Scaffolding

In education, when you notice a student needs "more" than the basic plan, a teacher provides "scaffolding" to support a student's learning. Scaffolding could include more time, a copy of the notes, re-explaining, and so much more. What one student needs can be different for another student. Part of the magic of teaching is individualizing the learning for each student.

The best part is when students are engaged and ask questions. Parents also ask questions. Another clue a student needs scaffolding is from observation. When students don't know what to do, appear to be distracted or other behaviors, it can be a sign that scaffolding is needed. It is a careful balance of providing enough support for a student to be independent, and to step back and allow a student to struggle in the meaningful way that helps students learn. Sometimes, teachers make it smooth, and sometimes, they need a little work ...

We are working on Read an Article a Day. This is a picture of one of the articles we read recently. There was a previous post about An Article a Day.

Students read an article. They determine an important detail, make a connection, or respond in some way to the text. Then students record their thinking in their Flex Journal. At the end of the day, after every student has had the opportunity to read and write, we share and talk about what we read and how we responded. We WANT students to TALK. It is an important part of their learning!!

When Ms. Leom noticed students were struggling with "what was important" or what to write about, she provided some scaffolding, or mini lessons to support student success.

We learned about the five finger summary:

We learned about sentence starters.

The directions were also printed and glued into the front of our Flex Journal. We took notes on the Five Finger Summary and Sentence Starters. These are also posted in the classroom.

As the school year progresses, we intend to deepen our responses. This is how scaffolding works ... having a starting point ... working WITH students ... noticing what they need ... and supporting their successes.