March Newsletter
SELCO Bulletin March 2010
ACADEMIC CLASSROOM DISCUSSIONS: Say What?
What do the discussions in your classroom look like? Are they mostly IRF? The teacher asks a “display” question (I), the student responds (R) and the teacher provides positive or negative feedback (F). Jeff Zwiers, author of Building Academic Language: Essential Practices for Content Classrooms, describes this format as a shallow stimulus and response: teacher control, fact-based questions, unequal status because only a few students actually answer questions, passive students who expect the teacher to initiate topics of discussion at all times, and stress on students who feel they must answer correctly and thus not be embarrassed in front of their peers—or, not answer at all.
Ouch! Obviously, this is not the best approach to classroom discussions. But, what should teachers do? Chances are that their preservice training did not include much time on either academic language or how to lead academic discussions. Fortunately, Zwiers’ book is both thorough and teacher-friendly.
Zwiers, while admitting that running good classroom discussions is not easy, says there are important advantages for doing so. Good classroom discussions:
- Allow for repetition of linguistic terms and thinking processes during the course of conversation.
- Push learners to think quickly, respond, organize their thoughts into sentences, negotiate meaning, back claims with evidence, ask for clarification and construct meaning in real time.
- Require students to produce language in order to explain, teach, express, and convince others.
- Provide a format to make hidden thought processes more visible and shared.
- Allow students to see how other people think and use language to describe their thinking.
In the section “Crafting Whole-Class Discussions,” Zwiers teaches teachers how to run effective classroom discussions, how to plan for the discussion, how to build classroom discussion language, how to build academic listening, teaching the academic language needed to learn from lectures, and how to provide silence and think time.
He finishes the chapter by describing specific activities teachers can use to thoroughly engage students in discussion.
- Conversation Circles and Lines
- Interview Grids and Mixers
- Take a Side
- Prediction Café
- Voting
- Simulations
- Radio Talk Show
- Structured Academic Controversy
If all of this sounds interesting, contact Gail to get copies of materials from this chapter, gmadison@slatonisd.net.
HMMMMMM. 5 Ways to Increase Happiness.
SAN DIEGO - The pursuit of happiness is sometimes easier said than done.
Some scientists have argued that happiness is largely determined by genetics, health and other factors mostly outside of our control. But recent research suggests people actually can take charge of their own happiness and boost it through certain practices.
"The billion-dollar question is, is it possible to become happier?" said psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky of the University of California, Riverside. "Despite the finding that happiness is partially genetically determined, and despite the finding that life situations have a smaller influence on our happiness than we think they do, we argue that still a large portion of happiness is in our power to change."
Lyubomirsky spoke here Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She and colleagues last year reviewed 51 studies that tested attempts to increase happiness through different types of positive thinking, and found that these practices can significantly enhance well-being. The results were published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
Here are five things that research has shown can improve happiness:
1. Be grateful - Some study participants were asked to write letters of gratitude to people who had helped them in some way. The study found that these people reported a lasting increase in happiness - over weeks and even months - after implementing the habit. What's even more surprising: Sending the letter is not necessary. Even when people wrote letters but never delivered them to the addressee, they still reported feeling better afterwards.
2. Be optimistic - Another practice that seems to help is optimistic thinking. Study participants were asked to visualize an ideal future - for example, living with a loving and supportive partner, or finding a job that was fulfilling - and describe the image in a journal entry. After doing this for a few weeks, these people too reported increased feelings of well-being.
3. Count your blessings - People who practice writing down three good things that have happened to them every week show significant boosts in happiness, studies have found. It seems the act of focusing on the positive helps people remember reasons to be glad.
4. Use your strengths - Another study asked people to identify their greatest strengths, and then to try to use these strengths in new ways. For example, someone who says they have a good sense of humor could try telling jokes to lighten up business meetings or cheer up sad friends. This habit, too, seems to heighten happiness.
5. Commit acts of kindness - It turns out helping others also helps ourselves. People who donate time or money to charity, or who altruistically assist people in need, report improvements in their own happiness.
MARCH IS MORE THAN ‘THE IDES OF!’
Stymied by what to celebrate in March? It is Humorists Are Artists Month, International Mirth Month, National Frozen Food Month, National On-hold Month, and Play the Recorder Month.
National Write a Letter of Appreciation Week is March 1-7. Celebrate Your Name Week is March 7-13. So is National Words Matter Week. The 14th through the 20th is National Toad Hollow Week. The 15th through the 21st is Act Happy Week, as is American Chocolate Week. National Bubble Blowers Week is the 19th through the 27th.
As for the days:
March 1: Pig Day
3: Peace Corps Day
4: National Grammar Day
6: U.S. Snowshoe Day
9: Barbie Day
Organize Your Home Office Day
12: Middle Name Pride Day
13: International Fanny Pack Day
14: Check Your Batteries Day
Potato Chip Day
PI Day
15: Buzzard Day
Napping Day (Because DST starts the 14th.)
18: Absolutely Incredible Kid Day
Awkward Moments Day
19: National Chocolate Caramel Day
20: Corn Dog Day
Maple Syrup Day
22: International Goof-off Day
24: National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day
25: Letting Go of Stuff Day
Pecan Day
26: Make Up Your Own Holiday Day
28: Weed Appreciation Day
29: Texas Loves the Children Day
30: Pencil Day
Based on an article found on http://www.interventioncentral.org.
Dodging the Power-Struggle Trap: Ideas for Teachers
The teacher’s most important objective when faced with a defiant or non-compliant student is to remain outwardly calm. That takes the ability to disengage.
Disengaging Tactics:
Disengaging tactics allow teachers to keep their cool in order to manage a conflict situation in a professional manner. Remember: a power struggle can be avoided if the teacher does not choose to take part in that struggle. Here are some ideas:
- Use a brief, simple stress-reduction technique before responding to a provocative remark or behavior. Take a deeper-than-normal breath and release it slowly. This allows the teacher to plan an appropriate response.
- Respond to the student in a ‘neutral’, business-like, calm voice. If the teacher responds calmly, he or she is likely to believe that he or she really is calm—even when dealing with a stressful situation.
- Keep responses brief when addressing the non-compliant student. (No nagging.) Nagging invites the student to refuse to respond or to respond disrespectfully. Brief responses give defiant students less control over the interaction. They also cut the chance that the interaction ‘rewards’ the student with negative adult attention.
- Avoid reacting in a confrontational manner to ‘baiting’ student remarks that are deliberately intended to draw the teacher into a power struggle. If a student comment is merely mildly annoying, ignore it. If the negative remark is serious enough to require that you respond, briefly state in a neutral manner why the student’s remark was inappropriate and impose a pre-selected consequence. Then move on.
There is more to this article:
Interrupting Tactics: well-timed, supportive techniques that ‘interrupt’ the escalation of student anger
Deescalating Tactics: strategies to help a confrontational student to reduce his or her anger level and reestablish self-control.
Contact Gail for a copy of the entire article. (gmadison@slatonisd.net)
Good Books for Kids to Read (Found in Instructor, Nov/Dec 2009)
Grades K-2
The Boy Who Invented TV by K. Krull. As the inventor of TV, Philo Farnsworth has made a profound impact on all of our lives. Readers will be fascinated to learn that he came up with the idea when he was 14 and inspired by his long struggle to claim his invention.
Winter’s Tail by J, I, and C. Hatkoff. From some of the team behind Owen & Mzee comes another inspiring account—this one the true story of a dolphin’s recovery and life after receiving a prosthetic tail.
Grades 3-5
Bad News for Outlaws by V. M. Nelson. Divided into short vignettes describing dramatic points in Bass Reeve’s life, this profile of the famous U.S. Marshal will transport readers straight to the Wild West, where African-American lawmen were few and far between, but Reeves rose above all.
Louisa by Y. Z. McDonough. Louisa May Alcott had a brief and often difficult life, but the author brings the story of the Little Women author to children, and readers will see how some of her experiences later wound up in her fiction.
Grades 6-8
Episodes B. Ginsberg. We couldn’t put down this memoir from a 21-year young man with high functioning autism who sees and writes about his life as a series of episodes, similar to a television program. Funny and honest, it has the potential to open minds.
Teacher Tips That Work: (from Instructor, Nov/Dec 2009)
Extra credit: “Two words that can be music to a struggling student’s ears. And the credit can be 10 more minutes on the playground, 10 more points on an assignment, a skip- homework pass, or a brag slip to go home to parents.” Mary Rose
Stretching: “I monitor the most severe students to see when they are building up pressure that needs to be released. Then the whole class will do some stretching or deep breathing exercises. It is good for everyone to take a break.” Mary Rose
Tap Time: “If everyone listens or cleans up, I give them ‘tap time’ right after the lesson. They get to make a beat with pencils or feet. Once tap time is over…no more noise.” Jennifer Capps
Velcro: “Put a strip on the underside of students’ desks. They run their fingers on it rather than tapping feet.” Jennifer Capps
Make an appointment with students who want constant attention.
Some students want your attention immediately. It's not because it's something urgent. Instead, it's because these students just want to be disruptive.*
Here's an easy and effective strategy. Make up little appointment cards. When the student wants your immediate attention, give the student an appointment card. The appointment card is a promise that you will meet with the student at a later time. It's a great strategy because students are acknowledged, yet they do not disrupt what you are doing.
* This strategy is only for students who are constantly disruptive, and not for students who truly need immediate attention.
Have a great day. You are a difference maker.
..Applebaum Training, Marilyn Applebaum
If you enjoy this Message, feel free to forward it to others. The more people who read them, the better! Send the Message From Maryln to parents, other educators, and friends. Together, we are more powerful and are able to make a bigger and better difference for children -- the future of the world.
ARTICLES OF INTEREST
(Contact Gail for copies: gmadison@slatonisd.net)
EDUCATION LEADERSHIP, March 2010. Reading to Learn is the theme of this knockout issue. What follows are titles of some the best articles. You are going to want to read a few of these.
“THE CASE FOR SLOW READING” by T. Newkirk. Teachers can enhance students’ pleasure and success in reading by showing them how to slow down and savor what they read.
“READING THROUGH A DISCIPLINARY LENS” by C. Juel, H. Hebard, J. P. Haubner & M. Moran. Understandint how to think like a scientist, writer, or historian can provide students with new insights as they tackle a text.
“TEXTS THAT MATTER” by G. Ivey. To create lifelong readers, we need to give students reading materials that leave them wanting to know more.
“I GOT GROUPED” by C. Tovani. A teacher’s experience with being grouped forces her to reexamine her beliefs about leveling learners.
“BECOMING A CLASSROOM OF READERS” by D. Miller. What makes students want to read? Young readers learn what life readers know—keeping a book with you alleviates boredom.
“REVERSING READICIDE” by K. Gallagher. Schools have become unwitting coconspirators in the decline of reading.
“MAKING SCIENCE REAL” by J. Olson & K. Mokhtari. Students have rolled balls down ramps. They’ve worked through their misconceptions and developed new understandings. Now they’re ready to read about momentum.
“NEW HORIZONS IN COMPREHENSION” by E. O. Leene. By pushing students to go beyond superficial responses in conversations about books, we can teach them to deepen their understanding.
“LITERACY STARTS WITH THE TEACHERS,” by W. Brozo & D. Fisher. Effective professional development must be at the heart of efforts to nurture adolescents’ content area reading skill.
“THE DAY RADING BECAME PLAY” by B. Hansen. You can engage and instruct both advanced readers and nonreaders at the same time.
“SUMMARIZING TO COMPREHEND” by R. Marzano—yes, that Marzano. Summarizing strategies have a substantial average effect on student understanding.
“CLOSING THE VOCABULARY GAP” by J. David. Most teachers devote little time to explicit vocabulary instruction. Too bad since vocabulary size predicts comprehension.
“IMPROVING SENTENCE WRITING ABILITY THROUGH SENTENCE-COMBINING PRACTICE.” B. Saddler & J. Preschern. Teaching Exceptional Children Jan/Feb 2007. In this article, the authors discuss the benefits of sentence combining and how sentence-combining practice can help writers craft more interesting sentences that convey their ideas in a variety of ways. In addition, they provide suggestions to assist teachers in adding sentence-combining instruction to their current writing instructions.
TARGET AUDIENCE: General and special ed teachers of writing.
“MODELS FOR INITIAL DECIMAL IDEAS.” K. Cramer, D. Monson, T. Wyberg, S. Leavitt & S. Whitney, Teaching Children Mathematics September 2009. Put a twist on the familiar 10 X 10 grid model to build your students’ understanding of effective decimal models. This article shares insights as to which concrete and pictorial models have been effective in developing initial decimal ideas, which include understanding what decimals mean in terms of fractions and place value, constructing order strategies to judge the relative size of decimals, understanding decimal equivalence and developing meaningful strategies for adding and subtracting decimals.
TARGET AUDIENCE: Anyone teaching math to struggling students.
“REAL-TIME TEACHING: TEXT MAPPING PLUS: IMPROVING COMPREHENSION THROUGH SUPPORTED RETELLINGS.” D. Lapp, D. Fisher & K. Johnson, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, February 2010. In order to successfully retell a story or share salient factors of an informational text, the reader has to grasp the meaning by understanding the language, apply the appropriate decoding strategies, recognize the text sequence and infer, coconstruct, and analyze what the author intended. If you are a struggler, this can be next to impossible. The authors explain how to use text-mapping plus to teach such students how to do all of these.
TARGET AUDIENCE: Teachers teaching strugglers in intermediate grades on up.
“IMPLEMENTING READERS THEATRE AS AN APPROACH TO CLASSROOM FLUENCY INSTRUCTION.” C. Young & T. Rasinski, The Reading Teacher September 2009. Readers Theatre can create an academic avenue that leads to increased reading fluency, regardless of whether students are striving or thriving. The authors believe that performance of texts as in the performing arts aids students in both gaining fluency and reading with meaningful expression (prosody). In fact, they believe in it so much, that they spend the rest of the article showing you how to conduct your own Readers Theatre.
TARGET AUDIENCE: General and special ed reading/language arts teachers.
“TECHNIQUES FOR SMALL-GROUP DISCOURSE.” H. Kilic, D. Cross, F. Ersoz, D. Mewborn, D. Swanagan & J. Kim, Teaching Children Mathematics February 2010. Different types of instructional facilitation influence students’ thinking and reasoning; reflecting on your own practices can help you determine your role as an instructor and increase your competence. As the authors say, engaging students in discursive practices can be difficult; teachers can increase their competence in facilitating discourse through greater awareness of the impact of certain instructional behaviors on students’ mathematical talk. This is a most informative article.
TARGET AUDIENCE: General and special ed math teachers.
