Making Thinking Visible Chapter 3

This chapter was pretty quick as it is just laying the structure of how the Thinking Routines are set up and why it was chosen this way.  My takeaway?  First, it reminds teachers that like any planning, you need to look at what specifically you wish to teach during planning in order to be more successful.  Though this felt redundant as I read this section, I have to admit I’ve been caught up in the flow of the year, trying to juggle everything that needs to be done, then needing to stop to remember the real reason I am in the classroom.  It’s not a string of activities; each hour is an opportunity to promote real growth.  I think all teachers need this reminder at some point, whether novice or veteran.

The thinking routines are set up under three categories to support the way we plan:  Introducing and Exploring, Synthesizing and Organizing, and Digging Deeper.  More explanation is given to thinking routines with the main idea being that the routines teach skills of thinking  that support and promote curiosity and true thought, that builds upon older ideas to give new learning.  This continues as real learning should come with new questions.  For some reason, the round “And the Green grass grew all around, and around, and the green grass grew all around,” rings in my head when I think of this.

When implemented properly, the skills will become intrinsic to use, teaching children how to learn.  Throw in kindness, respect, citizenship, self-discipline, and a passion to learn – a teacher can ask for no more.  🙂

My favorite quote from this chapter: “Through ongoing use of the routines, this idea that questions not only drive learning but also are outcomes of learning becomes embedded in the learning process.”

I love when children ask questions (with respect of course), some even that other teachers seem to find frustrating.  Their natural curiosity makes the day more interesting, and often entertaining.  It’s the children that keep me accountable.  The smallest comment reminds me why I teach such as a struggling reader who shares, “Mrs. Achée, last night I read just for fun!  Can I share the story with ____ today?”

 

Get Your Teach On Conference – Dallas!

Each summer I like to learn something new, usually choosing a subject focus such as reading or math. However, I want to try something different, so this year I plan to look for workshops that catch my eye or have been on my never-ending to do list. To Do list – check. That would be the book study Making Thinking Visible for the summer. I’ve already written a couple of posts. To Do list – check again – working to add readily available resources to my Writing Resources page. Eye Catcher – chaching. This came across my Facebook page: Get Your Teach On Dallas Conference. Check out the two day agenda.
I’ll attend the second through fourth grade block. The best ideas often come from our coworkers at large and this conference will give me a little bit of everything: math, reading, writing, technology, and engagement. Deeana Jump and Hope King both hold master’s degrees in education with over 10 years experience so I think I’ll come away with a lot. Deeana is going to talk about close reading, which I’ve tried, but would like to learn more.  Amy Lemons will also present; it was her Facebook post that inspired me. Amy has a reading program, Rooted in Reading, where she focuses on one mentor text a week. The books she has chosen are amazing.  I’ve used her idea some this past year with success. Students feel comfortable with the familiar text, showing higher engagement and thinking.  In this conference, she’s going to cover math.  I have great games and love to use number talks, but I’m looking forward to seeing something new.

I can’t wait to learn from these guys. Let’s be totally honest – I also look forward to Me Time, alone in a hotel room at night. Of course I’ll geek out pouring through my goodies from the day, clicking down internet rabbit holes influenced from my fresh ideas. I bet every teacher can relate.

Making Thinking Visible Chapter 2

This chapter discusses the idea that students need to interact with material rather than superficially receiving information passively and how we can actively make the thought process visible. I was really struck with the challenge to not let thinking left to chance. As teachers, we must maintain the thought process as our immediate goal before the standards. Does this reduce the importance of standards? I don’t think so. The standards provide accountability that we are providing a well rounded, balanced education. However, my prime goal when I teach is to pass on the value of a good education, the joy of learning.

My favorite quote in this chapter is, “What messages am I sending through the opportunities I create for my students about what learning is and how learning happens?” (p. 29) I model my thoughts and specific learning strategies, but how I can further model learning? The book suggests not using canned questions. It is important to listen to the students, then respond with further questions that is a true response to the student. Then students will feel safe and less likely to give an answer that predicts what the teacher wants to hear. We are also modeling active, respectful listening.

Intentional Opportunities for Thinking
So we do not move through lessons in a blind hope that the students learn, there are several suggestions to make our own and students’ thoughts more visible in order to respond effectively.
1. Questioning – Rather than using a list of essential questions, though I think this is also a valid tool, the book suggests asking questions flexibly, in response to the students, by asking your own questions that arise genuinely. The students are learning through your modeling.
2. Constructing Understanding – When I read this section, I basically think it means to use good Essential Questions – concept related questions that ask the students to analyze and synthesize information.
3. Clarifying Thinking – At my old school we called this facilitating students’ ability to explain their thinking. The more practice students have this, especially if you create a respectful community, the more interactive, collaborative learning you have as students think about what they mean and feed off of each others’ ideas. I think this is the most valuable to teaching the skills for students to succeed within a community – the ability to think, communicate thoughts, respect other viewpoints, contribute, and collaborate.

Practical Ideas
1. Provide specific praise verbalizing thinking strategies used. “I like the way you used your background knowledge to…”
2. When we…, When I read…, I was wondering (modeling own interest)
3. See/Think/Wonder (I’ve used this – like it)
4. What makes you say that? Can you explain that in a different way?
5. Sharing documentation from class discussions with peers to search for misconceptions

NPR Is Launching Its First Podcast For Kids With Updated Review| USA Extra News

I am so excited! I just stumbled across this on Facebook. I have another way to bring relevant current events to my students. I’ve received great interest from my kids when I use newsela. Now I have podcast to add to the agenda. I’m thinking writing responses, persuasive essays, research inquiry, and teaching standards such as generating questions. This is technology I can use well. I love a good story, but nonfiction fosters engagement and discussion so easily. Click on the title below to learn more.

Wow in the World: NPR for Children Ages 5 – 12

Update Review May 22, 2017

This podcast is divided into multiple segments with highly expressive presenters, Guy Raz and Mindy Thomas.  When I first saw the podcast was 24 minutes, I thought, oh no, this is simply too long.  Once I began listening, I realized the format covers multiple topics.  This means a teacher would need to preview, then notate the beginning/end of each segment.  Since this a method that is effective for auditory learners, plus provides practice in active listening, then my opinion is that it’s worth my time.  Each episode, written by number Ex: Episode 1, has Conversation Starters for the family/class and links to written articles.  If you use only one section in the podcast, you could push the link to the entire podcast and included features through an app such as Bloomz, Remind, or your website.

Introduction 0:00 – 1:44

Planet 9  1:45 – 7:12

Conversation and Creative Story told by young girl, Birdy 7:14 – 9:05

Commercial 9:05 – 9:50

Origin of Humans and How our Brains became Smarter with Seaweed 9:50 – 17:50

Conversation with Kids 17:55 – 18:30

Gratitude is Healthy 18:35 – 22:20

Conclusion 22:21 – 24:16

In the first segment about the search for Planet 9, I thought about how it could be used during a solar system or for a research unit. Questions I would model during this podcast would be: How can kids and adults with simple telescopes help scientists with sophisticated technology find this planet?  Why do scientist estimate the size of this planet to be 15 times the size of Earth?  Visuals could be present for groups to collaborate in putting the planets in the correct order, generating questions, and coming up with a practical plan of how to answer these questions.

How our brains become smarter was mildly interesting.  Mainly I wondered if so much seaweed and eating diet evolved our brains, what will be the long term effect of how we eat today?  I could research, but I might not like the answer. 🙂  In the Gratitude segment, I can visualize setting up a classroom environment of respect and appreciation.

As you can see by the time segments, I’ve noted you can move the cursor forward and backwards to play only the parts relevant to your lesson.  My final thoughts:  I think I will use pieces of this.  The hardest aspect will be making the time to preview and jot down the times.  It helps that the conversation starters and article links included tell you which topics will be presented.  This will save time because you know if a topic may coordinate with the current or future standards which need to be addressed.

 

Making Thinking Visible Self Study

This past year, I took math professional development courses to round out my training. However, a huge desire has been to study Making Thinking Visible

    by Ron Ritchart, Mark Church, and Karin Morrison. When I glance through the book, I find that I use many of these strategies, but I’m always looking to improve how I can realize what the students are thinking and comprehending. How can I share my own thoughts to spark engaged thought? We use lots of post-its to share with others in my classroom; they’re kind of a favorite. In stores, I stop to see what new ideas can be found in this department – crazy or just the sign of a teacher? It’s an easy strategy to let students collaborate, showing not only their ideas, but their questions too. So my plan is to document my reflections, chapter by chapter on this blog, so I can return to see what stands, what passes, and what changes.

    Chapter One “Unpacking Thinking”
    In chapter one, we as teachers are challenged to understand thinking as the goal rather than the process to achieve a different goal. “Research into understanding…indicates that understanding is not a precursor to application, analysis, evaluating, and creating but a result of it.” Understanding comes through thinking about our observations,conversations, and actions.

    Connections
    One way I’ve used this in the classroom is through book clubs and KWHL charts. Students independently write or draw about what they’ve read by choosing from a list of reading prompts or through specific questions, then come together as a group to share what they thought, noticed, and felt about each chapter. I could see their thoughts in their Book Club Folders, but what I hope to gain from this book is how to improve upon this. I’ve used SeeSaw in the classroom. Perhaps I could incorporate SeeSaw into the weekly discussion or into one of their prompts such as allowing one question to be answered via voice recording.

    Authentic, Critical Thought
    Chapter one also questions what type of engagement is happening within the classrooms. Is it authentic to what real life. As an example, is the writing what real writers would be doing? Then it expands this idea to question how thinking is being applied to these activities. I feel I am doing fairly well here; it’s an area where I receive good review, however there’s always room for improvement. It states that students should be describing, interpreting, reasoning, connecting, comparing, considering multiple perspectives, and forming conclusions. I tend to ask a lot of questions to create critical thinking, but it’s usually spur of the moment. Can I be more intentional with my questions, including them more often within my lesson plans (I do this, but could use more). Absolutely. Each year I type of goals for myself. Goal #1 2017 -2018 Include the Essential Questions within your lesson plans if not already there.

    Conclusion
    The chapter ends with discussing using concept maps within the classroom as a starting point in teaching students to be aware of of their thinking, gaining strategies to deepen understanding. The idea of making thoughts visible is not only for the students, but also to make our thoughts more visible to the students. I’m very excited to learn through this book study.

    Practical Ideas
    Questions with Depth and Complexity
    Concept Maps

    Below is the list we used for Reading Response Stems in second grade this past year. We shortened it to 50 prompts, then students could choose a prompt daily to discuss with a small group at the end of the week.

    100_Reader_Response_PROMPTS (1) (1)-1o1j3br