Web of Best Practices

1. Student Talk

1.1. Giving the students a chance to talk and to express their thoughts and ideas in an authentic way will build their knowledge.

1.2. Having circle time in the morning to give the students the chance to share and discuss events in and out of school will give the students ownership.

1.3. After reading the research on data of teacher vs. student talk during the school day, I am very interested in switching my role as the class director to more of a passive role when it comes to discussions and conversation during class. Reflecting back on my classes, I have been teaching with direct teaching rather than letting the students have a chance to really delve deep into topics. I believe that all of the practices on this page will help me to become more of a joint-learner rather than just asking my students to retain what I teach them.

1.4. Powers, S. (n. d.). Discourse/instructional conversation: Connecting school and personal discourses. In Core Instructional Practices (pp. 208 ).

2. Read Around

2.1. Students can share their writing while sitting in a circle. I am very interested in the fact that students can listen closely to their peer's writing and hear "what works" and what they could use help on.

2.2. I would enjoy utilizing this strategy in my classroom to share each student's work. This would possibly be a great addition to circle time, either in the morning or the afternoon.

2.3. Powers, S. (n. d.). Discourse/instructional conversation: Connecting school and personal discourses. In Core Instructional Practices (pp. 212).

3. Tea Party

3.1. An interesting way to introduce characters from a text. The teacher will pass out cards with each character's point of view from the story or a passage from the story. This gives the students an in-depth look into a character's motivation and perspective.

3.2. This would be a wonderful way to begin discussing a story in both fiction and non-fiction texts. Giving the students background knowledge on the characters that are involved in the upcoming story will give the students the necessary information to understand the characters. I would not use this each time, however, if a higher complexity level text was being discussed, this would be a great strategy.

3.3. Powers, S. (n. d.). Discourse/instructional conversation: Connecting school and personal discourses. In Core Instructional Practices (pp. 210).

4. Musical Shares

4.1. This sharing technique is essentially the game "musical chairs" with review material or sharing of work. The teacher will play music and the students will walk around the classroom. When the music stops, the students will find the person nearest them to share their material with or to work with. The teacher will need to lay down some ground rules.

4.2. This would be an entertaining way to group the students at random while making sure that they are not paired with their typical groups.

4.3. Powers, S. (n. d.). Discourse/instructional conversation: Connecting school and personal discourses. In Core Instructional Practices (pp.216).

5. Instructional Conversations

5.1. Conversations that are engaging, interesting, relevant to students, and easy to understand and follow.

5.2. Conversational uptakes: respectful comments that allow students who may not have the sufficient English level to answer or express their ideas.

5.2.1. It was eye opening to read Power's view on conversations and discussions in the classroom. It caused me to reflect on my practices in my classroom. I would like to try to have more instructional conversations and discussions.

5.3. Powers, S. (n. d.). Discourse/instructional conversation: Connecting school and personal discourses. In Core Instructional Practices (pp.210 ).

6. Boggle

6.1. This is a review strategy where students will recall phrases, vocabulary words, key points from the unit and write it quickly on their paper. The teacher will give the students predetermined time limits to find partner. These partners will review each other's lists. For each item on their list that is not on their partner's, they receive 2 points. At the end of the review, the person with the highest point value will receive a special reward from the teacher.

6.2. This strategy sounds like a fun way to review key points from a unit without hindering classroom instructional time. This will definitely be added to my repertoire.

6.3. Powers, S. (n. d.). Discourse/instructional conversation: Connecting school and personal discourses. In Core Instructional Practices (pp.219-220 ).

7. Floor Buddies

7.1. This is a strategy that a teacher could use to group students at random for partner work. This example included craft sticks with two different colors that were numbered. She handed out the sticks at random then asked the students to find their "floor buddy." The sticks with a "1" would work together and go through the lesson's practice work together on a dry erase board.

7.2. This is an incredible example of an easy solution to encouraging student interaction and ownership of their learning. The partners will help each other comprehend the problem with minimal direction from the teacher.

7.3. Powers, S. (n. d.). Discourse/instructional conversation: Connecting school and personal discourses. In Core Instructional Practices (pp. 215-216).

8. Graffitti

8.1. The teacher will place different discussion questions around the room on large pieces of paper on the wall. Each group will be stationed by one of these papers and given a specific colored marker. The teacher will give a certain amount of time for the group to discuss the topic and respond on the paper. Once this time is finished, the teacher will have the groups switch. This pattern will continue until each group has had a chance to discuss each question and respond.

8.2. This would be an innovative way to begin a unit. The teacher would be given the opportunity to observe any misconceptions, observe the group dynamics, and much more.

8.3. Powers, S. (n. d.). Discourse/instructional conversation: Connecting school and personal discourses. In Core Instructional Practices (pp. 215).