#jsdinnovates January 2017

JUAB SCHOOL DISTRICT

JANUARY 2017

#jsdinnovates Empowering our students to discover and pursue their dreams.

PL Playbook JSD is collaborating to update our Personalized Learning Playbook for elementary schools. If you haven’t updated your page yet, now is the time! #juabpride

Call for Content

Students benefit from flexible seating in Mrs. Nielsen’s 6th grade classroom at Red Cliffs Elementary.

Creating Flexible Learning Spaces

by Jennifer Nielsen, PL Lead This is my sixth year teaching. When I first began teaching, my impression was that everyone should be facing the board. Every seat needed to be pointing in the direction I was giving instruction. It felt very traditional in that everyone was seated in an array or rows.

In time, I have morphed from that thought process. I have read that if children will talk within the first thirty minutes or so of the day, they will talk the rest of the day. I want them communicating, I want them learning, I want them talking. That changed me to flexible seating as a way to facilitate that.

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Is there something you’d like to share with teachers in Juab School District? Email Krystle Bassett with images or text. #jsdchat “Good teachers know how to bring out the best in students.” -Charles Kuralt #juablearns Happy New Year!

You’ve got this!

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(Creating Flexible, continued from page 1) I have different tables. Some are round. Some are square. One you can stand at, or sit on stools at. My desk that I sit at for small groups for targeted instruction used to be in the corner.

More recently, I moved it to the middle of the classroom as my command center. I am much more available and visible to my students.

This was really a jump off the ledge. I worried I would have management problems. I thought I would have to move students all the time, and I don’t. Twice in the year so far I have moved two students. They learn really quick that they don’t want to be moved.

When I made the switch, I was worried about one key thing: are they still going to learn? I have such good learners because they speak more than I do. I’ve moved so far from the lecture circuit to instead asking questions such as: •

what do YOU think?

•

what choice would YOU make?

•

how would YOU like to do that?

•

how do YOU see that?

Congratulations!

The space belongs to my students and I believe they thrive because of it.

Upcoming Professional Learning Sessions January 10 Aligning Standards and Assessments, lead by Mike Spencer Juab School District uses micro-credentials as a platform for personalized professional learning.

Educators district-wide are using the platform.

Have you earned a micro-credential? Please email krystle.bassett@juabsd.org

January 11, Creating Competency-based Rubrics Archives of this year’s Professional Learning Sessions are in Canvas under Modules.

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#jsdinnovates

way myself and my IA are free to teach without interruption. That helps with my littles, but may not be necessary with older students who can self-regulate better. I also believe wholeheartedly in hands on engaging activities. I love the book Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites!

Real life hands on learning! And I try to differentiate as well! So start small. Teach one center/expectation at a time. Take the time to set things up right. Good Luck!

Hour of Code The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching over 100 million students in over 180 countries. The premise is simple: introduce your students to the basics of coding in a one-hour introduction to computer science.

Activities work on any modern browser, tablet, or smartphone, or even with no computer at all. Check out code.org for more details.

Learning stations in Mrs. Lunt’s 2nd grade classroom.

Rotation Model Advice for Teachers

by Jessica Painter, PL Lead I have attempted to successfully run a rotation model since the first year I began teaching. I am now in my 12 year! I have only felt truly successful the last four, and still continue to grow and become better each year. I think it is very important to have a well thought out plan and to be organized before you begin. Rotations can get out of control easily and quickly. Teach rotations very slowly and explicitly. Students must know what it looks, sounds, even feels like when they are participating in rotations the way you expect. Practice, PRACTICE, practice! I take the entire first 6-8 weeks of the school year to set my centers up. Once we are in the swing I expect real learning to take place. I have a parent helper each day that can keep things running smoothly with my student partnerships that are working somewhat independently, that JUAB SCHOOL DISTRICT

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