Activation Strategies are frequently effective with youngsters who struggle with attention, executive skills, and/or working memory. I want my student to experience the fierce attention she displays when she’s doing a physical act, such as cartwheels, and gradually transfer it to fierce mental attention. Teachers use activation strategies like these to get those neurons firing: http://www.gcasd.org/Downloads/Activating_Strategies.pdf

The kinesthetic channel is the “bridge” between the movement that my student excels at and the cognitive channels (visual, especially). Here is some more on that: http://www.child1st.com/blog/tag/visual+learning

In fact, the Wilson Method of teaching reading is highly effective with youngsters due to its use of multiple senses. Before Wilson, the Orton-Gillingham Method used a V-A-K-T approach (Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic-Tactile) with great success. Moira and I employ elements of these methods with all of our students.

Work has begun on this year’s Focus Week. Videos of current and past Focus Weeks have “FW” at the beginning, so please feel free to follow along.  I’m on the Committee to create the environment of a Desert in the public spaces of the Lower School, so I’ll be making the following (pictures to follow):

1. a 3-D pyramid out of double-wall cardboard,  8-9′ high in the Centrum, along the front wall, which will show the Sahara desert
2. a Ghost Town scene outside our classroom, made of Kraft Paper, which will show and explain about the Nevada/California ghost towns  (look up “Bodie”; I’ve been there)
3. a stand-up mother camel and her baby, made of  double-wall cardboard and made life-size, with standers so they can move about, with facts about camels on the back side
4. palm trees, 8-9′ high  with standers
5. a Bedouin marketplace tent at the front entrance to the Lower School where Dr. Smith puts her morning message.

We just added this to our favorite way to practice math facts or sight words: Power Towers! You get to stack the Dixie Cups if you can answer the fact (or name the sight word) on the bottom of the cup.

http://youtu.be/ySAaWqEJrwg

Two suggestions: Use Contact paper on the outside of a Pringles can for storage of the cups, and have separate colors/designs on them for different operations (Maroon for Multiplication, Aqua for Addition).

A student that needs to move and compete to keep her attention activated might love a Spelling Relay. Put their words up on one wall, numbered 1-12. Roll two dice, and that’s the word they have to run down and find on their list. They run back and write the word. Repeat as many times as there is time. http://youtu.be/yQ_UYM26AR4

Enhancements:

—Time them on each word. That’s the time to beat for that word tomorrow.

—Add obstacles, particularly if you have a small space to work in. Two conference chairs back to back, or a limbo stick they have to crawl under, are the favorites.

Do you have a “Work Smarter Strategies” List on your front wall? You can add to it as you (and the students) think of them. Have some on the list to begin with. Here’s a good start:

Work Smarter, Not Harder!

• Remove any distractions. Don’t let tools become toys.
• Ask for what you need.
• Use what you already know, like “Right There” words.
• Ask a question if you don’t understand. Other kids don’t understand too.
• Solve a simpler math word problem first.
• Use the right gear for reading.
• Use abbreviations when taking notes.
• Preview a book to build schema.
• Say each part and spell each part of spelling words. Every syllable has a vowel. Try mispronouncing words to spell them (Wed-nes-day).
• Don’t rush!
• Draw a picture to see it better.
• Do 2 things at once, but only if you can.
• Use mnemonics (peg and link) for names.

I’ve been helping in Third Grade a lot, but no project ever was this exciting for the kids. They went “off the grid” using solar power and LED desk lights.

The building of the lamps out in the Commons:

Gr.3 Lamps – Part 1

Gr3 Lamps part 2

Gr3 Lamps – Part 3

Gr3 Lamps – Part 4

Time Warner and several TV stations came out to talk with us. Jeanette does a great job!

Rochester Homepage did a feature too, with Margaret!

Yesterday was the hundredth day of school for our primaries. Here’s a look at some of the activities we did in Primary A, and a “100 Steps” activity with Primary C.

Some tips about uploading to Vimeo, which accepts High-Definition videos (YouTube does not).

1. I use Wondershare Video Editor. It accepts and exports Hi-Def, and it’s cheap.
2. My advanced settings crank out awesome videos (you only have to change these once): Codec: HI-DEF H.264,  Frame  Rate:30,  Bit rate: 15,000, Encoder: AAC Audio, Sample rate: 48,000 Hz, 2 Channels Stereo, Audio Bit Rate: 192 kbps.
3. Just export the final video. Don’t close the window, although you can open other windows, go to lunch, get coffee, etc. Vimeo sends you an email when it’s done (usually <2 hours). You’ll get a link you can email to teachers, students, admissions office, your boss, etc.

WAYS TO ASK FOR HELP

By the time you get to Third and Fourth Grade, you aren’t supposed to be perfect and know everything. But you ought to get better at asking for the kind of help you need. “I need help” was okay when you were younger, but now you need to be specific about how the adult can help you.

Remember:

• It’s okay to ask for help. Don’t be embarrassed, and don’t worry about other people judging you.

• Think of what might happen if you don’t get help. Think what might happen if you did get help!

• Decide what the problem really is and what kind of help you need.

• Who can you ask for help? Choose someone you trust and who will know how to help you.

• Think about what you’ll say when you ask for help (the words you might use are listed on the next page). Do it.

• Remember, getting help when you need it is part of being responsible to yourself.

WORDS TO USE TO ASK FOR HELP

Here are some words you can use when asking for help:

“It’s difficult to…

…sound out the words in this paragraph.”

 …figure out what these directions mean.”

…know whether to add or subtract on number 7.”

…see this in my mind.”

“I’ll need…

…some extra time to do all the writing on this.”

…a couple more examples, please.”

…one more example on the board, thanks.”

…to know which of these three things I should do first.”

“I could use…

…a buddy to help me with the reading.”

…some feedback on how I’m doing.”

…a quieter place to work.”

…a bead board or counting things to figure this out.”

“I’d like to know…

…when this should be done by.”

…when you don’t use this strategy.”

…did you mean that (insert what you thought the teacher said here)?”

Other Good Starting Phrases When Asking for Help:

“Did you say that…”

“If I understand what you’re saying, then…”

“If I heard you right, then…”

“Can you say that in a different way?”

“Is there are way to draw that?”

Banana Game

Get a roll of raffle tickets that have the same number on both ends of each ticket. Find a paperback book that is the learners’ interest level and no harder than one year above their instructional level. Read to the players, substituting “Banana” for key words (about 4 per page). Whoever are the first learners to call out the correct word, they get one ticket each. A player rips ticket in half, putting half in a zipper-lock plastic bag, and the other half in a bowl for a drawing at the end of the book. Do this for the entire book, substituting “Banana” for the key words and handing out tickets. At the conclusion of the book, put several incredibly-valuable prizes out (plastic aliens from Oriental Trading, for example). Players set out their tickets from their zipper lock bags in front of them so that the numbers are right side up.  Draw tickets out of the bowl, giving the first ticket winner first choice of the prizes, second ticket winner second choice, and so on. We have a final drawing to see who gets to keep the book!

Banana 75

This is played like Banana, except for three differences: (a) it is timed; (b) spaces for each letter of the banana-ed words are placed on a paper or projected on the wall, and (c) letters are filled in left to right with every wrong guess. Points are awarded for each space not filled in. Timer is stopped when the points reach 75. The Grade 2 record is 5 minutes, 31 seconds, Grade 3 record is 4 minutes, 25 seconds, and the Grade 4 record is 3:30. Can you top that?

Storyscope

Storyscope is another great context game. Any number of students can play. The teacher reads at least three pages of a grade-level story to the students, then asks the students to guess five words they think will occur the most often on the coming pages. The guesses are written on paper or on the board. The guesses words must not be basic sight words (word wall words) like “said” or “and”, but rather words that are inferred from the “flow of meaning” to this point (main character names, significant objects, possibly a word having to do with setting).

After the words are written down for all to see, the teacher reads the next page of the story, and the students listen for “their” words to be read. If a student hears one, (s)he just repeats the word aloud. A mark is made next to that word.

Five new words may be added to the list at the end of each of the next five pages, until there are as many as 25 words to keep track of. If the teacher reads any of these twenty-five words, a student can call out the word and have it marked down.

A good score on Storyscope is to accurately predict at least 80% (20 of 25) of the list words. The Grade 1 record is 90%, the record for Grades 2 and 3 is 86%, and the Grade 4+  record is 96%. Can you top that?

Work Smarter, Not Harder.

• Wherever You Are, BE There.
• Make a Chart or Diagram.
• Look Ahead.
• Solve a Simpler Problem.
• Don’t Worry About what Doesn’t Matter.
• Know Your Trouble Spots.
•  Ask for What You Need.
• Talk It Out Loud.
• Pretend.