AI integration in education can enhance higher order thinking skills by using AI to generate higher-level questions that promote critical thinking & creativity
In this post, I offer 10 teaching tips for new college instructors. Find advice about course design, the 1st week, grading, & campus resources, starting...
Marzano's 9 Instructional Strategies include non-linguistic representations, generating and testing hypotheses, and summarizing.
Grab a set of marshmallow and toothpick geometry cards to print and build with your kids. It is such a fun way to learn geometric shapes!
Hi, I'm Magy. I love reading and writing, and I love to teach reading and writing. Currently, I'm a K-8 Reading Specialist, but I've also taught in High
Be a great social studies teacher with these use-tomorrow, science-backed teaching strategies.
Use these 3 techniques to help your students build critical and higher-level thinking skills.
Teach your students to use critical thinking with this activity that is guaranteed to use higher order thinking (HOTS). And BONUS: this strategy is perfect for any elementary content area too!
MATH Higher-Order Thinking Questions for Students! Questions for students to ask EACH OTHER! *These open-ended questions are great to get your students to think deeper about math concepts and word …
Be a great social studies teacher with these use-tomorrow, science-backed teaching strategies.
This blog shares a whole host of resources to help TAs, HLTAs and LSAs get organised and feel prepared for their ever-changing roles in school.
A Question Matrix is a tool to assist students in developing the skill of asking rich, higher-order questions about objects, events, ideas, and places in their environment.
Inference is an important skill for students to learn in order to really dig deep into a text. People use inference every day to make sense of the things people say and do. Students use inference all the time, but they need some guidance in learning how to use the strategy with a text.
Looking for new favorite picture book read alouds? Don't forget to include nonfiction books, too! Take a look a 10 favorite nonfiction picture book picks from our classroom book a day reads.
Here are 3 very different teaching reflection activities to try out each time a semester ends. Improve your teaching semester after semester. First, you...
Our critical thinking worksheets help improve your ability to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information and ideas in a thoughtful and systematic manner.
Homeschooling a child with dysgraphia presents unique challenges. Learn how to beat dysgraphia with these 8 strategies!
Help your little learners write numbers 0 to 9 with these fun and catchy number poems. Each number poem has a poster visual and page in the student activity book! Your classroom will be cute, bright and fun with our happy design style! The rhymes will help students remember the path of motion for writing each numeral and we have provided 3 options for you to display them: All-on-one page poster Individual page sized posters Type-your-own poem posters Included also is a student activity book. Students can read the poem and trace and write the numbers We've written a little rhyme for each number, which your students will love learning and repeating as they do their numbers. But if you have a favorite rhyme alternative, just type it into the editable version before you print! A perfect activity to accompany learning these rhymes is the little activity book we have included with the pack. Students can trace, trace and write each number as they say the poem! Hop over to TpT to find it ! Watch our video to help your little ones learn the poems! Number Crafts Your students will love making some number friends to display around the classroom too! Find them over at TpT!
Most districts are now requiring teachers to provide data-driven differentiation. What can you do for those students who are labeled as gifted learners? If they are already high achievers, it can be difficult to help them reach a higher level of success. These tips will help you and your students achieve their goals and keep you from pulling your hair out! Let's start by defining each of the terms. What does data-driven mean? Data-driven is when data from test scores are broken down and used as the foundation for instruction. What is differentiating instruction? Differentiating instruction is when teachers modify instructional ideas, tools, resources, and/or activities to meet the students' individual needs. For example, teachers may use leveled books so each student can read about the same material on their own reading level. Who is the gifted learner? A gifted child may have some of the following traits: creative extreme curiosity sensitive perfectionist vivid imagination resourceful independent quick thinking self-critical excellent reasoning skills learns quickly without extra practice advanced sense of humor extensive vocabulary an avid reader leadership abilities very observant interested in cause-effect relations dominate discussions variety of interests good at synthesizing self-confident concerned with justice and fairness risk-taker very inquisitive full of energy able to work independently The identity of a gifted learner is different in each state. Find your State Definitions of Giftedness The tips below helped my gifted learners show improvement throughout the year and on their academic progress assessments. 1. READING The best way to increase reading test scores for the gifted learner is to have high-quality literature at their fingertips and provide students with the opportunity to have discussions focused on critical thinking questions. Their lessons should be developed using classic stories and novels. The Junior Great Books Series is an exceptional choice. It offers both fiction and nonfiction text. The fictional anthologies have high-quality literature that is based around student-centered discussions for comprehension and critical thinking. It also includes writing. The nonfiction series offers high-quality informational text with an inquiry-based learning format. Reading classic novels is another option. The following is a list of some of my favorite classic novels: Secret Garden Treasure Island Charlotte's Web Anne of Green Gables A Wrinkle in Time The Hobbit Black Beauty Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe The Adventures of Tom Sawyer The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Are you looking for a Secret Garden Unit that will keep your students engaged in higher-level thinking in every chapter? In addition there is a vocabulary quiz, character chart, and test! Are you looking for critical-thinking skill questions and plans for any book? These may be helpful: HIGHER-LEVEL REASONING- BOOK RESPONSE QUESTIONS READING STRATEGIES WORKSHEETS 2. MATH The best way to increase math test scores for the gifted learner is by acceleration. Enrichment definitely helps, but acceleration gets the job done. Most gifted learners can learn at a quicker rate and don't need review and extra practice. If you can allow your gifted students progress through the curriculum at a faster rate, then you can use higher grade-level concepts once finished with the grade-level plans. These students will be able to grasp the grade-level material as well as advanced material in one year. Most gifted learners will be able to follow written instructions. If not, a quick lesson for the small group may be needed. Remember: They don't need the repetitive practice. Give them an anchor chart or poster with directions and examples or a quick video from Khan Academy and wahhhlllaaaa! 3. PRIOR TO THE STATE TEST Even if you haven't had the time for much differentiating throughout the year, this next idea will be helpful prior to the test. First, make sure you have the standards for a grade level higher. Then, highlight vocabulary terms in both reading and math as well as advanced math concepts. Create three lists of 12-20 new words and/or concepts. Three weeks prior to the state test, provide a list each week to the gifted learner. While you are reviewing grade-level content with the rest of your class, these students will be learning new words and concepts. It can be achieved through self-learning or a project-based activity. It works well independently or in a small group. The gifted learner should be accountable for their learning through grading the project or an assessment. I hope these ideas help you differentiate for your gifted learners!!!!! Connect With Me! TPT Store Facebook Pinterest My Blog
Higher level math centers will really get your students thinking and writing about math. Read about my top six favorite higher level math centers.
Research based teaching strategies you can use today with a free printable chart.
Learn all about differentiating the products that your students complete as part of their learning journey. I'll define it for you, give you some important tips, show you an example of how I did this in my gifted classroom, and I'll even give you a list of ideas you can use in your own classroom.
Novel Studies that Promote Higher-Order Thinking We all know how important novels are when helping students develop authentic literacy skills. However…we also know that traditional novel studies don’t allow students to implement all of the literacy
Teaching Habitats to your primary students will be a breeze with my collection of resources to help make your life easier. There's even a freebie!
Goal setting is helpful for students to reflect on their learning. Students can set goals at any point in the year. Setting language goals for ELLs is particularly beneficial at the beginning of the school year, at the beginning of the calendar year, and before beginning WIDA or other language testing. For English Language Learners,
We are finishing up a study of Earth Cycles this week. During this time we took a look at the Earth rotating and revolving. Here are two Mak...
If you're looking into how to teach multiplication, you're definitely going to want to look into the secrets behind memorizing multiplication facts.
No matter what grade or content area you teach, I think we can all agree that vocabulary lessons are usually the least favorite. I mean…it’s looking up definitions and reciting and memorizing and quizzing and so on… But it doesn’t have to be this way! Try my FREE “Vocabulary Categories” activity. My students realize that ... Read More about Vocabulary Activity That’s Actually FUN!
A teaching philosophy statement is a reflective essay about one's teaching beliefs and practices. It's commonly needed in academic job applications.
In this blog post, we’ll look at how to effectively scaffold your instruction and help students build increasingly sophisticated skills. We’ll also look at how you can help foster growth and independence through scaffolding. Scaffolding and Differentiating The methodology behind scaffolding is multi-faceted. Scaffolding can mean providing support
I can’t remember where I first learned about hexagons in the classroom. But I’ve loved them ever since I started exploring the idea. If you’re already using hexagons, good on you.…
Forensic Fairytale– Day 2– The Crime Lab On Day 2, my students had to analyze the evidence they collected when they excavated their “graves”. Each person had a job or …
I made these collograph prints with very young children. The one pictured is my example. They started with a piece of craft foam and scissors. I explained that they should try cutting out different shapes: some small, some slightly bigger, and to try and use some straight cuts and some curved or wiggley cuts. They didn't need to worry about it looking like an object that could be recognized. One little girl did opt to cut out a flower and a little boy did a house. We used white glue to attach the craft foam to a piece of corrugated cardboard and we let out printing plates dry until the next class. For printing we just used tempera paint and little foam rollers that can usually be purchased in the home improvement section of the Dollar Store. I encouraged them to print many images on one sheet of paper. I'm starting a newsletter with DIY templates, news from my Etsy shop, and step-by-step photos of some of the techniques for my artwork and illustrations. The newsletter in early June 2018 will include a template for a simple pop-up book to make with children. Sign-ups on the right-hand side of the blog.
