Navigation Chart
Week of April 4-10, 2016
STAAR Testing Week was a Success! Thank You ALL!
- This last week, 4th and 5th grade scholars were challenged with their first round of STAAR that by the way, it went smoothly. Thank you for making our scholars our priority. I truly appreciate all you have done in support of this assessment, as well as your continued flexibility and preparation for what are yet to come.
- Shout out to Ms. Barragan, Ms. Rojas, and Ms. Willis for orchestrating this STAAR first round of STAAR. They are already preparing for TerraNova/Supera and Student Surveys.
- Shout out to Ms. Sunmonu for getting scholars prepared to take their STAAR exam in the computer.
- Shout out to Ms. Tippol, Ms. Godina, Ms. Morales, Ms. Marquez, Ms. Almendarez, Ms. Ruiz, Ms. Simmons, Ms. Esquivel, Ms. Monreal and Mr. Salazar, for preparing the snacks, helping scholars in the cafeteria, covering breaks for the hall monitors, and the many duties covered during the day, EVERY day!
- Shout out to ALL test proctors who provided constant monitoring for 2 days!
- Shout out to ALL hallway monitors who stood up for most of the day to monitor restrooms and facilitated breaks to the proctors.
- Shout out the staff who continued teaching uninterrupted supporting those who were testing.
- Shout out to Ms. Rojas and Ms. Willis for working together to get TELPAS completed!
- Shout out to Ms. Rosa for the many hours spent monitoring TELPAS Reading in the lab.
- Shout out to ALL teachers for getting ratings and verifications done in an efficient manner! We cannot do it without your attention to details!
- Shout out to Ms. Flores for motivating the new 4th and 5th grade scholars who enrolled the day before their test. Welcome to Kiest, here's your test :)
- Shout out to Ms. Brown ~ I cannot tell you how much I appreciate her patience and her support to many projects at our school.
Key Action 3 ~ Kiest Elementary will maintain a positive culture and climate for Scholars, Parents, and Staff
How can we as a campus accomplish this goal in the upcoming weeks?
Indicators of Success—Measurable results that describe success (Objective)
- School climate survey results will increase 5% in the Fall and an additional 5% in the Spring on "My campus leadership helps me improve the quality of my instruction", "The PD sessions at my school this year helped me improve instruction", and "Discipline is enforced consistently and effectively at my campus".
- School made 3-5 student Feedback survey conducted in the Fall-Spring will demonstrate that 70% or higher of students find learning to be exciting, engaging and empowering, and 90% of the students will indicate positive results in the District's Student Survey in May 2016.
- At least 40% of our parents will register to Parent Portal by December 2015 and 60% or higher will be register by May 2016.
Breakfast in the Classroom Report Card
Eat while you Think, Write while you Bite at Breakfast time!
A teacher's role at breakfast time can make a BIG difference!
Classroom Management: 3 Important Revision Steps
By: Jordan Catapano
When students receive grades or scores, they might tell themselves, “I stink at this,” or “I’ll never get it right!” They seem to have the fixed mindset either that they can do something or they can’t – their effort makes no difference.
But I tell my students that if they knew everything and could do all of our course skills perfectly on the first try, they wouldn’t need to be in my class. I tell them that I believe they can do better – and then I give them the chance to try it again via classroom management techniques.
It’s this second chance brought about by classroom management, this opportunity for learning from a previous failure, that makes all the difference for students. Too often our curriculum pigeonholes students into a one-and-done mentality with work, giving them exactly one chance to get it right. If they don’t do as well as they’d like, if they don’t understand the concept, if they don’t master the skill, then it’s “Better luck on the next unit!” No wonder why they have a fixed mindset about themselves!
But if we can give students a guided method for revising their work, then we can train them to become truly better learners. Let’s examine what some successful steps for a revision process might look like.
Classroom Management: Reflecting on Performance and Feedback
First, just give students time to digest the quality of their work. This doesn’t have to begin when they receive their graded work back from you. It could begin before they even turn it in.
Ask students to consider the work they put into it, their perception of the quality and the weaknesses, how their product compares to the standard or rubric, and how well they felt like they understood the task. It’s surprising how much students may already know about their own work before a teacher even reviews it! Giving students a few minutes to reflect on these things before they turn in their work is a good step in the reflection process.
But let’s say that you’re giving their work back to them after reviewing it. Students should have at least two feedback tools at their disposal now: the Grade and the written comments by you. Often we are tempted to hand back their work and let students do as they please with it, but intentionally give students time to review their own work and your feedback. They can ask questions, look over their product from a fresh perspective, and attempt to understand what it is that you’re trying to convey in your response.
Students see what they could do better … and then are jettisoned onto the next activity. Too often this is where the process ends … revision is over before it starts. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Talk About Failure, Learning, and Revision
In the midst of the reflection process, it’s not enough to assume students are mentally revising their work and prepping to “Do better” on the next task. Aspects of failure, learning, and reflection ought to be specifically addressed.
Ask your students, “Do you think you could do better if you tried again?” Most would agree they could. Ask, “What would you do differently to turn this into a stronger product?” Students would identify their strengths and weaknesses. Ask, “What did you learn about yourself, the process, or this skill based on the feedback you received?”
If we want students to succeed, to continue trying after they’ve failed, to feel like they can grow as learners, then we need to actually facilitate an environment that fosters this mentality. So talk to them directly about their strengths and their failures, and then offer them that “Second chance.”
Conference with the Teacher
Some tasks might be small or simple enough to revise independently. However, the revision opportunity offers the perfect reason for teachers to have one-on-one conferences with students who desire to revise. Ask students to set up a short conference with you or another trusted adult tutor to talk about what specific elements of their task they’ll focus on revising.
When you meet, review the student’s work, grade, and feedback together. Do not merely lecture on the “Dos and Don’ts,” but converse with the student over what they struggled with, what they think they need to do to improve, and how comfortable they feel doing that. Develop an action plan together. Have the student write down their notes and ideas from your conversation.
It’s more common for teachers to talk to a group of students at a time rather than one-on-one. But those one-on-one conversations can make all the difference. Sometimes I would make a personal conference a requirement, sometimes not; but I always strongly encourage students to have a conversation with a trusted adult regarding their work.
Time to Revise
After students reflect and confer with an adult, they’re ready to take another crack at the task. Usually I establish a firm deadline for students to submit their revisions by (up to a week after our conference, depending on the task). Students should work on their own, utilizing the feedback and reflections they’ve gathered to try to do better with the task.
If possible, I have also had students complete their revisions right next to me, getting feedback or information as they progress step-by-step through the process.
Ultimately, students will turn in a revised version of their work along with the original copy. Then I re-grade their work like I’ve never seen it before, providing a new grade and new feedback based on their performance. Then, I erase their old grade and put in the new.
I do inform students that their revision process does not guarantee that they’ll automatically receive a better grade. The process typically helps them score better, but there’s no guarantee that more effort leads to a superior result.
Lavish the Praise
When students have taken the time to authentically reflect on, conference about, and revise their work, I let them know how awesome their willingness to do that is. Even if their new grade isn’t the “Dream score” they were hoping to receive, the fact that they took extra time to learn more and prove they could do better will make them a much stronger person in the future.
I try to intentionally not praise the outcome. Of course, if students get a great score on their revision, I let them know how proud I am. But the emphasis of my praise always goes towards the process. “I love the way you took advantage of the feedback I gave you” and “I can’t believe how much effort you put into this revision” are phrases that hopefully encourage a continued dedication to growth.
I don’t want students to think that their innate intelligence or final grade is what’s important. What’s really important is their willingness to learn from their mistakes and to turn their weaknesses into strengths. And I try to encourage this with both the process I facilitate and the words I speak.
What the Revision Process Is NOT
When teachers hear others talk about the revision process, they sometimes misunderstand what the process does and how it is orchestrated. Here are a few mischaracterizations of the revision process:
- “Students can just change a few small details and get a brand new grade.”
- “Students don’t have to try on their first attempt, since they know they’ll get another chance.”
- “The real world doesn’t offer second chances, so neither should we.”
- “Why should everything be available for revision? Where’s the accountability?”
- “I don’t have time to always be meeting with students or grading work a second time.”
These are mischaracterizations of the revision process because they don’t quite take into account the intentionality or benefits possible in it. Not every task needs to have a revision opportunity attached to it. Teachers can set firm expectations for what a revised version looks like. If students take extra time to learn, then we can certainly take extra time to facilitate that learning. The real world offers plenty of second chances … and even if it didn’t, school is the place to learn how to get it right before that “One chance” in the real world arises.
Truth be told, there’s no perfect system for revisions. Our goal as educators is not to settle for telling our students “Better luck next time,” but to help coach them into the learners and masters we know they can be. Facilitating revisions is not about raising grades or creating extra work, it’s about teaching students to believe in themselves and their ability to grow.
What are some successful steps you’ve built into the revision process to help your students?
Second Graders Present their Research Projects to their Peers
Itinerary ~ Week of April 4, 2016
Monday 4.4 Announcements this Week 1D
Pre-K Enrollment Window Opens today!
Art ACP for 5th Graders
Computer Lab for 3rd/4th Graders 7:15AM Daily
Attendance is due by 9:00AM
Mock Benchmark Math 3rd-4th
5th Grade In-School Field Trip @Noon- Auditorium
Cadre Training Ms. Vasquez/Mrs. Storm/Mrs. Castro @ 2:00PM
Grades 3-5 Relevant Review @ Sanger Preparatory – 3:15PM
Beach Club @ 3:00PM
Tuesday 4.5 Announcements this Week 1D
Attendance is due by 9:00AM
Mock Benchmark Reading 3rd-4th & 5th Science
Mandated Child Abuse Training @ 3:15 All Staff
All STARS Soccer Game @ Reilly 4:30 Girls/5:30 Boys
Dr. Hinojosa Community Meeting @ Bryan Adams 6:00PM
Wednesday 4.6 Announcements this Week 1D
Attendance is due by 9:00AM
DDI for Science 5th Grade 8-11:30AM
Just in Time Training PK @ 3:15PM
Tutoring ALL Tier 3 Scholars @ 3:15PM
Thursday 4.7 Announcements this Week 1D
Attendance is due by 9:00AM
CIA Reading (K-2 & 5th Grade only)
DDI 4th Math 8:00-11:30/3rd Math 12:30-3:30PM
K-2 TerraNova/Supera Training during Planning
Grades 3-5 Student Survey Training during Planning
Tutoring ALL Tier 3 Scholars @ 3:15PM
Lesson Plans due by 6:00PM
Friday 4.8 Announcements this Week 1D
Attendance is due by 9:00AM
DDI 4th Reading (8-11:30)/3rd (12:30-3:30)
Saturday 4.9 Saturday Camp
ACP Viewing
Two-Way Dual Language Fair @ 9:00AM Townview
Monday 4.11- No School: Inclement Weather
Tuesday 4.12- Class Picture Day w/Uniform
Grades 3-5 Student Survey
Edwin J. Kiest Elementary School
Email: yacruz@dallasisd.org
Website: dallasisd.org/kiest
Location: 2611 Healey Drive, Dallas, TX, United States
Phone: (972) 502-5600