JWL Weekly Update
Volume 7 * Issue 6 * week of August 20, 2018
10 Classroom Strategies to Dramatically Improve Student Achievement
- Establish a climate of mutual respect. Have students develop and agree on a set of guidelines for acceptable classroom behavior, based on the idea of mutual respect and everyone’s right to learn. Enforce these guidelines strictly and consistently and students will rise to your expectations.
- Set high and clear expectations for quality work. Publish guidelines (rubrics) for high-quality work, and have students evaluate performance against the guidelines. Make sure guidelines are based on local standards for academic achievement, address content (not just format and mechanics) and are sufficiently challenging. Use guidelines diagnostically—not just to assign grades.
- Insist on high quality by having students polish their work. Establish a culture of planning, rough drafts, critiques, and polishing work. High quality work does not come easily the first time. Insist on multiple drafts of increasing quality.
- Get students to read twice as much every day. Reading is the key to everything, and yet most students don’t read enough. Consider setting a goal of doubling the amount of text that students are reading every day—but make sure the reading is manageable, enjoyable, and personally relevant. Also, have students talk about what they read, and write about it (see below). The ultimate goal is to get kids “hooked on reading.”
- Get students to write twice as much every day. Students also need plenty of opportunities to write. Consider doubling the amount that students are writing. This doesn’t mean you have to correct twice as much. Use self-evaluation against a rubric, peer editing, and other such strategies. As with reading, make sure that the extra writing is not just “busy work.” Have students write as a means of personal expression, and as a way of clarifying thoughts. Writing, like reading, should be an enjoyable and self-fulfilling activity.
- Establish a culture of evidence and justification in your classroom. It’s true that “everyone is entitled to an opinion,” but everyone must be prepared to justify an opinion, using evidence. From now on, make this a rule, for yourself and for your students. Always ask, ‘How do you know that’s true?” “What is your evidence?” Never allow someone to say, “It’s just my opinion” or “I don’t know why I think that.”
- Introduce and discuss at least one new “power word” every day. “Power words” are abstract vocabulary words that are useful for thinking and talking about content. Power words are words like perimeter, inference, hypothesis, and category. They are the kinds of words that appear in the prompts to test items. Power words help young people think, and express their thoughts, at a higher level.
- Have students think with numbers every day. Spend at least part of every class period counting, measuring, estimating, calculating, etc. Where appropriate, insist on quantitative evidence. Ask questions like “How many?” “What percentage?” Display data in tables, graphs, and other visual forms—but always emphasis meaning and analysis, not just the collection of data.
- Maximize the percentage of time that all students are engaged in the content. In many classrooms, students spend a great deal of time chatting, sharpening pencils, arguing about grades or homework assignments—and engaging in other activities that are not directly related to the content. In many classrooms, a few students get most of the attention. Take steps to ensure that all students are engaged in the academic content as much as possible at all times.
- When introducing an important new concept or skill, make sure everyone understands before moving on. Use performance assessments to ensure mastery and understanding. Use cooperative learning and other strategies to ensure that students take responsibility not just for their own learning, but for the learning of others. Have all students show they understand. Establish a classroom culture of asking for clarification and help—and make sure all students get the help they need. Don’t let anyone fall through the cracks.
Thank you Dr. Trimble for sharing these with us.
Heads Up
Smore Weekly Updates
It has been brought to my attention that if you are a "phone reader" when it comes to your weekly update, you may think you've completed the embedded forms; however, your responses are not being recorded for us to view. (I don't know why.)
Accessing the weekly update on your phone will suffice for reading of text mostly.
To be able to have full access and be able to complete forms or tasks, you will need to open the weekly bulletin on your computer. Sorry for any inconvenience. I understand we live life on the go and the phone is usually the easiest and quickest device to access. Just understand that the mobile version does not allow for "full access".
Thanks for understanding.
Accessing the weekly update on your phone will suffice for reading of text mostly.
To be able to have full access and be able to complete forms or tasks, you will need to open the weekly bulletin on your computer. Sorry for any inconvenience. I understand we live life on the go and the phone is usually the easiest and quickest device to access. Just understand that the mobile version does not allow for "full access".
Thanks for understanding.
Serving our ELs
Several of you have already expressed want to do your best in supporting our EL students. I love that you are seeking support and eager to serve all our students well.
Mrs. Laura Espinoza, our TISD bilingual coordinator, will be available to help in this specific area.
She will be working with Mrs. Lopez as she pulls assigned EL students during your intervention times to her computer lab to work on phonics, reading in English at their reading levels, and Lexia intervention lessons.
Mrs. Espinoza has offered her services to come to classrooms to give feedback on use of EL strategies and implementation of the ELPS within lessons. She is a fountain of information and support. She'll be at our first faculty gathering on September 19th to share more insight!
Mrs. Laura Espinoza, our TISD bilingual coordinator, will be available to help in this specific area.
She will be working with Mrs. Lopez as she pulls assigned EL students during your intervention times to her computer lab to work on phonics, reading in English at their reading levels, and Lexia intervention lessons.
Mrs. Espinoza has offered her services to come to classrooms to give feedback on use of EL strategies and implementation of the ELPS within lessons. She is a fountain of information and support. She'll be at our first faculty gathering on September 19th to share more insight!
Reflections from Convocation
Kim Bearden did a great job of sharing her heart with us on Friday.
I appreciated her genuine spirit and sharing her experiences. What you do in the classroom is THE most important factor of our school. Teachers are the single most influential aspect of student achievement. (No pressure, right?)
Remember, build authentic, positive relationships with ALL your students. Think about what Kim shared with the dot exercise and the kinder teacher who recorded 2.5 hours of her classroom. Will you have a positive interaction with EACH one of your students daily?
I appreciated how she reiterated Mr. French's charge to extinguish negativity from our speech and campuses. Let's all be like Kim's Mona. If we speak of another, may it always be uplifting! It isn't always easy, but it is worth our finest effort to practice and make into habit.
Follow Kim Bearden:
on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kimbearden
on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.bearden
on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimbearden/?hl=en
Read her two books:
I appreciated her genuine spirit and sharing her experiences. What you do in the classroom is THE most important factor of our school. Teachers are the single most influential aspect of student achievement. (No pressure, right?)
Remember, build authentic, positive relationships with ALL your students. Think about what Kim shared with the dot exercise and the kinder teacher who recorded 2.5 hours of her classroom. Will you have a positive interaction with EACH one of your students daily?
I appreciated how she reiterated Mr. French's charge to extinguish negativity from our speech and campuses. Let's all be like Kim's Mona. If we speak of another, may it always be uplifting! It isn't always easy, but it is worth our finest effort to practice and make into habit.
Follow Kim Bearden:
on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kimbearden
on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.bearden
on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimbearden/?hl=en
Read her two books:
This Week's Ongoings:
TxEIS Gradebook Accounts
REMINDER: teachers must create NEW TxEIS Gradebook accounts each school year.
Every year, teachers (NEW & RETURNING) must follow the steps in the manual to set-up new accounts. If you have a question about staff ID# you can contact the business office or human resources.
I have linked the Region 10 TxEIS User Guide for Tx Grade Book, as well as a Quick Guide.
If you have questions in regards to their Staff ID this information can be found on your pay-stub and/or by contacting HR or the Business Office.
Email Signature Lines Final Reminder
As we continue to grow as a district, we have more and more new faces at various locations. Thus, we also are not yet familiar with everyone across our campus nor the district....yet. So, we have all been asked to add our campus to our signature line of our emails in order to better associate names with places/areas we're serving. Watch the video below to see/hear how to do so! If you haven't done this yet, please be sure this is completed by Tuesday, August 21st.
BOY Checklist
How are you coming along on the checklist of BOY tasks?
I have also attached a video (see button below) for you to view if you need assistance in learning how to link documents, pictures, etc. into this BOY checklist when/where it asks for a link.
I have also attached a video (see button below) for you to view if you need assistance in learning how to link documents, pictures, etc. into this BOY checklist when/where it asks for a link.
Organizing Your Google Drive
As communicated with you on Friday, all the forms and documents shared with you via the Google Drive can be found under the button "Shared With Me" on the far left. Once you've located the specific file you would like to move to your Google Drive, right click and choose "Add to My Drive." Then a pop up window will appear; click the blue "Organize" option to choose which folder you'd prefer that file to reside.
I've created and shared a folder with your name so that you can organize the needed files into it, especially those files that we've requested you to share with me, Mrs. Reed or our coordinators.
I've created and shared a folder with your name so that you can organize the needed files into it, especially those files that we've requested you to share with me, Mrs. Reed or our coordinators.
Calendar & Upcoming Events
Friday Feedings
In an effort to make sure you're making it (physically) the first six weeks of school, our campus coordinates lunches for staff each Friday. The menu this year (to date) includes:
- August 24: Sub sandwiches: Hoping the first week doesn't sink you. ;)
- August 31: Baked potatoes and salad
- September 7: Lasagna
- September 14: Breakfast for lunch
- September 21: Pop's Chicken (if PTO agrees to foot the bill) :)
- September 28: STUCO is hosting Caffination Stations (hot cocoa, coffee, &/or tea selections available). Sorry no lunch planned for this date; however, you will have been paid on the 25th! (I am trying to see if the food truck can come that day.)
Teacher Choice Sessions
**NOTE: The dates have changed to coordinate with our New Tiger Academy on the first Wednesday of each month. Thus, our Grade Level meetings will be held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month. All dates have been amended on the Ninja Calendar.
Teacher Choice Sessions are opportunities where our staff share their knowledge and expertise of various topics with our team in mini staff development sessions. Different sessions will be hosted on the first Wednesday of every month from 4:15 to 5:00pm.
Our first set of sessions will be held on September 5th!
Our first options offered:
Teacher Choice Sessions are opportunities where our staff share their knowledge and expertise of various topics with our team in mini staff development sessions. Different sessions will be hosted on the first Wednesday of every month from 4:15 to 5:00pm.
Our first set of sessions will be held on September 5th!
Our first options offered:
- Classroom Management Hot Topics
- Grading Made easy
- Google Drive: the In's & Out's
- ESL Certification Test Prep
As you reflect and decide, please RSVP by August 31st for your choice session so that we are able to plan accordingly.
Thanks!