Learning Targets

Learning Targets is a great strategy to utilize in the classroom. It helps students understand what they are learning and helps them take ownership of his/her learning. You may not be familiar with learning targets so I'll spend a little time on this blog post explaining them.

A learning target is the key information you want your students to learn. Learning targets are created from your CSOs, Next Generation Standards, or whatever buzzword your state is currently using to outline what skills and information you need to teach your students. Learning targets are often referred to as "I Can" statements. I like to write mine this way. For example, I teach Social Studies and one of my standards is that students are able to classify the causes and effects of WWII. I would turn this into a learning target and "I Can" statement by saying "I can categorize the causes and effects of WWII."

What makes learning targets so important is how you use them. Learning targets should be displayed and reviewed in the classroom. I have my white board divided into sections with one area designated to my learning targets. I put these on the board when we are learning them/using them in the classroom. (see how my white board is set up in a previous post here.)

At the beginning of each unit/new lesson, I will write the learning target on the white board under the section designated for the learning target. After the bell ringer (welcome work), we will tackle the learning target together. I like to double underline the verbs and underline the concepts using two different colored markers. As a class, we discuss what the verbs are and the key concepts we are going to learn through this lesson/activity. I started learning targets half-way through my second year of teaching in a low SES school. I wish I had started using them earlier. The learning targets made a complete difference. Students were more engaged when they discovered why we were learning something and what exact skills I wanted them to walk away with. Students looked forward to "unpacking the learning target" at the beginning of each lesson. Unpacking the learning target is when myself, or a student, guides the class and walks through the learning target by asking for the verbs and the key concepts students found in the target. This is a great springing board for further discussion.

I have used learning targets for the past 3 years and I feel that they truly make a difference. In 6th grade, we cover WWI through present day. This year, I wanted to spruce up my white board for my learning targets. I decided to do a play on words (kind of). I love Rosie the Riveter and she is in my curriculum when teaching about WWII. We all know her famous saying "We Can Do It." So I decided, wouldn't it be cute to have a cut out of her and a talking bubble saying "We Can..." for the learning targets? I blew up an image of Rosie the Riveter which I got from loc.gov and printed her out. I then used Microsoft Word to use a talking bubble shape and typed "We Can" inside the bubble. I printed both of them out and laminated them.

I then had to cut them out. Rosie was quite the trouble maker when trying to cut her out but I succeeded. I think it turned out pretty cute and I cannot wait to stick her on my white board! I'll add a picture on Friday of

the finished project. Back to the grind on Friday :)

QR Codes and Word Walls 2.0

I have been sharing this strategy and learning tool at various workshops and I have been asked to provide people with step by step instructions of how I created the QR codes for my Word Wall. I decided to write a blog post. While this may seem familiar to my previous blog post (see here), I added a step by step tutorial of how I constructed my words for my word wall.


Step One:
Construct a list of your vocabulary words & definitions needed for your lesson or unit. I prefer to do mine by unit but it is your preference.

Step Two:
Find a free QR code generator on the internet.
I prefer to use: QR Code Generator because the QR code pops up right on the screen and I can then copy & paste the image without having to download it and/or save it. You can type a definition or you can have the QR code lead students directly to a website.

Step Three:
I open a Word document and type up my words. Then I go to the QR code generator and do one word at a time. For the example below, I am defining the key term "iron curtain." I will then copy the QR code image and paste it into my Word Document. The reason I do this is to stay organized. All the QR codes begin to look a like and if you print them without labeling them, it will take extra time to sort them later!

Here is a screen shot of what I do with the QR codes once I make them. I copy and paste each image and type the word beside it. Like I said above, this helps with the organization factor and it helps me to save paper because I shrink down the size of the QR code to make them small enough to fit on my sentence strips.

Step Four:
Print all of your QR codes off. Depending on the number of the words and the size of your QR code images, this should only take 1-2 sheets of paper.

Step Five:

Write your words on sentence strips, construction paper, cardstock, etc.

Step Six:

Cut out your QR code images (be careful to not cut into the actual encrypted part or else it won't scan) and glue them beside your words on the sentence strip.

 Step Seven:

 Cut your sentence strips. I am OCD and I plan to use these for a while so I try to make them as nice and neat as possible. I prefer to laminate mine when finished as well so they can be used again next year. I just hot glue them to my concrete wall at school and voila! Word Wall is complete!

Feel free to comment with any questions or suggestions. In the next few days, I hope to have some vocab activities I do with my students using QR codes so stay tuned!

Differentiated Instruction with WWII

Wow, we have been hit with this "polar vortex" and it has made teaching very sporadic lately. I struggled trying to get my WWII unit finished. I struggled with whether or not to keep my final project, the choice board but I decided to go out on a limb and keep it. I AM SOOO HAPPY THAT I DID! I must admit, I was almost guilty of doing quantity instead of quality. I was so worried about whether or not I was going to be able to fit in all my curriculum this year, that I was almost ready to cut corners. I am so grateful that I stuck with my gut and decided to allow the students an opportunity to really shine with this final assessment. My students did not disappoint!

At the conclusion of my WWII unit, I presented students with a choice board that held 9 project options. I wanted to give students enough wiggle room but structure at the same time. This was the first time I had introduced a choice board of this size. My students really loved this project. I was amazed at how different each project looked. It is truly amazing what students can do when we step back and just let them learn and discover on his/her own!

I have included some photographs of students' work below:

No Name Papers!!!

Ugh. The bane of any teacher's existence. No name papers. It doesn't matter how many times you reiterate, please put your name on your paper. You'll still inevitably get those few students who do not put their name on their paper. Then, when you address the class "whose paper is this?," they look at you as if you're speaking an archaic language. Now, I am only going into my third year teaching BUT I have learned to be a reflective teacher and try to fix things that are broken. I have decided this year to make a "No Name" area. Another DIY project. This project was cheap, cheap, cheap and quick to do. I hope it will save me time and annoyance this school year.

Materials Needed:

• Piece of wood
• Clothespins (I bought mine already decorated in the $1.00 section at Michaels)
• Modge Podge (of course!)
• Small Foam Brush
• Scrapbook Paper 
• Cricut (optional, I used it to cut out my letters)
• Hot Glue Gun
• Ruler/Tape Measurer
• Paint
• Medium Foam Brush/Paint Brush

Steps to Create One of Your Own:

(Once again, I apologize for not having pictures as I went through this process but I made this about a month or so ago and did not have the intent of blogging.)

1. Paint your piece of wood so it can be drying as you are completing the other parts of this project.
2. Cut out your letters or arrange pre-cut letters 
3. Once paint is dry, use the small foam brush to apply the cut out letters onto your piece of wood. You may want to use a ruler to measure and center your letters.
4. Then, measure and arrange your clothes pins. Attach them to the board using a hot glue glun.

(You could decorate regular clothes pins using paint pens, paint, Modge Podge, etc. if you do not buy them already decorated)