Welcome back to school everyone! I am sure you have been busy preparing your children for school or preparing your classroom to receive new students. Bulletin boards are hung, curriculum has been planned, and nametags have been written. As part of your beginning of year preparations, I urge you to take some time to think about how you will celebrate learning with your students and families this year.
When I first started teaching, I invited parents into the classroom for everything. Every month we held an author’s tea and invited parents in to hear the writing we had done. Every time we ended a big project, we put on a show for parents. One year we studied the Olympics so we had a day when we dressed as the ancient Greeks did and held a party with traditional foods. Another year the students had learned some new dances in PE so we invited parents to picnic on the lawn with us and watch the new dances. Another time we had Book Character Day. Students dressed as characters from their favorite books. Parents came and read stories with us and we all tried to guess who the visiting characters were. I still have fond memories of those events. Parents loved them and students enjoyed them. It gave the students something to work for and livened up our routine.
It was, however, a lot of work. I began to wonder if all the time we spent preparing for these special activities might not be better spent on learning new things. When we practiced our dances for the 50th time, we weren’t learning anything new. We were perfecting our dances but we weren’t learning new steps. When we practiced performing our poems over and over for the author’s tea, we weren’t learning to love the language more or learning new vocabulary. We were learning to project and enunciate but was that worth the amount of time we put into it month after month?
In recent years I have done fewer and fewer big class events, preferring instead to push the student’s minds in new directions rather than perfecting known routes. I often found, also, that parents often didn’t see the genius that went into a story that was being shared or the amount of effort it took to get that sculpture to stand up. Those of us in the class knew because we had been there for the experience. It was more difficult to share this with parents who hadn’t been on the journey with us every step of the way.
Now that I am a parent, however, I see the deep pride on my child’s face as he shows me around his classroom during his school’s Open House. I see the excitement in his body as he prepares for his class’ Irish Dancing Performance for St. Patrick’s Day. I notice the sense of closure in the classroom as everyone closes up a chapter of learning and prepares to open another.
I sit in the audience and think, “What a wonderful teacher to bring this special experience to my child. Look at my child up there with all of his classmates. He will remember this.” I feel good that he has been part of this.
So, as you begin your year, be sure to plan in time for culminations. Celebrate all of the work you and your students have done together. Share your accomplishments with the parents, even if they don’t see the details that are meaningful to you. One teacher I know planned a “moon party” with her students complete with hot chocolate and telescopes to culminate her class’ astronomy work. Another teacher invited parents to attend the burial of a chicken her class had mummified as part of their study of Ancient Egypt. Another class dressed in period costume as they shared the work they did as part of their study of the turn of the century. How will your class celebrate their learning this year?
Showing posts with label learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label learning. Show all posts
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Differentiation in First Grade Math
Sometimes it is hard for teachers to know exactly how to differentiate in a classroom. This post explains what a series of differentiated lessons in math looked like in a first grade classroom.
I have been working with a group of gifted first graders for a few months now. From some early assessments, their teacher and I knew that they were working at a higher level than their classmates. We decided to put seven students in my group. The teacher took the rest of the students. The teacher’s group has been walking through the textbook. In this particular unit on addition, they are solving problems with regrouping such as 14 + 7= __________.
My group of students needed more challenge but I didn’t want them to stray too far from what the topic their classmates were studying so we started by solving regrouping problems with larger numbers such as 48+37= __________. We used place value mats and base ten blocks to model each problem. We have been doing lots of trading this year (trading pennies for dimes, dimes for dollars, etc.) so once I reminded them that they would need to trade, it was easy for them to solve these problems which all involved trading units for longs (ones for tens).
The next day the teacher’s group practiced different strategies for solving their two digit plus single digit problems (counting on and building with blocks).
My group was already proficient at counting on and building the easier problems with blocks. The next challenge for them was to solve problems that involved two trades – units for longs and longs for flats. These would be problems such as 129 + 83= ______________.
Before we started, however, I wanted to check that the students knew how to build the larger numbers. The students were confident using the base ten blocks to build numbers up to 100. With larger numbers, their understanding was not as solid. We practiced building and writing numbers such as 110. Many students built it correctly but then wrote it as 10010. Once they saw that their model only used three columns, they realized that the numbers they wrote down needed to correlate to their place value mat. They had one flat in the hundreds column, one long in the tens column and zero units in the ones column. They could then record this as 110. Next they were challenged to build 203. Some built 230 and some built 203. We continued to practice until they could build numbers up to 999 with accuracy. They were then able to solve the more complex addition problems confidently.
Throughout this process, one student correctly built and recorded each number without fail. I made a note of this student’s solid understanding of place value. This would help me plan next steps for him in math.
The next day the teacher’s group continued to need more practice with regrouping. It was clear, however, that my group did not need this practice. What they did need was to solidify their understanding of the place value of larger numbers that they had been building over the past few days.
I decided to have them work on counting strips. If it had been the beginning of first grade, I would have had them start their counting strips at number 1. Since we had been working on numbers over 100, I had them start with 100. They placed one flat on their place value mats. Then they added a unit and recorded 101. They then added another unit and recorded 102, etc. Soon the students were able to work abstractly and did not need the blocks to represent every number but used them at tricky times such as going from 149 to 150.
For the past few days, the class had been benefitting from the two math groups. At this point, it became clear that we needed to split yet a little bit more to meet everyone’s needs. The one child who had a solid understanding of place value from the start did not need to do a counting strip in base ten. I did, however, want to keep him on the same topic so I started him on a counting strip in base five. This would test his understanding of place value and strengthen it. He was thrilled to be working on something at his level and actually went home and asked him mom if he could do counting strips in bases two and three as well!
The day we started working on counting strips, the students in my group were beaming. They were so happy to be working on work that was just at the right level for them. They asked me why the one child was working in base five and the others were working in base ten. I told them that everyone’s brain was getting what it needed. They accepted this idea and continued to work quietly and happily for the rest of the period.
While this level of differentiation was achieved by having two teachers in the classroom, it could have easily been done by one teacher. One group could have worked with the teacher while the other group did some independent work (Marcy Cook math tiles, playing math games, reading, etc.). The teacher could then switch groups.
The biggest hurdle to differentiation is realizing that different students have different needs. Once a teacher acknowledges this, meeting those needs does not mean creating twenty different lessons. It does mean having two or three different levels of a topic available to meet the range of needs in the class.
I have been working with a group of gifted first graders for a few months now. From some early assessments, their teacher and I knew that they were working at a higher level than their classmates. We decided to put seven students in my group. The teacher took the rest of the students. The teacher’s group has been walking through the textbook. In this particular unit on addition, they are solving problems with regrouping such as 14 + 7= __________.
My group of students needed more challenge but I didn’t want them to stray too far from what the topic their classmates were studying so we started by solving regrouping problems with larger numbers such as 48+37= __________. We used place value mats and base ten blocks to model each problem. We have been doing lots of trading this year (trading pennies for dimes, dimes for dollars, etc.) so once I reminded them that they would need to trade, it was easy for them to solve these problems which all involved trading units for longs (ones for tens).
The next day the teacher’s group practiced different strategies for solving their two digit plus single digit problems (counting on and building with blocks).
My group was already proficient at counting on and building the easier problems with blocks. The next challenge for them was to solve problems that involved two trades – units for longs and longs for flats. These would be problems such as 129 + 83= ______________.
Before we started, however, I wanted to check that the students knew how to build the larger numbers. The students were confident using the base ten blocks to build numbers up to 100. With larger numbers, their understanding was not as solid. We practiced building and writing numbers such as 110. Many students built it correctly but then wrote it as 10010. Once they saw that their model only used three columns, they realized that the numbers they wrote down needed to correlate to their place value mat. They had one flat in the hundreds column, one long in the tens column and zero units in the ones column. They could then record this as 110. Next they were challenged to build 203. Some built 230 and some built 203. We continued to practice until they could build numbers up to 999 with accuracy. They were then able to solve the more complex addition problems confidently.
Throughout this process, one student correctly built and recorded each number without fail. I made a note of this student’s solid understanding of place value. This would help me plan next steps for him in math.
The next day the teacher’s group continued to need more practice with regrouping. It was clear, however, that my group did not need this practice. What they did need was to solidify their understanding of the place value of larger numbers that they had been building over the past few days.
I decided to have them work on counting strips. If it had been the beginning of first grade, I would have had them start their counting strips at number 1. Since we had been working on numbers over 100, I had them start with 100. They placed one flat on their place value mats. Then they added a unit and recorded 101. They then added another unit and recorded 102, etc. Soon the students were able to work abstractly and did not need the blocks to represent every number but used them at tricky times such as going from 149 to 150.
For the past few days, the class had been benefitting from the two math groups. At this point, it became clear that we needed to split yet a little bit more to meet everyone’s needs. The one child who had a solid understanding of place value from the start did not need to do a counting strip in base ten. I did, however, want to keep him on the same topic so I started him on a counting strip in base five. This would test his understanding of place value and strengthen it. He was thrilled to be working on something at his level and actually went home and asked him mom if he could do counting strips in bases two and three as well!
The day we started working on counting strips, the students in my group were beaming. They were so happy to be working on work that was just at the right level for them. They asked me why the one child was working in base five and the others were working in base ten. I told them that everyone’s brain was getting what it needed. They accepted this idea and continued to work quietly and happily for the rest of the period.
While this level of differentiation was achieved by having two teachers in the classroom, it could have easily been done by one teacher. One group could have worked with the teacher while the other group did some independent work (Marcy Cook math tiles, playing math games, reading, etc.). The teacher could then switch groups.
The biggest hurdle to differentiation is realizing that different students have different needs. Once a teacher acknowledges this, meeting those needs does not mean creating twenty different lessons. It does mean having two or three different levels of a topic available to meet the range of needs in the class.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Why Should We Care About the Gifted Kids?
Most people would agree that all children are entitled to an opportunity to learn. What then does it mean to learn? The dictionary defines learning as “acquiring knowledge or skill.” When gifted students are sitting in a classroom being taught material that they already know can we say that they are “learning”? Aren’t they then being denied a basic right that we believe all young people are entitled to?
I have been stunned lately by the disregard for gifted students in our public schools. I hear, “But they can already pass the tests.” or “ We need to focus on the lower students to bring our test scores up.” I even heard, “Let’s just have the gifted students teach the struggling students. That will give the gifted students something to do and will bring up our test scores.” It is well known that people learn material better when they need to teach it but if our gifted students are spending their time being ignored and teaching others, when are they given the opportunity to learn? This goes beyond funding and test scores. This is a civil rights issue and it criminal to have these students sitting in classrooms day after day spending their time doing work that keeps them busy but does not contribute to their learning.
The San Bruno Park School District has budgeted over $300,000 dollars for Special Ed Funding for the 2010-2011 school year. Special Ed. Funding is federally mandated so the district must follow the guidelines and the money must be spent. Funding for gifted education is not currently federally mandated. Guess how much the San Bruno Park School District will spend on gifted education next year. The answer is $0. I do not deny that students in special ed. need special services but it neglect to have so many services for those students and none for the gifted students.
If we think about 100 as a median IQ, students who are two standard deviations below the mean (IQ of 70) are required by law to have special services. Students who are two standard deviations above the mean (IQ of 130) have no federal protection and thus have no services. If a student has an IQ of four standard deviations below the mean (IQ of 40) they would be in a special day class and it would be unlikely that they could be mainstreamed into a regular classroom. For students with an IQ of four standard deviations above the mean (IQ of 160), they are usually stuck in regular classrooms doing the same work that their classmates are doing. Or they are home schooled because parents cannot find a place that will work for them in the school system. Laws have been enacted to make sure that some students are given the opportunity to learn but they have neglected to extend that right to all students.
Underachievement is the number one problem facing gifted students and it comes from the students being denied the opportunity to learn important skills such as perseverance, study skills, and the value of practice. These skills would be learned by engaging in challenging work that is commensurate with a child’s academic needs.
The bigger issue for me is the waste of these young minds. Imagine what a gifted student could do with years of learning under their belt. If they were given the opportunity to make continuous progress in school year after year imagine what they would be capable of by the end of high school. Now imagine the opposite, what they will have gained from years of classroom experiences in which they haven’t been challenged in the least? Gifted students are going to be movers and shakers in our world. They are bright. They are intense. They are able to take many different parts of a problem and put them together in a coherent whole. Why aren’t we shaping this and giving them the tools to learn to be leaders in our world?
This week a group of gifted first graders dutifully completed the page in their math book. They had to circle whether the crayon was “next to” or “far from” the glue bottle. Then they had to circle whether the marker was “in front of” or “behind” the scissors. These are words these students learned when they were two and three years old. I don’t see how this work guides them on their educational path. I don’t see the critical thinking skills and higher order thinking that I would hope would be part of the tool box of tomorrow’s leaders.
I fear for our future. If our students, all of them, not just the gifted ones, are only being taught the most basic material and how to be experts at filling in the blanks, I don’t know how they are going to solve problems in our world that are big and messy and don’t have simple solutions like a fill-in-the-blank worksheet. As we sit and focus on test scores we are losing sight of the fact that we need to teach students to think.
Creating the internet, inventing a computer, developing a hybrid car. I can guarantee these were not things people learned how to do from a worksheet. Who knows what challenges we will face in the next thirty years as the world becomes increasingly complex but I know that I want creative, bright, resourceful people leading the way. It is essential that we fight now for all students to have the opportunity to learn so that we will have skilled leaders to guide us in the future.
I have been stunned lately by the disregard for gifted students in our public schools. I hear, “But they can already pass the tests.” or “ We need to focus on the lower students to bring our test scores up.” I even heard, “Let’s just have the gifted students teach the struggling students. That will give the gifted students something to do and will bring up our test scores.” It is well known that people learn material better when they need to teach it but if our gifted students are spending their time being ignored and teaching others, when are they given the opportunity to learn? This goes beyond funding and test scores. This is a civil rights issue and it criminal to have these students sitting in classrooms day after day spending their time doing work that keeps them busy but does not contribute to their learning.
The San Bruno Park School District has budgeted over $300,000 dollars for Special Ed Funding for the 2010-2011 school year. Special Ed. Funding is federally mandated so the district must follow the guidelines and the money must be spent. Funding for gifted education is not currently federally mandated. Guess how much the San Bruno Park School District will spend on gifted education next year. The answer is $0. I do not deny that students in special ed. need special services but it neglect to have so many services for those students and none for the gifted students.
If we think about 100 as a median IQ, students who are two standard deviations below the mean (IQ of 70) are required by law to have special services. Students who are two standard deviations above the mean (IQ of 130) have no federal protection and thus have no services. If a student has an IQ of four standard deviations below the mean (IQ of 40) they would be in a special day class and it would be unlikely that they could be mainstreamed into a regular classroom. For students with an IQ of four standard deviations above the mean (IQ of 160), they are usually stuck in regular classrooms doing the same work that their classmates are doing. Or they are home schooled because parents cannot find a place that will work for them in the school system. Laws have been enacted to make sure that some students are given the opportunity to learn but they have neglected to extend that right to all students.
Underachievement is the number one problem facing gifted students and it comes from the students being denied the opportunity to learn important skills such as perseverance, study skills, and the value of practice. These skills would be learned by engaging in challenging work that is commensurate with a child’s academic needs.
The bigger issue for me is the waste of these young minds. Imagine what a gifted student could do with years of learning under their belt. If they were given the opportunity to make continuous progress in school year after year imagine what they would be capable of by the end of high school. Now imagine the opposite, what they will have gained from years of classroom experiences in which they haven’t been challenged in the least? Gifted students are going to be movers and shakers in our world. They are bright. They are intense. They are able to take many different parts of a problem and put them together in a coherent whole. Why aren’t we shaping this and giving them the tools to learn to be leaders in our world?
This week a group of gifted first graders dutifully completed the page in their math book. They had to circle whether the crayon was “next to” or “far from” the glue bottle. Then they had to circle whether the marker was “in front of” or “behind” the scissors. These are words these students learned when they were two and three years old. I don’t see how this work guides them on their educational path. I don’t see the critical thinking skills and higher order thinking that I would hope would be part of the tool box of tomorrow’s leaders.
I fear for our future. If our students, all of them, not just the gifted ones, are only being taught the most basic material and how to be experts at filling in the blanks, I don’t know how they are going to solve problems in our world that are big and messy and don’t have simple solutions like a fill-in-the-blank worksheet. As we sit and focus on test scores we are losing sight of the fact that we need to teach students to think.
Creating the internet, inventing a computer, developing a hybrid car. I can guarantee these were not things people learned how to do from a worksheet. Who knows what challenges we will face in the next thirty years as the world becomes increasingly complex but I know that I want creative, bright, resourceful people leading the way. It is essential that we fight now for all students to have the opportunity to learn so that we will have skilled leaders to guide us in the future.
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