Connect and Infer

Making inferences is tricky business.  Often I find that I don't like the making inferences questions that come with traditional basil textbooks... well there are usually a lot of things I don't like about those traditional textbooks.  They never seem "real" enough for me.  But, what I have learned over the years is that if students can make connections, wonder/think about the text (or other media/experiment) then they can make inferences. Regardless of age or ability.  There inferences may or may not be correct but that is okay.  (This is where learning to celebrate mistakes and a risk free learning environment comes into play.)

Making inferences is tough business.   Here's how I made it easier...  Two column note-making.  We would do these together as a class... Model, Model, Model. Anchor Chart, Anchor Chart, Anchor Chart. 

Ask students to list something they read, saw or heard then ask them to write their thinking about it.  I have also used a three column version of this chart that includes a place for connections to the text but that may or may not be needed.  Here are my organizers for making inferences.   Please check them out. :)  Hopefully, they will help your young thinkers!

Inference Sheets on Teachers Pay Teachers (3 Organizers)

Schema & Making Connections Continued!

Okay, to go along with the previous post.  Here's some of my FAVORITE organizers that I've created for students to use.   This is only $1.99 and it includes 10 pages of graphic organizers that you can use with your young thinkers.  Because of the open ended nature of these thinking sheets they will work for grades K-6.  They are  ideal for those who are gifted and talented because students there is no ceiling on their thinking... meaning they can make connections to their hearts content without limits.  These organizers also help students meet the speaking and listening portion of the ELA common core, at a wide range of grade levels.

Here's a preview.

 

Link to Making Connections/Schema Organizers on Teachers Pay Teachers LESS THAN $2.00.

Schema, Schema, Schema... Making Connections

 You know in college when we learned about Jean Piaget... I liked his ideas.  I even hoped at one time to be able to go take a class in Ireland and Scotland centered around his ideas but that didn't pan out.  However, I'm embarrassed to say that it wasn't until 9 years into my teaching career that it actually clicked for me... why his ideas were so important. 

Schema,
Schema,
Schema.

Jean Piaget is the grandfather of this term.
Prior Knowledge,
Background Knowledge,
Connections
What ever you call it
Schema is the foundation for ALL learning.
Whether you are talking about learning your ABC's or Quantum Physics.

It's all based on Schema.
See, we can only learn something if we have a bit of knowledge, or hook to hang it on or folder to put it in.

Click below for an example. Follow these directions, no cheating...
1.  Read the paragraph.  Do NOT scroll down and look at the image or you'll ruin it. :)
2.  What is the paragraph about?
3.  Scroll down and look at the image.
4.  Reflect.  How did that picture help you understand the paragraph?

Schema Glog

See, I told you.  If you had seen that photo first the paragraph would have made sense the first time you read it.
We want to teach kids through relational (many) connections to their experiences (or other hooks in their brain.)  If you go back to the glog and click on the word "schema" you can learn more about it. (There's even a clip of my favorite math guy the late John Van de Walle speaking about making connections in math.)
 Also, clicking chart-stand graphic will take you to a psychology glog with a little slide show about how children learn.  Neat stuff... And it makes so much sense.
We also know that engagement is important to learning... SCHEMA, again folks.
If I cannot connect learning to something you know or care about, significant learning will NOT occur.
Another confession:  I used to think we only activated schema at the start of the lesson then I could continue to teach my heart out.
Ugh, wrong again.
That's why kids need to reflect through out the lesson.
Why, you wonder... Picture this.
You are sharing a story with young children (or lesson, or giving directions, or anything, really...) what happens?
Student 1: "Mrs. B that reminds me of the time my brother fell down."
Student 2: "Oh, Mrs. B I fell down once and broke my arm."
Student 3: "My dog had a broken leg when he got hit by a car."
Student 4:  "My Dads car tore up."
Sound like a familiar carpet time to you?  One of the hardest things to do as a teacher is to get kids to STOP reflecting on their schema.  So really, if you think about this when planning your lessons, giving kiddos time for reflection throughout the activity can really help students to activate their own individual schema about the topic you are studying.  (It's important to remember because our experiences are always unique... so is our schema.)
The other thing I'm just learning is tied to schema is also exemplified  in the conversation above.

KIDS NEED TO TALK TO LEARN...
Saying things out loud helps them to connect to schema.  I mean, I have always let my kids talk out their learning, pair share, triads, whatever you call it.  But its just now making sense to me as to WHY they have to do it.  They are processing and sharing their schema...  (Which leads to QUESTIONS and Wondering... Agh... That will be another blog soon.)
So, I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I just now really connecting to what a great idea good 'ole Piaget was on to with Schema... I had kids make connections since my first year in the classroom.  (Although at first I only taught it as a thinking strategy in reading- How awful is that?) But I never saw the BIG PICTURE that schema is a part of EVERYTHING.


But you know, in college I probably didn't have enough (any) teaching experience to fall back on.  So, what I was learning and studying was not yet meaningful to me.  I thought it was sorta interesting but I didn't have the experiences (or SCHEMA) to attach it to yet.

Here's one of my favorite pictures of Mr. Jean Piaget...  Such a happy man, on a bike, with a basket.

Interesting tidbit.  Did you know Piaget began developing his theories on how children learn while giving the IQ test to young children while working with Simon of the Binet-Simon IQ Tests?   He noticed that kids of a certain age all had the same wrong answers and was curious about the pattern.  

Click HERE for Thinking Sheets to go along with SCHEMA

Wonderings, Questions, and Curious Young Minds.

As the mother of young thinker I can attest to the fact they seem to ask many, many, questions a day.  So, when I came across a Newsweek article called Creativity in Crisis, I didn't find it as any surprise young thinkers as a hundred questions per day.  It seems like very time I turn around Little E, my son, is asking me a question.  (One of my favorites most recently was 'Mommy is it normal to feel invisible?' Literal question here, not figurative. He loves imagining; I love him.)  Sometimes, it seems every other word he says is "How" or "Why"

What I did find alarming about this article is that it said by the time our children are in middle school they all but stop asking questions.  When I first heard... I got my feathers up.  What do they mean students stop asking questions?  Elementary school is the gap in that sentence... Preschoolers ask questions Middle School students don't.  Once I took time to let the message of that sink in, I found that I agreed with them.  My upper elementary kids didn't ask as many questions as my third grade students did... which made me wonder, Why?  Why are younger kids more curious.

At first I thought, "It must be that younger kids have more to be curious about."  As I pondered that statement I decided that wasn't a good enough reason either.  Shouldn't learners of all ages whether they are 2 or 12 be curious?

So, I created some organizers to help kids think about the things they wondered.  We spent part of each day talking about what we wondered.  Heck, I even wondered aloud all day long to my students.  I had to let go of being the TEACHER or "Knower" (as Little E calls it) and instead showing kids that I was just another learner.  I found regardless of the age or ability of students I was working with the more I modeled being curious, the more they were comfortable with sharing they they also didn't know everything.  This was a big obstacle for my students who were gifted/talented.  They are so used to being the 'Knowers' it is often hard for them to admit being curious, especially if they are upper elementary.  But in time, they'll start asking questions too... Once it becomes the culture of your class.

Here's the link to the organizers that I've used to promote wondering. This pack is less then $1.00 and includes three organizers.  If you would like this for free, just comment on this post or follow this blog and I'll have a drawing to give one away.

Link to my TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS: Wondering Organizers

Young Innovators

A couple years ago my former team teacher, David Baxter and I, were charged with the task of teaching our students to be innovative thinkers.  At first we entered this task all bright eyed and bushy tailed but soon realized that while everyone was talking about innovation... there were few (or no) examples we could find of students actually working towards becoming innovative thinkers.  So after spending some time analyzing the true meaning of INNOVATION with our mentors, Dr. Julia Roberts and Dr. Tracy Inman at The Center for Gifted Studies at Western Kentucky University, we created this... THE INNOVATION MODEL.  We found the business world was inundated with innovation models.  Which got our gears turning... If the REAL WORLD had innovation models, shouldn't education?

The innovation model is not linear.  Because students may need to enter at various points when they are solving problems.  We also, intentionally included soft words.... Wonder, Connect, Notice.  Many of these words were added because we noticed they were words our students used frequently when they were thinking through problems. Check back soon, I plan on posting more information on thinking strategies you can use to help your children/students become innovative thinkers soon!

*Note- The innovation model is currently in use at GEMS Academy (www.projectgems.org) in Warren County Public Schools, Kentucky by David Baxter and Jennifer Smith.  

Young Thinkers, BIG Ideas!

Welcome to my blog!  Teaching young thinkers has been a passion of mine for the last ten years.  I am so excited to get this blog up and going.  In the last decade I have worked with students in grades K-6 at all ends of the spectrum.  My first teaching position was with students who were struggling in reading and math and my most recent was with students who were identified as Gifted and Talented in Math and Science.

One thing I have found that one thing units them all regardless of interest, ability, or age is the desire to THINK in the classroom.  If we give students the opportunity to WONDER, to CREATE, to CONNECT, to INNOVATE... they will!  However, this is easier said than done.  I wanted to create this blog as resource for other teachers and parents.  I've spent the last several years researching and creating various graphic organizers or thinking sheets to help promote this type of thinking with my young learners.    I'll share some free on this blog and link to my products on Teachers Pay Teachers shop also.