Monday Musings - January 28

We work hard to collaborate and be on same page across the grade levels and building, but when it comes to getting into your classroom each day, it can feel like a lonely job.  Having come from a large school district (of 23 schools), I was in quite a shock of feeling like we were isolated in our rural school district.  It can literally feel like being on an island.  A fellow principal friend of mine, Curt Rees, has coined the term "Gilligan Syndrome" for the idea only having a few close people to rely on for collaboration/feedback or even feeling "stuck" because you don't have good resources to turn to for advice and help. 

We have been fortunate to build strong connections through our new DART network with nearby districts, whether we are sharing our ideas with others or bringing new ideas back into the building.  You all know that I'm a huge fan of twitter, because it is an easy place to check when I have time and get ideas that I didn't even know I should have been looking for (just like Pinterest, but without the pictures).  I have followed several regularly scheduled chats on twitter, such as chats for individual grade levels (ex: #1stchat, 5th chat, or #kinderchat), one for daily 5 (#d5chat), one for great book recommendations for students (#titletalk) and have recently joined in the newly created chat for Wisconsin Educators (#Wischat). 

It's ok to set up a twitter account and just "lurk" without sending out a tweet. You can follow people and just follow chats.  Or you could also go to tweetchat.com without an account and put in a chat hashtag up in the top search bar like you see below:

Here's a glance at a few recent chats: (remember that if these images are small in the emails to you, you can  just go to my memo blog to see them larger)

#Wischat

#5thchat

#titletalk

Here's a little "cheat sheet" to see how to read the tweets.  Since what I am showing you are just screenshots, you won't be able to actually click on the links in any of the tweets above.

Do you feel like you have Gilligan Syndrome at times?  Help yourself get unstuck!  

Image from Venspired

Friday Focus - January 25th

Great Things I Noticed this Week:

• Students excitedly telling me their SRI scores after taking the test. 
• Overhearing conversations among 4/5th graders about a book that I "just have to read." (It's Amulet in case you're curious and I did get on the waiting list at the Public Library so I can join their conversation)
• 2nd graders excited to sing to me the 50 Nifty States song.
• 1st and 2nd graders reading and solving math word problems all on their own (with minimal help to read unknown words)...upper grades: are you getting excited for future years of Math Expressions? I know I am!
• Showing students the results of the student surveys, pertaining to the question about classmates being respectful of each other and using it to create a class pledge (see image to the right).
• Enjoyed insightful conversations in each grade level meeting.  You all are so insightful and share such great ideas with each other (along with being honest about things you've found that did NOT work)! Here are the notes from the meetings: January 22 Grade Level meetings

Events Next Week:

Monday - Grades are due by 7:30 am. I will start printing report cards in the morning for you to find by lunch time (if all goes well)

Wednesday - Jump rope for Heart Kick Off Assembly 2:00

Thursday - 2nd Quarter Report Cards to go home

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:

• This week our Tuesday Newsday mailing included a book order form for a guest author that will presenting at Dodgeland on February 26th. Author Michael Scotto will present to Grades K-2 9:00-9:45 and Grades 3-5 10:00-10:45.  If you want to know more about the author, you can check out his website HERE.
• Its never too early to begin planning for the Regional Summer Teacher Academy on August 6 & 7. The area principals met this week and are recruiting presenters. There will be a stipend for presenting again and it would be great to see Dodgeland presenters sharing again.  If you are interested, let me know but also know that I may be seeking a few of you out with some ideas of my own.  You all have a lot to share!

"Blogs, Pins & Tweets...Oh My!"

• Your students may forget what you know about the subject, but they'll never forget what you understand about them. @ToddWhitaker 
• Self-discipline means doing what you SHOULD do rather than what you WANT to do. @Sports_HQ
• Teacher blogpost on Close Reading and Literary Essay Unit (with great anchor charts to show as well!) HERE
• Blog Post: Engagement: The X Factor in Student Learning 

Read about Angry Verbs HERE

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Monday Musings - Pathways to the Common Core: Part 3

I've finally made it to the section on Writing in Pathways to the Common Core.  I will be completely honest with you all and admit that when I taught in the classroom, writing was my least favorite subject to teach.  Ironically, I've now grown to love writing and think if I were teach again it would probably be my 2nd favorite (right along with reading).  This is only because I continue to write myself on a regular basis and enjoy it just as much as I do reading.

Prior to the CCSS, there really hasn't been much for writing standards, because NCLB put emphasis on phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.  If you sit down and look at the writing standards in the common core, you will find that they are organized into three broad categories or types of writing:

• opinion and argument
• informative/explanatory texts
• narratives

While we often put our focus on the writing process in our classrooms, the # of pages in the CCSS for writing actually devote 1/2 of the pages to the 3 types of writing. In addition, the standards call for a "distribution of writing experiences that gives students roughly equal amounts of time and instruction in argument, informative, and narrative writing" (p. 104-105).  Just like the reading standards, the common core standards for writing have a "shared responsibility" for other subjects to incorporate writing into daily learning. 

At Dodgeland, we have done a great job of shifting our literacy time to provide students with the time to read so they can become better readers.  The common core standards also call for students to write often; "write routinely" to make writing a habit.  

I was surprised to learn how specific the standards are on expectations for what students should produce in a sitting. For example, 4th graders are expected to produce a minimum of one typed page in a sitting, and fifth graders, a minimum of two typed pages in a sitting!

As I reflect on what I'm learning about the common core writing standards I wonder if our current instructional time allows for students to practice writing daily, not just for narratives (which I know we're probably best at in the elementary)?  What does writing across the curriculum look like currently for our students throughout the day?

What should student writing look like at each grade level?  You have all of the annotated examples at each grade level in your binder from Appendix C (also found online HERE), but I'm going to include a snapshot from each grade level. Please note that for some of them, the pieces are more than a page and this is just a snapshot.

Friday Focus - January 18

Image from ktvee

Great Things I Noticed This Week:
*A teacher modeling writing in a mini-lesson, thinking out loud for the class to hear and even spelling difficult words the way her students typically would while modeling the process of sounding out the words to write them.
*The use of "clock partners" for a partner activity. Students quickly checked the clock chart of partner assignments in their desk for "2:00", found their partner and got right to work.
*Students cheering when they heard it was time for Puzzled Penguin and then they all went "ahhh" (nicer form of "boo") when math was over!
*Kindergarten students quickly completing a page of mixed addition/subtraction problems independently within minutes...older grades, just wait until they come to you in a few years!  I'm loving what I see with Math Expressions!

Events Next Week:
Monday - Staff Meeting at 3:05 (room to be determined)...see agenda below
Tuesday - Grade Level Meetings
Wednesday - Ronald McDonald "Giving Back" assembly at 1:30 (approximately 30 mts long).
Thursday - Last day of 2nd Quarter
Friday - Report and Planning Day: your agenda--report and plan.  I will be in a training 9-3 on Friday, so if you hope to catch me on Friday it will have to be before/after.
Monday, January 28th - Grades due by 7:30. Report Cards will be printed in the morning

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:
Staff meeting on Monday:
-"Fun" yearbook picture of all staff (one of the HS students on the yearbook committee will be taking this)
-Demonstration of how to lock classroom doors from the inside
-Review of F&P Benchmark scoring. We will be watching 1 or 2 (depending on time) student clips to practice scoring and make sure we are all on the same page with this assessment.

Blogs, Pins & Tweets...Oh My!
*Great post on "Increasing the Volume of Writing" to help our students become better writers: HERE written by @MelanieMeehan1
*There is so much value to us learning from each other. This week a chat on twitter discussed Learning Walks-the practice of teachers observing each other (not for evaluatory purposes).  I know many of you have observed each other and I appreciate your work in learning from each other whether you have observed others or opened your room for others to observe you.  If you ever want to spend time observing other classrooms, just let me know and I can cover your class for you. Here's what some of the folks on Twitter had to say:

Blog post explaining the chart HERE

Monday Musings - Pathways to the Common Core: Part 2

Last week I shared my first reflection with you as I am reading Pathways to the Common Core. This week I'll share what I've learned about Reading Informational Texts. (I will warn you, since it is informational text, it is a "heavier" read than previous Monday Musing posts...at least it is for me!)

The common core standards have increased our expectations of how much informational text students read. They provide the following recommendation for reading

One important clarification here is that this does not mean  that the CCSS call for dramatically more nonfiction reading within the ELA classrooms/literacy block.  This literacy expectation should be shared responsibility across the content areas, meaning that 50% of a 4th grader's day (using the chart) would be reading informational text.

So, what is the CCSS expectations for reading informational text?  The CCSS emphasizes synthesis, evaluation, and comparative textual analysis. 

Got that?

I didn't.  What exactly does that mean?

Let's look at each standard...

The first 3 anchor standards for reading informational texts are the foundation for the rest of the reading work students will do.

Standard 1: Read closely and make logical inferences
This means reading the informational text to determine what it says and NOT focusing on how you can make connections to it.  This was a surprise to me, because I always taught my students to think of what they already know about the topic and make connections as they read.  However, the CCSS don't concern themselves with what you know, think you know, or how you feel about the topic.  You need to focus on what the text says explicitly.

Standard 2: Read to determine central ideas and themes
This standard asks readers to determine central ideas and summarize the text, linking key ideas and details.  This is hard to do if you didn't do standard 1 very well and you may have to go back and reread. (I found I had to go back to standard 1 several times as I read this book!)
To get to standard 2 you can ask yourself the same question that you would if you were reading fiction, "What is this article starting to be about?" Then as ideas emerge, gather up some of the information in the text as evidence for those ideas.

Standard 3: Reading to analyze how individuals, events and ideas develop and interact 
Here is where you need to notice the sequence of events, analyze relationships and connects and determine cause and effect.  As readers, you should be able to analyse all of the individuals and events and be able to see how they are connected.

I'm sure you've read enough by now, so here's a short summary of the rest (you can borrow my book if you want to read more!):
Standards 4-6 get into the the craft or how the text is written.
Standards 7-9 require the reader to integrate knowledge/ideas by reading other texts on the same topic.
Standard 10 read/comprehend those informational texts at grade level

If you've read this far, then I'd ask that you reflect on informational reading in your classroom...Are your students spending 50% of their reading each day in informational text? Are you teaching your students to apply reading skills aligned to these common core standards as they read informational text?  How do you support students that are reading below level to read and analyze informational text?

Friday Focus - January 11th

Great Things I Noticed This week:

• Starting and ending the lesson with the objectives written in kid friendly language on the board, asking students at the end of the lesson if they met their goals for the day.
• Students book shopping with their new "books to read" form and making a plan for what books they would read next. (I actually saw this in THREE classrooms this week-WOW!)
• Overheard a 5th grader and a teacher having a conversation in the hallway about a book they had both read. What surprised me is that this boy was talking about a book versus getting into trouble out in the hallway!

I've enjoyed seeing the student reading resolutions all around the building, but have also enjoyed seeing you share your reading lives with your students. It has been fun to see the different creative ways you are displaying what you are currently reading and to get some book recommendations for myself.  If you haven't had the chance to check out doors, here's a bunch (I only have a free animoto account so I couldn't get all the pictures in):

Make a video of your own at Animoto.

Events Next Week:
Tuesday - the technical due date for the student surveys analysis form due in OASYS (don't sweat it if it's not in by Tuesday, I won't be checking it on time....I know we're all busy right now)
Wednesday - 4/5th grade teachers at Horicon for DART meetings
Friday - Staff Social Lunch

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:

• I'm starting to schedule 2nd formal observations and also trying to get informal walkthroughs into OASYS as well.  The informals work the same way as the formals do...it will send you an auto-email to notify you.  After you read it, then click "acknowledge" as your signature.  Let me know if you have any questions with this or anything else in OASYS.
• Just a reminder that we will be practicing scoring the Benchmark together in our next staff meeting to ensure consistency in scoring practices. You do not need to start Benchmarks on your students until AFTER this. 

"Blogs, Pins, and Tweets...Oh My!"

• Once a month Donalyn Miller (author of The Book Whisperer) co-hosts #TitleTalk chat on Twitter.  Last Sunday's chat started out with sharing book titles and then on helping students to set learning goals. I missed the chat, but did read a bunch of the archives HERE. 
•  ‏@Cantiague_Lead
  Ever have a meeting at school that makes you want to run home & hug your own child? Life is so difficult for many of our students.#edchat

Read the teacher's blog post HERE on using post-it's with Literature Circles

Monday Musings - Pathways to the Common Core #1

I am currently reading the book Pathways to the Common Core, which I am finding to be an incredible resource to gain a better understanding of what the ELA Common Core Standards really mean.  Wait, don't close this yet, I know you're sick of hearing about the common core, but at least save it to read later when you have time!  If I could, I would buy this book for everyone to read, but there's probably not enough $ and I know that many of you would be worried about when you'd have time to read it. For now, I plan to share some of the "nuggets" from my reading in my next few Monday Musings posts to share my learning with you.  By doing this, it is also helping me to process what I'm reading.

My first take-away from reading this book is that it is not enough for us to have our Common Core binders and remember there are 10 anchor standards in ELA or even to know the CCSS really well for our grade level.  We need to really dig into what it means to apply each of the skills in the standards...How often do we we actually read complex text and apply the skills in the standards? You'd be amazed at what the common core expects!  We also need to know the standards for the grade level above and below so that we can differentiate for the variety of readers we teach.

A great way to think about the ELA standards  reading standards is to picture a ladder, with standards 1 and 10 as the crucial struts that form the two sides of the ladder.  Standard 10 carries increasing levels of text complexity up the grade levels and into College and Career Readiness.  Standard 1, the other side of the ladder, asks readers to "read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it."  The remaining reading standards form the rungs of the ladder.  The authors write that it is the rungs linking the 2 main standards that are important, because "although it is crucial for students to be able to handle increasingly complex texts, reading must never be mere word calling; accuracy without strong literal comprehension is not reading."

As I read the authors' section on implications for instruction, it affirmed all of the literacy work that we have been doing.  The following steps for schools to put in place are things we are already doing with Daily 5/Cafe:

• Assess your readers and match them to books that can be read with 95% accuracy, fluency and comprehension.
• Make reading plans with students and help support them to reach those reading goals.
• Provide students with an extensive collection of high-interest books and allow them choice. 
• Provide students with long blocks of time to read. 
• Provide students with explicit instruction in the skills of effective reading.

If you made it this far in reading...good for you and Thank you!  Next week I'll share what I've learned about Reading Informational Texts.  I am also considering using one of the reading activities (for teachers to get practice in the standards) in our next grade level meetings.

On another random note, I wrote a post on using Goodreads, which is one of my Reading Resolutions. You can find it HERE if you're interested in learning what Goodreads is.

Friday Focus - 1/4/13

Is anyone else surprised that it's Friday already?!  

Great things I've Noticed This Week (some are from right before break):

• Students learning about Alliteration with the Alliteration Rap.
• Grammar activity SO much more exciting than a worksheet: to review nouns/verbs/adjectives students had to talk to each other in pairs, but say something with NO noun or NO verb or NO adjective.  This is quite funny to watch as they catch themselves and realize you can't really talk that way!
• Students working in pairs to grade math homework together--WITHOUT an answer key, just having to discuss if there's any problems with different answers and then rework the problems to figure out the correct answer. Then they had to each write a written explanation for 1 of the problems to explain what was wrong. (If you want to know more about this, just ask me!)
• I've enjoyed seeing all of the Reading Resolutions posted and already added some new book recommendations to my own to-read list from staff doors.  

Events this Week:
Monday-NO Prob. Teachers meeting (see previous email sent out)
Thursday - Consumable Supply Orders due

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:

• The 2nd round of student surveys should be conducted and the Survey Analysis forms (in OASYS) should be completed by January 15th. Please ask me if you have any questions on this process. I will try to review them within a week, but last time it took me a few weeks to get through them. 
• I would love to have some students share their reading resolutions on the morning announcements each day over the next few weeks. Please let me know if you have some students that would be interested.
• If you have any students that you have concerns regarding possible retention and I'm NOT aware of it already, please let me know so we can start the SIT process. 

"Blogs, Pins, and Tweets...Oh My!"

*If YOU are personally looking for a good book to read, here are the "Nerdies" awards for best Young Adult Literature: And now, here are the YA Nerdies

*We all build reading lives--every year, every child, every classroom. We can be a force for good for always. #booklove @PennyKittle

click HERE for a site with other writing prompts

My Reading Resolutions for 2013

Welcome back Dodgeland family!  I'm sharing with you my Reading Resolutions for 2013 that I recently posted on my professional blog.  I will be writing up a shorter version to post on my "What Mrs. Johnson is reading" sign on the library door that doesn't give as many details for the students to read.  

I'm looking forward to seeing you all back for the New Year, to see your class reading resolutions and what each of you do with your doors to model yourselves as readers for your students.  Have a Great Week! :)

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For 2011 I read 26 books and then almost doubled it this past year with a total of 51 books. Out of that 51, 30 were fiction and 21 were non-fiction.  These titles included professional education books, novels for personal enjoyment, parenting books and chapter books I read to my 6 year-old.  As I've previously written inTHIS POST I have learned that the more fiction I read, the more I enjoy reading and the more I end up reading.

My Reading Resolutions for 2013 are:
1. Use Goodreads to track my reading.  I've been convinced by Donalyn Miller to use Goodreads to track my books, keep a to-read list, and connect with others on books I'm reading. I spent time today exploring this site and can already feel a blog post coming on about how neat it is!
2. Have family "Read-to-Self" time with my kids. Read-to-Self is one of the components of Daily5 in our school that my son is familiar with.  This will be a chunk of time (at least 15 minutes, because that's all he can handle right now) that he can read whatever he wants (not to me) while I also read myself.  This will be a win-win for both of us! (I realize I did say kids plural--I'm hoping that the 2 year-old can be quiet that long looking at books or listening to books on the iPad).
3. Read 1 professional book a month I will probably end up reading more, but I want to focus on reading more fiction so I'm not so boring!
4. Read 280 books. I'm not as crazy as I sound, I swear!  As I was exploring Goodreads today, my son thought it was cool and asked if we could keep track of the books I read to him (and his brother) on there too, so out of the 280 goal, I expect 225 to be for picture books and 55 to be for novels, professional books, and kids' chapter books.