Three Favorite Things

It’s that time of year where everyone is making lists and checking it twice, so we thought we would toss out a few of our ERG Favorite Things.

Children’s Literature
What’s not to love here? Children’s books are not only designed to create a love of reading, but also are handy tools in classrooms all the way through high school. The stories that we know and love (and a few more that we need to know) can become mentor texts to help us explore symbolism and contemporary issues.

Formative Assessment
This is not to be confused with summative assessments. True formative assessments happen in the act of learning. When we walk in classrooms and see teachers talking with students, jotting notes while walking around, listening into small groups, and actually using exit tickets to reflect and plan lessons, we get a little excited! The whole idea of formative assessment is to figure out what students know so you know what to teach to keep learning moving forward. And there are some handy resources out there to do this! Check out this free resource from ERG and this quick reference guide from Sue Brookhart.

Math Talk
Remember those days of flashcards and timed tests? Yeah, that’s not what we are talking about. When students use precise math vocabulary, share their thinking, and actually explain how they problem solve, that’s the kind of math talk that is exciting. Those of us of a certain age (*eye roll*) used to chat in literacy and social studies, but showing our thinking in math was not something we practiced much. We are really glad those days are over and Math Talk has arrived. Laney Sammons has a great resource for guiding math conversations and here is a math talk freebie from ERG!

So if you have a teacher on your list, think about these gifts that just keep on giving… we promise they will be used more than that Rudolph coffee mug you have your eye on!

Alice & Hope