The Roundup
A gathering space for educators
February 2020
In the Instructional Services Department at Van Buren Intermediate School District, supporting teachers and administrators with instruction is the heart of our work. It is our hope that this monthly newsletter will help capture upcoming events and important information to support your work in your districts, schools, and classrooms.
Browse our upcoming Professional Learning Opportunities below!
(Updated Frequently)
Multi-Tiered Systems of Support
During our recent training, we had educators from around VBISD share their journey with MTSS through "TEN" Talks. These talks centered around:
- High Frequency Words
- Zones of Regulations
- Trauma Informed Classrooms
- Essential Standards within Eureka Math and Reading Street
- Intervening on Essential Standards in Middle School Math
- Documenting and intervening on Essential Standards in Kindergarten
A big thank you to all who participated in this event! We hope this is only the beginning of more collaboration and sharing of ideas throughout the county!
Any Questions?
MTSS Facilitator/High Impact Leadership Facilitator for VBISD
Cheryl-Marie A. Manson - cmanson@vbisd.org 269-330-2668
Reading
Daily 5
During the month of February, the Instructional Services Department will be coming around to observe Daily 5 practices and evidence. This is a quick snapshot that will allow school-wide data to be shared with individual buildings in order to drive professional learning and coaching at the building level. Please see below for our Look Fors for Round Three.
- Read to Self Launched - I-Chart & Other Evidence
- Work on Writing Launched - I-Chart & Other Evidence
- Stamina Graphs and/or Goal posted
- Evidence of Check In: Sheet, Clipboard, or Conferring Notebook
We look forward to seeing you!
Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy
- As you begin to examine your read aloud practices, and potentially begin to improve upon your mini-lesson or focus lessons, you can take a look at this lesson plan template to support your planning.
Essential Instructional Practice 7: Intentional and ambitious efforts to build vocabulary and content knowledge
- This article can demonstrate how to use a read aloud to teach vocabulary in an explicit and concise approach.
Making Connections Across Areas
“If you are afraid, sad, tired, or lonely
if you feel lost or strange
if you crave stories and adventure,
and the magic possibility of a forest path
-this book is for you”
In this Nerdy Book Club blog post, Carrie, an upper elementary teacher recommends the book Some Kind of Happiness. Leveraging opportunities for read alouds to teach CAFE strategies can also lend to covering social emotional topics. This book exemplifies how we can utilize texts to teach instructional strategies and promote discussion around uncommon but necessary conversations. You can read more here.
“... reading is a personal process, a social/cultural process, thinking, and language.”
-Harvey (2017)
VBISD Literacy Coach/Consultants
Geanice Miller - gmiller@vbisd.org 269-271-9813
Melissa Wierenga - mwierenga@vbisd.org 269-599-7259
Math and Science
Seeking Nominations for the 2020 Presidential Awards in Math and Science
Michigan is looking for outstanding elementary science educators for the 2019-20 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).
Please view the MDE Memo for more information and a link for the application:
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/PAEMST_nomination_window_678620_7.pdf
VBISD Cultural Understanding Committee
Black History Month
In honor and recognition of this Black History Month, please visit relevant teaching tools and suggestions for how to give this critical history the time, attention, and depth it deserves. While we highlight it in the month of February, it is imperative that these lessons be taught throughout the months and years as part of our country's history.
We would also like to include a link from Teaching Tolerance that has a guide for educators on how to speak up at school in response to everyday bias, prejudice and stereotypes. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
PD Offerings
Theresa Ouzts - CUC@vbisd.org
English Language Learners
Imagine Espanol
Social Studies
Primary Resources
- Teaching with Primary Sources Initiative - Through TPS Direct, educators can download lessons in PDF format with goals such as Analyzing Photographs, Analyzing Maps, and Connecting with Primary Sources. The professional development and teaching tools help educators identify excellent sources within the Library's collection to build students' critical thinking skills in an engaging way. Given the wealth of information available online, TPS Direct helps make the process of locating ideal classroom materials easier for busy teachers and administrators.
- Teaching with Primary Resources: The Library of Congress Learning Page - Here is a "teachers eye view" of over 7 million historical documents, photographs, films, maps and audio recordings. You will find lessons, features, activities, and classroom tips on how to use the resources of the Library of Congress to teach with primary and secondary resources.
- The National Archives: Teaching with Primary Sources Lesson Plans - This section contains reproducible copies of lesson plans and primary documents from the holdings of the National Archives of the United States. The lessons were written by classroom teachers. It also includes analysis tools.
- Sources of Primary Resources
- American Memory - Millions of digital items that document American history and culture.
- Lyrical Legacies - An in-depth look at unique song and poetry documents from the Library's digital collections.
- Performing Arts Encyclopedia - The Library's collection of scores, sheet music, audio, films and more.
- Docs Teach - This unique site within the National Archives allows you to search and build your own primary source portfolio as well as create your own interactive activities with them.
- Today in History - Check on what happened today in History!
- Using Your Textbook to Teach Historical Analysis
- American Journeys - American Journeys contains more than 18,000 pages of eyewitness accounts of North American exploration, from the sagas of Vikings in Canada in AD1000 to the diaries of mountain men in the Rockies 800 years later.
Read the words of explorers, Indians, missionaries, traders and settlers as they lived through the founding moments of American history. View, search, print, or download more than 150 rare books, original manuscripts, and classic travel narratives from the library and archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society.
- The Antiques Roadshow Teacher's Guides - These guides help educator's integrate material culture into their classrooms. Using artifacts from the show, it presents strategies for teaching and questions to ask on how people make, collect, and use material objects.
- Milestone Documents - Monthly e-newsletter helps U.S. history teachers engage their students in historical research and understanding. Each issue features activity guides, in-depth analysis, and helpful teaching hints related to important primary source documents. Click the "sign up" button below to have the newsletter automatically e-mailed to you each month.
- Library of Congress Lessons Created by Michigan Teachers Summer/2008 - These lessons were created as the result of a project between the Midwest Center of the Library of Congress, the Michigan Council for History Education, and Wayne RESA.
You can learn more at their website here.
Diversity and Inclusion
VBISD Instructional Services Department
Location: 490 South Paw Paw Street, Lawrence, MI, USA
Phone: 269-674-8091
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VBISDinstruction/
Twitter: @VBISDIS