#teachingchannel

[ultramorava]

[numbertalksresource]

What is a Number Talk?

This video gives a great example on how to use a number talk in a grade 1 classroom and how it changes her teaching.

Dot Talks: Building Fluency with Numbers https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/addition-math-lesson-ousd via @TeachingChanne

[dare2teach]

Interacting with Complex Texts: Scaffolding Reading

Getting students to a place where they can write their own persuasive speech is difficult, especially with ELLs. This video is part of a complete unit designed to help Middle School students become comfortable with persuasive texts.

As teachers the best way for us to learn is through resources given to us by other faculty members and even websites. The teaching channel is great way to spark new ideas for lesson plans and in-class activities.

I have provided a link to a great lesson plan provided by Emily Park-Friend who is a middle school teacher at Bruce Randolph School in Denver, CO.  This particular lesson deals with interacting with complex texts and helping students’ reading skills through scaffolding. As many classrooms in America there are students who are English language learners where reading and writing skills may be a challenge for them. As teachers we want to accommodate our lessons to our students as best as we can. This lesson helps students interact with texts in a multitude of ways. Student and teacher actions are met through reading, writing, discussing, and listening. 

Emily uses a strategy known as “Jig-saw” which gives students different pieces of the same text and asked to organize it chronologically as a class or as groups. I have used this strategy as a student and as a teacher and find it very helpful to obtain different perceptions of a given text. My college professor here at the University of Hawai’i, uses this strategy within his education course. As a student I am able to comprehend texts better when I am able to hear other students’ opinions and views. As a teacher I have found this very helpful because it initiates a discussion between students where I am able to grasp what my students are thinking about a given text.

From teaching channel.org's resource handout.

Background knowledge is crucial for students to be able to learn and comprehend text. Before diving into the reading, Emily gave her students a short biography of Barbra Jordan to help her students better understand the civil rights movement. I think providing background information for any given reading will greatly increase students’ comprehension and understanding of any given text.

  From teaching channel.org's resource handout.

Focus Question. Emily also provided her students with a focus question before directing them to read the given text. Some students have trouble comprehending what they have read because they are not sure what to focus on. Focus questions gives students a purpose for reading and helps students define the authors argument within the text.  

Why I love the Teaching Channel!

The teaching channel is a great resource for all teachers. It is free and easy to sign up and provides all types of resources including lesson plans, strategies, and helpful tips for beginner teachers. It is easily accessible with resources conveniently listed on the right hand side of each lesson video.