First Day of Field

Today was my first day of my field experience. It was wonderful. I was able to get to know the students and how the classroom is run. I was happy to find that math is very differentiated. There are three third grade teachers at the school and they differentiate math by having students go to a different class based upon their level. The students that are at the highest level of math go to one class, and the rest of the students who are middle and lower level stay together, but are divided between the two other teachers. The middle and lower level students don't hold the upper level students back and are able to get the help they need with students at their own level. I talked to my teacher about it and she said that it is their first year trying it, but that it is very successful. At first they tried doing three different levels but found that the lowest level students needed a bit of support from students just above them because they didn't know the types of questions to ask or even where to start with certain problems. She said they have found much success with having the two groups together. 

Peer blog

So I read a lot of my peers blogs, but I really enjoyed reading Veraunica's Blog. She has gone in depth on many topics that we have discussed and read about. She has pulled out many important things to remember from the reading and gone in depth. I really liked this quote that she used on her blog.

"A 'bad' teacher can be defined as those teachers that teacher a subject, while those 'good' teachers teach students a subject.

How can curriculum and instruction be used as a vehicle?" I like this. Differentiation is like the individual vehicles we use to help our students succeed. Each vehicle is different and has different purposes, so we need to help our students in their individual vehicle so they can drive into success. 

Tiering

We discussed Tiering in our class the other day and I have found that it is very important in differentiation. We compared tiering to a wedding cake and how each layer is different, but they all serve the same purpose.They have the same ingredients, but are not all the same measurements. I found this to be a very helpful visual to show that as a teacher, as I tier, I need to focus on the needs of each student while guiding them all to the same end goal. They may all start at different places, but with tiering, I can guide them all in towards the same end goal. Tiering is a way to teach one concept while meeting the diverse needs of all of my students. I found this video which helped me understand a bit of the framework of tiering.

Here it is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xrdW45web0

Hallmarks of a Differentiated Classroom

In class we have been talking about the eight different hallmarks that should be present in a differentiated classroom. In class a week ago we had presentations where each group had to come up with an analogy that could describe and relate to each of the hallmarks. Following will be a list of the hallmarks with the analogy that was displayed from each of the presentations:

1. A strong link between assessment and instruction:The group that presented this hallmark had strips of paper for assessment and instructional needs in the classroom. They then had each person read one of the papers and then make it into a link. As we read each paper for each category we created a chain of links showing that they are inseparably connected.

2. Absolute clarity about what the teacher wants the students to know, understand, and be able to do about what is truly important to learn in the unit: This group had this hallmark typed onto a piece of paper really small and used the document camera to project it for us. We could not read what it said. They then pulled out different tools to try to be able to use it. They used a glue stick, a highlighter, a crayon etc. They then pulled out a magnifying glass to bring clarity to the typed text. We were then able to read it.

3. Shared responsibility for the classroom is between teacher and students, in the goal of making it work for everyone: This was the analogy I did with a partner.We did a tour of an ant hill showing the responsibilities of each of the different types of ants. Each ant had a role to play in the ant hill, but each ant was different. For the ant hill to function, each ant was needed. The primary role of the queen ant was not to be the "ruler" but to protect and guide her ants.

4. Individual growth is emphasized as central to classroom success: The group that did this analogy brought a "pack" of pansies that were growing. There were a bunch of flowers. Some were fully bloomed while others were just a bud. They talked about how we are the gardener and we need to tend to all of our flowers. Each flower is at a different stage but has a potential and as the gardener, we need to do our best to help each flower reach its full potential. To have a beautiful garden you need each flower, not just the fully bloomed ones.

5. A "way up" usually through multiple and varied pathways, and never a "way out.": This group had several airplanes with magnets on the whiteboard. Each plane was going up, but each at different degrees. Some planes needed more support than others, but they were all progressing up. Much like our students. They are all at different levels moving at different speeds, but as teachers we can all help them continue to progress and move up.

6. "Respectful" and engaging work for all students: This related this hallmark to Goldie locks and the Three Bears. They showed this video here. They talked about how "just right" isn't the same for everyone. We need to know our students and help them by providing instruction, activities, and homework that is "just right" for each student as an individual.

7. Flexible Grouping: This group had us all get into groups that had the same shoe colors. Then they had us get into groups that had the same type of shoe. They finally had us get into pairs with someone whose shoes were completely different. They explained that we need to group in many different ways depending on our purposes for the group and that the groups should never be the same.

8. Flexible use of time, space, and materials: This group used Tan grams to make a square. Each piece had a word that related to time, space, and materials. They arranged it into a square, and then into different shapes showing that we can be flexible with what we have to help our students achieve greatness.

Morning Meetings Pt. 2

In class we do a morning meeting each class period. There have been many great ideas for morning meetings. As I experience morning meetings and collect ideas, my gears start to turn in my head at how I can use morning meetings in my classroom. Some may think morning meetings are a waste of precious time since there is so much to do in a day, but I think morning meetings are an addition of a way to enrich every aspect of the class, students learning, and students feeling accepted. Today my group did our morning meeting with the class. We did it around a theme and it turned out great. Our theme was Disney! I will outline what we did for you:

As students came into the classroom there was a poster waiting for them to read. The poster said, if you could live in any one of these ecosystems, which one would you choose? Listed were four different ecosystems. Ocean, Desert, Jungle, Forest. Students made a tally mark for whichever ecosystem they would choose. This poster was used for the end of the morning meeting.

We started with our greeting by standing up and singing one verse of the song "You've Got A Friend In Me" while patting our legs and clapping to beat. Each student would say, "Good morning _______" and whoever they said good morning to would respond, "Good morning _________". After each student was greeted they would sit down until everyone was seated. The last person would say, "Good morning friends!" and everyone would respond, "Good morning __________" Then we ended the greeting by singing the song one last time.

Here are the lyrics to the portion of the song we sang:

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got your troubles, I've got em too
There isn't anything, I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and see it through
Cause you've got a friend in me
Darling, you've got a friend in me

We went to the next portion of the morning meeting which was share. For this we did a lightning share asking, "What is your favorite Disney movie?" After the lightning share we had three people sign up to share. We asked the question, "If you could be a character from any Disney movie, who would it be? and why?" Each person shared. After they shared they would say, "any questions?" After three people asked them a question and they responded they would say, "thank you! That was three." 

The third portion of the morning meeting was the activity. We played the game "Celebrity" with Disney character names. We prepared the slips of paper ahead of time with well known Disney character names folded up and placed into a bowl. 

Rules:

Each team has gets to perform for one minute increments.

Gameplay - Round One

In the first round, the clue-giver has few restrictions. He can say anything, as long as it's not part of the name, or a direct reference to the name.

Whenever a name is guessed correctly, the clue-giver sets that piece of paper aside and draws another from the hat, continuing until time expires or there are no names left in the hat. If an illegal clue is given, that piece of paper is set aside and another name is drawn.

When time expires, the team is given one point per correct guess, which can be marked simply by collected the correctly guessed names. Some players also like to subtract one point for each illegal clue.

Keep all of the correctly guessed names out of the hat, but return any that were set aside due to illegal clues. The next team then picks a clue-giver, and play continues until there are no more names in the hat. (Each member of a team must be the clue-giver before anyone is clue-giver for the second time.)

When the last name is guessed, make a note of which team is guessing and how much time remains.

Gameplay - Round Two

After the first round ends, the scores are noted and all of the names are returned to the hat.

Starting with the team whose turn was interrupted at the end of the first round, the second round proceeds in the same way as the first with one major exception: The clue-giver is limited to only one word (which can be repeated). Gestures are also permitted, as are sound effects.

Gameplay - Round Three

Starting with the team whose turn was interrupted at the end of the second round, the third round proceeds in the same way as the second with an additional exception: The clue-giver now cannot speak at all. Only gestures and sound effects are permitted.

Winning

After all the names have been guessed in the third round, the scores from all three rounds are added together. The team with the most points wins.

We did not do all three rounds due to time, but it was fun nonetheless. 

The last part of the morning meeting was news and announcements. We read the poster and made a bar graph using the tally marks from the poster. We talked a bit about ecosystems and which movies took place in which ecosystems. Overall, the morning meeting went well. 

What is Differentiation?

I am taking a class about differentiation. One of my big questions has been, "what exactly is differentiation?" Differentiation is a teacher reacting responsively to a learners needs. It means tailoring instruction to meet the needs of each of your students. Differentiated instruction is exactly that. Tailoring instruction to meet the needs of each individual, which are different for each student. The reading from this week came from a book called, Differentiation in Practice, a resource guide for differentiating curriculum. Part one of the book gives a great example of differentiated instruction, or parenting. It talks about how parents differentiate their parenting for their children because most children are not identical in the ways they approach life. Because each child has different needs, the parents work with each child differently to help them each succeed. We as teachers need to do the same. Each of our students will be different. Some students will be learning English as a second language. Other students will be amazing readers. Some will be struggling readers. Some students will excel in math while others will not understand even the concept of different operations. It is our job to know the needs of our students and help meet their needs so they can each grow and excel. Differentiating instruction will be harder than teaching straight from the book, but you will make a much bigger difference in the success of your students as you differentiate your instruction. Another book we read from this week was titled Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom. It suggests that a differentiated classroom can help all. Students who are learning at a faster pace, students who have difficulty learning, ESL students, students who have "given up", and students whose culture may be different from the norm. The book says that teachers need to take into account WHO they are teaching as well as What they are teaching. Differentiation takes active and consistent planning to help each learner move as far and as fast as possible along a learning continuum. Differentiation is definitely something I look forward to learning more about and hopefully become a teacher that will use it in my classroom!

Morning Meetings

We had a guest speaker come to our class this past week and talk about morning meetings and what they have done for her and her students. I have seen morning meetings be done in a class and saw much success. One thing I really enjoyed about the guest speaker was something she said that really hit me and made me want to use morning meetings in my classroom because of the truthfulness of the statement. She said morning meetings are the only time throughout the day where 100% of her students are successful. Other areas of the curriculum you are going to have struggling students, but morning meetings make it possible for all your students to be successful in something. I will write more about morning meetings in another post.