Thursday, August 25, 2016

What's Happening Around Lyon Academy? August 25th, 2016

Take a look at several highlights from around our school this week. If you see an anchor chart, student work, or something else in the building you would like showcased for the staff, please send it to Tyler.Archer@slps.org.
Ms. Walker and Ms. Axelsen welcome students to Pre-K with a theme from the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. 
....so did Ms. Connell for her Kindergarten students. 

 
Ms. Wolfenden's students spent time writing about their identity in "The Colors of Us" writing project. 

Ms. Archer's BBC includes all the required elements- Do Now, Objective, and Homework. 

Ms. Pocost clearly posts the voice level expectations for each activity during the lesson. 

A feature board such as Ms. Pocost's "Scientist of the Month" is a great way to introduce students to important figures and thinkers. 
  
Ms. Jones posts her daily schedule using a pocket chart to show students what will happen in the classroom throughout the day. 

Ms. Welch has expectations for an important strategy, "Turn and Talk" posted visibly for her students. 

Ms. Welch has posted her theme for this year, "Be the change you wish to see in the world," on the hallway bulletin board outside her classroom. 

Giving students an open-ended prompt is a great activating strategy. Ms. Cychowski used this strategy to help her students think about what they will do in Science this year. 

Ms. Cychowski posts assignments for students to complete once they finish their classwork. 

Mr. Harris has an anchor chart to prompt students in the correct ways to write about their reading. 

Ms. Walker's students have already began their study of letters in Pre-K this year! 

Ms. Richardson has a simple anchor chart posted to help students with their writing. 

Ms. Richardson has prompts to help students think about ways they can work with their peers when conflicts arise. 

Ms. Connell completed a puzzle piece activity with her students to show how they are all connected. 

Ms. Wolfenden's door is decorated and ready to welcome students to 2nd grade! 

Anchor charts in Ms. Wolfenden's room help students to see how they can create a REAL community in their classroom. 

Ms. Wolfenden has created a sensory feelings corner for her students to reflect on their in-class behavior. 

Ms. McCord has conversation norms posted for her students to be reminded of how to engage in discussions.

Ms. Benjamin's students have SWAG this year! 

This Editing Marks anchor chart helps Ms. Benjamin's 4th and 5th grade students to revise their writing. 

Ms. Cisar has a number of anchor charts posted that help students to be reminded about classroom and school expectations. 

Ms. Cisar's "Cool Down Corner" is a great way to give students an opportunity to take a break, then re-enter the classroom community. 

Ms. Latta uses mailboxes to sort student materials. 

This classroom library in Ms. Latta's room is organized by genre, level, and is friendly and inviting for students. 

Ms. Connell gets to know her students by discussing a "Question of the Day" and posting the results. 

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Using a Kagan MegaTimer

According to the SLPS Excellent Classrooms Tool, excellent classrooms "develop lessons that focus on mastery of the standard through appropriate materials, engaging activities, and a gradual release of responsibility to maximize learning."

One key strategy to create strong lesson structure and pacing is to create the illusion of speed so that students feel continually engaged. Some ways to do this include:

  • Using a timer for each aspect of the lesson to let students see how much time they have left during each activity
  • Using brief 15-40 second turn and talks
  • Cold calling students/using another randomizing strategy
The Kagan MegaTimer is a tool to assist teachers with implementing these strategies. 



A Jumbo Timer Designed Just for Teachers!
Hands down, the biggest, most powerful timer for teachers available. Mega means big. The MegaTimer™ measures in at a super-sized 6.5 by 9.5 inches. The jumbo LCD display with a brilliant blue backlight is so big and bright, you can read the display from the back seat of your classroom. Mega also means powerful. Powerful it is with all the standard timer features you would expect, plus many, many more. The MegaTimer’s design is so unique and versatile it is patent pending. Push the Student Selector button to randomly pick any student to share. Push the Team Selector button to randomly pick any team in the class to present. Use the Countdown timer to display how much time remains for students to complete their projects. Use the Stopwatch timer to challenge the class how long it takes to clean up. Need dice, a spinner, or random numbers for math problems? The Random mode will generate random numbers for you. Set an Alarm to remind you and the class it’s break time. Students seem a little sluggish? Press the Temperature button to check if the temperature is optimal for learning. And when you’re not using the timer, display the Time and Date. Carry it around, hang it on the wall, or use the stand to place it on your desk. This is the timer you don’t want to be without. Nowhere else will you find so many teaching tools packed into one digital timer. It’s big. It’s powerful.

Some ways the MegaTimer can be used include: 
To download the user manual for the Kagan MegaTimer, access the following link: http://www.kaganonline.com/catalog/JMT/MegaTimer_Instruction_Manual.pdf