Focus - Chapter 4

After reading this chapter, I have to agree with Kari.  It was hard to figure out how this applied to me being a speech pathologist that doesn't teach reading.  The one piece of the chapter that stood out to me though was focusing at least one day a week on reading current articles.  Looking back on my high school career, I have to admit that for some reason I checked out on reading and only read the novels to complete be able to complete the assignments/tests.  I feel that this was in large part was due to the fact that I had a hard time connecting to the novels to what was going on in my life at that time.  I do believe that if my teachers would have focused at least some of the reading on current events, I would have been able to connect more to reading at that age.

Data Toolkit: Ch. 4

When I started reading this chapter I was really discouraged, because it says in a "Healthy educational system" 80% to 85% of the students should be in the green and blue zones, 10% to 15% in the yellow zone, and 5% in the red zone. At the beginning of the year 27% of my kids were in the red zone for EasyCBM word reading, 39% were in the yellow zone, and 34% were in the green zone. This doesn't come anywhere close to the "Healthy educational system" standard of 80% to 85% on or above level. I recently did a progress monitor for word reading and was a little encouraged to find that now my red zone group is down to 15%. My yellow group is now 46%, and green zone is 39%.
My biggest frustration this year has been not having interventions for my red zone kids. Yellow zone kids recieve interventions through ECRI. I was glad to see my number of kids in the red zone decrease, but because I have so many students who are so low, I have not been able to teach to the top like I want. I feel like I constantly have to hold back to try to get the kids who at the bottom on board. It's not fair to the students who are at grade level and ready to learn.
I was encouraged as I read toward the end of the chapter where it talked about the growth that Riverview had in Kindergarten, and the first grade classroom had using ECRI. This is my first year teaching ECRI, so it's nice to see that the schools who have been using it have seen such great growth.

Focus Ch 4

As I read through this chapter, I couldn't help but think, How does this apply to me, a high needs sped teacher? I have one student who reads about 200 words and one that reads 34 words. Yes, we work on sight reading with MOST of the students, but we spend LOTS of time on letter recognition and recognizing their first name and when they get their first name, we work on last name. (I currently have 3 that recognize their first and last name, and 5 that don't even recognize their first name.) Reading really is not high on our priority list here. We do focus a lot more on functional tasks.

I did consider my son though. He is in second grade and is above grade level in reading, however his fluency is low. He doesn't really enjoy reading. His love is math, which he also does very well in. I have had these grand ideas of him reading chapter books, but so far, he's said they are too hard. I'm thinking it's more that there are a lot of words on the page. I'm thinking that over his Christmas vacation he will be reading a lot!!! I'm actually looking forward to it. I think that a trip to the library is in order.

I will say that when I was reading the chapter I felt that the fifth grade reading list that was mentioned had books listed that I would not WANT my son reading in the fifth grade due to the content of the books. Some of them I read as a high school student and the content is just too much for fifth grade. I shared some of this with my staff and one of my staff mentioned that her high school daughter had to read a short story last night that was full of curse words and gambling, which is not appropriate for her daughter to be reading. I worry that we may be pushing the wrong kind of reading. I have no problem pushing kids to read more and do better, but the content needs to be appropriate.

Focus: Chapter 4

Very interesting chapter and it hit a little close to home when Schmoker was describing the elementary years as "skills kill" because of the enormous amount of time (and often worksheets) that reinforce the numerous subskills that follow our state standards and are taught in our reading programs. One of the best parts of my day is when our Title teachers (5 of them) flood in for reading groups. I work with a different group each week and for 30 minutes everyday my students are all (yes, all) engaged and receiving reading instruction that is scaffolded to their level. We do some word work and flashcards as a warm-up for the reading, but then it's straight reading with rich conversations that follow each story. Without these conversations, I would not have learned nearly as much about their personal lives or interests. Hearing my students make connections to text makes me understand them better and allows me to better meet their needs. Now I just want to find the balance between incorporating the teaching of the subskills that often need to be explicitly taught (and yes, give them the paper/pencil tasks) while also allowing for time to have independent reading and time to reflect on their reading. If I can instill a love of reading in my first graders, then I know I've done right by my students.

Data: Analyze your students

I definitely agree that "teaching to the top" can feel rewarding when you see students learning and hear their progress and see their work; however, then I see that the Red Zone students didn't catch on and are still struggling which makes my previous success seem negated. Somedays I get discouraged when I feel like I am not doing enough for my Red Zone students, but then I remind myself to step back and look at my data-- progress monitoring, word lists, daily instruction etc... and then I see the baby steps and even if the progress is small--- it is progress!! I have used Tool 4 to show where my students were at in the Fall for Reading and Math and I am excited to see my next round of Easy CBM data in January. I have already seen awesome progress using the Rebecca Sitton Word List for sight word fluency (some of my Red Zone kids went from reading 12 words to 35 - 40 words in just a few weeks) and I believe that my core phonics and reading instruction from ECRI is really making all the difference. So even though I can get bogged down and feel discouraged when my students continue to struggle with certain subjects, I know am trying my best to teach to the top and remember that progress is progress!

Analyze Your Students

One of the main focuses of this chapter talked about "Creating the Standard," in order to better analyze the data of your students.  This is one of the struggles that I have dealt with in terms of tracking my speech/language data with the students that I see for services.  With so many different goals, it is difficult to monitor progress in each area to really assess the progress that they are making, especially in the area of language.  The SLPs in the district have very limited time to collaborate together to better align how we are monitoring progress across the schools.  Hopefully we can continue to share our ideas via email since our time together is limited.

Analyze your students

I have found that teaching to the top is very rewarding when your students reach the top and go beyond. I have also found that with my struggling students it is very overwhelming and they often will shut down before even realizing they can get to the top. Teaching to the "top" I think and have found will look different for every student. I realized with my struggling students they need to have very small goals to build the confidence they need to try to reach the "top".

English Language Arts Made Simple

I thought it was interesting when he said "Let's face it: reading is the most important subject in school. It's more important than all the other subjects combined." I am struggling with this idea not because I disagree but because I am starting to see it more and more. My struggling reading students struggle in math not because they can't do the work but because they can not read and understand the problem or read and understand the different strategies. They are struggling in writing because they lack sentence structure, grammar, and vocabulary that they are exposed to in reading. There are definitely ways to go about teaching these students math, writing and other subjects but I worry about when they are expected to do it on their own if they will really be able to. They are the students that need the most exposure to reading yet they are not getting it at home, there is only a certain amount of hours in the day and all the other students who need you as well.

Excited about AP Data

We all have felt the challenge of keeping high standards:  Students are grumpy because they have to work and think.  Admin is grumpy because grades can look lower than those for other teachers of the same class. Parents are grumpy for a combination of these reasons.  Teachers are pushed to “bump” grades up at the end of grading periods.  It can get so tempting to cave.  You just get so tired of fighting both when grading and teaching (Maybe I’ll just show a movie!).

When you care about students learning at a high level it can be lonely.  You have your own personal set of ethics and often not much else to motivate you forward.  In high school, when you are responsible for students for such a short period of time (50 min. a day for one year, sometimes only half), there is no real responsibility for slacking.  It’s hard to take the blame or credit for a student’s failure or success because so many teachers have been and are currently involved in their education. 

Today I just discovered a way that might change:  AP Chemistry.  I think I might get to teach it next year!  A coworker just emailed me a set of AP test data for our school to use for my data project.  If I can improve on past AP test scores it would actually be something concrete, tangible that I can point to and say “Hey, I did that!”

Do you get positive reinforcement for high standards in your building?

Any thoughts about how we might encourage high standards at the high school?

Focus: Ch. 4

The following passages really caught my attention:
"Every year, every student needs to spend hundreds of hours actually reading, writing, and speaking for intellectual purposes." How can we expect students to become readers without allowing hours and hours of time to practice. There is a huge gap in my classroom between the readers and non-readers. I have six kids in my class who are reading chapter books, 4 who are right on grade level, and the rest are below. Many are well below grade level. It's obvious which kids have been exposed to books their entire short lives, and which see books as foreign objects.

"Wide, abundant reading is the surest route out of poverty and the limitations that impose themselves on the less literate." I often look at my kids who are "have-nots," and wonder what the future will hold for them. This line really inspired me. I could be one of the biggest factors in these kids' lives to free them from generational poverty, simply by turning them into readers.

On page 105 Schmoker quotes Smith 2006, saying  "When we unnecessarily elongate the process of "learning to read," we postpone "reading to learn" --learning itself-- by years. It's that simple. Students aren't truly mature readers until they can read and recognize about 50,000 words. This many words can't be learned by having students sound out, syllabicate, or learn each one. The only way they can be learned is for us to insure that they read, by today's standards, enormous, unprecedented amounts of reading material." Obviously for students to become readers they must learn basic decoding skills, but one of my frustrations with our reading curriculum is that I feel like it introduces new skills too slowly. It feels like we are "unnecessarily elongating the process of learning to read." Schmoker says, "Virtually any student can learn the mechanics of reading to decode grade-level text in about 100 days." Are the publishers of our curriculum trying to stretch to skills over the whole first grade year, rather than the first 100 days?  

Storytelling

I am not a huge talker, at least that is what I have been told.  When in conversations I often find myself poised with an idea, ready to get the next word in, but beat to the punch by someone else in the group.  This happens with great frequency when someone launches into a story.  I can never tell when the story teller is finally going to finish up so that I can attempt (but probably fail) to contribute.  My hope rises and falls like a sine curve (I know how you all enjoy my science/math references) at each pause, optimistic that I might get my chance, then disappointed as they continue to prattle on.  The floor will inevitably be passed to another story teller and then I will stand there silent, like an idiot

When I do talk I like to be concise.  I was not a fan of story-telling teachers as a student.  I would usually figure out the point of the story far before its end and be annoyed that the teacher wouldn't get it over with and move on.  (I was, as are all high school students, a delightful teenager).

So, when Kim asked us last month to experiment with a new instructional technique, one that we were not comfortable with, I immediately thought I should give story telling a go.  As I am reminded on a more than daily basis my students and I are not particularly alike, so I know I can’t necessarily teach them as  I like to be taught.

My husband has this story about kindergartners in a school bus that he uses as an analogy to explain London dispersion forces.  I expanded on his ideas a bit and gave it a whirl.  I have been experimenting with other analogies/stories in chemistry as well.

I have noticed when I do this: about a third (mostly lowest third of grades) tune me out and start talking with their neighbor (oh! a story, I don’t have to pay attention), about a third (top third of grades) freaks out (worried they won’t understand the analogy enough to maintain their As?), and about a third of the class seems to stay calm and more or less understand. 

As always I would appreciate your ideas and advice about improving my story telling.

I am also curious about story vs. analogy - It’s hard for me to tell stories in chemistry and math that aren't some form of analogy, but maybe I need to try to come up with something?  Do you think this would appeal to the students more?

Chapter 3: HOW WE TEACH

Blog Post about Chapter 3 (10/30)  HOW WE TEACH

I really liked reading about the research on elements of effective lessons and the idea of Conley’s four intellectual standards.  It was nice to read the highlights of what great researchers recommend for best teaching practices.  All of the suggestions are things that I learned when I did my education degree work but it is good to be reminded of them.  I also think that the current work in implementing Common Core Standards makes the work of simplifying the curriculum easier and focusing on objectives easier also.  I have seen this year how this shift to Common Core also is igniting a new discussion on assessment and how do we know what students know.  My main “take-away” from this chapter though is how much formative assessment really makes a difference in student learning outcomes.  Schmoker gives an example of an Ohio professor who uses clickers to check for understanding and the classes he uses these in perform a full letter grade better than other classes! (page 69)  I like the idea of using the clickers because everyone gets a chance to answer and there is no opting out.  Normally when I ask a question and use partner share and then call on a few students, you still only get to hear a few point of views and you don’t know what everyone is thinking or if one kid had a great insight.  I definitely agree that “we must ensure that every student is responding, multiple times, to questions throughout the lecture.” (page 73)  I remember going to a PD one time and the speaker said you have to give more chances to struggling students.  The point that really hit me was if you call on the students who raise their hands and know the answer you are giving more chances to students who already understand and those who don’t, when compounded over their school career, received tons (don’t remember how many) fewer opportunities to explain their thinking.  Sometimes when a lesson is tough and students aren’t getting it, it is easy to just call on the students who do raise their hand to help move the lesson along but I have realized that this doesn’t help the whole class. 

Disclaimer: Sorry everyone that some of these posts are from chapters from a while ago.  I finally figured out what was wrong and why I couldn't post and now am a contributor!  Yeah!  Thanks to those of you who helped me! 

Reflection about Chapter 2 (9/25)  WHAT WE TEACH

From the moment I started reading Schmokers “Focus” I was hooked because I love the idea that how we teach and what we teach does not have to be super complicated.  I wanted to know what are these simple things that I can do that have more impact than when I spend all sorts of time planning something elaborate?!  In my own experience, I have recently realized how since we have so much (materials, resources, PD, best practices websites, etc.) here in America it often stretches us too thin because we are trying to implement too many things partially.  When I taught and had very few supplemental resources and only a textbook at first it was hard but later I found that I became a stronger teacher because of it.  I didn’t waste time trying to decide what to do with multiple methods or materials, I used what I had and made the best of it. 

I also really like how literacy is the “spine” of everything we do as teachers and that we have to be engaging students with reading and writing and the textbook!  When I think of my own college career, textbook reading and lectures were the ways that you gained almost 100% of the content area knowledge.  This is what we have to prepare our students for if we want them to be successful college graduates.  I admit I was very guilty previously of using picture books, video clips, or non-fiction trade books instead of the text many times because my students never found the textbook very engaging.  But now I have realized that instead of supplanting other texts I just need to use methods and strategies to make the textbook engaging and teach them how to comprehend it and push them out of their comfort zone.  I can still supplement with other materials but reading the textbook has to be more of my “focus”. 

Chapter 4: Analyze Your Students

This chapter reinforces what I know to be true.  As teachers we need to be very aware of where our students are and have quantitative data to design intervention for those that do not meet the standard and for the purpose of tracking how students are performing.  We cannot pull students from their grade level core instruction.  Students need to hear grade level vocabulary, work with other students in homogeneous groupings, and allow all students to participate in discussion.  Kids learn from each other and learn the most when they have to teach another.
The students I am working with on my portfolio project this year are all in the yellow and red zones on the data triangle.  My most intensive kids have historically been pulled from core instruction and go to the title room for reading and vocabulary instruction.  They are not progressing and haven't for years, and there is no data to indicate if anything was ever done to help them bridge the gap.
.  It take a lot of work initially to set up the intervention.  I have to schedule time that does not conflict with core instruction when I can work with individual students or small groups. I have to make sure the rest of my class is working independently on worthwhile and challenging activities.  I have to set up a progress monitoring system to make sure I am keeping appropriate data that will be formative as well as summative.  It can feel overwhelming but when a student begins to feel good about reading and school I will take the sleepless nights!