# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Authored by Dr. Gholnecsar Muhammad, the Cultivating Genius unpacks the critical need for honoring students’ identities to help them grow.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Are you a teacher in Michigan looking for certifications or a license renewal easily from your home? Shop the Teacher's Academy for the courses you need!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Professional Development for Educators & Teachers - Michigan Virtual

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Michigan Virtual provides unparalleled access to professional development tools for educators and the best in professional learning opportunities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
All of us want children throughout Michigan to be successful. An important part of student success centers around proficiency in mathematics. The laws of mathematics govern our world, and children need a solid understanding of mathematical concepts to successfully navigate everyday life. Learning and appreciating math can help children appreciate things that they would not otherwise notice about the world.

These Essentials seek to promote high-quality, equitable teaching and learning for children in the discipline of mathematics. Research suggests that these eight practices have significant potential to positively affect children's learning of mathematics. The long-term goal is that this document will prompt shifts in systems, learning, teaching, and assessment so that each and every child develops strong mathematical understanding, skills, dispositions and identities.

Using the Mathematics Essentials will help build conceptual understanding among our learners. Join us at #MIearlymathEIPs
Value thinking. Leverage diversity. Embolden mathematical minds.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Website for Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In her book, Paul argues that if we want to extend the capacity of our brain - and engage in deeper, more creative learning - we need to capitalize on other body systems, on our surroundings and on our relationships. "The way to get better at thinking and learning is not to keep pushing the brain and certainly not to blame ourselves for its failures, but to reach outside the brain and transcend its limits by bringing in these external resources."

Two of these resources that educators, parents and caregivers can readily employ are movement and gesture.

Thinking with Movement

Humans did not evolve to do their best work while sitting down, says Paul.

Think about a child struggling to keep their body still during a lesson. "It takes a fair amount of mental bandwidth to keep our bodies still because we're meant to be in a kind of state of constant motion. And to control your impulse to move - especially for children - uses up some of the mental resources that they could otherwise apply to their learning."

In Paul's research, she encountered a common theme in the writings of many influential scholars: they did their best thinking while walking. As Henry David Thoreau wrote, "the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow." He's not alone. In experiments out of , students who completed creative tasks while walking - such as coming up with unexpected uses for a paperclip - came up with more ideas than those who brainstormed sitting down. Even our language reflects this understanding, says Paul. "We say we are 'stuck' or in a 'rut' because we have this idea that stasis and non-movement do not promote creativity. And then when we are thinking creatively, we say we are 'on a roll' or our thoughts are 'flowing.'"

The benefits of movement are well-documented : physical activity improves students' focus, retention, memory consolidation, creativity and mood. Movement breaks - from recess to a short dance party to doing standing stretches at their desks - boost students' mental sharpness. Research finds that a single workout can improve a student's ability to focus on a task for up to two hours.

Even micro-movements - such as shifting our weight while working at a standing desk - can help us stay more alert. "Activity-permissive classrooms" are helpful for all kids, says Paul, but particularly for students with ADHD for whom "low-intensity movement helps them regulate their state of physiological arousal and alertness."

Incorporating Purposeful Movement Into Instruction

When teachers weave in purposeful movement, they enhance students' comprehension and retention. The phrase for this is "embodied cognition" : our brain influences our body, but our body also influences our brain. Paul points to research that found students who incorporated movement into their learning strategy remembered 76 percent of the material, while those who simply used their brain to memorize recalled only 37 percent. " We just don't remember what we hear that well, or even what we see. Most of all we remember what we've done, the actions that we've taken. The traditional classroom is still focused on written and spoken language, and we're leaving out this incredibly powerful human capacity to relate things to the movements of the body."

Teachers can design lessons that incorporate congruent, novel and self-referential movement. Congruent movement involves engaging in physical activity that matches a concept - such as kids creating a number line with their bodies or acting out a math word problem. Novel movement asks students to do something unfamiliar to acquaint them with a new concept - such as physics students holding on to a tilting, spinning wheel to experience torque.

Self-referential movements involve students casting themselves as a character in the story of a concept. As Paul notes, Einstein imagined himself riding on a beam of light as he developed the theory of relativity, and polio vaccine inventor Jonas Salk imagined himself as a virus or cancer cell. Teachers, likewise, can ask students to act out the story of photosynthesis, or link arms to become human chromosomes. According to research, role-playing in science helped students achieve a more accurate understanding of a concept. Working with manipulatives is helpful, says Paul, but "students learn even more when the manipulatives they employ are their own body."

Tapping into the Power of Gesture

While you'd be hard-pressed to find a professional development workshop on using gesture in the classroom, gesturing was our first language and remains key to communicating ideas. As Paul says, "The movements of the hands are a co-equal partner with speech. When we don't attend to gesture, our own or others, we're missing out on half the conversation. There's fascinating research that suggests our most advanced, newest and cutting-edge ideas - the ones that we can't quite put into words yet - show up first in our gestures."

What does this mean for parents and teachers? The possibilities are myriad, says Paul. Look for instructional videos that include people gesturing - and not just talking heads; studies show that improves retention. Think about your own gestures as you explain new concepts and be purposeful in your movements. Teach students to pair new vocabulary words with an associated movement. Give them objects or diagrams to point to. Pay attention to student gestures to see what they might be communicating without words. And actively encourage students to gesture as part of the learning process. "The more you gesture, the deeper your understanding becomes," says Paul, "so you should create as many opportunities for students to gesture as possible. Ask them, 'Can you move your hands when you say that?'" That simple prompt not only gives the teacher more information about a student's understanding, it also "moves the student's own thinking ahead a step."

Ultimately, it's a perspective shift, says Paul. Our moving, fidgeting bodies are not at odds with learning but are rather a powerful way to extend our mind. "The movement and gesture of the body should be as much a part of the classroom as our thinking and talking brain."
You can listen to this episode of the MindShift Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, NPR One, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Movement and Gestures Can Improve Student Learning | KQED

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sitting still can impede learning for so many people. Moving your body can help generate thoughts and improve memory consolidation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Literacy Coaching - Wayne County Literacy Learning Network

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Literacy Coaching Why Coaching? Broadly defined, coaching is a form of professional learning that takes place within classrooms that helps teachers develop and apply new knowledge, make concrete plans for instruction and assessment, obtain feedback, refine their practices, and examine results. Research shows that strong coaching can make a significant difference in teacher practice and student outcomes.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
20 Brain Compatible Strategies for Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Whether you are a teacher delivering instructions to students or a student attempting to retain information for a class, there are 20 cross-curricular strategies that take advantage of the way all brains learn best. They are as follows: Brainstorming and Discussion: We remember what we talk about with others.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Coaching for Equity Tools - Bright Morning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Tools from Coaching for Equity Welcome to the downloadable tools for Coaching for Equity. Here you will find worksheets, rubrics, and other documents to augment and enhance the material available in Elena's Coaching for Equity. The Coaching Lenses The Consultancy Protocol Planning for an Equity-Focused Conversation Reflecting on My Own Biases The Equity Rubric (Appendix [...]Read More...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Have you ever wondered how to enhance your cognitive abilities, boost your focus, or improve your decision-making skills? Dive into the world of cognitive coaching to learn how it may be used to foster personal growth, improved performance, and meaningful change.

What Is Cognitive Coaching?

Cognitive coaching is a type of coaching focused on the development of skills and strategies related to cognition. Clients seeking cognitive coaching may do so because they want to improve their intuition, learning ability, focus, and capacity to retain knowledge.

Oxford Learner's Dictionary defines cognition as "the process by which knowledge and understanding is developed in the mind." As humans, we are all capable of change. While most brain development occurs early in life, we can learn and improve our cognitive skills at any age. However, there is no set formula for that change. The transformation journey requires a holistic approach.

At a)plan, our unique coaching method adopts a "whole-person" perspective, enabling our coaches to view clients through a comprehensive lens that takes into account the habits, thoughts, and behaviors influencing their cognitive abilities. Similar to executive functioning coaching, this work can and should be embraced by anyone wanting to improve their mind, self, and life.

What to Expect from Coaching

The fundamental principles underlying cognitive coaching are inspired by best practices from coaching in a general sense. Your coach should practice active listening, powerful questioning, nonjudgmental feedback, and area-specific expertise that makes them fit to be a cognitive coach.

Your experience working with a cognitive coach from a)plan will include some key stages:

1. Reflection. You'll work with your coach on your existing thought and behavior patterns in relation to your cognition to identify challenges, successes, and areas for improvement.

2. Goal setting. After evaluating where you are today, you'll focus on where you want to be in the future. What exactly do you want? Deciding what you really want and then getting proud of it is a key part of our process at a)plan.

3. Strategy. Multiple Action Plans (MAPs) make up a big part of our cognitive coaching process at a)plan. This is where you and your coach work together on the various ways to chart a path toward your goals.

4. Consistent check-in/accountability. You'll work with your coach each week as they hold you accountable to progress toward your goals.

At a)plan, we also harness the power of technology to enhance the coaching journey. Our web dashboard, mobile app, and state-of-the-art AI features are embedded within our platform. These tools provide clients with the most comprehensive coaching experience available, offering greater accessibility to their coaches and infusing the benefits of coaching into their daily lives. It's not a once-a-week engagement; it's a new way of thinking, living, and being.

Common Outcomes from Cognitive Coaching

At a)plan, our coaches meet clients wherever they are in life and help them see the future in an optimistic, accessible way. Despite every journey being unique to the individual, you can expect some common outcomes from this type of coaching.

Greater capacity to focus. Through techniques such as goal-setting, visualization, and self-reflection, cognitive coaching can help individuals identify and overcome distractions, develop stronger concentration skills, and ultimately improve their ability to stay focused on tasks for longer periods of time.

Achievement of a certain academic or curricular goal. By working with a cognitive coach, individuals can develop effective study habits, learn time management skills, and build the confidence needed to succeed in their chosen area of study.

Successfully transitioning in life or work. A successful life or career transition requires a clear understanding of one's values, strengths, and goals. Cognitive coaching aids clients in removing mental roadblocks or limiting beliefs that may be holding them back from achieving their full potential.

Each of these examples involves elements of cognitive coaching, as they all require forms of learning, adapting, strategy-building, decision-making, and more.

Cognitive Coaching for Different Contexts

Cognition impacts many things in our lives: from school to our jobs to our ability to form strong connections and friendships. Therefore, anyone can use this type of coaching, regardless of their career or goals, because nearly everything necessary in life involves cognition-your ability to remember things about yourself, other people, subject matter, etc.

Because of this, cognitive coaching may be used in different contexts. For example, organizations might hire cognitive coaches to support employee and staff development in relation to work success or team building. Just as commonly, individuals may hire coaches for themselves to focus on personal and professional growth. Both make sense and can level up critical aspects of your life or your organization's culture.

Tips for Hiring a Qualified Cognitive Coach

Cognitive coaching is rooted in understanding the intricacies of the human brain and how it affects behavior, decision-making, and problem-solving. This specialized focus requires a unique set of skills, knowledge, and experience that only some coaches possess. To ensure you find someone who can best guide you on your journey, follow these four tips:

1. Find someone who understands the key concepts related to cognition, intuition, thinking, and intelligence.Your cognitive coach should be well-versed in these areas of focus.

2. Use a trusted service provider that helps vet coaches.At a)plan, for example, we have a rigorous process and do not let just anyone on our coaching roster. Clients can rest assured that if they are drawn to a coach, a third party has already vetted their credentials and capacity to provide superior service.

3. Get on a call with someone to test compatibility before working together. You can learn a lot about someone's coaching style, expertise, and personality from a quick phone call, which is why we offer free "fit calls" at a)plan. It's essential that you jive well with your coach to see the best results. Fit calls are critical to ensure a good match.

4. And finally, take advantage of tools that help match you with the perfect coach.At a)plan, our coach-matching survey makes it easy for clients to match with the right coach based on their goals and preferences. The survey automatically analyzes your responses to match you with three recommendations from our roster of 60+ coaches.

Are you ready to dive into the world of cognitive coaching? Complete our coach matching survey today, and schedule a free fit call with one of the three coaches we believe will make for a successful match and coaching engagement.

Interested in cognitive coaching?
Take our coach-matching survey to get started.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What Is Cognitive Coaching? Definition & Key Concepts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Cognitive coaching is a type of coaching focused on the development of skills and strategies related to cognition. Learn more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Best of pinterest | Diversión de la escuela, Juegos de salón de clases, Actividades educativas

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
18-mar-2016 - minute to win it (indoor recess, last day of school, etc.)

# data[].attributes.body
21 Free fun Icebreakers for Online Teaching and virtual remote teams | Symonds Training

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Symonds Research Training Course Materials

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Page Updated on February 2, 2023

Here are 21 free to use icebreakers for online teaching that you can use. Icebreakers are an important part of any training program, as they encourage people to participate from the start of a session, to get to know each other and to feel comfortable working with others.

How do you run icebreakers for online sessions though? We have written a separate post on 'How to run group activities in virtual classrooms for your students here. 🙂

There are many icebreakers you can do in face-to-face training sessions and some of them are classics that corporate trainers all over the world have been using for quite a while.

In this guide, we have put together some icebreakers specifically designed to be done online and others that are normally done in traditional classrooms and we explain how to adapt them for the online environment.

1. 'Two Truths and a Lie' Icebreaker

This is a classic icebreaker, which can be adapted to an online class.

Instructions

1. Ask one participant to write three statements about themselves: 2 true and 1 false.

2. Ask the other participants to vote on which statements are true and which is false.

3. After the first person has shared their statement and the group has decided which statement is false, the first person will reveal which statements were true and which one was false.

4. Move on until each person in the group has shared their statements.

5. The person who manages to correctly guess the most lies wins. Alternatively, you can play this game in a non-competitive way just for participants to get to know each other.

This is intended as a fun icebreaker so it's a nice activity for very early in any training or teaching.

Online tools you can use

2. Table Topics

Table topics are a set of cards, which you can find for sale online, on sites such as Amazon. Each card has a question on it to start a conversation and every pack of cards contains just over one hundred questions.

They are a great way to start a conversation for participants to get to know each other or to start a discussion on a specific topic. You can choose questions pertinent to the topic of your workshop

Instructions

You can type some of the questions from the card on a chat board and ask participants to write down their thoughts.

Alternatively, you could separate the participants into breakout rooms and assign each group one or two questions so that each person in the group can answer.

Some examples of questions include:

Is there such a thing as perfect?

Where would you most like to go and why?

Who's the funniest person you know?

Would you rather live for a week in the past or the future?

What is the meaning of 'peace' to you?

Who do you trust and why?

How would you describe your future in three words?

If you can go back in time to your 15-year-old self, what advice would you give your 15-year-old self?

What is your definition of being wealthy and why?

What can you do today that you were not capable of a year ago?

Online tools you can use

Breakout rooms (which are available in many web conferencing platforms, such as Zoom).

Online whiteboards and chats.

3. 'Three Words' Ice Breaker

This is a good warm-up activity and it can also be useful to discuss the importance of adapting to changing situations and thinking on one's feet.

Instructions

1. Ask participants to agree on a random topic. It can be anything from food to dogs, to rugby.

2. Explain that each person should contribute with three words to the story (and three words only at a time) and they will take turns to contribute.

3. Encourage the participants to say the first three words that come to their mind. It does not matter if they make sense or not.

4. Try to move from one person to the other quickly.

Online tools you can use

Online whiteboard, chat board, and other collaboration tools such as Padlet or Lino.

4. 'Same and Different' Team Building Game

The aim is to learn information about other people. Hence, this activity can be either a great icebreaker or a way for people within an established team to know each other better and communicate.

Instructions

Online tools you can use

Breakout rooms

Online whiteboard, chat board, and other collaboration tools such as Padlet or Lino.

5. 'Big Lottery Win' Warm-Up Activity

This game is good as a warm-up, for participants to familiarize themselves with each other and also to think creatively.

Participants can discuss together or be separated into breakout rooms, depending on the number of participants.

Instructions

1. Explain to the participants to imagine that they have just won the lottery. They have won 25 million Euros, GBP, dollars, or any big amount in the local currency of the country they are in.

2. Give participants 5 minutes to list all the things they would do with the money. There is no limit to the number of things they can put down, as long as they can write them within 5 minutes.

3. After 5 minutes are up, ask everyone to talk about their list and discuss.

4. If you wish to, you can then sort the items on the lists into logical groups that you will find naturally evolve according to:

1. Material items

2. Friends and family

3. Travel and luxury

5. Some other categories may also emerge

6. Allow 5 minutes for the group to discuss the list. This normally will occur very easily.

Online tools you can use

Online whiteboard, chat board, and other collaboration tools such as Padlet or Lino.

6. 'Storytelling' Icebreaker | Team-Building Activity

Because of the creative and cooperative nature of this game, it is a good activity to use either as an icebreaker or as a team-building activity. It can also be useful for a training session on creativity.

Instructions

1. In advance of the training session, prepare some documents or boards (you can use MS Word or create boards with an image manipulation program) with a set of 4 pictures on each.

2. On the training day, separate the participants into groups of 4 people in breakout rooms and assign each group one of the files with the photos.

3. Give the groups 10 minutes to look at the photos and to create their narrative that creates a story that connects the four images.

4. When the 10 minutes are up, ask each group to share their story onto a virtual board and to spend up to three minutes telling the story of their images. Allow other groups to then suggest how they might have developed the story and if they would have used the images differently.

Online tools you can use

Breakout rooms

Online whiteboard, chat board, other collaboration tools such as Padlet or Lino.

7. 'Introducing Each Other' - Ice Breaker

This is a good activity to get participants to get to know each other so that they find themselves in a familiar environment.

Participants can do this activity either before the session, in their own time, or during the session.

Instructions

1. Pair up participants in twos.

2. Give them a list of questions to ask each other.

3. Ask each pair to interview each other, either via email or in breakout rooms.

4. When all the participants convene together in the same virtual room, each participant will introduce the participant they interviewed.

Online tools you can use

8. 'Hope and Fears' Icebreaker

This is a classic icebreaker, which is good as a reflection tool or to assess what the participants' expectations are from the training.

Instructions

1. Ask participants to write down their greatest hope (for example, for the session, for the current year or for a specific project) and then their greatest fear.

2. In a face-to-face class, the participants differentiate the answers by, for example, writing each answer on a sticky note of a different color.
Online, you need to find another way to differentiate them. For example, you could use Padlet or Lino, which allow you to create virtual sticky notes of various colors.

3. Read all the hopes first and then the fears and discuss.

Online tools you can use

Online whiteboard, chat board, and other collaboration tools such as Padlet or Lino.

9. 'Childhood Dream' Ice-breaker

This icebreaker is useful to start a discussion on how priorities and goals can change throughout a person's life.

Instructions:

Online tools you can use:

Online whiteboard, chat board, other collaboration tools such as Padlet or Lino.

10. 'Take a Picture of Something' Class Activity

This is a fun activity, which is good to get people to know each other using visuals and creativity.

Instructions

1. Ask participants to take a picture of something.
Typically, you choose a specific theme. For example, ask participants to take a picture of their shoes or a picture of something that is on their workstation or the view outside their window.
Remember to ask participants to take a picture and upload it before the training session starts, as otherwise, it might take too much time out of the training session if they were to do it in real-time.

2. Ask participants to share the picture on a virtual board.

3. Start a discussion. For example, you could ask why they chose that particular item on their desk, or what they like the most about the view they can see from the window, etc.

Online tools you can use

Online whiteboard, chat board, other collaboration tools such as Padlet, Evernote, or Lino.

11. 'Asking Questions' Icebreaker

This is a good way for participants to get to know each other in a relaxed manner.

Remember to ask questions that are light-hearted though, as you want to start on a positive note.

Instructions

Online tools you can use

Online whiteboard, chat board, other collaboration tools such as Padlet, Evernote, or Lino.

Tools that allow you to create a survey, such as Survey Monkey or Google Forms or a wiki, such as Slimiwiki.

>> Buy course training materials

12. 'Show a Map' Fun Teaching Activity

This is a good activity if your participants are located in many different geographical locations.

Instructions

Online whiteboard, chat board, other collaboration tools such as Padlet, Evernote, or Lino.

Tools that allow you to create a survey, such as Survey Monkey or Google Forms or a wiki, such as Slimiwiki.

Online tools you can use

13. 'Lost in Space' Online Training Activity

This is a good activity to get to know participants in a way other than just asking the usual questions.

1. Ask the participants to imagine that they are living in a space station. All of a sudden, the space station malfunctions and they have to evacuate. They are only allowed to take 5 items with them. Which items would they choose?

2. Ask participants to share their answers in the chatbox, explaining why they chose those five items.

Instructions

Online whiteboard, chat board, other collaboration tools such as Padlet, Evernote, or Lino.

Tools that allow you to create a survey, such as Survey Monkey or Google Forms or a wiki, such as Slimiwiki.

Online tools you can use

14. One Word (or One Image) Activity

This is another activity suitable for participants to share information about themselves creatively.

Ask participants to choose one word that best describes them or their life and to explain why.
Alternatively, you can ask them to choose an image (they can download it from the Internet or take a picture with their smartphone, for example).

Ask them to share their answers via the chat feature or on a virtual whiteboard.

Instructions

Online whiteboard, chat board, other collaboration tools such as Padlet, Evernote, or Lino.

Tools that allow you to create a survey, such as Survey Monkey or Google Forms or a wiki, such as Slimiwiki.

Online tools you can use

15. 'One Random Object' Virtual Training Activity

This icebreaker is a fun game, aimed at making participants feel relaxed and creating a sense of community. You could also use it as an energizer, if needed, when you sense that your participants are losing focus.

1. Ask a participant to pick one random object that is in their room and not tell anyone what it is.

2. Explain that the other participants will have to guess what it is, by asking questions that require a yes or no answer.

Instructions

You could use a chat board for this, but it is not necessary. You could just run the activity by speaking and maybe use a virtual board to record the scores. You can also, if you wish to, make it a competition, whereby the participant who correctly guesses the most objects wins.

Online tools you can use

16. 'Accomplished Goals' Online Group Activity

This is a good activity to focus on positive things (i.e. people's achievements). It is also a networking tool, as participants could be interested in achieving the same goal that another person in the group has achieved and whom they might ask for advice from.

Instructions:

You could use a chat board for this, but it is not necessary. You could just run the activity by speaking and maybe use a virtual board to summarize the discussion at the end and highlight what can be learnt from each person's experience.

Online tools you can use:

17. 'Describe Yourself in a Tweet' Activity

This activity is different from the traditional introduce yourself type activities, in that it has an additional challenge. That is, participants have to manage to communicate as effectively as they can, using a very limited number of characters.

There is a limitation to this activity though, as participants will need to have a Twitter account and not worry about their tweets being seen by everyone as tweets are public (direct messages used to be limited to 140 characters but, in 2015, the limit was extended to 10,000 characters).

1. Ask participants to describe themselves in a tweet.

2. You could do this activity before the training session and then take screenshots of the Tweets to show during the online class.

Instructions

Twitter social media account for you and the participants.

Online tools you can use

18. 'Bingo' Icebreaker

This is a classic icebreaker that can be adapted for online teaching.

In a traditional face-to-face session, you would prepare a table with a series of interesting facts and then give each participant a copy of the sheet so they can move around the room trying to find somebody to whom that fact applies.

1. To run the activity online, create a 5 by 5 table with interesting facts, one for each box of the table. For example, you could write things such as: speaks more than two languages, has been to Argentina, etc. Or, it would be a good idea to tie the facts with the topic of the class.

2. Share the file with the table with your participants, either in advance or during the session. You can share by email, through the file-sharing feature of the web conferencing system, or with an online sharing tool such as Google docs, Dropbox, or Evernote. Alternatively, you could do the activity in real-time using a tool such as Padlet or Lino.

3. Ask participants to write their name under each of the statements that apply to them.

4. Ask participants to share the answers and discuss.

Instructions

Online whiteboard, chat board, other collaboration tools such as Padlet, Evernote, or Lino.

Tools that allow you to create a survey, such as Survey Monkey or Google Forms or a wiki, such as Slimiwiki.

Email

Online tools you can use

19. 'Interests and Hobbies' Activity Online

This activity helps participants to get to know each other but with an element of fun.

Ask participants to post three links that reflect their hobbies.

The other participants have to guess what their hobbies are.

Instructions

Online whiteboard, chat board, other collaboration tools such as Padlet, Evernote, or Lino.

Online tools you can use

20. 'Time Machine' Virtual Training Activity

This activity is suitable for those who like history and as a trainer, it can help you to introduce a bit of imagination to your icebreaker.

1. Ask your participants: 'If you could go back or forward in time, where would you go?' 'Why?' You can then follow up with questions such as 'Is there a person you would like to meet?'

2. Ask participants to share the answers.

Instructions

Online whiteboard, chat board, other collaboration tools such as Padlet, Evernote, or Lino.

Tools that allow you to create a survey, such as Survey Monkey or Google Forms or a wiki, such as Slimiwiki.

Online tools you can use

21. 'Where in the World' Icebreaker for Online Training

This is another game that allows participants to know each other in a fun way.

Instructions

Online whiteboard, chat board, other collaboration tools such as Padlet, or Lino.

>> Buy course training materials

Online tools you can use

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
21 Free fun Icebreakers for Online Teaching and virtual remote teams

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Free activities and icebreakers for online teaching for freelance online trainers or teachers. Virtual classroom lessons and workshop fun team-building games.

# data[].attributes.body
Planning and Relaxing for our Cubs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Relaxing Celtic Music for Stress Relief. Calming Music. Nature Music Therapy

# data[].attributes.body
Home Learning Favorites
Teachers share your favorite home experiences with others. Was it with your class or with your family ?

# data[].attributes.body
10 Chrome Extensions for Distance Learning - Teach, Create, Motivate

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Google Chrome extensions are so easy to use and best of all, they're free! If you don't use Chrome, I highly recommend downloading it to use as your web browser. You can add extensions with just 2 quick clicks! Here are my favorite 10 Chrome Extensions for Distance Learning!

1. Bitmoji

This is my FAVORITE Chrome extension that I use ALL the time. Here are some of my favorite ways to use it:

2. Emoji Keyboard

Use this extension to add emojis to your announcements, slides, and Google Classroom topics! It's so easy to use and your students will love it!

3. Share to Classroom

This extension pushes webpages directly to your Google Classroom classes, which enables your students to open them instantly. You can also post announcements, create assignments, and save webpages for future use.

4. Custom Cursor

Custom Cursor transforms your mouse's cursor to add some fun to your online class meetings or screen recordings.

5. Screencastify

This extension enables you to easily record yourself, computer screen, or both. I also love how you can upload your videos directly to your Google Classroom!

6. Google Keep

Google Keep organizes your notes and to-dos by category. You can add labels to your info and color code it to make it even more streamlined. It's accessible from your computer, phone, or even your Apple watch! It's a total game changer!

Scroll to the bottom of this post to grab your free headers!
7. GoFullPage

This allows you to easily take a screenshot of your current page.

8. Giphy

With Giphy, you can quickly copy and paste GIFs and stickers!

9. Kami

The Kami extension enables you to bring your PDFS and other documents to life! You can write, draw, and type on them - all within your browser! You can also use this with Google Drive and Google Classroom!

10. Todoist

Todoist for Chrome keeps me organized by arranging my tasks. I love how easy it is to organize everything. It even allows you to add webpages to your task list!
You can get my Google Keep headers for free below!
Save this list to read later by pinning the image below!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Chrome Extensions for Distance Learning - Teach Create Motivate

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Google Chrome extensions are so easy to use and best of all, they're free! If you don't use Chrome, I highly recommend downloading it to use as your web browser. You can add extensions with just 2 quick clicks! Here are my favorite 10 Chrome Extensions for Distance Learning! 1.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated feelings of isolation, stress, loss, and more among young people, adults, families, and communities. Social and emotional learning (SEL) offers a powerful means to support one another during these challenging times as our communities work to address the impact of the pandemic on students' learning and development.

Now, more than ever, we understand how important it is to demonstrate empathy and resilience, build relationships across distance, and call upon our collective resolve to strengthen our schools and our communities.

So, how can SEL support you and your work during this time? Find resources and guidance in Reunite, Renew, Thrive: SEL Roadmap for Reopening School (July 2020).

Our recommendations follow the four core focus areas for schoolwide SEL and districtwide SEL:

First, create a foundation for SEL.

Work with students, families, and communities to envision how education can more holistically support all learners.

Prioritize strong, two-way communication between families and schools.

Second, attend to well-being and mutual support among adults.

Pay close attention to our own social-emotional needs in order to be the community of adults who best serve our young people.

Foster supportive adult relationships to process emotions, share challenges, and offer support to one another.

Third, promote SEL for young people.

Provide consistency in daily routines to foster a sense of safety and predictability.

Listen to young people and support them in building or maintaining a sense of community and connection.

Incorporate social and emotional skill-building into learning (such as CASEL's SEL 3 Signature Practices).

Fourth, reflect on how things are going and adjust as you learn.

Listen to students, families, and your wider community of stakeholders as valuable sources of information about what is or isn't working.

Analyze results with a lens of equity to meet needs using our SEL Data Reflection Protocol

How is CASEL advancing this work?
Back to top
Guidance on School Transitions and Reopening

To aid in this time of continued transitions, CASEL collaborated with more than 40 partners to illuminate a way forward through Reunite, Renew, Thrive: SEL Roadmap for Reopening School (July 2020), centered on relationships and built on the existing strengths of a school community. As we prepared for Spring 2021, we offered three strategies adapted from the SEL Roadmap to re-examine efforts for a successful second semester: Refocus on the SEL Roadmap: Actions for a Successful Second Semester (January 2021).

CASEL CARES Webinar Series

In response to the pandemic, CASEL mobilized to provide social and emotional support to our communities and share best practices through an initiative called CASEL CARES. We offered weekly practical guidance and information on topics that were sourced from the field and relevant to the needs of today. Our CASEL CARES Webinars covered a wide range of SEL topics and attracted more than 100,000 people. View the on-demand series

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated feelings of isolation, stress, loss, and more among young people, adults, families, and communities. Social and

# data[].attributes.body
F & P Fiction & Nonfiction Levels A to N Resources from Learning at Primary Pond with Alison (pdf below has levels D-N that I bought but no worries, Levels A-D are available for sale on her website.

# data[].attributes.headline
Listening to Books Stimulates the Same Emotion and Cognitive Areas in the Brain as Reading

# data[].attributes.subject
Listening to Books Stimulates the Same Emotion and Cognitive Areas in the Brain as Reading

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
If you don't have time to sit and read a physical book, is listening to the audio version considered cheating? To some hardcore book nerds, it could be. But new evidence suggests that, to our brains, reading and hearing a story might not be so different.

In a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience , researchers from the Gallant Lab at UC Berkeley scanned the brains of nine participants while they read and listened to a series of tales from "The Moth Radio Hour." After analyzing how each word was processed in the the brain's cortex, they created maps of the participants' brains, noting the different areas helped interpret the meaning of each word.

They mapped out the results in an interactive diagram, which is due to be published on the Gallant Lab website this week.

Looking at the brain scans and data analysis, the researchers saw that the stories stimulated the same cognitive and emotional areas, regardless of their medium. It's adding to our understanding of how our brains give semantic meaning to the squiggly letters and bursts of sound that make up our communication.

This is Your Brain on Words

In 2016, researchers at the Gallant Lab published their first interactive map of a person's brain after they listened to two hours of stories from "The Moth." It's a vibrant, rainbow-hued diagram of a brain divided into about 60,000 parts, called voxels.

Coding and analyzing the data in each voxel helped researchers visualize which regions of the brain process certain kinds of words. One section responded to terms like "father," "refused," and "remarried" - social words that describe dramatic events, people or time.

But the most recent study, which compared brains when they were listening and reading, showed that words tend to activate the same brain regions with the same intensity, regardless of input.

It was a finding that surprised Fatma Deniz, a postdoctoral researcher at the Gallant Lab and lead author of the study. The subject's brains were creating meaning from the words in the same way, regardless if they were listening or reading. In fact, the brain maps for both auditory and visual input they created from the data looked nearly identical.

Their work is part of a broader effort to understand which regions of our brains help give meaning to certain types of words.

More Work Ahead

Deniz wants to take the experiment even further by testing on a broader range of subjects. She wants to include participants who don't speak English, speak multiple languages or have auditory processing disorders or dyslexia. Finding out exactly how the brain makes meaning from words could fuel experiments for years.

"This can go forever ... it's an awesome question," she says. "It would be amazing to understand all aspects of it. And that would be the end goal."

For now, Deniz says the results of this study could make a case for people who struggle with reading or listening to have access to stories in different formats. Kids who grow up with dyslexia, for example, might benefit from audiobooks that are readily available in the classroom.

And if listening to audiobooks is your preferred method of storytelling, you might not be cheating at all. In fact, it seems you're not losing anything by downloading books on your phone - you're just being a smart reader, er, listener.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Audiobooks or Reading? To Our Brains, It Doesn't Matter

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If you don't have time to sit and read a physical book, is listening to the audio version considered cheating? To some hardcore book nerds, it could be. But new evidence suggests that, to our brains, reading and hearing a story might not be so different.

# data[].attributes.headline
Match a Reading Skill with an Audio Book

# data[].attributes.subject
Match a Reading Skill with an Audio Book

# data[].attributes.body
Two Paths to Learning to Read, Both Work

# data[].attributes.body
Click on Loom to hear Story

# data[].attributes.body
How are you keeping your light bright?

# data[].attributes.body
Inquiry into exhibition, inquiry & agency!

# data[].attributes.headline
Ways to Honor Questions in the Classroom

# data[].attributes.subject
Ways to Honor Questions in the Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Reading Simplified - streamilined instruction, accelerated achievement

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Imagine with me the recipe that most first grade teachers attempt to create a class of readers:

A dash of phonemic awareness, a larger measure of phonics, sprinkled with sight word games, simmered with an engaging read aloud, but not neglecting the obligatory 10 minutes in a writing journal.

Does the careful mixing of these many reading skills bake make a strong reader?

In many cases, yes! When that happens, it is delicious.

However, if we examine reading outcomes such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), just a few years later in 4 th grade the outcomes for over 30% have turned sour.

This batch of readers does not demonstrate even basic reading achievement. 🙁

Bitterness and dis-engagement often follow fast upon repeated disappointed with learning to read. Tragically, each year the distance between the reading "haves" and "have-nots" grows larger.

What if we have forgotten to stir the ingredients and haven't really finished the dish?

Might an approach that integrates phonemic awareness, phonics knowledge, high frequency word practice, spelling, and writing boost reading outcomes?

With child after child, from beginners to strivers, we do find that an integrated approach to the foundational reading skills prepares great readers.

Integrate; Don't Isolate

Rather than teaching

10 minutes of phonemic awareness

20 minutes of phonics instruction, and then

15 minutes of handwriting and spelling instruction,

integrate these reading skills into one 5 - 10 minute instructional activity.

What does that look like?

One of our favorite fully integrated activities is called Switch It. This is what it looks like:

Or, here's another visual on the Switch It procedures:

1. The teacher calls out a switch,

2. After she creates each new word, she segments, or separates, each sound in the word:

"/mmmmm/ /o--/ /p/......'mop.'"
A Switch List for a beginner might look like this, with CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words:

map

mop

top

tap

sap

sat

Sam

While a slightly more advanced student might be challenged by this with some CVCC words:

rich

which

whip

tip

tin

ten

tent

sent

set

Here's a beginning reader, who is four, learning more about phonics information and phonemic awareness in the video below.

Notice how he is able to manipulate sounds in the easier CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) level, such as "chick," but then demonstrates a leap forward by also manipulating the harder CCVC (Consonant-Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) word: "prick."

Simultaneous, Integrated Sub-Skills

What skills do the children practice when they manipulate these letter-sound cards and say their sounds?
Several, you say?
Yes! Here are some of sub-skills that were addressed by just this one integrated activity:

Phonemic segmentation

Phonemic manipulation

Consonant letter-sound knowledge

Short vowel letter-sound knowledge

Decoding

Spelling

High Frequency word analysis

Connections between word identification and vocabulary

Concept of the alphabetic principle.

Notice these multiple sub-skills were integrated and practiced simultaneously, and in short order....hmmm...does that pun work with short order cook? 😉

If you'd like a more scholarly dive into this activity and its benefits, read this article written by Bruce McCandliss, Isabel Beck, Rebecca Sandak, and Charles Perfetti. These researchers term what we call Switch It a "Word Building" technique, but the gist of the activity is very similar. With just this simple activity, these researchers demonstrated significant growth in phonemic awareness, decoding, and even....comprehension. Yep!

What are the benefits of this integrated approach to foundational reading skills?

1. Saves time.

2. Provides the pivotal transfer ability necessary for the child's independent reading skills the next day and week.

3. Develops the phonemic (sound-based) decoding precision necessary to be a strong reader and speller.

So, you want to be a better cook?

Re-examine your recipe.

Consider your scope and sequence and the isolated sub-skill after sub-skill tack.

Perhaps make a more effective, and efficient product if you mix phonemic awareness at the same time you teach decoding and letter-sound knowledge.

We follow a 1-page Streamlined Pathway that guides our thinking in a scope-and-sequence kinda way.

For example, in the first, bottom-left section, we teach multiple, integrated sub-skills: consonants, short vowels, phonemic awareness (all types), decoding, and high frequency words. All in just a couple of activities such as Switch It.

[See this post about Blend As You Read for our other early main activity that integrates multiples skills simultaneously.]

After working with hundreds of students and watching others work with thousands of students, we testify that students learn to read more rapidly and easily with an integrated approach.

And, the National Reading Panel demonstrated the value of this key ingredient to word identification when they noted greater impact from phonemic awareness integrated with letter-sound instruction.

Finally, consider this admonition from Marie Clay, creator of Reading Recovery:

"The lowest literacy achievers will have extreme difficulty bridging any gaps in the teaching programme and linking together things that have been taught separately."

Please select a student and try the Switch It approach with him/her. A list of words will make it easier to get started....Download our FREE Switch It packet below to jump start your students' decoding!

Please report back here with what you found after trying Switch It. What have you discovered?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Foundation for Strong Sound-Based Decoding-Switch It - Reading Simplified

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Imagine with me the recipe that most first grade teachers attempt to create a class of readers: A dash of phonemic awareness, a larger measure of phonics, sprinkled with sight word games, simmered with an engaging read aloud, but not neglecting the obligatory 10 minutes in a writing journal.

# data[].attributes.body
Today we took a dive into the deep end of inquiry.  Send a lifesaver!
Digging deep into Wonderings!

# data[].attributes.body
Kindergarten talking play and learning

# data[].attributes.body
Thank you Stephanie for sparking our thinking

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
relaxing piano music soft sleep - Bing video

# data[].attributes.body
2nd grade math practice. Using manipulatives!

# data[].attributes.body
Conant September