What is all the hype about HyperDocs?

In one of my classes at UND, I was required to read and present on a book related to technology. The book that I choose to read The HyperDocs Handbook.  In this book, educators learn about how HyperDocs can transform the classroom for the better. I enjoyed reading about this type of instructional tool.

HyperDocs utilize google documents to allow students to interact with multimedia and help eliminate worksheets inside the classroom. HyperDocs can be accessed from any device as long as the device has access to the internet. By using HyperDocs, teachers can extend the work day by allowing students to work on material at any location. Another benefit of using HyperDocs inside the classroom is by allowing students work through a HyperDoc while a substitute teacher is present. The substitute teacher then turns into a facilitator instead of deciphering through all of you sub plans.

Teachers can use HyperDocs to create flexible groupings of students in the classroom. The teacher can allow students to work on a document alone or in a group. Groups can all work on the document at the same time from various locations. Groups might decide to split up the work of the HyperDoc or work on the document together by collaborating around a topic. Now students can be anywhere in the world and are able to have access to the classroom.

One powerful feature of HyperDocs is the ability to utilize extensions and add-ons to fit the needs of all students. It is easy to include text to speech, google translate and duolingo into a HyperDoc. There are also countless other add-ons that you can experiment with including inside your HyperDoc. In my HyperDocs, I like to include a lot of multimedia. I think adding videos to a HyperDoc is a valuable tool to help students remember important concepts. When you add an application task at the end of the video, you help the student solidify the concepts. Lastly I make sure that I include important concepts students are learning inside a HyperDoc into my whole group instruction. By including all of these steps into my instruction, I am able to help students retain the information.

One thing that I really like about HyperDocs is that I can easily alter the HyperDoc to meet the needs of all students. I can allow some of my students who struggle with reading turn text to speech on and allow the computer to read the words for the student. I can also alter the HyperDoc for my students in the Gifted and Talented program by deleting problems that have already been mastered and include extension problems for the student to work on. I am also able to work with students who need teacher help while other students can complete the HyperDoc independently.

Recently I created a HyperDoc to help students demonstrate their learning of parts of speech. At our school, students really struggle with identifying various parts of speech and applying the concepts in their writing. I found a bunch of LearnZillion videos that the students have been watching. Even though the LearnZillion videos have student worksheets to accompany the video, I sometimes find them cumbersome to print off and make available inside my classroom. I decided to create a HyperDoc to accompany the video. I post the link of the slideshow on Canvas-an online classroom service. When students log into canvas, they are able to quickly access the videos and the link to the HyperDoc. Students then need to make a copy of the document and then get started. When a student is completed with the document, all he needs to do is share the document with me so that it can be graded.

I would suggest to any teacher who is interested in using HyperDocs in their classroom to start small at first. Identify a need that you have inside your classroom. Once you have identified a need, start the process of creating a HyperDoc to meet your need. Once you have successfully implemented your first HyperDoc, you can move on to implementing HyperDocs in more ways.

There is also a place for teachers to search for HyperDocs via twitter. All you have to do is search @TsgiveTs to find teachers HyperDocs. You can also go to the HyperDocs website called Teachers Give Teachers for other already created HyperDocs.

Have you utilized a HyperDoc in your classroom? What was your exerience with using this instructional resource?

Edchats- Should we use them in school?

I am getting my masters in Instructional Design from the University of North Dakota. Since starting the program, I have been exposed to many different instructional tools that I can use in my classroom. Today I was able to participate in my first Edchat. This was a new experience for me that I surprisingly enjoyed.

Edchats is a professional development tool. Individuals can log into twitter and collaborate with others with similar interests. The conversation is carried on because members of the chat link their tweet with a similar #hashtag. A moderator poses a question and participants have 140 characters or less to answer their question.

At first I was a little skeptical to the concept of using Edchats for professional development. When you participate, you really need to pay attention to what is happening in the conversation. There are points in the conversation when individuals are commenting on more than one question. If you are not paying attention and reading, you could quickly loose the conversation.

Another reason I was skeptical was because you are only able to use 140 characters to get your point across. In order to participate in the conversation, you are only allowed to add one thought to the conversation. Sometimes it is beneficial in a conversation to elaborate on a thought. This is not possible when you only have a limited amount of characters you can use in your post.

Now having completed the professional development experience, I am more open to using it inside my classroom. I felt like I was engaged through out the whole experience. I almost felt like I was in a "learning high" applying what I know to the conversation. I felt exhausted after I finished because I was focused on reading and creating a response to communicate in the discussion. I also wanted to formulate my answer quickly so that I was able to read what other were saying.

I could see this learning opportunity beneficial to other students in the classroom because they wouldn't necessarily need to communicate their answer face to face. It is a little less intimidating when you do not have to speak in front of everyone else in the classroom. Also students are able to create a response at different speeds. Some students will quickly read/create responses. Some students will spend more time working on one response. Either way students are engaged in the discussion.

Now that I have participated in this learning opportunity, I am eager to use what I learned inside my classroom. Don't worry! I am not signing twenty-five eight year olds up with twitter. Our school has invested in Canvas- an online classroom program that has a great discussion feature. I am going to pose a question about a topic that we are learning and allow students to add their thoughts to the discussion. I think this will work even better than using Twitter because students will not be limited to 140 characters.

Have you participated in an Edchat? What were your thoughts?

Strategic Groups to Promote Student Discourse

In order to be proficient in the common core state standards, students also need to be proficient in the math practices. The ten math practices illustrate skills mathematicians have to solve problems in flexible ways and to explain their thinking to others. One way I promote the math practices inside my classroom is by implementing math talk about sixty-five percent of the math lesson. I believe that the more students are talking about mathematical concepts, the more the students will understand the instruction.

One way to promote student discussion around mathematical concepts is by creating strategic groups to support the concepts I am teaching that day. The math curriculum my school district uses is nice because students do not learn new material every day. The lessons usually cycle between new material and reviewing concepts already learned. I know when there is brand new information, students tend to struggle a little bit more. This is a great time for students to be paired up (mentor/mentee) to work through new material. Sometimes lessons review concepts already learned in previous lessons. These lessons usually pop-up towards the end of a unit when students have more exposure to the material. This is a great time for students who work at similar speeds to be paired up together. 

Discourse is important to have in the mathematics classroom because it solidifies concepts students are learning. Using strategic groups is especially beneficial to students who usually catch onto concepts quickly in math. I have found that these students usually are unable to explain their thinking to others. By allowing students to explain their thinking, they are building their conceptual knowledge of concepts.

So you might be asking: How do I create strategic groups inside my math classroom?

The first step you need to do is organize your class list. I like to organize my students in order by mathematical ability. Sometimes I look at how students scored on a unit assessment. Sometimes I create the list based their understanding of a specific concept. Sometimes I create the list by gut feeling. (The last way probably isn't researched based) 

After the list is created, you need to think about four different ways to group students. The first type of grouping is a mentor/mentee grouping. I look at my list of students and group a student at the top of the list with a student towards the middle. I think it is unfair for a student who always does well in math to feel dragged down by another student. I continue to work my way down the list matching a mentor with a mentee. 

Another type of grouping I create are students who work through math material at the same speed. I go through the list I created and match students at the top of the list with other students at the top of the list. (Same with students at the middle and bottom) While students are working, I am able to circulate around the room to help out groups. There will be some groups who finish quickly. I will make sure to have a supplemental extension problem for this group. I am also able to spend more time working with the students who needs a review of the math material. 

I like to create two to three different types of mentor/mentee and same speed groupings. I like having lots of options. I know that somedays the groupings just do not work for what ever reason. It is also nice to have students working with different students on a regular basis. 

I also like to create groups where students have three and four students in a group. I like these types of groups because students are able to work on critique each other and create viable arguments for their math work. 

By the time I am done making groups, I have around six to eight different types of groups to use in math instruction.  I like to give the students cute names: M&M, Skittles and Starbursts partners. I think this year I am going to create group names around fruits and vegetables. (Fruits will be M&M partners, Veggies will be same speed partners) During the three years I have used these types of partnerships, there hasn't been one student who figured out the reasoning behind the groups. I usually revisit these groups around once every two months just to make sure the groups fit the role they intend. 

Overall, I plan on using strategic groups to promote student math talk in the classroom. The use of math talk has been well received amongst the students in the classroom. Fifth, second and third grade students all love implementing math talk every day in the classroom. 

Using Learn Zillion during Daily 5

I am always looking for different activities my students can preform independently during daily 5. A few years ago, I introduced my fifth graders to the LearnZillion app. Because my fifth graders loved using the app, I decided to try using the app with my third graders.

LearnZillion is a website that contains videos that are based on common core state standards. There are videos in English Language Arts and Mathematics. I like to use the ELA videos during daily 5 because I can use the videos to review what was taught during the reading mini lesson. Sometimes the videos have worksheets that go along with the videos. These worksheets can keep students accountable during a time where they need to be independent. I could also see teachers using the videos to front load content for students. This could be a valuable resource for English Language Learners (ELL) or students in a special education program.

LearnZillion is a great resource that is free of charge and easy to use. In order to get started using the website, you must create an account. Luckily if you have a google account already created you are good to go. The next step to using LearnZillion is to enter your students into your classroom. If you have a copy of your class list, you can use this to quickly enter everyone in your classroom. Unfortunately for me, I didn't discover this feature until I manually entered in twenty-five names into the system.

Once you have students in your classroom, students must log into the website to create their own account. Students must have an access code to create the login. I printed out all the access codes for my students so that they were accessible and easy to find. I would recommend doing this step in smaller groups. I call four to five students to my table to help them get set up.

Once students have an account, you can assign videos to the students to watch. You could also differentiate your instruction by assigning different videos to different students. When I was a fifth grade teacher, there were some students who struggled with parts of speech. Instead of looking at the videos designed for fifth grade common core, I looked in the third grade videos. Because the videos were labeled by common core state standard, the students never figured out that they were watching a video designed for third graders.

Here is a link to the video I used in my classroom today. Try out LearnZillion out for yourself! 

The First Six Weeks of School

The beginning of the school year is always a hectic time for me. First of all I spent the whole summer waking up naturally to the sunlight, reading a few good books and going for a run whenever I please. This schedule comes to an abrupt stop as soon as September 1st rolls around. All of a sudden the beginning of the school year slaps you in the face in full force. 

Late last week, I couldn't help but feeling frustrated. The students went to recess and I slumped down in my chair by the computer. I had just retaught how to get started during daily five for what seemed like the millionth time. 

"How many more times am I going to have to teach this" I thought to myself. "I have all of these assessments to give, and students keep moving around the classroom and talking to each other"

It was at that moment when I glanced over to my morning message for the day. 

"You have finished your second week of school." I wrote earlier that day. The frustration seemed to die down a little. My school uses a responsive classroom approach where teachers are expected to reteach expectations during the first full week of school. The theory is that if you spend time teaching expectations early on in the year, you will not have to spend time later on in the year when you are trying to learn content. If this was the case, this means that I still have four more weeks of teaching expectations before my students are expected to learn them.

I think many teachers are like me and easily get frustrated because students "should know what the rules are by now." I need to remind myself that these are twenty-five eight year olds who just had three months to do what they choose. Of course it is going to take some time to establish the rules. 

Tomorrow, not only am I going to reteach the rules of Daily 5, I am also going to reteach coming in from recess, voice level in the bathroom and how to pass out folders. What are some expectations that you need to reteach in your classroom? 

Math Talk

One of the most powerful tools I have, to promote learning in math, is the use of math talk. Math talk creates a classroom environment where students have to collaborate in order to solve a math expression. I have seen many benefits from incorporating math talk in the classroom.

The first thing that I have noticed inside my classroom is that students are able to clarify their understanding by using math talk. Students must explain their ideas to others. This helps deepen each students understanding of the concepts. When a student is confused, another student is there to help clarify. The more a student explains their understanding to others, the deeper their understanding is of a concept. I think this concept is great for the math student who is able to quickly reach an answer. By requiring the student to slow down, and explain their thinking they are able to think more critically about why a concept works.

On the flip side, if a student struggles with a concept, they are able to receive help from another student. Students are able to work together to find errors in their work. I always teach my students that if you reach the end of a problem and get different answers, you need to go back and check both students' work.

Another reason math talk is so beneficial in the classroom, is because students are able to solve a problem using multiple approaches and still reach the same answer. When students talk about different ways to solve a problem, they are promoting flexible thinking. Flexible thinking is beneficial when a student is trying to solve a problem and their approach just isn't working. Students need to build perseverance and continue to work until the answer is solved. Solving a math problem multiple ways also helps students realize what methods are more efficient than others.

Lastly students are able to ask questions and critique others in a respectful and safe way. I have
pictures of sentence starters for students to use while they are math talking. These sentence starters encourage students to think critically how they solved a problem. Sometimes I have students focus on using one question during a problem. Sometimes students look back to the sentence starters as guidance for how to help a friend.

Overall, I think the use of math talk is a crucial part of math instruction. By using discourse, students are able to solidify concepts. Teachers are able to take more of a facilitators approach rather than give direct instruction to students. I am to have sixty percent of my lesson containing math talk. How much math talk do you have in your classroom?

Flexible Seating in the Classroom

The beginning of the school year is usually rough. It takes a little bit of time to get to know each individual student. Some students need some time to figure out the rules. (Some students need to test the boundaries of the rules) This year was different for me because I was looping with my second grade class to third grade. I was so excited because we didn't have to start at zero learning all of my rules and expectations.

I learned about flexible seating this summer and was eager to try it out. Because I knew the abilities of my students, I knew they could handle the transition. I also know that my students love it when they are given a choice in the class. Quite frankly, I hate making seating charts. For some reason, making a seating chart takes me hours because it is never perfect. If I do get a good seating chart, I usually feel guilty leaving students in their spot too long. Because of all these reasons I decided to try out flexible seating in my classroom.

I decided to buy six yoga chairs and six wobble chairs for my classroom. I also knew that I would have a counter that students could sit at for some extra space. Every classroom at my school has two Hoakie chairs, so I was going to use them. A parent also wanted to donate a bike desk for the third grade classrooms. My main goal of the room was to create around thirty seating options so that students could spread out without having so many desks getting in the way.

On Welcome Back Day, I was a little worried about flexible seating. All of my students little brothers and sisters found the yoga balls right away and started bouncing uncontrollably on them. Also when students first started sitting on the yoga balls, they started bouncing uncontrollably. We quickly enforced the rules and everything has started working out.

There are a lot of things that are going well using flexible seating. I think students are quieter during work time. They know they need to be, other wise they know I will move them to a different spot. They also seem to be getting more movement in during the day. I think this contributes to less behavior problems over all. I believe that when students have the ability to make choices, their learning is positively impacted.

Things that you should consider when adapting flexible seating in the classroom:

1. Think about the classroom procedures that you have in your room. How are the procedures going to be different once you utilize flexible seating? How will you pass out items quickly to all students? In my room, I assign 6 people to be the paper passer-outers. Their job is to quickly get 4-5 folders and pass them out. This way everyone isn't moving around the classroom and we can quickly move on to the next item. 
2. What are the rules you will have with flexible seating? What happens when students break the rules. In my classroom, the students know that they need to have less than four people at an area. They also know that they need to have at least one girl and one boy. Everyone is responsible for choosing a good learning spot. If they cannot make a good choice I will make it for them. There is no warnings in this case. 
3. What about classroom supplies? Will you use community supplies? I knew from the beginning that students would not have their own space to call their own. I had to create spaces where students could store their items. I also bought each student a coloring box to store their art supplies. I have also spread out their math notebooks around the classroom so students are all going to different locations instead of crowding into one small area in the classroom. 

Writing Workshop- Day 2

How are Lucy Caulkins' lessons set up?
Yesterday we spent a lot of time discussing how mini lessons look inside the classroom. The problem in my school district is that the lessons that Lucy designed were suppose to last over 60 minutes. The reality at my school is that we only have 45 minutes.

The key to teaching writing is to give students a skill and then give them time to practice the skill. Being able to practice for at least 20 minutes a day is the goal. I know in my classroom, sometimes it is hard to have time for 20 minutes of writing. Sometimes life happens and we may have 15 minutes, 12 minutes or 7.

During the mini lesson it is important to inspire kids to want to write. You need to pump them up for writing and then you need to give them a teaching point for the day. Our district has decided that we are going to make sure our mini lesson only lasts seven to nine minutes. This way we will give students enough time for writing. Let's be honest. Are the students really listening after 10 minutes any way?

Another idea that was talked about was not taking students questions during your mini lesson. I am not sure how this would work out because, my students are always so excited to share their ideas. I think I am going to give this a try this year.

Writing Institute- Day 1

I think it is important to learn about the progressions each grade uses because it help you understand what your students have learned in the past and where are they going after they leave your classroom. I thought this was helpful to see why what I am teaching is relevant in the scope and sequence of our district curriculum.

Another big take away from the day was learning how all the other teachers started writing workshop in their classroom.

One teacher gave us a list of books that she uses inside her classroom. These books teach students that you can write just about anything. She reads all of these books to her students during the first 6 weeks of school and then the students brainstorm together what you need to do to be a good writer.

• The Best Story by Eileen Spinelli
• You Have to Write by Janet S. Wong

Another teacher said that she has the students talk about what is important in their heart. She has them create a brainstorming sheet where the students are able to list the people, places and things that each students loves. This is a great resource because when students are stuck trying to find an idea, they just have to pull out the brainstorming sheet to find an idea. 

We talked a lot about how to build writing stamina. I know that I have always worked hard building reading stamina, but never really though that students need to build writing stamina as well. Some teachers give students writing prompts so that they are able to work towards writing more. Some teachers have students interview other students to help build the classroom community. I think I am going to have my students work on writing their hopes and dreams as a way to build stamina and track how much stamina they have gained throughout the year. 

What about you?  How do you start off the writing school year? Do you have any favorite books to read to your students to help create a meaningful writing workshop? Tell me in the comment section below.