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  • Preparing for Opening Day: 5 o Preparing for Opening Day: 5 of the best icebreakers for teachers

    • From: Ryan_Thomas1
    • Description:

      icebreakers for teachersThe first day of school is still a ways off, but many teachers—especially those of us who just received our fall assignments—are already beginning to think about it. The day usually begins the same way: Our new students trickle in and find a desk where they can carefully guard their tongues for the next week. We feel for our students not only because we’ve been there before, but also because we always have some nervous energy ourselves. To ease the first-day jitters, we started using icebreakers. Below you will find five of our favorites.

      Preparing for Opening Day: 5 of the best icebreakers for teachers

      Strings Attached
      The only thing you’ll need for this activity is a big ball of string. Here’s how it works: The teacher stands at the door with two handfuls of string ends. As you welcome your new students give each student an end. Alternate hands as you pass them out: The first student gets a string-end from your right hand; the second from your left; the third from your right and so on.


      Once everyone has arrived and has a string-end, they must start to follow the course of the string they hold (you got to class early and created a trail for each piece of string). Some pieces wrap around chairs, run through the coat closet, under and over desks and around your podium, or become tangled with other pieces of string. Your students will have to follow this trail—wherever it may lead them.

      Eventually your students will be startled to discover that they are face-to-face with another student who is holding the other end of the same piece of string! Once each student has found his or her partner, it’s time for them to make their introductions.

      Put on a new jacket
      The covers of our most-popular books often become torn and dirty. Direct your students to the classroom library and have them select books with damaged jackets or book covers. If you don’t have enough damaged books, allow them to choose a book with their favorite cover they’d like to protect.


      Offer a variety of craft materials (paint, pens, random ephemera and fabric) so that students can create their own covers and book jackets. If you’d like instruction books or kits for slipcases, stop by Hollanders.

      This idea comes courtesy of Bonnie Kunzel’s and Constance Hardesty’s book, The Teen-Centered Book Club: Readers into Leaders.

      Start a time capsule
      Type up a handout that includes questions like:

      • What is your favorite TV show?
      • What is your favorite song?
      • What are you thinking right now?
      • What is your favorite thing to eat?
      • What is your least favorite thing to eat?
      • How tall are you?

      Feel free to get as crazy and creative as you like with these questions. Once your students are finished, collect the handouts and put them in a secure place.

      When I was in third grade, my teacher received permission from the principal to dig a hole and bury our class time capsule (which also included an item belonging to each student) in the playground! At the end of the year, we dug up our time capsule and discussed how much our interest, tastes and height had changed over the course of a year.

      Know your orange
      We got this idea from Christopher Willard’s book, Child’s Mind: Mindfulness Practices to Help Our Children Be More Focused, Calm and Relaxed.

      • At the front of the classroom or in the center of a circle, place a bowl of clementine oranges on a desk. Ask your students if they can tell the oranges apart.
      • Now pick up the bowl and walk by each student and allow the student to select a clementine.
      • Once everyone has an orange, write these questions on the board: Look closely at your orange; how many colors does it have? What shape is it? Where did it come from? How many hands have touched this orange before you selected it? What does it feel like when you squeeze it? What does it smell like? Are there any distinct aromas? How does it look when you hold it at arm’s length? How about when it is a couple of inches from your eye?
      • Have your students write down their answers—tell them not to worry about spelling/punctuation/complete sentences.
      • Now pick up the empty bowl, walk around the room and have each student drop his or her orange into the bowl.
      • Now put it back on the table and have your students come up one at a time to find their orange.
      • Have your students share how they found their orange.
      • Eat and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

      If you’d like to take this activity a few steps further, you might have your students journal about mindful tasting. Try giving them the following prompts:

      1. List 5 of your favorite things to eat and use vivid, colorful language to describe how each tastes, looks and smells.
      2. Pretend that you had your friend over for dinner and she refused to eat your favorite dish. How might you persuade her to eat it?

      Spill the Skittles, not the beans
      Pass out five or ten Skittles (M&Ms work too) to each student and explain that for each piece of candy the student has, s/he must tell the class something about him/herself. Here’s the tricky part: each color corresponds to a category. An orange Skittle represents a scary memory; green ones represent a favorite outdoor place; blue ones represent their favorite place to swim and so on. This is an easy way to get students talking—and when was the last time kids turned down free sweets?

      There are a number of variations on this activity. For a slightly different spin, check out Katie’s idea on her blog, live.craft.eat

       

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  • The Superhero that is Going to The Superhero that is Going to Save Writing in America

    • From: Suzanne_Klein1
    • Description:

      We all need a superhero to swoop in once in a while to change the outcome of history and give us hope for a better and brighter future. On the last national writing assessment, less than a quarter of elementary students, and less than a third of 12th graders, could write proficiently.  This is a terrible and disheartening statistic. American education needs a superhero right now. This superhero may not be dressed in blue and red, wear a cape, and have the ability to fly, but she does have a special super power that will change the world. Her name is the Common Core Standards, and it is exactly what America needs to turn around writing in our schools.

       

      Writing has been neglected. Anyone that disagrees just needs to look at the most recent writing results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress.  The Common Core Standards are going to improve student writing proficiency by providing a benchmark for teachers to follow that will create a clear, concise, and consistent framework for students across the nation, no matter what their socioeconomic status is.  Currently, educational standards in America are a patchwork of assessments and learning standards. Writing standards mean something different in California, or Florida, or Illinois.  Common Core is the corridor to consistency.  The Common Core is going to raise the bar and ask students to think like writers and demand more from students than ever before. Students will be challenged, tested, and pushed. Greatness doesn’t come easy. The Common Core is the catalyst that is going to spur the greatness we need.


      Every hero has his arch nemesis and team of villains set out to destroy him. The villain here is the back lash from the parents and educators who oppose the Common Core. Teachers are concerned about teaching a program that has never been tested on public school students.  Yes, this can be a scary thought, but without change, nothing great would ever be achieved. Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” We need to change the way education is taught, now, more than ever before. Our current way of teaching isn’t working. Now is the time for change. Another concern of parents and educators is the idea that the Common Core is a ploy by major publishers to use the Common Core as a way to sell material and make a profit. Though I can’t speak for other companies out there, I can speak for myself.

       

      Writing is my passion in life. WriteSteps  was not developed out of a desire for profit. It evolved from an experience of fulfillment. Writing is a difficult subject to teach. Without help, it takes a huge commitment and a long time to do it well. I took a pay cut when I decided to focus on writing instruction and WriteSteps.  I make less now than I ever did as a teacher. But knowing there’s a world of students finding their writing voices is enormously gratifying.  You can’t put a price on seeing the way students’ eyes light up when they finish a writing piece. It is my dream to see 100% of America’s students proficient in writing by the time they graduate.  One-third of graduating 12th graders proficient in writing is just not good enough. We can’t sit back and be idle about this. I won’t stop sharing WriteSteps with teachers around the country until that goal has been reached.

       

      I don’t want any teacher, anywhere, to be limited by an incomplete view of writing. This is what Common Core writing demands and why it is the superhero that is going to save writing.  Superheroes have a way of showing up just in the nick of time when we feel like all hope is lost. Thank you Common Core-you are the champion we need to reach 100% writing efficiency for students across America.

       

      Dedicated to writing success,

      Suzanne Klein

      Founder and CEO of WriteSteps

       

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  • Fostering Visions of Success Fostering Visions of Success

    • From: Ashanti_Foster
    • Description:

      As I completed my first year of serving my school community as an administrator, I kept a written journal which I used to catalog experiences and reflect daily. Now I am ready to explore the video blogging or vlogging arena on a monthly basis. 

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  • What Will You Change? What Will You Change?

    • From: Eric_Sheninger
    • Description:

      As the school year comes to an end at New Milford High School, I can’t help but begin to think about sustaining the many changes that have taken place over the past few years as well as identifying other areas where change is needed.  My school is a shell of what it once was when one looks at how far we have come in terms of effectively integrating technology, re-envisioning learning spaces, and providing a foundation for a more relevant and meaningful learning experience for all of our students. 

       

      Below is just a quick list of some of the many changes that have been successfully initiated and sustained over the past three years:

       

      Together we have the power to improve all of our schools and mold them in ways to maximize the potential of our students, teachers, and administrators.  It is time to realize that social media, technology, and the change process are not the enemy. Once you get past this, you will quickly discover your own niche as a change agent and it is here that you can receive support and guidance to make any initiative successful. When moving to initiate sustainable change that will cultivate innovation acquire necessary resources, provide support (training, feedback, advice), empower educators through a certain level of autonomy, communicate effectively, and implement a shared decision-making practice.


      In collaboration with my staff and the support of District leadership, my efforts have laid the foundation for an innovative teaching and learning culture that focuses on preparing all students for success.  We have learned to give up control, view failure as not always a bad thing as long as we learn from our mistakes, to be flexible, provide adequate support, and take calculated risks if we are to truly innovate.  To this end, teachers and students are now routinely utilizing social media and other various Web 2.0 tools on a routine basis to enhance and promote essential skill sets such as communication, collaboration, media literacy, creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, global awareness, and technological proficiency.  It is not uncommon now for classes to be Skyping with students in other countries, using Twitter as a learning tool, constructing QR codes for artwork, blogging, or creating multimedia projects using a variety of interactive web tools that are blocked in many schools across the country.  


      One of our most successful initiatives has been the establishment of a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program mentioned briefly above where we are harnessing the power of student-owned devices to increase engagement.  Instead of viewing student-owned technology as a hindrance, it is now wholeheartedly embraced as a mobile learning tool. Teachers have the students text in their answers on their cell phones using web programs such as Poll Everywhere, conduct research on the Internet, take notes using Evernote, or organize their assignments.  Students can also opt to bring their personal computing devices (laptops, tablets, iPod Touches) to use in school and class.


      What might separate us from other schools where change has not taken hold is that we, as a school community, have decided to forge ahead no matter what mandates are thrown at us at the state and federal levels.  We needed to take a hard look at, and seize upon numerous areas of opportunity, to create a better school for our students that focused on the whole child using their interests and passions as catalysts for learning.  The change process never sleeps.  During the summer months my administrative team and I will continue to work with all stakeholders to forge ahead by doing what we have done for the last three years and looking for solutions to problems instead of excuses.  This might be the single most important element of a successful change initiative.  That and being digitally resilient. 


      What do you plan to change this next year and why?

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  • I was just like you I was just like you

    • From: Spike_Cook
    • Description:

       Originally published in May, 2012

      Dear Administrators,

      I feel like I need to share some really good news with you. And I am not alone. See, I was just like you!

      source: en.wikipedia.org

      During these past few months I have opened myself up completely to the 21st century. I went full board, having never created a blog, wiki, uploaded a video, nor participated in ANY social media prior to this year. I have never been a techie, or desired to acquire the newest gadgets (Honestly, I held out for a long time from buying compact discs).

       

      I will admit it… I was scared. I had nothing good to say about facebook, twitter, google, blogging, and I too felt that I had learned all I needed to know about the computer (Hey, I was a wiz at the Microsoft office suite). As long as I could get on the internet, I was fine. I knew how to search for things. I could find articles, and resources, or so I thought. As an educator, my mind was made up: we are not allowed to participate in this new found social media stuff anyway. It was all “trouble” and the “devil’s playground.”

       

      I was good. All good. I knew a lot more then my predecessors. I have worked with administrators in the past who didn’t know how to turn on a computer. They couldn’t text, or had no idea what a url was. They were just fine, and some almost reveled in their learned helplessness.Let’s face it, I thought, there were hundreds of thousands of effective principals since the beginning of time who never even wrote an email.

       

      source: kerrywills.wordpress.com

      Then a strange thing happened on my way to being comfortable. I found out that as a 38 year old first-year principal, who was a self-described progressive in education, that I was already a dinosaur (insert dinosaur sound). I have called educators dinosaurs before. Gulp. We all know how that story ended: Extinction! Well, I didn’t want to be extinct.  And I don’t want you to be either! I had ask myself some tough questions: Am I modeling 21st century skills for my teachers and students? Am I really progressive? Do I really know where education was going? The answers were clearly, NO. So I DID something about it. I TOOK a LEAP. I got off of the comfortable road!

       

      So, this is your homework assignment for the summer.  You need to start something. Depending on where you want to grow, there are plenty of resources. And I am willing to help, and so are all the connected educators near you, and thousands more are just a click away. Actually, we are all just a click away from you!

      We are not trying to keep anything from you. We want EVERYBODY to be connected. This is not a competition. Rather, it is a privilege that you are in the position you are in. With the gift of being an administrator, there is a responsibility to your teachers, parents, students, and most of all, to yourself. Now, what are you going to do with this precious gift?

       

      Ask yourself these questions….Here are some resources for you.

      I want to know how to access the cutting edge information on education. Where do I start?

      Twitter.com - It is free, and you will have access to Professional Development at your fingertips 24/7. I recommend to start with the following educators:

      @NMHS_Principal, Eric Sheninger, High School Principal

      @stumpteacher, Josh Stumpenhorst, Teacher

      @PrincipalJ, Jessica Johnson, Elementary Principal

      @web20classroom, Steven Anderson, Technology Supervisor

      @gcouros, George Couros, Principal and founder of Connected Principals

      I want to know how tell my classroom, district or school’s story?Start a school blog or a personal blog using (Blogger, edublogs, or Word Press).

      Justin Tarte, Life of an Educator

      Dave Gentile, The Road To Excellence is Always Under Construction

      Pamm Moore, Learning to Lead

      Spike Cook’s RM Bacon School Site, RM Bacon Weekly

      Curt Rees, I know this much is true

      How will I be able to do all this? You have to make time. Just like the teachers you are frustrated with, you can’t punch in and out. You have to be willing to put in the time, and be committed.  The more you are connected, the more you will become inspired by what folks are doing.

      How can I learn all of this? Like the famous book by Anne Lamott Bird by Bird you have to start small and take it one bird at a time.

      I guarantee that you have a teacher in your building or an administrator in another building that can help you out with your transition to being connected. You just have to open yourself up to the possibilities.

      For those of you who are reading this because you are connected, my challenge to you is to print, email, forward, or even read this to another administrator that you feel could benefit.

      Remember, I was just like you!

      Resources:

      My Prezi on Social Media in Administration:

      http://prezi.com/thmleuo19vp2/copy-of-copy-of-social-media-for-administration/

      Great Article on the Power of the Principal:

      http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2012/05/the_power_of_the_principal.html

      Twitter accounts for Technology:

      http://paper.li/DrSpikeCook/1333674940?edition_id=300ef930-a924-11e1-a2b7-00259071bfec

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  • Digital Literacy Digital Literacy

    • From: Sufiana_Conover
    • Description:

      Strategies for teaching language arts  to students who have laptops. 

       We will begin  a 1 to 1 iniative in which all of the students are issued laptops at the beginning of the school year.  Tell me about tried and true strategies that work for middle schoolers.   How do you handle ebooks during instructional time?

    • 4 days ago
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    • Forum: 21st Centur...

  • What Does This Poem Say, About What Does This Poem Say, About Education Today...

    • From: Elliott_Seif
    • Description:

      The Calf-Path by Sam Walter Foss :

      One day, through the primeval wood, 
A calf walked home, as good calves should;

      
But made a trail all bent askew, 
A crooked trail as all calves do. 



      Since then two hundred years have fled, 
And, I infer, the calf is dead. 


      But still he left behind his trail, 
And thereby hangs my moral tale.

      

The trail was taken up next day 
By a lone dog that passed that way;

      
And then a wise bell-wether sheep 
Pursued the trail o’er vale and steep,

      
And drew the flock behind him, too, 
As good bell-wethers always do.

      

And from that day, o’er hill and glade, Through those old woods a path was made; 


      And many men wound in and out, 
And dodged, and turned, and bent about 


      And uttered words of righteous wrath 
Because ‘twas such a crooked path. 


      But still they followed -- do not laugh -- 
The first migrations of that calf,

      
And through this winding wood-way stalked, 
Because he wobbled when he walked.

      

This forest path became a lane, 
That bent, and turned, and turned again;

      
This crooked lane became a road, 
Where many a poor horse with his load 


      Toiled on beneath the burning sun, And traveled some three miles in one. 


      And thus a century and a half They trod the footsteps of that calf. 


      The years passed on in swiftness fleet, 
The road became a village street, 


      And this, before men were aware, 
A city’s crowded thoroughfare; 


      And soon the central street was this 
Of a renowned metropolis;

      
And men two centuries and a half 
Trod in the footsteps of that calf.

      

Each day a hundred thousand rout 
Followed the zigzag calf about; 


      And o’er his crooked journey went 
The traffic of a continent. 


      A hundred thousand men were led By one calf near three centuries dead.

      
They followed still his crooked way, 
And lost one hundred years a day; 


      For thus such reverence is lent 
To well-established precedent. 



      A moral lesson this might teach, 
Were I ordained and called to preach;

      
For men are prone to go it blind 
Along the calf-paths of the mind, 


      And work away from sun to sun 
To do what other men have done.

      
They follow in the beaten track, 
And out and in, and forth and back, 


      And still their devious course pursue, 
To keep the path that others do. 



      But how the wise old wood-gods laugh, 
Who saw the first primeval calf! 


      Ah! many things this tale might teach -- 
But I am not ordained to preach.

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  • Reflect on Your School Year Wi Reflect on Your School Year With the Following Questions…

    • From: Elliott_Seif
    • Description:

      Here are some questions you might use for reflecting on the year past, on how you might productively use your summer respite, and how you might plan for changes that you might wish to make to your teaching next year:

       

      • What are the core goals of my curriculum? Are they the “right” goals for a 21st century world? Am I clear about the distinction between my core curriculum and my supplemental curriculum?
      • What were the most important goals that most of my students accomplished this year? Were they the “right” goals for a 21st century world?
      • What stands out as my most important accomplishment this year? What stands out as the most important thing I could improve upon in the coming year?
      • What am I most proud of in my teaching this year? What might I improve on in the future?
      • What were my most powerful instructional activities and strategies? Least powerful? Why?
      • Which students did I help the most to improve their learning? Help the least? Why?
      • How did I measure the “success” of my students this year? How would I like to measure their success in the future?
      • What do I wish I could improve upon next year?
      • If I could change one thing about my teaching, my classroom, what would it be?
      • Whom did I inspire? Whom did I motivate? Whom did I involve? What can I learn from this reflection?
      • What new thoughts and ideas did I learn from others this year that I might want to explore this summer and incorporate into my teaching?

       These are only some of the questions that you might ask yourself. Don't hesitate to add to, modify, or change these. 

       

      Once you have answered these questions, here are some things to think about over the summer and the coming year:

      What might I examine and explore this summer to identify new ideas and rethink my teaching and student learning?

      What might I work on this summer to improve my teaching and my students' learning?

       

      I hope you had a productive and rewarding school year, that you have a restful, relaxing, rewarding, and productive summer that also provides you with an opportunity to learn and grow from your current year, and that you use some of your time to learn about and find new ways to become a better teacher in the future.

      ----------------------

      Elliott Seif is an educational consultant, author, and volunteer in a number of Philadelphia public schools. He is a former social studies teacher, Professor of Education at Temple University and Curriculum Director for an Educational Service agency in Bucks County. You might find his website, www.era3learning.org of interest as a follow-up to your answers to these questions.

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  • L2L News: June 2013 L2L News: June 2013

  • 5 ways to see the world: summe 5 ways to see the world: summer professional development for teachers

    • From: Ryan_Thomas1
    • Description:

      In our last blog post, we suggested 10 things every teacher should do this summer. Looking back on it, we noticed that we forgot something: travel. Even if money is tight during the summer, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find out that many of the travel and professional-development opportunities you’ll find below are actually funded by the U.S. Government. While you may have missed the deadlines for this summer, you now have the time to prepare your applications for 2014.
       

      5 ways to see the world: summer professional development for teachers

      professional development for teachers ACIEStop by the American Councils for International Education (ACIE) and you’ll find a list of State funded seminars and exchange programs for teachers and administrators. Here are two such examples:



      • The Greece Classics Program: a six-week intensive program with the American School of Classical Studies at Athens that introduces participants to Greece from antiquity through the modern period.

      • The India Summer Teacher Program: an opportunity for U.S. teachers to collaborate with and teach with an Indian counterpart for approximately five weeks in Kolkata, India.

      Because most educators have commitments for most of the year, the exchanges are short term, taking place during the summer. While you won’t be able to take advantage of these opportunities this summer, make sure that you check the site often; the summer 2014 application deadlines will start to pop up in the early fall.

      professional development for teachers BECA.jpgIf nothing on the ACIE piques your interest, browse the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Exchange Programs. As with ACIE, the exchange programs offered on this site are state funded. Applications are accepted year round and programs are anywhere from two weeks to a year.

      professional development for teachers DiscoveryDiscovery Student Adventures
      For those interested in seeing the world with your students, Discovery offers a range of FREE travel experiences for teachers: The Arctic, China, Australia, Costa Rica.

      Leave the meals, hotel booking and planning to Discovery. With an experienced guide at your side, you can do what you do best: teach and inspire.

      professional development for teachersMore than 100 Bed & Breakfast discounts for teachers
      Follow the link above and you’ll find a list of bed and breakfasts participating in the Travel for Teachers program. Some B&Bs offer free nights while others offer teacher appreciation packages that include discounted rates (25% off), free massages, wine and other amenities.



      professional development for teachersEducators Travel Network
      How do we begin to explain ETN? It’s sort of like a time-share, but for teachers. Membership (a mere $36 a year) grants you use of thousands of homestays throughout the country. Depending on the location and availability, you’ll either be hosted ($40/night) by another member or stay in the member’s home while s/he is away ($50/night).

      Click on the Destinations tab to view the ETN’s complete membership directory. This page introduces you to current ETN members, tells you a little bit about them and describes their accommodations.

       

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  • You Work Hard...Now Get Someth You Work Hard...Now Get Something Back!

    • From: Celine_Provini
    • Description:

      Educators may be interested in a unique, FREE classroom resource: https://edworldexchange.com/?q=product/about-my-world-metaphors-similes-and-description/767989169

      This is a good “get to know you” activity for the start of the year, a review of the major forms of figurative language, or even a way to teach students how to elaborate without just listing. The students get a chance to express themselves.

      This lesson can be used with a reading or writing assignment to emphasize how figurative language can change tone or meaning. The resource addresses Common Core Standards ELA - Reading Informational text 4-5 and Writing 4-5.

      About My World: Metaphors, Similes and Description, and may more resources like it, are available on the EdWorld Exchange, an innovative online marketplace where educators buy and sell classroom materials.

      Discover a dynamic marketplace filled with amazing resources, all of them developed by active classroom educators. Our experts can even identify the Common Core or state standards that your resources meet.

      Whether you're interested in buying, or maybe even uploading some resources to sell to other teachers, visit https://edworldexchange.com/ today!

      

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  • How to Become A Teacher Flowch How to Become A Teacher Flowchart

    • From: Christopher_Ingrao
    • Description:

      For those interested in the path to becoming an education professional, the folks over at CertificationMap.com developed this awesome flowchart outlining some of the major steps. The flowchart is titled: How To Become A Teacher. Best of luck in your academic and professional pursuits!

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  • Promise and Paradox: Writing i Promise and Paradox: Writing in America's Schools

    • From: Suzanne_Klein1
    • Description:

      Why do America’s children write so poorly? Writing instruction has seen a lot of innovation since I was a kid. Like many of my peers, I struggled with writing under the old system of the 3 A’s – assign, assume, and assess. My teachers assigned a topic, assumed we could write about it, and assessed our finished pieces.

       

      Today's kids have it better. Yet there’s still a disconnect. Despite the advances in instruction since I was a child, most teachers still don’t teach writing well. On the last national writing assessment (the NAEP), less than a third of 12th graders, and less than a quarter of elementary students, could write proficiently.

       

      How do we reconcile promising changes in writing pedagogy with this reality? That calls for a quick history lesson in writing instruction.

       

      Message Over Mechanics


      New approaches for young writers emerged in the 1980’s when process writing made its way into American classrooms. The whole language movement had made its impact on reading, and now Donald Graves and Donald Murray brought a similar holistic approach to writing.

       

      Rather than simply correcting errors and assigning grades, they focused on meaning. They encouraged children to write about what they knew. They celebrated their ideas. In a radical departure, process writing teachers accepted mistakes in handwriting, spelling, and grammar. Frequent writing would provide the experience kids needed to develop these now-secondary skills.

       

      Process writing also introduced the pre-writing, writing, and rewriting approach. Further, the teacher now functioned as a guide, rather than judge. Instead of just grading students’ final product, teachers now modeled their own writing process and checked in regularly as kids composed their own pieces.

       

      Writer’s workshop, which many educators today associate with Lucy Calkins, is an example of the process writing approach. The National Writing Project has also popularized process writing in summer institutes for teachers.

       

      West Coast Twist


      As process writing was incubating on the East Coast, new ideas were also percolating out West. In 1983, a committee in Beaverton, Oregon developed a new assessment rubric – The Six Traits – to improve assessment, a perennial challenge in writing instruction. The traits included: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions.

       

      Though the Six Traits were conceived as elements for a new assessment rubric, they proved a valuable teaching tool. Teacher Rhonda Woodruff discovered this with her fourth graders in 1986. It turned out that playing the role of evaluator helped students strengthen their writing process, and soon, Oregon teachers were sharing this new instructional approach in national workshops. In 1990, The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory acquired a version of the original rubric and began selling traits-based instructional aids.

       

      More good leadership emerged in the 1990’s. Teacher Marcia Freeman and later, Ralph Fletcher, built on the foundation of process writing with their ideas for teaching targeted skills such as writing leads and creating transitions.

       

      The Blind Men & The Elephant


      Individual research studies have documented the advantages of these most of these approaches to teaching writing. Why then, has achievement remained flat for 30 years? Besides the fact that writing has not been given enough instructional time – which I hope the Common Core will cure – I think the biggest reason is that we’re dealing with a case of the blind men and the elephant.

       

      In the old story, six blind men visit an elephant, but each one seems to meet an entirely different creature based on the part he has touched. Thus, one describes the elephant as being "like a spear" (tusk), another claims it’s "like a tree" (leg), and so on. The story tells us a person can have a piece of the truth even if he's still missing a big part of it.



      Writing pedagogy is like this. Each instructional method offers teachers one piece of the puzzle, but none gives teachers everything they need. This is why two-thirds of our graduates can’t write. Few elementary teachers learn to teach writing as part of their training, and they simply don’t have time to pull all the pieces together once they’ve entered the classroom. They still have to teach reading, math, social studies, and science, too. Usually, their districts try to support them by offering either:

       

      • a basal that dumbs down instruction so much that writing lessons seem lifeless and devoid of meaning, or
      • a writer’s workshop program that is full of “heart” but demands so much training that few teachers are actually able to implement it with strong results.
      Seeing the Beast

      I chose my profession to become the teacher I never had. And perhaps because I made a D- on my first writing assignment in college (yes, it’s true), I set myself to become intimately acquainted with that elephant as a teacher. With the support of my principal, I studied every hair and wrinkle on the beast.

       

      What I developed was pretty simple. I gave my students the best of the best. I fused best practices into a comprehensive approach, their success got attention, and I was asked to help my peers. Thus began my journey as writing coach and crusader.

       

      What I hope to contribute to teaching in general, and to the pool of Common Core resources in particular, is akin to giving glasses to blind men. I don’t want any teacher, anywhere, tobe limited by an incomplete view of the animal. This is what Common Core writing demands. We can shorten the learning curve for teachers and help them befriend the elephant. I’ve seen what can happen when teachers and students grasp its totality. It is nothing short of magnificent.

       

      Resources:
       

       For additional blogs visit http://WriteStepsWriting.com

      

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  • How Districts are being Penny How Districts are being Penny Wise and Pound Foolish and Pound Foolish

    • From: Suzanne_Klein1
    • Description:

      Have you ever been asked to create curriculum when you felt like you went to school to teach?

      In an effort to save money, we have heard some districts are having teachers work collaboratively to design daily lessons for the Common Core. This poses a problem. When are teachers going to find time to create top notch Common Core lessons when they are in classrooms every day?

      There are two ways districts think they are saving money. One is they are trying to find free Common Core material for their teachers to use. The other is they are asking their teachers to be curriculum creators.  Now don’t be penny wise and pound foolish. Districts might save one penny now, but waste pounds of pennies later on when they realize their plan to save money backfired. Read on to hear my opinions on why I believe districts should make curriculum decisions with their eyes wide open.

      Take out the “R” in FREE and you get FEE

      Upon further investigation into why a prestigious Michigan district did not choose WriteSteps, we uncovered the truth that the district went with a “free” resource. Denise Dusseau, WriteSteps’ Curriculum Creator, looked into the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA) CCSS Units they went with. MAISA CCSS Units is an example of a consortium of school districts currently working to create writing units adhered to the Common Core Standards.

      Denise discovered that like with many things, when you take out the “R” in FREE, you get FEE.  The supposedly “free” writing units offered to schools actually require teachers to have the full version of Lucy Calkins in order to teach the complete MAISA lesson plans.  Therefore, if teachers do not have Lucy Calkins, they will have to take the time to create the lessons themselves. It’s like when your kids open their Christmas presents and are so excited to use them, only to discover you forgot to buy the AAA batteries!

      Plus she discovered the Common Cores are not even addressed in the pacing guides! I understand school districts are trying these free units in an effort to save money, but as the age old saying goes, “You get what you pay for!”

      Experiences and Observations from Creating Curriculum While in the Trenches

      I ran into numerous challenges when creating lesson plans collaboratively with my co-workers. Here is what I discovered:

      • Collaboration among teachers to create lessons involves a lot of work.
      • Different viewpoints are great, but I spent a lot of my time explaining why I chose a certain style of lesson to other teachers, and vice versa.
      • The variety of different teaching styles and opinions disrupted the flow and continuity for students.
      • I believe elementary teachers are taken advantage of. As a teacher I was a generalist and taught all the subjects. But, I think administrators assume we are specialists in all subjects. If a teacher agrees to be a curriculum creator for writing, will they also be asked to be curriculum creators for math, reading, spelling, science, and social studies?
      • While I was meeting, planning and creating, I couldn’t give my best to my students.

       

      Not all Teachers are Skilled at Creating Lesson Plans

      Let’s be honest. Some teachers love creating lesson plans and can whip up great lessons in no time! But what about the teacher that finds the process difficult and time consuming?  Compiling and creating lesson plans takes a lot of work. I know because it took me years of research and planning to create all of the lesson plans that were included in the original WriteSteps.  The time went by in a snap because of my passion for teaching writing. However, not all teachers want to spend countless hours outside of the classroom perfecting lessons on a subject they may not particularly be passionate about. Many teachers originally decided on their career paths because they are passionate about TEACHING, not creating lesson plans.

      The moral of this story is look before you leap! “Free” will most likely always equal fee in the end, whether it be a fee of money or a fee of time. If you try a free program, chances are you’re going to waste a year and discover that “free” really isn’t free, and you will be hunting for a different solution. Likewise, asking teachers to develop lesson plans to meet the Common Core Standards hurts their effectiveness to do what they do best, teach!

      With WriteSteps, teachers do not need to wonder if they are using the correct curriculum; it’s all there for them in the daily lesson plans that are provided. Teachers won’t have to struggle or stress about time when it comes to creating writing lessons mapped to meet the Common Core.  We aren’t free, but you will get more than what you paid for-confident writing teachers and strong student writers.

       

       

      

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  • An Introduction to WriteSteps An Introduction to WriteSteps

    • From: Suzanne_Klein1
    • Description:

      ntroduction to K-5 lesson plans and professional development that is completely aligned to the Common Core standards for writing and grammar. For elementary teachers, principals, and administrators interested in a common core writers workshop approach that raises test scores and fosters confident teachers and strong K-5 writers. Lessons teach informational writing, opinion writing, and narrative writing.

      WriteSteps Founder & CEO Suzanne Klein is a former K-5 teacher and writing consultant with extensive training in writing pedagogy best practices, especially writer's workshop and 6 Traits. She has taught all elementary grades including a Title I literacy program, and given professional development workshops nationwide on Balanced Writing for the Bureau of Education Research. Klein holds a Master of Arts degree in teaching, is a National Writing Project fellow, and draws inspiration from teachers such as Ralph Fletcher, Barry Lane, Lucy Calkins, Katie Wood Ray, and John Collins.

    • 1 week ago
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  • Why I'm Against the Common Cor Why I'm Against the Common Core

    • From: Mark_Barnes
    • Description:

      North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mike Forest stirred up a bit of a hornet's nest. In this video, Forest vilifies the Common Core State Standards, which his state is now reconsidering.

       

      I first learned of this from an intelligent blogger and educator, Steven Weber, who takes Forest to task in his post here. Then, fellow ASCD author, Mike Fisher, took the reins in his own response to Forest. 

       

      As much as I value the insights of both Weber and Fisher, inspiring and articulate educators, I must respectfully disagree with both and, as much as it pains me to side with a politician, I agree with most of what Forest says in his YouTube attack on the CCSS.

       

      Readers of my book, Role Reversal, know I'm staunchly agains standardization of any kind. While many of my esteemed colleagues at ASCDEDge blog about the merits of the Common Core, I am more than willing to be the stentorian voice against it. While it's easy to join the masses, who fall in line with the district administrators and state bureaucrats who praise the Common Core as the answer to failing American education, I simply can't join this fraternity.

       

      My issues are simple enough. 


      1. Standardization of education is just wrong.This is exactly why parents take their children out of public schools. They want something different, inspiring and unique for their children. 

      2. I already collaborate with teachers nationwide. The notion that the Common Core makes it easier for teachers to collaborate is ludicrous and insulting. Some of my best ideas for instruction have come from attending conferences and chats on Twitter and other social networks with smart, experienced educators. 

      3. Politically-driven education initiatives put private companies in charge. Not to be too cynical, but it's difficult for me to see the Common Core as much more than opportunity for education publishers and consulting firms to make more money. For years, workbooks poured in to our classrooms, all designed to help our students pass "The Test." Now, they must be discarded. Ah, not to worry though. There are plenty of new "Master-the-Common Core" books on the way and many consultants showing veteran teachers how to teach with new standards. (That last sentence makes me nauseous.) 

      4. The old way wasn't broken. What money-hungry bureaucrats don't want people focusing on is the fact that prior to NCLB and CCSS, education was just fine. Teachers used to focus on helping students become thinkers and problem-solvers. They collaborated, graduated, went to college and flourished. Now, we teach students how to pass a test, yet scores continue to decline. I'm not sure how the Common Core will change this. Some say with depth and rigor; I've seen the standards, and I just don't see this.

      5. The problem in education is poverty. As noted researcher Stephen Krashen has alluded to for decades, the problem in education is that poverty-stricken children don't value school, so they don't regularly attend. Remove the impoverished from test scores, and America leaps to the top in the world, at least using this misleading barometer. Sadly, instead of trying to end poverty, we continue to give billions of dollars to organizations like Pearson, so it can churn out more workbooks.

       

      So, with due respect to my colleagues, brilliant people with good intentions, I am against the Common Core and all that it stands for.

       

      Follow me on Twitter, where we can continue the conversation.

      

      Mark's new book, Role Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results in the Student-Centered Classroom is available in the ASCD bookstore here.

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  • Great Teachers Using Daniel Pi Great Teachers Using Daniel Pink’s Method “The ABC’s of Selling”

    • From: John_Rimes
    • Description:

      

      

      Great Teachers Using Daniel Pink’s Method “The ABC’s of Selling”

      While reading about Daniel Pink’s new book “To Sell Is Human” I ran across what he referred to as the ABC’s of Selling. 

      A -- Attunement

      B -- Buoyancy

      C -- Clarity

      Daniel explained these three qualities are essential whether you're trying to sell a computer or encourage your child to do his or her homework.  I began to think of how they could be related to education and our ability to engage and excite our students in the learning process and promote added student success.  I believe we can draw some parallels.  

      According to Pink, Attunement is the capacity to take another’s perspective, to understand their interests, and to see the world from their point of view.  This skill is necessary because teachers need to make a connection to their students.  They need to take a step back and truly understand how the lesson or instruction they are providing is relevant to the student.  More learning will take place when the lesson is important and relevant to the students.  To accomplish this the great teachers must practice Attunement. 

      Next Pink touches on Buoyancy.  This pertains to the capacity to stay afloat on what one salesman calls an "ocean of rejection."  This skill is also very important in education.  Teachers work so hard to plan and deliver great lessons, create formative opportunities, and collect summative data that tells them if the student accomplished their learning goals.  When a student fails or learning does not take place teachers must show Buoyancy in their practice.  They must overcome the rejection of having their students produce failing grades and possible low student morale.  When this occurs, great teachers look at their instruction as a possible problem and wonder if they could have taught the lesson or unit better.  They will then explore new ways of instructing students to success.  They show Buoyancy by continuing to stay afloat among the various redo’s and remediation and their students will benefit and learn because of their hard work.  Great teachers are all about student learning.

      Finally, Pink tells us that we must find clarity in things.  Pink explains that clarity is the capacity to make sense of murky situations, to curate information rather than merely access it, and to move from solving existing problems to finding hidden ones.  Why is the student tardy?  Why does the student not do his or her homework?  Why do they show proper levels of understanding on all formative work only to fail the properly aligned summative assessment?  Teachers must use clarity to look beyond the obvious and explore the root causes of the student’s behavior.  Many times the students school and academic success or failures have very little to do with their ability to learn.  These behaviors come about mainly because of the problems and challenges they face away from school.  Great teachers can recognize and help to combat these issues with clarity. 

      All three of the skills Daniel Pink refers to in his book “To Sell Is Human” can be used by great teachers and great school leaders. In reality we are always selling our lessons, our programs, our schools, or ourselves. 

      Dr. Scott Rimes

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  • WILL #9 WILL #9

    • From: Joshua_Garcia
    • Description:

      What I Learned Lately (WILL #9)

      6/12/13

      @Garciaj9Josh

      Sherlock Holmes once said, “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be truth.”  This week we finished our last round of graduation ceremonies.  Over 1000 over our students walked across our stages and received their diplomas.  It was truly fascinating to see each of their faces.  The richness of images displayed confidence and uncertainty, hope and fear and pride.  We had students graduate with such amazing academic honors and scholarships and those with the tremendous honor of surviving.  In each of our schools, students are preparing for their graduation day.  We teach, foster, and promote the event through step up days, promotion, the moving of seating at assemblies and numerous other activities.  At each of these moments, many of our families, staff and students feel a sense of pride and relief.

      What many people in our communities don’t see is the endless struggle behind the scenes.  They don’t see how staff members have relentlessly worked with students.  Additionally, how they have cried, laughed, celebrated and even fought with students, colleagues and community in order for each child to experience a moment of significant accomplishment.  Graduation is so much more than a single event; it is the recognition of an opportunity to live the American Dream.  Each time a student is handed their diploma, they are handed the opportunity to determine their destination.  At that point, they still have a choice and no one can take away that choice.

      As the ceremonies end, I am still hopeful.  I see hundreds of staff members that do not rest.  They work to create innovative year round opportunities for students, especially those that are most vulnerable, those that have not met the standards by the graduation ceremony.  Even when the state funded academic year ends, our staff doesn’t quit on our students.  I am thankful for our staff, they are truly my heroes.    

      Enjoy your summer; I will see you in the fall.

      Finally,

      “Behind me is infinite power. Before me is endless possibility. Around me is boundless opportunity. Why should I fear?” – Stella Stuart

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  • Perpetuating a Culture of Lowe Perpetuating a Culture of Lower-order Thinking

    • From: Mindy_Keller-Kyriakides
    • Description:

      I found this checklist offered as the next "best strategy" on Pinterest the other day. And while I do love easy to use, clear checklists, I pondered what the teacher was actually assessing.

       

      checklist

      Out of all of the items on this checklist for a "thoughtful" log entry, only one (no. 8) actually entails any assessment of thinking.  Everything else is...mechanics.

       

      Of course, you might say that mechanics was the goal of the assignment. However, the title "Thoughtful Log" seems to belie that possibility. While we're wringing our hands at kids not being able to think critically, we need to stop and make sure that the assessments and evaluations we have designed actually promote that thinking. 

       

      From a student's perspective, as long as I have complied with most every item, I will feel satisfied that I have done a good job.  And you can bet I'm going to do the easy stuff, first.

       

      For example, the ability to integrate evidence from the text with context is certainly a skill that students need. However, checking off that they've "got" the evidence doesn't push their thinking. Rather, the item should offer something along the lines of:

       

              I've integrated evidence from the text (avoided a "dropped quote").


               I've clearly and purposefully contextualized that evidence.

       

      These two quick revisions ask more of the student. They can still use Yes/No on the list, but they carry far more of a punch, cognitively speaking.

      

      Not to be outdone, I also came across this gem:

       

       

      text says

       

       

      To be fair, this chart is identified as an elementary anchor chart for standard one in K-8 classrooms. Further, the use of the overarching question "How do [I] know?" is relevant and helpful.

       

      Nonetheless, I have to wonder if it is absolutely necessary to have students use "said/says" when referring to text. Why can't we teach them a little bit earlier that text doesn't "talk"? Further, how difficult would it be to avoid having them write in past tense? Especially since the moment they hit high school, they have to use literary present?Consider the student who uses phrasing such as:

       

                                  1. On page ___, the author writes..

       

                                  2. The author argues/asserts/states/discusses...

       

                                  3.  The graphic shows/reflects/conveys...

       

                                  4. An example of ___is...

       

                                  5. I know that ____because...

       

      One thing that's going to happen is the student will most likely be compelled to write more in-depth; literary present does that. Further, the student will be much more aware of the author's role, which is crucial in helping them make the step "up" in analysis.

       

      Or maybe I'm just grumpy, today. What do you think?

       

      Mirror Site: Joyful Collapse

      

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