Differentiated Instruction

Does one size fit all? Many seem to think so. Jeanie Rottle’s presentation referencing Differentiated Instruction and the various strategies was certainly insightful. I have taught at the various levels and used a multitude of strategies in the past. One of the most important components of the workshop involved the use of multiple intelligence charting. Differentiated Instruction is extremely beneficial to students as well as teachers. We live in a diverse society and our schools are representative of the aforementioned. When instituted in a professional manner, differentiated instruction can ensure success for all students. One size does not fit all!

Differentiated Instruction

I saw many posts on differentiated instruction and I realized that I was wanting to ignore them. I want to ignore differentiated instruction for many reasons...but mainly because it does involve extra work and planning. I have been teaching at least one inclusion class for the last 4 years (with 4 different sped teachers) and I have found that a good sped teacher can really help with differentiation. I've been with the good and the bad but I have learned lessons from all of them. Even the worst of the sped teachers I worked with taught me some basic skills on creating and maintaining relationships with students. She gave me no teaching assistance but she spent a lot of time cultivating caring relationships with students and when it is all said and done, her care may be the important thing a student gains all year. The best of the sped teachers I have worked with shared with me her arsenal of good strategies for hands-on learning...a lot of cut and paste that really, all the kids like....and that same sped teacher also has good ideas for basic drill and practice which is necessary for many slower or reluctant learners. And I say reluctant because many kids aren't really "slow", they just have too many other dramas playing out in their minds to always let real learning in. With differentiation, not only are learning opportunities modified but time limits and grading are also modified. The inclusion kids can do as much as most of the others many times they just need more time. I get in a hurry and have to remember to slow down so that every student can learn. I see differentiation is an ongoing challenge that I will keep working at.

Thinking Maps

When I think back to all the professional development I have had this year....and there has been a lot for me....one of of the workshops that really excited me the most was the thinking maps one. Christy Nolan came to our school and gave us a class that defined and showed us how to use thinking maps. I don't want to say "everybody" because it is never "everybody"...but most of the teachers I talked to were excited about them, too. Our media specialist even commented several times that it was so nice to see so many teachers engaged and even laughing during Christy's couple of days at our school. We are looking at using thinking maps school wide at our school next year. I think that is a great idea. Using the thinking maps over and over along the three grade levels will help it become ingrained and give students learning tools they can use in high school and college. I also find the thinking maps a handy way to organize data myself.

2009-2010 TSS Blog: Differentiated Instruction

2009-2010 TSS Blog: Differentiated Instruction
Being the 1st grade inclusion teacher at my school this year, I've found myself searching for ways to differentiate instruction so that all my students receive what they need in order to be successful. Jeanie Rottle offered some valuable and useful ideas I was able to incorporate into my classroom. The most useful tool for me was the curriculum map which addresses all learning styles. It is such a well laid out and thought out graphic organizer which makes addressing all subject areas and learning styles an easy task. Evidently, visual learning is one of my styles because seeing it all written out on this organizer made the task at hand much clearer. At the workshop I picked up extra curriculum maps for my 1st grade team and had them laminated. I look forward to us working together this next year and planning according to Jeanie Rottle's maps.

Tammy Durrance
Fox Elementary

Differentiated Instruction

My differentiation journey began years ago in the classroom. Differentiation does not take place over night; think of it as a wonderful work in progress. Once I felt comfortable with one aspect of differentiation, I would begin to add something new. For example, I first explained to my students and their parents what would be taking place that year and how it would affect their learning in a positive manner. I then added small things such as allowing my students choices in their reading and writing. I worked extremely hard that year, but the experience taught me so much. Take ample time to plan, plan, plan!

Differentiation

Jeanie Rottle presented some great strategies on differentiating instruction. I actually tried the learning styles assessment at the beginning of this school year for the first time. Using this assessment gave me even more ways to group my students. It also helped cut out students questioning why some of them have different assignments or tasks than others (my swd). I am excited to use the multiple intelligence chart while lesson planning to see if I can develop tasks that cover each learning style AND she gave use a breakdown of ideas in the booklet! That makes the challenge that much easier. Thanks Jeanie

M. L. Tate

If you need suggestions on how to address every learning style, grab Marcia Tate's book Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites. I was pleased to find I use many of her strategies such as movement/games (we set chairs up in a 3x3 block and play tic-tac-toe when we review for a quiz, the students are divded into two teams X's and O's), acting out a concept, writing songs or poems. One strategy I had not used was music. I have since implemented it into my lessons with great success. I thought it would be a huge flop and I kind of dreaded trying it because I thought I would have to deal with smart remarks about the genre of music, but the kids were curious! One thing I learned by trial and error was it worked better if some type of classical music was playing before my students entered the classroom. I shared this with my peers and team teachers began using it as well. Now the students ask what the title of the songs are and who the composer is!

Mentoring

I began my teaching career by accepting a position at a school where over a period of three months, in the sixth grade classroom I was assigned to, there been several substitute teachers. By the end of the week I had packed my belongings and decided to inform the principal I wasn't coming back. Well look at me now!!
I would not be here today if I had not been given support from not only my building mentor but also the mentoring program the district offers. The ability to make me laugh (even when I didn't want to) and to look at the big picture (I was in charge, not them) is what kept me from walking out that day. When I reflect back on how my mentor assisted me, I can clearly see that good mentoring is like good parenting. You have to help a baby learn how to walk before it can run.
One thing we are not taught in college is how many hats many of us have to wear during a school year. I think organizational skills are important to master because most of us agree life is just so much easier if you know where something is when you need it! A skill I need to further develop is to become a better listener. When I first began teaching sometimes I just needed to vent (still do from time to time) and didn't really want to be given any ideas or suggestions. I just wanted someone to hear how I was feeling and to release built up frustration. One of the most important things I want to discuss with my mentee is how important it is to take some ME time EACH day. They need to be aware that we are caregivers at home and also in this profession. We take care of so many, but if we don't take care of ourselves everyone loses out.

Summer

When did life get so busy? Everyday there seems to be a new list of chores to complete. Between cum folders and report cards it's hard to smile but we must keep going toward the prize! Before we know it summer will be here and we will wonder where did this year go? Keep on keeping on!!

School is not over!

Students seem to feel school is over. We all know better. This week I have had my students complete powerpoints and create menus for word problems. What a fun week! I don't think I have had a minute to stop until now. Whew! I know my students are feeling great about their third grade year. I can't wait until I get to show the students off at Awards day!

Post for Maria Holloway

May 20, 2010
Marcia Tate: Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites
What a privilege I had in attending this workshop. I longed to change who I was as a teacher and as a person almost immediately. Marcia reinforced what I already knew, that the whole child must be embraced and nurtured. Her passion and energy reignited the yearning within me to be beyond great. I have already begun implementing strategies in my classroom and have seen a drastic improvement in my students’ achievement and confidence. I allow my students to move every 20 minutes, create songs about facts they are learning, and laugh. I know that I am a better person because of the impact Marcia had on my heart, mind, and soul. Thanks Marcia!
Maria Holloway
Reese Road Leadership Academy



May 20, 2010
Differentiation
Yipee! Finally Implementation strategies for differentiation. I have been in many workshops where the idea/concept was introduced, but have never been given actual ideas for how to differentiate. I was very excited to hear the speaker speak to Howard Gardner’s 8 Smarts. Our school is a Conversion Charter and Howard Gardner’s 8 Smarts along with Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is our focus. I am thrilled that we all are being encouraged to teach to the multiple intelligences. After all, it’s not how smart we are, it is how we are smart!

Maria Holloway
Reese Road Leadership Academy

Post for Cherie Jones

I thoroughly enjoyed Marcia Tate. She kept my attention the
> whole time. I appreciated her humor. I have already heard of many of
> her strategies and perform them currently. Some strategies I use already are:
> I use a bell to get my class back to order and I repeat myself several times
> when I am telling them something extremely important. Ms. Tate is right,
> one of the ways we remember is through repetition of information. My
> students will laugh at me when I repeat myself over and over again. I
> explain to them the reason behind my repetition and they understand
> and seem to agree with me, because they do not forget when I do that.
> Another thing that I do is role play. They seem to retain the
> information that I am trying to get across when I do that. Especially when I provide them with
> some kind of visual that goes along with the text and lecture. I always
> make them draw a picture of the concept. I also use graphic organizers. My
> favorite is comparing and contrasting using a Venn Diagram. I also agree
> with her about keeping the children moving! That is what I try to do a lot.
> I use a lot of hands on activities for learning. I have also used the
> jigsaw method and let them teach a concept from the chapter to the class.
> They love to do that! It gives them a wonderful feeling of
> accomplishment and they feel they are part of the teaching process
> because they have gained enough knowledge over the concept in order to teach it.
>
> One thing I want to try that Ms. Tate recommended is the music in
> the classroom. I use acronyms to help the students remember things
> like the colors in the rainbow or the order of the planets from the
> Sun. However, I would like to come up with songs to help them
> remember. I also would like to try to let them listen to some
> classical music as they are working. I feel as though it will help
> them stay focused on their work and that it will provide a calming
> effect for them in the classroom. I plan on reading her book that she
> wrote and gave us a copy of in order to try and implement some more of her strategies in my classroom.
>
> Thanks! Cherie Jones

Post for Markeysha Kirksey

10/19/09
One thing to discuss with mentee.
One thing I can discuss with my mentee is how the school year has been so far. I would like to know of any struggles she is having and would like my assistance with. This is not her first year as a teacher but this is her first year as a kindergarten teacher. I wonder what challenges she expects to see when she returns from her maternity leave. I would like to offer her as much help as I can to help her adjust to being in kindergarten and having to be away for such a long period of time to share time with her new baby.

1/29/10
Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites
Marcia Tate was AWESOME. Some of the strategies she told us about, I am currently using in my classroom but I would like to use more. I am figuring out ways to use more visuals with my students. With us being a Cornerstone school I am already using music and movement a lot. I cannot express how much she has helped me become the teacher that I am today. My first time seeing her inspired me so much that I thought I wouldn’t gain much from this class. Little to say, I was very wrong. I was even able to use her book to inspire some of my classmates in my doctorial studies. I was amazed to find out that they had never even heard of her.

2/26/10
Idea Fair
The Idea Fair was very interesting. I was impressed to see the variety of booths that were there. I would have liked to walk around to see some of the exhibits. I think I am going to sign up next year to visit instead of have a booth. The atmosphere was filled with excitement. I know it is designed for new teachers but I think experienced teachers most definitely benefited from this fair.

Post for Derick Pugh

Derick Pugh - Marcia Tate Post:
I enjoyed Marcia Tate's seminar. She had a way to keep me engaged by constantly changing what we were doing. She found ways to not only keep my attention, but inspire me to motivate my students in ways that I had not thought of before.
I think it was the perfect time for someone like Marcia to come in and speak. I personally was having a frustrating semester, so like I said, it could not have come at a better time. When we as "veteran teachers" have frustrating semesters, it is difficult (for me at least) to stay upbeat, movtivated, etc. about teaching (esp. to my mentee).
Marcia's workbook has really helped me this year, as I have used several of the strategies listed.
One that my students really liked was the music. I encouraged them to find new ways to learn our School Wide Vocabulary. Several of my students created rap songs (clean lyrics...don't worry) using all of the School Wide Vocabulary that we have covered thus far at HHS.
Again, I would like to reiterate that I truly enjoyed listening and adapting Marcia's strategies to my classroom.
Thanks,
Derick PUgh

Post for Cherie Jones

The book that we were given is very useful. I also appreciate the charts. I will go through and use some of the strategies. I brought one back for my mentee to use as well. I will share with him what we talked about in the training. I already use some of the strategies that we went over. I love doing Bloom’s Taxonomy. I do that with my language arts class now. They choose three activities to do now from the Bloom’s Taxonomy Chart that I made up. I will put up the big Bloom’s Taxonomy chart we were given and use it in my classroom as a visual. This will help them with what they have to do now. I like the way all of the “verbs” are listed. I also like the idea of “Anchor Activities”. There are many times when some of my students finish the lesson early, this way they ALWAYS have a CHOICE of something to do. This can also be used as extra credit because they are always asking me if they can do extra credit. I will probably do the multiple intelligence tests at the beginning of next school year. This will give me some good information about the way my students learn from the start! Knowing that is half the battle!

Post for Sue Ellen Williams

I will continue doing curriculum maping in the classroom. I learned that students learn best when it is a little too hard for them. I think it would be good to have the students figure how they learn best through using multiple intelligences. That could help me with challenging students and empower students to know how they learn best. I would like to do the survey either at the end of this year or the beginning of next year. I teach a lot of the same students 6-8th grades.
I love to change the classroom routines and play a game with the content. I already do some of this on Friday. The seventh grade boys like to play basketball with two teams. They can only shoot the basket after they either sing a Do Re Mi or name a note or rest. They really like to do this. I'd like to expand on this idea.
I would like to move to higher thinking order questions with Bloom's verbs. Have students compose a melody or create a poem that could become the text in a song. Students could work together to create something origional.
We have started to break into small groups to sight read. I would like to expand that to questioning each other about note names and key signature names. After they have this information we could play a game with the material.
I would share these things with my student teacher and with those who visit my classroom. Also with other choral teachers who need my help making their classrooms more engaging.
I am glad I was able to get this information in this form. It could prove to be very useful in making my classroom more engaging to my students.
Sue Ellen Williams
Double Churches Middle School

Post for Ben Travers

Blog for Ben Travers
The workshop on differentiated instruction was well presented and much needed. I thoroughly enjoyed and gained some much needed strategies. Jeani Rottle introduced numerous ways to diagnosis students, as well as strategies for instructing students with special needs. I am looking forward to implementing these strategies as soon as C. R. C. T. is complete. I plan on creating a curriculum map with a few strategies and lessons developed with some differentiated instruction.
My first plan of attack would be to create lessons and activities with a wide range of intelligences. The multiple intelligences survey will be completed by each of my students, graphed, and filed in portfolios for easy viewing. I will also make sure each standard taught would have lessons that touch each of these intelligences. I’ve noticed that so much of my instruction is in areas I’m comfortable with (NO MUSIC). I will try harder to incorporate more music and interpersonal intelligences for now on. The use of Bloom’s verb will also become a larger part of my instruction. I see that most of my instruction only covers to level three of Bloom’s Taxonomy. I will incorporate activities that use verbs from higher order levels of thinking. Again, this workshop was extremely beneficial and will enhance my instruction for all students.

Post for Frances Spencer

Jeani Rottle offered factual and practical material we need and can use. I was very excited to receive the charts to assist in planning using multiple intelligences. I can write exemplary brain-capatible lesson plans by merely making strategy choices from the various charts. I have created a table that I call the “Palette.” Students can come to the table and select “Mini maps” that list the essential questions, tells the time frame and end points as well as the standards and benchmarks that are to be met. I will use the framework offered to increase my capacity to tier assignments and lessons. I will address the varied learning needs with my “Palette.” In my content centers students will be able to explore, extend and reinforce knowledge based on their personal interest. I like giving my students choices. She was a confirmation to my teaching style. I know that differentiated instruction is the only way new and veteran teachers can insure students learn the information offered. I made charts and banners all around the school that inform students as well as my peers. I made parking lot signs for all the members of my team. I model the different strategies in my displays throughout the school. I use students on the various teams to complete task. The teachers on the team buy in and are excited about collaborating. I have students that have mastered the design concept that work independently with the different content teachers on class assignments and link them to art class processes. I wish she was here at the beginning to the year!

Post for Amy Patrick

Jeani Rottle’s presentation on Differentiated Instruction was extremely eye-opening for me. As a teacher, I always am reminded to differentiate instruction; however, I was never explicitly told how to differentiate instruction. I really enjoyed the curriculum map that Jeani Rottle presented as it was easy for me to see how I can teach to all modalities. I can’t wait to do the survey with my students and see how they learn so that I can better instruct my students. I am looking forward to sitting down with my grade level to create a unit or two where we can create activities that go along with all learning styles. Another important piece of information that I walked away with from this presentation was the verbs that combine Bloom’s taxonomy with the learning styles. I am really looking forward to using what I have learned as well as sharing this information with my mentee and other faculty members.
Amy Patrick

Post for Sureya Fowler

Marcia Tate-Brain Based Strategies
Marcia Tate is an awesome presenter! In the education profession, teachers are consistently told that we must have a classroom that is engaging and one that provides engaging lessons in which students think on a higher level, they move about, and they make connections. However, when we attend professional development workshops, many of the presenters lecture and can’t provide strategies that address all learners. Dr. Tate truly provided strategies that address every learner in the classroom.
I was on the edge of my seat the entire time as she discussed her strategies and then modeled each one! What a breath of fresh air! Many will tell you what should be done; however, no one wants to model it. Since attending Dr. Tate’s workshop, I have incorporated the music in my classroom. Music really changes the dynamics of the classroom. In addition to the music, as I plan my lessons, I focus on making sure I incorporate activities that require the students to communicate within their groups and then move out and share and assist other peers in the classroom. Also, I have the students to get up and act out various elements of the standards.
I enjoyed Dr. Tate so much that I discussed the workshop with my principal. We were able to get her to present to our faculty. Our faculty really enjoyed her presentation and she left us with a wealth of strategies that many teachers in the building have begun to incorporate in their day to day instruction. What I really love about her coming to my school is that my mentee had an opportunity to see the presentation, and she now understands why I was incorporating the music and activities in my lessons. My mentee has also embraced the various strategies and have begun to incorporate them into her instructions as well.

Sureya Hendrick-Fowler



Mentoring
I have been in the education profession for over 13 years and I can truly say that I love it. In these 13 years I have been blessed to have come into contact with strong veterans in which I could discuss my concerns, celebrate my successes, and address my weaknesses. In helping my mentee, I think the first thing I would share and assist her with would be classroom management. In my teacher preparation class at the university in which I attended, we were told that classroom management is essential to learning; therefore, if classroom management is not mastered first, learning can’t and will not take place.
In helping my mentee with classroom management, I would stress the importance of addressing expectations of the children. I feel students do not rise to “low expectations”. Also, I feel that it is essential to review and practice classroom procedures, rituals, and routines. Also, I would help in showing my mentee how to organize the room, organize instructional and student information, effectively manage time for the best results, and manage and retrieve instructional information that assist in maximizing instructional time.
I really feel that a good mentor is the facilitator that helps the mentee through the year. However, I feel that the mentee should not try to imitate the mentor, but go in her classroom, learn her students and their instructional needs, and then take the classroom theory, the various instructional strategies and information, and the wisdom that has been imparted by the mentor and other in order to develop a classroom setting that fits the needs of her children, as well as express her personality, passion, and love for the profession and the children.

Sureya Hendrick-Fowler




Differentiated Instruction:
I really enjoyed the presentation by Mrs. Rottle. The vast resources that she provided us with have and will continue help in making my instruction and that of my mentees a success. I simply enjoyed taking the multiple intelligences survey and charting out my results. I really feel that charting out the results of the intelligence survey is powerful because it provides not only the teacher with a visual of the diversity of the class, but it provides the individual student with a visual of the diversity of their abilities and their interests.
In addition to charting the results of the multiple intelligences survey, mapping the various activities using the multiple intelligences categories helps the teacher to stay aware and plan for activities that will address all the intelligences within the classroom. I feel that the map provides the teacher with a big picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the lessons that were planned for a unit. When identifying the weak areas, the teacher can then go back and quickly make adjustments to those lessons and activities so they address as many learning styles as possible.
In addition to the multiple intelligences, the chart with Bloom’s taxonomy will be very helpful during planning. Rigor, relevance, and relationship are key, and the wall size chart makes the teacher cognoscente of what is needed to move students from basic acquisition of information to high order thinking.

Sureya Hendrick-Fowler

Post for Diane Ventimiglia

I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop on differentiated instruction and have started many ideas in my classroom this year. I have started looking at the curriculum map for next year and planning ways it will help my grade level and sharing it with them and others. I also liked the ideas of giving the students choice boards. I have done some of these in the past, but gained a variety of new ideas from the workshop that I plan to do with my class. I have also asked the students to create ideas they might like on their own. The class and I have also looked at the activity “How are you smart” and they enjoyed seeing what intelligences they are.

Post for Markeysha Kirksey

Differentiated Instruction
Mrs. Rottle did an excellent job of providing us with information that would help us achieve our goal of providing differentiated instruction. While listening to the presentation I became aware of how well I am doing as a teacher. A portion of the strategies she showed us I was already using in my classroom. I began to feel really good about my progress. My favorite part of the presentation was when she showed us the students learning about worms. She showed a variety of ways for the students to gain the necessary information to meet the standard. All students were able to decide which activity met their personal learning ability need. I would love to see Mrs. Rottle present again.

Post for Julie Hagan

TSS Blog Entries
Julie Hagan

Roles and Responsibilities of Mentoring
In thinking of how I would go about mentoring a new teacher, I think the most important aspect to being a mentor is simply being available and listening to the needs of the mentee. My first year of teaching was difficult; I was assigned a mentor who never contacted me…at all. I was teaching 9th and 10th grade English and she taught on the other side of the school. We didn’t have the same planning periods and therefore, never even saw each other during the day. I struggled that year to find my way both in the curriculum and planning, as well as in the day to day procedures and policies. I remember thinking to myself that I would make sure to befriend a new teacher the next year and help them in the ways that I wasn’t helped. I have tried this year to be available to my mentee as much as possible, in the hope that I would help make her first year a great one.

Marcia Tate
Marcia Tate was amazing. Her zeal and excitement for teaching really re-energized me to go back into the classroom for the remainder of the school year. I found myself wishing I had heard her sooner! I really connected to her strategies for teaching vocabulary. I went back to my Language Arts class and used the strategy of completing the synonyms for each vocabulary term and the kids really responded to it. They even wanted to come up with some clues on their own for future vocabulary lists. I also used the jigsaw method with my Georgia Studies class. They worked in groups to prepare material and then split up to teach the concept to the other groups. I enjoy doing group work in my classes and keeping the kids moving so they don’t get bored, and this really seemed to engage them in the process. I think that Marcia is the type of teacher I wish I’d had!

Differentiated Instruction
I will take two things away from the workshop on Differentiated Instruction: the curriculum map and the learning styles test. I have tried to map my curriculum in the past, but always found myself bogged down with too much information. Jeanni Rottle’s maps were so easy to follow that I went up during the breaks and copied as much of the format as I could! I can’t wait to find out what I’m teaching next year and start making my maps. I also plan to use the learning styles test at the beginning of next year with my classes. I think they will find it fascinating to see how they learn best, and it will be a great asset to me as I plan my units! I look forward to seeing how it helps both me and my students.

Post for Marilyn Hall

Roles and Responsibilities of a Mentor Teacher
I remember when I was a new teacher and my mentor didn’t do anything to help me adjust to my new “life”. Someone else came in and rescued me and I still remember how much it meant to me to have someone to answer my frequent questions and calm my anxieties. I suppose those are the main qualities I wanted to display when I became a mentor. It hasn’t been easy because we are not on the same wing and do not have common planning periods, but she has been very receptive to my dropping in unannounced. She has some great ideas, but never went through an education program anywhere, so still has a lot to learn about not taking students’ actions personally. My hope is that she will always feel comfortable to ask for help and to receive any advice I may try to give.

Marcia Tate
WOW! What a motivator! I wish I could have heard her a long time ago. Her jigsaw method worked in math when we came to a concept that utilized prior knowledge. We broke into groups and each reviewed to rest of the class on what they already knew and I finished it with the new eighth grade standard that was related. I had already been using some of the word connection ideas as my students kept a math dictionary where they wrote the word, defined it, and drew a picture or example that made a connection to the word. I also have always liked graphic organizers. She just gave me a fresh fire and started me thinking.


Differentiated Instruction
I was so excited when she talked about the learning style inventory. I had used that for two years but did not this year as it was my first year in eighth grade. But after hearing the research and utilization of this inventory, I definitely plan to use it next year. I also got excited about the curriculum maps. When I can start that at the first of the year it will be such a great help. It is so easy to follow and simplifies my life.

Differentiated Instruction

I enjoyed the presentation on differentiation in the classroom given by Jeani Rottle. I was impressed with her concise compilation of materials and delivery. She truly hit the "highlights" from several different authors and presented them in a user friendly fashion. One of the areas I plan to implement in my classroom is the testing of multiple intelligences. I have always tested my Intro students using the Barsch Learning Styles Inventory; however, after taking this test and plotting it on the graph, I have decided this survey is much more thorough and identifies the areas that will benefit me more in differerentiating my instruction. One of the other topics she discussed was curriculum mapping. I found this to be more helpful than any training or program I have seen. It was very basic, but very useful for day to day and week to week use. I plan to share this layout with the teacher that I plan with in my program. It will help us tremendously document in a chart form what we both do and when we do it. This simple procedure will help me determine what my focus is and how to accomplish it.
All in all, the day was very positive and productive and I hope to improve the differentiation of instruction in my classroom.

2009-2010 TSS Blog: 2009-2010 TSS Blog: Differentiation!

2009-2010 TSS Blog: 2009-2010 TSS Blog: Differentiation!
Jeani Rottle's presentation on Differentiated Instruction was very informative. I am in the process of making some choice boards for my guidance classes. I am going to use my choice boards a little different. For example, after a unit on Stranger Danger, I am going to let the students choose an activity from the choice board and that is what they will do for that guidance class. The choice board of course would have activities that would relate to the Stranger Danger lessons. Hopefully, the students will enjoy the freedom of being able to choose what activity they want to do from the choice board.
Also, I really liked Jeami Rottle's classroom rules. The rules are very simple and to the point. It has been my experience that children seem to respond better when rules, lessons, and activities are not lengthy.
I have already shared with some of the teachers the Differentiated Instruction strategies and made them aware that they can use the manual at anytime to get new fresh ideas to deliver a lesson. I would like to share with the teachers the useful verbs, sample question stems, & potential activity chart with them soon. Hopefully, each teacher will be able to get a chart to help them with planning and discussions.

Response to Differentiation

Question: After attending the Differentiating Instruction session, what information will you incorporate in your planning and instruction and what information will you share with others?

My Answer: There were two resources that I loved. The first was the chart that was distributed where you can essentially map your curriculum and then list how you address each learning style. I will definately use that and share it with others. I will probably utilize the chart most when teaching Accounting and Business Management, which tend to be more lecture-oriented and less hands-on. The second item that I found most useful was the learning styles test. I already use a similar test with my students during the first week of school as a "get-to-know-you" type activity, and then I make a note the results in my gradebook. Because I teach a lot of the same students more than once, they tend to get tired of the same test. This one will give me a new one to use as a alternate.

Marcia Tate

The Marcia Tate workshop has been one of the best workshops I have been to....ever. I am constantly thinking about the things she said and the suggestions she gave for effective teaching and learning. I already implement some of her suggestions. My students write and compare and contrast. I try to keep them moving and I try to make sure the class is always changing gears and not stuck in lecture mode or worksheet mode. I give my students a chance to talk every day. I concentrate on teaching science vocabulary and I have tried Tate's vocabulary tactic of writing the first few letters of common synonyms around the word and leading the students to coming up with the word.

Music was what really interested me. I love music. I always score high in musical intelligence. I know there are plenty of kids who also love music. I don't like much of the "sex inspired" music kids listen to these days. However, I'd like to incorporate music into my classroom. I know there is plenty of music that everyone enjoys and I will look this summer for some science music that is designed to teach content. I have an iPod and I just bought some new iPod speakers. I think that is a start. I want to begin next year with music being an intrinsic part of my science classes.

MARCIA TATE - Brain Based Strategies

Dr. Tate was a phenomenal speaker! The workshop was very informative and entertaining. Even though I knew some of the material, it did not bore me or put me to sleep. I could not wait to greet my students at the door the following morning! During my many years of teaching, I often play music in the classroom. One morning my principal joined the class as we danced the morning shuffle by jazz group, "Hiroshima - Our Wish".
Some of my favorite personal notes:
- As your body gets number, your brain gets dumber. My students love moving!
- Your brain weighs three pounds and has a consistency like tofu and jello. YUCK!
- Keep the kids moving. Strong muscle memory. My students love chants and cheers!
- Sleep 7-9 hours a night. I am lucky if I get to bed before 11:00 PM, and I get up at 5:00 each morning!
- When you think positive, you attract positive. When you think negative, you attract negative. A daily reminder for my students!
I would strongly recommend a workshop with Dr. Tate. She introduced many strategies that I will continue to utilize in the classroom. At the end of the day I probably grew a few new dendrites, too!

2009-2010 TSS Blog: Differentiation!

2009-2010 TSS Blog: Differentiation!
I enjoyed hearing Jeani Rottle speak. I left her presentation with several ideas that I want to try and share with others. First, I loved her rules (Do not stop me from teaching. Do not stop others from learning). These will be my classroom rules from now on. They are specific, to the point, and easy to understand. Second, I really liked her Exit Tickets. I felt that they were a great way to see what the kids knew and what needed to be retaught without having a lot of papers to grade. I also thought that they were great documentation for SBRC. I thought the two most valuable items from her presentation were the Bloom's Taxonomy chart (verbs, sample question stems, and potential activities) and The Ultimate Combo sheet (linking Bloom's Taxonomy to the Multiple Intelligences). I plan to share the Bloom's Taxonomy chart with my principal and hopefully get a copy for everyone at Key. I think that it will help me plan higher level thinking activities and ask higher level thinking questions. I liked her idea of hanging it in the classroom and using a different section each day to pull questions from. I think that this will hold me more accountable for pushing my students to move past the knowledge and comprehension levels and into the application, analysis, synthesis. and evaluation levels. The Ultimate Combo sheet will help me come up with more engaging lessons. After teaching for many years, we tend to be stuck doing the same activities over and over. When I reflected on my teaching, I realized that most of the activities that I do with my children are verbal/linguistic, visual/spatial, and interpersonal. I need to take into account other learning styles. I would like to incorporate more musical/rhythmic, bodily/kinesthetic, and naturalist activities into my classroom. The Ultimate Combo sheet will give me examples of activities that I can do to incorporate more learning styles into my teaching. For example, I could let my kids act out a response or write a song for a response instead of everyone having to respond in the exact same way. I will definitely be referring back to hand-outs and plan to give a copy of them to my mentee.

2009-2010 TSS Blog: 2009-2010 TSS Blog: MARCIA TATE- Brain Based Strategies

2009-2010 TSS Blog: 2009-2010 TSS Blog: MARCIA TATE- Brain Based Strategies

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to hear Marcia Tate's presentation. I feel that she re-energized me as a teacher. I have been out of the classroom for two years. I am a half day academic coach and a half day reading teacher. Even though I used a lot of her strategies when I had my own classroom, when I reflected on how I am teaching reading I realized that I had moved away from these great teaching methods. I have been using the Guided Reading approach, which I feel is the best way to meet the needs of struggling readers. However, with that being said, there are several ways that I could "spice" up my Guided Reading lessons. I decided to incorporate more music and movement into my lessons. One way that I incorporated music was to teach rhyming words with the song "The Name Game". The kids loved it! I also decided to use role playing, visualization, graphic organizers, and drawing to help improve comprehension. One activity that I tried was to take a page from the text and photocopy it onto a transparency. I then projected it onto the wall so that the children were the same size as the character. The children had to go up to the character and speak for him/her (what would the character say if he/she could talk to us). My children liked this so much more than simply retelling the story. I found that graphic organizers gave my students more confidence in their abilities to comprehend what was read. It helped them organize and plan out their thinking, so that when it came time to discuss the text they were more willing to share ideas. The graphic organizers gave them a crutch to lean on during our discussions.
When I model lessons in other teachers classrooms I make sure that I model using manipulatives, reciprocal teaching (turn and talk, reflection, peer editing), and project based instruction (in-depth, spanning across several weeks, real world writing projects). One thing that I did with my own students was share stories about my life. Every morning we would start the day by sitting in a circle and sharing something that had happen to each of us the night before. I would write and share stories about my life during Writer's Workshop. I would make connections to my life during Read Aloud and Reader's Workshop. I guess that I moved away from this because I am just popping into another teacher's room to do a lesson and I feel like I don't really know the kids and they don't know me so they would not be interested in my life. After hearing Marcia Tate, I decided to share stories about my life with them. Wow, did this change how the children responded to my lesson. They opened up as writers when they heard me open up as a writer. I became a real person to them. My next plan of action is to try to incorporate more games and technology into both my reading and coaching lessons. I tend to shy away from games and technology because I find them difficult to manage. I took a chance and modeled a prefix game in a 3rd grade class, the kids loved it and were all on task. Marcia Tate was wonderful and I plan to keep sharing her strategies with my mentee and other teachers that I coach.

Differentiation!

After attending the Differentiating Instruction session, what information will you incorporate in your planning and instruction and what information will you share with others?

Post for Derick Pugh

I talked with my mentee and have given her advice that I was given and learned on my own. There is a book that hits the nail on the head...."Don't Sweat the Small Stuff"!!! This is so true in the glamerous world of public education. It is easy to get covered up with paperwork (especially in Special Ed) i.e. BIP's, IEPs, FBAs, and all those other 3 lettered things. I also shared the ins/outs, routines, etc of the school during pre-planning. Luckily my mentee is in my own department and has caught on very quickly and is a great teacher. We meet weekly to "vent" which is another thing that we set up, because I told her that if you don't it will carry over into personal aspects of your life...which sucks!
And in the words of the great Porky Pig.....That's all Folks!
Derick Pugh

Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!

Marcia who? The aforementioned question was answered in a resounding manner. The workshop presented by Marcia Tate was quite refreshing. Her positive impact was evident from her initial introduction to her last goodbye. I was certainly graced by her presence and enjoyed the heartiness exhibited by my colleagues. Some of the strategies that Marcia shared are already in place in my classroom, but there is always room for growth. I am a firm believer that art as well as music will enhance the average classroom environment. Students deserve an environment that is fun yet conducive to learning. Humor has not been at the forefront in my lessons or planning, but I do plan on incorporating more of the aforementioned. I will make a conscious effort to keep my lessons relevant because Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites.

Marcia Tate

Wow! Marcia Tate really got my attention and kept it all day long. Her innovative, creative, and energetic teaching style made me have a renewed sense of purpose as a teacher.
There are several strategies that I plan to implement with the inclusion classes, as well as the resource groups with whom I work. For my resource students I am using more music and art. We already implement movement, but now we have movement that is geared toward a performance task or learning a skill. I also plan to use drama to reinforce vocabulary words, character traits, and social studies.
My copy of Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites is on my desk for quick reference and motivation. Thank you for allowing us to be blessed by such an awesome educator.

Marcia Tate Was Excellent!

As a somewhat introverted and type A person, I am skeptical of using a few of Marcia Tate's strategies -- not that they weren't good ones. For example, throwing things and moving around too much in my classroom, which is a computer lab, will have to be carefully managed. For example, one of my homeroom students stood up too quickly the other day, and knocked a monitor over onto the floor. (Luckily, it still works!) However, a Smart Board was just installed in my classroom this week. So, I think I will be able to incorporate more movement as students do things using the Smart Board.

I really liked the idea of using music in my classroom. However, I worry about that too. I like order. So, the introduction of anything that may get my students riled up or off task is scary to me. I really am going to have to do some soul-searching on that one.

However, I do like many of her other strategies, some of which I am already using. Since I teach Business Education, students are always doing hands-on activities. Visual learning, technology and role playing (for example, mock job interviews) happen all the time. I think all CTAE (Career Techical and Agriculatural Education) classes automatically utilize many of the 20 strategies.

Marcia Tate In The House!

So.... Marcia Tate wore me out! I am not a morning person and Marcia, Marcia! Marcia!! before coffee was a bit overwhelming! However, after I consumed a large amount of caffeine, I picked up on about the 5th strategy, filled in the blanks I missed, and couldn't help but be truly engaged and challenged. I often say to my kids, "If I have to be here with you, I'm gonna enjoy it!" To accomplish this goal and to promote an enjoyable environment of learning, I vary the delivery of my instruction. Marcia Tate was a (very) positive reinforcement to many of the strategies I already use in my classroom. As a teacher of healthcare, I was extremely interested in the characteristics of a "Brain Compatible Classroom". How the brain receives and successfully retains information is truly the key to learning. Marcia reminded me to provide a positive, relevent classroom, challenging students with high expectations but not stressing them out. Additionally, she challenged me to add music and movement to my instruction. Overall, Marcia's presentation was just the encouragement I needed... Some great new ideas and validation that what I'm doing will work. So...I think I will keep doing this teaching thing... and maybe...just maybe they'll learn something!?

Cherie Jones' Post for Marcia Tate

I thoroughly enjoyed Marcia Tate. She kept my attention the whole time. I appreciated her humor. I have already heard of many of her strategies and perform them currently. Some strategies I use already are: I use a bell to get my class back to order and I repeat myself several times when I am telling them something extremely important. Ms. Tate is right, one of the ways we remember is through repetition of information. My students will laugh at me when I repeat myself over and over again. I explain to them the reason behind my repetition and they understand and seem to agree with me, because they do not forget when I do that. Another thing that I do is role play. They seem to retain the information that I am trying to get across when I do that. Especially when I provide them with some kind of visual that goes along with the text and lecture. I always make them draw a picture of the concept. I also use graphic organizers. My favorite is comparing and contrasting using a Venn Diagram. I also agree with her about keeping the children moving! That is what I try to do a lot. I use a lot of hands on activities for learning. I have also used the jigsaw method and let them teach a concept from the chapter to the class. They love to do that! It gives them a wonderful feeling of accomplishment and they feel they are part of the teaching process because they have gained enough knowledge over the concept in order to teach it.
One thing I want to try that Ms. Tate recommended is the music in the classroom. I use acronyms to help the students remember things like the colors in the rainbow or the order of the planets from the Sun. However, I would like to come up with songs to help them remember. I also would like to try to let them listen to some classical music as they are working. I feel as though it will help them stay focused on their work and that it will provide a calming effect for them in the classroom. I plan on reading her book that she wrote and gave us a copy of in order to try and implement some more of her strategies in my classroom.
Thanks! Cherie Jones

2009-2010 TSS Blog: 2009-2010 TSS Blog: Marcia Tate--Wow!

2009-2010 TSS Blog: 2009-2010 TSS Blog: Marcia Tate--Wow!
Marcia Tate's workshop was an incredible learning experience! Her enthusiasm for teaching and learning certainly made a strong impact on me, as an educator. Maria Holloway and I were presented with the task of redelivering the workshop to our coworkers. Unfortunately, our redelivery date fell on the same day as our meeting when we were notified about the investigation of eraser marks on all student tests. While we sat and listened to the findings and then comments, we thought maybe we should postpone the redelivery because the mood did not seem right for an upbeat redelivery! Boy, was I wrong! The redelivery is exactly what the staff needed. We went through our presentation, including playing "Welcome Back," "The Hustle," and "Celebration." Midway through the redelivery, the whole atmosphere of the room had changed and we were laughing and having a good time. Several teachers stopped me that afternoon and the next day to express how much they enjoyed the redelivery. With regard to my class, in addition to the aforementioned songs I now have, I purchased several CDs of classical music. The first day I started playing it while students worked on writing, one of my students said, "Did you know this music makes you smarter?" I used "Welcome Back" in order to bring my class back together after meeting in groups. It was funny to see children in 5th grade singing along with the "Welcome Back" song. I have been using graphic organizers regularly in writing and reading. I need to use them more in other subjects. I am trying to help students make more "connections" using some of Marcia's association strategies. I have always tried to have some humor with the students and am trying to incorporate more. I will continue going through our book and try to implement more of the strategies as I grow as a teacher.

Marica Tate - Fabulous!

Marsha Tate was so fabulous! She inspired me to keep trying to reach every child. She was just the encouragement that I needed. Friday morning I couldn't wait to try some of the new ideas. I have heard her speak before and had already begun to use some of her techniques. I know they work! Thanks for the great day!

2009-2010 TSS Blog: MARCIA TATE- Brain Based Strategies

2009-2010 TSS Blog: MARCIA TATE- Brain Based Strategies

I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and I have shared with my mentee some of the 20 strategies I learned. I myself have started to use music more in the classroom especially during Writer's workshop and if I forget to turn the music on during writing my students are quick to remind me. My students have received the greatest impact with my new enthusiasm for instruction...we have role played Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott and I was almost on the floor with their reactions to having to give up their seat on the bus. I have used more visuals in math and manipulatives to help students gain a greater understanding of the concept and standard. I am also using some of the praise gestures and taking a few moments each day to laugh with my students. I am hoping to incorporate more strategies and make some much needed changes in my classroom.

I like the fact that Marcia made the workshop interesting, interactive and personal. Her energy level got me pumped not only to teach better but to take care of me in a better way.

2009-2010 TSS Blog: Marcia Tate--Wow!

2009-2010 TSS Blog: Marcia Tate--Wow!

I thoroughly enjoyed spending a day with "Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!" She was invigorating, entertaining, and refreshing. I left the workshop so rejuvenated I could hardly wait until the next day to implement the new strategies I learned, therefore my husband became my guinea pig. He had difficulty understanding how a workshop could energize one so much! My enthusiasm carried over to the next morning as I shared my excitement with my principal. Marcia's positive energy and optimism were extremely contagious!
I already use many of the strategies presented on a daily basis in my classroom, so I received affirmation through Marcia's endorsement. I was also reminded to "re-incorporate" several strategies I had used in the past, but had let slide by the wayside. I felt fortunate to be introduced to and learn new strategies as well.
I am extremely excited about seeing Marcia again in June as she is scheduled to spend a day at Fox Elementary. I have confidence my colleagues will find her and her strategies just as inspiring and dynamic as I did!

Tammy Durrance
Fox Elementary

Marcia Tate Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites

I was so excited about learning the new strategies that I wasted no time sharing with my connections team. We all now are using parking lots to find out what the students need to know.
I have seen this process used but this time it really hit home. We are using the brain-compatible lesson plan as a daily reminder to chunk our lessons into segments. This have been most helpful to me because it breaks the boredom and allows breathing time. It is so useful to be able to check off which deliver content I am planning to use. The students really take advantage of the chances to recall facts in a group. I was using music before but now I use music to encourage them to pace themselves. If I want them to think I use soft music. When I want them to move I use a fast pace beat. They love it and so do I! I have even more visual than before. The students can see examples of everything I am trying to teach.

My men tee and I have discussed all the notes as well as the book. She is very reluctant to try the chunking because she thinks it will not be as effective as I say. She is focused on the CRCT and is hooked on worksheets. We are now on block scheduling and she showed me a mini quiz she gave the students as a warm up to check their progress. She told me she heard me but she is afraid to try something so different.

Marsha Tate was so inspiring. She shared her life with us. She was so energetic and passionate about what she was teaching. She had us moving so much. Kids need a lot of purposeful movement and interaction. After hearing Marsha Tate I had my students get in pairs to sight read. It was much more effective. I think they accomplished more that way and enjoyed class more. I look forward to continuing to implement what we learned.

Marcia Tate--Wow!

Marcia Tate's visit was eye opening and right up my alley. The movement, music, role playing...everything. It was so nice to hear a respected professional extolling on the virtues of moving beyond the desk and worksheets to create an environment of true learning!

We have always used movement in my 2nd grade room as a way to shake out the cobwebs and refocus during transitions. Since Mrs. Tate's workshop, we have now incorporated movement into the core of our lessons as well. The dendrite hand and body movements sparked ideas on how to make the connections more relevant and locked in with our science and social studies lessons in particular since our time with those subjects is extremely limited. Beginning our study of animal life cycles, the students mime the 4 main characteristics of mammals: live birth=rocking a baby; fur=rubbing their hair; feed babies milk=sucking thumb; warm-blooded=fanning themselves. They love it and can quote the characteristics at a moment's notice!

Marcia Tate Workshop Reflection

Marcia Tate has a lot of great ideas that I brought back to the classroom. I am working on trying to incorporate more movement in my classroom, especially. Being on block scheduling is just terrible for teenagers whose attention spans are already shorter than in the history of the world! I know that I need to include more activities that get them up and moving. This is certainly not the only thing I gleaned from her presentation, but as busy as I am these days, if I can make one improvement a month, I'm on the right track!

2009-2010 TSS Blog: MARCIA TATE- Brain Based Strategies

2009-2010 TSS Blog: MARCIA TATE- Brain Based Strategies
Marica Tate is fantastic! I gained different strategies to deliver lessons to students during guidance class. I have started incorporating role playing and drawing when teaching some of the lessons in classroom guidance. The students have responded well to these strategies. One student ask me every week when her class comes to guidance "are we role playing today". I plan on trying the mnemonic device strategy to help students remember different rules, procedures etc... Overall, I am so glad that I had the opportunity to attend Marcia Tate's workshop! :)

MARCIA TATE- Brain Based Strategies

WOW! Marcia Tate came to Columbus and delivered the most awesome brain-based strategies! What did you gain from attending this workshop? How are you implementing some of the strategies from your "Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites" book?

Mentoring

As I reflect back on my time as a teacher, I truly believe the teaching professional is one of the most rewarding careers that one can serve in. Yes, I also believe that the aforementioned is one of service. I can vividly remember the onset of my teaching career and the many uncertainties. My life was impacted in a positive manner by great teachers that loved their students, colleagues, and communities.

The following are key items that I will discuss with my mentee:

M-Make sure you get off to a good start. As the old cliché goes, “the first impression is usually a lasting impression.”
E-Enjoy the profession and support your school, district, and community.
N- Never compromise your standing as a teacher.
T-Teaching is an art if not a science.
O-Organizational skills are a must and will certainly aid you in carrying out your daily duties and responsibilities.
R- Remember to ask questions if you don’t understand.
I-Ignore repeated attempts by other faculty and staff members to have you join the various “gossip”
clubs.
N-Names of people are good to remember.
G-Good things await you via the teaching profession.

2009-2010 TSS Blog: Advice for New Mentee

One of the most important things that I would help my mentee with is classroom management. To me there is nothing more important than establishing rituals and routines during the first weeks of school. The procedures (behavior, transitions, how to get supplies, restroom policies, etc.) must be established day one. I would tell my mentee, anything that you do not want to be still addressing in January, you must establish routines for in August. Children have to know what is expected of them, how to be independent learners and problem solvers, and how to behave appropriately even when no one is looking in order for learning and success to occur in the classroom. It is very hard to be strict at the beginning of the year, but once you have established your expectations the remainder of the year will run smoothly. I would sit down with my mentee and discuss what is important to her (noise level, pencil sharpening, hallway behavior, getting supplies) and then help her decide how she will address these things starting the first day of school. I would want her to start the first day with a plan for all of these things and feel confident in her ability to execute the plan with the children.