Classroom Visits by Angela Harkness

I appreciate the opportunity to observe my peer working her magic!

2024-01-10 15:57:01 UTC

Student Think Time

2024-01-10 15:58:55 UTC

I will work to schedule more student think time into the lesson, prior to our class discussions.

Planners

2024-01-11 18:39:23 UTC

It was great to see the TWI students already have a routine for using the planners I could start in science.

Also love the video and vocab routine!

Que bien!

-Elli

Muchas gracias!

2024-01-11 18:45:31 UTC

So awesome to see the start of class and routines. All students had materials and were very familiar with the routines. Also nice to see a way to connect ciencias y estudios sociales. Thanks for letting me visit and learn.

-Elli

Connections

2024-01-11 18:52:13 UTC

I would love to incorporate some of the starting routines into science and make connections to the “Pompei” theme and videos when we start our danger zone project for science to add additional relevance.

Me gustaría usar el mismo video de Pompeii para presentar zonas de peligro

También me gusta la rutina de mirar un video y pensar en vocabulario clave. Y usar el vocabulario para resumen al fin de las clase

-Elli

Coral and response

2024-01-11 23:17:07 UTC

Maestra Vega led a wonderful lesson on the differences between English and Spanish in talking writing.

Welcoming

2024-01-11 23:17:54 UTC

Maestra Vega's classroom is incredibly welcoming for students and visitors.

anchor activity to start the class

2024-01-11 23:20:09 UTC

The students had to "correct" 5 sentences that had errors on a small sheet of paper. Students worked in groups to find and fix the errors. The engagement in the class on the activities was inspiring.

Cloze student reading in social studies.

2024-01-12 16:17:30 UTC

It's great to see students I had in the past continue their learning process.

2024-01-12 16:18:41 UTC

First 5m Slides

jrademacher — 2024-01-12 16:23:18 UTC

From both Lutu and Franke, the class starter slideshows were so concise, student friendly and neatly organized!

It gave me inspiration for redoing my first 5 minutes slideshow, where what students see in the classroom when they first walk in clearly explains what we are doing in the first 5 minutes.

Thank you both so much, I hope I can come in a few more times to see different aspects of your environments!

-Jo Rademacher

Slides & Student Expectation

jrademacher — 2024-01-12 16:24:34 UTC

I updated the slides that student see throughout the time in my class.

I have 3 slides, first 5 minutes slide (which is a beat the bell). I also have the "what we should be doing now" slide. Finally the end of class slide.

I noticed students were referring to the TV more to see what the expectation was.

-Jo Rademacher

Structure

2024-01-26 19:53:23 UTC

Lesson structure is noticeable. The "To Do" list is visible all the time.

Technology

2024-01-26 19:54:21 UTC

How easy is for the teacher to teach using the Camera Doc.

Thanks

2024-01-26 19:55:56 UTC

I really appreciate the opportunity to visit you. Is good to see the all the effort and good work that students and teacher are doing.

Camera Doc

2024-01-26 21:24:33 UTC

I really want to use the Camera Doc in my class.

Dismissal

2024-02-05 20:43:12 UTC

Waiting until the bell rings to dismiss groups so they don't all leave at once/before they have been dismissed.

-Laura C

Great use of wait time

2024-02-06 20:35:21 UTC

in Apple's math co-taught. She gave multiple opportunities for students to think of an answer before sharing so that more and more students were engaged instead of relying on just a few.

Note templates rock

2024-02-06 20:35:56 UTC

Love seeing the use of cornell notes in math and the scaffolding needed for every student to be successful.

Giving a "carrot" at the end of a task.

2024-02-06 20:36:58 UTC

We will all play a game after we take notes, but only those who finished their notes.

Summarizing Pyramid

aash3 — 2024-02-06 23:41:44 UTC

The summarizing pyramid template was a neat idea for having students summarize their thoughts/learning in a way that starts at a basic level and moves to higher levels of thought as you move toward the bottom of the pyramid. I see potential to use it in a way that allows them to not only summarize their learning, but also explicitly address misconceptions they may have previously held.

Student Talk Strategies

aash3 — 2024-02-06 23:42:40 UTC

Saw a lot of the scaffolding of student talk strategies (individual think time, pair-share, random calling on students to share with the class, varying the groups working together).

Summarizing Pyramid

aash3 — 2024-02-06 23:43:30 UTC

A template that can be used to have students summarize their thoughts/learning.

Classroom Management

2024-02-07 16:05:33 UTC

Natalie had great control of her classroom and the students seemed engaged and ready to learn. She used Sticks of Destiny to help keep the students on task and engaged. She does it all with a smile, not a fist.

Same Wavelength

2024-02-07 16:06:38 UTC

Natalie is a great educator and friend. I was very happy to be in her classroom and watch her make magic. Her slide shows and project were unique and engaging.

Sticks

2024-02-07 16:07:32 UTC

I would like to try my hand at Sticks of Destiny or something similar like playing cards or a wheel of names

Focus

2024-02-12 23:30:13 UTC

So impressive to observe focused rehearsals with nearly everyone on task and virtually no talking or distractions.

Thankful for the Opportunity

2024-02-12 23:34:57 UTC

With no like-subject colleagues available to observe in district, I really appreciated the opportunity to observe and learn from Tiffany Hitz, the Director of Middle School Bands at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax County, Virginia, while she was guest conducting this year's OMEA All-State Middle School Honor Band.

Asking the Ensemble

2024-02-12 23:37:21 UTC

Rather than simply telling the group how you want them to play a passage, ask the ensemble leading questions that guide them to the correct response as a group.

Choral Reading

2024-02-13 17:24:08 UTC

I liked the idea of having students reading somewhat random words when going over slides/directions--helpful to keep them engaged!

Similar Classes/Students

2024-02-13 17:25:19 UTC

I appreciated that teaching the same lessons, my peers have (unfortunately) the same struggles/challenging behaviors that I have in my classes--makes me feel a little less alone!

review games

2024-02-13 18:05:50 UTC

I like having students earn tokens for review games, with real names only to win!

similarities

2024-02-13 18:23:38 UTC

It's nice seeing really established routines. Everyone obviously knew what to do, even if a few needed prompting to actually follow through.

charger basket

2024-02-13 18:25:06 UTC

If an ipad was dead, students knew right where to find a charger and then the closest plug-in to their seats. It was a quick and quiet transition that I would like to try!

Having students write their real name in the review game in order to be eligible to win tokens. Great idea!

eroshak — 2024-02-13 21:11:37 UTC

Working together

eroshak — 2024-02-13 21:12:42 UTC

I appreciate the opportunity to see another classroom and it was affirming to see things we do the same across classes!

It was great to see the cloze reading happening in class to keep the students accountable and reading along w/ the teacher.

2024-02-21 18:50:32 UTC

The power of large projects as a display of learning

carcuni1 — 2024-02-21 18:57:08 UTC

Maestra Vega had beautiful life size people with various organ systems displayed

Similar Challenges

carcuni1 — 2024-02-21 18:57:59 UTC

I appreciated the chance to see the challenges in person of teaching specific students

Thanks Mandy.

2024-02-21 18:58:17 UTC

Glad I got to see how you incorporate team math work with basketball. A fun way to get kids working together, up out of their seats, and having a great time.

Clear learning objectives on the board

carcuni1 — 2024-02-21 18:59:25 UTC

It made it clear what was going on in class that day even though I popped in late

2024-02-21 18:59:59 UTC

I appreciate teachers being willing and comfortable in allowing others into their rooms.

Choral Response

2024-02-21 19:00:41 UTC

I didn't know how effective choral response it could be. How it engaged students.

2024-02-21 19:34:39 UTC

Renee does an incredible job at turning one student's teachable moment into a meaningful lesson for the whole class. She does it with grace, creating a space for older students to empathize and provide advice to newcomers. It's both wholesome and powerful to watch!

Lyons does a great job of integrating the planners into his every day practice. I plan to start using them in a similar fashion

2024-02-21 19:42:14 UTC

mcharnes1 — 2024-02-21 19:51:02 UTC

I appreciate how Maestra Vega takes time for all students to share out their developing science ideas in the language they are most comfortable using, ensuring that all voices are valued and heard

I appreciate how Lyons takes time to translate for the newcomers what they are expected to do. He is using google translate which is not perfect but it is better than them not having a clue.

2024-02-21 20:00:02 UTC

I plan to try using my planners in the same way that Lyons uses his.

2024-02-21 20:00:36 UTC

Socratic Seminars

2024-02-21 20:54:17 UTC

Planning ahead and having students review evidence helps students succeed in socratic seminars.

Learning Objectives

2024-02-22 15:48:51 UTC

I've always reviewed the learning objective at the start of the lesson, but I liked how Maestra Vega also reviewed it at the end, so I am implementing that now.

-Laura C

Student Engagement

2024-02-22 15:49:30 UTC

It was awesome to see all students working together to complete the lab!

-Laura C

Notebooks

2024-02-23 18:42:47 UTC

Incorporate Cornell notes into the student math notebooks to improve note taking and organization.

Thanks

2024-02-23 18:45:03 UTC

It was great to see the beginning of Ms. Apple's math class. She gives clear objectives and expectation to her class. Everyone was going in small groups to answer the math relay questions.

TWI 6

2024-02-25 16:37:55 UTC

As a TWI 7th grade teacher, it was really helpful to see the norms and expectations that Maestra Vega has for the 6th graders. After seeing the way she guides the students through the start of class, I will be raising my expectations for class-time readiness next year.

For Maestra Vega

2024-02-25 16:40:59 UTC

I hold Maestra Vega with a lot of regard and esteem. I see her as one of our Master Teachers at Fowler and I really look up to her for my own practice. Any opportunity to watch her teach is a wonderful opportunity!

For next year...

2024-02-25 16:42:20 UTC

Next year I will be changing my expectations for classroom readiness for my students. Having a pencil for class has been an ongoing issue for many of my students, and I would really like to find a solution for this.