Common Core Assessment Workbooks

So let me start this out by saying that our district, which I LOVE, is currently 'between' ELA curricula.  This feels a lot like being 'between' jobs.  On the one hand it is amazing to have the freedom to teach without a scripted curriculum and to be without fear of the Open Court Police lurking around the corner (kind of like sleeping in when you are jobless) but on the other hand, if I am honest, I am floundering a bit trying to pace teach the standards (kind of like not eating lunch on a schedule when your are not working).  So when I saw the Common Core Assessment Workbooks I got excited.  Our report cards are due in 2 weeks and I was starting to miss out on a lot of sleep trying to think of ways to assess all of the standards from this trimester.  Enter the Common Core Assessment Workbook!  Instead of dreaming up assessments I can keep dreaming up awesome lessons for my students :)  WIN!

The workbook hits my two major standards for this kind of resource: quality and easy of use.  The assessments are good measures of the first grade standards and they are quick to administer.  Other assessments that I have seen lately have been good assessments, but they would take hours to give to the class.  I am turning mama bear when it comes to my instructional minutes!  We only have so much time to get our firsties up to standard so we can't spend too much of that time on assessments or the kiddos aren't going to have time to learn all the standards.  These assessments are solid measures of what the kids should know and will not take days to test.  The other biggie is that the book is well organized and easy to use.  Need something for NBT.3 and don't want to spend the morning dealing with formatting a greater than/less than page?  No problem!  There's an assessment for that tucked right betwen NBT.2 and NBT.4 :) 

As an added bonus there are progress reports in there too. You can make copies of the master and have one page for each student.   One thing I would love to see added to the book is a spreadsheet for the whole class so I could track the class on one page.  The included progress reports are great for conferences, IEP meetings, and SSTs.

All in all, great resource!  I hope you like it too :)

Check this idea out!

I was doing some winter break Pinning planning and I saw this great idea at What the Teacher Wants and I got pretty excited!

Then I saw this great idea at Pink and Green Mama

And I thought to myself, HANDS ON SUBTRACTION ANGRY BIRDS!!!  I haven't played Angry Birds but my students love, LOve, LOVE it so this might just be the hook I need to get some of my reluctant learners subtracting.

From what I gather the birds knock over pigs in increasingly difficult levels.  My game is going to be the Pigs Revenge!  The plan is to have the kiddos make the birds when we get back then use a tennis ball decorated like a pig to knock them over.

I'll let you know how it goes :)

Now back to Pinning planning!

We're in business again- D5 Chapter 3

So sorry for the long delay- life and technology have both conspired to prevent me from posting until now!  For some reason the page editor would not load.  Rather than crying over the keyboard I spent the summer working hard on having fun and recharging for those kiddos that I know are out there waiting to meet their first grade teacher.


It wasn't all fun and games though.  I got a look at my new room.  Let's just say the news wasn't good :(  The room was FULL of stuff.  Every single cabinet was jam packed with...  um...  stuff.  There were binders with PD notes dating back to 1997, old games with missing pieces, plastic plates, cups, dried out glue sticks, and fake money literally everywhere I looked.  Cleaning it up and out was a daunting task.  I found three copies of the reading curriculum TEs for this grade level, countless books, bins, and trash.  Not to mention the fact that everything I touched was filthy- even the walls were gross.  After three days of cleaning, tossing, re-homing, and replacing I was left with a small mountain of treasures: books, books, and more books, games, manipulatives, bins, baskets, and organizers, empty binders, posters, and loads of paper.  Then, I did what any good teacher would do: I crammed it all in the closet and went out to enjoy my summer vacation!!  


I went back in this week after a month of not thinking about it and found that I left myself with a blank canvas.  The room had been cleaned by our wonderful custodial staff and looked better than I remembered- YEA!!  After 2 days of leveling books and putting together furniture the room is starting to take shape :)   I didn't want to do too much until I re-read chapter 3 or D5 so I could be sure to include the important elements of the program.  There is nothing worse than finishing a beautiful bulletin board only to realize that it is in the wrong place!  So I am holding off on doing much with the walls and focusing on setting up the library, manipulatives, and cabinets for now.


But for now, it is time to catch up on D5.  So without further ado, here are my thoughts on

Chapter 3 of the Daily Five

Let me start out by saying, this chapter is by far my favorite in the whole book.  In fact, I would say it is one of, if not THE, best things I have read to improve my teaching practice.  If you are only going to read a single chapter in the book make it this one!  I feel like this is the missing handbook on how to teach!  You can adapt these lessons to just about any subject and it will help students to develop independence in their learning.

Establishing a gathering place: 

I gave a lot of thought to this one.  I remember back in my first year of teaching thinking to myself that the kids wouldn't even notice the stables embedded in the carpet.  Needless to say, I was mistaken about that!  Knowing what I know now, I chose a spot with as few distractions as possible.  It is under one of the two windows and right as you enter the room.  I feel like this gives it a place of importance in the room and shows that our community comes first.  I moved the library away from the area so that kids would be encouraged to focus on the group.  

I loved what the sisters wrote about brain and body breaks- and I intend to keep using a technique that has worked in the past:  I give the kids a style of walking when coming to the group or leaving.  For example, we might walk like crabs, in slow motion, like a heard of buffalo,in  silent mode, or any other silly variation.  

Good Fit Books:

I absolutely love this lesson plan!  I have used it in the past and found that it worked really well.  The only problems that came up were when I didn't refer back to the anchor lesson as the year went on.  I know that if I make a habit of referring to this lesson that it will really stick with the kids as the year moves on and beyond.  Nothing could be more important than making a great choice when it comes to books.

 Setting Up Book Boxes:

Another great idea.  I think I am going to call on a sewer friend of mine and see about making pockets for the backs of the chairs.  That will keep the classroom less cluttered and the books always at hand.  I just need to choose a fabric!  

Anchor Charts:

This one poses a bit of a conundrum.  I lack the wall space to keep too much up on the walls and I hate a cluttered and busy looking room.  I like the idea of keeping the charts on the Promethean Board, but I am not sure how that will help them build the muscle and spatial learning of having a chart up on the wall.  This is one that I need to spend some time thinking about.

Short Intervals of Repeated Practice:

OMG!!!  I love this section so much that I can't even describe how much I love it!  I love the concept of just outright telling the kids that we are working on building stamina, and spelling out the correct and incorrect behaviors.  I love that they get lots of chances to practice, but no opportunity to practice the wrong skills.  I  also love the idea that kids are giving their very best on a given day- that there is no blame if a session does not go as planned.  What a compassionate view of the learner!

Signals and Check-In

I use a Tibetan Singing Bowl for my signal.  It has a beautiful ring to it and a great deal of meaning for me.  It was a gift from my dad who knows how much I love unique and special things from far away places.  I have used it every year since my first year of teaching.  The children are fascinated by the sound and it is a great lead in to a discussion of different cultures.  

Check-In

I know I am gushing, but I love the idea that the children shouldn't give themselves a thumbs down. I think it is vital to teach kids to reflect on their performance of a task and this is a great way to begin getting them to think about and evaluate their behaviors.

Correct/Incorrect Model

If there is a teacher out there who didn't laugh a little mischievous laugh on reading this section, let me be the first to say, "You are a better person than I am!"  Giving that one kid a chance to act up and be silly is a great release for the pressure of those first days, but having that same child demonstrate that they are indeed capable of that correct behavior is a wonderful opportunity to help a child redefine themselves as a good role model.  But I have to admit, I think about a few of my former students and chuckle at the memory of this lesson!

Take a few minutes to see what our Book Study Host  has to say about this week's topic :)  

Enjoy these last summer days- they are going by way too fast!!

Daily 5 Chapter 2

1 .What goals do you have for your classroom as you work to implement the principles and foundations of the Daily 5 discussed in chapter 2? What support do you need to do this?

• I know that at times I have been mistrustful of my students when it comes to their learning and self management.  I have felt the need to micromanage every detail of the classroom down to the cap of the last glue stick.  Now that I have a few years under my belt- literally three years- I am learning to let go.  To set the expectations, teach the routines, and then let the kids take responsibility.  I still have control freak days, but they are few and far between.  And the trade off is that I can spend more of my energy on what really matters- students' learning and growth.  My goal here is to continue trusting my students to meet high expectations.  
• The section on choice really spoke to me.  I love the idea that purpose + choice = motivation.  I know that when I am forced to do a task it is much less meaningful to me than when I make the choice to do so.  I have paid the concept lip service, but the fact of the matter is that I have been swallowed up by the curriculum and the pacing guides.  One of my major goals for this year is to provide as much choice in the classroom as I reasonably can.
• Building a positive classroom culture is one of my strengths.  I love giving each child a sense of importance and belonging in our class.  I think this is vital not only to learning, but to building healthy, stable people.  Each child that comes into my class has a right to feel like she or he is a part of the community and that we are all in this together.  
• I love the story here about the child who asked the VP to keep it down so she could concentrate!  What a dream come true for any teacher :)  My goal with this principle is to really focus on giving kids the feeling that their work is important and they are capable of success.  
• This section is, without a doubt, my favorite part of this chapter.  I love the idea of taking the mystery out of building stamina and just having a frank discussion about strengthening the mental muscle.  Kids need to know that they will become successful once they have learned to practice a skill.  And learning to practice is itself a skill.  My goal here is to really work with my kiddos to build their strength and focus so they become independent learners, while I work to target specific areas for growth.  

2. What stands out as the most significant aspects of this chapter? 

"What meaningful activities does research say my students should be engaging in that puts them in charge of their own learning, is self motivating, is worth of their time and effort, and will improve skills?"  I love this quote!  The part that really stood out for me is "worth their time and effort."  I know that when I do something that I feel is worthwhile I commit to it 100% and I feel that my students will also develop enthusiasm for work that helps them feel worthwhile and productive.  

 3. How do the foundational principles of the Daily 5 structure (trust, choice, community, sense of urgency, and stamina), align with your beliefs that support your teaching strategies and the decisions that you make about student learning?

The principals of the D5 really resonate with my beliefs about children and learning.  They offer a sense of dignity and trust for individual learner and for the learning process.  I feel that by implementing these principles, I am honoring my students as whole people, not just as test scores.  

 

Daily Five Book Study

First, I want to thank Seusstastict for hosting The Daily Five Book Study.  What an awesome idea :)

If you haven't read The Daily Five, go and buy it right now.  Seriously.  When I first read it in my second year of teaching I remember thinking- "OMG!  This is how to TEACH!"  It was like getting the Cilff Notes.  Sadly, the district I worked for at the time demanded fidelity to their curriculum- implementing D5 was not an option at the time.  Happily, I have moved on to far greener pastures :)

1. On pages 4-6, the authors present two different pictures of their classrooms. In thinking about and reflecting on your own practice, how would you characterize your literacy block? Does it look more like the first or second scenario, or is it somewhere in between? How will you change it?
My literacy block, sigh, my literacy block...  
Back when I was in my teacher training program, low those many years ago, I had a cooperating teacher who gave me the soundest piece of advice I have heard to date: "Never, EVER work harder than your students."  I have been smart enough to not waste my energy making adorable and decorative but meaningless activities that need to be written, laminated, cut out, set out, stocked daily, graded, and returned to students.  But I also know that the work students are doing is not tailored to their needs- it is basically a list of page numbers from the work book that goes along with our curriculum.  


One size fits none- some kids can't even read the directions, others are finished in 10 minutes, the rest know in their hearts that it is busy work and act out accordingly. For all my big talk about how the kids were responsible for working, all of the lessons I gave on how to solve problems, all the 'fostering independence' lessons, I was still at the front of the class.  The busy-workers were constantly interrupting with meaningless questions about their meaningless work while the small group became restless, wanting desperately to join in the party that the rest of the students seemed to be having.  I am looking forward to giving my students meaningful work that will encourage them to really participate in learning to become readers.  

2. The typical teacher is very busy having students do lots of different activities. How is what you are having students do now in your classroom creating quality readers and writers? 

I have been pretty successful with getting kids excited about writing.  I am not sure HOW I am getting this to happen, but somehow they're always pumped to spin a good yarn.  I think a big part of what makes writing engaging for my students is that I am excited about their stories.  I really do look forward to reading them- I call one of my dear friends and we chat endlessly about how wonderful their ideas are, the progress that a specific student is making, and how to guide another student toward the next step.


I think I create a culture of writers- I love reading their work, give personalized feedback, share a story here and there, and have fun with guiding them along the way. Reading, not so much.  I have them doing their work, but it is erratic.  There is no real structure or pattern to the kinds of things they are assigned.  I am covering the components of the Daily 5, but in an unstructured way.  Kids are reading, writing, doing word work, and participating in literacy but with no consistent pattern to guide them.  And we all know what happens when you take consistency out of a kids life- LOL!!

3. What sets the Daily 5 structure apart from what you are doing in your classroom?

There IS a structure- LOL!!  I am really looking forward to giving the kids a chance to show what they can do when good choices are taught, modeled, reinforced, and control is relinquished to them.  

Counting Songs

I love mixing music into the classroom. Sometimes a catchy tune is all it takes to help a reluctant learner over the hurdle and onto success. The folks over at Have Fun Teaching have made these awesome videos and songs about counting. And the best part is they are fun, hip-hop-ish, and not cloying in any way shape or form. Seriously, check this out:

   

 Come on, you know you tapped your foot! Check out their website Counting Songs and don't miss their give away page.

Little Things That Make a BIG Difference

Cheers, Chants, Celebrations

Roller Coaster: Begin with your hands down low, tick them up a little at a time while saying 'tick-tick-tick.' When your hands get up as high as you can reach bring them down, bumping along like a roller coaster while going 'Wooo-hooo'

You're Great: Open an imaginary refrigerator door, reach in and find some imaginary cheese, and grate it on your imaginary cheese grater while saying "You're great, you're great, you're great."

Silent HooRay: Give a totally silent scream for your achiever.

Golf-Clap: Make a snobby face: nose in the air and a stiff upper lip.  Clap like you are at a golf tournament.

Raise the Roof: While saying "Awww yea" pump your palms to the roof.

The 100% club: Any time a student gets 100% on a test or quiz give them a special high five- I give them a regular high five, then a fist bump while making an explosion sound.  I still can't believe how hard my students would work to get in the 100% club!

Da Bomb: Bring two fits together, then explode them out while making an explosion sound.

Lots more here:

http://www.drjean.org/html/monthly_act/act_2000/anytime_2000.html