Introducing Do Re Mi to kids in a visual, fun way to help them understand the notes of the scale and piano. First musical theory lesson for babies and young kids.
Need a creative idea for teaching money to kids? The Money Game is a fun hands-on way! Inspired by the Beth Kobliner Book- Make Your Kids a Money Genius
Thousands of teachers have used these tried and true GUARANTEED tups to stop students from blurting out. Chatty Class? YOU NEED TO READ THIS!
Our favorite 2nd grade anchor charts for math, language arts, and beyond. You'll definitely want to use some of these in your classroom.
Are you an avid blogger? Are you think about starting a new website? Or maybe you just like posting on social media a lot. No matter your situation, if you
22 behind-the-scenes details about zookeepers’ work that most of us didn't know or wouldn’t even believe, as shared online.
Did you know that if you had a fever and cough, it could be the plague, or pneumonia... or maybe just the flu? Actually, it could be a lot of things. Click for MORE on Thinking Like a Word Doctor! Because doctors know that the plague is the least likely cause of your symptoms, and that the flu is the most likely, they will probably go with the flu first, and then work their way through the alternative options, as needed. As medicine is not an exact science, doctors must often work through a series of options to determine what treatment will be most effective with their patients. They make these decisions based on a hierarchy of likelihood to determine what is most likely, next most likely, and least likely to be successful. Like medicine, the English language is not an exact science, and neither is phonics. However, we can "treat" unknown words in much the same way that doctors treat their patients, and by doing so, a logical, thinking-construct begins to emerge— one that greatly empowers learners and their decision-making when working with unfamiliar text. First, it's important to realize that there are only so many different sounds that a letter or letter pattern can make, and their not random, even though they may sometimes appear so. Just like the saying, The apple won't fall too far from the tree," letters won't stray too far from their sounds! For example, you will never see the letter q say "mmm," or the letter k say "duh," or the -tion pattern say "-ing!" Contrary to popular belief, letters don't just lose their little 'letter-minds' and run amok! All they do (and it's usually the vowels that do it!) is make sounds that they are perfectly capable of making— but it just might be their next most likely ones! (Watch the video clip below to see what I mean!) When working with patients, doctors must ask themselves, "How many different ways can I look at this? How many different ways can I solve it?" Beginning and struggling readers must also employ this kind of diagnostic thinking when attempting to sound out unknown words, asking themselves, "What else can it be?.... What else could I try?" Engaging in this type of analytical, problem-solving is often referred to as "thinking outside the box," and the key to doing it effectively is to first know what's IN the box! This is why knowing the Secrets is so important for beginning and struggling readers, as the Secret Stories® equip them with everything that's IN the box so that they are more easily able to think outside it— something that working with text demands! The ou/ow Secret Ou & ow play really rough and someone always gets hurt and says— "Oooowww!" (as in words like: our, round, how, now) But, flying overhead is Superhero O, who happens to be ow's all-time, favorite superhero, ever! If ow ever spots Superhero O flying overhead, they stop dead--in-their-tracks and yell— "O! O! O!" ...which is why ow can also say O! (It's "default" sound) (as in words like: blow, flow, glow, mow) The Secret (and default sound for ow) makes sounding out most words with this common pattern easy, even for kinders, which means that words like: how, now, about, around, etc, commonly found on sight word need NOT be memorized! As with the Secret, kids can just READ them! Plus, kids can learn the ou/ow Secret in an instant, even if they haven't mastered all of the individual letter sounds yet, as it still makes sense. Memorizing a sight word however, can take some students forever... especially those with little to no home support, as they are less likely to use it enough to make it stick. And even more importantly, knowing a sight word allows learners to read one word, whereas knowing a Secret empowers them to read and write thousands! Now let's consider a word like you. The ou isn't doing what it should, according to the Secret. Still, the sound it IS making in the word hasn't really strayed too far away... at least not so far that a good word doctor couldn't easily figure it out! And here's how... A "Hierarchy of Likelihood" Approach to Decoding (if a Secret doesn't work 1. First, try the most likely Secret Stories sound for ou (as in house)..... NOPE, it didn't work! 2. Next, try the individual sounds for the letters o and u ..... BINGO!!! We got the word!! In this case, we got it on the second try. Now, had we not struck gold on our first "out-of-the-box" attempt, we could have worked our way further down the list of possible sound options and turned this puzzle into a sort of problem-solving/critical thinking game.... The OO Secret 3. Try the sounds of other Secret Stories patterns with o or u, like the Secrets for oo, oi/oy or ous. For example, in the word could, the ou is making the default-sound for oo (as in book) and kids who know the oo Secret might try that sound as one more possible option. That's not to say that some words, like could, aren't just easier to memorize than to work through, but it's nice to know that we have the power, should we need it!)r, should we need it!) 4. It's the PLAGUE! It requires a specialist! When we've exhausted all options and have no more tricks up our sleeve, we must surrender to the word, which means we have to memorize it! So why should we go to all that trouble to figure it out? Why not just memorize it, instead? Here's why— because it is within this "figuring-out," (a.k.a. analytical/diagnostic thinking) process that true learning lies! Not just learning how to read, but learning how to think! Our brain is a pattern-making machine, and this patterning process of thinking-through all available options is its natural way of doing things. "If not this, then that..." Our brain is continually patterning-out the best available options in everything that we do. We think— "I'll park in the front, but if I can't find a space, I'll try the back, and if that doesn't work, I'll try the next lot over. If I can't find anything there, then I'm giving up and going home, as I'm too tired to walk that far." We don't think— "I'll park in the front, but if I can't find a space, then I don't know what I'll do!" (This is similar to the way in which kids often handle words that are exceptions, which is to throw their hands up in surrender the minute that letters don't do exactly what they should in a word.) Seth Godwin, author of Looking for Patterns (Where they don't Exist! writes,"Human beings are pattern-making machines. That's a key to our survival instinct— we seek out patterns and use them to predict the future. Which is great, except when the pattern isn't there, then our pattern-making machinery is busy picking things out that truly don't matter." Our brains are hardwired to look for patterns, and the Secrets are patterns— not abstract letter patterns, but patterns of behavior that are designed to mimic learners' own behavior. The ability to classify incoming information quickly into categories (based on the patterns we know) means the brain can use easier rules to deal with the new input, which is less stressful than always having to deal with things that haven't been seen before. Knowing the Secrets equips inexperienced beginning and struggling learners to identify the best course of action when sounding out new words, and not knowing the Secrets means having to say, "It just is... It just does... You just have to remember...." when they can't read or spell a word. Another benefit to reading words rather than just memorizing them is that it sparks more optimal brain circuitry, as evidenced by numerous studies, including a recent one by Stanford University Professor, Bruce McCandliss, which you can read more about here. Stanford Brain Study on Sight Words Post Just to be clear, some words are just better to memorize, as mentioned when discussing the word could, up above. But most are not, especially if they now the Secrets and can easily read them! Consider that every sight word that a learner memorizes is one less opportunity to reinforce their "sounding-out" (decoding) skills that you work so hard to teach, and more importantly, one less opportunity to flex their "critical thinking/problem solving" muscles! Now before you read any further, watch this short video. It's easy for teachers to empathize with Ricky's struggle to read words like: boughs, through, rough, cough and enough. Like many students in our guided reading groups, Ricky diligently attempts to decode what seem to him to be 'un-decodable' words and becomes understandably frustrated in the process. Ultimately, Ricky just closes the book and gives up, convinced that the sounds letters make just don't make sense. Many of our students feel the same way. So now, let's get back to "Thinking Like a Doctor" In the same way that a doctor works through various options to heal a patient, we can do the same to "heal" the words that are stumping Ricky.... or at least to help make them more 'figure-outable!' ( I know it's not a word, but I really like it!) First, we need to know another Secret... Click to hear the GH Secret The gh Secret Gh will make different sounds, depending on where they are in line (i.e. in a word) When they are at the FRONT, they're glad! There, they make the hard g sound, saying.... "Gosh, this is Great! We're going to Get to Go first and Get in before anyone else Goes! (ghost, ghoul, ghastly, etc...) When they are in the MIDDLE, and surrounded by lots of other letters, they are silent and are too afraid to say anything and make no sound at all (sight, thought, straight, etc...) When they are at the END, they're not at all happy and they always complain. Here, they make the f sound, saying.... "This is no Fun! We're so Far away it'll take Forever For us to get to the Front!" (rough, enough, cough, etc...) Now let's play "Word Doctor!" bough No problem with the ou as it is doing just what it should (see ou/ow poster up above) But gh is a different story, as it is not making the sound that it should, which is "fff." So let's try one of the only TWO other sounds that it can make, and voila! We got it! The gh is silent! The gh Secret is everything that's IN the box when it comes to all of the possible sounds that gh can make, making it easy for learners to deduce the next most likely options when it doesn't do exactly what it should! rough Like in the word you (mentioned at the top of the post), ou is not making the sound that it should, but by simply trying the individual sounds for both o and u, we can easily get the word! In this case, ou is making the short u sound. And thankfully, gh is doing exactly what it should when it's at the end of a word! cough Just as with the word rough, ou is not making the sound that it should, but is making one of their individual sounds, instead. This time, it's the short o sound. And again, the gh is doing exactly what it should. enough Once more the ou is not making the sound that it should, but it IS doing the next most likely thing, based on our "hierarchy of likelihood" (way up above at top of post), just as it did in the words you, rough and cough. In this case, it's making the short u sound. And once again, gh is doing what it should. through Now this one's a little trickier— bordering between being "fun to figure out" and "just easier to memorize," I would probably go with the latter, but it is gratifying to know that with a little "out of the box" thinking, we CAN crack this word, should we chose to! The ou is not making the sound that it should, nor is it making the o or u sound, but just like the word you that was mentioned at the top of this post, it is making the most likely sound of its cousin, oo ... and by cousin, I mean another similar Secret that looks like it could be a possible relative, as it shares a common relative, which is o. (The sound for oo can be seen in the oo poster way up above.) And then we have the same problem with gh that we had with a couple of the other words up above— nothing that a good word doctor can't fix, as gh is just being difficult and refusing to talk, as is his prerogative. However, it does require an extra analytical step to crack the word, which may be one too many to make it worthwhile. Thus, it merits the time, energy and space in the brain that's required memorize. This video clip shows a group of first graders playing "Word Doctor" and applying some critical analysis and diagnostic thinking to the word light. While they can already read the word, they bothered by the fact that i is bothering to say his name when there Mommy E® or Babysitter Vowel® in sight! Patterning IS Thinking The following excerpt is taken from 12 Design Principles Based on Brain-based Learning Research by Jeffery Lackney, Ph. D. Pattern making is pleasing to the brain. The brain takes great pleasure in taking random and chaotic information and ordering it. The implications for learning and instruction is that presenting a learner with random and unordered information provides the maximum opportunity for the brain to order this information and form meaningful patterns that will be remembered. Setting up a learning environment in this way mirrors real life that is often random and chaotic. The brain, when allowed to express its pattern-making behavior, creates coherency and meaning. Learning is best accomplished when the learning activity is connected directly to physical experience. We remember best when facts and skills are embedded in natural, spatial memory, in real-life activity, in experiential learning. We learn by doing. facilitated in an environment of total immersion in a multitude of complex interactive experiences. Hmmmm.... that sounds a lot like the class in the video! And the last little doctor tool that I want to share before signing off is about the vowels, as they are the most likely culprits when words just won't sound-out correctly! Vowels are the eyes, ears, nose and throat of a word, which is why good word doctors should always check them out first! They offer the best window into what's most likely wrong. Sometimes it's an issue with a Secret (as with the words we've seen in this post) but other times fixing the problem requires having a few "vowel-fixing" tricks up your sleeve— something that every good word should have! You can find them here! Learn the "Secrets" of the Superhero Vowels®! And to learn MORE Secrets that you can start sharing with your class tomorrow, click the video clip, below! Secret Stories® Classroom Kit (book, posters & CD) And if you don't have the Secret Stories® Classroom Set but would like to get started with the basic "meat and potatoes," which are the vowels, I would suggest you start with Secrets of the Superhero Vowels Bundle® on TpT. It's a great place to start! And if you are already using Secret Stories® in your classroom, this digital vowel pack is a super handy supplement, as it offers multiple sizes of the graphics for various uses within the classroom and at home! Secret Stories Superhero Vowels® Digital Bundle Until Next Time, Katie Garner :-) Never Miss a Secret! Subscribe to the Newsletter! Secret Stories® Makes Phonics Make SENSE! Try a "taste" of the Secrets with YOUR class and see the difference they make! Click to Download the FREE Secret Stories® Mini-Sample Poster Pack! For a list of upcoming conferences, or for information on scheduling a school or district professional development workshop, click here. www.TheSecretStories.com
What does dyslexia look like in middle school, or junior high? Learn about signs of dyslexia in grades 6, 7, and 8.
A persuasive writing and speaking activity for kids focused on identifying propaganda while watching TV.
Have you ever had a class with so many difficult, disruptive students that you felt that you could barely even teach? What can you do to get past it? In this post, I am going to address this problem with my best advice, and some advice from others as well.
29 Flirty Memes For When You're Feelin' A Bit Cutesy - Funny memes that "GET IT" and want you to too. Get the latest funniest memes and keep up what is going on in the meme-o-sphere.
Wondering how to teach contractions to your child? Teaching contractions might seem complicated, but these helpful tips can make this concept easy to teach!
Timeless quotes from wise people, and even some fictional characters.
The difference between THEY'RE, THEIR and THERE in English with example sentences.
Welcome to 31 Days of Homemade Music! Today we will be continuing to make a case for why anyone can benefit from studying music. To find other posts in this series, click here. Ever wondered if music is just as effective a brain developer as, say, math or science? If you remember my post from […]
I love reading books, but man, if I ever had to write one, I think my editor would have a fit. I'm notoriously bad with grammar, as many ma...
'Blink, and they're gone.'
X -Plan is a simple, but powerful tool is a lifeline that our kids are free to use at any time. Burt Fulks tells us how it works. (#xplan)
The piccaninny stereotype (c. 1852-1950s) was the common way that White Americans pictured little black children in the late 1800s and early 1900s: eyes: big and wide lips: big and red on a wide mo…
If you are looking for ideas to make your meeting more fun while teaching your girls how to respect authority you have come to the right place. Using some of these activities below to help your girls understand who is authority and learn how to respect them by listening to their parents, teachers, police, and leader who are there to help them follow directions and rules that are made to keep them safe. I recommend the following activities that will reinforce respecting authority: Practice with activities Be creative with a craft Get moving with a game Put into action with a service project or real life experience. Optionally: If I have a song that related, sing that as well. Below are a few ideas to get you started. Respect Authority Activity Booklet Do you want to skip all the planning? If so, use the Respect Authority Activity booklet and take your girls on a garden adventure helping a family of fairies on a mission to teach the world how to live by very important values. Using the leader booklet and the girl’s activity booklet your girls will complete lots of activities to help their fairy friends plant flowers, water gardens, and learn how to put important values to live by into action. With step-by-step activities planned for you all you have to do is gather the supplies listed, you can’t ask for a easier way to run your meeting. Learn more about the activities included and get yours today! Other Fun Activities to Try for Respect Authority Respecting Authority Figures Using some of the scenario’s below have your girls act out different scenes. These scenarios are ways to have girls give their opinion on how they would handle a situation. Scenario ideas: A police officer talking to a student about being out past curfew A principal talks to a student about having a cell phone in school A teacher talks to a student about talking while she is talking A parent talks to daughter about helping clean the house A GS Leader talks to girl about being a sister to every girl Further Authority DiscussionI think its important to talk further about how parents are authority figures. Just like you need to respect authority in public it is important to respect our moms and dads at home. Explain to your girls the importance of family time with your girls and that when spending time with family to respect their parents authority. Pipe Cleaner Glasses Prep: Get pipe cleaners for each girl two 6-inch pipe cleaners and one 12-inch pipe cleaner. What to Make: Make pipe cleaner glasses by twisting the ends of the long pipe cleaner together to create a circle. Twist the circle in the middle to create 2 connected circles for lenses. Attach a 6-inch pipe cleaner to each side and bend at the ends to fit around the the girls ears. Ask the girls if they have heard glasses called spectacles and tell them these are their “respectacles.” Have them put their glasses on and give them a short children’s book about respecting or disrespecting authority to read. Ask the girls to determine if the behavior was proper or if not what should have been done differently. You can get your books from the library or here are a few ideas you can get from amazon. The Berenstain Bears Show Some Respect I Am a Booger… Treat Me With Respect! Respect and Take Care of Things Few Pinterest Finds you will love too… Here is a great idea to get your girls thinking about Respecting authority in different areas of their life. Brainstorm with girls the answers to each category. The best way to teach the girls to respect authority (and everyone else) is to demonstrate respect yourself. I found a great resource that has some ideas for games, crafts and how to demonstrate respect. check it out….Click here Song to Sing with Girls You can get the following song audio by going here: Listen to Those in Authority Listen To Those in Authority Listen to those in authority, always behave. Honesty, sincerity, are traits that you should gain.Caring, sharing, helping out, raise your hand and wait,Till you’re called on for your turn. Study hard, give your best,And you will pass the test! (Chorus)Listen to those in authority, teachers, principals.Listen to those in authority and do just what you should.No words of hate, no lies, be kind and everyday try hard to get along.Respect yourself and others. Choose right over wrong.Respect yourself and others. Choose right over wrong. No words of hate, no lies, be kind and everyday try hard to get along.Respect yourself and others. Choose right over wrong.Respect yourself and others. Choose right over wrong. Listen to those in authority, your heart knows what’s right.Bullying is always wrong, and it’s not good to fight.Appreciate every race, everyone’s unique. Work together as a team.That’s what we need in our school. Be good, obey the rules. (Chorus) What Do You Stand For? Character Building Card Game If you have read some of the other blog post for petal ideas I share this over and over, because its so great. I found this on amazon a while back and let me tell you its a great way to get your girls talking, it has amazing scenarios to work through, there are many cards that will fit into the other petals as well, so make sure to pick out the ones you want for the specific petal you are working on. Get yours here: What Do You Stand For? Character Building Card Game What do we do after your girls complete the activities? Well of course give them the badge to display proudly on their vest, they earned it! Additionally If you are like many leaders we want to award our girls when they complete something even beyond just the patch. One great way to show achievement is with a certificate. Don’t worry you don’t have to make them, I found a resource that has done all the work for you and all you have to do is print them and customize the certificates with each girl’s name, badge or award earned, date, and troop leader. Editable certificates perfect for awarding girls after earning a badge. Garden Fairy Fun Patches You are going to love these cute adorable fun patches to put on the back of your girl’s vest. I partnered with a amazing company Advantage Emblems and they are producing and shipping the patches. You can buy them individually or as a complete set. The Fairy Fun Patch Complete Set Honest and fair Friendly and helpful Considerate and caring Courageous and strong Responsible for what I say and do Respect myself and others Respect authority Use resources wisely Make the world a better place Be a sister to every girl Teach your girls about integrity and values This book was wrote by my sister – Who was a Girl Scout as a girl and a Leader for many years before starting a family of her own. This beautifully illustrated book empowers kids to be nice and kind human beings. ‘The Adventures To Me ’ is an endearing story of a little elephant on a journey to becoming the best version of “me”. Equipped with nothing other than a colorful scooter, a backpack, and a map, the little elephant starts their “Adventures to Me”. Along the way, meets new friends of all different backgrounds as encounters challenges, has to make choices, and learns lessons along the way. The road to discovering the best version of “me” is paved with lessons about confidence, truthfulness, resilience and strength, respect, kindness, responsibility, accepting differences, using what you have, dreaming big, setting goals, and looking ahead towards the future with a positive mindset. For the little elephant, the journey of life is full of a wealth of possibilities –– ready to embark on a beautiful journey alongside our elephant friend? Learn about the choices we all make to be good people and explore the great “Adventures To Me”! View on Amazon Enjoy every minute being a leader and continue to inspire your girls! Purchase this wonderful illustrated book from Amazon.
We're winding down on Fascinating Science for Kids experiments...we only have two left! Today we're learning how to make a compass using water, a bowl, a
Stray Kids está perdiendo popularidad, JYP decide añadir un integrante nuevo, pero no un chico. UNA CHICA!!! Algunos Stay's están cambiando de bias unos la apoyan y otros le tiran hate. Eso parece que a los chicos no les haga mucha gracia. ✧༺♥༻✧ Mi mamá me dijo : casate con un hombre exitoso. Entonces yo le dije : Ay mamá,yo soy ese hombre exitoso✧༺♥༻✧
This free printable Do Re Mi staircase is a brilliant visual aid and teaching tool for introducing small children to Do Re Mi and interval recognition.
A student points their finger inches from your face and teasingly says, “I’m mad at you. That homework last night was hard!” Or . . . A student raises their hand and commands you to “Tell John to stop bothering me.” In either case ... Read more
Raise your hand if you remember the adorable Monchichi Monkeys.
These school related memes perfectly summarizes your typical student with these #studentproblems. Grades / Homework / Tests / That Feeling / Paying Attention / Teachers / In Trouble / Grades H…
Creepy crawly spiders! Heights! The dark! These are some common top fears to name a few, and if you're anything like me, heck, you're not too fond of any of those three. But do you know what the number one fear is? The one that outweighs all others? Glossophobia. (Cue the eery music) Dun, da, dun! Now before we get all panicked and shriek in horror, what exactly is this dreadful phobia? In layman's terms--the fear of public speaking. Even if you don't personally suffer from glossophobia, you probably have experienced some type of symptoms like a racing heart, sweaty palms, dry mouth, or some type of mild anxiety before speaking in front of others. So how do we get better at communicating in a group setting, and how do we prepare our students, even at a young age, to do this? Like other academic skills, how to participate in a discussion is something that needs to be taught explicitly. When I was early in my teaching career, whole class discussion typically consisted of me asking the questions while my students provided the answers. Sure, the questions were good, and by good, I mean the kinds of questions that were open-ended and required critical thinking. But still, I was the one that was doing all the leading. I was doing all the asking. I was doing all the steering. I was the driver if you will. Now instead imagine a classroom where the students are the ones in the driver's seat. The students are the ones asking the questions AND providing the answers. The students are the ones steering the discussion. Over my years of teaching, I have learned (and am still learning!) to "release control," and recently, I envisioned a classroom where student-led discussion was the norm. Thus, began my quest of how to make this happen. If I wanted my students to truly lead the discussion in my classroom, then I would need to give them the skills and tools to be able to do this. This is where gradual release comes into play. Gradual release is the process in which you basically pass the baton slowly from teacher to student as students gain independence with a particular skill or concept. Here's how it works. 1) You teach the skill directly. This involves direct instruction and modeling. 2) You involve students in the process while you still support. This is often referred to as guided instruction. For example, for a math lesson involving the steps of solving a story problem, you now do a few story problems "together." 3) You give students independent practice time with the skill while you provide feedback, both affirming and adjusting (i.e. "I see you drew a picture to help you solve the problem, great job choosing a strategy. Let's double check your addition in the tens place...") . 4) You wrap up the lesson by clearing up misconceptions, going over answers from independent work, and perhaps informally assessing students through say an exit ticket or cold calling with popsicle sticks. In sum, you go from "me" to "we" to "you." So I thought, why couldn't this process be used for teaching student-led discussion? Using the idea of gradual release, I broke down teaching student-led discussion into the six steps below: The outline above involves starting in baby steps. First, introduce students to discussion stems. It is best to only start with a few at a time as well as to choose more concrete stems to begin with like, "I have a question..." or "I agree/disagree with..." first. These stems give students the language they need to jump into the discussion both in the format of asking a question as well as replying with a comment or relevant thought. I have designed 16 meaningful discussion stem posters for students to refer to. The posters come in three different sizes, one perfect for hanging up on your classroom walls, one perfect to put on a ring and use for a small group, and one perfect for students to use as their individual resource. Second, have students begin with less-academic, more fun topics vs. essential questions that require critical thinking. The goal here is that students can initially focus mostly on their communication skills vs. having to delve into deep thinking. Of course, once students have had ample practice learning the process of student-led discussion, then by all means dive head first into critical thinking guided by your academic units! For teaching student-led discussion with juicy yet "easy" topics that hook students' interest, I created 20 discussion starters to use. Third, give students time to write down their thinking and plan out what they are going to say about the topic rather than making them think and speak on the spot. I created some planning templates that can be used for any topic or essential question so that they can be used for meaty academic topics too. (P.S. They are editable so that I can type in my topic or essential question and make as many copies as I need!! Whoopee!!) Fourth, set clear expectations before you start the student-led discussion such as what respectful listening looks like. Teach, model, and have students model these expectations so that you are setting students up for success. Fifth, give students a goal as to how many times to speak and over time, increase it. For example, for the very first practice, you might say something like, "Today, everyone needs to speak at least one time. You may participate by asking a question, making a comment, or responding to someone else's comment. If you want to participate more than one time in the discussion, you may." Here's a rubric that can help students self-monitor and self-evaluate their communication skills. Sixth, the very first time students practice student-led discussion, participate as the teacher as needed, calling on students who may need some encouragement. Over time, you will participate less and less until not at all! I made some recording sheets as an assessment tool to give students feedback, celebrate sutdents' successes, and support students in making growth in their communication skills. They come in different forms where I can record specific discussion stems students used or just in general whether students asked a question or made a comment. I also made them different sizes--one for whole class, one for small group. (PPS These are editable too so that student names can be typed directly on the sheet!) The key to this whole process is baby steps. You want students to feel safe, encouraged, and confident, and the way to do this is to give students the tools they need up front and then release them slowly towards independence. To see this "How to Teach Meaningful Student-Led Discussion Pack" in detail, click on the image below! With the resources in this pack, your students certainly will not suffer from glossophobia as you create a safe and welcoming environment where students lead the discussion as your norm. Now as calming other fears like spiders... Good luck! :)
Whether via classroom discussions, analysis of written text, higher-order questioning, or other strategies, learn and share ways to help students go deeper with their thinking.
