Learning Routines Build Student Independence

Solid learning routines build students' independence, and that independence develops learning confidence and success.

I'm drafting the routines I'll put into place next year as I teach community, science, and math. Each routine includes the following foci:

• Focus on the learning standard and goal.
• Question, knowledge share.
• Determining, creating learning paths.
• Multimedia resources, independent/collaborative study.
• Writing and vocabulary.
• Assessment and share. 

Math
Each class will meet to learn math for about 60-90 minutes a day. I'd like to focus on one learning goal each week with the following weekly routine:

Monday:

• Introduce the learning goal and vocabulary.
• Discuss what we know/think we know and questions.
• Determine the learning path: How will we meet this goal?
• Choosing the path(s), exploration.
• Home Study: Students review learning goal with online videos, games, and/or other information. 

Tuesday:

• Focus Lesson: Teacher provides a short focus lesson as a follow-up to yesterday's lesson and the home study assignment.
• Students choose their learning/practice activity and continue the learning.
• Home Study: Practice choices listed on online document. 

Wednesday:

• Check-In: What have you learned so far related to the goal, and what questions remain?
• Continued learning activities, practice, and enrichment.
• Home Study: Practice choices listed on online document. 

Thursday:

• Writing about what we have learned. Students compose reflections, descriptions, scripts, comics, posters, videos, or other compositions explaining the concept with words, diagrams, and images. 
• Home Study: Students complete the composition at home. 

Friday:

• Students share compositions. A few compositions are published on weekly newsletter. 
• Short Assessment.
• Teacher reviews assessments and determines next week's goal. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Science Routine

There are approximately six weeks and 12 lessons per unit with two lessons per week.

Lesson One:

• Topic Introduced. 
• Teams Created.
• Topic Website Exploration.
• Questions Generated.
• Website will include a number of home study choices. One home study choice will be required by the end of the project. 

Lesson Two - Three:

• Hands-On Resources Introduced.
• Exploration.

Lesson Four:

• Project Problem Introduced.
• Hypothesis Generated.
• Teams Design Investigation Path.
• Investigation Begins.
• Teams Keep a Journal of the Investigation.

Lesson Five - Nine:

• Investigation continues in school and at home if desired. 

Lesson Ten & Eleven:

• Investigation completed and a short concluding composition is created. 

Lesson Twelve:

• Compositions and investigation results shared.
• Short Assessment. 

----------------------------------------------------

Reading, Writing, and Community

The biographies of famous scientists, technologists, engineers, artists, and mathematicians will serve as the program framework. I will weave this effort into the learning as time allows.

1. Introduce famous person and generate questions and knowledge statements.
2. Read the story. As I read ask students to write down questions, fascinating facts, or reactions.
3. Choose one quote from the famous person and have students copy that quote into their STEAM Inspiration notebooks. Have students reflect on the quote. Share reflections.
4. Possible follow-up activities could include videos about the individual, TED talks, timelines, Skype or Google Hangouts. 

Below is the online template I'll use to guide students' home study related to the routines above.

Home Study List

Please check the home study list nightly for class updates and news.

Team 15 Home Study Chart and Message Board Please email Ms. Devlin at maureen_devlin@wayland.k12.ma.us with questions Don’t stay stuck!  Ask Questions! Read the class newsletter regularly. Note that this page is updated regularly, please check the list every school night. Class Website Links Team 14 Website Magnificent Math Sensational Science

Biography of the Week:

Weekly Quote: 

Math Standard:
Related Vocabulary	Word Definition/Example

Day	30 Minute Home Study Activity:
Monday	Review Online Study Links. List Questions.
Tuesday	Practice Choices:
Wednesday	Practice Choices:
Thursday	Complete Composition:

Science Standard:
Project Choices:
Due Date:

Class Website: Yearbook

As students and I reflected on the school year we moved through the posts on the class newsletter website. Every three or four days, I wrote and published a newsletter on the newsletter website. Each newsletter included links, images, videos, slideshows, and information related to all aspects of the learning program. As we looked over the newsletter website yesterday I realized that the website had become a yearbook.  One child remarked, "So many memories," as we flipped through the posts and prepared for students' final writing piece, Fourth Grade Reflections.

At the end of the year, I'll retire this "yearbook" and start a new newsletter website for next year's class. I'll continue to keep the "yearbook" online so that students can look back at their favorite posts, videos, and images.

Similar to this year, next year I'll post a newsletter about once a week. I hope to include the following in each post next year:

• Bulleted highlights at the top with an image, slideshow, or video.
• Student News: Students' written and/or videotaped weekly learning highlights.
• Teacher Corner: A note from the teacher. 

The newsletter website is a great way to create a "yearbook," one that contributes to building community and providing a source of reflection and evidence from a year of teaching/learning. 

You Can't Get That Here

If you go to an ice cream shop, you probably won't find tomatoes.
Yet, going to an ice cream shop in search of tomatoes may incite a creative response.
But, if you really want tomatoes, it's best to go to a farmer's market, grocery store, or a vegetable garden.

An essential ingredient to teaching/learning success is knowing where to go for the answers, tools, processes, and strategies you seek.

"Where can I get what I need?" is an essential first question for any learner. Don't you agree?

Study Routines?

As you've probably noted, I enjoy research and study. I like to learn, and I like to promote the most up-to-date ideas and information for my students' long term learning success.

I have found that a regular routine of study serves this work well, a daily pattern.

In this tech age there's always that temptation to move in multiple study directions, and that's why it's integral to clearly define the study path in order to meet goals.

Current Study Path:

• TEAM Research Letter/Donations, Reflection, Presentation, and Final Thoughts Posts/Efforts
• 5th Grade Science Standards, Units, and Background Information
• 5th Grade Math Goals, Strategy, Tools, and Process
• Learning to Learn Habits and Mindsets Curriculum Creation
• Study Coach Goals (I have a couple of study coaches who are working with me on some deeper learning goals)

I like having a number of paths outlined because as you embark on your routine, you can choose the study area that matches your daily energy. Identifying the path serves to push you towards your goal otherwise movement is not as readily obtained.

Once the paths are determined, it's important to create the routine. Since we all have different schedules, supports, and styles, we'll all determine different types of schedules to support our learning.

A good routine for me is the following:

Study Routine

• Best study time of day: Morning
• First: Consult the Paths, Choose One
• Second:
• Read
• Integrate knowledge in writing or design
• Reflect
• Post questions and actions for future study
• Identify resources and events for future study 

The routine will result in completed projects, process, or design, and the next step is to integrate, assess, revise, and publish that work. For educators that means delivering the final products to students with the focus on empowering, engaging, successful learning. 

Synthesis and Integration

• Introduction
• Facilitation/Delivery
• Assessment, Revision

Throughout time professionals and scholars have instituted a variety of study routines. The tech age we're living in challenges old time routines since information and share is readily available and more accessible to all learners. What are the study routines you employ to empower your learning and share?  How have your routines changed in the past few years?  What questions remain as you plan your path for teaching/learning strength, skill, and impact? Please let me know if you have links, titles, or resources related to this. 

Defeat or Exhilaration?

How will your learners leave the school year?  Will they leave with exhilaration or defeat?  What contributes to defeat, and what contributes to exhilaration?

Of course we want our learners to leave school with a sense of exhilaration, that "I CAN" feeling that leads them forward to learn more with confidence and strength.

Today, students will write articles about the fourth grade year. One copy of the letter will go into their file, a file they receive at the end of their senior year of high school. Another copy will be added to their progress report folder, a folder that they take home at the end of the year. Before they start writing, we'll brainstorm the year's events in the following ways:

• First, I'll show students a series of short videos and newsletters of the year's learning events. Students will take notes related to significant moments of learning and share as we review the videos and newsletters.
• Then we'll create a list of the year's knowledge, concept, and skill:
• Knowledge: the facts and information learned.  
• Concepts: the big ideas. 
• Skill: the learning and presentation actions we learned and strengthened.
• After that I'll ask students to type their article with two or three images, a catchy title, and an introduction and ending that serves to summarize the big ideas related to their experience of fourth grade. 

There are many ways that educators can foster exhilaration rather than defeat including the following:

• Caring, supportive relationships
• Shared, explicit goals
• Effective process and strategy
• Trust
• Hands-on support
• Frequent review of goals and progress
• Encouragement and coaching
• Strategizing together
• Timely response 
• Positive comments
• Celebration
• Accessible supports for independent growth and future learning.

As  you finish the school year, focus on ways to exhilarate rather than defeat as that will set the stage for a positive start for summer study and the learning year to follow.