# data[].attributes.body
As we move more of our classroom materials online, our students are having a very difficult time locating everything. Just as we need to be consistent with vocabulary, we should also be consistent with our online resources. I was tutoring a Freshman last year, and she had created a Google Site where she stored all of her classroom resources. How could we more effectively use something like Google Classroom to do this?

# data[].attributes.body
How do you use things like Google Calendar to help students remember what to do where to be, etc?

# data[].attributes.body
An organized document where students keep track of their own progress and understanding of unit tasks, assignments, and learning objectives.

# data[].attributes.headline
be deliberate about allocating time in class for students to record things in planners 

# data[].attributes.subject
be deliberate about allocating time in class for students to record things in planners 

# data[].attributes.headline
Using their assignment notebook or handwriting lists. Should students consider what is most important, or what can be knocked out the quickest when they are behind?

# data[].attributes.subject
Using their assignment notebook or handwriting lists. Should students consider what is most important, or what can be knocked out the quickest when they are behind?

# data[].attributes.body
Students don't know how to quickly do copy, paste, undo, etc.

# data[].attributes.body
Students use Flipgrid to become an expert on an exercise or fitness machine and introduce it to the class

# data[].attributes.body
Start small-- once  semester? One particular skill?

Build individual working relationships.

Make them lead the conference.

# data[].attributes.headline
make students declare a method for recording assignments or dates-there are still many kids recording assignments on loose leaf paper...or not at all 

# data[].attributes.subject
make students declare a method for recording assignments or dates-there are still many kids recording assignments on loose leaf paper...or not at all 

# data[].attributes.headline
Creating Real Life connections to present and future learning. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Creating Real Life connections to present and future learning. 

# data[].attributes.headline
Pre-teach Tier 2 vocab words that show up on tests.  "Life" words that kids don't know that are in test questions.  At least, provide a word list kids can study from so they can understand the questions.  

# data[].attributes.subject
Pre-teach Tier 2 vocab words that show up on tests.  "Life" words that kids don't know that are in test questions.  At least, provide a word list kids can study from so they can understand the questions.  

# data[].attributes.headline
Students must be exposed to a variety of content to learn academic and disciplinary vocabulary so how can teachers do this within their content area. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Students must be exposed to a variety of content to learn academic and disciplinary vocabulary so how can teachers do this within their content area. 

# data[].attributes.body
Many words are used in specialized ways in different content areas

# data[].attributes.body
Students evaluate fitness levels at the beginning of the year. Students take pre test levels and write a smart goal and a fitness program. Students retest after 3 months and evaluate their new level. Students re write smart goal and adjust their program.

# data[].attributes.body
start by commenting on google docs/ google slides that student turn in. Create an environment of constant feedback

# data[].attributes.body
Where do you see words in your daily life? What's the best word out there? Competitions have worked great for fun!

# data[].attributes.headline
Assess students on vocab words in isolation (rather than always as part of an inference/synthesis context).

# data[].attributes.subject
Assess students on vocab words in isolation (rather than always as part of an inference/synthesis context).

# data[].attributes.body
Academic words are not learned by osmosis. Students need many exposures to a word before it becomes part of their reading, speaking, and listening vocabulary

# data[].attributes.headline
Students should not just read anything, they should read challenging varied content (Shanahan on Literacy

# data[].attributes.subject
Students should not just read anything, they should read challenging varied content (Shanahan on Literacy

# data[].attributes.body
Participation or performance reflections are really easy to assign with all the online resources. Google forms, even questions on Classroom are quick and effective. Making a copy of a reflection doc for each kids in classroom works too, because teachers can access those pretty easily.

In our Block class, we made a digital journal too, and students love when we pull quotes from their journals and share them anonymously. We made a google doc template and made a copy for each student

# data[].attributes.body
Many math teachers have gone towards standard based grading. This is a great way of having students understand and master particular standards rather than simply passing tests. However, this can become an organizational nightmare. Standards based grading requires retests and multiple forms of assessments. How can we create this type of grading/ classroom environment without an enormous amount of work? How can we hold students accountable to achieving objectives without constantly associating grades to them?

# data[].attributes.headline
Should a systematic approach to teaching vocabulary be used in every classroom?  Yes. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Should a systematic approach to teaching vocabulary be used in every classroom?  Yes. 

# data[].attributes.body
We have changed the share settings on their assignment they turned in electronically so they have the ability to comment only. We have students self grade along with the teacher example. This not only allows for students to gain an understanding of what we as teachers are looking for, but it make grading on the teacher end go faster as well.

# data[].attributes.headline
Activities that challenge kids use of words in context.  

# data[].attributes.subject
Activities that challenge kids use of words in context.  

# data[].attributes.headline
When it comes to Socratic style discussions, I find students feel they should earn full points just for meeting basic requirements (i.e. speaking up and referencing text).  How do we get students to reflect on and evaluate thoughtfulness and insight in contribution vs. regurgitation of ideas?

# data[].attributes.subject
When it comes to Socratic style discussions, I find students feel they should earn full points just for meeting basic requirements (i.e. speaking up and referencing text).  How do we get students to reflect on and evaluate thoughtfulness and insight in contribution vs. regurgitation of ideas?

# data[].attributes.headline
Vocab engagement activities.  Individual and class activities.

# data[].attributes.subject
Vocab engagement activities.  Individual and class activities.

# data[].attributes.body
There is an undeniable link between vocabulary and comprehensio

# data[].attributes.headline
Teaching teachers and students the difference between Tier 1, 2, 3 vocab words. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Teaching teachers and students the difference between Tier 1, 2, 3 vocab words. 

# data[].attributes.body
Creating an environment with standard based grading that focuses on students meeting the learning objective.

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.pz.harvard.edu/projects/visible-thinking

For examples and techniques for getting students to get all metacognitive and what not.

Plus, how about any work that Marzano has done on metacognition?

# data[].attributes.body
Each unit project requires students to first evaluate their own work with their partner, then go through a peer critique process and analyze their feedback.  This gives them two opportunities for adjustment and improvement before submitting.

# data[].attributes.headline
Disciplinary Literacy is the way to incorporate content concerns with vocabulary.  The wave of one-size-fits all reading initiatives has largely passed.  To think like a scientist, historian, business person, tailor, engineer...you name it...requires a deeper education in how people in those fields use the english language.

# data[].attributes.subject
Disciplinary Literacy is the way to incorporate content concerns with vocabulary.  The wave of one-size-fits all reading initiatives has largely passed.  To think like a scientist, historian, business person, tailor, engineer...you name it...requires a deeper education in how people in those fields use the english language.

# data[].attributes.body
The only time I do this is when I'm discussing class recommendations for courses with my students.  The conversations are pretty black and white and rarely create much discussion.  This would be great to tie into a standards based grading system before a large assessment.

This year, I have begun giving my Algebra 2 Essentials students "love notes" with all their missing homework assignments on them.  I can write the missing assignments on post its during class because they receive a good amount of work time.  I also allow them to complete incomplete or late work for full credit up to the day of the test.  The small class size of 20 also makes it a lot easier to talk to all my students.  I have seen that holding students accountable like that in a remedial math class has really helped.

# data[].attributes.headline
Having students become the teacher/curriculum writer. Teach them how to use other resources, besides yourself, to find answers (Google, peer, internet, professional). Have them develop a project, tutorial, or rubric.

# data[].attributes.subject
Having students become the teacher/curriculum writer. Teach them how to use other resources, besides yourself, to find answers (Google, peer, internet, professional). Have them develop a project, tutorial, or rubric.

# data[].attributes.body
Google forms help with reflection and then using the add-on Save as Doc to view their responses in a Google Doc.

Verbal reflections test their ability to articulate their struggles  and goals. If they can say it, they are gaining an understanding of it.

Consistent comments - how can you improve on the next assessment/activity that works the same skill?

# data[].attributes.headline
Incorporating words of the week in lessons throughout the week exposes students to challenging words in a simple way. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Incorporating words of the week in lessons throughout the week exposes students to challenging words in a simple way. 

# data[].attributes.body
As a school we achieve to high levels, but we also have a weakness in vocab. Imagine what students will be able to achieve when they improve in the area of vocabulary.

# data[].attributes.body
Using student coaches and captains in activities

# data[].attributes.headline
We need to teach context clues so students can recognize the meaning of challenging words in a text. 

# data[].attributes.subject
We need to teach context clues so students can recognize the meaning of challenging words in a text. 

# data[].attributes.body
Make organization a fixture in the classroom. Once a month, once a quarter, once a semester...whatever. Give your students time to organize their Drives or dive back into work.

Show them one new "tool" to try when it comes to organization - like Keep. And model how they can use it. "Here is one way you can use this to help you learn..."

# data[].attributes.body
Students love competing. I use CRISS games for vocabulary. I create my own games using movement with learning.

# data[].attributes.headline
Show students the CLASS COMMENT feature of Google Classroom

# data[].attributes.subject
Show students the CLASS COMMENT feature of Google Classroom

# data[].attributes.body
Freshmen email teachers with questions and then wait for a response (read: stop trying). Remind them the Classroom feed works like a newsfeed too! (Social Media in the classroom...do we want to go there?

# data[].attributes.body
Almost all of us teach in Units. Can you direct students to set up 4 folders at the beginning of the year? (Q1-4 at the very least)

# data[].attributes.body
During Target Teams, the Algebra 2 Essentials team took the time to look through each of our Units and create vocabulary graphic organizers. With math, vocabulary is usually very consistent, but it was nice to organize the essential vocabulary as a time to discuss what we wanted to focus on.

# data[].attributes.body
Benefits- allows students to consistently see what info(words) you want them to focus on

Issues- students are used to memorizing and not applying vocab. They just want an A on the quiz and then they forget the info.

# data[].attributes.body
Kaizena allows easy and FAST voice comments on student google docs. When I shared my comments with my students, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Students said: "It is so much easier to tell your tone when I hear you say what is missing/wrong rather than read it in a generic copied/pasted comment"

# data[].attributes.headline
Show a problem that is incorrect. Have them hypothesize and discover it's issues so they know what to look for in the future and not give up when something goes wrong.

# data[].attributes.subject
Show a problem that is incorrect. Have them hypothesize and discover it's issues so they know what to look for in the future and not give up when something goes wrong.

# data[].attributes.headline
I love this idea but I have NO TIME in my curriculum to take out to have a mini-discussion with each student.  We are short on so many days (especially 2nd semester) with testing days, field trips, 18 different ditch days, and seniors leaving 2 weeks early) 

# data[].attributes.subject
I love this idea but I have NO TIME in my curriculum to take out to have a mini-discussion with each student.  We are short on so many days (especially 2nd semester) with testing days, field trips, 18 different ditch days, and seniors leaving 2 weeks early) 

# data[].attributes.body
Maybe an online version can be done to give them feedback or perhaps using a short video to send them and they send one back?

# data[].attributes.headline
For every lesson I highlight 8-13 words that will be essential for that unit. We take a quiz on those words, and they're allowed to retake the quiz so that they really understand what those words mean and it's not a "once and done" opportunity.  Make them accountable for using those words in a discussion. Help them use the words when the opportunity arises and they are lax in their vocabulary.

# data[].attributes.subject
For every lesson I highlight 8-13 words that will be essential for that unit. We take a quiz on those words, and they're allowed to retake the quiz so that they really understand what those words mean and it's not a "once and done" opportunity.  Make them accountable for using those words in a discussion. Help them use the words when the opportunity arises and they are lax in their vocabulary.

# data[].attributes.headline
Student Reflections on Organization and Time Management

# data[].attributes.subject
Student Reflections on Organization and Time Management

# data[].attributes.body
Do we know what our students know? How can we leverage technology to have students share / reflect on how they organize and manage time? Padlet or Pear Deck?

# data[].attributes.body
My students journal (handwritten) every day for 5 minutes at the beginning of the period. Students start the journal and set the timer. I use that 5 minutes to write short comments back to 3-5 students. This way, I can communicate via two-way journaling with every student in about 8 days.

# data[].attributes.headline
I like using a Quizlet Live game to introduce vocab for each unit in my classes. Students preview and learn vocab with their peers in a fun and collaborative way. 

# data[].attributes.subject
I like using a Quizlet Live game to introduce vocab for each unit in my classes. Students preview and learn vocab with their peers in a fun and collaborative way. 

# data[].attributes.body
I believe that giving students time to reflect on learning is essential. We have many incredible tools within reach (digital and not) to help students think through the learning process.

# data[].attributes.headline
Publish and review Feedback before entering grades

# data[].attributes.subject
Publish and review Feedback before entering grades

# data[].attributes.headline
A couple of our projects are reflective in nature.  Students read a book and instead of giving me a report they have to reflect on how it relates to them in their life.  That may help them develop some reflection practice.

# data[].attributes.subject
A couple of our projects are reflective in nature.  Students read a book and instead of giving me a report they have to reflect on how it relates to them in their life.  That may help them develop some reflection practice.

# data[].attributes.body
Is it essential to give a grade to each assignment... how can we shift student mindset to center on the learning?

# data[].attributes.headline
Use a strategy based approach to vocabulary- i.e.- identify synonyms, use context clues to infer meaning, deconstruct large words to their parts, etc. Are there tools that can help us do this? How can we use them across disciplines?

# data[].attributes.subject
Use a strategy based approach to vocabulary- i.e.- identify synonyms, use context clues to infer meaning, deconstruct large words to their parts, etc. Are there tools that can help us do this? How can we use them across disciplines?

# data[].attributes.body
Experts like Krashen, Allington and Marzano emphasize the role of reading widely to develop background knowledge and vocabulary. I know this is shocking for a librarian to ask.....

but how do we get our students to read more and more often? I mean longer texts and a variety? How do we create a culture of reading?

# data[].attributes.headline
Some barriers to this idea is that not everyone is using the same platform so students have multiple places to check and do their work depending on the teacher.  Having one centrally located area might help but if a student is already a it unorganized, they need one on one help and there isn't much time to give it to them.  I also can't believe the number of students who don't access their school email on their phone.  They wait til they have time on their chromebook to open gmail but they have a phone on them almost all the time.  Is it hard to add?  Can we put together a tutorial? ;)

# data[].attributes.subject
Some barriers to this idea is that not everyone is using the same platform so students have multiple places to check and do their work depending on the teacher.  Having one centrally located area might help but if a student is already a it unorganized, they need one on one help and there isn't much time to give it to them.  I also can't believe the number of students who don't access their school email on their phone.  They wait til they have time on their chromebook to open gmail but they have a phone on them almost all the time.  Is it hard to add?  Can we put together a tutorial? ;)

# data[].attributes.headline
Reflective writing...low stakes writing is very powerful.  If we ask the right questions in our writing prompts, the students reflect on the topic and internalize their conclusions in a much stronger way than if we give tips, make suggestions, or tell them what to do.  Ask them the right question, and they're forced to give themselves the good talking-to you wanted to give them (:

# data[].attributes.subject
Reflective writing...low stakes writing is very powerful.  If we ask the right questions in our writing prompts, the students reflect on the topic and internalize their conclusions in a much stronger way than if we give tips, make suggestions, or tell them what to do.  Ask them the right question, and they're forced to give themselves the good talking-to you wanted to give them (:

# data[].attributes.headline
Vocab in teaching skills that NEED to last 4 years 

# data[].attributes.subject
Vocab in teaching skills that NEED to last 4 years 

# data[].attributes.body
I use dance moves to teach freshmen the structure of an Intro paragraph. Each vocab word (hook/attention-getter, bridge,counter-claim/claim/thesis) has a unique dance move so that the structure sticks (hopefully for years to come...).

# data[].attributes.body
With all of the options that our students have regarding communication. It might be important to remind them about how we prefer to communicate. How often have we spent 15 minutes replying to a student email only to have them come to us the next day asking "Did you get my Email?"

# data[].attributes.body
Here is a great list of types of questions you can use for reflection.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Self-reflection presents some of the most powerful instructional opportunities in our classrooms and workplaces. Its potency is in how it exercises multiple skills. We're talking about the skills that make our students successful, such as critical thinking, personal responsibility, useful failure, adaptability, and more. Self-reflection questions are shared in the "Debrief" stage of Solution Fluency. It's often overlooked, which is why we made it a crucial stage in the process.

When we debrief a project we reflect on everything including the process, the choices and discoveries we made, and what didn't go quite as expected. It's when we piece them all together into a learning experience-even one or more "Aha!" moments-that reflective learning becomes real.

As with any stage of using the Essential Fluencies, it comes down to asking the right self-reflection questions. After all, we want to inspire deep thinking in our kids about their learning journeys. For example, how has what we've learned made us better? How can we apply our new knowledge to other problems? What is its significance in the real world?

25 Self-Reflection Questions for Learning

1. Now that it's over, what are my first thoughts about this overall project? Are they mostly positive or negative?

2. If positive, what comes to mind specifically? Negative?

3. What were some of the most interesting discoveries I made while working on this project? About the problem? About myself? About others?

4. What were some of my most challenging moments and what made them so?

5. What were some of my most powerful learning moments and what made them so?

6. What is the most important thing I learned personally?

7. How did I incorporate the 6Ds of Solution Fluency throughout this experience?

8. What other Essential Fluencies did I use in my process, and how did I use them?

9. How often did I need to revisit other stages of the 6Ds during my process?

10. When did I realize that I had come up with my final best solution?

11. How do I feel my solution relates to real-world situations and problems?

12. What most got in the way of my progress, if anything?

13. How well did I and my team communicate overall?

14. When did my collaborative communications fall short of the group's expectations, if ever?

15. What were some things my teammates did that helped me to learn or overcome obstacles?

16. How did I help others during this process? How do I feel I may have hindered others?

17. Were my milestones and goals mostly met, and how much did I deviate from them if any?

18. What did I learn were my greatest strengths? My biggest areas for improvement?

19. What would I do differently if I were to approach the same problem again?

20. What moments was I most proud of my efforts?

21. Could I teach this problem-solving process to someone else easily? Why or why not?

22. What could I do differently from a personal standpoint the next time I work with the same group or a different one?

23. What's the one thing about myself above all others I would like to work to improve?

24. How can I better support and encourage my teammates on future projects?

25. How will I use what I've learned in the future?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
25 Self-Reflection Questions to Get Students Thinking About Their Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Self-reflection presents some of the most powerful instructional opportunities in our classrooms and workplaces. Its potency is in how it exercises multiple skills. We're talking about the skills that make our students successful, such as critical thinking, personal responsibility, useful failure, adaptability, and more. Self-reflection questions are shared in the "Debrief" stage of Solution Fluency.

# data[].attributes.body
Meet students outside the door with a notecard, slide, or even a verbal question. An easy minute-long activity that can help kids activate vocab before they come in the room.

# data[].attributes.headline
Learning Logs are great for these activities.  Structured class notebooks.

# data[].attributes.subject
Learning Logs are great for these activities.  Structured class notebooks.

# data[].attributes.headline
At the end of the year students submit a portfolio of their art,  a synopsis of the assignment, and their intentions as an artist. There is a vocabulary list at the beginning of the portfolio that must used. In some classes, I might list 45 words and have them chose 30, and in other classes I have 30 words and require them to use all 30.

# data[].attributes.subject
At the end of the year students submit a portfolio of their art,  a synopsis of the assignment, and their intentions as an artist. There is a vocabulary list at the beginning of the portfolio that must used. In some classes, I might list 45 words and have them chose 30, and in other classes I have 30 words and require them to use all 30.

# data[].attributes.body
Students test each other in small groups before the actually skills test. Students tend to record the first attempt and naturally critique each other. They develop systems for remembering steps. They tend to record each other 3 or 4 times before deciding they like the finished product and turn it in. This allows students to naturally repeat the effort until it it is perfect.

# data[].attributes.body
Maybe something here could spark an idea?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What does it take to maintain straight As at MIT or Harvard? What does it take to be a straight-A student in high school, while juggling varsity sports and numerous activities?

I recently had the chance to interview 29 straight-A students while researching my new book, 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management. I collected a wide range of advice and I'm reminded by my own teenage daughters that there is no one way to achieve productivity and success as a student.

However, what is clear from the word cloud analysis above is that there are consistent themes among the academic elite.
Secret #1: Limit Social Media Use
The topic that most frequently came up was the lure of social media. Almost everyone mentioned the siren call of Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook. Most of the students I interviewed mentioned that they use "access blocking" apps or browser plug-ins to literally turn-off access to distracting sites. The ones most frequently mentioned were SelfControl and StayFocused.

Caitlin Hale was a 4.0 student in high school and now attends medical school. In an email she explained:

Staying focused on schoolwork can be a pretty daunting task, especially with all of the social media apps pinging in the background. I use an app called SelfControl, which lets me set the amount of time and specifically which apps I want to avoid-including Facebook and Instagram.

Victoria Shockley was a straight-A in high school and graduated summa cum laude from NC State University in only three years. She told me:

Limit your time on social media until AFTER your work is finished. This is a big one - it's so easy to get distracted scrolling through our Facebook newsfeeds or checking out photos on Instagram. We can start chatting with a friend or surfing through Twitter and before we know it, half the night is gone.

Jane Ninivaggi takes it a step further. Her advice:

There is nothing wrong with social media, but it can take over a student's life if they are not able to disconnect from it. During exam weeks, I delete Twitter and Instagram off my phone. I also make sure to leave my phone at home when there is something that I know I need to put all of my focus into.
Secret #2: Use a Calendar
There is the old saying, plan your work, then work your plan-and straight-A students plan with a calendar, not a to-do list. This theme was consistent with what I discovered from almost all of the ultra-productive people I interviewed. (See my article: Millionaires Don't Use To Do Lists.)

Coraima Medellin, a student at the University of Pennsylvania, shared the power of time-blocking enough hours per class.

Managing my time was something that I struggled with a lot when I first started at Penn...It's been suggested that for every hour of class lecture you attend, you should study for two to three hours...[I use] a weekly schedule that I put my work schedule and my class schedule in and then wrote the times that I planned to study for each class. I found that it works when I have an exam or a huge paper coming up to keep me motivated and focused.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Time Management Secrets From 29 Straight-A Students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What does it take to maintain straight As at MIT or Harvard? What does it take to be a straight-A student in high school, while juggling varsity sports and numerous activities? I recently had the chance to interview 29 straight-A students while researching my new book, 15 Secrets Successful People Know [...]

# data[].attributes.body
Here is my recent blog post about the awesome things Steve and Brian are doing with vocabulary at the freshmen building.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This week, I had the opportunity to visit the freshmen English PLC and observe two of our reading specialists introduce a dynamic unit guide for teaching vocabulary during the team's study of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Mr. Steve Fleming and Mr. Brian Hurst created a 7 step process that includes a variety of activities for teachers to incorporate into their unit. In order to make it easily accessible for our teachers, the entire process is in a HyperDoc format, and teachers can utilize all resources needed for this unit guide in one place. Such an awesome idea and resource for teachers! Their goal was to incorporate short, effective activities in order to keep vocabulary practice a fixture in the classroom. As we look towards next year, our school is hoping to place a stronger emphasis on vocabulary and language development in all classrooms. With this, Mr. Fleming and Mr. Hurst's unit plan is a great step forward in helping teachers easily integrate vocabulary instruction into the classroom on a consistent basis. The key word is consistent. If we want our students to expand their vocabulary, it needs to be consistent, and they need to be given opportunities to practice and master the difficult language.

As stated earlier, Mr. Fleming and Mr. Hurst include numerous options for teachers to incorporate into their daily lessons. What I loved about the unit is that it puts ownership both on the teacher and students and also incorporates great opportunities to practice vocabulary using the awesome resource, . In addition, the words chosen to emphasize are chosen based on purpose in the class and relevance to future work students will complete. It is not an exhausting list; instead, it is manageable and realistic for our students to learn during a unit of study.

The unit begins with teachers introducing vocabulary words by asking students to complete a Google Form that assesses their understanding of the words in context. This initial assessment provides great data for teachers about their students' understanding of the vocabulary and can guide them moving forward when it comes to differentiating instruction for students.

Steps 2 and 3 utilize Quizlet by asking students to study definitions using Quizlet flashcards and playing games of their choice with Quizlet's game options. Engagement will be taken to the next level by incorporating these digital elements, as a majority of students get excited and motivated to complete activities when they become competitive. Mr. Fleming and Mr. Hurst encouraged teachers to try Quizlet Live , too, as it provides a competitive flavor to the lesson but also asks the students to collaborate with classmates during the process. Mr. Fleming explained to our teachers that he recommends utilizing Quizlet Live after students are a bit more comfortable with the vocabulary words.

Steps 4, 5, and 6 include activity options for teachers to take student interactions with the vocabulary to the next level: practicing words in context, connecting vocabulary to different words and concepts, and completing practice assessments in Quizlet. Mr. Hurst and Mr. Fleming include templates for teachers to use for these higher-level activities in their HyperDoc. As they continue to modify and add different items to this type of a unit guide, Mr. Hurst and Mr. Fleming are aware of some fantastic digital resources that can also help with practicing these higher level skills:

Pear Deck - Awesome features to assess students (either teacher or student paced) like multiple choice, short answer, draggables, drawing, and more.

Pear Deck's Flashcard Factory - A collaborative game that asks students to make flashcards to study later utilizing words and drawings. (Student ownership at its finest)

FlipGrid - Ask students to do something connected to the vocabulary in video form. As I always say, if a student can verbally articulate something, their understanding of the concept (or word in this case) will automatically improve

Google Drawings - Create some sort of visual (image, chart, graphic organizer, etc.) in Google Drawings and ask students to do something with the visual. Define, drag and drop, draw, and so on. Eric Curts has some awesome ideas for utilizing Google Drawings in class. (Control Alt Achieve) Thanks to Steve Wick for this great suggestion!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teachers Helping Teachers - A Vocab Victory

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This week, I had the opportunity to visit the freshmen English PLC and observe two of our reading specialists introduce a dynamic unit guide for teaching vocabulary during the team's study of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Mr. Steve Fleming and Mr. Brian Hurst created a 7 step process that includes a variety of activities for teachers to incorporate into their unit.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind: 16 Essential Characteristics for Success

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind, noted educators Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick present a comprehensive guide to shaping schools around Habits of Mind. The habits are a repertoire of beh

# data[].attributes.headline
Our classroom tables are set up so that students are in groups. When a student has a question I utilize the group to brainstorm and help answer the question.

# data[].attributes.subject
Our classroom tables are set up so that students are in groups. When a student has a question I utilize the group to brainstorm and help answer the question.

# data[].attributes.headline
Doing It Differently: Tips for Teaching Vocabulary

# data[].attributes.subject
Doing It Differently: Tips for Teaching Vocabulary

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

# data[].attributes.body
My blog post about the Biology teachers' activity to increase awareness

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
How many points is this worth? How can I get more points? What is the point of this? Can I earn my points back? Sound familiar???

Unfortunately, we live in an educational culture that is driven by points and grades. While we need to assess our students and provide feedback, how can we make students not as concerned about points and more concerned about their personal and academic growth? This feat is easier said than done; however, encouraging advocacy and reflection in our classrooms is a great starting point in establishing this type of culture.

As I visit the Science Department this week, I am constantly reminded about the importance of processing, sharing, questioning, and reflecting. At the Birkett Freshmen Center, a group of Biology teachers decided to focus on advocacy and reflection in their classrooms. One of our action items as a school this year is to promote advocacy with our students. How can we "recognize the barriers that students experience?" Dr. Lance Fuhrer, one of our Assistant Principals, challenged us to set the conditions for students to grow. One step in that process is providing students time to reflect individually in order to recognize when they are and are not meeting expectations. From here, students can learn how to confront, seek support, and be confident.

Ms. Toomey, Ms. Habas, and Ms. Matt decided to promote this self-awareness with their Biology classes as they completed one of their first lab reports. Their students are currently learning about dialysis, and the assignment asked them to write a lab report in the form of a letter. Students had to provide a purpose, evaluate if the dialysis tubing was working, provide evidence, analyze/explain, and offer a final recommendation for the recipient of the letter. After completing the work and submitting in Google Classroom, the teachers gave their students commenting/suggesting privileges on their own documents and guided them in class as they evaluated their own papers. Here is how it worked:

1. Teachers gave commenting privileges of the lab report to the students and a copy of the rubric

2. The teachers used an example report (displayed on the projector for all to see) they created and guided the students through each piece of the rubric explaining what they were looking for

3. Students were directed to make comments/suggestions in their own Google Docs - did they include the necessary elements as directed by the rubric? If so, they highlighted and commented. If not, they highlighted and explained what they were missing ----> recognizing when they were and were not meeting expectations

This process allowed students the time to process and reflect on the work they completed. It also provided time for them to really consider the rubric and learn how to meet expectations. With this, Ms. Toomey explained how she would grade the reports and then said to her students, "Are you now aware of how you did per the rubric?" This self-awareness will hopefully help them with future lab reports, as similar expectations will be in place.

The teachers, on the other hand, now had a key of some sort when it came to grading. They could look at the comments in order to grade the students and also see how the students reflected on their own work. What a wonderful artifact of achievement and reflection!

This shift in thinking from the importance of points to the importance of growth came to a head at the end of the activity: One student asked about the purpose of this activity. Can we get our points back? What will you be looking at when grading? Ms. Toomey provided a great response: "I will be looking at both your original work and comments. Use this feedback and understanding of the rubric in the future in order to make improvements in your work." She redirected the student to move past the points and to focus more on the big picture...building skills and making improvements. This awesome activity asked students to reflect on their work and recognize their strengths and weaknesses....both critical steps in promoting student advocacy. #whatsup

Want to try something like this in your classroom? Here are some resources:

Directions for self-assessment using the commenting feature (Created by Ms. Carrie Ory)

- Awesome new grading extension that students can use (and teachers) Clickto watch a video of it in action.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How many points is this worth? How can I get more points? What is the point of this? Can I earn my points back? Sound familiar??? Unfortunately, we live in an educational culture that is driven by points and grades.

# data[].attributes.body
Peardeck can help with this if used for that purpose. Here is my blog post about how some teachers are using it.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As a teacher, there is no greater feeling than ending a lesson and knowing that our students were engaged and challenged. Add student accountability and voice to the equation, and man oh man, life is good! I am thrilled to report that many of our teachers are utilizing the awesome features of Pear Deck and are super excited about its power in the classroom. For those of you who are not familiar with Pear Deck, it is an awesome tool that takes lessons to the next level by making them interactive. It promotes student accountability and choice, and through the variety of question options it provides, students are engaged and truly thinking through class content. Click to learn more about this fantastic resource.

As a G Suite for Education district, our teachers are quite familiar with Google Slides and create most of their lessons using this resource. Pear Deck has a simple and powerful add-on for Google Slides that makes it so easy to enhance and transform our lessons to put our students' thinking and work at its center. Knowing this, we had the opportunity to lead a Lunch 'N Learn for our staff and model how to use this resource in the classroom to promote student voice. In order to show the true power of Pear Deck, we asked our teachers to take the role of a student and actually experience it first hand. Our colleagues seemed to appreciate this PD model and some even tried Pear Deck that day because they were so eager to see it in action. #winning

One week later, I am excited to share what I heard and observed from some of our teachers who utilized Pear Deck in their classrooms:

Ms. Jen Schmauderer utilized Pear Deck in her AP Psychology classes and loved that her students were engaged throughout the lesson. The interactive format provided an outlet for all students, and she enjoyed the option to display student work and use it as an instructional tool later in the period. Ms. Schmauderer also mentioned that she appreciated the fact that it is easy to implement since her lessons are already in Google Slides.

At our freshmen building, Ms. Jody Perona used Pear Deck as a precursor to a discussion about company inflation rates in her business class. Students were asked to do a bit of research about a company and then share the inflation rating they found through an interactive question. From there, she used their work to lead a discussion about what these rates could mean as an economic indicator for the country. What a great way to get all students involved and engaged in a lesson and then use their voices as a stepping stool for a bigger discussion!

In her German classes, Ms. Karen Calvert has used Pear Deck quite a few times since learning about it. I love what she shared about her experience with it: "It has really made me look at my current lessons and think about how I can add opportunities for student voice." Now that's #whatsup! Like Ms. Schmauderer, she also loves how easy it is to use because it doesn't require a lot of change to existing lessons. By adding one extra slide, she gets instant feedback from her students and is able to assess their learning: "We can look at examples together and fix things without anyone being singled out." Students were actively involved in the lesson, which makes all the difference when it comes to success in learning.

According to Ms. Sara Wolfersberger, "The question 'How will you know if they're getting it' is SO easy to answer." She is excited that it gives her the chance to share student work but also gives students the chance to modify their work as they move through a lesson. She can add questions as needed during the lesson based on what she learns about her students in the moment. She is also a big fan of the student takeaways and that it provides "evidence of growth." Ms. Wolfersberger...I couldn't agree with you more!

English teacher, Ms. Laura Dabezic, has been using Pear Deck for a few weeks and is super excited about its power for capturing students learning and understanding. Yesterday, she modified one of her lessons and used Pear Deck to enhance a collaborative activity. Her students are currently reading Macbeth, and she had a series of questions about Act III that she wanted them to answer - based on images, lines, and graphs. The questions were on Google slides and students had to provide a written response. Students worked with a different partner for each question, but in earlier class periods, they worked ahead, conversations were off task, and they didn't put forth their best effort. Enter Pear Deck. She ended up using Pear Deck by inserting a text question on each slide. From there, students only had an allotted time for each question, and they had to use their time wisely to complete task since Mrs. Dabezic was able to control which slide appeared on their screens. Conversations were focused and student work improved, as she was able to view it while they were working. I loved this idea for a writing assessment and plan to utilize it in my own class!

Ms. Tonya Koppin asked for help in locating student responses in Pear Deck because she wanted to read their response to an interactive question and provide feedback. In addition to the Dashboard and Student Takeaways, I also encouraged her to export this one written response to a spreadsheet, a feature available when you go to peardeck.com. From there, she utilized Save as Doc , an add-on for Sheets that takes information from a Sheet and transforms it into a Google Doc. It is awesome, especially if teachers want a better view of student work.

As you can see, feedback is positive and teachers are ecstatic about the power of student voice, enabled by Pear Deck. I will end with this....while I was writing this post, Ms. Dawn Fehring stopped in to get some help with her Pear Deck lesson. Her excitement about her first-period class was contagious, as she explained that Pear Deck took her sleepy, silent class to the next level by increasing engagement and giving all students an outlet for learning. According to Ms. Fehring, student motivation was high, and they didn't really feel like they were working hard...but they were. And all of her students were able to show her they "got it" through the work they completed. Dawn explained to me that with instructional technology, she typically has a "low learning curve" but is always willing to try new things that will engage her students: "Now...Pear Deck is something I can do, and I will get better at it each time." Taking risks and empowering students. Ms. Fehring said it best: "Wow...this is AWESOME!" #Whatsup

Click to visit Steve Wick's blog for some more great ideas for utilizing Pear Deck in the classroom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As a teacher, there is no greater feeling than ending a lesson and knowing that our students were engaged and challenged. Add student accountability and voice to the equation, and man oh man, life is good! I am thrilled to report that many of our teachers are utilizing the awesome features of Pear Deck and are super excited about its power in the classroom.

# data[].attributes.body
posing questions with Pear Deck allows students to see each others responses anonymously. When they see that their answers differ discussion happen organically.

# data[].attributes.body
After writing a short paragraph, we pass the papers around the table (to the next person) to read and comment, looking for specific things. We pass the paper 3 times and then the owner reads the feedback and writes a reflection paragraph at the bottom. We do this only a few times a semester, but the paragraph size is rather quick.

# data[].attributes.body
No matter how many times I model vocab, teach it explicitly, use it in context, correct their usage....some still don't internalize the words. And then...2 levels later, it clicks. I'd love for them to have a running list in the back of their notebook that they refer to from time to time. It's a question of discipline.

# data[].attributes.body
That might be something teachers do in the first few weeks of school, if they were created?

# data[].attributes.headline
If I use an advanced word, I also define it and use a synonym.

# data[].attributes.subject
If I use an advanced word, I also define it and use a synonym.