Tuesday, December 22, 2009

The Christmas Sabbatical

To the LYS Nation,

We have all run full speed for the first half of the school year. Now it is half time.

Time to rest, reflect, collect ourselves and get ready to come back in January firing on all cylinders. Enjoy this break, be grateful for the blessings in your life and enjoy this time with your friends and family.

Blog posts will resume on or before January 3rd 2010. The first topic – Anonymous Letters. If you haven’t sent in your response yet, get it to me ASAP, so I can get you in line (note: The Sailor has already submitted his take, but I haven't seen anything from the Soldier, the Marine, or The Big Easy). This is shaping up to be the next great LYS conversation.

Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Rest. Reflect. Be Merry.

Your turn…

Monday, December 21, 2009

A Reader Writes... Get Ready for Prime Time

In response to the post, “Get Ready for Prime Time,” a reader asks:

“Sean,

I want my school to start this strong in the spring. What does "Frame" the lesson mean? This sounds like powerful stuff!”


SC Response
As over 4,000 teachers across the nation can now attest, there may be nothing more powerful. Framing the lesson means that the teacher posts and discusses the following:

1. Based on the lesson for the day, the teacher creates a concrete learning objective, written in student friendly language.

2. Base on the lesson for the day, the teacher writes down, in student friendly language, the closing question, product or task that will demonstrate that the objective of the lesson was met.

What is being taught on a given day is not a surprise to the adult in the room (we hope). Why should it be a surprise to the student?

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Sunday, December 20, 2009

The Big Easy Writes...

When I work with teachers and administrators, I like to remind them of the following:

"Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals."

Something for all of us to reflect on over the Holiday break and to act on as soon as we return to school.

The Big Easy


Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...