Happy Friday! Hope everyone had an awesome four-day week! It was a busy week filled with PD from JoEllen, an author visit, the Fire Prevention Assembly and incredible learning opportunities! Thank you all for your hard work in making every minute of learning count - it is always so impressive to walk around this building and see the innovative and student centered practices unfolding.
One of the pieces that has really stood out to me is the integration of the new TC Units of Study for both reading and writing across the entire building. Although the only expectation that existed was that teachers experiment with these resources and integrate a sprinkling of lessons or activities throughout the year, many of you have embraced them and are integrated either the reading or writing (or both) units on a daily basis. A feature in the new units that many of you have tried already is the mid-workshop check-in and I think that can be a really powerful teaching and learning moment. Stopping the children, in the midst of their work, to clarify something, add something or introduce a new layer to an activity (in about 7 minutes or less) can be quite powerful. I really appreciate the willingness to enhance practice and in some instances totally revamp units because you see the value in this new resource - that is an important type of innovation when it comes to our instructional practices, which is such a great way to model for the children.
With that in mind, we are at a point in the school year (about 6 weeks in) where the workshop should be in full gear. There should be reading and writing everyday; there should be some type of literacy mini-lesson everyday; there should be conferring with children (1:1 or in small groups) everyday; and there should be as much small group instruction as possible on a regular basis and that can come in the form of a guided reading group, a strategy lesson, a book club or a group conference. Although it is difficult to integrate all these components on a daily basis, it is imperative to make it our goal because research shows that children grow as readers and writers by reading and writing EVERY SINGLE DAY! Check out this graphic that might be helpful in thinking about the structure and timing of the workshop...
The most important component to making the above a reality, is being tight on time. Keep the mini-lesson short; keep the conferences short (5 minutes or less); and keep the small group conferences short. Timing is EVERYTHING!
#EDUWINS for the week included...
- Jill facilitated a powerful writing workshop experience for her first graders. The focus of the mini-lesson was helping the children zoom in from a watermelon idea (huge) to a slice of the watermelon (more focused idea) to finally getting to a seed idea (the small moment) and the flow of the workshop was outstanding! In 40 minutes, Jill completed the mini-lesson, conferred with almost every student, did a mid-workshop check-in where the children shared a seed idea inspiration with their partner, gave the children time to write independently (where she and Sara S. conferred again) and ended with a whole group share. The whole experience was AMAZING and I only wish I videotaped the whole thing to share... BRAVA!
- Lois Z facilitated a great activity with first graders where they created a cityscape using markers. The children then sprayed their drawings with water and folded the paper over to create a reflection and the results were AWESOME! The most impressive thing was how much independence Lois gave the children and how successfully they navigated the whole experience - it was impressive!
- 1:1 instruction has permeated our second grade classrooms! This week, during one walk through of the building, I walked into each second grade class, one right after the other, and in each instance, a teacher was working 1 on 1 with a student in either math or writing. The direct instruction was critical and the learning was clear as a result of the proximity and differentiation - AWESOMENESS!!
Blogs Worth Reading...
Sketchnoting for Beginners - this is a slideshow by Sylvia Duckworth and focuses on this growing practice of combining notes & sketches using a device... something to consider with our kids!
What is ADHD? by MaryAnn Colucci (this is EXCELLENT)
Unleashing The Power of Positivity in Your School by Donna Wilson
Staff Reflection/Blog...
Our latest post comes from Lisa Palmieri who reflects on sarcasm and kids and how the two don't go together...
My son, Dean, was playing defense during this weekend’s homecoming football game. It was the end of the fourth quarter. A runner from the opposing team ran towards Dean and then right past him with the football. My son stood on the field, frozen. He didn’t tackle the runner. The runner scored the winning touchdown, and the game ended just like that. We lost. After the game, Dean’s coach walked up to him, smiled and insincerely said, “Hey Dean, I love when you don’t tackle the runner and he scores. Great job.”
My son braved it out until we got into our truck. As soon as the door slammed shut, he started crying. My poor baby (Okay, he’s 7 but still my baby) was the victim of sarcasm from an adult. In theory, an adult he is supposed to admire. Comments just like that have been a common thread throughout this football season, and it’s slowly killing my son’s passion for football, and way worse, it’s slowly killing his confidence.
Yes, there is a time, place and age/maturity level where sarcasm can be well received. Sarcasm can be funny and entertaining. I can definitely hold my own with sarcastic comments during Girls’ Weekend! It can be a clever and amusing way to get a point across. There is a dark side of sarcasm though. I feel the dark side is when it’s used with children. It’s toxic. It slowly shapes and impacts the way kids function, and the way they view themselves. We know that most children appreciate a good joke. They love to kid-around and will often repeat a joke or mimic a funny adult. Using humor with children is a wonderful way to build a relationship and to make connections! However, sarcasm that is camouflaged as a joke can be mean and insulting. Children can feel the mean tone, they understand the contradiction in the words and they see right through the pun. It’s harmful, not humorous. It’s mean, not uplifting, and it certainly isn’t filling anyone’s bucket!
My 13 year old daughter has been the receiver of sarcasm and is capable of being the deliverer. Okay, she’s a teenager. I think that many teens might display some varying degrees of sarcasm now and then. However, it’s not a pretty side. At times, when Sarah is feeling sassy, it changes the energy in our house, and it can bring negativity into the conversations. It can be unkind and condescending. The same can happen in the classroom and on the field. The sarcastic teacher, coach, parent etc., brings negativity into their relationships, and in-turn, this seems to give permission for the other children to use it with each other. Sarcasm can be perceived as a form of bullying. It can be used to make fun of someone, to point out flaws, or to belittle a person.
Sunday’s incident was a good reminder for me as to why sarcasm shouldn’t be used with children. A chance for me to pause and reflect on the way I interact with my own children and my students. I have certainly been in situations where I feel overwhelmed, or I feel frustrated or I’m just having a bad day. There are days where I may have repeated the same directions or instructions over and over again. And then the sarcasm seeps out. I can hear myself saying, “Really?!” or “Come on.” or “Are ya kidding me?” I suppose many of us have been there. This weekend was a reminder for me to remember that every single word counts, and the tone used is equally important.
Coaching Dean with sarcasm certainly hasn’t made him a better football player, quite the opposite. In actuality it has made him very sad, and now he wants to quit the team. It didn’t make him admire his coach. In actuality, it made him afraid of him. In my opinion, sarcasm can be detrimental to a young child’s self-esteem and self-worth. We know that children thrive in positive, happy, classrooms filled with joyful, funny teachers and coaches. These same teachers and coaches are careful with their words and they save the sarcasm for the adults in their lives. They make a conscious choice to use it outside of the classroom walls and beyond the fenced-in football fields.
Monday, October 19
"B" Week
PD with JoEllen for Gr. 2 & 3 at Cantiague
Monster Art Week (small change... instead of asking children to bring anything in, you will just create a monster mural as a class)
Tuesday, October 20
District-wide ENL Family Meeting at 9am in the auditorium
FEO cancelled this week!
FEO cancelled this week!
Wednesday, October 21
Happy Wednesday!
Thursday, October 22
CST @ 1:20pm
Kindergarten Trip to the farm
Ice Cream Sale
Kindergarten Trip to the farm
Ice Cream Sale
Friday, October 23
Happy TGIF!
PTA Fall Festival Tomorrow from 12pm to 3pm!
PTA Fall Festival Tomorrow from 12pm to 3pm!
Reminders...
- PARP Week is coming! Please send out a reminder to your families about PARB on Friday, October 30th - we want as many families as possible!
- Next FEO meeting will be October 27th for all staff!
- Planbooks to be submitted soon; remember, there are alternatives - ask me about them!
- I will be doing more formal observations in the coming weeks... starting with unannounced ones... with a primary focus on literacy
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