Student Engagement

Picture middle school students leaning forward in their seats, discussing the learning of the day, and committed to achieving the daily outcome.  Imagine an early childhood classroom with young learners answering questions, talking with their fellow classmates, and the productive hum of learning. What can bring this to life in your classroom? Planning and practicing strategies that promote student engagement. Below is a link to a fantastic article that focuses on many aspects of student engagement. It is a great read with some new information on how to think about, plan for, and facilitate best practices for student engagement.

Closing the Engagement Gap

Many teachers are discovering the power of using a close-read process for helping students dig deeper into text. This is a great article investigating the use of the close-read process in elementary classrooms.

Close Reading in Elementary Schools- Fisher & Frey

Productive Struggle

As we work to increase the rigor in our classrooms, we will see students struggle and work harder than they have in the past. The most effective teachers recognize when the struggle to learn is increasing student knowledge and when the struggle has reached frustration level. The ultimate goal is to allow students to do the " hard work" while providing the just right level of support.

New Bethel Elementary School

 Colbert County 

Tonya Moore (ARI Regional  Staff) and Heather Collum(ARI Building Coach)

The faculty at New Bethel Elementary worked together to create a unit dealing with the continents that was based on CCRS standards and centered around the book Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss. The students had a wonderful day and worked on grade level standards at the same time. This is a great example of collaboration!

Vocabulary Instruction

Popcorn and a Movie

Educators spend lots of time searching for the just right video to inspire their teaching. Let ARI Region 1 Support Staff do the searching for you. Sit back and watch some great videos on vocabulary instruction. Thanks again to Susan Thornton for sharing her video collection with us!

Kick Me: Making Vocabulary Interactive- Grade 7

Vocabulary Paint Chips- Grades 9-12

College Talk: Improving Students' Vocabulary-Grade 2

Literacy in Science: Word Clouds- Grades 6-12

Building Science Vocabulary- All Grades

Extending Understanding: Vocabulary Development

Text Complexity

                         
CCRS Anchor Standard 10: Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

How can we be sure that the text and the tasks we are assigning to students will help move them toward this standard? Educators should evaluate texts using these three criteria, as well as scaffolds and extensions for meeting the needs of all learners.

CCRS Quarterly Meeting #3
UNA Regional In-service Center	February 10, 2015
Jasper/ Bevill State Campus	February 13, 2015