Building structured breaks into lessons that let students reflect, organize their thinking, and work through ideas in realtime can strengthen their understanding.
In Kalen Dillon’s social studies classroom at Delta Middle School in Delta, Colorado, she builds her lessons around a simple belief: Students need time to think. “Their thinking is powerful,” Dillon says, “and they need a place to put it.” That belief shows up in a routine she calls Stop and Jot.
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