I haven't written since the first day back for teachers and I did this on purpose. It's been a very confusing and frustrating beginning of the year and I wanted to wait to really be thoughtful when putting my thoughts down.
Let's start with our math program. Saxon math was billed as an awesome math program that will help our students become better mathematicians. So far, I feel that the math program is moving slowing. The program is a direct instruction math program and so it has a lot of teacher talk. Our low students seem to be doing alright but the high students are bored and have become behavior issues! I am hoping that it picks up the pace quickly!
Now on to reading...
Our reading program was designed to teach students on their academic level. Our principal decided that we were not going to be able to teach the students on their academic level but teach them using the grade level material. Now, for those who have been keeping up, I know this program like the back of my hand and really enjoy using it. Five of my 21 students tested on grade level. That means the other 16 students where going to be taught First grade material when they should be taught on a kindergarten level. I was mad, frustrated and confused. If we were going to use this program and have it be successful like it was at our previous school, why are we not using it the way it was designed? I spent many hours on the phone with colleagues venting, discussing and planning, with many tears. I didn't want to go to my principal just yet. I was worried I wouldn't be able to keep my temper under control! :) My teammates and I decided not to level our students. We decided that if we are all going to use the program beginning on lesson 1, level 1... what would be the benefits of switching.
I finally talked to the principal and I think we are getting Kindergarten sets. Phew... Now I am wondering if we should have switched our students. I think I have figured a way to do it if we need too. I have no idea how long it will actually take to get the Kindergarten kits. I also am pretty sure that most of my team isn't actually using the program right now. I have heard some teachers throughout the school say they are trying the program and are really enjoying it. There is hope!
I have been using my 1st grade set with my both my low and high groups. My high group is doing alright with it. My low group... let's just say, it's been 3 days and we are STILL on lesson 1! I do not forsee us getting through the lesson any day soon. They just don't have the subskills needed. My low group is a very frustrating 30 minutes for me. I find myself losing my patience with them, which is unusual for me. I really enjoy teaching low students, but they aren't being successful and I haven't figured out how to keep true to the program and yet have them feel successful. Suggestions??
There are also lots of other changes going on at school. We started out with 3 kindergarten classes and 6 first grade classes. After the first week, we lost a first grade class and it was made into a kindergarten class. Then less than a week later, 5th grade lost a teacher to make another kindergarten class! I just heard today that 2 teachers were being moved to another school and there is still a possibility of another kindergarten class being made! Crazy...
Tomorrow is staff meeting day, which are always interesting. Hopefully, we will be getting a new schedule so reading block isn't starting at the same time school starts! My kids are never there on time! The good news is that I enjoy my class most days. A few drive me crazy but that is expected! It's not like last year. I also was able to work with a kiddo today from last year to help him have a great day. I am hoping by taking a few minutes out of my lunch each day that he and I can build a solid teacher/student relationship and help him have great days every day!
Till next time...
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Monday...
Today was the first "official" day back at school and this morning we had our district "pep rally". The speaker was awesome! His name is Jonathan Sprinkles and you can check him out on you tube.
Tomorrow starts 4 days of training and meetings in preparation for the first day back with students. My principal has a vision for the school year that is going to be very different from any other school. Our school is implementing Reading Mastery and it requires a walk to read program. Our school is to big for a walk to read so my principal has come up with a new plan. The plan for the school year is to start off with your roster. We are going to assess our students and then place them in reading groups by the end of week 2. At that point, you will get a new homeroom class that is leveled for your reading groups. This means that if you are teaching the low reading group, you will have those kids all day. As students need to move groups, they will switch to that reading group for our reading block. If we need to do a large switch of students to new reading groups, then they will switch homerooms.
Confused yet???
It took me several times of hearing this plan to fully understand it. To extend the confusion, my principal has a very specific plan for what the 120 minutes of our reading block is going to look like. The first 30 minutes will be a language lesson. Then we each will have 2 reading groups. When one group is with the teacher, the other group is working in centers. Then they will switch. The centers will be a vocabulary center, readers response and a writing center.
This year is going to go one of two ways. The teachers are going to see the growth of the students by using the program and embrace the structure of the centers or they are going to fear the change and not embrace it. They could very well push back and cause more friction at the school.
I am hoping to gauge their reaction this week but I know that time will tell how this all plays out. It will be an interesting year.
Till next time...
Tomorrow starts 4 days of training and meetings in preparation for the first day back with students. My principal has a vision for the school year that is going to be very different from any other school. Our school is implementing Reading Mastery and it requires a walk to read program. Our school is to big for a walk to read so my principal has come up with a new plan. The plan for the school year is to start off with your roster. We are going to assess our students and then place them in reading groups by the end of week 2. At that point, you will get a new homeroom class that is leveled for your reading groups. This means that if you are teaching the low reading group, you will have those kids all day. As students need to move groups, they will switch to that reading group for our reading block. If we need to do a large switch of students to new reading groups, then they will switch homerooms.
Confused yet???
It took me several times of hearing this plan to fully understand it. To extend the confusion, my principal has a very specific plan for what the 120 minutes of our reading block is going to look like. The first 30 minutes will be a language lesson. Then we each will have 2 reading groups. When one group is with the teacher, the other group is working in centers. Then they will switch. The centers will be a vocabulary center, readers response and a writing center.
This year is going to go one of two ways. The teachers are going to see the growth of the students by using the program and embrace the structure of the centers or they are going to fear the change and not embrace it. They could very well push back and cause more friction at the school.
I am hoping to gauge their reaction this week but I know that time will tell how this all plays out. It will be an interesting year.
Till next time...
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Beginning of the Year Training
Sigh... it is that time of year. We must bid farewell to summer and look towards the beginning of school!
This summer the school district I work for has adopted the Reading Mastery series for all elementary schools. This means that we were asked to spend 2 days prior to the start of teacher in-service days for training. Now, this doesn't really bother me but there are 3 things you should know:
1. I have taught Reading Mastery before, 6 years to be exact.
2. I was trained as a trainer for Reading Mastery at the National Direct Instruction Conference
and....
3. I was told I had to sit in this two day training to learn how to use Reading Mastery.
Sitting in a training for a program you are already proficient in was interesting. I sat in the back to take it all in. I saw that the presenters were very quickly losing some people. If you are not familiar with Reading Mastery, it is a very scripted reading program with lots of signals and certain ways of doing things. Teachers were starting to revolt! I had let the presenters know ahead of time that I had experience with the program and trainings so if they needed any real world experience they could tap into me. I'm not sure how helpful my comments were but after a while people started to settle down.
As with any new program, there is angst. It was somewhat comforting to know that I have already traveled this road and survived! Since this is new to the district, there are still questions to be asked and answered. I am hoping to be able to be able to participate as a trainer with follow up trainings. There will be many issues and kinks along the way this year and I hope that there will be more good than bad that comes out of this. My biggest fear is that teachers will not use this program with fidelity because it is very different from what they have used before. I have seen it work for kids and hope that teachers give it a shot and put forth the effort to learn the program.
So... tomorrow is day two of training... I wonder what fun will be had? :)
Till next time...
This summer the school district I work for has adopted the Reading Mastery series for all elementary schools. This means that we were asked to spend 2 days prior to the start of teacher in-service days for training. Now, this doesn't really bother me but there are 3 things you should know:
1. I have taught Reading Mastery before, 6 years to be exact.
2. I was trained as a trainer for Reading Mastery at the National Direct Instruction Conference
and....
3. I was told I had to sit in this two day training to learn how to use Reading Mastery.
Sitting in a training for a program you are already proficient in was interesting. I sat in the back to take it all in. I saw that the presenters were very quickly losing some people. If you are not familiar with Reading Mastery, it is a very scripted reading program with lots of signals and certain ways of doing things. Teachers were starting to revolt! I had let the presenters know ahead of time that I had experience with the program and trainings so if they needed any real world experience they could tap into me. I'm not sure how helpful my comments were but after a while people started to settle down.
As with any new program, there is angst. It was somewhat comforting to know that I have already traveled this road and survived! Since this is new to the district, there are still questions to be asked and answered. I am hoping to be able to be able to participate as a trainer with follow up trainings. There will be many issues and kinks along the way this year and I hope that there will be more good than bad that comes out of this. My biggest fear is that teachers will not use this program with fidelity because it is very different from what they have used before. I have seen it work for kids and hope that teachers give it a shot and put forth the effort to learn the program.
So... tomorrow is day two of training... I wonder what fun will be had? :)
Till next time...
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