She discusses how to introduce the icons to our students. I like that she was able to break this down and give examples of what it would look like. She also said to begin using the D & C icons from simple to complex and really spend time explaining what do do such as introducing a prompt, embedding the definition into a sentence, and then apply it into real world application. She broke down the steps by define the prompt, relate to previous knowledge(SUPER IMPORTANT), relate to new knowledge, and then integrate the real world. The students take ownership in applying their learning by taking these steps.

- Alyssa Kopchinski

I like this idea of using Multiple Perspectives with my kindergarten students because it will allow them to really think about what we are learning and why we are learning it. I don´t want them to just think:  my parents said it is this way or my teacher said it is this way, so it must be the only way to look at something. I want them to feel free to explore more and research. I want them to listen to the ideas of their peers and have some dialogue about the topic. I like the questions listed below. I would need to explain what pov is and change the wording of some of the questions because they are 5-6 years old and may not understand the questions as they are written. I feel this is a good foundation for me to lay for my students and they will just continue to build on this foundation of knowledge for years to come. I think D & C will challenge and grow me as a teacher as well as challenge and grow my kinder babies. :) 

•Who agrees & disagrees?

•What are their opinions?

• Who believes what & why?

Byrdseed: The visual trigger icons included in Byrdseed’s information provides a way for the teacher and the students to recall the different depths and complexity associated with the higher levels of thinking.  I like the idea of teaching the ones that relate to one another, but not teaching them all at one time. That would be overwhelming. 

Pinterest: Since I use foldables all the time, I like the idea of attaching the D&C icons to an illustration created by the student and assigning certain icons that they need to build on.  Overtime, it could be left up to the students to decide which of the 11 icons to focus on. 

Back to School Activity/Resource

This pennant is so cute and since I maintain a sports theme in my room, this will accompany the decorations in the room!!  This is great in that it can stay up all year and it allows the students to display information about themselves.  For those that choose to share their pennant aloud, it has the various topics that they can use as lead in sentences as they add their details to the topics. 

7 Ways to Add Complexity

It is so easy to continue to do the same thing over and over, but this monotony will eventually lead to a stale teacher and a bored student.  By adding the simple changes in the “strange restrictions” that Byrdseed mentions in the article, it can enhance a teacher’s teaching and a student’s learning. Complicating the Content makes the students think a different level and possibly a deeper level.  This could also build self esteem as a student realizes that they can teach themselves about something, instead of the teacher always doing the teaching.  And of course, adding the presence of an adult can increase or decrease complexity.  It can either make a student try to think at a higher level, but it could also add a level of comfort to the student as they rely on the adult for support to talk through a topic. 

I really loved this! It was interesting how it suggested adding “strange” restrictions. Our literature online textbook already does this when first introducing a new unit! We have “blasts” for the kids to do. They have a BIG IDEA (I think they even call it the Big Idea if I’m remembering correctly right now), and it’s basically the main theme of the unit. The kids then have a small article to read, and then they have to respond with a blast that is no more than 140 (or 280 if I choose to increase it) characters. Then, they “blast” it out, and everyone does peer reviews on the blasts. I also have tiny time limits for some things. This really helps get the kids working instead of wasting time. It’s good to know that we’re doing things in class that are suggested in this article. I also like how the article said to make sure the students know my expectations with these short assignments and “tiny time limits” aren’t the same as if I were requiring a more in-depth assignment. 

Another thing that really excites me is the concept of “complicating the content” by introducing questions about ethics, multiple perspectives, and changing over time. Beyond my class, these are aspects that are so important for everyone to consider daily. We, as a society, have thrown these things away in seems, especially multiple perspectives. We tend to only see our perspective and don’t consider other perspectives. These are amazing tools/skills for the students to develop. I’d love to go to this so much that the students, when reading, naturally fall into considering these things without even thinking.

The pennant idea is the best! I think this works for any age group! Plus, I love that you use the pennants to decorate the room. I’m not good at decorating, and I think it’s better to have the kids do most of that. (For example, if they create the anchor charts in their own handwriting, then they’re more likely to remember what’s on them.) At the beginning of the year, my main objective is to get to know my students as quickly as possible so that I can build those relationships and get to know what makes them “tick.” It’s the only way I can motivate them. The pennant idea is a great start to getting to know my students and comes with the added bonus of providing room decorations. I’m definitely doing this next year!

This is something that I’m going to begin introducing as soon as I go back to school. The 11 prompts are great, and I particularly like the suggestions for pairing/grouping them. I love how he talked about combining prompts in these sorts of ways: details come together to form patterns, multiple perspectives create ethical problems (and also solutions), ethical problems lead to new rules, etc. I particularly like the combining of the big idea, changes over time, and trends. I’m going to use these three prompts together when students are working on their data trackers.