Color and Chat: Valentine Graph Art

I taught full time for sixteen years in elementary school.  I got a Masters of Special Education of Academically and Intellectually Gifted students, and have a passion and understanding for assessing and meeting children’s needs in multiple ways.  Through assessment of my own practices to achieve National Board certification, I learned more about letting my observations of student understanding drive instruction.  Nothing is more exciting to me than watching a child reach a new understanding or develop confidence in a new skill.  I believe that all learners benefit from approaching learning in multiple ways.  How?
   Math: I know, for some, that word strikes terror!  But, never fear, math can be fun!  By giving students opportunities to construct their own meaning and methods using concrete materials, having lots of opportunity for discussion and sharing ideas, and focusing on doing a few problems thoroughly, students will develop deep understanding and confidence that they can apply to future concepts.
    In writing in upper elementary through high school, I love to use writers’ workshop for us to share thoughts about each other’s writing, give positive feedback, and ask questions that could lead the writer to a better next draft.  We also read and assess published writing to help us learn and improve our writing skills.
     Parents often wonder how to help a child who knows “how” to read, read for understanding, enjoyment, and to critically assess text for validity, artistic value, or personal enjoyment.  Reading high interest materials for true purpose can help students improve their reading skills and nurture a love of reading.  I have found structuring reading around the same skills proficient adult readers use to be most helpful: asking questions, deciding how to approach unknown words, making predictions, rereading when appropriate,  using the structure in a given text for clues, inferring, enjoying humor and descriptive language. As in all subjects, sharing ideas is crucial!  Readers workshop may look like an outstanding book club, with us sharing the observations we have made in our main text.  To supplement, we will also discuss short passages that focus on our main skill, such as making inferences.