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Author Archives: Beyond The Apple
The Power of Mime: learning language through silence
Language learning depends on establishing a familiar context. Once learners can identify with the context, they can build on known words and language structures. Mime It / Talk About It is one way to do this. This learning strategy is … Continue reading
Posted in Educational Change
Tagged crp, education, learning, mime-as-a-teaching-tool, reading, teaching, technology, the-arts-as-a-teaching-tool, udl, vocabulary-growth
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Culturally Inclusive Teaching and Learning
What Does a Culturally Inclusive Classroom Really Look Like? When we talk about culturally inclusive classrooms, it’s important to remember that identity isn’t one-dimensional. It’s complex and layered—shaped by race, gender and gender identity, socio-economic status, sexual identity, ethnicity, religion, … Continue reading
Posted in Educational Change
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Rethinking Alphabet Charts
Take a look at common alphabet charts and think about the children in your classroom. Do they have the experiences or language background needed to connect each letter with the picture shown? Often, they don’t. There’s no such thing as … Continue reading
Close Looking: What is this?
Set the tone for learning by posting a note on the classroom door: When students enter this classroom, a wondering prompt such as an image, soundscape, or object invites them to look closely and use their senses and background knowledge … Continue reading
Becoming a Writer: What We Learn From a Child’s First Stories
My son’s first story consisted of a series wavy lines and curlicues written in black marker across the back of a leather sofa. Upon completion, he declared, “Look! I wrote my story in grown up writing!” (For those of you … Continue reading
Posted in Linking Assessment to Learning
Tagged assessing writing, Culturally Responsive Teaching, early-years-writing, Education Northwest Writing rubric, feedback to young learners, learning to write, professional-learning-discussions-for-teachers, story telling, traits of writing, universal-design-for-learning, writing rubric, writing-instruction, young writers
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Re-framing conversations about disengaged students
——————————————————- Reframing Disengagement to Re-Engage Learners At the beginning of a recent professional learning session focussed on re-engaging disengaged students, we asked participants to use a post to describe a disengaged learner using just a few words. As participants had … Continue reading
Posted in Linking Assessment to Learning
Tagged accountability, appreciatiev inquiry, disengaged students, edcuational change, feedback, formative assessment, funds of knowledge, learning potential, professional development, professional learning communities, re-engaging students, responsive learning environments
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A Student’s Self Assessment of Listening
Let’s start the conversation with Beyond the Apple’s video about teaching students how to listen: When our students sit up straight, look at the speaker, be silent, and keep hands still and visible, we assume through their posture that our … Continue reading
Posted in Linking Assessment to Learning
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Student Writing: An in-depth look at the assessment and feedback process
Let’s begins this conversation with Beyond the Apple’s video “Assessing Student Writing Through an Appreciative Lens”. This video suggests that learning to assess student writing may begin with listening to a student’s writing before seeing a student’s writing. The writing … Continue reading
Posted in Linking Assessment to Learning
Tagged analytic assessment of writing, appreciative assessment, Appreciative Inquiry, Assessing conventions, Assessing ideas, assessing student writing, assessing the traits of writing, Assessing word choice, feedback, student writing, students who struggle with writing
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Exit Slips and Feedback Revisited
Let’s face it . . . when we rely on tests to gather information about student learning, not only do students become test weary, the process of test development, marking, and providing feedback becomes the bane of any educator’s existence. … Continue reading
Beyond the Apple: Reimagining teaching through professional conversations 
Meaningful Feedback in Minutes
The purpose of feedback is to: acknowledge evidence of progress search for and share evidence of “the known” within the student’s misunderstandings provide the student with a focus for the next steps of learning Here’s an example of a very … Continue reading →