A Thing or Two I've Learned

This week I've been thinking and planning the next school year.  These are the five things I've learned as I think about starting the new year:

1.  Hit the Ground Running
     You only have 180 days to make a difference.  You don't have time to get to know your kids starting on Day 1.  Get to know your students as much as possible through their assessment data, if you have access to it over the summer.   If you don't, have a discussion with your administrator.  What policies could your district have  in order to give teachers the data they need before the start of school?  In my school, we get administrative passwords for online assessments.  This way we have access to all of the data, rather than just the kids we had last year.  We also have portfolios that pass from grade level to grade level.  If you don't have these, I strongly suggest they you try to start them.
    Start forming plans before you meet your students so you can start addressing their needs as soon as possible.  I allow seven days to teach routines and establish rules.  By Day 8, we are up and running with a full curriculum.
2.  Don't Wait To Try Something New
     If a child is not making progress by the end of the first month, they are not going to make progress unless you change something.  Monitor students weekly and document, document, document.  Notice I did not say test or assess.  Monitoring can be as simple as doing an individual running record or a weekly random math facts check.
3.  Use a Team Approach
    If your best efforts are not working, reach out.  Share your documentation with others.  Ideally, you should have some time as a grade-level team each week to do this.  One of my favorite videos that illustrates the importance documentation and teamwork is from my digital mentor Jenn Jones of Hello Literacy.  A link to the video and my blogpost in response, with modifications for intermediate level students, can be found here.
4.  A Little for a Long Time is Better Than a Lot for a Short Time
     Programs where students do a short skill every day, or every day for an entire term, yield much better results then spending an entire lesson on a given skill for several days.  Examples of programs that do this effectively are the Math Boxes in Everyday Math, Shurley Language, and Saxon Math.  If you use these programs, never skip the review part of the lesson.  If you don't have programs like this, then make some.  Teachers Pay Teachers is a great source of supplemental programs.
5.  Small Increases in Student Accountability Yield Great Results
     Students can't improve if they don't know the expectations and how they measure up. And don't expect them to pay a lot of attention to rubrics or your written comments.  You will need to model this behavior and show students how these tools benefit them.  Have students reflect on their growth at least once per term.  Keeping a portfolio is great for this.  Data Walls are also a nice way to encourage students.  This is my video on data walls from Youtube.

Working On Writing

My "Triple Threat"

A rubric that shows the child's baseline level (black circle), and their goal (green box).

When I score a piece of writing, I copy this rubric and circle the level that they obtained 

in the assignment with a colored marker.

So when any assignment is scored, the child can see where they were (black circle),

where they should be (gray box), and where they are now (colored circle).

I just got back from a wonderful workshop sponsored by my school.  The training was a continuation on our work with professional learning groups (PLGs).  We had complained that we had too little time to really delve into the PLG process that was new to us during the school year.  Although we have a common planning time of 45 minutes, most of the protocols we were given were designed for 60 minutes or more.  There was a little bit of extra money in our Race to the Top grant, so we used it to work out some unresolved dilemmas using the PLG format.
Our grade level team discussed Writing.  Both this year and next, budget cuts have forced us to make do with less paraprofessional support.  Paraprofessionals are assigned, not to classrooms or teachers, but to individuals or groups of students.  So if none of your students had a goal in a certain subject area, such as Science or Social Studies, you would not have a paraprofessional support during that time.  We felt this most impacted our instruction in the area of Writing.  It is very rare for any fourth grader in our school to have an IEP goal in Writing because very little writing is done in grades K-3, due to Reading First.   Yet many of our learning disabled, language disabled, and ADHD students struggle with the writing demands of fourth grade.  In our PLG we discussed methods to refine our instruction in the Writing Workshop to meet the needs of these students, who often need a lot of our time, and yet be fair to other students.  To boil down the essence of our discussion, we came up with ways to target our instruction based on goals, increase the amount of differentiation, and empower our writers with a growth mind-set.
And thus my latest TpT product was born!  I have worked long and hard the part week on this massive 25-page resource for writing.  It is designed for grades 3-8 and draws on the work of Gail Boushey and Joan Moser ("The Sisters", authors of The Daily Five and The CAFE Book) and the work of Lucy Calkins (known for her Units of Study) but it is my own "take" on the work of these fine master teachers.  Just some of the things it contains are:
- a detailed, 12-page Launching Guide for the Writing Workshop.  All of your instruction for the first seven days is included.  You don't have to plan anything.  The first seven days are the most important so that you set the tone and standards for the year.
- creative activities like Writing collages, and editing necklaces

- my favorite forms (with instructions) for assessment and data tracking in Writing, including:
          - a kid-friendly, baseball-themed Writing rubric

          - my best selling 6 Traits Goal Tracker and Individual Conferring Form
          - 6 Trait Super Grouper Form (for creating small groups based on assessment data
          -  a letter to parents on how to read their child's assessment rubric
The best part is that this product is ON SALE right now for HALF OFF!  That's right, followers!  If you purchase this product before July 11th you get the sale price.  Buy it on July 11th and it goes back to the regular (but still a bargain) price.  So why not treat yourself today?
By the way, I'm not done creating new products this summer. by a long shot.  Right now I'm working on a daily multi-digit numbers and operations review called "4 in 5".  There will eventually be a third, fourth, and fifth grade version.  Right now I'm working on the fourth grade version.  Click here for a sneak peek!

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. 

Steppin' Up Step Up Day

     In my school we have a tradition called Step Up Day.  Students get to spend an hour with their new teacher.  This year the fourth grade team lobbied for an extended time frame with our third graders.  They come from a different school and they are all a bit nervous. They are coming from being the oldest to being the youngest in a school.  Their test scores take a serious hit because our high-stakes testing is at the beginning of October, before they have fully acclimated to the new school.  This year we got to spend an hour and fifteen minutes with our new kids.  I wanted to take this extended time to get to know my students both personally and academically.  So I choose activities where I could do both.  Although I did this for Step Up Day, you could just as easily do these on the first day of school.  This is what we did:
Activity:  Me, Too!
Time:  15-30 minutes, depending on class size and student interest
Goals:  1.  to learn about students interests
           2.  to assess oral language fluency
Start by seating students in a circle.  The teacher starts off first.  Stand up and say a short, general sentence about yourself- your favorite food, subject, hobbies, places you have been, pets, etc.  I started with:  "I have a dog." Anyone who matches that sentence (In my case, they also have a dog) stand up.  Next,  choose a person to walk up to and elaborate on the sentence.  The trick is, I have to use at least 7 words in my sentence.  I call this a 7-up sentence.  My follow-up sentence was:  "I have an adorable Shih Tzu named Louisiana Belle that we rescued from a shelter."  The person you go up too also has to say a 7-up sentence about your topic.  Once I am done, I sit down, and the person I picked has to say a short sentence on another topic.  
     Continue playing, encouraging students to choose people that haven't been picked yet.  If it happens that you have a student who says a sentence that no one in the classroom has a connection with (I had one student who was taking flying lessons), celebrate that person's uniqueness by giving them a round of applause.  And don't forget that 7-up sentence!  Eventually you will find that there are a few students who have not stood up or not been called on.  Have them stand up and give a 7-up sentence about themselves and give them a round of applause.
     As the students play, note which students have a hard time coming up with such a long sentence.  Does their oral language lack describing words (particularly adjectives and adverbs)?  Do they use specific nouns and verbs?  Can they support their statements with phrases, clauses, and linking words like because?  Weakness in oral language can indicate difficulties with writing and reading.  If you have several students who found this task challenging, you might want to see the Whole Brain Teaching website.  There are many videos about creating a classroom with rich oral language.
Activity:  Filling Book Baskets
Time:  15-30 minutes
Goals:  1.  to learn about students interests
           2.  to learn which students can pick good-fit books
     My own students actually came up with this idea.  They really wanted to be a part of showing them around my extensive classroom library and checking to see if the books were good fit.  But, alas, they had to be in their sixth grade classrooms at the same time. I learned that most of my class are typical end-of-third grade readers, in that they pick a book based on the cover, not by checking the level as well.  Oh well, they will learn!
Activity:  Art and Writing
Time:  15-30 minutes, depending on the task
Goals:  1.  to learn about students interests
           2.  to assess their ability to draw with details, handwriting, and task persistence
     I wanted an art project that I could display in my classroom to make the students feel welcomed when they arrived in August.  I choose Ready-to-Decorate All About Me 3-D Balloons from Really Good Stuff.  This had a little drawing and a little writing.  Students could make it as simple or as complicated as they wished.  It was very open-ended.  I learned which students breeze through assignments with shoddy workmanship.  I learned which students had trouble with written/multi-step directions.  I learned who the artistic students were.
     Do you have Step Up Day at your school?  What do you do?  I'd love your comments below.

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.

Growth Mindset FREEBIE

     This year, the school that feeds into mine has been experimenting with developing a growth mindset in their students.  This is based on the work of Carol Dweck (Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, 2006, Random House) and Steven R. Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.  Students come to school with one of two different mindsets:  dynamic-learning beliefs and fixed-performance beliefs. 
     With a dynamic-learning belief, students understand that the more they learn the smarter they get.  These students realize the connection between their effort and learning.  Their parents probably value effort as well.  This mindset helps students to set and achieve goals.  The student with a fixed-performance belief thinks that intelligence is a fixed trait that they can do nothing about.  They usually lack motivation and don't participate unless they are sure of the right answer, because saying the wrong answer makes you look dumb.
     Students develop their mindset before they enter school.  Their mindset is often shared by their families and culture.  Teachers can also have one of these mindsets.  It is important to know what mindset our students have.  Students with a fixed-performance belief will need more support to set and achieve goals.
     I developed a survey to give my students next year so I could identify the students who were most at risk for a fixed-performance belief mindset and I'm sharing it with you today!  If you are interested in more information about school programs that teach the growth mindset, go to www.theleaderinme.com.  

Common Core is Coming... and I'm Ready!

     Never fear, the Common Core is here!  The internet is fairly exploding with resources for the Common Core State Standards or CCSS.  Here are a few of my favorite resources:
Number One:  A FREEBIE!   
     If you are required to teach from a basal, then you need to check out the Basal Alignment Project on Edmodo.  The group is free to join.  This dedicated group from New York has taken most of the basal series in grades 3-5 and rewritten the lessons to alignment them with the goals of the Common Core.  There are also videos to watch about the shift in expectations, and scaffolded writing assignments that go with the basal text.  The best part is that it's free, but joining the group also gives you a chance to expand your personal learning network to include other like-minded teachers.  There is also an Anthology Alignment Project (AAP) for grades 6-10 on Edmodo.  The "secret" password to join is:  pkx4sp
Number Two:  Teacher-created materials   
     Teachers are already creating materials for the Common Core.  Teacher's Pay Teachers is a great site to get some of the best.  My favorites are one page sheets that cover a single standard (typically in Math).  I have purchased several of these and they are in a binder waiting to be used for review, homework, centers, or to combine several and make a CCSS-alinged unit assessment.  Easy peasy!  Some of my favorites are:

• Grade Four Data Tracking Notebook
• Common Core Math Assessments
• Standards-Based Assessment

Number Three: This summers BIG purchase (but SOOO worth it)!
     For months I have been debating with myself about making this purchase.  I totally blew the budget out of the water.  Because of this I will (reluctantly) have to have my students buy their own school supplies this year.  I hate to do this because of the burden it places on many families in my school that can't afford to do that.  But for a long time I have felt like my Writing instruction wasn't up to snuff.  In fact, Writing is usually the last subject I plan... because I don't look forward to teaching it.  With the changeover to the Common Core, I felt I had an opportunity to really revive my Writing program.  After a year of research, which included polling some of my virtual "teacher heroes", I decided to purchase Lucy Calkins' Units of Study.  Although expensive (I purchased through the publisher which was the cheapest option) the kit that I got was impressive for the price.  There is a book about how to set up a writing workshop, a book about troubleshooting common problems, a book of writing samples from various grade levels, a cd of forms and rubrics, and four entire units.  Everything is done for you, down to exactly what to say during your mini-lessons. I can't tell you how excited I am to try this next year.  I'm thrilled that everything is all planned out for me.

What are YOUR major finds and purchases to teach the Common Core?  Have you created anything you want to share? Leave me a comment below!