Lillian Brannen Jurek

educator, learner, reader & writer 📚🌷 joy anyway!

[Jennifer Valliere @Mrsjvalliere]

Having a nerdy good time in 7th grade ELAR! @ProsperHaysMS

[Alisa Matherne @AlisaMatherne]

Day 2 of @CampInvention has everyone smiling. Mimicbots are assembled, robot party assistants created and anti-gravity games bring the fun. @aggiemeg07 @LadyBookJoy @ProsperISD

[Alisa Matherne @AlisaMatherne]

Special guest sitting at City Hall giving business permits to our young entrepreneurs @CampInvention. Thank you Tommy VanWolfe for engaging with our students. @aggiemeg07 @LadyBookJoy @Hferguson28 @ProsperISD

[Lillian Brannen Jurek @lillianj__]

My favorite event of the year!! Love watching my band kids shine! 💙 @ProsperHaysMS @HaysMSBand

[Lillian Brannen Jurek @lillianj__]

What a week it has been, and it’s only Wednesday! To see so many of my students give it their all at the band concert and create such beautiful music, & then to judge the spelling bee once again with the incredible Naysa Modi and have one of mine come out on top… a banner week!

[Lillian Brannen Jurek @lillianj__]

A4: PBL really helps our GT students have plenty of opportunities to explore, discover, and create. Sometimes topics are teacher-directed, and sometimes they’re the ones teaching us!

[Kara Noah @NoahsArkTech]

Q4: When you're collaborating with your PLC, what are the steps you take to ensure students are carrying the cognitive load?
#ProsperISDchat

[Lillian Brannen Jurek @lillianj__]

A3: I make sure to give multiple opportunities to demonstrate their thinking. Some work best in discussion while some are better in writing; some need time to process it in their own mind and some are verbal processors who think best collaboratively.

[Kara Noah @NoahsArkTech]

Q3: "Thinking is an necessary precursor to learning, and if students are not thinking, they are not learning." @pgliljedahl
Reflect & discuss the practices you use in class to ensure students are thinking. #ProsperISDchat

[Lillian Brannen Jurek @lillianj__]

A2: I know my students are thinking when they’re completely engrossed in what we’re doing, whether that means being totally silent and never taking their eyes off their work or struggling to wait for me to call on them in a discussion. GT kids often learn loudly!

[Kara Noah @NoahsArkTech]

Q2: How do you know your students are thinking? What does that look like in your class?
#ProsperISDchat

[Lillian Brannen Jurek @lillianj__]

To me, critical thinking is approaching a problem (or idea, or text, or… really anything) in a way that you haven’t before. I could’ve picked any gif from Meet the Robinsons. It’s a beautiful example of the joys of learning!

[Kara Noah @NoahsArkTech]

Q1 Attach a GIF that illustrates your definition of critical thinking and explain why you chose it.
#ProsperISDchat

[Lillian Brannen Jurek @lillianj__]

Lillian Jurek, 7th GT ELAR, Hays MS. If I could dress up as anyone, I’d have to go with Jane from Jane Eyre. I would just look like some random lady from the early 1800s, but if she had more recognizable features, I absolutely would!

[Kara Noah @NoahsArkTech]

Welcome to the #ProsperISDchat
Lets get started by introducing yourself, your campus, & role. For fun, if you could dress up as anyone, who would it be?

[Lillian Brannen Jurek @lillianj__]

Proud to wear my sticker to show that I voted! Today, all the “I voted” stickers at @ProsperHaysMS prove that you can vote in your pajamas. It’s that easy, folks!! Go vote!

[Lillian Brannen Jurek @lillianj__]

I also want to take a moment to showcase this awesome kid. Anshul surprises me daily with how he not only rises to a high bar but raises the bar itself. Here he is comparing & adding to another student’s annotations on their reading assignment during silent reading time.

[Lillian Brannen Jurek @lillianj__]

I’m so glad Sy invited me to come watch her play volleyball @vb_hill last night! Not only was it so special to see her in her element, it was also a pleasant surprise to see former students (T-rev featured, others not pictured) and current and former @ProsperHaysMS colleagues. ♥️

[Lillian Brannen Jurek @lillianj__]

Such a highlight of first quarter! 💛

[Evan Shepherd @Coach_Shep1]

The FIRST ‘Teacher of Hope’ Awards for the 2022-2023 school year were announced today at the @ProsperHaysMS pep rally today! Congrats to our winners: @GrinsteadStacy (6th), @lillianj__ (7th), @albrittonsscie1 (8th), Mr. Fawehinmi (Electives) & Coach Burroughs (Coach)! @HopeSquads

[Jennifer Valliere @Mrsjvalliere]

7th grade E-L-A-R has nothing but love (❤️) for our future students. We can’t wait to meet you, 7th graders! #thishowiedoit

[Lillian Brannen Jurek @lillianj__]

@bluehawkbooks Reminds me a lot of the Lancasterian system of the early 1800s. Inspired by actual factories, they created schools that were essentially assembly lines. Teachers teach top pupils; pupils teach rotating groups of students. It has, in one way or another, always been industrialized.

[Lillian Brannen Jurek @lillianj__]

@nytimes @reneewilson25 this reminded me of you!

[Lillian Brannen Jurek @lillianj__]

“Ms. Brannen, can we draw on your board? We need to make a plot map.” Who could say no to that? We have some amazing discussions happening in 7th GT about their reading club books! @GTProsperISD @ProsperHaysMS

[Lillian Brannen Jurek @lillianj__]

A1: Engaged students forget that they’re learning because they’re passionate about what they’re doing. Entertained students usually are doing some form of gamified learning that consists of too much game and not enough learning. #ProsperISDchat

[Jessica Scurlock @findyourfrizzle]

Q1) What is the difference between students who are engaged verses students who are entertained?

Make sure to Use the Q1 ➡️ A1 format, and don't forget to include #ProsperISDchat in your answers.

[Lillian Brannen Jurek @lillianj__]

What better way to spend a Saturday than witnessing the culmination of my talented UIL team’s hard work? This isn’t all of them, but it is a few amazing kiddos. I hope they’re all so very proud of themselves! Big thanks to @ekpatrick_math as well for running a seamless day.