Vocabulary

Our school works very hard on teaching vocabulary, whether it is part of a story or words from a unit. We all push vocabulary.

How Do You Teach Vocabulary?

That's always been a question I ask. I have used Marzano's 6 step instruction since 2013. This works well since students provide a definition/description. Then restate the definition/description in their own words. In the 3rd step, students provide a non-linguistic representation or drawing of the word. Then in steps 4 & 5, the teacher provides activities to expand the student's knowledge of the word and allows students to talk about the word together. Finally, students engage in games about the word.

This year to address steps 4-6 more, I have added in 2 Kagan strategies, Stand Up, Hand Up, Pair Up and Quiz, Quiz, Trade. In this activity, students create vocabulary flashcards. Then pair up and quiz each other about the word. Then after they quiz each other, they trade cards and begin the process again, with standing up, finding a partner and pairing up. 

Since we are a 1:1 chromebook classroom, I also love using Quizlet. Quizlet allows you to create your own list of words, or find a list already created to use with your students. Then it provides several activities for students to interact with the vocabulary words, such as flashcards, write or spell. 

There is SO much more to vocabulary and reading instruction, these are just a few ideas! 

How Do You Balance Work and Life?

Teaching is the best job...and the hardest job, but how do you relax and balance your life? 


My family enjoys hiking. Hiking is one way we balance life and work.  It gets us outside, we get to explore new places and get a little exercise in as well. 


Earlier in October, we hit the road to Arkansas, where we hiked at Devil's Den State Park. We only had time for one trail and chose Yellow Rock Trail. This is an easy 3-mile loop with great views. The trees were starting to change colors and it was absolutely beautiful. 




Yellow Rock Trail is an easy 3 mile loop. You climb up to a bluff by hiking around and between the rock. You pass a rock, which looks like peanut butter, but is actually called Yellow Rock. Then you proceed to the top where you have a great view of the vista. 

Global Read Aloud 2018

This is my first year back in the classroom so I HAD to participate in the Global Read Aloud. The Global Read Aloud or GRA's goal is One Book to Connect the World. 

This year my class is reading Amal Unbound. We read a few chapters each day. Then my students use Flipgrid to create chapter summaries. We also use Flipgrid for our weekly discussion questions.

The GRA is not only a great way to keep your class excited about reading, but also to connect with classes from our the globe. This year classes are using Flipgrid, Padlet, and Skype to connect and discuss the book. It is so cool to see my students get excited about talking about a book.

If you missed out this year, don't worry just go to the GRA site, linked above and sign up to participate next year!

A Must Read Book for 2018

In August I started a book, The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups and it was ah-mazing! 

The beginning of the book starts with a story of why some groups outperform others. The story talks about different groups from kindergarteners to CEOs to business school students who were assigned the marshmallow tower challenge. The story shows how kindergarteners outperformed business school students and CEOs, not because they were smarter but because they worked together in a smarter way. WOW!

The book goes on to discuss skills teams need to be successful.

#1 - Safety
An environment where one feels safe and can act naturally is conducive to group work.

#2 - Vulnerability
Vulnerability does not only increase trust, but it shows acceptance. By admitting when you make a mistake, allows others to feel okay even after making a mistake.

#3 - Purpose
Creating purpose through a shared goal and shared direction helps the team be more successful.

The author has stories and psychological experiments he discusses throughout the book to further examine the 3 skills. This is just a short summary of the book, however, if you want to create and maintain a positive culture, this is a must-read.

What I Love Series: Common Lit

Common Lit has been a great addition to our reading block. It helps align my curriculum to the standards and supports literacy.

Reason #1 Why I Love Common Lit

Common Lit is FREE. I have used other programs but to get all of the features, you must pay for them. Common Lit provides rigorous content at a price, that is just right!

Reason #2 I Love Common Lit

Common Lit allows me a chance to differentiate instruction. They have a Guided Reading mode which allows students to read a small chunk of the text, answer questions and get immediate feedback.

Reason #3 I Love Common Lit

The majority of my class have been labeled English Language Learners. Common Lit offers a read-aloud setting where the text is read to my students. This is extremely helpful when working with my ELL students so they do not get left behind.

Common Lit is a perfect fit for my 1:1 classroom. I simply assign text to my students based on their needs and can instantly check for understanding. This helps inform my small group instruction as well. This has been a great addition to my classroom. 

What I Love Series: Khan Academy

This is my first year using Khan Academy and I am loving it! We are using Khan Academy for math and it helps me provide a more personalized approach to math for my students. 

Reason #1 I Love Khan Academy

I love Khan Academy because it helps fill in the learning gaps for my students. I can use the data from lessons assigned to my students to create small groups for more personalized small group instruction. This helps me be more intentional in my instruction. 

Reason #2 I Love Khan Academy

Khan Academy allows my students to have a reteach opportunity if they did not quite understand the lesson before they get to the teacher table for small group instruction. It's almost like having two math teachers in the classroom with the video lessons and tutorials.

Reason #3 I Love Khan Academy

Khan Academy helps my students feel successful in math. Once a student watches the videos, then they can complete the exercises. If they do not get the correct answer, there is an opportunity to watch a video tutorial again or work with a peer tutor. Khan Academy sets my students up for success and it creates an environment where they can work together and help one another. 

Khan Academy has definitely changed the math environment in my class. My class has gone from dreading math time, to loving math time. I love where it fills in learning gaps and helps students feel successful. 

What I Love Series: ClassDojo

I love using ClassDojo. I started using it briefly in 2014. I first heard about it at EdCamp in 2014. I thought I'd try it out on my current 2nd-grade class and then stop using it. 

I started trying it out on my 2nd-grade class. I set up positive points and introduced it to my class. My idea was to use it for one week only and then never again. Well, that is NOT how it went! My class loved earning positive points. They loved sharing that information with their parents and needless to say, we never stopped using it. 

Then I became an instructional tech trainer and did not have a class to use it with anymore. I kept tabs on their awesome updates over the years and when I returned to the classroom this year, I knew I had to use it. 

Reason #1 Why I Love ClassDojo

We started the year by introducing the tools and the positive points. Then as we began the year talking about coping skills and growth mindset, the Big Idea lessons fit in perfectly. We learned more about mindset, perseverance, empathy, gratitude, and mindfulness.

Reason #2 Why I Love ClassDojo

Many of my parents speak Spanish, however with ClassDojo I can message parents and then it will translate the message for parents and vice versa for when they message me! It's a win-win!

Reason #3 I Love ClassDojo

The Class Story feature allows me to give parents a sneak peek into the daily happenings of our classroom. Parents have stated they feel more connected to our classroom because they can see what their child is doing and learning each day. 

ClassDojo is a great classroom tool and offers so many resources, from a getting started guide for teachers to guided PD resources for school staff. These are just a few reasons I love ClassDojo. 

What I Love!

I am going to start writing about projects, programs and activities I love to use in the classroom. I teach in a 1:1 Chromebook classroom. Some programs are required by our school such as MobyMax, but others I just love like Khan Academy. I also love Adobe Spark to present information in a creative and visually appealing manner. 

Stay tuned to see what I love to use in the classroom and why I love it starting next week!

Trying Something New Is Always A Risk

Trying something new is always a little scary. Yesterday I decided I wanted to create a paperless vocabulary lesson for today. I reviewed the graphic organizer provided by our curricular resources and then adapted it to Google Drawings. Then I inserted text boxes where I wanted students to respond. Finally, I created an assignment in Google Classroom and added the Google Drawing so each student would get their own copy. 

I began the lesson by stating this might not go as planned, but let's be flexible. My students are awesome and willing to try just about anything!

We opened up our story on our Chromebooks, read the passage and then identified multiple-meaning words. Next, the students opened their copy of the Google Drawings graphic organizer and started completing it. It worked like a charm! Success!!!

My students worked on their vocabulary words, used the online Webster Dictionary and talked with their table partners to complete the assignment.

I will definitely do this again.

Donors Choose Has Rocked My World

Donors Choose Has Rocked My World. When I left the classroom in 2014, Donors Choose was just taking off in Oklahoma. There were a few requests here or there but not many teachers were seizing the opportunity. 

I have known I will be returning to the classroom in August for a few months, so I decided to start working on requests for my classroom in June. I was amazed at how easy it was to complete a request. Then it was approved by the Donors Choose staff in one day. Then a few days later, my request was fully funded. 

This fueled my fire to try it again. So once again, I submitted a request and in two weeks, it was fully funded too! I have to applaud the power of social media. I share my projects on my Facebook page and have supportive family and friends who also share the project to their Facebook pages.

This year I am reimagining the classroom as we create a student-centered learning space. We are a 1:1 Chromebook classroom who is implementing flexible seating, project-based learning and other creative and innovating learning strategies to increase student engagement.

If you are a teacher, go to Donors Choose, create a project and start transforming your classroom.

If you would like to help fund my classroom, check out our Re-imagine the Classroom projects.

After much consideration, I am making a career change. I will be leaving my current role as an instructional technology trainer and returning to the classroom as a 4th-grade teacher. I am beyond excited and feel re-energized as an educator. I am eager to see how my four years of experience as an instructional technology trainer will influence my teaching in the classroom.

If you would like to help the students in my future 4th-grade class, here are a few different ways.

 - If you are interested in connecting classes, please contact me on Twitter @MGoviaEDU.

 - Consider donating to my Donor's Choose project as we Re-image the Classroom this year.

 - Consider volunteering 30 minutes each week as a mentor for a student in my class. Please contact me by email at mgovia@okcps.org, if you are interested in mentoring an awesome 4th grader!

 - Consider helping us fulfill our class wish list through Amazon.

Flipgrid Refreshed

I wrote a blog post about using Flipgrid back in September 2017, check it out HERE. However, in February 2018, my use of Flipgrid has changed a LOT!

I now have a topic where instructional coaches can add creative or innovative lessons they are seeing on their campus to share with all of us. 

I also use Flipgrid as a reflection tool. A teacher can create a topic on their grid and then provide a QR Code to the topic. I can then walk through the classroom, scan the QR code and provide immediate feedback on the great things I saw in that classroom.

The possibilities are endless with Flipgrid!

Productivity Tools Update

I recently updated my Productivity Ideas & Tips doc! I added voice typing and Trello. I love voice typing for our students, but now also for myself. I can talk much faster than type and somedays I need that! I also am working with an instructional coach to use Trello with her teachers. She is having grade level teams add resources to the board and the school is creating a personalized professional learning resource for all staff members. 

I am still loving Voxer! My team has started using Voxer as a consultation and reflection tool. The voice feedback is much appreciated and feels more personal than text feedback. 

Share in the comments some of your favorite productivity tips and tools!