The Real Deal

Everything you see below is the "Real Deal" in instruction.  Students are richly participating and leading learning opportunities for themselves and others as exemplified by student autonomy, evaluation and writing.

Whenever students have opportunities to write in their content area, we increase relevant and realistic learning.  Writing doesn't just happen in an ELA classroom.  It happens everywhere, and it's enhanced by small group instruction and conferencing.  Check it out in this health classroom....

Here, students are conferencing with one another and the teacher to improve their understanding of the digestive system.  They are evaluating which "VIP" components of this body system deserve to be a focus in their writing.  This assignment not only gives students an opportunity to write, but it also requires them to think and evaluate content.

RADCAB - who knew?  Apparently, Ms. Stanford did!  These 8th graders are learning about Relevancy, Appropriateness, Detail, Currency, Authority and Bias in relation to their online research and the use of databases.  As students begin their research, they'll evaluate the quality of their sources for integration into writing.

What do you do when not every student gets it?  You tap into student leadership to develop learning for all kids.  After their last eValuate test, these Algebra students led sessions for their peers; these sessions were brief 5 minute reviews with a quick change to the next station.  Throughout the class period, each student led at least one small session to review the question (aka skill) with students who did not "get it" the first time.

Primary Sources:  Want to see what a "real" newspaper looked like from "back in the day."

Student Pen Pals: Shhh!  These students have a secret pen pal from the other 8th grade German class.  What a great way to practice writing in German!

In choir every Friday, students lead the warm up.  Ever heard of "ghost sounds"?  Your students have!

Merging Character and Leadership - A Visit to RSMS

A group of us visited Rockwood South Middle School's Leadership Day.  This day is part of the "Leader in Me" program, which instills the "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens" philosophies into character and leadership development.  Seeing this program in action definitely inspired ideas for how to further our Flyertime classes as well as enhance leadership and character throughout the building.  

More will be coming soon, but in the meantime, here's a little teaser of some of the components of their system.

Their "leadership center" is where students get and submit applications for specific clubs and activities.  It's not very different from what we currently have in the lobby.  But...the idea of applying for specific leadership roles in the building has merit!

Here's the "application" to participate in specific RSMS activities.  This leadership process encourages Habit 1:  Be Proactive.

In classrooms, teachers have designated leadership roles that students hold.  See above for specific examples and consider how you can be more systematic in building ownership for your students in your classroom.

Each grade level has a "Lighthouse" class very similar to our "Flight Crew."  The purpose of Lighthouse classes is to provide leadership for the "7 Habits" around the building.

One of the components of the "7 Habits" is writing a personal mission statement that serves as a guidepost for student decision-making.  In the Lighthouse classes, they also write class mission statements, frequently reviewing them to ensure they are supporting their own goals.

As a school, they set goals, identifying the work that must be done along the way to ensure they reach their goals.  This reflects Habit 2:  Begin with the End in Mind.

In this class, students are reviewing their 100 goals written at the beginning of the school year; by identifying what they've accomplished and where they need to focus reminds them of Habit 3:  Put First Things First.

The above pictures demonstrate a project that students worked on collaboratively.  In this class assignment they had four tasks:  1) Explain the problem, 2) Find Alternate Points of View, 3) Propose Policy and 4) Create a Plan.  It should be noted that they designed a video on Powtoon synthesizing their work.  In this assignment, they emphasized Habits 4-6, the relationship habits:  Think Win-Win; Seek First to Understand, Then Be Understood; and Synergize.  Need I also point out the opportunity for authentic learning and service learning here?

I just thought this was cool!  In their cafeteria, students painted these and used them as teachable art.  That's great leadership!

The 7th habit is "Sharpen the Saw," and as we continue on our journey of character and leadership for students, we have many opportunities to renew what we do!  Thank you for joining this journey and looking forward to our continual improvement at TMS!

What are all of these students doing in the hall?

This isn't a post about hallway supervision or students tardy to class.  Instead, it's a focus on using classroom space creatively when differentiating learning for students.  These young mathematicians are studying elapsed time using a "menu" of activities.

The Menu of Options

Student Collaboration

Main Dish:  Draw Clocks

Opting for Dessert Only:  Demonstrating understanding by making a Jeopardy game.

Main Dish:  Drawing Clocks

Main Dish:  Creating a Word Problem

Side Dish:  Making a Poster

And, check out this student-made video (another menu option) demonstrating their understanding of elapsed time:  https://docs.google.com/a/lindberghschools.ws/open?id=0B1G0Xtr37acCbk5icUdWY1RXT0gySG1aUDd3Z0hpSURtQ0tv

And, here's a bonus unrelated to the pictures above.  Students are reading and collaborating in the lobby.  We have set up a learning environment throughout the school as demonstrated by the good choices and focus of these students.