Feeling overwhelmed with all the new data?  

Try using an inquiry based approach. This initiative can be powerful and help all those involved really think about the data and look at it from different angles. We are supporting schools throughout Region 3 on applying this inquiry process with their faculty.

One system in Region 3 is implementing this approach within all schools. They are taking data and analyzing it with their administration, instructional coaches, and teachers! This process, adapted from Harvard, is helping them truly impact student achievement and sustain this growth over time.

Read more about the process at: http://hepg.org/hel-home/issues/22_1/helarticle/the-data-wise%E2%80%9D-improvement-process_297

 

Does Oral Reading Fluency Matter?

YES! Slow, halted reading is linked to poor comprehension. This leads students to read less, which in turn results in their making slower progress in reading than more fluent readers.   More fluent readers focus their attention on making connections among the ideas in a text and between these ideas and their background knowledge. Fluent reading allows readers to concentrate more on comprehension. Less fluent readers must focus their attention primarily on decoding individual words. Spending cognitive energy to decode words leaves readers with little attention left for comprehending text. As a result, comprehension suffers.

Normed oral reading fluency rates are milestones for reading development.  Meeting these normed rates along the way will keep students on track for long-term academic success.

 http://www.readingrockets.org/content/pdfs/Hasbrouck-Tindal_chart.pdf 

Promoting Fluency 

http://www.teacher2teacherhelp.com/reading-strategies/promoting-fluency/

Happy Reading!

10 Inspiring Quotations to Help You Differentiate Your Instruction

I found this on the ASCD website.  Some really powerful ones when it comes to why we do what we do for students!!!

inservice.ascd.org/education-resources/10-inspiring-quotations-to-help-you-differentiate-your-instruction

Topic of the Month-Reading Automaticity and Fluency

The biggest obstacle to proficient reading for many students

is their lack of automaticity, or speed, in understanding words.

Most students, even those in the lowest quartile, can recognize

frequent words…eventually. The problem lies in the length of time

that it takes them to recognize even common words. Struggling

readers devote their energies to recognizing words, thus not attending

to the content of what they are reading. TextProject was started to

address this problem. Over the past decade, we have developed

a set of solutions aimed at increasing automaticity 

that includes student texts, word lists, webinars, and research.

Visit our Pinterest board on Reading Automaticity & Fluency 

for an overview of our resources.

A Focus on Fluency [Research Digest]

Fluency from the first:  What works with first graders.

Close Reading with First Graders!

Click on the link below to read about...

Dipsticks: Efficient Ways to Check for Understanding

Assigning/Asking versus Teaching

"Children are routinely asked questions after reading but are infrequently provided with demonstrations of the comprehension strategies needed to answer the questions posed. In short, too often assigning and asking are confused with teaching. (Cunningham, 1998, p. 47) 

Are we creating independent readers or dependent readers? Engaged or compliant learners? 

For some of us, comprehension instruction looks more like determining students' understanding of a story by asking questions...rather than directing and explicitly teaching comprehension STRATEGIES. 

To understand whether improved student scores are meaningful, educators need to determine whether teaching has been focused on increasing mastery rather than on changing scores. If students are gaining mastery, then it will show up in many different places- on other tests they take or in the quality if their academic work- not just in their scores on the state's test.

An Introduction to Student-Involved Assessment FOR Learning (6th Edition)

-Rick J. Stiggins, Jan Chappuis

This is a new book to add to my wish list.  

"Specific assessment strategies are offered throughout for helping students see the learning target from the beginning and then watch themselves move progressively close over time until they achieve ultimate learning success. Showing how to use assessment to accurately reflect student achievement and how to benefit–not merely grade–student learning, the text examines the full spectrum of assessment topics, from articulating targets, through developing quality assessments and communicating results effectively."~Amazon Book Review
#formativeassessment #assessmentforlearning

Student Centered Coaching

In her book, Student-Centered Coaching, Dianne Sweeney believes that the emphasis in using data involves a collaborative effort among department chairs, teachers, and the school leadership. In many cases; a school-based coach is responsible for organizing and creating dialogue about assessment data. Some coaches feel intimidated about bringing data into conversations with teachers because they fear data will make teachers feel nervous or threatened. But when coaches take a student-centered approach, the use of data and student work becomes a natural (and expected) part of the process and teachers often claim that, as a result of the focus on students, coaching feels less personal. The following coaching practices are nonthreatening and are based on creating a culture that collaborates around data; Sorting for differentiation, data teams, and assessment walls.

Struggling students might not be learning disabled, but instead... "school disabled".

Region 3's Feature School System!

Arab City Schools

Arab City School district creates a newsletter periodically for their parents, students, and teachers. Each newsletter shares a glimpse into some of the learning that is happening across the district. Arab City Schools shared their "Back to School" newsletter with our team. We could not wait to share. Small group instruction and student collaboration is taking place in grades K through 12! Take a peek! 

RESPECT

Students discuss and post what respect should look and sound like in their classroom.

MATH IN ACTION

Students practice place value in math class.

AUTHOR'S TONE

Students identify and chart positive, negative, and neutral words.

NOTICE AND WONDER

Students work together to list things they noticed and wondered about a picture.

SENSORY BOX

Students enjoy time at the sensory box as they transition into the new school year.

CELL SIZE

Students determine how cell size affects the rate of diffusion.