Podcast Roundup: On Reading Levels and Illustrative Mathematics

 

Back to school is a great time to kick off new routines or to explore new resources. Two podcasts that are of interest to us as we move Griswold Forward are "Literacy Talks" and "Making Math Moments that Matter." 

In the episodes below, researchers and experts weigh in on the instructional practices and curriculum that Griswold is moving forward with. These are worth the listen!

Literacy Talks Podcast, Episode “On Levels: A Candid Conversation with Guest Dr. Matt Burns”

The gist: A famous reading researcher shares the research on what works when working with developing and struggling readers.

Takeaways:

• Leveled readers don’t align with research; decodables do.
• Effective assessments for reading skills help drive intervention.
• Partnered reading is an effective way to build fluency.

Making Math Moments that Matter, Episode “Engaging Students, Empowering Minds: A Conversation with Bill McCallum”

The gist: Illustrative Mathematics co-founder and distinguished math education professor shares the power of connecting mathematics to stories in problem-based learning. He connects to program practices and discusses the potential impact of AI and digital tools.

Takeaways:

• To learn math, students need to do math
• The instructional routines are key to the success of the curriculum.

PSA: Don't Reinvent the Wheel, Copy your Google Classroom

If you are using Google Classroom as your LMS, you are saving yourself and your students from disorganization. If you enable the SIS sync with infinite campus, you can import grades and assignments to make keeping your gradebook up-to-date easy. And perhaps more importantly, if you organize your LMS space well, you are supporting students success.

EdSurge reported that "on an average day, a student has to navigate between as many as 10 different platforms—in a single class! Students expressed frustration with not knowing where to find assignments. Most said they didn’t have a preferred organization system; they just asked the kid in class that seemed to be the most organized."

To support student executive skills, you want to think carefully this year about how best to organize your Google Classroom. Often week-by-week is easiest, with teachers archiving older materials below, and creating a new classroom for each term.

If this sounds like a lot, it's not! Once you have a set up in place, you can copy formatting from term to term and year to year. 

This means that if you used Google Classroom well last year, you can save yourself time and headache by copying your entire classroom or copying your assignments! 

Here are the steps:

1) Prepare the old classroom: remove or note# classwork materials that didn't work or needs revision.

*Note that if you don't want copies of materials, don't copy your classroom with files attached to assignments. 

2) Make a copy!

3) Update the files, if needed, as you go. This is where the # system is helpful.

Now, if you didn't love how your classroom was organized last year OR you want to make some updates to your classroom copy, check out the video below for some useful tips: