Thing #5 Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated instruction is a process of teaching students of differing abilities in the same class. In order to maximize each student's growth and success we must meet each student where he or she is and assist them in the learning process.  For this portion of the assignment we were asked to jot down some notes about things we already do to differentiate instruction.   .
CAST lists the following components as essential parts of differentiated instruction:

Several elements and materials are used to support instructional content.
Within my literacy instruction, I offer many different materials for student use--we maintain book boxes featuring "good fit" books, listening centers with books on tape or CD, digital recordings of some materials, a student computer and various videos and streaming sources for content areas I need to teach.
Align tasks and objectives to learning goals.
We make daily learning targets as incremental steps toward our bigger Standards goals.
Instruction is concept-focused and principle-driven.
I try to use broad concepts rather than lots of minute details, whereby regardless of the means of gathering the information, we can arrive at common perceptions of the concepts being taught.
Flexible grouping is consistently used.
In our school, we use the Daily Five, which allows for flexible and ever-changing grouping.
Classroom management benefits students and teachers.
Initial and on-going assessment of student readiness and growth are essential.
We use the Fountas & Pinnell leveling system for reading which we use to drive individualized instruction.  We conference with each child several times weekly for on-going assessment, and we offer the F&P benchmark assessments three times a year. 
Students are active and responsible explorers.
Vary expectations and requirements for student responses.
Clarify key concepts and generalizations.
Use assessment as a teaching tool to extend rather than merely measure instruction.
As stated earlier, our benchmark assessments and weekly conferencing allow us to use formative assessments to drive our instruction.
Emphasize critical and creative thinking as a goal in lesson design.
Engaging all learners is essential.
Provide a balance between teacher-assigned and student-selected tasks.
The entire premise of the Daily Five is to offer mini lessons, but then allow the children to choose their learning paths for that day; they also choose what books they read.

I have long been a staunch believer in differentiated instruction.  As an elementary school teacher, I saw too many kids gets swept under the rug trying to function in classrooms where the material was simply too difficult for them.  No one wants to come to school every day and be met with one failure after another.  Differentiating instruction makes learning accessible to everyone...it takes some work on the part of the teacher to research and ready materials, but the pay off for the struggling student is tremendous.

Thing #4 Content Area--Thinkfinity

This past week, my school finished administering a reading assessment to every student in grades 3-5.  My fellow coaches and I are responsible for our next round of professional development and at a meeting with a few members of the staff to survey where we wanted to go now--fluency was the hot topic.  So, with that in mind, I went lesson plan shopping on Thinkfinity.  It didn't take long to find two lessons that really intrigued me.  I am a huge believer in activities that incorporate music and movement-- and poetry is also a lifelong love of mine, so when I found these plans, and they were for the grade levels I service, I was very pleased.  Lessons that address multiple intelligences and accomplish the intended outcome in a fun and seemingly effortless manner, are hard to come by and both of these fit that bill.

The first,  Poetry: A Feast To Form Fluent Readers, is a five lesson plan which consists of having the students view a video of a performer reading Casey At The Bat.  A whole group critique and analysis follows to determine what made the performance a fluent one.  Next, students research online and locate a poem that they would like to practice and perform in front of the class.  Finally, there is an opportunity to critique each other and themselves and to reflect on what must be mastered to be a fluent reader.

The second lesson, The Connection Between Poetry And Music, is my favorite of the two.  Children develop rhythmic intelligence through listening to music, which then helps them notice rhythm in language, both of which are important skills in developing fluency as readers. In this lesson, students listen to poems read aloud, and they discuss the rhythm and sound of poetry. Students then perform poems using musical instruments to emphasize cadence. Using online tools, they learn about line breaks and the way these affect the rhythm of a poem. Finally, students write poems they believe will be enhanced by music and perform them for the class.  I want to do this one myself!  Word by word readers have a slowly beating drum playing endlessly in their heads as they read--what a fun way to change the rhythm!

I believe that Thinkfinity will be a great addition to my "bag of tricks".  A lot of times I have gone looking for lesson plans online and when I was lucky enough to find something in the general theme I was looking for, the lessons themselves wouldn't be very good.  These were very well written and showed the theory behind the activities in addition to the plans themselves.  In my new job as a coach, I am often called on to assist teachers in finding good lessons to teach a particular skill defecit--Thinkfinity offers a good place to look for what I need.  Thanks for including this as a "thing"...so far you're batting a thousand--everything I've looked at so far has been awesome.

Thing #3--Skype Contol Panel

Whew!  I listened to the tutorial.  I set up my Skype Account.  I added Ron as a contact since I am supposed to send him "a message".   I am assuming that he means an instant message, as it's 10:33 PM and I am sitting on the couch in my living room with my night gown on-- which wouldn't be so bad if it were a nice nightgown <sarcastic snicker> or if my hair wasn't sticking out... or my house wasn't a mess.  Ahhhh...the PERILS of being in the 21st century!  Anyway, the charge was to create an account <check>, send some kind of mystery message to Ron <check>, take a screenshot of the control panel <check--I THINK> and then post it here <check>.
So now presenting for your enjoyment...  my Skype Control Panel!

I am intrigued by the possibility of bringing outside "experts" into my sessions with kids and colleagues as well.  I'd love to be able to skype with an author we'd been studying, or be able to forge some friendships and video opportunities with different classrooms in other places in the world.  How exciting it would be to talk to someone in a geographical area we were studying, or checking in with a parent in the military or one of my students on vacation!   

I am a little leery about the backchannel thing--I'm not a believer with that yet--I worry about too much distraction for me to maintain focus--but from what I read, that comes with practice.  I will have to watch the recording as I have a meeting that will prevent me from attending the online session tomorrow, so I can't try it out on that...next staff meeting maybe?  Would for sure have to explain that I am not doing something else, that I AM paying attention and actually taking notes.  I hope someone that tried it will comment and let me know how it worked for them.

Sleep beckons.....so gooodnight Elizabeth...goodnight Johnboy...goodnight techies!

Thing #2 Collaboration (And Google Docs) Rocks!

I started with a blue background and text that was really too big for the area for this slide in my series on how to make a cinquain poem.  I published it to Google Docs, shared it with a couple of our classmates (Thanks Harold and Pinky!) and this is what we ended up with.  I think it rocks!

This was only one slide--one example of many changes that were made to the whole presentation--banners, bulleted lists, etc. all added not only to the visual appeal, but made the presentation clearer and more focused. 

I find that I love the ability to work on things collaboratively!  I wasn't sure I would really like it--but WOW!  I can see huge possibilities for me using this tool.  If I am having trouble coming up with something to say, or a way to say it; if I can't seem to get the lay out right; if I don't have time for a face-to-face meeting with my co-workers; if I want to work on a project with someone overseas...endless possibilities.  But what excites me personally the most is this: if I've worked on something and can't seem to get it right--instead of getting frustrated and just trashing it, I can ask for help and actually GET it from somebody right from the comfort of my own couch!  Woohoo! How cool is that?

Thing #2 Continued...Comparing Google Docs to Adobe Buzzword

Well folks--here's my Adobe Buzzword attempt--<snickering to myself..."Another poorly disguised excuse to sneak in a favorite quote!">
As for which one I liked better--well...I like the looks of what I could do with Buzzword, but as for ease of use, I have to vote for Google Docs.  In all fairness to Buzzword, I probably didn't take enough time learning how it all worked...so it looks as though I should take a lesson from the exact quote I'm sharing here--I probably read without really REFLECTING, so I didn't adequately digest what I took in. 
I will most likely revisit Buzzword...but for now, Google Docs will be my vehicle of choice.

Thing #2 Screenshot Using Google Docs Template

I made this document using the Google Docs template for a scrapbook page.  I love the quote and was glad for a place to add it to my blog.  I can see an endless array of possibilities for using this in my classroom.  I notice several of the templates would be useful to me as I am not always very organized--the To Do List and the Calendar templates might come in particularly handy.  I was also looking for a way to make small "toolboxes" for kids that struggle with math concepts --little "how to" tools like hundreds charts, touch point math lines, multiplication tables, directions on how to regroup in subtaction, etc. and this made me think I might be able to use a document camera to take shots of each step, use this template for scrapbook pages, and publish the toolboxes using mini scrapbooks. 

I'm even more excited about making a document that I can use to collaborate with other people.  In my position as a grade 3-5 literacy coach, I often have to work on joint professional development presentations and other joint activities with the lit coaches in our K-2 building.  Our time to be able to collaborate in person is extremely limited, so with the use of Google Docs, we can work on documents collaboratively without requiring a face-to-face meeting.  That will be my next task...stay tuned for further developments!

Thing #1

Learning to use the shortcuts increases productivity!

I didn't know most of these things even existed.  I guess I thought all those "extra" keys were there just for decoration--like I am always complaining people think about the turn signals in their cars.  Well, I am now proudly using some of the shortcut formatting keys.

I already knew about the Control C&V shortcuts, but who knew about all these others!  Some of these will really come in handy!  My personal favorite is the Shift F3 one--my fingers are forever accidentally grazing over the caps lock and prior to this class, I spent a goodly amount of time highlighting the text, deleting it, then retyping it.  Shift F3 is now my official hero!

I also like Control A ( to select all), and F7, so I don't have to waste the usual amount of time searching for the icon for spell check (which I can never seem to locate quickly).  And who wouldn't love Control Z--anything that can bring back the dead is tops in my book!  Love the triple clickto highlight an entire paragraph too.

For me, the time --not to even mention the irritation--I spend in the retyping of lost things, redoing mistakes, and generally not using all the tools available to me, has certainly decreased my productivity.  Learning to navigate these unnecessary bumps in my road will save me time, energy and aggravation, and that will only add up to more efficient use of my time and energy.

**Check out my Delicious Bookmark Page--  http://www.delicious.com/susimeagher  but for future ease of operation, I posted the link under my "Good Places To Visit" section to your right.

Pondering The Questions Thing # O, Pt. 2

• What makes a good blog? 

Well, the blogs I've visited that I enjoyed were ones that were about topics that interested me.  They had lots of "things to do" on them--videos, cartoons, links to other sites.  They were visually stimulating as well--their use of graphics and text features made me want to read them.  I was also drawn by provocative titles offered as hooks to have me read further.  One blog in particular offered a feature called "Book of the Week" and offered a historical video of the Holocaust for one selection, and an interview with the author of another.  I really liked that.   

• How could a blog enhance your existing school web presence?

It would help to increase:
my parent connection--I could post strategies online to help parents know how to help their kids. 
my teacher connection--I could offer resources for strategies, web sites, book reviews.
my student connection --I could post "how to" pod casts , book reviews, highlight student work.

• Are blogs an easier way for people to self-publish?

Yes!  That is the beauty of the blog.  Like the video we watched pointed out, now the delivery of "news" is open to anyone that wants to publish it by becoming a blogger. 

21 Things--Getting Started

Well, here I am at a new bump in the road--and the only things that seem to be chattering are--my teeth!  I'm a little nervous, but I am really excited over the prospect of learning some new things in this class and networking with another group of lifelong learners.  I hope to be able to use technology to reach the kids that struggle--learn ways to get them excited about learning and ways to make that learning appropriate for the world in which we live.  I also hope to learn from all of you--we all come to the table with something of worth to share.

I found a nice quote that works with my blog theme--here it is:

"In the world of grey, meaning is generated in little twirls, blips, and bumps." 
Morgan Meis, The Smart Set-Party Like It's 2009

I can't wait to share some of your twirls, blips and bumps!
Susi