Top LYS Tweets From the Week of December 30, 2012

Though the blog went on hiatus for the Christmas Holidays, the LYS Nation Twitter Feed just kept on going.  So for the next couple of days, we’ll catch up on the highlights.  Here are the Top LYS Tweets from the week of December 30, 2012.

1. There are too many people making decisions about schools who have no idea what goes on in a school. (By @ONeilCHSprincip)

2. One student talking isn't purposeful if the other 20 are just sitting there. Get them all talking. (By @kimbarker25)

3. If we continue to teach the way we have always taught, we will not get the same results we've always gotten. (By @hjgrubbs)

4. “Hard work can out-do genetics!” (By @AmbitionDaily)

5. Texas' GOP budget writers are in no hurry to restore billions cut from schools. (By @tlonganecker)

6. We learn little by sitting and listening. Try explaining, persuading, arguing with the person next to you instead. (By @anniemurphypaul)

7. Superior performance comes from identifying, and refining, the patterns that recur in your work. (By @anniemurphypaul)

8. Notre Dame first team in BCS Championship Game history to also be first in graduation rates. (By @richardjustice)

9. Before Christmas break I gave my staff The Fundamental 5 (Cain & Laird). Can't wait to implement this book study with them. (By @dsteeber)

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: North Dakota Principals Association Conference (Keynote Speaker), TASSP Assistant Principals’ Workshop (Featured Speaker), American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

A New LYS Teacher Shares... This Really Works!

A LYS Principal sent in the following:

SC,

Thought you might want to see a note I received from one of my teachers:

Even though they are not physically here daily, I want to thank LYS for teaching us the "Small Group Purposeful Talk" method. I did this at least 3 times in class today and noticed a remarkable difference:

1. The sidebar conversations decreased tremendously.

2. Students were more in-tune to the lesson.

3. Every group could answer my closing question for the lesson.

It was absolutely amazing!! If you haven't tried it yet, you need to. It really works!!!

I also spent more time in the power zone, with pen in hand, grading as I met with each table group. I placed a checkmark on each student's paper as they were working and told them they have a 100 so don't stop. Neighboring students were asking me to check their work too because they wanted that satisfaction of knowing they were accomplishing their daily goal. Every student completed his or her work today and now my grading is done!!

Again, this really works!!

SC Response

Thank for sharing. And I understand your teacher’s excitement.  Even after Laird and I identified the Fundamental 5, the first time I used all five in the same lesson (as a field test) when I finished I told everyone, “This must be how the really great teachers feel everyday.”

Tell your staff that we are proud of them and don’t slow down. 

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t

Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

Confirmed 2012 Presentations: NASSP Conference; NASB Conference

A Reader Writes... (Mythology)

In response to the post, “Mythology” a reader writes:

I enjoyed this article. Student engagement and purposeful talk are an informal way of assessing "who gets it and who doesn't" in a jiffy. Most students lack descriptive words in their speech and can no more write than speak appropriately. They use the same words over and over again. This is my second year to use purposeful talk and the more I use it the more I learn about our society: There is no one for many of our students to talk to at home, therefore, our students have TV language and their cognitive language is lacking. It is so difficult for them to speak about a science experiment we just completed. Consequently, I end up doing the same experiment until they have the vocabulary to speak about it. The most interesting conclusion - now the student can talk about it at home. I wanted to share and agree with your article.

SC Response

Thank you for sharing and thank you for validating the power of this Fundamental 5 practice. You are correct in pointing out that in many households, for any number of reasons, our students get little opportunity to converse. Much less, converse about academic topics. The more we model this behavior and provide students frequent opportunities to practice, the more our students blossom and begin to enjoy learning. Plus, as the teacher you get the added benefit of being able to sneak in a little rigor and relevance on the fly.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Shares... Lesson Framing

The following is an excerpt of a message from a teacher at an LYS school.

"Here are a few things that I noticed about Lesson Framing over the last couple of days.

1. It's NOT as time-consuming as people think because you can give the kids hints on what you are doing and they will give you suggestions on what to do next. I feel like it creates a little anticipation about what is going to happen (and so what if they know what you are teaching... why keep it a surprise?).

2. It makes me wake up SUPER EXCITED about my lesson that day. Why? Because I KNOW it is darn good and I can't wait to show it off to the kids. But, my excitement is now becoming a mirror image as I watch the kids. It is such an AMAZING feeling! The research is very true, I'm sad, they’re sad. I'm boring, they’re bored. I'm quiet, they’re quiet. Or, I'M HAPPY, THEY’RE HAPPIER! I'M INTERESTING, THEY’RE INTERESTED! I LIKE TO TALK, KIDS LOVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEE TO TALK, SO WE TURN AND TALK! Why did someone have to actually research that? It’s common sense, right?

3. Now it is easier to start off with the Engagement part of my lesson (This is what I thought I would only use it for). But then I kept planning my lesson and I started to extend my Engagement into my Exploration. Then I thought, maybe I can just make up a question in TAKS format that goes with this and use it for my Explanation part of my lesson (there's my anchor chart and the strategy is on it too). Lastly, I only need to EVALUATE my students on their EFFORT and ability from the lesson - (that is really the easiest part of the lesson), EXIT TICKETS!! Hit them with the real world, “Elaborate on the information you learned today. Give me examples of why you this is important to you? What made you feel successful in math today? What do you need more assistance with from today's lesson to make you feel successful?”

I’ve already shared this with my team; I thought I would share it with you also."

SC Response
What can I add of value? Not much? It’s like we say in our introduction, great teaching is well within the grasp of every teacher. Once you consistently execute the fundamentals, your passion and creativity will take care of the rest.

You go, girl!!!

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...