# data[].attributes.body
Wow! There are so many resources in this Slide Deck! I really wanted to learn more about teaching my students how to write, so I chose the "Writing Strategies" Topic. I really liked "say, means, matter." My students are always asking me, "How do I get started." I think the Analytical Notetaking organizer will show them exactly how to do that and make them more independent writers. I also really like the Hexagonal Thinking Activity. I think this activity really makes students connect text they have read in a way that they otherwise would not have thought of. It is a great visual tool and an alternative to writing a summary. I think the students will enjoy it.

# data[].attributes.body
Hexagonal Thinking is very new to me. I will be trying this strategy with my class. It is an engaging and interactive strategy that encourages deep thinking, collaboration, and connections between ideas. This strategy I believe is especially useful for exploring complex topics.

# data[].attributes.body
I think that this is a great idea to implement during new vocabulary words for each lesson. I already do a version of this from time to time, but I like the way this looks better.

# data[].attributes.body
When students don't get it. Try again, provide multiple opportunities for success. I use stations. Therefore, the student would have to rotate through this station assignment again with a smaller group.

# data[].attributes.body
I love the idea of making visual vocab cards for each vocab word. Sometimes I feel that students do not really grasp the word just by looking at the definition, synonyms/antonyms, and sentence examples. I feel that the visual of the vocab cards will give them an image to associate the word with and it will help it stick in their mind.

# data[].attributes.body
I enjoy the ACE Strategy because it helps students to become more confident in their responses. This will help them to become critical thinkers and better writers.

# data[].attributes.body
Absolutely cannot wait to use SPACECAT with the unit 2 argument!!!!

MXMS-7th

# data[].attributes.body
I really like the way the Analytical Notetaking organizer is structured. It really focuses on citing text evidence and provides students with sentence starters. as a resource teacher this is a phenomenal way to get them engaged in a low risk manner. Of course, the first time we do it will be highly structured but I can see this becoming a regular tool for my classes.

# data[].attributes.body
I thought the video of the sixth grade class discussing the text was very informative. The students were having true discussions about the short story and you could tell that they have been taught strategies to demonstrate how to do this. No one was arguing or fighting to be heard. Everyone had a voice that mattered.

# data[].attributes.body
The STEAL strategy is a great way to analyze characters in literature and improve our own writing! By looking at a character’s Speech, Thoughts, Effect on others, Actions, and Looks, we can better understand their personality, motivations, and development. Writers can also use STEAL to create well-rounded, believable characters.

# data[].attributes.body
I researched Hexagonal Thinking, as this was a strategy I was not familiar with. I think this strategy would be great for building an argument. I am planning to use this with small groups in preparation for an argumentative essay.

# data[].attributes.body
This is a great way or organizing and learning about characterization. By looking at the character on a whole, students get a better understanding of who they are and it helps them to come up with an accurate assessment or analysis of the individual.

# data[].attributes.body
Focusing on standards helps both the teacher and students. It provides a guide in the right direction and areas need greater focus. It also helps the teacher to reflect and make necessary accommodations to better support learner needs.

# data[].attributes.body
I looked into two instructional strategies that I was not familiar with: Hexagonal Thinking and Triad Socratic Seminars.

Triad Socratic Seminars: I was most interested in this strategy because I have been looking for ways to engage all of my students and get them talking and building on others' ideas. In my different approaches to Socratic Seminars (using poker chips as talking chips, a beach ball, and concentric circles), the Triad strategy seems to be extremely effective. I love the processing and team time that is built into this discussion strategy. I think this is a powerful way to build confidence in students that are timid. I also love the pilot and copilot effect. Having students really listen to each other and offer encouragement to each other resonates with my purpose behind empowering students to become their own agents. I love that the pilot selects a copilot to enter into the speaking role for the next round of questions. This seems like it would be effective in making sure ALL voices have the opportunity to be heard. I look forward to using this strategy with our next major text, To Kill a Mockingbird.

# data[].attributes.body
This a great method to learn characterization. I plan to use it when I teach The Outsiders because my students always struggle to understand who is who among the characters. I think the organizers that we were given will serve as a great visual to remind them of each character and how they are connected to each other.

# data[].attributes.body
This seems like a great interactive way to review something they have read to make deeper and further connections to the text. We have begun talking about how we could use it to review what we have read to determine possible themes, connections within a text and character analysis.

# data[].attributes.body
I delved into the Writing Supports section of the February 17 PD. Here are my ideas for implementation:

Weighing Evidence: I will use this writing support to help students identify their most effective piece of evidence for building a home in space vs. focusing on Earth. This will also help them identify counter claims and form their rebuttals.

Writing Windows: I plan to use this with an upcoming poem to help students visualize the events of the poem. My goal is to help their comprehension and decrease their anxiety around poetry.

I also enjoyed the text "Diving In" and how it offered several ways to engage students with a text AFTER close reading. I find that the pressures of pacing have decreased this in my classroom and that author gave some great ideas.

# data[].attributes.headline
What I learned: Group that couldn't get into a breakout room. 

# data[].attributes.subject
What I learned: Group that couldn't get into a breakout room. 

# data[].attributes.body
I looked into Academic Discourse and Text Talk. I learned (which I already knew) when a learning environment feels positive to a student, they tend to learn more because they want to be more engaged in the discussions. I also learned that planning questions ahead of time helps so that you can give them a start and then grow additional questions from there. My favorite line in the article I read was to put the students in the "Drivers Seat". I like this idea and I plan on implementing it in our next small group discussions, I want to jump into each group, take a seat and just add or listen to what they are discussing.

# data[].attributes.body
We unpacked standards and discussed RI8.1, 8.4.

Regarding vocabulary, we discussed readtheory.org, vocabulary.com vocabulary bowl, Thinking Maps, all to supplement vocabulary acquisition.

# data[].attributes.body
We read One to Grow On / Eight Steps to Teaching In-Depth Discussion Skills.

This skill set would improve my instructional practice by teaching the students how to talk with and to each other about academic content.

I plan to implement this starting next week.

When student get it I will become the observer, but continue to guide them on how to improve and ask thought invoking questions, respectfully.

If they don't get it. I will continue to model the skill set and allow the to practice with gentle coaching until they do get it.

# data[].attributes.headline
Group 2 - How will this improve your instructional practice?

# data[].attributes.subject
Group 2 - How will this improve your instructional practice?

# data[].attributes.body
It allows to students to develop and become confident with discussion skills without worrying about defending their choices.

# data[].attributes.body
We looked at unpacking the standards. We focused on standard Ri.7.6 (POV/Purpose) We looked at the progression of the standard across 6-8 grade. We discussed different strategies that we used to teach it.

# data[].attributes.body
This strategy seems amazing to use especially with informational text and building upon what others say. This helps to show other perspectives and build deeper thinking on the text with a specific standard or the essential question before having an open dialogue about the text. Using this with pictures too for EC / ML students seems like a great way to get them engaged and talking.

# data[].attributes.body
Taking the time to be able to focus myself with what I am currently teaching and unpack the standards and see that we are diving deep in instruction and accomplishing a lot under one standard.

# data[].attributes.body
Learned great strategies and enjoyed honest conversation amongst teachers

# data[].attributes.body
If students feel respected and are in a positive learning environment, as well as making the content relevant, they connect more powerfully and create stronger connections with course materials. Students are allowed to agree to disagree, as long as it is respectful.

# data[].attributes.body
What did you learn?

We focused on Instructional Strategies: Save the Last Word, GIST, and Making Thinking Visible

When will you implement?

I plan to implement (try) Save the Word Protocol to deepen students' thinking about text and to help them build on each other since students seem to be dependent on AI or some "expert" thinking for them. We are in the middle/end of argument and these strategies can assist students with understanding and composing their own arguments.

We found that the GIST strategy is relevant to our students since TikTok is hugely popular and our students are highly influenced by "their fave star or influencer". The hashtag strategy is a great way to help put a capstone on students' understanding and thinking in order to share with others or to expand/build upon.

Both protocols (GIST and Save the Last Word) are ways to help students make their thinking visible. Have students create their own graphic organizers to showcase their learning for the text/day/week is a great idea. Teachers make learning visible all the time. Reiterate and highlight these visuals frequently to students so they have an example.

# data[].attributes.headline
Group 2 - What will you do when students don't (or do) get it?

# data[].attributes.subject
Group 2 - What will you do when students don't (or do) get it?

# data[].attributes.body
When students don't "get" it, teachers can intervene and redirect. When students do get it, we will share their group as an example to help some of the struggling groups. We will also make note of which groups are "getting" it and let those students help out in other groups.

# data[].attributes.body
We discussed Save the last word: A presenter picks a selection of text to present to a group of four. The other three have 1 minute to discuss the passage. Then the presenter has 3 minutes to say why they chose passage, how it relates to RL3/RL5, and what they thought of responses. Rinse and repeat with all 4 group members. A use for this strategy might be with poetry, assigning groups with different poems to choose selections from.

# data[].attributes.body
We discussed different learning strategies but essentially settled on the AVID page with a ton of resources to make learning more engaging and fun.

We said we would utilize items like the Pick a Duck or the graphic organizers for writing to enhance our lessons.

# data[].attributes.body
My partner and I had complementary articles ... we felt that one simply flowed into the other. I personally found some great ideas in my article that linked up perfectly with my teaching area of ESL. In my article, Self Generated Questioning, the idea of "text talk" was explored and how to create this in a classroom (the ESL classroom in my case). Getting kids to talk at all in my class can be a challenge, especially in English, but I loved the 4 suggested strategies and will definitely use this with our subsequent stories.

# data[].attributes.body
We talked about how our articles were similar in the sense about getting students to talk about what they are reading. We talked about modeling what we want them to discuss/talk about and what expectations should be (like being respectful).

# data[].attributes.body
When the students have understood the strategy (Save the last word) the teacher can vary the strategy to make it slightly more difficult for the students to complete on the next go around. Group 5

# data[].attributes.body
We all really liked the "Save the last Word" strategy and talked about having a checklist for accountability. Being consistent with the procedure is key and with practice the students will learn the routine.

# data[].attributes.body
What did you learn?

We talked about the large amount of graphic organizers available on SAVVAS through our textbook. We focused on learning strategies. We discussed the ones we already use and the ones we want to try with our classes.

# data[].attributes.headline
Breakout Group 5: When would you implement?

# data[].attributes.subject
Breakout Group 5: When would you implement?

# data[].attributes.body
We talked about implementing Save the Last Word in our remediation times. We loved how it can be catered to be so specific to standards and we can hit specific targets to close the gaps for our students.

# data[].attributes.body
What will you do when they don't get it?

When students don’t understand a particular instructional strategy, we will reteach it using a different approach, such as modeling, breaking it into smaller steps, or providing guided practice. Additionally, we will check for understanding through formative assessments and adjust our instruction to better support their learning needs.

# data[].attributes.body
Thanks for adding your questions. You can also email Jen at jenniferlowry@johnston.k12.nc.us for additional support.