Branham's Coaching Corner: student reflection

September 21, 2022

Tips and Tricks for a Successful Writing Block

Today I want to share a few tips and tricks that may help take your writing block to the next level.

#1 SHARE THE RUBRIC WITH STUDENTS

Rubrics help the student know what to expect. Sharing an example helps students see all the components and expectations in one place.

#2 SHARE BEFORE WRITING

Students need an opportunity to orally share their story before writing them down. Sharing helps with the brainstorming process and helps the student recognize the number of details that are present in their story. Students tend to verbally share a lot more than they write. Verbalizing their story allows them to see that when they write, they tend to leave some of the essential details out of the story.

#3 EXEMPLARS

It is important to show the students an example and a non-example of a proficient writing example. It would also benefit from having these hanging somewhere in the room so that students can refer to them as they write. The best way to do this is to save examples from students writing the previous year. If you don't have any, start saving them now. It is well worth the time.

#4 REFLECT

Reflection is an extremely valuable time in your writing block. Don't forget to wrap up your writing block by having the students share what they learned as a writer today. Reflecting and sharing will help the students consolidate their learning, and the process of saying it out loud will help them store their learning. This time is also an opportunity for students to learn from other students in the classroom.

Have a super Wednesday!!

January 12, 2022

Let's talk about the end of the day...

A couple of years ago, I discovered one of the most meaningful times in my teaching day. It was the end of the day! Yes, I am serious! If you are like me, right now, you probably have visions of student chaos and the craziness of the end of the day packing, and you think I am crazy. But let me tell you about something that changed my entire classroom and the relationships in my classroom. A few years back, I decided to stop my day a little early, pack up a little early and end the day on the carpet. I used that time to have an end-of-the-day reflection. This little 5 minutes practice ended up guiding my teaching in more ways than I can count. There are so many benefits to this practice:

I was able to identify students' feelings about school and the day's activities.
I discovered the teaching that they found to be the most meaningful.
I was able to find out who needed some extra support.
I could locate the teaching they didn't connect with, so I could make it better.
No student was able to walk out of my room each day unnoticed.

I used this time to ask the students questions about the day. My favorite question that I would ask is, "What was your favorite part of the day?" This little question answered so many questions for me as a teacher. The students loved this part of the day so much that if our time ran too short, they would remind me because they loved it so much. So today, I want to encourage you to give it a try. Ask your students what they love. I believe you will find out so much about your students during this time, and it will become a favorite of your classroom. Below I have included some other questions you could ask your students if you would like to change it up sometimes.

End of the Day Question Ideas:

What was your favorite part of the day?
What is something easy for you today?
What is something hard for you today?
What is something that someone did that made you happy today?
What is something you did that was kind today?
What is something we learned that you loved today?
If you were the teacher, what would you do differently today?
If you were the teacher, what would you do the same today?
What was the best part of your day?

A Successful Writing Block

Student Reflection

grab my button!

Search This Blog

Labels

Blog design by