I was reflecting on ways I can better prepare my students
for the rigorous changes put into place from the Common Core ELA standards. By visiting www.engageny.org,
I found a fabulous video highlighting instructional techniques a 5th
grade ELA teacher implemented in her classroom.
This teacher delivers the desired student objectives of the lesson beautifully
through clear, concise, articulate wording. Just as the video shows her doing, I too like
to have my students read their learning objectives for lessons because I feel
it helps the students take ownership of their learning.
I love the way the teacher not only incorporates the state
standards as an objective for the lesson, but she also ensures she is taking into
careful consideration those six ELA shifts.
I love that she expresses her fears about students being able to work
with the rigorous text the state suggests students master. As a teacher, I too have the fear of
presenting my students with too challenging of a task. It is a fine line we must walk between
providing students with text that is not challenging enough, and offering text
that is so difficult the child will shut down before trying to tackle the
obstacle. I love how this teacher in
particular states that the students persevered through the text because they
were provided with essential close reading strategies as a tool. One of the proudest moments a teacher has is
when her students successfully implement a resource or strategy that was given
to them in order to overcome a challenge.
The second shift that she focused
on was encouraging students to support their evidence with quotes directly from
the text. I loved that she used sticky notes
for the children to jot down quotes and where to explicitly find those quotes
within a text. I will definitely be
using this strategy within my own classroom.
The stickies provide a fun and alternative way for note taking.
Overall, the most impressive piece
I took away from this lesson was the teacher’s ability to control so many
moving parts without actually doing all of the work. This teacher did an excellent job acting as
the facilitator within the room, and allowing the students to discover material
through cooperative learning experiences.
Most importantly, I love that she not only carefully planned the lesson to
include the standards, but that she precisely selected which shifts would be
incorporated into her lesson to achieve her overall goal. Bravo!
Best,
Ms. Vince
No comments