Wolcott's Weekly What's Up
Office of Teaching and Learning 9.30.2015
No Apologies Needed!!!
I had the opportunity to be out in schools a little this past week- one of the highlights of my job! After visiting a classroom, the teacher ran up to me and apologized for the "noise" of her actively engaged students. I felt terrible!!
NEVER EVER feel it is wrong to have students actively engaged in learning. There is nothing "unproductive" about students talking to one another!
NOISE IN A CLASSROOM IS NOT A BAD THING!
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS: DEB Changes Q and A
Why have we decreased daily DEB time from 45-minutes five days a week to 30-minutes four days a week for non-gifted students?
Changes to DEB were made for a variety of purposes:
- With the implementation of the new reading curriculum, students have more opportunities throughout the day to focus on reading at their individual reading level due to one-on-one conferencing and small group instruction.
- Providing staff an additional 15-minutes of instruction per day of flexibility back into their instructional day will enable them to provide learning opportunities for students not available in the past.
- Research from across the country indicates 30-minutes of focused Tier 2 instruction is as effect as traditional 45-minute intervention periods.
- The Special Education Audit, conducted over the past year and a half, indicated special educators needed set aside time to more closely monitor, plan and adapt instruction for special education students. Focused time for such activities allows us to better meet the needs of students with IEPs. Best practice suggests the allocation of one day a week for a building Service Teams to meet to concentrate on special education student needs. The development of such a team, and the setting aside one day per week to meet these needs, allowed us to move from five days of DEB to four.
- By reducing DEB from five days a week to four, teachers are provided the opportunity to implement "Genius Hour", "Passion Periods", and other such activities that can enhance individual learning and provide opportunities for the development of skills that may not be able to be developed during other times.
How will we meet the needs of Tier 3 students if they are not receiving 45-minutes of daily intervention?
- Tier 3 students should receive a double dose of intervention. They should receive 30-minutes of intervention during DEB and an additional 30-minutes of more intensive instruction at another time of the day. Specifics of "when" the additional time will occur should be made on a student by student basis.
What is the rationale for focusing DEB instruction on priority domains?
- By focusing DEB on priority domains, we are better able to strengthen skills taught within core "TIer 1" instruction. Connecting Tier 1 and tier 2 instruction has been scientifically proven to enhance the learning of all students. Using the STAR reports, staff will be able to differentiate for all students within a domain area by providing remediation for those needing additional practice or extension for those having already met grade levels expectations.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS: Assigning 1st Quarter Grades
As with the last three new curriculum adoptions, we will not be assigning a performance level grade in the first quarter. Instead all students will be recieving a "P" for "Pass" in the Reading Comprehension: Literature category. Additionally, teachers will be asked to send home at conferences a copy of the individual "Student Performance Checklist" from the Schoolwide Launch Unit. Building Instructional Resource Specialists will work with staff to discuss how to properly assess skills on the checklist.
Please Note: Teachers using the Super Kids curriculum will assign a comprehension grade based upon outcomes from their classroom unit assessments.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS: Launch Unit Assessments
Elementary teachers teaching the Schoolwide curriculum administered tests (from the previous year curriculum) at the end of the launch unit. The purpose of administering this test was for formative assessment purposes. Teachers got a glimpse, from test results, of new text complexity expectations associated with a true Common Core aligned curriculum.
Teachers are encouraged to utilize the item analysis chart at the end of the unit assessment to look closely at individual student needs and share those needs with students for personal goal setting purposes.
For additional assistance and information on using the Schoolwide assessments more formatively, please speak with your building Instructional Resource Specialist.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS: Standards-Based Report Card Meetings
I will be coming around to each building over the next several weeks and making myself available to staff to answer any questions that might be lingering regarding our transition to our new Standards-Based Grading method. Please see the schedule below:
Edgewood
- October 13th 3:00- 3:30 pm
Goodrich
- October 14th 3:00-3:30 pm
Meadowview
- October 9th 3:00- 3:30 pm
Murphy
- October 16th 11:30 am -12:30 pm
Sipley
- October 8th 3:00- 3:30 pm
Willow Creek
- October 9th 11:30 am -12:45 pm
JEFFERSON STAFF: Gradual Release of Responsibility
I really enjoyed sitting in on the Gradual Release of Responsibility training presented by the "Incredible Dr. Neylon" during the recent School Improvement Day. I loved hearing your thoughts on the model and how you can utilize this non-linear model to enhance student learning.
Below you will find a nice video from the Teaching Channel on Gradual Release of Responsibility.
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/improving-teacher-practice
JEFFERSON STAFF: Patient and Tenacious Teaching
Rick Wormeli, friend of District 68, wrote a great article for the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE). Below you will find a link:
Music and Science from the National Science Teachers Association
Music
If you have a music program in your school or classroom, you can use that time to work some science in with your lessons. Music is physics, and the production of sound as music is an interesting topic for your young scientists. If you play an instrument or know someone who does, consider bringing the instrument to class so students can see how the instrument produces different notes.
You can engage your young scientists directly in the production of music by having them make a kazoo. Kazoos are simple musical instruments that have a membrane that vibrates when the player hums into it. Vibrations are at the heart of any musical instrument, in one form or another.
One of the great things about music is that it can be felt; anyone who's stood too close to the speakers at an outdoor concert knows that! The vibrations caused by the sound waves enter your body and are perceived as motion. This is one of the reasons why music is accessible to the deaf community.
Different musical instruments produce different qualities of sound, depending on what material the instrument is made of and what is vibrating to produce the musical tones. For instance, clarinets are commonly made of wood or hard plastic, and occasionally from hard rubber or metal. Musical experts can tell the difference in sound between metal, plastic, and wood clarinets (with wooden clarinets said to produce warmer, richer sound), but for the average listener the differences are undetectable.
Other simple musical instruments that you and your young scientists can make to explore the physics of sound can be found here. More ideas for simple percussion instruments can be found here. Some science fair projects about stringed instruments can be found here. Consider incorporating a compare and contrast activity with a range of instruments. Which ones have strings? Which ones work by percussion?
When you've developed a collection of instruments with your young scientists, you can try some simple experiments with them. What happens if you tighten or loosen the strings on an instrument, or change how tightly the skin of a drum is attached to the body? What happens if you add or remove filling to a maraca or other shaken instrument? Testing your young scientists' instruments in these ways will help them to see how sound quality changes as parts are modified.
Music is also an excellent vehicle for teaching your young scientists about patterns and repetition. (I know I could be accused of playing for the other team, but pattern recognition is an important math skill—and math is the language of science after all.) Repetition makes sound more recognizable as music, according to Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis, and may have implications for teaching as well.
Formative Assessment Techniques
Leadership and Learning Resources
More Standards Based Report Card Resources
Greg Wolcott
Email: wolcottg@woodridge68.org
Website: www.woodridge68.org
Location: 7925 Janes Avenue, Woodridge, IL, United States
Phone: 630.967.2035
Twitter: @TeachLearn68