Happy Friday everyone - this weekend we officially kick off spring, which is SO AWESOME! This is the final staff newsletter for the month of March (and please note this Fast Friday Focus will cover the next two weeks), which is kind of crazy because the next edition will be published on Friday, April 1st... that's right, April is right around the corner! In the meantime, I hope everyone has a fun weekend planned - take some time to rest and relax! Felix and I are headed to Philadelphia for a mini reunion at Penn, which we are really looking forward to because oddly enough, we are missing the whole dissertation experience on some level (yes, clearly we are crazy)!
Meanwhile, I know this is a hectic and busy time of year but I am going to challenge us, collectively, to flip tradition and instead of counting down the days until the end of the year, let's make every day with kids count. Let's make every single day with kids as awesome as possible. Let's try something new - take a risk and explore something; let's make time for some fun - take your kids outside to read during reading workshop (Karen recently did this); let's give kids even more opportunities to lead the learning - take a step back and relinquish control; let's break tradition and try something different - maybe try one week with NO WORKSHEETS; let's celebrate with kids - don't wait for a school-wide spirit day, have a class spirit day! Everything I share here is nothing new because my suggestions are based on the amazing things I see unfolding throughout our school and I just wanted to share them as possibilities so we can make every single day count between now and Friday, June 24th!
Finally, I want to wish you all the best of luck with your upcoming parent/teacher conferences - I know they will be amazing because our families are so lucky to be working with such dedicated, smart and passionate educators. If anything comes up that is concerning, please let me know. Also, if the conversation about placement about next year comes up, please explain to the families that we are not sure what next year will look like and that they should email me with any relevant information, questions or concerns about placement.
#EDUWINS for the week included...
- Hanging with Jessica and her students while they were learning about taxation without representation. Jessica invited in to play the part of the King and I had a blast wearing the cape and crown (thanks Jen) and the kids seemed to have a blast too. They used candy to represent money and they experienced first hand how it felt to give up something that was important to them at the whim of a king because of the taxation of almost everything and anything. In the end, most of them ended up "bankrupt" and developed a good understanding of what colonists felt like early in our country's history. It was a lot of fun!
- Visiting with Janine's class and having one of her students share the Google Slide presentation he created (with his brother in Rosanna and Alex's class) about how to cook stir fry as part of the Try It Tuesday experience - it was AMAZING! He was so excited to share it and in the end, he created such an informative and effective presentation (with his brother) on the steps to cooking stir fry - AWESOMENESS!!! (Btw, you must check out the App Store Reviews Janine's kids have written outside of their classroom - WOW!!!)
- Visiting Christine and Matt's class while the children were experiencing some of the resources from the mobile Maker Space (I have loved participating in this in Rosanna & Alex's room, Karen's room and others over the last week)! The best part of this work has been watching the children direct their own learning and being actively engaged and immersed in whatever they were making, building or creating! Each instance was a concrete example of the children developing 21st Century skills because they were collaborating, creating and thinking critically! Thank you all for trying out these resources in a way that works for your kids and you!
Blogs Worth Reading...
Better Communication, Better Learning by Adam Schoenbart
Energy and Calm: Change It Up and Calm It Down by Lori Desaultes
Can Schools Cultivate A Student's Ability To Think Differently by Luba Vangelova
Staff Reflection/Blog...
Our latest post comes from Lisa P. who shares an important reflection on the notion of reading levels and how we may want to reflect on how we use that information to define kids...
My son Dean is a struggling reader. This is so hard for me, as you might imagine, as a reading teacher and a parent. So, when Dean and his friend, Brenden, were sitting in the 3rd row of my minivan talking about books, I turned down the radio and listened carefully. It was a crushing conversation. Dean proudly announced, “I moved up to H and I! What are you Brenden?” Brenden casually said, “Oh, I’m M and N.” Dean processed this and seemed to move on with the conversation. When we got out of the minivan, the boys played for all of 5 minutes before Dean was practically beating-up Brenden. Brenden went home. I apologized to his mom. On the car ride home, Dean was upset. After some time we spoke and of course, the root of the problem was the reading levels. Dean was upset that his friend was at a higher level. It’s that simple. And, I understood.
The conversation between Dean and Brenden is not uncommon. I wonder how his reading level was communicated to him, and it got me thinking about the message we are conveying to our students. His classroom teacher administered the F&P Benchmark Assessment. The only piece of the conversation Dean recalled about the testing session was his letter and that he went up. In Dean’s classroom the library only has leveled book bins. Each book is clearly labeled with the letter on the cover, and Dean’s independent book baggie is see-through. Everyone knows his level and he knows everybody else’s level.
I have a love-hate relationship with student reading levels. I love that I get a snap-shot of a student’s reading abilities and can plan accordingly. This is the heart and soul of my job. I love them and need them. The feelings of “hate” surface when students identify themselves by their letter. “I am ______.” (Fill in any letter of the alphabet.) I know this is a common feeling among many of us. I have spoken with educators and parents who feel the same way.
The A to Z guided reading level is a useful tool that teachers use to assess, instruct, and evaluate students. It provides important data for the teacher. It can be very useful when planning our teaching points and selecting books. But reading levels can easily be mishandled and misunderstood by our children, and even well-intentioned parents. Our children may use them as a way to identify and compare themselves. It can create a divide between students or a pecking order, and that can play out on the field, the classroom, back of a minivan or anywhere. It can be hurtful and damaging to their self-esteem.
Our goal as teachers is to teach students to read and hopefully to love reading or as Pernille Ripp said, “To hate it a little less.” A reading level derived from reading assessments is meant to help the teacher plan lessons. The level, despite its value, does not help a child develop a love for reading. The levels never did and never will. This has been an age-old struggle. I still remember being in the Blue Jay reading group when I was in elementary school, and I certainly knew who was a Red Robin! I wish I could talk to Dean’s teacher about his feelings, and the controversy and competition unintentionally created when schools identify students in this way. I would prefer if she talked to Dean about how to select a book that matches his abilities. What are the book characteristics that match him as a reader? How would he know if a book was too hard or too easy? So what if the book he selected did not have “his” letter labeled on it. If Dean knows the type of book that he can access yet focuses on his interest and purpose, doesn’t that trump the letter/level that it has been assigned? In the words of JoEllen McCarthy, “Wantability trumps readability.” If a child wants to read a book then (s)he will figure out a way to access it!
All of this has caused me to wonder: What are the conversations teachers are having with students? How are books organized and selected? Is privacy considered and protected? Can we modify our language and word choice to help foster a passion and purpose for reading rather than to foster competition and insecurity? All of this is just something for us to think about and perhaps discuss.
Monday, March 21
"B" Week
Report Cards Posted Online
Visitors in the building to observe Math in Focus
Tuesday, March 22
"B" Week
Report Cards Posted Online
Visitors in the building to observe Math in Focus
Tuesday, March 22
FEO Cancelled
Suzy Kline visits with Gr. 2 in Library - Library Closed!
Parent/Teacher Conferences - PM
Suzy Kline visits with Gr. 2 in Library - Library Closed!
Parent/Teacher Conferences - PM
Wednesday, March 23
Parent/Teacher Conferences - NO SCHOOL for kids!
Thursday, March 24
School Closed
Friday, March 25
Happy TGIF & School Closed!
Monday, March 28
"A" Week
Tuesday, March 29
"A" Week
Tuesday, March 29
POSITIVE POST-IT DAY!
EdCamp FEO for teachers only at Jackson!
Gr. 3 is on Trip
M.S. Counselors Visit 5th Grade
EdCamp FEO for teachers only at Jackson!
Gr. 3 is on Trip
M.S. Counselors Visit 5th Grade
Wednesday, March 30
Happy Wednesday
Thursday, March 31
CST @ 1:20pm
Friday, April 1
Happy April & TGIF!
Dan Gutman in the house! See the schedule from Michelle!
Reminders...
Happy April & TGIF!
Dan Gutman in the house! See the schedule from Michelle!
Reminders...
- Don't forget to implement lessons from our Digital Citizenship Curriculum... access it here!
- April 12th FEO is cancelled to
- Our next whole staff FEO will be Tues. April 19th - featuring time to plan for Innovation Day & other logistics!
- Innovation Day is coming on May 19th! Click here to check out the plan from last year... feel free to use the same plan or change it up!
No comments:
Post a Comment