Here are some updates from the wonderful world of curriculum!
DIBELS:
Our BOY Benchmark window ended last Friday, 9/24 - Moore had 100% completion, yay! Thanks to EVERYONE who helped on the Sweep Teams and thanks to classroom teachers for letting us interrupt your day! The Progress Monitoring window started this week for kids who are RED. I sent out an email with all Progress Monitoring directions and a chart to keep track of your students. FYI -- Students who are GREEN in DIBELS are considered "average" (like a "C" on the grading scale). Green is nothing to be overly excited about... We MUST push those kids! (There will probably eventually be an "above Green" category.)
STRATEGIC READING INSTRUCTION:
As a district, we are all trying to improve our reading instruction. According to the National Reading Panel, there are five critical areas (The Big 5 - Most of you probably know these!):
-Phonemic Awareness: Teaching children to use letters to represent phonemes (the ability to manipulate sounds)
-Phonics: Teaching children to match oral sounds to print
-Fluency: Improves with repeated reading procedures that offer guidance and feedback (NOT just speed reading... Should include teaching inflection, punctuation, prosody, etc.)
-Vocabulary: Looking in a glossary is not enough! Students must be able to classify words, make connections, use new words in oral and written language, learn prefixes and suffixes, etc.
- Comprehension: Teaching comprehension strategies is key! Students must be exposed to both narrative and expository text!
PEPs:
As per my email, all PEPs should be completed and initial conferences should occur no later than November 12th. Try to focus on 3-4 goals and document all interventions.
QUARTER TESTING:
This year we will operate on a more standardized Quarter Testing schedule. Mark your calendars! Tuesday, October 26th is Reading; Wednesday, October 27th is Math with a Calculator; Thursday, October 28th is Math without a Calculator.
IMAGINE IT!:
We began Unit 1, Lesson 1 in all K-2 classrooms this week. We are all in this together! I have tried to begin making appearances in each K-2 classroom to observe Imagine It! lessons. In all of my visits, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching teachers introduce the lion, show letter stories on Smartboards, read big books, teach the new alphabet song - The kids are so engaged! Let's try to feed off of their energy! We will have an Imagine It! consultant visit on Thursday, October 14th to do a model lesson in each grade level. More details to come.
QUARTER SPREADSHEETS:
No, it's not quite that time yet, but I have gone ahead and entered all class lists on teachers' spreadsheets (for those who want to get a head start on entering data). On the Staff Shared folder, there is a folder titled "Data Sheets 2010." Teachers can find directions on how to enter data as well as classroom-specific spreadsheets. If you are interested in locating data for your students from last year, I have left old data sheets in the folder titled "Data Sheets."
SMILE:
If your desk looks anything like mine, there are post-its EVERYWHERE reminding you of what you have left to accomplish and a mile-long To-Do list. Take a breath, smile, and remember to celebrate all you've accomplished today. A long time ago I heard the following quote that has stuck with me for years:
"To be happy in life, all you need is something to love, something to do, and something to look forward to."
Don't Forget!
-October 1st: Transportation Day
-October 7th: PTA Bingo Night
-October 19th: Gateway Meeting
-October 26th: 1st Quarter Testing - Reading
-October 27th: 1st Quarter Testing - Math (with a Calculator)
-October 28th: 1st Quarter Testing - Math (without a Calculator)
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