Game On
Zitzman 411
What's Happening This Week:
Tuesday C Day. PLC's all day! Big Smiles Dental Program on the stage 8:30-2:45.
Wednesday: D Day. Elementary Admin Meeting 10:00am. MVR3 Board Meeting 6:00pm. Big Smiles Dental Program on the stage 8:30-2:45.
Thursday: A Day. Paddle Your Parks 4th Grade Field Trip! Fundraiser Kick-Off Assembly 2:00 (Cafeteria). Big Smiles Dental Program on the stage 8:30-2:45.
Friday: B Day.
Saturday: Homecoming Parade 10:00am. ZE National Anthem @ Soccer Park 6:00pm.
New Custodian
PLC Agenda
- review RIP students
- review the RTI protocol/process
- discuss what RTI looks like in your class and our building
- answer Evaluate questions
- review AT RISK Pulse data
SLO - FYI.
Below is a copy of the DESE SLO Tracker.
Remember that you can "track" your SLO data however you would like.
3rd Grade had a good idea about tracking Evaluate data and I thought the 2-5 grades using Evaluate data would benefit from it as well.
Here it is below:
Question: We set growth targets for Math evaluate based on the first assessment. But after thinking about it, that is only 1/2 of the standards. Should we / can we, wait until after the October assessment to average the two pre-test scores to get an overall average of their knowledge of all the standards? Then at the end of the year for scoring we would average the last two months as well to take into account the two groups of standards.
ANSWER: I believe you are fine to use 1/2 the standards. Student will be tested on those standards several times throughout the school year. EOY for those standards would be March, which is a perfect time to finish up the SLO.
Title 1 News
Savin will be out with Grade 4 this Thursday, September 20th for a Field Trip. No Savin classes 9/20/18.
Art, ELA, Math, Music, Physical Education, Science and Social Studies
When discussing DRA Findings in the September 9th 411, I failed to include all subjects when I discussed a Tier 1 instructional focus of interpreting and reflecting on text and content. My apologies. All educators can be included in Title I ideas. Many students have improved their interpretation and reflection skills during small group work during Title I pull-out times based on their oral and written responses. I’ve observed Mrs. Menley’s science students provide deep reflections and interpretations of her scientists' quotes bulletin board. "Your worth consists in what you are and not in what you have." After reading this Thomas Edison quote posted in Mrs. Menley’s classroom, Tyler said, “He means that it doesn’t matter if you have things like a house. It matters who you are as a person. It's important to help and be kind to others.”
Mrs. Erickson and I hope to provide instructional tips based on our 2018-2019 work with Zitzman students in grades first through fifth. Piggybacking off Menley and Titter’s Quiz-Quiz Trade engagement strategy from our 9/13/18 staff meeting, Tina and I would like to share some of our reading strategies for students to use in the classroom. Clearly, there is a continuum of K-5 reading strategies; however, similar to Quiz-Quiz Trade, Reciprocal Teaching offers language and ideas that are both engaging and strategic for all learners. This coupled with the language of LIM 7 Habits, our students will continue to increase their level of engagement.
In Reciprocal Teaching, students have jobs or roles: Predictor, Questioner, Clarifier, and Summarizer. As early as kinder, students love to hear that they’re questions make Questioner the perfect job for them. A friend who provides the answer is now praised as the Clarifier. Both students can also be recognized for showing Habit 1 Being Proactive, taking charge and being responsible for their own learning actions. If students seem off task while providing whole group instruction (talking to their neighbor), stop and ask them to Think, Pair, Share or Turn and Talk as a Questioner, Clarifier, or Summarizer of what you just taught. Maybe they can Predict what will be discussed next? Do they need to create an anchor chart for clarification purposes? By listening to these conversations, you will assess next instructional steps and learners will be more engaged to their learning needs.
Mrs. Bruns, Mrs. Mirani, and Mrs. Titter are using Reciprocal Teaching for Journey’s stories and possibly literature sets. I use the language and roles with Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention in small groups as well as push-in times for any subject, primarily reading and writing. Through common text and student roles, the goal is to increase student engagement and empower students as on-going learners.
Writing Corner
The lesson videos from Lucy Calkin’s Up the Ladder resource can only be accessed by scanning the QR codes in each lesson! Mrs. Centerino or I can show you how to do this on a Chromebook. Grades 3-5 have 3 copies of this resource to scan, watch, and learn. Happy Writing!
As always, we celebrate being part of the Zitzman learning community!
Barb and Tina, Title I Reading Teachers
Real World PBL for your Classroom:
PBL = Project Based Learning.
These ideas are just for your creativity for your student in your classroom. Use them as you see fit or keep scrolling and move on! I just add these in here to allow you to take risk and grow your students if you see fit. - FYI!
In this PBL Scenario, students are going to become meteorologists who have to decide what their responsibility is as a major storm approaches, and when it strikes. What information do they need to give the people even as the storm is over 1,000 miles away, and how does their role change depending on the storm's direction? Is there a balance between being prepared, giving useful information, and possibly causing a panic? Here's the link: http://pblproject.com/page.aspx?pageid=PBL-Storm
These are a great reminder that PBL Scenarios can become more personal when you add a bit of a local twist that fits your area... and it makes it more fun for everyone. I hope you enjoy