100 Minutes: Chapter 3

Thanks to An Apple for the Teacher for hosting this week! I am really enjoying this book, as well as then being able to participate in an online study!

My thoughts on chapter 3...

I feel like the past couple of years I have gotten away from reading aloud every single day. This has not been done intentionally, but simply has been a negative impact from things being piled (and piled and piled) onto our plates. When I began teaching it was something I loved doing each day, and while way back then, it wasn't always intentional, I knew the value in time spent sharing read alouds with my young students. I think that sometimes I get so caught up in ensuring that my lessons are 'mini' that I often felt that there wasn't time to dive into a read aloud along with each one. Reading this chapter has reaffirmed my belief in reading quality, carefully thought out, books to my students on a daily basis, and I will renew my goal of doing this every day.

I loved the section titled Does Whole-Class Mean Undifferentiated. I feel like this is sort of one of those pendulum swings that so often happen in education. Teaching used to be entirely while group instruction, and then there was a major swing away from whole-class teaching... almost making it a taboo thing! One of my favorite quote from the chapter was:

"Differentiated instruction means that each students strengths and needs are taken into consideration when the teacher is planning learning experiences, to ensure that each child is challenged and supported in that learning."

So true!

In addition, I really enjoyed Lisa's discussion about "accountable talk." I have long done 'turn and talk' and 'Think-Pair-Share' kinds of talk in my classroom. But this section reaffirmed the importance of these intentional, rich conversations.

Finally, I really liked the websites that Lisa shared. They seem like some really good suggestions! I have often toyed with the idea of having a class blog (or Facebook page, or Twitter, etc.) but have never taken the plunge... I may have to reconsider that this year!

Off to Chapter 4 I go!