May 18, 2015

        Being a Hurdler:  Mindset Matters! 

We are at that time of year in which each staff member becomes a hurdler. One definition of hurdling is: the act of running and jumping over an obstacle at speed. This is very stressful for some and exhilarating to others, depending on your mindset.

I want to help remind you some of the hurdles:

• Blue Literacy folders are kept in Brenda Milum’s room. It is required that BOY, MOY, and EOY SCORED writing pieces be added. If you want my help in securing the folders OR clarify the directions- please ask.
• iStation: Reading and Math ISIP for May is completed for ALL students. Please check your reports to verify that all scores are showing.
• PLPs: We will be completing 2015-2016 PLPs in your PLCs for the next 2 weeks. Please make sure you have thought about your district, campus and individual goals prior to coming. I realize that our teams are changing as we add new teachers and students to each grade level for this coming year. There are many individual goals that are universal to all teachers, no matter what content we teach. We all need to work on literacy strategies, vocabulary development, ELL support, questioning strategies, small group instruction etc.
• Eduphoria: K-2: enter reading text level & writing stages into Eduphoria for each student. 3-5: enter writing stages for all students and a reading text level if a Tier 3 student.

The biggest lesson a hurdler has to learn is that even though they may hit, stumble and even fall down due to a hurdle-they must get up and finish the race. With the right mindset, we can finish strong together-please reach out to me if I can assist you.

May 11, 2015

At our recent Reading Workshop training taught by Amy Henderson, an OC Taylor 3^rd grade teacher, she shared an app called CONFER.  This app allows you to set up your class, share it with colleagues, and make anecdotal notes. 

One of the features that impressed me was the ability to group students. Delivering support to Tier 2 & 3 students is very crucial to the their growth and this is a viable way to track by documenting the success and weaknesses to drive your instruction and to use at parent conferences/ASC/RTI meetings. 

The app is $24.99 and when you see the features it has, I think you will LOVE it. 

May 4, 2015

I am excited to report that the Education Foundation has blessed our school with a $5,000 grant.  The grant was written to purchase Fountas and Pinnell Level Literacy Intervention materials to use for instruction with our Tier 3 students.  With this addition we will be able to support reading levels DRA 1-40. The program provides:

• Combination of reading, writing, and phonics/word study.
• Emphasis on teaching for comprehending strategies.
• Explicit attention to genre and to the features of nonfiction and fiction texts.
• Special attention to disciplinary reading, literature inquiry, and writing about reading.
• Specific work on sounds, letters, and words in activities designed to help students notice the details of written language and learn how words "work."
• Close reading to deepen and expand comprehension.
• Explicit teaching of effective and efficient strategies for expanding vocabulary.
• Explicit teaching for fluent and phrased reading.
• Use of writing about reading for the purpose of communicating and learning how to express ideas for a particular purpose and audience using a variety of writing strategies.

One of the key components that I LOVED is the way to monitor student progress with running records and comprehension rubrics built in.  The lessons are very teacher friendly.  Please stop and let me show you what I am working on :)  

Click here to see an overview of Level Literacy Intervention

April 27, 2015

On Saturday, April 25th, we had the privilege of hosting a CODE.ORG class thanks to Cindy Walling and the Aspire TEAM.  There were about 26 educators in attendance with 10 being from Cannon and one of our Instructional Coaches Janie Stach. It was exciting to meet and hear the excitement of one of our GMS STEM teachers-Lilly Monson.

We learned how to teach computer science skills such as critical thinking, logic, persistence and creativity in problem-solving aligned to all subjects areas. Each course is a combination of "unplugged" activities (not on the computer) and online activities as well. Like most things, learning the layout/logic of the lessons and resources is the biggest hurdle to master but the lessons are engaging and higher level that build on each other. 

Patrick was immediately envisioning ways to use this resource in our specials classes and we will be putting a place a school wide student account system with picture passwords.  If you have the opportunity to take this in the future, I think it would a great tool to possess.  Trisha has been to this class previously and is our own in-house expert so please seek her expertise.

www.code.org