Searching for Answers

At South Side we just finished our literacy work days.  I love connecting with the teams and appreciate their dedication to literacy.  It seems we are working harder than ever and yet we still feel like something is missing.  

South Side became a pilot school for Iowa’s RtI plan called C4K. I hated hearing the news that we were going to be starting RtI as dictated by the state.  Mostly because I was fearful of what this meant for my job.  I knew the data from our Benchmark Assessment System showed we had far too many students still below grade level.  

      More meetings, more things to add to the teacher’s already FULL day, more paperwork, more data to analyze, more reading and research to do and the reality of focusing on what is NOT working.  

Much to my amazement, I have been pleased with the C4K plan so far.  In a nutshell, it is going SLOW!  I can handle slow.  The first and most important step is to analyze our universal instruction.  We have done many things over the past two years to make our literacy programs effective.  Luckily, we were ready for the next intensive step....implementing the Iowa Core Standards or the Common Core Standards as the rest of United States calls it.  As most of you are aware this has raised the bar for all learners.

Look at the many things we have already begun!

                                              

In Iowa’s C4K plan, schools must determine if their Tier 1 instruction is meeting the needs of the majority of students (80% or greater).  If the Tier 1 instruction is not working, then a school is faced with a high number of students that need intensive interventions.  A school who has 30-50% of students falling below grade level will NEVER be able to intervene their way out of the pit.  Resources such as staff, materials, and funding would never be able to sustain the level of interventions that would be needed.  To analyze our Tier I instruction we have given each student a universal screener or test.  This will give us a snapshot of the students who are at-risk or who are falling below the grade level benchmark.

What does this mean for South Side?  As we already knew from our Iowa Assessments, we have far too many students needing interventions. We would not be able to sustain the level of interventions that would be needed in regards to time, staff and resources available.  

Bottom line....we must change, improve and/or strengthen, our Tier 1 instruction.  What does this mean since we have already changed almost everything we are doing?!   I attended a conference entitled Maximizing Tier I (Wayne Callender) that presented several options that I feel our district needs to address.

Teachers must make their daily instruction the best it can be for ALL students.

Think about this......

Our house represents our classroom.   The fires could be the many learning struggles that we must address.  I think we would all agree we must prevent the fires from even beginning.  

Step 1 

Who are our students?  What is their background in regards to living environment, income status and language? 

Step 2

Data- assessment results

How are the various population of students doing academically?  Which group of students are at-risk and in what areas?

Step 3

Does our universal instruction and/or curriculum pieces fit our at-risk group of students?

If YES-  Then we ask....Are we delivering the curriculum in the correct format necessary?  

If NO- What curriculum pieces should we add or delete?  Have we prioritized? 

Three ways a school can help to narrow the gap for struggling learners are in the areas of..

           Active Engagement - Differentiation -Vocabulary

Here are just a few of the highlights that I shared with teams.  Hopefully it will spark an idea or give you a little hope on simple things we can change just by being aware of what our learners need most!

  

The following are videos by Anita Archer in regards to a few things to keep in mind as we strive to close the achievement gap.  Her work and ideas hooked me instantly. I am anxious to read more ideas in her book, Explicit Instruction.

Closing the Achievement Gap

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfjOJQFusrc

Instructional Routines (struggling learners must have consistency every day)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzvPwvxnBrQ


Teaching Choral Response/Turn & Talk-Active Engagement 
 (A MUST WATCH....NO MORE HAND RAISING IN THE CLASSROOM)
http://explicitinstruction.org/?page_id=92  


Being A Relentless Teacher 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY5nYuE6IhY

With differentiation, co-teaching fits beautifully here!

Models of Co-teaching

One Teach, One Observe – one teacher has primary instructional responsibility while the other gathers specific observational information on students or the (instructing) teacher.  The key to this strategy is to focus on the observation – where and how the teacher is doing the instruction and observing specific behaviors.  

One Teach, One Assist is an extension of one teach, one observe. One teacher has primary instructional responsibility while the other assists students with their work, monitors behaviors, or corrects assignments, often lending a voice to students or groups who would hesitate to participate or add comments.

Station Teaching occurs when the Co-Teaching pair divides  the instructional content into parts –Each teacher instructs one of the groups, groups then rotate or spend a designated amount of time at each station – often independent stations will be used along with the teacher led stations.

In the Parallel Teaching approach, each teacher instructs half the students.  The two teachers are addressing the same instructional material and presenting the material using the same teaching strategies.  The greatest benefit to this method is the reduction of the student to teacher ratio.

The Supplemental Teaching strategy allows one teacher to work with students at their expected grade level, while the other teacher works with those students who need the information and/or materials re-taught, extended, or remediated.

Alternative or Differentiated Teaching strategies provide two different approaches to teaching the same information.  The learning outcome is the same for all students however the avenue for getting there is different.

Team Teaching incorporates well planned, team taught lessons, exhibiting an invisible flow of instruction with no prescribed division of authority. Using a team teaching strategy, both teachers are actively involved in the lesson. From a students’ perspective, there is no clearly defined leader – as both teachers share the instruction, are free to interject information, and available to assist students and answer questions.

BUT remember.....co-teaching is a teaching strategy.  It can be powerful if both parties are knowledgeable in the beliefs behind the techniques!!

The fun of going to a great conference is seeing the ideas already being implemented in many of the classrooms at South!  You will see classrooms using choral response now-THINK/GO !  We will also be searching out the vocabulary issue that we know could make a huge difference for our kids at South Side.  Hopefully we can find one that will meet the needs of our struggling learners!

Happy Reading & Have a blessed Thanksgiving- Mrs. Speake

Pathways to the Common Core

     It is hard to believe the first quarter of the school year is complete!  Teachers are busy entering grades using a standards based reporting system as we emphasize the Iowa Core standards for literacy and mathematics.   Last year the teachers at South Side spent endless hours looking at the Iowa Core Standards and determining if, when and how it is being taught at their grade level.  Assessments were chosen for each standard.   This work has been strenuous, tedious and far from fun.

Reality:  Many of us are feeling as if we barely understand the Core.  Do we have the background knowledge we need to understand the Core?  Only if you have spent personal hours reading articles, blogs or books.  Sounds like fun, enjoyable reading, right?  Not so much.

The Common Core State Standards in Literacy and Mathematics were integrated into the Iowa Core by Iowa State Board of Education action in 2010. All school districts and accredited nonpublic schools are required to fully implement the Iowa Core in grades 9-12 by July 1, 2012 and grades K-8 by the 2014-2015 school year.  Our South Side SINA team made the Iowa Core are driving force for teams to "unpack" and begin using the documents to drive our teaching and students learning.  Did we receive formal training?  No.  Each team dug into the work as best they could.  Basically we looked at the standard's learning targets ("I can" statements) and decided how we could best assess the students work in regards to the learning targets.  

So where are we now?  We know the standards, we have our assessments and we are trying to integrate this with our units of Being a Writer, Making Meaning, Guided Spelling, Phonics and independent reading activities.  This trial & error work is causing teachers to ask tough questions and question if we are even on the right path in regards to our daily teaching.

As literacy coach, I have at least one teacher a day asking honest questions or making honest statements when it comes to the core assessments her team has decided to try this school year.  For example:

What am I going to do?  I have to give this assessment but I don't teach the skills? 

I gave this assessment and I found out it doesn't assess what I thought it would...now what do I do?  

We all did the assessment differently , is that okay?

Do I have to do this Core instruction?  Who will know if I don't do it?

Why are we assessing now?  I only assess when I know my students are going to pass it.

What do they mean by informational text?  I don't use a lot of non-fiction when I teach but should I be? 

Why are we doing all this change? We teach all this stuff already.  

If we do this core won't we just be making the gap greater for our top students and struggling students?

Do I understand the core deeply in regards to the why, how and what?  No.   I see what other teachers are sharing through blogs.  Their work with the core is remarkable.  I know we can get there too.  But what is our next step?  How do we embrace it and truly strive for school improvement and personal improvement in our teaching abilities? 

What I do know is that we have made huge gains in our expectations and our beliefs in regards to literacy.  We have added the workshop approach which allows for students to be engaged and held accountable to deeper thinking through conversation and rich literature.  Students must be doing the hard work and thinking.  We also believe every student should be actually reading  for at least 30-45 minutes during the school day and they should be authentically writing every day!  We have come so far and I believe the Core can fit well with what we need to do next.  BUT we have to have a plan or our trial & error method will lead us down the wrong path.

I am reading the book Pathways to the Common Core.  I was so excited after the first chapter that I knew this might be able to provide our next step on the path to adopting the Core.   I have asked administration if we could offer this as a book study.  I believe we can develop a great plan for H-D if we have informed teachers.

That is the beauty of the core.  The standards are the academic beliefs concerning what our students need to become successful citizens as they enter college and/or the career force. The core does not dictate how we must teach but what the end result should be.  As a district, we must look at our students, our assets, our teaching strengths and together develop a path that will lead our students to success.

If you are struggling with understanding the Core please think about joining the book study, Pathways to the Common Core. 

Together I believe we can reach a deeper understanding of the core that will lead us to improve our teaching units, teaching strategies and above all to improve the academic success of our students.  At South Side we will be analyzing our core instruction at every grade level.  This is due to our Year 2 SINA plan and as we pilot the states RtI plan.  I am hopeful this text may help answer many of our tough questions and lead us to our next steps in regards to our daily teaching.

For more information, click this link.  Find the tab "samples" to read the introduction and Chapter 1.  I hope the first chapter alone offers insight in regards to why we must dig deeper into developing our own plan.   Details will be developed in regards to time, location and place of the book study.  Email me if you may be interested in participating or if you have suggestions and/or questions.  There is PD money to support our study.  

Happy Reading! Mrs. Speake

Motivating, Enlightening, REAL = The Sisters!!

Friday afternoon Mrs. Butson, Mrs. Houston and I traveled to Chicago for a 2-day workshop taught by THE Sisters. I think Sara and Leanna would agree it was AMAZING. It was one of the most powerful workshops regarding literacy I have ever attended. ( I can say that after 18 years of PD and graduate classes!)

We were star struck! 

Who are the sisters and why are they so popular?  Gail Boushey and Joan Moser are two elementary teachers that created a workshop model and assessment system for literacy. Their method has become a powerful literacy movement across the world.  The Daily Five does not hold content but it is a management system that has the students doing the hard work and it provides time for teachers to meet every student's strengths and needs.

Why is it so popular?  

• it's research based
  
• tested and used by real teachers with real readers of various strengths & needs 
• it takes very few items and materials to implement  (the main source....books,books and more books)
• it is developed around the big five : comprehension, accuracy/fluency, phonemic awareness/phonics, vocabulary and writing  
• it gives a road map of strategies every good reader uses 
• student assessment drives the teaching
• differentiation for every student 
• it places the learning responsibility on the student..students do 80-90% of authentic reading and writing

The Daily Five and The CAFE can be found in every state across our country.  The management system and research based strategies are helping teachers and districts show growth in student's reading and writing success and in teacher's motivation & excitement to teach literacy.  Each system has evolved and improved since the sisters wrote the book.  They continue to learn various research ideas and they constantly do their own action research as a teacher and coach.  Leanna, Sara and I hope to offer an after school session to share our insights and new learning but until then I wanted to share my many "aha" moments.  I have about eight pages of typed notes so I will try to give the big picture.

Wonderful downloads,ideas!

A few of my learning moments:
 The Daily Five is a structure which allows teachers to teach each student.  Based on the Big Five: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Accuracy-Fluency, Comprehension, Vocabulary, Writing

Read to Self is the foundation & Writing is the 2nd most important structure
Students must be reading & writing 80-90% of the time
Richard Allington's research - teachers must know his research!!

This was powerful insight regarding brain research!

The sister's thinking and teaching has changed and progressed since the books were published.
Mini-lessons: 10-15 mins. max!  Longer lessons should be broken into 2 mini-lessons whenever possible.
New research for the sisters: Brain Rules by John Medina and  Dr. Ken Wesson's work (a leading brain researcher)

T-charts
The sisters no longer brainstorm with the students when creating their T charts for each round introduction lesson.  They lead and tell the students what the round should look like.  Keep kids on task and focused.  Too many young students cannot process brainstorming ideas for a quick end result.  Teachers state this is "your job" and this is "my job".  Most importantly...this is going to be so FUN.  Tell them explicitly this is the great fun and stress how important reading and writing will be in their lives.

Word Work in their classroom
10-15 mins max and then have student move into writing
beyond this time..kids begin to mess around or become off task

Listening to Reading
Great for ELL students, beginning readers or non-readers, these readers need to be doing this round more

You only need a few things! 

Older or high readers should not be doing this round. Kids who love to read...let them read over partner reading and listening to reading.
It's all based on NEEDS not because it's fair.

Partner Reading
Explicitly model, model, model
Teach Coach-Time strategy
EEKK
NEVER assume young students can do this...it takes explicit teaching and modeling.  DON'T overuse partner reading

Materials/Supplies

To do the Daily Five a teacher needs very few materials!  

Spend ALL of your money on books NOT supplies.

Supply suggestion: wipe off boards, stamps/magnets, paper, pencils, chimes, sand timers  REALLY this is all you really need!

This management program takes away so much stress and busy work for teachers! We are not in the 90s .....learning to read and write can NOT happen with arts and crafts.
It is all about the READER not the activity!

Launching the Daily Five
Teachers stay out of the way when they are building stamina during the 1st 2weeks...don't hover or constantly talk during the student's work.  Use the 3 minute stamina building.
Do not even make eye contact!! You do not want kids to rely on YOU to ensure they are doing their job.  Even the dreaded teacher stare down is encouraging dependency on you.
Do not create independence by teacher saying "good job" or "sit still" and so on.
Model correct behaviors and practice correct behaviors
Incorrect behaviors:  in front of entire group state what went wrong, label it and stop it right away!
For the challenging kids:  practice 2 mins. at recess then out to play.  Kindly call the child on it- in front of the group.  Tommy, you had a hard time sitting in one spot today, you will practice with me at recess time because I know  you can do it.  This sets the tone to all the other students that the teacher is the ALPHA in your room not a student.   I loved this part!! :)

They would NEVER change the CAFE menu.
Comprehension must come first...it's the most vital part of reading!!
CAFE menu: let the kids write out each strategy you teach to the whole group.  Making meaning must ALWAYS come first.
Its hard, but refrain from printing the strategies.  Let the kids do the writing. Kids need to have ownership in developing it and make each child the expert of that goal if they are chosen as the writer.

With a sound structure of the Daily Five and the assessment-to-instruction steps that the CAFE system offers every teacher, RtI works perfectly.  It allows the teacher to differentiate and truly teach the individual reader and writer.

Curriculum Cohesiveness
All teachers using the same assessment systems for every child.  Pulling a child out of the classroom can create confusion for the student and deter or even delay learning success.
Interventions and classroom instruction both focus on the same skills and strategies each child needs based on their assessment.  ONE assessment for the child-not my assessment or their assessment-our assessment.  The sisters talked about this area a lot!! All based on Richard Allington's research.

We learned so many more things but I will end here! Many of you already do the Daily Five but I hope our new learning will benefit you too.   Be sure to ask if you have questions or something sparked your curiosity.  Stop by or email Leanna and Sara...their enthusiasm for the Daily Five is contagious.  We hope to share before PLC time on April 24th.

Great Advice:  What journey are you on as an educator?   

Teaching is never "done".  The effective teacher must continue to learn professionally, growing and evolving.

Do you complain all the time and point fingers?  

No teacher is perfect but all of us should be improving in some form with our teaching. 

Be proactive not reactive! 

Recommended Books and Research Articles  (links in red)
Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell
Brain Rules, John Medina
Dr. Wesson-What Everyone Should Know About the Latest Brain Research
                (at end of the article..links to other articles by Dr. Wesson)

Reading Essentials, Regie Routman
In Pictures and in Words, Katie Wood Ray
Write Like This, Kelly Gallagher  (highly recommended for upper grades & high school)

Readacide, Kelly Gallagher  (great read and a frightening reality is addressed regarding our society & reading)
The Book Whisperer, Donalyn Miller (especially for upper grades)

RtI From All Sides, Mary Howard
Assessment in Perspective, Clare Landrigan & Tammy Mulligan

Richard Allington (any of his articles and books)

Using Basal Readers, Dewitt (article March 2013)
Margaret Mooney's Guided Reading (New Zealand teacher and researcher, New Zealand has the greatest literacy rate in the world)

Happy Reading- Mrs. Speake









 

URGENT NOTICE Teachers: You must be expert Literacy Teachers!

Early childhood involves children birth through age 8.  Experts now know that the development of language and literacy skills begins at birth.  Children develop much of their capacity for learning in the first 3 years of life!  Early care and nurture have a decisive, long-lasting impact on how children develop their ability to learn.  This means parents have an important job to love and nurture their child!  Think of the impact pre-natal care and environment has on a baby.

If you are an educator this comes quite natural.  We love our children and provide for their every need....especially literacy.  It's the infant chewing on a board book, the toddler playing pat-a-cake and choosing the same book to be read over and over.  The babble we hear and speak back to, as if he/she is the next Einstein.  It's the conversations we have at the supper table, taking a walk or talking to him as we teach and expose him to the world.  I could go on and on, but I am sure you understand the activities we provide naturally to our children.  These experiences give our children a strong foundation to be successful in school.

Researchers now know beyond a doubt that there are prime times for acquiring skills and knowledge.  The brain has a remarkable capacity to change but TIMING is crucial.  Many educators call this "windows of opportunity".   Unfortunately we cannot live with the parents of our future students to ensure the best pre-natal care or loving environment.  Can you imagine the reality for some children in the United States today?

 Preschool and kindergarten programs must be committed to creating literacy rich environments that help children develop their reading and writing skills.  The students we serve today come from extremely diverse backgrounds.  A child with delays in language development, vocabulary knowledge and lack of literacy experiences need highly-qualified teachers who can make a difference and help the child catch up to his peers.  

What can schools do to help our early childhood educators?   As Richard Allington stated over and over in his RTI workshop.....we must invest in our youngest students and do so with a sense of urgency.  We must make sure each early childhood teacher receives the necessary Professional Development to teach these young readers and writers.  These teachers must be literacy experts as literacy is the anchor to all else we offer in schools.  A child who leaves first grade reading at below grade level is 4x more likely to drop out of high school.  

Richard Allington believes through a simple assessment (letter naming) schools can target our struggling learners at the beginning of the kindergarten year.  These students targeted can receive interventions during the kindergarten and first grade year to raise their reading proficiency and to maintain their reading levels.  If a school waits until first or second grade to intervene, it is usually too late and the school then sees a high percentage of special education students by upper elementary.  In other words, we can let young children fall into a pit of learning failures by the time they are age 7.  

RTI needs to begin with our teachers and then our youngest learners.  To make an impact on our youngest learners we (preschool-3rd grade teachers) must be literacy experts.  Richard Allington  recommends the work of Professor Anne McGill-Franzen (University of Tennessee) in her book Kindergarten Literacy: Matching Assessment and Instruction in Kindergarten.  Her research is highly rated by the U.S. Department of Education.    Teachers were given about three days of PD work before the school year followed by about three hours a month of PD and received some in-class support.  These teachers became experts in teaching literacy.  The difference in performance for these teacher's students were dramatic.  Allington also recommends checking out the Children's Literacy Initiative.  Their PD programs have made dramatic affects on many low-income urban schools.  (Responding to RTI, Education Week, April 2010)

I know as I continue to learn and become informed about best literacy practices, I can hardly wait to get back into the classroom and do a better job teaching children to read and write!

 As an educator I guess I am sending a call out....how will your team through our new PLC model become better literacy teachers? You are all experts in one area or another.  Its time we start sharing our expertise loudly and confidently.  We have to start looking at our grade level students as "our" students.  How can WE make sure they are all successful?  How can WE help one another as educators?  We are on the right track as we continue to strengthen our core program using the workshop model and getting rid of a "one-size fits all" curriculum.

  Whether you chose this path or not.....teachers must be literacy teachers first and foremost!  We CANNOT keep doing what we have been doing in the past and expect different results....that is the definition of INSANITY.    Let's STOP the insanity.  :)

Happy Reading-Mrs. Speake

Balanced Literacy Begins

I have loved getting to travel in and out of our K-5 classrooms.  We have 26 classrooms this year!  (No wonder I am feeling a little overwhelmed getting into each one)

This is our first school year to have adopted a reader's workshop model in every classroom.   Each classroom may look and sound a bit different but in all classrooms you will find....

Students independent reading & building reading stamina

Teachers using the gradual release model

1:1 Conferring

Word work

Classroom libraries 

Small group work

Making Meaning Comprehension focus lessons with Vocabulary

Fluency practice

Partner reading

Listening to reading

Students responding to reading

Enjoy the few photos I have captured so far!  3rd grade photos are yet to come!  (I promise)

I made the video using Animoto (easy-peasy)         Happy Reading- Mrs. Speake


Use this link if the video is below is blurry.   Video

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

IRA 57th Annual Convention-Chicago

I had an amazing time attending the International Reading Association convention in Chicago this year!  The theme was Celebrating Teachers... I left the conference motivated, excited and ready to share all the great learning experiences I had.  (Unfortunately, I have not shared with anyone yet...no time!)   The atmosphere and the teaching professionals that came from all over the world were motivating beyond anything I had experienced.

I arrived on Sunday to attend an Institute: Developing Literacy Leadership: Key to School Improvement.  It was an all day workshop and the speakers were educators I have followed and read much of their research work or published articles.  Monday's workshop was Using RTI to Promote Whole-School Change in Literacy that followed the theme from Sunday.  Both sessions were filled with information, research and handouts that I could bring back and use with my work at H-D.  Each day I was nodding saying "yes! we are doing that"  and "yes! we will get there".  Mr. Speake traveled with me and he was so good to listen to my endless jabbering after each day.  My only disappointment was that all of the H-D elementary teachers couldn't be there.


Workshop Presenters:  Rita Bean, Susan L'Allier & Laurie Elish-Piper, Michael McKenna, Mary Ellen Vogt and Sharon Walpole, Judy Wallis, Nancy Allison, Nancy McLean, & Joan Jennings  among several others.

Other famous people I heard:
Timothy Rasinski, Frank Serafini, the infamous duo of Fountas & Pinnel throughout mini-sessions in the exhibition hall.  I stood by Richard Allington in the Starbucks line....I was so star struck and of course I couldn't think of anything intelligent to say!

The authors I saw:
Jerry Pallotta, Mem Fox, Kate Messner, Annie Borrows, Nicholas Sparks (well his brother but it was amazing to visit with him about his brother's books which my daughters love to read!)   The moments were priceless.  Well, if you live in the educational world of literacy!

The overall lesson I learned....
Motivating readers and making students life-long readers must be our ultimate goal using a reader's workshop model (gradual release) and explicitly teaching skills in all five literacy areas.  WOO HOO!!  Independent reading is the most powerful tool a teacher can implement in their classroom.  This was just the encouragement and motivation I needed as I try to continue to help our teachers at H-D transform their classrooms to workshop model with an emphasis on independent reading.

Reading is the cornerstone of student success in school.  Many of our students today do not receive any reading support at home for a wide-variety of reasons.  It must be our job to share our passion and love for reading which will be a life skill that will help students in all they do.

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

What the Teacher Wants!: F...l....u....e.....n.....c.....y

I love following so many blogs!  If you don't follow blogs or have a blog you have no idea what you are missing.

It truly allows you to visit many AMAZING classrooms and see what EXCELLENT teachers are doing in the world of education.  I am still amazed at the many items teachers create and readily share.  THANK YOU to What the Teacher Wants....  These two gals have amazing ideas and they share many things for free.  They have over 5000 followers for a reason!  WOW!

Following and reading blogs motivate me and encourage me to strive for excellence and quality. Teaching is a passion and a way of life!! :)  That is a good thing- we need to be surrounded by fellow teachers that believe in our kiddos and have high expectations for their success!!

Check out their fluency charts and the rubric. (click on link below)  LOVE IT!!  I have been in several classrooms this past week teaching fluency mini-lessons and its been so much fun.  These items will work perfect in our K-3 classrooms.   I hope to post my mini-lessons and ideas this week.


What the Teacher Wants!: F...l....u....e.....n.....c.....y

Happy Reading!  ENJOY THE WEATHER!   70s in Iowa on March 17th- WOOHOO!
Mrs. Speake

The Fluent Reader

I absolutely love Mr. Rasinski's book,  The Fluent Reader.  Last week I had the opportunity to present a Fluency Session for our literacy professional development.  This is the time of year students fall behind their peers in regards to fluency and independent reading fluency. 

What is Fluency? The ability to read the words in a text with sufficient accuracy, automaticity, and prosody to lead to good comprehension.
This book is a must have for any elementary teacher!  Mr. Rasinski presents the latest research and shares many effective fluency strategies that are easy to integrate in a balanced literacy program.  He also includes a DVD with video samples and many downloads to get you started.  I read the book in just a few days and I was so excited to get a chance to share my findings with our PreK-5 teachers.  
Highlights from the book:
Read Aloud-motivating readers & modeling
Assisted Reading-scaffolding for your developing & struggling readers
Repeated Reading- ways to implement this strategy in fun & engaging ways
  great ideas to use assistants, volunteers, parents, older student tutors
Performance Reading- fun!  poetry, songs, chants, Reader's Theater
   many ideas, and ways to start instantly
Synergy- how to make lessons engaging, fun & powerful
Content Areas- integrate fluency throughout the day in many content areas
Assessment- how to best assess, rubrics, don't over rely on DIBELS! 


Video: Tim Rasinski on teaching reading fluency

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

Happy New Year!!

     I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and had time to relax and enjoy family.  I love having my two older children home from college.  We were all ready for slow moving days.  Staying in my P.J.s until noon, drinking coffee and reading......can’t get much better than that!

     It's hard to believe its a new year already.  I decided to take time to challenge myself professionally.  I have made a list of books I want to read.   As I began my masters program a few years ago I realized how lazy I had gotten staying in tuned to professional readings and current research.  I get excited to read new professional books and to learn new strategies.  With my new role in literacy its nice to be able to focus on one area.  As a teacher, each year you will have different learners and you must have many strategies that work to help all of your students be successful.  Your PD time will NOT be sufficient or personalized.  YOU must be in control of your continued learning and striving to be successful. 

     What are you reading as a teacher?  What do you want to learn about?  I challenge you to re-think reading professionally.  Look at it as motivation and excitement that you can find new things to enhance your teaching. Feel good about taking time to learn!  SO join me in the reading challenge. . . . .

My Reading List: (click on the title to find out more)

Conferring: The Keystone of Reader’s Workshop (taking time to talk to readers 1:1 is so important and it can be done, hoping to learn how to do this better)

Read It Again! Revisiting Shared Reading  ( I am currently in the middle of this-quick read & great reminder to create a love of reading with our young learners!)

Developing Essential Literacy Skills: A Continuum of Lessons for Grades K-3 (this talks a lot about creating a balanced literacy approach and closing the gap grade to grade-exactly what we are trying to do at H-D)

Notebook Connections: Strategies for the Reader's Notebook   (hope to get insights how to help older readers be accountable for their reading...fits great with our workshop goals and conferring with readers)

Notebook Know-How: Strategies for the Writer's Notebook  (fits in well with our writer's workshop model but I keep hearing how hard it is for our older students-how do we get them to write more? write freely? )

The Failure Free Reading Methodology: New Hope for Non-Readers  (I received this on my Kindle from a friend, wondering if he has ideas for our many older non-readers!!)

I also love having my Kindle!  I can download samples of the above, read the first few chapters and then decide....

I love AMAZON...... buy the books used or become an Amazon Prime member! 

Happy Reading!  Mrs. Speake

P.S.  We are actually in school tomorrow!! What happened to our holiday observation of the 1st???  Bummer! :)