Resources and Downloads for Differentiated Instruction Tips for downloading: PDF files can be viewed on a wide variety of platforms -- both as a browser plug-in or a stand-alone application -- with Adobe's free Acrobat Reader program. Click here to download the latest version of Adobe Reader. Click on any title link below to view or download that file. Resources On This Page: Lesson Plans & Rubric - Reteach and Enrich Sample materials used to teach, assess, reteach, and enrich one week's fifth grade math objective: differentiating prime and composite numbers. Back to Top Tools for Data Assessment Teachers at Mesquite meet weekly with the student achievement teacher to review the most recent assessment data and plan instruction for each student accordingly. 5th Grade Math Formative Assessment Tracking Sheet Sample spreadsheet used to track student performance on each objective. Culture Websites & Readings
Standards Increasing the effectiveness of professional learning is the leverage point with the greatest potential for strengthening and refining the day-to-day performance of educators. Standards for Professional Learning is the third iteration of standards outlining the characteristics of professional learning that lead to effective teaching practices, supportive leadership, and improved student results. Learning Forward, with the contribution of 40 professional associations and education organizations, developed the Standards for Professional Learning. (See the Standards Revision Task Force and the Standards Advisory Team.) The standards make explicit that the purpose of professional learning is for educators to develop the knowledge, skills, practices, and dispositions they need to help students perform at higher levels. Watch Stephanie Hirsh give an overview of the standards These standards call for a new form of educator learning.
Are You a Teacher-Leader? - Getting Smart by Susan Lucille Davis - edchat, edreform, leadership Teachers are master problem-solvers. They learn quickly to adjust on the fly as they react boldly and deftly in a moment’s response, whether to students’ endless questions about how to and what if, to the numerous disruptions blaring from a PA system, or to adapting their lesson plans because the Internet is down…again. When it comes to their own classrooms, teachers do not hesitate to meet daily obstacles and challenges head-on. But solving the problem of changing and reforming the very nature of the schools they work in is a different story. Why? What We Talk About When We Talk About Teacher-Leaders I recently put this question – why isn’t every teacher a teacher-leader – in somewhat different form, to the new teachers at my school who meet weekly to discuss issues and best practices in education. Do you feel a sense of purpose? A sense of purpose provides direction and motivation in any teacher-leader’s professional life. Are you focused on what matters most – students’ learning?
A Place for Learning: The Physical Environment of Classrooms I was supervising a teacher who was enrolled in our program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst that focused on developing student self-knowledge, ego strength, trust and community in classrooms. We had created a manual with over 50 classroom lessons. She was teaching at a high school in an economically depressed district in northern Appalachia. She called me in a state of frustration. Students Take Ownership So I visited the class. I suggested that she ditch the exercises and work with the class to totally change the physical environment. They spent six weeks doing little else. There are at least two lessons from this story. The physical structure of a classroom is a critical variable in affecting student morale and learning. The Custodian’s Favorite Arrangement Here's a related story. A Short Course in Classroom Arrangement It's conventional wisdom that different types of instruction require different seating arrangements. More Ideas, More Resources Well-Being and Motivation
Teach Me: Student-Led Instruction Strategies Teaching tools, tricks, and ideas are an essential component of a teacher’s ‘arsenal’ when it comes to having engaged students and strong teachable moments. The one tool that I rely heavily upon is a concept I termed as ‘Teach Me,’ though you may heard it called by other terms. Simply, the idea behind Teach Me is when the teacher lets the student teach a concept to them. The student goes through the whole concept, or study, giving it to you in extreme detail. What it basically means is that your student becomes the teacher; teaching it to you. Benefits of the "Teach Me" Learning Exercise 4 Specific Goals of Student-led Instruction 1. Top 22 digital technology in the classroom tools your colleagues are using in... Fun facts, cross-curricular classroom activities about hibernation that will... Use these 10 teaching strategies to instruct writing. At many Israeli schools, passion, emanating from both students and school... Use the following classroom management techniques to improve your school...
Questioning Toolkit Essential Questions These are questions which touch our hearts and souls. They are central to our lives. They help to define what it means to be human. Most important thought during our lives will center on such essential questions. What does it mean to be a good friend? If we were to draw a cluster diagram of the Questioning Toolkit, Essential Questions would be at the center of all the other types of questions. All the other questions and questioning skills serve the purpose of "casting light upon" or illuminating Essential Questions. Most Essential Questions are interdisciplinary in nature. Essential Questions probe the deepest issues confronting us . . . complex and baffling matters which elude simple answers: Life - Death - Marriage - Identity - Purpose - Betrayal - Honor - Integrity - Courage - Temptation - Faith - Leadership - Addiction - Invention - Inspiration. Essential Questions are at the heart of the search for Truth. Essential Questions offer the organizing focus for a unit.
Why 2016 is about Work / Life Integration | Collective Hub | Collective Hub Guest Editor, Life WORDS BY Vanessa Bennett | Guest Blogger ...not Work / Life Balance In today’s society, work/life balance seems to be the Holy Grail that everyone strives for, yet very few achieve. These days people tend to glorify being busy so much that even our time for ‘balance’ is so overwhelmed with “relaxation” activities, that we end up exhausted. When we talk about work/life balance we are automatically suggesting that work is in the ‘non-life’ category. Top 6 tips on how to achieve work/life integration this year: Give yourself permission Enhancing your happiness and health starts with giving yourself permission to feel better, be better, and become better. *Take control of your scheduleWe actually have more control over our daily schedules than we like to believe. Have a trial period Start with small steps by requesting a trial period of one workday from home a week, or a late morning start so you can hit a yoga class.
Reading Workshop Strategies Reading Workshop is a powerful way to structure your reading class. Using this model involves encouraging your students to choose their own books as well as providing significant amounts of time for them to read independently. By allowing your students to choose their own books, you can foster a love of reading that will last a lifetime. Research shows that when children spend more time reading, they become better readers. With a little guidance and encouragement from a teacher who loves to read, students can learn to select appropriate books and discover joy in reading. To find out more about this approach, select one of the topics below or scroll through the items on this page. ~ Laura Candler Power Reading Workshop: A Step-by-Step Guide I've had such great success with the Reading Workshop model that I decided to write a book about my strategies. More Recommended Reading Workshop Books I learned about this approach from a variety of different professional books on this topic.
AZk12 - Professional Development for Educators What is the Arizona Technology Integration Matrix? The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) illustrates how teachers can use technology to enhance learning for K-12 students. The TIM incorporates five interdependent characteristics of meaningful learning environments: active, collaborative, constructive, authentic, and goal directed (Jonassen, Howland, Moore, & Marra, 2003). The TIM associates five levels of technology integration (i.e., entry, adoption, adaptation, infusion, and transformation) with each of the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments. What is in each cell? Within each cell of the Matrix one will find two lessons plans with a short video of the lesson. Download PDF of the Technology Integration Matrix Print this page Characteristics fo the Learning Environment ← → Levels of Technology Integration Into the Curriculum How should the Technology Integration Matrix be used? Use this TIM tutorial to get more information on how to use it in your classroom practice.
Out of This World Literacy : 9 Essential Questions When Planning For Guided Reading I've been asked so many times how to plan for guided reading. Teachers ask me: 1. 2. I've put together this blog post to help you organize your thinking and quickly plan your guided reading groups. Ask yourself the following 9 questions before meeting with any group and you can ensure you are targeting students' needs! I hope these questions help you organize your thinking as you plan for guided reading groups. To receive these questions in a checklist form and lesson plan template, simply click the banner below.
Oracy in the Classroom: Strategies for Effective Talk "What makes me enjoy talking the most," explains Milo, a Year 3 student, "is that everybody’s listened to you, and you’re part of the world, and you feel respected and important." Oracy -- the ability to speak well -- is a core pedagogy at School 21, a London-based public school. "Speaking is a huge priority," stresses Amy Gaunt, a Year 3 teacher. "It's one of the biggest indicators of success later in life. It's important in terms of their employability as they get older. Oracy is taught during assemblies and wellbeing classes, but "it's embedded into every single lesson," says Gaunt. From forming different groupings to using talking points, learn how you can integrate strategies for effective talk in your classroom. Embedding Oracy Into Your Classroom (It's Already Happening) The first step in embedding oracy into your classroom is accepting that it already happens -- your students talk a lot, and you can leverage that, suggests Gaunt. Create Discussion Guidelines With Your Students Art
Reading Royalty: Analyzing Running Records - MSV Made Easy with a Freebie! Since mid-year benchmark testing is here, I thought it would be helpful to talk about getting the most information out of those running records as possible. Analyzing errors and self-corrections in running records can give you SO much information. This information can help you to determine what your students are using to decode words and what they need to work on. Take a running record of a student reading a passage or short text aloud. Let’s take a look at an example: Take a look at each error and self-correction individually to determine whether or not the student was using meaning, structure, or visual information while reading. M – Meaning: Does this error make sense? This student read screamed for cried, and self-corrected after reading burn for bury. S – Syntax/Structure: Does this error sound right? This student read it for that, to for for, and my for her. V – Visual: Does this error look right? This student read glazed for gazed and Gliman for Gilman. MSV has ALWAYS confused me.