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Many times, we may feel that the concept or skill we are teaching our students is not "sticking." Because of this, it is important to know different strategies to help students process information AND retain it. Below, some strategies are presented to help teachers present information in a way that is retained by the students.

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Teacher wear MANY hats, but one of the most important ones  being a motivator. There are many times in which a struggling student just needs some encouragement in the form of praise, seeing others achieve, or seeing themselves achieve something they though not possible. In this section, you will see strategies to improve student self-efficacy (belief about own abilities) and help struggling students reach their full potential.

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Classroom and behavior management is one of the most challenging things both new and veteran teachers face in their careers. In this section, you will find examples and strategies to use in the classroom to help modify and correct unwanted behaviors from students.

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If somebody explains it clearly...like very outlined and like one step at a time...without skipping
steps, making sure I understand each step, then I can put it all together in my mind.
(Copeland and Rutman, 1996)

Most of the learning that takes place in school is memory-based. FASD students have reported they are fearful of their memory "blanks" and frustrated that they cannot rely on their memories. Step-by-step learning, repetition, and using memory aids/strategies have been successful in facilitating learning with these students.

General Strategies to Assist with Information-processing and Memory Deficits
Noncompliant behavior may be interpreted as defiant and willful misconduct when, in fact, it may be a response to difficulty understanding and processing information. There are three general issues to keep in mind:

These students learn at a slower pace.

Perseveration (repeating words/actions) signifies student overload

Decrease information

Decrease stimulation

Difficulty generalizing

Identify when and how to generalize a learned skill given a new situation

One student regularly had difficulty in the cafeteria. He was suspended numerous occasions
for breaking the cafeteria rules. When he was asked to tell someone the rules, he could state
them. When he was asked to demonstrate he understood them, he became teary-eyed.
He did not know where to sit or what to do with his tray.

The counselor helped him role-play different cafeteria scenarios and showed him where to sit
and where to get his tray. Then, she took photos of him doing things the correct way in the
cafeteria so he would have them as a reference.
(Kleinfeld, Morse, and Wescott, 2000)

Use a Step-by-step Approach and Repetition of Skills

Use task analysis and break skills into small components

Step-by-step approach

Teach steps in the same sequence

Practice skills

Re-teach skills

Overlearn skills

Reinforce concepts

Revisit skills throughout the year

Practice, practice, practice!

Temporal concepts are difficult for most FASD students; this is reflected in the confusion that surrounds sequencing of events. FASD students benefit from making the abstract process of sequencing as concrete and visual as possible.

Practice Sequencing Strategies

Be aware that sequences of information, such as the alphabet, zip codes, phone numbers, and
combination locks may be a problem. They should be written down.

Teach Memory Strategies

Most FASD students have a strong long-term memory. Short-term memory is weaker.

Allow the students to use open books or notes on tests

Provide examples of finished projects

Use a Multi-sensory Approach

Use a multi-sensory approach to teaching skills. Creating multiple pathways to learning is themost effective way for FASD students to learn. Learning occurs more easily when words arelinked to an action, paired with music or a rhythm. This can help students anchor information input and trigger or cue information retrieval.

Tape recordings allow a student to listen to information many times (i.e., books on tape)

Videos provide visual and auditory input

Computers enable visual and auditory interaction

Traditional verbal classroom presentations are challenging to FASD students. Keeping language simple and brief is helpful. For details on using brief and simple language, please refer to Chapter 4.

Provide instructions one-at-a-time

Have student demonstrate that he/she understands the directions (repeating the information back does not necessarily demonstrate understanding)

Keep concepts concrete and provide examples

Use vocabulary familiar to students

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Effective Strategies for Information-Processing & Memory Difficulties

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If somebody explains it clearly...like very outlined and like one step at a time...without skipping steps, making sure I understand each step, then I can put it all together in my mind. (Copeland and Rutman, 1996) Most of the learning that takes place in school is memory-based.

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This video will give a brief explanation on how to carry out reinforcements or punishments to decrease or increase a behavior.

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If students cannot connect new information to something they have already learned, it is most probable that the new information will not be meaningful for them. Because of this, activating background knowledge on ANY subject is important for teachers to use as a foundation for new concepts or skills. Below you will find examples and strategies to use in order to help students activate background knowledge (schema) when introducing a new concept.

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Another infographic I created to show ways we can chunk in an ELA classroom

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This is one of my all-time favorite videos. In this video, Rita Pierson explains how our attitude as a teacher affects a student's self-esteem, therefore their self-efficacy. Building relationships is detrimental to motivating our students. Pay close attention to the part she mentions she gave a 20-question quiz and her response to a failing student.

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Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, “They don’t pay me to like the kids.” Her response: “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.’” A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level.

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Feeling like your students are not understanding the lesson? One of the most meaningful ways for students to learn is through situated learning. Basically, this means that students learn by doing or applying the concept or skill in a social context. Below, you will find different examples of how situated learning can take place in the classroom.

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Examples of Behavior Modification in the Classroom using Reinforcements and Punishment 

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Examples of Behavior Modification in the Classroom using Reinforcements and Punishment 

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I created an infographic that presents ways to modify behaviors in a classroom.

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In my many years teaching in the classroom, I always felt that one of the most important things I did was to give tips to the students that would help them learn better. They really appreciated it, and they often had ahas! when they realized there was an easier way to study, memorize, etc. I did this because I always liked using these little techniques that made all the difference.

Now, in this series of blog posts, I will discuss a wide range of these " cognitive strategies " that you can use in the classroom to help your students learn better.

What are cognitive strategies?

Education is about learning. All our efforts as teachers are directed to helping our students learn better as well as learn more. To that end, we use a range of strategies. A cognitive strategy can be defined as a tool, plan, or method used to facilitate learning, remembering, and retrieving information.

The purpose of these strategies is to help students transfer information into long-term memory and then retrieve it when needed. By teaching these strategies, we give students the skills to use in any content area and throughout their lives.

Research has clearly shown that retention of learning depends on periodic review over a number of days after the first learning. Reviewing with good techniques accelerates the learning.

Three types of knowledge

The research collected by DataWORKS shows there are three kinds of knowledge and each requires different cognitive strategies.

1) Declarative knowledge is factual information. Students recall verbatim or summarize information from facts, lists, or text-based organized data or ideas. For example, they may study the U.S. Bill of Rights, or the three types of rocks, or math facts. Each of these has just one set of information to know. Students need techniques for remembering and retrieving it.

2) Procedural knowledge is how-to information. Students use steps or sequences to do something. For example, they may multiply two-digit by one-digit numbers or write a persuasive composition. Students need techniques for doing the steps, skills, or processes.

3) Metacognitive knowledge is knowledge of our own mental processes. Students know, for example, that if math is hard for them, they do it first. Or, if they are dealing with too much information, they need a graphic organizer to keep track of it. They also know their unique learning modalities - visual, auditory, or kinesthetic and study in the best way for them. Students need to have models of internal thought processes (often provided by the teacher) and then practice using them.

Five types of cognitive strategies

The most useful cognitive strategies can be categorized five ways, and we will review the first type here and the rest in future blog posts. The five types are: chunking, rehearsal, elaboration, organization, and metacognitive.

Strategy 1: Chunking

DataWORKS defines chunking as reducing the number of items that need to be remembered at the same time. Further, it is a learned skill that should be explicitly taught to students.

Research shows that children under five years old can only hold one to three items in their working memory at one time for up to five minutes. Five to 14-year-old students can hold three to seven items for up to 10 minute. Students older than 14 can hold five to nine items in mind for up to 20 minutes.

As teachers, we can actually chunk our lessons to help the students. That means we could break a standard into several lessons. We could limit the number of items to be learned at one time, such as a few vocab words per day. We could also limit the number of steps in learning a new skill, such as identifying similes (1. Circle the unlike items being compared; 2) Determine what they have in common; and 3) Locate "like" or "as").

For the students, we can teach them two kinds of chunking - pattern and categorical. Pattern chunking involves identifying a repetitive pattern, order, or arrangement that will help them remember. For example, in 3 rd grade, they can study word families (ight helps them read bright, fight, flight, fright, and light). For 7 th grade, by knowing "phase" they can easily remember the five steps of mitosis (interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase).

Categorical chunking places large amounts of content into a small number of categories. This is especially useful for history and science lessons. For example, in 5 th grade, parts of an animal cell, a carburetor, or the digestive system could be categorized as structure or function. Big issues could have advantages or disadvantages. The American and French Revolutions could have similarities and differences. Governments and biological systems could be categorized by taxonomies or hierarchical levels. Specific topics could have paired problems and solutions.

The big advantage of chunking as a cognitive strategy is to make it easier for students to process information.
Next post will look at cognitive strategies that involve rehearsal.
What type of knowledge do you deal with most in your classes? What do you think about using cognitive strategies in class? Do you use chunking? Share your comments in the feedback section below.

Author: Mike Neer

Mike has served as editor and curriculum researcher for DataWORKS since 2010. Previously, he taught English in middle school, high schools, and colleges in Illinois, Puerto Rico, and California. He has edited national trade magazines and presented seminars nationwide for businesses and non-profit organizations. He believes words are a powerful educational tool for reporting, reflecting, and revealing.

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In my many years teaching in the classroom, I always felt that one of the most important things I did was to give tips to the students that would help them learn better. They really appreciated it, and they often had ahas! when they realized there was an easier way to study, memorize, etc.

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10 Strategies to Enhance Students’ Memory

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Effective and efficient memory is critical for reading and school success. Here are 10 strategies to help children develop their memories.

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In this Padlet, I have combined resources found in the web along with resources I created to create a "Teacher Survival Tips" handbook based on some of the learning theories studied in EDUF 7130. 

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In this Padlet, I have combined resources found in the web along with resources I created to create a "Teacher Survival Tips" handbook based on some of the learning theories studied in EDUF 7130. 

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Tips have been divided into major categories based on different lessons and their applications in the classroom. 

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Tips have been divided into major categories based on different lessons and their applications in the classroom. 

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Although this article is intended for ELLs, the strategies mentioned can easily be applied to any classroom.

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Background knowledge is explored from three lenses of connection: text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world. The following exercises encourage students to activate, share and expand on schema in order to make meaning from each of the schematic lenses.

5 Strategies for Activating & Building Schema for ELLs
1. Make it visual.
A. Illustrations- picture file cards, photos, student drawings

B. Realia- clothing, food and other artifacts

C. Diaries, postcards, letters

D. Maps

E. KWL Charts

F. Picture Walk-the-Room: Pictures related to a topic are posted around the room. Students move from picture to picture, discussing with a partner what they know about the image.
2. Make it Engaging
A. Tangible Experiences- physical/virtual field trips, kinesthetic learning

B. Media clips

C. Carousel- in groups of 4, students rotate through stations, talking about a specific topic or picture and recording all they can about that topic on a poster.

D. Non-linguistic representations- Tableaus, dramatic enactments

E. Expert/Guest- parents, volunteers, older students
3. Read About It
G. Picture walk

H. Cloze reading

I. Content word wall- ideally, student generated

J. Word sorts- using key text vocabulary and explaining sort strategy

K. Picture sequencing sorts

L. Flexible small group reading instruction
4. Talk About It
A. 3-step interview- In groups of four, two students take turns interviewing one another about personal experiences related to a topic. The second pair does the same.

Then, each student reports out to the group on their partner's experiences.

B. Inside-outside circle- One group forms inner circle; second group forms circle around first, facing a partner; facilitator calls on inside or outside to respond to prompt;

outside circle shifts one spot to the right.

C. Jigsaw- Students read and or/research different parts of a text; in small groups,

each member shares out critical information, or "teaches" his or her text.
5. Write about it
A. Anticipation guides- students indicate agreement/disagreement of a statement related to text; teacher facilitates discussion.

B. Thinking maps and Graphic Organizers

C. Student-centered Journaling

D. Sentence frames

E. Storyboard with sequence- Using a storyboard, students draw or write all that they know about a topic in sequential order.

Read more in The Newcomer Student (2016), available HERE

and The Newcomer Fieldbook (2017), available HERE.

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5 Schema Building Strategies for ELLs - DiversifiED Consulting

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Background knowledge is explored from three lenses of connection: text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world. The following exercises encourage students to activate, share and expand on schema in order to make meaning from each of the schematic lenses. 1. Make it visual. A. Illustrations- picture file cards, photos, student drawings B.

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KWL (know, what to know, and learned) charts are a very useful tool to help students activate background knowledge (schema) and help learning be more meaningful.
Source: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/printouts/chart-a-30226.html

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Schema maps are another alternative to KWL charts.
Source:https://thekindergartensmorgasboard.com/2019/06/strategies-that-work-turn-and-talk.html/kindergarten-schema-map-585x765

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Situated Learning Theory ,Lave &Wenger (1991) - Application in Mathematics

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Project Based Learning: Start Here | Cult of Pedagogy

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Maybe you’ve always wanted to try PBL, but you just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Here’s a set of beginner-level resources to get you started.

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PBL is another great strategy to use in the classroom, as it encourages students to apply knowledge into real-life situations, thus making learning authentic. Below you will find various examples of PBL that can be implemented across all grades and subjects!

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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.

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One of the most critical tools in a teacher's arsenal actually belongs to the student: self-efficacy. Self-efficacy influences academic motivation, learning, and achievement (American Society for Horticultural Science, 2011). Increasing student self-efficacy, therefore, is crucial to a student's success. As teachers, we can stimulate critical thinking and comprehension and thus increase student self-efficacy through a variety of strategies such as dialogic, open-ended questioning, positive reinforcement, increased availability, and the flipped classroom.

The first and perhaps easiest way to increase student confidence and engagement with subject material is to be available to students outside of the classroom. Teachers should have regular office hours that work for students with various scheduling needs, but should also be available to set up individual sessions outside of these hours whenever possible. Some students may simply need a bit of extra help to boost their understanding and confidence in the material and themselves.

During these sessions and in class, there are several strategies teachers can use to increase student confidence in comprehension and analysis:

Have students work problems out loud. This slows down the process of critical thinking and analysis, encouraging deliberate thinking and reasoning (cft.vanderbilt.edu).

Pose open ended, dialogic questions to students rather than provide them with answers or directive, editorial style comments. Prompts teachers might use to encourage student confidence in reasoning could include the following:

Tell me what you know about _____ .

How might you break this problem into smaller steps?

How did you get from ___ to _____ ?

Why do you think the author ______ ?

Remember the value of positive reinforcement. Make sure that this reinforcement is more than a generic "Good Job, Jane!" Rather, make your comments and actions specific and tangible. Display a student's artwork. Read a strong student response out loud to the class. (Avoid naming students who might be overly self-conscious; simply displaying or reading the work serves as praise.)

Build language arts programs that include but do not over-emphasize creative writing; build a strong analytical base by having students question and answer as they read other authors. Encourage the student to ask "What do you think and imagine?" as well as "What do I think and what can I imagine?" Notes Mahar (2016), a long-time English instructor at a Jesuit college preparatory high school in Maine, "Students seeking to understand what others know...are confident. Those conditioned for singular perception or thought lose their confidence; they discover the insular nature of a creative-centric curriculum."

Consider using a flipped classroom model, which can "produce significant learning gains" (American Society for Horticultural Science, 2011). In such a model, students do the "easier" work of comprehension and acquiring information independently. A variety of sources to appeal to multiple learning styles can be used: textbook readings, online comprehension quizzes, PowerPoint presentations, and video presentations from sites such as Khan Academy, YouTube, or Coursera (cft.vanderbilt.edu). The teacher can then devote the classroom time to "skilled navigation" (Mahar, personal communication, 2016) of student analysis, application, and discussion. Literature students might discuss symbolism or theme in novels, citing support for their responses; algebra students might work through problems in class, where a meaningful dialogue (see points one and two) can occur.

The "teaching to the test" mentality encouraged by No Child Left Behind and Common Core has eroded student confidence and placed an emphasis on learning to acquire information, achieve a score, and meet a "standard." Our most important job as educators, however, is not to produce a generation of right answers; it is to produce a generation of confident, eloquent thinkers who can understand, effectively utilize, and enjoy their individual learning processes.

About the Author

Natalie Kuhtmann Haskell earned her BA in English and Secondary Education from the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, IN. Over the course of her career, she has worked with learners of all ages, running Bible Schools, teaching high school English and college composition, tutoring, doing private educational consultations, writing educational articles and blogs, and homeschooling her own seven children. Her particular interests are curriculum development and the benefits of kinesthetic learning to dyslexic and ADHD children. She is currently a freelance academic and business editor as well as a lead tutor with Smarthinking.

References

American Society for Horticultural Science. (2011, April 4). Student confidence correlated with academic performance, class study finds. Science Daily. Retrieved June 11, 2016 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110404105901.htm

Flipping the Classroom. https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/flipping-the-classroom.com . Retrieved June 11, 2016.

Teaching Problem Solving. https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/problemsolving.com . Retrieved June 11, 2016.

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Natalie Haskell, Smarthinking Tutor, Pearson

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Strategies to improve student self-efficacy and learning outcomes

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One of the most critical tools in a teacher's arsenal actually belongs to the student: self-efficacy. Self-efficacy influences academic motivation, learning, and achievement (American Society for Horticultural Science, 2011). Increasing student self-efficacy, therefore, is crucial to a student's success.

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A confident classroom is a successful classroom. How do you build a culture of academic excellence in classrooms that promote student accountability, confidence, and success? By encouraging a growth mindset for all learners, finding ways to boost their confidence and their sense of academic potential. Here's a look at a few ways to cultivate student self-efficacy.

What is self-efficacy?

According to Transforming Education , "Self-efficacy is the belief in one's ability to succeed in achieving an outcome or reaching a goal. This belief, specific to a task or an area of knowledge or performance, shapes the behaviors and strategies that help one pursue their goal." When a student has high self-efficacy, they have confidence in their ability, a sense of control over their motivation, and they can self-advocate for their needs.

"Research suggests that self-efficacy can boost student achievement, foster emotional health and well-being, and serve as a valid predictor of motivation and learning," says Transforming Education, which offers a Self-Efficacy Toolkit to use with students. "Studies also have shown that students with high levels of self-efficacy participate more in class, work harder, persist longer, and have fewer adverse emotional reactions when encountering difficulties than students with lower self-efficacy." Sounds like a recipe for academic success. Let's look at how to plant these seeds with your students.

Celebrate successes big and small

When we do well, we want to keep doing well. That's the philosophy behind building upon student successes. "You know the old adage: 'Nothing breeds success like success.' That one is certainly true when it comes to helping your students improve their self-efficacy," psychologist Dennis Relojo to the American Psychological Association Education . "If a student has been successful (and has been rewarded) for a particular skill in the past, they will begin to believe in themselves that they have the ability to execute the same skill in the future and be excellent at it. Acknowledge those brilliant performances. The power of praise in changing student behavior is that it both indicates teacher approval and informs the student about how the praised academic performance or behavior conforms to teacher expectations." Celebrate student successes, whether big or small, and you will help develop a student's desire to push themselves toward success again.

Use peer modeling

In addition to celebrating successes in order to encourage future success, peer modeling also helps build self-efficacy. "Peer modeling is more effective than teacher modeling, especially as some students may doubt whether they can ever attain the teacher's level of competence," The Education Hub , an organization that helps connect research to educators in the field. "The best peer models are those that make errors at first and express doubt about their self-efficacy ('I'm not sure I can do this')."

Teachers can support peer models by giving them prompts. Then those peer models can successfully complete a specific task. After they've finished, it's important to ask them questions about how they overcame failure and developed mastery. When students can see their peers muddling through a task, overcoming hurdles, and doing well, they're more likely to believe they're able to achieve success themselves.

Set goals and monitor them

Using a regular practice of goal-setting and goal-monitoring lets students see the larger process of learning, rather than merely the obstacles and outcomes. "Teaching children how to set realistic goals and strategies for persisting in achieving those goals when they encounter obstacles helps them experience greater mastery in life," the National Association of School Psychologists . "Helping children to increase their pathways thinking (thinking that helps identify or create many paths to a goal and agency thinking that helps keep motivation up while pursuing a goal) helps them experience greater hope and more success in achieving the goal." As students become more aware of their pathways, they will also build their academic self-efficacy.

The power of yet

Every teacher has heard a student - or even themselves - say "I can't." And that may be true - at that moment. A student may not be able to demonstrate a skill - In classrooms where potential is promoted, "the teacher makes it a habit to answer every student's 'I can't' statement with the word ," says Debbie Thompson Silver , Dedra A. Stafford , in their book Teaching Kids to Thrive, Essential Skills for Success . "For example, a student says he can't do a math problem. The teacher responds, 'You can't do the math . You've got lots of time to figure this out." Responses like that send a powerful message and help guide students toward self-efficacy.
Jennifer L.M. Gunn spent 10 years in newspaper and magazine publishing before moving to public education. She is a curriculum designer, teaching coach, and high school educator in New York City. She is also co-founder of the annual EDxEDNYC Education Conference for teacher-led innovation and regularly presents at conferences on the topics of adolescent literacy, leadership, and education innovation.
Tags: Assessment Tools, Curriculum and Instruction, Mid-Career Teacher, Teacher Leadership, Teaching Impact, Veteran Teacher

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How to Encourage Student Self-Efficacy | Share to Learn

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A confident classroom is a successful classroom. How do you build a culture of academic excellence in classrooms that promote student accountability, confidence, and success? By encouraging a growth mindset for all learners, finding ways to boost their confidence and their sense of academic potential.

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Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/249879479298221231/

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Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/435582595202846893/

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In this section, I will be presenting different ideas of things that can be incorporated in your daily lessons based on some of Gagne's Events of Instruction. These can be universally adapted into any grade level and subject.

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This lesson (not my own) shows how each event of instruction is developed in a science lesson about dissolving sugar.

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Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction: Lesson Plan sample

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A teacher can ensure that they are providing the children an effective learning environment by creating their lesson plan based on the…

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Two of my favorite activities for gaining attention are gallery walks and short videos. TED videos are great to use, depending on the concept being taught.

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Get a daily email featuring the latest talk, plus a quick mix of trending content.

By subscribing, you understand and agree that we will store, process and manage your personal information according to our Privacy Policy

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Fun, informative and captivating talks to inspire young minds.

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Informing Learner of Objectives -Learning Targets

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Informing Learner of Objectives -Learning Targets

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It is very important for students to know what they will be learning in class each day. In my school, I am expected to have our learning targets (in the form if 'I Can...' statements) on my board for every lesson. Below is an example of what a learning target may look like. This is not my board.
Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/571675746420884551/

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Teachers, especially English teachers, can get overwhelmed with grading papers. One of my favorite activities to do in class whenever we have written assignments is peer-editing. Peer editing is a wonderful way of having students identify errors (and help them continue learning) and provide basic feedback, thus making our final revision much easier. This article shows

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When you ask your students to do peer review of their writing, do they stare at you with puzzled expressions? Here are five specific, hands-on approaches to peer conferencing that your students can really sink their teeth into.

Revising and editing a peer's writing helps students learn to work as a team. It also gives them a fresh perspective on the proofreading process that will help them become more aware as they write and edit their own work. So, how can you make the peer review and editing process engaging, meaningful and fun for students? Here are five ways to get your students excited about peer review that actually work!

1. Neon Revision Many kids don't know what or where to mark when reading another student's work. Neon revision is an approach that can really help. First, give each student or pair of students three highlighters and these instructions:
Highlighter Markers: 3 Colors
Yellow - Mark the first word of each sentence. Questions to think about: Is there variety? Does the writer use transitional words? Are there any sentence fragments or run-ons?
Pink - Highlight each adjective. Think about: Is the writing descriptive? Are the adjectives strong and specific?
Blue - Highlight each verb. Think about: Are there too many "to be" verbs? Are the verb choices strong?

Students begin by highlighting specifics. Then, remind them to look at the big picture. After highlighting, they can make comparisons and add suggestions about what the student needs to add, adjust or remove. Proofreading will come later. First, they are helping a peer with sentence fluency and word choice-both descriptive language and "showing without telling."

Teach students about the revision sandwich: compliment, suggest, correct. Remind students that when reviewing someone's work, always start out by saying what they like about their work. Next, they make a suggestion and converse with their partner. Students ask questions. Then, they make corrections. By working together, they both learn from each other.

2. Writing Wheel Checklist Have students assemble their writing wheels using this template, a piece of plain paper and a brad for the center. To assemble, cut out both circles and attach with the brad. Explain that they will use the writing wheel checklist to help them edit one another's writing. Students should do each task on the wheel as they review another's work. The writing wheel checklist is portable, so students could even check their peers' writing from home on a class blog! Students can post their writing on a kid-friendly blogging site such as Kidblog or Weebly, where peers can write comments. Using their writing wheel as a reference, students will know how to assess their classmates' compositions for conventions.
Click here for a PDF of the Writing Wheel Checklist.

3. Revising vs. Editing (What's the Difference?) Students need to know the difference between revising and editing in order to help refine their peers' writing. Revising makes writing better. Editing makes writing correct. A popular approach in many classrooms is to use the acronyms ARMS (for revising) and CUPS (for editing).
Revising (The big picture)
Add words and sentences (be descriptive, capture all ideas).
Remove words and sentences (be concise).
Move words and sentences (sentence fluency, organization).
S ubstitute words and sentences (word choice, voice).

Editing (Conventions)
Capitalization
Usage (Verbs and nouns-does it make sense?)
Punctuation
S pelling

To help students with their understanding, say you use your arms and hand to hold your ear to help them remember that when you revise, you want the writing to sound better. If you punch a hole in a cup and look through it, you are using your eyes. This will help them remember that when you edit, you want your writing to look better. Students could even create a telescope made out of a paper cup and call it their Revisoscope! Check out Busy Bee Kids Crafts to see how to construct one. Once students know the difference between revising and editing and have the acronyms memorized, they can jot them down on a Post-it note when checking a peer's writing. The acronyms will remind students of what to look for and how writing can be improved to make it look and sound better!

4. Proofreading Spectacles Put your proofreading spectacles on, it's time to edit! To make editing for conventions fun, have students wear crazy glasses with the lenses popped out of them. It will motivate students and encourage them to look closely at their peers' writing. Remind students to always reread to check for misunderstandings in writing. You can purchase glasses at the dollar store or a party supply store. You could also have students create their own glasses out of paper.

5. Switch! Revising and Editing Stations
Set up six stations around the room. Label each station with one of the following titles:
1. Word Choice
2. Ideas and Content
3. Organization
4. Sentence Fluency
5. Voice
6. Conventions
Print out Be the Editor task cards for students to use when revising and editing at each station. Students use Zaner-Bloser's task cards to help them discuss and check one another's writing! The task cards provide the children with prompts, making editing/revising easier. By concentrating on one writing trait at a time at each station, students will not feel overwhelmed. Along with the task cards, put out highlighters, sticky notes, colored pencils and other writing utensils to keep students interested.

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5 Peer Editing Strategies That Actually Work For Student Writers - We Are Teachers

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When you ask your students to do peer review of their writing, do they stare at you with puzzled expressions?[...]Continue Reading

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Behavior Management Tools to Use in the Classroom

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Behavior Management Tools to Use in the Classroom

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These are very effective tech tools that I or my coworkers have used with our students.

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HMH Classcraft pairs ELA and math content with research-based lesson plans resulting in reduced educator planning time and increased student engagement.

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ClassDojo helps teachers, parents, and students build amazing classroom communities.

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LiveSchool | School Culture & Behavior Management Solution

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Join a community of 1,000+ schools who believe positive student behavior comes from the right school culture.

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Interactive and Engaging Assessment Tools 

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Interactive and Engaging Assessment Tools 

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My personal favorite to use in the classroom!

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The evidence is in the practice

ESSA Level 3 correlation evidence in math and ELA, earned by teachers running frequent formative assessments.

When teachers run 30+ formative questions a week, the research is clear: they get more data-driven, their students get more engaged. Wayground is built to make that practice enjoyable ot run, attainable to fit a class period, and habitual enough to last past September.

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Quizizz is now Wayground | Teacher AI and Resources

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Find standards-aligned resources that engage every student. Wayground (formerly Quizizz) helps teachers differentiate instruction with AI and track student progress.

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Similar to Quizizz

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Kahoot!'s new student passes are a one-way ticket to take students from players to creators! Empower your students to engage in active learning with the tools they need to create and host kahoots that demonstrate their learning to the whole class.

With student passes your class will have access to:

The full functionality of the Kahoot! creator to make fun and engaging kahoots for their peers

Award-winning learning apps from Poio and DragonBox to master everything from the basics of reading and numeracy to algebra, geometry, and even chess

Premium Kahoot! features including exclusive question types like brainstorm, type answer, and puzzles, plus creation tools to create advanced slide layouts with our premium image library

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Make your students the hosts of their own learning experiences

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A student-centered learning platform and content hub designed to help students to take an active role in their education through powerful play

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Create short assessments from videos found online.

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Easily create beautiful interactive video lessons for your students you can integrate right into your LMS. Track students' progress with hassle-free analytics as you flip your classroom!

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Similar to Quizizz

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Favorite site to use with students for vocabulary practice. Can be used independently or as a group.

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Find out how strong your vocabulary is and learn new words at Vocabulary.com.

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Vocabulary.com helps you learn new words, play games that improve your vocabulary, and explore language.