Week 3- Thinking Maps

Thinking maps can help students develop better critical thinking skills, more organized thinking, can allow students practice in being more organized, students can develop better writing skills, and better studying skills. Thinking maps are typically easy for students to use and are a great helper tool in allowing the student the ability to brainstorm and even begin writing. So, thinking maps could be used as writing prompts. For example if you were talking about the topic of Careers with your students you could use this example thinking map as a writing prompt before beginning your writing lesson. 

This awesome document that I found has 1000 quick writing ideas. As well as, some various templates for quick writing worksheets and different grammar rule worksheets. This document is full of a lot of useful information. Link: 1000 Quick Writes  I plan to use quick writing as much as possible and for journal writing in my classroom. I found this Kid President video that is really funny; that you could show your students for writing prompts for quick write. Also, I found an instructional video based on instructing a quick write activity; it seemed very helpful in providing even more knowledge in instructing this. 

Week 2- Strategies to Include in Lessons

     I like a lot of the strategies; they are all very helpful tools. I enjoy organizing things in general. When I organize information or anything; it makes me feel more in control of my learning and the information makes more sense to me. I feel like a lot of students would feel the same way or be able to understand information better; by organizing it in their own way. They could do this through the use of the Frayer model, Choice boards, or K-W-L charts. The other strategies used for learning in general are the Jigsaw and Fishbowl strategies. There are many other strategies out there on the internet, that can be used. This website has several tabs that you can click on and learn about different strategy procedures for learning. Link: Active Activities for Learning 
     I feel as if I am a huge fan of the Choice boards and of the Fishbowl strategy. Even though we didn't talk about the Fishbowl strategy in class I am using this strategy as one of the two, to talk about on my blog. I am also going to implement the use of the fishbowl strategy in one of my lesson plans for this class. The fishbowl can be used for problem solving, resolving conflicts, group discussion, or even as a reading strategy. The way I plan to use it is by picking two students, or even rotating out the two students, to read key information in an article. Then two students are in the middle of a circle at a time. The two students each say what they learned from the article and then rotate out with two more students. You could also split the students into two groups and have two students stand in the middle of each of the circles. This gives everyone a chance to read or know about the material and to speak without taking up a lot of time. This site explains a few other different uses for this strategy. Link: Fishbowl Practice 
     I also really like choice boards. Some students are just going to have the mindset of they only want to do something if it is their idea. If you present them with many different activities that they can chose from and make the decision for themselves; they will work harder and there will be far less struggle involved. I posted several different types of choice boards, to use for different types of learning, on my last blog. So, I thought I might talk about different ways that K-W-L charts could be implemented in the classroom.

I found several types of K-W-L charts. The first one on the left is actually a K-W-H-L chart. It stands for What do I (know)? What do I (want) to know? (How) do I find out? What have I (learned)? I liked this chart because it has the section for "How do I find out?". Some students need a helper or reminder on what places they can look for the information. That is why I like that being included. Next, I like the chart in the middle picture; because it includes the section "still want to find out". I think that is important for spurring the thought of what's next; for when they get ready to write or read their next topic. I also like the paint sample cards; because they are colorful. However, the disadvantage is they could be too small for much writing. Otherwise, if you found them the perfect size, you could allow the students to glue them into a folder or punch a hole and put them all on a circle ring. This way they could flip through their past ideas and work. The last picture includes K-W-L but says Know-Wonder-Learned. I just thought that wonder was a different and neat way of saying "what I want to know". That may be less confusing for Kindergarten students; using the word wonder for "W". Either way it is a flip book the students can make. I really like activities in general and could see myself using all the strategies we have learned about so far and many others that are out there.

Week One-Jigsaw, Frayer, and Choice board strategies

      The three strategy models that we talked about in class were the Jigsaw, the Frayer, and the Choice board. The more I use the Jigsaw strategy; the more it grows on me. Before I read the article I read on a website; I felt like the Jigsaw strategy could be used for longer articles; in order to increase comprehension of the article, but felt like students could read shorter or easier articles in independent practice or without the Jigsaw method. After reading this article; I learned different ways that the Jigsaw method could be used. Not just for students reading articles. This is the link to the helpful website I found. Link: Teach Hub Jigsaw Activities
       I could use the Frayer Model at the beginning of class, in place of a K-W-L chart. I will put the topic on the board and students will write that in the middle circle. Then they can use the different boxes in the same way they would use the K-W-L chart; with what they know in each box. They can also write what they want to know and after the lesson they can fill in what they learned. When I was looking over the different choice board activities; I had the thought of using the choice board for daily 5 activities. Instead of the traditional daily 5 activities; the student could choose an activity off of the choice board to do during that station time. Then, when we rotate the student could chose another activity off of the choice board.
       Something fun, might also be to have a "game" day that involves the choice board. The students could play pin the dot on the choice board. The students will be blind folded and have to place the dot on the choice board. Which ever task they get closest to or pin their dot on; is the one they will do for that session. This is a helpful site with most things you have to pay for; but there are quite a few you don't have to pay for. This is a free digital download of a Writing type choice board I found and it includes a blank choice board as well. Link: Editable and Writing Choice Board This particular choice board says "3 by Friday"; which I am assuming means that the students would complete at least 3 of these task by Friday of each week. I did find a couple other examples of choice boards that I liked.

I am finding that you can do a lot of different
things with choice boards; let the students feel important in making choices, but still be giving them guided choices to make. This video above, was helpful in seeing a different way you can present choice boards to students. I wouldn't mind using any of the three various strategies in my classroom.