Fluency Freebie!!

      Good readers must be able to read with fluency.  As fluency improves- comprehension will improve!
A reader must read with expression, appropriate rate, accuracy and they must know the punctuation and it's purposes.
Many of our classrooms (1st-5th)  have been using fluency activities from  The Fluent Reader by Timothy V. Rasinski.  I finally made fluency posters based on mini-lessons I have been teaching.  I found adorable posters for our youngest learners but needed something for our older learners and I wanted the posters to match our black/red theme for the Bulldogs!

This is my first freebie!!  I hope its useful!  Click here  I'd love to hear from you ..how do you teach fluency??

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

Visualization- Mental Images

The students at South Side are enjoying the holiday season.  My office is next door

to the music room and daily I hear the Christmas songs being sung loud and clear.

Our hallways are filled with gingerbread people, candy canes, reindeer, hilarious looking elves and of course glitter everywhere!  Its hard not to feel the excitement and anticipation of Christmas.

The Christmas season is a great time to teach the comprehension strategy , Visualization (Mental Images).  Good readers must make a picture in their mind as they read.  The students learn to use all five senses to make their mental images.  The elementary students have been listening to music, poetry, interesting text and then drawing their images.  Students learn that we all create different images based on our prior experiences (SCHEMA). 

   Christmas paintings and pictures are also a great activity to encourage students to think deeper about the image.  One classroom used Norman Rockwell paintings to practice using all of the senses.   What do you hear? Is the dog barking?  What is the boy yelling?  How does he feel?  Where could they be going or where were they?  Who might be upstairs?   

The sledding picture below brings about lots of conversation and excitement.  In Iowa we have lots of schema for snow, cold and sledding!  Young readers need to practice and learn how to use these thinking strategies in many ways.

Its a fun time of year to see Christmas through a child’s eyes!  Happy Reading-Mrs. Speake