Mentor Text for Persuasive Writing

Check out this New York Times Bestseller by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld. As I searched for mentor texts to teach writing during this dreary snow day,  I ran across this great children's book. I can't wait to add it to our persuasive writing unit and have students add their own pages.

Is it a duck or is it a rabbit?

Basics of Virtual Co-teaching

Co-teaching is an education buzzword that has been around for MANY years.  My first experience with co-teaching was in...ahummm (I’m showing my age here)...2000. I must admit that back then I did not have a real understanding of co-teaching.

The past 2 years I’ve come to realize the power in co-teaching and am in LOVE. Not only have I had the opportunity to co-teach with amazing student teachers and incredible classroom teachers, I’ve also had the opportunity to virtually co-teach with teachers as far away as Europe and New Zealand.

Let’s start with what is co-teaching?

Co-teaching can be described as two teachers working together to instruct students and it can be implemented in many different forms.  I’ve listed a few examples below:

1. One teach and one support - One teacher teaches the lesson.  The other teacher monitors student understanding and clarifies learning.  I love to use this strategy when creating anchor charts with students.  One teacher leads the class discussion while another teacher records on the anchor chart and adds clarification to the discussion. Note: The support teacher may or may not be the teacher who monitors and clarifies.
2. Parallel teaching - Both teachers are teaching identical lessons but the class is divided into smaller groups.  This approach fosters balanced participation among students.
3. Small group instruction - This is similar to parallel teaching except each teacher teaches a different lesson to their perspective small groups.  This allows the teacher to be an expert at 1 lesson that is taught multiple times during the instruction time.
4. Team teach - I like to call this tag team.  The co-teachers plan instruction but 1 teacher leads a specific section while the other teacher supports.  The teachers swap back and forth roles throughout the lesson.  

Why co-teach?

In my opinion this is somewhat obvious.  When more than 1 teacher is teaching in a classroom you have a second pair of eyes, a second pair of hands, and another professional to collaborate with and reflect on the learning.  If “two heads can be better than one” then why wouldn’t we want two teachers working together to monitor data, plan instruction, give instruction, and assess student learning.

I’m sure you are thinking I get it, but what is virtual co-teaching...stay tuned to my next blog post or join us this summer in Philadelphia, PA for our presentation at ISTE 2015 (SORRY, I hate to watch a show that ends with "to be continued").

Co-teaching resources you must check out:

• I’ve learned a lot from co-teaching guru Anne Benninghoff.  
• I love this simple table from trailblazers.wikispaces.com showing the design and benefits of co-teaching.
• Check out this great article on Teachhub.com on Effective Co-Teaching Strategies.

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day!

Another Holiday Read: 180 Days of Reading

Let me begin by saying, "Oh my word!" I can't wait to return to school and use this book.  During my Christmas get away I visited a favorite teacher store (Mardel) and picked up this book. You are going to love this resource, especially if you use Standards Based Grading.

180 Days of Reading for Third Grade By: Christine Dugan
Shell Education 

There is a separate edition for kindergarten through 6th grade.

This book provides standards based practice through daily lessons and would be great to use for formative assessments. Each weekly lesson includes 5 short daily lessons.  Each daily lesson includes a small text reading and questions. Days 1-4 has a text reading with questions and day 5 practice includes writing. It reminds me of Daily Oral Language (DOL) that so many educators are familiar with.

Throughout the book the weekly questions focus on the same standards.

DAY 1-3 of each week
Questions 1 and 2 focus - read closely and determine what the text says
Question 3 focus - apply grade-level phonics and decoding
Questions 4 and 5 focus - vocabulary and assess point of view

Day 4 of each week
Questions 1 and 2 focus - comprehend text and assess point of view
Question 3 focus - read closely and make inferences
Questions 4-6 focus - determine central idea or theme

Day 5 of each week
Focus - produce clear and coherent writing

I love how each day includes a scoring column for the students to complete which is also very valuable for teachers. A quick glance at a daily lesson will show which standards need more practice by looking at the score column.

Page 27 Excerpt

A data sheet and CD are also included with the book for tracking ongoing progress.  I can't wait for our students to read, highlight text, annotate their thinking, monitor their own learning, and master each standard. 

Happy reading and learning!

1st Holiday Read: Using Technology to Improve Reading and Learning

Christmas season usually means a lot of traveling for my family. Since education runs in the family blood we usually try to get away for some R and R over Christmas break. I usually choose a professional book (or 2) to read during this time to pass the travel time, motivate myself and build excitement for the upcoming semester. I guess you would call it refueling. 

My first pick for the break is this easy read.

 I love the easy steps this book provides for educators to include more research within our curriculum (chapters 5 and 6). 

The book gives step-by-step instructions. ..

as well as examples of student work. I always love that!

If you have a "great read" to help us jump start our new year please share. 

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas! 

Showcase Student Work with QR Codes

Now that Missouri weather has plummeted to the freezing mark I guess it's time to stop dreaming of magnificent blue oceans and cool summer nights.  Burr, it's winter in November and a great night to sip a caramel latte and create this long overdue post.

I have a new position within my district and am fortunate to work with fabulous teachers who should be writing this blog instead of me. Thankfully, teachers are life long learners because I'm learning so much from the amazing teachers in my building.

One of the main attractions at our school this year is our Wall of Fame.  During the first quarter our third grade team decided to create a Third Grade Wall of Fame. What is special about our wall? Each student has their own picture displayed on the wall with a personalized name plate. Attached to each picture is a QR code.  Visitors or students can use a QR reader on their smart device to watch presentations created by students.

The great news is we don't have to change the QR code every time we want to change the project displayed.  We were introduced to a company called delivr.com at ISTE.  This site allows us to change the link on our QR codes without changing the QR code.  No more continual hot glue guns, rolling tape, or repairing fallen displays throughout the year. The Wall of Fame stays up all year and the display is changed by a simple click of a button. Woot! Woot! Students also received a copy to place on their "wall of fame" at home (refrigerator).

Students choose what they would like to showcase on their QR code.  They can be very creative when they know their work is going to be displayed for the world to see. If they decide they have something better, we simply change the link to their new project or video.

...and who wouldn't want to have their picture displayed on a Wall of Fame?

So as you sip your latte, warm by the fire, curl up on the sofa, or rehearse your "snow dance"...dig out a great idea and share it with us.

Melissa's Snow Dance definition -
1. A dance ALL educators participate in when a dusting of snow is predicted by the weather forecaster.
2. Snow dances will initiate a personal phone call from a school superintendent letting teachers know that we can sleep late.
3. If a teacher states they do not participate in a snow dance they are lying.

Virtual Co-teaching

Back in May my innovative friends (@beverly_c4 and @MissCollins606) and I decided to combine our fourth and sixth grade classrooms for a co-teaching project.  We called it The Dot Project. Although we are in the same district and meet regularly to discuss innovation, co-teaching was not as easy as walking our students down the hallway to join another class. All 3 classrooms are in different buildings and in different parts of our city.  Our SOLUTION was GHO (Google Hangout).

How did the project work?

Preplanning
Our teacher group met 3 times to plan for the unit.  First, we met during a GHO to plan. What?  A GHO can be used for teachers to plan? Absolutely! I have found it works great for planning when there is not time to drive across town to meet.  Our second planning session was in person and our third and final planning session was via GHO.

The project was built around the 6th grade students giving the 4th grade students advice as they transition to Middle School.  In turn the project enabled the 6th grade students to help themselves be less anxious about Junior High. The literature selected for the project was:

The Dot by: Peter H. Reynolds

This book had a perfect theme for the project.

The Lesson
During the lesson each teacher had a responsibility after the classrooms connected via GHO.
Teacher 1: Delivered objectives and introductions.
Teacher 2:  Played the video reading of the book through the GHO for all classes to watch.
Teacher 3:  Lead a discussion about the story and what students can learn from the story.
Teacher 4: Discussed with the classes the writing assignment and action plan for each classroom.

Follow UP
4th grade students created a Padlet to share with the 6th grade students.
6th grade students created a presentation to share with the 4th grade students.

Would I try this again?  ABSOLUTELY!  I would highly recommend finding a co-teacher (in your district, outside your district, or on the other side of the world) and JUMP.  JUMP simply means quit standing beside the pool wishing and hoping you can get in the water. Count to 3 and JUMP in.  You will have a blast learning, but most importantly...so will your students.

JUMP!

P.S. International Dot Day is coming up on September 15th.  If you would like to JUMP in the water and co-teach a lesson feel free to comment on this post or send me an email. Happy virtual co-teaching!

Global Read Aloud

I've had a great time at the beach this week. What activities are at the top of my vacation list?

• soaking in the sun

• eating seafood

• lots of reading

One great read during my vacation is Kate DiCamillo's The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Third grade students in my building will be reading this book during the fall and participating in the 2014 Global Read Aloud. I can't wait for students to read and connect with other students around the world. It's going to be exciting!