Tag: talking

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Teaching

Teacher Tip: Students Love Surveys!

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Students enjoy learning about each other with the use of surveys. It’s also an easy way to learn more about the young people I work with each day, too. In this blog post, I will share a few ways I use them in my primary classroom.

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Why Is This Important?

Surveys are part of my Math instruction during the school year (e.g., the math strand of Data Management ). Due to the often interactive nature of doing surveys, students enjoy using them in class at any given time. One of my students’ favourite thing to do is talk to their peers during class time. What they may not realize is that encouraging them to talk in such purposeful ways is integral to their learning! It’s a win-win!

Image shows a picture of several different simple surveys for young students to do in class.

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A Favourite and Helpful Video

Here’s a favourite video I love sharing with my students when we start learning about Data Management and collecting data. It’s by Scratch Garden on YouTube.

Skills Students Learn With Surveys

  1. Thinking of great questions to ask others (e.g., “What season do you prefer: Winter of Spring?”).
  2. Creating a variety of surveys (e.g., “I will create a T-chart or graph the responses with a pictograph.”).
  3. Collecting and sorting data (e.g., “I will use tally marks as I ask my friends the survey question.”).
  4. Reading data (e.g., “Five people said they prefer winter. Three people prefer Spring.”).
  5. Interpreting data (e.g., “More people prefer winter. I wonder why winter is the more popular season in my class?”).

Samples of Simple Surveys Used in My Classroom

image shows four simple surveys suitable for primary classroom
Four examples of simple surveys I use in my classroom.

How I Engage Students with Surveys in My Classroom

Whiteboard and Dry Erase Markers: When I ask my students to use these tools, any task becomes a more interesting one! My primary students enjoy drawing simple surveys (e.g., a T-Chart) and collecting data from their peers on their individual whiteboards.

Paper and Markers or Pencil Crayons: For my students who enjoy using various tools as they learn each day, having the choice to use markers or pencil crayons to do their math adds to the fun. I’ve noticed how some of my students even like using these tools to colour-code their data or design their surveys.

Clipboards: This has been a game-changer for me from a few years ago. When I hand a clipboard to each student, for some reason, they become like superstars and become engaged, excited to start working! They enjoy clipping their papers onto them, then moving around the room to speak to peers and record their answers. A clipboard for each student is a resource I love having in my classroom.

Click on the images below for more details on these helpful classroom resources! *non-affiliate / unsponsored links*

Using Surveys Outside of Math Instruction

Teaching my students how to use surveys in class helps them experience success in other areas of their learning, too. For example, once they know how to create a survey, students are ready to create them or use the skills to read one at any time.

Here are some other ways I use surveys in my primary classroom:

Science: When students are learning about animals, they enjoy making surveys on various animals. After learning about animal groups, I encourage them to create surveys for each animal group. Example: “What is your favourite type of mammal: a tiger or a fox?”

Homework Task: When my students are encouraged to create a survey, then use it at home with their family, it’s always great fun when they share their results the next day with their peers. It’s real-world information for them and a great discussion opener in class.

I’m done, now what? I’m sure you can think of at least one student in class who seems to finish assigned tasks in what may seem like a few moments. Here’s a great way to engage that student in a purposeful way and keep them occupied on a different task. I encourage that student to create their own survey template and keep it in their desk (e.g., folder, binder, etc.). They will be able to use it in class at a later time (e.g., ask their peers and record their responses).

Read the previous Teacher Tip: Try Something New: Phonemic Awareness Instruction

Questions to Consider

  1. How do you use surveys in your classroom?
  2. What types of surveys do your students enjoy creating the most?
  3. What part of data management is the most challenging for your students?

Stay Connected!

Let’s chat on social media! Stay connected with Minds to Grow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can also keep in touch with linktr.ee/mindstogrow.

three students talking to one another inside the classroom
Professional Growth for Teachers, Teaching

Talking Builds Comprehension: Create Opportunities to Talk

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In order to further assist my students as they learn to read, I am using the book, Shifting the Balance by Jan Burkins and Kari Yates, as a resource. I will share my learning about the importance of talking from the first chapter, “Shift 1: Rethinking How Reading Comprehension Begins” and reflect on some ways I intend to use it this school year.

READ THIS: “Shifting the Balance: Professional Reading for the Summer” *non-affiliate / unsponsored link*

Let’s Start Talking: What Resonated with Me the Most

As mentioned in my initial blog post about this book, Shifting the Balance aims to help in “clearing up some confusion” and discussed various misunderstandings. I really appreciated the visual diagrams and explanations for “Listening Comprehension’s Three Processing Systems” and “The Four-Part Processing Model for Reading Comprehension” (adapted from Seidenbern and McClellen, 1989). It set the stage for talking about the need to realize that reading comprehension doesn’t begin with print on the page (e.g., reading the words from a book), but actually with spoken language.

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Now, this information about the power of talking wasn’t news to me. I have learned from experience that a precursor for learning language is through speech. However, I was really excited to see the High-Leverage Instructional Routines for Language Development in Table 1.3 of this chapter. It gave several examples of practical routines that can be used in class, shared reasons why they’re important, and then provided some examples. What I noticed was that the routines shared are actually tasks that have been using in class already! This made me happy because when I first picked up the book, I was thrilled for new learning, yet worried about having to create a new program or completely different routines.

Talking is Important for Reading Comprehension

The old saying of “Talk is Cheap!” doesn’t apply here in any way! There is so much value in using talking as a means of developing comprehension skills in our students. I will focus on three of the awesome routines as described by the authors in this chapter. I look forward to using them this year with a renewed purpose and aim to keep them consistent.

Routine #1: Make Space for Planned and Unplanned Conversation

Students enjoy talking with their friends, especially in social settings such as recess time. Open, unplanned conversation during class time is something I want to use more intentionally this year. I think my students would love periods of time where they can respectfully initiate conversation during class time on topics of their choice. Some may feel like it’s getting a few moments of extra recess time, but it’s in fact an opportunity to strengthen key skills in a naturally fun and engaging way!

Providing opportunities for planned and meaningful conversations during class time helps students build comprehension and strengthens communication / speaking and listening skills. Such planned conversation time can happen during your scheduled day (e.g., sharing ideas about a book that was read in class; asking peers about their favourite games to play, etc.)

I created a “Let’s Talk!” Series of digital slides that I can’t wait to use in my classroom this year! This resource will help me start quick, meaningful discussions in my classroom. They will be on topics specific to our curriculum and also based on topics of personal interest to the students. Click on the image below to see a quick video of the first set of slides!

Routine #2: Use Interesting Words

If I want my students to develop strong communication skills, then I need to introduce them to a variety of words on a regular basis. Teaching new vocabulary to students, helping them learn the definitions of words, and how to use them in context, empowers students! I remind my students that when they use these interesting words in context as they speak, their families will be so impressed! We have lots of fun learning new words on a daily basis. I’m always so thrilled when I hear students using the “Word of the Day” in a sentence or in response to a question asked during a lesson.

To help me intentionally organize my words for teaching each day, I have been using an amazing resource as a guide for many years. A Word a Day (Grade 1) has been extremely helpful to me in teaching new words to my students. There are other books in the series for other grades, too. Some words may seem like they are too difficult for the students, yet you’d be amazed at how students respond to the daily instruction of learning new vocabulary!

*non-affiliate / unsponsored link*

Routine #3: Build Content Knowledge with Text Sets

Read alouds are also a suggested routine in Shifting the Balance! It’s something we all do and something that students love. To help, we can intentionally select books that will allow them to build schema, make connections, learn new words, facts, etc. Engaging them in conversation about the books in a text set can also help them develop a deeper comprehension. It’s a great way to give our students the tools they need to talk more about what they know (or wish to know).

Here is a small example of a Text Set on the science topic of Living Things. In this Text Set, I selected both fiction and non-fiction books about bears (non-affiliate / unsponsored links):

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle

National Geographic Readers: Sleep, Bear!

National Geographic Readers: All About Bears (Pre-Readers)

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson

I would use the books to help students discuss facts about bears they notice in the fiction books (especially the story, Bear Snores On).

Closing Thoughts

This first chapter helped me focus on some purposeful routines that I can continue using, but with greater intention. With the reminder that talk time is an extremely important way to help students build and strengthen comprehension, I look forward to including the following routines this year:

  1. Make Space for Planned and Unplanned Conversation
  2. Use Interesting Words
  3. Build Content Knowledge with Text Sets

How do you plan to incorporate more conversation time into your classroom?

Stay Connected!

Let’s chat on social media! Stay connected with Minds to Grow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can also keep in touch with linktr.ee/mindstogrow.