Mustang Musings
September 22, 2019
I had my last corn on the cob of the season...
Bring on the pumpkin spice!
ARC Focus of the Week
- Begin entering steps into School Pace tomorrow. Remember to include read alouds until this Friday for grades 1-4
- Work on initial leveling of students in School Pace. You have until October 4 to level every student.
- Decide how engaged your students are as readers and indicate that in School Pace.
The "why" behind initial leveling...
IWCS Reading Goal
On Target for IRLA Reading Level
HES creates readers!
On Target for Reading Practice
Teach the Teacher
That's Powerful!
- One teacher allows the girls to use flexible seating during the first 15 minutes and the boys during the second 15 minutes.
- Several teachers were overheard reading aloud to their students during the last 15 minutes of the day. This "Hooves in a Book" time is such a great way to engage our students in a great book and build a culture of reading in our classrooms. It is also a way to send our students home on a positive note.
How quiet should it be during independent reading?
Students will naturally transition from reading aloud to reading silently around the 1R level. Here are some ideas for managing your enthusiastic readers!
- Use "phones" for your students who are reading aloud to themselves. It will help them to hear themselves and limit their disruption of those around them. This will need to be modeled or you will have some talented trumpeters!
- Model how to read quietly to yourself and not disturb others.
Read alouds are an important part of our day. There are so many opportunities for instruction! but can we interrupt the read aloud too much?
One of my favorite things to do is read aloud to children. There are so many teachable moments! The temptation to think aloud about new vocabulary, character development and other parts of the story is real! I began to wonder- Is it better to interrupt the story and capture the teachable moment but lose the enjoyment of the story or are frequent interruptions robbing our kids of the pleasure of enjoying a good book?
Here is what the research says:
- “A current fashion is to try to make read alouds do what they are not designed to do.” The current fashion is for teachers to constantly interrupt read-alouds to ask questions, point out details and provide explanations.
- Purposeful instruction is not needed to make read-alouds effective. On their own read-alouds greatly contribute to reading development.
• Hearing stories results in significant vocabulary development. Children gradually acquire the meanings of unfamiliar words when they hear them in stories.
• Hearing stories develops the ability to understand complex grammatical constructions.
• Hearing stories helps children develop a sense of how stories are constructed; they acquire a knowledge of “story grammars.”
• Hearing stories results in more knowledge of the world.”
- Constant interruptions for instruction are not only unnecessary for students’ literacy development, but they may also be detrimental by disrupting students’ enjoyment of the stories.
- The researchers found that the trend to interrupt read-alouds can result in the story being interrupted as often as once every 4 seconds!
- Excessive interruptions may detract from students’ developing an appreciation for reading by making reading seem like a task, instead of something enjoyable.
https://brainspring.com/ortongillinghamweekly/are-you-interrupting-the-purpose-of-read-alouds/
National Hispanic History Month is September 15-October 15
What can I do for you?
- Modeling
- Side-by-side coaching
- Coaching and modeling of using the IRLA
- Round up resources
- Assist with differentiating lessons or materials
- Cover your class so that you can observe a colleague's class
- Cooperatively plan a lesson or series of lessons that meet best practices
- Serve as another pair of hands for a lesson
- Offer strategies for classroom management
- Help you connect with other teachers in the district
- Lend an open ear for a topic of your choice
- Reflect on student learning in your classroom through conversation and observation
- Work collaboratively to bounce ideas off one another to address a concern
- Evaluate new students to guide instruction
Hardy Elementary School
Email: lhenk@iwcs.k12.va.us
Website: http://hes.iwcs.k12.va.us/
Location: 9311 Hardy Circle, Smithfield, VA, United States
Phone: 757-357-3204
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hardy-Elementary-School-205065852892284/
Twitter: @Mrs_Henk