Friday Focus - January 30, 2015

Great Things I Noticed this Week:
*Class discussion on a passage previously read and discussing the different story elements and a "story arc" (as part of Lucy Calkins units) to identify possible revisions students would be able to go back and make in their own writing drafts (which was going to be their 3rd revision...just like real authors!).
*In the middle of a math lesson when the teacher had to stop for a disruption at the door students took out their books to read without even being told...talk about being trained to steal reading minutes!


Events Next Week: "Jump for Jeans!"
Monday - I will be out of the building most of the day (but back for an XPD)
 7:00pm Bandorama concert (which includes our 5th grade musicians!)
Tuesday - Tech Tuesday is a review of Schoology with Ms. Lee
Workout Wednesday :) Feel free to wear your workout attire and get in some extra yoga stretches with your class for a brain break!
Thursday - I will be out of the building learning at the WSRA convention
Friday - Pride Assembly scheduled to start at 2:15 (but there will be duct taping to happen starting at 2:00 for Jump Rope for Heart)
For future planning - Tuesday, February 11 The Energized Guys presentation 10:15 3-5th grades for and 10:50 for 5K-2nd grades


"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:
*I'm still seeking out people for the Tech Showcase...this could either be you showing how to use a tool or your students presenting (which the kids would LOVE!) It could even be as easy as a "theater" show of their iMovies or other presentations they have made! Please let me know if you're willing.

Blogs, Tweets & Pins...Oh My!!!
*The One Thing That All Readers Need the Most
*@jillsiefken  Jan 4

Help for Your Fidgety Students...especially after long breaks from school: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2014/02/help-your-fidgety-students … #plaea #edchat #d5chat @gailandjoan

QR code goes to students' book talks!

Friday Focus - January 23, 2015

Holy end of the semester, Batman! I can't believe we are already halfway through the school year. It has been a great school year thus far, due to your building relationships with students an unwavering commitment to each and every student.  I know the final half of our school year marathon will just keep on climbing!

Events Next Week:
Monday - 7:30 grades due -report cards will be in your boxes by lunch time
Tuesday - I'm out of the building for additional DAC training for the Badger exam and ACT (don't worry-that one isn't for you!)
Wednesday - EP Training on the Documentation Log 3:05 (If you are not on your summative/evaluative year then you do NOT have to come. You are on your summative year if I'm doing formal observations of you.)
Thursday - Kohl's Wild Theater presentation 1:15 for K-5th grades in the multi-purpose room (I forwarded an email with the teachers' guide for this)
-Report cards (and Pride Assembly invites) to go home

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:

• Please let me know if you'll be able to lead a session, an "exhibit" or a student group to present at the Tech Showcase. You've all got great things to share with our community about what we are doing with technology. If we don't show the community then they may just think "kids are playing games all day." ;)
• As you finish up your mid-year F&P Benchmark scoring, please add your students' updated levels to the google spreadsheet we used at the beginning of the year (check your "shared with me" or "incoming" file in google drive to find this). Let me know if you need help with this. 
• Please let me know if you're going to the Badger exam seminar on the 31st and we can get a group to ride together. 
• I will be in the lab for MAP Make-ups/Completions the following days/times and will email further details:
• Wednesday 9:30-11:30, 12:30-1:30
• Friday 9:30-11:30

Blogs, Tweets & Pins...Oh My!
*Educator Night at Milwaukee Public Museum (it's free!)
*One post filled with many app reviews (each link has a blog post explaining how the teachers uses the app): All My App Reviews and Suggestions
*The Secret to Perfect Transitions in 5 Simple Steps

        *@pughamy ·

Do you believe in your students? Sometimes that’s all they have! #2015edcon @kevinhoneycutt

*@kevinhoneycutt advises, "If you wait until it's perfect, you'll never get going." What crazy good idea is bursting inside you?

#2015EdCon

Directions for the place value game HERE

Monday Musings - January 19, 2015

Image Credit

As I'm reading through the student survey analysis forms, I'm enjoying reading your professional reflections on your students' responses/perceptions and next steps if needed. One area of the student survey that I have read a number of people focus on is the student statement about being able to do the work in the classroom. Some of you have expressed concern or surprise by students feeling as though they can't do the work and I wonder how much of it is something to be concerned with or is it that our students responding this way do not have a growth mindset?

If a teacher teaches a lesson the "old school way" of getting in front of the class to deliver content, passes out an assignment and then feels that their job is done ("I taught them"), then we do have something to be concerned about. But, I don't think that's the case, because I've never observed that type of teaching in our building. Great teaching includes modeling and a gradual release to the students to be able to work independently ("I do, we do, we do, you do."). Great teaching also includes formative checks throughout a lesson (i.e. calling on both volunteers/non-volunteers, turn-and-talk, written responses for the teacher to see or direct observation) before turning it over to students to try independently. Great teaching is responsive to students, sometimes taking a turn from what was originally planned, based on students' responses (maybe they're not ready yet or they need to be challenged more). Great teachers never give students an assignment without knowing that they're capable of doing on their own...otherwise the student could just do it all wrong and then have many misconceptions/misunderstandings that will take even longer for the teacher to re-teach.

I observe this kind of great teaching everyday when I'm in classrooms, which makes me think that maybe we have an issue of students with a fixed mindset instead of a growth mindset. (I've previously written about Mindset for you all HERE).  A student with a fixed mindset might feel as if they're "not smart at math" or "not a good reader" and feel like they can't do the work you give them. However, it's the student with a growth mindset that knows that even if you give them something challenging that they can keep trying, ask for help and keep improving their knowledge and skills.

Image Credit

So, how can you help your students develop a growth mindset? Start by talking to them about the difference between the two. I've seen some of our older students make some amazing progress after their teachers simply shared the concept and asked students to reflect/write about their mindset.

Here's a great article: Students Benefit from Learning that Intelligence is Not Fixed

Here's a short video clip about the impact praise has on mindset:


Here are some other video clips that might be helpful for talking about Growth Mindset with students:

Friday Focus - January 16th, 2015

Great Things I Noticed this Week:

• Great collegial conversations in the Lucy Calkins book study, not only about what you're reading/learning together, but also on discussing implementation and helping one another problem solve as things don't go as smoothly as written in the book!
• Students reviewing their Reading/Math goals from the beginning of the year and reviewing what types of things will help them while they are taking their MAP test (reading the whole passage, looking for evidence, eliminating wrong answers, showing their math work, etc) before they went to the computer lab for testing. What was more exciting was hearing students with comments after like, "I beat my goal already!" With these conversations in the classroom and 1:1 with students, you are giving them the ownership and motivation to do their very best!
• Students creating non-fiction books (in Keynote) after learning about non-fiction text features and researching to become an expert on their topic. 
• Students organizing their research in social studies into the popplet app:
  

Events Next Week:
Tuesday - Grade Level PLC meetings
Wednesday - I will be out of the building for the WASB convention with Dr. Thompson and school board members.
Friday - Early Dismissal for report/planning, support staff meeting with me at 12:35
Monday, Jan 26 - Grades due by 7:30am
Thursday, Jan 29 - Report Cards distributed (along with Pride assembly invitations)

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:

• Reminders for report cards...as always, there should be no major surprises for parents. If you've got a student with sliding grades, please call home to discuss. In Powerschool--no blank grades or *. Instead use P (pass) or else Mark will have to hunt you down to fix it for the errors it runs on his end ;)
• For Grade Level PLC meetings next week: 
• Please bring iPads in 3-5th grade (to look at the Badger practice test)
• All grades be prepared to bring: an example of a struggling reader that you would like to ask colleagues for suggestions on moving forward (bring any evidence you have for the student as well, such as running records, conferring records, etc) and an example of a reading strategy lesson/conferring session that has already shown progress for a student (or several).
• As you finish up your mid-year F&P Benchmark scoring, please add your students' updated levels to the google spreadsheet we used at the beginning of the year (check your "shared with me" or "incoming" file in google drive to find this). Let me know if you need help with this. 
• I think I'm all caught up on reviewing Alt Comp form activity submissions. If you did not get a response in mylearningplan from me, please let me know.  Remember, that the way to let me know if it's ready for me to review it that you have to either add a comment or "save and notify" for it to email me.  

Blogs, Teets & Pins...Oh My!

• 5 Ideas for Diffusing a Negative Mindset
• @Seguin_B:49 minutes ago
  5 Fantastic, Fast Formative Assessment Tools: Getting to deeper understanding via @Edutopia http://edut.to/1CqpEQ9  #wischat

Monday Musings - January 12, 2015

In last week's Monday Musings post, I asked for your input on what literacy practices were strongly in place in your classroom and what needed strengthening.  Here are the survey results:

While the strengths were spread out, the overwhelming majority identified conferring as an area to strengthen. I can imagine a number of reasons why that is...it takes time, not sure what to do with each student, you're not used to it yet, you feel like you're not accomplishing as much by meeting with 1 student vs. a group, etc.

Here are some important points I read in Read, Write Lead on 1:1 conferring...

On Reading Conferences:
The practice of having daily conferences on students' self-selected texts for instruction/assessment is crucial for learning students' strengths and where additional instruction is needed.  For our struggling readers, consistent reading conferences can change their reading trajectory. Routman writes that "in-depth observation with each student allows us to carefully check appropriate text choice, engagement with the text, reading habits, "fix-up" strategies, vocabulary meanings, and so on (p.135)." Routman also points out that many of our reluctant readers waste precious time by pretending to read or staring at text they don't understand, which is why daily reading conferences are essential to make sure these students are actually reading and learning more from us to become proficient and self-regulating readers. It is important to use conference time to celebrate the reader's strengths, check for comprehension, and provide feedback and teaching targeting to the learner's most important needs to move forward.


On Writing Conferences:
Regie often writes/speaks about holding public writing conferences; this is a one-on-one conference held in front of the class (with the student's permission). There's no "formula" to follow and Regie says "put the writer before the writing." As you read the student's writing, Regie says to ask yourself :

• "What is this writer trying to say?"
•  "What are this writer's strengths to be celebrated?" 
• "What's most important to say, do, and focus on right now to ensure this writer will want to go on writing?"

Highlight different things they did well in their writing (so all students can also learn to write with those good qualities) and provide feedback for what to do next.

What's holding you back from conferring with your struggling readers/writers? What action can you take to overcome that to start providing these students with what they need?

Friday Focus - January 9, 2015

Great Things I Noticed This Week:
*Students keeping mindful about the Nice Bucket challenge throughout the building (I love hearing them remind each other about the day's challenge!)
*Students making New Year's Resolutions, Reading Resolutions and "Toasting" in the new year to celebrate others!
*Students looking through writing folders and examining their own pieces of writing to decide what they deemed as worthy of being published...they are truly budding authors!
*Several of you have been sharing great things happening in your classrooms on your Facebook pages...if we don't tell our story then other people will and they don't always know the great things to tell!

Events Next Week: start of MAP testing window
Monday - Elementary Professional Learning meeting 3:05 in IMC (agenda below in "Nuts & Bolts")
Friday - Staff Social (3rd/Mane/Cleary)

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:
*For Monday's mtg agenda:
1. tech talk on Kahoot
2. Moby Max/Front Row discussions
3. book study
 Please bring your devices and High Impact Instruction book. Also be prepared to share how you're using either Moby Max or Front Row in your classroom. As for the book study, we'll be making new groups for the next sections to read.

*Set your calendars: the 4th annual (I think it's the 4th) Art Show will be on Tuesday, March 10th 4:00-6:00pm. Mr. Mane will send out details later about classroom art work to add to it.

Blogs, Tweets & Pins...Oh My!!!
*Blog post with 53 ways to check for understanding: Dipsticks
*5 Time-Saving Ways Teachers Can Use Google Forms
*From Choice Literacy: Assessing Learning During Student-Led Bookclubs

Blog post:  Creative Ways to end Informational Writing

Monday Musings - January 5, 2015

After a hiatus, I'm back to reading Read, Write, Lead by Regie Routman; a book packed full of great wisdom on teaching reading/writing in authentic ways.  Often times as I'm reading, it just affirms the great work we are already doing and serves as a great reminder of why we do what we do in literacy and that we are on the right path to prepare our students to be readers/writers.

In the chapter on Reducing the Need for Intervention, Routman identifies 6 daily practices that deter failure:

• Make the work more authentic.
• Provide more student choice.
• Make learning intentions clear.
• Celebrate students' strengths.
• Have students do more silent reading.
• Confer with students daily. (struggling readers)

When you reflect on the current reading/writing practices in your classroom, do you have all of these in place?  Which of these are strongly in place and which of them could be improved upon?

As I read this section I reflected on our literacy practices school-wide, based on what I see in classroom walkthroughs and identify our school wide strengths as: providing student choice, more silent reading and conferring with students.  As I reflect on the other practices, it emphasized the need for more daily conferences 1:1 with our struggling readers/writers. As I read about the importance of making writing work more authentic (not just teaching a grammar skill or giving a writing prompt, but providing authentic reasons to write) I recognize how those that are piloting Lucy Calkins Units of Writing are providing their students with this.

I'd love to share more of my learning from this book with you, but want to know what you'd like to know more about. Please take 30 seconds to share with me in the survey below of what's already in place and what could use strengthening in your classroom:
*I'm not sure if this will work in your email, so you'll likely have to go to johnsonmemo.blogspot.com to complete the 2 survey questions. 

The First Friday Focus for 2015

Image from Happy New Year Messages

I hope that you have all enjoyed a restful, relaxing and rejuvenating holiday vacation. I know I have...time with family, time reading, writing and doing absolutely nothing...it was wonderful!  I feel recharged and ready to go! As always, I've written my Reading Resolutions for 2015 which you can find HERE if you'd like. I encourage you to share your Reading/New Year Resolutions with your students as well, because you are one of their best models for developing a growth mindset to focus on ways to improve.  If you have students that would like to join the morning announcements to share their Reading/New Year Resolutions, please let me know...I'd love to have them join us!

Nuts & Bolts:
*Keep in mind that as you come back from break you may need to treat the first days back just like the first days of school; reviewing expectations, practicing routines, class community building, etc.
*On Monday morning announcements I'll announce the new bulletin board in the hallway--What Lifts You Up? I'll put little balloon cut-outs in mailboxes that students can use if they would like to write down something they can do to fill a bucket for a friend or themself and we will add the balloons to the board to show what lifts us all up. It should eventually look like this:

Thanks to Sarah for finding this and starting it!

*To review iPad expectations there are green posters in your mailboxes that can be put up if you don't already have something. These were created in the Tech Leaders team, but got put at the bottom of my pile to print for you all (sorry!) Now would be a great time to review with your class. If you want to be able to print additional copies you can access it HERE or ask me to email it to you.
*3-5th gr teachers-I'm moving back the Badger exam practice sessions to have the first one completed by February 10th, because Jan 20th just seemed too early. I'll have materials ready for these at the Jan 20th grade level meetings.
*If you have any students that you have concerns regarding possible retention and I'm not already aware of them, please let me know so we can start the SIT process.
*Our ELL students will be taking the ACCESS testing this month. They will be pulled for portions of it with Mrs. Fobes/Mrs. Nehls and one portion with me.

Deadlines:
*Just a reminder to give 2nd student surveys by January 15th. Just let me know if you have any issues with this deadline.
*The MAP testing window is January 12-30.
*Please complete mid-year F&P Benchmarks on students that were below the Fall benchmark by January 19th.