It's summer-time and time to get some reading done! Myself and my Tools for Teaching Teens collaborators are going to read and review Differentiation and the Brain, How Neuroscience Supports the Learner-Friendly Classroom , by David A. Sousa and Carol Ann Tomlinson.We will each be reviewing different chapters, and those blog posts will be linked together as we go. If you're interested in learning more about this book, check back and follow the links to the different chapters:) I'm going to give a quick review of the book introduction here, and then later today I'll be reviewing Chapter 1. According to the authors, differentiation is brain-friendly and brain-compatible! They describe the rise, fall, and rise of differentiation, starting with the one-room schoolhouses, where teachers taught all subjects to all students, of all ages, and HAD to differentiate - there was no other way! As the country's population grew, public schools grew, and students were separat...
I LOVE this book! It was required reading for one of my classes during undergrad. Like you, I am all about teaching those procedures and routines. I also like your hand signals. I think I may incorporate this into my classroom this year. I am thinking I will do one signal for tissue, one signal for bathroom, and one signal for sharpening pencils. Thanks for reminding me how awesome this book is! :)
ReplyDeleteI like how you post your routines each morning. With my 5th graders, I had a fairly consistent schedule, so I used my SMART Board for attendance each morning. They LOVED it! My agenda for the day was posted in the classroom, and they knew to unpack, get notes to me, and start their bell work - usually either a number of the day sheet or quiet reading. That gave me enough time to get announcements and attendance out of the way!
ReplyDelete~Erin
Mrs. Beattie's Classroom
I'm borrowing your asking for help! Great ideas and I need to pick up the book. Thanks for the back to school inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI purchased that book about 8 yrs ago I think. I was taking a grad class and we watched a bunch of Wong's videos. I have to say the book was awesome. I think it's a must read for any new teacher. When new teachers ask me for advice I always point them to that book. That book really made me go beyond efficiency to effectiveness. Glad to see another middle school math blog!
ReplyDeleteWhen I have student teachers, I always make sure they know about this book....I'm so grateful that I found it. I bought the book, Minds-on Math, that you are doing as the book study on your blog. I'm really liking it, but haven't had the chance to read through the book study posts. I hope to get to them soon!
DeleteI re-read it every year too! I learn or re-learn something I forgot every time. Good to know other teachers do the same!
ReplyDeleteI am going to use your lists to double-check my first week of school lists:).
I've been incorporated in Mr. Wong's works since I was in high school. We've been using the hand signals and have been following procedures. I can say it really is very effective and agree that these are very useful in the classroom. I've also implemented the same procedure when I taught high school students. I'm thinking that now I will try and implement it to lower levels and am excited to see how this will turn out. Definitely keeping this in mind for the upcoming school year.
ReplyDelete