#6thchat is used to chat, collaborate, and grow with other sixth grade educators from around the globe. Each session we discuss a topic voted on by #6thchat participants. It's a great way to help grow your PLN and share ideas with others.
Welcome to #6thchat! Please introduce yourself, where you teach and what subjects! I am Kristin and moderate tonight's chat. I teach ELA and SS! Looking forward to chatting with you!
A1) More than one area: students need help in answering questions fully with quality examples; writing sentences that are complete and connected; grammar and conventions....just to start. #6thchat
A1) #6thchat I think they need to improve their ability to provide examples from the text to support their answers...writing those those in complete sentences that make sense.
A1 I feel like slowing our writing down to add details rather than racing to the finish line would be the biggest thing my students need to work on. #6thchat
A1) Heard @teachkate speak this year and she said something that really hit what I notice, traditional writing about reading tasks fall flat because we ask kids to record what they are already thinking instead of writing something that INSPIRES new thinking! YES! #6thchat
A2) I need to be more intentional and repetitive in this area; it can't be a one and done teaching experience; Ss need practice and need to see that note-taking can take many forms from sketchnoting to post-it notes to mapping to outlining, etc. #6thchat
A2) #6thchat I have done many things over the years. I have been having them use notice and note signposts lately. It seems to offer them some choice in what they are noticing & they actually like it. Seems to be helping their comprehension too!
A3) I ask Ss to study sentences & to find examples of high-quality sentences. I also show non-examples & ask partners to identify how they might improve the sentence. I use @PearDeck & notice how having Ss write responses they know will be shared ups the writing quality #6thchat
A3 #6thchat For my struggling students, I provide sentence stems. This has really helped those to get a jump start and then they feel okay/more confident finishing the sentences.
A2) Teach students that notetaking makes ideas sticky and they are more likely to remember information they interact with some way. Then introduce them to many varieties of notes, sketchnoting, outlining, concept mapping, cornell notes. CHOICE & THEIR WHY #6thchat
A3 studying sentences in mentor text and talking about what makes them good sentences. Writing sentences together and working them to not better sentences. #6thchat
A3: Sentences can be so much fun to play with. They are like puzzles! I have my Ss use @padlet to move pieces of sentences around to make new ones. I also have a template I use for formal and informal writing spaces. #6thchat
A4) I really like the BHH method from Disruptive Thinking and the signposts from both the fiction & nonfiction Notice and Note books. My Ss are noticing more and improving how they are actively reading. #6thchat
A5) This is a tough one.Teach importance of synonyms to be able to explain more challenging ideas; we use the RAP strategy (Restate, Answer, Prove it). Using @seesaw or @Flipgrid is another great way by having Ss share an answer orally in their own words. #6thchat
Oh, this is a great idea Jeremy. I haven't used padlet in this way and I use it a lot. I like the idea of "gamifying" it a bit. Thanks for sharing this idea! #6thchat
A5: I think it’s important to teach Ss to make real world connections and to show them how authentic conversations look for books. For example, explain and show them how adults converse about books. I have shown video taped book clubs in the past. #6thchat
A4) Try to help students see how reading changes us -- it helps us walk a mile in someone else's shoes, experience things we may not otherwise experience. This helps them engage more in their reading = a more enhanced WHY -- reading for life not just school! #6thchat
A6: I think Socratic discussions can help with this. It allows Ss to move beyond simple answers and questions when discussing reading. Having Ss create questions for their classmates can help. #6thchat
A6) #6thchat One thing I did this year to get Ss engaged & writing, I had them respond in writing after listening to songs. One that really impacted them was Alternate Routes.
https://t.co/lfjId6nnUM
Their writing was moving.
A7) Have Ss provide some feedback to one another first, & then I'll meet w/Ss. I find small groups can be just as effective as 1:1, esp when I see the same teaching target needed. If I have a group that struggles with expanding ideas, I will meet w/them for example. #6thchat
A7: We have to give time in class for Ss to read our comments. Have them open the document and read the feedback. Also, we have to have Ss reflect on the assignment. Offer them the opportunity to think through what they did well and what they need to improve on. #6thchat
I think this is so true. If we value the time we spend giving feedback, we must give the Ss time to interact with it, consider glows and grows. #6thchat
I vary it from time to time. Sometimes I give them mentor sentences and have them rewrite them. Other times I will give them different clauses to match up to make different types of sentences. The possibilities are endless. #6thchat
A7) Feedback DURING the writing process has greater impact in changing behavior than feedback that arrives after writing. I try to confer throughout a student's process so they can clear hurdles they encounter and feel successful along the way as an author. #6thchat
A8) I want my students to feel capable of making their thinking clear and visible to others. It's powerful when their ideas are expressed in a way that makes them feel understood! #6thchat
Shameless plug. Please check out my books by @RoutledgeEOE. Create, Compose Connect and from texting to teaching: Teaching grammar in a digital age. #6thchat
