GATE Strategy-Concentric Circles

 Concentric Circles is a GATE strategy I wanted to explore with my students this year. In my last blog, I explained what Concentric Circle are, and how it can help students go deeper into concepts, and it allows students to collaborate. Both times the students worked with the circles they use their Language Arts anthology, however, it can be used in any content area.  It was definitely a learning experience for the whole class, including myself.  

What Worked

      Concentric Circles allowed the students to be somewhat creative while learning the standard or just looking at the impact, a person has had on the world. First of all, this is a great and engaging activity.

It was noisy, but if someone came into my room the students would not have noticed, and they were all crowded around their work (That is how I assess engagement). It was fun to watch them in action. Another aspect that worked was keeping is simple. The first time the students worked on concentric circles, they were given parameters of finding an example of figurative language, which would be their focus, and we picked one depth and complexity icon to use in all the circles. Keeping the activity simple at first was important, and I am really glad I did because it allowed the students to get familiar with what was being asked of them. I kept the example projected on the Smartboard, so students could reference it throughout the activity. The second time they were assigned the circles I asked them to use their personal experiences and opinions. Again it would help them get familiar and would allow them to start making deeper connections, which is my overall goal. Lastly, student groupings were also kept on the smaller side; no more than four people in a group. They all have to write their ideas onto the circles and collaborate on their focus, which is the center circle. So anywhere between 2-4 students will work best for this activity. Overall, keep the parameters simple at first, and keep the groups on the small.  

 

Adjustments 

            With anything, adjustments need to be made, so that it can work for the students. 

This group of students is extremely artistic, and I needed to change the look of the circles. Instead of being drawn circles on a piece of paper I had the students cut colored pieces of paper and layer them any way they wanted. The kids responded to this change. However, the option to draw the circles will still be offered to the groups. The next adjustment I will be making is which students are in the groups. They need to heterogeneous yet harmonious. I want the kids to be at different levels academically, so they can build on each other’s ideas, but personality-wise they should be compatible. Some of the groups were great together, but others would argue because of personality clashing. Some of the passive students in the group would let the stronger personalities take over. With that being said, when building these groups it will be done very purposely. These changes should help the activity more smoothly.  

Look-Fors

The biggest Look For is student conservation. Listening to their conservation will help me to understand where their ideas are heading, but also make sure they write down their good ideas and coach them when they are unsure. I also listen when they misunderstand the instructions, and make clarifications. This happened with one group where they forgot they needed a continual reference to their center circle. They were treating the circles more like a GATE frame, but the mistake allowed me to clarify with them and remind the class. The next time I will take anecdotal notes and share what was said, and use that information to run a Socratic Seminar.

Concentric Circles are a worthwhile GATE strategy to try out in your classroom. It can be used in any content area, and it offers so much for the students. The kids will work collaboratively, learn how to have productive and engaging conversations, and look at different parts of life or curriculum with more depth. Again, I highly recommend this strategy in any classroom. 

Diana Eberle

Making Connections Using Data

  

My focus this is year is making deeper connections with students, parents, and colleagues.

What does the beginning of your week look like in your classroom?  Is it a time to set goals for the rest of the week?  Is it a time to reflect on the past week?  Is it a time to reteach?  Is it time to jump into the curriculum?

Everybody’s beginning weekday is different depending on the classroom culture you have built, expectations laid out since the first day of school, class makeup of students, time and curriculum needs, or possibly other requirements.

In my classroom, I use Mondays as another opportunity to instill a Growth Mindset with my students – by reviewing data from the previous week – so it is called Data Mondays.  I am trying to develop a system (yes, this is something new for me this year) where I recognize students for their growth, recognize students for their achievements, and recognize students who have excelled academically.  I wanted a system where all students would eventually be recognized at least ONCE a month and hopefully twice a month for their achievements.  The system has evolved over the first few weeks of school and hopefully will continue to evolve but here is what I am currently doing with my students on Data Mondays.

The system rewards students with green tickets that I pass out.  Students collect five of these green tickets and can turn them in for a free homework pass.  Since I give homework every night this reward system is embraced by the students.

Students are recognized in four different ways:

1.       A student who has shown an improvement in their quiz percentage from the previous week is given one green ticket. 

a.       When you think about this, every student will eventually get a ticket based on this simple standard.  A student cannot keep getting lower and lower quiz percentages all year long (well, yes, actually it is theoretically possible) because at some point they will improve.

2.       A student is recognized for achieving 90% or above on last week’s quiz.

a.       This originally started out as 100% but as the year has progressed and the assessments have gotten more difficult I had to adjust this requirement.  I am pleased with the adjustment because it allows a student to make a minor mistake and still be recognized for outstanding work.

3.       Top Khan Academy point winner for the week.

a.       I use Khan Academy during the week for students to improve on very small skills needed to be successful in the math curriculum.  Khan Academy is directed aligned to Eureka Math so these lessons are meaningful and relevant for students.  Khan Academy sends a report every weekend so there is little work for me to do in gathering this data.

4.       Earning 100% on individual Khan Academy lessons during the previous week.

a.       This originally was recognizing students who achieved 100% on all lessons during the week but has evolved to its current format.  This is motivating students in ways I did not expect – I now have students who will miss one question on a Kahn Academy lesson and redo the entire lesson so that they get 100%.  Students usually have four lessons during the week so they know that they can earn four tickets on Monday if they get 100% on each of them.  This last way of earning tickets is the one the students enjoy the most because they get the tickets the fastest. 

The purpose of Data Mondays is to try and build a Growth Mindset with my students be explicitly rewarding students who have shown improvement in achievement or excelled in their achievements.  The hope is that this 5 minute review propels students forward for the rest of the week.  I will continue to reflect on the system I have in place to assess its success with my students’ mindsets.

I hope that the beginning for each of your week’s throughout the year are meaningful and impactful.  We each have our own way of setting up the week’s learning for our students and I wish you continued success with yours.

                                                                                                               Still teaching and loving it,

                                                                                                               Kevin Stott

                                                                                                               De Anza Middle School 

Step Inside: Reading Like a Reader

Student's annotations 

I find the skill of annotating a difficult skill to teach. Maybe it’s because I don’t remember ever being taught to annotate as a student, or perhaps it’s because there are so many different approaches to teaching annotating. If you do a web search on “Annotating a text,” you’ll get hundreds of results with different checklists and coding systems. However, there is one common thought across the board: readers annotate to show their thinking and to dig deeper into the text.  

As stated in my previous blog post (linked here), I took a couple of weeks to teach how to annotate explicitly and the purpose behind the practice. We practiced thinking aloud before we made our marks on the page. I found that this helped them to see that they were having thoughts while reading. After doing this with a couple of readings, I introduced our annotation marks two at a time. Per Peha’s research, I introduced: predicting, questioning, inferring, feeling, connecting, and evaluating. My students had a straightforward understanding of how to predict, question, feel, and connect to their reading. But when it comes to inferring and evaluating they have a difficult time noticing this in their thinking.

Below are Peha’s definitions of inferring and evaluating: 

Infer. Readers figure out things about what they read that aren’t actually written in the text. There’s almost always more to a story than just the words on the page. Often, writers leave “clues” that good readers can use to discover important information.

Evaluate. Readers make judgments while they read. Is this good? If so, what’s good about it? Do I like it? Why? Should I keep reading or should I put this down and get something else? Readers are finicky, impatient, judgmental. The evaluations they make help them decide whether or not what they are reading is valuable and, if so, how they might use it.

After reading with my students and questioning them to check for understanding, I could tell that they are capable of making inferences and evaluating the text. The challenge was getting them to notice when they were doing this thinking while reading. 

At this time, I turned to my FAVORITE professional development book- “Making Thinking Visible.” There are over 25 routines in this book, and every time I introduce a new one, it becomes my new favorite. My new favorite is the routine: Step Inside. This routine is perfect for getting my students to read like a reader, infer, and evaluate. As explained on the Visible Thinking website, “This routine helps students to explore different perspectives and viewpoints as they try to imagine things, events, problems, or issues differently. In some cases, this can lead to a more creative understanding of what is being studied.” During this routine, students are asked to step inside another mindset and answer four guiding questions.

Here is how I introduced “Step Inside” to my students:

1. For the first time exploring this routine, I decided to use the class novel that we had just finished, “A Long Walk to Water.” As suggested in the “Making Thinking Visible,” I use the questions to “Step Inside” in a whole group setting to explore the main character’s (Salva) life. We used the novel so we could refer back to the text and use textual evidence to support our inferences and evaluations. 
2. Next, I had my students work in their homogeneous groups and gave them a secret character from the novel. Differentiation trick- I strategically gave my highest group a character that had little evidence to refer back to, so they had to collaborate and discuss more than the other groups to complete this thinking. Similarity, I have my ELs grouped together and gave them another main character, so they had a bunch of text evidence to support their thinking. *Note- I have students groups in 4 different ways. I change the groups students work with depending on the task. 
3. Students worked for 15-20 minutes to answer the four questions together. They had to use text evidence, infer, evaluate, and defend their thinking. And the best part was they did all of this with a level 1 voice because they didn’t want the other groups to hear their secret character (haha). 
4. When they completed the guiding questions, they created a modified “I Am Poem” as the character. Their goal was to give clear enough clues so that the rest of the class could guess who their character was. 
5. One spokesperson from each group shared their “I Am Poem,” and the rest of the class guessed who their character. During this time, students were using their knowledge of the text, inferring, and evaluating answers and information. Of course, I made sure to point that out and ruin the fun.

The thing I love about this routine the most is that it can be modified for so many different activities and contents. For example, I’m using it next week in social studies when we study the development of complex cultures with early humans. I’ll be using a picture from the My World textbook, and instead of giving the students a secret character, they will all look through the lens of an archaeologist. Depth and complexity while reading like a reader! 

Follow along to see how our reading and writing transforms, 

Jenni Merry

Integrating Error Analysis with Eureka Math

  Integrating Error Analysis with Eureka Math 

Errors are bound to happen when teaching Eureka Math! Am I right?  I always used to think how could I prevent them? When in reality, I should have been thinking, how could my students prevent them? At least, HOW can they realize they have made them? As educators, we naturally look at a given task and determine where a student got confused or what they did that led them to an incorrect answer. Well, now it's time to turn that torch over! The question that may be arising in your head may sound something like this. WHAT is the purpose of having students realize their own mistakes? HOW will this help them develop in their math skills? In short, all people can benefit from this skill, with the additional understanding that everyone makes mistakes in life. The real key is understanding growth occurs when we can determine what those mistakes are and correct them. Analyzing our work for errors allows students to take pride in their own work.

1 Mistake 2 Mistake 3 Mistake ...No More:

I felt defeated when students understood the lesson, only to bomb the exit ticket or topic quiz. I would sit there replaying the steps of my instruction and think- What am I doing wrong? Where did I lose them? Those thoughts then trailed into - Where am I going to find the time to reteach? Where can I find more problems in such a short time? A deep breath brought me back to reality when I realized that only some students struggled.  Many were on the right track but got off course, and now it was their responsibility to get them back to finish the race. I didn't need new problems, just a new lens. This error-analysis lens allowed me to pull a small group and reteach, while still keeping the rest of my class engaged at their own level.

Aren’t All Mistakes the Same?

The true value is teaching students is knowing the type of mistake is far more valuable than knowing there is one. When students don’t, they begin to confuse their wrong answer from a simple mistake with their ability. Doubt begins to build roots into the minds of our students and suddenly they revert back to not knowing how to do anything. 

We always tell students to “double-check their work”, but many of them don't know what that looks like or what we truly mean by it. When we make this change it opens the door for self-reflection and self-improvement. So when can I start this? Anytime you like.

How to Implement the Process:

1.  Teach students that Mistakes are inevitable and they are vital in learning about ourselves as mathematicians and people in general. This helps them lower the expectation to understand every concept the first time. 

2.  Provide all students with the “Classify Types of Errors” sheet and review each one. I make it a point to state that certain mistakes are more costly than others. From my experience in 6th grade Eureka Math, most mistakes stem from rushing or misreading directions (Careless and Precision errors). 

3.  To build the relationship and rapport, I present error analysis task cards of a foundational skill or mastered concept under the document camera. I ask students to analyze and see if they can determine the type of mistake. I approach it by having them think, “What advice could I give this student?”. As we do this we practice respectfully giving feedback. Throughout the lesson, I might point out a mistake I made, or a misconception I saw other students make for them to become familiar with the routine. 

4.  After an Exit ticket, Topic Quizzes, or Mid and End of Module, I pass back the graded test with an error analysis sheet. I explain to students that this time they are giving feedback to themselves. On the sheet, they need to rework every missed problem to determine their mistake. After they need to EXPLAIN their mistake… that recognizes 

where they went off track 

5.  Expect students to stay at their desks just looking at their problem so here are a few options on approaching this. 

·         Pull small groups for students completely misunderstanding the concept. Students who are on the right track sit next to a student who did well on the exam or who understands the math concepts. The struggling students can ask for “tips” like Rally Coach. The accelerated scholar can be working on an extension activity or Khan Academy, Freckle, etc. 

·         Send students to work on their error analysis-provide the answers on the smartboard. Remember the goal isn’t to get them to know the right answer, but how to arrive at the correct answer. This allows students to work through the problem and determine if their new approach was correct or not. You can still pull a small group or walk around and answer questions. 

·         Have students work at their seats, call the number, and have students who struggled with the problem and can’t determine the mistake come to the floor or an area to work together. Each student has his or her own mistakes so it will still be a learning opportunity. 

Did I just learn from my mistake?

When the student comes and turns in their error analysis sheet have them explain to you what error they made first and was the work they just did to solve the problem correctly was more or less than the first time (usually it is more). This helps students internalize their mistakes and the outcomes because of it. I have students write it as a weekly goal to focus on for math so when I walk around I point to it and tell them to keep in mind before saying their work is complete.

Lively Learning,

Jessica Magana

Building Relationships and Making Connections

Building Relationships and Making Connections

Welcome back to a new school year, filled with endless possibilities! The hardest part of starting a new year is the unknown (or known) of who your students will be and how we, as teachers, will connect with them. Too often, negative student behaviors often force teachers and school staff to have interactions with students. When things are going well and students are positively working at teacher expectation levels, interactions between students and teachers are minimal in some environments. Students are successful in the classrooms where they feel cared for and trusted. I always make it my priority to build relationships with the students from the first day of school and find connections with them that can help me better see the individual needs of each student.  

Making Connections Improve Classroom Environment

Take a moment to think about your first day as a student in one of your college classes. What did you what the most from the class? For me, it was a connection with the professor and/or other students in the class. I wanted to tell and divulge my life experiences just to see if anyone had similar experiences and connections. When I made connections with the professor and other students in the class I felt motivated to being successful in the class. When I see my students the first day of school I see they are nervous and looking for ways to connect to their new environment and the people around them. 

Building relationships and making connections with students can be a remarkably effective way to improve the classroom environment. As teachers we don’t usually know where the students are coming from, what they have been exposed to, or what their experiences in life have been. Students who get attention from negative situations (out bursting, physical, verbal, etc.) often long for attention of any kind due to lack of attention in a different environment. It is essential that teachers begin to make connections and build relationships from the first day of school.  Some teachers are more natural at connecting and building relationships with their students than others. Teachers can make connections and build relationships with students by implementing a few simple strategies into their classroom on a daily basis. 

“Teachers who put relationships first don’t just have students for one year. They have students who view them as “their” teacher for life. - Educator Justin Tarte 

Ways to Build Relationships and Make Connections in the Classroom

In the article "Relating to Students: It’s What You Do That Counts," Marzano notes, “Positive relationships between teachers and students are among the most commonly cited variables associated with effective instruction. If the relationship is strong, instructional strategies seem to be more effective.” (Marzano, Pickering, and Hefelbower, 2010) A teacher’s goal is to promote student learning, build bonds and make positive relationships. This month I want to share with you a few three of the things I do to help build relationships and connections with my students that take a small investment of time, but has a big pay off in the classroom environment. 

1)Say hello and good-bye to every student every day. 

I like to use different greetings each week and when students have learned a handful of them they can pick how they want to be greeted each morning. Check out Kindergarden Smorgusboard for morning greeting ideas here: https://thekindergartensmorgasboard.com/2015/08/kindergarten-smorgasboard-of-13-morning.html

2)Speak to students with respect.

I firmly believe in the saying “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” When teachers model respectful behavior then students are more likely to use the same respectful behaviors back to them as well as with their peers. 

3)Let students in your world and pay attention to their interest.

In my classroom I have pictures of my family and places I have been on vacation. I get very excited when students ask about the picture. I let them know who is in the pictures and why I care about them so much. I tell them about the place I have been to and why I enjoyed going. During conversations like these, teachers can ask students questions about their interest or extracurricular activities. When students feel that teachers are interested in things they like the bonding and relationship building comes at an ease. These small gestures help show students you care about things that they care about. 

“It's the little conversations that build the relationships and make an impact on each student.” - Robert John Meehan

 "To teach is to touch a life forever." -Anonymous

Ashley Ewert

Conscious Discipline: Internal State Versus Behavior

Who remembers reading about the famous marshmallow experiment from the 1960s? It basically put kids in a room with one marshmallow and the adult told them that if they didn't eat the marshmallow while he is absent, then the child(ren) will receive two marshmallows later to eat.  The study then followed up on these children as they grew into adults and found that the participants who waited for that second marshmallow (delayed gratification) had more success in life.
read more here

Delayed gratification is governed by the power to self-regulate.  Self-regulation puts a pause between the stimulus and the response.  My kids really want to watch their favorite YouTuber, but they have homework to do.  If they can delay that instant gratification of watching YouTube and finish their homework, they will learn more and get better grades.  If I delay the gratification of buying chips and candy at the store,  I will choose healthier food options at home.

"Self-regulation is a top predictor of life success-even more than early academics." - Jane M. Healy, PhD

The problem with self-regulation is that it requires us  to access our inner speech in order to regulate our emotions.  Inner speech must regulate the inner state. However, the average age for children to develop that inner speech is six.  Ever wonder why first graders are not quiet during "silent reading"?

How do young children self-regulate if they do not have mature inner speech?  Well, they don't without our help.  The adult is the co-regulator for children, with the job of guiding them in managing their inner states.  We can first do this by managing our own inner states, especially during times of frustration caused by said children displaying upset behavior.  That upset behavior is just the outward manifestation of the upset inner state.  Upset behavior is always a form of communication. Upset behavior changes from crying (infant) to hurtful actions (young child) to arguing (older child).

Before inner speech matures, young children think in picture form.  If you teach young children or have young children, post pictures or read picture books of your expectations, as it helps them encode information more easily.

In my next blog post, I will try to make sense of becoming "brain smart" so I (and you) can guide your students in developing stronger self-regulation skills.

Happy Teaching!

Erin Grebel

Fire Drill Writing

As the fire drill alarm blares across your room, students scramble to line up quickly, quietly, and efficiently in order to get out of the classroom to safety.  This monthly practice drill that all teachers and students go through remind us of the urgency to be prepared in case of a real emergency.  Well, what if we applied this same concept towards writing? 

This month's blog will describe a quick-write technique called Fire Drill Writing.  It is fun and encompasses the same sense of urgency that real fire drills do...except for the noise!

I learned this strategy at a reunion that I attended for the Inland Area Writing Project hosted at UCR this past weekend.  If you would like more information regarding the IAWP please visit here:  https://iawp.ucr.edu/

1.  Display the fire drill sheet onto your whiteboard using projector:

2. Have students circle ONE of the boxes.  Students will use the three words in that box in their writing however they wish.  They can write a poem, a narrative, informational piece, or perhaps even a song.  They must use each word at least once in their writing.

3.  Give students 10 minutes to write.  They don't have to worry about grammar, spelling, or conventions.  The idea is just to get their creative writing juices flowing!

4.  It is important that they see YOU writing along with them as well.  At the IAWP reunion that I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, I was surprised at how easily I was able to use my three words.  I also thought about the amount of editing and revision I did along the way.  Sharing your piece with your students is such a powerful way to demonstrate and model how writers can write, edit, and revise in a limited amount of time.  Imagine how your students' writing fluency will improve! 

At all our IAWP activities,
we always make room for
Author's Chair!

5.  Above all else....have fun!

6.  Never forget to share and celebrate writing using Author's Chair.

Happy Writing!
Gus Macuil

Close Reading with Text Annotations

If you've ever thought about having students annotate the texts they read, but thought that this was too high of a skill for elementary age children, the good new is, its not! Students can learn to annotate a text even starting in Kindergarten.  Now let's talk about the purpose. WHY do we want  children to learn how to annotate texts as they read? To start, it's definitely a life-long skill that students will embrace throughout their schooling career.  The better students know and understand how to annotate a text, the better they will comprehend that text.  Annotating a text is key in the Close Read process.

Key Highlights of Annotating a Text:

• Keeping track of key ideas and questions
• Helping formulate thoughts and questions for deeper understanding
• Fostering analyzing and interpreting texts
• Encouraging the reader to make inferences and draw conclusions about the text
• Allowing the reader to easily refer back to the text without rereading the text in its entirety
• Insight inquiry as students read a text

It's important that students understand the purpose behind annotating a text, otherwise they will simply go through the motions, but won't be making the connections.  I use a specific set of annotations that I start the school year with.  I print them and insert them into page protectors for the students to keep in their binders.  As the year goes on and they have a firm understanding of annotating, I'll allow them to add in their own annotations as they see fit.  I then have my students utilize their text annotations to guide an academic/collaborative discussion within their table groups.  This helps students to understand the "purpose" of the annotations, and how to utilize them to verbalize their thoughts, opinions, or ideas.  These discussions help support students when they need to write a constructed response writing prompt, as they have already analyzed the text on a deeper level and had the opportunity to further analyze and discuss with their peers.  Thus, when they need to apply their thoughts, ideas, or opinions into writing, this structure has set them up for success.

Here's the steps I take teach this process!:

1) Choose a small set of specific annotation symbols that you would like your students to consistently use.  They need to be universal to start, until they understand the concept.

2)Create (or find) a sheet, template, or poster displaying the symbols and their meanings (something the students either have with them, or can refer to so they know what the annotations symbols are

3)Model for the students how to stop and annotate your thoughts as you're reading a text.

4)Guide them through making their own text annotations (e.g. read small chunks of a text together, and prompt students to stop and jot down a thought/annotation periodically.

5)Model how to utilize the text annotations to start an academic discussion.

If you follow this basic process and model, model, model, the students will start to blow your mind with their thoughts and discussions! Utilizing annotations through the close read process, is really the first step in supporting students' higher level thinking skills! 

Collaboratively Learning,

Megan Brown

megan.brown@omsd.net