Sharing the work of teachers and students to highlight excellence in achievement.
Bloomer is a place where everyione wants to be!
Sunday, January 29, 2023
PLAN THE WORK; WORK THE PLAN
I went the the 5th grade music festival on Friday and wow what a great show! When the performance was over Mark Schuldt came up to me and shared how impressed he was with our MAP data. He said when he looked back to 2018 he noticed that Bloomer had improved over 25-30% in reading and math. I know how hard everyone is working and knew that our professional development along with feedback is working because achievement is rising. Remember our goal is 75% proficient and the same for growth by the end of the year. There are some of you, however who made the goal already. The dedicated work to guided instruction and a system of assessment resulted in up to 3 of the 4 targeted students jumping bands and becoming proficient. Tomorrow during professional development you will be hearing from them.
They plan the work and then persistently work the plan.
Let's break down the formula that raises achievement:
Know What to Teach and Monitor
It all starts with clear learning intentions and success criteria. The focus on grade level expectation along with authentic activity allows teachers to monitor student progress while they work. This is not a random act and definitely not something that is only posted. It is the consistent use of language and sharing through models, explicit instruction or demonstration what the learning 'looks' like from the perspective of the expert, the teacher. Teachers who are getting over 85% expected growth have consistent use of success criteria. In addition, they are aware of the development of student and potential misconceptions. They use this knowledge to move in and tweak learning with students who are approaching the learning target. They are relentless and see that there is no other option than to learn what is being taught. It's inescapable.
Know How to Teach
Maximizing the gradual release of responsibility as our model for instruction is the second element. This model is best utilized within the workshop format. Primarily our professional development and focus is on guided instruction. In order to optimize this time it's critical that teachers have a clear understanding the the curricular standard. Planning instruction for above and below grade level helps with feedback given either through the group or during conferring opportunities. The first grade team noticed that a few of their student where missing some foundational phonemic awareness skills. They made it a focus of their literacy PLC and engaged in learning about hand cues. Please see the video of Kate providing professional development. This gave the teachers the opportunity to learn how the meet the needs of a guided group. If a child is learning to read it should include all five components of literacy (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension) within the scope of a lesson.
PA hand movements
Know Your System of Assessment
A system of assessment is focused on real time, continuous improvement of student learning. Its purpose is to close the gap on achievement with specific individuals or groups and the flexibility to design instruction that will suit the needs of many. The system is based on grade level expectations and taking note of when a student reaches the goal. Breaking down the learning intention and success criteria is key to find out what you will be assessing on a daily basis. consider the following photos from observations last week. Natalie with her clipboard with the math's success criteria and Megan with a chart of who knew what and when.
The key to raising achievement isn't a mystery. It's knowing what to teach, teaching it and then monitoring what was learned. If this is done in a consistent manner you will have success beyond your wildest dreams. It's about planning the work and then working the plan with relentless focus. You are in a building where greatness is within our grasp.
In math the fifth grade team is working on the fraction domain. We are diving into the continuum & the standards. We are determining what differentiation needs to happen to support all students. We are supporting each other by looking at a variety of ways to approach problems by looking at student work and doing the work of the students at PLC.
We are going to become more intentional Objective 16 a and 20c on GOLD. We are going to create take home families to work on the skills at home with their child. We are working together to create activities and evaluate success..
Kindergarten has been refining our DFAs in both reading and math as the year progresses based on Bridges mastery and reading behaviors that we are looking for. Our plan each week is to go through our plans and tweak our DFAs based on standards needing to be mastered. We also look at our grade level data to see if there is a skill/standard that we need to revisit and recheck or if we can push the students a little further. We have also been making sure that the way that we collect the data for each DFA is in the same format and with the same questions across classrooms.
1st Grade: Where is your team heading? - We are heading toward the direction of more and more small group instruction. In both reading and math. We want to continue to use running records and text leveling to figure out what kids really need in literacy. In math, we want to make sure our LI/SC allows kids to know what is expected of them and how to use the language to support learning. Do you have a plan? - Condense groups to include skills and comprehension - versus 2 10-15 minutes groups, have a solid 20-25 minute group that touches on all the things - develop a set schedule for groupings and kids. How are you supporting one another? - Sharing ideas and resources to help each other find some new ways to reach more kids. Sharing responsibility of kids and tasks.
We are focusing on gathering data and giving feedback through our system of assessment. We will be more purposeful in how we give feedback and how we take the data from DFAs real time, going to our bubble kids first. We created a template and are having open communications about how to move forward.
The Sped Team is focusing on students who are falling below the aimline. During our PLC we are working to identify specific strategies to meet the needs of students who need something more and looking for additional resources to support their learning. We have established trust and confidence with one another which has allowed us to be open in our communication.
Second Grade- We are headed toward a proficient grade level. We are continuing our work to align DFA and CFA amongst the classrooms and standards. We are also working to use our system of assessment to guide our instruction and work. We will consistently work as a team, being consistent, asking questions, and collaborating on topics.
In math the fifth grade team is working on the fraction domain. We are diving into the continuum & the standards. We are determining what differentiation needs to happen to support all students. We are supporting each other by looking at a variety of ways to approach problems by looking at student work and doing the work of the students at PLC.
ReplyDeleteWe are going to become more intentional Objective 16 a and 20c on GOLD. We are going to create take home families to work on the skills at home with their child. We are working together to create activities and evaluate success..
ReplyDeleteKindergarten has been refining our DFAs in both reading and math as the year progresses based on Bridges mastery and reading behaviors that we are looking for.
ReplyDeleteOur plan each week is to go through our plans and tweak our DFAs based on standards needing to be mastered. We also look at our grade level data to see if there is a skill/standard that we need to revisit and recheck or if we can push the students a little further. We have also been making sure that the way that we collect the data for each DFA is in the same format and with the same questions across classrooms.
1st Grade:
ReplyDeleteWhere is your team heading?
- We are heading toward the direction of more and more small group instruction. In both reading and math. We want to continue to use running records and text leveling to figure out what kids really need in literacy. In math, we want to make sure our LI/SC allows kids to know what is expected of them and how to use the language to support learning.
Do you have a plan?
- Condense groups to include skills and comprehension - versus 2 10-15 minutes groups, have a solid 20-25 minute group that touches on all the things - develop a set schedule for groupings and kids.
How are you supporting one another?
- Sharing ideas and resources to help each other find some new ways to reach more kids. Sharing responsibility of kids and tasks.
We are focusing on gathering data and giving feedback through our system of assessment. We will be more purposeful in how we give feedback and how we take the data from DFAs real time, going to our bubble kids first. We created a template and are having open communications about how to move forward.
ReplyDeleteThe Sped Team is focusing on students who are falling below the aimline. During our PLC we are working to identify specific strategies to meet the needs of students who need something more and looking for additional resources to support their learning. We have established trust and confidence with one another which has allowed us to be open in our communication.
ReplyDeleteSecond Grade- We are headed toward a proficient grade level. We are continuing our work to align DFA and CFA amongst the classrooms and standards. We are also working to use our system of assessment to guide our instruction and work. We will consistently work as a team, being consistent, asking questions, and collaborating on topics.
ReplyDelete