jill Spencer Page 1 6/23/2017

Find someone who can Find some one who can Find someone who can
point to an example of draw 3 polygons below and calculate the volume of
symmetry in the room and name them (other than a this figure and explain it
name the type it is: square or rectangle). to you as s/he does it.

2. The BIG Question

5 All sides (collaboration &
are equal summarization, plus
its good energizer, get
to-know-you strategy)
Find two examples of
Find someone who can Find someone who can parallel lines in the room
explain this formula: make a 90 angle with and sketch them below.
his/her arm. Find someone who will
A = r2 verify your drawings and
have him/her sign below.

Find a partner. Together

look at the picture of the
bridge and then list all of Find someone who can tell
Find someone who can
the geometric concepts you who Pythagoras was
write the numerical value
you see represented in and why we still study his
of .
this bridge. work today.

QuickTime and a
decompressor
1. Geometry People
are needed to see this picture.
Search:
Find someone
who can sign off
on each block.
A person can only
List them below:
sign your chart
one time.
Find someone who Use:
can draw an isosceles Find some who can draw a Find someone who can
picture that explains explain how perimeter Assess prior
triangle.
radius and circumference are knowledge
related. Review and
summarize

http://www.teachmeteamwork.com/teachmeteamwork/2007/01/teambuilding_ga_6.html:
 jill Spencer Page 2 6/23/2017

Give everyone an index card to write a question on.

Have everyone get up and walk around while you play some music.
Stop the music and each person finds a partner.
Partners ask & answer each others questions; then they trade cards. Ask students to say, Im not
sure when they dont really know the answer. Ask them also to put a dot on the card. When you
collect the cards you will see which topics are still unclear to the students.
Music starts and the process repeats

3. Extended Think-Pair-Share (collaboration & summarization):

Decide on the precise language of the idea, concept, or term about which you want the class to
develop a common understanding.
Have each student write down his/her own definition or understanding. It's important to put it in
writing because each person will be sharing it with another.
Pair up the students and have them share their ideas. Each pair then writes a definition with which
they both agree.
Each pair joins another pair. They share and discuss their definitions. The group of four then
collaborates on a definition they all can agree with.
Each foursome joins another foursome. They share and discuss their definitions. The group of
eight then collaborates on a definition they all can agree with.
As the groups get larger, the teacher needs to monitor time and conversations carefully. If groups
are getting bogged down, the teacher might need to do a bit of coaching.
Depending on the time frame a group has for this process, keep combining groups to further refine
their understanding/definition. The ultimate goal is to continue combining until there is just one
group and one definition. Sometimes time constraints prevent this outcome.
At whatever point the process must end, save time to chart big ideas from the groups to be used in further
discussions.

4. Shared ReadingJust Say Something (collaboration, summarization, checking for understanding)

o StudentsworkwithapartneranddesignateonepartnerAandtheother,B.
o Together,theychunkupthereadingbyplacingstopsigns(stickies)
o alongtheway.Or,theteachercandecideaheadoftimewherestudentswillstop.
o Studentsreadsilentlyandstopatthestopsigns.Atfirststop,partnerAsayssomething
aboutthetext:
whats/hethinksitsaid
whats/hethinksaboutit
whatinterestshim/her
whats/hehasquestionsabout
whatnewthoughtss/hehas
whats/hemightnothaveunderstood
howitconnectswithsomethingelse.
o ThenpartnerBresponds.S/hemaycommentonsomethingpartnerAsaidormakea
commentofhis/herown.
o Partnersresumereadingandstopatthenextstickie/stopsign.ThistimepartnerBgetstosay
somethingfirstandthenpartnerAresponds.
o Partnersmoveonthroughthereadinginthismanneruntiltheyfinish.

These strategies lend themselves to differentiation. Pair students by reading readiness or interest. Different
texts on the same topic can be used. By adding the conversation component, learning styles are addressed.

Help Save The ENDANGERED The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus

jill Spencer Page 3 6/23/2017

From EXTINCTION!

Takenfromhttp://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

ThePacificNorthwesttreeoctopus(Octopuspaxarbolis)canbefoundinthetemperaterainforests
1ofthe
OlympicPeninsulaonthewestcoastofNorthAmerica.TheirhabitatliesontheEasternsideofthe
Olympicmountainrange,adjacenttoHoodCanal.Thesesolitarycephalopodsreachanaveragesize
environment.Becauseofthemoistnessoftherainforestsandspecializedskinadaptations,theyareableto
keepfrombecomingdesiccatedforprolongedperiodsoftime,butgiventhechancetheywouldprefer
restinginpooledwater.

Anintelligentandinquisitivebeing(ithasthelargestbraintobodyratioforanymollusk),thetreeoctopus
exploresitsarborealworldbybothtouchandsight.Adaptationsitsancestorsoriginallyevolvedinthethree
dimensionalenvironmentoftheseahavebeenputtogooduseinthespatiallycomplexmazeofthe
coniferousOlympicrainforests2.Thechallengesandrichnessofthisenvironment(andtheintimatewayin
whichitinteractswithit,)mayaccountforthetreeoctopus'sadvancedbehavioraldevelopment.(Some
evolutionarytheoristssupposethat"arborealadaptation"iswhatlaidthegroundworkinprimatesforthe
evolutionofthehumanmind.)

Reachingoutwithoneofhereightarms,eachcoveredinsensitivesuckers,atreeoctopusmightgraba
branchtopullherselfalonginaformoflocomotioncalledtentaculation;orshemightbepreparingtostrike
ataninsectorsmallvertebrate,suchasafrogorrodent,orstealaneggfromabird'snest;orshemight
evenbeexaminingsomeobjectthatcaughtherfancy,instinctivelydesiringtomanipulateitwithher
dexterouslimbs(reallydeservingthetitle"sensoryorgans"morethanmere"limbs",)inordertobetter
knowit.

Treeoctopuseshaveeyesightcomparabletohumans.Besidesallowingthemtoseetheirpreyand
environment,ithelpsthemininteroctopusrelations.Althoughtheyarenotsocialanimalslikeus,they
displaytooneanothertheiremotionsthroughtheirabilitytochangethecoloroftheirskin:redindicates
anger,whitefear,whiletheynormallymaintainamottledbrowntonetoblendinwiththebackground.

ThereproductivecycleofthetreeoctopusisstilllinkedtoitsrootsinthewatersofthePugetSoundfrom
whereitisthoughttohaveoriginated.Everyyear,inSpring,treeoctopusesleavetheirhomesinthe
OlympicNationalForest3andmigratetowardstheshoreand,eventually,theirspawninggroundsinHood
Canal.There,theycongregate(theonlyrealsocialtimeintheirlives,)andfindmates.Afterthemalehas
depositedhissperm,hereturnstotheforests,leavingthefemaletofindanaquaticlairinwhichtoattach
herstrandsofeggclusters.Thefemalewillguardandcareforhereggsuntiltheyhatch,refusingevento
eat,andusuallydyingfromherselflessness.Theyoungwillspendthefirstmonthorsofloatingthrough
HoodCanal,AdmiraltyInlet,andasfarasNorthPugetSoundbeforeeventuallymovingoutofthewater
andbeginningtheiradultlives.

WhyIt'sEndangered

AlthoughthetreeoctopusisnotofficiallylistedontheEndangeredSpeciesList,wefeelthatitshouldbe
addedsinceitsnumbersareatacriticallylowlevelforitsbreedingneeds.Thereasonsforthisdire
situationinclude:decimationofhabitatbyloggingandsuburbanencroachment;buildingofroadsthatcut
offaccesstothewaterwhichitneedsforspawning;predationbyforeignspeciessuchashousecats;and
boomingpopulationsofitsnaturalpredators,includingthebaldeagleandsasquatch
4.Whatfewthatmake
ittotheCanalarefurtherhamperedintheirreproductionbythegrowingproblemofpollutionfrom
jill Spencer Page 4 6/23/2017

farmingandresidentialrunoff.Unlessimmediateactionistakentoprotectthisspeciesanditshabitat,the
PacificNorthwesttreeoctopuswillbebutamemory.

ThepossibilityofPacificNorthwesttreeoctopusextinctionisnotanunwarrantedfear.Othertreeoctopus
speciesincludingtheDouglasoctopusandtheredringedmadronasuckerwereonceabundant
throughouttheCascadiaregion,buthavesincegoneextinctbecauseofthreatssimilartothosefacedby
paxarbolis,aswellasoverharvestingbythenowillegaltreeoctopustrade.

Thehistoryofthetreeoctopustradeisasadone.Theirvoraciousappetiteforbirdplumeshaving
exhaustedalltheworthyspeciesofthatfamily,thefashionistasmovedontocephalopodicaccoutrements
duringtheearly20thCentury.Treeoctopusesbecameprizedbythefashionindustryasornamental
decorationsforhats,leadinggreedytrapperstowipeoutwholepopulationstofeedthevanityofthe
fashionablerich.Whilefortunatelythispracticehasbeenoutlawed,itseffectsstillreverberatetodayas
thesemillinerydeprivationsbroughttreeoctopusnumbersbelowthecriticalpointwhereevenminor
environmentalchangecouldcausedisaster.

5. Make a Choice (non-linguistic Representation, identifying similarities & differences) This strategy
works well when you want to help students internalize a concept like viscosity or prime and composite
numbers.
Label sides of the room. For example, when doing viscosity. One side will be high viscosity and
the other will be low.
Give each student a card with an example of the concept on it.
Student then walks to the correct side of the room
(e.g. molasses would go to the high viscosity side).
Ask if everyone agrees with the way the participants Possibilities:
This should be a non-threatening strategy with students helping longitude&latitude
phasesofmitosis
each other outthe object is understanding, not catching metaphors&similes
Union&Confederacy
someone being wrong. metamorphic,igneous
&sedimentaryrocks
decimalsandpercents
facts&myths(health)

6. Tic Tac Toe: (summarizing & review)

Divide the group up into groups and give each group 9 index cards. On each card they write a key word or
phrase from the unit of study. They then arrange the cards into a tic tac toe arrangement. (Nancy Doda
Idea)

Groups write three sentences.

One sentence must include all 3 words from a horizontal row, one must include all words from a
vertical row, and one must include all 3 from a diagonal row.
Groups pick their best sentence, and they take turns sharing their sentences.
The students hear and talk about the ideas in variety of ways, and the teacher can do a quick
assessment of what students know and identify any misconceptions that might still exist.

7. Using images to learn: (identifying similarities and differences, summarizing, connecting to what is
already known)
jill Spencer Page 5 6/23/2017

QuickTime and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

http://cct2.edc.org/PMA/image_detective/index.html
Four Steps
Pose a question
Gather clues
Get Background information
Draw a conclusion

Check out National Archives: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/

8. Physical Venn Diagram (comparing and contrasting, summarizing)

Gather your class into a large circle and hand out 8 x 11 pieces of construction paper with items to be
placed in the Venn diagram (make sure students know what you mean by Venn diagram
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/).

Better yethand out blank pieces of paper and have students write a fact about the
topic(s) you been studying on each piece, collect and shuffle them and redistribute.

Each child receives an items/he then places it under the correct column.
Unique to ______________
Unique to ______________
Characteristic of both

Ways to process the informationRemember the point of this activity to help students further internalize
new information, not to catch someone being wrong! Offer lifelines or other game show devices to help
students figure out their responses

1. Give the class 1 minute to use any resource in the classroom to clarify the term or phrase that is on
their cards.
2. Talk as you go
a. Ask students who are sure they know which column their cards go to place them. Ask
jill Spencer Page 6 6/23/2017

each student to explain his/her thinking. Ask the rest of the class is anyone disagrees. If
someone does, mediate the discussion.
b. Ask less sure students to place their cards, offering them lifelines (So You Want to Be a
Millionaire) if they need them. Again, ask them to explain their thinking. Get feedback
from the rest of the class.
c. Continue to mediate the discussion until all items are in their proper place. Allow
students to use references to check answers
OR
3. Review thinking afterwards
a. Have students place their cards in the appropriate column
b. After all of the cards are placed, give students the chance to rearrange cards they think
are misplaced. Make sure they explain their thinking for moving cards.
c. Mediate the classs thinking until all cards are in their proper place.

*** Identifying similarities and differences (comparing and contrasting), summarization, and using
non-linguistic representation are all evidence-based strategies shown to have a high probability of
improving student understanding: Classroom Instruction that Works by Robert J. Marzano, Debra J.
Pickering, Jane E. Pollock

Jill Spencerjillspencer51@gmail.com
Online at http://jillspencer.net and http://teamingrocks.wordpress.com/
Handouts available at http://jillspencer.pbworks.com/w/page/7490848/FrontPage

Games: Latest research on using games to promote learningand its good news!
Robert Marsano. Using Games to Enhance Student Achievement Educational Leadership Feb. 2010
(Vol. 67 # 5) pp.71-71 -- this is a must read article if you like to use games in your class.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb10/vol67/num05/Using-Games-to-
Enhance-Student-Achievement.aspx
In the 60 studies Marzano has been involved in that include academic games as part of the instructional
plan, there was up to and sometimes more than 20 percentile point gain in student achievement.

What needs to be in place:

Use inconsequential competition
Target essential academic content
Debrief the game: What was the most difficult? What did you find to be easy? What questions
do you still have?
Have students revise their notes: provide time for students to review their notes and make
additions and deletions as necessary