PLP Log

Date

Chapter
s

March 1

1-2

March
15

3-4

Discussion

In these first chapters, the idea of making

thinking visible is explored. As a group, we
explored this thought that thinking is not linea
and cannot be confined to a box like we so oft
try to do. Making thinking visible requires mak
students feel safe to share and explore their
thinking within the classroom as well as adapt
our teaching to fit the needs of our students t
ensure their success. Dr. Rogers had so much
great insight as to how we can do this on a
regular basis in our future classrooms with the
most important piece being administrative
support.
The book shifts at this point to focusing on
different strategies that can be utilized in the
classroom. The book introduces these strateg
as routines and explains that, as they are us
more and more in the classroom, these routin
will become an imbedded part of the classroo
culture. My favorite routine from these chapte
is See-Think-Wonder. We spent a good portio
of time as a group discussing this strategy an
what it would look like across content areas. W
noticed that, in general, the majority of exam
for each routine in the book were for English o
Social Studies classes. While they are all
adaptable to science/math, it took a lot of
discussion and creativity on our part to make
connections.

March
29

5-6

April 12

7-8

Chapters 5 and 6 focused more on organizing

student ideas and connections to prior
knowledge as well as digging deeper into
content. As a future teacher, this is something
that I know the large significance of but find it
hard to be creative in doing routinely. The
discussions we had were excellent in helping
find ways to assess for prior knowledge as we
as what to do with that information. Dr. Roger
again provided a wealth of resources as she
explained different ideas she has used as
extensions for children who already know
everything we are about to teach. Our discuss
in this meeting was focused on the practicalit
each routine we read about. While some routi
are designed for older grades, Dr. Rogers did
great job reminding us that there are plenty o
ways we can adapt and adjust them to fit the
needs of our elementary classrooms. I found t
to be one of the most beneficial things Dr. Rog
talked to us about. It was easy to read this bo
and feel like many of the strategies were out
reach for a younger classroom but she showe
us easy and practical ways to create supports
elementary classes to effectively complete th
routines at hand.
The last two chapters summed everything up
quite nicely in explaining that, it is our job as
classroom teacher to create an environment
where these routines are valued and practiced
Additionally, we must know that these routine
will take time. We cannot expect to see result
right after implementation nor can we expect
students to get the routine correct the first tim
This meeting came with an added bonus as w
were in the middle of our Urban School
placement. Dr. Rogers had so much insight an
wisdom to provide as we shared our experien
and what we had seen. We all agreed that, ha

the teachers we were with read this book, the

classes we observed would be drastically
different.

While this book is great, it deserved more than 4 meetings. I want

to reread this book over the summer and really give it the time it
deserves and gain more from reading it. In my unit, I am using a
variety of these strategies at least in some variation. One routine I
am using is Think-Puzzle-Explore. This routine is a great way to
get students to share their misconceptions and prior knowledge at
the beginning of my unit. Another strategy I am using is ClaimSupport-Question which is a great way to get students to think
scientifically and defend their claims.