Activating Strategies

                           

                      

                                           

 What do you think of this photo?   

What about this one?

Would your thought process be altered if I framed the questions differently? 

If you were in a Science class you may look 
at the photos and think of cloud types or 
weather.

If you were in a Writing class you may think

adjectives, emotions, or topic sentence.

If you were in Reading class you may think about 

main idea, details of cloud types, an informational text.

Photos are a great activating strategy 

no matter the class or content.

Activating strategies will spark students' imagination, get them thinking about what they know and/or what they want to know, prompt critical thinking and deduction, engage them, and give them reason to read, research, write, experiment, or whatever the lesson requires. 

Photos can be used to 

          inform students of the focus of the class

                    start a discussion

                               get students actively involved in their own learning

                                         jump start the thought process

                                                  increase critical thinking.

                    Get Shooting  - - - Get Activating 

                         

    

                     

 

Think Ahead - Plan Ahead - Be Ahead

              

It's in our blood.
It's in our vacations.
It's in our conversations.
We are TEACHERS. 

We can't really take a break, summer or not. We are always planning and thinking and prepping and improving and thinking some more. This summer, focus the scattered thoughts to choosing just one or two areas to focus on for the coming school year. 

Do you want to incorporate a new strategy? 
                  
                  Do you want to make your lessons more dynamic?
   
     Maybe a concentrated effort to scaffolding instruction.
   
                               Time to integrate technology into your lessons?

                 Is this the year to enhance family communication?


So, take a deep breath...
                        Choose ONE focus area. 
                                                  Delve into ideas.
                                                                  Choose what appeals to you.
                                                                                                      PLAN.
                                                                                                      and
                                                                                                      HAVE A GREAT YEAR!

                                                                                                  

     
IDEA CENTRAL

New Strategy ~ Sentence Frames
New Strategy ~ Cuing Systems and Prompts
New Strategy - Scaffolding instruction

Blog Post: 
Sentence Frames Post (click link)

Resources to get you started: 


More Dynamic Lessons ~ PowerPoint Presentations
Integrating Technology Into Your Lessons

Blog Posts:
Why You Should Use PowerPoint to Plan and Teach Lessons (click link)
Getting Started With PowerPoint (click link)

Resources to get you started: 

Enhance Family Communication

Blog Post:

Open Lines of Communication Between Teachers and Families (click link)

Planning Ahead
Blog Post:
Back to School - Planning Ahead Will Pay Off (click link)

ADDITIONAL TEACHING RESOURCES

Available at

MonicaCreates (click link)

  

                       

                       

Back to School: Planning Ahead Will Pay-Off

Resources and Tips for 
Keeping the Lines of Communication

Between Families and Schools Open  

After writing my post, Open Lines of Communication Between Teachers and Families, I became curious as to what other teachers, schools, and districts did to keep open communication between families and school. This lead me to doing a little more research in which I came across several resources that may be helpful kickstarting you and/or your administrators to develop a plan before the upcoming school year begins. 

I'm aware that there are still several weeks before the new school year starts for many and the mere thought of planning at this juncture is not tops on your list. However, some pre-planning can pay big dividends once the year has begun. So, dive in to the following resources and seriously consider creating your own system to keep an open and healthy relationship between your school families and yourself.

Get Framed...

                                                   

       Sentence Frames 

What are Sentence Frames?

Sentence Frames are often times thought of in the context of ELL's (English Language Learners) as a way to build language skills. However, they are useful in all classrooms and for all students. Strictly speaking, a sentence frame is a way to scaffold for all students by providing a framework for a sentence and omitting words (at your discretion and the specific needs of the student). The student them repeats the frame, filling in the omissions to speak or write complete a sentence.

Example:            Teacher: Have you ever seen the prefix tri?

                          Possible Sentence Frame Options:  

                         "I know this word means three because my tricycle had three wheels.

                         "I'm not sure, but I think I heard it in the story about dinosaurs.

                         "I have not heard the word tri before."

Sentence Frames allow all students to give a "correct" answer, as well as speak or write a complete sentence, properly use a new word in context, and build their own oral and written language skills.

 PROS                           CONS

- Help scaffold instruction                                                   - Can be too restrictive 

- Build oral and written language skills                                - Can be over used

- Build background knowledge

- Reinforce content vocabulary

- Easily lent to differentiation 

USES           

reinforce vocabulary

Math

Science

Social Studies

Music

Art

Reading

Writing

With struggling readers

 With struggling writers

Match to standards

   
Reinforce Vocabulary

Sentence Frame - Math

Tri means three. A triangle has three sides.

Tri means ___ . A triangle has ___ sides.

Tri means ___ . A triangle has ___ ___ .

Tri means ___ . A ___ has ___ ____ .         

Sentence Frame - Science

Sedimentary rocks are deposited in layers . 

Sedimentary rocks are deposited in ___ . 

___ rocks are deposited in ___ . 

___ rocks are ___ in ___ . 


Sentence Frame - Social Studies

A peninsula has water around  three  sides. 
A peninsula has water around  ___  sides. 

A ___ has water around  ___  sides. 

A ___ has ___ around  ___  ___ . 

Sentence Frame - Music

A quarter note is shown by a large dot and a plain stem. 

A quarter note is shown by a large ___ and a ___ stem. 

___ ___ note is shown by a large dot and a plain stem. 

___ ___ note is shown by a ___ ___ and a plain stem. 

___ ___ note is shown by a ___ ___ and a ___ ___ .

Sentence Frame - Art
The three primary colors are red, yellow, and blue.

The three primary colors are ___, ___, and ___ .

The ___ primary colors are red, yellow, and blue.

The ___ ____ colors are red , ___, and ___ .

Sentence Frame - Reading

The setting of a story is when and where a story takes place.

The ___ of a story is when and where a story takes place.

The setting of a story is ___ and ___ a story takes place.

The ___ of a story is ___ and ___ a story ___ ___ .

Sentence Frame - Writing

I am like a ___ because ___ .

The ocean make me feel ___ because ___ .

The story ___ reminded me of/when ___ .

Sentence Frame - Standard Based

RL1.9 Compare and Contrast... Goldilocks and the Three Bears 

Goldilocks and the three bears were alike because they all had beds.

Goldilocks and the three bears were ___ because they all had beds.

Goldilocks and the three bears were ___ because they all ___ .

Goldilocks and the ___ ___  were alike ___ they ... .

___ and ___ ___ ___ were alike because they all had beds.

___ and ___ ___ ___ were alike because they all ... .

___ and ___ ___ ___ were alike ___ ... .

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