Oh boy, has life been busy, busy, busy! Today was my last day of student teaching for now, so after spring break I will be heading back to my school to finish off the year. Student teaching was a great experience and I learned a lot about myself during this process. I will really miss all the kids and amazing teachers that I got to work with.
This last week, I had the opportunity to watch some really great teachers. I learned so many new things to take back to my classroom. One of my favorite things that I learned from one of the third grade teachers was on questioning. She asks the kids to think of thick and thin questions. The thin questions are those that you can pull right from the book. They are found right on the page. The thick questions are those that you have to make predictions or inferences from. I really liked this way of thinking. One of the second grade teachers that I was watching today started her day with a dance party. This allowed the kids to wake up and get their brains ready to work for the day. These are two things that I will for sure take back to my classroom. I am excited to try them and see what my students think about it.
This last week, I had the opportunity to watch some really great teachers. I learned so many new things to take back to my classroom. One of my favorite things that I learned from one of the third grade teachers was on questioning. She asks the kids to think of thick and thin questions. The thin questions are those that you can pull right from the book. They are found right on the page. The thick questions are those that you have to make predictions or inferences from. I really liked this way of thinking. One of the second grade teachers that I was watching today started her day with a dance party. This allowed the kids to wake up and get their brains ready to work for the day. These are two things that I will for sure take back to my classroom. I am excited to try them and see what my students think about it.
Tomorrow I will be attending the Southern California bloggy meetup. What a great way to start my spring break. I am so excited to meet all these great ladies. I have to confess that I am a little nervous because I am going to be meeting some ladies that I really admire in the blogging world. I have been following a few of them ever since I first started following blogs two years ago.
Well, I also have a few freebies to share with you today. For several years I have been doing a differentiated spelling homework for my second graders. I give them a contract that allows them to do the activities that help them learn the words best. This year, I started doing this same idea for my fourth graders with their vocabulary words. The students have lots of different activities that they can do. If you would like a copy of the vocabulary contract that I have been using, just click on the apple.
This year, I also started a differentiated reading project each week for my fourth graders. They have really enjoyed getting to pick what kind of project they get to do. If you would like a copy for yourself, just click on the apple to download it.
Do any of you use differentiated assignments for classwork or homework? How do you use differentiated assignments? Well, I hope you all have a great weekend. If you have started your spring break, I hope that you have some fun things planned for your time off!
Katie,
ReplyDeleteIt was great meeting you yesterday. Thanks for the freebies. When I had my own classroom I differentiated all the time. If my kids were working on Main Idea, I would give the high kids a question for them to find the Main Idea and the details. Lower kids I would give the Main Idea and have them find the details (or vise versa). Lower kids would get a cut and paste sheet where they would need to determine what is the main idea and what are the details. It was a lot of work to put together but my students were working on the same concept at a level that made them successful.
Shawna
The Picture Book Teacher's Edition
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ReplyDeleteI usually differentiate in small group (reading, writing, and math). It's a huge push at our school, probably because it's the right thing to do!! ;O) It can be hard to manage at times, but I think once you get the hang of it, it starts to come naturally!!
Amanda
Collaboration Cuties