Thursday Thriller
February 16, 2023
Phots from the Field
Spirit Week has been SUPER FUN!!!
Connect Four in 7th Grade Math
Nuts-n-Bolts
1. Thank you for your participation in Spirit Week! Kids love to see the adults dressed up AND who would have thought the stick on tattoos would be a hit? Awesome job, ASB!
2. Kim Kelsay is going to sending out information about the WIDA assessment. Identified students will be assessing in March. I did ask if we could move this assessment to later in the spring. Answer was, "No." Washington state sets the dates.
3. Hopefully, you played the 4 min impromptu video I made at lunch yesterday. I want to hammer home that opting out of learning is not an option. We are not going to power struggle with students to get them to learn because we know how that ends up. We will give them prompts, reminders, etc. to help them. The Google Sheet is for Refusal to Work at lunch time is there for you to place students name, what they need to work on and if in 7th grade which lunch. I'm willing to try anything.
4. Next week is our Garrison Family Night-Hidden in Plain Sight. This company brings in a real bedroom, sets it up and speaks to the attendees about how and where students could be hiding drugs, vapes, etc.
5. We are working on the bells. The school is divided into zones. Turning one part of the zone off or reducing the volume in one portion of the zone is not optional-it's either all or none. We think in the gym we will be able to get a blinking sensor to signal beginning and end of class. I appreciate your patience. We will work to problem solve the issues. This Friday we will have another song :D If you have concerns related to the bell, please them here.
With our new system comes a safety feature. Someday I will learn to make good videos. Please let me know if you have questions. The alarm is truly for imminent danger, student out of control and you are fearing for your safety and that of students, intruder, etc.
Something to Ponder
Part VII HOW to get students talking
More Analysis, Collaboration, & Engagement in Small-Group Discussions
In this Cult of Pedagogy article, veteran ELA teacher Jessica Cannata (EB Academics)
describes how she transformed her students’ small-group discussions from “surface-level talks
that seemed like a waste of a class period into engaged, high-level analysis and collaboration.”
Before, Cannata followed the common practice of assigning roles within each group –
discussion director, literary luminary, symbol sleuth, etc. But she increasingly found these
roles limited students to “shallow, perfunctory conversation;” as she walked around the
classroom, it pained her to listen to students “repeatedly review the main plot points without
really analyzing the author’s craft or making deep connections with the text.” To make matters
worse, other teachers told Cannata that her students were not demonstrating analytical skills
and deeper understanding in their classes. How could she get students to take more ownership
and engage in “more natural, fruitful talk”?
Finally, Cannata hit on the idea of Real Talk Discussion. After a class read a short
story, an article, or a chapter of a novel, she had students focus on talking points that students
wrote themselves, then had students plan and engage in a natural conversation. Here are her
suggested steps:
• Practice – To introduce the new process, Cannata recommends orchestrating a one-
time discussion on a topic that has nothing to do with the text the class is reading so they can
practice the key skills:
- Sharing ideas;
- Building on each other’s thinking;
- Considering multiple points of view;
- Coming to a greater understanding of the topic;
- Accepting that the discussions don’t have to end in complete agreement.
Cannata suggests having students discuss topics like: What is one thing that’s popular right
now but future generations will think is silly? What is the worst piece of advice a person can
give? If we ever find evidence of intelligent beings beyond Earth, should we try to contact
them? Students discuss the assigned question, sharing opinions and backing them up with
reasoning and examples that clarify their position. The teacher provides talk stems like these to
encourage listening, empathy, and respectful disagreement.
• Generating talking points – Students read a chapter of a novel, a textbook chapter, a
short story, or an article, and then each student is asked to write on a single sheet of paper six
talking points about the text that they want to discuss with their group. These can be questions,
observations, interesting quotes, connections, vocabulary, or a stylistic choice made by the
author. Why ask for talking points? Cannata found that this prompt “often led to more organic
discussion than sticking to questions.”
• Grouping and sequencing them – Next, each student chooses their four strongest
talking points and jots each on a sticky note. Members of each group look at their collective
sticky notes, group similar ones together, and decide on a logical order to discuss them. “The
possibilities are endless,” says Cannata, “and there is no one right way to do it, but the process
helps the group to be thoughtful about the discussion’s focus, organization, and direction.”
• Discussion – Students then talk about each chosen point, urged by the teacher to keep
focused on the text and not rush or worry if they don’t get to all the sticky notes (sometimes the
entire discussion is about the first talking point). “This is way different from what they may
have been used to with lit circle roles or other small-group discussions,” says Cannata, “where
they may feel panicked to fit everybody’s notes into the conversation. With this ‘discuss, don’t
rush’ strategy, the conversation feels much more natural and relaxed.” She’s found that
students are more fully engaged in group discussions when they’re not constrained by one role.
• Assessment – Up front, students see a rubric describing the characteristics of an
effective group discussion (what it looks and sounds like) and how they will be graded. The
teacher listens in on discussions, scores each group, and collects the sticky notes to get a sense
of the kinds of questions students are asking. When small-group discussions are finished,
students write a reflection on their favorite talking point, rate their discussion, and assess their
own contributions.
• Whole-class reflection – This pulls the strands together and allows students to reflect
on the talking points they spent the most time discussing and go deeper on their collective
analysis and appreciation of the text.
“Authentic Group Discussions with the Real Talk Strategy” by Jessica Cannata in Cult of
Pedagogy, February 5, 2023
Hope you find a gold nugget to try within one of your classes.
Part VI- Do expect much, just as you would of your own children, nieces, nephews, etc.
Part V -Targeted Questioning -If we are rejecting students to passively answer 'yes' or 'no' to our rhetorical questions, then what types of questions do we ask? Ask a series of open-ended questions, to targeted students.
Part IV Replace rhetorical questions with more objective forms of impromptu assessment 1:11 video clip on a teacher modeling how she does the self report on a scale of 1 -5.
Part III: My job is to create a classroom environment that maximizes opportunities for students to get
Part II: My job is no longer to say smart things. It is to get my student to say smart things.
Part I: My Job is to increase student learning in the most efficient way possible
Quote
“Self-reflection is a humbling process. It’s essential to find out why you think, say, and do certain things…. then better yourself.” – Sonya Teclai
Little Humor
I still get asked, "What's for dinner." I'm going to use this line. Guess I won't need to cook LOL
Calendar of Events
Friday, Feb. 17th Garrison Swag day, GC @ 7:45 in Agnes' room
Sunday, Feb. 19th Happy Birthday, Luciano!!!
Tuesday, Feb. 21 Hidden in Plain Sight parent night, 6:00-8:00
Wednesday, Feb. 22 Garrison Almost Spring Concert @ 7:00
Thursday, Feb. 23 District Strategic Planning Community Event
Friday, Feb. 24th Happy Birthday, Sydney!!!
