Differentiating between facts and opinions is a concept some of my students struggle with. Often times they would claim a statement is a fact because to them, it is true. Based on many, many conversations and reflecting on these teachable moments, I have my students do a "fact check" before determining if a statement is a fact or an opinion.
To be a fact, the statement must:
-be correct
-be able to be proven, observed, or measured
To be an opinion, the statement expresses a belief. Even if the statement is true for an individual or a group, unless it's true for everyone, it's not a fact.
This seemed to help clear up some of the confusion.
One activity I like to use is FCRR's fact and opinion football game. As extensions, I have students write out their own statements for their teammates to sort.
I used this activity in summer tutoring today with great success until...
My helper showed up.
I've been having a great time tutoring. It's teaching, but much more relaxed. I'm focused on skills and what my student needs. There are notions of just opening a home school that flutter around in my mind until I realize how much "help" I'd have from my fur children...and that dream quickly vanishes.
For the past few years, I've participated in co-teaching with a fairly high degree of success. Co-teaching is when two teachers (one usually being a special education teacher) are both in the classroom. There are many models of co-teaching, all of which I've used.
1) One teach, one observe
I use this model least frequently. We usually did this to provide lesson feedback for the instructing teacher or to model a lesson for the observing teacher.
2) Station teaching
We used this model for math groups. I would teach the new lesson at the smart board, my co-teacher would be at the kidney table pulling another group to review, work on word problems, etc while the rest of the class was on the computers, doing partner work, or at a math station. Each teacher was doing a separate lesson.
3) Parallel Teaching
We used this for reading and writing. The class was divided in half and all the students were given the same lesson. This style lended itself well to writing because each group would have a different perspective.
4) One teach, one assist
This model was used most frequently. One teacher, usually myself, would be giving the lesson while the other would be walking around clarifying for students or pulling conferences.
5) Team teaching
During this model, both teachers are giving instruction. This worked quite well for think alouds where we would model accountable talk and show what partner discussions should look like.
6) Alternative Teaching
During this model of co-teaching, one teacher would pull aside a small group and deliver remedial or extension activities.
I'm not sure if I will be doing any co-teaching this year, but it definitely has it's strengths and weaknesses. For me, it was difficult to give up control of instruction to another teacher. Trust also comes into play because you have to trust that the other teacher is doing his or her job. Planning can also be a struggle, as can work ethics. I know that as an educator, I tend to overplan which is beneficial but also meant I was doing more than my fair share of the preparation for co-teaching, which wasn't always fair.
Today I had the opportunity to co-teach:
I'm not sure which model the one teach, one naps on the material best aligns with...
On the bright side, tutoring is going well! Look at her go in that notebook.
I had my first tutoring session with my third grader today. She's adorable and loves learning, which is a nice change. Her mom brought me data from her last report card and talked about what books they should get from the library. It was so nice to see a positive family focused on school!
We read two passages on Helen Keller and set up her reading notebook. We made a graphic organizer and talked about strategies. She did really well!
We are going to meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for an hour and a half. It's time to dig into my very unorganized guest bedroom (teacher closet) and find some fluency activities and reading games!
