For Anyone Who Has A Few Minutes To Spare - Melvina Moore

I was excited when I received an e-mail from Melvina Moore and learned that she regularly read Larry Ferlazzo's blog.  Mr. Ferlazzo began teaching in 2003 after working as a community organizer for nearly twenty years.  Since then, he has authored several books and most impressive, he works hard sharing and growing the knowledge of others.  He is a strong member of my PLN and I hope you choose to follow him as well.  

Mrs. Moore writes, "This link has Larry Ferlazzo's "My Best of Series," which would definitely be a good use of time for anyone who has a few minutes to spare!"

Check out his entire blog and share what you learn in the comments below. Thanks for sharing Mrs. Moore.

Articles Worth Sharing

(1) Celebrating our Students' Good Writing is an article that all teachers should read and put into action as we improve how we incorporate writing in all subject areas.  

"Many teachers assign writing, skipping over the needed practice, and are disappointed when students fail to rise to expectations."

Instead, the article suggests students will be less reluctant to write when the subjects are familiar.  Students perform better when they write about what they know.

(2)  In this article titled, Fostering Curiosity, Here, There, and Everywhere, John Barell tells the story of nuclear physicist Isidore I. Rabi.  Everyday after school, his mother would ask, ‘Did you ask a good question today?’  This one question he credits to his love of science.

“Fostering curiosity leads to exploration, engagement, positive self-assessments, self-determination and belief that goals are attainable.” - John Barell

(3)  Creating a Culture of Can is a great piece that provides three strategies to developing a foundation for a culture of ‘can.’

We've (hopefully) moved beyond strict "academics" where the teacher dictates the goals, domain and "end game" terms, and moved to a place that's truly learner-centered, a place where students won't make superficial decisions that barely alter the course of learning, but rather establish their own reasons to learn, their own standards for quality and their own metrics for success. - Terry Heick

Two Articles That Have Me Thinking

How Can One Teacher be Both the Best and the Worst? A Letter to President Obama

As a teacher, have you ever felt as if you were the best teacher one class period and the worst the next period? Poverty is our challenge to meet excellence for all.  I could relate to this letter by Shelley Barker from Snohomish, WA written to President Obama.  

"I'll go toe-to-toe with them to demand they finish their work, and finish it well." - Shelley Barker

Are Your Kids Just Doing School?

The expectations we set for our students will most often be met.  Think about that for a moment.  Do you set high expectations for your students?  The following is an excerpt from the article.

"When Hayden’s teachers have high expectations and raise the bar for him – he perseveres through the challenge and produces amazing work – advanced work.  He has had many teachers do this for him.  Unfortunately, he has also experienced instances of low expectations, and much to my horror as a parent and an educator, he has always met those too."  -Shelley Burgess

Engaging Students In A BIG Way

Rob Olazagasti makes learning "Larger Than Life" in this video highlighted on Edutopia's Website.  During the video, ask yourself these three questions:

1. Are the students engaged?  
2. What instructional strategy did Mr. Olazagasti use in this lesson?  Was it effective?
3. Do you think assessing students in this way provides a better understanding of what students truly know rather than a traditional quiz or multiple choice test? 

Authentic Student Engagement

Articles That Have Me Thinking

I have to admit, there has been times in which I have used the terminology, problem-based, project-based, and inquiry-based learning interchangeably.  This article describes what problem-based learning looks like in a classroom and reveals there is a distinct difference among the three.  As you read the short article, think about how Common Core State Standards can be achieved through problem-based learning.


Problem-Based Learning


I'm sure many of you have heard of David Warlick or have read his books.  I really enjoyed this article and believe he has revealed 4 important components on how to recognize true learning.  This is a quote from the article:

"The goal of education today is to prepare our children for an unpredictable future, and we will not accomplish this by applying more education or even technologically enhancing it. Children will learn well when the process becomes authentically responsive — learners become full partners in that process and it all becomes a lot more playful."

"This will happen in retooled classrooms, with inspired teachers and learners who are free to play with their learning." - David Warlick

What Does It Mean To Be Learned?

'Demonstrating' Instructional Effectiveness

The following Teaching Channel video clip depicts a clear image of what great teaching should look like in a 6th grade science lab. Demonstrations are clear and precise for all students with anticipation and preventive action to avoid possible students' misunderstanding.


Click here to view the video. 


Questions to consider:

• Notice how the teacher models the set up visually and verbally
• What does the teacher mean by "purposeful chaos"?
• Why was it important for the students to set up their own experiments?
• She explains that cutting should be done in a "scholarly" fashion.  Which would have been more effective, explaining or demonstrating this expectation?  Why?

As teachers, demonstrating and modeling the desired skill or process is an essential component of instructional effectiveness.   

Released Common Core Sample Questions

We are all too familiar with the twelve shifts that the Common Core requires of us if we are to be truly aligned, in terms of, curricular materials and classroom instruction.  The following test question is taken from a 5th grade ELA Common Core released sample item.  This sample illustrates the shift in which writing needs to emphasize use of evidence to inform or make an argument. 

In mathematics, teachers must teach more than “how to get the answer.” Students will be required to demonstrate deep conceptual understanding of core math concepts by applying, writing, and speaking about their understanding.  Assessments will emphasize word problems and problem-solving authentic, real world questions.  The following sample item is taken from the 6th grade math assessment.

The following article contains released Common Core sample questions from New York.  If you scroll to the bottom, you will find links to 3rd-8th grade sample questions in both ELA and Math.  Each link contains 12 released questions.

Common Core Sample Questions