As we begin cycle 2, I want to thank everyone for their dedication. The resident pull-out meeting provided an opportunity to share successes, voice concerns, and begin taking the next steps to becoming champion teachers. Your teaching time is expanding and I observed many complete lessons this week.
Do Now
Great job using Do Nows! As we know, the Do Now gets students focused and working immediately. It is important to use Do Nows consistently to establish that routine for your students. I saw many effective Do Nows this week. Jaime used technology and began his vocabulary lessons by projecting a Do Now on the board. Lauren’s students created 5-sided polygons at the beginning of their geometry lesson. What a way to hook students into the lesson! Remember the criteria for an effective, focused, efficient Do Now.
• Students can complete it without teacher direction
• Can be completed in 3-5 minutes
• Pencil to paper to increase rigor and accountability
• Can serve as a preview or a review
I Do
A well planned I do is a critical part of a successful lesson. You need to think deeply about what information the students need from you in order to successfully meet your objective. It includes modeling, explaining, defining, and most importantly, anticipating. Begin to think about where confusion might occur and plan for it. Provide the information in multiple formats. Valerie used a transparency of a data sheet as she told her fourth grade students how to record their crayfish observations. Latasha used the Elmo to model counting coins in 3rd grade. Both are great examples letting students see and hear your I Do. An anchor chart is also a powerful visual that you should use during the I do. A good anchor chart can be posted and used throughout the unit, or possibly the school year.
We Do
The We Do is the guided practice. This is when you are checking for understanding and immediately correcting misconceptions. It is important to check in with all students. Circulating the room and cold calling are strategies that increase student engagement and give you data about your students thinking during the We Do. At this point, the students begin to do more of the work, and you provide assistance as needed. Suzanne and Courtney called students to the front of the room to solve math problems on the Elmo and the whiteboard. Asking students to “be the teacher” pushes their independence and they love to do it.
You Do
We need to give students “at bats” so they can practice skills and gain mastery. When planning your We Do, keep in mind that repetition matters and by the end, students should be able to solve the problem correctly on their own. Also keep in mind that although we need to provide repetition, we also need to keep it interesting. Capricia accomplished that by creating a very engaging game her 5th graders played to practice using there/their/they’re correctly. Yadira ‘s students made a model to gain a deeper understanding of how arm muscles move. Cynthia’s students flexed their inquiry skills as they investigated what yeast cells need to live. Each of Ron’s 4th graders used a small box of raisins to make estimates, collect, and organize data. Let your creativity shine as you plan the You dos. If you did a thorough I do and We do, the students will be ready.
Exit Ticket
At the end of the lesson, you should ask yourself if the students go it. Did they learn your objective? The exit ticket will give you that answer. Exit tickets should be 1-3 minutes, focus a key part of your objective, and can be used as the next Do Now if students need review.
No comments:
Post a Comment