From the youngest learners to adult learners, building in breaks is important for all ages. Breaks provide an opportunity for learners to help reset their brains and return to work more focused. Try incorporating a variety of breaks throughout the day such as movement, mindfulness, breathing, or exercise to provide students with an opportunity to refocus and re-engage.
Formatively assess students using the Think-Pair-Share method. After asking a question or providing a prompt related to the learning target, provide students with time to think of their response. Have students pair up with one another to discuss their responses, and then share ideas with the larger group. Throughout the stages of this process, teachers can make formative observations to assess students’ understanding of the content while students are engaged in collaborative conversations with their peers.
There is plenty to be thankful for in all aspects of our lives. Share what you are thankful for with someone!
Classroom discussions utilizing a fishbowl method allow students to explore varying perspectives, dive deeper into topics, and actively engage while scaffolding content. Organize students into two circles- one large circle and a smaller inner circle. Students in the inner circle have a discussion while students in the outer circle listen to the discussion and take notes.
After developing the curriculum for a subject area, it is a good idea to review it every five or six years. This is an opportunity to consider any new state or national standards, gather additional teacher input, and look for cross-curricular connections from other subject areas that maybe had not yet been developed when the target subject area was first written.
Provide a space for students to share ideas and ask questions that will empower their voice and classroom conversations. Students list their ideas or questions in the parking lot during or after a lesson. Teachers answer or reply to items in the parking lot and talk through the ideas with the class.
