November Blog

I'm enjoying all of these great questions and conversations with all of you!! It's fun to hear how different people are organizing and managing the language arts in all of the different age groups! As I mentioned in an earlier post, I feel like Kristin and I are really using our anecdotal records with clear purpose as we use them to design lessons and strategy groups this year. My question, is what and how are you all managing those students who you are collecting data on because they are struggling? I would like to have more concrete data on a few students in order to measure their progress a little more closely and be able to show the data to parents or the support team if that would need to happen. I also have some students who really struggle with blending sounds together to make words and use multiple strategies when they are stuck on words. Any good interventions out there that you are using and collecting data on? Thanks!

November Blog

My professional learning goal this year is to create, maintain and utilize my anecdotal records, especially for reading. I want to be able to use my data to show where I have been and mapping where to head with guided reading groups and individual students. Each year I change a bit on how I organize and what data I write on each student to be most purposeful to me. I met with Kristin at Red Oak to talk about ways to organize my notes and data so the information is most useful. Angela, I believe my professional goal is simialr to yours. Maybe we can talk more this year on how it is going, questions, etc.

I am Finally Blogging!

Hello All! Sorry, I am just starting my blogs!! I ran into a couple issues, but have finally got things straightened out- thanks Cale! I am ready to blog! A lot has happened since the start of the year! I have two really enjoyable kindergarten classes this year! It was fun to recently meet with parents at conferences and share about their child's progress!

This year has definitely been a little bit of a balancing act however, with grad school, teaching, anecdotal notes and binders, but I am learning a ton throughout it all! I am so grateful to have such supportive people to work with. I know if I have any questions or concerns, there is somebody around to help me out! Well, I will be adding a coulple more blogs in the next couple days to make up for earlier ones!!

New Sharing Activity from Recent Meeting

Hello! After our Phase II/Phase III Meeting, I wrote down the new pair up activity in my binder. I am often looking for new, productive ways to pair up my students that is also time efficient.
I went back to my classroom that day and tried the new pair up activity with my students. This activity involved raising your hand, looking for a partner with a raised hand, high fiving and then sharing. My students really enjoyed this activity because it got them moving around the classroom and they seemed to like getting to choose who to share with.
I also really enjoyed that is was a sharing activity that could be easily wrapped up to get students back on task.
This activity could be used across all subjects.
Did anyone else try this activity? How did your students do with it?

October Blog

So..obviuosly I am a little behind in my blog posts, so here goes my October posting! So far, when thinking of my professional goal, I feel that Kristin and I have really tried hard to meet wtih each other, discuss our students and design strategy groups and lessons based on what we are seeing through our anecdotal records. I think some of the new strategies and groupings we are organizaing this year are really proving to be beneficial for us and for our students. I feel like the groups that I organize and pull are much more focused on specific goals which helps me focus on an area to assess and helps the students stay focused on a particular goal. How are strategy groups going for other people?

October Blog

Hello Fellow Bloggers,
I realize that this post is in November but it it my best attempt to fit blogging into teaching. I felt that this quarter went quickly. I can't believe we are already 1/4 of the way done! This is going to be super difficult this year because after two years my kiddos are ready to move up (literally since they have been down on the first level since first grade) to 5th grade. Stay posted! But I brought up the closing of the quarter to bring home of point of regular assessment.
These are something I have been doing to keep up with my goal:

1. Students record their spelling grades each week on a sheet of paper in their spelling notebooks. This allows them to be accountable for their own grades (keeping immediate feedback) as well as making them more responsible students.
2. We are starting an easier Math for Today for my math class. At first, I tried giving the 4th grade students the 3rd grade math for today but it proved to be two challenging for there level and I was teaching too much and not reviewing skills. I have found some 2nd to 4th grade math minutes and we are trying them out. They complete one row each week and on Friday we quiz on what was taught the week before.
3. We have graded grammar in 4th grade. Each week, we have a new skill introduced on Tuesday. We review it on Thursday and test on Friday. This is instant feedback for the students and it allows them to get plenty of practice before being assessed.
4. I am having daily conferences with my struggling readers and writers. I use the forms from the Cafe. We set small goals for either reading or writing and then I meet back with them to see what goals they made or ones we need to modify.