Science Energy Relay at Walnut

Kim Corradi and Tracy Ellis took their 6th grade Science students outside to do an Energy Relay last week.  The relay involved student teams representing themselves as a food chain in the following order:  Sun-Plant-Herbivore-Carnivore-Human.  The student representing the sun grabbed as many balls out of a pile that they could (representing energy) and as they passed the "energy" down the food chain, students could see how energy would symbolically get lost and finally the human would have the least amount of anyone in the food chain.

Watch the fun video!

High School Science 3 Station Co-teaching

Below you will find videos from a Co-taught Science class at Grand Island Senior High (John LeCompte and Jeff Ehlers).  The class was going to be reviewing ionic and covalent bonds.  They split students into either a "proton" group, an "electron" group, or a "neutron" group.  The students created a foldable to help organize information.  At one station, they worked with a teacher on ionic bonds and that section of the foldable.  At a second station, they worked on covalent bonds and that section of the foldable.  And at a third station, they looked at similarities and differences of the two types of bonds.  A para-educator was utilized to guide students in that section but if you did not have access to a para-educator, students could work independently and be sure to place students in heterogeneous groups in order to provide for some peer support.

This first video allows you to see how the groups were split and what one teacher station was doing.

This second video allows you to see what was happening at the second teacher station.  

This final video allows you a brief clip of the station being guided by the para-educator.  

Why do small group instruction???

2 DYNAMIC Co-teachers at Grand Island Senior High - John LeCompte (Science) and Jeff Ehlers (Special Education Specialist) provide feedback regarding the use of small group specialized instruction through co-taught structures such as Flip Flop and 3 Station Rotation.  They share their hesitancies, as well as their ultimate success.

Thanks Gentlemen!  You are making magic happen in your Co-taught Classroom at GISH!

Flip Flop Switch

A few weeks ago, the 7th grade Co-taught Math class at Westridge decided to try a new approach to Co-teaching called Flip Flop Switch.  The content teacher (Mrs. Beberniss) began class by working with half of the students that were ready to receive the content instruction for the day....while the specialist teacher (Mrs. Larsen) "front-loaded" some of the strategies students were going to need when they went to work with the content teacher.  Half way through the class, the students switch or "flip-flopped."
The students who has received instruction with the content teacher now went to work with the specialist teacher and received some practice and extension of the content.  The students who began class getting front-loaded and prepared for the content, now went to work with the content teacher and received the same instruction as the first group did with her.

What a great approach and allowing differentiation for both struggling learners and higher-achieving students!

Visiting with English teachers from China

Mrs. Vyhlidal and Mrs. Larsen getting to visit with Language Arts teachers from China at Westridge on 2-24-14.  They were very interested in our educational practices and were able to discuss the approach of Co-teaching, as well.  

3 Station Rotation

The students in this Co-taught class were getting instruction in a 3 Station Rotation format.  One station was independent, and the other 2 stations were instructed with small-group intense instruction where the teachers differentiated the approach to the needs of the group.  When the content teacher (Mrs. Vyhlidal) arrived at each group, she provided the day's content, and the specialist (Mrs. Larsen) was front-loading concepts or providing extension when she worked with each station.  Teachers rotated between groups.

Flip Flop Differentiated - GISH

This 9th grade Language Arts class took pre-assessment data over the concepts of an upcoming unit prior to this lesson.  A Flip Flop approach was designed to address the concepts of Sequence and Fact Vs. Opinion BUT students that were close to Mastery of these concepts were provided "Challenge" activities when in a group covering that concept, while other students received small group, intense instruction.  All students switched groups and had time to interact with each concept....but again, student pre-assessment data dictated how they interacted with the concepts within each station.

Mrs. Kurz instructed students on Sequence, allowing some students to do challenge extensions on the concept, while Mrs. Canada instructed students on Fact vs. Opinion and provided challenge extensions to students close to mastery of that concept.  Students then switched groups.

A GREAT example of differentiation for high achieving students, as well as struggling learners!

Check out the video!

Flip Flop Differentiated