Day: October 30, 2018

Hi all,

The purpose of this blog is to explore formative assessment and specifically my final goal is to learn a few strategies around ways to report back to my students with effective formative feedback.

To do this I will be using some books that I have gathered over the last few years as well as my own experiences in classrooms.

I hope you stick around to see how this goes.

Throughout my research and discussions with multiple literacy teachers about early intervention strategies for struggling readers I discovered the Orton-GIllingham approach. Ana Vieiraa explained to me that this approach can be extremely effective with particular students who aren’t quite getting it in class.

According to https://www.ortonacademy.org/resources/what-is-the-orton-gillingham-approach/ The Orton-Gillingham approach is intended primarily for use with individuals who have difficulty with reading, spelling, and writing of the sort associated with dyslexia. It is most properly understood and practiced as an approach, not a method, program, system or technique. In the hands of a well-trained and experienced instructor, it is a powerful tool of exceptional breadth, depth, and flexibility. On the website they discuss how they developed the approach, they said that part of it was through practice and lots of knowledge that was validated over the past 70 years and the other part was created from scientific evidence about how individuals learn to read and write, why a significant number have difficulty in doing so; how having dyslexia makes achieving literacy skills more difficult; and which instructional practices are best suited for teaching such individuals to read and write.

This early intervention approach is more difficult to implement in your classroom because it is usually a one-on-one/small group teacher student instructional model. But it has been adapted to be valuable in classroom instruction.The main focus is it to help students with their reading, spelling and writing difficulties. It is extremely student-centered as it is developed around the learning needs of the individual student. Throughout our careers it is very likely that we will all have dyslexic students in our classrooms so it is important that we take the time to learn how to help them effectively. Students with dyslexia require more help understanding the basics of language and the writing system. This is because sorting, recognizing and, organizing language does not process as easily for them as it would for a student without dyslexia.

In order to practice this approach in your classroom you are required to get training and a certification. I think that this is a very effective strategy and I am very interested in getting certified myself in order to help students in my class with dyslexicia or for other learners who are struggling with literacy in my classroom. Unfortunately I am unable to go into depth about how this approach works but if I get more information from a teacher who is certified I will definitely add the information to my blog post. If you are interested in getting certified I attached the website link at the beginning of my second paragraph. I also attached this video of the Orton-Gillingham approach in action if you are interested in getting an idea of how it works. I hope this helped to inform you about one more early intervention approach that is accessible to you in order to support readers in your classroom who are struggling.

In this post, I am going to be talking about Inattentive Type ADHD and how teachers can help their students who suffer from this. Inattentive ADHD used to go by ADD or Attention Deficit Disorder but it is now classed as a type of ADHD. What I’ve done below is listed some of the main symptoms you’d see in a person with ADHD and then talked about them from the perspective of a person with ADHD.

Symptoms of Inattentive Type ADHD:

• Daydreams and becomes easily distracted – this is a very hard part of ADHD as children don’t choose to become distracted or daydream and can often feel dumb as a result.
• Gets bored quickly and has difficulty staying focused – can cause the careless mistakes or missed details. People who have ADHD often become done with things and lose interest which causes them to put minimal effort into things they are doing.
• Has trouble getting organized (for example, losing homework assignments or keeping the bedroom messy and cluttered) – This can also present the opposite way. People with ADHD can be extremely organized to the point where organizing their lives can distract them from doing the things their organizing. They also often use cleaning or organizing as a way to distract themselves from doing the things that require their complete attention.
• Doesn’t seem to listen when spoken to – This can be a result of a working memory disorder which often appears alongside ADHD. The working memory holds information in your brain that is currently being used. It’s like a temporary memory for your short-term memory. When people are talking to you, it requires your working memory to hold onto what the person is saying, and then come up with a response. People who have the working memory disorder have a hard time holding onto the information you’ve said which can come across as not listening.
• Avoids tasks which require a lot of focus – PROCRASTINATION! This is a big problem for people with ADHD. It takes up so much energy to sit down and focus on something. Imagine running a marathon every day, this is the amount of energy it takes a person with ADHD to focus during the entire day. IT IS EXHAUSTING! – which is why we often avoid large tasks that require our attention.
• Misses important details or makes careless mistakes on homework and tests – We get tired from focussing on things all day and then start to miss things because our attention isn’t working well.
• Often loses track of things – this is typically the result of the working memory not transferring the information of where the object last was to the short-term memory.
• Is forgetful in day to day activities – HELLO WORKING MEMORY! You know that voice in your head that reminds you to do things? Ya people with ADHD don’t have that…
• Has trouble following instructions and often shifts from task to task without finishing anything – This goes back to the TV and remote analogy from the last post. People with ADHD don’t have control over which channel their brain is on which makes it very hard for us to stick to one topic.

How Can You Help Your Children or Student’s Who Have ADHD?

• Check Lists and To Do Lists! – This helps people with ADHD get the clutter out of our heads. Writing down all of the things we’re trying to remember will free up our attention for the things we’re trying to focus on. It also feels really good to check things off on a list because it makes you feel proud for accomplishing something.
• Bite-size projects. Break down projects and requests into small tasks. Instead of saying, “Do your homework,” you might say, “Finish your math sheet. Then read one chapter of your English book. Finally, write one paragraph describing what you read.” Breaking down your projects or tasks into small chunks makes it easier for people ADHD to be successful. Smaller tasks mean focusing for smaller chunks of time.
• Give clear instructions. Make them simple, easy to understand, and write them down! Having a visual to look at will make your student feel less stressed to have to remember all of the instructions.
• Cut down on distractions. Turn off the TV, computer, radio, and video games as much as possible at home. Ask the teacher to seat your child away from the windows and doors in class. In your classroom, limit the things that are on the walls, some decorations are great but cluttered walls make it hard for ADHD students to focus on their tasks.
• Organize. Make sure your belongings are always in the same place and easy to find. Having a spot for everything so that things go in the same place and are easy to refind.
• Get into a routine. Routines are everything for a child with ADHD. A sense of order helps inattentive children stay focused. Follow the same schedule every day — “put your backpack in your cubby, hang up your coat, take out your planner, etc.” Having a routine list with visuals will help younger students remember.

Hello – 

We’ve  had lots of time in our class discussions and our own findings to have a sense of what type of routines we want to implement and how we want to teach our students……but what about the space your students are going to be in? How is that going to be organized and where are you going to put all your things so you can find them? As a new teacher you probably have a small stash of things you have randomly bought along the way but what else are you going to need? I’m going to go over a few basic ideas to help you (and me, mostly) get started and also to bring to your attention some things you may not have given thought to! 

First of all, give yourself time before the school year begins to get ready! Obviously this isn’t always possible as a new teacher but if you can get into your classroom atleast the week before you will have much less stress. This gives you a chance to look at your layout, what type of shelving or storage you have in the class and where the white boards and projectors are set up…..if you have any. Another good reason to get yourself into your new school early is to make contact with some of the other staff.

I know I always feel nervous going into a new school, but I always feel better when I’m in my hometown because I always recognize somebody I know in the staff room and that is comforting. Teachers are much better at collaborating these days and you will want to get in on that!

Once you know what type of space you are working with then you can begin to plan your bulletin boards, carpet space, and displays you will have. Make sure that you use cohesive colours and keep a theme, this keeps the classroom all in sync. Getting prepared ahead of time means you have more time to think about what you would like to display and gives you time to print and laminate different resources. Of course we all know pinterest.ca and teacherspayteachers.com but do start regularly watching as many things go on sale or become free from time to time that could be useful in the future. It’s ok if your classroom is pretty empty, don’t feel that you need all the posters and displays already chosen. It’s very difficult at this stage to know what we are going to want to use on the walls. Your students will enjoy watching their walls fill up as the year progresses and they know the reason behind everything you put there! I love the idea of displaying the cover art of all the books we have read as a class on the wall, or sort them into categories. There are some many things you could do with that idea!

Other decisions you will have to make in your space are:

• Find distinct areas around the room for your different uses. (carpet space, desk area, stations/centres, quiet reading nook etc.)
• Where are YOU going to work? At one desk? Multiple work surfaces?
• Where will student supplies be kept (glue, scissors, pens, paper)? How will you store these?
• Where do you expect the students to work? Find areas in the classroom that can be used as work space.
• Do you want different lighting in some space of the class? 
• Where are the students personal belongings going to be?

Lastly, I think it is important to specifically talk about books. A very important aspect of a classroom is its library and how book selection for students is set up. This is an area that I do worry about because it is going to take a lot of time to build up a book collection and know which books we prefer using over others. As for where to get the books….start looking now. I have already been collecting books whenever I see a trolley of free books in a school. Its hard to know which ones to pick but I just grab a stack every time. Another good strategy is get friendly with teachers who are going to retire soon! This may sound crazy but they do not want to keep every single thing they have in their class and I have found many are thrilled to give it away knowing it is going to good use. Also, many TOC’s are teachers who no longer want to work full time or have their own class, and I have gotten totes full of stuff because they don’t need it anymore. It feels super overwhelming, but it will come together I promise you! It will be easier to know what you need if you break it up into a few different groups of book types.

1. Reading level groups – This can be done in a few ways but the most popular is to have “Just Right” baskets with same-level books. Some teachers will make clothespin with the students names on them and clip their name onto the appropriate basket, this way they can be moved around. Benchmark books are also useful for this but not always as fun to read for the students. https://www.readinga-z.com/assessments/benchmark-books/ has some great online resources (depending on the tech access at your school) and also provides access to online reading records.
2. Have a main library with a good assortment of fun books. These are books that students can grab at any time and read whether or not they are the right reading level or not. The purpose of this library is to inspire the love of reading. Generally, these would include popular classics and new popular books with characters that students love. Be sure to have your favourites in there as well! If you love your book collection then so will the students.
3. This one is more optional but you could also add to your class a book shelf, or basket with theme books. This could rotate according to units, holidays and seasons. This is a different way to get students to look at books they may never have noticed before.

So now you know what I know! I suggest we all start taking notes of these little details while we are in practicum and compiling a folder of ideas…..and maybe hit a lotto garage sales looking for stuff…. 

– Ms. S

Here are some great links I used for my research.

10 First Week of School Teacher Tips You Must Remember

More resources…

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/easy-guide-setting-your-grade-k-5-classroom/

Hey everyone,

my topic for my posts is based on Growth Mindset, and fostering a positive atmosphere in classrooms.

I have a grade 2/3 class, and from day 1 my sponsor teacher noted that the students may be below grade level learners.

As the first week of practicum went by, I noticed something. The students in my classroom had really low confidence. 

This really was an ‘aha’ moment for me, because I saw their bright ideas and the sparkle in their eyes when I talked with them, they just were stuck when it came to expressing them.

My focus is going to be on different techniques we’ve learned in our time at VIU, and hopefully some things that are new to some of you

We all remember the great video, The Power of Yet right? Well, that could be something you share with your kids!

But let me backtrack a bit. I fullheartedly believe that the FIRST thing we need to do as teachers is building a safe classroom community. Students who may feel nervous to share their ideas could be telling us that the classroom community isn’t as safe as it could be.

How can we build safe classroom communities? It may be tricky to do this in a practicum classroom, but know that you are backed up by your supervisors, and the professors at VIU who embody this in our learning.

Remember the set of classroom rules we came up with for Paige’s class last year? That is something you could introduce into a classroom. Ask your sponsor teacher if you might be able to try something like that in the class. Getting students to co-create the list will give the best resource for kids to refer back to. Talking about what the kids want to see in a safe classroom will help build the classroom designed by them (with our guidance, of course).

Something to take in mind is the school goal for the year. At Salmo Elementary, the school goal is literacy, but also self regulation. This will be a cool basis for me to go off of, because in building a safe classroom, my sponsor teacher, myself and the students will be able to talk about and work through challenges together.

Stay tuned-more posts coming up! next up, dissecting Growth Mindset!

Hello all,

One of the strategies that I would like to share to help classroom teachers improve instruction for ELL students today is Think-Pair-Share (TPS). I am sure a lot of you have already seen or used this strategy in your practicum class and know the benefits of it. It is a collaborative learning strategy in which students work together to solve a problem or develop a response within a given topic. As I have my own experience as an English Language Leaner, I can say that this is one of the best strategies that helped me in so many ways! It is a simple technique, yet effective, and allows ELL learners to improve their communication, comprehension and social skills.  Also, it allows sufficient time to process their thoughts as it takes more time for ELL learners as they need to think in two languages. Then, the opportunity to discuss with a partner allows them to ‘check out’ their answer with each other or hear other possible answers. At the end, the teacher can have everyone back, share ideas as a class and provide some feedback.

Keep in mind what helps ELL learners will help EVERYONE in your classroom!!

I have attached a video that shows steps of a Think-Pair-Share.

buongiorno, 

after all the talking in class about the critical thinking competency i thought i’d share this video that highlights some great strategies and ideas for how critical thinking supports and can be integrated into literacy activities:

and hey! here’s a link to this lesson plan, as well as even more free resources (based out of ontario)

so this is modelled off of the “balanced literacy diet” format. it’s basically “a framework that presents literacy concepts using the familiar terminology of a healthy diet”. this is really cool resource that has different “food groups” that, when combined, build a pyramid for both reading and writing skills. it does a great job of breaking down all the components and skills that make up the foundation for literacy.

the great thing about this visual is it very easily shows where to start for both skills, you can’t build a pyramid starting in the middle or the top or even favour one side over the other, it needs a strong foundation in order to be accurate and withstand the tests of time. obviously, this is a metaphor. the visuals also nicely illustrate where the skills overlap. you can notice that in order to be successful in writing, half the battle is foundational reading skills. it’s a natural progression one skill to the next, and it really helps guide our practice by giving us a starting point.

all in all? as i said in my last post, critical thinking is in everything. in the same way historical ways of thinking apply to a specific context, as do these. the only difference being that critical literacy skills are foundational in all subjects. i guess you could argue critical thinking skills ARE literacy skills…and honestly? ur probably right. i’m not gonna argue, it’s 1:30am and i can’t think about thinking anymore today.

thanks for ur time, goodnight and good luck, etc. etc. etc.

—mj

Hey guys! I’m back with post #4, I will be talking about how LiD is relevant to the curriculum and some assessment tools you can use!

Hello Friends!

For my final post sharing about “Stress in the Classroom”, I thought it would make the most sense to talk about how to help students and reduce their stress. These is a lot of ways to do it in the classroom setting, but unfortunately there are things that only the parents can do. This can be a good or bad thing because the parent may not be as involved as they should be in their child’s well-being. In the link below there is tips for teachers, parents, and students to help students relieve stress. However, because we are focusing on what we can do I am going to be sharing some things that I believe are important for us to do as teachers.

Some of the ideas that I agree with the most are:

• “Keep kids moving- No matter how old students are they can benefit from moving around the room, working at “stations,” taking stretching breaks, etc.
• Play music- Studies show music helps people relax and focus. Classical music is great for the classroom and can serve as a model for students when they study at home.
• Listen- Talking about issues bothering students doesn’t have to take up a lot of instructional time. Even five minutes going over concerns, writing them on the board and addressing them later can help students put them aside.”

After that it shows three activities that teachers can facilitate to help students relieve stress:

1. Brush It Off!
2. Leave it at the door
3. Me the tree

In my opinion I really like “Leave it at the door” because it gives the students a good visual of riding themselves of their stress. Even if it is just that, a visual.

I do recommend you guys read the whole article though to see what the parents could do as well as the students. To conclude, I really enjoyed learning and sharing about this topic and I hope that you all enjoyed and took something out of this you can take into your teaching profession.

Stress Management in School