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When you don't expect your mineral to be halite
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Give me your hands, if we be friends
Well bloggers I can’t believe it but this is the last blog post for my content literacy class. I would like to take this time to take a look back on my blogging experience and some of the content that I have learned in this class.
So this class was the first time I have ever had to blog for and the first time I have ever written a blog period. Over the last twelve weeks I feel as though I have learned to blog and express my thoughts and understandings quite well. At first I wrote most of blogs as though they were short papers like the ones assigned in my other classes. To those of you who read those and was like what are you doing, I apologize. I was frustrated in the beginning because often times I felt as though I wasn’t getting enough instruction or I couldn’t understand what it was my instructors were wanting me to say. However the struggling I went through made me better at blogging I was able to learn on my own and through a few class discussions I was able to better grasp what it meant to blog.
So in a nutshell content literacy has completely changed the way I view teaching my future students. Not only will they be working on the typical reading and writing skills but I will find a way to incorporate speaking and listening. I hope that with all of the knowledge, ideas, and insights I have gained from this class I will be able to instill these skills to my students to use in the future and throughout their lives.
I have a feeling I am going to be away from my blog for a while with finals and the removal of my wisdom teeth in May but I would like to stick around and really give this blogging thing a try.
Stick around!!
(Friday April 11, 2014 1:49 pm)
Seven 8te nine... Tests, groupd work and more!!
Hey bloggers!! It’s about time again for another wonderful weekly about Do I have to teach reading? by Cris Tovani. This time around the reading assignment was a tad longer than usual so I would like to point out the parts that stuck out the most to me from each chapter. So let’s get started!!
Chapter 7: Group work that grows understanding-
Group work is such a valuable tool to use as a teacher. Students’ working together to complete a task is a way to build their communication skills as well as their ability to decipher sources they are given to analyze. I think the biggest helper that Tovani did for her students was demonstrating to them what they should and should not do in their group discussions. By providing a model students can better understand what your expectations are for them and how they should conduct conversations amongst themselves.
Chapter 8: “What do I do with all these sticky notes?” assessment that drives instruction-
Assessments. A word feared by students and teachers alike. “What is the best way to assess my students?” is a question often asked by teachers who sadly may not be able to answer it fully until after giving an assessment that didn’t produce the results they wanted. As a soon to be new teacher I am sure that I will encounter this unfortunate situation more than once. I think that one way to try and overcome this would be to reflect on the assignments you give students and think of how you would want to be assessed on the lesson. Another way to avoid this situation would be to be picky about what you chose to assess your students on and be firm about it. Stand behind what you feel as though students should know and provide them with opportunity to have a variety of assessments.
My plan for the final:
As we all know the semester is almost over- yay! And the end of a semester means exams. Our wonderful content literacy instructor has decided to let us design our own final. I have chose to work with three of my other classmates and we are going to create a booklet with reading strategies we would use in Social Studies and Science classrooms that would best suite the content we would be teaching. This will be a booklet that we can use in our first year of teaching with our students when they encounter difficult texts.
(Wednesday April 9, 2014 4:19 pm)
Blog stalking- creeping for teaching strategies
Hello bloggers!!! I hope this spring weather finds you all well. This week we are mixing things up in this blogging world. I will be reviewing blogs from my classmates this week to help us through our education journey. I picked 5 of my favorite comments/statements to elaborate on and point out so you all can go and read more from them. So let’s get started!!
http://pinittoteachit.tumblr.com/
“I think kids really struggle with reading something and then having to remember what it was about, especially when you make them read out loud.”
I could not agree more with this statement. Often times when our students are asked to read out loud they are more worried about reading in a timely manner and pronouncing the words correctly than paying attention to the content of the text. A way to combat this would be to have students read a text and use either a double entry diary or sticky notes to mark up the text as they wish. Then as a class read the text a section of the time so there can be opportunities for students to discuss their thoughts and feelings with their classmates and you.
http://teachingoncanvas.tumblr.com/
“As a teacher it will be an open classroom. Open to all thoughts. While yes we can disagree (& we should, or else I would think something is wrong) there will be no disrespecting. We all know how it feels to be disrespected and who likes that. Not me for sure.”
As educators it is our job to teach our students about content- math, science, social studies, and English, but what people often don’t realize is that it is also our job to show students how to interact with their classmates and respect the people around them. All of your students should be able to express their opinions in your classroom without the fear of being unfairly criticized.
http://peachyteachy123.tumblr.com/
“First we need to acknowledge the difference between discussion and recitation.”
Yes, yes we do. I could see where there could be confusion between the two to someone who is not in a classroom environment. As a teacher though we should be able to distinguish the two as reading strategies that are student based and then teacher based. Discussions are a great way for students to express their reactions and thoughts about a text and challenge their classmates to think more complexly. Recitations can be helpful if you want to make sure students have actually read or if you are wanting them to participate in a lecture.
http://humerusteacher215.tumblr.com/
“… noted: I am a staunch advocate of changing the phrase “learning disability” into “learning differences.”
Heck yes! This is a change that our society needs to make to our vocabulary. Why should we deem a person with a disability when they learn in a different way than what we say is “normal”. Just because I don’t understand math and sometimes invert the numbers doesn’t mean I have a disability- it just means I’m different. I think even our students would appreciate being acknowledged as being a different kind of learner rather than one classified as disabled.
http://geauxempower.tumblr.com/
“Yes, teachers are definitely under time constraints, but our students are as well. This section brought to my attention that we do not allow our students enough time to think about what they are doing. It is sort of like here are the instructions, now do it! Just as it takes us adults time to read and form a reaction or response to a text, it takes our students the same time if not more!”
Time is something in school that there never seems to enough of it when you need it and too much if you don’t. Time management is a skill middle schoolers are just being introduced to in 6th grade so we can’t expect they will be masters of it. Since this is the time they are learning these personal skills this is when we need to introduce reading strategies to them that will help them read, comprehend, retain, and eventually learn to do it in a timely manner.
(April 1, 2014, Tuesday 9:42 am) Blog 11
Remembry- remember and put it in your memory
Hey fellow bloggers!! I hope everyone is getting excited for warmer weather and longer days because I definitely am! This week I read a really great chapter from Cris Tovani’s book, Do I really have to teach reading?, which was all about how to teach our students to remember what they have read. I wish that I had been taught some of these techniques earlier in my schooling career because it would have made reading more enjoyable and beneficial.
I would love to use her opening idea of letting students use a photograph that is slightly controversial to start developing their reading skills of a text, like the one found at http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/08/0815_020815_photooftheyear.html. While this photograph was edited it was a great opener for students to start seeing how they were applying reading skills to something with only a few words of text. This kind of activity can also be thought of as one that takes differentiation into account because even if a student may not be a good reader they can still participate with the class and share their questions.
Thinking back on my weeks of elaborating on my definition of content literacy I was surprised when just a few days ago it made an appearance in another class. After completing different science activities on engineering design I was asked by the doctoral student who is the TA for the class if I would answer a few questions for her about the assignment I had done to help with her research. A question I was asked was what skills do students need to complete this activity and within my answer I listed listening as one of the skills. I further defended it in my interview saying that reading, speaking, and writing are often quite emphasized in younger grades but not so much listening. There is no set point in a child’s life where educators and doctors agree that they should be able to listen. I explained that without the students listening to their classmates it would be impossible for them to complete the task they were asked to do.
Without being in my content literacy class I never would have been able to apply this type of knowledge to a real situation because it would not have ever crossed my mind that some of my students my not have had much practice with listening. Tovani showed her students that they can read even when text is not dominant and I have learned that this example applies to all the aspects of content literacy whether it be listening, speaking, or writing.
(Blog 10 March 25, 2014 10:17 am)
Content Literacy- Reality vs. Expections
Content Literacy Definition:
“Content literacy is the ability to read, write, speak, and listen in all disciplines through a variety of media.”
Throughout the last couple of weeks I have spent time taking this definition and breaking it down to define what each skills is and how they can be successfully demonstrated in a classroom.
While this is a starting point for content literacy I cannot help but feel as though I am only seeing the tip of the ice burg sticking out from under the water. This topic covers every discipline and lesson and activity students are asked to do at school. When you think about it in this way- it becomes much more that the rather simplified definition I have been working on for the last two months.
Tovani has shown us time and time again that with a little ingenuity you can help teachers and students become more comfortable with their level of content literacy. She has such a unique way of showing how each encounter with someone struggling with content literacy is different but is the same at the same time. Each individual starts at a different place and struggles with different aspects of content literacy but the end goal for everyone is that become more knowledgeable of how to handle content literacy in a way that works best for them.
I guess the biggest question on my mind that feels like the elephant in the room is, How do I do this? How do I learn to approach these issues with an outlook like Tovani does? I do worry that in my first year of teaching I will fail to teach my students everything that I have learned about how to make them better and smarter about content literacy.
If anyone has any recommendations or suggestions to incorporating content literacy in a classroom during the first year of teaching I would love to hear them!!!
(March 19, 2014 3:31 pm Blog 9)
Are you even LISTENING to me?
Content Literacy Definition:
“Content literacy is the ability to read, write, speak, and listen in all disciplines through a variety of media.”
The topic of this weeks’ blog- listening. This is a task that proves to be a challenge for people of all ages. I visual listening in a classroom as students starting at their teacher while they have looks of absolute boredom while listening to tell them stuff and sounding something like Charlie Brown’s teacher. As someone who is in the unique position of being a student and a teacher simultaneously I have come to realize the major differences between hearing a teacher and listening to them. The act of listening requires more than the literal act of hearing a sound or another person talk. Instead it’s a process of taking something a person says and processes the information to turn it into knowledge.
Tovani Chapter 5:
Reading is such an essential part of content literacy but it goes hand in hand with students being successful in their classes. Often times, like one of the students mentioned in Tovani, thinks that fast reading is good reading. Students are taught that time management is an important skill to have and equate speed with reading correctly. We must teach our students that the proper way to read is to take their time and absorb the material the text is trying to give us. Tovani provides us with examples of this from every discipline to show that it is possible to apply reading strategies to everything from math to science. But the most pivotal aspects of this chapter is presenting our students with the most important information, tell your students what you want them to focus on from a text, and lastly tell your students why what they are reading is important and relevant.
While this chapter talks about the importance of reading and the techniques they should apply to understand what they are doing before any of this can be done- students must be listening to what you are telling them. By establishing effective lines of communication between you and your students, they will learn to listen as you guide them through reading texts and they learn how to apply strategies on their own.
Personal Reflections on Listening:
While writing the section about listening for content literacy I started to do some thinking about what listening looks like in a classroom when it is not related to giving a lecture. Sometimes as humans we lose ourselves in the stresses in our lives and don’t see what is going on in front of us. As teachers it is our job to make sure we turn the focus from ourselves and to our students. We need to remember that the social pressures in our schools today are different from what we went through. We need to listen to our students when they alert us of bullying or suspicious activity, we need to listen to the student who is trying to ask for help but is too shy, and lastly we need to listen to what our students are asking from us. They need to know that we are there to protect them, teach them, and most importantly listen to them when they are in need.
A Text Set for your thoughts...
Given a specific standard, students will be asked to answer the following question on an exam. To provide them with more resources to study outside of a textbook the text set below was created.
Standard. Students will investigate the scientific view of how the earth’s surface is formed.
Test Question: Be able to name the different types of rocks and how they form below the Earth’s surface.
Text Set:
You Tube song about the Rock Cycle designed for a sixth grade science class https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53lMdHzvGCQ
The song is a creative twist on Rascal Flats’ Life is a Highway, which provides students with information about each rock type and how each type of rock forms. I found this song to be catchy and informative. For students who are audio learners and need to hear information this song provides them with resource that explains a difficult concept in a fun way with some helpful pictures.
Interactive Rock Cycle
http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/investigations/es0602/es0602page02.cfm
This website is something I would plan to use in my classroom for any science topic that I could apply. The model shown on the website allows students to click on different areas which causes the rock cycle to begin its story. As each new area is highlighted a brief blub is given to explain what is going on and why certain changes are happening.
Image
The above image is a visual representation of the rock cycle. This would be something that I could keep as is for my advanced students and edit to use for some of my less advanced readers. This diagram helps show how each rock type forms and what factors change rocks into a different rock type.
Layers of the Earth song http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=26843&CategoryID=184
This song while not directly related to the test question covers material students will need to understand as background information. Before they learn about the rock cycle they will first need to understand layers of the Earth. I include this song within this text set as an extra reference to clear up any confusion or if a refresher is needed.
Blog- Layers of the Earth Booklets http://flipflopteacher.blogspot.com/2012/02/he-brought-it-upon-himself-to-visit.html
I am such a huge fan of this activity!! This activity allows for students to demonstrate their knowledge while completing an engaging activity and it can also be used as a formative assessment. BY allowing students to write their own definitions for the layers of the Earth they can demonstrate their knowledge in a way that makes sense to them and show me what they know.
Introduction to Rocks and Minerals http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=690&CategoryID=185
This is a quick clip that clarifies the difference between rocks and minerals. As someone who is from a geology background I obviously know the differences and can understand these concepts on a rather detailed level. However must middle schoolers are unaware of a difference. This video is meant for my students to use as a quick refresher for information they have not committed to long term memory or to be used for clarification while outside of school.
Magazines about the Earth and for topics to be later covered in Earth Science http://shop.scholastic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplayView?productId=107635&langId=-1&storeId=10751&catalogId=10004
These magazines are designed for 3-5 graders, which I think could easily be used in a 6th grade classroom. The text is easy to read while still be scientifically correct. I believe these magazines would help provide my students with visual representations of the rock cycle while correctly defining geologic terms. Each magazine focuses on different Earth Science topics per issue, which could be used in other text sets.
The best website for graphic organizers. You can search them by discipline and grade level
What's the best way to write right?
Content Literacy Definition continued:
“Content literacy is the ability to read, write, speak, and listen in all disciplines through a variety of media.”
Last week I skipped ahead to speaking to this week we are going backwards to writing. I would define writing as putting letters, words, symbols, or numbers onto a document, whether that be a piece of paper or on the computer. Writing in schools is often over looked because so many assignments are now on the computer. All disciplines use writing daily and these skills should be honed by the time students get to high school but for some reason they are not. I hope that in my classroom I will be able to help my students hone their writing skills so that they will be successful. Incorporating different kinds of writing activities in a classroom, which would allow students to demonstrate the skills they have and which ones need to be worked on. This way as a teacher you have a starting point and can come up with individual writing goals for each student to reach by the end of the year.
Tovani Chapter 4:
Textbooks. One word that can make students tremble, moan, and want to cry all at the same time. The challenge in most classrooms today is that most textbooks are used by the teachers as a guideline for material to be taught but students have trouble understanding them because they are long, boring, and can often be above their reading level. Tovani stresses that using supplemental texts is a great way to bring students back to the point of engagement where they are willing to learn. After reading this chapter I was brainstorming about how I could relate all of this back to writing. My idea would be to have students use reading strategies that would require them to be writing down questions about what confuses/ intrigues them, looking up unknown words and writing down definitions, and writing a summary at the end of each reading assignment that helps them to remember and comprehend the text they have read.
Reflecting on becoming a teacher:
So I have wanted to be a teacher since about a year ago. This hasn’t been a lifelong passion or a calling that I realized at a young age. My senior year of my undergrad I was torn between law school to study environmental law or getting my masters in Environmental Management and Sustainability. Coming from a geology background I figured that either one of those options would help me to put my previous education to use and make a difference in the world. Around October I had a conversation with one of my professors who lead me to this path that I am on now. I knew from the start I wanted to teach science because I love science and I find it so fascinating and it’s everything and everywhere around us. Writing my blog this week I began to see a theme. I could not be where I am today without content literacy. I would not have been able to get to grad school without writing my admissions essay, I would not be able to complete my classes if I could not read my assignments, I could not ask questions in class if I first did not listen, and I could not present my ideas without being able to speak. These aspects on content literacy will affect our students no matter what subject you teach. I hope that I will be able to guide my students and give them the tools they need to read, write, speak, and listen in school and in their lives.
Hello!!! I'm SPEAKING to you!! (Blog 5)
Content Literacy Definition continued:
“Content literacy is the ability to read, write, speak, and listen in all disciplines through a variety of media.”
Last week I continued on with my evolving definition of content literacy with my definition of what reading is and this week we should be moving into writing but after this week I want to jump to speaking. Speaking is a method we use to communicate with each other and as a way to convey thoughts and ideas. In a middle school classroom our students are expected to be able to speak to each other and to their teachers effectively. When I say effectively I mean in a way that conveys a point or idea and those listening understand what the speaker is saying. Even as adults we don’t necessarily know how to speak to one another properly. Last week in my blog I made a comment about students who may come to us from lower income families who may not be able to speak properly. Someone challenged this statement with the following question, “What is the proper way of speaking compared to the improper way?” In my last blog when I made this statement I was referring to speaking with correct grammar, sentence structure, and no inappropriate language. But looking at this a week later that question is making me think. What do we define as proper speaking and why is this proper?
Podcast:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1419
This week’s podcast can be found at the link above was an interview conducted with Penny Kittle. The topic of discussion was about incorporating nonfiction reading into all disciplines to help students become more familiar with how to handle these kinds of text. Kittle mentions in her interview how important it is to allow students to be able to use technology as a means of research and presentations. Listening to this interview got me thinking about incorporating this type of reading on top of all the content I have to teach and reports to make. It feels overwhelming if I’m being honest. The thought of having to consider content literacy on top of all of the new struggles I will encounter as a new teacher.
Weekly Reading: http://betterlesson.com/lesson/21837/main-idea-cookies
Reflecting on this week and thinking about a lesson activity I could use in my future classroom that would incorporate speaking. I stumbled across this lesson plan which is recommended for grades 3rd and up. The title of it alone caught my attention: Main Idea Cookies. I love cookies and was hungry at the time I was looking this up so I was quite excited that the introduction talked about chocolate chip cookies. The overall idea of this lesson is to have students find a way to pick out what the most important details are in a reading and be able to identify the main idea. I feel as though the activity would work across disciplines and could work for a variety of texts.
Think Aloud: http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/think_alouds
Probably the most self- explanatory reading activity to guide students through a difficult text, think aloud. When students get a challenging text they can read it aloud and think through what the text is trying to say. The linked site above provides everything you could possibly think of to understand, incorporate, or apply this strategy. I personally follow them on twitter as well where I constantly receive great tips. Links within this web page provide examples in an English class using stories, prior connections, and poetry. Not only a great resource but this site is a great support tool as well.
Until next time!!!!
One of my new favorite starters: Question cubes & Journal prompt sticks!
When they come into class they can decide which one they would like to participate in to assess them of what they read the night before or day before in class. The question cubes would be for those who like to work in groups and discuss. This would apply to the reading, listening, and speaking aspects of content literacy. The other option would be the journal prompt sticks which would allow them to use the reading and writing aspects while also getting to work alone. If I used this multiple times I would ask the students to not always do the same one so that they can practice all of their content literacy skills!
Love these ideas!!
Reading is Fun!! I promise (Blog 4)
Content Literacy Definition Continued:
“Content literacy is the ability to read, write, speak, and listen in all disciplines through a variety of media.”
To begin this week’s blog we are going to start off by continuing from the last post and I will be elaborating on my definition of content literacy. This week the word I will be defining from my definition is reading. Reading… in my book I consider this to be the act of looking at letters on a piece of paper, putting them together to make words, putting those words together to make sentences, and using those sentences to make a story (either fictional or non- fiction). Reading is the process of learning information that is recorded in either a book, website, etc. I will challenge my students with texts that are boring and difficult so they will develop their reading skills so that when they are given any form of text they can tackle it head on.
Podcast: What’s really behind the literacy gap?
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/literacy-2.0-new-frontier/id357933877?mt=2
The podcast I selected this week is discussing what is behind the literacy gap in our school systems. The number one reason given is large urban school systems that live in poverty. Many children coming from these homes were exposed to an improper way of speaking or did not focus on reading and writing during their early development. The second main reason is the spike in immigration of non- English speakers. Since many of these families need work right away they settle into urban areas, which have a higher depend for work. These two factors combined make it very difficult for teachers to help students because their literacy skills are so underdeveloped. It was stated in the podcast that teachers lose 1 out of 5 days of instruction with interruptions from discipline issues, announcements over PA systems, or teachers allowing students to have “free time” so that they can finish grading or what not. As someone who is getting ready to become a new teacher I do find it important to take advantage of the time I am given with my students each day to make sure they are working and refining their literacy skills as well as becoming comfortable with content knowledge.
Tovani: Chapter 3- Parallel Experiences: Tapping the Mother Lode:
The chapter assigned for this weeks’ reading was about incorporating reading into disciplines outside of English. Tovani tells us about her experiences working with teachers who often great her with attitude and slightly angry. She spends most of the chapter explaining how teachers who are often specialized in one field such as science, do not realize the reading skills they use to read a science text. This was a light bulb moment for me. After four years of reading difficult geology texts I do approach science texts different than I do a regular novel. More than likely my future students will not have this kind of background seeing as most of them will be between the ages of 12 to 14. If we want our students to be successful readers we must tell them the secret that there are different ways to reading and it’s okay when a text confuses you, if we do our jobs correctly our students will know what steps they need to take to make sure they understand how to read and what they are reading.
Starter Activity:
The starter activity was a class opener used last week to begin our content literacy class. Having only a few minutes to think of an idea to share I think I came up with a decent idea that could be used in a classroom after some refining. My idea was to use a text that pertained to whatever topic I was currently covering in a science classroom. This text would be about a half a page in length and students would be asked to read it and answer the following questions: What is the topic of the text? What was confusing to me? What does this word/ words mean?. Students would then be asked to review their answers with a partner to see if any clarifications could be made before we covered the questions as a class.
May the Quartz be with you
You can now follow me on twitter at @gneissteacher13
Dear Diary, What does it mean to read? (Blog 3)
To begin I would like to start with a slight rehash from last week about my definition of content literacy. Last time I said that to me it meant, “Content literacy is the ability to read, write, speak, and listen in all disciplines through a variety of media.” I do still think this is a good abstract of the definition but I want to pull each piece apart and define them operationally so that it is clear what I expect each ability to look like, sound like, and function in a classroom. Keep looking for these operational definitions in weeks to come!!
Double Entry Journal:
What is a Double Entry Journal? Well I will be happy to explain it for you. This is a reading technique for students to use when they encounter a text that is content difficult, reading level challenging, or they are bored by it and need a focus. The structure goes a little something like this, fold a sheet of paper in half (long way, or hot dog style, or taco) the left hand side will be used for quotes from the text they are reading. The right side is where students will write the way they connect to the text, what confuses them, why are they confused, how does it make them feel, how can they use their experiences to explain the text and questions such as those.
Our class practiced this with a science text about viruses and an algebraic math problem. I enjoyed getting to apply this technique to the science text because I found myself wanting to know more and wanting to know more about viruses. But next I looked at the math problem which read 3x +5 = 17. This is embarrassing to admit and after 3 years of algebra, 1 year on geometry, 2 years of trigonometry, a semester of statistics, and even a semester of calculus I still can not stand math. I cringe just thinking about numbers. Completing the problem itself wasn’t terrible (the answer is 4) but trying to explain why I was doing the steps I was taking to reach the end was so confusing to me. Even though I was confused it still made me think, what do I do next, how do I isolate the variable, and I reached the answer.
Has anyone ever used this reading strategy in a classroom where it was a success/ fail? Would you recommend it? How would you make it your own? If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them!!
Reading in your classroom:
One of the topics of conversation during our last class was incorporating reading books about the topics you are covering class but the could be both fiction and non- fiction. After some research on line I found this website (http://www.ala.org/offices/resources/sciencenovels) which has novels for elementary through middle school students and they are all science based. I am hoping within the next few weeks I will be able to read at least a few of these to see if these recommendations are as good as they say.
Weekly Podcast Reflection:
The Podcast we were assigned to this week was quite lengthy and at times difficult to hear. It was of teachers from Middle Schools and High Schools from a district who were learning techniques of how to help their students learn better by teaching then content literacy techniques to apply to a difficult text. From this afternoon workshop they played examples of teachers applying specific techniques to their classrooms so one can see first hand how it was handled. The most interesting one to one was the idea of using post its on each page or section of text as a way to outline key points, identify any unknown words, or mark a passage that makes so sense at all. I would be very curious to see more of these kinds of videos about how to apply these techniques in a classroom.
Assessment Levels and Description
Easy way to evaluate where students are during a lesson!
Every teacher should remember this