KSS: Creating the 21st Century ELA Classroom

Objectives: KIPP teachers will be able to:

• identify online tools to be used at various stages of the lesson cycle
• describe what these online tools look like and may be used for
• (prepare to) implement at least one online tool in their own classrooms

Impact on Student Achievement: KIPP teachers will be able to implement online tools, in order to:

• improve student-to-teacher ratio
• better check for understanding
• better differentiate
• increase engagement
• teach essential 21st Century and technology-related skills. 

The KIPP Framework for Excellent Teaching: 

• 2.3 Routines and Systems A. Designs efficient behavioral and academic systems. 
• 3.6 Ratio A. Frequently engages all students in opportunities to think, speak, and write. 
• 3.8 Assessment C. Uses a variety of individual and whole group methods daily, weekly, and beyond to check for understanding. 
• 4.4 Differentiation F. Is resourceful and creative in leveraging a variety of resources to help all students achieve learning goals.

Have something more to ask or say? Add it to our session's parking lot.

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Learning Activities:

1. Do Now: Please complete this opening survey (a Google form).

• Finished early? Preview samples of Mr. T's online lessons.

2. Session Overview:

• Meet the presenter, Bryan Twarek / BT / Mr. T (more information)
• Review the objectives, student impact, and KFET competencies at the top of the page.
• Describe the format of the session: interactive, adaptive, differentiated, useful!

Two sixth grade students (Dammian and Manny) used Xtranormal to bring The Outsiders to life.

(See how other sixth graders replayed their favorite scenes from class novels.)

You can do the same in your own classroom: use technology to bring instruction to life!

3. Previewing a Selection of Online Tools: Take notes on this interactive handout.

• 3A) Wordle: Visually represent participants' responses to questions in the form by creating a Wordle "word cloud."

• 3B) Socrative: Open Socrative and enter room number kba. Then click Join Room. Answer the questions to complete a quick roll call. Then, share and vote on a topic for conversation:  In order to capitalize on the great wealth of knowledge in our current collective, what type of best practice would you most like to learn about (and share)?

• 3C) Google Moderator: Based on the topic we have selected as a group, open Google Moderator and write a specific question that we could then discuss as a group. After submitting your question, evaluate other participants' questions by clicking the check (good) or X (not so good).

• 3D) TodaysMeet: Open this private chatroom and respond to the most popular questions that our group just generated. Strive to continue the conversation by agreeing with, disagreeing with, and clarifying other responses.
• In my sixth grade classes, I provide a list of college-bound conversation starters to use in discussion.

• 3E) Writing with Google Docs: Share a best practice or challenge with the group!
1. Open Google Drive and log in with your email address and password. 
• If you don't already have a Google account, please sign up. (It's very quick!)
2. Click Create (upper right corner) and select Document. A blank document should open.
3. Write about one paragraph to share something you're good at, or if you'd rather, pose a particular challenge you are having (both related to the topic that we selected).
4. Finished early? Go here. 

• 3F) Collaborating with Google Docs: Read and respond to your teammates' best practices and challenges!
1. Share your document as view and comment only.
• In the upper right corner of the Google doc, click Share (a blue button).
• Under Who Has Access, click the blue hyperlink Change. Select Anyone with the link.
• Next to Access, select Can comment from the drop-down menu that currently says Can view. Then, click Save.
2. Copy the link (URL or web address) to your document (at the top of the dialogue box).
3. Paste the link to your document in the form below, and complete the other fields.
4. Open this spreadsheet with links to participants' documents.
5. Identify another participant who teaches the same (or similar) grade level as you, and open his/her document by clicking the hyperlink.
6. Read what your teammate wrote, and respond to the writing by making comments.
• To add a comment, click Comment under the Insert menu, or use Ctrl+Alt+M.
• If other participants are accessing the same document, you can also use the chat function to discuss the writing in real time.
• Strive to offer feedback and/or suggestions to your teammates. Our goal is to share ideas and learn from one another, like a virtual consultancy group.

4. Independent Practice: (Prepare to) implement at least one tool into your classroom! (They're all free!)

• Mild:
• Wordle: Create your own word cloud using information collected from participants
• Google Moderator: Create a series to collect questions or ideas from your students
• TodaysMeet: Create a private chat room
• Medium:
• Socrative: Create a quiz or check-for-understanding activity
• Google Form: Create a form to collect information from your students
• Spicy:
• Blogger: Create a blog to organize learning activities for each lesson
• Google Drive: Plan your own drafting or revision lesson using Google Drive
• Xtranormal: Turn your words into an animated, 3D movie

• Other things to get started:
• Register your school for Google Apps for Education
• See a lesson that introduces students to Chromebooks for the first time
• Learn more about Chromebooks
• Watch a video about treating Chromebooks with respect (and related videos)
• View a student usage agreement

• Preview other neat (and free) tools:
• Edmodo: a social learning platform, like Facebook for schools
• GoodReads: a social reading platform, like Facebook just for books and reading
• NoRedInk: an adaptive and fun way to practice grammar and writing skills
• YouTube for Teachers: exactly what it sounds like (YouTube videos curated for education)
• Quizlet: online flashcards (with games) that you can embed into your own website

5. Exit Slip: Provide feedback to BT and KIPP by completing both the online form and paper form. 

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Finished Early?

Check out these sample online lessons:

• a revision lesson: Objective: Students will be able to revise their memos that advise Deng Xiaoping whether or not China should implement the one-child policy, in order to improve the organization and sentence fluency.
• a grammar review lesson: Objective: Students will be able to define and identify simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.
• a reading analysis lesson and the following lesson (a continuation): Objective: Students will be able to identify bias and propaganda in nonfiction articles.
• another reading analysis lesson: Objective: Students will be able to confirm or reject my prediction of what China's reeducation centers are.
  
  

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About the Presenter:

Bryan Twarek (“BT”) graduated from Yale University with a degree in human neuroscience and psychology. However, it was during his time off from college--while teaching English in Mexico, China, Argentina, and the U.S.--that he discovered his true passion for education. After graduating from Yale, BT joined Teach For America, and he has worked at KIPP Bayview Academy in southeastern San Francisco, California since 2010, where he currently serves as sixth grade dean and English-language arts teacher. Over the past three years, BT has worked to encourage all students to meet their independent reading goals, to develop an integrated literacy curriculum, to teach literacy skills across all content areas, and to transform the school's literacy model. Most recently, BT has created a paperless classroom, in which students use Chromebooks to access his English curriculum online. This year, he will also act as tech integration specialist, as his school goes one-to-one with students and computers for the first time. In his free time, BT enjoys photography (in the darkroom, when possible), hiking, playing sports, and people watching.