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#Post#: 49--------------------------------------------------
Re: November 12th PD
DIR By: Lleibowitz@yrsrh.org
Date: November 12, 2018, 8:17 pm
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1) What reading comprehension strategies will you teach this
week? How do you plan to teach them? Why did you choose these
specific ones?
I will be introducing "Foreshadowing" . I will first identify or
explain what it means. To foreshadow, means the author is giving
the reader hint a clue something is coming up. I will choose a
book, a nursery book that clearly shows what foreshadowing is as
an authors craft and how in our reader , The Boxcar Children,
the author employs it in the book and sometimes in an individual
chapter.
#Post#: 50--------------------------------------------------
Re: November 12th PD
DIR By: Lleibowitz@yrsrh.org
Date: November 12, 2018, 8:33 pm
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1)Choose 2 guiding principles and discuss how beginning
tomorrow, these principles will influence you as a professional.
Include why you chose these two, and give concrete examples of
how to make these guiding principles apparent in your classroom.
Teaching social and emotional skills is as important as teaching
academic content.
I introduced in our class the importance of valuing every
student in classroom. Every individual student carries unique
strengths and gift we all see but don't necessarily share.
Everyday, at the start of our day, I give every student a posit
to write something special and unique about a student in our
class. I read them and I am hanging them up as a constant
remimder that everyoner in our class is valuable person in our
class.
#2. How we teach is as important as what we teach. I try to
teach respect by example.
I try to be calm, patient and authentic. I start the day with
indivual welcome to each student as she enters the classroom,
'Good afternoon Sara," She responds, "Good afternoon, Mrs.
Leibowitz."the students then move their desks quickly into a
half circle, a brief message of the day the class as a whole, .
The students then recite their mission statement. I try to be
engaging and use different modalities.
#Post#: 51--------------------------------------------------
Re: November 12th PD
DIR By: Deborah Mark
Date: November 12, 2018, 9:09 pm
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I found it so helpful reading everyone's comments and
suggestions. I particularly appreciated the input from Aliza S.
and Mr. Weinreich for middle school teaching ideas. I also
struggle to find the best balance of frontal teaching and
interactive group work. I find the interactive work is more
effective in ELA classes than in Social Studies. Brainstorming
ideas for writing lends itself to this. In Social Studies, we
achieve better results - and cover material more in-depth, with
frontal teaching, but not straight lecturing; class discussions
are part of it, especially when confronting some of the
controversies in history and how the material relates to their
lives and modern times.
Aliza S's suggestion of proposing a private signal for the
outspoken student in her class is a good one; I'm going to try
that with one student though not sure how that would work in my
class of 15 girls, where there are several girls who need to
exhibit more restraint!
I also need to be more proactive with parents at earlier points
in the term. The option of emailing low grades to parents is a
welcome option instead of relying on the signed test. In the
past, I've found that there is often a wide disparity of
parental engagement; everyone doesn't respond to the same degree
as one would hope. It's also worth noticing how the students'
perceive their own parents' role; some are quite unsettled at
the prospect of their parents finding out about their academic
or behavior issues; others much less so.
#Post#: 52--------------------------------------------------
Re: November 12th PD
DIR By: BGrunwald
Date: November 12, 2018, 9:10 pm
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Although it was mentioned as a side point, I like what Chava
Gordimer said about playing background music during quiet
writing time. Last year, I never played music in class, but
this year, I decided to try it out and I'm really enjoying the
effects. I put on some calming classical music either to calm
the class down when they are hyper, or as an interlude between
subjects and a message to the students to put away their
supplies from the previous subject and take out the supplies for
the next subject. Recently, I tried it out during quiet writing
as well. I found that not only was the music not distracting,
but it was helpful to creating that peaceful writing atmosphere.
When I play music when the students are hyper, I tell them, "If
everyone is quiet and completely still for two minutes, I'll put
on some music." It works every time.
#Post#: 53--------------------------------------------------
Re: November 12th PD
DIR By: BGrunwald
Date: November 12, 2018, 9:20 pm
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In response to Libby Leibowitz, I love what you said about
teaching through example. I think giving each student a
personal greeting the beginning of the day is a great way to
form connections with the students where they can feel that
school is a comfortable, safe environment where the teacher
notices them.
I also really like your approach to teaching social and
emotional skills. I love the idea of the girls writing positive
comments about each other on a daily basis. I believe that that
is healthy not only to those written about, but to those writing
them as well. I think that's a great way to teach social and
emotional skills. I especially like how you start the day with
it. You are teaching the students the importance of valuing and
respecting their fellow classmates.
#Post#: 54--------------------------------------------------
Re: November 12th PD
DIR By: cisrael
Date: November 12, 2018, 10:06 pm
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The noteworthy lesson that I have incorporated in my Writing
Fundamentals curriculum is “I do, we do, you do.” I wrote my
own memory –one page, multi expository paragraph, on a simple,
but relevant topic, especially to boys. The title of my
paragraph was “A Driving Test Memory.” Each student received a
copy which we read in class. That was “I Do”. The boys are in
the process of selecting one memory entry to develop in their
writing piece. Certainly, this is a “You Do”. “We do” is
pointing out word usage, emotionalism, and facts that motivate
the reader to continue reading reaching a smooth conclusion.
Since many students have great difficulty even to write the
first sentence and often ask for assistance, hearing a sample of
what the teacher expects is both comforting and motivational.
The Guiding Principle of a Responsive Classroom that I want to
incorporate into my classroom, is to teach social and emotional
skills to those students who have difficulty controlling
inappropriate and disruptive behavior. I will discuss with them
how they will get attention from the class with positive and
appropriate actions. I will also try to find out why the
student feels he must resort to this behavior. Perhaps, just
listening to their difficulties will show them that I really
care above and beyond the academics.
The second Guiding principle I want to focus on is creating a
safe, joyful and inclusive school environment. While portraying
academic responsibilities as a serious matter, and
accountability of timely completion of assignments as crucial, I
will try to add on a smile and remind students that we will have
ice cream at our publishing party, emphasizing the fun part of
school. The students are often reminded about safe classroom
procedures, such as no leaning or rocking on chairs.
Inclusiveness is a given as this topic was discussed in class
but reminders are always in order.
The reason I chose these two Guiding Principles is that they
especially pertain to the cognitive and social make-up of my
class. In order for all students to feel comfortable with each
other, I must appreciate all their needs. I have to instruct
them how to be less impulsive and more thought-out. The outcome
I am hoping for is that they will be more pleased with, and
proud of, themselves.
Due to the challenges of completing all academic core
requirements, sometimes we overlook the happy, joyful, serene,
can’t-wait-to-go-to-school approach. School, of course is
serious. However, it should be a secure environment where all
children feel secure, happy and accepted by their peers.
#Post#: 55--------------------------------------------------
Re: November 12th PD
DIR By: awollman_yrsrh
Date: November 12, 2018, 10:34 pm
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--- Quote from: Binyamin_Weinreich link ---
>
> I do believe that teaching social and emotional skills is as
important as teaching academic skills, but I have struggled to
balance class time between frontal teaching and giving students
a chance to work with each other. In some ways, it's easier to
keep the classroom static and not have to deal with the tension
of interpersonal dramas and struggles between students. Frontal
teaching may mean that maintaining engagement is harder, but it
can mean management is easier. But that shortchanges my students
of valuable opportunities to learn to work with each other and
develop their social skills. Going forward, I'd like to include
more small-group and partner assignments, and to encourage
students to work with various members of the class rather than
the same ones consistently.
>
--- End Quote ---
--- Quote from: Netanel Rosenzweig link ---
>
> Hi Avi, I like your idea to give more time for Brain Breaks. I
am also searching to balance between interactive activities and
frontal teaching. So far, I've found that different balances
work for different classes. For my 7th graders they enjoy
working on activities while my 8th graders appreciate frontal
teaching more. So I balance the two grades differently. In a
way, my 8th graders have their brain breaks when I'm teaching
and so prefer me to talk as opposed to them working more. While
my 7th graders need the brain breaks but more infrequent.
>
--- End Quote ---
Hi Binyamin and Netanel,
Definitely agree, it's a tricky balance knowing how much time to
allocate to different teaching styles in our classes, and this
appears to be a theme running through our posts. I wonder how
much we'd benefit - and how actually practical it would be - if
we had a sense of what was going on in each other's classes.
When I analyze how a class went, I look at it in a vacuum - but
of course that isn't fully accurate. It matters whether the
class is coming from taking a test, an in-class activity, or
recess.
When planning our classes, we look at the picture of our class,
considering the style of recent classes and trying to create a
balance.. which we should do. It may also be worth considering
the student's day as a whole. If the students have just had two
classes in a row of partner work, it's likely if their next
class is partner-based, the students will be fatigued. They
might prefer a frontal lecture even if the past several classes
have been frontal lectures.
As today's session and Ariel mentioned, considering outside
factors of particular students is important, such as home
situations and those who may have learning challenges, all
having a consistent impact to be aware of. Awareness of the
"outside our classroom" factors of each other's classrooms may
also be something to consider.
I'm not sure what would be a practical way to go about this, but
perhaps it's something to look into. I imagine that, at least
for tests or group work that is expected to span several
classes, this would be doable.
#Post#: 56--------------------------------------------------
Re: November 12th PD
DIR By: cisrael
Date: November 12, 2018, 10:58 pm
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I am commenting on what Eliana Marcus said about “kids taking
chances with their spelling.” In third grade, the boys still
ask me how to spell words when they write a story. They are
uncomfortable about writing the words incorrectly. I tell them
“sound it out” and don’t worry about spelling it incorrectly.
Now I will, tell them about “KidSpell.” Hopefully, it will make
even third graders more comfortable about their spelling
mistakes in compositions.
Baila Grunwald writes about her reading comprehension unit. I
am reminded to emphasize problem and solution in fictional
books. Besides listening to oral reading by each reading group
on alternate days and completing reading comprehension sheets, I
will emphasize that every good fictional book includes a problem
and a solution to the problem. Certainly, in our books, The
Chocolate Touch and Charlotte’s Web, the boys will appreciate
identifying the problem and solution in the novels.
#Post#: 57--------------------------------------------------
Re: November 12th PD
DIR By: Ezragr
Date: November 12, 2018, 11:00 pm
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Part A, Question 1:
My 8th grade ELA students have been reading a copy of the mentor
texts shared through the smartboard. We’ve been having informal
discussions about students’ thoughts on a particular reading
assignment. Most of my students seem to have a general
understanding of the posted materials, but there is room for
growth. The smartboard in the 7th grade is unfortunately
damaged, but I was able to use a projector last Thursday. By
having the materials available on the smartboard or projector,
the reading is more interactive. The goal is to get students to
write down their thoughts about what they’ve read in class.
Part B, Statement 1:
Principle 1 – “Teaching social and emotional skills is as
important as teaching academic content.” – With a number of my
students, there are some clear impulse control issues. I haven’t
figured out a system yet that will effectively minimize students
talking or getting up from their desks, but I have tried a
couple of things, such as threatening to give a 1-page writing
assignment to my 7th graders which seems to work (some of the
time at least). More recently I’ve considered giving a
two-minute break to students who are being particularly rowdy so
that they can recollect themselves and come back to class
calmer.
Principle 6 – “Partnering with families—knowing them and valuing
their contributions— is as important as knowing the children we
teach.” – I have already implemented this principle with a
couple of students, but I intend to partner with other families
based on individual student need. In some cases, it’s necessary
to work with families on making sure their sons’ hand in work;
for others, it’s identifying a particular weakness (for example,
handwriting or spelling) and identifying resources that can help
the student succeed.
#Post#: 58--------------------------------------------------
Re: November 12th PD
DIR By: rkhaldar
Date: November 12, 2018, 11:30 pm
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My first post didn't go through so this is my second attempt!
Part A: I wasn't at the Grab'n go event but I will do my best to
catch up on what I missed!
Part B:
" Teaching social and emotional skills is as important in
teaching academic content"
Integration: 1- Emphasize the need to raise rands and not call
out
Integration 2- Try to kindly greet every student at some point
during the day or class.
"Partnering with families is as important as knowing the
children we teach"
Integration: 1- Do my best to call most parents within a week
and half from now and talk to them about the way their child
learn's best.
Integration 2- Send reports to parents directly and often
through 360.
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