Instruction Tips

Looking for an activity or instructional tool to spice up your daily lesson routine? Look here for your answer! 

9.3.25  - It's All in the Questions

Recently one of our colleagues posed an amazingly thought provoking question to students and in groups of two and really they wrestled with it. Our colleague encouraged them to look at an article, their notes, and think through it with their learning partner - no devices allowed. The energy in the room was high and the discussions indicated they were understanding the concept.

Researcher John Hattie would not be surprised. His meta research indicates that effective questioning has a .48 effect size. Research also indicates that questions that provoke deep levels of thinking provide the most impact. Recall questions and Depth of Knowledge (DOK) questions have a place, but relying on them too much can decrease the effectiveness of questioning.

Elizabeth Stein, National Board Certified educator in the Long Island New York school system, provided some helpful reminders in an article in Education Week. It’s an oldie from June 2011, but it’s a goodie. She suggests that teachers collaborate to develop thought provoking questions and gives some types of questions that work well.

Open-ended questions leave room for students to say what’s on their minds without worrying that there is only one right answer. These questions also give students a chance to justify their thinking by explaining their responses. What’s your opinion of . . .?

Diagnostic questions require students to explain information and formulate some kind of understanding of what could be going on behind the scenes. What would happen if . . .?

Challenge questions ask students to analyze, apply, and evaluate. Do you agree or disagree . . . why?

Elaboration questions nurture students’ listening and speaking skills as well as comprehension skills. Can you add your thinking to . . .?

Extension questions inspire students to think beyond the text. Can you think of an original way to . . . ? How would you adapt this to make it different?

Elizabeth Stein wraps up her article with a bit of a challenge for all of us.

When effective questioning is commonplace in the classroom, students grow more confident in evaluating how new information connects with what they already know. They learn to respect the varied thinking of others—and are energized by hearing others’ questions and answers. When a teacher regularly asks students to analyze, apply, evaluate, and adapt what they have learned, they are more likely to generate their own meaningful questions. And this kicks up the level of learning—both in the moment and in the future.

Wishing you a 2025-26 school year filled with wonderful questions!

5.7.25  - Course Evaluation Form

A sample course evaluation is linked here as a Google Form. You may like to make your own copy to get some feedback from your students after finals. This is not a requirement, but kids often give great feedback and occasionally even some kind words that make you feel even better about getting through the semester!

12/10/24:  Is Digital Text King? Not so Much!  by Christin Barkmeyer

Recently I had a discussion with one of our colleagues that boiled down to the question “Is Comprehension Better with Digital Text?” Timothy Shanahan, distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Illinois and literacy guru, also had this question and answered it in his article with the same name. He concludes  “We don’t read as well digitally as we do on paper. When texts are short – a page or less — and comprehension demands light (what’s the main idea?), we do pretty well with either kind of text. But as learning demands increase and the texts are more extensive, paper wins hands down.”

Knowing this helps support our school improvement strategy of Read and Discuss. The research is clear that the more a student reads, the better reader he/she/they become. Frequently sitting aside time during class, even 3-5 minutes, for students to read (print or digital) helps them become stronger readers. When we ask them to read more dense and/or complex text, Shanahan suggests that students read from paper copies. 

He went on to cite the evidence and explain, but he also expressed that we still need to teach students strategies to interact with digital text because it’s a reality in our society today. It’s also important to just point out to students that they don’t read as well digitally as they do in print, and therefore should be aware of that fact when they are reading something on a screen. Check out the full blog article here!

12/4/24:  Gathering Student Feedback  Sarah Thomas

In a few short days, our students will rush out the door for winter break. (And we may be anxious to follow them!) As they are walking out the door, have you wondered,  Did they actually enjoy the class? Did they understand everything I taught? Some of what I taught?

Sure, we could rely on their blank stares during lessons or their suspiciously enthusiastic “It was fine!” when we ask. But there is a way to get real, actionable feedback before 2nd semester begins.  Enter: student course evaluations.

Giving students a chance to evaluate our courses isn’t just for them; it’s a game-changer for us too. Here’s why

1. You’re Already Amazing—Let Them Confirm It

Think of this as your opportunity to hear all the great things your students appreciate about your teaching. Do they love your corny jokes? Are the projects interesting? Let them tell you! Positive feedback isn’t just a confidence boost; it shows you what’s working so you can keep it up.

2. Find Out What’s Not Working (Before It’s Too Late)

Maybe your “Monday Motivation” quotes are coming off more like “Monday Meh.” Or that group project you thought was genius? Total chaos on their end. Getting honest feedback can help you tweak things for the better, making your class even more enjoyable and effective.

3. Teach Students to Advocate for Themselves

By asking for their input, you’re teaching your students a life skill: how to provide constructive feedback. It’s like a bonus lesson in communication skills, and who doesn’t love sneaking extra life lessons into the curriculum?

4. It’s Not as Scary as You Think

We get it—inviting feedback can feel daunting. But remember, this is about improving, not beating yourself up. Plus, high school students are usually more supportive than you’d expect 

Tips for a Successful Evaluation

• Keep it simple. Use a mix of multiple-choice and open-ended questions.

• Make it anonymous. You’ll get more honesty this way—no one wants to criticize the person grading their final exam.

• Ask specific questions. Instead of “Did you like this class?” try “What activity helped you learn the most?”

• Act on the feedback. If you can make a small change based on their input, let them know. It shows you care and encourages their participation in the future.

Ready to Give It a Try?

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel! Here is a template to guide you and there are many more templates online. Or, if you’re feeling creative, make one tailored to your teaching style.

Hope you give it a try!

10/24:  Read and Discuss Strategies

Earlier this week Kaylee reminded us of some effective cooperative learning strategies from our school improvement plan. In this post, let’s focus on the ‘read and discuss’ strategies. Just like cooperative learning, there are several ‘read and discuss’ strategies to choose from. Here are a couple.

Partner Reading provides students with an opportunity to help each other with unfamiliar words and to share thoughts about the text. Even though this may seem a bit elementary to some students at first, many, if not most, end up appreciating the time to read then talk about what they are reading.  In this strategy you pick the text and every student gets a copy. The each person in the pair reads silently. Then they ask and answer questions with their partner. Specific instructions are given here.

Say Something is a similar strategy but the students read sections of text silently then discuss without alternating. Specific instructions are given here. 

We can all help our students become stronger readers by providing the expectation that they read and the time for them to do it!

Find this post, and all our others on our TEACH and TECH TALK page. Find links to TEACH and TECH TALK on Classlink, the WRHSLibrary Homepage, under Staff Favorites on the District Webpage,WaRuPd or by clicking here! 

9/11:  Media Literacy Instruction - to elevate fact checking skills

YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram remain the most widely used online platforms among U.S. teens, according to a Pew Institute Study. Nearly half of the teens surveyed say they use the internet “almost constantly.” This is roughly double the 24% from the 2014-2015 survey. 

As Educators, let's help students best navigate these platforms with a skeptical, yet informed lens. Below are some resources, and your librarians would love to collaborate on a lesson for this issue. 

• Crash Course:  Media Literacy series on YouTube

• Civic Online Reasoning Lessons:  Who's behind the information? What's the evidence? What do other sources say?

• Common Sense Media:  Hoaxes and Fakes; Challenging Confirmation Bias; Clicks for Cash; Filter Bubble Trouble; AI: Is it Plagiarism

• Common Sense Media:  News Literacy Lessons to Help Students Understand Election Media

• All Sides Media Bias chart & info ... How to Spot 16 Types of Media Bias

• Ad Fontes Media - interactive media bias chart

  • and of course there's debate about these media charts...so here is one response

02.21.2024:  Try a new discussion strategy: the silent debate! - Finney

Are you looking for something new to try in your classroom to facilitate discussion? Are your students struggling to support their arguments with valid ideas, claims from the text, and build connections? Do I have the activity for you: The Silent Debate!

If you attended my PD session on Tuesday, November, 11th, you already know what the Silent Debate is, but if you didn’t, allow me to share. The silent debate is a group activity that requires students to respond to a question, typically based on the text(s) they have been reading, and support their answer (or claim) with evidence from the text. Students are graded on their ability to: state their claim, support their claim with evidence from the text, and challenge, question, and build on the arguments of their peers. How is it silent? Students participate by writing their claim and responses on a large piece of paper in a group setting. This is a fantastic way to engage students who may not be comfortable speaking up in class, and it allows you a way to visually keep track of their written arguments. 

How do you make this activity successful? Well, you’ll need at least two days. Day 1 is for prep. Share the question they will be answering with students and make them build their argument so they have access to notes on Day 2. Then, Day 2 is the day of the debate. You’ll also need large pieces of paper, markers (a different color for each student in the group, a rubric, and the black sharpie of doom! (It’s what you use to give feedback to students while they are working.)

The best part of this activity is that it comes with one of your friendly emotional support librarians to co-teach it with you! I recently had the pleasure of helping facilitate this activity in Colligan’s Freshman English class."Kids don't want to talk? They talk too much and are off-task? Use the silent debate to help get engagement AND a silent classroom!" 

Send me an email if you’d like to try this activity today! 🙂

12/1/2023:  How are we doing with our school improvement plan?

The first day of December is here and the semester is winding down. It feels like December with some lingering snow, weather watches, and preparation for finals, even some preparation for next semester.

December is also a time that many reflect on 1st semester taking note of what went well and what could use some improvement. Our SILT members do this by reviewing snapshot data about our school improvement strategies.  You are invited to join in.  I bet you remember last August when our school improvement plan was shared and reviewed. Here’s a refresher.

Goal #1:  75% of tenth grade students will demonstrate proficiency (Level 3 or 4) in English Language Arts by the end of the 2025-26 school year as measured by the Kansas State Assessment. 

Goal #2:  75% of tenth grade students will demonstrate proficiency (Level 3 or 4) in Mathematics by the end of the 2025-26 school year as measured by the Kansas State Assessment. 

Goal #3:  By the end of the 2025-26 school year, 95% of seniors will graduate with their 4-year cohort.

Some department chairs, the instructional facilitators, and administrators have gathered snapshot data regarding our strategies that can help us meet our goals. 

Check it out!  What do you notice?  What does the data make you wonder? What does the data suggest? What does this mean for our work with students? What are we going to do next?   

12/1/2023:  New Year - Time to set academic goals and tools to help. For the new year, Google is adding a record feature in Slides

Find this post, and all our others on our TEACH and TALK page. You can find it linked in Classlink, the WRHS Library Homepage, under Staff Favorites on the District Webpage, or by clicking here!

Welcome Back and wishing you a good 2nd semester!  

Are you a New Year’s goal setter?  We know that most accomplishments begin with setting a goal. In fact, goal setting is a research based strategy that has a high positive impact on student learning.  And it takes more than just speaking the goal out loud , maybe the reason some adults are already 'letting go' of their resolutions. Tools like this HyperDoc can help students' accomplish their academic goals by building their executive functioning. This example focuses on life HOPES and DREAMS, but it could be simplified and modified for setting unit goals. This  may be the boost our students need this coming year. 

Perhaps a goal you have for this semester is to closely monitor students' progress toward unit objectives. Google Forms can be a handy tool to accomplish this and Monica Burns’ this blog post explains step by step how to set it up. 

Coming this semester is the ability to record in Google Slides. Some of us have been waiting a long time for this feature! Google plans to roll it out throughout January. Keep an eye out for a red record button in the upper right hand corner of a Slides Presentation. How to use this feature is explained here.

Wishing you all the best in 2024!

11/13/2023:  Media Bias & AI:  Where do you get your news?

Have you heard about Microsoft's AI recently messing up the news?

Hopefully you are aware of the Media Bias Chart but certainly students should also be informed. Additionally, All Sides, owned by John Gable, is helpful for viewing news from the political right, center, and left.

10.23.23

“Why is reading important?” asks an article from Grand Canyon University. As educators this question seems like a ‘no brainer’, but how often do we give our students time in class to read about our content areas? Now that 2nd quarter is underway, maybe we can infuse some reading into our lessons. Asking students to read a paragraph, section, or article then following it up with a discussion activity 1) builds their understanding of our content, 2) is a formative assessment, 3) and prepares them for future classes both at WRHS and post-secondary institutions.

And the best part is that it doesn’t have to take large amounts of time. For instance, asking students to read a short piece and following it up with a Timed Pair Share discussion could take around 5 minutes, depending on how long the text is. And the benefits are many.  Here is a list from the Grand Canyon University article.

1. Helps Understand Instructions

2. Supports Us on the Job

3. Develops New Skills

4. Brings a Sense of Discovery

5. Grows Imaginations

6. Helps Our Writing

7. Develops a Sense of Accomplishment

8. Supports All Areas of LIfe

9. Builds a Strong Vocabulary

10. Builds Accurate Spelling Skills

11. Builds Community

Happy Reading!

9.27.2023

There is an old and familiar communication activity that I’ve enjoyed watching students complete. One student has a drawing and is asked to give directions to their partner who is to replicate the drawing. The partners are facing away from each other and the partner who is drawing may not speak. So the students can not see each other’s nonverbal or verbal responses. Laughter is often heard when the resulting drawing is revealed. The drawings can be funny and is often way off the mark. The point is clear two-way communication makes a big difference in results.

The same is true in a class. Posting and continually talking about the learning objectives makes a difference. Students are more likely to master the objectives when they know what the learning objectives means and what skills are needed to master it.  It’s like them seeing the drawing with their own eyes before, during, and after they replicate it. The next step is getting clear verbal and nonverbal feedback about progress toward mastering the objectives. Sometimes it’s easy to assume that students can and do analyze their own work the way we do. However, they may not have the skills and understanding to do that yet. Our specific feedback helps that process. Using strategies like the “Ps to Better Feedback” helps students understand what they are doing well and what next steps they need to take.    

That’s not to say that students should not monitor their own progress. They should. And Heather gave us examples of student self assessment during Monday’s sessions. Here is her slide deck. 

Intentionally posting learning objectives and engaging students with them often can make a big difference in our student’s learning. And maybe we will hear delight and  laughter because our students mastered the objectives!

9.20.2023

 ‘Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.’ –Benjamin Franklin

This quotation is an oldie, but a goodie and speaks to our school improvement Read and Discuss strategies. These strategies can be time efficient and engage students in meaningful ways increasing their chances of remembering. For example, paired with a reading (short or long) RALLY ROBIN with a Depth of Knowledge (DOK) level 1 question can take as little as 1 minute. TIMED PAIR SHARE with a DOK question at level 2 or 3 can take as little as 2 minutes. Both of these strategies require positive interdependence and individual accountability putting them in the cooperative learning realm rather than group work like TURN and TALK. 

And by the way, TIMED PAIR SHARE is effective during lectures too. It gives students an opportunity to process new learning throughout listening and notetaking time. 

Heather and I are happy to partner with you to implement these strategies in your classes, just give us a shout. Or if you want to branch out from these strategies, we can brainstorm and share with you a variety of additional strategies. 

All the best as you make READ and DISCUSS strategies a regular part of your instruction!