Get R.E.A.L with Collaboration Kits

I was at a workshop recently and they had a pencil box at each table with supplies in them for the participants to use while working in groups. Well, I thought that was a really good idea, so I created my own. This is a picture of what I am calling a collaboration kit. It has pens, pencils, highlighters, post-its, index cards, a timer and role cards.

Get R.E.A.L with Worksheets

Despite the blog title, worksheets are a necessary evil in the classroom. I recently heard a quote from a collegue that really puts this into persepective- "A worksheet should be the recording of an activity, not the activity." If you think about it, this makes sense. So many times worksheets are used as the main "activity" in a lesson to pracitce or demonstrate a new skill or concept, but really, our students need to be more engaged in the process. They need R.E.A.L. activities to participate in and use the "worksheet" to record their participation. This holds the students accountable for their learning and behavior and still gives the teacher an opportunity to assess mastery of the objective.

Get R.E.A.L.!

This blog is by teachers for teachers. We want to help make learning R.E.A.L.! That is- make learning Relevant, Engaging, Accessible, and Long-Lasting. Throw out those boring worksheets and antiquated strategies and embrace a new practice that gets R.E.A.L. about student learning.