Archive for March 2016
Math Stretches
Runners stretch before a race, so that their muscles are warm and ready to perform at optimum levels. Just like those athletes, our students need to warm-up to get their brains focused and ready for quality thinking and learning. Math Warm-ups are an important component of Laney Sammons’ Guided Math framework. When we give our…
Read MoreKeep Teaching
To do test prep or not to do test prep…to keep with my literacy routine or not…those are the questions on most teachers’ minds. The good news is you don’t have to choose. You can keep with your regular routine and teach test prep. Just as you teach fiction, biography, and poetry as different genres,…
Read MoreMaking Assessments Useful
The emphasis on assessment as a measure of accountability has diverted our attention from its most important purpose. Classroom assessments should be guiding tools for improving instruction and student learning. Quality assessments can serve as meaningful sources of information for teachers. The data we gather provides us with evidence for our next steps in helping…
Read MoreRegister NOW for the 2016 K-5 Guided Math Institute!
K-5 Math Institute Using the Guided Math Framework to Promote Deep Mathematical Understanding with Laney Sammons and Donna Boucher July 25-28, 2016 Click HERE for the REGISTRATION FORM Event Details Pricing: The cost of this workshop is $600.00 per person and includes the following: • Breakfast each morning • Lunch each day • Workshop materials…
Read MoreLooking at Fixed and Growth Mindsets
What is a mindset? A mindset is a set of beliefs about your intelligence, talent, and success. It determines how you interpret and respond to given situations. Is there more than one type of mindset? Yes. After decades of research Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford University determined there are two basic mindsets. One is fixed…
Read MoreWhat Really Counts?
“Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything we count, counts.” – Albert Einstein We have become a nation of numbers – driven by statistics and data. The fixation on testing, scoring, and ranking our young learners is not what really counts when it comes to learning. Randi Weingarten, the President of the…
Read MoreGot Stress? – Get Moving!
The end of the year timeline is quickly approaching. The days are filled with assessments, reports, conferences, and checklists. Teachers and students are over whelmed with endless to-do-lists and stress can rise inside like a raging inferno. When these feelings hit, stress hormones circulate throughout the body. These hormones are designed to make the body…
Read MoreMoving Our Thinking Along
Sometimes it’s called the Socratic Method. Sometimes it’s called Higher Order Thinking Skills. And sometimes it’s called Thinking. Regardless of the name it requires the ability to analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and create in order to make logical and rational decisions. The question is how do we help them achieve this level of thought. How…
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