Wow-It's been almost a month since my last post!
Well, I've been surfing the Teaching Channel for some Early Childhood videos and I found this one and wanted to share it with you. It's a kindergarten classroom that walks you through the routine of "Letter of the Week". This Teacher uses a story, a song and an art project as she introduces each letter.
So if you are an Early Childhood teacher take a couple minutes to watch.
Vicky
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/letter-of-the-week-s-is-for-scarecrow
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Friday, June 7, 2013
Formative Assessment PD
Norman Elementary had it's first Formative Assessment Professional Development Workshops.
It was attended by all PK-5th grade Regular Education & Special Education Teachers.
Topics that were covered during the PD were:
-What is Formative Assessment
-Summative vs Formative Assessment
-The Formative Assessment Process
-Student Engagement
-Self & Peer Assessments
-Exemplars
-Writing Folders
-Formative Assessment Tools
We also watched videos (just click on link to watch):
*The Formative Assessment Classroom: http://youtu.be/rL54bfmZPzY
*Self Assessment and Peer Support: https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/peer-teaching--2
Other FA Videos featuring Norman Elementary Teachers
*Jackie Clark:
*Sue Rice
Thank you FAME Team for working so hard to pull it all together & Thank you teachers for being engaged and sharing things that you learned from the PD or things that you already do in your classrooms.
Vicky
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
*STARS*
Norman Elementary's New *STARs* Are...
Building Administration
Tonya Harrison, Principal
Years in Education/Background:
I
taught middle school Language Arts and
Social Studies in Bellevue, Michigan for a year before coming to Reed City High
School in 1997 to teach History and English for nine years. I became the principal at R.C. Alternative Ed
for a year, and then moved into the assistant principal position for four
years. I am currently finishing up my
2nd year as the Norman principal.
Working in Education:
I was wrong! Being
an elementary school principal, although exhausting and challenging, brings so
much light to the educator's soul.
Academic growth is seen each day!
Kids learn to read and multiply, with the help of teachers, who give
their entire being, to the kids in their classrooms. The learning is so visible, and kids treat
you like a super star when they see you outside of school. I can say I haven't grown accustomed to the
runny noses or the fact that "no biting" has to be in our handbook,
but watching kids learn skills that last a life time and the "I love you,
Mrs. Harrison" before a student boards a bus makes it worth it.
New to Education?
I
don't consider myself a veteran to education and I learn new things every
single day, but I have taken away a few things from my years up to this
point. Educators give themselves
completely to their classrooms and students or maybe to their curriculum work
and data. A mentor taught me to
prioritize...Health, Family, Work. I
still need to be reminded of this regularly.
Keep your priorities straight.
Be
visionary...look ahead. Where can you
take yourself and your students? Set a
goal to continue learning and set goals for yourself and your students. The best teachers are really the best
learners. Be a learning teacher!
Remember why we are here...it is easy to be negative and frustrated with
students, parents, and our colleagues.
However, we wouldn't have jobs without our kids and who better to work
with every day, than other adults, who love learning and teaching.
The Things Kids Say:
Last year a student said to me, "Mrs. Harrison, I think you have
something weird in your teeth. You are
much prettier without it.". At
first I was embarrassed, but then I thought, "who wants to go all day with
something in your teeth, and she just said I was pretty."
Elementary kids, even though they can be what feels like
brutal honesty, love you on your worst day, even with food in your teeth. Who wouldn't want to be here every day?
Tonya's Family
Reading Month
Tonya rode a horse around the school because students reached their reading goal.
Reading Assembly
Kris Griffin
Assistant Principal
I have been in education for
almost 17 years, all at Reed City schools. I have had an office in every
building with the exception of the high school. I started at Reed City as
a social worker and worked with many students and families. When I first
started working in the schools, I spent a great deal of time working with
families and did lots of home visits. When I think back on some of those
home visits that I made years ago, I am not so sure I would feel as safe as I
did back then. I may have been a bit naïve when I first started, but I
also think that times have changed and I would not likely go to the same homes
I did before. I worry about many of our students and the environments that they
are in. My first job in administration in the school was as the
interim principal at the upper elementary followed by the Alternative Education
principal. Consolidating Norman, Hersey and upper elementary staff and
students together was probably the biggest challenge. I have been the
assistant principal at Norman for four years. I have worked with all ages in
the school, and can’t really say I have a favorite although I truly enjoy my
time with the younger students. I also supervise the special education
and our homeless students for the entire district.
Some of our most difficult
moments at RCAPS have also been times when we have come together. We have
had suicides, deaths of staff members and tragic events happen to our students.
I have seen countless times our staff be there for one another to provide
support in any way they can. I am very thankful to be a part of
that.
I continue to be concerned about
funding for public schools. I have watched over the years all the cuts that
have happened to our school and schools around us. It really makes you
wonder what our future brings. I love my job as the assistant principal
and enjoy the staff that I work with. GT Norman Elementary is the largest
elementary in our ISD, and often size brings challenges. However, it is
rewarding to watch our students from kindergarten through 5th grade. One of my greatest
strengths is my involvement in the community and the schools. I love to
go watch our students in athletic events and activities that they are involved
in. I am a Coyote by birth and always will be! Some of my best
memories are at sporting events. I look forward to our current students
growing up and watching them play in high school.
My husband Dave also works at
Reed City Schools and I have a son that graduated from RCHS and a daughter that
is a freshman. Working at RCAPS is not just a job, it is a huge part of
our life at home as well. We have amazing friends that also work at the
school. We are truly blessed to have as many people care about all of our
students and want to do the right thing. Times are tough, but many of our
staff go the extra mile and want to do the right thing for our kids!
Thank you both for sharing a little bit about yourself and the role that you play at Norman Elementary.
I appreciate your support of this "STAR" project. It has been been fun learning a little bit about each of our teachers, secretaries and administrators.
Can't wait until next year's project! :-)
Vicky
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Connecting Common Core with "Morning Meeting"
"Morning Meeting" connected to CCSS: Speaking & Listening
(ELA.SL.5.1b, ELA.SL.5.1c)
Below is a link to a 4 minute video that is on the Teaching Channel. This video shows a 5th grade class meeting their learning targets by participating in self-reflection during "Morning Meeting".
Vicky
Thursday, May 23, 2013
*STARs*
Norman Elementary's New *STARs* are...
Our AMAZING Secretaries who are the brightest shining STARs in the school!
Angie Cornell
I started as a sub for the
district and did that for 5 years.
I was hired as a full time
employee with the district in 1998 as a parapro for a special needs student
starting kindergarten. I worked with Mariah for two
school years. I then started as a secretary
with the district when Mrs. Bronson retired.
I have really enjoyed both
positions.
A lot of the funny stories I have
to tell you probably can’t publish. J
However I do have a very funny
story that I can tell.
A student that had worked on the
mosaic coyote that hangs in our office, would come in everyday to see if it was
done and hung up.
I told him that I would call him
as soon as it arrived and was hung up so he could admire his work.
The day it arrived I called the
boy down to the office so he could look at the coyote.
I said to him “Someday you are
going to come in here with your wife and kids and show them what you made.”
He looked at me with horror and
said, “Oh my gosh Mrs. Cornell you're still going to be here!”, I laughed so hard.
He was not the least bit
concerned that he now had a wife and kids…he couldn’t believe that I would
still be here J
Cathy Eichenberg
I
was hired in 1994 and began at the High School in Attendance and
Athletics. I then went to Community Ed. /Alternative Ed. for a few years.
Then I came to Norman Elementary and Community Ed. I will be finishing my
19th year working for the school.
Laurie Meyer
I started working for RCAPS in 1997 as a substitute para-professional. In 1999 I was hired as a secretary and worked
for 4 years at the Upper Elementary School, until that building was
demolished. From there I worked as a
secretary at the Middle School for 8 years, and have been here at G.T. Norman
this school year...funny how I've come "full circle" in this career.
The most memorable time would be when the "OLD"
Upper Elementary school came down. It
was a little bitter-sweet, as that was my middle school back in the day. Correct, I never left Reed City... hard to
see all of those old memories I had come down.
The funniest memory is participating in the middle school
winter Olympics...I was "trying" to push Mrs. Decker on a large skate
board into bowling pins, she was the human bowling ball, and we laughed SO
HARD, I could hardly push her...good times had by all.
Angie-Cathy & Laurie,
Thank you for all you do--the school definitely would not run smoothly if it weren't for your hard work.
You are appreciated by all--administration, students and teachers.
Thank you!
Vicky
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Common Core: What is it?
Are you still confused or maybe frightened of the Common Core?
Below are some videos from the Teaching Channel that might help you to understand the Common Core State Standards and maybe put you more at ease.
"How To Read The Common Core State Standards"
Let's Chat Core:
In this series, Sarah Brown Wessling explains the Common Core State Standards and offers insights on how to implement the Core in classrooms across America.
Length
14 min
Questions to Consider
- What does Sarah mean when she says that "Common isn't the same?"
- What is the difference between ELA standards and literacy standards? Why are both important?
- Sarah says, "The Core will require us to integrate." How will you do this in your classroom?
"Common Core State Standards--ELA "
Learn about the key features and differences of the new standards
14 min
What is the purpose of the college and career readiness standards?
What are the benefits and challenges of the shift to reading and writing non-fiction texts?
What are the benefits and challenges of having standards for Science, Social Studies and technical subjects?
Learn about the key features and differences of the new standards
14 min
What is the purpose of the standards for mathematical practice? How should these be integrated with the content?
How will teaching fewer "topics" in each grade change your planning?
What does Dr. Daro say is the solution to closing the achievement gap? How will the standards help?
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
*STAR* Teacher--Robbie Svegel
Norman Elementary's new *STAR* Teacher is...
Robbie Svegal
Resource Room
How long have you been teaching?
I have been teaching for 21 years;
3 at Morley-Stanwood Junior/Senior High School and 18 here at Norman
Elementary. I started out as a school
psychologist with the MOISD for 6 years, but my heart was in teaching.
Favorite Memory
A couple of years ago my class teamed up with
professional filmmakers to inspire writing for a reason. Together we made a movie about bullying. The
whole experience was amazing in so many ways.
I will never forget our “premiere” in the cafeteria. Over 70 friends and
family members filled the room to watch the movie and celebrate the
accomplishment. The looks of pure joy
and pride were priceless.
Funny Memory
Thinking about funny memories
brought back many laughs, but one in particular. Out of nowhere, one student innocently asked,
“Ms Svegel, do you ever have dreams where you come to school naked?”
Math Strategy
A very effective strategy that I
have used is Singapore Math’s bar modeling approach to solving story
problems. It is a structured way of
teaching students to think through the steps using bar models—an intermediate
step between concrete and abstract thinking.
Reading Strategy
Special education for students
with learning disabilities is a lot like physical therapy for reading—many
interventions focus on repeated, small skills.
This is intensive, hard work and can only be done for so long during a
reading period. Another strategy to
build word recognition is enhancing teacher-read novels through combining 3
best practices: retelling, rereading, and guided oral feedback.
After I read a chapter from a high
interest novel, students retell it while I type their words. We reread together to edit for content. Then students reread with guided oral
feedback from a “talking computer”.
Words are highlighted as they hear them.
This way they have guided oral reading—on demand. I dubbed this the Hybrid Language Experience (HLE)
method, and have been using it for the last 5 years. Data from running reading records show that most
upper elementary students accurately read retellings that are 1-2 years above
reading level. They are engaged as they
get guided oral feedback and also improve fluency. Student success was so impressive that I
wrote this up for the Michigan Reading
Journal, where it appeared as a featured article in the Summer, 2012 volume.
Hopefully other teachers and students
will find this to be a useful tool as well.
Guided oral reading with Word Talk, which our technology director has installed on many computers
There’s always more than one
reading strategy to share, so… students
improve fluency through repeated readings.
We reread phonics stories in an activity called Beat the Clock. Below is a link telling how it is done and a
photo of students using this strategy.
Advice for New Teachers
· Listen to your students and take cues from them. Build on their interests. Doing this will both inspire and force you to be creative and think outside the box to meet their needs.
· Find the positive and build on it.
· What looks like “lazy” may in fact be hiding feelings of discouragement, confusion or being overwhelmed. Be a careful observer to uncover what is driving that behavior in order to find the best way to help a child.
· A wise social worker once told me, “When you like them the least, they need you the most.” This has helped me many times when I am reaching my limit in handling a difficult child.
Robbie,
Congratulations on being published in the Michigan Reading Journal- VERY impressive and quite an honor!
Another thing to be VERY proud of is your Bullying video-that video was awesome. Your students did such a great job and obviously they had a great teacher guiding them.
One more thing that I need to make note of...Your funniest memory--I would have loved to see your face!
Thanks for sharing your students, memories and advice.
Vicky
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