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

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! :)

Picture Books? Absolutely!!

I love to read.  I am blessed to have a mom who loves to read and she shared her love for reading in many ways.   As a child I spent hours at my local library.  Shopping always involved spending time at a book store.  One or two gifts from mom were always books and still are.  Reading was done anywhere and everywhere.  As a mom, I now give my kids a book for most every holiday, birthday and special event. Shopping still involves a book store.  Even in my home I love to decorate with books-old and new!  There is just something about a book. 

This year I am getting to focus on books everyday.......how lucky is that???  I have spent hours reading professional books and blogs about incorporating picture books into the classroom.  Picture books are perfect for any classroom and at any grade level.  I had a  person ask me... Why all this fuss over picture books???   

WHAT? Doesn’t everyone know about picture books?????  Here are just a few reasons.

Picture books.. . . . . 

set a purpose for reading

are engaging

can be read quickly

can be read over and over 

have beautiful or humorous illustrations that teach

make learning facts fun and easier

can encourage students to tackle difficult social issues

can teach history quickly

can spark readers to learn more about topics

can teach writing skills & comprehension skills 

can be found for every reader’s ability on every topic

can build self-esteem

can teach difficult concepts quickly

are fun

can make you laugh & cry

Picture books are amazing!  Mrs. Speake

If you teach, check out this great blog: Keith Schoch's blog about using picture books!

Schema

Schema is the next comprehension strategy our elementary students are learning.  Most readers and teachers know schema as "background knowledge".  Schema is everything in our brains that we have experienced.  All the things I've done, all the places I've been and all the books I've read.  Good readers always use their schema before reading, during reading and after reading.

At South Side we want our readers to know how to use their schema and how to make meaningful connections.  Connections may be text-to-self, text-to-text and text-to-world.  With a read aloud, teachers will model how to use schema and make meaningful connections while reading.  Next readers will work with their teacher to make connections and finally they will practice making connections during their independent reading time with their "just right" books.

Some of my favorite text to use for modeling connections are from the author Kevin Henkes.  His stories have characters that children relate to easily and the text is full of rich and engaging vocabulary.  To share a few of his characters..... Chrysanthemum is teased about her long flower name, Lilly is quite a unique individual and takes her purse to school and learns a valuable lesson when she gets in trouble, Wendell is a wild child that "wears" most of his friends out and Chester is best friends with Wilson.  They are "two peas in a pod" doing everything together until Lily moves into the neighborhood.

These books can be read over and over pulling many valuable lessons, rich vocabulary and meaningful connections that help our readers become successful with using comprehension strategies independently.

Reading should always be meaningful and engaging.  Our elementary students (1-5 grades) will hopefully tell you, "making connections and using our schema helps us to better understand the story" !
Happy Reading- Mrs. Speake

Formative Assessment

     At South Side we have been studying formative assessment.  Formative assessment allows the teacher to check student’s progress.  (are they getting it, do I need to re-teach or do I need to adjust the pace and so on)

     Our PreK-5 teachers have dedicated a portion of the school day for independent reading time.  We took time to assess where we are with this and what is our next step.  A star is something to celebrate and the stair step means a skill or strategy we need to keep working on.  Using this form in the classroom can allow students to keep track of their own learning and with the teacher’s help they can plan what the next step is. 

    

 We must stop and celebrate our success!  Too often we forget that good things are happening everyday.  Students are reading daily and teachers are sharing their love of reading.  Our reading stamina is growing at each grade level!

Happy Reading!  Ronna 

Stamina

endurance, staying power, tirelessness, fortitude, strength, energy, toughness, determination, tenacity, perseverance, grit.

Stamina is a vocabulary word the elementary students are using when they are reading.  The dictionary defines stamina as the ability to sustain prolonged physical or mental effort.  The K-5 teachers are dedicating a portion of each day encouraging independent reading time which requires the students to build .....stamina.

Students need daily practice to build reading muscles.  Just as athletes need to build their muscles for running or swimming, students need to build their learning muscles.  Reading stamina does not come natural to most children.  Teachers model procedures and routines to establish an environment that encourages on-task reading behaviors.  This takes teacher reading and planning time and daily student practice time.  It also takes oodles and oodles of quality books for the student's reading time.

 The Sisters,  Steven Layne,  Kelly Gallagher and Donalyn Miller are a few of the published authors you can find our teachers reading in their free time which means late at night or on weekends!  :)  Teachers must be life-long learners to enhance their own teaching strategies.  Together we are improving and sharing new ideas to build student’s reading stamina and to help students become life-long readers and learners.  

Its a privilege to be part of a teaching community willing to work hard and learn together!

Happy Learning-Ronna

Literacy Kick-Off

Today we launched our literacy kick-off for our Prep Kindergarten-5th grade!  Our school district is in the beginning stages of revising and renewing our balanced literacy programs and aligning this with the Iowa Core and making sure we are teaching 21st century skills.

Our first goal this academic year is to improve our independent reading piece, bringing back our own personal love of reading and sharing this love with our students.  We want to create students who CAN read, WANT to read and CHOOSE to read.  A second goal is reviewing all of the comprehension strategies and making sure these skills are explicitly taught and modeled.

A few highlights:

• Awakening our inner reader & helping our students find the joy in reading:   The Book Whisperer, Donalyn Miller  
• Leveling & organizing the classroom library (our summertime project) 
• Procedures and routines to help build reading stamina
• Scheduling time into the daily schedule-what can we give up
• What is the latest research regarding independent reading
• Fountas & Pinnell Assessment Benchmark Kits- how will we assess

Together we are going to take small steps (some might say giant leaps)

to strengthen and bring our literacy programs into the 21st century.  I know we will have many moments of great success and times of stress and frustration BUT what is so awesome about our group of teachers is that we are all ready to face this challenge together.  

Happy Reading!! Ronna