Sunday, October 26, 2014

Questioning Techniques...October Theme of the Month

“The most basic way teachers have to stimulate interactive thinking and learning in the classroom is through the use of questions.”

(Rice & Taylor, 2000)

A frequent refrain of mine is that classroom lessons should be effective, efficient, and relevant. To effect such an outcome, teachers must, alas, plan diligently each day, week, and year. One area that is often overlooked in planning for instruction is questioning techniques. Effective questioning techniques on the part of teachers can dramatically enhance student learning. Too often, we give little thought to the questioning techniques we use with our students. We either call questions and accept answers shouted at random, call only on those whose hands are raised, call on the same one or two students in each class, or call on students who are not paying attention as a “gotcha.” Used carefully and with forethought, questioning techniques can enhance a lesson’s effectiveness, efficiency, and relevancy.

Obviously, through questioning, we can check for individual and whole-group understanding. Questioning individual students is most effective; questioning the whole group is most efficient. At times, it is appropriate to opt for efficiency. When so doing, you might consider using signal responses (teaching students to “show” the answer by a predetermined signal). Questioning individual students is more common and therefore requires greater teacher attention. In questioning, all students should believe that they are as likely to be called on as any other student. In questioning individual students, I find it more effective to utilize an “ask-pause-call” method as opposed to a “call-ask-wait” technique. In the first case, the teacher phrases a question, giving all students time to formulate a potential response. Then, she calls on a random student to provide an answer. Example: “I’m going to ask you a question, and I want everyone to think of an answer. From what you read in our text, what were some causes of the Civil War…...Benny?”

When calling on an individual for a response, allow ample wait time. Research suggests we should wait 3-5 seconds after asking the question before calling on any individual student. We should then allow at least 5 seconds for a response before reacting. If, after waiting, the student initially does not provide an answer, you might inveigle a response by offering a clue and restating the question. If, after this, the student still had no answer, I would often reply, “That’s OK, Jimmy, but pay attention, because I’m coming back to you.” Then, I might call on another student to provide the correct answer. Once I received the correct answer, I would return to the original student, getting Jimmy to verbalize the correct answer.

On the other hand, by employing a “call-ask-wait” technique (e.g., "Jenna, what is a noun?”), the resulting effect is that the anxiety level is raised for one student while everyone else is off the hook and not accountable for responding or even attending. As a teacher, I often found myself reluctant to call on those struggling students who I feared would not be able to respond correctly. By employing an ask-pause-call method of questioning, allowing ample wait time, providing additional clues, and--ultimately--coming back to students who don’t initially know the correct answer, we are able to engage all learners more effectively in the learning.

Josef Albers stated with perspicacity, “Good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a giving of right answers.” Thanks for taking the time to reflect on your daily questioning techniques.

Repost from Jeff Zoul http://jeffzoul.blogspot.com/

Videos to check out!:

SBAC Training Video for Students (4min)

SBAC Field Test video

5 words (3 min)

Articles you might want to check out:

Common Core Test: Can Smarter Balanced scores be compared to state test results? Surprising answer is yes

With no internet at home kids crowd libraries

Calendar of Events:

Nov 4-Nov 6-- ODE-facilitated WebEx sessions
Nov 6-Early Learning Summit
Nov 20: Rural PLC
Nov 21: CPI @ Slater
Feb 26-27 K and Early Literacy Summit
April 10--Harney County Tech Conference 2015 @ BHS

Sunday, October 19, 2014

CCSS ready?

Thee Common Core State Standards have been rolled our over the last 3 years around our country and for some time now in Oregon. As practices are changing in classrooms, practices are also changing in homes as parents get ready for more nonfiction reading, more explain your thinking, etc. The majority of states have accepted the challenge that is the CCSS, but some are backing out. Oregon is still full steam ahead.

As cited by Stupi, one elementary teacher stated that “I think we’re really moving in the right direction. We’re actually expecting students to think, talk about their thinking and analyze their thinking” (Stupi, 2014).

Others are having major concerns about the assessment tool. Smarter Balanced , the assessment that Oregon will use, is ready to roll out and has been tested with pilot and field tests over the last couple of years. Schools were offered a chance to do the pilot test, but many declined.

But she and others believe the heavy focus on assessments is too early at this point in the process.

Again as cited by Stupi, “The majority of [teachers in my school] have not been to a single Common Core training so far” (Stupi, 2014). In Oregon COSA has offered multiple trainings over the past several years with regional CCSS trainings as well as trainings at the Malheur Institute and other places.

So what does it mean for Harney County teachers? SBAC is on its way, or rather...it is here. Common Core State Standards should be outlined and implemented in your curriculum now. Do you have a curriculum map that is mapped with the CCSS? What CCSS are you teaching tomorrow?

If you need assistance in this endeavor, Harney ESD School Improvement is here to assist. Please call or e-mail and we will assist you in this transition to ensure that your students have the best chance on the SBAC.

Enjoy the journey!

Eric

Citation: Stupi, A. (2014). Are you ready for the common core? Teachers weigh in. Retrieved October 19, 2014 from http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/08/are-you-ready-for-common-core-teachers-weigh-in/.

Videos to check out!:

Socratic Seminar (CCSS) (8 min)

Spelling System (14min)

Shake it Off Lip Dub...kinda funny (4min)

Articles you might want to check out:

10 Reasons Why Non-Readers Don't Read - and how you can change their minds

The Next Time You're Ready to Give Up On A Student

Comic Strip Printables

Calendar of Events:

Nov 4-Nov 6-- ODE-facilitated WebEx sessions
Nov 6-Early Learning Summit
Feb 26-27 K and Early Literacy Summit
April 10--Harney County Tech Conference 2015 @ BHS

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Explicit Vocabulary--Theme of October

The Need for Explicit Vocabulary Instruction

What is vocabulary?

The following is the National Reading Panel’s definition of vocabulary. It’s important to make the distiction between oral vocabulary and reading vocabulary. Oral vocabulary can be further divided into listening vocabulary (receptive vocabulary, as our SLP’s call it) and speaking vocabulary (expressive vocabulary). The words that are encountered in text (reading vocabulary) are more complex than our speaking vocabulary.

Why is vocabulary important?

Vocabulary is important because it is a strong predictor of reading comprehension. If children are to understand the text, they must know what most of the words mean before they can comprehend what they are reading. Of course, this makes sense! Children with well developed vocabularies can recognize a new word in text faster and easier if the word has an identity in their mind. Let’s consider the following example from The Mitten:

“A waft of warm steam rose in the air, and a fox trotting by stopped to investigate. Just the sight of the cozy mitten made him feel drowsy.”

These two sentences are loaded with vocabulary (so cool!). What if the underlined words were not a part of the child’s vocabulary and he has never been exposed to those words in conversation or having books read to him? Certainly the child’s understanding of the text would be affected and when the child tried to read those words, he would not have the background knowledge that would help him figure out the word. Even if a child knew 4 of the 5 words, he would likely have an understanding of the text.

Choosing Words To Teach

So, if building vocabulary is so important, and with so many words, how do you choose which words to teach directly? One important thing, especially for elementary teachers is choosing a core reading program. Core reading programs often have a vocabulary list that is supported by supplementary readings, intervention materials and such. Isabel Beck and her colleagues have developed a really nice framework for choosing the most important words that should be targeted for instruction. She divides words into three “tiers”. In a nutshell, Tier I words are the most common words, Tier II words are high-frequency words used by mature language users, and Tier III words are typically specialized words. She recommends identifying and teaching Tier II words as they occur and can be used across contexts.

Click the following link to download the graphic Vocabulary Instruction- Choosing Words to Teach

With young children, the vocabulary words are typically chosen from trade books; these are the books that teachers read aloud to their students. Choosing words from a text for direct teaching is not difficult, but there are some things you need to take into consideration. These considerations as well as examples are provided in the Bringing Words To Life book. I can’t say enough about this book. If you want to beef-up your vocabulary instruction, this is a must-read.

How Many Words do Children Need to Know?

Researchers say that children in grades 1-2 need to learn 800 new words a year (that’s 2 a day) and children from 3rd grade on need to learn 2,000-3,000 new words a year (6-8 words a day)(Diemiller; Nagy & Anderson). On top of that, consider that for a child to “truly” know a word he/she must have at least 10-12 exposures to the word in multiple contexts. Sounds daunting, doesn’t it? Now consider this. Researchers (Biemiller, 2001) noted that there is very little explicit vocabulary teaching occurring in the upper grades. In fact, one study revealed that upper-elementary teachers spent less than 1% of their overall reading instruction focused on vocabulary. Yikes!

How to Teach Vocabulary

Children learn words in a variety of ways. One of the best ways to improve vocabulary is through wide reading. One interesting study that I found reported that the average 5th grader reads 5 minutes a day out of school. 5th graders who fall at the 80th percentile read over 20 times as much students who fall at the 20th percentile who read only one minute outside of school. Although reading in and of itself is necessary for vocabulary growth, it is not sufficient. Students need direct and explicit vocabulary instruction. So what does that look like and what is the best way to teach vocabulary? Well, that’s going to the topic of upcoming blog posts (too long already). I do want to leave you with these videos that model explict vocabulary instruction. Sometimes it’s just easier to see it in practice than explain in words.

Anita Archer is a highly respected author and educator. The Sonoma County Office of Education has on their website a series of videos of Anitia Archer demonstrating specific teaching strategies. When you click the following link (the picture), you can see her teaching a vocabulary lesson to a kindergarten class and then to a second grade class.

Repost modified from http://blog.maketaketeach.com/the-need-for-explicit-vocabulary-instruction/#_.

Explicit Vocab Videos:
Anita Archer K: http://explicitinstruction.org/?page_id=104
Anita Archer 6: http://explicitinstruction.org/?page_id=317
Anita Archer 2: http://explicitinstruction.org/?page_id=98

Videos to check out!:

Classroom Management (5 min)

Google Replacement Ump (30 sec)

Vocab Instruction (4min)

Vocab Instruction Part 2

Articles you might want to check out:

A veteran teacher turned coach shadows 2 students for 2 days – a sobering lesson learned

How to grade participation

Little kiddo science

Ways to use YOUTUBE

Calendar of Events:

Oct 15--Achievement Compacts Due
Nov 4-Nov 6-- ODE-facilitated WebEx sessions
Nov 6-Early Learning Summit
Feb 26-27 K and Early Literacy Summit
April 10--Harney County Tech Conference 2015 @ BHS

Sunday, October 5, 2014

You are the weather!

You Are The Weather!

by dkerr • Repost from http://connectedprincipals.com/archives/10903

So there’s this little girl that I know who might just be the happiest person that I have ever met. I fortunately get to see her every morning, and her contagious warmth, smile, and attitude brightens my mood without fail, and sets the tone for my day. She’s like the weather for me, and everyone around her, in that she changes the mood, the energy, and the outlook of anyone lucky enough to cross her path. Last Friday, when she arrived at school, I was busy dealing with an issue that had started my day in a less than ideal way, and my frame of mind was less than perfect to start my morning with students and faculty. She blew into my office like a warm breeze, dripping with sunshine and rainbows and it instantly snapped me back into the right frame of mind. Since that moment, I’ve been thinking a lot about how we as educators are the weather for each other, as well as for our students each and every morning when we arrive on campus. We are either warm, sunny days or cold, cloudy ones, just waiting to influence and affect everyone else around us. The beautiful thing about this kind of weather however, is that we have a choice in what the forecast looks like, and an opportunity to make it anything we want. This little girl chooses to be sunny and warm because that’s her outlook on life, and even if it’s miserable outside, and she’s caught in a torrential downpour, I don’t think she has ever really had a rainy day in her life if you know what I mean.

It’s not hard to recognize how your attitude, or the attitude of the people around you, profoundly influences your life. Attitude is contagious, and it is the one thing that you have complete control over when you wake up in the morning. The decisions that you make to look at situations as a problems or as opportunities, and the chances that you have to frame or re-frame the events in your life into positives are what make you who you are for yourself, and maybe more importantly, who you are for the others around you. Think about the impact that you have on your students each and every day, and how a bad mood or a curt response can influence their opportunity to learn…to feel safe…to feel supported…to take risks…and to internalize how adults deal and respond to difficult situations. We are teachers, and role models, and change agents for our students and our community, and the most important thing that we have to offer is not our content knowledge or our advanced degrees or our wonderful life experience…it’s our attitudes toward life and learning. So, what’s the forecast for your Monday morning…or the upcoming weeks…or the rest of the year? Will you choose to be like this little girl (who just happens to be my beautiful daughter Gabby), and be that perpetual warm sunny day, with blue skies and gentle breezes…or are you going to something less inspiring? Either way, that decision will impact our community, our students, and our relationships with each other in very real and profound ways.

Oh yeah, here’s a trick that most of you already know. If you feel your mood deteriorating down to cloudy or rainy, or if you’re struggling in one way or another to keep that smile on your face and that spring in your step, take a few minutes and get out to the playground at recess or lunch and take a look around. It is impossible in my opinion to not be snapped back to sunny after seeing our beautiful kids running, and laughing, and playing. That’s a guaranteed way to adjust your attitude and be reminded of what’s really important in our lives. Their forecast is always like a gorgeous summer day, and it’ll rub off on you in a hurry. Remember everyone, and take this to heart…you are the weather for our community each and every day…so what’s that going to look like? I choose sunny and warm! Have a wonderful week everyone and remember to be great for our students and the weather for everyone around you.