
Cooperative learning strategies are essential to creating a purposeful classroom environment. With that in mind, I wanted to bring QUIZ QUIZ TRADE into my classroom. In a nutshell, Quiz Quiz trade is a quick way to assess if students have mastered a learning objective. I tried the strategy QUIZ QUIZ TRADE to review multiple meaning words, and the students took the bait, in other words, they loved it!
Implementing Quiz Quiz Trade into your classroom will engage every student in your classroom. The students will practice the standard multiple times while interacting with multiple students. They will also learn to take turns, self-correct one another, and praise each other for their effort.
	“Ok, guys take out your reading books and we will read the next story.” Students comply, but there is not much enthusiasm. The teacher tries to make it as fun as possible and use post-it notes to take notes. They partner share and use round robin to talk about the plot. sometimes learning has to be quiet and students need to sit still and read. I have been at that place in a lesson and I bet you have too.  Other times teachers say, “Alright, we are going to play a game called Quiz Quiz Trade.” The students squeal “YESSSSSS!” They are EXCITED to learn and who doesn’t like a game? They pop out of their seats! Quiz Quiz Trade is a strategy that I have implemented in my room and I can see every level of learner in my classroom reading, smiling, and LEARNING!
Quiz Quiz Trade Video
Implement Quiz Quiz Trade in your classroom and you will witness all students engaged, accountable, learning, and having fun simultaneously.
	Quiz Quiz Trade might require a little bit of structure, prepping, and planning, but seeing your students learn will give you a sense of pride and accomplishment! I couldn’t believe the amount of engagement from my students who are reading under 10 words per minute, to my students who are reading above grade level! I was meeting the needs of all my students. Keep running the race and set a new personal goal! Maite McRaney 2nd Grade Mission

The Praise Phase

The Praise Phase
As teachers, we strive to create a positive classroom community and foster a nurturing environment.  Students need to feel valued not only by their teacher but also by their peers.  But, cultivating the conditions and creating those relationships can be a challenge.  In knowing that students walk into our classrooms daily with various backgrounds, home lives, and prior knowledge, it is necessary to create a classroom culture where praise runs rampant. We must bring each other up and teach positivity.
How do we teach our students to praise each other and have them truly mean it? How can we teach them to offer encouragement that is honest and has merit?  How can we turn praise into a morale booster amongst students?
	Everyone values being praised and recognized for their efforts.  It is a huge part of nurturing our self-esteem and confidence.  Praise plays an important role in our classrooms.  It is a great way to motivate students and build an optimistic classroom culture.  Children see and hear everything, and they will mirror what they see and hear from the adults around them.  When we as teachers, are focused on the positive, students focus on the positive.  We can find and recognize positive behaviors in all students even those who challenge us.  We must be examples of what positive praise looks like in order to have students give positive praise to each other.  They must feel comfortable enough to take risks while respecting each other’s mistakes and accomplishments.  It’s important to live by example and make sure we are giving ourselves the praise we deserve.  We need to validate the challenging work we do as teachers.  It’s important to notice the wonderful work our colleagues are doing, and give them meaningful praise.  This will not only help us but also our students.
We rise by lifting others. -Robert Ingersoll
In order to help students motivate each other during partner and team talk, we must incorporate praise into our classroom culture.  How do we teach our students to praise each other?
	All Kagan Structures should end with praise.  Students are encouraged to praise each after they complete their structure.  But how do we get them there?  I like to start the year off by teaching developmentally appropriate social skills.  Some students need this drastically.  I give them the opportunity to practice these skills through fun team and class building activities.  During this stage of teaching, practicing, prompting and using these skills I model praise.  I make sure to give general praise such as “I’m so proud of you”, specific praise such as “I loved the way you raised your hand and waited for me to call on you” and effective praise such as “You’re amazing! You didn’t let others distract you and you finished your work.  I notice when you ignore distractions, you get your work done.”  It’s important to show genuine interest in each child.  Sometimes I might ask specific questions such as “You’ve been really focused on your work. What’s helping you concentrate?”  A question helps students become aware of their own actions and behaviors that can lead to improvement.   After teaching and modeling appropriate praise, I taught my students how to praise each other.  It’s important for students to have peers recognize their actions.  This task was not an easy one.  It is unnatural for students to genuinely praise each other.  It is my job to turn a culture of tattling into a culture of praise.  First, we created a class poster called “Best ways to Praise.”  It became a visual reminder of what was expected.  Next, we practiced A LOT!  After each structure, they knew that I expected to hear and see praise.  I was always listening and praising them when they praised their partner or team.  I made sure to point out what I noticed and gave immediate feedback. I was building and maintaining our culture by giving praise and acknowledging when it happened.  My students are constantly improving on and learning new ways to praise each other.  My hopes are that they will take these social and emotional skills with them and use them to empower themselves and others.   Positively Teaching, Randi Muehlen

Building an Interdisciplinary Classroom by Hilda Sanchez

Building an Interdisciplinary Classroom
Is time our enemy? As days go by we battle with TIME, our opponent, as we try to stay on pace with the curriculum of the year. We’re sweating day in and day out trying to get it all done, and as we cover Language Arts and Math topics for the week, we may realize Science and Social Studies have been neglected along the way. There is something wonderful in Wonders and it’s the fact that science and math can easily be embedded within the Language Arts Units. It takes some work to put it all together, at first, but will save you teaching time in the long run.
Teaching literacy with science/social studies content allows for more productive and complex learning.
	Integrating science/social studies in literacy motivates and  keeps students engaged in the learning process. In doing research, this passage from Minnesota STEM Teacher Center exemplified this statement; "In an age fueled by information and driven by technology, understanding the concepts and process of science is as indispensable as knowing how to read, write, speak, and listen...Adults in the twenty-first century...will need to be scientifically literate-to possess a set of skills that marries knowledge of science concepts, facts, and processes with the ability to use language to articulate and communicate about ideas" (Thier & Daviss, 2002.The New Science Literacy: Using Language Skills to Help Students Learn Science. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.) I believe the same can be said for social studies because, not only, are students learning concepts and facts, they are also being exposed to different text features that allow for deeper understanding and meaningful connection to the reading.
The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts. ~C.S. Lewis
At the beginning of the year, I look and analyze the Wonders Language Arts Unit 1 along with the Social Studies and Science Teachers Editions to find the connections. Now, I wish I was a very organized teacher who plans for the whole year and lessons are ready to go from week 1, but with all the other daily duties that come along with teaching and a family that keeps me busy, I plan for one to two units at a time. For instance, the 4th grade curriculum, Wonders Unit 1 begins with the Big Idea “How can a challenge bring out our best?” and week 3 posed the Essential Question, “How do people respond to natural disasters?” This is a perfect tie-in to the Science Unit C “The Solid Earth”. Students are exposed to informational/ expository text to give them the vocabulary and understanding of slow and rapid changes on Earth. I am now teaching science standards along with text students can relate to real life. For Social Studies, I teach Units 2 and 3 (Early California History and Becoming a State) connecting them to Wonders Unit 6: Past, Present, and Future. Students begin to realize reading is the foundation for all learning and will learn to make meaningful connections to the text. It’s not going to be the complete puzzle in fitting all the curriculum pieces together, but it’s a start in making “time” more of a friend than a foe. We, teachers, have to work smarter, not harder!
	Live, Love, Teach! ~Hilda Sanchez

They Did the Lab. Now What?

They Did the Lab. Now What?
This month we look at how to teach our scientists to construct scientific explanations, just in time for Science and Engineering Fair season! This is one of the 8 Science and Engineering Practices. The full text of this practice is “constructing explanations and designing solutions in 6-8 builds on K-5 experiences and progresses to include constructing explanations and designing solutions supported by multiple sources of evidence consistent with scientific knowledge, principles and theories”.			https://www.wevideo.com/view/999783272
How often do students fail to connect the lab with the science behind it? Constructing scientific explanations will reduce the size of this speed bump in our science classes.
	If we want to mold scientifically literate, critical thinkers, this is the key. For students to construct evidence based explanations, they must understand how to distinguish between evidence that supports their claim and evidence that does not. They have to determine validity and reliability of evidence. Are these not skills we want in our voting citizens? If we want to show how science supports all the other disciplines, again, this is the key. In order to construct their conclusions, students must use mathematical computations to analyze and interpret their data. They must understand the components of a strong explanation, including a claim, evidence, reasoning, and possibly a rebuttal. They must know how to cite sources and make connections between scientific texts and their own experiences.
Our science classes should be places where students get to apply the skills they are learning in their other classes in order to explain their world.
	There is A LOT out there on Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) writing. You have probably seen the “My Dad is an Alien” and the Sham Wow activities already. These are great places to start, but if you are ready for a more in depth look, look no further than Drs. Joseph Krajcik and Katherine McNeill. They are the creators of the framework and have published books, websites, and articles on this very skill. The site, www.argumentationtoolkit.org has several strong activities including supportive and appropriate evidence sorts, reasoning sorts, videos both for teachers and for students on the components and an incredibly helpful reasoning tool to assist student in connecting their evidence to their claims. If you want more from Drs. Joseph Krajcik and Katherine McNeill, here is a Lab Out Loud podcast all on CER writing: https://laboutloud.com/2015/04/episode-127-claim-evidence-reasoning/ Here is a journal article published by Drs. Joseph Krajcik and Katherine McNeill that I found very helpful in understanding the framework when I was beginning to include it in my science students’ lab analyses.  http://www.katherinelmcneill.com/uploads/1/6/8/7/1687518/mcneillkrajcik_nsta_inquiry_2008.pdf There are other helpful resources, such as the one linked below, that help students organize their thinking into a scientific explanation. http://georgiascienceteacher.org/Resources/Documents/eObservations/Linked%20Files/Evidence-Based%20Writing%20in%20Science.docx Lately, in our 8th grade science classes at Wiltsey, we have been building students’ understanding of inheritance of traits. We are using Wisconsin fast plants, students own life experiences and data sets of human pedigrees in order for students to collect evidence from multiple sources to support their initial claims. This is from the IQWST curriculum and is well scaffolded in the curriculum to help students build an understanding of how to complete scientific explanations, even if they have never learned this skill before. For those who are familiar with the CER framework, they can look for the most appropriate evidence and ensure their writing reflects this work. Explaining their results of labs, research, etc. is paramount to retaining scientific knowledge, but also gives students a voice to share their learning and their analysis. We can support students in building their awareness of their natural world, and in so doing, teach them to communicate and evaluate evidence based claims. Stay Curious, Sara Yeh

Perse....what?

Perse….what?
When I was in sixth grade, I was tasked with giving the valedictorian speech as a representative from my classroom. I had no idea what was expected of me. And did I mention that I dislike very much speaking in front of people? Not being one to shy away from a challenge, I sought out help from my stepmother, who was a teacher and was eager to help me! During the speechwriting process, this was the first time I had heard the word persevere.
per·se·vere /pərsəˈvir/ verb continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success.
	There are many synonyms for the word persevere: persist, continue, carry on, go on, keep on, keep going, struggle on, hammer away, be persistent, be determined, see/follow something through, keep at it, press on/ahead, not take no for an answer, be tenacious, stand one's ground, stand fast/firm, hold on, go the distance, stay the course, plod on, stop at nothing, etc...
“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” – Randy Pausch
Students need to learn and know the meaning of perseverance at a young age; it is a great element of success.
	I use a particular science lesson to teach my kindergarten students the concept of perseverance. Students were tasked with making a clay boat float. I would model.  I would tell them it was hard.  I would teach the word.  Then we would use that word over and over while students were molding and testing their boats. I could hear them using the word throughout their frustrations.  In the end, only a handful of students would actually get their boats to float.  This year, I stumbled upon a different way to introduce the concept of perseverance and the students were even more hooked on learning this word (credit to Little Minds at Work blog)!  It involves a present… here is a link to the actual lesson I did with my students this year: We have a banner that hangs up in our classroom from our lesson so we always remember! Happy and Positive Teaching! Erin Grebel

Kahoot!...IT! (Technology)

Kahoot!...IT!

“Miss Bossieux, my test is giving me more than one answer to choose from, and I’m not sure which one to pick!” That was when I realized I had spent zero time offering multiple choice test options for my students.  We as teachers may now be deferring away from multiple choice so much that students can get thrown off or “tricked” by seeing multiple answers that they start doubting themselves. Yes, multiple choice isn’t as frequently tested as many test questions are now open-ended, manipulative, or ask for missing parts.  But that may also now mean, we are neglecting our students the opportunity to practice this form of testing before a formal test actually approaches.  Just like anything else we need to give this method of testing some attention. Continue reading and learn how you can do a quick FUN formative multiple choice assessment with the convenience of just one click.
Technology and engagement go hand in hand, so let's use this to test our students in an exciting way and with any subject!
	Testing is always a time for stress, success, anxiety, happiness, disappointment, or excitement just to name a few.  Not only do our students feel these things, but so do us as teachers.  We see those scores and either jump for joy or want to binge on two dozen donuts.  Well instead of ONLY focusing on just those formal, time-consuming tests that are required, why not take some pressure off and ALSO present assessments to our students that make them WANT to take them.  How do you do that you ask? Well try Kahoot.com! Watch students and adults around the world use Kahoot
Create or “search” Kahoot assessments for your classroom.
	Watch this great two-minute how-to video on the gist of Kahoot.  You can also explore the actual website (which I highly recommend)  or YouTube search “Kahoot” to find many informative videos.   Once you familiarize yourself, the easiest and quickest way to implement this in your classroom is to “Find Kahoots.”  For example, in Wonders this week, I have been teaching my students, plural nouns.  I searched those keywords and boom! just like that I had a list of quizzes that teachers had created and shared.  I played that for my class and had 100% engagement and excitement through the roof.  You can even download the results to keep for data.  I have also used Kahoot for testing multiplication facts. Kahoot is currently living on our students’ Symbaloo homepage, so all they need to do is click the link. You can also use it on your district iPads, by accessing it through your Chrome browser. Use Kahoot whole class, small groups, or in the computer lab. Kahoot is also offered and can be played in teams if students need to share devices.   Give it a try! Make up your own multiple choice quiz, discussion, or survey! And if you try it, please let me know how it went!  I would love to hear all about it! The techy teacher, Tiffani Bossieux

We like to move it, move it

We like to move it, move it
Have you had students begin to fidget with things in their desk?  Have you had students get squirmy in their seats?  If so, I have a fun and fast Kagan Structure that can release some of that energy our students experience.
Learning can be fun!
	As a teacher, it is very easy to do most of the talking. When that happens, I often wonder how much my children are learning.  My students love to talk and they love to move around my classroom.  They get to do just that when they participate in this discussion strategy.
“If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.” -Ignacio Estrada
Mix-Pair-Share
	Mix Pair Share is one of my favorite Kagan Structures.  It is also a structure that can make my class loud but it is worth trying!  This structure can be strategically planned within your lessons but it can also be used when you notice your students need some movement in their bodies.  Since I teach first grade, I can easily identify when my students need a break.  What is nice about Mix Pair Share is they get to walk around the classroom, partner up with someone new, and engage in a discussion with that student.  I love to use music to get the students to move around the classroom.  Once the music stops, they quickly partner up with the person closest to them. I pose a question, let students know who will begin the conversation, and they begin to talk until I signal for their attention.  To make things more exciting, I have students repeat this process to share with a few other students.  By the time they get back to their seats, they have spoken to one to three students in the classroom.  They are ready to continue our lesson with more ideas than they started with.  It can get loud, it can get crazy, but the discussions held get them thinking more! Always Learning, Sabrina Blackwood

Hook the Reader, Reel ‘em In!

Hook the Reader, Reel ‘em In!
Do you struggle with getting your students to be creative with how to begin their writing piece?  One common mistake that I see on occasion with my students is when they write a general statement as their audience hook.  For example, “Today I am going to write about…”  How can you teach your students to begin their writing with a sentence that leaves a lasting impression on the reader? Why is that important?
The importance of “the hook!”
	Take a few seconds and think about your favorite movie or your favorite book.  Think back to the very beginning of that book or movie.  What was it about that beginning that kept your attention?  What was so great about that beginning that made you want to keep watching or reading?  Immediate engagement is key if you want the target audience to crave more.  Why not teach our students how to do this through writing?  Yes!  Let’s teach them how to “hook the reader, and reel ‘em in!”
A fantastic hook tells the reader, “Drop everything you’re doing, and read me right now!”
So, how can you teach your students to write an audience hook that is appropriate for their type of writing?
	When it comes to teaching students writing it is very important to teach each part in small steps.  One of those very important steps is teaching them how to write a good audience hook.   As one of my starting points, I invite students to look at different books and articles.  Together, we discuss the different types of audience hooks.  We talk about why they caught our attention or why they didn’t.  This discussion allows students to see just how important it is for a writer to catch the reader’s attention.  It’s also a great way for them to see that there are different ways to reel the reader into the text.   As a second grade teacher, there are four different ways in which I teach students to form their audience hooks.    One way I teach students to hook the reader is through the use of onomatopoeia: words that convey sound.  For example, “Ribbit, Ribbit! A frog hopped past me,” or “Boom!  I heard a loud crash in my backyard.”  As a reader, wouldn’t you want to know what that sound was?  I know I would!  Another way to hook the reader would be through dialogue.  For example, ““Go away!” I told my sister.”  The reader would probably want to know what the sister was doing.  Or how about teaching students how to hook the reader with a question?  For example, “Have you ever been to the zoo?”  I teach students that if the reader can make a connection to the hook then they will more than likely want to keep reading.  Lastly, I teach students how to create an interesting hook by using the setting--where and when does your story take place?  For example, “One dark and stormy night…” or “One bright, sunny day in the field…” When instructing your students how to write a hook introduce them to one or two types of hooks at a time.  Do not overwhelm yourself or your students with too much information. Take it one small step at a time.  Before you know it, your students will be writing some fantastic hooks independently! Inspiring Minds, Melissa Hernandez