It's easy for you...

I think that Pinterest has really helped some teachers to come up with some new and engaging activities. It has definitely given them a system to capture ideas. I don't care whose ideas they were to begin with, Pinterest has become a huge cork board with everyone's favorite ideas! I've had lots of people say something to me about me being creative. Not necessarily the six words in that order, but definitely implied. I've always taken it as a compliment. I do think I'm creative, but that doesn't mean I don't work hard at it! And my ideas didn't just come from no where. There had to be some inspiration from somewhere! I almost always have my iPad with me. I use the Notes app to write lots of notes to myself. I also email things to myself so I don't forget.

Rapport

So many things came to mind while I was reading this chapter!

I try very hard to build a good rapport with parents and teachers. It's so important! I had a parent call Wednesday before Thanksgiving and she was a little heated. She wanted another IEP meeting (we just met a month ago) She was upset about something from over a year ago and wanted a couple of things added to her son's IEP and was upset about her son's teacher writing that he was in 5th grade instead of 7th grade. I was able to talk to her, write down what she wanted, and let her know that I would work on those things and get back to her after vacation on Tuesday. I found out later that she had been talking to a VERY DIFFICULT parent who is VERY involved with DDServices and has the head guy at every meeting and we meet every two to three weeks on her son.

Anyway, I was able to set up a homework check for this student, help him organize his binder, talk with the teacher about the 5th grade thing (which was totally an accident, she taught 5th grade last year) took care of the item from over a year ago and called her back on Tuesday and we had a quick meeting over the phone and I sent paperwork home with her son that afternoon.

This took A LOT of my time those two days, BUT I was able to calm this parent, avoid a meeting, and build a rapport with her that others had not been able to do. She was thrilled with the results and I think I would be able to call her any time I need to.

I also am working on building rapport with the teachers. They need to know that their time is valued. This is why I don't schedule meetings during their prep or breaks.

As I was reading, I kept thinking that it was strange that the kids all had to introduce themselves around the room. New kids were few and far between and I knew EVERYONE in my school. Not only did I know everyone, I knew their parents, siblings, boyfriend/girlfriend, and if they had a car I knew their license plate number! I love how Dave starts off his first three days. Oh to be a student in that class! What an adventure!

Sink or Swim

I was reading through chapter two and I couldn't help but think of several teachers that I have worked with this year that become the lifeguards as soon as I show up. I jump in to swim with the students and the teacher that is supposed to be working either becomes the lifeguard or turns tail and runs out of the room! My job is not to do their job for them, but to help them become better equipped and have more tools in their tool belt to deal with difficult situations. Not gonna lie, there are times when I would like to turn tail and run or sit on the sidelines as well. That's not what I was hired to do though! I'm a swimmer!

What!? No posts?

So here we are on a snow day and I decided that today would be a great day to catch up on the blog. So, I change by my password, AGAIN (I probably do this every year once or twice) and when I logged in, I realized that I'm not alone! It's been a very busy year for everyone I'm guessing!

This year my job is very different. I'm working half time at Pioneer with Pat Martin doing sped paperwork. The other half of my job is spent in different buildings providing supports and curriculum for the special ed teachers who have high needs kids in their classrooms. I'm not working directly with students this year. So, my "class" is other teachers.

As I was reading about "Content Passion" I kept thinking of all the things I am passionate about when it comes to paperwork. I am SO passionate about making sure all of my paperwork is done ON TIME and EVERY meeting is held within the legal timeline. I take pride in making sure my paperwork is done on time.

I am passionate about relationships. These relationships are with teachers and parents. I contact all parents 2 weeks before a meeting to schedule it, then send them a notice, and give them a reminder call the night before. With teachers, I email them two weeks in advance, I make sure and do everything I can to avoid scheduling meetings during breaks, lunch, and prep periods. I email them the day before and remind them who the sub is and always remind them to have sub notes available. And at the meetings, I bring chocolate. I know they would rather be in their classrooms and chocolate just makes things more bearable. I also send out a thank you email after meetings and let them know that we appreciate their time and input. I want the teachers to know that we value them and their time and input. I am working very hard to improve the relationship between special education and gen ed teachers. This is what I am most passionate about!

My personal passion covers a wide range of things as well. I am passionate about my faith in the Lord. He saved me 18 years ago! I am passionate about my family. I'm LOVING these snow days that I get to spend with them. And I'm passionate about all things crafty! My favorite is quilting! I would really like to make a new quilt for my girls but I have it set in my head that I am not going to start until I am caught up on the blog and reading! It's good to have goals.

Bring fun back!
The 2012/2013 school year was very tough on me.  I lost a lot of my teaching joy.  This year is already SO much better.  I am bringing the lightheartedness back into the classroom.  I am looking forward to reading Teach Like a Pirate.  The title is even fun!

Data Presentation Reflections

One of the things that I loved about the data class, especially during the presentations, was hearing other peoples' ideas and what worked for them and what didn't. After this year I feel confident with my reading instruction and I have the data to back up that what I did worked. I will always continue to improve, but next year I would like to focus on math. I heard some really great ideas about math that I would like to try next year. I made several notes about computer programs like IXL, and other math resources. At our last grade level meeting I asked about getting a subscription to IXL or a similar program, and it sounds like something we will be able to get next year.
Jennifer and I had very similar projects, so it was great to discuss how things were going throughout the year. I would like to implement some of the things that she did next year, like having students track their own growth. I struggled with having the kids set their own goals, because they don't really know what a realistic goal is. I like the way she had them chart their word reading, so they can see what they did last time and the times before and set a reasonable goal. It is a great visual for them and for me, and I think it brings more meaning and understanding to them about what they are doing and why.

Focus: More Thoughts

Most importantly, this course offered me the opportunity to reflect on my own teaching practices. I feel like for a lot of this first year I have been in survival mode, just trying to get through one week at a time. I know I have so much to learn, but this course made me stop and look at what I am doing, and what else I can do. I'm not going to be perfect after a year of teaching, but if I stop to reflect on specific subjects or struggles, I can work toward a solution rather than just getting frustrated. While Schmoker's words were important, the discussions that we had as a group will be what I remember. I have enjoyed hearing ideas from other first grade teachers, as well as teachers from all grade levels, subject areas, classroom teachers and non classroom teachers. It has been wonderful to hear all perspectives and relate them to my own.

Focus: End of the year thoughts....

As I reflect over the past year (I can't believe it has already been a year!) there were times that I agreed with what the book said, and other times that I felt like his world was totally disconnected from my first grade world, and the connections felt like a bit of a stretch. Overall, I agree with his philosophy. I believe that we need to really "Focus" what we teach, and go into depth vs. trying to teach everything. I remember him talking about cutting down the standards by 50% and only teaching what is most important. This is something that I wish we had more control over. I am interested to see how this feels as we transition into common core standards.
The chapter that spoke to me most as a first grade teacher was Ch. 4:English Language Arts Made Simple. I am responsible for teaching all of my kids how to read before I send them on. This chapter had a couple that run through my mind all the time.
"If you were born poor, you'd better start reading." -Joe Queenan 
"Every year, every student needs to spend hundreds of hours actually reading, writing, and speaking for intellectual purposes."
"Wide, abundant reading is the surest route out of poverty and the limitations that impose themselves on the less literate."
This speaks to so many of our kids in Lebanon. Fortunately we can give them the tools they need to succeed-an education.

Preparation for College, Careers and Citizenship--for All Pg27

I know not all go to college.  I educate my first graders as if they are going to college.  I teach a college prep class.  What can it hurt?

Schmoker tells us in his book "Focus" that there are 3 elements we should approach with simplicity and diligence..

What we teach...

How we teach...

Authentic literacy...

What we teach...Curriculum/standards

This is decided for me.  Some are easier to teach than others.  Even though, as a district, we have the same standards and curriculum to teach for each grade, I feel, as far as first grade is concerned, we don't do it justice.  I am to blame in the area of math.  I have trouble with our curriculum, so I might not use it as I should to teach the standards.

How we teach....

I am pretty much a "My Turn", "Our Turn", "Your Turn" or "I Do", "We Do", "You Do"...sort of teacher.

Authentic Literacy..

I have worked on this during the school year.  I teach core reading, and am trying to add more authentic literacy to that core.  The district has a new Science curriculum.  It excites me because it is full of authentic literacy.

I am missing some posts.  I am going to go through the book Focus a second time and see what else hits me.
Simplicity, essentials, clarity and priority. (pg 5)
This is what the book is asking us to embrace.  I am ready for this.  As the school year ends I am purging.  Throwing it away, taking it home....I don't want "it" all around me to muddle me up.  Maybe the cleanliness will create clarity in me and my students.

SOOOOO Disappointed. :(

I went into my classroom yesterday and saw Miss Teresa. It was SO disappointing. She had been doing so well with her behaviors. When I went in yesterday, she was in charge and did whatever she wanted. If she wanted in the next room, she went. If she wanted a different toy, she ran and got it, over and over and over again. She was blurting like crazy and I heard poop over and over again. And there were no consequences for her behaviors from any of the staff. It was very sad for me to see that in just over a month of me not being there she had regressed so much. I am very nervous for what will happen to her next year. :( I even talked to the Autism Specialist again while she was there that day too. She was also very disappointed in what she has seen. We had made so much progress with her.

Post Data Presentation

You all heard about my lovely Teresa and her poop. I was in the classroom yesterday and got an opportunity to observe her again. Unfortunately, I have been gone for the last six weeks. Teresa had been working with me a lot and had come SO far. I did not take data on her while I was there, but I did see and hear a lot of blurting during my time in the classroom. She was trying to run the group time, she was frequently out of her seat, she was trying to run group time, singing Dancing Queen very loudly, being very disruptive. I feel that she has regressed since I've been gone. It's very difficult toward the end of the school year, I understand that, but with my students, you CAN'T let your guard down. Hopefully her teacher next year will step it up a lot more.

Looking Back

Looking back at the book, Focus, was a tough one for me. The book focused more on how to incorporate more reading, science, social studies, and math into the school day. Working in my classroom it's very difficult to incorporate these things. Unfortunately, we do not focus on science or social studies at all. My students focus more on functional tasks and skills needed for being in a gen ed classroom such as raising your hand, waiting in line, not ALWAYS being first, etc. What I tried to take away from the book was that even though I may not be teaching core academics, I still need to teach more of and more creatively the skills that I do teach. How can I incorporate more teachable moments for raising hand and walking in a line. How can I make the most of my school day.

Lost My Focus

I have not blogged since February!  I have lost my focus on the book Focus.  I was not able to meet with my fellow readers this evening due to the district retirement dessert. Too many places to be, and not enough of me. This time of year it is hard to find my focus.  This year I took action so that I would be ahead of the game and June would not sneak up on me.  Or so I thought....I am still in a whirlwind.

Focus

Something this book has made me continue to think about is the piece about authentic literacy and how I can help create an environment that promotes a love for reading, whether it's to gain information or just for enjoyment. I started to give my students 10-15minutes of free reading after our specials (and while they eat their snack). As I observed this time and compared it to other parts of our day that include literacy activities, I realized that this short period of so-called 'free choice' was one of the most engaging activities. Every student was engaged in a book, whether browsing through the pictures or truly reading. It has become one of my favorite parts of the day. I'm not exactly sure why, but I suspect it is because I allowed them to choose books that were interesting to them and knowing it is a short period of time gave them the ability to get focused since this was a time that gave them some independence.
I am excited for our new science curriculum because we have leveled nonfiction readers that will also help create more opportunities for authentic reading and enjoyment for my students next year!

Data Class

I just have to say that I am celebrating one student who has shown tremendous growth in reading this year! She started the year with zeros across the board for EasyCBM (partially because of her timid demeanor and low self confidence) and was struggling to complete any work by herself or read for fear that she will do it wrong. However as the year went on, we (myself and Jenna Zenk who sees her for speech), worked at building her self confidence and allowing her to be successful at smaller feats, which in turn helped her gain some independence! Now that the year is wrapping up she moved up from High Risk to Some Risk in EasyCBM and most importantly is a reader! She is not quite at grade level for running records, but she is close. The growth she made in academics, as well as her personal confidence and independence is awesome! Just thought I'd share one story that I consider a success as the end of the year stress is setting in! ;)

Data class

I have begun the process of looking closer at the speech sound data I have gathered for the two students I am seeing 4 days a week for 10 minute sessions instead of 2-20 minute sessions per week, and I am liking what I am see.  One student in particular is starting to use a sound that has been very hard for him (the /k/ sound) when he slows down more in conversation.  This is a huge gain since he was not even stimulable for the /k/ sound at the beginning of the year.  It seems like the more consistent speech sessions might be paying off...at least a little bit. :)

Chapter 7

I really caught on to the part in this chapter about "Math in the real world." 2nd grade has a lot of math that is real-world related like money, telling time, fractions and the beginning of multiplication and division. I have found that my students LOVE to learn about these math components. They see clocks all over, they see money and some times use it themselves. They are eager to learn these things because they are in the real world and they mean something to them! I do think there is a time and a place for advanced math classes and many careers use them, but I think that if the students do not see the "point" in learning something they might be less interested - at least that is what I have discovered in 2nd grade. They still want warm-up questions dealing with money and time & they love to share when they used those math skills at home!

Chapter 6 - Late :)

When I was reading chapter 6 - it made me think of an article I just recently read. The article was about setting up a science observation or discovery station in the classroom. You do not pre-teach them anything you just set it up and allow them to discovery it by touching, feeling and looking. They also talk with one another. You leave it up for a week before you talk about it as a class. I thought this was an awesome way to get the students thinking on their own and making scientific observations without telling them anything. They students are able to discover on their own. After allowing this time you then teach them different components and read materials only after they have manipulated and observed without being prompted or guided!

Focus: Ch. 7

As I started reading this chapter I found myself disagreeing with the text. I don't know that I agree with dropping advanced algebra as a requirement because some find it too difficult and discouraging. On that note, I must admit that math has always been my favorite subject, because I am good at it and enjoy problem solving.
So, I passed the book to my husband, a mechanical engineer, and had him read that section. His thoughts:
"Students don't need to learn more advanced algorithms that they'll never use, even as engineers or scientists..." As an engineer I use advanced algebra and calculus multiple times a day.  Algebra teaches your brain how to think and use logic.  The author suggests students spend more time learning "simple skills" while tackling issues like "gas prices".  When I read this I immediately thought of an algebra problem to decide if premium or regular gas is more cost effective for your vehicle, depending on the difference in mileage vs. cost.  The author does not understand algebra, so he does not understand its value.  

I do, however agree with the section on simplifying math standards. I feel like there is so much to teach, and I don't have time to go into depth on any of it. I did a long-term sub job in a 3rd grade classroom last fall and taught a lot about patterns. Then this fall when I started teaching first grade I realized that it is pretty much the same lessons that the third graders were doing. Our school has been using Math out of the Box for several years now, and I imagine that patterns are also taught in second grade, so why, when I taught the pattern lesson to 3rd graders last year did they not have a clue what I was talking about? It's all the same vocabulary: core, elements, repeating, etc. Why do we reteach this every year, rather than teaching it thoroughly once. If they really learn it, we won't have to teach it every year. I agree with Schmidt where he says, "need to focus on a small enough number of topics so that teachers can spend, not days, on them."

Focus Ch. 7 - MATH

Focus Ch. 7 – MATH

            As someone who struggled with math in school myself and see so many of my students struggling with math, this chapter really hit home.  Math is the “most failed” subject (pg. 195).  Right now I am in the middle of our Algebra unit for 6^th grade and my class is really, really struggling so reading what Schmoker wrote about Algebra made me feel a bit better.  The textbook does not have very many word problems that actually show how you would use Algebra in everyday life.  It uses a, b, c and gives the formula but it makes no sense to my kids at times.  The examples it will give are not things students typically deal with or need to write an expression to solve.  I also struggle with giving a real world example with many of the concepts because I haven’t really had to use too much Algebra in my adult life.  It was shocking to read Schmoker’s examples of scientists and computer programmers who said the same thing!  The fact that “less than 5 percent of the workforce use Algebra II or more advanced math” (pg. 199) was surprising as well.  However, I do believe that if we want our students to compete in a global world students do need to be at a higher level of proficiency in math than they currently are.  My students’ main roadblock in understanding Algebra is the fact that they don’t know their multiplication facts or even simple fractions (it took me 5 minutes today to get a student to realize that 4/4 is the same as 1 when she was trying to subtract ¼ from 1 and we have already studied fractions this year!  I tried comparing it to quarters and it confused her even more!) or some math basics (like basic measurement units, simple fractions being the same as a decimal (1/2 = .5) etc).  Students can’t do mental math very well so it slows them down with the more complex math even if I let them use a calculator.  I liked Schmoker’s idea for using data and real life tables, charts, and information to make Math applicable but I wish the textbooks would do a little of that for us as it isn’t easy to find examples all the time.  I think a great idea would be for textbooks to have links to articles or videos that you could use to illustrate how a certain concept is used in everyday life.  Since this is my first year of teaching 6^th grade math I haven’t had the years to accumulate and find these resources to relate to each math concept or unit, and if we want it done we have to make it easy for teachers to do!   Hope some textbook writers will read “Focus” and see the need for this. 

Poverty: Lakeitha Case Study

In the Lakeitha case study Payne describes a 15-year-old girl who’s parents are unavailable and who is responsible for younger siblings.  Payne explains that one of Lakeitha’s key issues is time and recommends giving her extra flexibility around due dates, such as an extra day to get assignments done.  While I agree with this recommendation I have recently struggled with similar differentiation attempts this year.  Other students notice the differential treatment and demand the same opportunity.  A student in what can be an embarrassing situation – can’t read at a high school level, difficult home situation – is put in the spotlight.  Angry peers can get pretty aggressive about the injustice they perceive.  I see this becoming more of a problem as I teach more academically focused students.  Students in my chemistry class compare point by point every problem on assignments I pass back to check that assignments have been graded correctly.  I know of examples at other schools where parents have collected assignments from various students and compared grading similarly.  Folks don’t seem particularly open to equal is not always fair.  Things can be worded in ways that sound a bit scandalous.  Is the best approach to try to fly under the radar or is there another option?

Poverty: Relationships

Luckily I have been told from the beginning – when I was a first year teacher at a small alternative high school in Portland – that making school work for the truly struggling students is all about relationships.  Ruby Payne confirms this important message.   It’s impossible to have this connection with all students.  Most notably I have connect with those that need that relationship to succeed this year over music.  Being able to answer the question, “What is your favorite punk rock band” and “What is your favorite hip hop group” with appropriate answers has paid off big time.

So I establish this report with a student that usually won’t participate in class.  But I only see him 50 minutes a day.  He fails all his other classes and disappears to some alternative program.  When relationships are so important yet so difficult the odds seem horrible.  I liked this recommendation from Payne:

Schools need to establish schedules and instructional arrangements that allow students to stay with the same teachers for two or more years – if mutually agreed upon.

I have often thought about what I could accomplish if I could have a 2 period block of high risk freshmen students for both math and science.  Unfortunately I don’t see this working with the scheduling logistics of the high school.  Do you have any ideas about how we could implement Payne’s advice at the high school?  How about at your school?

Focus..Ch.6

"What do you think would happen if...."  A powerful question that can be answered orally or written.  This changes the way I look at Science.  Lots of prep...no time...no materials
I would add the question, Why?  Why do you think that would happen?  That is some higher level thinking that we can handle in first grade.
Is Lebanon looking into a new science curriculum?  Maybe we should be going towards more textbook and less kits?
I use Scholastic news and non-fiction picture books to bring science into the classroom.  We highlight, look for the main idea and sometimes, just enjoy these tools.  I am going to try to add more discussion and writing activities as offshoots from these materials.

Focus: Ch 6

I'll be honest...I didn't read the entire chapter this month. I actually woke up this morning at 5:00 with an "oh, crap" thought that with pregnant brain, I spaced it. It's very difficult for me to get into a chapter about science when science isn't a subject that I teach in my classroom or ever expect to teach in my classroom. I know that sounds terrible, but when I took over this class 5 years ago, the previous teacher had huge goals of teaching the kids about rocks. That teacher quit in November of his first year in the classroom. The students never learned about rocks, the staff was more concerned about the students being able to follow a schedule, raise their hands in group, SIT in a group, and not be quite as physical.

I really try and work hard to make each chapter pertain to my students, however, last month and this month especially, that just has NOT been my strong point. Sorry. :(

Data Class

So we've been collecting data like crazy on one student. She is in the fourth grade, but in my self-contained special ed classroom. She leaves my room for two 30 minute sessions every day and joins another special education classroom for some higher academics. We love her, but we really enjoy that hour total of not hearing the word "poop." When we started collecting data, we heard the word "poop" 633 times in one day! After taking data day after day and trying to implement different strategies, we were able to cut that almost in half, depending on the day. We did an FBA on this student last week and came up with some really great strategies that we have been trying to implement, the most recent being an iPod with Disney music on it, which we started today. Let me just tell you that when I leave here this afternoon, my head will not be pounding and I've heard "poop" less than 100 times today!!! Now for us, THAT is success!!!!!

Focus: Chapter 6

This chapter was even more difficult for me to connect to the work I do with students, especially since one of the times that I take some of the older students at Pioneer for speech is during their science period.  Science and social studies are two of the times that pull out groups can happen since we can't take students during their core instruction time or times like PE, music, library, etc.  So, those students that are pulled for specially designed instruction in reading, writing, math, and speech/language often fall further behind in the other context areas like science.  This is a very hard balance because it is often the subjects like science that help keep some of these students engaged and connected in the classroom.

School Improvement Mapping

This chapter is speaking to what Pioneer has been working on this year in our benchmark teams.  My teaching partner and I have worked very hard together to set a joint goal around our reading instruction and is tied to the OAKS testing.  We know our kids, have done a lot of formative testing, have collaborated on exit tickets, common assessments, and how to run intervention groups when we have limited time and resources.  I can see it paying off.  We check in on a regular basis and can and do make changes when they are necessary based on the data we are getting from kids.  We want 80% of our kids at or above grade level in reading skills.  After our first round of OAKS we are close and have some kids achieving higher than we thought.  I believe that by really working together, identifying the key components that needed to be retaught or taught more efficiently and effectively, and getting students motivated to stay with the learning is going to pay off.  Our kiddos are working so hard.  They are rising to the challenge and it is inspiring.  I am not a fan of a lot of testing but a lot of formative checking in with kids makes a huge difference when they have to perform.

Data: School Improvement Mapping

The school improvement mapping seems like it would be a helpful tool for the SLPs in the district to use to sit down and talk about how we can improve our speech therapy sessions given the high caseloads that we have.  It is so easy to focus on what the barriers are to providing quality instruction to our students, instead of focusing on what we can do (strategies/actions) to help our situation.  Hopefully now that we have 1 Wednesday a month to meet (this just changed!), we can take time together to work through this dilemma, instead of working through it by ourselves in our separate buildings.  

Focus: Ch. 6

I run into a lot of the same barriers teaching science in first grade as I do with social studies.
Materials:
Schmoker argues that as in any other discipline, reading, writing and talking are essential. I like to use a lot of non-fiction texts for read-alouds. We also discuss and write about what we are learning. The biggest barrier is finding enough material that the students are able to read in first grade. I appreciate that he mentioned a few resources for elementary teachers such as TIME for Kids and Junior Scholastic. I just wish that these were resources that my school provided. If I want them I will have to pay for them myself, and they will have to be purchased each year.
Curriculum:
The next barrier is that we don't have any science curriculum to follow. Teachers seem to each do their own thing.
Time:
In first grade our main focus is reading instruction and math. I would love to be able to spend more time on science lessons, but most of my students are struggling with reading. I hope that by dedicating the majority of my time in first grade to getting kids on track with reading, it will provide future teachers time to spend on science.

Data: School Improvement Mapping

Our school is doing a lot of work with goal setting right now. My frustration is that we are more focused on goal setting, than what we are going to do to help our kids meet these goals. We can set any goal we want, but we aren't going to get there until we start doing something about it. At our last grade level data team meeting we spent all of our time coming up with a goal, and didn't have any opportunities to talk about what we can actually do for kids. I have several kids who are in serious need of interventions, but haven't had an opportunity to bring those kids to the table. Our next data meeting is Tuesday, and I'm really hoping that we will be able to move on to the "Clear strategies" and "specific actions" steps.

A Fork in My Data

My data collection this year has focused on my chemistry class.  Data from this year and others shows students in our district are less likely to take chemistry than those in neighboring districts.  Common assessment data from this year has revealed that chemistry students in my class score substantially lower on the same tests than their counter parts in the next town over who are one to two years younger.  I have always known that due to socioeconomic and other factors that we have more students in need of a lot of support than the students at many nearby schools.  What is new to me (perhaps because I have never had a chance to work with this group before) is that our high achieving students are not working at the same level as high achieving students in surrounding areas.  To compound my dilemma halfway through the school year I have lost about half of my original chemistry students that started in September.  The gap just seems to keep increasing.  This problem is big.

Luckily I have my FBI (Feedback Initiative) coach helping me with an exterior perspective on this problem.  She broke my dilemma down into two separate paths.  The first is chemistry specific– the content that students struggle with and the attitudes of students and adults in my building that keep enrollment so low.  The second I hadn’t consciously recognized as fundamental to my problem.   Now that she pointed it out I know it is what really gets me so fired up about this whole things  - the college readiness of high achieving students in our school and district.  I want to focus here.

Now that I think about it I realize science teachers at LHS have known this is a problem for sometime.  Discussions always spring up around senior project and graduation time as dozens of LHS seniors share their plans to go into medicine or other science related fields.  As yet another student announces they want to be a veterinarian or pediatrician we talk amongst ourselves about who has had that student in class.  Did they take chemistry?  No.  AP Biology?  No.  Physics?  No.  Are they going to be able to compete with their peers when applying for colleges and in college classes?  The answer seems clear.  Too often students seem to choose a higher GPA over the appropriate college prep classes. 

Pursuing this issues seems a bit intimidating as it requires gathering data about students that are not my own, but it seems the right choice to make.  I would really appreciate advice about data you think I should collect to help me investigate this issue!

Focus: Ch.5

Social studies is a subject that I think often gets put on the back burner. There isn't always a great curriculum provided and teachers have to often invent the path. There's so much focus on math and reading that social studies instruction becomes a small part of your instruction. I often feel that I don't get time to teach social studies effectively or consistently. One of my favorite parts of teaching 4th grade is teaching then Oregon Trail. I've completely made up a unit and I enjoy every second of teaching it and my students love every minute of the unit. I easily integrate it into my reading and writing instruction and I need to start doing that with other pieces of social studies instruction as well. That's a goal of mine! I think it is so important for students to reflect on how far our world has come in time and gain a better understanding of it.

Focus: Ch. 4

This chapter really made me reflect on my current reading instruction. I've never been fully satisfied with what I've been doing as far as it goes. I often find both myself and my students bored with the stories the basal provides for curriculum use. I dream about creating these elaborate units based solely on amazing novels but there just hasn't been enough time in my career so far to be able to make my dream a reality. Based off what I saw in my student teaching, I see how much more meaningful the use of novels are to students and how much more engagement there is in the classroom during that instruction time. I'd love to see my class reading 15-20 novels a year as mentioned in the chapter!

Thinking Critically about Nothing

It is so hard to choose where to start when it comes to Schmoker’s chapter on science. For example, my heart rate increases every time I read the line, “Worse yet, the majority of these activities have little or no connection to essential science content.”  He makes such ridiculous connections between bad instruction and activity and good instruction and literacy.  Quality content-relevant teaching and activity-based inquiry instruction are not mutually exclusive.  To save you all from the rant-like post that would follow if I continued thinking about this quote I have instead decided to focus on this one:

“You cannot think critically about nothing.”

The problem with this line is that when it comes to science students are not starting with nothing.  La Tabula Rosa is an old idea – but it just doesn’t pan out (we talked about this a lot in my grad program.  How about you?).  Students develop all kinds of ideas –especially science ideas –outside of school: ideas about plants, animals, the sun, their own bodies, what happens when you throw something, and so many more.

Please watch this video.  I know it is a little long (~8 min), but I find it pretty powerful and all around awesome:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVtCO84MDj8

To highlight:

“If you just present the correct information five things happen:

1.      Students think they know it.

2.      They don’t pay the utmost attention

3.      They don’t recognize that what was presented differs from what they were already thinking

4.      They don’t learn a thing.

5.      They get more confident in the ideas they were thinking before”

When you challenge student preconceptions they think it is confusing, they have to work harder, they might not like you very much (that one is mine)– but they actually learn!

I find active, authentic inquiry labs a great way to challenge misconceptions while at the same time teaching science content and nature of science.  When students do something expecting certain things to happen and then get surprising results is just the jolt they need to shift their thinking.  To not be hypocritical literacy-based instruction can also, of course address misconceptions.  I have a unit I love based on misconceptions about sea-level change due to global warming that is all based on newspaper letters to the editors. 

Time to catch up! :)

So I'm a bit behind on my posts, but there's no better time than now to catch up right? Look forward to many posts by me today! Lol Starting back at chapter 4: The Data Toolkit...

In this chapter I really connected with the information because it was talking about analyzing your students and sorting them based upon their need, or target. For my project, I was faced with the challenge of over half my class in the red zone at the beginning of the year for math. I decided that I was going to tackle this and I wanted my students to be a part of this journey each step of the way to them being successful and in the "green." I took my students and a green, yellow, red chart and issued each child a number. I then placed the students numbers in the category that they stood in for math in the fall. It was amazing how the students took the information. It was very confidential as they only knew their own number, but when they saw where they were they were merely blown away! I really think that students take these easyCBM assessments and they just blow right through them and don't see the benefit of them. I took the time to really talk about the assessment and how the data is used once they take it. I had many students upset with themselves and determined to move to the green. The amount of students who suddenly got serious during math instruction time increased tremendously and I had students make great gains in the winter easyCBM assessment not only because I was providing interventions to increase their knowledge, but because I felt that they valued the test more now and they took their success into their own hands. I look forward to seeing how far they have grown at the end of the year.

Social Studies in Science

I love teaching science because the subject is its own little microcosm of all the other subjects.  We of course teach literacy and tons of math, but there is much more beyond these two most typical tie-ins.  Foreign language can come into play.  My Spanish-speaking students have a leg up when it comes to the periodic table.  (One of many examples, the chemical symbol for gold: Au --> Aurum (Latin) --> Oro (Spanish)).  PE ties in (I teach physics of sports to my freshmen).  I really want to get into the chemistry – art connection in the future. 

While social studies may not be as obviously important as math or literacy to the science classroom (or pander in such a way to the current trends in education) I think its significance is on par with these “Big Two.”  Science has its own whole branch of history to study.  I love my science history texts.  Right now in physical science we are researching the men (yes, all men, we talk about that too – another important social studies topic) that have made substantial contributions to the atomic model.  We focus in on the changes in this one science concept throughout history  - how it has been shaped by technology and how it shapes how we think about our world. 

I love teaching about the history of the atomic model or H.A.M. as I call it, but I think my favorite thing to teach is my physical science semester on chemistry and climate change.  While the science of climate change is well established the social sciences side of global warming pulls in that controversy Schmoker recommends when we are trying to engage the “indifferent” student (Which we all know is all of the time).  It has taken me some time to get this curriculum to where it is today.  It has taken a lot of making things from scratch and “stealing” things from other science teachers, but I am actually teaching central science content (atoms, energy, temperature, density, chemical bonds, reactions), nature of science, literacy, math, and social studies together in one logical package.  If you all enjoyed the same autonomy I do and if we each had our own Timer-Turners like Hermione I would say we should get together and develop similar integrated curricula for your classroom so that science could be easier and central to the work in your classrooms instead of something extra to worry about.

Focus Ch. 6: Science

Focus Ch. 6: Science

It is interesting to me that this chapter from Schmoker goes against many things I was taught in a college Science pedagogy class but actually makes me feel better.  I took a class where we learned all about doing science experiments with kids and coming up with labs.  The emphasis was that Science is best learned by doing.  The professor was energetic and had us doing all sorts of fun things and when we developed our own experiments we had a whole lab of equipment to use to design anything.  Then when I began teaching in my own classroom, reality changed.  I found that the Science kits were normally pretty picked over, missing, not restocked, and coordinating a science experiment was a lot of work on my shoulders preparing, buying or borrowing things, and setting it all up since there wasn’t much of a Science curriculum to follow.  I tried many times to send out a list of what types of things we would need for a Science unit but very rarely got parents to donate anything.  I always felt guilty for not doing enough Science inquiry. Planning for Science was always something that stressed me out and made me feel inadequate as a teacher teaching multiple subjects it took more plan time to coordinate than I had available.  So when I read Schmoker’s chapter on Science I realized that I didn’t need to feel guilty for using the textbook, picture books, writing and research and putting more of an emphasis on literacy with Science.  Students have to have a firm foundation in the material before they can do an experiment and “get it” and be able to use higher level thinking about the concept.  Now I still think you can do demonstrations or other things to pique student interest and inquiry is important to include but it doesn't need to be every day for every concept.  After reading Schmoker, I know that teaching Science from reading is what students need also and is what high Science performing countries do also. 

Another thing that frustrated me about Science, in particular, is it seemed like the content area where teachers just teach units on whatever they enjoyed teaching or whatever they have materials to teach (since there are so few materials).  My first few years of teaching I felt like my students had a mishmash of units on penguins, the rainforest, whales, hurricanes, etc.  It felt like, as Schmoker discusses on page 168, that students knew “a lot of disconnected facts”.  I think that with our move towards common standards that this will make it easier for teachers to teach what they need to for their grade level---things are seeming to get better in regards to alignment which I think will help students not have a hodgepodge of Science units that are different from another student in another class in the same grade.    

Ch. 5 Social Studies

Social Studies has always been a subject that I have enjoyed teaching but felt overwhelmed by the massive amount of standards and the small amount of resources (even enough textbooks or the materials that go with the textbook have always been missing!) so I understand the argument Schmoker’s makes completely.  I agree that we need to use more primary documents and incorporate more about current events into the Social Studies curriculum.  I have already started doing more with current events using the newspaper and Time for Kids but primary documents is a little harder.  Luckily, with the internet we have access to lots of ideas but often it uses a lot of time to wade through the junk to find the one nugget that is a good quality primary document to use related to the unit.  Hopefully, Social Studies textbooks will start incorporating more primary sources within them in the future. 

I liked what Schmoker said about the need to “include something woefully lacking in the majority of classrooms: regular opportunities to mark up, annotate, or highlight one- to three-page articles and documents.” (pg. 153)  I have started doing more of this just this year thanks to a training I went to on teaching non-fiction.  I am also having students learn different styles of note-taking methods which I believe will be helpful for them.  This has not been easy as students are not used to having to do a deep, close reading of the text or take notes before but hopefully as more teachers move towards this they will become more accustomed to it being the expectation.

Focus: Chapter 6

When I saw the title to this chapter, I honestly became a little anxious because social studies was never a subject that I enjoyed in school.  For some reason, I had a very hard time connecting with the content.  When I think about my own experiences, I feel that this may have been because some of the teachers I had were more focused on learning/memorizing all of the facts instead of engaging with and discussing the curriculum.  I have always been somewhat of a perfectionist, so instead of enjoying what we were learning in social studies, I spent most of my time trying to memorize to do well on a test.  This in the end has impacted my retention of social studies content, since I often cannot remember learning about many of the topics covered in my classes.  I would have loved more opportunities to learn about current events and how those compared to what has happened in our history.

Data Tools

I most frequently use the relations diagram in my classroom. When writing behavior plans, we want to know what the root of the problem is. We use either the relations diagram or the 5 whys to try to get to the root of the behaviors. The relations diagram has been the most successful for us.

I don't really use the other tools. I don't have enough students to compare with each other and they all get one on one instruction in their academics.

Focus Ch 5

It's chapters like this one that make me long for a gen ed classroom! :) I've been in my classroom now for 5 years and have never once done a social studies lesson or anything that resembled social studies. It wasn't until the last two years that we really started focusing on reading, writing, and math with EVERY student. Cognitively my students are so low that we really focus on functionality and safety. It would be WONDERFUL if they had the ability to comprehend even simple stories.

Writing is also a great thing in a classroom. My students are learning to form their letters correctly. My highest cognitive student is learning to write a sentence from dictation. We've been working on the same sentences for a couple of weeks now; "The dog is big." "The dog is little." This is a VERY difficult task for her.

Although I would LOVE to incorporate these into my classroom, realistically, letters, numbers, counting, sight words, and functional tasks are more appropriate for my students at this time.

Focus: Ch. 5

This chapter got me excited about teaching social studies! I haven't done as much of it as I would like, because our focus in first grade is teaching kids to read. I have some units coming up, though, and I think that the kids will really enjoy them. With Lincoln's birthday in February, we will be reading lots of picture books about him, followed by discussions of his impact on our country today. I also have a writing project planned. I am really looking forward to this unit, and I hope that the kids enjoy it as much as I do!

Data Tools

I haven't tried the 4 quadrant tool yet, but I am interested in trying it out. It seems like it is pretty simple to plot the data, and it provides a good visual.
I have to agree with Kathy that the wagon wheel is a little more confusing. Personally, I think the same data plotted on a bar graph would provide a better, more clear visual. That could just be me, and my own personal preference, though. Everyone sees things differently, so this may make more sense to some. Do any of you prefer this visual over a bar graph?
What I like most about the "5 Whys" tool is that it is based on collaboration. I often find myself wondering why, why, why. I would love to sit down with a group to collaborate and share ideas. Our school is a focus school, and I am constantly wondering why. I feel like people must just assume that it's the teachers. But our school is filled with wonderful, intelligent, dedicated teachers who are giving all they have, and our test scores are still low. It would be interesting to have the whole staff use this tool, and see what we come up with.
I like the process of the fishbone tool: brainstorm, analyze, and reflect, but again, the visual doesn't really work for me. I think I would just come up with a list and put the items in order.

Focus: Chapter 5

This Chapter reminds me of how fun social studies can be and how important it is for our students to find meaning in history and culture. I have to admit, I do not implement as many in depth social studies units as I would like, but every time we learn about history, important people, or certain holidays my students LOVE it. They enjoy hearing about how times were different and how these important people that have helped shape our world today. We recently read a biography in our Trophies story books and the students were so interested once they knew that a biography was a true story about a real person. I definitely believe incorporating more non-fiction during my reading block is one way I am ensuring that I am teaching important social studies lessons. This chapter also made me realize that incorporating social studies topics in my opinion writing lessons is another great way to tie the two subjects together.

Data Tools

After looking through all the different data tools, I found the Four Quadrants to be the most meaningful and easy to use. I compared my math and reading scores and it helped me see my students in groups that I hadn't seen before.

I also enjoyed completing the 5 Whys tool when looking at the different reasons of why my EasyCBM math scores are low. I have been feeling frustrated with this math assessment for various reasons and after writing out the 'whys' of possible causes gave me good insight and a little peace of mind.

The Wagon Wheel Tool was the most confusing to me and I am still not quite sure how I would use it with my class data since it seems like it's suited for multiple data points, such as school or district comparisons.

Overall, I think the tools are very valuable and I am enjoying seeing the various ways I can look at my students and class. 

Data Tools

In looking through the different data tools, the one that stood out the most to me to use with problem solving within the work that I do, was the 5 Whys. One of the biggest concerns I have for my speech students is making progress with a limited number of sessions per week.  It is helpful to look at the different reasons of why we sometimes make little progress over the course of the year, to hopefully generate some solutions to these problems.  Some of the causes to this problem are out of my control (e.g. high caseload), but hopefully I can come up with some actions to take to help improve some of the other causes.

Chapter 5

After reading this chapter I thought about a recent training I went to. They were talking about vocabulary instruction and the lady was sharing some facts. One that especially caught my attention was that a 1st grade book uses higher vocabulary than a college graduate (on average). We often talk simple to our students because we want them to understand when really we should be talking academically to them while explaining the meaning of different words because for a lot of students we are the most literate person they will encounter.

I love using magazines and newspapers in my classroom and my students love to read them just because they are something different. I know that for 2nd grade as we move more toward common core there is going to be a bigger requirement for non-ficion reading.

Data Tools

So the data tool that interested me the most was the 4 quadrants. I use this data tool already in my classroom monthly when I test the students to monitor growth. I find it is very easy to use and especially easy to read. I graph my students in reading and math and it is very easy to see who is low in both, in one or who is above in both. I also find it very easy to see outliers - which can show me who might need an intervention or who might need more of a challenge.

The relations diagram was also interesting and I think could be useful to find reasons for something such as behavior, or low acidemics. I could use the information to direct my teaching because I have narrowed down the reasons why something is occurring instead of just guessing. If something didn't work I could relate back to the diagram and try another strategy.

A Framework For Understanding Poverty

I find this a fascinating book.  I am learning to look at my students and myself very differently.  Learning the language of poverty has provided me communication tools that have been useful when I speak with parents and kids in the community at Pioneer.  I understand much more clearly the struggles that my students must overcome to achieve the dreams they have for themselves.  I grew up in a very affluent community as did my own children.  Wow, did we have it easy.  I am stunned at the resiliency of these kids and yet also struggle to understand how this cycle continues.  Reading the chapter that explains the role of language and story and how everything is a narrative that does not always begin in a logical, to me, place explains a lot of what I see in student writing and class discussion.  I see patterns in the families of my students that come right out of this book and while it scares me I also feel empowered that I could possibly affect change in someone's life.

Data Toolkit: Looking at Collected Data

This was a lot to take in.  I found the Wagon Wheel to be confusing and I am not sure how I would use this unless I was comparing things like attendance, behaviors, scores in subject areas.  Even so I did not find it helpful.  Maybe I just cant quite figure it out.  I was feeling that the 5 Whys could work well with classroom reflection on test scores or strategies for improving written responses.  Whenever I ask kids to come up with questions I am amazed by their insight and find that they are concerned and look at their work differently than I had even considered.  I find student reflection to be incredibly helpful.  I believe that the Relations Diagram would be a great way to work out a staff issue at a meeting.  It gives everyone the ability to provide input and that helps everyone own the data, the issue, the solution.  Interesting chapters.  

Chapter 4: Data Study

The strategies in this chapter are pretty much what my portfolio project is about.  Using a data driven approach to differentiation and intervention in order to pull kids up to and beyond grade level.  With my teaching partner in the fall we categorized our students in the data triangle.  It was a bit overwhelming at first to see how far we needed to go but also empowering because now there was a place to begin.  I began in my classroom by putting students on a progress monitoring schedule and also using more focused assessment tools to find the source if I could of their difficulty in reading and math.  From that point I have been able to get kids into small groups with LRC staff support, locate resources, and also work more closely with my teaching partner to create common assessments for formative and summative data.  I am finding success.  It is hard work to keep it all organized but I think this is a learning curve.  As I work within this type of system I am making improvements in my teaching and becoming more effective and efficient.  It is a win win situation.

Chapter 5

In chapter 5 the author is getting into some higher grade level areas.  In first grade I talk to the students about some current events, but some events are not appropriate.  In my classroom I use Scholastic News to propel social studies.  In the last 2 weeks the children in my class have read about The President and the Inauguration and the life of Martin Luther King Jr.  We then pulled out the important information and summarized the reading selection.  I am hoping this lays the foundation for an interest in history and current news.  I saw the spark in 1 or 2 of my students.  I think it's very hard for young children to look outside of themselves.  So, a little spark is encouraging.

When I was a high school student, social studies and history were favorite subjects.  I didn't realize it at the time, but my teachers were skilled at making these areas relevant to me. I appreciate their use of role play, discussion and debate to make the subject interesting and engaging.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4
If You're Born Poor, You'd Better Start Reading.
Joe Queenan

Wow, that is powerful.
After reading this chapter I have made more visits to Green Acres Title 1 room.  I am checking out leveled books for my students to read and re-read.  I continue to use basal readers and specific reading skill practice in skill based reading groups.  I have added genuine literature to their reading practice with books like, Is Your Mama a Llama?, Amelia Bedelia, and The Boxcar Children.  This creates a great amount of excitement in the classroom.  I have also added quite a few non-fiction books to my classroom library.
I have to say I feel proud of myself.  I think I am practicing what this chapter is preaching.

Ch. 4 Language Arts

I was really surprised when the chapter opened up saying that "Language Arts, more than any discipline, has lost its way." (pg. 93)  I have always felt as an upper elementary teacher that I received more trainings and have read more professional literature on literacy than any other subject.  After reading the chapter though I did kind of agree and see Schmoker's point though that we have overcomplicated teaching literacy in some ways.  Schmoker asserts that if we want students to learn, "the actions we must take are stunningly simple: We must ensure that all students complete hundreds of hours of reading, every year." (pg. 101)  As I thought about my own journey of learning a second language, I realized that growth didn't always come because of a wonderful mini-lesson or mastering a grammatical concept, it normally came more from just continuous exposure and practice with vocabulary, reading and speaking and getting feedback.  
Also Schmoker makes the point that reading for pleasure is critical (pg. 105) which I found true in my own language learning journey---when I was interested in the topic I learned more.  But independent reading time is something I have struggled with in my classroom in Lebanon.  I give my students about 20 or so minutes of free choice reading each day but normally have about 5 or 6 kids that no matter what you do or try (accountability quiz, note sheet for points, buy them books they want to read, choose "just right" books at their level, give points or rewards, just let them read with no points to be earned, meet with them after they read to discuss, lay down on the rug instead of their desk, partner read, listen to books on tape or via computer, etc.) will still not be able to focus during these 20 minutes and won't be engaged in actively reading unless I have them read to me for a portion of the time.  We try building stamina but overall on a day to day basis they don't read---how can we help them use this important time for reading for pleasure?  Ideas welcome!  Thanks!

Why?

I have finally caught up on all of the posts and comments you have all made so far this year and I LOVE the discussions that are going on.

A thought kept coming to me and I thought I would give you a challenge to help you give your kids a new way of thinking about reading and math...

Think about kids who get you into a "why?" debate. Every single one of my own children at one point or another would ask me "why?" about something and I would answer and then they would ask me "why?" about that, and I would answer and they would keep asking "why?" until I got to something that they felt was an acceptable "end" to their questions. Kids want to know why, and when they feel like they do, then they seem okay about proceeding. Try the "why?" game with your students sometime and see what reasons they can come up with as a group for the reasons that math or reading are important.

In fact, let's try it here. Comment on this post with an answer to this question....

WHY ARE READING AND MATH IMPORTANT TO KNOW?

ONE RULE - You cannot repeat someone else's answer...