Week One: Introduction to course: Hi and welcome to our course! Please remember that one of the benefits of a blogging course is to have communication between participants. Be remember to respond to other participants' comments each week.
Assignment #1: Introductory paragraph. Please post your introduction to the course blog in the blog archive under the posting: Week One: Introduction - Please tell us a little about yourself. Where do you teach? What grade and how long have you been teaching? How many students are in your class and do you have instructional support? What does your current literacy program look like? (If you aren’t currently teaching let us know what your educational background and experiences are.) What is your knowledge/training in the area of literacy? Does your district provide literacy training? If so, what exactly have they offered? Also, let us know a little about you outside the classroom: Interests/ Hobbies/ Family Life.
Also please read: Classroom Instruction that Works - Chapter 1 – Applying the Research on Instruction: An Idea Whose Time Has Come
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o After you create your account you can just type in your user name and password from when you created the account and then click the button “publish your comment” and it will be posted. You should post Assignment # 1 explained below as your first comment.
(Please Note: In addition to posting your first assignment (Introduction) to the blog, please email it to us. This is to enable us to contact you individually should the need occur. Please also make sure that you label your assignment with your name when posting to the blog to ensure that you receive proper credit for your work.)
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8 comments:
My name is Sam Williams. I teach at West Union Elementary School in Hillsboro, Oregon. This is my second year teaching a blended 5/6 class, and it is my tenth year teaching overall.
Our school follows a walk-to-read/math model, so I have a straight 5th grade math class and a straight 6th grade reading class, and a blended homeroom in which I teach writing, social studies, and science. The class size ranges from 25-28 students.
My current literacy program uses Houghton-Mifflin, a district-wide adoption. My school performs rather well on the state tests, but my district does not. To dodge accusations of inequity, the district heavily proscribes a "one-size-fits-all" reading program that relies heavily on the basal text, "template enhancements," which are additional direct-instruction lessons to teach skills kids may be lacking (but by in large they aren't at my school), and "enhancement" time in which to teach these targeted lessons, which is essentially an additional 25 minutes after the 75 minutes of core instruction.
My district assesses the oral reading fluency of every student in the school three times a year by using DIBELS, which I understand to be a stripped-down version of the old IRI tests teachers would do, only fluency is the only component measured. Comprehension is ignored. Students who score below a certain score are "progress monitored" on a bi-monthly basis. That is, they read passages out loud and teachers record how they progress.
My school is also fortunate enough to have instructors who pull out the lowest kids for a phonics-heavy replacement program (Language! - pronounced Language Exclamation, not just shouting the word "Language.") In that respect, I have instructional support, but it isn't in my room.
Because of the walk-to-read model adopted at my school, the highest readers go to a teacher who is excellent at challenging them. The lowest readers get targeted small-group help they need, and I teach a class made up entirely of at-grade level readers.
My district mandated that every teacher attend a multi-day training for the "template enhancements" to the core curriculum. I understand the rationale behind it, but I don't need the templates for my readers. I would like to see more training to meet the needs of any level but the lowest readers. When I began teaching, we used to receive instruction like that on inservice days, but budget cuts have made those trainings a thing of the distant past.
Outside the classroom, I try to cycle whenever I can. I am training for the Seattle-To-Portland ride this summer. I play guitar. I walk my labrador. My wife and I don't have kids, so we spoil the dog.
My name is Sarah Barnett. I teach at Lincoln Park Elementary School in Portland, Oregon. This is my 11th year as a teacher, the first year in kindergarten and the last 10 years in first grade.
I currently have 26 students, and class sizes in first grade tend to be in the high twenties. I am lucky to have a 3.5 hour overload assistant each year, which is a tremendous help with prep, reading groups, organization, and classroom management. We have a significant ESL population in our school, and we are a Title 1 school as well.
Our literacy program is heavily influenced by our experience as a Reading First school for five years. We are in our second year post-Reading First, but continue with many of the practices that came about as part of that grant. We follow the Houghton Mifflin program as our core reading program, supplemented by guided reading books from our book room, Core Enhancements, and Benchmark Education's Build-Up Phonics programs. We have Title 1 assistants who merge into our classrooms for small group instruction during parts of our daily 90 minute reading block. In addition to the reading block, we have a 45 minute writing time later in the day, which is supported with an ESL instructional assistant for 30 minutes four times a week.
In math we use the Bridges program, supplemented by a variety of practice sheets for rote practice of basic facts. This is our first year using Bridges, and I am enjoying it, as are my students.
We also squeeze in content here and there, using GLAD units, The Great Body Shop (health), and Social Studies Alive. I include a daily class meeting as well, and we have a school wide behavior plan (PBS).
Outside of school I enjoy spending time with my husband, college and high school age children, our dogs, and my cat.
My name is Katy Iles. I teach at Hogan Cedars Elementary school in Gresham, Oregon. This is my 5th year teaching, and my third year teaching 2nd grade. Currently I have 25 2nd graders, but the other classes are in the high twenties.
Right now, our district does not have an adopted reading program. However, they have already piloted programs, and if the money works out, they do want to adopt one. But currently, our school is really pushing for all teachers to start using the Daily 5 in our 75 minute protected reading blocks. I have been doing this for 2 years and really like the set-up of Daily 5. We pull small group reading books from a "book room" and use a combination of other resources for our daily lessons.
We have one assistant for our second grade team divided up throughout the day. I only have her for about 20 minutes of the reading block. However, we use her often for math and reading intervention groups as a grade level.
As for literacy trainings, we don't have a regular routine for these. However, our school is currently going through the process of becoming school wide Title 1 and if that happens, then we want to have some Daily 5 and CAFE in-services at our school.
We use a couple different assessments in our building. Our Title 1 staff uses DIBELS with their kiddos, and does the progress monitoring every two weeks. Also, we use the DRA2 as the overall assessment for the whole population. Both these scores are taken into account to monitor student growth.
Outside the classroom, I like to scrapbook and read. Also, I bought a house in the last few years, so I'm starting to become interested in gardening. Also, I love spending time with my cat, Gracie Lou!
Welcome Sam, Sarah, and Katy. Sam, it’s great that you are actually in two of our classes! Both Sam and Sarah definitely seem to be in schools/districts where the reading and language arts programs are much more prescriptive. Katy, it seems as though , at least for now, you have more flexibility. We also use the Daily 5 and CAFÉ scattered in both my school and across the district. I love it!!! Marzano’s strategies can be incorporated into all teaching styles and grades…I look forward to reading your ideas throughout the semester.
Hello! My name is Kristi Richards. I am a Title I teacher in the Centennial School District. This is only my second year in this district and this position. I taught first and/or second grade in a neighboring district for fourteen years.
The Centennial District bases many of its literacy decisions on the belief in a “balanced literacy” approach. Every building has at least one half time literacy coach who supports teachers in this model. Teachers are trained in the areas of reader’s/writer’s workshop and the gradual release model. Many teachers have been sent to Denver for professional development through PEBC. Implementation of these techniques varies greatly from classroom to classroom, and the district is continuing to work on consistency. The teachers have the Rigby Literacy materials.
I am in a building that receives less Title I money than many of the other schools in our district. Since we have less personnel, the Title I team chose to focus my time on early intervention. I provide targeted and supplemental interventions for first and second graders, using both a push-in and pull-out model. I also provide an extended kindergarten session one hour each day.
We use the DRA assessment tool every trimester. Last year was our first year to implement what we call the “universal screener.” It is an online tool that has been created by our district to enter specific literacy data on students, depending on their grade level. The student is then ranked with a risk level. We are trying to create a district-wide assessment tool that we can use besides DIBELS. I use running records for my progress monitoring.
On a more personal note, I am pregnant with my first child. It’s a girl! I’m also in the midst of purchasing my first house. Hopefully all of the new home pieces fall into place before the new kiddo decides to make an appearance.
Welcome Kristi! It sounds like you have a fantastic job…very similar to the one I worked at in Norwalk a couple of years ago. I’m very jealous you’ve had the opportunity to train with Denver’s PEBC. My current district (Trumbull) is also going to be using an “on-line” tool to track students’ and support student data for use in data team and grade level meeting. Let me know if your district comes up with something OTHER than DIBELS. I keep saying that that’s where the money is…progress monitoring tools that are good. If only I had the time……. :) Congratulations on the pregnancy – I hope you are feeling well and she’s not tiring you out too much!!!
Posting for Kellie:
Hi, I'm Kellie and I'm getting into this course very late in the game, but I'll do my best to catch up. I am a 4/5 teacher in Burlington,VT. I teach at a newly created magnet school for sustainability. We are a title I school and our student population is very diverse. I currently have 17 students. One of my students requires a para-professional for one-on-one assistance. She works both in and out of the classroom with him and spends her time in my fifth grade math class.
Our literacy program is mixed. I've been to Columbia Teacher's College for their reading and writing summer institutes so I use a lot of their work. We do have the Houghton Mifflin series, but primarily use Fountas and Pinnell levels for independent and guided reading groups.
It is an exciting and frustrating time at our school as we make the switch from a regular public school to a magnet school. We're all still learning how to integrate sustainability and other content areas.
Outside of school I am an avid reader. I love to garden, walk, and kayak. I spend my time with my husband and our amazing dog, Bodhi.
Kellie
Hi Kellie and welcome to our course. No worries about getting the late start…it’s one of the benefits of distance learning…flexibility that fits your schedule. I’m psyched there’s someone in the course from the east coast for a change :) Do you work with Mary Mitchell? It sounds like an exciting time to be switching over to a Magnet school….what is the focus for the school (ie…science, technology…)?
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