How do we make our students’ thinking visible? Let me count the ways.  Maybe by starting with  a question to prompt students thinking just as my colleagues did today.  The question they used to get us started “How can teachers make their students thinking visible.  The tool they used was KLEWS Chart . How Can Teachers Make Their Students’ Thinking Visible? What Do you Think You Know ? What Have You Learned? What is Your Evidence? What Are You Wondering? What Science Words and Principles? Drawings Data ForceMotion  It was totally brilliant how Amy and Joy engaged the audience in … Continue reading Making Thinking Visible Using KLEWS

     This blog post was originally published by MiddleWeb . I was honored and very excited to have been published by such a prestigious group. I recently found a pin that says “I’m an NGSS Superhero,” and it has me wondering about the qualifications for such a prestigious label. I certainly don’t feel like any type of Superhero! Here are some of my current thoughts about how one might earn the right to wear this emblem (and perhaps the cape!). A Next Generation Science Standards Superhero: has a vision that NGSS is a land of opportunity for students and … Continue reading How to Become An NGSS Superhero

I have been thinking about an instructional sequence of learning about energy in fourth grade  today and trying to figure an anchoring phenomenon/event/problem & question combination to tie the instructional sequence together. If the anchoring phenomenon is doing its job,  meeting its purpose then all learning experiences : investigations, reading, writing or scientists meetings will have a direct connection back to the anchoring phenomenon. All instruction that occurs is part of a carefully constructed plan. The thread that holds the learning experiences together needs to be strong enough so they are relevant and meaningful to students. Students need to understand the reason … Continue reading Anchoring Phenomenon and Driving Questions Working Together to Improve Instruction.