November 1, 2019

Focus on Good First Instruction

Seriously think about that title.  If the FIRST instruction were AMAZING Presenting new material in small steps with student practice after each step is a researched based learning strategy that we should be incorporating into instruction daily.  

No one, including our students, likes to sit through a meeting or a training being "TALKED AT" the entire time.  As we think about engaging our students, we want to present new material in chunks and give students practice (HANDS ON, something to DO!!) after each chunk or standard.  Using a timer and the 10:2 (10 minutes OR LESS of instruction: 2 minutes of processing) method you can make sure that you are chunking the instruction.  This is just one simple idea and there are TONS more!

Ahhh Middle School. Every student is in a different learning place.  Some faster, some slower.  How can we, as instructional leaders, differentiate for the wide range of learners in the classroom?  How do we monitor other students and what they are doing, while we pull small group to differentiate?  How do we grade the different ideas or projects?

Take a look at this article for some basic and easy ways to help our students get the info that they need without discouraging them from learning!

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• SUPER awesome shout out to CAROL for the help with the Bilateral Training on Tuesday! ~KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to KC for hair dryer juice so I don't come to school looking like a hot mess! ~Karron
• SUPER awesome shout out to ELIZABETH, BRENDA, CARLA, and ROSA for holding down the fort on Monday while we were not on campus! ~KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to SIXTH GRADE for an awesome scavenger hunt and team building experience for our kids!!! LOVE!
• SUPER awesome shout out to CRISTINA for organizing the 6th grade scavenger hunt! ~Karron and Julie
• SUPER awesome shout out to STAFF for making Soctober a huge success! ~Peter P.
• SUPER awesome shout out to ALISON for the Halloween Music on Thursday!  Awesome way to start out day!!
• SUPER awesome shout out to ALL TEACHERS for actively and patiently participating in the recent spate of IEPs!  THANK YOU!  Your knowledge of the students and input is invaluable! ~Karyn
• SUPER awesome shout out to TRACY for opening a second line for breakfast in the morning! ~KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to CARLA for always being willing to drop everything and help others!  You are truly appreciated!  Thank you for all you do! ~Rosie
• SUPER awesome shout out to TAMIA for asking the IS crew to be a part of our food bank crew!  You are a rock star! ~Carol
• SUPER awesome shout out to ROSA, BRENITA, and AIDA for truly running this school =)!
• SUPER awesome shout out to MEGAN and LORRAINE for always being helpful, making the day better, and endless patience! ~Lynn S
• SUPER awesome shout out to ENGLISH DEPT for another great collab day!  LOVE THE TEAM WORK!!!!
• SUPER awesome shout out to ANITA, JULIE, MARLYS, LYNN S., JASON, LORRAINE, and KARRON for an awesome collab day! ~Megan
• SUPER awesome shout out to LYNN L for sharing all of her lesson plans (for HAVING lesson plans!!!) and FFPD schedule before she went on leave! ~Julie
• SUPER awesome shout out to SPED SQUAD for working diligently to schedule IEPs, work with families, and get our kids the services they need!
• SUPER awesome shout out CAROL for helping me with the new curriculum and piloting the new textbooks! ~Sandy
• SUPER awesome shout out to KAREN for providing me and my kids a warm meal and entertainment while we were without power for 9 long days! ~Lorraine
• SUPER awesome shout out to