Posts By: Glenna Tabor

Forming Small Groups in Math

“How many students should be in a group?” The PGCPS website [http://www.pgcps.org/~elc/learning1.html] gives this simple and easy to understand description for small groups: Size The smallest group is two. The largest recommended is six. Generally, in smaller groups each member participates more, fewer social skills are required, and groups can work more quickly.…

Dreams Become Reality

About 8 years ago, before the movie “The Bucket List” was released, my brother asked me a great question. He asked me what my dreams were, what I wanted in my life, and what I wanted to make into reality. He also asked me if I had written them down somewhere and if I reread them on a regular basis.…

The More, The Merrier: Resource Teachers

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” -Anne Frank “How can I use the Tabor Rotation Framework if I’m a resource teacher and we only have pull out for 30 minutes per group of students?” Many schools choose to “push in” rather than “pull out” when they provide resource services to their students.…

Whole-Group Mini-Lessons

“The key is in not spending time, but in investing it.” -Stephen R. Covey “Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.” -Rodin “I get that the Whole-Group Mini-Lessons shouldn’t be 45 minutes long since the students aren’t listening after 10 or 15 minutes anyway.…

Secondary Math Resources

“Education is knowing where to go to find out what you need to know; and it’s knowing how to use the information you get.” -William Feather “You can always find a capable helping hand at the end of your own sleeve.” -Zig Ziglar It’s just a few hours away from winter break for schools, but dedicated educators are still asking for more to prepare for the coming semester.…

More Exit Questions, Please!

“A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.” -Francis Bacon “Talent alone won’t make you a success. Neither will being in the right place at the right time, unless you are ready. The most important question is: “Are your ready?” -Johnny Carson During follow-up conferencing this week I was asked a wonderful question.…

Movies, Math, & the Moon: Visualizing in Math

Fred Haise: I know why my numbers were wrong. I only figured it for two people. Jack Swigert: Maybe I should just hold my breath. -from the movie, “Apollo 13” “We’ve made our Whole-Group Mini-Lesson on Fridays about problem solving. Word problems, especially multi-step ones, are really challenging for our students.…

A GREAT Game!

“What is the most useful game you’ve ever played with your students?” If I had $20 to spend on games, the commercial game I would select is the card game called the 24 Game. [www.24game.com] Created in 1988 by Robert Sun, it has engaged and fascinated every student I’ve ever had.…

Managing Small Groups in a Secondary Classroom

“The conventional definition of management is getting work done through people, but real management is developing people through work.” -Agha Hasan Abedi “Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.” -Peter F. Drucker “As we get ready to implement these groups do you think it’s necessary to take a few days and talk about the norms or rules of behavior that are expected?”…

Courage & Honor

Over the last month I have had the privilege of working with teachers from many different schools. Yes, just a few short weeks before the winter break, schools are wanting more professional development. This occurred because they want to learn and improve—no matter when the opportunity arises during the school year.…