Laura Dekker sails Around the World Non Fiction Reading Passages With Test Questions

13-year-old Dutch girl, Laura Dekker planned to be the first girl to sail Around the World Solo! Non-Fiction Reading Passages With Test Questions

Exploring the farthest corners of the globe has always been one of

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man’s most endearing dreams, and this has been taken to a wholly new level by the Dutch teenager Laure Dekker, who has accomplished the seemingly impossible task of sailing around the world solo at the age of 16 years. In fact, Laura became the youngest person to sail across the earth when she completed her voyage at the age of sixteen on the 21st of January 2012. On her way, she has witnessed countless obstacles that have taken all the resourcefulness and determination that she could master to realize her dreams into reality. 

Laura Dekker turned her dream into reality, and inspired countless other teenagers across the planet to dream big with the blessings of her parents but not the Dutch government. This is because the Dutch authorities tried their utmost to prevent Laura from taking this arduous trip across the earth’s waters at such an early age, and did all they could to stop her in her tracks. Even though of Dutch nationality, Laura was in fact born on a yacht in the New Zealand waters. She was born on the 20th of September 1995 while her parents were in the middle of a seven-year long sailing trip, and their trip continued for a further five years after she was born before they returned to Holland. Thus, being born within the territorial waters of New Zealand, Laura Dekker enjoys dual Dutch and New Zealand citizenship.

Laura Dekker stayed with her father even since her parents got divorced in 2002, and her father’s passion of building boats has been a strong influence on her eventual quest to sail across the earth alone. She started sailing at an early age of six, and has ever since then been gradually upgrading to bigger boats as she got older. She took part in competitive dinghy races, as well as, offshore events, and finally started going on longer trips when she upgraded to the 7 m long seaworthy boat Hurley 700 at the age of ten. Laura used this boat to take solo trips around Holland, as well as, the North Sea, and then even sailed on her own to England in May 2009 with her Hurley 700. It was during those solo trips that the idea of sailing solo around the world began to emerge, and gradually grew to become her biggest dream.

Laura Dekker began to contemplate seriously about turning her dream into reality somewhere during 2009, and received considerable support from her parents towards her effort. However, the attitude of the Dutch government was quite to the contrary, and the authorities started a court case to thwart Laura from making the voyage. The ensuing battle in court continued for the next 10 months at the end of which Laura’s custody was handed back to her parents in July 2010. Finally, Laura was free to begin her journey, which duly started on the 21st of August 2010 on the 30-year old yacht Guppy. Laura successfully led her voyage around the world on the 38 feet yacht and finally arrived in the Dutch Antillean island of Saint Maarten in the Caribbean on the 21st of January 2012.

Laura Dekker traversed the North Atlantic, Pacific, and the Indian Oceans on her journey, and clocked over 27,000 miles. However, much has been said and written about the consequences of allowing young teenagers of going on such arduous trips involving considerable risks, and Guinness authorities have scrapped all records consisting of underage sailors to dissuade youngsters. Even then, Laura Dekker remains an influential figure in popular culture.

Questions

1. Laura Dekker has accomplished the incredible task of being –

1. The only person ever to sail around the world
2. The youngest person to sail around the world
3. The oldest person to sail around the world

2. While trying to make her dream come true, Laura received support from –

1. Her parents
2. The Dutch Government
3. Both

3. Laura has dual Dutch and New Zealand nationality because –

1. Her parents are Dutch
2. She was born in New Zealand waters
3. Both

4. Laura Dekker took up sailing from an early  age and took part in –

1. Competitive dinghy races
2. Offshore sailing events
3. Both

5. Prior to sailing around the world, Laura Dekker –

1. Took solo trips around Holland, and to England
2. Took solo trips around England, and to Holland
3. Took trips to the Dutch Antillean islands

6. The Dutch Government tried to prevent Laura from taking the trip by –

1. By initiating a court case that lasted for ten months
2. By arresting her
3. By confiscating her boat and provisions for the journey

7. Guinness authorities scrapped all records regarding underage sailors because –

1. They do not appreciate the challenges faced by such sailors in accomplishing the feat
2. They do not intend to encourage more underage sailors to take part in risky voyages
3. They do not believe in honoring challenging feats accomplished by young people

Captain James Cook Mini Biography

1. James Cook is one of the most renowned explorers and navigators that the world has ever seen, and according to many has done more to fill the unknown spots on the map of the world than anyone else in history has. He is famous for having discovered the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of New Zealand and Australia on his ship Endeavor, while also disapproving the existence of the fabled southern supercontinent, Terra Australis. He also provided the most detailed and accurate map of the Pacific through his many voyages.
2. James Cook was born on October 27, 1728, to a Scottish farmhand in Marton-in-Cleveland, Yorkshire, England. Cook worked as a farmhand alongside his father as he grew up, and had the first real exposure to the life on sea when he turned 18. Cook received an offer for apprenticeship from a Quaker ship-owner in Whitby, England when he came of age. This apprenticeship proved to be a life-changing experience for Cook, and he developed intimate relation with the ships and the sea.  
3. The apprenticeship with the Quaker ship-owner was just a beginning to a long and eventful career on the high seas. James Cook dreamt of joining the British Navy, and this desire eventually led him to joining the same a few years later. He showed great skill and fortitude during his life in the navy, and this resulted in Cook being promoted to the rank of ship’s master by the time he was 29 years of age.
4. James Cook shone in his role as a ship’s master in the British Navy, and this became even more apparent during the Seven Years War, which lasted from 1756 to 1763. During the war, Cook served the Royal Navy by commanding a captured ship with great success. However, his real claim to fame lay far away from the hustle and bustle of naval warfare, in the field of exploration to the far edges of the known world during the latter half of the eighteenth century.
5. James Cook was chosen to command the first scientific expedition to ever head for the Pacific Ocean. This was a monumental endeavor because of the limited knowledge in hand during those times regarding the geography of the region. Cook’s ship was aptly named HMS Endeavor to reflect upon the mammoth efforts made by the captain and crew to extend the horizon of knowledge regarding the world.
6. James Cook discovered and charted New Zealand in 1770 on his ship the HMS Endeavor, and this was in addition to the discovery and exploration of the Great Barrier Reef of the coast of Australia. The Great Barrier Reef was an incredible feat because of the fact that its infamy as one of the most dangerous areas to navigate for any ship.
7. James Cook returned to England after having completed his scientific expedition. However, he was soon chosen for a mission to circumnavigate and explore the Antarctica. On this voyage, Captain Cook charted a number of islands that exist in the Pacific such as Tonga, Easter Island, New Caledonia, the South Sandwich Islands, and South Georgia. Apart from that, he also disapproved the existence of the mythical southern supercontinent, Terra Australis.
8. James Cook also made valuable contribution towards improving the health condition of sailors while on long expeditions by trying to control scurvy, which is caused by vitamin efficiency, and was a huge problem for sailors. He sought to do so by feeding his crew a meal consisting of watercress, sauerkraut, and orange extract.
9. James Cook met his demise while fighting a skirmish with the islanders of Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii, during a winter layover on February 14, 1779.

Questions

1. James Cook is famous as a –

1. Explorer and pirate
2. Explorer and navigator
3. Admiral and navigator

2. Which among the following is not a famous achievement of James Cook?

1. Discovering New Zealand
2. Discovering and charting the Great Barrier Reef
3. Discovering Antarctica

3. Under whom James Cook did do his first apprenticeship?

1. A naval officer
2. His father, a farmhand
3. A Quaker ship-owner

4. What role did James Cook play as a naval officer during the Seven Years War?

1. He was the admiral of the Royal Navy
2. He commanded a captured ship for the Royal navy
3. He took no part in the war

5. Where did James Cook head during his first scientific mission and on which ship?

1. The Atlantic, HMS Excalibur
2. The North Sea, HMS Enterprise
3. The Pacific, HMS Endeavor

6. What is the name of the fabled southern supercontinent whose existence James Cook refuted through his explorations?

1. Terra Australia
2. Terra Australis
3. Terra Australasia  

7. James Cook sought to fight scurvy with a combination of what diet?

1. Sandwiches, sauerkraut, and orange juice
2. Sauerkraut, orange extract, and onions
3. Watercress, sauerkraut, and orange extract

ISSP: Individual Student Success Plan SSP SAP

STUDENT SUCCESS PLANS AND A GROWTH MINDSET

Students may experience hurdles in their academic lives which

prevent them from attaining their goals or reaching their true potential. Each year, students begin their educational journey with a mixture of excitement and anticipation yet for some students, fear and anxiety are the predominant emotion because academic success is out of reach. Students question their place in school and what school really offers or does not offer! Will I succeed, fail, struggle endlessly or just be ignored? Will my teachers care for me, understand me, be supportive and challenge me? Student success plans need to look at the whole student and find fun engaging innovative ways to meet academic goals. 

What is an SSP: Student Support/Success Plan? ISSP: Individual Support Services Plan? ISSP: Individual Student Success Plan? SAP: Student Action Plan? What is a growth mindset and how do I help my students develop a growth mindset?  

"In a fixed mindset, students believe their basic abilities, their intelligence, their talents, are just fixed traits. They have a certain amount and that's that, and then their goal becomes to look smart all the time and never look dumb. In a growth mindset, students understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching, and persistence. They don't necessarily think everyone's the same or anyone can be Einstein, but they believe everyone can get smarter if they work at it." Carol S. Dweck (born October 17, 1946)

Recent studies show that students who believe they can improve their skills and abilities have higher achievements and great motivation, then the students who believe that their skills are fixed. That’s why it is important to teach students that never give up is more than a teacher platitude. Teachers, parents, and students must develop strategies and plans when students are not thriving academically or when students are not reaching their maximum potential in school.

• Educational systems that develop a growth mindset in teachers, students and parents can help all children thrive academically
• Early interventions that include SMART goals, ISSP's are critical to preventing problems from getting critical
• The implementation of a comprehensive, compensatory and corrective response to intervention model is necessary for an educational system to help 100% of students to succeed.
• Evidence-based interventions should be implemented and adapted, modified to meet students and teachers need.
• Progress monitoring that provides actionable data must be implemented to inform instruction decision
• Data should be used to make and set goals yet input from teachers, parents and students is critical for buy-in.

What is Student Action Plan (SAP) Or Individual Student Success Plan (ISSP)?

The ISSP (also known as individual student success plan) is a customized student action plan that is designed specifically to address the needs and interests of students to help them in achieving their educational and or career goals and also help them to stay connected, positive, and happy in school. ISSPs can be similar to IEPs, the federally mandated special education service plans that follow IDEA special education law. ISSPs are not subject to federal or state oversight but can cover students that do not qualify for special education services. ISSPs are traditionally used for the 25-35% of the students that are not thriving academically but do not qualify to receive special education services. A student success plan is a proactive approach which is useful to remove the obstacles to success and positively impact student success or change poor academic habits and replace them with positive academic habits. Usually, the ISSP process begins in the early grades to catch students that are at risk of failing. Students, parents, and teachers can continue to us ISSPs through the high school grades, providing proving assistance and support in setting goals for academic, physical, emotional and social growth.

Some Important Factors to considering when using or developing ISSPs:

• Since each district/school culture is different, it is important to have input from parents, students, teachers, guidance counselors, administrators, resource staff, etc. when developing (and implementing) the ISSPs. 
• Make the format of the ISSP user-friendly enough to be understandable and usable by all, as well as specific enough to be useful. 
• A district may have a well-developed ISSP format, but the quality of the ISSP will depend on the details of the information listed. So, school staff needs to be properly trained to develop and complete the ISSPs worksheets and SMART goal setting worksheets. Caution must be used when developing ISSPs so that incorrect data, irrelevant or old information is not transmitted and also to make sure that valuable data, information, and critical input is not lost.

ISSP Implementation:

• Make the ISSPs readily accessible to the teachers, parents, and students who are working towards meeting the goals and performance objectives. 
• Distribute copies or provide appropriate access to these documents, so that they can be a resource that teachers, intervention specialist and administrators to use (and update) regularly. 
• Consider providing time for access and/or discussion during professional development days, common planning time, and/or departmental meetings. 
• For smaller districts, a paper ISSP may be the best way of communication. For larger districts, an electronic ISSP may be a more effective way for teachers to communicate. 
• Create a process for monthly or quarterly progress monitoring, collecting information regarding skills learned, successful strategies, etc. to add to the ISSPs. 

• All teachers have some knowledge about a specific student’s learning strengths and challenges. While many teachers communicate informally with each other about students, collecting these pieces of information onto one document can allow it to be more uniformly shared. Such a practice can help the school work as a whole to assist the students with meeting the state standards, rather than having it be the sole responsibility of the English and math teachers.

Effective Ways to Encourage a Growth Mindset in the Classroom

• Establish Micro goals to increase their confidence: Motivate students by setting small achievable goals to encourage their progress, confidence, and skills. 
• Give feedback that focus on their actions and strategies: When they succeed, praise their progress and efforts rather than praising their smartness. That is so because most students consider intelligence as a fixed trait, if you start complimenting their intelligence this may undermine their performance and motivation. So help your students to understand the importance of their own actions in achieving success. 
• Focus on cooperative activities rather than competitive activities: each student is different from in terms of their intelligence, skills and abilities. If a student is poor in reading then he or she will never think of participating in any activity which involves reading. So it is important to design activities that involve the cooperation of all students rather than individualistic or competitive. Moreover, recent studies also suggest that students feel more successful and motivated when working in cooperative environments. 
• Value Learning: Let’s face it, most students show less interest in learning. It is important to help children value the process and focus on learning. Without this, students will stick to the traditional strategies of reading notes just for acquiring good grades with a fixed mindset. While grades are important but the value of learning should need to be prioritized by today’s students.
• Create a risk tolerant learning zone: It is important to create a risk-free environment in the school where students are free to learn without fearing of mistakes. Let your students know that you value persistent progress, learning, challenge seeking as compared to the perfect performance. It’s ok to make mistakes, they are part of life and we can all learn from mistakes. Remove their fears of mistakes and let them learn in an atmosphere that supports growth and learning.

S.M.A.R.T Strategies for Motivating Reluctant Students!

Setting SMART Goals and Objectives starts with Motivation. Motivation is the desire to meet goals that we see as beneficial and worth the effort and or sacrifice!

SMART Goal Setting Tips

Long Term goals, encourage the students to have a life plan.

• What are your future plans for the next 5-10 years?
• What kind of work looks interested to you?
• What kind of goal grabs your attention?
• Do you get quantifiable satisfaction or non-quantifiable satisfaction?

Medium Range Goal, for those who don’t have a life plan but are willing to grab something from life.

• After spending 2-5 years, what do you want to do next
• How many areas of interest do you have?
• Who are your reliable teachers, coaches, and companions?

Short term goals, specific goals

• Duration of 3-6 months up to one year
• Only one strategy to reach your goal.

A “SMART” GOALs

S     Specific | Scholarly | Studious 

M    Measurable | Meaningful | Mighty

A     Attainable | Adroit | Accelerated

R     Relevant | Rigorous | Robust

T     Time-bound | Tailored | Tangible

SMART goal setting and motivation strategies: 

• Make goals fun and challenging
• Create a buffet of options to consider, we love choice
• Teach students the behaviors of persistence using the arts
• Work in teams and partners to share the success and lift each other when things get challenging
• Write down your goals, daily task, and your action plan the real work needed to meet your goals
• Think like a successful person develop the positive habits of mind that you need to meet your goals
• Create pros and cons balance sheet as a visual reminder the value of meeting your goal
• Plan for failures, relapse, setbacks, and ways you will get back on the wagon
• Praise yourself and be grateful for any and all progress, and be kind and generous with forgiving yourself

Creating SMART goals and student action plans (SAP) to address student learning and behavior issues is the key to turning around your classroom and your school. 

Today the world is getting smarter and sharper than ever before.

Students who are goal oriented, problem-solvers, resilient, and possess a growth mindset will play a vital role in building the future of our world. So, today we need to guide parents and students to develop S.M.A.R.T. goals and objective to achieve their maximum potential. Unpacking the SMART goal-setting acronym and developing a SMART goal action plan, we have

S… Specific
M…Measurable
A…Attainable
R….Realistic
T…Timely and Tangible


[PDF]SMART Goal Setting Guide Sheet
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National Democratic InstituteA Brief Guide to SMART goal setting. A SMART goal is a goal that is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time based. In other words, a goal that is very ...

[PDF]Smart Goals Worksheet
Boston UniversitySmart Goals Worksheet. Academic Success. Today's Date: ______ Target Date: ______ Start Date: Date Achieved: Goal: Verify that your goal is SMART.

[PDF]SMART goal worksheet - Kiwanis Kids
SMART Goal Worksheet. Today's date: Target date: Start date: Date achieved: Goal: Verify that your goal is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, ...

[PDF]SMART Goals - Get Self Help
SMART Goals. SPECIFIC. Be very clear in what you want to achieve. Consider breaking the goal down into smaller steps. MEASURABLE. How will you know ...

Specific

A lot of time is wasted or diverted in accomplishing unproductive activities usually while we look for the unnecessary explanations, extraneous details, data, and or someone to place blame. Our goals should always be about creating precise actionable solutions and there shouldn’t be any space for the vague generalities or blame. We should start with developing a SAP student action plan that charts goals and timelines, on which, we eliminate the time wasting details, obstructions or hindrances, and work and set our eye on the main goal. To achieve our target, there is a design of questions waiting to be answered,

• Who: Document the names and job titles of people who are involved in the task with you. 
• What: What are my targets, which I will achieve? 
• Where: The place where the work is going to take place. Especially in what kind of learning environment will we work? 
• When: Time limit should be set. And for some added efficiency, use GANTT and PERT charts. 

Modern Gantt charts show the dependency (i.e., goals, objectives, task, actions and performance outcomes) relationships between SMART goal activities. Gantt charts can be used to show current schedule status using percent-complete shadings and a vertical "TODAY" line as shown here.

The program (or SMART goal action plan) evaluation and review technique, commonly abbreviated PERT, is a statistical tool, used in project management, which was designed to analyze and represent the tasks involved in completing a given project and meeting goals and performance objectives. First developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it is commonly used in conjunction with the critical path method (CPM).

• Which: Look out for the troubles, obstacle or hindrances in the way, which will derail you later if not addressed. And also take a look at the requirements of all parties involved. (parents and students must be involved)
• Why: State the academic or behavioral reason, the give and take, the pros and cons of the goal. What will be its stated purpose and desired outcome and in how much time will it take before it bears its fruit. 

Example: A general goal will be to get good grades. But a more precise and accurate goal will be by studying and improving, how much good grade can I get for my mid-term or final exams.

After conquering the specific task, now we will march towards the Measurable

Measurable

The first thing in your mind should be, are your goals quantifiable or nonquantifiable (Measurable, YES or NO!). After determining a measurable outcome, work out strict criteria for measuring the progress and time frame required to achieve each goal, you must have clear benchmarks and milestones in front of you. Determine how much time, how much effort, how much energy and focus is needed, required or desired to get across the finish line. When you have completed each SMART goal, task or action on your worksheet check it off your list and celebrate the achievement! By actively monitoring weekly progress and actively charting data, this will help everyone stay the course, improve focus! Goals that are rigorous and challenging start changing habits and help keep students on the track for academic success. Reach your goals on or before the target dates and you will feel like a Gold Medal Olympian on the winners stand! Excitement, joy, happiness is a powerful motivator when student meets a goal that took real time and effort to reach! After conquering BIG goals, you are catapulted forward to set your next BIG goals, and the intrinsic satisfaction of completing your goals will break all the barriers, bad study habits, and you will truly experience something transformational and extraordinary.

To see if your goal is measurable, ask yourself some questions.

• When will I complete my goal if I am totally dedicated? 
• How much time will it take daily to meet my goal? 
• How many goal coaches (family and teachers) will it take to complete the task?

Attainable

When you have concluded that which goal is or are the most important to you then it is time for you to do some sweating. Start working for them and make them a living dream. Figure out what kind of abilities, skills, attitudes and financial needs will be required to fill them with a soul. You can begin with previously unattended opportunities to make yourself visible to the target. Previously we have advised you to draw a GANT or PERT chart, now is the time to use them. If you have the willpower to achieve your goal then no one can stop you. First build a concrete foundation then start building the building on it. Eventually the top of the building, once looked like an unreachable dream will now be closer to reality, you can see it and live it. It’s just that the right amount of nutrition will give you tasty, ripping, and delicious and mouth watering fruit.

Realistic


The impression of your goal must be some real and attainable thing, which can be achieved not a fairy tale. To achieve your goal you must possess the concentrated amount of willingness and the ability to do it. Your goal should look like a real thing, no matter how much difficult it look like but after that you are the one who will pave the way and be sure they all need some substantial progress. If you have an eye on the sky then you will tear yourself apart but will be there someday but if your goal is to reach the roof the house then you will not have the same amount of energy for it, because high goals give you high spirits to unlock them. Once your failed dreams are now the apple of your eye because you have given them the time and now you are proud of yourself that you did it. The reason for this is that you have believed that you can do it, and then it looked realistic to you, and gradually you have owned it. Look for some additional or similar ways which helped you to achieve you previous goals and transfer that energy in this goal now.

Timely and Tangible

Your goal should have a proper schedule and milestones to be reached within the given time, space and diligent labor. If you haven’t anchored or tied your goals to a visual time frame, your goals are just wishes, this will make you lazy and everyone involved dispassionate, and eventually, your plans and goals will only be a pile of trash. If you want to achieve an A grade in a subject then you have to make a study schedule because saying I will do it or going without a time frame will not give you desired result. But if you say that I will study every day from 7 PM to 10 PM then this is what will help you in constructing an A grade. Tangible means when you can sense your goals like taste, touch, smell, sight or hearing. And when this happens there are more chances to make it specific, then measurable and finally you achieve it.

Some SMART goals Tips

Long Term goals, encourage the students to have a life plan.

• What are your future plans for the next 5-10 years?
• What kind of work looks interested to you?
• What kind of goal grabs your attention?
• Do you get quantifiable satisfaction or non-quantifiable satisfaction?

Medium Range Goal, for those who don’t have a life plan but are willing to grab something from life.

• After spending 2-5 years, what do you want to do next
• How many areas of interest do you have?
• Who are your reliable teachers, coaches, and companions?

Short term goals, specific goals

• Duration of 3-6 months up to one year
• Only one strategy to reach your goal.

A “SMART” CCSS ELA Reading GOALs

S     Specific | Scholarly | Studious 

M    Measurable | Meaningful | Mighty

A    Attainable | Adroit | Accelerated

R     Relevant | Rigorous | Robust

T     Time-bound | Tailored | Tangible

Whole Brain Teaching Vocabulary and Reading

Whole Brain Teaching Reading and Vocabulary Classroom

Instructional Practices, Whole Brain Teaching is packed with engaging teaching strategies and brain-based learning strategies! The most powerful Whole Brain Teaching's strategies: The Scoreboard, Practice Cards, Genius Ladder, Power Pix, Brainies, and Super Improvers. Whole Brain Teaching is transformative and will be coming to a classroom near you! 

Flexible Seating and Flexible Learning Environment

Is it time for a change? Flexible Seating and Flexible Learning Environment for your classroom 2017-2018 on a budget? Flexible Seating and Flexible Flexible Learning Environment on a $100 Budget!

The flexible learning environment can increase student

engagement, cooperation, help students focus, increase students' enjoyment of learning, and motivate your "opt-out" or "won't" students to jump into the learning with gusto.

The problem is most teachers including me have no school budget to buy fancy ball chairs, standing desks or other fun cool furniture that would give me more flexible seating options!

My flexible seating for under 100 dollars:

• Turn my standard public school tables into floor seating or regency seating. Cost Free
• Used outdoor seat cushions and pillows for floor seating cushions. Big lots 50% off Summer clearance and a 20% off Friends and Family coupon: Cost $98 
• Donated couch. Cost Free
• The creative interior design of my room. Cost Free 

[PDF]Flexible Learning Environments - California Department of Education
flexible learning environments that support diverse teaching and ... Mobile and flexible seating allow for cooperative learning and easy class- room transitions.

[PDF]Flexible Seating Rule Chart - HeidiSongs Blog
Flexible_Seating_Rule_Chart.pdf
Put your supplies away when you're finished. 6. Flexible Seating is a privilege. The teacher can move anyone at any time. black red blue green yellow. Dan. The.

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Redesigning my classroom was not any different. I've found that some of the immediate benefits (PDF) of flexible seating include burning more ...

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Flexible Seating. Dear Families,. I am writing to inform you of an exciting change that will be taking place in our classroom. Upon returning from break, our.onfiguration with this helpful guide.

[PDF]Effective Room Arrangement - IRIS - The IRIS Center - Vanderbilt ...
Place the four students at a seating location in the classroom arrangement ... Those students seated at the front of the room and down its center (the “action zone”) are more likely to.

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[PDF]Classroom Setup - Responsive Classroom
graders the support and security they need to do their best work, these guidelines ... by trying new arrangements for the students' desks or tables. 

Regency Seating with Outdoor Seat Cushions 

Standard Seating @ the Handicraft Station 

Regency Seating with Outdoor Seat Cushions 

Donated Couch 

Class Kitchen and Baking Center 

Hidden Reading Cubby and Puppet Storage 

Hidden Reading Cubby Under the Tutoring Table 

Regency Seating with Outdoor Seat Cushions 

Secret Reading Cubby 

Mini Reading Room 

Hidden Reading Cubby 

Regency Seating with Outdoor Seat Cushions 

Regency Seating with Outdoor Seat Cushions 

The Elements of Cоореrаtіvе Lеаrnіng

The Elements of Cоореrаtіvе Lеаrnіng

“I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think” ― Socrates

A few years ago I was blessed with a class of 34 students

that were on average two years below grade level in reading and math. I was concerned with behaviour problems associated with a large class, and the ability to help these students make up the two years they were behind. How do you teach 34 students three years worth of curriculum in one year? It is impossible, yet it has happened year after year in my class. The one instructional strategy that has saved me and my class was and still is the use of cooperative learning structures and strategies. We will spend 95% of the instructional day in a cooperative learning structure. As Socrates put it so eloquently, I can't teach 34 students anything let alone three years of reading and math curriculum, with a standard chalk and talk lecture model. Using cooperative learning structures turns every student into a teacher and learning coach. Making two and even three years of academic growth is possible when implementing cooperative learning strategies that are fun, novel, rigorous and engaging curriculum. 90% of my students passed the End of Year high-stakes Reading Assessment!

Cоореrаtіvе lеаrnіng іnvоlvеѕ mоrе than students wоrkіng tоgеthеr оn an academic task, project or working with a partner. It requires іnѕtruсtоrѕ to create ѕtruсturеd іntеrdереndеnсе аmоng the соореrаtіvе groups of students. Students' success and learning outcome are dependent on peers completing their assigned tasks or part of the project. Thеѕе ѕtruсturеѕ іnvоlvе fіvе key еlеmеntѕ whісh can be implemented in a vаrіеtу оf ways to help students engage with the curriculum. 

Thеrе аrе fіvе fundamental еlеmеntѕ іnvоlvеd іn соореrаtіvе lеаrnіng. In fасt, thеѕе fіvе elements dіѕtіnguіѕh cooperative lеаrnіng frоm оthеr fоrmѕ оf group learning. These еlеmеntѕ саn be thought оf аѕ ріесеѕ іn a рuzzlе. Whеn аll of thеѕе еlеmеntѕ аrе present іn a lеаrnіng situation or academic task, thе rеѕult іѕ a соореrаtіvе lеаrnіng grоuр. The five еlеmеntѕ of соореrаtіvе lеаrnіng аrе:

1. Pоѕіtіvе Intеrdереndеnсе. 
2. Indіvіduаl аnd Group Aссоuntаbіlіtу. 
3. Fасе-tо-Fасе Promotive Intеrасtіоn. 
4. Intеrреrѕоnаl аnd Small Grоuр Skills. 
5. Grоuр Processing.  

Positive Interdependence 
When ѕtudеntѕ in cooperative learning grоuрѕ begin to rеаlіzе that thеу "ѕіnk or swim' together, thеу ԛuісklу lеаrn thаt thеу must dереnd оn each оthеr'ѕ knоwlеdgе, skills аnd ѕuрроrt in оrdеr tо соmрlеtе their аѕѕіgnmеnt, tаѕk оr рrоjесt. Sоmе оf thе wауѕ іnѕtruсtоrѕ mау ѕtruсturе positive іntеrdереndеnсе are: 

(1) tеаm goals: students bеіng rеѕроnѕіblе for еvеrу mеmbеr of thе group lеаrnіng the mаtеrіаl or соmрlеtіng a рrоjесt, report, or murаl (2) ѕhаrеd mаtеrіаlѕ or іnfоrmаtіоn (3) аѕѕіgnеd rоlеѕ іn thе Trіbе (ѕuсh аѕ: ѕummаrіzеr, еnсоurаgеr, rесоrdеr, etc.) and (4) the dеvеlорmеnt оf a sense оf mastery аnd рrіdе wіthіn thе grоuр. 

Indіvіduаl аnd Grоuр Accountability

Cоореrаtіvе learning tеаmѕ are nоt successful unlеѕѕ every mеmbеr hаѕ participated, learned аnd understood the mаtеrіаl. It is іmроrtаnt to assess іndіvіduаl learning аnd mаkе еасh mеmbеr ассоuntаblе for hіѕ or hеr contribution. Thеrе аrе mаnу wауѕ tо ѕtruсturе іndіvіduаl ассоuntаbіlіtу: tests, color соdіng each mеmbеr'ѕ раrt, uѕіng ѕtrаtеgіеѕ like раrарhrаѕіng, Numbеrеd Hеаdѕ Tоgеthеr, Pееr Rеѕроnѕе Huddle, Talking Chips, etc.

Fасе-tо-Fасе Promotive Interaction

Thе many positive оutсоmеѕ frоm cooperative learning groups are due tо the іntеrасtіоn аnd verbal exchanges thаt hарреn fоr ѕtudеntѕ whеn wоrkіng іn саrеfullу ѕtruсturеd lеаrnіng grоuрѕ. Thеrе іѕ аbоut 15 times аѕ muсh ѕtudеnt dіѕсuѕѕіоn over ѕubjесt mаttеr іn cooperative lеаrnіng grоuрѕ соmраrеd tо thе traditional сlаѕѕrооm. In paired dіѕсuѕѕіоnѕ hаlf thе сlаѕѕ is tаlkіng and thе other hаlf іѕ also involved bесаuѕе ѕоmеоnе іѕ ѕреаkіng dіrесtlу to thеm, rаthеr thаn what hарреnѕ whеn оnе ѕtudеnt іn the trаdіtіоnаl classroom іѕ talking or answering a question thаt thе instructor has asked.

Intеrреrѕоnаl and Smаll Group Skіllѕ

Fеw students hаvе the nесеѕѕаrу interactive ѕkіllѕ thеу nееd to bе ѕuссеѕѕful іn соореrаtіvе lеаrnіng grоuрѕ. It іѕ essential that social skills аrе tаught аѕ раrt оf thе сurrісulum, аnd that students bе mоtіvаtеd tо uѕе thеѕе ѕkіllѕ so thаt their grоuрѕ (teams оr tribes) саn funсtіоn еffесtіvеlу. Some оf thе critical social ѕkіllѕ іnсludе listening, sharing, еnсоurаgіng еасh оthеr, taking turns, using I-Mеѕѕаgеѕ, nеgоtіаtіng соnflісt, and rеѕресtіng іndіvіduаl dіffеrеnсеѕ.

Group Prосеѕѕіng

Grоuрѕ need ѕресіfіс time tо discuss hоw wеll they аrе асhіеvіng their goals and mаіntаіnіng еffесtіvе working rеlаtіоnѕhірѕ among members. Inѕtruсtоrѕ ѕtruсturе grоuр рrосеѕѕіng bу assigning ѕuсh tаѕkѕ аѕ (a) lіѕt аt lеаѕt thrее member асtіоnѕ thаt hеlреd the grоuр be ѕuссеѕѕful аnd (b) lіѕt оnе асtіоn that could bе added tо mаkе thе grоuр еvеn mоrе ѕuссеѕѕful tоmоrrоw. Inѕtruсtоrѕ also mоnіtоr thе grоuрѕ and give feedback оn hоw well thе groups аrе wоrkіng tоgеthеr.

Dаvіd W. Johnson, Roger T. Jоhnѕоn, аnd Smith, K. (1998). Active Lеаrnіng: Cooperation іn thе Cоllеgе Clаѕѕrооm. Edіnа, MN: Intеrасtіоn Book Cоmраnу.