Partner Talk Bookmarks

Hi there! I hope your week is off to a great start.  We celebrated the 101st day of school today....so needless to say it feels like Friday and it's only TUESDAY!!  But that's ok because we still have plenty of learning to do this week!! 

Recently I finished my partner talk bookmarks and we are loving using them in the classroom during partner reading and book clubs!! 

There are 3 different types of bookmarks.  One type has a question for each story element and is organized by level. The 2nd type is organized by story element and has different leveled questions about that specific story element.  (These are perfect if you have a student who struggles with comprehension in one or two specific elements!) The third style has basic sentence stems, which is perfect for those students who are still learning decoding strategies and are just beginning partner talk.

I first introduced the bookmarks during my reading group time.  This way the students were given the bookmarks that were appropriate for their needs and level.  We were able to practice together and get really good at using them. Now the students keep them in their book boxes and are able to flip through them when the time is right!  

The Faux Flipped Classroom: What is it?

I get asked often what the Faux Flipped Classroom is...my answer is simple: a fake flipped classroom.  I know, I know, not the answer you were looking for because you already knew the meaning of the word faux!  In reality, it was my way to bring the flipped classroom into an elementary classroom.  

During PD and district wide meetings I kept hearing teachers discuss the use of their google classrooms to flip their classroom.  They talked about all of the success they were experiencing and all of the extra class time they were able to utilize.  I immediately wanted to give this a try in my classroom, however, I found myself encountering many hurdles as I began to plan.  My students are only in 2nd grade and many of them do not have computers or devices to use at home yet.  Because of this, it would require plenty of parental support.  I also didn't want to remove myself completely from being involved in the introduction of new material.  

So I enlisted the faux flipped model.  The students are still responsible for most of their learning, but instead of watching the lesson at home, they watch it at school.  There are a few ways students are able to do this.  Much of the time, students will be split into small groups and be moving to stations, especially during math workshop.  They will view the video at the technology station, then they will be given time to apply their new knowledge and work with other students.  They will also be expected to show me, the teacher, what they learned and mastery of the skill.  

 Another way to approach the faux flipped classroom is to show the lesson to the whole class at once, then give students time to interact.  I have found that by recording my lessons ahead of time, cuts down on instructional time and then this allows students to go back and view the video again if they need clarification.  It eleminates interruptions and allows for students to deepen their understanding.   This is what works for me.  If you have a 1:1 classroom it might look a little different for you.

I would love to hear from you if you try to implement this in your own classroom!!