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= QUESTION #3: Please describe one strategy for differentiation or grouping that you learned about on the April 13th Universal Access Day. It can be a strategy you received from any of the presenters. You may want to go back through some of the paperwork you received from the special education presenters (we gave you a list with targeted strategies at the end of the day). We would like to hear about one strategy that you have tried or that makes sense in your classroom, even if you have not yet had time to apply it. Be as specific as you can as to why it would be useful for you and your students. Answer directly below. --- =

Andrew Moriates: Caroline, I agree with you completely. The biggest leap I feel I have made with grouping is learning to give each student within a group a specific role/task. I emphasize to the students that not only do they have to complete their task, but they must help the other students complete theirs as well. I feel like this makes the students realize that they are not working individually on an assignment and then passing their papers to the other person to, dare I say it, just copy down the other group member's answers. In my opinion, when students do that, it defeats the purpose of grouping. I tell them to complete their task, help others complete theirs if needed, and finally discuss their work making every student within the group responsible for all of the information within their assignment. There is nothing worse than calling on a student to present their group's work and him/her saying "That was not my job" or "I had number three not number two." I one hundred percent agree that group roles within an activity are necessary, but I have learned through my inquiries and short classroom experience that you need to make sure that all students can complete and explain each task even if it is not their directly assigned one.

Caroline Aldemir: I really liked the breakdown we got of the different ways you can use grouping in your classroom. It's difficult with my population of kids to group them in any way that is meaningful or productive, since they get off task so easily, so I think the cooperative team could be the most beneficial, since it has such clearly defined roles for everyone (such as the recorder, the questioner, and the reporter). As long as no one is the tattle-tale, I imagine it will work well for short term projects. I will say, though, that I will have to adapt it to my own situation and have very short term projects to do with it, because attendance is such a huge problem here; if you start a project one day with one group, and try to continue it the next day, most groups will be missing one person they started out with, and you'll have a whole influx of kids who were absent the day before and don't know what you're talking about. THEREFORE, I think one-day collaborative teams may work best for my situation. I look forward to trying them out.

Christy Ledford: Hey Caroline, I know my workshop classes aren't as challenging as your classes at Silverado but I borrowed a contest idea from Farmer and it worked really well for classroom management and getting the students to stay focused during group work. Basically, it's a system of rewards that the students earn by building up points. They can earn points for positive behavior (such as working well in groups, participating in class, having perfect class attendance, etc.) and you can deduct points for poor behavior. I made it a contest between my two workshop classes and it was like night and day in my behaviorally challenged 4th period. The contest was definitely a huge help with overall classroom management but I also think that it provided an incentive to work well in groups and work hard during class time. I was able to assign a group project that I wouldn't have touched normally. If you're interested, I'll e-mail it over. I'm sure Marge wouldn't mind!

Michelle Steiner: I have used grouping with specific roles and found it extremely effective in keeping students on task, while providing them the opportunity to work with students at different levels of ability. For students who are at the basic or below basic level, I assign them certain roles without the class knowing. This way, they feel comfortable doing work at their ability, but also get to hear input and higher level thinking from honors kids in their group. Honors students are challenged by getting roles that call for analysis. For poetry, honors students were assigned roles of figurative language analyzer and theme identification. Even for simple activities, such as character sketches for a novel, assigning roles keep students on task and engaged in the activity.

Michelle Steiner: I have struggled with the whole modification/accomodation process and when to what, but I have focused on a lot of accomodating with my EL student and it is easier than I thought! Simple changes to his daily work make it easier for him to understand, and gives him the ability to complete assessments just like everyone else. For example, while reading a novel in class, I am focusing on theme and characterization. The questions I pose to him, hand written, are different than what I tell the class. His questions are worded differently, making it easier for him to get what I want him to say. I think a lot of EL's stuggle with work simply because they don't understand the question being asked to them. By breaking down the question in a different way, they have the same chance as everyone to show their knowledge, thus providing them universal access. When I am assessing students on theme, for example, I will ask my EL student, "What do you think this character learned?" instead of, identify a theme in the novel.

Lauren Thiele: I agree with Elizabeth and found the clock grouping strategy extremely helpful!!! I'm often at a loss of how to group my students and this would be a great tool to use! Also, I recently went to Lisa's seminar on how to group students by ability and this was helpful because I have a wide range of students in my college prep classes- I have students who are almost working at the honors level and I have students who are really working just above workshop. It's been difficult trying to find a balance so that my high performing students feel challenged and my struggling students are getting the help they need. By ranking my students and grouping by ability, I think that I can save my high achievers from feeling like they're getting stuck doing all the work, and I can also spend time giving private attention to my students who need more guidance. Also, Lisa suggested for my workshop class (in which half of my students are on an IEP and the other half are ELs) that I group not according to ability, but their level of independence in working on their own. I can't wait to try this and am hoping that it will save me some time from running around trying to individually help each student!

Rana/Response: Lauren, I agree with you on this. To be honest I have always shied away from group work becasue I think it takes an expereinced teacher to create a group project that is successful. But I did implement this in my current unit with my 6th period class and you know what that class is like. I have found the strategy very helpful and it seems to make it easier for me to monitor classroom behavior and keep the students engaged. It is also helpful becasue it enables me to give the students that need extra assistance my attnetion and help! :)

Michelle Steiner: Rana- I agree with you on the monitoring with collaborative work...it is actually easier to monitor students when you can go table by table, and check in with 3 or 4 students, as apposed to 35 at one time. The more I do group work, the easier it seems to go, whether it's differentiating by ability, or mixed groups. The hard work for me now seems to be in moving my desks back and forth all the time!

Elizabeth Armstrong: I really liked the clock grouping strategy and feel it would be VERY useful in my classroom, especially with "think/pair/share" activities, which I use quite often. It will save time, as the students will already be grouped together, and I will have more control over who works together. This will also help when I am working with groups of 4, and again it will save valuable time in grouping them as they will already know who they may potentially be working with. I might use this at the beginning of the semester as a "get to know each other" activity, that way students will know their group members. Elizabeth- I loved this one too! It does save a ton of time, if you do it at the very start!- Lisa

Christy Ledford: My focus class is English II Workshop and it's embarrassing to admit but I've never considered the fact that my ELs may not understand the directions they're being given, both in my class and on standardized tests. I love the idea of teaching Academic Vocabulary each week which would include words like identify, recognize, compare, contrast, hypothesize, etc. I will try to do this by incorporating CST test prep into our weekly routine and asking the students to define words in the directions. Although it sounds simple, I really think it will help all of my students but especially the ELs. One other strategy that I've already put in place is to seat higher level students near those of a lower level so that the higher level student can periodically check in or provide assistance. Sometimes the students just need to hear something from someone besides the teacher and it will click! Christy- Don't be embarrassed; it is great that you are self-reflective and self-confident enough to admit this. Teaching probably has the largest learning curve of all professions, and we all have things that are intuitive to us and others that aren't! I like your idea of the weekly words. I did that one year and kept them on a clothesline that crossed the classroom... not sure if I liked that part:).- Lisa Christy Ledford: Hi Lisa, I like the idea of having these words placed throughout the classroom. I'm not sure if I could do the clothesline because my little joys would find some way to tear that down or play with it but I could definitely have weekly words strategically placed throughout the classroom all year long. I think it would be a huge help for the CAHSEE and CSTs for them to understand the directions. Obviously!

Michelle Steiner:

I found the article on "Ability Grouping in Elementary Schools" extremely helpful, even though I teach seventh grade. I have used between-class grouping in addition to within-class grouping, and it has worked wonders! Luckily, I have a department that works close together and allows us to plan differentiated units within our classes. For example, we had all of the seventh grade honors students in one class for the week, while the other two classes were split up between the other two classes. This allows our honors students to receive direct instruction on a higher level novel while the basic and below basic students were able to foucs on standards previously covered including reading comprehension and characterization. This would be great to do with writing as well. Students who are at the advanced level could be with one teacher working on the essays, while the basic and below basic students could be grouped with the other teachers for specific writing strategies at their level.

In terms of within class grouping, I just finished a poetry unit where different poems were given to different groups, based on their skill levels. It went well, and all students were able to master certain standards, at their own level, based on their grouping and poem. Michelle- Really nice to hear that you have a great team- makes all the difference for the profession, and more importantly for the students! Glad the article fit:)- Lisa

Rana/Response: Michelle, I also found the ability grouping article to be very interesting. I utilized this technique in my Hiroshima Unit with my Sophmores. I found it veryn helpful becasue it enabled me to monitor the students comprehension and enabled me to give more one-on-one help to the students who really needed it. The students in my 6th period class seem to respond better to group work than whole class discussion. So, this is something Im throwing into the mix of my teaching. I did learn that you need to make sure the activities ans roles assigned to students are meaningful becasue if they are not you can loos some of the students and the group work then will be useless. Hopefully, with more practise on my part and once the students get used to group wprk it will go more smoothly.

Lorinda Shew: I am focusing on providing students with literature to read that is at their level and grouping them accordingly. For instance, after assessing students' reading level, they were grouped with similarly-leveled students and each person in the small group was given the same reading book. Reading was conducted using echo reading, cloze reading, whisper reading to partners and groups were pulled out during DEAR time to read with the aide and with me. Comprehension questions were answered orally and in written form, with students able to share ideas with their groups. I have noticed that my ELD students NEED that repetition. Even if they hear a perfect answer from a fellow student, they may still struggle with coming up with an answer in written form. Having both support from peers and teachers has been very beneficial to them.

As a sidebar, I experimented last week with silent reading time and I felt it was really successful. Since many of my ELD 1/2 students simply cannot sustain their attention to the intense task of silent reading since language acquisition is primary, I came up with the idea of playing youtube picture videos of Owl City lyrics along with the music. The music is clean and calming, the lyrics are displayed along with matching hand-drawn images and students passed a laser pointer to point the lyrics as they were sung. They enjoyed it and I got to feel less like a cop. :) Lorinda- I LOVE this idea! Your students are so fortunate that you took the time to figure this out and implement it. Variety is the spice of life!  Hi Lorinda- I really like the idea of doing literature circles and would like to try something like this in the future for my Workshop class because many of the kids are at different reading levels. I've been afraid to try this strategy however, because the idea of managing my class (which can be rowdy) while they are reading different material intimidates me. Are the lesson plans you create universal and do the activities that the kids are engaged in the same, despite the text that they are working on? Also, I'm curious as to whether you hold your kids accountable for the information they read when they engage in silent reading time; I would love the opportunity to just allow my kids to ENJOY reading and to have no pressure of an assignment afterwards, but I don't trust that if there is no accountability, that my students will actually participate and read. . . . - Lauren Thiele

Rana Najd/ Answer to Question: The one strategy that I liked is the clock grouping startegy. I did utilize this with my Junior class. The students enjoyed having the opportunity to choose their groups/partners. One of the positive aspects of BTSA this year is that I have been able to implement allot of the inservice information into my teaching techniques. In addition to this, I have become alot more brave about steering away from the traditional mode of teaching and implementing more creative, nontradional techniques. With my current poetry unit I have been utilizing the clock strategy and changing it up every day. It has enabled to me to be more of a facilatator and given me the opportunity to work with certain groups that need more time to comprehend the information or that need one on one help. With my focus class group work seems to work better than straight lecture. It has also enabled me to keep contro of the classroom and work on behavior issues. Hi Rana :) I have noticed that using this type of grouping strategy in my workshop class (which in terms of behavior issues, is very similar to your focus class :) )has worked wonders as well! I think that I used to feel guilty leaving my high learners to work on their own while I spent more time with my students who are of higher need. But I think what I've come to realize is that most of the time my high performing students are so independent and self-sufficient that they prefer having time to work on the given assignments by themselves. Most of the time when I explain an assignment/activity they just seem to "get it" and would actually prefer that I don't waste their time going over the information with them and the rest of the class again- they value the time I give them to get their work done during class and because most of these kids are highly motivated, I can trust them to work quietly and independently without any behavior issues. This in turn, allows me to focus my attention on the kids who need that individual attention. What I've been most amazed with from grouping my kids in this manner is the improved efficiency of my classroom and the substantial increase in the productivity levels of my kids! - Lauren Thiele =  =



= YEAR 2 TEACHERS... QUESTION (S) #2: GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF A TIME WHEN YOU FELT THAT YOU EFFECTIVELY DIFFERENTIATED A LESSON TO PROVIDE UNIVERSAL ACCESS. HOW DID YOU DETERMINE WHO NEEDED GREATER ACCESS? DID YOU GROUP? WERE YOU ABLE TO TELL THE EFFECT ON STUDENT LEARNING? or WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU LEARNED AT THE JANUARY 15TH INSERVICE THAT YOU PLAN TO INCORPORATE INTO YOUR LESSON PLANS OR CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES? DID YOU ACTUALLY TRY THE LESSON PLAN YOU MAPPED OUT? WERE YOU ABLE TO DISCERN INCREASED LEARNING FOR STUDENTS WHO NEEDED THIS ALTERNATE ACCESS TO THE CURRICULUM? (answer or post photos directly below) -- - = Christy Ledford, Year 2, Question 2 (2/2/10) I really liked the triangular model of releasing responsibility that we went over at the In-Service. I have been trying to use that model in my Workshop classes which is a little scary. I usually go from 'We do it" to "You do it" with a little "I do it" thrown in at the beginning if necessary. I think the workshop classes could benefit from collaborative "You do it together" work but I worry about them getting off task. I have recently tried to give them the privilege of working together on assignments if they show me that they can work independently to begin with. We are just starting //Animal Farm// so I put up a list of commonly known fairy tales and then we brainstormed the common traits of fairy tales together. After that, I let the students choose their own groups and gave them a fairy tale to dissect with a graphic organizer. I chose one group to work with that had a few EL students and let the rest work on their own. Some of them got off task but quickly got back to work when I reminded them that group work was a "privilege" that could be taken away. After about 15 minutes, we went over each fairy tale and then I gave them an idea of what they should be looking for while we read the novel. I enjoyed working with the small group and I feel that hte class enjoyed being able to work together on it as well.

Christy- I love when they understand that working in groups is a privilage! Sometimes it works for my seventh graders, but they are so easily distracted! Other than the EL grouping, did you pick their groups, or let them work with each other? Thanks! Michelle Steiner Hi Michelle, I let my students choose the groups in this particular instance although I know it would be more beneficial if I did the grouping. I honestly feel like flipping a coin sometimes because I can't tell if it would be better and more comfortable for them to contribute to a group of their own choosing or if they would benefit more from assigned groups with mixed abilities. I try to alternate because I know their preference is to work with their friends.

Rana/Response: I actually did that the other day with my focus class. They are a definatelly a handful. They hate class discussion and lately since I have implemented alot of group/partner group they are more engaged in the discussion and I am able to keep watch and not only monitor behavior but comprehension as well. The reminder of "privelage" seems to keep the students on task and working!

Christy: I love the privilege reminder as well! Sometimes even I forget tha! ;) I also love the fairy tale idea, and giving them different ones to work on, rather than the same story for everyone. I am going to try this in my CaHSEE study class.

Michelle Steiner, Year 2 (2/16/10) I use the releasing responsibility while I am planning my lessons as a great way to assess myself- Am I talking too much? Am I modeling enough?

Rana/Response: Michelle, I have learned this year that I am definatelly talking too much and not giving the students enough opportunities for meaningful interaction with the text. My unit which I spent alot of time on has various activities that are not only meaningful but differentiated to a high degree. (Hiroshima) This has been my most successful unit and I really believe it is becasue I released some of the responsibity off of me and gave the students the opportunity to show me what they know. I was impressed.

I feel that the specific advice concerning EL's and differentiating was extremely helpful! I have more confidence with creating alternative assessments knowing that I can still hold them accountable, while using a method of assessment that produces the work I need. With my last persuasive essay, I altered the number of examples they needed for each reason. With the RTL, I lowered the quantity of quotes needed, but kept the commentary the same.

Rana/Response: For me this year seems to have let light bulb go off in my head, All of the differentaiation information has really helped me with not only EL's and Special Populations but students who just dont get it or need assistance. I think the most helpful information we have received is about differentaion. The meeting at the end of the year has caused me to work really hard on proving this method and has really benefitted not only me but my students as well. Their comprehension level and enagagemnt has more than increased.

My hope is that these little changes give the students the confidence to feel like they can succeed, rather than getting frustrated and not giving their effort.

Michelle: I like the planning the release into your lessons. My students are always trying to get me to do the work for them and then copying my analysis. If the release is planned and flexable, the students are ensured their opportunity to have responsibility for their learning. -Corrine

Rana/Answer to Question: An example of when I had to differentiate instruction is during a discussion of Julius Caesar. As a class, we read Act I and I was reviewing important concepts, themes and quootes. The majority of the students unbderstood what we were discussing but I had a group of about 5 students struggle with the points I was trying to stress. These were my Englsh Language learners. Therefore, I put the class into groups and assigned them sections of the text to summarraize and connect to the themes we had discussed earlier. Then I took the students that were struggling and worked with them one on one. I utilized a cd of plot summary per Act in spanish. This seemed to aide the students into better undertstanding the plot before moving into higher level thinking skills. The one-on-one and group work seemed to help. Also, suggesting that the students define/translate words they did not undertsand helped. Then the group helped oneanother prepare for their presentation. Even though, it might be time consuming and difficult for me at times it is alot more enaging than the traditional method of teaching. (lecture) This is something I struggle with but the more comfortable I am and confidant of my teaching skills group work has become alot easier. It definatelly increases the students chances of comprehension and it is fun for them.

Elizabeth Armstrong--Year 2/Question 2

I really liked the in-service lesson on releasing responsibility (as well). I tried it right away with my class and it worked really well! I first modeled what the assignment was, then I had the students work in pairs to do the next one, and then on their own for homework. What I really liked about it was the sharing of ideas amongst the class, and I was able to assess where certain students were based on their answers when we worked as a class. Then, when I gave them time to work with a partner (someone near them so that they refrained from working with friends), I was able to walk around and personally assess the level of understanding of each student. I differentiated by stopping and taking time to explain to individual students who seemed to be struggling with the concept. This also allowed me to assess if re-teaching needed to be done, or if individual attention would be enough to help the students who were struggling. (In this particular case, just the extra help was all they needed). The next day, when we corrected the homework, I was able to determine if any reteaching needed to be done, or if we could move forward with the lesson.

Corrine Avila- Year 2/Question 2

I've done a lot of differentating in my recent American Transcendentalism unit. I'm a firm believer in teaching good study skills, so before reading Emerson and Thoreau we practices note taking skills Cornell style and strategies for annotation. I provide the students with copies of the texts we read instead of reading them out of the book. I used the jigsaw strategy when we read Self-Reliance and as the different groups presented/taught their section of the text, the students annotated their texts according to my guidelines with additional summaries and insights. The annotations on the text help the struggling students create notes and interact with the text in a meaningful way rather than just answer questions about the text and turning them in. I found that the students were able to make deeper connections to the text when they are study my notes, their groups notes, and their own. My intention is to help the students study more productively so they are focusing their attention on parts of the text that reveal the most meaning and not wasting study time rereading entire texts.

I run most of my classes according to the gradual release of responsiblity model, though I didn't know until the inservice that it was a well researched concept. I think this model works best when I'm teaching a complicated or sophisticated text. For the most part, the students want me to read it and tell them what it means (especially my 2nd period). When I first started teaching I would constantly be doing all the work (reading, summarizing, and analyzing the texts for the students). I guess I was worried they wouldn't get it and get discouraged. As if my job wasn't hard enough already, I was feeding my students the "answers". I work very hard now to scaffold rather than spoon feed. While we read "Resistance to Civil Government", I broke the reading and analyzing into the four interrelated components. Through I realized that we the shifts were not linear, we moved back and forth from guided instruction to collaboration and back to guided instruction depending on the difficulty of the certain sections of the text and the group of students.

Hi Corrine, I think I'd like to sit in on your class one day in my dream world. I love the idea of giving the students a copy of the text, especially for transcendentalism, and having them annotate as they go along. My students struggled with this concept and I know they needed to make a deeper connection to the text. I think I'll give your way a try next year! - Christy Ledford Andrew Moriates - Year 2/Question 2

For my most recent unit of study with my English II class, I created four different project ideas which the students could choose from. Each project was varying in difficulty and had a different point value based on the level of difficulty and the time necessary to complete the assignment. The project options were both individual and cooperative learning opportunities. I was able to assist my students in choosing a a project that they felt comfortable with, and that they would be able to complete with confidence. I feel like this project is a great way to provide universal access to my students because it allows my lower level students a chance to complete a project that does not make them feel overwhelmed, and their confidence grows more and more as they complete any assignment. The confidence that a project like this gives my lower level students is great because it helps them feel like they can achieve and be successful at a college prep level. This project allows my higher level students an opportunity to work with a group or individually on an activity that is more challenging and detailed. I have my students sign up at the time I assign the project in order to make sure that each student is choosing the project which suits their abilities correctly.

YEAR 1 TEACHERS... QUESTION #2: What is something you learned from the Rick Morris inservice on classroom management that you will or have applied to your own practice? ---

Caroline Aldemir, Year 1, Question 2 (1/23/10): One thing I picked up from the Rick Morris inservice that I've really been trying to implement is the idea of taking many responses from a class of students. Commonly when I go through a text with them, because I have to spend so much class time reading it aloud to them or using an audio disk (they do no reading at home; they don't even have books at home--at Silverado EVERYTHING is done in class :)), I stop at points, ask a comprehension or a deeper discussion question, take a couple of responses from the most eager responders (only a couple in a class usually) and then move on. In an attempt to incorporate and assess each student, though, I started creating more worksheets with questions that required written responses. After the students would write their written response, I've been calling on each of them individually, and responding with a simple "Thank you", just like Rick suggested. I've found two things so far: It is REALLY hard to get used to not echoing their responses back to them (I constantly have to monitor myself or else I do), and taking so many responses really does add a lot to the understanding of the whole. When I get more responses, I can take from a bunch of different ones when I respond back to them. Also, when so many students respond, they don't get embarrassed about providing a response, since everyone is doing it. So, all in all, it's taking me a lot of practice to not repeat responses and only take a few, but it's worth it! Hi Caroline :) I tried using this strategy too and I have to tell you that it has been a struggle for me also- I never realized how I tend to repeat everything that my students say- it completely reinforces the idea that they only need to listen when I am talking, and this results in a vicious cycle of me having to repeat things over and over again, especially when students don't realize/hear that someone else has already asked the same question. I must agree though, that I have noticed that not jumping in right away with a response to what my kids say, and waiting to hear from everyone encourages student participation. What I think is perhaps most valuable is that my students are being forced to take responsibility for their own learning rather than just waiting for me to give them the answer! Yes! Independent learners and self-sufficiency! -Lauren Thiele

G lad to hear it, Caroline! Good for you for trying all this at once. I hope it pays off- it sounds like your students are appreciative!- Lisa

Hi Lorinda- I have to admit that when Rick Morris brought out all of his different sound makers, I was very skeptical. I definitely use my voice way too much in the classroom (see below) and I am willing to try using different music pieces to signal transitions between activities, but other than that I think I am stubbornly opposed to using any other sound devices. I think that this is because I'm worried that my students will be offended and feel like I am treating them like animals- especially the population of my 4th and 5th period junior workshop class, which is very sensitive. I'm still not convinced, but the fact that you have only had to repeat a page number once, is very encouraging! What is the age group of your students? Also, are there any other noise makers you have used other than the bell with the expo marker? -Lauren Thiele
 * Y1-Q2: Using bell on the Expo marker has done wonders for circling the page number as we move along. I already have the page number on the board but I just then circle it when we go to it. In all the days since we had seminar, I have only had ONE(!) student ask me to repeat the page number. I still can't believe the magic of that one. I have also been utilizing the large timer at the front of the room and I love when the kids see the time counting down how they scramble to finish in a way my voice reminding them would never accomplish. For some reason, they take that timer so seriously. I still think I could reduce my voice more, but a little at a time I guess. LORINDA **

Lauren, Year 1, Question 2: Probably the most valuable thing I learned from the Rick Morris inservice is the idea of using my voice less and having students manage themselves in the classroom. My periods 3 and 5 are quite the talkers and sometimes my voice is hoarse from trying to talk over them by the end of the day!. I think I will start using music cues as signals to my students to transition from activities- sometimes I think that so much time is wasted just trying to get students' attention and to move from one activity to the next! But if students are "trained" to associate certain types of music with certain behaviors and activities, I won't even have to use my voice- how lovely!!!

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Question #1 How are you attempting you engage all your students?

In an attempt to engage my students, I tried the text- to- self strategy. For one of the short stories (of my choice) they had to find some part of it that they could relate to. My example was for "The Most Dangerous Game" where I made a connection to my life which was that my brother has an annual hunting trip that he attends, and how much I dislike the idea that he hunts. I liked this strategy because it helps students identify with the story, and, because they have something personal they can relate to it, they have a better chance of remembering it. It also makes the discussions more interesting for them as they can share their own stories, and kids LOVE to talk about themselves! Another part of this strategy is to relate a story to something they have recently heard (text-to-world). This was really interesting as they came up with some amazing connections! Elizabeth- Do the students actually text a message? Or do they just compose what their text would be? Very engaging idea either way- please explain more about the procedure.... Lisa Paisley They write it as a journal entry (very short one). They read the short story and then try to relate some part of it to something in their own lives. I also want to share something I tried last week that the students LOVED--so much they keep asking me to do it again! :) "Partner Reading"--the students pair (no more than 2 unless really have to), and read a chapter of the novel to each other. While they are reading, they stop to summarize it. This was really helpful because they could ask each other clarification questions they might not have normally asked in class. When they were done, they had to write out the main plot points of the chapter (it's freshman and I'm working on identifying main plot points and taking notes). I walked around to make sure they were staying on task, and ALL of my students were engaged throughout, and as they finished, I checked their thoughts on the main plot points and challenged them to shorten their lists.We then came together as a class, and I randomly called on students to provide the main plot points, then we discussed as a class which ones were actually main points, and why. I bet they really appreciated the opportunity to discuss the plot with one another. Summarizing can be a real challenge when you are trying to be concise! Thank you for sharing this strategy. Lisa

Rana/Response: The one strategy I have been implemeing this year is working on my conncetion with the students. being able to realte to them and share stories seems to be cathcing their attention. In addition to this, as a review I always try to give the students opportunities to connect to the text we are reading and as a review to connect the curent text to what we have already studied. This is great becasue our final is cumulative and all the themes are recurring throughout the semester. Since I am now less bogged down with the material working on techniqus and stratgeies has been easier. Ofcourse BTSA has also been helpful. :)

I love this idea and am looking for ways to engage students during novels! :) My question is this: what is your grading system on this? Do they turn in answers? My challenge is always getting students to actually WORK when they are in groups. Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thank you! I think that assigning roles in the group always helps. I also think that holding the group accountable by having them present in some fashion helps. Giving them a rubric with requirements that will be used during the presentation will provide focus and incentive for the grade, at least. Sometimes, if I know that an oral presentation is out of the question, due to the number of groups (though you could certainly alternate who goes up), I will ask the groups to make a mini-poster on which they place the required items (i.e. favorite quotes, theme, symbols, etc.) Lisa I have also found assigning roles to be helpful; also, even though students are working in groups, I will often ask them to complete the same individual assignment so that everyone is held accountable for participating in the group discussion. To add some pressure (and to cut down on some grading time for myself) I then select one paper from the group at random and that paper is the one paper I grade for the group's grade. Another trick I have used is calling on one person at random to quickly report on the group's findings at the end of group work- again, this holds everyone in the group accountable! - Lauren Thiele

Michelle Steiner: I used my document camera for a grammar lesson yesterday to engage my students. Grammar can be dry and boring, so I used my Rick Morris lottery numbers to call students at random. If their name was called, they ran up to the white board and underlined the different parts of speech while my handout was projected. The students loved being able to use the dry erase markers! They were able to take ownership of the lesson, and feel like a teacher. This worked especially well with my chatty class- I have never seen them so engaged, especially with it being a pronoun/adjective lesson! Michelle- What do you kept the rest of the class engaged while a single student was heading up to the white board? Do you think they enjoyed watching the student, etc.?? Thanks, Lisa My kids were actually pretty into it the entire time. They watched their classmates and cheered them on once they finished. Most of them are little perfectionists, so they were focused on catching any mistakes! :) Christy Ledford: I teach sophomore workshop so I am focusing my fourth period class in particular. We're reading Arthurian Legend right now which can be interesting but can also be a bit difficult to comprehend. Yesterday, we started to read "Sir Lancelot du Lake" which has some difficult vocabulary and concepts. Because we didn't finish the story yesterday, we had the chance to summarize and recap the story today before we began reading. Using index cards, I asked each student to contribute a piece of the story when called upon. He/She could either give a minor detail or a major plot point, whatever he/she was ready to discuss. I was amazed at how much they actually paid attention and could recallt, if necessary. After we finished the story, we compared it to epic tales like Batman, Superman, Harry Potter, etc. This helped the kids draw upon past experience and hopefully it helped them internalize the story itself. Christy- What strategy did you use for comparing the story to the modern day comics, etc.? How did they students present their comparisons? What did you like about the way you did this? Lisa I gave the students a graphic organizer that listed the steps of the hero's journey in order. There were three columns in the chart so we analyzed Batman together and then I asked the students to choose Harry Potter or another epic hero to analyze in a small group. Each group then presented their findings to the class so that they could see how the hero's journey translates from the 1500s to current books, plays, and movies. I like that the students get to draw on prior experience with this activity but I would like to add a part to the assignment where they trace the journey of the heroes in Arthurian legend in another column. Caroline Aldemir: My focus class is a new group (just got them a week and a half ago) of English II, Semester 2 students. To engage them in our introduction to Shakespeare unit, I tried a project that a group of us came up with for a technology class at UCI during my credential program: making a Facebook of "You in 1600". I started with a Powerpoint presentation and notes (typical direct instruction about the time period), and then showed them clips of video, and then gave them the project itself, which is basically a template of a Facebook page on a sheet of paper with different boxes for Interests, a picture, Activities, About Me, Favorite Books and Music, and Status (for all the non-FB users, this one is basically what you're doing right now, so for my 17th century kids, it might be something like "On the way to the bear-baiting hall" or "Praying for our Queen Mother" or something like that). I've done this before, and it's a project that is at first conceptually difficult for the kids to grasp (the idea that they have to invent a whole persona based on what they've picked up about the English Renaissance), but once they understand it, they get really creative and you get some great work turned in. So to get past the first hurdle of understanding, on the backside of the template, I put another template with very specific instructions in each box, and some suggestions of things that one might put in that box, to model how I'd like the project to be done. This worked really well this time, and the projects have been fabulous! I think it works because it gives them something to make, and it allows them to invest themselves into the material. C aroline- I really like this idea. I've had my students do Resumes for Greek Gods/Goddesses before, but this would probably be much more relevant to their lives than even a job application! How do you assess this project once complete? Thanks, Lisa Lisa, Thank you! Since the template is so specific, students understand what's expected of them in each piece (in other words, they know what an A+ project should look like because of the modeling and the directions on the back). So, to assess them, I look for completeness and depth of thought in each box. Points are deducted for a non-colored picture, for incomplete work in any field, or for a "lacking" in response. Since I work with Silverado students, an example of "lacking" response would be a one or two word answer in any given field, such as "praying" for interests. They know they should write more than that! All in all, though, I give full credit to students that completed the assignment in a way that demonstrates they understand the material, thought about it, and engaged with it. Thanks, Caroline

Corrine Avila: I have found that I'm sometimes too ambitious when I start writing instruction with my CP juniors. This year I started with a Writing Territories Paper (Narrative) instead of a hard-core literary analysis. The Writing Territories paper asks the students to write about something that they are an expert on. They first list 20 things they are experts on and write a quick write on a different topic each day for a week. The students then picked one journal and one specific event that was pivotal in their journey to becoming an expert on whatever. After they picked their event, I had them get in groups and tell their stories. When all the students in the group had told their stories, the group picked one story from the group that was the most interesting or unique and shared that one with the class. This activity helped the students get to know each other, pick out details that would make their stories more interesting, and provide a start for their drafts. Above all, each student was interested and engaged in listening to each others stories. My focus for the paper was creating tone, esablishing voice, using sensory detail, and writing dialogue. It was a good start for jumping into writing. I think that this is a great idea! I taught sensory detail writing at the end of second semester because I usually focus heavily on writing critical response to literature papers and I wanted to give my kids a break. But starting off the year with this activity would be a great "icebreaker" activity and would give kids a chance to get to know each other! Something else I've done that kids seemed to really enjoy is I had them bring in a picture of their favorite memory- this helped my students write because it gave them a visual picture of the event they were describing and a tangible resource to access for ideas if they ever got stuck and had "writer's block." Also, the kids loved it because I bought magnetic clear acrylic plastic picture frames (affordable- very cheap at Michael's!) and had students put their pictures in them and put them on display on the whiteboard. We then did a "gallery" walk and students had a chance to ask each other about their memories and experiences. Also, these clear frames come in handy because you can write on them with dry erase markers, and because they already have magnets on them, you can also place them on the white board for the entire class to see. For example, I will often have students write reflections as an exit pass at the end of a lesson and slip them in these frames. I save the frames with their comments stuck in them and quickly stick them up on the board before their period starts the next day. Then I ask students to use dry erase markers and to respond on the frames to what their peers have written. It works as a nice review of what we did the day before as we transition into the lesson for the day! - Lauren Thiele

I have tried to utilize individual white boards before but some kids got off track and started doodling instead of writing vocab sentence or whatever it may be. Any tips for keeping them focused while using the dry erase markers/boards? I didn't encounter any doodlers because only one student was up there at a time :) Michelle: What a great idea! I am going to try that when I get to root's/etymology!

Rana/Response: I finally bough the white boards from home depot a couple of weeks ago and I have implemented it in my sophmore class. As a review (one day before vocab exam) I have the students try to come up with their own definition and draw a pictorial representation of the word. It is definatelly engaing and seems to be increasing the class average on vocab. Vocab is a killer for my students. -

Christy: That is a great way to get all students involved! We are reading a novel right now at the 9th grade level, and I always start with a recap from the past reading. I will try this next time. What did you do with students who couldn't answer?

Lauren Thiele: For my 4th and 5th period English III Workshop class, student engagement is actually the greatest challenge I face in teaching my kids. I know that for this particular group of students there is not the same concern regarding grades that one finds in a college prep or honors class, and so I need "buy in" more than anything else if I want to succeed in getting the material across. After reading my students' journals I realized that most of the kids in my workshop class are living in far from perfect circumstances or have already had to deal with "adult responsibilities and experiences." I took this into account when I searched for other materials to use in conjunction with the core texts. When I came across // The Freedom Writers Diary // I knew that I had found the perfect text to not only promote student interest, but to also support students in comprehending the curriculum. Although the entire book is not appropriate to be read in class, there are certain sections, or "diary" entries to which I knew my students could relate and that actually reference and respond to the core curriculum (for example, I am currently using diary entries that reflect on Thoreau and Emerson's work). Also, because these diary entries are written by previous high school students, the language tends to be more comprehensible, especially for my ELLs, and has been an especially useful tool in encouraging engagement as well as getting the main ideas of a unit across. In addition to reading the diary entries from // Freedom Writers //, I now ask students to create their own diary entries in which they, like the authors of // Freedom Writers, // must reflect on their own lives and respond to the reading we have done in class. I have also asked students to sign a waiver at the top of those journal entries that they are willing to share with their peers. I then select those entries that I think will be particularly stimulating and relevant for students and I type them up without disclosing the authors' names (I simply label them Diary #1, Diary #2, and so forth). Students then have an opportunity to silently read and respond to their peers' work again in their own journals. I believe that this is promoting student engagement because 1) students have a chance to reflect on their own lives in relation to the texts being read and 2) they get to read and respond to what their peers have written, which is of high interest to them. Finally, I should mention that one of my goals with doing the above activity and incorporating the // Freedom Writers // text was to not only encourage student engagement, but to also help foster the feeling of community, understanding, and respect through the anonymous journal entries. (I have a very diverse classroom and I know that stereotyping and tension exists between certain groups/students. I suppose that this would indirectly support student engagement by providing a safe learning environment for my students.) So far I have been pleasantly surprised by all the positive feedback from my students! In fact, because of their great response, I am hoping to compile the typed journals into a book for my next year's class to read and respond to.

Rana Najd/Answer to Question: One of the techniques I utilize during the discussion of a novel or text is to utilize Blooms Taxonomy when questioning students on the text. Normally, I organize my questions starting with text based questions and ending up with higher level thing questions. Then I utilize cards in randomlly calling on students and getting their responses. In addition to this, I add my own comments and insights into the discussion as a whole. The students job is to take notes and add notes from their peers comments. This is a journal that they complete at home and the next day add to from classroom discussion. This seems to validate the students responses and aide them in being confidant in answering and anaylzing questions. Ofcourse, I have my own method of asking certian questions to certian students. As the year progresses, the students knowledge base progresses as well so I satrt asking the students quetins that are more difficult and in the end they are proud of their improvements.-