PREPARING LIFELONG LEARNERS

Getting Started With A New Classroom!

8/26/2022

Man, summer sure goes fast, doesn't it? I just finished setting up my new classroom in a new district, and thought I'd share it (and some FREE RESOURCES!!!) with you!

Underrepresented Heroes Posters

I believe that kids need heroes like them to look up to. Too often we focus on just the Washingtons, Lincolns or Churchills of history and forget everyone else. It's important to show kids underrepresented heroes too - African Americans, Indigenous Peoples, Women, LGBTQIA heroes. Heroes for them - heroes for us all that often get overlooked or just given a passing mention. These FREE POSTERS are available in my TpT store, just click on the link!

Levels of Understanding Posters

As a teacher who infuses Marzano's principles into nearly everything I do, these posters are invaluable to me. At the beginning of each lesson, I have students use the 0-4 scale to rate where they are starting in relation to our learning target. At the end of class, I have them re-evaluate themselves to identify where they are and what they need to do to attain or maintain mastery. These are also FREE and only available here at my blog (thanks for visiting and/or following me!).

AB Partner/Letter Partner Protocols and Table Mats

These resources are used in conjunction and are also FREE! One of the ways I get students to interact is through speaking to one partner or the use of a variety of verbal and written round robin strategies. Both of these use the mats to keep things organized and moving quickly. They are also great for assigning jobs ("Person 4, please get paper for your table"), or re-grouping ("If you're person 1 at your table, meet over there. If you're person 2...") as well as many other uses.

Robin Trainings

To get my students to communicate effectively and efficiently, I use a variety of round robin strategies that are both verbal and written. These strategies work great once the students know how to use them. To teach them, I use these 3 presentations that use GoogleSlides and is available for purchase at my TpT store. These presentations will teach your students how to use Round Robin, Rally Robin, All-Write Rally Robin, Rally Robin Race and All-Write Rally Robin Race.

So, I hope you all have a great school year full of students that have fun and interact while learning your content, and I hope the resources I gave or offered here help. If they do, please leave me some comments to let me know, and if you haven't yet, please visit my TpT store for great Social Studies resources that are fun, inclusive and Marzano aligned, and don't forget to follow this blog for more of the same!

Under Represented Heroes Posters
Levels of Understanding Posters
AB and Letter Partner Posters & Group Table Mats
Robin Trainings
My Store

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Interactive Notes with No Cutting or Pasting!

7/17/2022

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During a lecture, do you notice that about half of your students do a great job listening, but don't write anything down while the other half does a great job writing things down, but aren't really listening? My interactive notes solve both of these problems while giving students opportunities to engage in, talk about, and apply what they're learning while also helping them develop the skill of identifying and recording critical content. As an added bonus, there is absolutely no cutting or pasting involved!

Here's How it Works

Students are given a note taking sheet that organizes the notes, but only gives a limited amount of space to write so they learn to identify and record only the most critical content. Not recording everything won't be a problem, because they will only write after they hear about, talk about, and think about the content!

Before you start, review the three rules of interactive notes with them.
1. When the teacher is talking, pencils down - NO WRITING!
2. When directed, turn and talk with your neighbor or group.
3. When directed (at the end of the slide's content), consider the most important information, and record it in the appropriate box.

Each set begins with some focus vocabulary terms that will be used throughout the presentation. Infusing content area vocabulary into as many lessons as possible and in as many ways as you can is a vital part of Marzano's Six Steps of Vocabulary Instruction. Click the link to see more...

Progress through each slide. When I give notes, I like to add a lot of stories, jokes or interesting facts as I go - this is where you can add in your own creativity and flair to make it interesting and exciting for your particular class of students.

There is always an activity at the end that gives your students an opportunity to apply or extend what they have learned. It is also a great opportunity for you to see what connections they are making, or misconceptions they may have.

If my interactive notes sound like a good fit for your teaching style, or are something you want to take a risk and try, I have made a number of them, and plan on continuing to add to the list. Their links to my TpT store are linked below, and remember to check out the rest of my store for other great inclusive, entertaining and Marzano aligned social studies resources that you and your students will love!

World History Interactive Notes

American History Interactive Notes

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A-Z Review - A Quick, Fun, low Prep Way to Review content!

5/22/2022

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A - Z Content Review is something I came up with that gets students excited, competitive and thinking very deeply about the content they have learned over the course of the year! An added bonus is that it takes almost no prep on the teacher's part!

SET UP

You need a vertically cut half sheet of paper for each group.
That's it!

STEPS

Direct one group member to write the letters of the alphabet down the margin of a slip of paper.
Explain that once you say, "Go!" the students need to pass the paper around their group with each group member writing something they learned about in your class for each letter that starts with the letter (EX: Ziggurat for Z).
The team that finishes first within a given amount of time wins. If no group finishes their list , the team with the least letters left empty wins.

TAKE AWAYS

Students build team work skills while competing.
When groups get hung up on a letter or two (like Q or X), they start really wracking their brains and remember all sorts of content that you may have even forgotten covering with them!

So, that's it. Another quick, fun, low prep way to review content with your students. If you try this out, please let me know how it went in the comments, and if you liked it, look through this blog for more quick and easy ways to review with your students along with a lot of other great stuff. And, if you are looking for interesting, interactive or inclusive Social Studies resources, please consider checking out my TeachersPayTeachers store.

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A Quick, fun, NO PREP way to review content!

5/7/2022

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I found myself with a few extra minutes of class and a room full of restless seventh graders who were wiped out from a day of NWEA testing when I came up with this great idea to quickly and competitively review content. The best part is there is ABSOLUTELY NO TEACHER PREP INVOLVED!

SET UP

None - like really, absolutely none!

STEPS

Divide your class into two equal teams and have them line up on opposite sides of the room.
Give each team one whiteboard marker (or piece of chalk if you have a blackboard).
Explain the rules:
1. When the teacher says, "Go!" the first person in line writes down a fact about whatever topic you choose.
2. When the first person is finished, they give the marker to the next person in line and so on until everyone on a team is done.
3. The first team done wins! (But both teams need to finish)
4. ALTERNATE SCORING - Once both teams are finished, review the responses as a class and subtract errors from each team's list. The team with the most correct answers wins. Whichever team finished first would be the tiebreaker.

TAKEAWAYS

Students get to demonstrate their knowledge of a topic.
Your class bonds through competition.
It gives you, the teacher, an insight into what your students are remembering.
If you review and evaluate their responses (ALTERNATE SCORING in step 4), you get to eliminate any misunderstandings or misconceptions.

So, that's it. That's my quick, fun, no prep way to review content with your students. If you try this out, please let me know how it went in the comments, and if you liked it, look through this blog for more quick and easy ways to review with your students along with a lot of other great stuff. And if you are looking for interesting, interactive or inclusive Social Studies resources, please consider checking out my TeachersPayTeachers store.

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Another Quick, Low-Prep Way To Practice Vocabulary!

4/23/2022

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I like to play games in class, and I LOVE teaching content area vocabulary, so here's another quick, easy, low (or no!) prep way to review vocabulary terms with any slush time you may find yourself with!

SET UP

Have a word wall. I use my vocabulary word wall tiles (click the link to check them out!) for all the topics I cover. Throughout the year, I post them and leave them up so that by the end of the school year we have around eighty or so - we're currently up to 58 words. It doesn't have to be my tiles though - any words will do.

STEPS

Assign a student to keep track of the number of words used.
Select a "starter word". It doesn't matter which work you pick, but it should be one that everyone knows.
Ask for a volunteer to pick another work on the wall that is connected to the starter word, and explain their connection (EX: I pick ziggurat to start, and a student might say, "Colosseum is connected to ziggurat because they are both large buildings.")
If it's a logical connection, say, "Great! Who can connect a word to that one?
Repeat the process until your allotted time is up.
At the end, see how many words you used. The next time you do this, the goal is to make more connections.

TAKEAWAYS

Students make great connections.
Competitions = high levels of participation.
You get to see what connections your students are making.
This gives you another Marzano aligned tool for your teaching tool box!

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Getting Started With A New Classroom!

Interactive Notes with No Cutting or Pasting!

A-Z Review - A Quick, Fun, low Prep Way to Review content!

A Quick, fun, NO PREP way to review content!

Another Quick, Low-Prep Way To Practice Vocabulary!

MEET TIM

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