The March #blogamonth topic is to share a video that you use in your instruction. See more and join us in our quest to enhance our professional blogs at the Blog-A-Month Website.
THIS VIDEO (you have to click the link; I was unable to embed it into the post) is of a sermon by Andy Stanley presented to middle school students called "You'll Be Glad You Did: Label Maker." Andy's message to young students is that no one but God has the right to label them because he is their creator and purchaser. All middle school students struggle with this: finding their identity rather than accepting the one that has been placed on them by their peers. Middle school is the time in life when a young person wrestles with identity, and that struggle continues on into high school, college, and often beyond. I teach in a private Christian school, and this idea of identity is a vital one to share with our students because our ultimate hope is that they will find their identity in Christ. My partner teacher, Jen Woods, and I have worked together to create a challenging eighth grade curriculum that encourages students to consider major themes that relate to their lives throughout the semester: outside influence, considering other people's perspectives, appearance vs reality, and, ultimately, identity. We use this video to introduce the big question "How do I shape my identity?" that goes along with our novel study of Ender's Game. Ender is the perfect example of a character who is bombarded with labels, yet doesn't embrace any of them. He struggles to find his own identity in spite of what others want him to become. Students relate deeply to Ender's struggle with identity as they combat the same conflicts in their own lives. The addition of this video to add the unique perspective of "God created you and he is the only person who has the right to label you" is a way to draw the discussion of a character down to a more personal level and ask students to face the question of their own identities. Ultimately, each student has to decide what she will let define her and shape her self and her future. I hope and pray that even a hint of this lesson will sit with each student to help her realize that her identity can only be found in Christ. Try This Tomorrow: You may not be able to include the Gospel in your lesson, but you can ask students to think more deeply about a character and themselves by pushing them to make the content relevant to their daily struggles. Help students to discover their own identities instead of having to live with labels. ___ @alcp Allison Petersen
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Originally this post wasn't intended to be about the #blogamonth Feburary topic of Creating a Culture, but it turned out to be a post about creating a culture of digital learners. Enjoy! If you would have asked me last week if I was willing to give up control of my classroom to the students, I would have said of course! I am an avocate of allowing students to take the lead. But a few things have pushed my thinking since then... Am I really willing to give up control? Really? The above twitter conversation was sparked by Cat Flippen's (@Catflippen) keynote at the UGA Digital Learning Conference. As I read it, I nodded my head in agreement, asking myself, "Why is it so hard for teachers to let go of control in their classrooms and what does it take for them to change?" But I was quickly faced with the truth that I wasn't as progressive as I thought. The idea that truly challenged me was from Eric Sheninger's (@NMHS_Principal) book Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times. We all know that we are teaching a new generation of digital natives. But the characteristics of these types of students wasn't as clear to me until I read the list of qualities of a digital learner that Sheninger includes early in his book. He explains the ways that digital learners want to obtain information or function vs how the traditional teacher wants to spend the lesson. Sheninger writes: Digital learners prefer parallel processing and multitasking, but many educators prefer linear processing and single tasks or limited multitasking. I am guilty of this! Just last week, we were working on essays on Google drive and when a student asked me if she could share her essay with a friend in the class, I told her "No. Not until you have finished drafting. You still have a few key parts to include." Well, granted, even though this student really did have more work to do on the essay, I am now asking myself, why not? Why couldn't she have shared it and gotten feedback even though she wasn't done writing yet?
Real writers do this! I do this as a writer - I am always seeking feedback at every stage. I consider myself a "digital learner" like them - wouldn't I want the ability to share my work when I wanted instead of having that be controlled by the teacher? So today, I took a different approach. I offered for my class to openly share their essays on Google drive with anyone else in the class for feedback. I allowed students to move around the room, not limiting who they work with specifically, which I was doing before, too. Did they gravitate toward their friends? Well yes...but were they on task? Yes...even some of the more easily distracted students. They were discussing ways to help each other revise and fervently leaving comments. Were they sharing with multiple students? Yes, which provided each student multiple perspectives of feedback. The moment I knew it was working was when I heard a shy voice speak up. There is a sweet girl in my class who is a strong student, but she is very quiet. When I conference with her about her writing, it is very hard to get her to respond even when I am praising her work. But today, her voice lept over the noise as she talked across the room to her friend, giving her friend advice on how to revise the essay. I know I had a shocked look on my face as I glanced up to see who was talking. She was embracing her role as editor and providing feedback, not just through the digitial comments, but out loud. Something had changed. Mission accomplished! In the back of my mind, I was a little irked at the noise in the room. My inner teacher wanted to tell the class to be quiet and focus on what they were doing. My inner teacher wanted to stop conversations from continuing that seemed to be off topic. When I listened closer, students were talking about the events they are writing about in their essays. My inner teacher needed to be shhhhhushed today. She needed to embrace the fact that digital learners need a different environment to thrive in. It’s my job as a teacher to create that environment and ultimately create a culture tailor-made for these digital learners. I still feel like I have a long way to go, but at least I know where I'm headed! Try This Tomorrow! Ask yourself if you are still holding onto control in some areas, and if you can continue to loosen your grip. What simple change can you make to quiet your inner teacher voice and let students function more like digital learners? My question to you is this... where is the balance between good classroom management and allowing students the freedom to learn the way they want to as digital natives? When (if ever) do you let your inner teacher come out to set boundaries and control the classroom noise, activity, etc? Also, how do you ensure that students aren’t just sharing with friends and everyone plays a part in this digital experience? Please share your thoughts below! __ Allison Petersen @alcp We are all created in the image of God. Even the maker of the universe himself seeks praise! And in his image, his people crave it too. Think about it. When someone praises you and tells you how well you’ve done, how do you feel? When there is a person in your life who you just can’t get that praise from, how hard do you work for it? People crave positive feedback and it transforms their attitude and actions. A simple, encouraging word can change a person’s entire outlook and perspective. This applies to any age person - from a three year old, to a middle schooler, to an adult - because it is a basic truth rooted in the way God made us. Angela Maiers makes an amazing case for the power of praise in her Ted Talk called “You Matter” which has sparked a movement and a hashtag #youmatter. If you haven't seen it yet, it is worth 20 minutes of your time! My perspective of positive feedback changed after attending a Writer's Stylus course with Kevin Washburn. (Side note: Here are 5 Reasons Why you should attend Writer's Stylus too). Before, when I worked with writers, I simply pointed out mistakes in their writing, which is what I thought was the purpose of conferencing with students. The page was covered in changes and corrections. No wonder my students felt defeated. Washburn calls his approach to providing feedback “coaching” because it truly allows the focus to be on uplifting the student writer. This style of conferring is student-centered with authentic praise as a key component. He provides a specific cycle of steps for each “coaching session” that helps to maximize the writer's strengths and provide them positive feedback and practical steps to help them improve. It helped me establish a new way of encouraging students in their writing, rather than just reinforcing their mistakes. Negative feedback can be detrimental to a learner. Yet, it is often all that students will receive from their teachers. Or all they receive is a bad grade without any notation as to the reason behind the score. After years of being told they are doing it all wrong, most students accept that they will never be good at anything. Writing is the perfect example. Every year I have students who enter my classroom and tell me “I am not a good writer.” And every year I strive to help them change their pre-established fixed mindsets. Carol Dweck’s book Mindset transformed my own resolve to help students see they had amazing potential because the reality is that they can all be good writers - but that starts with a mindset change. Positive feedback is the key to transforming a mindset because it provides a surge of energy. When a student sees that he is excelling in an area, even if it is just in a small way, he see the fruit of his labors, and - hopefully - will work harder to continue to improve. The teacher (or coach) plays a vital role in revitalizing this learner’s mindset. It takes another person holding up a mirror so that the learner can realize his capabilities and potential. The Gordon Ramsay Effect It makes me think of Gordon Ramsey - you know, the three michelin star chef who is known for yelling and cussing on his TV shows. Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, and Master Chef are three of my favorite shows. Kitchen Nightmares is the best of the three. Ramsey goes into a family-owned restaurant that needs help, usually because the food is horrible, and gives them his honest opinion as to why the restaurant is failing. The man is brutal. He is blunt and often mean when he gives feedback to these families. And they rarely react well to his expert opinion, no matter how much they respect this man for his accomplishments. Throughout the show though, Ramsey builds relationships (sometimes via shouting matches) with the family and gets the root of the problem, which usually has absolutely nothing to do with the food. These relationships allow him to make an impact on these people, and when the end of the show arrives, there is honest praise leaving his mouth for the family. There are tears and hugs and smiles - and transformations. All because this man gave his honest feedback, built relationships, and showed them how to change for the better, and then gave them genuine praise. He changed their mindsets. Providing Positive Feedback While I don't suggest anyone approach feedback with Ramsay's volatile style in mind, there is a cycle and process that he follows that works when providing feedback.
1) Build Relationships Feedback is always better received by a student when they do not feel threatened or judged. The quickest way to win their trust is to humble yourself and show them that you are still learning too and that you don't know everything. Then, show them that you care about their ideas and opinions, even if they are not in line with what you might do yourself. Allow them to explain their thought process and listen to their concerns. 2) Provide Honest Feedback Start with authentic praise of elements the learner has done well. Positive feedback doesn't have to be contrived, fake, or untrue feedback. Instead of pointing out mistakes in a negative light, simply point out what they have done so far and praise them for their work. Then, guide them by explaining what they still have left to do. 3) Model How to Improve Often students respond to feedback with a defeated sense of “but I don’t know how to fix it.” Your job is to model the change and improvement for them. With writing for example, you can’t simply correct comma errors for a student - this helps nothing. But you can take the time to show the student three steps to determine where the comma goes in the sentence and model those steps for them during a conference. Now, when the student goes back to work, she will at least have a task to complete with steps to follow. I love how Gordon Ramsey will often step into the kitchen to cook with the families on Kitchen Nightmares and show them how to improve. He doesn’t just yell and say the food is horrible; he steps in and models for them how to make the food better. 4) Provide Support and Praise This becomes a cycle. Continue to meet with students to provide additional praise, feedback, and modeling. While we all wish that one instance of teaching or modeling is enough, it never really is. Continue to work with each student and encourage her to continue to craft until she can be truly proud of her work because it meets all the expectations. The more positive reinforcement she receives, the more she will take ownership of her work. But what if the student is completely off base? I know this is a valid question because I see it so often with students. There are two helpful tips when encouraging this type of student. 1) Focus on one key element for constructive feedback. Still start with providing genuine praise (find something! Anything!) and then give this student one element to improve upon. With each additional conference, you may be able to tackle something else. Don't overwhelm this type of student; he/she will shut down on you! 2) Ask him questions! Instead of telling him what to do, ask this student questions so he can quickly realize himself what he has done wrong or needs to work on. Allow him to reach these insights on his own, and he will be much quicker to embrace the revisions. A rubric is an ideal tool for this. Put it in front of the two of you and ask him if he has met the requirements on the rubric. (The Writer's Stylus course provides amazing rubrics for these types of conversations!) Try this tomorrow. Change your own mindset in your classroom and opt to offer genuine, positive feedback to students. When you see their faces light up, you will know you are making a difference in their lives! These are the books that have influenced my thinking on this topic. What have you read on this topic? Please share in the comments! Mindset by Carol Dweck Quite Leadership by David Rock Your Brain at Work by David Rock Choice Words by Peter H. Johnson Opening Minds by Peter H. Johnson Role Reversal by Mark Barnes ___ Allison Petersen @alcp This is an idea that a colleague of mine, Carter Fawcett, had this summer. She said she had seen it used at a professional development session. I have been waiting to try it and today was the day! Parking Lot for Questions: Have students write their questions for you on a sticky note and put them in the numbered spaces. The numbers function like a ticket at the deli counter in the grocery store - it gives them a place in line. When you finish working with one student, go to the next question in the Parking Lot. When to Use: When students are doing independent work and you need to be helping individual students. It also works well for when you are conferencing with students one-on-one and do not want to be interrupted. Our 5th grade teachers plan to use it this year during their small group reading instructional time when students should be working silently at their desks while the teacher meets with a group in the back of the room. How it helps: Most importantly for me it eliminates the frustrated student sitting for 10 minutes with his or her hand in the air just waiting for me to come around. It helps that student "ask" their question and then get back to work, not feeling like they have to wait for me to get to them before they can move on. I have also found that it helps students articulate their questions more clearly - sometimes I walk up to a student who has their hand raised, and they want to explain all the background before they get to the question. This helps them narrow their question to the scope of a sticky note, so they have to THINK about what they need help with. I ask them to be sure to write it in the form of a question. It also helps me realize when multiple students have the same question. Today, I had three students write a sticky note that said "Can you help me with my conclusion?" This led me to stop the class and quickly do a whole class explanation of how the conclusion of the essay should look. By addressing it whole-class, I was able to answer multiple questions at once, and probably lingering questions in some students minds who had not yet written a sticky note. Quick questions can be answered quickly. Today, I could read a sticky note, look over at the student and simply say "John, yes that is fine" and move on to the next student, streamlining my ability to answer questions faster. Try This Tomorrow:
This is a quick and easy classroom management tool. Try it! It takes one poster board or piece of chart paper, a marker, and some sticky notes to make it happen! I was surprised by how well it worked even on my first attempt. If this becomes routine, students will always know that I am working to meet their needs. Leave me a comment to let me know how you have used similar methods or how it goes if you try it! I am so interested to hear! ----- Allison Petersen @alcp I got a challenge today, and it sent my mind whirling! Maureen Devlin (@lookforsun) probably didn't intend much when she wrote me this tweet:
But it gave me an idea that sparked a fire! I truly love how blogging can be so inspirational! If I really do want to make take the ideas from the book Quiet Leadership, which I have written about in two previous posts, and turn them into habits, what do I need to do? This also aligns with David Rock's method of coaching, which explains how to instill new habits and ways of thinking into the person across the table from you instead of telling them what to do. David Rock says: "A new habit is a delicate and fragile creation, Through different conferences and books, (like @kdwashburn's Architecture of Learning), I have learned the basics of how the brain works. New ideas can only stay in your mind for a matter of seconds before they are gone. Your brain needs to make connections to existing information for anything to stick. And even then, you need to be dwell upon it, write it down, and think it through for the idea to be made into a true habit.
So, the first step to turn ideas into habits is to intentionally transfer them from working memory to long term memory. Here are some ideas on how to do that: 4 Ways Turn an Idea Into a Habit: 1) Mindmaps or Diagrams: Toni Krasnic (@conciselearning, www.conciselearning.com) explains the power of a mindmap extremely well in his book How to Study with Mind Maps. By creating connections in your brain between an old idea to a new one, you will begin to solidify the new concept in your mind. By using a visual tool like a mind map or any type of diagram, you can take a higher level idea and bring it down to something your brain can manage. I am currently doing this with my each of the coaching models David Rock presents in Quiet Leadership, and it has helped tremendously. Think about the potential with students - when they are having trouble understanding a concept ask them to draw a mind map of what they do understand and help them fill in the gaps! 2) Visual Reminders: One of the things I always find myself saying is "out of sight, out of mind" because it is a literal thing for me. If I do not have a visual reminder, I honestly will not remember to do something. I try to blame this on mommy brain, but really I just have too many things to remember to do. So the more I can do to create visual reminders (i.e. a checklist, sticky notes, images, diagrams, reminders on my phone, etc) for myself the more likely I am to stick to something. Also, the more colorful the better. Your brain is able to trigger memories of where things are placed on the page more easily. I will be pasting visual charts and quotes on my desk to remind me of details from Quiet Leadership. This is also true with students - they have been away from your class for 24 hours; they've done a lot in between. Help them by creating visual reminders that will trigger their memories as much as possible. This is why I often use Poster Sticky Notes to take important colorful notes. This way I can paste it back on the wall when they return the next day. 3) Planned Action: Habits don't become habits if you forget about them. You need to set up some specific actions to transform it from an idea to a habit. David Rock says "Do something tangible yourself to anchor this model into your thinking. Some possible ways could do this include, explaining it to others, creating your own diagram of the model, or doing some writing. Anything you can do to give the circuits holding this concept in your thinking some attention will make a difference" (172). Rock also recommends accountability, find someone to talk to this habit about so that they can help you form it more solidly! Peer accountability can be key in building student habits. For example, I am always harping on them to write their homework down in their planners. But what if the routine was to have your seat partner check to see if you had written it down correctly? Then, that forces both students to check the accuracy of what they wrote down, and they each have peer accountability. 4) Don't Give Yourself a Crutch: If you truly want to form that new habit, don't allow yourself to go back to the old way. Not even once or twice. You will slip back into your old ways in no time. For example, I recently decided that I wanted to go digital with my To Do Lists. I was really sick of losing sticky notes, but I always have my phone with me. So I started using the Any.Do app (after trying several others, I landed on this one and love it!). To make this true change in habit, I needed to stop writing down notes to myself. So anytime I attempted to take a note on paper, I stopped myself and went to my phone. This is still a work in progress, but I think I'm getting there! With students this means stretching them. They are going to most likely revert to their usual way of doing things because that is easier. You have to stretch them and gently remind them that this is the new way and they can't go back and lean on the old way instead. I recently taught a Study Skills class where I emphasized the importance of students transferring the information from a lecture or class into long term memory to help them study. Here is the link to the Prezi and Visual Posters for that class if you want to check it out. Try This Tomorrow: What habit are you working on forming? Any new ones at the start of the school year? I am so interested to hear! Please leave a comment. And try out these tricks to help you make them stick! --- Allison Petersen @alcp Have students write quotes that reveal "the truth about writing."
The objective of this activity was to help students see that writing isn't easy! Even published authors who we admire admit that it is hard. I wanted my students to embrace the hard work of writing. This idea also relates to the idea of the 6 Word Memoir. You could try that approach too. 1) Author's Quotes: I started out by introducing author's quotes on writing. We discussed the authors' perspectives on writing and how tough it could be. “Writing is not complete when you’ve added everything you could, but rather, when you’ve taken away everything that is not needed.” – Ann Clark, Secret of the Andes “Writing is like a sport. To get better you must practice every day.” – Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief Series “Resign yourself to the fact that you will not write something good the first time; you're going to waste a lot of trees before you hit your stride, and you will imitate people you admire first and that's fine – everyone has to start somewhere. And most importantly persevere – keep persevering.” – J.K .Rowling, Harry Potter Series More Author Quotes Here 2) Modeling: I wrote several of my own quotes about writing in front of the class to help them before they got working on their own. It took me several quick drafts to get them right. “When writing, start with the middle or with what you know, and the opening will come to you like a gust of wind.” -Mrs. Petersen “Books sit on the shelves waiting to teach you the secrets of writing: strong characters, suspenseful plot, and how to capture a reader.” -Mrs. Petersen 3) Writing Quotes: Students wrote 2-3 of their own quotes about writing, trying to create a quote that grasped the challenge of writing in a sentence or two. The results were honestly so impressive and astounding! “Do not excuse the seemingly silly whims of your imagination. For those little whims can grow into whole new worlds, waiting to be brought to life by the imaginations of others.” – Isabel “Don’t be afraid to write something silly because later it will be phenomenal.” – Mariah “Writing is near to impossible to do on your own; never be afraid to ask for a critique, a suggestion, or inspiration. Nothing is wrong with help.” – Samara “When you finally finish your masterpiece, and when you reread your writing, none of your original work that you started with is in your finished piece.” – Bradley More Student Quotes Here 4) Publishing & Sharing: I posted these quotes on my wall along with the quotes from the authors. The student's quotes went alongside the author quotes and it felt authentic. Students loved reading each other's quotes! Try This Tomorrow! Use it as an introduction to the school year or a tough writing unit. Get them on board with the challenge so they can't throw back at you all year "This is too HARD." Well, they still might, but at least you can remind them of what they learned in class during this activity. --- Allison Petersen @alcp This memoir essay idea was inspired by @kdwashburn's Writer's Stylus course. This course and Kevin Washburn's other course Architecture of Learning have informed many of my teaching methods. During the Writer's Stylus course, teachers write a This I Believe essay. This writing was key in developing my voice as a writer in so many ways. So now, I have students use it as a platform for sharing. The idea originally comes from NPR's This I Believe radio broadcasts, which you may be familiar with. The website has hundreds of This I Believe essays on it to pull from. So here's how I structure this unit. I teach seventh graders, but it is easily adaptable to any age level. Standards:
1) Mentor Texts: We read and listen to multiple examples of This I Believe essays from the website. Some of them have recording included. Kevin Washburn calls this "Acquaintance and Analysis" where students have an open discussion about what they like about the writing style. This gets students thinking about HOW this type of essay is written. Great Mentor Text: I Believe in the Beatles by Macklin Levine 2) Qualities of a This I Believe Essay: In small groups, students make a list of qualities that define this style of writing (memoir/narrative). We combine these small group lists into one class list to refer to as students write. This helps students to define the style of writing that the essay requires. Looking for Qualities of TIB essay Assignment 3) Pick a Memory: This is often the hardest part of this essay, yet the most crucial. Students need to pick a very vivid memory th base their essay on. This memory drives the belief by having students explain what they learned from this unique event in their lives. It is very hard to write this essay by starting with the "I Believe" statement because that statement should come from the story itself. So, I have students brainstorm several story choices and then narrow their idea down to a very specific part of that story that they remember clearly. 4) Structure of the Essay: I explain to students the basic structure of the essay to give them a framework. This still allows them a lot of freedom with paragraphing and style choices.
6) Modeling: I have my own This I Believe essay that I am crafting along with them. I model for them how I structure my essay (using short paragraphs) and how I incorporate “Show Don’t Tell." I find a place in my own essay to expand sensory imagery and show them my thinking process by writing in front of them. 7) Coaching: Feedback is a vital part of the writing process. This is where I am sure to meet with each student to conference and coach them on how well their essays match the structure framework and push them to think about each element. I limit this essay to no more than 700 words to force a concise approach to the story. I often coach them on how to cut irrelevant details or how to make their I Believe statements symbolic. We also discuss areas of the essay to add Show Don't Tell. 8) Audio Recording: Since the original This I Believe essays are broadcast on the radio, I wanted to add an audio element to this essay. We have a classroom set of Chromebooks, and I needed a web based tool where students could record the essays, so I found Audioboo! I contacted them on twitter, and once I let them know I was an educator, they extended the audio length to 30 minutes instead of three minutes. Bingo! Bonus: Students can also do this on their cell phones using the Audioboo app. I had students record the essays, and then use the embed code to paste the recording into their blog posts. Just like the examples we read for the mentor texts. This year's blog posts with the audio included 9) Publishing & Reflection: Students published the This I Believe essays to their blogs - check them out here. This allows for students to comment on and read each other's blog posts and share their work. It becomes a great time for reflection to see how each student approached the challenge of explaining their belief in a different way. Try This Tomorrow! This could be a great way for you to incorporate Memoir/Narrative writing into your class this year. Please let me know if I can provide more details for you. Check out the resources below! Resources This I Believe Essay Dropbox Folder: Includes mentor texts, assignment sheet, power point, revision checklists, etc.
Essays with audio included Looking for Qualities of TIB essay Assignment More 7th Grade Student Samples: From our blog last year. Please feel free to share with your students as mentor texts. A Dog's Life: This is my This I Believe Essay written during Writer's Stylus about Aspen, my bulldog. There is no "I Believe" statement because I decided to remove it at late stages of editing. ___ Allison Petersen @alcp Writer's Stylus: Transforming Substance into Significance Check out Writersstylus.com for workshop details and dates. The website includes overviews of the course in PDF form. Kevin Washburn of Clerestory Learning has put together an incredibly cohesive writing instruction professional development course using brain-based research. I have participated in this writing instruction workshop three times now, and I would take it again in a heart beat. And I would feel like I was learning even more! We are so glad to be hosting it at our school this summer! The dates are July 14-18. Click here for the flyer with more details. Top 5 Reasons You Need To Attend: 1) Improve Your Own Writing! If we teach writing, we need to know the ins and outs of the craft. This class challenges you to improve your own writing and in one week you will learn more about your own writing than you ever have before. 2) Learn to Teach Writing! We assume it is easy. Show students what to do, then have them do it. But their writing doesn't seem to improve. Why not? This course breaks down how to teach writing so that students comprehend the skills and know how to revise! 3) Bridge the Gap between Grammar and Writing! Grammar is taught in isolation. We never can seem to understand why they don't know how to include a comma in an essay, but they can do it fine on the worksheet. Washburn teaches you how to link the two in a purposeful way and actually teach students how to revise! 4) Learn to be a Writing Coach! We all sit down and conference with students, but it doesn't seem to help. You feel like you have wasted class time. Washburn's approach to formative feedback is an amazing coaching method that with inspire student writers instead of depressing them. 5) Walk away with Materials! When you take this class, you walk away to online access to an entire K-12 writing curriculum that you can pull from. Everything you need to be successful is provided for you. And you don't have to "adopt" a program - you just have access to tons of amazing resources! These are comments from teachers who took the class last year at my school. Several of them NOT English teachers (Art, Science, Math, History etc) and they loved it! “Kevin is an excellent model of teaching practice. He is encouraging and supportive and teaches the course using the same structure that he presents to the class.” “This course was more than just learning how to teach writing. It makes me want to know more about good writing myself. I am inspired to write more and develop my own revision skills and writing style.” “This course confirms how I feel students should be learning and how they learn best based on brain research! It has taught me to be more purposeful and refreshed my knowledge on many different revision skills.” “This is the most beneficial, engaging, and interactive professional development I have taken in years!” “I love how Writer’s Stylus makes clear what is essential in teaching writing and how to teach using research based instruction. It supports what I know to be effective teaching strategies, and it will equip students to be effective writers.” “This has application across the content areas, not just in English classes. I am so glad I attended as a science teacher!” --- Allison Petersen @alcp This year my students will have access to Chromebooks, so the idea of Tickets out the Door just got a little more tech friendly. Teaching Channel is one of my favorite resources, and Sarah Brown Wessling shares her teaching idea where students use texting to submit anonymous poll responses. It translates beautifully into a Ticket out the Door or Ticket in the Door scenario. It is also available without using cell phones, which is a plus for me since my students are not allowed access to their phones during the day. The first video shows the teaching idea and the second video is Sarah Brown Wessling explaining how to create the polls using Poll Everywhere. I can't wait to try this in my classroom! Try it in yours this upcoming school year! --- Allison Petersen @alcp I teach 7th and 8th grade English, which means I want my students writing all the time. I use a Ticket Out the Door (TOTD) at the end of every class period as a way to have students write to expand their thinking on the day's lesson.
How it works: Stop students working about three minutes before the bell (or before the segment ends) and ask them to take out a 3x5 notecard. Post on the board a question for their ticket and ask them to answer it thoughtfully. Give them a some guidelines for length, usually about 2 sentences will do, and remind them to write their name on it. Have them hand you the ticket as they leave the room. It's that simple! I require my students to always have note cards with them in their binder, and I have established the regular use of the tickets, so students come to expect a TOTD. This method has been an amazing help to me as a teacher and has transformed my classroom in exciting ways. Try it out and see if it helps you! Six Reasons to Use the Ticket Out The Door/Exit Ticket method. 1) Formative Assessment: Easily check to see how your students are doing with a concept you have just taught. Ask them questions like: What did you learn today about paragraph structures? Or What do you need to work on when it comes to the comma rules covered today? 2) Immediate Feedback: I can immediately getting a sense of the mood of the classroom and reactions from students about an activity or lesson. Often, I ask students for feedback about my lesson so I can see how they liked the methods I used. This provides me with confidence as a teacher when I see them saying that they liked or learned from a teaching strategy. 3) Know Where to Start Class Tomorrow: Having them give me feedback about the lesson helps me to know what information to review in more detail the next day. It also lets me know when they are ready to move on to a new idea because they understand what covered today. 4) Differentiate Instruction: The feedback at the end of class helps me to differentiate instruction easily for each student and tailor to their specific needs. 5) All Students Have a Voice: The quiet students in class can communicate with me directly at the end of each class period. Without these cards, I may never really hear their thoughts and opinions about a topic or a lesson. This allows them to have a voice. I have found that they have plenty to say when they write their tickets. 6) Structured Class Endings: This works as a classroom management technique too! It takes about 2 minutes for students to write a card at the end of class, and they know that it is coming since I am consistent about asking them to write the tickets. They never leave their seats before the bell rings and often write past the bell to finish their thoughts. I also sometimes use it as a start of class activity to get them working quickly when they come into the classroom, especially if I want them to think about an idea we will discuss that day in class. For even more thoughts about Tickets Out the Door, read this post on ASCD by Robert Marzano: The Many Uses of Exit Slips --- Allison Petersen @alcp |
About AllisonAllison is an K-12 Instructional Coach. Her goal is to empower educators to grow continually. Recent Posts#5Tips4LMS Series
Cast a Vision Create Momentum A Problem and a Solution HIGHLIGHTED POSTS Re-Center on Vision Letting Go of Control The Power of Positive Feedback Inspiring a Love of Reading Turning Ideas into Habits The Truth About Writing This I Believe Essay Quiet Leadership Qualities Thinking About New Ideas Goals Provide Focus The Power of Twitter Use Storify to Organize Tweets Build a PLN Categories
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