Strategy of the Week #11: Graphic Organizers

From Your Instructional Coach….

Strategy of the Week #11: Graphic Organizers

Graphic Organizer:  A graphic organizer, also known as knowledge map, concept map, story map, cognitive organizer, advance organizer, or concept diagram, is a communication tool that uses visual symbols to express knowledge, concepts, thoughts, or ideas, and the relationships between them.

How does a graphic organizer work?

• A graphic organizer is a structure for students to organize ideas and thinking.
• It helps students to see their thinking in a visual format.

Why are graphic organizers important?

• A completed graphic organizer can help you assess the students’ understanding of a particular topic or skill.
• Brain activity is enhanced when students are taught to represent their understanding in a visual way.
• Graphic organizers make recall and retention of material easier for students.
• Graphic organizers are particularly helpful to students who have difficulty organizing information.
• Graphic organizers help students organize details to be used in high order thinking skills such as synthesizing and evaluating.

When could I use a graphic organizer?

• A graphic organizer can be used in any subject area.
• Some skills and thinking that lend themselves to use of a graphic organizer are: identifying similarities and differences, compare and contrast, sequencing, main idea and details, decision making, making predictions.

Where can I find graphic organizers?

• The HMH series for reading has graphic organizers that are used with every comprehension skill.
• Your reading specialists have tons of graphic organizers and resources that you could use for reading instruction.
• The following websites:
• Eduplace
• Edhelper
• Holt
• Enchanted Learning
• Scholastic
• Thinkport
• Education Oasis
• Superteacher
• Teacher Vision

If you would like to create a graphic organizer to be used in an upcoming lesson,  please fill out the form below.   I would love to support you!

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Strategy of the Week #10: Making Sense of Language Arts Assessments

It seems like every day of every week, we are assessing students in the area of language arts/reading.  This week's strategy of the week will help make sense of what the assessments are, what they measure and when we give them.  Hope you find it useful!

Click here to see Strategy of the Week #10

Strategy of the Week #9: Increasing student interaction using Inside-Outside Circle

From Your Instructional Coach….

Strategy of the Week #9: Increasing student interaction using Inside-Outside Circle

Student Interaction:  a practice that enhances the development of the two very important language skills which are speaking and listening among the learners. This device helps the learner to be competent enough to think critically and share their views among their peers.

What is Inside-Outside circle?

• Inside-Outside Circle (Kagan, 1994) is a technique that gets students up and moving.  It provides a way to get students who normally would not talk to interact with others.  After students read a section of text, the teacher divides the group.  Half of the students stand up and form a circle with their backs to the inside of the circle.  They are partner A.  The other half of the students form a circle facing a partner from the first circle.  These students are partner B.  Partner A will speak first, quickly summarizing what they read.  This takes about a minute.  Then partner B speaks for the same length of time, adding to the summary.  If the teacher stands in the center of the circle, he/she can easily monitor student responses.

Why is student interaction important?

• Deeper Understanding of text:  When teachers structure good questions that promote discussion, the Inside-Outside circle provides multiple opportunities for students to summarize, predict or share opinions about something they have read.
• Oral language development:  Children will hear language above their independent speaking level, and be interacting with spoken language.
• Brain stimulation:  Engaging activities that are interesting to the students , including discussions, stimulate the pleasure parts of the brain.
• Reduced risk:  Students may feel threatened when called on in a large group to singularly answer a question.  This threat response inhibits the ability to focus on the content.  During an Inside-Outside circle, students have multiple opportunities to share ideas and risk is minimized.
• More processing time:  More information is retained when a period of direct instruction happens, followed by discussion of the material.

When could I use an Inside-Outside circle?

• The Inside-Outside circle is great when you would like students to compare and contrast, or identify similarities and differences.  For example, in math when there are multiple representations to show a number (a set of cubes, a numeric symbol, the name or word), students could each have a card showing the number and compare with each partner in the circle to determine if the amount, symbol or word is the same as their partner.
• The Inside-Outside circle could be used to orally share a piece of writing with peers.
• The Inside-Outside circle could be used to justify the way a student solved a problem.
• The Inside-Outside circle could be used during a morning meeting to share a time that someone was a friend, or a time when a child’s feelings were hurt.

If you would like to brainstorm how you could incorporate the Inside-Outside Circle into a lesson, please fill out the form below.   I would love to support you!

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Strategy of the Week #7 & 8: Running Records

From Your Instructional Coach….

Strategy of the Week #7 & 8: Running Records

Running Records: One method of assessing a child's reading level by examining both accuracy and the types of errors made.

When do we give running records?

●     For the 2013-2014 school year, we will administer running records during the last week of each marking period.

●     The time-frame for running records will be:

○     1st marking period: October 21-25

○     2nd marking period: December 9 -January 16 (teachers may choose to give before or after break

○     3rd marking period: March 17-21

○     4th marking period: June 2-5 (or before)

What is used to give a running record?

●     Each teacher has an HCPS running record binder with running record passages.  These passages will be used to administer running records.

●     Each student will be given a passage to read, that is on their instructional level.  We are measuring the students’ accuracy, words correct per minute and comprehension.  Comprehension is based on a basic oral retell of the passage.

●     Students may need to read more than one passage in order to find out where the child hits frustrational level.  Students may test as instructional at more than one level.

●     Keep the hard copies of the running records that are administered to the students.  Please be sure to make notes about what kinds of errors the student was making.

What determines if a child is independent, instructional, or frustrational?

●     Here is a link to the Criteria for determining IRL.  Please be sure to read and have this with you as you administer your running records.

Criteria for Determining Instructional Reading Level

●     Once you have administered the running records to all of your students, please schedule a time with a reading specialist to discuss the appropriate instructional reading level that will be indicated on both the reading record document and on the students’ report cards.

Where does the information get recorded?

●     Keep the hard copies for a discussion with the reading specialist.

●     Add information onto the WES Reading Record document.  Here is the link:

WES Reading Record Sheet 2013-2014

●     Indicate the instructional reading level on each students’ report card.

If you would like to sit down and have a conversation about running records, or more specific training about the administration, please fill out the Partnership Interest form to set up a time.   I would love to support you!

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Strategy of the Week #6: Wait Time

From Your Instructional Coach….

Strategy of the Week #6: Wait Time

Wait Time:  The pause between asking the question and soliciting a response.

Why is wait time important?

• Information processing involves multiple cognitive tasks that take time.
• Students must have uninterrupted periods of time to process information, reflect on what is said or observed, and consider what their response will be.
• Increased wait time results in longer student responses, more student questions and higher order responses.
• Increased wait time is especially beneficial for English language learners.
• In a typical classroom, average wait time is 1.5 seconds.  Increasing wait time to 3 or more seconds increasing correct answers, decreases “I don’t know”, increases the number of students willingly volunteering an answer.

When to use Wait time:

• Before calling on a student
• Gives the teacher an opportunity to count the students who have been answering questions, and which students have not.
• Gives the teacher time to assess which students might answer a question correctly.
• After calling on a student
• Gives the student time to frame an answer.
• Gives the teacher time to think of what a comprehensive answer could be.
• After a student answers
• Gives the student time to elaborate or complete an answer.
• Gives the teacher time to think about whether the answer is correct, partially correct, or incorrect.
• Provides time for the teacher to frame a response.

If you are interested in tracking the use of wait time in your classroom, be sure to fill out the Partnership Interest Form below.  I would love to support you!

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Strategy of the Week #5: Total Participation Techniques

From Your Instructional Coach….

Strategy of the Week #5: Total Participation Techniques

(Adapted from Persida Himmele & William Himmele)

Total Participation Techniques (TPTs):  Teaching techniques that allow for every student to demonstrate, at the same time, active participation and cognitive engagement in the topic being studied.

Why are TPT’s important?

• Using TPTs provides evidence of active participation.
• Using TPTs provides evidence of cognitive engagement.
• All students demonstrate that they are learning and interacting.
• Deep cognitive engagement does not come from being talked at, it comes from opportunities to process, reflect, question and interact with each other.
• Students develop higher-order thinking skills.

TPT’s to try:

• Hold-ups: Each student thinks about and discusses their responses to a set of prepared questions.  Students should choose a response, discuss with a partner or group, and on cue, “hold-up” their response card.  
• Selected response hold-up:  Students choose a specific word to write on a card (Aquatic or terrestrial, fact or opinion)
• Number card hold-ups:  This might be used in math, with questions “Which of the two numbers is greater?”  “What is the sum of 23 + 42
• True/Not True hold ups:  Teacher would provide a statement and students vote if it is a true statement, or a false statement.  This might be used in content.
• Multiple choice (A,B,C,D):  Students are selecting a choice from multiple possibilities provided by the teacher.

• Movement TPTs: Students are manipulating objects or are out of their seats, interacting a processing learning together.
• Line-Ups:  Students stand in two parallel lines, facing a partner.  The partners are discussing a question or problem.  One line shifts, so the pairs change, and students discuss with a new partner.
• Inside-Outside Circle:  This is a similar activity to line-up.  Half of the students form an inside circle facing outward.  The other half of the students make an outside circle, facing the inside circle.  Students are discussing in pairs.  One line shifts, creating new partners.
• Bounce cards:  This is a structured brainstorm.  Students are in pairs and one student starts with an idea, “Butterflies go through distinct changes.”  The partner then “bounces” ideas from the original, using sentence starters, “That reminds me of…”, “I agree because…”, “True.  Another example is when…”, “That’s a great point…”
• Appointment cards:  This works to get students interacting with different peers.  Each student is given an appointment sheet with time slots.  They ask peers to sign up for a time on their sheet, and they sign up for the same time on the partner’s sheet.  The teacher then says “Meet with your 10:00 appointment.”  The 10:00 partners find each other, and talk about the topic.

• Guided Note taking: These TPT help students to identify important information to write down, when direct instruction occurs,  and how to organize it correctly.
• Graphic organizers:  Graphic organizers help students record information in a way that visually supports their understanding.
• Anticipatory guides:  These help promote thinking and background building prior to instruction.  They can be true/false statements, and students need to discuss and justify their choices with a partner.  The goal is for students to make connections.
• Picture notes:  These are meant to go with written notes to help students process what they have learned.  The teacher selects pause points, and students stop, process what they have learned, and draw a picture to illustrate the concept.
• A-Z sentence summaries:  At the end of a lesson or unit, each student is given a letter from the alphabet.  They must write a sentence about the topic, beginning with that letter.  For example, in a unit on life cycles, a student given the letter R, might write “Resembles parents from the time the animal is born, until it is an adult.”

If you are interested in incorporating Total Participation techniques in your classroom, be sure to fill out the Partnership Interest Form below.  I would love to support you!

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Strategy of the Week #4: Using Manipulatives in Math

Strategy of the Week #4: Using Manipulatives in Math

(Adapted from Dr. Jean Shaw, Donna McKenzie, Lorraine Walker)

Manipulatives:  Three-dimensional teaching aids and visuals that teachers use to help students with math concepts. Typical tools include counting beads or bars, unifix cubes, base ten blocks, shapes, fraction parts, and rulers.

Why are manipulatives important in math?

• Manipulatives help students develop conceptual knowledge.
• Manipulatives represent the mathematical ideas in multiple ways.
• Manipulatives help students to “see” and build mental images of mathematical ideas.
• Manipulatives engage students in the language and communication of mathematical ideas.
• Manipulative actively engage the sense of touch.
• A physical representation of a mathematical idea or solution provides a student with greater confidence in his/her solution.
• Manipulatives enhance the abilities of students at all levels to reason and communicate.

When to use manipulatives:

• When you are modeling a mathematical concept with your students.
• When children are exploring a new concept, practicing a familiar concept, or working with other students.
• When you are informally assessing students, or when students are asked to solve problems independently.
• When students are communicating mathematical ideas to their peers.

Suggestions for successful use of manipulatives:

• Management: Develop a routine/procedure for the way students get and use the manipulatives.  Manipulatives should be close at hand and easily accessible.
• Tools not toys:  Teach the students that manipulatives are tools, not toys.  The more the students use the manipulatives, the less likely they will be to be playing with them in ways other than to think mathematically.
• Never take them away!  Allow students to use the manipulatives until they decide they no longer need them and are able to problem solve successfully without them.
• Show them the way:  As students use manipulatives, model for students how they could represent the math using a pictorial representation and encourage students to use both.  This will help bridge the transition from concrete to pictorial representation.

If you are interested in planning how to manage and use manipulatives in your classroom, be sure to fill out the Partnership Interest Form below.  I would love to support you!

Partnership Interest Form