10 Best Phrases to Teach Resilience to Your Kids

Another great find on Twitter recently!  I liked the positivity of these comments to help teachers encourage their students.

How the American Smithsonians Started in America

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a passion for American History and sharing that experience with others!  One of the highlights of my year is taking fifth-grade students and some parents on an educational trip to Jamestown, Virginia, Williamsburg, Virginia, and Washington, DC.  This past July was my 15th summer doing this.  The experience expands our knowledge of American History and it always provides everyone with a memory that they will carry with them forever!

Most of our time is spent in Washington, DC.  We try to include as many of the Smithsonian Institutes into our itinerary, but timing can sometime get the best of us.  There are so many to see!  We make sure that we spend quality time at the American History Smithsonian (my personal favorite!), and in some years find time to visit the Natural History and Air & Space Smithsonians.  The only problem is that when you are taking 10 and 11-year-olds to a museum - their time of engagement differs from that of adults.  We don't always get to spend as much time as we would like in these incredible museums.

The history behind how our nation started the Smithsonian Institutes is such a great story!  Below is a picture of James Smithson - the man who made this experience possible for us today!  Read about this fascinating story by visiting this link --> America's Smithsonian Institutes

Portrait of James Smithson

21 Ways to be a Great Teammate

The beginning of August is the time that many teachers start REALLY thinking about what specific things we will do differently to make this coming year even better than the one before!  We think about new instructional strategies and procedures we will use, new classroom layout, better ways to organize our classroom library, incorporating more technology with our students such as blogging about the books they are reading, and the list goes on!  The success of the a school year is affected by so many things.  The relationships we make with our teammates will play a vital role in making it a great year too!  We need the help of those we work with to ensure that we all reach the successes needed for our students.  John Gordon gives us 21 ways to help us be a great teammate.  Hope these ideas provide you with some inspiration! 

What Good Readers Do!

Good Readers Show Evidence

Twitter is a great place to get ideas from other teachers . . . had to snag this image when I found it!  This could be a great bulletin board idea that students could use as a resource throughout the whole year.  Encouraging readers to find evidence and providing them with ideas on how to do that will help them further develop this critical reading skill!

Click here to get the posters for free on TPT:  https://goo.gl/krkMjL

Five Tips for Helping a Student Find The Right Book

As we gear up for the start of a new year, there is a great deal of excitement across Grapevine-Colleyville ISD with a more consistent SpringBoard focus (in grades 6-12), Reading and Writing Workshop, the GCISD 25 Book Challenge, etc.  Teachers are already making plans on how to deepen the experience for our students in reading and writing.  From looking at increasing daily time to have students practice reading and writing, to conferring with students helping them to grow as readers and writers, we have some dedicated teachers who are looking for ways to do their job better!  In GCISD, this coming year promises an even better literacy experience for our students.  It's a great time to be in our district!

I like the following graphic I found on Twitter.  As teachers, we are constantly working with students to help them find just the right book. Hopefully, this graphic will provide some directions for teachers as they help their students discover a love for reading this year.

North Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (NTCTELA)

Attended the NTCTELA Conference on 6/12/2015 with many GCISD teachers from across the district.  The day started with Ralph Fletcher as the keynote speaker.  The overall theme of the conference appeared to be more on writing.

The first breakout session I chose Ralph Fletcher's message on "Creating Boy-Friendlier Writing Classrooms."  The second session I chose Jeff Anderson's "Revision Decisions: Talking Through Sentences, Grammar, and Beyond. "

What a great day of learning . . . Ralph and Jeff were very inspiring!

NTCTELA Conference Notes

(click on Conference Notes to view document)

Penny Kittle Visits GCISD!

GCISD Humanities Team & Penny Kittle:  Kim Amyett, Brandi Carey, Kari Davis, Penny Kittle,
Phillip Lentz, Dr. Suzanne Newell, and Evan Payne

Over 100 educators in GCISD had the privilege of a visit from Penny Kittle, author of Book Love and Write Beside Them.  It was an incredible day of learning and inspiration.  The possibilities of creating a deeper love for reading and writing with the students in our district was the driving force behind this inspiration.  Teachers walked away with many ideas on how to do this in their classroom and how to be a model for reading and writing with our students.  Truly a great day in GCISD!

Notes from Evan Payne

Math in Motion - or ??? in Motion

I know it seems odd for me to be making a post about math, but it is true, this is a "math" resource.  I received this website from Steve Borney one night after a twitter chat.  He reached out to me and asked me to check out this link.  I visited the website with the intention of just seeing what it was about.  When I arrived at the site - I noticed there was a 5-minute video about his Math in Motion.  I started to watch it.  After about two minutes in - I was hooked!  I bought into the idea completely - and my Humanities brain started to think about how this strategy could be used in ELA, Reading, and Social Studies.  I realized it wasn't just a math strategy!

Take a minute to watch this video.  It is a great way to possibly take a traditional teaching method and making it a more interactive and a fun way for your students to learn. 

http://www.stevewyborney.com/?p=218

Questions I am thinking:

1. How could a teacher use this strategy to reinforce figurative language?
2. How could an exploration of poetry be used through this process?
3. Could a timeline review of social studies concepts be used through a structure like this?
4. Would a concept like this help with a test review?

As a coach who works with teachers to try out new instructional methods, I would jump at the chance to help a teacher design a lesson using this as a model!

Small Group Discussion Protocols

The use of protocols in the classroom to help facilitate learning can prove to be a highly effective strategy.  It allows a structure for students to collaboratively get the most out of their learning.  Using protocols will encourage quality conversations and allow equal participation by all students.

In searching for some protocol examples, I stumbled upon these three resources.  For a teacher just exploring the use of protocols or a teacher looking for some new ones - the links provided will be a great resource for you.

Three links are provided below.  Some protocols will be repeated, but each link will provide some ideas that the others do not include.  I also found one video to highlight one of the protocols in the first resource.

1.  Collaborative Group Work Protocols

A video example showing how to use the 1-3-6 protocol from the Teaching Channel:


2.  Small Group Discussion Protocols (20 Examples)

3.  Protocols for Culturally Responsive Learning and Increased Student Engagement

Student Engagement

Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement

When the students speak . . . . what should we as teachers do?  Providing an educational experience that is deeply meaningful is what we should give our students each day.  Their engagement must be a priority for us.  Students say they get more out of our class when it and their teachers ensure the following:

1. Working with their peers
2. Working with technology
3. Connecting the real world to the work we do/project-based learning
4. Clearly love what you do
5. Get me out of my seat!
6. Bring in visuals
7. Student choice
8. Understand your clients -- the kids
9. Mix it up!
10. Be human

Check out this link for more exploration on this study and these ten items:  http://goo.gl/QMK0bq

Color-Coded Elaboration Strategies in Writing

It sort of seems strange to blog about a blog - but what does one do when they come across a good idea and want to share it?  It is also a great way for me to capture an idea saving it for when an opportunity might come up to share it with a teacher.  The idea in this blog is such a great visual for students and gives them a structure for spicing up their own writing.  I believe it helps students become better writers when they see an idea modeled.

Blog - http://goo.gl/9xMT9B

Common Errors in English Usage

I stumbled upon this website about twelve years ago, added it to my favorites and have used it many times to check my own understanding of the English language.  This could be a valuable tool for your students.  It is a long list that includes so many important concepts.  Hope this is a resource that might benefit you and your students.

Common Errors in English Usage Website