Chelsea Treadway Teach Like a Champion Strategy Reflection Journal ENTRY #1 Technique # 28 Entry Routine Description: I learned that

an entry routine is something that the students know how to do each morning without any questions. Since they do it every morning, it has become a habit and shouldnt require any explanation from the teacher. The students know whats expected of them and the teacher shouldnt have to tell them what to do. Morning work should be prepared and placed on a table or students desks so they can begin work right away. This is a way to successfully manage a classroom and promote a daily routine of learning. Observation/Implementation: Every morning in my Kindergarten class, the teacher has set up a system for the students to read individually according to their reading level. Each student has a book box, and they are placed by the door so the students can grab them as they walk in. In each box there are about three books that are appropriate reading levels for each student. They know to go to their assigned seat and start reading the books in their book box. For the students who cant read yet, they know to go through and look at pictures and try to recognize letters in the words. They do this for about fifteen minutes and then their day begins. Technique #1 No Opt Out Description: The author describes no opt out as a way to establish a mentality in the classroom that not trying is unacceptable. In order to create a high-performing classroom, its important to set up the no opt out sequence beginning with a student who is unable or unwilling to answer a question and ending with that student giving the right answer, even if they only have to repeat the answer. It communicates to students that each individual is capable of learning and participating in the class culture. Observations/Implementation: Ive been working with individuals and small groups of students the past few weeks, and Ive found myself implementing the no opt out technique. For example, I was with two boys and we were playing a game to improve letter recognition. When one boy got to a letter he didnt know, I asked the other boy if he knew, and he did and said the letter. Instead of moving on in the game, I asked the first boy again what the letter was and he told me. This demonstrates no opt out because I didnt allow the boy to passively give up in the game. He still had an opportunity to learn and take control of growing in his knowledge. ENTRY #2 Technique #15: Circulate Description: Circulating is a strategy that is used to intentionally move around the classroom during the lesson. The author mentions that the plane has to be broken, which means that the teacher needs to move past the imaginary line in the front of the classroom and move around. However, this should be

Chelsea Treadway done at various times and not just when a student is misbehaving. The author also talks about having full access of the classroom. The students need to feel that anywhere the teacher stands in the room is normal and not out of the ordinary. Its important as well to engage with the students while circulating. However, moving about and engaging should be systematic and not follow a certain pattern that the students may recognize. Finally, its key to position yourself strategically everywhere you go, so you constantly portray power over the class so misbehavior is rare. I now see why proper circulating is important and why it is beneficial for a classroom. Observation/Implementation: As I started reading through these strategies, I realized that I actually performed this action on my first day in my kindergarten classroom at Trace. Students were involved in stations and I found that it was important to circulate around the room. I would randomly stop at different stations and engage with the students about their work and their ideas behind it. For example, I was at a station where a couple of girls were drawing a family portrait. I proceeded to ask them which family members they were drawing, and they would respond by telling me who every person in the drawing was and why they were doing a certain action in the picture. As a teacher, this interaction gave me insight to the thought process behind the drawings and why the students chose to draw certain family members. I also stopped at the play-dough station where I observed what students were making, and I also made suggestions for different alphabetic structures which conducted further learning. Being present at the play-dough station also lessened arguments over the colors and tools and reduced the amount of material throwing. These are only a couple of examples of my circulating, but by walking around and interacting at the different stations, the students grew more excited about their work because they got to show me and tell me about their products and progress. Technique #27: Vegas Description: The Vegas technique is pretty simple, and the author uses a quote from Dave Levin that says, Every lesson needs a little Vegas. Using Vegas in a lesson is simply making it a little more fun by adding music, dances, fun phrases, or anything that keeps the class engaged and on their toes. However, Vegas should not be long, and it should not take away from the lesson. Students shouldnt be distracted by Vegas; therefore, it should start and stop and not linger. Vegas should also relate to the lesson and benefit the students learning in some way. I love the idea of Vegas and I think that a little fun keeps students constantly engaged, which is very helpful for learning. Observation/Implementation: On my first day at Trace the teacher had the students participate in a song and dance about the days of the week. The students had obviously done this before, because they knew the words and dance movements and were very excited about it. The song was short, and it paved the way for an easy transition into the daily conversation about the calendar. The song and dance represented the Vegas technique because it was a short but meaningful amount of fun that related to the daily lesson. The song was also a great tool to use for easy memorization of the days of the week.

Chelsea Treadway ENTRY #3 Technique #3 Stretch It Description: Stretch it is used to extend teaching and go beyond a good job or nice work response. The author says that stretch it provides two benefits. First, it checks for actual understanding. Second, it keeps students engaged by making them keep pushing forward in their knowledge. This strategy also allows the teacher to provide differentiated instruction by asking individual students particular questions that will push them the right amount. Observation/Implementation: I found it kind of difficult to implement stretch it at first because I was used to praising students work immediately. I had to take a step back and remember to push students thinking more. For example, my kindergarten students were recently completing a math worksheet that dealt with comparing lengths of objects. Each problem would show two objects and the students had to state which one was longer. I walked over to a table and I asked the small group of students why they thought an object was longer. At first, they couldnt explain their reasoning. However, one boy said it was longer because a certain part of the object went past the other. This demonstrated that he actually understood the concept of length. Without further questioning, he may have not realized that knowledge as quickly. Technique #17 Ratio Description: Ratio refers to how much the teacher allows students participation during instruction. The more the teacher allows students to do the cognitive work, the more effective learning will take place. There should be a well-balanced ratio of teacher-led instruction and student participation. Keeping students involved, will keep them engaged and increase learning. Observation/Implementation: I have observed my teacher using this technique many times when the class goes through their calendar routine each morning. She allows different students to participate in different parts of the routine. For example, she will ask a student to go to the board and change the day of the week sign. Then another student will write the date on the calendar. There is also a student chosen to grab a cube and add it to a long stick of cubes that represents the number of days in school thus far. These are just a few of the participation opportunities for students during this time, and it keeps students very engaged in the lesson.

ENTRY #4 Technique #22 Cold Call Description: Cold call is simply calling on a student to answer a question whether they have raised their hand or not. It allows the teacher to check for understanding quickly and before a formal assessment needs to be given. It also allows the teacher to check for understanding from a particular student that

Chelsea Treadway seems to be unsure of their knowledge. Cold call isnt meant to be scary or stressful, but should be a way to keep the class accountable and on task. Observation/Implementation: Whenever my kindergarten class is on the carpet and learning a lesson, my teacher usually implements this strategy. She usually asks questions near the end of the lesson, and she chooses random students whether their hands are raised or not. When a student doesnt know the answer, she will use that opportunity to ask another student, and she repeats that answer to the class to make sure everyone has heard it and knows it. Technique #23 Call and Response Description: Call and response is when the teacher asks a question or says a phrase and the students answer the call as a group. This allows the entire class to voice their answer and also helps the students that may be unsure of their answer. Its also fun for the students because its like a cheer or crowd response. Call and response also benefits a well-managed classroom by reinforcing the teachers authority and command. Observation/Implementation: There are various times when I have seen call and response used in my kindergarten classroom. For example, my teacher does a lot of author studies, and focuses on a specific author for a certain duration of time. One day I watched as she asked the class what book they read yesterday, and the class answered as a group. Then she asked who the author was, and again the class would answer in unison. My teacher uses this strategy in other situations as well.

ENTRY #5 Technique #30 Tight Transitions Description: Tight transitions are simply having a routine that includes quick transitions from place to place and activity to activity. Tight transitions allows for more time for learning to take place by wasting less time with useless activity in between instruction. Tight transitions become a routine for students and ends up saving time throughout the school year for more quality instruction. Observation/Implementation: Since Ive been in my clinical classroom for a quality amount of time now, I have observed the routine of tight transitions. The students usually start the morning at their tables reading, then they move to the carpet for a lesson and instruction, and then they go about their stations. Its a very predictable system, which also allows for the kindergarteners to be less confused and off task. Technique #39 Do It Again Description: The author describes the idea of do it again as a way to successfully complete a basic task by doing it again and doing it right or better. Its a type of consequence, but it always ends positively

Chelsea Treadway because the student(s) end by doing something the right way. Therefore, this is a simple strategy that can be implemented in any classroom. Observation/Implementation: My kindergarten class sometimes has a hard time lining up to go to lunch. I observed one time when a student ran to get in line and Ms. Underwood told him to go back and try again. Of course that student did a better job lining up the next time. It was a way to communicate to the student that he wasnt demonstrating proper behavior and that he needed to practice doing it the right way. It was a quick and effective way to fix the problem.

ENTRY #6 Technique #44 Precise Praise Description: Praise is very important in the classroom; however its critical to go about it the right way, which is referred to as precise praise. The author stresses that its important to acknowledge students when they meet expectations and to praise them when they do something exceptional. However, its ineffective and destructive when the teacher mixes the responses by praising students for meeting the expectations. Praise should be given for hard work instead of for being smart because its something a student can truly control. And most importantly, praise should be genuine. Observation/Implementation: I was working with a boy individually on letter recognition, and in the past he had be struggling. However, on that day he was trying hard and he recognized more letters. For some letters he would even demonstrate the sound, so I gave him a high five and told him he was doing a good job. He worked hard throughout the time we spent working together, and I told him he worked very hard and did a great job with his letters. This praise seemed to encourage him, and it also conveyed a positive attitude for working hard.

Technique #45 Warm/Strict Description: The warm/strict technique shows that youre caring and warm but also strict and inflexible as a teacher. Students know that you wont bend in certain situations, but they also know that its for their own good because you care for them and their learning. The strategy is more effective when the teacher explains to students why they are responding a certain way, when they distinguish between behavior and people, when they demonstrate that consequences are temporary, and when they use warm and nonverbal behavior. This strategy is the perfection of being well balanced in care and strictness. Observation/Implementation: When I was reading the effective ways to implement this strategy, it made me think of a situation I observed in my clinical classroom. The particular action I read about was to distinguish between behavior and people. During class two of the boys were tugging back and forth on a pencil. Ms. Underwood quickly put a stop to it and said that their behavior was dangerous. Like the

Chelsea Treadway strategy says, its important to say that the behavior was dangerous and the students themselves are not a danger. She later explained to them that fighting over a pencil could really hurt someone by poking their hand, which at this point she showed them that she had a scar on her hand for this reason. In this situation, Ms. Underwood was strict with putting a stop to the action and warm by explaining to the students that its for their own safety they dont fight over a pencil. ENTRY #6 Technique #2 Right is Right Description: Right is Right is a strategy that sets a high standard of correctness in your classroom. Instead of accepting students answers that are close to right and rounded it up yourself to be the right answer, a right is right teacher holds out for the students to answer correctly. This can be done by setting a high expectation for students and to encourage students to keep explaining until they reach a point of correctness. Its also important that you recognize if students answer your question correctly or a relevant correct answer to another type of question. Students should also learn to answer the right question at the right time; it wouldnt be beneficial for the rest of the students if one student stated step 4 when youre trying to teach step 2. Finally, its important to help students develop the correct vocabulary when talking about a topic in order to have a right answer. Observation/Implementation: When I have taught some of my lessons, students are sometimes broad in their answers. I have encouraged them to explain further by either asking them to or just simply asking more questions to spur further explanation. For example, when teaching a lesson on Thanksgiving vocabulary, one of my students was trying to explain who the pilgrims were. Instead of accepting an answer that just described them as people from England, I asked further questions to get the student to explain that they came to America on the Mayflower and that they met the Indians. Technique #6 Begin with the End Description: Begin with the end is simply a strategy in which the teacher plans her lesson around an objective. Its important to use the standards from the certain subject, then build an objective that communicates what you want your students to know or develop, and then to plan activities to help support that objective. All too often, teachers plan activities first and then try to make an objective fit it. However, beginning with the end in mind helps a lesson move more smoothly because its more connected. Observation/Implementation: As Ive planned lessons this semester I always start with forming my objective. I look at the standards and find the one I want to teach, and then I form an objective that states what my students will be able to do following the lesson. Finally, I look at different techniques and strategies to teach and then form my activities to fit my particular objective.

Chelsea Treadway ENTRY #7 Technique #7 4 MS Description: The 4 Ms are manageable, measurable, made first, and most important. These four factors should all be present when writing an objective for a lesson. An objective should be manageable, meaning that it can be taught in a single lesson. An objective should be measurable, meaning that you can specifically measure the students success so you know where their knowledge and learning lies. An objective should be made first, meaning that an objective should be formed prior to any activities. And finally, an objective should be most important, meaning it should focus on helping the students move forward in their learning. Observation/Implementation: When forming an objective in my lessons I have used the 4 Ms. I make sure that whatever I form is appropriate for my students and can fit into one lesson instead f spanning throughout a series of lessons. I make sure that my objective is measureable so that I can build data and see how my students have grown and which ones need further instruction. I make sure that my objectives are made first before I plan any activities. And finally, I make sure my objectives are most important in helping my students further their knowledge that will benefit them as go through school. Technique #10 Double Plan Description: The double plan strategy is pretty simple; its simply planning for what you, the teacher, will be doing or saying as well as planning what the students will be doing at different times. Its important to plan what the students will be doing while youre teaching or going over an activity. Will they be listening, taking notes, or doing something else that youve planned. Planning for all aspects of a lesson will help it to run more smoothly and be more effective. Observation/Implementation: When I write my lesson plans I do my best to also double plan. For example, I write down that the students should be listening or they should be following along on their paper as I read over the directions. Simple details such as these makes the lesson not as choppy and confusing for the students. ENTRY #8 Technique #12 The Hook Description: The hook of a lesson is the engagement piece that draws in the students attention for the remainder of the lesson. It should be short yet captivating. It should relate to the lesson in some way. A few examples are a story, prop, or media. It should be a positive and energetic way to introduce students to the lesson. Observation/Implementation: For one of my lessons I brought in props to hook the students. I had a bag of three objects and I built up suspense about what was in it. I took one object out at a time, and they were objects that were very familiar to the students. I brought in a can, pan, and fan to introduce the

Chelsea Treadway an family. I even incorporated a drumroll prior to showing the last object. This really engaged the students to the remainder of the lesson. Technique #44 Precise Praise Description: Praise is very important in the classroom; however its critical to go about it the right way, which is referred to as precise praise. The author stresses that its important to acknowledge students when they meet expectations and to praise them when they do something exceptional. However, its ineffective and destructive when the teacher mixes the responses by praising students for meeting the expectations. Praise should be given for hard work instead of for being smart because its something a student can truly control. And most importantly, praise should be genuine. Observation/Implementation: I was working with a boy individually on letter recognition, and in the past he had be struggling. However, on that day he was trying hard and he recognized more letters. For some letters he would even demonstrate the sound, so I gave him a high five and told him he was doing a good job. He worked hard throughout the time we spent working together, and I told him he worked very hard and did a great job with his letters. This praise seemed to encourage him, and it also conveyed a positive attitude for working hard. ENTRY #9 Technique #45 Warm/Strict Description: The warm/strict technique shows that youre caring and warm but also strict and inflexible as a teacher. Students know that you wont bend in certain situations, but they also know that its for their own good because you care for them and their learning. The strategy is more effective when the teacher explains to students why they are responding a certain way, when they distinguish between behavior and people, when they demonstrate that consequences are temporary, and when they use warm and nonverbal behavior. This strategy is the perfection of being well balanced in care and strictness. Observation/Implementation: When I was reading the effective ways to implement this strategy, it made me think of a situation I observed in my clinical classroom. The particular action I read about was to distinguish between behavior and people. During class two of the boys were tugging back and forth on a pencil. Ms. Underwood quickly put a stop to it and said that their behavior was dangerous. Like the strategy says, its important to say that the behavior was dangerous and the students themselves are not a danger. She later explained to them that fighting over a pencil could really hurt someone by poking their hand, which at this point she showed them that she had a scar on her hand for this reason. In this situation, Ms. Underwood was strict with putting a stop to the action and warm by explaining to the students that its for their own safety they dont fight over a pencil. Technique #18 Check for Understanding Description: Checking for understanding is not just asking students more questions, its a process of gathering data and immediately acting on it. Checking for understanding can through further

Chelsea Treadway intentional questioning and through observation. When thinking of it as data, a clear line is drawn for students who understand and ones who dont understand. The most important part of this strategy is acting on the data by reteaching through a variety of strategies. Observation/Implementation: I have used the check for understanding strategy in my lessons. I ask a lot of questions throughout the course of a lesson to see how well students are understanding the new concept. If they are still struggling I tweak my teaching and go about explaining in another way. I also keep data through assessing the students at the end of a lesson. This assessment classifies my students in different categories according to full understanding, some understanding, or students who need to be retaught. ENTRY #10 Technique #37 What To Do Description: The what to do strategy has four characteristics that make it effective way to explain directions. First you should be specific, which is done by explaining directions so they are easy to remember, solution oriented, and hard to misunderstand. Second you must be concrete, such as telling a student exactly what they should be doing to complete a task. Third you must be sequential, which is done by stating the specific directions in the order they should be completed. Fourth you must make directions observable, such as directions you can physically see your students completing. Observation/Implementation: When giving my students directions I try my best to follow this model. I make specific steps that I will be able to observe in an order. I also try to somewhat demonstrate or give an example of what they will be doing also. Technique #46 The J-Factor Description: The J-Factor is incorporating joy into lessons so that the students enjoy what they are doing. This can be done through games, drama, songs, dances, humor, and surprise. Its a strategy that draws students together in their own classroom culture through enjoyment and fun. Observation/Implementation: A couple of times a week my classroom teacher plays songs that are meant for the students to sing along to and dance. They dont always relate to specific content, but they bring the students together through fun and engaging activity.