Week 15: Differentiation with Google Forms

I had just begun taking full advantage of the differentiation powers of Edmodo when I decided to switch over to Google Classroom. From the start, I was disappointed by the fact that Google Classroom did not allow me to put my students into small groups, like I could on Edmodo, and thus assign each small group a different assignment (or a different version of the same assignment); however, I was able to do virtually just that using Google Forms.

On Monday of this past week, my students were working on revising their writing. In order to effectively differentiate my instruction to best meet the needs of my students, I needed to split them up. When I was reading their original assignments, they naturally fell into five separate groups based on how they did on that assignment and the areas they needed to improve upon. The original assignment was to write three paragraphs summarizing and responding to an article. The five groups were:

1. Students who understood the argument and purpose of the text and just needed to make minor revisions to their writing.
2. Students who partially understood the argument but needed clarification on the purpose of the text before they could work on revising their writing.
3. Students who misinterpreted the argument based on something else that was mentioned in the article. It was obvious that these students understood some parts of the article, but they missed the big picture. These students needed to figure out the argument and the purpose before they could revise their writing.
4. Students who had trouble understanding the article. Their writing was very unclear and mixed up. They needed to work on understanding the article and then on making a clear point with their writing.
5. Students who had not completed the original assignment.

As you can imagine, each group needed individualized instructions. Rather than having each group wait patiently as I gave instructions to the other groups, I decided to use Forms to help me give the instructions and walk the students through some of the information I needed them to understand before they could start revising their papers. That way, I could focus on walking around the room and helping students individually and/or in small groups in dissecting the article and/or in revising their writing as opposed to wasting my time giving instructions.

Before assigning the form, I had students move so that they were in those five groups. I did this in case they wanted to work together and help each other AND so it would be easier for me to address common problems and questions to each group.


Here is what the form looked like on the students' end:

Page 1 of the form

The page students were taken to if they clicked on Group 1.

The page students were taken to if they clicked on Group 2. If they selected the wrong purpose, they were taken to a page that told them to re-read and try again. Once they got the correct purpose, they were told to start revising.

The page students were taken to if they clicked on Group 3. If they selected the wrong argument, they were taken to a page that told them to re-read and try again. Once they got the argument, they moved onto the same question on purpose that Group 2 was taken to directly. After understanding the purpose, they were told to start revising.

The page students were taken to if they clicked on Group 4. After correctly identifying the argument, they were given a sentence frame to help them write the argument in a clear sentence. Then, they were walked through identifying the purpose. I put them in a separate group, so that after they got through understanding the argument and purpose, I could sit down with them and focus on helping them clearly express their thoughts on paper.

The page students were taken to if they clicked on Group 5. This walked them through reading the article and identifying the author's argument and purpose. At then end, they are provided with a graphic organizer to help them with their writing that the other students received originally in print.

Here is the entire form if you want to click through it to see where it takes you.

And here is what the form looked like on my end:

Page 1 of the form - Notice that next to where it says "Multiple choice," I checked the box, "Go to page based on answer." This is what allowed me to direct my students to different pages and questions. I had to create those other pages and then come back here to specify where I wanted my students to be taken.

Here is another example. Once I had this question made, I could duplicate it if I needed to use it somewhere else by clicking on the icon that looks like one piece of paper on top of another piece of paper in the top right-hand corner; the copy would still direct students to the appropriate places. Notice that I also checked the box for "Required question" down at the bottom. This ensures that the students can't get away with skipping the question; they have to select an answer before they will be allowed to move on.

I had to insert one last page (which I just called "Last page") at the very end of my form. None of the other pages connect to this page, but for some reason, some of the other pages would not function properly without it. I am guessing this is just a glitch in the Google Forms software, but, for now, be advised that you may need to do this.

I will admit that I was up late on Sunday night setting up this form, but, when Monday rolled around, it made my life so much easier than it would have been if I had not done so. As I said above, I was able to assign this form and have my students start working while I wandered around, helping the students who needed it most. It was awesome. 

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Ease of use: If you are just getting used to Google Forms, I suggest you practice and play around making forms until you feel you have mastered the basics before you attempt doing something like this. It isn't that it is extremely difficult (Forms actually makes it quite easy) - it's just that there are a lot of little kinks that you may need to work out. Also, you need to make use of backward mapping for this. You need to have an overall vision of what you want your students to accomplish before you start so that the way you create and link pages makes pedagogical sense.
Would I use this again: Yes. The wonderful thing (and also horrible thing) about the Internet is that nothing ever really gets deleted. I've created this form, and I can use it whenever I want. I can also duplicate the entire form, so that the pages are still linked, and just tweak the questions and answers to fit whatever it is I want it to fit. Or I can create an entirely new form from scratch. The possibilities are endless.
Downsides: As I mentioned above, there are kinks that need to be worked out. Once you've created your form, you need to go through it, clicking on every possible answer, to make sure that it actually takes you to the place you want it to go. Don't rely on the fact that it says it will take you to a specific page, because it might not if you don't have a random last page of if you didn't click on of the right boxes. You need to test it before you can use it in class. That being said, once you've made it and have tested it, it and all future copies of it should work.
Applications: Differentiation! All teachers know that we are supposed to be differentiating in our classes, but we can't always figure out how to do it effectively, especially because you don't want one group doing nothing while you are working with another group. This helps because you can give the students more individualized instructions, and you can even build the re-teaching right into it! It's awesome. 

Week 7: Teacherspayteachers.com

Last week, we were off for the entire week due to the holiday, so I had some time to plan and think about what I'd be doing with my students between now and the end of the semester on December 19th. Of course, I intended to get a lot more done than I actually did, so when the weekend approached, I was feeling a bit stressed out. Fortunately, a friend of mine posted a link on Facebook to a lesson plan on using Pixar shorts to teach plot structure. Since I knew I was going to have my ELD 2 students write children's stories over this week and next, I thought this lesson plan might be a good way to review plot structure before launching into actually writing, and I decided to check it out.

The lesson plan was available for free download through the website teacherspayteachers.com, which I had never heard of. Honestly, I don't do a lot of (or any) searching the Internet for resources, because I am inevitably disappointed when I don't find exactly what I'm looking for and have to make it myself anyway. (An example of this was when I searched earlier this year for a chart with the English alphabet with the pronunciation of each letter spelled out in Spanish. I was sure something of this nature must exist, but I couldn't find anything. I just wound up making this.) That being said, I am also not one to ignore resources that pop up in my face (from other teachers, blogs, Facebook, etc.). I think I am just extremely picky, as I think many teachers are, so I feel as though a lot of pre-made lessons and graphic organizers don't fit naturally into my classroom and/or teaching. Nonetheless, as I said, I decided to check out this lesson, and boy, am I glad I did!

I had to create an account in order to actually download and view all of the materials, but doing so was free. When I opened the zip folder, I saw that it included worksheets and a PowerPoint presentation to accompany the worksheets. Since I have a 2-year-old who isn't allowed to watch very much TV yet, we haven't amassed the entire Pixar collection of movies; however, we do have Wall-E and Up. I checked which Pixar shorts were included with those DVD's and discovered I owned 4 of the 10 shorts listed in the lesson plan - "Burn-E", "Presto", "Partly Cloudy", and "Dug's Special Mission". I thought to myself, "Well, 4 shorts is definitely enough for my students to get the idea." So, I decided to go with the ones I had and not worry about quickly buying more movies just so I could have more of the shorts to choose from. (I am a big believer in not paying for things that you don't really need, so I wanted to avoid having to buy the extra movies if at all possible.) Unfortunately, the worksheets provided did not have the movies grouped together by movie they came out with, so the portions of the worksheets I needed were spread across 4 different worksheets. "No problem," I thought. "I will just cut and paste together the parts that I need." For a moment, I thought I would need to print out the worksheets and actually, physically, cut and paste them together. Then I realized that was ridiculous! If you still do that kind of thing, stop! You are just wasting paper and glue. Instead, I took screenshots of the parts that I needed and pasted them into a blank Google Doc. I printed out the 2 pages, instead of the original 4, ran them down to the copy room, and I was good to go.

I introduced the lesson to my students on Tuesday. It was funny because some of them had come in that day and asked if we could watch a movie, something I pretty much never let them do but which they still ask for all the time. I told them not right away but maybe later. "Aw, Miss. Maybe? No maybe. I don't like when you say maybe. It means no. Say yes." I smiled and repeated, "Maybe."

When the time came to begin the activity, they were thrilled when I told them what we were going to do. I started by drawing a picture of the plot diagram on the board and labeling the different parts - exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Next, since this was a review for them, I had them tell me what each term meant. I left that up on the board while we watched the shorts, so the students would be able to reference it if needed.

The first short I showed them was "Dug's Special Mission". We watched through it once. Then, I played it again, pausing it at different times for us to discuss each element of the plot as it came up in the movie. We followed the first short with "Partly Cloudy" and "Presto". (Due to technical difficulties, we weren't able to watch "Burn-E".) Each time we worked through the elements of plot, I made the students tell me the answers and help me construct sentences to fill in on the graphic organizer I was filling out on the projector while they filled in their own worksheets at their desks.

It just so happened that I was doing this lesson on a day when other teachers were doing classroom observations as part of the EEI professional development. That period, I had 3 teachers come into my classroom - a history teacher, a math teacher, and an English teacher. As they left, I heard the math teacher say to the history teacher, "What a great lesson!" I smiled to myself, and I also made sure to email the teachers later in order to give credit where credit was due and point them to teacherspayteachers.com.

After we finished this activity, the next step was to have my students create their own plot diagrams for the children's stories they are now writing. Overall, I think it was extremely beneficial for them to fill out the diagrams using the Pixar films first because they got to see how each story was broken down into one event that lead to another that lead to another.
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Ease of use: Creating an account with teacherspayteachers is extremely easy, and it's great that you don't have to put in credit card information or anything like that just to sign up. What you are looking for will probably determine the ease of use of the search engine of the site. However, if you just want to sign up to browse through some great resources, then it is extremely easy. If you are looking for something extremely specific, you might have a bit more trouble. I also like that you can just look through the stuff that is available for free, because, after all, who really wants to pay for something that you can just make yourself?
Would I use this again: Yes. I would do this lesson again, and I will use this resource again. (I might as well, since I've already signed up.)
Downsides: You do actually have to make an account, which I know some people are wary of. Also, as I mentioned above, if you are searching for something specific, you may have trouble finding it, but if you are just looking for some good ideas, then you shouldn't have any problems. 
Applications: This specific lesson - teaching plot to just about any grade and any English proficiency. This resource - every subject area, even PE and vocational education! 

Week 2: TextHelp Study Skills (Google Add-on), Group Thesis Writing on Mini-Whiteboards, and Re-Teaching Plagiarism

Texthelp Study Skills (Google Add-on)

Texthelp Study Skills is a Google add-on that is basically a fancy highlighting tool. The thing that makes it really is that, after you are done highlighting a document, you can click "Collect highlights", which then creates a new document with just your highlighted material. When I showed this feature to my students, a collective "Whoa..." swept the room, and some students even applauded me. 

In order to install it, all you need to do is open up a Google Doc, click "Add-ons", select "Get add-ons...", search for "Texthelp Study Skills", and then click the "+Free" button to install. You can only use it in Google Docs, so your students will need a Google account in order to take advantage of it. (If your school doesn't provide GAFE accounts for your students, I highly recommend you have them create gmail accounts. This way they can create a professional email address (so you don't have to worry about getting emails from addresses such as "whataredrugs420"), and they can have access to all of Google Drive.)

When using this add-on in class, I had to play around with my directions and what I wanted my students to do in order to make the most out of the highlighting tools. First, I chose an article I wanted them to read and pasted it into a Google Doc. Then, I came up with instructions that would walk them through using the highlighting tool and highlighting their document. I decided to highlight some of the information in the directions because then, when students collected their highlights, the highlights would be organized underneath each specific direction. Here is what I shared with my students, here is an example of a highlighted copy, and here is the collected highlights document generated from the highlighted copy.

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Ease of use: As I mentioned, the directions took some figuring out on my part. However, in terms of students actually using it, they got it after I showed it to them once.
Would I use this again: Yes, especially because I really like that I don't have to make a million copies of the different articles I want my students to read. I actually had students read 2 different assigned articles using this method. Then, I had them search for another article to read using the same method. (Here is the assignment for when I had them find their own article.)
Downsides: Everything is digital, so for students who prefer reading on paper versus a computer screen, this isn't a good tool. For this reason, I wouldn't recommend it for texts longer than a couple of pages.
Applications: Active reading for any short text (informational texts, short stories, poems, etc.)

Group Thesis Writing on Mini-Whiteboards

Using mini-whiteboards in class (especially in my class) is definitely not a new concept, nor is group-writing; however, group-writing ON mini-whiteboards ... Man! Why didn't I think of this sooner???

Usually, when I have my students group-write, I give them a big piece of butcher paper, I make each student use a different color, and I tell the students that I want to see each color equally in the final product. The problem? They are writing in markers on butcher paper, which doesn't really promote revision, because despite what I tell them about writing in pencil first, they never do, which means when they make a mistake, they need to cross it out with marker, which makes the poster look bad, so then they ask for a new piece of butcher paper and have to start all over again. 

With whiteboards, when students make a mistake, they just erase it and start over. Writing on a whiteboard feels less like a project, so students are more willing to write things down and take chances than they are when they are writing in marker on butcher paper. 

But the best part? I was walking around from group to group the entire time, telling them they needed to revise, asking them what they thought was wrong with their current thesis, and giving them suggestions for how to improve their next draft; I didn't give them directions for the next step until they had a stellar thesis. When they work with the butcher paper, it is as much of a hassle for me when they have to start over as it is for them, so I when I check their work, I don't make them revise it if it is decent. I usually collect the posters, read through them that day, and then give them fresh paper the next day to fix their mistakes. With this process, kids go through 2-3 revisions over the span of a couple of days and still usually come away with less than an A+ product. However, with the whiteboards, each group went through 4+ revisions in the span of one class period and walked away having written an A+ thesis. 

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Ease of use: This is extremely easy to implement in the classroom. I literally just passed out whiteboards and markers, told the students I wanted them to write a thesis on the assigned topic, and then they worked for the entire period while I walked around helping them. It took absolutely no prep time other than the 5 minutes that I spent what I was going to do in class that day. (I don't usually recommend only planning for 5 minutes, but in this case, it worked out.)
Would I use this again: Yes! Now I just need bigger whiteboards, so they can write entire body paragraphs on them...
Downsides: In theory, if you don't have mini-whiteboards, that would be a downside. However, you can just put a blank piece of paper in a page protector, and it works almost just as well as a whiteboard. I got all of my whiteboards for $1 each at Big Lots; you just have to be on the lookout for deals like that, and you need to buy at least 10 of them when you come across those deals. Other than that, there are no downsides.
Applications: Writing instruction and revision (plus all the other millions of applications for mini-whiteboards in the classroom)

Re-Teaching Plagiarism

Last week, my students turned in a piece of process-writing, which I graded quickly in order to get back to them this week, so they could write a similar on-demand assignment. (I had a 5-day turnaround on the essays, which is my fastest turnaround time ever.) This was really my students' first big process-writing assignment, and even though we worked on them for an entire week (not to mention all of the prep work we did throughout the unit leading up to the assignment), I had 5 students who plagiarized parts of their assignment. 5 students! I will usually have 1 or 2, at the most, who cheat on this first assignment, but 5??? 

I was shocked, annoyed, frustrated, angry, and a whole slew of other adjectives... not just because so many students had cheated, but because I really drive my policies on cheating and plagiarism home during the first week of school. On the second day of school, I have students complete a worksheet on cheating and plagiarism, which we then discuss as a class and students keep in the front of their notebook, along with their syllabus, for reference throughout the rest of the year. I also have them take this plagiarism test because it does a really good job of explaining what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. On top of all of that, I repeatedly tell the students that I will catch them if they cheat - even if they have never been caught before, I will catch them. 

Usually, when I come across a plagiarized essay, I confront the student, fill out an honor code violation form, and give the student a zero on the assignment, as per school policy. This time, however, I decided to do things a little differently, mainly because none of the essays were 100% plagiarized - they all had plagiarized sentences woven into their own writing. I realized this was a teachable moment, and if I simply proceeded as I usually did, I would lose that moment. 

I confronted each of the students after class, but instead of just telling them the consequences, I told them they had to come in at lunch that day. When they came in, I made them get on a computer. First, I made them look up the definition of "plagiarism" (mainly because one of the boys was really mad and didn't think he had done anything wrong). We talked about the fact that plagiarism is both stealing someone else's words and stealing someone else's ideas. Then, I had them highlight all of the portions of their essays that were plagiarized. I explained to them how to include citations in order to avoid plagiarism, and I told them I wanted them to revise their essays and turn them back into me by the end of the week. Also, I decided to give them partial credit on the assignment, as opposed to a zero. A zero would have brought them all down to ~40% in the class, which then would've caused them to give up completely for the rest of the semester. By giving them partial credit, they are all still passing; this way I ensure they don't lose hope, and I also (hopefully) ensure they never plagiarize again.