How to Ensure Your Classwork is Meaningful and Engaging

Hey Peeps! Traci from Dragonflies in First here! I wanted to share about something near and dear to my heart - Engaging and Meaningful classwork, which I've shared about a few times on my blog.

It is essential to incorporate engagement strategies into your classroom throughout your day in order to ensure maximum student takeaway. Worksheets cannot replace brainstorming and discussion, field trips (both physical and cyber space driven), games, manipulatives, movement and role-play, music, story-telling and visualization opportunities. These key aspects of engagement are essential in every primary classroom. 

However, there are times when worksheets are simply part of the day. And that's ok! Just keep in mind, they should not be considered busy work. The worksheets you chose to incorporate need to have merit within themselves.

• Can they be completed after/within partner or small group discussions?
• Are the part of delving into research?
• Are they true assessment opportunities that can guide instruction or provide vital progress monitoring data?

Worksheets have a bad rap in the minds of many teachers - and for good reason - when they are used for mindless busy work, very little is gained by the student and the teacher. They amount to a lot of wasted time.

Throughout my many years of teaching one thing I have definitely learned - and it took a LOOOOOONNNNNNGGGGG time to learn this - was to s.l.o.w. d.o.w.n. 

I don't mean work slowly. What I mean is - stop making the goal to get through your stack of work you scheduled for the day - but rather make everything meaningful, even the worksheets! Turn what is routine into something engaging and meaningful. 

This wasn't an easy shift in thinking. Like so many teachers, I am a task person. A list maker. I like to check things off, get things done and move on!

But that is definitely NOT the way to teach. Thorough understanding doesn't occur that way. No, I don't mean throw out your schedule! That's just crazy talk!!! Just make room in it for better teaching.

Giving myself permission (and sometimes simply forcing myself) to SLOW DOWN and wring every speck of learning out of each thing we do in class was a fabulous change for me. My first few years of teaching I always stressed about getting everything done and not "falling behind".

One of the biggest and best "shifts" I made in this area was in correcting work.

I rarely grade things on my own and pass them back. In my class my kiddos hear a lot of....

"Ok, grab your red pens and we'll go over this."

In the first weeks of school we go over the rules about the red pens and how to grade/go over your own work. The kids know that skipping ahead, marking something correct when it is actually wrong and just needs to be fixed, will result in a moved tile and a paper that is thrown away. If they get something wrong, they know it is absolutely no big deal however it is a HUGE deal if they don't fix it when we go over it.

One way I like to explain this is with my morning work routine. In my room we complete Morning Wake-Up at the beginning of each day. I allot and 30 minute time slot for this routine. Sometimes it takes less, sometimes a little more. But, on average this routine that some teachers spend 5-10 minutes on in their classrooms gets a lot of attention in our room.

Morning Wake Up is a review sheet that we do each day. I've had it bound into books that the kids keep in their desks. For the most part the kids can complete all of the aspects of each page on their own because it is review. However it remains a little bit challenging so they are not completely bored. The pages are routine, so there isn't a lot of teaching involved, they are allowed to confer with table mates and partners if they aren't sure (the "how to" on group and partner discussion is practiced at length in class so they understand the expectation and procedure). I have mine bound into a book for each student just to keep things quick and handy.

Here's one of the pages. Keep in mind that the question content/standards vary a bit throughout the year, but the format is always similar.

On most classwork I instruct the kiddos to work on their own, or with partners/small groups (we've discussed HOW to work together numerous times - so there are discussions - not just one kiddo telling the other kiddo(s) the answers.) For our morning work, the routine is always the same. The know exactly what to do each day so little, if any, instruction is needed.

A finished page would look something like this.

This is where many teachers put it away, or collect it and move on. But in my room, it's at this point where I say,

"Ok kiddos, let's go over this."

And they grab their red pens.

But this is the important part. I don't just tell them the answers and have them mark them right and fix any errors. Each and every day we do a little lesson on each question. I consider it a time where they teach me. Their job is to explain to me why their answer is correct and I do a lot of asking why. A LOT OF ASKING WHY.

This type of "going over" things is super important with worksheets. It ensures that your students are engaged in their learning, understand their answer choices and can do some reciprocal teaching which is another extremely important engagement strategy.

The first question is my favorite part. This is really hard first graders. Quite honestly, most of the time it requires some common sense that a few of them haven't quite developed yet. This type of "read the paragraph and answer the question" format is found on many worksheets... my procedure in grading/going over/discussing it is nearly always the same.

I will start the correcting of this problem with questions like:

Is it possible that a kid may not share?

Sure, we've all met kiddos on that playground that have difficulty with that.

Might the kid not like to play kickball?

Absolutely, it never said that the kids liked to play it. We really don't know how they feel.

Could kicking a ball far keep other kids from catching it?

Yes, it could go way over their heads or go by them too quickly.

Ok... so were there any clues to make one answer a BETTER choice than the rest?

The point here is that often times there will be more than one possible choice. I encourage the kiddos to search out evidence that will help support the BEST choice. They must give me the reason WHY they chose choice B. 

This is a great technique to use whenever going over short reads and answers. Simply stating the answer isn't enough. You can take any work similar to this so much farther. A lengthy, meaningful lesson can be made from one small paragraph. 

Have students underline evidence for their answers whenever they are completing worksheets - it doesn't matter if that task is in the written directions or not. 

For direct questions like this consider asking:  "Why isn't C the correct answer?" Or, "What's wrong with B? It starts with a capital."

Having kiddos explain why something is wrong allows them to engage higher level thinking and demonstrate a more thorough knowledge of a concept. When they CAN'T explain it - I know we have another opportunity for a well needed lesson.

This type of question allows us to discuss WHY the name of this picture follows a phonic or spelling rule we've learned about. Find opportunities to incorporate what you've been discussing in all of your classwork. Those phonic rules are all around us. Pointing them out constantly helps students associate real world to their learning.

Another important engagement strategy is drawing or illustrating. Incorporate this skill whenever space allows. The directions to "draw" something don't need to be written on the page. In fact, the back side of a worksheet often offers plenty of opportunity to take learning farther by asking students to illustrate words, main ideas, essential facts and so much more!

I LOVE to have them explain to me the phonic rule or spelling pattern found in words, rather than ask them to spell or read it correctly. AGAIN... the more they can explain, the higher level their thinking and the greater rules are embedded into their schema.

Reminding students to read ALL answer choices in questions whether or not they think they know the right answer right away is an important skill and allows for more practice and engagement. 

In "grading" or going over questions like the one shown below, take it further than simply saying "The answer is A" or "What is the answer?".

Instead incorporate things like:

"What is that mark at the end of that sentence? What does it mean?" "Both a and c end in e. Why doesn't the o in those words make the long o sound?" "What would they say if the DID follow the rules?"

This provides the kiddos with another opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge on sight and high frequency words who "do not follow the rules".

Place emphasis on letter formation, editing, grammar, and sentence construction on all things. Don't just save it for your writing block. Consistently being attentive to sentence structure and all that goes into writing will help further develop those skills. Just "fixing a sentence" on a fix-a-sentence activity isn't always engaging enough. Incorporate as many skills as possible. "Is there another way we could word this sentence?" "What adjective or vivid word could you add to make the sentence more interesting?"

Ask your kiddos to show complete number sentences for how they found their answers instead of simply writing a number or bubbling in an answer. For example on problem number 7, it would not be acceptable to only write 3. Whenever possible, have students explain their answers in a written sentence or two, draw a picture to illustrate the process or teach a friend how the equation is solved. 

In the end, a corrected, engaging student paper will look something like this:

Throughout the time we are "going over" our papers I walk around the classroom and monitor their happy marks (stars, hearts, happy faces... whatever they can draw quickly). To be honest it only takes 1 or 2 times of someone in class getting their paper thrown in the trash for "cheating and not correcting their paper the right way" along with moving their tile to ensure that the whole class does the right thing and stays focused on the important part... LEARNING. I emphasize over and over again that we all learn from our mistakes and explaining our thinking.

When I first started teaching, it was hard for me to see taking this much time on "grading" as anything other than a COLOSSAL WASTE OF TIME. After all, it's review, it should go quick. But I realized that this review was a perfect opportunity for the kiddos to completely consume these concepts. Eat them up, spit them back out, know them upside down, sideways and backwards. AND it helps me identify who knows the concept and who doesn't while allowing me to immediately address the issue.

Realizing I had to make a shift in thinking in order to ensure what we did in class was as meaningful and effective as could be definitely made me a better teacher and definitely helped my students become amazingly successful thinkers! 

If you feel that stress of getting through it all, I greatly recommend you try telling yourself to slow down and just spend a day doing a lot of asking why. Cut back on the worksheets, and make sure the ones you do use are valuable, engaging and provide thinking opportunities. Have your kiddos teach you and each other what they know. You will learn a lot about what they don't know and what you thought they "got" but really didn't. If you are nervous about slowing down and letting some things on the plan go - I promise you'll change your mind after shifting gears for a couple of days. Once you see the shift within your student's knowledge gain you will be so happy you took the time. Worried your higher level students will be bored? Don't be. They absolutely LOVE being able to teach a concept back to you. All of my kiddos are seriously incredibly engaged during these "grading" times.

You can check out Morning Wake Up here:

Kindergarten Morning Wake Up

1st Grade Morning Wake Up

2nd Grade Morning Wake Up

Enjoy your day peeps!

Easy Peasy Interactive Word Walls

Hey Peeps - Traci from Dragonflies in First Here! Today I am sharing an idea I posted a couple years ago over on my site about Easy Peasy  INTERACTIVE WORD WALLS. I had had a love-hate relationship with word walls for a very long time. I've always believed they were important, but faced a few word wall obstacles that made them a bit tough.

But after years of trials and changes - I have a system that works and I LOVE it!

Here's a run down on how I side-step those obstacles.

After trying a variety of locations, I discovered the best place is one that is easy for me to reach, easy for the kids to reach and easily seen. 

I use my cabinet doors.

Word wall letter labels shown here from Classroom Essentials Bundle. Sight word cards shown here from Homework Time.

I have found the best way to stick things to walls and cabinets (other than my beloved business card magnets - THOSE are amazing!) is the fabulous blue Fun-Tak! 

It sticks great AND allows things to be easily moved and removed. It hasn't left any residue on any of the surfaces I've used it on. I use it to stick up posters and cards to my walls, cabinets and even my white boards. It is reusable, so when I remove it from the back of something, I save it in a ball stuck inside my desk drawer for quick access. It isn't sticky or gummy. I seriously LOVE this stuff! You only need a little and those cards stay in place ALL YEAR!

Click here to follow my affiliate link to find Fun-Tak in Amazon.

Keeping ALL of the words we discuss/learn/assign (be it sight, high-frequency, or vocabulary) on the word wall all year lessens it's effectiveness.

After several weeks, I take down a few of the words I believe the kids have probably mastered.

We have a little spelling "test". I let the kiddos know that this is just for me and I won't be grading it. I have them number a paper that I have folded to make numbering with adequate space between columns easy for them. Then I ask them to spell the words I've taken off the wall.

Generally, most of the kids get them all right. But I do note the ones that are missed and who missed them. If the same word has been misspelled by more than 3 out of my 30 students I leave the word on the wall. Otherwise, I work with those kiddos to help them master the word and leave it off the wall.

"Checking in" periodically and removing words off the wall helps keep the chaos off the space and makes it easier for the kiddos to find the words they need. The word TAKE was an issue for 3 of my kiddos on this one, so the four of us had another little lesson on silent e.  ;)

Also, doing this cuts down on the time it takes to do some of our word wall interacting activities.

Each morning we practice our words. One of the students has the job of "pointer". That kiddo grabs the pointer from the cabinet, then points to the words as the rest of the class reads them. It's the pointer's job to go VERY fast and it's the kiddos job to keep up. They love the race. 

After they do all the words as a class, the pointer selects a student to read the words on their own. During this time, the class offers support as needed.

A child's stick is selected from the "blank" cup. If they read the words with no more than 2 errors, their stick is moved to the "Passed" cup. If not, it just goes back so they have an opportunity to be chosen again. This is a quick way for me to assess who has it and who doesn't.

The kiddos also LOVE to "read the wall" during independent word work. They are permitted to take turns pointing to the words. The only rule is that they must not use the name sticks during this time.

Each week I expose my kids to 9 more words to learn. Some are strictly sight words (can't be sounded out, don't follow the rules) and others are high-frequency words (introduced in order of frequency and often phonetic in nature). These words are part of their homework, and 4 of them are also part of their weekly spelling.

We practice these words in our core curriculum during the same time as well as our Morning Wake-Up and Daily Literacy Practice - basically everything that is part of our daily routine. After that week of introduction, the words are added to the word wall. The kids remember having learned them, so when they are searching for how to spell them, the wall serves as a perfect spelling dictionary.

So there you have it - a useful, forever changing word wall. Like I said, easy-peasy!

I hope this helps if you also struggle with a love-hate relationship with word walls. Moreover, I hope it helps to bring some simplicity into your teacher life!

Stop over and visit me at Dragonflies in First for more organization and simplification tips!

Bossy E FREEBIE!

Hey Peeps! In my first grade classroom all of us have FINALLY moved on to long vowels this month! Yay! It's always exciting when we reach this time of year.  I thought I'd share one of my favorite long vowel things with you. I LOVE teaching literacy. It's just so fun to see the "lightbulbs" go off as the kiddos get the rules and patterns involved with phonics. In fact, phonic rules are one of my absolute favorite things to teach. Even the kiddos who read FAR above grade level get a thrill out of the knowledge that are rules behind a lot of this wacky stuff that is English. 

"I KNEW it was a long A word, but I didn't know there was rule!"

Many of my kiddos who know the e is silent and the vowel it is associated with is long... have no idea there is an actual phonetic rule associated with it. But they "get it" the second you spell it all out for them. 
The best part is that with the introduction of this rule, a whole new world of reading opens up for a lot of kiddos. Now they can read a variety of readers, books and stories because long vowels become part of the everyday routine.
This little e goes by many monikers: Silent e Partner e Super e Magic e Lazy e I am sure there are more. But in my room, we call him Bossy e. Because, well, he bosses letters around. He reaches over one consonant sound and BONKS vowels on the head and tells them to say their name. He makes C and G turn SOFT... and he does all of this in SILENCE.

Display this little anchor chart on your wall to copy (trace over) on a large poster paper and you have an awesome tool to which your kiddos can refer while cementing all that Bossy e can do.

The whirlwind of phonetic rules for long vowels and vowel combinations will fill the remainder of our school year. Bossy e is the best way to start it off! 

Click the pic below to grab the anchor chart shown above and these two practice sheets.

Check out the Long Vowels Practice and Review and Bossy R and the Diphthongs for all kinds of long and vowel combination phonic rule activities!

  

Stop by and visit me over at Dragonflies in First for more ideas and freebies!

Close Reading Summer Passages

While others see the end in sight, I am still 6 weeks away from sweet, sweet summer. There is definitely a countdown going around, but we still have a ways to go!

I am using this limited time to really prepare my first graders for the rigor of 2nd grade. One way we do this is through our close reading passages in small groups. I love this time of year because all but one of my small groups can complete these with little guidance from me.

There they go, reading with highlighters and pencils in hand - swoon!

My groups complete either a fiction or non-fiction passage each week during their independent reading time I check in with my higher groups when they are finished with the vocabulary and comprehension pages and I check in with my middle group as they complete it to make sure they are going back into the text and gathering evidence to support their answers.

Our fiction passage for the week!

Comprehension page to answer after they read the text.

The fiction passage for the week! This little guy is highlighting the vocabulary words in the text (tropical, treetops, rigid) before he uses context clues to figure out the meaning of the word and complete the sentence frames.

I am hoping this act of reading and re-reading a story closely will better prepare my students for 2nd grade in a few short months!

The passages above can be found in my Close Reading Summer unit! All four seasons can be found below for a discounted price:

Yarn Alternative and a New Year FREEBIE!

Hey peeps!

Happy WINTER BREAK!!! Isn't it fabulous?! Did you sleep in?

I'm popping by real quick to ask you if you use embroidery floss.

This stuff...

I keep it separated in a little plastic case.

It's fabulous! It is super cheap, comes in a beautiful variety of colors and can be used for all sorts of things! Plus it takes up very little space - so it's easy to store.

I use it quite a bit instead of yarn. It's much prettier and not so "clumsy" looking.

I use it for the balloon string on this New Years project. Bulky yarn would just be too much.

That little New Year penguin is a quick, simple little lesson about resolutions and a cutie pie little penguin - perfect for a wintery bulletin board. 

One more little tip... Try using a variety of materials for your bulletin boards. I avoid butcher paper as much as possible. Fabric lasts longer, is reusable and stays vibrant.

For my snow themed January boards I put up batting from the fabric store (or Wal-Mart). It's a great "stand in" for snow. I love that these little New Year penguins are slip sliding 3D style! :)

Aren't the snowy hills fun?

We will be doing this little New Year Penguin project when we go back to school on January 5th. 

We also will be working on verb tense with this freebie reader available to my "fans" on my Facebook page. Just click the Exclusive Fan Freebies tab on my FB page from your browser (the mobile app doesn't show the tabs).

Enjoy every second of your break!!!