🎓 Skip the Fluff: 4 Better Ways to Scaffold Your Lessons

What’s Inside This Week:

• The Big Picture: 4 Easy Scaffolding Strategies

• Classroom Hack: Enhance your Classroom’s Organization

• Connecting the Dots: Links to my Favorite Educational Highlights from this Week

Happy Tuesday,

I hope you’re having a great start to your week. In this weeks Thinking Cap, we’re going to discuss my favorite scaffolding strategies. Scaffolding is such an easy way to help students learn more effectively.

Continue reading below to get an in depth explanation of my favorite scaffolding strategies and easy tips for how to use them.

-Brandon

🏆 4 Easy Scaffolding Strategies for Effective Student Support

1. Tap Into What They Already Know

Starting your classroom lessons by using what your students already know is like building a strong foundation for their learning. It's a helpful teaching technique and makes learning more interesting.

When you connect new lessons to what they already understand, it's easier for them to learn and remember things. It's not just good teaching; it's a way to make learning more exciting and meaningful.

2. 10-2-2 Note Taking

This is a classic AVID strategy that emphasizes that all learners need time to process new ideas and information. It states that for every 10 minutes of notetaking, students take 2 minutes to process the information collaboratively, and then 2 minutes to process individually.

Typically this means 10 minutes of teacher led instruction, 2 minutes of a verbal activity with a partner, and then 2 minutes for a written summary. This is a great way for students to make sense of and articulate their learning.

3. Learn Important Words First

Learning new vocabulary words before learning new concepts is a smart move many teachers don't use often enough. It's like giving students a helpful guide before they embark on a tricky adventure. Sometimes, teachers throw students into hard texts filled with unfamiliar words, making reading feel like a tough journey.

But if teachers teach the vocabulary words first, it's like handing students a special toolkit to make reading those challenging texts easier. This isn't just a good idea; it's a way to make reading more fun and help students learn better.

4. Use Graphic Organizers

You can think of graphic organizers, pictures, and charts as handy helpers for students. They're like tools that make it easier to understand and remember things.

They help students create visual maps of their ideas, making it simpler to see how things are connected and what happens first or next. These tools aren't just cool; they're like a secret code that makes learning and understanding complex stuff much easier.

✏️ Steal this Classroom Hack:

• Ten Drawer Tower Organizer

• Acrylic Marker Organizer

• White Woven Storage Bins

• Wicker Storage Basket

• 4 Cube Storage Bookcase

👍 Why I love this hack:

What I love about this organizational setup is its blend of simplicity and how it makes everything so easy to use.

The 10-drawer tower offers a place for everything, with labeled drawers ensuring quick and easy access to essential materials. On the other side, there's a 4-cube dresser that's like a storage superhero. It holds markers, has a wicker bin, and more white bins for stuff.

This setup is a smart way to save space and streamlines the learning environment, making it a perfect addition to any classroom setting.

✅ Have a classroom hack that you would like to share? Reply to this email and let me know what awesome hack you’ve created. (I can even include it in next weeks newsletter - with a shout out, of course!)

📚 Highlights from this Week:

• Avid Note-Taking Skills: A more detailed summary of how to use the 10-2-2 Scaffolding Strategy (Link)

• Onward: Onward addresses the issue of teacher stress and offers a practical way to reduce burnout in education. (Link)

• Zero: Zero explores the history and significance of the seemingly simple number zero, from its mystical origins to its pivotal role in mathematics. (Link)

• Mathcation: Use code 5Dollars on a Monthly Membership to get your first month for just $5! (Link)

Thank you for reading The Thinking Cap!

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