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Using Hexagons to Build Critical Thinking Skills

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Using Hexagons to Build Critical Thinking Skills

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Using Hexagons to Build Critical Thinking Skills

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Former Governor Larry Hogan, engaged in a Fishbowl Discussion, taps out from the fishbowl as his partner now joins the discussion.  

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At any point if you have a link, screenshot, document, description of an activity or strategy; please upload these to the padlet so all educators have access to your expertise.

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1. Find three supports in the Supports for MLL Chart that you already provide in your classroom and highlight those examples in GREEN.

2. Find two supports in the Supports for MLL Chart that you would like to provide in your classroom and highlight those examples in ORANGE.

3. Pick one support from the Supports for MLL Chart that you would not provide in your classroom and highlight that example in PINK.

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1. What were your two ORANGE examples?

Who has your ORANGE example(s) highlighted in GREEN?

What does this strategy look like in their classroom?

2. What were your PINK examples?

Who has your PINK example(s) highlighted in GREEN?

What challenges can you anticipate or overcome with the implementation of this strategy?

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Using Interactive Read Aloud to Bolster Knowledge Development

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Using Interactive Read Aloud to Bolster Knowledge Development

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4 Strategies for Building Content Knowledge

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4 Strategies for Building Content Knowledge

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1. Position skill and knowledge learning intentions and success criteria side by side.

Use a variety of media:

Supplement texts with charts, videos, and other mediums to build foundational understanding before tackling complex texts.

Integrate writing into notes:

Ask students to summarize main ideas or write in their own words as part of their note-taking process.

Provide scaffolding:

Use strategies like pre-reading, asking questions, and annotating texts to help students process information more effectively.

Leverage technology:

Use technology to expose students to grade-level texts and help them interact with vocabulary and sentence structures even if they can't read independently yet.

2. Embed social studies and science into literacy-informed inquiry units.

Interactive read-alouds:

Conducting interactive read-alouds that embed content syntactically a few grade levels ahead. The teacher reads the passage, students reread, and brief summaries are discussed in think-pair-shares.

Build academic vocabulary:

Building academic vocabulary with students and incorporating  the use of that vocabulary when previewing texts, reading text, and discussing the text after reading a passage.

Providing students with content-rich books in which to read and write about daily.

3. Students talk about content:

Use deep learning strategies to think aloud about content. Getting students to talk about content is really important.

Fishbowls

Discussion Mapping

Four A's

Final Word Protocols

4. Infuse writing into routine tasks.

Quick Writes

Examples: Students predict what they are reading, share an opinion on a piece that they are reading, and summarizing and reflecting on a piece of reading.

Edutopia

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Explicit Vocabulary Instruction

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Sentence Starters for MLLs/Developing Academic Language

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Sentence Starters for MLLs/Developing Academic Language

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Stages of Language Acquisition with Prompts

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Here are just a few ideas for independent work:

Cut up key terms and ask students to research the terms (using dictionary or technology) and take notes on them using Cornell notes or a Frayer Model

Practice doing more problem sets on a problem set they have previously been taught

View images and ask students to take notes on what they see and wonder about

Watch a brief silent video with closed captions and ask students to write their thoughts/ takeaways

Read a grade level engaging text on the topic, and ask students to annotate it (if this is something they are familiar with)

Write a letter or explain a concept they already know that relates to the overarching topic of the stations lesson

UDL
Station teaching allows for exploration of a topic or skill through multiple perspectives, entry points, and modes of expression. In Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework designed to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities, one of the guiding principles is that learners differ in the ways that they perceive and comprehend information that is presented to them. Therefore, it is essential that teachers provide students with multiple means of representation of content. Stations easily allow us to provide representation of a topic in multiple ways; each station could focus on a different text, visual, or audio source. Similarly, each station can allow students to express their learning through a different medium or modality; another important principle of UDL.

Natural Brain Breaks
Station teaching allows the opportunity for natural “brain breaks” and movement. Research has shown that regular, short breaks in the classroom can help students increase their focus and reduce stress. The time it takes for students to travel to the next station could be leveraged to provide students with the physical or social engagement they might need to sustain focus: perhaps you play a song that students enjoy, or invite them to do a particular stretch.

Co-Teaching
Station teaching can help strengthen a co-teaching relationship by providing the opportunity for shared ownership of planning and facilitation. The ways in which content and instruction are divided in station teaching offer a clear path for delegating planning and teaching duties; each teacher can be responsible for the designing and facilitation of one station.

Stations in Tight Spaces
​Noise level and space limitations can create challenges.
With several groups of students working on different tasks simultaneously, some students (and teachers!) might find the level of noise and movement in the room to be an adjustment. Preparing students for this might be helpful; you might say something like,  “Today’s class may be a bit louder than our typical class, but there will also be quiet moments at the end of the stations so you can collect your thoughts via writing.” It’s also helpful to think strategically about where each station is set up in the room; having the two teacher stations as far away from each other as possible is often the way to go, since teachers often have the loudest voices in the room!

Time in Each Station
Careful attention must be paid to pacing.
In contrast to learning centers, where students are moving between learning engagements at their own pace, station teaching is often characterized by coordinated rotation, where everyone moves on to the next station at the same time. This means that all stations need to take roughly the same amount of time, which can be challenging to anticipate in planning. All stations should have flexible tasks that can be shortened or extended with enrichment options or additional discussion questions, depending on how quickly a particular group engages in them.

Who Goes in What Group?
Not all content is well-suited for stations.
One of the trickier dynamics of station teaching is that not all students will begin their learning in the same place; some will begin at the independent station, while others will begin at the station led by co-teacher A, while still others will begin at the station by co-teacher B. Because of this, it’s important that the topics or tasks at each station are non sequential — that one station is not a necessary prerequisite to engage with another. Therefore, stations are not ideal for topics or skills that require a specific or strict sequencing of tasks or texts. It’s also not ideal for tasks that require deeper and more sustained investigation or attention, since time spent at each station is relatively brief compared to a full class period. Rather, stations work great for topics that are broad with multiple strands, perspectives, or approaches, or for introductory explorations or final reviews.

How can independent work be structured?
​Recent research has highlighted the benefits of letting kids do things on their own, and station teaching offers the opportunity for practicing independence.

We have generally found independent stations should be built on familiar territory: a concept, graphic organizer, or task directions that students have seen before. Be sure to have all of the supplies ready at the independent station, and try not to overcomplicate the directions (this sounds obvious but can be challenging)!

Maybe some of the Language from this site could be used in SLO Development, as well.

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What can this model look like in action?
Given the promises and potential pitfalls of this co-teaching model, we can determine the kinds of lessons and learning objectives that will be best suited for this instructional approach.

Historians often teach an era through a variety of lenses, such as the culture, the key events and figures, and the different perspectives of an era; this approach lends itself easily to a station lesson. When studying the Progressive Era, for example, students can investigate: How did the growth in industrialization and urbanization lead to positive and negative changes in American society? At one teacher-led station, students can look at images from the time period (from photojournalists such as Jacob Riis and Lewis Hine) and notice the subjects and stories these photographers may be trying to tell about urban life in the early twentieth century. At an independent station, students can define key terms, such as “muckraker,” “progressivism,” “industrialization,” “modernization,” and The Gospel of Wealth. Students can look up these terms and record what they learn in the form of Cornell Notes or a Frayer Model. At another teacher-led station, the teacher can facilitate a reading of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle or The Story of Ida B. Wells, and ask students to make meaning of the text, and take notes on what the text conveys to the reader. After visiting all three stations, students can compare their notes and discuss the positive and negative impact of industrialization and urbanization during the U.S.’s Progressive Era.

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Kim Rupp generously shared these resources she created.

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12 Point Content Constructed Response Rubric

Student Writing Analysis

Writing Tracking Sheet

These resources helped inform T2 instruction, because the teacher and students knew exactly what skills to address. The writing analysis sheet enables the teacher to look across the class, and group students for instruction based on writing skills. The writing tracking sheet is mostly a goal setting sheet for the students, and so that they know what they need to improve on during T2 instruction.

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Strategies to Promote Student Engagement PD 8/27

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Strategies to Promote Student Engagement PD 8/27

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Billie Eilsh, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter