Expanding Classroom Conversations

Expanding Classroom Conversations is a challenge. Students know how to talk, there’s no doubt about that! Sometimes we can’t get them to be quiet. However, when asked to discuss academic topics, the conversation can fall flat. Students often engage in a “Share-Stop” conversation. Student 1 shares and stops, then student 2 shares their idea and stops. The goal is to get them to expand upon each other’s ideas. That means they have to LISTEN to each other. What?

Common Core Anchor Standard 1 for Speaking and Listening is what the following activities are based on: 

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.1

Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

The struggle was real in kindergarten this week as I tried to have students listen to each other and then respond.  After watching 2 videos on the changing of the seasons, we charted how weather changed with the seasons, and how as a result, our clothing changed. Students worked in groups of three to write and draw about what represented the season they were given. (Only one argument erupted when a boy drew on top of a girl’s tree.)

There were two groups of three for each season. After about 7 minutes of work time, they all came to the carpet to share. Both summer groups came up at the same time, one on each side of me. Their task was to share one thing that was on their poster at a time. The other group had to listen. If they had the same thing, they would say, “I agree with you!” If they didn’t have that item, they would say, “I want to add on to your idea,” and share something from their poster.

Here are the two posters that groups made for Summer. Notice that one group added words and pictures, but the other group just has pictures. I didn't give them very much time to work, but if I had more time, I would make sure they all added a word to label their part of the picture.

Here is a transcript of their conversation. It took A LOT of teacher prompting and support, but I could easily see this becoming more routine for them with practice.

Teacher to group 1: What did you put on the poster?

Group 1: A butterfly

Teacher to group 2: Do you guys have a butterfly on your poster?

Group 2: No

Teacher to group 2: That’s OK, what are you going to say?

Group 2: We add on to you

Teacher to group 2: Very good, we add on. And, what did you put on the poster?

Teacher to group 1: Now you guys listen.

Group 2: I put on a guy

Teacher: What is the guy wearing?

Group 2: A swimsuit

Teacher to group 1: Did you hear what he put on?

Group 1: No

Teacher to group 2: Say it again

Group 2: I put a guy wearing a swimsuit

Teacher to group 1: Did you hear what he said this time?

Group 1: Yeah, a swimsuit

Teacher to group 1: And…?

Group 1: A swimsuit and…

Teacher to group 1: Did you guys put that?

Group 1: No

Teacher to group 1: That’s OK, so what do you say? Do you remember? Not I agree, because it’s not the same but what do you say? I want to…

Group 1: I want to add on

Teacher to group 1: Yes! Good job, and what are you going to add on? What did you put on the poster?

Teacher to group 2: Now you guys listen to see if it’s the same.

Group 1: I put a girl and me, which is right there.

Teacher to group 1: What are you wearing because it’s summer?

Group 1: A short sleeved shirt.

Teacher to group 2: Group? Did you hear what he said?

Group 2: A short sleeved shirt!

Teacher to group 2: And?

Group 2: I agree with you.

Teacher: Ah! They put the same thing!

Here's what the standards say for kindergarten:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1.A
Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others and taking turns speaking about the topics and texts under discussion).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1.B
Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges.

In the same day, I tried out a lesson in 6th grade. The goal was the same: To get students having interactive conversations.

After observing specific details in this picture, students in 6th grade were given the prompt to talk with a partner about what they had noticed. The partner needed to use conversation extending prompts to build upon the conversation. See transcript below.

Student 1: I noticed that there is very little food for 9 people in their family.

Student 2: Well I noticed that there is not much like beverages, or water or something. Like last time,  where there was a bunch of soda.

Student 1: I agree with you because It’s peculiar that they don’t have any.

Student 2: And I agree with you on your part because there really isn’t enough food! There’s just like enough stuff to make like 3 meals, not enough for a whole week.

Student 1: I’d like to add on to your idea because maybe that they don’t eat as much as we do and they don’t need as much food as we do.

Student 2: Yeah, I mean, I agree because it could just be like a religion or something.

Student 1: OK, ummm, I also noticed that their meal for the week is very healthy. There’s like no sugar, or…

Student 2: Yeah, there’s just like a can of milk in front of the potatoes.

Student 1: OK.

Leading up to this conversation, I had two students model a conversation in front of the class. I gave on the spot feedback to help them really focus on listening to each other and using the conversation extenders that I provided them with. It was a bit awkward at first, but they picked it up quickly. The transcript above was the third round of practice. I activated my voice recording app on my cell phone, and left it with the two students. I walked the room listening to other conversations. As a teacher, we don’t often get to hear full conversations because we are cruising and listening for key words to let us know that students are on track. Later, when I had time to listen to the recording, I found that the students could independently produce interactive conversations. What a fun way to formatively assess.

My next step would be to show them the transcript of the conversation and point out how the interaction helped dive deeper into the concept.

This work is great for all students to master, but is critical for our English Language Learners. When kids have the chance to verbally process thoughts, and practice using appropriate vocabulary, it makes the production of work so much easier. I can only imagine what classroom conversations will sound like in a few years after all teachers have had a chance to work on the standards from kinder on up!

If you aren't embarrassed by your first attempt at something, you started too late.

I haven't written a blog post in a while because I was worrying about whether or not it was appropriate for me to be writing about the topics I feel strongly about. That's a silly thought, why shouldn't I? I was pulled out of my mindset on that topic by a dinnertime conversation with colleagues I met via Twitter, and then face-to-face at the California League of Schools Technology and Common Core conference. Someone brought up the idea about how your first shot at something shouldn't be your best if you are always seeking to improve, and I realized I am not going to get better unless I put myself out there!

At the  conference, educators came together from all over CA and surrounding states to talk tech. A theme of the sessions I attended was to allow productive failure. Debbie Silver kicked this idea off with a hilarious talk on helping support student success by building relationships and having high expectations.  Her graphic about how success happens was a good reminder: 

Debbie's Website has resources for parents and educators.

We were reminded by Jennifer Magiera that some people are the Emmas in this video, and some people are the husbands. Sometimes your role may switch from Emma to the husband depending on the subject. If you are in a leadership position, it's important to remember that you need to support the Emmas as well as the husbands.

Another theme at several sessions was allowing students freedom to express their learning through open-ended products, or products that had personal meaning. These are some of the examples I heard:

• After studying the stages of grief, have students choose a song that talks about death and find evidence to support your opinion on which stage of grief the song is about (high school Health class). 
• Students studying the idea of aesthetics came up with a question and hypothesis about what makes someone attractive. They did interviews and Internet research to gather data and had to compose a video explaining their findings. The students often ended up focusing on a feature they themselves didn't possess, and it led to some really intense reflection.
• At Kids Talk Radio, students are discussing the future occupation of Mars. They are designing vehicles, robots, and living spaces to help scientists gather ideas. 
• One of Jennifer Magiera's students became interested in coding and was trying to drum up interest at the school, so he made this video. (Don't freak out about the Chromebooks swinging through the air!) Coding Video
• The session I presented was called: Digital Publishing- How do I Teach That? One of my messages was to not focus on the next cool tool, but to think about what any tool could get students to do. Tech tools should be like a blank cardboard box. They should have unlimited possibilities to support the greatest student success. Here is what the participants said digital publishing was going to look like in their classrooms or jobs when they went back to work:

Holly Clark talked about doing the adjacent possible, meaning: figure out what the next best thing is to move our learning forward, and jump on it! Blockbuster didn't figure this out like Netflix did, so this happened:

She said that kids are most excited about tech in their classrooms because of three reasons: 

1. They will have greater access to information

2. They will be connected to others

3. Their classroom would have variety

I met several Teachers who were on Special Assignment for their districts, several of whom had a technology focus in their title. That would be an awesome job. Also several people who were Instructional Tech Coordinators for their district, meaning they get out and instruct teachers on the use of tech tools in their classrooms. The majority of districts represented were using Google Apps, and a few went the Microsoft 360 route. Some were iPad schools, others had Chromebooks, several high schools had MacBooks, and a few were BYOD. Everyone was open to sharing what was going on and what their struggles were. It was validating to hear similarities from all over the state.

I went to a few sessions on STEM and NGSS where the conversation centered around whether or not to make the move to Next Generation Science Standards, or not. Many teachers were moving ahead in the exploration phase so they would be prepared when the district gave the go ahead. (Not many districts have given the official go-ahead). They shared this website where you can find your path through the standards by clicking categories. The website will then show activities that are aligned with what part of the NGSS you are exploring. The Concord Consortium

At the end of the conference, I left with several new friends, and a lot of ideas brewing. My mood coming back up the hill was: Be More Dog! (Have fun, take risks, and enjoy life)

Until next time Monterey

Daily Technology Use?

How much of my day should be spent using technology? I get asked this question a lot as I travel from school to school. Teachers want to know how many activities should include it, or what percentage of their day should involve technology. While it's true that several of the Common Core standards specifically mention technology, I think the question should be more like, How can technology help make student learning more meaningful? Or, How can technology help me achieve my learning goal?

I would never advocate forcing a tech tool into a lesson just to say I was using technology. It's not something to be checked off of a list (Yep, used a tech tool, check!). However, there are many learning benefits that can occur when tech is used in a meaningful way.

Here are the Common Core anchor standards (base language that grade level standards were built upon) that specifically include the mention of technology. Notice that there are reading, writing, and speaking & listening standards included in this list.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.7
  Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.6
  Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.8
  Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.2
  Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.5
  Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.

(When you examine the standards at your specific grade level, you will find many more mentions of technology use.)

One of the buzzwords, (buzzphrases?) flying around the education world right now is "21st Century Skills". You will often hear that it is a goal of a curricular program to improve 21st century skills. When I Google the phrase I get 607,000 results. In fact, if you search for that term on the California Department of Education's website, you will find pages of results: CDE 21st Century Skills

Why is this relevant to this post? Because technology is a vehicle that can help us teach our students to be 21st Century Citizens.

So, in an answer to the question how much technology should I be using in my classroom, I return with: does the tool you are considering foster creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, or communication? If yes, than be using it often! Blogging, Skyping, Collaborative Google Docs, Using a photo editor to create a logo, designing an online poster, etc... all of these are examples of classroom activities that will help our students master both the Common Core standards, and 21st Century Skills. 

What Will Common Core Math Mean for me as a Parent?

When scrolling through my Facebook feed, which is full of news stations, educational organizations, my favorite companies, The Huffington Post, and of course my friends and family, the majority of the posts I see about the Common Core are negative. This concerns me because I worry that the general public isn't going to give it a fair chance. 

It is a major transition in our educational system, and it is not realistic to expect everyone to get it perfect right away. However, it isn't fair to turn completely against it before full implementation has even started either. 

Many of the negative posts are from parents who are frustrated with homework and blame it all on the Common Core. I have been frustrated with my child's homework, and that happened before Common Core! Haven't we all heard as parents, "That is not how Mrs. H taught me to do it." I am sure you will still hear those words out of your children's mouths next year when we start teaching with Common Core math curriculum. However, what I hope you will see is that your child is learning that there is more than one way to solve a problem. 

This core concept is embedded within all Common Core math curriculum in the form of the Mathematical Practices. These 8 practices are the behaviors that teachers will be expecting kids to engage in as they are learning the standards. 

You can see an explanation of these practices at www.corestandards.org

Doesn't it make sense to teach kids to use appropriate tools, construct viable arguments, and look for patterns? These are life skills our kids are going to be learning. I want my own child to learn to persevere, not just wait for the teacher to give him the answer. 

Here is a 4th grade sample test question from SmarterBalanced (the consortium that is creating our new state test).  Link to website: SmarterBalanced Sample Questions

Sample Question: The two-eyed space creatures, three-eyed space creatures, and four-eyed space creatures are having a contest to create a group with 24 total eyes. How many two-eyed space creatures are needed to make a group with 24 total eyes? (It then asks how many three-eyed and four-eyed creatures are needed for the group with 24 eyes).

The next part of the question says: Somebody told the five-eyed space creatures that they could not join the contest. Explain why five-eyed space creatures cannot make a group with 24 eyes.

This question asks students to use reasoning. They have to be flexible with their understanding of numbers and be able to explain how numbers work. There is not just one answer to figure out, it is not multiple choice, and the students have to work with the same number (24) in different ways to figure out the answer. I like this. Students can't just choose C, they really have to think. It is not unreasonable, and if students are taught to use tools and patterns, they will be able to draw a picture or use a table and figure this out.

I have been working very deeply with three new math programs that our Dry Creek teachers will be using next year: Pearson Digits, Houghton Mifflin Expressions, and Houghton Mifflin GoMath. In each of these programs, students are asked to work with the same set of numbers until they really understand them. They are asked to evaluate mistakes the publisher makes on purpose, explain why they came up with an answer, and discover if there is more than one correct answer. Aren't these great life skills? I want my child to be able to defend his opinion based on fact, but also be flexible and open to the ideas of others. This is what I think Common Core will do for our students, teach them to get along in life. 

Is technology involved? Yes. Students in Dry Creek will have access to Chromebooks starting in 2nd grade, and possibly even down to kindergarten. The SmarterBalanced test is all digital, so not only will students need to be flexible with their math skills, they will need to understand how to manipulate tech tools. You can help with this by having your children create and search on the computer. Knowing how to create a table in a Word document and organize numbers can help them figure out math problems. The offer to use technology might even help put off an argument! Kids love to use the computers as tools. Math facts are still important, so using sites like funbrain, or multiplication.com can give great practice with the idea of fluency with numbers. Technology is not going to go away, and the more students know how to do on a computer, the more adaptable they will be on the test, in the classroom, and in life.  (It's not all about the test, I promise).

Here is my advice for parents as we enter into this journey.

• Keep an open mind. Your kids might not be asked to solve problems the exact way you were taught.
• Bookmark this website: www.corestandards.org It has the actual language of the Common Core standards. If you are questioning the rationale behind an assigned piece of homework, look up the language of the standard. That will help you understand the reasoning behind the problem.
• If your child gave it a good honest try, and you helped them as much as you were able but still couldn't figure it out, write the teacher a note. (I have done that this year, and I taught the curriculum my child was learning from!).
• Don't hesitate to ask questions. You can email or Facebook message me anytime. I have parents send videos and articles they have seen asking me to help them interpret it. I don't mind helping make sense of it at all. I would much rather have a discussion than have parents stressing out. 
• Keep the Mathematical Practices in mind. Praise your child when they are showing that they know how to use a number line or a diagram to solve a problem. That shows that they are learning the skills necessary to succeed in school and later on in life. 

I believe in the direction the Common Core standards are going to take education, and have seen some amazing teaching going on in classrooms as a result of the standards. The momentum is building within our teachers, and I am excited to see how teachers, students and parents develop their mathematical skills as a result. Whew! This post has been brewing for quite some time. 

Why is Your Classroom So Noisy Mrs. Hoyt?

There is singing, dancing, clapping, and movement going on in here! How in the world are your students learning Mrs. Hoyt? 

I call this being engaged in your learning. I typically have a messy, noisy classroom where kids are talking and moving. This is not always a comfortable place for adults to be if their expectation of a classroom is this:

Source: http://hannah321.edublogs.org/

I became more adventurous in my classroom management when I realized I was becoming a witchy teacher trying to keep order in the room at all times. I thought I was supposed to have a quiet classroom where students worked alone on their worksheets and quietly read. I thought I was supposed to be in control and in charge at all times! While there is definitely a place and a time for this type of quiet activity, I was having a hard time maintaining this status the majority of the time. So, I started to question where this vision had come from. My answer: probably the same place my concept of what a teacher had to dress like came from- my credential program teachers! Most of them had been out of the classroom for quite a while and were teaching theory, not practice. 

It was a good thing I started questioning why I did things that way, because I started to have a lot more fun teaching. There were still portions of my day that were devoted to quiet, individual work (like right after lunch recess), but more and more of my lesson content was delivered through song, movement and discussion. I really became inspired when I saw two teachers talk about this style of teaching on Oprah. They were from a KIPP school, and I started studying their videos. 

Their classrooms look like this:

This teacher is having fun teaching, the kids are totally into it and they are practicing content. It is loud in there, but it is also controlled. That is not your typical flashcard practice!

When I began my study of Common Core standards, I noticed that a lot of the content involved student collaboration. As I started studying lessons on The Teaching Channel, I noticed a lot of interaction and student talk as opposed to teacher talk. 

This is one of my favorite Teaching Channel videos, not because of what the teacher is doing, but because of what the students are doing.

Video: Reasoning About Multiplication and Division

As I began crafting my own Common Core lessons, I made sure to incorporate speaking and listening standards into every lesson. I resonated with the feeling of being the Guide on the Side instead of The Sage on the Stage. Blog link to: Is it OK for Teachers to Not Know the Answer?

Students need to have a chance to hear from each other and express their own ideas in order to form the best opinion. When the lessons also incorporate technology, student energy increases as well. Collaboration + technology use = a noisy classroom. 

A well crafted Common Core lesson is not neat, clean and orderly. It involves reading, discovering, discussion, evaluation, synthesizing, and creation. It does not involve one standard per lesson, but includes multiple standards. Sometimes you have no idea what the students are going to come up with, but you go with it as long as the lesson is moving toward your goal. For example: in the 3rd grade demo lesson I have been teaching this year, the question I ask students is: Would you want to live in Antarctica, or not? We explore Google Earth, a Time for Kids article, and watch a video in order to form our opinions. There is always something new to discover on Google Earth, and I can't predict what their reasons for saying yes or no might be. As long as we are keeping our focus on that question, the conversation we generate is right on track. At the end of the exploration, the students are ready to dive in and write about their opinion and they have plenty of reasons from our three sources to back their statements up with. It is fun to teach this way, and students feel successful because they are involved in the learning each step of the way. 

Here is my class from a few years ago practicing their multiplication facts "KIPP style." It's noisy, and the kids are learning.

I'm a Nerd

I’m a nerd, and proud of it. I don’t hide the fact that I love learning, in fact, this probably comes as no surprise to those of you that know me! I am in my element when I am researching, discovering, and sharing what I found. (I might be a bit related to my Dad in that way.)

My favorite hobby is reading. I will read anything: children’s books, murder mysteries, historical romance, young adult novels, blog posts, articles, etc… My husband says I read more than anyone he has ever met.

I typically have at least ten tabs open on my computer and switch frequently between them. I have Facebook, email, Twitter, my fun book, blog posts, my latest tech tool, and the book I am reading to my son, all open and ready for my attention at a moment’s notice. I don’t stick with any of them for very long, but switch back and forth as the mood strikes me. In this way, I am constantly soaking up information, and I am thriving.

Current Tabs:

That is why this current job I am in suits me so well. I have been given the direction to learn as much as possible about the Common Core, and figure out how to help support our district teachers in their implementation. My brain has expanded so much in the last two years because of the time I have had to learn, experiment and revise my thinking. I know how lucky I am to have landed in this space, and I look forward to even more opportunities to grow.

Believe me, I know not everyone appreciates this character trait all the time, and that is fine with me. When I post on Facebook, Tweet or email, I don’t have an expectation that everyone who sees it will soak it up on the spot, or even read it. My hope is that people who see what I share will remember it is there when their own need arises to make use of that knowledge. When I go overboard, people will tell me to simmer down, and I can handle that too. I am the queen of the grand idea that gets revised, and reworked into practicality by those around me. I am good with that. That is a skill I hope to pass onto my own child: adaptability.

I think that being a nerd is cool today. Those of you that have attended a conference recently, or who have jumped on Twitter for professional purposes have seen the evidence of nerdiness in its current state. There are a lot of people out there who love learning just as much as I do, and that feeds my energy even more.

That is why I like presenting or putting on Staff Development trainings. I like to be around other people who are ready to learn. The room is full of positive energy, open minds, and forward momentum. That is a great place to be.

What the Heck Are Screenshots?

 And... 

Why Should I Use Them?

Screenshots are one of the most useful techniques for communication. A screenshot is basically a picture of what your whole computer screen looks like at that moment in time. 

See? Right now I am writing this blog, in between playing Farm Heroes Saga! 

USES:
Screenshots come in really handy when you are trying to tell Tech Support what is going wrong with your computer! If you email them a screenshot along with a description, they will be able to fix your problem faster. 

Use screenshots when you are trying to teach someone step by step instructions for webpage navigation. Dry Creek teachers: You know the Barbara Ferguson specials? She sends you a document every year telling how to enter scores into Datawise, or posts directions on the Teacher Resource Page for how to use the KACE box? All done with screenshots. 

Students can benefit from your use of screenshots when you are trying to teach them how to create a product online, or how to find something on a website. Click here to see a document which teaches you how to create a Glog. All of the pictures are cropped screenshots, and the arrows are shapes added in. 

How do I take a screenshot?

On a PC: There is a button that says PrtScn SysRq. When you press it, your screenshot is captured on your computer's clipboard. I find one of the easiest ways to access it then is to paste it into a Word or PowerPoint document. When you have the image in there, you can crop it. Cropping is a good thing because you don't always want people to know that you are playing brainless games on Facebook! It also allows the viewer to focus on exactly what you are trying to communicate. 

On a Chromebook:
Click Control and the Triple Window button to take a screenshot

A notification window will pop up saying you have taken a screenshot. You can click on the notification to open your screenshot, or find it in your Files folder under downloads. (You can find your Files folder under your apps checkerboard.)







When you open your screenshot on the Chromebook, you can click on the pencil to edit and the cropping button to remove all pieces that you don't want other people to see. Make sure to remove any personal information you don't want others to be able to view. 

After you have cropped the image, it will remain in that format in your Files folder. You can then insert the image into a Google Doc or other application.


I am not a Mac girl yet, but maybe someone who knows how to do this on a Mac will comment below. 

Happy cropping!