Grammar, What’s the PERIOD.

Summer is officially here!

(Noun, linking verb, adverb, noun)

Students view summer as a time for fun, sleeping in, no homework, and hopefully limited learning traditionally.  As a teacher, my only request is to KEEP READING daily.  Teachers uniquely view summer.  Teachers see summer as a time to do many of the same types of things.  Mr. Wise (7th-grade science teacher), our children and I have enjoyed many fun activities this summer with much more to come.  

I have done LOTS of sleeping in and staying up late watching Netflix with my girls.  I also have been reading, but not just books for enjoyment.  I have been reading 6th-grade books to use in the classroom or to talk about in the classroom library, I have been reading professional books, I call these the “How to be a better teacher” books, and I have been reading school books.  The last type of books is important to me because I want my classroom to be better every year.

The class that I am currently taking through Eduspire, Tech-Infused Classroom: discusses all the different ways that classroom teachers can use technology to meet not just the common core standards but also the ISTE standards.  The ISTE standards is a set of standards to guide educators through the use of technology,  The final assignment for this class is to reflect and revise a current lesson to increase engagement through the ISTE Standards and the 5 teacher based components outlined in the article 10 Key Components of Customized Learning.

While thinking about my classroom, one of the lessons that are important that students sometimes find boring, and I as a teacher find difficult to meet all students needs, is the weekly GRAMMAR lessons.  Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, Adverbs, Prepositions …….. The list goes on, but each student is an individual and has prior knowledge and usage of the different types of grammar.  This unique learning style has caused me to rethink HOW to TEACH grammar, my decision is to let YOU the student choose the order, the amount of practice, who you work on for the collaborative activities, and when to take the assessment. The outcome of this class’s final project and my desire to give more student choice is Independent Grammar Lessons.

Independent Grammar Lessons Through Google Classroom

Introduction: Students will complete a Nearpod Lesson, that will include a video, definitions, and practice.

Practice: Students will be given the opportunity to practice the grammar skill they are working on through multiple pathways, such as computer-based games, worksheets, and task cards.

Conjunctions: Turtle Diary  https://www.turtlediary.com/games/conjunction.html

Individual Instruction: Students will have the opportunity to meet with the teacher for instruction and review on the concept.

Requirements: Students will be required to complete an INB page for notes based on the introduction and practice. Students will also be required to complete the corresponding lesson on Mobymax with an 80% before taking the test.

Assessment: Students will complete the correct Google Form based on the grammar skill they are testing. Students have the opportunity to show review and retest if a score below 70% is the result of the formal assessment.

How can students connect with the WORLD outside of FAWN GROVE?

My ELA students this year will be participating in a Global Read Aloud of “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park.  This book is based on a true story about a girl that walks eight hours every day for water, and a young boy that walks away from his war-torn village.

Students will be completing many different activities through multiple pathways to develop a real-life learning from this book.  We will be connecting and learn through the following applications: Skype in the Classroom, Global Nomads Group, and LucidPress.

Skype in the Classroom:  We will be connecting with students in other states and hopefully other countries through Skype in the Classroom for face-to-face conversations about the book as we read. Along with viewing webcast that was previously recorded to continue the learning about the Sudan and how children’s access to water in other countries differs from that in Fawn Grove. One of the resources we will be able to view is a virtual field trip through a town in Kenya Africa, to see and explore the differences between the culture in Africa and that we experience.

Global Nomads Group: I am very excited to link our learning from the Global Read Aloud book “A Long Walk to Water” to the project based learning that is collaboratively happening across the world through Global Nomads on “Students Rebuild Water Challenge.”  Through this lesson, students examine the water crisis that is prevalent in many areas of the world and research how different organizations are trying to provide clean drinking water to those without it.  The students will also participate in a Water Walk Challenge, where they will carry buckets of water for a distance to help develop an understanding of the struggles of having to bring clean water instead of just going to the kitchen sink.

Through the use of webcast, students will be able to watch and listen to a discussion between a teenager in NYC and students in Tanzania, where the students share how the water crisis has affected their lives in Tanzania.

Lucidpress: We will be using Lucidpress with small groups or independently depending on student choice to complete a publication to share with other classes and our families. The publication will include information about the experience of being part of the Global Read Aloud, the knowledge we gained from the book and collaborative activities, and what each person can do to continue to make a change in the lives of others.

  

ISTE Standards:

Knowledge Constructor: Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.

Global Collaborator: Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally.

Creative Communicator: Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.

How do YOU as a 6th grader gather information?

As your ELA teacher that works on reading and writing, we many times will need to research something to read or write about.  So what do you use? Hopefully not this.....

Although the above are resources you may have used in the elementary school, as a 6th-grade student, you will be taught and then required to move past these two sites and start to evaluate the reliability of the sites that you are using. I will ask you to consider the 5 W's of website evaluation

1. Who: wrote the information

2. What: does the author say and is it different from other sites

3. When: was the site created or updated, is it CURRENT?

4. Where: does the information come from

5. Why: should I use THIS information

If you stop and think about the 5 W's in regards to Google and Wikipedia, you will not be able to answer the 5 W's with accuracy or ease.

Now I want you to consider Google, when you search for information about General Pickett's Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg on Google, this is what you will find . . . 

The information that I will hear from students is 

1. I can only find where and when the battle happen

2. Two general's names

The reason this is what you find is that Google is not research or information site, but rather a search site.  A search site or search engine is used to guide you to find other sites that will contain the information that you are looking for.

Now many of you will say well then why can't I use Wikipedia which is the first site listed.  During your time in school, you will continue to develop an understanding of factual reporting is based on primary sources.  This is not how Wikipedia gathers the information that it posts.  Wikipedia is an openly based encyclopedia website that allows users, such as you and me, to update the information on the site. This means if I hold a strong belief that Wikipedia's statement that about 1,500 Union Soldiers died during Pickett's Charge is incorrect because my Great-Great Granddaddy said that only 1,000 Union Soldiers dies, I have the ability to change that information on Wikipedia. That is why it is not a reliable source for students to use.

When researching in my classroom, your place to start your research will be by going to our class Symbaloo Page, where you will find the search engines and websites that I recommend for you to use. 

The internet is full of information, it is your job to determine if the information you gather comes from a website that is factual.

What does SUMMER look like?

Do you hear that sound? Or the lack of that sound?  It is SUMMER break here at South Eastern School District.  

I hope that all my students are out there enjoying the summer break, but reading, lots and lots of reading should be happening too.  What is your teacher doing this summer? I am reading too, both student books and teaching books;

I am also taking Grad classes on the best practices for introducing technology into the classroom.

If you are a student of mine reading this in the future, YES, teachers take classes too.  We take classes to learn and implement ways to make YOUR education more engaging and to increase your knowledge.  During this class, I am learning about the ISTE standards and how they are the guide for teachers when incorporating technology into the classroom. Our school is 1:1 with Chromebooks and with that comes to the responsibility of all faculty to ensure that it is not a tool for distraction or busy work but more of a tool to increase higher order thinking, research skills, and the ability to distinguish how to be a productive and responsible digital citizen.

Another valuable lesson I am learning in this class is the responsibility of a teacher to customize the learning process to meet the learning style and needs of each member of the class. This means to a teacher not thinking about "how you were taught to teach" but rather what is the BEST way for my students to learn. In the article 10 Key Components of Customized Learning, the author Mike Muir discusses 10 components that are essential for a district to efficiently customize the education of students to meet the learning styles of all students. The following five apply directly to me as your teacher. As a teacher, it is important for me to TEACH, but recognize that students all learn in different formats and different time-frames.  I look forward to determining different ways to implement this into my classroom to provide a learning environment that is geared to meeting the learning styles of YOU the STUDENTS!

1. Instruction for Low Order Thinking: this component states that students need the ability to practice and recall information in a format that works best for them.  This skill allows students to build base knowledge and recall of information.

2. Instruction for High Order Thinking: this component states that students need to know how to use their knowledge to think constructively and critically. Research has been done that students need to be able to advance past recall of information to the application of knowledge and even to critically thinking based on their knowledge.

3. Formative Feedback: this component states that teachers need to be providing students with formative feedback during the learning process. This allows the student and teacher to customize the learning process, environment, and knowledge results.

4. Learning Progress Management: this component states that both the student and the teacher need to have a defined pathway for students to track their learning, that holds both the student and the teacher responsible for the outcomes of learning.

5. Multiple Pathways: this component states that teachers and schools need to provide students with multiple different pathways that individual students can choose to conduct their learning through, whether that be online, inquiry, or face to face as a few examples.

One of these components that I would like to improve on and will be working this summer on implementing is a learning progress management program for GRAMMAR.  Yes, we all love grammar, and all have different levels of comfort, knowledge, and skills when it comes to grammar.  So, future 6th-grade students, look forward to a self-paced inquiry-based lesson plan for grammar this coming school year.

One component that my class this past year did very well with was instruction for higher order thinking. During this project-based learning, the students needed to be able to construct WHY the events of one person's life made a positive impact on the lives of African Americans, not just list the events.  The 5th-graders last year completed Google Slideshow presentations for Project Based Learning.  The driving question for the PBL was "How can one person positively effected the lives of African Americans in history?" This assignment required the students to research an American in history that made a positive impact on African American lives and then create an Ignite presentation to share their knowledge with the class.

KB: completed her 10 slide Ignite presentation on Sojourner Truth

Ignite presentations are fun and faced past slideshow with LIMITED to NO words on the slides, the slides change automatically, this technique requires the presenter, whether a student or teacher to demonstrate their knowledge on the subject without reading slides or cards. 

Scott Berkun does an Ignite presentation on the power of Ignite presentations. Ignite presentation will continue to be part of my PBL because it requires YOU as the STUDENT to KNOW the information you learn through discovery.  Go learn something, use the tools you have to discover something new.

Students, your teacher wants you to enjoy summer, but also to read and write, do it for fun.