I finally have some energy for my last blog post of year. After visiting my parents for Christmas, I got the flu. Or I should say they "shared" it with me since they had it as well.

I've blogged in the past about how I've structured my lessons using Gradual Release (Fisher and Frey.) Not to mention over half of the Teach Evaluation Rubric is based on integrating gradual release into every part of my day. (Easier said than done.) I've been focusing on the "I do" and "We do" pieces with my math groups.

The point of an "I do" is that I get to model my thinking and what I want students to do. This means I get to do all the talking. And the students HAVE to be QUIET. Yeah right!! Sixth graders don't like sharing the air waves. This is only to be no more than 5 minutes most of the time. This would happen if I got to do all the talking. We're getting there.

I created this visual to help me make sure that when I'm doing a "Think Aloud" to hit some specific ideas by the time I'm finished. This has helped me stay on track--even with the distractions. This is for me and not so much for my students. But I have seen them attend better to the lesson because it gives them very specific information about the days think aloud. I've noticed that they are making connections to other think alouds since I've added this.




Have a fabulous week and a great start to you New Year.