5 Teaching Strategies

Which of the following activities will best allow students to self-identify their misconceptions?

• studying a list of frequently asked questions with the students.

• drawing an illustration of their idea and labeling key parts

• applying the scientific method to an idea in class and designing an experiment

• making a T-chart of the pros and cons of their idea

Answer explanation

Applying the scientific method encourages students to test their ideas through experimentation, helping them identify and confront their misconceptions directly, making it the most effective choice.

During a unit on Earth and space, Ms. Washington wants her first-grade students to identify the characteristics of day and night, including the reason for time zones, in accordance with Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for Grade 1. Which of the following is the best way to incorporate technology as students BEGIN this lesson?

• Provide each student with a light meter to take home over the weekend and have them measure and record outdoor light levels at different times of the day.

• Have students do an internet search to see who can find the greatest number of differences between night and day.

• Ask students to use a computer drawing program to draw pictures that show the differences between night and day.

• Set up a videoconference with a person from a very different time zone and encourage students to discuss the current time of day and what it looks like outside.

Answer explanation

Setting up a videoconference with someone in a different time zone allows students to directly engage with real-world examples of day and night, enhancing their understanding of time zones in an interactive way.

Tags

NGSS.1-ESS1-1

NGSS.1-ESS1-2

Which of the following is the best way to use data collected from pre-assessment activities?

• to isolate the top five students so they can be peer tutors

• to document the lack of knowledge, for teacher accountability

• to compare the knowledge of one class to another

Answer explanation

Isolating the top five students to serve as peer tutors utilizes their knowledge effectively, fostering a collaborative learning environment and helping others while reinforcing their own understanding.

Many of today's education experts recommend that teachers move away from the 'sage on the stage' approach and become more of a 'facilitator of learning.' What does this most likely mean?

• This means that teachers need to study their curriculum to determine if it is aligned to the state curriculum standards.

• This means that teachers need to move away from long lectures and move toward facilitating the classroom while allowing students to become active participants in learning.

• This means that teachers need to plan better with their teams.

• This means that teachers need to participate in more co-teaching opportunities.

Answer explanation

This means that teachers need to move away from long lectures and focus on facilitating learning, encouraging students to actively participate in the classroom.

Which of the following students would qualify as an English-language learner?

• a student who moved to the school district from a different country

• a student whose family speaks Choctaw at home

• a student who speaks predominantly English at home, but is also fluent in Spanish

• a student enrolled in an English class

Answer explanation

A student whose family speaks Choctaw at home qualifies as an English-language learner because they are likely to be learning English as a second language, unlike those who predominantly speak English.