Speaking Kickstart Suggestions for Classrooms

Speaking: Discussion Strategies

·       Stations - set up the classroom to have stations with items to stimulate discussion around a prompt or a task for small groups

·       Gallery Walks – students create an informative poster then talk about it to others who circulate around the room or a team of students create materials that are posted and then viewed in a walk

·        Physical Barometer – a statement is read and students move to one corner of the room or the other to indicate their choice. Can add “strongly” to agree or disagree and have four corners. Students discuss their ideas.

·       Pinwheel Discussions – four students discuss an issue or text, with provocateur’s  challenging them to go farther, think deeply

·       Socratic Seminar – students sit in a circle as the leader asks an open ended questions to prompt answering with evidence from a source

·       Concentric Circles – Student form two circles (outside and inside) They pair with the person they face then rotate to face another. Useful for discuss content or give opinions on topics

·       Fish Bowl – two students sit face to face in the middle of the room with others circled around them. They can create a conversation around a topic or skill and the others observe, take notes and follow up.

Encourage them to speak by asking them to  

• Restate what their partner said

• Paraphrase what others have said

• Give evidence to back up ideas or arguments

• Listen intently then solve a mystery or problem 

• Think aloud to answer questions

• Choral read a passage

Oracy

“Elevate speaking to the same level as reading and writing.”    Peter Hyman, 

School 21, London, UK

Oracy – the ability to speak well

The Goal: every student speaks in every class, every day.

Discussion guidelines are taught and practiced. 

Common Core State Standards for Speaking

Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade level topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Excellent Resources for Teaching Thanksgiving

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THE FIRST THANKSGIVING

Adding Compassion and Empathy

Brightly's Recommended Books
A recent article by Penelope Dulaghan explains about teaching Empathy and Compassion

"Lately, it seems whenever I turn on the news or open social media I learn that another tragedy has occurred somewhere in the world. Each time, I am overcome with feelings of sadness, frustration, and downright hopelessness. I try to think of how I can help make a difference in some small way, but usually end up falling short.

At moments like these, it feels even more important to have conversations with the children in our lives about topics like empathy, compassion, kindness, and inclusion. The interesting thing about empathy, though, is that it’s not easy to teach. Yet there are some ways to instill and inspire it. One way is to read books that touch on the subject and can spark a conversation about what it means to be empathetic and compassionate. The following books can help you do just that."

CJ’s Nana helps him see beauty in his surroundings, whether it’s on the bus or at the soup kitchen they head to every Sunday afternoon. As Nana says, “Sometimes when you’re surrounded by dirt, C.J., you’re a better witness for what’s beautiful.”

10 Disruptions that will Revolutionize Education

This is taken from Education Weekly 

Not sure that I agree.  Food for thought! 

10 Disruptions That Will Revolutionize Education

Artificial intelligence and technology will prove significant for education

By Peter W. Cookson Jr.

October 10, 2017

• 
  

The idea that machines are smarter than humans has inspired a library of science-fiction stories and movies. What often happens when intelligent machines and ordinary humans cross cognitive swords? Humans lose. We weaker and dumber creatures are no match for machines that are out-thinking us at every turn, taking away our jobs, and planning to establish a dictatorship of computers.

As much fun as these dire scenarios are to imagine, they are false. In fact, the development of advanced artificial intelligence, or superintelligence, opens up doors to discoveries never before imagined. While opinions vary about the speed with which superintelligence will develop, there is little doubt that within the next decade, the cognitive landscape will be very different than it is today.

https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/10/11/10-disruptions-that-will-revolutionize-education.html?cmp=eml-enl-dd-news1-rm&M=58240740&U=1468715

Nurturing Students - What We DO!

This is taken from the Education Week Special Report How students feel about school has high-stakes implications for the rest of their lives. The hallmarks of a disengaged student are well-known—poor attendance, low achievement, and too often, giving up on school completely. But cultivating the conditions and nurturing the relationships that allow all students to thrive in school require hard and deliberate work. In this report, Education Week takes an expansive look at student engagement and motivation and a range of strategies schools, educators, advocates, and parents are using to help students get—and stay—vested in their learning. In the resulting stories, it's clear that relationships are the linchpin.

Smithsonian Resource

Monday Morning Readyfrom Smithsonian Tween Tribune 

"Google Lets You Zip Through the Amazon Jungle"
This is the title of a featured article with lexile levels that can be chosen and even a Spanish version!

Tween Tribute 

They have articles for K-12 with quizzes and support! Great non-fiction pieces and the ability to ramp up the rigor! Another resource for Cape's awesome teachers!

Teen Read Week

Celebrate this week. Talk about books, and tell stories!