Thanksgiving

Teachers,

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

Thanksgiving —

What a wonderful time to remember all that we are thankful for. So I shall keep this short. Enjoy time with your family. Enjoy the time you have off.

Quote I’m pondering —

“I try to be available for life to happen to me. We're in this life, and if you're not available, the sort of ordinary time goes past and you didn't live it. But if you're available, life gets huge. You're really living it."

—Bill Murray

What’s Happening —

This Coming Week	In Two Weeks
Nov. 26 - Reunification Drill Nov. 27-29 - Thanksgiving Break Nov. 29 - Black Friday	Dec. 4 - TAT
Dec. 9 - Teacher Training Half Day Dec. 18 - Intervention Meeting Day with Aides

Favorite Article This Week —

How to Analyze or Assess Reading Comprehension

I have been learning about reading comprehension lately. This is an interesting article on comprehension. 

A Big Thank You —

Thank you kindergarten for helping with Heathers class while she is gone. Thank you Tui for taking notes and gifts to Lily when you went north. Thank you teachers for al you do to support each other in times of need. We need our immediate families and extended families when we are in need. Thank you for your kindness and love toward each other. This is something to be thankful for anytime of year. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work.

Mindset

Teachers,

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

Mindset —

A couple years ago I took an online class from Jo Boaler, an incredible Stanford Math professor, about how students learn math. One of the things I learned from her was that I needed to change my mindset on how students learn. Mindsets frame what is going on in our minds. There are two mindsets. A fixed mindset or a growth mindset. The research Carol Dweck has done teaches us that a fixed mindset is an internal monologue focused on judging. A growth mindset has an internal monologue, but it is focused on implications for learning and constructive actions. The trick is to find what situations we use which mindset with and change the internal monologue from a judging one to a growth-oriented one. How does this apply to what we do here at school? How can a growth mindset change the way we teach, learn, and work with students? Curriculum? Student Engagement? Homework? Planning? Working within teams? Coke vs. Water (this ones for me). How does this apply to us? A growth mindset helps us to become a learner rather than a non-learner. Our school is full of growth mindset teachers. Full of learners.

Quote I’m pondering —

With realization of one's own potential and self-confidence in one's ability, one can build a better world.-- Dalai Lama

What’s Happening —

This Coming Week	In Two Weeks
Mon. Nov. 4 - Pie with the Principal 2:30 pm Tue. Nov. 5 - Reflection projects are Due Wed. Nov. 5 - TAT 3rd grade Thu. Nov. 7 - 4th PD Day Thu. Nov. 7 - Reflections Night 6 pm	Nov. 11-5 - SEP Week out at 1:15 pm Nov. 11 - Veterans Day Nov. 11 - PTA Meeting 12 pm
	Nov. 26 - Reunification Drill Nov. 27-29 - Thanksgiving Break

Favorite Article This Week —

When should reading instruction begin?

I never thought about this. One thing I thought was interesting was when Shanahan writes, “Often kids enter kindergarten or first-grade with the expectation that they are to learn to read that year. Spreading this expectation across 3-4 years can reduce pressure and anxiety.” Interesting thought.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you Brenda for your constant help when I am unsure what the procedures are that have been set up over the years. The basic things, like where do we line up? How do certain things work? It is the little things that make such a big difference. I appreciate your help. I appreciate all you have done at  Arrowhead and during your career. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work.

I Had A Vision

Teachers,

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

I Had A Vision —

I have been thinking about Interventions quite a bit and thinking of where it is going has become more and more clear. I am seeing the interventions changing over time and as more students fill their gaps teachers will be remediating their Tier 1 content while aides fill in gaps. Over the next few years, I am hoping it will look like this throughout the year. At the beginning of the year we assess student needs in literacy and start our intervention groups. After a month or two, the intervention groups will get smaller and end up being a couple groups that can be managed by the Aides. If there are only now or two groups the other aides can help with remediation of Tier 1 concepts. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? As soon as the interventions taught reach where the grade level should be in their Tier 1 lessons, it becomes Tier 1 and the aides can help with differentiation. That is the dream. That is the vision. I want to Intervene aides out of their intervention jobs and have them help remediate Tier 1. There will always be 10-15% that will need an intervention, but that is a better issue than 50%+ in interventions. You are all amazing. Thank you for all you are doing with the interventions.

Quote I’m pondering —

I think that the most proud moments I’ve had in my career are after failures, when you kind of learn that the sun also rises and the world keeps spinning when you fail and when you succeed. -- Christen Press 

What’s Happening —

This Coming Week	In Two Weeks
Mon. Sept. 30 - Service Dog Training Wed. Oct. 2 - Walk to School Day Wed. Oct. 2 - Parent Learning Walk 9:30 am Wed. Oct. 2 - TAT Second Grade 8:00 am Fri. Oct. 4 - PTA Jog-a-Thon Fri. Oct. 4 - Reflections Starts	Mon. Oct. 7 - Pie With The Principal 9:30 am Tue. Oct. 8 - Jog-a-Thon Money Due Tue. Oct. 8 - PTA Meeting 12:00 pm Wed. Oct. 2 - TAT Second Grade 8:00 am
	Oct. 17-18 - Fall Break  Oct. 28 - Nov. 1 - Red Ribbon Week

Favorite Article This Week —

Reading Aloud to Kids and Why Lessons Need Purposes

Interesting article that Timothy Shanahan wrote. Everything we do with students should be

A Big Thank You —

Thank you Third Grade. Thank you for all you have done with interventions. I appreciate how well you work together as a team. Talking every day, keeping in touch with students, and helping each other. Thank you for all you do to help some of your students that need a little extra. Taking into account some of the baggage they come with and giving them a little extra support. Thank you for building relationships with the students. Thank you for all you do for kids. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work.

What did I learn this week?

Teachers,

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

What did I learn this week?  —

This is a question everyone should ask. What did I learn this week? If we haven’t learned something, we need to start learning something each week, or each day. This week I learned that instead of just having a student apologize when they hurt someone, but to do a little extra for that person can make a big difference than I ever thought it would. I also learned that when a student starts to add compliments as their punishment, they realize they can make others happy, and they are a little happier. I have seen student smile more than I have all year when they tell me the compliments they give each day. I learned that giving students technology an not having a purpose and an accountability piece to the tech activity gives stuns a license to either do nothing or do something they would rather do on the computer. I learned that Phonemic Awareness and Phonics can determine if s student will read well in third grade. I also learned that reading comprehension is not base on answering questions, but how students use strategies like Monitoring their own comprehension, generating questions, using mental imagery, summarizing, using graphic organizers, and answering questions as they read. If students use these strategies and understand the words they are reading using PA, Phonics, background knowledge, and vocabulary, they will comprehend text. That was just a piece of what I learned, and I want to know more about each of these things. What I you learn this week?

Quote I’m pondering —

“It is better to know how to learn than to know.”  — Dr. Seuss

What I am Watching —

60-Second Strategy: 7-Minute Writes

I used to see 5-minute writing in some classrooms where the students wrote for 5 minutes and did not stop. It was not graded, it was just for students to write. This is better. 

Favorite Article(s) This Week —

The Gap Between The Science On Kids And Reading, And How It Is Taught

An interesting article about how important phonics and phonemic awareness is for reading. Interesting thoughts.

Reading Rockets - Reading resources for teaching reading. You may need to dig, but there is a lot here.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you, teachers, for all your hard work with the students. We were at this Literacy Academy and as we went over all our Dibels data and Core Phonics data, we found the improvement in the scores to be amazing. The work you are doing with the students is showing. I know that many of you have mentioned that you are seeing the difference in your classrooms. It is wonderful how you will take a learning strategy and implement it because you know it will help students. When Jennifer an Sara bring us strategies and show us how it will make our students successful, I love that we see them being used in your classrooms. It is also great to see in these meetings we go to that we are going things in our school that research is telling Gus we should be doing. That is all because of you. You are where the rubber hits the road. Your classrooms are where the learning and success happens. Thank you for all you do for students. Thank you for all you do. Thank you.

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

Scheduling

Teachers,

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

Scheduling  —

The one thing I have learned over the many years I have taught and mores since I took the job as a Teacher on Special Assignment, is scheduling. It is a nightmare. Trying to get everything in and not having someone get left out or have more than another is impossible. I am getting ready to start looking at how we will schedule or week next year with PLC’s, PE, and anything else we need to add in as we go through the year. WIDA is always crazy because of the amount of students we have that need to take this test. Scheduling DIBELS in two languages and then the Core Phonics in each language can also take up some time. We will also head into the SAGE testing in two months that will take a little time, but fortunately we have enough technology in our school that will keep our computer lab free. I tell you this because of the reactions with the scheduling. It has been generally positive and I understand when it is not. I have been there when my students had the worst times to do things and it always seemed that there was never a perfect time for anything. I have appreciated the input I have gotten with the schedules we have put together. We are trying to make them so that you have the most time possible to do what you need to do, teach. IF you have suggestions, please let me know. As we start the scheduling for next year, please let me know if you have suggestions. I do appreciate your flexibility and your understanding when it comes to the scheduling. 

Quote I’m pondering —

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

 —Margaret Mead

Favorite Article This Week —

Want to help your kid ace the big tests? Make them laugh, not study

I am not saying students should not study. I am saying kids also need to laugh/. Interesting article.

Another Favorite Article This Week —

The New Reading Program Implementation Blues

We will be getting a new reading program next year. This is an interesting article from Timothy Shanahan about implementing a new program.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you for all you do. We have really done a lot of testing over the last couple weeks and everyone needs a big thank you for giving the tests, working with the schedules while we give the tests, and just being understanding. This is a big thank you for everyone in our school. Thank you.

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

It’s Time to Address Your Behavior

Teachers,

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

It’s Time to Address Your Behavior  —

The district has been talking a lot about behavior the last month. Each of the trainings I have gone to have a piece about what they are doing to help support us int he schools when we have a behavior issue. So the questions that were asked of us today I will ask you. 

• Is there a foundational understanding across the building of what behaviors should look like? We did a PBIS training at the beginning of the year. How is that training being supported in the classroom? Are the lessons being taught in the PBIS videos being modeled and reviewed in the classroom? What can we do better?
• What are the gaps in the behavior system in our school? If you see gaps, please let us know. We want to improve anything that will help our students learn.
• What are the rules in our school and what are we doing to support those rules? Do you know the 5 PBIS rules? Do you know the cheer?
• Do kids know how to restore the relationship they have broken? The most important question I heard was this one. We tell them to say I’m Sorry, but does that repair the relationship? Will that make it better? Do they understand what they have done and how to repair the relationship?

So what we would like to do is know what we can do to support you? When are the bad behaviors happening? Is it during tradition time? During rotation time? When students line up? What is the catalyst? What procedure can be addressed to help students? One main idea Annette Brinkman taught me was that engagement helps curb bad behaviors and improves learning. Let us know your thoughts about managing problem behaviors in our school and your ideas to help improve them. 

Quote I’m pondering —

“The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he's one who asks the right questions.”

― Claude Lévi-Strauss

What I’m reading —

When Reading is Trash or Magic

How do our students feel about reading? Do we listen to why they do or do not like reading? How do we change or encourage those truths?  

Favorite Article This Week —

How to Improve Your Self-Esteem & Self-Image...The Postage Stamp Method

There are some great ideas to use with kids in this article. Also to use with yourself. You are one of a kind and no one else is like you. You are extraordinary and engineered for success. Yes, YOU are. 

A Big Thank You —

Thank you Shelly. Thank you for taking on the Cultural Night and organizing the food and information to parents. Thank you for taking on these projects that always end up being amazing. Thank you for taking charge of the Safety Patrol and getting them organized. I haver had parents comment about how smooth it is when dropping their students off in the morning and picking them up in the afternoon. The students are also more confident as they do their jobs. Thank you for your hard work. We also appreciate all the work you have put into the science lab. Adjusting to the new rotations and managing the science skills needed as we improve our science information. As you work with teams and build our science learning, just know that we appreciate your help. Thank you for always wanting to do more to help our school. We appreciate all you do. Thank you for being here. Thank you.

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

Good Job

Teachers,

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

Good Job —

I hear this sometimes and I wonder, what does that mean? I find myself saying that also and I wonder, what did I mean? Was I not paying attention enough to add more detail to my compliment? I need to do better at being more specific in my compliments. What specifically did I enjoy about what someone did? What specifically do I like about the thing this person is doing? Specific feedback gives more depth to the compliment and provides something for the complimentee(I know, not a word) to enjoy about what they did. So I need to create an instant rubric in my head for everything I see people do so I know what to compliment them on... no that is not correct, I just need to pay attention and see what is happening. I need to not look at situations as a judgment call, but as enjoyment. Complimenting others with a blanket "good job" give nothing specific for them to celebrate. It just leaves them wondering wheat part was good and what part needed improvement. I can do better. I need to do better. Those around me deserve better compliments. 

Quote I’m pondering —

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or we can rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." — Abraham Lincoln

What I’m watching —

Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children

This video tells about the difference parents can make by just talking to their children. The research is astounding. The difference between a child that is talked to when they are young compared to a child that is not makes a huge difference in literacy. 

Favorite Article This Week —

Vocabulary: The Missing Link Between Reading and Literacy

I read this article and thought you should read it also. Here are a couple questions to think about when you read this. Why might vocabulary be the missing link between phonics and comprehension? What implications for instruction does this article present? How will this affect the way you teach vocabulary?

A Big Thank You —

Thank you Jaime. Hearing you tell about how you try to help students be a part of music even when they do not want to be a part of the dancing is wonderful. Every student has a notch somewhere and you are helping them find their place in music class. Thank you.

Thank you third grade for helping Kristen A. get climatized to our school. Coming in this time of year is always interesting, which Derrell has found, but she has done well.Thank you for getting her up to speed and keeping the focus on the students. Thank you.

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