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Teaching Vocabulary

February 17, 2015 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Teaching Vocabulary

Teaching vocabulary can be one of the most critical skills for readers (especially struggling readers). Many times, students just skip over important vocabulary without using the context clues or word parts to help them. Children really need to be taught how to identify important vocabulary words and examine them to understand why they are used in the text.

 

Here are some simple ways to teach and highlight important vocabulary:

  • After reading a passage, have students identify 1-3 important vocabulary words within the passage. Reflect on the words by considering why the author chose those specific words. This can lead into an important discussion about word choice.
  • Have students draw a picture with the vocabulary word in action. This can help engage visualization skills while fully understanding the vocabulary word in context.
  • Encourage students to write sentences, paragraphs, or stories with vocabulary words. This type of extension activity allows students to make deeper connections with the vocabulary.
  • Use challenging vocabulary as you speak! This one seems silly but kids absolutely love it. Asking students, “Could you please leave the door ajar when you leave the room?” rather than “open” is a great model for how vocabulary can impact the way we speak.
  • Teach and practice context clues. Kids need explicit instruction in understanding how the words before and after a word help decipher the vocabulary word’s meaning. This really is a critical academic skill that kids will use all the way up to middle school, high school, college, and beyond. I like to use vocabulary context clues task cards for extended practice in groups.
Graphics Organizers for Vocabulary

Graphics Organizers for Vocabulary

  • Use graphic organizers when students read passages and stories. The graphic organizers should highlight important vocabulary words, helping students to pull apart those words. Use these free vocabulary graphic organizers to help you teach vocabulary skills in your classroom.

Have fun teaching critical vocabulary skills in your classroom.

Filed Under: ELA, Reading Comprehension, Special Education

The Power of Positive

February 13, 2015 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Power of PositivePsychologists have researched for years to try and find a perfect ratio of number of positive to negative comments. These researchers have investigated the power of positive comments at work places, in marriages, and at schools. It was interesting to find that many researchers agree on a ratio of around 5 positive comments to every 1 negative comment. With more negative comments, people tend to feel discouraged and undervalued. I find this so interesting because I would say that this ratio needs to be even higher for children and young adults in schools. That means that teachers should be giving at least 5 positive and kind words of encouragement for every 1 negative thing they say. Below are some simple tips for incorporating more positive into your classroom:

1. Be specific. “You did a great job on that” doesn’t really tell the student anything. Instead, you can say something like, “I really like the way you took the last 5 minutes to reread your response and edit it. That was a great use of time”. You help that student feel good about themselves while shaping positive learning behaviors.

2. Give oral and written positive feedback. Oral feedback is great but sometimes I need time to think about how to give the best feedback. I love giving written feedback on assessments, math journals, and reading/writing journals. Then, when I hand back assignments, I make sure to give students time to “review my comments”.

3. Use your positive words to help drive positive classroom management. “I really like the way that Alex took out her reading book and read silently when she finished her quiz”. A comment like that and you’ll be amazed at how many students follow suit. It helps make one student a model, as well. Some students need to visually see what the should be doing, and this is a great opportunity for that.

Filed Under: Behavior Management, Classroom Management, Social Emotional Learning

Simple Study Strategies Still Work!

January 30, 2015 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Notecards - A Simple Study Strategy

Notecards – A Simple Study Strategy

With all new technology, I sometimes forget that some of the best study strategies for my students are the old fashioned ones. Making flashcards out of simple note cards is actually my favorite study strategy. It causes the student to be active in writing out the questions and answers by hand. This alone allows students to be more “present” in their learning. I also love that students can study completely independently with flashcards, by asking themselves the questions and checking their answers. Here are a few “twists” on studying with flashcards that can make it even more fun:

1. Get it Right – Have students work in partners answering the flashcards. One student  will quiz the other first. If the student gets the card correct, put it in a pile. If they get the answer wrong, put the card in a separate pile. The incorrect cards must be given again until the student gets all the answers right. Then, students can switch roles.

2. Shout it Out – The teacher shows one flashcard question at a time to partners or a group. Whichever students shouts out the answer quickest earns that card.

3. Around the World Style – The teacher shows one flashcard question to two students standing next to each other. Whichever student gets that question right will move to the next student and they will complete. The student who gets it wrong will sit down in that spot. The goal is for one student to go all the way around the room getting answers correct.

Filed Under: Special Education, Study Skills

Incorporating Games into Reading Time

January 18, 2015 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Using Games During ReadingFor many students, reading is a fun and enjoyable time where they can learn new things and build on their strengths. But for many other students, reading is a dreaded time. This is especially true if the student has a weakness or disability in the area of reading. It’s hard to make reading fun for them. One way to help with that is to incorporate some simple games into reading time.

My absolute favorite reading game is actually Blurt. Blurt is a simple pack of cards with clues on each card. Someone (either the teacher or a student) must read the clue aloud, while others shout out the vocabulary word that matches the clue. For example, a student might right the clue: “A strap of leather or other material going around someone’s waist to hold pants up”. Then, a student would shout out, “belt!”. While it is a very simple (and cheap) game, it is a great way to increase reading motivation while increasing vocabulary skills. Some versions come with a gameboard and all, but I actually just use the travel version with just the cards. Kids can play in partners, as a group, or “around the world” style. Best of all, the students see this activity as a reward rather than a daunting reading task.

Another favorite is Konexi, which is a mix between Jenga and Scrabble. Kids will end up building a tower by connecting letters that fit together like puzzle pieces. The letters will connect together to spell words. Eventually, the tower will fall down (and you know that is always fun).

Some other reading games you might want to try out are scrabble, boggle, and bananagrams. Of course, there are so many apps for word games, too. Some fun (and free) apps include Scramble with Friends and Words with Friends. You don’t have to use games everyday, but they are a great way to help make reading time a fun time.

Filed Under: ELA, Reading Comprehension, Special Education

Helping Kids Get Organized!

January 13, 2015 by pathway2success 2 Comments

Homework Folder

Homework Folder

As a middle school teacher, organization is one of the biggest areas that I see kids struggle with on a daily basis. As adults, most of us have already established our own routines that work for us and help us be organized. It’s our job as teachers to help students find those strategies and routines. I strongly believe that the same strategy does not work for every person. If the organizational strategy for a student is not working over a period of time, it is time to try something new!

 

Here are some quick and easy ideas for teaching strategies to help students get (and stay) organized!

1. Use a hole-punched folder for a homework folder. Label one side “Done” and the other side “To Do” for easy homework access.

2. Keep a pencil pouch in every binder. Leave several extra pens and pencils in each binder so you never run out.

3. Pick a weekly “organize day” to go through binders and make sure everything is neat and tidy. This is so much easier than waiting until it’s gotten really disorganized.

4. If keeping multiple binders is too challenging, try keeping just 1 large binder and dividing the classes with tabs. This will ensure you never go to class with the wrong binder and eliminates extra stops that the locker that may make you late.

5. Keep a daily homework log. This one seems so obvious but is often overlooked! A daily homework log will help you keep track of work and due dates.

6. Put those papers away! When the teacher hands papers back in class, take the extra two minutes and put them in the right spot in your binder right away. This will save you time reorganizing later on.

For more tips, lessons, and ideas about organizing, check out my Study Skills Toolkit!

Filed Under: Classroom Management, Special Education, Study Skills

New Years – A Perfect Time for Goal-Setting

December 31, 2014 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

SMART Goals - Helping Students Write Meaningful Goals

SMART Goals – Helping Students Write Meaningful Goals

With New Year’s Day upon us in just a few hours, I thought about how right now is a great time for teachers to help students write meaningful goals. So many adults make their New Years Resolutions and our students should too! What is important is that students learn how to set goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. These are SMART goals.

I once had a student tell me that his goal was to “get all better grades”. Upon conferencing with him, I found out that he wanted to get all A’s. With further discussion and looking at his grades together, we realized that he was far from this goal. He was actually failing math. Together, we came up with a realistic goal to earn at least a 70% in math by the end of the term. We listed out the specific steps he’d need to perform in order to meet that goal and we set dates that we could revisit how he was doing. While he did not get “all A’s” by his next report card, he was passing all his classes and did better in math than he had even anticipated. That is why SMART goals are so valuable. They teach students how to get to where they want to be.

Consider teaching your students how to write SMART goals for this new year. Happy New Year to all!

-Pathway2Success

Filed Under: Behavior Management, Seasonal, Study Skills

Last Minute Holiday Classroom Ideas

December 22, 2014 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Holiday Ideas for the ClassroomIn my school, we are encouraged not to target any one specific holiday during this time of year so that no students are left out. Sometimes, this is challenging because many great lessons and activities are focused around Christmas. For the many teachers that have to teach in the next couple of days right before holiday break, I thought some ideas for the classroom would be useful.

Here are some quick and easy ideas for lessons and activities in your classroom that could apply to any December holiday:

1. Letter of Thanks – Have students choose one person in their life that they are thankful for. It could be a parent, friend, sibling, teacher, coach, or anyone else. Have them write a letter thanking them for the support and help they have given. This is a great way to remind students that the spirit of the holidays is about being thankful for the people in our lives.

2. Tradition Share Out – Have students share their family traditions in small groups. Then in groups, students can make a poster with a Venn diagram showing similarities and differences of their family traditions during December. Have each group present and share a little about their own traditions. This activity can be used as a reminder that even though we are different, we are similar in many ways too.

3. Memory Memoir – Have your students write about their favorite holiday memory. They can also draw a picture to go along with the short story. This can be expanded into a bigger project by giving students time to peer edit their writing and then go back and revise.

4. Student Coupons – Have the students create coupons for someone in their family, offering 10 or 20 minutes for cleaning, yard work, doing dishes, or any other  type of help. This is a great simple gift for parents.

 

Have fun on your last days before holiday break. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

-Pathway2Success

Filed Under: Seasonal

Keeping Positive Communication with Parents

December 15, 2014 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Positive Notes Home

Click to see the Positive Notes Home with 20 cards.

At this time of year, everything is so busy! Everything from planning for the holidays to planning lessons through December.  It’s so busy that I sometimes forget to do something critical to each child’s success in my classroom – keeping an open (and positive) line of communication with parents. One very simple way to solve this problem has been “positive notes home”. Since the notes are generic enough to be used with any student and situation, you can make sure to fill out a few cards each week to send home with students. Another idea is to keep a checklist of student’s names and put a check next to their name when you sent a positive note home. That way you can keep track of your notes home and make sure to send them home to all your kids. At this time of the year, I will take any easy solution to a problem that I can find!

-Pathway2Success

Filed Under: Classroom Management

Close Reading: Getting the students to ask the questions

December 14, 2014 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Close ReadingAs teachers move towards a style of “close reading”, it is more and more important to get students involved in their own learning when they read. The goal is that students are independent readers who can think critically about a text. Getting the students themselves to ask questions is one way that allows them to think on a higher level. Here are a few tips to get your students to that point.

1. Encourage students to be inquisitive and curious, even if their questions are not answered within the text. This actually provides great extension activities for them to research on their own. Assign students jobs of looking up answers to certain questions that are not answered within the text. They can report their findings back to the class.

2. Model the type of questioning you are looking for. Explain that there are two types of questions: those answered within the text, and those that require extended research. Give examples of both types of questions during read alouds.

3. Have students create their own questions on index cards. Put the cards in a bin and have groups select several cards. Each group will then answer the questions they get.

4. Choose texts that lead students to question. Find topics that will push students to think outside the box and question what they already know.

-Pathway2Success

Filed Under: ELA, Reading Comprehension

The Teacher-Student Connection

December 12, 2014 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

I would say that the most powerful item in my certified “bag of tricks” is simple: really connecting with the kids. Kids can totally see when an adult is being genuine and cares about them. They notice if you remember what sports they play, who their favorite band is, or how many siblings they have. It really makes a huge difference both emotionally and academically, too.

One really fun part of the teacher-student connection is weaving their interests and life into lessons. For example, use examples involving a student’s favorite food or sport when doing math word problems.

Also, give time just to chat about their lives. Maybe it is during recess, before the buses, during passing time, or during a lunch group.

If kids see that you care, they will too.

Filed Under: Classroom Management, Tips for Teachers

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⭐ Kristina Scully
💖 SEL & Executive Functioning
💻 Blogger at www.thepathway2success.com
👩‍🏫 Curriculum Specialist
🏫 10 Year Special Ed Teacher

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Every teacher is a teacher of social emotional lea Every teacher is a teacher of social emotional learning. That's because we use these skills in everything we do! What are some of your favorite ways to work on SEL skills?
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This list does not cover every reason why kids and This list does not cover every reason why kids and teens show challenging behaviors, but it's a reminder that there are often many reasons. Would you add anything?
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