Simplifying Math Stations

Posted by & filed under Differentiated Instruction, Guided Math, Guided Math Instruction, Math, Math Stations, Tabor Rotation, The Tabor Rotation Framework.

Click here & join me for “Simplifying Math Stations” at Knowledgehook’s Conference for Teachers, Thursday, July 14, 3-4pm EST.

Want to have a white copy? Click the title to download “Tabor Top Ten for Simplifying Math Stations”

Why Math Stations?

Like any good invention, the Tabor Rotation Framework came out of necessity. A couple of decades ago, I realized that my students needed a better way to learn mathematical concepts. I had almost 40 students per class, a classroom with no walls, fewer than half of my students on level, less than 60 minutes to teach math, and my students would be taking a performance-based test in April.

Since the state test was fully integrated, performance-based, and relied on students’ ability to think critically and creatively, my math instruction was going to have to become more rigorous. The way I had always taught math wasn’t going to be effective much longer.

The Beginning in the 1990’s

That’s when I began to review everything I knew about balanced literacy, small-group instruction, differentiated instruction, critical and creative thinking processes, meaningful application of knowledge, project-based learning, and good, effective teaching strategies. I studied how the brain learns and how students learn best in a classroom. The first few years of Tabor Rotation were a testing ground for essential elements. Mixed grouping at stations, leadership academy, and mathematician’s circle came first. After the first school-wide implementation of Tabor Rotation the scores increased by over 32% in one year—I knew I was on the right track!

Sophisticating the Framework

Over the next decade, the 14 Essential Elements were identified, implemented, tested, and have continually proven to be essential and effective. The 3 phases helped to organize a week or unit of instruction. Along with the implementation of essential elements, teachers, grade-level teams, and schools piloted all the components of the Tabor Rotation Framework to ensure that teachers were using what would provide the best math instruction for students. Long-range planning guides, phases of implementation, and other templates have been added to assist teachers in small-group, differentiated instruction. Everywhere Tabor Rotation has been implemented, scores go up, students and teachers are changed, and math becomes more meaningful.

Now you know a little bit about the origin of Tabor Rotation. The Tabor Rotation Framework is simply a platform which provides a way for implementing all the things a teacher should already be doing. It reinforces the best practices and gives teachers a concrete way to help every student reach & exceed their potential. Tabor Rotation is a perfect plan for Tier I of Response to Intervention, for co-teaching, and for implementing small-group instruction in classrooms from pre-K to 12th grade.

My Mantra

Tabor Rotation varies the modality through which students learn concepts. It provides for smaller student-teacher ratio for instructing every student in the room. Tabor Rotation asks teachers to create a continuum of conceptual understanding which provides learning experiences for all students to move “a little bit further than they were the day before.” That’s my mantra…what’s yours?

2 Effective Strategies for Academic Vocabulary

Posted by & filed under Balanced Mathematics, Classroom Management, Differentiated Instruction, Engaging All Learners, Math, Math Vocabulary, Tabor Rotation, The Tabor Rotation Framework, Uncategorized.

The task of leadership is not to put greatness in to humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there.”     -John Buchanan

Team Names and Freeze Words are two of my most successful strategies for incorporating vocabulary instruction into a classroom. They’re simple to use and don’t cost you a dime to implement.

Team Names

Let’s talk about Team Names first. Most teachers have their students select team names from what is most popular. Instead of selecting a sports team name, color, or number. Have your students select a team name from a list of all the terms they will need on the state test or end-of-course exam.

Team Names are changed once a month, so you ask teams to select their name from the Math Vocabulary Term Bank. This bank includes the term and the working definition they will use in mastering a concept.

Now each team creates a team banner. (This can be done as part of their Phase 3 Choice Board in the Tabor Rotation Framework.) On their team banner they briefly define the term and create an icon that helps other visually understand their team name.

The questions the teacher asks a few times each class period will be key to the term being placed into long-term memory and used with automaticity. Teachers pull a team number stick and ask questions such as:
*Can you and your team give an example of how your team’s name is used in a word problem?
*Can you and your team find a real-world example of your team name?
*Can you and your team tell the class what ANOTHER TEAM’S NAME MEANS?

If team names change once a month, for at least 7 months of school, then that’s 28 terms the students will know with automaticity—meaning they don’t even have to think about the word—they just use it in a meaningful way!

Freeze Words

One of the ways teachers make the most of their mathematical minutes is by incorporating classroom management into instruction. Freeze words are an example of this seamless integration of content and cultivation of a community of learners.

Remember that list of terms your students need to know to pass the state test? We’re about to use it again!

A month before you begin a unit of instruction, select 4 of the words students might not typically use in their own daily conversations. One of those words becomes the freeze word for the week.

Here is an example of how a Freeze Word is used effectively:

1. The unit you’re studying is geometry. One of the key terms the students need to master and place into long-term memory is parallel.
2. Before the week begins, place several larger pictures of parallel lines around the room. You also place arrows pointing toward pairs of parallel lines that exist in the classroom such as ceiling tiles.
3. The definition, in student language and large enough for students to read from anywhere in the room, is placed beside one of the pictures/icons.
4. The students know where the Freeze Word is posted along with its icon and definition and have already read the definition because their team receives extra points if they automatically say the definition when you say the Freeze Word and ask them to tell their partner what “parallel” means.
5. Teachers use TPR (Total Physical Response) whenever possible with a math vocabulary term because TPR helps embed it into long-term memory. With the word “parallel” you show the students how to form parallel lines with their hands, with their arms, with their feet, etc.
6. If you need your students attention, you put your hands on your shoulders and say, “PARALLEL.”
7. When approximately 3/4 of the class is frozen with hands on shoulders you use one of your 10-15 second response cues. These could be:
*Make a pair of parallel lines with your hands and show this to your partner.
*Show your partner a pair of parallel lines in the classroom and tell them how you can prove they are parallel.
*Show your partner a pair of lines that ARE NOT parallel and tell them how you know they are not parallel.
*Tell your partner what parallel means in your own words.
*Give your partner one reason why parallel lines are important.
8. Pull an equity stick if you’d like to have one student share what their partner said or highlight one of the things you overheard as you were being a process observer.Team Names are changed once a month, so you ask teams to select their name from the Math Vocabulary Term Bank. This bank includes the term and the working definition they will use in mastering a concept.Then the team creates a team banner. (This can be done as part of their Phase 3 Choice Board.) On their team banner they briefly define the term and create an icon that helps other visually understand their team name.

Use Effective Questioning

Again, the questions you ask a few times each class period will be key to the term being place into long-term memory and used with automaticity. You pull a team number stick and ask questions such as:
*Can you and your team give an example of how your team’s name is used in a word problem?
*Can you and your team find a real-world example of your team name?
*Can you and your team tell the class what ANOTHER TEAM’S NAME MEANS?

The last thing you should do, after all your students have left and you are thinking about your day? Pat yourself on the back as a teacher who is using these strategies. Students ALWAYS remember the Freeze Word, the Team Names, and use them meaningfully with automaticity.

Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.”     — Stephen R. Covey

Teacher Training Using Station Rotations

Posted by & filed under Differentiated Instruction, Engaging All Learners, Learning Stations, Professional Development for Teachers.

As another amazing school year comes to a close, most educators are counting the days and the minutes until summer break arrives. However, some educators are reflecting on the past nine or so months and how to make the next school year even better.

I asked one of these reflective practitioners, Ashley Sumrell, Curriculum Resource Teacher at Steele Creek Preparatory Academy, to share her strategy of beginning the school year using station rotations. Thank you, Ashley, for always looking for ways to make learning engaging and fun for ALL learners!


Guest Blogger: Ashley Sumrell

Have you ever looked around the room during a traditional beginning-of-the-school-year, pre-planning session?

Many times, teachers are sitting and listening while someone speaks to them. The longer the teachers sit there the more you will notice zoning out.

Teachers understand there are many things they need to receive and plan to make the school year successful. However, if teachers are being instructed to utilize best teaching practices, then why have them “sit and get” information during pre-planning? The “sit and get” model is a thing of the past. Itis not engaging, is not a best teaching practice, and frankly is
boring.

Look at the person in Exhibit A, he has probably been sitting and getting information for about 15-20 minutes. He still has a slight smile on his face, but his eyes are starting to glaze over. Then, you have the person in Exhibit B. He is a perfect example of what teachers look like if they are “sitting and getting” between 45-60 minutes. Can you imagine what a teacher would look like if the meeting lasted longer than 30 minutes? It is obvious that these two teachers are not
receiving any of the information being presented to them because they are not engaged.

A New Way of Training Teachers Using Station Rotations

To eliminate “zoning out” and to model what is expected of teachers in their own classroom, a plan was created for using station rotations in beginning of the year teacher training and pre-planning. The inspiration for this type of training came about when Ms. Glenna Tabor, creator of the Tabor Rotations Framework, came to our campus to meet with every teacher. Over 95% of them were fully engaged, wanted to stay longer, and were asking when she could come back.

Ms. Tabor “walks the talk!” In all of her trainings she uses a variety of games, visuals, and hands-on learning practices. Our teachers learned new strategies they could take back to their classrooms and use immediately. They understood the importance of what they were learning AND were having fun! This is something our teachers not only needed but wanted as well – to have training that is beneficial and
engaging.

I thought about how we want to fully immerse our school using the Tabor Framework and how we could organize it for teachers. So, why not start from the beginning of the year by modeling what the framework looks like during pre-planning using a few simple steps? I created this infographic with four simple steps.

Step 1:

Make a list of all the topics that need to be covered during beginning-of-the-new-year, pre-planning. This list does not have to be in any particular order. Below is an example of the content explored by our school each new year.

*Pre-Planning Topics
*Leadership Roles
*Grading Policies
*HR Forms and Procedures

Step 2:

Sort them based on how this information would be best received. Some topics make sense to do them in whole group
settings while others can be done in grade level groups. The topics that can be done based on each grade level become your stations for teachers to rotate through.

*Whole Group Topics Station Rotation Topics
*Leadership Roles Grading Policies
*HR Forms and Procedures

Step 3:

Place them into your pre-planning agenda based on which day that topic will be covered. Below you will find an example for two days of Pre-Planning.

Step 4:

Plan and make engaging activities that go with each session. Use this Pre-Planning Station Activity Template to guide you in activity creation. These could include games about the topic, gallery walks, quiz-quiz trades, or other methods to help engage teachers. As you will see below in the example, at our school we want students to have a task to do from the moment they walk in the room.

We have bell ringers each morning for teachers to complete during pre-planning. We use Morning Meetings in K-5 and Advisory in Middle School. So, we purposely plan to start each day with those items as well because they are items that teacher will be using in their classrooms.

Again, teaching has come so far from the model of sit here, listen to what we are saying to you, and absorb as much as you can. It is important that we model what we expect during our meetings with teachers, and it starts at the beginning of the year with pre-planning.

We should not only model what we expect, but also be intentional, purposeful, and strategic when planning meetings with teachers. 

 

How are you going to incorporate station rotations into your next school year? Ashley [asumrell@steelecreekprep.org] and I [glenna@glennatabor.com] would love to hear from you!

Geometry–Out of the Box!

Posted by & filed under Assessment, Comprehension & Connections in Mathematics, Differentiated Instruction, Engaging All Learners, Geometry, Inspiration, Math, Math Activities, Math Stations, Mathematics, Motivation, Planning Effectively, Secondary Mathematics, Small Group Instruction, Small Groups, Small-Group Instruction in Mathematics, Tabor Rotation, The Tabor Rotation Framework.

I received an email this morning from a Geometry Instructor/Assistant Athletic Director who has been using the Tabor Rotation Framework at the Secondary Level for the past two years. Attached to it was a real-world assessment of the geometrical concept of transformations. I was engaged just by reading it! I wished I had had this type of meaningful connection when I was taking high school geometry!

Knowing that his work could help other secondary educators, I asked him to provide information, inspiration, and…his OUT OF THE BOX assessment of course!


What changes have you made in your instructional pedagogy in the last two years that you feel have been beneficial to you?

The most important change for me is the decision to always get better.  I am always looking for something—something that, in my opinion, is innovative.  I honestly have never worked this hard before, but I have also never felt this good about my instruction either.

How has this change benefited your students?

Because I am taking what I am doing more to heart, my kids are always engaged.  WHY? They can see the passion that I have for what I am doing.  Students are still students, but I know I am encouraging them to get better through good modeling.

What have been the challenges of using a framework, like Tabor Rotation, that uses small groups, stations, games, progress monitoring, etc.?

There are two challenges.  First, you have to be willing to think outside the box and go outside your comfort level.  Second, you have to be willing to work HARD. 

How did you and your team address these challenges?

We continue to address these challenges.  Those that aren’t willing to do the two things I just mentioned, they continue to struggle.

What has been the best part of the changes that have occurred in your school’s Math Department?

This past Wednesday we (algebra and geometry) teachers had to do a training to pilot an informational management software for our school district.  During the presentation, I looked at  our principal and said, “We are so far ahead of the curve.”  It felt good to know that we have been and are continuing to do what is best for our students.

Which of the 14 Essential Elements of The Tabor Rotation Framework are the most important and why?

It is hard to say that one is more important than another.  I do believe that Teacher Time and making the real-world connections are vitally important in every math classroom.

Why did you create the transformations assignment instead of just giving a test?

There are two reasons why I created this type of assessment instead of a traditional test. First, I didn’t like the way the book assessed the information.  Second, after eight chapters and working hard since August, the kids are TIRED.  I thought this might be a nice change to motivate them.  They like to be able to think in their own ways.  This allows them some freedom to express their thoughts, related to math of course.

What would you say to a teacher who says this “just looks like a lot of work…”?

It is worth it! This is the best I have felt about my teaching in a long time!

Hope this dedicated teacher’s thoughts and his Real-World Transformation Assessment inspire you and your students…it was exactly what I needed today!

“The key to success is to risk thinking unconventional thoughts. Convention is the enemy of progress. If you go down just one corridor of thought you never get to see what’s in the rooms leading off it.”     -Trevor Baylis

The Power of Positive

Posted by & filed under Aha Moments, Innovation, Inspiration, Leadership Capacity.

Metal art

As another testing season arrives with all the frustrations and anxiety that accompanies it, I have been reflecting on the power of positive in when working with ANY learner in ANY learning environment. I was reminded of this by several recent events.

I went to garage sales this past weekend to hunt for frames. They are for a new mixed media art piece I’ve been commissioned to create for someone’s great room. The couple enjoys abstract, non-representational art and this piece will be a perfect compliment to the art over their fireplace.

art over fireplace

What does this have to do with the power of positive? I experienced two very different reactions to my pursuit of a variety of frames. The first garage sale I went to was being held by a couple approaching retirement age and they were downsizing to a different home. When I found a frame that might work I offered half price for it. (Yes, I am one of those people who bargains with a seller.)

She said that it had really pretty matting for pictures and she wanted full price. I explained that the mixed media art piece I was creating would only use the frames. Her immediate response was, “How fascinating! Please tell me more about it.” I did. I explained that a collage of frames would be painted the colors from the vintage, mid-century art work across the room from the frames. She said, “I’m a piano teacher and I think that this is one of the most creative ideas I’ve ever heard for frames. How unique! Do you have any pictures of your art? Do you sell it? Do you have a card?”

I left this driveway feeling so pumped about finding enough frames to begin arranging the collage via graph paper (another marvelous reason to learn ratio and proportion) and then arranging the real frames inside my garage. I left and headed to the next garage sale.

The next two didn’t have any frames, but the third one did. They were selling over 20 pictures for under $5 each. I hit the jackpot! Well, I did in finding frames, but I also found a completely opposite response from the seller. As I made my offer she indicated that several of the pictures had layers of matting. I said I only wanted the frames for an art piece I was creating for someone. She turned, rolled her eyes and said, “I don’t care what you do with the frames, do you want them or not?”

As I drove away I reflected on the extreme difference from the two people who sold me frames. The piano teacher understood the power of positive. Her curiosity and interest in my work made me want to go back and do more. The negative didn’t make me want to do anything but find another garage sale and maybe another person who was positive.

The attitude of the teacher has incredible power over the attitude of his or her students. They make or break the emotional connection and the belief that students have in their ability. It is my hope that teachers use this power to build and not break their students!

Oh, about the frames at that last garage sale…of course I bought them! I got the whole lot for $20 and I’ll be thinking about the piano teacher as I create my piece…

FREE VIDEO LESSON for Math Tool Bags & Virtual Math Manipulatives

Posted by & filed under Balanced Mathematics, Differentiated Instruction, Guided Math, Guided Math Instruction, Math, Math Activities, Math Manipulatives, Math Stations.

FREE VIDEO LESSON: INDIVIDUAL MATH TOOL BAGS & CPVA

MATH MANIPULATIVES have ALWAYS been important tools that every student needs and deserves!  To help you learn about math tool bags and virtual manipulatives in a fun, interactive way, I’ve uploaded a FREE video lesson. This video lesson begins by exploring how to build INDIVIDUAL MATH TOOL BAGS with less expensive household items.

Here’s a Contents of One Math Tool Bag list to help you create a tool bag for all the learners you want to support in their hands-on learning of mathematical concepts.

You can begin today with this Cumulative List of Activities for Math Tool Bag Items.

Since so many math lessons in 2021 use VIRTUAL MANIPULATIVES, watch the FREE VIDEO LESSON to explore the newest initial for experiencing math, CPVA or Concrete-to-Pictorial-to-Virtual-to Abstract. Knowing more about virtual manipulatives helps you sophisticate the use of virtual manipulatives as you teach learners in remote or hybrid settings. Download the poster below to use with your students.

Concrete-to-Pictorial-to-Virtual-to-Abstract

 

The FREE LESSON VIDEO also explains the sublevels of dynamic, digital virtual math manipulatives: virtualConcrete, vC, virtualPictorial, vP, and virtualAbstract, vA. The sublevels are illustrated in the poster below.

Sublevels of Virtual Manipulatives

Want to learn more about how to use MATH STATIONS & GUIDED MATH IN 2021?

The FREE LESSON is from the Math Stations & Guided Math in 2021 starter course that is ideal for helping teachers, parents, and caregivers understand how to use guided math and math stations in Face-to-Face, Remote, and Hybrid instructional settings.

FOLLOW THIS LINK TO SIGN UP NOW!

WANT MORE FREE VIDEOS??? Subscribe to the Glenna Tabor channel and you’ll always be moving ahead in math!

10 FREE Templates for Math Stations and Guided Math

Posted by & filed under Balanced Mathematics, Differentiated Instruction, Guided Math, Learning Stations, Math Stations, Mathematics.

MATH STATIONS in a remote, hybrid, or socially distanced face-to-face setting? YES!

MATH STATIONS engage ALL learners–no matter where they are sitting! Here are 10 FREE templates to help you with MATH STATIONS & GUIDED MATH. Begin planning for MATH STATIONS & GUIDED MATH by clicking on the Math Station Rotation Template or the Remote & Hybrid Math Instruction with Stations Template.

 

GOOGLE SLIDE: Math Station Rotation Template

Keep your stations and small-group instruction running smoothly by using TEAM POINTS as extrinsic motivation. You can also implement a virtual income CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT STRATEGY. One strategy I use to teach financial literacy and help students self-manage is Meaningful Math Management or M-Cubed. Follow this link to learn more about M-Cubed. The spreadsheets below, part of the 10 FREE Templates for Math Stations & Guided Math, are used as virtual tools in remote settings or as white copy components in F2F and socially-distanced settings.

As you continue to do what is best for ALL your students by DIFFERENTIATING & INDIVIDUALIZING INSTRUCTION, you’re going to form readiness groups and use more of the 10 FREE templates for Math Stations & Guided Math! You’re going to form READINESS GROUPS, also known as MATH CHAT GROUPS, to facilitate the differentiation of instruction at a highly sophisticated level. The tools below will help you gather information on Spreadsheets, form Math Chat Groups, and engage students in Choice Boards during at least one block of instruction. This is GUIDED MATH, in EVERY SETTING, at its best!!!

Next, use EXIT QUESTIONS & FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT TOOLS for determining mastery of math concepts. MATH JOURNALS  can also be a great insight into the depth of a student’s understanding in a non-threatening format. All these elements help you bridge from what the students learned to the way they will be assessed on state tests. As a bonus, they inform your sophisticated GUIDED MATH instruction.

 

Want more about GUIDED MATH & MATH STATIONS? Check out Tabor Rotation TO GO & its 2021 UPDATE! This online course has EVERYTHING you need for highly effective math instruction in remote, face-to-face, & hybrid settings!

 

Encouraging Creativity in the Workplace

Posted by & filed under Aha Moments, Innovation, Inspiration, Leadership Capacity, Motivation.

ENCOURAGING CREATIVITY IN THE WORKPLACE BY SAYING YES…AND is the target of this Motivational Monday. By simply changing your response from “Yes…BUT” to “Yes…AND” you encourage creativity, leverage new perspectives, and turbocharge innovation!

CLICK HERE OR ON THE THUMBNAIL BELOW TO WATCH THE VIDEO!

Sometimes a leader responds to an idea with the following statement. “Yes, I like that idea, BUT we tried it five years ago and it didn’t really work.” The YES…BUT response has just steamrolled the person’s idea and introduced obstacles to, basically, close the door of creativity. SLAM! That idea was just flattened and so was the energy and enthusiasm of the person who shared it.

Instead, Karen Hough, CEO and Founder of ImprovEdge, has found that the most powerful technique they train business leaders in using is known as the YES…AND PRINCIPLE. An idea is shared and the leader, knowing that all innovation comes from encouraging new perspectives, says, YES! We tried that a few years ago AND I’d relish the opportunity to see your thoughts on it!” The YES…AND just opened the doors, encouraged the creativity, and showed the leader’s strong belief in a good outcome. Do you hear rockets going off??? I do!!!

Try this activity adapted from the work of Silvio Corti. It only takes about 10 minutes, it’s fun, and it just might unlock the power of YES…AND in your team!

Activity to Promote Encouraging Creativity in the Workplace

 

1. Prepare flipchart sheets ahead of time for Team Webbing Processing of the partner sharing. In the middle of each sheet write one of the three following statements: Benefits & Costs of “YES, BUT.” Benefits & Costs of “YES, AND.” Impact This Could Have on Our Workplace.

2. Assign partners. Tell each set of partners they must plan a company party. After each person’s partner takes a turn sharing an idea, the other person responds with “YES, BUT” and blocks the idea by saying why it won’t work. Do this for about 2-3 minutes.

3. Stay with the same partners, but this time each person will respond to an idea with a sentence that begins with “YES, AND” and accepts the other’s idea. Again, do this for 2-3 minutes.

4. Have pairs group into 3 teams to respond on the Team Webs. A flipchart sheet with statement is in the middle of each table. Each person has a marker or writing tool and moves to a table with their team and webs off the statement for 2 minutes.

5. After 2 minutes, each team switches tables until all teams have webbed ideas off of all 3 statements.

6. Teams select the 3 most interesting ideas off of their original web to share with the entire group.

7. Each person writes how they are going to apply what they have learned from this activity on a sticky note and places it on the flipchart as a CALL TO ACTION & to review at a later time.

8. Celebrate! By engaging in this activity your team has already begun encouraging creativity in the workplace!

Ten years ago I wrote a blog post about encouraging students to think. Take a minute to read about my student, Reggie, and me as we learned to “THINK ABOUT IT” together!  I hope Reggie is still thinking as he continues to transform the world into a more positive place!

WANT IDEAS FOR MOTIVATING YOUR LEARNERS IN MATH??? Subscribe to the Glenna Tabor YouTube channel!

 

Homeschool Math Games

Posted by & filed under Engaging All Learners, FREE MATH GAMES, Homeschool Math, Ideas for Parents, Math, Math Activities, Math Games, Middle School Math, Multiplication, Number Sense.

FREE Math Games for Making Tens and Improper Fractions

Posted by & filed under Engaging All Learners, Fractions, FREE MATH GAMES, Ideas for Parents, Learning Stations, Manipulatives, Math, Math Activities, Math Games, Mathematics, Move Ahead @ Home, Tabor Rotation.