Balanced Literacy K-2

We survived our first two weeks of school!  Each classroom is off to a FABULOUS start with our balanced literacy beliefs.  It's been so much fun to hear the wonderful comments regarding our new curriculum and the many workshop strategies that teachers are implementing.  I have a feeling it's going to be a great year.

Enjoy the pictures of our Kindergarten, First and Second Grade Classrooms!

Happy Reading!   Mrs. Speake

Reflect & Celebrate

Tomorrow is the last day of school for our students.....where did the time go?  Its my first year without a group of little ones to hug and send off....it feels pretty strange.  I have had many last days filled with the blues, excitement for summer and sometimes a THANK GOODNESS its over type of feeling.  This year I think I can sum it up as a WOOHOO!!
 As I reflect back to my first year as literacy coach,  I am so proud of what we accomplished as a PreK-5 team.  I look forward to improving in many areas as a coach.  It was a year of many challenges and I am thankful for all of the new relationships I have made with teachers at various grade levels.

The  highlights.....

• Our literacy kick-off in August....bringing the love and motivation back to reading
• Developing our H-D Literacy Beliefs  (the non-negotiables) focusing on The Big Five
• Working with the lit committee to find new literacy curriculum and traveling to Jordan Creek
• 1/2 day workshops for every team level once a month.....WOW....this was amazing!
• Piloting Making Meaning  
• Purchasing Making Meaning & Vocabulary and receiving the many new materials
• Purchasing the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System for every grade level and implementing the assessment this May (600 students)
• Fluency.....finding and sharing strategies to help build fluency  (book study this summer too!)
• Watching many teachers let go of their Basal and diving into a new workshop model in April-they are an amazing group of dedicated teachers
• Developing a Schoolwide Title I plan with the selected committee....hard work but we did it!
• Planning literacy blocks for all grade levels....YES!
• Developing a new appreciation for administration...seeing another side of our work place
• PHONICS and word study for K-3....big changes and again watching teachers dive in and watching their excitement to have common goals 
• Traveling to Chicago for my first experience with the International Reading Convention
• Ordering a book room for K-8 teachers....lots of work to do this summer!

THANK YOU to the teachers for encouraging me and making me feel confident in my new job.   I now know how important it is for teachers to have high expectations and to believe every student can be successful....I felt I was the student they believed in and it helped greatly.

THANK YOU to my principal...for encouraging me and allowing me to do what I felt was best in many situations and for listening.

THANK YOU to my curriculum coordinator.... for encouraging me and valuing my opinion, my beliefs & for the many talks to get me through stressful moments.

THANK YOU to my superintendent for finding the funds to purchase our new curriculum and for allowing the 1/2 day work days at every grade level.  It was this work time that allowed the teachers to make many changes together...we valued it greatly!

THANK YOU to my office mate....a new teacher in our district that was fun to be around and her attitude and dedication to education was so refreshing and her willingness to speak up and get involved was just what I needed on many days!  

THANK YOU to Dawn, Lisa, Shelly & Molly....letting me come to your classroom for part of the year as a co-teacher.  (even though I had to be gone many times!) 

What a year!

Happy Reading-Mrs. Speake

It's Here!! Happy Day!

Our new reading curriculum was delivered this week!!  There were so many boxes but thankfully they were all well marked and easy to sort,  check-in and deliver.  It was the most fun I had....delivering boxes and seeing the excitement on teachers faces.  (Remember, the last time we received reading curriculum was over 10 years ago!!)

The boxes include our comprehension program with the read aloud texts and our new vocabulary program which follows the comprehension program.  The teachers will receive training throughout May and then will have the summer to look over and get everything ready to "go"!    A few of our teachers have been able to pilot the program in their classrooms this semester.  They love it..... and this excitement has been contagious for their teammates.

THANK YOU, Mrs. Plagge, Mrs. Vallery, Mrs. Ploen, Mrs. Conlon, Mrs. Meyer, Mrs. Aalbers, Mrs. Gronewold and Mrs. Stattleman.  Your work is appreciated!!

CHANGE....CHANGE......CHANGE.....CHANGE

The classroom teachers I work with are incredible!  It will be a HUGE change for many of us.  Change is scary, overwhelming, frustrating, hard work and time consuming.  Our classroom teachers have been through many changes...our entire literacy program has gone through major changes in just two years.  Its required teachers to spend much of their personal time studying and taking graduate classes or workshops.    It has had its rough spots and we will have issues to solve next year..... but overall the classroom teachers have been motivated and excited to try new strategies to reach our DIVERSE learners.

 I cannot tell them enough that I appreciate their openness to change and their desire to improve and strengthen their classroom strategies.  NO poor me! No ....  I need more prep time! (prep time?? what is that anyway? )  NO..... I can't!   I truly am amazed at their ability to stay positive and focused on our GOAL .....   every student needs the chance to excel and have a chance to become a life long reader and writer.

I am so EXCITED for next year and to continue to watch our staff grow and meet the needs of our diverse student population.

Happy Reading!! Mrs. Speake

Making Meaning & Vocabulary

What a great week!  The elementary teachers just completed team work days for literacy.  The literacy committee put together core beliefs for a comprehensive literacy program for our school district-LOTS OF WORK, RESEARCH & DISCUSSION.  The committee defined core beliefs in the five big areas of literacy as defined by the National Reading Panel.  (Phonemic Awareness & Phonics, Fluency & Accuracy, Comprehension, Vocabulary and Writing)
What brought on this journey?  The teachers in our district have been using a Basal program for the last ten years.  With our student demographics changing over these ten years, teachers were led to the belief that....... IT'S NOT WORKING!!!  We won't mention the watch list we were on or the S.I.N.A. title we received at the middle school.

This year we decided to begin the literacy transformation with these goals in mind.......
*Bring back the love of reading through independent reading and encourage life-long learning
*Classroom libraries organized and emphasized to encourage "just right" book reading at every grade level
*Explicitly teach the seven comprehension strategies in grades 1-5, (Kindergarten- modeling) across all curriculum areas
*Writing daily through our writer's workshop (Lucy Calkins Primary Units of Study)

Teachers have spent hours writing plans, finding quality read alouds & setting up a workshop model!!  We know beyond a doubt children need to be reading daily at their "just right" level and EVERY year the students need explicit instruction on each comprehension strategy.  EVERY grade level must be unified and the gaps between grade levels MUST be connected.  With the Basal curriculum not working, teachers had to search and find materials they felt were best..... which created a chain of islands! ( YES, teachers have been feeling like they were on an island- alone and stressed with no rescue boat in sight.)  With this and our core beliefs in mind, the literacy committee looked into many curriculum ideas for purchase which led us to a program we wanted to pilot in January.  After piloting a conclusion was made.

(drum roll, please!)  MAKING MEANING with Vocabulary will be purchased and delivered to every classroom teacher by March/April 2011.  This is a comprehension program with vocabulary that relies on the gradual release model as teachers explicitly teach comprehension strategies, incorporate daily independent reading activities and teach vocabulary using Isabel Beck's research model.  The second unique goal of this program is to provide opportunities for students to work together and to develop socially and ethically.  This community building component is really what excites me the most as I have watched our committee members pilot this program in their classrooms. The majority of our children need help in learning how to think and socialize in a positive manner with positive role models.  (the links are in blue)

Check out the programs!  I LOVE that it is a non-profit, research based company, designed and operated by REAL teachers that BELIEVE in our education system.  Also check out the Caring School Community Program that we could also adopt.  Email your principal or guidance counselor if you think the Caring Community Program looks like something H-D might consider to build positive student behaviors school wide.

We still have so much work to do but for now after THE BIG REVEAL, I actually slept!  My biggest hope for the FABULOUS teachers I work with, is that they feel less stress and a renewed sense of excitement in their teaching.  
Happy Reading- Mrs. Speake