Coaches' Corner
Reed Elementary, May 2016
Important Dates
Teacher Appreciation Week ------------------------------------------------------------- May 2-6
DRA/EDL window opens for grades K-5 --------------------------------------------- Monday, May 2
3rd grade science assessment window opens ------------------------------------Wednesday, May 4
General faculty meeting ------------------------------------------------------------------Wednesday, May 4
Cinco de mayo potluck lunch -------------------------------------------------------------Thursday, May 5
Children's Book Week ---------------------------------------------------------------------- May 9-13
Math STAAR for 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade (retesters) ----------- Monday, May 9
Reading STAAR for 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade (retesters) ------- Tuesday, May 10
Science STAAR for 5th grade ------------------------------------------------------------ Wednesday, May 11
School Nurse Day --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, May 11
Leader in Me committee meetings --------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, May 11
LA and Math benchmark assessment window opens K-2 -------------------- Thursday, May 12
PTA Read-a-thon ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, May 13
Educational Bosses' Week ---------------------------------------------------------------- May 16-20
4th grade science assessment window opens ------------------------------------ Monday, May 16
K & 1 math screener window opens -------------------------------------------------- Monday, May 16
Vertical team meetings ------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, May 18
PTA meeting; Talent Show --------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday, May 19
EoY Staff Party ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday, May 21
Bad Weather Make-up Day (again) --------------------------------------------------- Monday, May 23
Faculty meeting ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, May 25
3rd & 4th grade science assessment window closes -------------------------- Thursday, May 26
LA and Math benchmark assessment window closes K-2 ------------------- Thursday, May 26
DRA/EDL window closes for grades K-5 -------------------------------------------- Friday, May 27
SPLASH DAY ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, May 27
Memorial Day holiday -------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, May 30
Kindergarten EoY celebration --------------------------------------------------------- Thursday, May 2
5th grade walk and ceremony, 8:30 ------------------------------------------------- Friday, June 3
Early release; Report cards go home ----------------------------------------------- Friday, June 3
Teacher workday --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, June 6
Got Poetry?
White Wings
Sitting against a big friendly tree
Reading a book I love,
I looked up suddenly
And saw fleeting and wheeling
Away in the blue spring sky
A flock of gray birds
Flashing white wings in the May sun.
-Carl Sandburg
Find lots more poetry at https://drive.google.com/a/leanderisd.org/#folders/0B-Zan8e8lGojNDFuMnZwZjRuaW8
Tech Tip: Go Formative
Recommended Reading: The Reading Strategies Book: Your Everything Guide to Developing Skilled Readers by Jennifer Serravallo
Children's Author Spotlight: Anthony Browne
(If you are interested in sparking your students' writing with some funky artwork, check out the "Gallery" part of the website.)
Food for Thought
-Margaret Lee Runbeck
Promoting Vocabulary Development, Part 4
First a reminder:
Developing vocabulary is a continuing concern; unfortunately there is no miracle way to approach it. However, research tells us that an effective program of vocabulary instruction should provide students with opportunities for word learning by:
- encouraging wide reading
- exposing students to high-quality oral language
- promoting word consciousness
- providing explicit instruction of specific words, and
- providing modeling and instruction in independent word learning strategies.
"Although students gain most of their word knowledge through wide reading, explicit instruction of specific words and their meanings can also contribute greatly to their vocabulary development. Explicit instruction is especially important for students whose exposure to the vocabulary of literate English is limited. To be most effective, explicit vocabulary instruction should be dynamic and involve a variety of techniques. Specifically, instruction should:
- Use both definitional and contextual information about word meanings,
- Involve students actively in word learning, and
- Use discussion to teach the meanings of new words and to provide meaningful information about the words."
Here are some instructional activities that provide students with definitional information:
- teaching synonyms,
- teaching antonyms,
- students rewriting definitions in their own words,
- providing example sentences,
- providing non-examples, and
- discussing the difference between the new words and related words.
Here are some activities that provide students with contextual information:
- students creating sentences that contain the new word (or more than one new word),
- discussing the meaning of the same word in different sentences,
- students creating a scenario that features the new word, and
- students creating silly sentences (such as "Can a philanthropist be a hermit?")
From Promoting Vocabulary Development: Components of Effective Vocabulary Instruction, published by the Texas Reading Initiative, part of the Texas Education Agency.