Responding to Quotes Bulletin Boards - A Great Way to Teach Figurative Language!

"Life is about using the whole box of crayons!"

I have found that the best way to teach figurative language is to incorporate examples all year long. At least twice a week, I have my students address a quotation as a prompt. They need to identify the type of figurative language, explain the meaning of the quote, and connect the quote to their lives. By doing this activity weekly, followed by a class discussion, my students show marked growth in understanding this abstract concept. Another benefit is the wonderful classroom discussions that come out of this activity! It really warms my heart!

A few years ago, I decided that I wanted some of this outstanding thinking to be reflected in my bulletin boards, but I wasn't sure how to go about it. I didn't want to just put their writing on the board, that doesn't work unless someone goes and reads the bulletin boards (which rarely happens.) So, what to do? I started choosing specific quotes for a bulletin board, and then had my students create parts of the board to show their connections and responses to the quote. Here's my latest bulletin board:

My students created their own individual crayon in the computer lab using a crayon template that I had attached to my class webpage. They inserted their picture in the tip of f the crayon, and used word art to add their name, an adjective that described their strength, and a color word for their chosen color. This was a thesaurus lesson, a technology lesson, and a response to a figurative language quotation. Here is a closer look at some of their crayons:

If you would like a copy of my template, click here:

Another one of my bulletin boards this year uses the quote, "Those that reach the stars walk in stardust!" Here's a picture:

On this board, the students created two arms. On their left arm they put their name and their strengths, on their right arm they put their goals (both long term and short term goals).

Other quotes that I have used for bulletin boards are: "Those at the top of the mountain didn't fall there" and "Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is?"

What Did You Do This Summer? Research Project

Many years I like to start off with a research project for my students that gives lots of student choice. I learn so much about my class, and my students are getting back into the swing of things by learning more about something they experienced over the summer. The topic can be anything that has something to do with their summer, and the research activities are selected from a Tic Tac Toe menu. Not only do I learn so much about my students, I also can set the groundwork for my research expectations. We discuss choosing reliable sources of information, paraphrasing vs. plagiarizing, and keeping a bibliography. I am not hard nosed about these yet, but I do start to discuss my expectations. I have had such great luck with this project that I have it put together as a unit in my TPT store - if you are interested. http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Beyond-The-Garden-Gate-Shari-Bithell ">

I'm not sure what I did differently, or if it is just the students that I have in my class this year, but the creativity and work that I got this year was incredible! Every year, I give my students a Tic Tac Toe board with choices of activities based on Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory, yet many of my students tend to choose the same three or four activities. Technology, Fact Gathering, Compare & Contrast, and Survey. (It's interesting, even when we try to give student choice - they aren't always ready to take a risk at the beginning of the school year) Not this year though! This year I had students demonstrating how to do something they learned, singing songs to the class, building or creating items to share with the class, and creating their own videos for us! Listening to the presentations was so much easier, because of the variety of styles!

Topics vary greatly. This year we learned about places such as National Parks (Yellowstone, Zion, Grand Canyon), travel destinations (Hawaii, Washington D.C, Las Vegas, San Diego, New Mexico, Disney World), summer activities (snorkeling, whale watching, horseback riding, canoe rowing, surfing, and other water sports), and even more about video games from one of my couch potatoes!

How to's included: How to draw Tigger:

How to row a boat or canoe:

How to snorkel:

Summer Activities included: Horseback Riding:

Surfing:

Whale Watching:

Students love the choices they can make, and they were truly interested in each other's presentations! What could be better than that?

More Educational Buzzwords - Depth of Knowledge

If you are like me, you have applied Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory and Bloom's Taxonomy in your classroom on a regular basis. These theories just make sense, and are a good philosophy on which to build your classroom routines. Most teachers are no stranger to this way of thinking. So, all of a sudden we are hearing the term DOK or Depth of Knowledge. What's this? Am I missing something? Nope! Just more of the same, wrapped up a little differently! DOK and Bloom's Taxonomy align so closely that it is difficult to tell them apart! DOK was developed by Norman L. Webb in the late 1990's, and offer four comparative levels of demand that are required to demonstrate academic mastery. Depth of Knowledge is all about the complexity, or the level of understanding required to explain an answer and the thinking required to get there.

Webb's Depth of Knowledge:

Level 1: Basic recall of facts, concepts, info, procedures

This aligns with Bloom's foundation levels of Remembering & Understanding

Level 2: Skills & Concepts requiring 2 or more steps. Requires thinking beyond a habitual response.

This aligns with Bloom's level of Applying.

Level 3: Strategic Thinking. Requires reasoning, abstract and complex thinking. More than one possible outcomes.

This aligns with Bloom's level of Analyzing.

Level 4: Extended Thinking. Evaluating and Creating. Requires investigation and complex planning, developing, thinking and reasoning.

This aligns with Bloom's levels of Evaluating & Creating.

A few days ago I wrote a blog post on Tier 1, 2, and 3 vocabulary words, and the importance of teaching the Tier 2 academic vocabulary. So, let's tie the two together! How about a list of tier 2 vocabulary words that goes with each level of Depth of Knowledge? That would be helpful, don't you think?

Level 1: Recall and Reproduction arrange, calculate, define, draw, identify, illustrate, label list, match, measure, memorize, quote, recognize, repeat, recall, recite, state, use, tell who, what, where, why, when

Level 2: Skill and Concept apply, categorize, classify, collect & display, compare & contrast, determine cause/effect, distinguish, estimate, graph, identify patterns, infer, interpret, modify, observations, organize, predict, relate, sketch, show, solve, summarize, use context clues

Level 3: Strategic Thinking adapt information to make predictions, apprise, assess, cite evidence, create something new, critique, describe sequence, develop logical argument, differentiate, draw conclusions, explain concepts, explain relationships, formulate, hypothesize, identify facts to support, investigate, make interpretations, revise, solve non-routine problems

Level 4: Extended Thinking analyze, apply concepts, compose, connect, create, critique, defend, design, develop alternative explanations, draw conclusion from multiple sources, evaluate, judge, propose, prove, support, synthesize.

DOK 4 would be something like writing a research paper using multiple sources of information. Students would apply information from one text to another and develop a persuasive argument. This type of assignment requires time for extended thinking.

Educational Buzzwords: Habits of Mind

I've heard the term "Habits of Mind" thrown around quite a bit in the last year or so. This approach is really not new, just a slightly different pathway to get to the same place. "Habits of Mind" is all about teaching our students problem solving. Let's face it, our students come to us with less and less "stick-to-it-ness" with each passing year. These video game babies are accustomed to immediate gratification, and have no coping skills when it comes to problem solving. "Habits of Mind" is all about teaching students how to proceed when they don't know the answer. It's about dealing with the idea that there might not be a right or wrong answer, and yet we still want them to think critically and do some problem solving. There are 16 work habits that should be actively taught to children. In this approach, teachers pose a challenging question, problem, scenario, or task and give students the time to actually tackle the issue at hand. I have actually been doing this type of teaching in my classroom for the last five years, but didn't know that I should be calling it "Habits of Mind." I actually used John Wooden's Pyramid of Success for the basis of this type of instruction and it has served me well. I even have a product in my Teachers Pay Teachers store that uses this approach which teaches the students the skills they will need to be successful with the Common Core Standards and leads them to effective student driven goal setting. Not an easy task! If you are interested in this, check it out.

HERE COMES COMMON CORE! But that was a sidebar! On to "Habits of Mind!" What I find fascinating, is how easily these two tie into each other. Let me show you: There are 16 habits of mind:

1. Persistence - which is the same thing as Wooden's Determination.

We all know that students need to be able to work at a problem, and stick with it even when the going gets tough. But let's face it, this is what they just aren't any good at!

2. Managing Impulsivity - which is the same thing as Wooden's Self-Control. I would add patience here as well.

3. Listening to Others using understanding and empathy - Wooden's Friendship and Loyalty

Listening without judging, placating, or jumping in with stories about yourself or advice without getting the whole message. That's pretty tough, even adults struggle with this!

4. Think Flexibly -

look at things from multiple perspectives.

5. Metacognition - Think about thinking.

How did you get this answer?

6. Accuracy & Precision - Wooden's Alertness

Pay attention to the details!

7. Questioning and Posing Problems - This would require Wooden's Confidence. 8. Apply past knowledge to new situations. (prior knowledge) Wooden's Skill 9. Thinking and Communicating with clarity and precision - Wooden's Cooperation

Avoid vagueness, abstractions, and absolutes (Always, never, all, everyone)

10. Gather data through all senses - Wooden's Alertness

11. Creating, Imagining, Innovating -

This is the ultimate goal, isn't it?

12. Responding with wonderment & awe - Wooden's Enthusiasm

Student choice in topics, format, learning pathways

13. Responsible Risk-Taking - Wooden's Action

Failure is just a means to achieving the goal

14. Finding Humor in unusual ways - Wooden's Poise 15. Interdependent Thinking - Wooden's Team Spirit (Multiple sources of information) 16. Continuous Learning - Revisiting old ideas (Revision) - Wooden's Skill If we actively teach these habits to our students, they will meet greater success in the classroom and in life. This is true "College and Career Readiness."

What would this look like in the classroom? Good, thought provoking questions require "wait time." You must be patient and give it to your students. First of all, you must be willing to allow "struggle time." Effective effort is a lifeskill, and there should be no quick and easy solutions to these problems. But with that said, you don't want to allow too much frustration. Teachers should prompt student thinking to move students along. Never give the students the answer, but hints and cues will keep the thinking progressing and the students will have more of a chance at perseverance. Think, Pair, Share is an effective approach, but it is important that with this collaboration ultimately every pupil will respond. Use thumbs up, whiteboards, or any other method to hold ALL students accountable to the thinking.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Do You Know the New Education Buzzwords? Can't They Just Speak English?

What the heck is my principal talking about? Every year as we prepare for the opening of school, my principal starts spouting off buzzwords that I only have an inkling as to what she means. I am after all, an educated woman with a Masters Degree, but she uses terms that we have never learned. No one wants the staff meeting to go any longer than necessary - so we all sit quietly. Of course, I can guess the meaning of these terms by using the context in which they were used. Isn't that what we teach our students to do? But this strategy only goes so far...I have a general understanding of what she is referring to - enough to fake it, but I don't have any background information. Sound familiar? I'm quite certain that I am not alone in this! So, I have decided to take some time before the school year begins, and look up some of these terms. And lucky you...I am going to share my findings, so you don't have to take the time to do it yourself! Each day I will write a post on a different buzzword: Tier 1,2,3 Vocabulary List Words, STEM, Depth of Knowledge, Habits of Mind, and anything else that I hear as we head in to the school year.

Today's Topic: Tier 1, 2, 3 Tier Vocabulary

Today I will begin with tier 1, 2, and 3 words. Now this is one of those terms that I understand the concept, but is anyone ever going to show me a list of words, or do I have to make it myself? Seriously, do we expect every teacher to come up with his/her own list? I would have thought that my district would have taken care of this by now...maybe yours has, but I'm left here guessing as to what words should be Tier 2. I know that my primary focus should be on the tier 2 words, and that these are the academic vocabulary - the vocabulary of learning. Feldman & Kinsella (gurus in the field of academic vocabulary development) call this level "the academic toolkit." It seems pretty clear to me that students need to understand what is being asked of them in order to give a correct response, so I am pretty dialed in that these would be important. I have heard people suggest that each teacher should go through the standards and write down any academic word that is used in the standards, because these are likely to show up on the test. Seriously? We should each do this individually? So, with a little research I have found a really good book to help us out. Daily Academic Vocabulary by Evan Moore Publishing. They have one of these for each grade level.

Now these look very comprehensive but they're not cheap. I teach a 5th/6th blend and Amazon.com wants $22 for the 5th grade copy and $31.97 for the 6th grade - and that's the paperbacks. That is $54.00! Hello....I'm a teacher!!!! Also, I've been told that Kate Kinsella is coming out with her own book on the subject and that it would be worth the wait. I guess I will wait. Venturing on, after lots of Internet searching, I found some lists of tier 2 words listed by grade level. These were on the website of Hyde Park Central School District in Hyde Park, New York. Looks like they have their act together! Thanks for sharing HPCSD!

Click on these links to pull up the grade level tier 2 vocabulary lists: GRADE 5, GRADE 6, GRADE 7, GRADE 8,

Monday, August 4, 2014

Goal Setting Bulletin Board - What Should It Say?

Every year I start with a goal setting bulletin board. I find this to be a great kick start to teaching figurative language, classroom discussion expectations, and student goal setting. I make this a student centered bulletin board with students creating their own character with a goal for the year. These stay up all year long, and at the end of the year I pass them back and let the students do some self-reflection as to how well they met their own goal. Four years ago, my bulletin board read, "Grow Your Own Wings...Let Them Take You to Amazing Places." The students created their own butterflies with their goal for the year on it. It was great! Three years ago, my bulletin board said, "Those at the Top of the Mountain Didn't Fall There." I had two mountain peaks and the students created their mountain climber with their goal on it. This wasn't quite as cute, but the students really got into the message. They would talk about how there are always taller mountains to climb, and once you do reach the top of your own personal mountain then you need to move on to the next one!

Two years ago, my bulletin board sparkled for the entire year! The quote read, "Those who Reach the Stars Walk in Stardust!" Each student traced their arm, cut it out, and added dreams and goals to it. This one was probably my favorite, and I'm tempted to repeat it, but first I need to explore other possibilities.

Last year my board read, "Why not go out on a Limb, Isn't That Where the Fruit is?" The student characters with the fruit were adorable. Students could use whatever fruit they wanted, in any way they wanted. Some used an apple as a hot air balloon, or a banana as a surfboard. They were very creative!

So, the question remains...what should I do this year? How about some help out there? I'd love to hear your ideas! Here are some that I have been considering...

I'm also open to other ideas. What do you think? I'd love your input! Thanks, Shari

Saturday, May 31, 2014

End of the Year Fun...Words of Warning! Proceed With Caution!

I could go on and on, praising the virtues of team building activities at the end of the school year and the benefits gained by the students, but instead I am going to tell you my own horror story from last year at this time.  Pay attention kiddies, and heed my words of caution!  Remember, no good deed goes unpunished!

Last year at precisely this time, I ventured into the world of team building fun.  Blindly optimistic, and with my usual enthusiasm for hands-on interactive learning, I set out to create a fabulous adventure for our students.  My first steps began with research of catapults to create an instructional Power Point on these devices.  Next, the students were issued a challenge...here is a bag of supplies (popsicle sticks, pencils, rubber bands, straws, plastic spoon, coffee stirrers, a dixie cup) build your own catapult to shoot a marshmallow further than your peers.  The students gathered in groups to begin the building phase.  What great conversations, critical thinking and problem solving!  What could be better - such great learning fun for the end of the year!  Ahhh...but this is a horror story, remember?  What could go wrong you ask?
The students planned and built and tested their catapults.  It takes awhile but they begin to see results.  Still sounding pretty good, huh?    Next is the shooting contest.  We set up a starting line, let students come to the line and shoot their marshmallow three times.  We have students assigned to do the measuring, and recording.  Students average the three scores.  So much math!  Still sounding good, right? The students are enjoying themselves, and don't even notice how much math they are doing!  Everyone is involved and behavior is not a problem.  So, what could go wrong?
At the end of the activity we still have time to spare....uh oh!   "Can we please have a marshmallow fight with our catapults?"  "No one will get hurt!"  Do you see where this is going?  Why not?  So we take the rest of the marshmallows and let the students have at it.  So much fun!  Marshmallows are flying, kids are racing around and giggling, and catapults are working!  No problems, everything is great until suddenly the floor is covered with sticky marshmallows!  It happened just that fast!  Students were picking up marshmallows and reshooting them, and then suddenly (seconds) every marshmallow was a sticky mess stuck to the bottoms of their shoes, their hands, their clothes, and the multipurpose room floor!  It was like the evil marshmallow fairy waved his wand and turned every white cloudy puff into a gooey mess!  I have never seen such a mess, and even with our best efforts  the district had to send in extra janitor support!  

So heed my words....

NEVER, EVER, EVER HAVE A MARSHMALLOW FIGHT WITH YOUR STUDENTS!!!

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