Instructional Indulgence: August 2015

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Do You Have a Student Centered Classroom?

One best practice to think about is having a student-centered classroom. With all of the 21st-century learning happening in your rooms, it is important to consider where you are with creating a classroom learning space that allows for students to have a voice, to interact frequently with other classmates, and to make choices about their learning.

Here are some questions for you to think about to see if you are providing a learning environment that is student-centered.

Do you have ways that the students feel respected and feel part of the classroom?
Do students have opportunities to make decisions in the classroom?
Do they have choices with their learning?
How often do you check for understanding with the students and adjust your instruction?
How are your desks arranged? Do the students have multiple opportunities for students to share with other students?
How much direct instruction are you giving versus facilitating their learning?

In a student-centered classroom it is important to allow your students to think, explore, try out, and practice new learning with some teacher directed instruction and coaching. Students tend to learn and retain more when they construct new meaning about novice concepts and topics independently, and when collaborating with others.

Think about your classroom. How student-centered is your classroom?

Monday, August 17, 2015

Nonfiction

Less than 4 minutes a day.

That’s how much time children spend reading nonfiction daily.

Sure, children are reading outside school—about 25 minutes a day, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010). Most of that time is spent reading fiction.

While launching reading and writing workshops in the classroom it is easy to get caught up in fiction. Fictional picture books are abundant, but our students need to see us reading nonfiction. On average only about 9% of our classroom libraries are comprised of nonfiction. So, how do we increase nonfiction reading without out-of-pocket cost?

Here are some resources that you can read, or have students read. They are kid friendly, up-to date, and inviting.

Wonderopolis

A place for curious minds where a Wonder of the Day provides “learning moments in everyday life.” This website is great for younger learners who need the page read for them and older learners who are looking for something new to discover.

DOGO News “Fodder for your classroom”

The site can be used as a place for students to find articles, or can be used by the teacher to create lessons. Teacher accounts are free. Teachers have the ability to create lesson plans using news articles to engage students in current events by using social learning. Students can go to the class page to find articles the teacher has assigned.

New-O-Matic, Daily Reading for Kids (app, K-2)

Keep up with current events from around the world. The app provides 5 articles a day at a reading level that kids can comprehend. Articles include slide shows, videos, maps, and can be read to the student.

To find other “Great Websites for Kids” click here.

For more information on this topic, click here.