When goals and objectives are communicated clearly, confusion from students is more easily avoided.
Here is a photograph of the daily learning goal board. The learning goals for each day are posted on this board at the start of the morning in order to clearly communicate the day's goals to the students.
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When a teacher uses effective strategies involving discussion and questioning, students are able to engage in higher level thinking.
Here is a photograph of a KWL chart created for a lesson about Jackie Robinson. Together with the students, we collaborated in order to record what we already knew about Jackie, what we'd like to know about Jackie, and what we learned about Jackie at the close of the lesson.
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Giving students the opportunity to make their own selections and dig deep into content allows them to become more invested and interested in what they are learning.
Here is a photograph of a student-made state iPad. The children were given a social studies unit in which they had to memorize all of the US states and capitals. I took the learning one step further by allowing each student to choose one specific state in which they could dig deeper. The students researched different aspects and qualities of their states, wrote "apps" about each quality researched, and illustrated a picture to go with the "app".
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Assessment is necessary. Students must be asked to show that they thoroughly understand the content they are learning.
Here is a copy of a compare and contrast assessment. The students were asked to read two different fables with similar morals: The Crab & The Lobster, and Madame Rhinoceros. The students used the organizers below in order to work independently to find both similarities and differences between the two fables. The organizers were collected and assessed at the close of the lesson.
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During instruction, things may not always go as planned. Teachers must train themselves to be flexible during their lessons in order to meet student needs while still delivering the content.
Here is a lesson plan provided by my school. Though I followed the lesson plan, I inserted additional activities into the lesson based on the direction in which the students lead the conversation. Some of these activities included a KWL chart and an in depth discussion of the mood of several illustrations from the story.
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