"If (7th and 8th grade) teachers, and those who follow, were to require that kind of work 1-2 days per week through 12^th grade, these kids would have 500-1000 pages of pre-college reading experience in those technical subjects alone... "  -Dr. Shanahan

Are we preparing our college bound students for success? The following article touches on why our Literacy Standards across all content areas are so crucial to student success in school and beyond. 

Here is the link to the blog:
Is it fair to expect college bound students to read?

Computer Technology for Students Struggling with Handwriting Skills

Read about computer technology that reads text out loud.

 

 

 

Click here to read article:

http://studyingwithdyslexia.blogspot.com/2015/12/how-to-write-confidently-with-dyslexia.html

What's Going On Inside A Dyslexic Student's Brain?

There’s no such thing as a “normal brain.” In fact, there’s a lot of diversity in how different brains process information — a challenge for educators tasked with teaching a diverse group of learners. Dyslexia is a common variation that affects how kids read, but what’s really going inside the brain of someone affected by it? Kelli Sandman-Hurley’s TED-Ed video explains. 

https://youtu.be/zafiGBrFkRM


http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/09/11/whats-going-on-inside-a-dyslexic-students-brain/

The Six Syllable Types

In English there are 15 vowel phonemes (sounds) but only 5 vowel letters.

 (Okay–7 if you count <y> and <w>). But how does that work– with twice as many vowel sounds to represent as there are letters to represent them!?

For his 1806 dictionary, Daniel Webster figured it out (and changed the spelling of some words to make it work more consistently).  Basically, context predicts the vowel’s letter-sound association.
The syllable type is largely determined by what comes after the vowel in the syllable.  In phonetically regular words, the sound of the vowel is predicted by its syllable type.  More than 90% of English words follow the six-syllable type sound-spelling pattern.
But note this important caveat:  The English language freely absorbs words from other languages, and words with origins other than English do not necessarily follow the syllable types patterns.  Even so, the majority of commonly-used English words follow this pattern,  so it is definitely worth learning the six syllable types.
While the fluent use of these patterns for reading and spelling will require an ongoing commitment to word study, a habit of word analysis will pay enormous dividends in terms of improved spelling and reading and vocabulary growth!

Follow the link to see the 6 syllable types: http://www.lexercise.com/blog

 

 

 

 

Learning Labs at Scottsboro Junior High

“It is virtually impossible to create and sustain over time conditions for productive learning for students when they do not exist for teachers” (pg. 145). Seymour Sarason (1990) from The Predictable Failure of Educational Reform.

This year, Scottsboro Junior High (SJH) has taken on a new positive challenge—Learning Labs. They are using Learning Labs and Lesson Studies to make informed decisions concerning student learning. This in-house professional development model incorporates “learning by doing,” student evidence, and teacher collaboration among the participants.

Their first round with the labs were hosted by two math teachers with a focus on outcome mastery as well as student engagement. The learning lab committee consisted of various content specific teachers (history, ELA, science) and a special education teacher. The student evidence collected was very eye opening. It was also amazing how every teacher involved took something back no matter their content area. This “productive learning” opportunity is proving to be very impactful on our ultimate goal—student achievement.

Here are some guiding principles and pictures of our work:

Guiding Principles for Student-Centered Collaboration

• It’s about student learning.

• Student evidence always informs instructional planning.

• Norms are set and participants are held accountable to the norms.

• Protocols provide a clear structure for the meeting time.

• Ownership is shared among group members.

Think before you test. Are you testing to test? Students have the right to learn, not just to get a grade. Are you using the data for learning and for changing instructional practices?
Love these Student Bill of Assessment Rights!! Your thoughts?

Learning Doesn't Happen Because Something is Taught

"If we are simply covering the curriculum, or letting textbooks or vendor products divine our practice, how do we really know that students have learned what we intended for them to learn?"
-- Michael Fisher

"Something is not taught, until it is learned." 
-- Dr. Katherine Mitchell

It's that time again!  Feverishly working in classrooms, trips to school supply stores, eraser crumbs on our calendars, and of course regular trips to the Keurig.  However, no matter the time of day, our thoughts are on what matters most...the students that are now sitting in our classrooms.  With this in mind, we shift our attention to a critical question.  How do we begin planning for instruction?  It goes without saying that we begin with data and the support of our peers in that analysis.  Then it gets messy.  We are then faced with what often times is a very tumultuous ordeal, navigating our curriculum.  Michael Fisher (author, educational consultant and instructional coach) offers some valuable insight into the common trap of "covering" the curriculum vs. "uncovering" the curriculum.  He shares some background connected to his field experience in New York state along with 6 conclusions that will hopefully provide some new thinking as we begin the planning process in our schools.

Covering the Curriculum