How do we launch collaborative groups in the classroom that are EFFECTIVE? When students engage in collaborative group work that is structured, their understanding of the content deepens and misconceptions are clarified. We want this for our students, but how do we ensure that all students are accountable? For years in the classroom, I would put my students in groups because I wanted them to “collaborate” and learn from each other. It looked and sounded kind of like this… one student would ... read more
Promote Academic Vocabulary With This Effective Classroom Management Strategy
This simple and effective strategy integrates academic vocabulary with classroom management! Let's get real, the key to success in every classroom is having solid classroom management. You can have the most amazing lessons, but if your students are all over the place they probably aren't benefiting in the way you'd like. This classroom management strategy is so simple. Although it is technically two separate strategies, I recommend combining them and treating them as one. It consists of a clear ... read more
Increase Listening Comprehension With This No Prep Activity
This engaging active listening strategy: Listen, then Sketch, is a GLAD visualization strategy. It allows students an opportunity to practice their active listening skills while also supporting comprehension and oral language development. This strategy gives English language learners, struggling readers and passive readers a chance to improve these skills with a very low affective filter. Benefits differentiatedlow affective filterstrengthens reading comprehensionopportunities for oral ... read more
Sentence Patterning Chart for Language Acquisition and Writing
The Sentence Patterning Chart is a language acquisition strategy that works wonders for all students, but especially for students who are English language learners or students who are struggling in writing. When developing sentence structure, this sentence patterning chart clearly conveys how a noun and verb work together in a sentence and how adding descriptive words, such as adjectives and adverbs, and expanding sentences using prepositional phrases creates stronger, more descriptive ... read more
Counting Collections: The Best Way to Build Number Sense in the Primary Grades
I absolutely LOVE building number sense in the primary grades with Counting Collections. Counting Collections is a student-centered activity where students become aware of their mathematical thought processes and gain a strong sense of numerical relationships. It’s perfect for building number sense in preschool-2nd grade. Counting Collections can also be used as an intervention tool for 3rd-5th graders. I began the journey of implementing Counting Collections a handful of years ago. Not ... read more
