GHV Coaches Corner
December 2022
COACHING CYCLES
Joe Albertson, 3rd Grade
As Joe Albertson begins a new year, in a new grade, with new curriculum, he appreciated some behind the scenes support in social studies from the IC. Together they worked to bring stories of immigration and migration alive for these 3rd graders. It included checking out this authentic family artifact brought in by Mr. A.
Danielle Dykstra, 1st Grade
The goal of Danielle Dykstra's coaching cycle was to promote independence and sustained writing with her 1st graders. By teaming up with the IC, she was able to model and incorporate more of a 'writer's workshop' approach. The result-----fervent writing!
Carter Henken, 8th Grade Social Studies
Carter Henken and the IC partnered together on the US Constitution unit to create assessments that encouraged higher order thinking. The original assessment asked students to identify strengths and weaknesses of The Articles of Confederation. The updated assessment had students rank the top 3 weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, provide evidence and details defending their opinions and create an infographic using Canva.
Kelley Nedved, Kindergarten
Writing was also the focus of collaborative efforts in Kelley Nedved's kindergarten. By infusing another teacher directed activity into small group reading rotations, these young writers had increased opportunities to write. Students recieved appropriate supports for their developmental level when composing original sentences.
Megan Berns, Kindergarten
Sometimes our best coaching cycle ideas come from witnessing what works in a peer's classroom. This is exactly what happened when Megan Berns did her peer observation in Nikki Katter's math class. Megan was eager to try small group math centers with her kindergarteners. Together she and the IC were able to incorporate this successfully into regular practice, while also exploring Number Talks.
Dustin Ward, Pre-Calculus
In the past, the unit on ellipses, parabolas and hyperbolas has been a tough unit for students in Pre-Calculus. Dustin Ward and the IC explored different mathematical strategies to implement throughout the unit by establishing clear daily goals for the students and facilitating meaningful mathematical discourse amongst the students.
COLLABORATION & SUPPORT OUTSIDE OF COACHING CYCLES
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING TEAMS
CONNECTING WITH STUDENTS
Tell your own stories. When you share parts of your own personal life with students, they get more comfortable sharing their own, and this is how connections are made. “Try to tell some sort of a personal story about once a week. It doesn’t have to be long. It does not have to be earth shattering. When you get a lot of feedback or stories of their own, you know you have struck gold!”