3rd
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Going Deeper with Math Curricular Materials
Mallory Messenger guides us in taking what our district-adopted math curriculum resources provide and planning small changes by using problem stems and student problem posing to increase the rigor and make mathematical experiences accessible for all students.
The Right Moment for I Can Statements
Mandy Robek reflects on the post-assessments in a new curriculum, and the way students were making simple mistakes that lowered their scores. Mandy experimented with using I Can statements as part of students’ self-reflection and was impressed by the influence this simple shift had on the post-assessments.
Writing as an Act of Resistance and a Source of Strength
In this beautiful personal essay, Stella Villalba reminds us that writing is a source of strength, and developing a community of writers is essential in post-pandemic classrooms.
Launching a Classroom Library
Melissa Styger slows down the launch of the classroom library to ensure it is a valuable resource all year.
Field Experience: Supporting Independent Reading, Choice and Stamina
Helping students learn to choose books and develop stamina are important to developing independent readers. Ruth Ayres designed a field experience with opportunities to see minilessons, small group instruction, team meetings and a share session that support independence in readers.
Trusting the Letting-Go Moments
Mandy Robek writes a powerful essay about giving her students more decision-making power in sharing their learning. In the release of letting go, she found ease in the joy of learning.
Nonfiction Books for Compassion, Inspiration, and Heart
Mandy Robek set out on a quest to discover new nonfiction books with characters who offer inspiration, compassion, and heart. Here are eight new titles you won’t want to miss.
Books That Sustain the Linguistic Lives of Multilingual Learners
We need more bilingual books! Stella Villalba explains why these books are essential and provides a booklist to help sustain the linguistic lives of multilingual learners.
Talking Through Characters
Melanie Meehan shares activities that help students talk about their characters before writing about them in a realistic fiction unit.
The Shades of Sadness: Character Feelings and Traits
Melissa Quimby is disappointed with the way her students expressed depth of character traits and feelings. By building on their strengths, Melissa creates a tool for students to use and adapt as they learn to be more specific and intentional about describing characters.
Unlocking Student Thinking: The Power of Problem Posing in Story Problem Contexts
Choice Numeracy | Problem posing is a strategy that involves students creating mathematical problems to solve or reworking given problems to change them in some way. Mallory Messenger shows how this strategy allows students to explore and test their current thinking. Download the Problem Posing with Problem Stems Recording Sheet to get started in your classroom.
Book Matchmaker: 3rd Graders Reading Below Grade Level
In this installment of Book Matchmaker, Franki Sibberson shares her favorite books for 3rd graders who are not at grade level, but don’t want to read texts that will embarrass them in front of their peers.
Picture Books for Naming Emotions
Mandy Robek continues her series on picture books for understanding emotional turmoil in students. In this installment, she shares a list of books that can help children name emotions.
Connecting with Students at Home
Julie Johnson learns some important lessons about connecting with students remotely, and few of them are about technology.
Collecting Ideas in the Writer’s Notebook
Ruth Ayres confers with third grader Jade about the importance of the “collecting” phase for writers.
Forming Groups Using a Planner
Dana Murphy explains how her small-group planner is an essential tool for organizing groups in her fourth-grade classroom.
Helping Kids Lead Every Day: Changing Who “Owns” Small Groups in the Classroom
Tammy Mulligan knows the most productive and engaging discussions to build reading comprehension are not monopolized by the teacher. She creates a structure to support students to engage in deeper work with each other in small groups. This is the first part of a three-part series.
Revising Titles Minilesson
In this minilesson from Franki Sibberson’s grades 3 and 4 classroom, Franki takes students through the process of selecting and revising titles. She uses the poem “Confessions of a Reader” by Carol Wilcox as a mentor text.
Using Whiteboards Before Writer’s Notebooks
Jen Court shares the way whiteboards and conversation lifted pressure from student writers so they could create poetry.
Instructional Routines That Promote Agency for Multilingual Learners
Cultivating agency is a matter of building small, intentional moves that ask students to be part of the learning process. Stella Villalba offers three ways educators can support the growth of multilingual learners in all learning spaces.
Using Skype in the Classroom
Katherine Sokolowski has suggestions for Skype use in classrooms, covering everything from student etiquette to special events.
A Just-Right Lesson for Just-Right Books
Melissa Styger finds she needs to make changes to her just-right book lesson to meet the needs of her third-grade students.
Organizing Materials to Support Literacy Learning (Classroom Design Series Part 3)
Ann Marie Corgill shares how she organizes materials for literacy learning in the third installment of her design series.
Intentional Consolidation and Closure
Mallory Messenger emphasizes the importance of providing time for students to share their learning and offers different formats for a share session. Mallory guides us in making decisions so that share time consolidates and uplifts the learning.
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