Welcome to the Heinemann PD Professional Learning Community Series. This month we will discuss how to tap into the power of visual memory.
“No matter what area of the curriculum, we found that clear visuals, simple language, and constant reflection on charts were the key to helping children gain independence and agency in their learning. The more we charted, the less repeating we did and more teaching was possible.”
- Kristi Mraz and Marjorie Martinelli in Smarter Charts for Math, Science and Social Studies.
How can we interact with visuals in ways that encourage students to actually use them to gain independence? In this clip with Kristine Mraz, you have the chance to see how students use a chart to set goals in their own writing, based on a chart they previously co-created.
Kristi and Marjorie’s On Demand course includes more than 20 videos to support your work with including useful charts as clear visuals for learning in all subject areas.
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Kristine Mraz is coauthor—with Alison Porceli and Cheryl Tyler—of the new Purposeful Play, the book that helps you make play a powerful part of your teaching. Her previous title is the bestselling A Mindset for Learning (coauthored with Christine Hertz), which provides practical and powerful strategies for cultivating optimism, flexibility, and empathy alongside traditional academic skills. She is also coauthor—with Marjorie Martinelli—of Smarter Charts and Smarter Charts for Math, Science, and Social Studies. Their popular blog chartchums keeps teachers in touch with ongoing and relevant classroom issues and ways to use charts as a support. Chartchums is also on Facebook and on Twitter @chartchums!
Kristi teaches Kindergarten in the New York City Public schools. In addition to writing and teaching, she consults in schools across the country and as far away as Taiwan. She primarily supports teachers in early literacy, play, and inquiry based learning. On the off chance she has free time, you'll find Kristi reading on a couch in Brooklyn with her dog and her husband.
Marjorie Martinelli is coauthor—with Kristine Mraz—of Smarter Charts and Smarter Charts for Math, Science, and Social Studies. Their popular blog chartchums keeps teachers in touch with ongoing and relevant classroom issues and ways to use charts as a support. Chartchums is also on Facebook and on Twitter @chartchums! While in schools as consultants with the Reading and Writing Project, the teachers they’ve worked with have begged them to write a how-to book about the amazing charts they introduce to consulting classrooms. Smarter Charts was that guide, and Smarter Charts for Math, Science, and Social Studies extends that work across the teaching day. She is Senior Research Associate and Co-Director of Reading Rescue at the Reading and Writing Project where for the past ten years she has lead numerous leadership groups and presented at many national and international educational conferences. Prior to joining the Reading and Writing Project, Marjorie was a New York City public school teacher, a teacher-researcher, and an adjunct teacher at Bank Street College of Education. She has an MA in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from New York University and is a contributing author to Lucy Calkins’ Units of Study for Teaching Writing.
