We Don’t Need No Stinking Goals!

Teachers,

Here is your weekly dose of “5-Point Friday. 

We Don’t Need No Stinking Goals! —

The district put together some reading goals and I need to share them with you. There are 2  specific literacy goals. One is about Kindergarten and the other about Second grade. They are specific to these two grades but really affect all grades.

1. By May 21, 2020, Washington County School District will increase the percentage of kindergarten students at or above benchmark as measured by the Acadience Reading composite from Beginning of Year (BOY) to End of Year (EOY) by 5%. 
2. By May 21, 2020, in Washington County School District, 37% of 2nd grade students who scored well-below benchmark at BOY, as measured by Acadience Reading, will no longer be well-below benchmark at EOY.  

These are doable goals and I think they will be met by our school by January. We also have a goal for Arrowhead Elementary. One is specific to K-3 and the other for all grades. We hope we can add 4th and 5th to the Acadience goal soon.

1. With us concentrating on Phonemic Awareness and Phonics this year our goal is to have at least 90% of students in all grades that scored below grade level on Phonemic Awareness and Phonics skills at BOY will be on grade level by EOY, as measured by Phonemic Awareness and Core Phonics tests.
2. We will have an increased percentage of students at or above benchmark from Beginning of Year (BOY) to End of Year (EOY) by 10% in Kinder, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade, as measured by Acadience Reading. 

This will bring our students at below grade level on EOY Acadience to below 10%. That will bring our school to below 10% of students at the below or well below grade level on Acadience. The work you and aides have been doing will make a huge difference in reaching these goals. But the main reason for the goals is to help each student realize their potential and build self-confidence in their reading skills as they get better at reading. This will provide them with endless opportunities. It will also increase their abilities in science and math. When these goals are met, we will not play catch up so much as differentiating and scaffolding Tier 1 lessons. That is where we should be with around 10%, hopefully less, needing interventions. 

Quote I’m pondering —

"Having a positive mental attitude is asking how something can be done rather than saying it can't be done." -- Bo Bennett

What’s Happening —

This Coming Week	In Two Weeks
Tue. Oct. 15 - Picture Retakes Wed. Oct. 16 - TAT Kindergarten 8:00 am Oct. 14-16 & 21-25 - No rotations  Oct. 17-18 - Fall Break	Oct. 22 - Storytelling Festival Oct. 23 - Intervention Meetings Oc. 25 - Meet the Masters Oct. 25 - Aide Training 9:00 am
	Oct. 28 - Teacher Training Afternoon Oct. 28 - Nov. 1 - Red Ribbon Week Oct. 31 - Halloween Parade 3:00 pm

Favorite Article This Week —

Why Not Teach Reading Comprehension for a Change?

This is an interesting article about Comprehension from Timothy Shanahan. Pretty bold in it concept. A reminder that comprehension is more than just answering questions on paper.  

A Big Thank You —

Thank you, Crystal, Amy L., and Heather L. for taking the time to be a part of the PTA and Community Council. These are important jobs to help our community see and hear about what is happening in our school. It also gives the community to learn more about what our needs are and how they will help our students. PTA does so much for our school and Crystal helps them as they find activities and opportunities for our students. Amy L. And Heather L. Help with Community Council as the council decide what the money and programs we need for our school are decided upon. They help relay how the programs are working and if changes need to be made. Community Council helps us with programs and Items that will help our school. Thank you for helping with these councils. It really makes a difference for our school and for the students. Thank you for taking the extra time. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work.

Bonus: I just saw this today. Inktober. Artists draw single pictures each day of the month of October. Here is a list of prompts for the month. it looks like a fun 5 minutes morning or after lunch activity. Have fun.

The Sequence of Literacy

Teachers,

Here is your weekly dose of “5-Point Friday. 

The Sequence of Literacy—

What do we teach first when there is so much that needs to be taught to a student that is missing so much? This is a question I had for years after I assessed students and found those that needed everything in literacy. Here is the sequence from beginning to end. If they are missing any of these pieces, the next steps might improve, but not in any way as much as if the beginning skills are mastered.

1. Oral Language Development
2. Phonemic Awareness
3. Phonics Decoding
4. Fluency
1. Accurate Reading
2. Appropriate Rate
3. Suitable Expression
5. Vocabulary
6. Comprehension

As the first three are mastered, Fluency is the next step. Fluency is not a predictor of comprehension. It is fluency. Vocabulary is the most important factor in reading comprehension. There is no guesswork here. This is the research. This is literacy and eventual master of literacy. Starting at number 1 and mastering each area. We can’t skip any part of tis sequence. If there is a need, there needs to be instruction.

Quote I’m pondering —

“The truth knocks on the door and you say, ‘Go away, I'm looking for the truth,’ and so it goes away. Puzzling.” 

— Robert M. Pirsig

What’s Happening This Week —

Monday, Oct. 29 - Lexia Training (K-2 English Teachers)

Monday, Oct. 29 - PLC Day (DSU classes)

Wednesday, Oct. 31 - Halloween Parade. Staff Picture after school.

Friday, Nov. 2 - Utah Food Bank after school

Friday, Nov. 2 - PTA iParent Meeting at 8:15 am

November 12-15 - SEP Conferences

Favorite Article This Week —

Oprah Winfrey starts every meeting with these same 3 sentences

Focusing our meeting to make them more effective will benefit our students and our focus. These are three great questions to use.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you 2nd and 3rd grade teachers. Thank you for taking extra time and working with your students that need a little extra attention. This has been a hard couple of months for you and we know how hard you are working. You are putting in a lot of extra time and effort to plan and work through the new program in two grade levels as well as work with very active students. Thank you for all you do for them. You are so important to our school and especially to our students.  Thank you for all you have done. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work.

The Instructional Focus

Teachers,

Here is your weekly dose of “5-Point Friday. 

The Instructional Focus  —

The instructional Focus in our school has been improving our Phonics and Phonemic Awareness in all grades, improving fluency and writing in the upper grades, and improving science instruction in the classroom and in the lab. At the beginning of the year, we found that we had a real need for Phonics and Phonemic Awareness as we tested students with Dibels and the Core Phonics Assessment. This led to more instruction in the younger grades with those specific areas and fluency in the upper grades. We are just touching the surface with the writing instruction in 2-5 grades. When we found the deficit in Phonics and PA, the writing piece was pushed to the back because the building blocks of reading and writing needed to be focused upon. Working with Jennifer and Sara this year has been an eye-opener for me to see why students are not reading and writing well in the upper grades. When the basics are not met, they cannot move on to the next step. That makes it harder for all of us, so we needed to concentrate more on the Phonics and PA. Once students have these two firmly in their grasp the next parts of reading and writing come so much easier. I am excited to see the improvement in our students through the lessons and teaching you are doing in the classrooms that is making a huge difference in students reading and writing abilities. The information text geared toward science in the classroom is making a difference also. We are hoping the new reading program will help every more. It has great stories and lessons built on science. The lessons Shelly is teaching and the hands-on activities are going to help students as they see and feel the way science works in their lives. We will see amazing progress in our students this year and over the next few years. Thank you for all your hard work.

Quote I’m pondering —

"If you hit a wrong note, it's the next note that you play that determines if it's good or bad." —Miles Davis

What I am Watching —

Let's Teach Kids to Code

Coding is more than a way to write computer programs. This Ted talk teaches what it can do for kids in their lives.

Another Favorite Article This Week —

Using the Socratic Seminar to Improve Classroom Discussions

A little reminder about the Socratic Seminar information Kristen and Alma presented a week ago. The challenge is there

A Big Thank You —

Thank you all teachers that wrote grants for your students for all you do.  Hailey, Irene(2x), Elena, Adriana, Merced, Jaime, Mar, Scott, Julie, and Kathy. 11 teachers received grants. That is amazing. Every teacher that wrote a grant, got one. Next year everyone should write one. That would be amazing. Thank you, teachers, for taking the time and taking a chance to write the grant. We have an amazing school that is always looking for something that will help our students get better. Thank you for all you do. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work. Have a wonderful weekend.