Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers - McRel Video

Workshop Series Part 4 - Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers

Classroom Instruction That Work

Workshop Series – Part 4 Cues, Questioning, & Advance Organizers

January 2013

	Tasks	Notes
Engage	Thinking Caps
Explore	Skimming (Advance Organizer)
Explain	Inferential Questioning Analytic Questioning Essential/Guiding Questions Explicit Cues Advance Organizers
Elaborate	Graphic Organizers - Quick Write
Evaluate	Writing Essential Questions

* Additional Resources located through B-Connect, select Instructional Resources, click on the Brazosport Instructional Coaching Google site, and finally select the tab “CITW – Classroom Instruction That Works”.

ENGAGE: - Thinking Caps  – ask for volunteers to put on the “thinking cap”.  The person wearing the cap is the spokes person.  They must discuss CITW with their group and be prepared to respond to the question based on their hat choice.

Explore – Groups will “skim” the notes Tips page given to them.  Thinking Caps have been rearranged and now a new discussion will take place based on what they read and their new hat.

Explain – Refer to chart showing examples of each type of questioning and where they can find the essential questioning.  Discuss giving explicit cues to tell students what they are learning.  Demo, video clips, drawings, graphics, etc…Not to be used as extras at the end of the unit, but more powerful if used at the beginning – just like the short stories and picture books have traditionally been used to introduce topics.  During workshop series sessions, many teachers are concerned with the amount of time to prep for these strategies.  I try to stress the fact that these are strategies they are probably doing, we just want to bring it to their attention and emphasis them.  They require little to no additional planning, other than normal planning.  However, with this strategy it is the one that requires the most advanced planning because you have to think out the questions prior to teaching.

ELABORATE – Circle Map with “Organizers” in the middle.  Teachers do a quick write for 2 minutes to write as many organizers as they can.  Discuss briefly Thinking Maps and remind teachers of google site where additional resources are.  Graphic Organizers are revisited again in NLR.

EVALUATE -  Teachers write at least one essential question for a lesson that they have coming up.

THINKING CAPS:

Each color hat represents a different point of view. The six color hats used are red, blue, black, white, green, yellow.  See included attachment.

Cooperative Learning - McRel Video

Workshop Series Part 3 - Cooperative Learning

Classroom Instruction That Work

Workshop Series – Part 3 Cooperative Learning

January 2013

Engage “The Hand Game”/ “The Trust Walk” /Cooperative Learning Hand Wrestling

Explore * Anchor Chart
              * Cooperative Learning Expectations
             * Small group vs Cooperative Learning

Explain Tips for teaching from CITW ed 2 pg 46

Elaborate T.E.A.M. or other groupings Coaching Site Resources*

Evaluate How to monitor and evaluate groups

* Additional Resources located through B-Connect, select Instructional Resources, click on the District Instructional Coaching Google site, and finally select the tab “CITW – Classroom Instruction That Works”.

Working Agenda / Presenter Notes

Hand Game – came from wall wisher on CITW Google site.  Cross over hands with each other.  One tap starts the rotation around the semi circle, double tap reverses rotation.  Hands are crossed so everyone has to rely on the person before them and after and pay close attention.  If you tap out of turn, that hand is out. 

Trust Walk requires partners to work together to get through the obstacles.  The blindfolded partner can't see, but the seeing partner can't touch to blindfolded one.  They must safely walk their blind partner around the hole (paper circle on the ground) and over the stump (a cone in the path) and safely into the chair at the end.  

The Hand Wrestling has partners wrestling.  The goal is that which ever team gets the most hands down on table wins.  (Adults quickly figure this out, but kids start to fight against each other until they realize they should be a team)

The purpose of these activities - what do you have to do to complete the task? Can you complete the goal/task without the help of other team members?

Explore – groups will create a Teamwork anchor chart – one that they would want to use in their class.  What do you want cooperative learning to look like, what do you want it to sound like, what are you expectations?

Explain – Review the TIPS for Teaching on pg 46. 

1. discuss how team building activities at beginning of the year allow students to grow together and work together, get to know one another.
2. set expectations with an anchor chart, model and practice expectations
3.  
4.   Cooperative learning should be used to master or practice a skill
5. clearly defined goals, roles and responsibilities for each member while maintaining individual accountability.
6.  

TEAM(S) poster and grouping, grouping cards, when to use grouping.  Questions to ask if Cooperative learning is a good strategy:
* is negotiation, debating, problem solving, or team skills being taught, practices, or assessed?

* will the children learn the material more effectively with peer support than with out?

* do the students need a break from independent work or teacher directed activities?

Partner learning is another form of Cooperative Learning

Reference www.lauracandler.com for many free Cooperative Learning resources

Discuss managing groups – STOP signs to remind groups to have a moment of silence to reflect on what they are learning or to make sure they are on track.  (Gave copies to participants of http://www.lauracandler.com/strategies/CL/CooperativeLearningSOS.pdf and http://www.lauracandler.com/strategies/CL/TeamStopSigns.pdf

Elaborate – RESOURCES!!! on Coaches google site

Evaluate – discussed ways to have students self reflect on group work.  Shared an example of an evaluation.  TEAM evaluation if using TEAM – maintains accountability of all group members and self reflection. How do you grade cooperative learning assignments? Individually or as a team?