Adventures in Writing Part II: Step Up to Writing



     This spring my school piloted the SBAC assessment.  As fourth grade teachers, we were shocked at how much writing there was.  It's all computer based, and our students had very little experience writing long pieces totally on the computer in a single setting.  I'm really glad I started looking around for a great writing program the year before.
     About a year ago I wrote a post about my first adventures trying out Lucy Calkin's Units of Study. On the whole, my year went pretty well.  I certainly felt like my professional development needs were met.  It was nice to have such a highly detailed program and not have to worry as much about planning.   As I read through the lessons, it was like I was observing Lucy as a teacher.  This really fed my soul.
     However, as the year progressed, it was clear that my students did not have the prerequisites for the type of work the program expected of them.  The students that feed into my school as fourth graders come from a Reading First school.  This means that in K-3 they are required to have a minimum of 90 minutes of reading instruction that is not allowed to include writing.  Students who are struggling with reading have an additional 30-60 minutes of instruction outside the classroom, which also cannot include writing.  The students who are still in the classroom cannot do anything above and beyond, like writing, that these struggling students might miss, so even typical students cannot be writing during this 60 minutes.  After 90 minutes of Math, this leaves 30-45 minutes a day divided among Writing, Science, and Social Studies.  So you can imagine how little writing instruction students get before fourth grade. 
     Because of this lack of writing instruction (not just lack of following the entire Units of Study program), I felt that this program became too challenging for the students.  They did alright with the narrative and persuasive units, but things started to unravel with the report unit and by the time we reached the literary essay unit, I knew Lucy and I had to part ways.  It is a reluctant parting, but caused me to think about what I liked about the program and what its drawbacks were.  I certainly loved the high standard that the program aspired to. I love how it encouraged creativity.   I will definitely continue to use the "launching", narrative and persuasive units (the narrative with little alteration and the persuasive with considerable alteration).
     What I felt the program was lacking was concrete strategies for reluctant writers, particularly in the area of text organization.  Yes, there were a few and they were outstanding.  The students and I clung to those, like a droowning man clutches a life jacket.  I love her "boxes and bullets" ideas with persuasive writing.  The program also has some great "thinking starters".  These few were very impressive (I could actually SEE the light bulb go on for several students when I taught these strategies), but they were not enough to compensate for the many lessons where there were no such concrete strategies given and students were just expected to be able to come up with volumes of written words.   
     That's why this year I went looking for a program I could pair with Calkins' to give the students more structure and strategies.  Sometimes I think creativity in elementary student writing is over-rated.  I know Units of Study can elevate student writing in the direction of creativity. But the push for creativity is a waste of time for students with little or no writing experience or desire.  I'd rather their writing starts out as a bit formulaic at first.  They can add their own creativity after that, if they are motivated to do so.  So Units of Study will have to become my supplemental writing program. 
     The program I decided to be my primary writing instruction is Step Up to Writing, a program often used to complement Units of Study.  I wish I could say that I could afford the newest Common Core-aligned version, but after breaking the bank last summer buying Calkins with my own money, I knew I couldn't pull that again.  I was lucky enough to find the second edition on eBay for under $100.  It was just what I was looking for.





     Step Up to Writing is a high visual and organized program for teaching writing.  The emphasis is on organization, particularly paragraph structure.  The paragraph is the "building block" of both short response writing and multi-paragraph writing.    Color-coded formulas and acronyms are used extensively in the program to emphasize paragraph organization.  I have the feeling I will be making a lot of anchor charts next year.  I also love that the program comes in a 3-ring binder.  This allowed me to rearrange units as I felt the need.     

     Stay tuned to see how things go next year.  It begins in about a month.

Multiple Uses of Name Badge Holders

This summer one of my professional reading books was Word Nerds by Overturf, Montgomery, and Holmes-Smith.  In the book they suggested the use of inexpensive badge holders to assign each student a vocabulary word to practice activities throughout the day.  As I purchased the badge holders, I got to thinking how I could make this tool work in other areas.  Here's my plans for next year:

1.  Attendance and Lunch Count
     I glued a magnet to the back of the holder.  Students will move their badge from the absent section to their lunch choice each day as an easy way to take attendance and take lunch count.

2.  Peer Editing Based on Writing Goals and Levels of Proficiency
     Writing is right after recess in my classroom.  When they come in, they will take their badge holder off the attendance board and clip it on with their name showing.  Below their name, each child has the Six Traits of writing.  Their personal goals are boxed in red. Nick's goals are in Ideas, Organization, and Sentence Fluency. Their present level of proficiency is represented by a shape:  triangle for level 1, circle for level 2, square for level 3, and heart for level 4.  Seeing these shapes will give students daily reminders of their goal areas.  If students move up a proficiency level during the year, I will change the foam sticker. 
     In my classroom, students can only be a peer editor in an area where they are at a higher profiency level than the peer they are editing with. So, for example, Nick has a level 2 in Sentence Fluency.  He can be a peer editor for a student with level 1 in Sentence Fluency. The badge will let all students know where they stand visually.
     But, you might say, Nick has a goal to improve in that area.  All the better.  As Nick helps other students, he will become stronger and practice that skill.  As teachers, we all know how much we learn when we have to teach others.
       Below is the start of a poster that explains the four levels.  This will go on my "Writer's Block" bulletin board and goes with my classroom colors of chalkboard green, black, and ladybug red.

3.  Vocabulary Practice
     Right after Writing is ELA, which consists of English grammar, spelling, and vocabulary.  Students will turn their names around to become vocabulary words for this instruction.  In the picture you can see the magnets I attached to the back for attendance.  I think I will make a nice and quick, but meaningful, transition from Writing to ELA, which occurs back-to-back in the same literacy block.
     Students will use the vocabulary words in many hands-on and creative ways.  They can line up by definition, in alphabetical order, group themselves by parts of speech, roots, or affixes.  Throughout the week, students will be adding synonyms and antonyms to the 5 core words for the week.  Students can pair with their synonym or antonym and decide which is "stronger" and why.  They can us the vocabulary cards for charades and creating oral sentences, which the authors of Word Nerds call 7-Up sentences because they need to have seven words or more. Students can create or find on the Web images to illustrate their word.  For an even greater challenge, students can find a single color that represents the word.

A Common Core Pacing Guide

This summer I have embarked on a number of curriculum projects, mostly around the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).  For Math I wanted to increase the amount of differentiation and technology as well as firmly ground my teaching in the Common Core.  The first thing I noticed when I counted up the standards was that there was the same number of standards as full weeks in the school year.  That means that my students will have to master one standard a week!  At first that thought was quite daunting.  My next thought was this is an opportunity to have a very organized curriculum based on a single standard each week.  This is how I decided to organize and pace each week: 

   At the top of each week/page is the unit title, which part of the unit. vocabulary, skills, and the Common Core standard.

Monday will be a whole class, non-differentiated lesson straight from my Math program (Everyday Math).  At the end of the Math lesson, I will give a short assessment on the standard of the week.  For this part of the weekly plan I didn't reinvent the wheel.  Teachers Pay Teachers has several short, one page per standard bundles that are specific to my grade level. I will use these to pre-test my students and put them in differentiated groups for the next three days of the week.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays are differentiated instruction days.  Students will participate in rotational groups I call "I Love Math" groups.  For more information on I Love Math Groups, listen to this podcast or watch this video (the first of 5 parts) on Youtube.  Technology will help make differentiation easier.  I will use the Ten Marks website on Tuesdays and the Manga High website on Thursday.  Both websites allow me to assign lessons/activities and also have fun games and activities for students who finish early.  Scoot Pad is a similar website (click the names for links).

  Friday we are back to another whole class lesson from Everyday Math.  One Friday I will give the post-test (a different "one-pager" from TpT) and this will be graded. 

So that's my curriculum pacing guide for next year.  I haven't offered this as a product on TpT because it is personal to my situation- a labor of love, if you will.  However, if you would like a free digital copy to tweak for you own use, email me at cjones@sau61.org.

Additional EDM/CCSS Alignment Resources:

First, the "official" CCSS alignment from EDM, then the more realistic version from New York. 

http://www.everydaymath.com/downloads/Brochures/EMandtheCCSS_Brochure.pdf

http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/CommonCoreLibrary/CommonCoreClassroom/Mathematics/default.htmligning



Triangulating Data FREEBIE

I recently finished one of my professional books for the summer:  Assessment in Perspective: Focusing on the Reader Behind the Numbers by Claire Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan.

In this book the authors talked about triangulating data. This means taking data from different sources and compare them side-by-side to build a complete profile of a student's strengths and weaknesses.  I thought a nice way to do that would be in graph form.  So I created a data triangulation form for my Math class.  My form is specific to the grade level I teach and the assessments we use.  For you, dear reader, I have created a generic form that you can use with any grade level and whatever assessments you use.   

Let me know how it works out. 

CAFE Menu for Intermediate Students FREEBIE

I have been using The Daily Five and CAFE as my reading workshop structure for the past five years.  I read both books very early on and got to meet The Sisters just as they were gaining national attention.  I just love these ladies!  They have taken me from a good teacher to a great one.  Because of them, I have met so many like-minded people who have functioned as my digital mentors.  I just hope that I can given back to other teachers out there.
As one of the few pioneers with extensive experience using The Daily Five and CAFE with intermediate level students, I get lots of emails about how to adapt Daily 5 and CAFE.  So today I am sharing two adapted CAFE Menus.  One is for students transitioning from "learning to read" to "reading to learn".  It has less accuracy and fluency standards and more comprehension standards.  I use it with fourth graders.  The second menu is one I created to use with fifth graders or advanced fourth graders.  This menu is completely comprehension.  I recently recalibrated both menus to reflect the Common Core standards.   
I'd love some feedback on them.  Please leave a comment below.

Teaching Additive Volume: Common Core State Standard 5.MD.4

Teaching additive volume is certainly the most complex of the Common Core Core Measurement and Data standards.  I first approached the task using hands-on activities and partner work.  After two class periods of instruction, I wasn't getting the results I had hoped for.  Time for Plan "B".  I decided to try direct instruction.
I started preparing the way I often do nowadays- by going on You Tube and looking for a video on the subject.  Using the term "additive volume", I found the following video:



The description had a link to a site.  This is how I found Learn Zillion.  Learn Zillion is a FREE site where registered teachers can find short, quality videos that directly correlate with the Common Core standards in Math or ELA for grades 3 through high school.  Teachers can use the movies to introduce or reinforce a concept or they can download the slides and create a presentation on their own.  Students can rewatch these videos to help with homework using a "quick code" that their teacher gives them.

I knew the class would need lots of examples for in-class practice and homework.  My favorite site for creating lots of worksheets on the same subject is Worksheet Works.  On this site you can set the parameters for the Math assignment and then the site will generate a worksheet and answer key using random numbers.  You can generate as many worksheets as you want on a given topic.  I printed five worksheets using only composite shapes:
1 to model using a document camera
2 to create a double-sided guided and independent practice worksheet
1 page for homework
1 sheet cut up to make a matching game
Here's how the two lessons went:

Day 1
Materials: 
computer that can run PowerPoint or You Tube videos, document camera, 1 copy of the modeling worksheet and answer key, copies for students of double-sided worksheet and homework, two different colors of highlighters, markers, or colored pencils, calculators (optional)
Activity Flow: 
1.  Review the formula for volume of rectangular prisms using chant and actions. (15 minutes)
2.  Show the Learn Zillion movie or slideshow on volume of composite figures. (15 minutes)
3.  Project the modeling worksheet using a document camera.  Show the students how to divide the shape and color each one a different color.  Then go over how to use the "clues" (numbers on the sides) to determine the length, width, and height of each shape.  Add the volumes together for the answer.  Approach each shape like a puzzle.  Watch for the common errors of not knowing that shapes are sometimes labeled on their parallel sides and that often you must use subtraction to find out the length of a side of only one shape.  Use the gradual release of responsibility model as you work. (15 minutes)
4.  Pass out the student worksheets, highlighters, markers, or colored pencils.  Do the first several examples with the students.  Then have the students try some on their own.  To boost their confidence, I projected the answer key on the board.  It told them the correct answer, but not how to get it.  I encouraged students to work on their own, using the answers to check their work.  If they got stuck, they could raise their hand. (15 minutes)
5.  Tonight's homework:  homework worksheet (send home Learn Zillion quick code for help) and bring in an empty cardboard box tomorrow

Day 2
Materials:
same as Day 1 (included extra blank copies of last night's homework), tape and glue, index cards (3 per box), cardboard boxes (teacher should bring extras from home)
Activity Flow:
1.  Go over the homework with the students.  (5 minutes)
2.  Using the homework as a guide, divide the class into two groups.  Those that did well on the homework will continue with yesterday's worksheets.  Again, you will project the answers to act as support.  Those that did not do well on the homework will go over it with you using a fresh copy.  Allow them a few minutes to work on the in-class assignment, too. (15-20 minutes, as needed)
3.  Cooperative Group Activity:  Divide the class into pairs.  Have each student pick a cardboard box from the ones that were brought in.  Each pair will:  1) Decide on the same unit of measurement for their boxes.  2) Measure and find the volume of their boxes separately and label the measurements by taping the index cards on their box. 3)  Add the volumes of their boxes together and tape them together. (About 30 minutes)

Using Partners for Reteaching

Frequent evaluation is the key to helping students not pick up bad habits, particularly in Math.  It may seem counter-intuitive to evaluate student responses early in the process of learning a new skill, concept, or algorithm but it is vital in order to stop bad habits from developing.  One way I do this is with peer partners.

One example is an exit slip I did at the beginning of a unit on volume.  I had just introduced the algorithm of length X width X height, moving students away from the "counting cubes" concept.  The front of the exit slip (shown) was all counting cubes.  The back was rectangle prisms that did not have cubes, but had measurements instead.  It was clear, looking at the front, that only 1/2 the class really mastered counting cubes.  Never fear, half the class has mastered this skill.  What to do?  Partners, of course!

I divided the exit slips into two piles: those that mastered counting cubes and those that didn't.  I randomly assigned partners by writing the same number on the top of their paper.  The following day, I passed back the exit slips.  I had the students meet with the person with the same number.  When meeting together, they had two jobs:
1.  Figure out what each person did wrong.  Write it down on the index card attached to the exit slip. Sign each other's cards.
2.  Fix the incorrect problems and pass the work back in.

Having students fix their own work is a powerful teaching opportunity.  It teaches students perseverance and problem-solving.  The more adept student learns as well.  They get to take on the role of a teacher.

Meeting the Needs of Advanced Students

     As much as I love Daily Five, I do miss the guided reading groups from the past.  I felt I accomplished a lot when I got to see two or three groups each day.  There are times that I would like to meet with more than one group, but I haven't been able to get my head around how I could make that happen.  That is until I purchased this new book by Evan-Moor:

 (This book comes in several different grade levels.  

Click HERE and it will take you to Amazon for more information.)

     I am a big fan of Evan-Moor's learning game books.  They have books for Reading, Vocabulary, Science, Writing, Math, and Geography.  All the materials are in full color and ready to use, which makes the games extremely quick and easy to put together.  They are also one of the few publishers that have learning games for the upper elementary grades.  

     In addition to the learning games in this book, it has answer keys and, most importantly, short assessments for each game.  It was the assessments that really got me thinking.  My advanced students are very hard-working and conscientious.  They are willing and capable of playing a game independently, but just having them play a game unsupervised does not hold them accountable enough.  So, using this resource, I decided to assign them a game each day, have them complete the matching assessment, and check themselves using the answer key.  The short assessments will keep them accountable for learning and the self-checking component will make it less work for me. :)

     The end of the year is a great time to try out new strategies that you may want to adopt for the entire year next year.  It's especially important during the "doldrums" after high-stakes testing to keep students motivated for the rest of the year.  Changing things up a bit can breathe new life into you students.  

     What kinds of things are YOU trying out in the last few weeks of the year?  How do you use learning games in you classroom?  How do you keep students accountable for information learned through game play?  I'd love to hear from you!

T.E.E.R.

No, dear reader, I did not misspell the title of my post.  T.E.E.R. is an acronym to help my students reach new heights in answering open response questions about the main idea in non-fiction.
It all started with the book Close Reading of Informational Text by Sunday Cummins.

 

In this book Cummins gives a lot of great lessons for teaching students how to find the main idea in non-fiction.  She like to emphasize the strategy of synthesis, which she teaches by using a framed photograph.  Showing the students a framed photo she asks:  Of all the photos I own, why did I decide to frame this one?  Students start with the details in the picture and then use synthesis to help them understand the significance of these details.  This leads to why the picture was framed.

As I was reading this book, I did some synthesis of my own.  We have been learning about non-fiction text structures for the past two months.  I realized that knowing the text structure gives us a huge clue as to the main idea.  By adding the strategy of synthesis, we can understand the significance of the details in the text.  And, finally, we can show off all these strategies by using T.E.E.R.:

T = TTQA (turn the question around)

E = evidence from the text

E = explain why this evidence is significant

R = restate the TTQA

 I combined all of this information on a poster for my students showing how we start with a "mission", then use the text and a strategy to create a well-written open response.  Although I have talked about all these things before, I have never combined them with this kind of explicit teaching before.  The initial results have been outstanding!

What kind of skills can YOU combine together?

To conclude, no post would be great without a FREEBIE.  I created this worksheet to help my advanced students improve their sentence fluency.  I listed eight words that begin complex sentences.  These are words like although, after, if, since, and because.  Students fill in the rest of the sentence after the complex modifier.

 

Hollywood Squares Review Game

I was looking through my teacher files this week to try to come up with a fun games for my kids.  It is still cold with lots of snow on the ground here in northern New England.  Although Easter is around the corner, spring hasn't sprung yet.  The kids are pretty anxious for that to happen.  When it gets above freezing they try to ditch their winter coats.  I know many of you are starting "test prep" season.  Our high stakes test is in October, so I don't have to worry about that until the start of school.  So maybe a fun game is good for all of us. :)
One of my favorites is Hollywood Squares.  It combines two things kids love:  competition and whiteboards.  You can use this game to review anything, but it is particularly good for vocabulary,spelling and math computation because the answers will be short enough to write quickly on a whiteboard.  Set up the front of your room with three student desks in a row and three chairs in front of them.  Lay one whiteboard, marker and eraser on each desk, chair, and one in front of each chair.  Having one child sit on each desk, one in each chair, and one on the floor in front of each chair gives you a three by three tic-tac-toe board.
Divide the rest of the class into two teams:  X and O.  Usually I do boys verses girls, just like Hollywood Squares.  The teams take turns picking a person holding a whiteboard.  I ask the question and the person with the whiteboard writes their answer and shows it.  Now, here's the great part.  The person with the whiteboard doesn't have to get the answer correct.  The person who picked them has to decide if the answer is right or wrong.  If they choose correctly, they "take" the square.  If not, the other team gets it.  Just like tic-tac-toe, the object is to get three in a row. 
My students love this game, and I hope yours will, too.

Teaching with Technology: Build Your Wild Self!

I'm always looking for ways to integrate technology into my teaching.  I recently came across a great website run by New York Zoos and Aquarium.  Children can create their own "wild self" using all sorts of animal parts.  They can then print or email the picture.  We are using the pictures for descriptive writing and to talk about animal adaptations during our Science unit.  Here is my sample picture I used to get the kids excited about the project:

 

Then I had my students write about their picture using the following prompts:

What are you?  ____________________________________________________________________

1.      What’s "wild" about you?  Describe each “wild” part, including the part, the animal it comes from, and how it is used.

2.     What habitat are you ideally suited for?  Why?

3.     Look at the other pictures created by students in the class.  What other animal might be a predator to your animal?  Why?

4.     Look at the other picture created by students in the class. What other animal might be prey for your animal.  Why? 

5.     Email your picture to your teacher.

Notice and Note

     Jenn Jones over at Hello Literacy recently wrote about a new book Notice and Note:  Strategies for Close Reading by Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst.  If you haven't read it, I highly recommend that you add it to your professional reading.  It gives a very clear picture of what close reading of fiction texts should look like in an intermediate/middle/high school setting.  I found ideas that I can implement in my classroom immediately. 
     The book explains six "signposts".  These are common literary devices that authors use to get the reader to stop and think.  When students see one of these devices, it is time to take notice and jot a few notes.  I knew this is just what my struggling readers need.  They know how to use reading strategies.  They can predict and infer when I ask but, left on their own, they don't use these strategies because they don't know when and where to use these them.
     I love the idea of signposts.  Poor readers often speed through texts, never slowing down and savoring the moment.  They are "plot junkies"- always rushing through text to find out what happens next.  By showing them where authors have intentionally put  stop signs, yield signs, and Rest Areas, I hope I can improve their overall comprehension.
     And so on to today's freebie!  I have made graphics of the six signposts to use in my classroom and I want you to have them, too!  They are medium size (2-4 per page) for use on anchor charts or with teaching small groups of students.  Enjoy!

What Can You Do With Transparency Film?

     I know I'm a bit of a dinosaur, but my supply closet still has lots of transparency film.  Now that we're making the switch to document cameras as opposed to overhead projectors, we don't need that stuff anymore... or do we???  This week I have been contemplating how I could use this resource.  It's cheap and a little out of the ordinary.  And you know how kids get excited about something a little out of the ordinary!

     One way to use transparency film is to reduce the amount of paper you use.  Although I love me a good worksheet (read between the lines: addicted to Teachers Pay Teachers and Teacher's Notebook), I find copying off all those worksheet to be a waste of paper and my time.  So if you are using a program where the students do the same thing each day (such as Decimal of the Day shown here), make only one blank copy for each child.  Staple the film on one side of a file folder and slip the worksheet inside.  Students can then use a dry erase marker and a piece of felt as an eraser.  I was worried initially that the markers would not last, but most of my students have used the same marker since we started this in December.  For Decimal of the Day, I write this on the board so the students can complete the worksheet:

7.308

+  0.04

-  6.508

X  .35

/    9

_____ (this is the place to put the comparing symbol) 7.038 

     Another way to use transparency film is as part of a game or activity.  This week we have been rounding.  Rounding is very tricky for students because they have to know which place they need to start and what place they have to look at.  Using transparency film, I created a fun rounding game I call "Slap! Trap!".  To play the game, each student will need:  a dry erase board, a dry erase marker, and a copy of the Slap! Trap! transparency (see pictures below).

     Pass out the supplies and give your students a few minutes to use the transparency to practice making numbers that will fit inside.  One digit should to in each box.  After a few minutes of experimentation, write a number on the board, such as:

 

     You can use any size numbers that you are working on.  They can even be bigger than the two digit number shown in the example.  In fact, the transparency works even better with numbers with many digits.  Now yell, "Round to the nearest (place).  (Place) SLAP!" The students yell back, "(Place) SLAP!" and slap transparency down so the box on the left with the question marks is surrounding the digit in the place you said.  Check to see that everyone has placed their transparency correctly.  For this example, I would have said, "Round to the nearest whole number!  Whole number SLAP!"

     Next I say (in a robot voice), "Engage eyeballs!"  and the kids repeat with a shzzzzz sound after, and move their right index finger until they are pointing at the next place to the right.  Then I say, "Five or more go up one floor." The students repeat and add, "Going up!" or "Stays the same!" depending on what they are supposed to do.
     Finally I yell, "Remove trapper!"  and the kids repeat.  If they need to change the target place, they do that now and turn everything else into a zero.
     I will be uploading a video to my You Tube mrsc4jones shortly that shows this lesson in action.  In the meantime, can you think of another use for transparency film?  Please share in the comments below.

Our War on Pronouns and the Disappearing Main Idea

     I am a looping teacher.  This is my second year with this group of students.  In fourth grade I used the term "TTQA" ("turn the question around") to help students construct better answers.  As fifth graders, they started to get a bit sloppy about TTQA, so it was time for a new angle.  During a grammar unit on pronouns I introduced the term antecedent.  An antecedent is a noun that occurs before a pronoun.  Pronouns should never be used in front of nouns.  So I declared a war on pronouns without antecedents.  The student made the posters which are displayed in the front of the room which show pronouns are not welcomed here!

     Task cards are one of my favorite teaching tools.  They are flexible and great for small groups and centers.  Recently I purchased these summary task cards on Teachers Pay Teachers. Although the directions for them said "Summarize this paragraph in twelve words are less.", I wanted to do something a little more fun and challenging with my student who has difficulty in this area.  I had him roll the dice to determine how many words his summary had to be.  This made him work a bit harder.  He found that the less words he could use the harder it was to summarize and the more he had to use his own words, but that lead to some great conversation that helped him gain some insight in this valuable skill.

1, 2, 3: Gradually Releasing Responsibility

     The Gradual Release of Responsibility Model has been around for quite some time as a model of best practices.  I use it on a regular basis with my students.  But lately I have been thinking about how I have them be a part of this method.  I feel it's important to let students in on the "secrets" that make good teaching and learning.  For example, I already let students know when I am doing a formative assessment ("I can't help you with this assignment because right now I need to see what you can do by yourself.  This will tell me what and how I need to teach in the future.") and why I am using the results of that formative assessment to guide my instruction. (Today, friends, I am putting you into groups based on your score on that formative assessment you took last week...") . 

     The new Common Core standards ask us to increase the text complexity in our classrooms.  It is not enough just to have complex text for high stakes assessment.  Our students need to "wrestle" with highly complex text routinely in their classrooms.  We need to model how we attack a text that students have absolutely no background knowledge about.  We need to hold them accountable for the strategies we have taught them no matter what type of text they encounter.

     I decided the gradual release of responsibility model needed a catchy name and make-over.  GRR has become 1-2-3 in my classroom.  When I say:  "Today you have a 1-2-3 assignment."  or "Today's work in class is getting you ready to do a 1-2-3 assignment tomorrow.".  For a 1-2-3 assignment, students attack the text in three ways:

1-  Activate Thinking (gesture:  point to head with pointer finger).  At this point in the year my students know all the pre-reading strategies.  Instead of choosing one for them, I ask them to choose and share with a buddy.  Along with sharing the strategy, they also must share why they picked that particular one.  I also have them write this down.  It is important for students to remember that they must engage their brains before reading and that engagement can take many forms depending on their purpose as a reader.

2-  Read through the entire selection (gesture:  point to your eyes with two fingers).  Students need to read the assignment all the way through in order to get the "big picture".  Reading all the way through includes titles, captions, and headings.  

3-  Selective Reading (gesture:  left hand- hold up three fingers with one hand, "pick" them with the other)  Students should answer as many questions as they can.  Then they should look at the choices (if questions are multiple choice) and reread the selection selectively just to find the answer to these questions.  If you are asking the students to do short answer questions, have them start the answer (even if they don't know it) by turning the question around (also called TTQA).  Simply by writing down the words of the question, students will be able to know what key words they will need to focus on during the test. 

Comprehension Processes: An In-Depth Assessment

    

     I have long been interested in the work of Judith Westphal Irwin, an expert on reading comprehension.  She divides comprehension into five dimensions or processes:  microprocessing (chunking individual words into phrases), integration (connecting sentences and paragraphs), macroprocessing (the main idea), elaboration (making more of a text), and metacognition (the ability to know that your thinking has gone awry and how to fix it). 
     This week I got an opportunity to put her ideas into practice.  I have a student, I'll call him Russ, who has not made any progress this year in reading comprehension.  His IRIs reveal he can decode and is fluent using on-grade-level materials.  I have had him in several skill-specific groups this year, but none has made any difference in his reading comprehension.  During Daily Five he frequently abandons books.  He doesn't like to read and has no favorite series, authors, or types of books.  Even books like Calvin and Hobbes and The Guinness Book of World Records fail to interest him.  These behaviors show he is not able to comprehend enough to keep interested in books.
     I decided I needed to assess Russ in more depth to discover what was standing in the way of him making progress.  I used Irwin's books (Teaching Reading Comprehension Processes and Promoting Active Reading Comprehension Strategies) to create an assessment checklist with one generic question that I could use for any book for each of the sub-skills she lists under each process.  Then I found an on-grade-level leveled passage for Russ to read.  This week I had him read and answer the question with me orally.  As I expected, Russ lacked sub-skills in many different comprehension processes.  However, the area where he couldn't answer any questions at all was macroprocessing.  He did not have any sub-skills in this area.  So this week I have instructed him individually in finding the main idea.  We started with identifying the topic sentence in paragraphs. 
     The assessment is definitely a work in progress.  It has made a difference in this student's education and I hope, with some work, it will make a difference in the lives of others.

Fractions Squares: A DIY Math manipulative to teach Common Core standards

I have really been inspired this week by my fellow bloggers out there.  It just amazes me how one short post with a quick idea can get my creative juice flowing again!  It made me realized I should post more often, even if I only have one small item to share.
My students are finishing up with adding and subtracting fractions this week with a little performance task making trail mix using fractional amounts.  Next week we tackle multiplying fractions! I know that multiplying fractions is much easier than adding and subtracting them, but the Common Core standards are very clear and specific that students need to not just have computational accuracy, they need to understand the process.  I had to do a lot of reading up on this because, quite frankly, I was only taught to multiply fractions using a rote algorithm, so I never learned this important step.
      In books like Curriculum Based Assessment: Fractions by Michael Battista, the author uses squares to show the process of scaling.  I wanted to create a manipulative that students could use over and over again to demonstrate the process of scaling and truly understand that multiplying a fraction by another fraction results in a smaller number than your started with (which is, frankly, counter-intuitive to students' experience multiplying whole numbers).  The resulting do-it-yourself manipulative (which I called fraction squares) is explained in the You Tube video above.