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Thanks for stopping by my blog. Here’s where I share tips and ideas around literacy, math, small groups, and student collaboration.
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Have you ever taken more than one week to get to all the week’s lessons in a Benchmark Advance unit? Of course you have! There’s just SO MUCH. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard overwhelmed teachers wonder how we’re supposed to fit it all in. I can
I’m not too proud to admit it: I used to suck at teaching phonics. My less-than-effective strategies left me and my students frustrated more often than not. A lot of it came down to the typical learning curve felt by new teachers, but the more I’ve learned about literacy, the more I recognize the flaws in the old strategies I used. And I don’t think I’m alone in this, which is why I’m sharing a better way to teach phonics with you today.
Let’s get started on Unit 8! Here, friends, is your home for all of my resources, tips, tricks, project ideas, and freebies on Benchmark Advance Unit 8, our Earth Science unit.
There are of course positives and negatives that come with the sort of access we all have in the 21st century. We have to teach our students to tell the difference between good information and bad information. They need to learn how to pick out the important details as they read about the subject they’re researching, without getting bogged down with less-than-necessary details. Students also have to be able to think critically about what they discover, presenting it to others in an organized manner.
After a few years of using close readings with my students, I’ve finally gotten to what I believe to be the optimal way to use this teaching strategy. I’m excited to share what’s worked for me and my students!
Meeting with each small group every day allows me to see exactly where my students need help. I can easily check in with each one individually and help them work through a misconception or a struggle as we work on the day’s math objective together.
I prefer to teach math in small groups. I begin each math lesson with everyone on the carpet as I introduce the concept. Shortly after, students rotate through three math centers in 15-minute blocks of time:
Before I teach a new concept, I give my students a pre-assessment that includes three different leveled questions.
Teach students to use their own data. This is one of the best ways to teach your students how to take ownership of their learning goals.
Do your students struggle to write content that actually follows the prompt? If so, you are not alone! It can be frustrating when students don’t comprehend the writing prompt, especially because the state tests are jam-packed with prompts that must be followed. In recent years, the Common Core writing standards have gotten laser-focused on writing to sources rather than process writing.
I recently polled teachers in my Benchmark Advance Planning, Organization, and Tips Facebook group to learn about how they are assessing students during distance learning. I asked teachers specifically about how they are assessing for Benchmark and if they were using the Benchmark Advance assessments. I found that some teachers are not giving the assessments at all, some are assigning them just to monitor progress (not record actual grades), and others are using them for true formative assessment.
During a regular year, it can be hard to find the time to fit in projects and project-based learning assignments. With this year being as difficult as it already is, making time for projects may be the last thing on your priority list, but it doesn’t have to be a crazy and overwhelming thing! You can incorporate PBL even in a distance learning environment.
