How to Take the Pain Out of Reviewing For Final Examinations:)

Wow!  It is difficult to believe that the year is almost over.  A well-earned break is just around the corner for all teachersJ

So, this newsletter will be devoted to making those 3 or 4 weeks productive and fun for both teachers and students.  If final examinations are on the agenda for the end of December (or at the return to school in January), review of content material is a must.  However, the “drill and kill” format is generally the least effective.  Since the goal is to support students in preparing for final exams, teachers should look at creative ways to facilitate the process.

1.  Here from the University of Central Florida are 101 activities to support all learners in fine-tuning their knowledge in any content area.  Though this is aimed at university students, many of the review techniques are commonly used in grades K-12! 

My personal favorites are EMPTY OUTLINES (pass out an incomplete outline of the class material and then have students with partners complete the missing pieces—I also pass out different outlines to minimize copying), PICTURE PROMPTS (visuals stimulate student conversation and that especially helps English language learners in building both conversational English and deepening their knowledge of academic English), DRAWING FOR UNDERSTANDING (in K-12 this is called a “quick draw” and students thoroughly enjoy it since they don’t need to struggle with spelling and are allowed to work as a small team in completing their work), and TOURNAMENTS (competition is fun for everyone AND if there are prizes, all the better).

2.  From Intervention Central, there is a collection of games, contests, and puzzles that motivate students to enjoy the learning/review process.  Again, teachers should see which games they feel their students will feel most comfortable doing and use them. 

          My own favorites here are QUIZZES DEVELOPED BY STUDENT TEAMS.  Some of the questions developed are even more creative than my own.  With this activity, teachers navigate the room listening in on the conversations and providing feedback as needed (without giving answers  since it is the team’s responsibility to make sure the questions are valid ones).  Another favorite of     mine is REVIEW-QUESTION BINGO.  Students   work in small teams to mark their bingo cards (they are marking only  numbers).  Once completed, the tea teams are involved, the odds of arriving at the correct answer are increasedJ.  Last, having students create COMMERCIALS ON THEIR ASSIGNED TOPIC.  With Google Slide, students can do a power point.  If they have access to cameras, they can film a commercial.  Again, teachers navigate the room and interact with teams as needed.

3.  The last site I would like to share on this topic is from QUIZLET.  I have created review questions for students on a regular basis on this site.  Students enjoy the diversity of activities.  Flash cards pop up with visuals and definitions.  Students may also elect to hear the word pronounced (a must for ELLs).  Then students play games matching the word to the definitions.  There are also several “video-game like” activities that are always well received.  Teachers could also have student teams create games to stump fellow classmates.

Well, I hope you and your students enjoy the activities.  Have a great winter break!

Denise (denise@ellteacherpros.com)

Marnie (marnie@ellteacherpros.com)

Cheryl  (cheryl@ellteacherpros.com)

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How About Some Engaging End-of-the-Year Projects For Students:)

The year is almost over so what can teachers do to keep students focused for just a couple more weeks?  Think outside the box and provide students with imaginative ways to demonstrate their understanding of key material that they will need to know for their final exams.  Why not provide students with a variety of choices to show what they know?  What about asking them for their own ideas on demonstrating what they know?  Such an approach involves everyone since multiple options are available from which students can select.  

Take a look at the projects in this article from Edutopia.  Here is a starting point if this is new.  If not, there may be some new approaches worth considering to add to course syllabi:)  I have had students create video productions covering topics they really enjoyed working on during the year.  The rubric created is done by the class as a whole and when the productions are finished, they are scored by the team who delivered the video, classmates, and myself.  The three scores are averaged together and then a grade is assigned.  I have also had students created a book for elementary school age students where they explain a topic studied during the year in language a young student would understand and enjoy reading.  Again, a rubric is devised by all.  Scoring is done by the student who created the book, fellow classmates, and myself.  Scores are averaged.  Creative powerpoints with video to convey understanding of a complex topic covered over the year is another favorite.  Scoring approach is the same.  With any of these activities, students have choices, and that is differentiation in practice!

If you have ideas in this topic that you would be willing to share, please go the comment section and add your thoughts:)

Denise

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Common Core ELA Lesson on Text Analysis for 12th Graders

Common core will demand lots of text analysis from all disciplines covering informational and non-informational reading materials.  Schools will be preparing students for life beyond high school--university and/or the global workforce.  It is hoped that such challenging material will eliminate the need for remedial college English and math classes.

This video clip on  text analysis is set in a 12th grade classroom in California.  Note how the teacher has the students engaged from almost the very start of the lesson.  The warm up is one that provides time for students to read, reflect ,and then compose text-based questions which they would like to have addressed in the class.  With common core, the teacher will not be running the class 90% of the time.  Instead, the role of the educator will be to facilitate as students discuss and explore their chosen concerns in small groups (notice excellent classroom management--students know what they have to do and perform as per teacher expectations).  Once this small group activity is completed, students must select one question from the group which might be posed to the entire class. Notice how all the students are actively engaged in answering those student generated questions (many of which the teacher said she would have written herself, but when they come from students, the students are more interested).  The teacher then goes to symbols, but again watch how she has them identify symbols as she reads.  They then go into meaning or their interpretation of them.

Great example of a common core lesson:)

Denise

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KNOWING STUDENT LEARNING STYLES LEADS TO BETTER STUDENT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN CLASS

English language learners are people first and ELLs second.   Each ELL has a unique learning style which, when validated by the teacher and therefore incorporated into the lesson, enables her/him to understand what is being taught.  In addition, each teacher has her/his own preferred learning style which can easily dominate instructional delivery unless the teacher makes a conscious effort to build instructional activities aimed at all of the learning styles into every aspect of a given lesson/activity.

So, how can teachers meet the needs of all students in class?    This video describes each of the learning styles--LEARNING STYLES  . In this article  a teacher can find her/his preferred learning style(s)-- FIND YOUR STYLE   Here, teachers see that there maybe a mismatch of teaching style vs. learning style which could lead to misconception of an ELL's abilities-- "THEY'RE NOT DUMB, THEY'RE DIFFERENT." 

With such diverse needs all within 4 walls, teachers need to develop instructional tool kits which will meet the needs of all without watering down curriculum or leaving any behind.  The next two sites offer some practical and easy to implement approaches to address this.   Great sources to bookmark or hold as favorites.

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS AND LEARNING STYLES

(UK)  LEARNING STYLES AND TEACHING


Denise

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Common Core Lessons Will Need to Include DIFFERENTIATION

Though common core based lessons necessitate the wide use of a multitude of teaching strategies to ensure that every student understands the lesson being taught, many teachers feel a bit overwhelmed with long term English language learners in their mainstream classes.  Often times, differentiation of  instruction is pointed to as the answer to the problem.  At that point, a teacher is given a handout or two and told to just try to accommodate the needs of the different learning types using the handout as a guide.  Though the handout may be excellent, teachers need more than that to feel confident enough to successfully implement it in their classes.

This video, DIFFERENTIATION, clearly outlines all the necessary components of differentiation.  It explains how to successfully incorporate this instructional tool into classroom instruction covering such sections as classroom management (students must be trained), starting out slowly with just one activity at a time, trying not to overwhelm students or teacher---essentially baby steps:) 

I will be sharing this with new teachers at my school site, with my teacher candidates, and on my website.  I believe in it especially with ELLs in mainstream classes.  Every student excels at something and it is the teacher's job to help the student discover her/his style of learning. 

Denise

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