Understanding Sensory Integration

By: Marie E. DiMatties (2004)

Michael is a third grade student who is waiting for the school bus. He is challenged by sensory experiences during everyday activities that most of us don't even think about. While he's still reeling from the battle with his mom over brushing his teeth (that peppermint toothpaste tastes like fire in his mouth) the school bus pulls up. Michael runs past the bus monitor's haze of perfume and sits at the back of the bus. In his heightened state, he becomes even more aware of his new school shirt with its stiff label and that awful feeling like a wire brush being poked into the back of his neck. The sensory experiences of the movement of the bus, the sound of his excited classmates laughing and yelling above the roar of the bus engine all contribute to his increased agitation. By the time Michael arrives at school he is wound up and ready to unravel. There is no time to wait for the bus monitor's direction...getting off the bus quickly becomes a matter of survival and he resorts to pushing, shoving and finally kicking his way out. Unfortunately, there is a price to pay for this seemingly outward aggression...he can expect another trip to the principal's office.

 This topic truly intrigues me and my differentiation eyes.  Read more here.  You might also enjoy reading about this.

Memory Is the Mother of All Wisdom

by Lisa Hansel
February 18th, 2014

Tags: Henry L. Roediger, Make It Stick, Mark A. McDaniel
Posted in Education Practice, Research and Reports, Teacher Training, Teaching | 1 Comment »

Aeschylus’s pearl, “Memory is the mother of all wisdom,” is the epigraph to a profoundly important new book: Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger, III, and Mark A. McDaniel.

It’s extremely rare to find a book that everyone should read, but Make It Stick deserves such praise. You could consider it a book of cognitive psychology or education policy—I think it might be the ultimate self-help guide.

Facts, skills, concepts, knowhow—Make It Stick will make you more efficient and effective in every aspect of learning. It’ll even boost your perseverance. And if you follow its advice, soon your critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity will improve, since these are knowledge-driven skills.

Throughout the book, stories—like a mid-flight engine failure—are used to explain well-established findings—like the necessity of practicing in realistic settings. From a struggling medical student, we learn that rereading and highlighting are not effective studying techniques, though they are often the only techniques students know. And from baseball players and math students, we learn the importance of “interleaved” practice—practicing with a mix of pitches or problems so that you not only have to hit the ball or solve the problem, you have to figure out what type of pitch or problem is coming at you.

 Read further - click here.   I am headed to Amazon to buy Make it Stick.  Want to join me in a discussion after you read it???

Beyond "Getting the Answer": Calculators Help Learning Disabled Students Get the Concepts

By: Center for Implementing Technology in Education (CITEd) (2007)

Research has much to tell us about using calculators for instruction. In a review of studies that examined the use of calculators in K-12 classrooms, Ellington (2003) found that calculator use was associated with better operational and problem-solving skills. In addition, students who had access to calculators had better attitudes toward math. But when exactly should calculators be used and for what purpose? This Info Brief summarizes Thompson and Sproule's (2000) "Calculator Decision-Making Flow Chart" and uses the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to clarify how calculator usage helps students with learning disabilities understand math concepts.

Read more....click here for the article and flowchart.

Just what does it take to be a pilot SMARTER Balance teacher?

1. per·sist·ence

   pərˈsistəns/

   noun

   1. 1.

      firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.

      "companies must have patience and persistence, but the rewards are there"

   
   

   

   Choose languageAfrikaansAlbanianArabicArmenianAzerbaijaniBasqueBelarusianBengaliBosnianBulgarianCatalanCebuanoChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CroatianCzechDanishDutchEsperantoEstonianFilipinoFinnishFrenchGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekGujaratiHaitianHausaHebrewHindiHmongHungarianIcelandicIgboIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseJavaneseKannadaKhmerKoreanLaoLatinLatvianLithuanianMacedonianMalayMalteseMaoriMarathiMongolianNepaliNorwegianPersianPolishPortuguesePunjabiRomanianRussianSerbianSlovakSlovenianSomaliSpanishSwahiliSwedishTamilTeluguThaiTurkishUkrainianUrduVietnameseWelshYiddishYorubaZulu

   

   
   

Yes, these days as educators are implementing Common Core Curriculum which is definitely a new level of expectations for student learning they are also taking on the challenge of piloting the SMARTER Balance Test because they care about the student's conform level with the technology and types of questions that will be asked.  BUT, this is no easy feat.  The SMARTER Balance Test is still being tweaked and the information is coming out at the last minute.  

While some question the work of our teachers, I can only thank them for their persistence when the test is not ready for the next week and we receive notice the Friday before at noon.  I cannot thank them enough for their flexibility and positivity with students when the text to speech and speech to text features are not working yet.  I can't thank them enough every time they make lemonade with the lemons they are given.

Persistence and courage is all I can think of to describe our awesome teachers.  A big kudos today.

Embed Videos in Google Forms

Embed Videos in Google Forms

I LOVE Google's newer feature!  Google now added the ability to embed a YouTube video or another video that is posted on the web into a Google Form.  This makes it possible to post a video and then have students answer questions about what they learned. This is great for formative assessment especially in a flipped classroom setting.  If you are familiar with embedding an image, this will be super easy!  

Read more on my sister, Sharon's blog.  Click HERE.

Tiering to avoid tears: Developing assignments that address all learners' needs 

BY LINDA PIGOTT ROBINSON

In this video, three teachers from Raleigh’s Baileywick Road Elementary School discuss how tiering has benefited their students. . About the video
Download video (Right-click or option-click)

How do we differentiate and still remain fair? How do we meet all students’ needs and still address the Standard Course of Study? Furthermore, how do we develop every child’s full abilities given the heterogeneous nature of our classrooms? Most importantly, how do we do all of this without losing our minds, or crying a lot, or losing great teachers from the classroom?

Rethinking the role of the teacher

The answers are not simple, but they do require our rethinking the role of the classroom teacher. Such re-conceptualization is a particular problem in education, where every teacher spent at least sixteen years observing teachers before becoming a teacher her- or himself. And while those years spent as a student typically don’t involve conscious observation of teaching methods, they do leave indelible images that are difficult to re-envision. These embedded images are almost always dominated by whole-class instruction with very little — if any — differentiation. The same images exist for parents and administrators, compounding the problem.

Additionally, educators are given confusing messages about the role of the teacher. Most of the public thinks that if teachers only taught the Standard Course of Study, all would be well and children would be successful. Few things are farther from the truth.

Our job as teachers is not to teach the Standard Course of Study.

Our job is to ensure that the Standard Course of Study is mastered.

If we define our role as teaching the Standard Course of Study, we ignore the needs of all students who do not understand or master it when we teach it, as well as all students who had already mastered it before we taught it. That eliminates the needs of fifty to seventy percent of any given classroom. There is nothing fair or equitable about focusing our energies simply on teaching the Standard Course of Study.

However, if our job is to ensure that all students master the Standard Course of Study, our classroom will look dramatically different. Instead of everyone doing the same thing, students are doing different things at the same time. If we base our rationale on even one truth with which everyone agrees, it is that children learn at different rates. The reality is that there are many reasons for differentiating, but this one truth should be enough to help us recognize that we need to do something different for different learners at any given time.

Video: How Does Tiering Benefit Teachers?

In this video, teachers at Raleigh’s Baileywick Road Elementary School discuss how creating tiered assignments has benefited them as teachers.

Tiering: What is it?

One way of achieving the goal of meeting multiple needs simultaneously is to tier instruction and assignments. In short, tiering involves teaching or applying the same Standard Course of Study objective in up to three ways to meet the needs of students at three levels of preparation: 1) students not yet ready for that grade level’s instruction, 2) students just ready, and 3) students ready to go beyond.

Tiering is more than a singular strategy. It is a concept that can be infused into small-group activities, differentiated homework assignments, learning centers, learning contracts, and even advanced classes. The greatest role tiering plays is in preparing a teacher for any given day’s activities by requiring that each of the three degrees of student readiness — not yet ready, just ready, ready to go beyond — are planned for and addressed in that day’s instruction.

Video: What is Tiering?

In this video, teacher interviews and classroom footage explore the practice of creating tiered assignments.

Click here for the rest of the article.

MLA or APA............what shall our 6-8th grade writers be using?

All Styles] MLA vs. APA vs. Chicago -- Which do I use?

If you are a teacher:

Students in Humanities courses are usually asked to follow the style MLA guidelines. Students in science and research fields are usually asked to follow the APA guidelines. Chicago/Turabian is sometimes used by History or Social Studies courses. In terms of numbers, a vast majority of middle and high school students are taught MLA style, whereas in college, there is a mix, depending on the research field of the student.

Since teaching any style at the high school level will prepare students for college documentation, the emphasis should be on why it is important to cite sources. The process of citing is similar whatever format you use - you compile a bibliography, you refer to entries in the bibliography using parenthetical references, and so forth. It is like learning a computer programming language -- once you've learned one, others follow naturally because the basic concepts (e.g., object-oriented programming) are the same, it is just the syntax and order that changes. In the case of bibliographies, most teachers do not expect their student to memorize the formatting rules; they want them to learn the reason for citing and the process of documentation. NoodleTools helps them understanding WHAT information is important to cite (which is often the same independent of the style chosen) and how to determine if they are citing correctly.

AmericanPsychological Association (APA) Documentation

This handout begins with general guidelines about the parts of a paper you need to document, and then presents a brief overview of the APA documentation system as described in the 6 edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2009) and the APA Style Guide to Electronic References (2012). The sections that follow describe

and illustrate (I) the reference list and (II) text citations. The handout ends with a list of additional resources on APA style.

 Modern LanguageAssociation (MLA) Documentation

The MLA was founded in 1883. The MLA created a style for documenting information when doing research.  Here is a handout to help you.

Free Plagiarism Checker

Trusted by over 3 million students, faculty, & professionals worldwide.

www.grammarly.com​/​Plagiarism_Check

There are so many things going on at Waterford Graded School District and across the state!  Keep informed by reading the latest newsletter/update.  Click here to view Winter Edition.  (If you need the Fall Edition click here.)

C

Reading Like a Historian - The Teaching Channel

Reading Like a Historian - The Teaching Channel

If you teach social studies, check out this series.  It's worth the time to help bring literacy to life in the social studies classroom.

Read Like A Historian - Teaching Channel Series
curriculum/overview (10 min)
sourcing (7 min)
complete lesson (30 min)
contextualization (11 min)
contextualization uncut (30 min)
corroboration  (11 min)
corroboration uncut (30 min)
taking positions  "philosophical chairs (7 min - strategy)
increasing student collaboration "turn to your partner" (2 min - strategy)
teaching students to reassess reliability (2 min)
teaching skills of historians (1 min)
repetition (2 min)
choosing primary source documents (2 min)
guide lessons with focus questions (2 min - design/strategy)

Everything You Want to Know About SMARTER Balance................

but were afraid to ask.  Here is a great resource for your own study as well as for working with your students on the practice tests and prepping for the field tests..........coming any day!

Everything You Wanted to Know About SMARTER BALANCE ASSESSMENTS!

BIG ROCKS........Keeping Priorities First

Every time I see a pile of rocks I remember the Covey video about putting all your BIG ROCKS or priorities into your schedule first before all the other attention grabbers or pebbles and sand fill your day.
                       Click Here for the Covey Video

Nine Tenets of Passion-Based Learning

 By :Kimberly Vincent

We hear a lot about “passion-based” learning, and although in theory it sounds ideal, there are many factors to consider in building an education system around something as intangible as passion. A recent Future of Education talk addressed the topic, with experts in the field weighing in. The group included Angela Maiers, Amy Sandvold, Lisa Nielsen, and George Couros, and the talk was mediated by Steve Hargadon. These are some of the key points that address the issues around passion-based learning that came from the talk, along with some additional thoughts from John Seely Brown, co-author of A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change, and educator Jackie Gerstein.

Click here to read more.

Winter Blues.........

Get your children's attention with some transitioning youtube videos -

drummer video

elephants video

Read Wisconsin:  A Resource for Literacy Leaders

Wisconsin’s portrait of a literate student highlights the literacy skills that are critical to achievingWisconsin’s vision of every child graduating ready for college and career. There are multiple initiatives to support this vision that may seem separate but that actually work together to support student success. The vision of every child a graduate forms the foundation for building a supportive process for teaching and learning rigorous and relevant content based on academic standards. Wisconsin’s Guiding Principles for Teaching and Learning reflect research-based attitudes and beliefs that inform instruction. At the center of these initiatives are the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts  (click here to order a printed copy), which reflect Wisconsin’s foundational beliefs about English Language Arts.

See the relationship between CCSS ELA and Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards.

Find more K-3 literacy specific resources.

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas............for CCSS ELA

Here are some sites that have nice searchable data-bases for lessons.  As always, review the materials with the universal "best practices" such as GANAG, Marzano strategies and organizers, etc as well as content specific "best practices" such as math discourse, domain-specific vocabulary instruction, science engineering practices, math practices, etc.

ELA from NY

6-8 Persuasion ELA

e-book on writing with case studies

ELA resources to search 

There are many good sites.  Please share if you have any other good ones.

 Jim  shared this one with FR teachers.  NEWSELA - search for a variety of digital reading on a variety of topics in many content areas.
Reading Teachers Sandy, Jackie and Kim shared fortheteachers site which has a variety of great tools.  We will be creating a scaffolded story framework from an item we found together.

Thanks for all the sharing!

2nd grade teachers and Sandy working on ELA curriculum.

Winter 2014 Curriculum & Instruction Newsletter

Keeping you all informed................click here to read.

Check out these iPad apps.........

Whether you're the parent of a child with a reading disability or an educator that works with learning disabled students on a daily basis, you're undoubtedly always looking for new tools to help these bright young kids meet their potential and work through their disability. While there are numerous technologies out there that can help, perhaps one of the richest is the iPad, which offers dozens of applications designed to meet the needs of learning disabled kids and beginning readers alike. Here, we highlight just a few of the amazing apps out there that can help students with a reading disability improve their skills not only in reading, writing, and spelling, but also get a boost in confidence and learn to see school as a fun, engaging activity, not a struggle.