Many of us find task cards to be a valuable tool in our classrooms...and you can find dozens of posts with great suggestions on the many ways to use them! Today's "Teacher Tip" involves laminating--and I know many of you probably DO laminate your cards to keep them safe and sound for repeated use.  Do you also laminate them so that students can INTERACT with them?  I do! This is especially powerful when you are working with students on math concepts.  Sure, they can recopy the problems into their math notebooks--but how about using the cards to show their work?  The photo below was taken during an intervention group I was doing with a few students who were really struggling with basic equations and the concept of "equal".  By having them write directly on the card as they talked through their thinking, I could correct misconceptions and see what they were doing incorrectly so I could coach. Not using them for interventions?   Have students write on t...
"Those speech bubbles are so cute." I shudder. Cute? Well, yes, I admit they are darn good-looking speech bubbles. (Credit Sarah Pecorino for the lovely clip art in the photos.) But look past the cuteness and you'll see a tool. A tool that can reap intense thinking from your students during your reading instruction. Here are five ways to use speech bubbles when reading literature: Try using speech bubbles as a vehicle for your students to interact with the characters in a text. To actually talk to a character. Doing so can entrench a student into the story. Not only are they following the plot, now they are putting themselves in it. Have them offer advice to a character, connect to a difficult situation by telling a character about a similar experience, or give information that would help a character out of a sticky situation. Sticky notes work perfectly to do this while reading. Students can pause, jot down a speech bubble, and stick it right in ...
I know many of my fellow educators fully agree with the following statement: Teaching problem solving is tough!  Math problem solving is one of the most challenging activities for elementary students.  Over the years, I've noticed that students:  struggle with interpreting what the problems are really asking them to do   struggle with figuring out the necessary steps to solve the problem  do not have an entry point to the problem When reflecting on the different barriers, I began to think of a set procedure that could be easily implemented in the classroom to support students. Let me share a strategy that has been helpful to me. First - Think About What the Problem is Asking? For some students understanding the word problem can be challenging.  From my experience, much of the confusion is due to (1) students not comprehending the context of the problem and (2) students not understanding numerical expressions. Can you see how the combination of both can be an hug...
          If you're new to teaching paired text, or if you just want a few new ideas to add to your paired reading lessons, this post is for you! I'll explain how I use paired text in my upper elementary classroom step by step, to make it a really successful reading tool. 1. Get Students Ready for Paired Texts         Before I ask my students to jump right into a paired text, I make sure they have the tools they need to be successful. One of the things I like to do is to focus on the skill of compare and contrast ( click here for more ideas on compare and contrast on this blog ). Reading similar mentor texts (picture books) is an easy and quick way to review. We might read two versions of Little Red Riding Hood or read two biographies - one on Jane Goodall and the other on Dian Fossey, to help us note the similarities and the differences between the characters, and the stories. As we read these mentor texts and compare them, I make sure to use the term, paired passag...