Tiger Teacher Beat
November 2019
Beat the November Blues
Beat the November Blues...
Thankful for Our Teachers
Thanksgiving is next week and I just want to take a moment and express my thankfulness for each and every educator in this school. It has been a pleasure to see the love of learning displayed through your preparation, collaboration, instructional practices, and relationships with students. I am thankful for all the help and support you have given me this month with the Family Engagement Night, Title 1 Monitoring, and active participation in our PLC's when looking at strengthening our core, supporting students through the creation of Tier II plans, and analyzing and discussing data. I hope during the Thanksgiving break that you spend lots of time with family and friends and have the opportunity for some well deserved R&R. Again, I am thankful to be with you all here at Fair Grove and part of the Tiger family.
Jan Richardson Small Group Observation Sign-Up
Now that we have watched a modeled lesson, I would like to come and observe you in a small group lesson using the Jan Richardson Framework. Please sign up for a time to be observed.
Office Hours with Jan Richardson
Check out these monthly webinars to learn more about guided reading instruction. The next one is on December 16th at 7:00.
November 5th Family Engagement Night Newspaper Article
Thank you all for such a successful evening. We had around 300 people that attended and had remarkable feedback from the parents. Your contribution and support on this night was very much appreciated. Looking forward to the next one!
Growth Minded Feedback
As you are reviewing 1st quarter data with students, consider conferencing with students and use this as a tool to communicate areas of success and invitations for growth.
Calculator Use in Core Instruction
Calculators are a great tool to use to support problem solving. Please review this document to support the use of calculators in your core instruction.
#GoOpenNC- FREE Research Based Resources
Have you seen this button on your NCedcloud menu? NCDPI is excited to offer educators a place to find educational resources that are free and openly-licensed, high quality, and aligned to NC Standards. This initiative and the related online platform are called #GoOpenNC, which will serve as a community space for NC educators to locate, review and remix instructional resources. The #GoOpenNC platform will be available to all NC educators on December 16th.
Tasks, Questions, Interactions, Oh My!
Interactive Journal
This is an oldie, but a goodie. From Linda Hoyt's Revisit, Reflect, Retell, don't forget about the interactive journals. This is a great way for students to work on written response, as well as collaborate, expand, and transform thinking. The best part is, it allows for this interactive student time to be completely silent!
Get One, Give One
Try out this thinking routine that allows for student to student interaction, critical thinking, and expands learning.
Talkmarks
This talkmark from Jan Richardson allows for students to have a guided substantive conversation in a meaningful way.
Student A, Student B Conversations
Teach these easy steps to students that allow for cooperative learning and equal contribution when students Turn & Talk. Students have to be taught how to discuss and this is a great way to set the expectation and hold them accountable.
Triad Questioning Method
In this technique, students build on each other’s responses, which encourages them to pay attention to their peers’ ideas. The teacher will ask a question, then call on a student to respond. Without reacting to the first student’s response, the teacher then asks a second student if they agree or disagree with student #1 and why. After that, the teacher calls on a third student, asking them to add more information. Finally, the teacher goes back to the first student for a final comment or summary of what was discussed. This strategy makes students listen to one another and puts the teacher in the position of facilitating, rather than being the “sage on stage.” It also allows teachers to call on shyer students for the second or third answer, since responding to an idea can be easier for these students than stating a first opinion.
Reading Strategies Book- Speaking and Listening Lessons
Check out these lessons from the Reading Strategies Book that teacher students how to communicate and keep the conversation on task.
- 12.2 Listen and Respond
- 12.4 Say Back What You Heard
- 12.6 Level-Specific Partner Menus
- 12.11 Keep the Line Alive
- 12.15 Say Something Meaningful