A New Look and Plan

To kick off 2013, I thought we should refocus our attention to our plans for improvement. Please view this draft of our CSIP and respond to the following:

1.  Plus
2. Delta w/ Suggestions
3. How do you plan to change your daily practice without adding to it?

UTE1213 CSIP

Healing

In honor and remembrance.
No Lesson Plan For Tragedy




Let us  use the energy created by our grief to pour love and effort into our students and community.

Examining Our Practice

After considering the points Wormelli makes and the initiatives we have undertaken regarding mindset and positive behavior intervention and supports, where are we as a team in making the culture at UTE one that values students' needs, respect, and the notion that failure of students is a failure of our team?

Consider practices you use that support this positive growth mindset and those that do not. 

December Professional Learning Targets:
I can.....
1.  Analyze student data to make instructional decisions that will increase student achievement.
2.  Implement and reinforce POSITIVE BEHAVIOR INTERVENTIONS, including CHAMPS and common voice levels to increase student achievement. 
3.  Use CIITS as a planning tool to create instruction that is congruent to KCAS.

 December Events
10-14 SANTA SHOP
10 - Christmas Program Dress Rehearsals 9:00 and 1:30 (All grades invited to attend and watch rather than on Thursday).  
PLC meetings w/ Perkins, Nichan, and Justice
12 - Lead Team @ 2:30, Faculty Mtg @ 3:30
13  - Christmas Programs

17 - SBDM & Board Mtg. West Middle @ 6:30
18 - Staff Mtg/ Christmas Party
19 - Class Christmas Parties

Mindsets, Changing Our Vocabulary

 

 

As we have worked very diligently this week to begin our move to the CHAMPS management system, I have intentionally focused our work, as a school wide team, on our tansition from negative vocabulary to positive vocabulary.  This is not an easy task and will take a lot of time and practice, but with hard work and dedication, we can do it!  I wanted to share with you the research behind the CHAMPS positive behavior intervention system from Safe and Civil Schools.  This is going to be a huge part of our upcoming success as we journey toward a school of proficiency and then a school of distinction in the state of Kentucky.  Take a look at the information below and submit your response to the blog and our efforts as a team.

 

Safe and Civil Schools Research

 

I also wanted to give you some resources for ways to post the CHAMPs acronym in your classrooms.  Of course, the beauty of CHAMPs is that its not a canned program and allows for great flexibility from room to room.  The important part is the structure and consistency with which we supervise and support students to make positive behavior decisions.

 

 

 

 

Treasured Tip-CHAMPs

 

 

CHAMPS - Free Digital Download for Smart Boards

 

Finally tonight, I want us to continue thinking about how our choice of words carries such a powerful affect for students, parents, and our team.  Attitude and mindset are a huge part of what we do.  If we do not think we can accomplish something, we can't.  If we indicate to students that we do not believe in a strategy we are using or more importantly that they can be successful, they won't.  We are on a mission to make sure ALL of our students are successful, and we must do whatever that takes.  Do you have a growth or fixed intelligence mindset?  You will be seeing more information about fixed vs. growth intelligence mindsets around the building this week.  I believe we may have an elf on the shelf visiting us.  ;)

 

Have a wonderful week and remember YOU make a difference in the lives of EVERYONE with whom you come in contact each and every day!

 

GO TIGERS!!!

 

 

From Good To Great!

This week I saw many great things happening at UTE.  I wanted to share just a few of those with you.  On our journey from good to great, let these images be our evidence of the potential of greatness we possess!  We are only 2.5 points from being labeled as a school of proficiency!  We can do it.  Our goal is to go from 3rd to 1st in the district and from a progressing school to a proficient school. 

 4th Grade had some costume fun that was aligned to the writing curriculum and fun!  Mrs. Patton asked them, "Why is your costume the best?"

Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Varney applied their math target to a seasonal activity, which the students really enjoyed and will remember much longer than a simple worksheet!  If you haven't visited 3rd grade to see what's going on in math, I encourage you to do so soon!  They are definitely on a roll!

2nd grade has been working tirelessly on measuring.  This whole group lesson had students up and about finding items to measure with nonstandard units.  Mrs. Napier's 2 minutes of teacher talk with this student was worth so much more than 40 corrected papers could be!

Mrs. Williams using literature in math, kicks off some very rigorous lessons and gets much more thought and discussion amongst students than just lecturing.  This whole group lesson took 3 or 4 days, but the high level of questioning and student engagement was well worth the time!  I wish someone would've taught me math this way!  The days of just practicing operations are long gone folks.

 

 

Ideas and Structure for Improvement: From Our Data Day

1.  Every Child, Every Chance, Every Day!
2.  Highly Rigourous and Engaging Instruction
3.  School Wide Behavior Plan
4.  Visiting Each Others' Classrooms to Gain Ideas
5.  Instruction CONGRUENT to Standards and Targets
6.  High Levels of Questioning in All Content, Particularly Math
7.  Writing in ALL Content Areas Daily
8.  Writing Workshop in All Daily Schedules

Kentucky Education News:

Kentucky School Report Card (KPREP Scores)

Kentucky Seclusion and Restraint Booklet

 

UTE Calendar and Reminders: November

6 - VOTE!
7 - Special Ed. Reading Academy, Leadership Team 2:30, Faculty Mtg. 3:30
8 - 2nd and 3rd Reading Academy
9 - Principal's Book Club (4th and 5th Grades) 7:40, Service Team Meeting 8:45 (Gees, Stevens, Justice, Jackson) *** If you have any attendance, basic needs, emotional needs, academic concerns about a student please get their name to one of the people attending this meeting!, Special Ed. Dept. Mtg. 2:30
12 - Veterans Day Ceremony Rehearsal 1:30, Budget Committee @ 3:00
13 -  Veterans Day Ceremony 9:30 followed by a chilli luncheon, District Elementary Reading Extravaganza Competition ECMS @ 6:00p.m.
14 - Faculty Meeting (Program Reviews Curr & Inst. Due)
15 - 4th and 5th Reading Academy, Principal's Book Club (4th and 5th Grades)
16 - 4th and 5th Grades Classroom Spelling Bee Winner Names to Mrs. Brown,
19 - School Spelling Bee 8:30, SBDM Meeting 3:30, UTE Presentation @ Board Meeting 6:00 (Please make plans to attend to show your support of our efforts at becoming the #1 school in the county/state.)
20 - Principal's Book Club (4th and 5th Grades), Special Ed. Department Mtg. 2:30
21 - Flexible PD, NO SCHOOL
22 - Thanksgiving Day, NO SCHOOL
23 - NO SCHOOL
28 - Leadership Team @ 2:30, Faculty Meeting (Professional Growth Teams) @ 3:30
29 - Principal's Book Club (4th and 5th Grades)
30 - Service Team Meeting 8:45

Personal Mission Statements:

Please don't forget as you attend Reading Academy this month that you should take your personal mission statements along with you.  I thought I would share mine, but this is only the first draft.  I will more than likely improve it after I've mulled it over for a few more days.  Please give me any suggestions you have.  I plan to put it on my door.

Teach

Inspire

Galvanize

Empower

Recognize

Sustain

Every Child, Every Chance, Every Day!!!

Simplicity

"Out of clutter, find simplicity."  ~Albert Einstein

As I was reflecting on our work this week at UTE, I thought of all the many details of the week that we, as educators, had to navigate while still keeping our focus. When I came across the above quote, I knew what my message must be.  Our jobs are simple, with many complexities surrounding what we do.  We are simply charged with making sure students progress in all areas.  There is not another thing we are asked to do.  But, every good educator knows how difficult that can be based on many factors.  So, this weeks blog will be simplistic, not cluttered, and cut straight to the chase. 

Simple Words:

These are the words, you picked from our mission statement during a faculty meeting as standouts.

Make all your decisions based on the words above and we will be successful!  The link below has some great ideas about using word clouds instructionally.

Using Word Clouds in the Classroom

Karen T. is a tiger on the roll!  She has already been using word clouds in her classroom.  Check them out in the hallway outside her room!

Simple Duty:

Please take advantage of the opportunity to make real life connections to the presidential election and the importance of voting in democracies.  The following sources may help you with your planning.

Center for Action Civics

New York Times Election Resources

Teachnology Election Lessons

Time For Kids Election Mini Site



Simply PLC:

Weekly PLCs should focus solely on answering the following 4 questions.  If we have gotten away from them, take this opprotunity to refocus.

1.  What do we want our students to know?

2.  How will we know if they know it?

3.  What will we do for those who don't learn it?

4.  What will we do for those who already know it?

Can't get any simpler than that!

Simple Blessings:

Teaching

Our work is hard, but rewarding.

Our time is long, but precious.

Our stress is high, but relative.

Our impact is small, but mighty!

Thank you Lord for all these blessings!

~S. Justice

Please watch the video below to put our work at UTE into perspective.

100 People

Simply the Best:

Thanks to each of you and the wonderful work you do for our students and community!  Have a wonderful week and remember how YOU impact the lives you touch!

Equipping and Empowering Tigers

  Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day. – Thornton Wilder

This week in Tiger Nation has definitely been a very busy one!  Along with being tired and feeling like things have been very hectic, have come those moments of pure joy and pleasure which keep us going.  We are rewarded when we see the smiles and flashes of confidence that come across students' faces when they realize they have discovered their own strategy for regrouping while adding.  Or they have decoded a very long unfamiliar word because they knew how to chunk it; or they have made the discovery during exploration time in math that they know 3 equilateral triangles make a trapezoid when using pattern blocks. Or they realize that memorizing a written piece of work can elicit many different emotions from families, teachers and classmates.  I imagine this is the same excitement that Galileo felt when he discovered what would later be acknowledged as the three rings of Saturn.  Each moment of learning and discovery brings with it a sense of satisfaction and reward which inspires intrinsic motivation for our students.

The question we must ask is, "How are we encouraging that motivation?  How are we equipping and empowering our students to make these discoveries and experience this joy for themselves rather than being rooted in our approval?".  I see evidence of this everyday here at Upper Tygart.  The following is some food for thought about equipping and empowering students and each other to make powerful discoveries through our daily work.

Ed News:

Bullying Prevention Campaign to Empower Parents

Tigers On A Roll:

4th Grade teachers visiting Kindergarten and sharing wonderful compliments about how centers were working with technology for our littlest Tigers!

Third graders using making words materials to discover the meaning and spelling of new vocabulary in Mrs.Hargett's classroom.

Preschoolers working in their journals responding to a big book read to them by Mrs. Monica.  They were drawing and labeling small, medium, and large pumpkins as they grew.

2nd graders in Mrs. Flannery's class are learning to regroup when adding using a regrouping mat with base ten blocks.  They were reading word problems, determining the equation, using blocks, drawing the problem, then writing the equation including the sum.  Wow, have you ever seen anyone excited to regroup?  These Tigers sure were!

Kindergarteners have been participating in some highly rigorous shared writing activities in both Mrs. Clary's and Mrs. Underwood's classrooms!  I know a lot more about bears now that I joined them as they wrote their information article from research they had done during several read alouds.  I also very much enjoyed their writing about pumpkins.

If you haven't spent any time enjoying the "Tiger Art Gallery", courtesy of Mrs. Kimbler and our student artists, you really should take a few moments to stop by and enjoy the work our students are creating.  Not only are they making wonderful art, but in many cases it is a direct relationship to classroom content that is being studied.  Great work!

There are so many wonderful things taking place, that I can't possibly photograph them all.  Please take pics of what is going on with your students and in your classrooms and email them to me, so that I can include them in the weekly blog.

Tiger Events:

October:
23 - 2nd Grade Parties, 12:45 WCHS Choir Concert in gym
24 - K,1,3-5 Parties, Faculty Meeting, October Birthday Dinner @ Smokey Valley
25 - Teacher Planning Day (See email for details)
26 - PD Day @ UTE
November:
31 - Faculty Meeting
1 - Reading Academy K and 1
2 - October Celebration Assembly



Reminders:

• All students should have DEA goals set by now!
• Do/Whats should be occuring regulary in each classroom!
• Please forward me samples of student generated literacy letters from  your class.
• You should be actively engaged in reviewing student data and focusing on the 4 questions during PLCs.
• RTI students should have been progress monitored for the first time by now and receiving targeted interventions daily based on the new data.

Worthwhile Websites:

Bullying at PPTS.com

Teach Peace Now

Do Something




. 

Every Child, Every Chance, Every Day!

"I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do." Leonardo da Vinci

This Week at UTE

I was recently reflecting on our mission statement and contemplating our vision.  It is my personal mission to serve my community, state, and country and through serving them, I serve humanity.  I think on some deeper level, that is why we remain in education.  Those who got into it for other misguided reasons, do not last long in this business.  The work is hard, nonstop, and at times heartbreaking; but we cannot forget how rewarding and crucial our work is. I believe that we can fulfill our mission through the vision of "Every Child, Every Chance, Every Day!".  The urgency with which we work must be deliberate.  We must not let a second go by without purpose and intention while we have the students with us.  This week we will reflect on last week's topic:  purpose; and link it to this week's topic:  urgency.

Definition of URGENT (Merriam-Webster Online)

1

a : calling for immediate attention : pressing <urgent appeals> <an urgent need>

b : conveying a sense of urgency

October 29th is the scheduled release of KPREP data throughout the state of Kentucky.  There will be a flurry of activity and action around the scores.  We cannot let this false sense of urgency by the public and media detract us from our mission and vision.  We have analyzed data consistently last year and this, we know where are students are in terms of their academic progress, and we are acting accordingly.  During our district data days at the end of this month, we will analyze this newest data and make adjustments as necessary.  Our job will be the same after the scores are released.  We are here to serve students and their families, and we will continue on our path.  We have already identified root causes for less than 80% of our students scoring at benchmark on our universal assessments at the beginning of the year.  The 3 most URGENT are:

1.  Behavior Management

2.  Student Motivation

3.  Curriculum/Learning Gaps

The above root causes are our responsibility.  Now, what strategies will we use to improve these 3?  The leadership team met last week and came up with strategies for our 90 day plan.  Please read through them and leave any suggestions or feedback you have.

Tigers on a Roll!

I had a visit from Orry in Mrs. Patton's class to read a chapter from the book Mouse and the Motorcycle to me.  He read with expression and fluency and was able to answer all the questions I had for him about the content of what he read!  If you have worked with Orry during his years here at UTE, this is a compliment to your instructions!

As I was walking through this week Daniel and Adam from Mrs. Williams math class shared the factors and mulitples game they were learning to play.  Although they were just beginning to learn the rules, I was very impressed with the level of conversation around number they were having.  Mrs. Williams has created a sense of URGENCY with her students about learning their mulitplication/division facts.

While visiting with Mrs. Clary's class, Kayleigh shared with me how she could match upper and lower case letters and make the sound that went along with the picture for the letter.  Also, Aliyah shared with me the pig she was drawing from the book she had independently looked at in the classroom library center.

I had the opportunity to read Adam's and Solomon's narratives from Mrs. Patton's writing class.  I was very impressed with their drafts and the effort they had put into entertaining and audience with their stories.  If you have a chance to stop by and read some of the narratives from 3rd and 4th graders, you definitely should do so!

Subitizing galore!  Your recognition of the URGENCY around students being able to structure number is very evident!  Mrs. Rayburn did a wonderful job in leading us in that discussion during faculty meeting last week. 

As I walk through classrooms this week, I am anxious to see what wonderful things continue to go on at UTE!  Please make it a priority of yours to spend at least one planning period a month visiting your colleagues in action in their classrooms! I think you will be delighted and inspired as I am!

Ed News:  From Doctor Holiday, Kentucky Commissioner of Education

Resources to help prepare parents and others for test score release – As we move toward the public release of the test scores from the new system, I hope you have been preparing your parents and community for what they will likely see. To assist you with that communication, KDE offers several resources including a brand new video I have done for parents to assist them in understanding the changes in Kentucky’s testing system since it moves the state from a focus on just proficiency to one of college and career readiness. To view this new video, click on the following link:

Understanding Kentucky's New Assessment System

October Events:

15 - SBDM, Board of Ed. Mtg.

15th-17th - Room Reading Extravaganza Competitions

17 - Lead Team Mtg., Faculty Mtg (Professional Growth Study Teams Meet), Classroom Rdg. Winners due to office

18 - Rdg Extravaganza School Judging, 4th & 5th Rdg. Academy, McTeacher Night, Picture Retakes

22 - Smiling Schools Dental Program

19 - Rdg. Extravaganza/ PTO Baskets/ Family Movie Night

24 -  Fall/Halloween Parties, Faculty Meeting

25 - No School Tchr. Planning Day

26 - No School Mandatory PD

30 - Every Kid Votes - Mock Presidential Election

Mission Statement:

Upper Tygart Elementary will assist each student to reach progressively higher levels of academic achievement, along with social, emotional and physical development. This will be accomplished by means of responsible students, caring parents / guardians, an involved community and total dedication of the entire faculty and staff. A safe, productive and healthy school environment will be maintained at all times.

Purposeful Tigers

As I was planning for our blog this week, I kept coming across the word purposeful all week long.  One of my goals as a leader is to be more observant and listen for lessons I need to learn.  I have either read or been a part of dicussions this week about purpose mulitple times.  So.... with this in mind, the theme of this week's blog is PURPOSE.

Our mission (purpose) is to educate our students so that they may become highly successful in life.  Everything we do must  take our purpose into consideration.  Think about the times you are asked to do certain tasks and as a professional the first question you often have is, "what's the purpose of this?".  If you aren't asking that question, you should be!  If we are doing things that we cannot explain to our community, then we need to examine the purpose of those things. Even things we have done that were very successful in the past, may have no purpose now.  Things change and evolve and we must change and evolve with the advances in our world and the conditions of our families.  I came across this quote today and although it is about the game of soccer, it transfers to life.

“I am not a perfectionist, but I like to feel that things are done well. More important than that, I feel an endless need to learn, to improve, to evolve, not only to please the coach and the fans, but also to feel satisfied with myself. It is my conviction that here are no limits to learning, and that it can never stop, no matter what our age.”
― Cristiano Ronaldo

EDUCATION NEWS - PINTEREST
Pinterest For Teachers

If you haven't started using the internet to help you find engaging PURPOSEFUL activities for your students, you are missing out on the most powerful tool available to teachers in history!  Our jobs are becoming increasingly challenging, and therefore require us to plan and prep with a different PURPOSE (college and career readiness) than ever before.  The link above has the top 25 educational technology Pinterest pages.  Choose one or two that seem the most appealing to you and explore them.  One of the goals we, as a learning community designated as a goal for improvement was student use of technology.  We wnat students creating with technology.  This begins with you!  Are you creating things to share with your students?  Are you planning for them to use and create with technology?

EDUCATION RESEARCH - HOMEWORK
The War on Homework
Should we or should we not give homework?  This is an age old debate among educators and researchers.  There are definitely benefits to giving homework, provided that it is PURPOSEFUL.  What kind of homework are you assigning your students?  Are we following our SBDM policy on time limits that are developmentally appropriate according to age?  When you consider the word PURPOSEFUL, does it mean that it is appropriate for all students, or does student A need a different homework than student B?  How can we make sure students are getting the benefits of the homework?  I'm sure we don't have all the answers, but I'd like to hear your thoughtful responses on this issue and how you are making sure homework is PURPOSEFUL for ALL of your students.

TIGERS ON A ROLL - READING WITH A PURPOSE (Why do you read?  Do your students know why they are reading other than you telling them to?) Readers always need a PURPOSE for reading.
Balanced Literacy Approach
The above link gives the details of the PURPOSE for creating a balanced literacy approach in our classrooms.  Please view it carefully.  Below are examples of fabulous things we are doing at UTE to support our literacy learners. 

Christie Tackett:  Diving For Artifacts - Purposeful reading in SS.

Third Grade:  Harget and Varney - Daily 5 Reading Student Calendar Purpose for Reading



Our Colleagues at Heritage - Purposeful Vocabulary Before Reading Activites

Important October Events:



8&10:  PLC progress monitoring discussion

8 - Budget Committee Mtg.

9 - Angie's Buds and Blooms, Earthquake and Fire Drills

10 -  Lead Team Mtg, Faculty Mtg.

11 - Report Cards Go Home with All Students, 2nd & 3rd Reading Academy

12 - Lockdown, Service Team Mtg.,

15 - SBDM, Board of Ed. Mtg.

15th-17th - Room Reading Extravaganza Competitions

17 - Lead Team Mtg., Faculty Mtg (Professional Growth Study Teams Meet), Classroom Rdg. Winners due to office

18 - Rdg Extravaganza School Judging, 4th & 5th Rdg. Academy, McTeacher Night

22 - Smiling Schools Dental Program

19 - Rdg. Extravaganza/ PTO Baskets/ Family Movie Night

24 -  Fall/Halloween Parties, Faculty Meeting

25 - No School Tchr. Planning Day

26 - No School Mandatory PD

Tiger Champions Week In Review 8 - September 30, 2012



UTE GOAL:  Top 15% of Elementary Schools in Kentucky in Reading and Math!!!

 

“For time and the world do not stand still.

Change is the law of life.

And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.”

~John F. Kennedy

Education News:

Innovation in Kentucky Education - Dr. Holiday's Blog

The Research - Homework

NEA Takes a Position on Homework

How do you make sure your homework is developmentally appropriate and purposeful for your students?

Instructional Strategies That Work:  Student Goal Setting

All K-5 students should complete their goal setting this week.  Goal Setting correlates well to our October Monthly Happy Habit: "Be Proactive, You're In Charge".

The research shows that students who are involved in their own academic goal setting outperform those who do not feel they have any control or investment in their own achievement.

Campbell, D. J., Koufteros, B. & Foo, Y. (2001). Goal-setting, Competition and Performance: Some Singaporean and American Similarities, Research and Practice in Human Resource Management, 9(2), 3-26.

The results of this study parallel the findings of Study 1, in that competition and goals enhanced rather than depressed performance. Specific, difficult goals resulted in higher levels of performance than easy or moderate goals; and individuals in the Competitive situation significantly outperformed individuals in the Non competitive condition across all goal conditions. Further, in terms of accounting for the results, the questionnaire findings also replicated Study 1. Individuals in the Competitive condition had higher levels of intrinsic motivation; their self efficacy was higher; and they reported higher levels of concentration than those in the Non competitive environment. Finally, individuals with difficult or moderate goals in the presence of competition perceived more anxiety than those with easy goals, which appears to make intuitive sense.

 

Calendar Reminders

~~All students should have time to take advantage of our AR program.  Please work it into your schedule, if you have not already done so.  What are your students doing when they finish assignments?  That's a perfect time to read!

~Don't forget to use Reading A-Z.  It is full of wonderful resources which include:  leveled readers, graphic organizers, reading research findings, best practice suggestions, running record resources, etc...  This site is perfect for your guided reading groups or center work.

~~ Do/Whats should be underway in your classrooms (not K).  The goal is to be completing one per week in each content area by the month of October.

~ We will work further on websites this week during faculty meeting.  I will not expect you to be updating them until you have the time and support during our meetings to get them going.  My goal is that everyone will be indpendently able to update them weekly by the middle of October. 

October Events:

2nd-5th:  Progress Monitoring of 5 RTI rdg students - DIBELS

2 - Special Ed. Reading Academy

3 - Lead Team Meeting, Faculty Meeting

4- Picture Proofs Due, Flu Shots, K&1st Rdg. Academies, PTO Mtg., 9 Wks Ends

5 - EKEA - No School

8&10:  PLC progress monitoring discussion

8 - Budget Committee Mtg.

9 - Angie's Buds and Blooms, Earthquake and Fire Drills

10 - Faculty Mtg.

11 - Report Cards Go Home with All Students, 2nd & 3rd Reading Academy

12 - Lockdown, Service Team Mtg.,

15 - SBDM, Board of Ed. Mtg.

15th-17th - Room Reading Extravaganza Competitions

17 - Lead Team Mtg., Faculty Mtg (Professional Growth Study Teams Meet), Classroom Rdg. Winners due to office

18 - Rdg Extravaganza School Judging, 4th & 5th Rdg. Academy, McTeacher Night

22 - Smiling Schools Dental Program

19 - Rdg. Extravaganza/ PTO Baskets/ Family Movie Night

24 - Faculty Meeting

25 - No School Tchr. Planning Day

26 - No School Mandatory PD

When do we want to have Fall Parties?

Worthwhile Website:

The Daily 5

Tigers on a Roll!

All classrooms have centers up and running!

Mrs. Hargett's students are utilizing their book boxes to make good fit independent reading choices!

2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grades are all posting appropriate and congruent learning targets at each center!

Our Mission:  To assist each student to reach a progressively higher level of academic achievement and social and emotional development

Tiger Champions Week In Review 5 - September 9, 2012

Tiger Champions Week In Review 5 - September 9, 2012



UTE GOAL:  Top 15% of Elementary Schools in Kentucky in Reading and Math!!!

If you educate a man you educate a person, but if you educate a woman you educate a family.
Ruby Manikan

Education News:

K-3 Program Review 

KDE has announced that elementary schools will be required to complete a primary program review as part of their 2012-2013 Next Generation Accountability.  Please take time to read and respond to the review that can be found at the link above.

The Brighter Brain Bulletin by Eric Jensen

The Research - Student Effort

Here is what the research tells us about effort: there are many causes, each requiring many different solutions. But let's cut to the chase. Kids who grow up with exposure to chronic and acute stress (without the coping skills) typically have more of a sense of the "world happening to them" (vs. having a strong locus of control). They either display anger (one symptom of a stress disorder) or helplessness (another symptom of a stress disorder) at school. Research suggests stress specifically impairs attentional control (Liston, et al., 2009). Children living in poverty experience significantly greater chronic stress than do their more affluent counterparts (Almeida, Neupert, Banks, & Serido, 2005). This means you'll see kids who look like they're either trying to "get in your face" or trying to "quit on you." We also know low childhood SES (socioeconomic status) correlates with chronic stress exposure and reduced working memory (Evans, et al., 2009).

The relevance is simple; to engage kids who have had serious adversity (financial or other stress issues), you'll need to provide a trusting relationship. Trusting relationships with both teachers and other adults are ranked as a top-ten student achievement factor (JA Hattie, 2009). Show kids how much you care first, before they care about you. Also, you'll want to provide more of a sense of control for the students in school. Reducing anxiety in kids has a strong correlation with student achievement (0.40 effect size contributing to student achievement). Both relationships and sense of control mitigate the effects of stress disorders. If your kids don't fit into this particular description, the next paragraph is for you. In fact, the next seven factors are each a separate jewel.

Practical Applications

You can have very active kids this year. Even at the secondary school level, there are kids who are inert in one class and very engaged in another. As a teacher, you have more to do with how your kids behave than you give yourself credit for. Here are seven more strategies, in addition to developing trusting relationships and allowing students to have a sense of control (see above).

1. Show more passion for learning and your content (the student brain's "mirror neurons" may get activated by your passion, and mimic your excitement for learning)
2. Use specific buy-in strategies to hook in students (build relevance)
3. Make it their idea (inclusion, choice and control)
4. Lower the risk (making failures part of the learning process and providing better support for ELL)
5. Build the Learner's Mindset ("I can grow!")
6. Increase Feedback ("It's the best motivator")
7. Stair-step the Effort (Baby steps work)

Your passion will "hook in" more learners than most strategies. Use body language, voice inflection and facial expressions to augment passionate words about the new learning. Additionally, use "buy-in strategies" to build some of the "hooks" that keep students interested. Make it their idea (inclusion, choice and control). Lower the risk (appreciate every hand that goes up and every student's effort, whether the answer is good or not. Say, "Thanks very much, who else?") Build the Learner's Mindset (Tell kids that their brain can change and whatever they did last year, this year can be better). Increase Feedback; it's the single best motivator. Use affirmations, quality content feedback, peer feedback, mini quizzes, partner-developed quizzes, and verbal feedback from you on their strategy, effort or their attitude. Finally use the stair-step strategy. When asking students to do a complex activity, have them do it in small parts that are easier to say "yes" to. Yes, baby steps work if you move fast!

Tigers on a Roll!

Nancy Withrow for getting WTNN, Tiger Nation News going with our fifth graders.

Keri Flannery and Cymilee Napier for sharing their students with me during writing time.

Peggy Young for taking the time to be supportive of her teammates.

Debbie Gee for wearing many hats.

Keri Flannery for having very organized and rigourous centers.  See pictures below.

Learning Target at Center

Students Using a Tool to Create Complex Sentences and then Write Them

Learning Target for Writing Center

!Leigh Williams for engaging students in rigorous, hands-on, engaging math activities.

4th Grade Students Playing a Multiplication Array Game

Lynsey Varney for bravely tackling the CIITS lesson planner!

Instructional Strategies That Work!

This website is a teacher who blogs about instructional strategies.  She has many great suggestions and best practice tips of the trade.  I particularly like her observations and suggestions for B,D, and A reading strategies.

Before, During, and After Reading Strategies

 I also would like to share a great before reading strategy that I used regularly in my classroom.  Its a game called "vocabulary buzz".  If you would like for me to share it with your class, just let me know when.

Calendar Reminders

~~Turn all PLC agendas and minutes in outside my door weekly.   PLC Agenda and Minutes Template

~Lesson plans should be on your desk or emailed to me by  Monday morning each week using our plan format from last year unless using CIITS. (If you are already using CIITS for lesson planning, just let me know in an email.

~ Parent Curriculum Night has been postponed until we get the grade level Curriculum Maps to share.

~2nd-5th Don't forget to have your students complete the Fall Automaticity Assessment which should be sent to me in the electronic chart no later than September 10th.

~ Do/Whats should be underway in your classrooms (not K).  The goal is to be completing one per week in each content area by the month of October.

~ You should have your website set up and being updated weekly by the third week of this month.  We will get started on them at faculty meeting this week.  I will begin randomly checking them in October.

 

September Events

10:  PLC 1st, 4th, K, and 3rd

10,11,12 - Grandparents' Day

11:  Severe weather drill @ 9:30

11:  STAR FORCE Sound Off Introduction - K-2nd 12:30 and 1:15

12:  PLC 2nd and 5th

12:  Faculty Meeting @ 3:30 - Professional Growth, Classroom Websites, KEA

13:  3rd Rdg. Academy @ 8:30 and 2nd Rdg. Academy @ 12:30

13:  FRC Parent volunteer trainings @ 2:00 and 5:00

14:  Service Team Meeting - If you have concerns about the attendance, basic, or emotional needs of a students, please let Dianna, Regina, David, Debbie, or myself know before this day.

14:  1:00-2:30  Aides RTI strategies training in the cafeteria (Sarah, Denise, and Debbie)

14:  7:00 PTO family movie night

19: Leadership Team Meeting @ 2:30 and Faculty Meeting @ 3:30.

24:  SBDM Meeting @ 3:30

 Worthwhile Websites

CIITS

If you are not familiar with CIITS, you need to take some time to get to know the program.  We will be entering lesson plans there beginning next month.  We will have a faculty meeting about it with some training before that time.

Our Mission:  To assist each student to reach a progressively higher level of academic achievement and social and emotional development through the cooperative endeavors of responsible students, caring parents, dedicated educational staff, and an involved community